I'm fighting Kal'tsit? Really?

"The smell of blood... has dissipated." He stood up and looked out the window at the area outside Kazimir City: "It's probably too far away."

"I can't smell it anymore."

--------

It is hundreds of kilometers away from the Great Knight's territory.

When Gerald returned to the place where he had temporarily stopped, it was already getting dark. The spring night came at just the right time, enough for him to travel from the city of Kazimierz to the countryside.

As he entered the village, he suddenly looked up at a tree near the village entrance.

What are you doing up there?

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a white shadow darted down from the tree.

"...No, it's nothing, I just want to stay here."

Hinterlea approached Gerald shakily, silently removing the leaf from her hair. "Um, do you need me to help you with your luggage? This—"

Gerald shook his head, casually suspending the documents and files carried by the wind in the air: "No need. Although I don't know why you don't go to the village, at least you don't need to worry about your former boss 'Xuan Tie' suddenly appearing from somewhere and taking you away with an arrow."

"Your two lapis lazuli colleagues are probably thinking about how to escape from Kazimierz right now, and they don't have time to bother with you, the 'traitor,' for the time being."

"Oh... Oh oh."

Hinterlea remained silent, only nodding repeatedly.

Although it's hard to say, she's only been here a short time.

She had been running since morning, taking breaks as she ran, and then running again, while also avoiding some dangers in the wilderness along the way. She had barely reached the meeting point Gerald had arranged when she sensed danger and quickly hid in a tree.

Upon seeing this man, Cintraya couldn't help but feel heartbroken—for everything she hadn't had time to take from the apartment, especially the cash.

But considering that the man in front of her, who was like a demon, might have already placed Originium Arts on her, Pegasus had no choice but to silently swallow her bitterness.

What else could she do? Rebel against someone who could eavesdrop on their entire conversation without her or the two Qingjins noticing? Rebel against someone who described "killing Xuan Tie" as something incredibly trivial?

While she was thinking, Gerald had already walked quite a distance, and she only caught up with him in time when she came to her senses.

The nights in Dishui Village are remarkably tranquil. Smoke has already risen from chimneys, carrying the aroma of burning firewood and permeating the entire village. Compared to Kazimierz, a city constantly glittering with neon lights, this place feels like a pristine haven lost in a corner of time. There are only rows of scattered bungalows and lights spilling through wooden windows.

Walking along the village road, Hinterlaya looked around, clearly somewhat unfamiliar with the scene.

She had assumed the other party would hide in a place like the hidden outposts on the outskirts of Kazimierz, but she never expected it to be a small village without even a signal tower.

After walking a few steps, a bungalow that was slightly larger than the surrounding houses came into view.

Unlike other buildings, this single-story house has wind chimes hanging from its eaves, swaying gently in the night breeze and making a crisp tinkling sound. Several pots of wildflowers are placed at the entrance of the house, clearly having been carefully tended by someone.

Just as Hintraya was observing her surroundings, a Kuranta girl quickly walked out of the house.

She was dressed in the traditional dress of a village girl, with a simple apron tied around her waist, and her chestnut hair was tied in a bun. The moment she saw Gerald, her eyes lit up, and she immediately came to greet him.

"Sir! Welcome back!"

"Yes, good evening, Chlor." Gerald responded calmly, casually tossing the documents hanging in mid-air, and the wind carried them into the room, where they landed steadily on the table.

At this moment, the Kuranta girl noticed Hinterlea behind Gerald, paused for a moment, then showed interest and looked her up and down.

"Who is this?" she blinked and asked curiously.

“A temporary partner,” Gerald replied briefly. “Could you please prepare an extra dinner for her? Thank you for your trouble.”

Krol's gaze then shifted to Hinterlea.

“...Hinterlaya”.

Feeling a little uncomfortable under the other person's gaze, Hinterlea subconsciously straightened her back and casually gave her name.

The girl smiled back: "Okay, Miss Hinterlea. My name is Chlor, and I'm the village chief here."

Welcome to Dishui Village!

……

As mentioned in past books, the friendship between Kurantas was simple: as long as they wove garlands together, ran together, and enjoyed the taste of the grass, they could be considered friends.

Although Hintraya thought that the reason why the girl named Chlor was so hospitable to her on their first meeting was probably because of a certain Pegasus staying at her house... and a whole bunch of "novel" stories about the city of Kazimierz.

At the same time, Gerald chose to give the platinum-ranked player some time.

Inexperienced, a replacement after the death of his predecessor, a pathetic working-class man, and a Pegasus like him... these labels are attached to Hinterlea. He can also guess some of the story behind this Pegasus.

If he lost a lot at a certain point in time, then Cintraya may have lost everything from the very beginning.

Without Oripathy, Pegasus-level vision and sniping ability, and above-average combat and stealth skills, even if Pegasus warriors were as numerous as cattle in Kazimierz, the only possible reason for such an excellent warrior to end up abroad is probably a tragic childhood. Such a worker would be an excellent trading partner.

He flipped through the documents in his hand, pondering his next move.

He had already obtained a lot of intelligence and information from Xuan Tie, enough to make him change his previous plans and even cut off the lifeline of the Business Federation, rendering their last-ditch counterattack ineffective.

The only thing to be careful about is their connections with other countries, and how to choose the right time so that the whale fall and the newborn whales can arrive at the same time.

Speaking of Xuan Tie, this Sarkaz with the broken horn is at least a magnanimous person. Not only did he not choose to live on, but he also handed over some intelligence and the location of the secret base to him without hesitation.

To be honest, this was unexpected for Gerald.

Perhaps this Xuan Tie also harbored some ideals, as can be seen from the details of the operation arrangements and the arrangements for the Wuzhou Alliance in his secret base; perhaps he wanted to become a member of the Business Federation in order to dismantle the organization from within... But in any case, the other party had already calmly asked him for a quick death.

The truth was no longer within his consideration.

Gerald cleared his mind of what was on his mind and continued to search for details in the documents.

……

sound.

sound.

Gerald snapped out of his reverie and turned his gaze to the window.

Ancient languages ​​and songs drifted from the distant wilderness.

Pegasus was not clear about the meaning of the sentences and words, but he realized that he could understand what was being conveyed.

That's what they said:

——A young hunter embarks on a journey to heaven.

—Starting from a dream, heading towards the golden shore.

Chapter Six: Halfway to Heaven (5K)

Gerald chose not to disturb the others in the village. He pushed open the door, glancing past a drowsy girl and a pair of wary eyes, and walked outside.

Drip Village was the village near where he disembarked when he was near the Grand Knights' Territory on Rhodes Island.

This is hardly a deserted place; merchants from Kazimierz show up here every one or two months.

When he arrived, three groups of bounty hunters were roaming the village, burning, killing, and looting in search of something called the "Knight's Treasure." Even merchants had to stay away, and the village was forced to rely on its stored grain to survive.

In the countryside of Kazimir alone, after experiencing something similar just once, the villagers would start looking for ways to move away—human-caused disasters are similar to natural disasters, and they have no choice but to flee.

Thus, violence was met with even greater violence as punishment.

Tianma walked quietly along the country road. Drip Village was already behind him, hidden in the scattered light of campfires in the distance, and further away, the wilderness under the night was giving birth to an unfamiliar atmosphere.

The wind carried that scent, a scent that blended iron and blood.

In the distance, a splash of red emerges against the night sky.

It was a figure clad in scarlet armor, coming alone from the wilderness, each step landing on the hard ground with a heavy and rhythmic thud.

He had nothing on him and no companions by his side. Apart from the series of crackling sparks that flew up when the long weapon he was dragging on the ground struck the stone, he seemed utterly alone.

Kuranta seemed to only then realize that there was an unfamiliar figure in front of him, so he gripped his long weapon and asked Gerald, "...Who are you?"

“The residents around here,” Gerald replied briefly.

“An ordinary resident wouldn’t have this kind of atmosphere.”

The stranger Kuranta's doubts and excitement seemed to be fully conveyed through his helmet: "It doesn't smell like a Pegasus. I smell the scent of war, blood, and violence, just like the scent of the grasslands."

"So it turns out that Kazimierz really does have Pegasus horses with golden blood flowing through their veins."

Gerald cast his gaze toward the horizon—he had studied the terrain when he dealt with the bounty hunters and was certain there was no place nearby where he could travel by vehicle.

The desolate aura emanating from the person before him seemed ingrained in his very being, as did his exhaustion. Had he walked all this way on foot?

Their will is firm.

"I have red blood, so there's no need for me to deliberately show that you are a nightmare... Or are you going to take out a horn and start blowing it now to conform to the world's stereotypes about you?"

Gerald shook his head: "There are people resting in the village ahead, and I don't want to disturb them while you're singing, Nightmare."

In response, Pegasus could only simply point out the race of the person in front of him.

The legend of nightmares is a bedtime story that naughty children in Kuranta hear every night. After many revisions, it has become a very famous nursery rhyme in Kazimierz, and even a villain in novels and TV series.

A ghostly and mysterious army of nightmares; a horn that lingers like a curse, disturbing the dreams of future generations.

If we compare the Pegasus to a fine horse carefully selected by nobles based on its bloodline and speed, and bred at great expense in a past life, then the Nightmare is something born purely from a nomadic people, nurtured by this land and wilderness.

But in the end, very few Nightmares remained—ever since a thousand years ago, when the Nightmare Khan vanished with his army amidst the scorching landscape of the Burning Winds, the continuation of this divine race had been a problem. Not to mention the Pegasus, who hated them and showed no mercy in persecuting the continuation of their people.

However, Nightmare didn't seem to listen to him.

“...I would not have gone down this path, Pegasus.”

After a moment of silence, the nightmare before me suddenly said, "In the wilderness, it's hard to determine the right direction. The only way is to keep moving forward towards a hill. However, I deviated from my original direction, from the direction the passing merchant had pointed me towards the Great Knight's Territory."

"But before nightfall, I smelled a scent."

"Now, I am absolutely certain, this is your aura, this is—"

"The aura that the Heavenly Path led me to want me to witness."

Nightmare, or rather, Tora raised the long weapon in his hand.

The tip of the gun gleamed with a scarlet blood light, which, under the illumination of the stars in the sky, stained the ground beneath him with a crimson hue.

Then Nightmare stepped forward and swung his long weapon toward Pegasus.

……

The gun tip traced a straight arc in the air, reaching Gerald's neck in an instant.

Before the weapon fell, he had already taken half a step forward, increasing the force with the movement, attempting to force his opponent to face him head-on with this attack.

Gerald had anticipated this and stepped back, his thrust landing awkwardly in empty space.

But the expression in his eyes was clearly completely different from what he had shown throughout the day.

Tianma was pleasantly surprised.

The people he met today were either people he had already sparred with many times, or people whose templates were so obvious that there was no need to refer to them at all—this kind of unknown, shrouded in mystery for him, was very interesting.

Pegasus focused his gaze on the Nightmare's gun, which had missed its target and then withdrawn. He condensed his incantation into the shape of a sword and held it in his hand.

Then, he tilted his body slightly to the side, and the simplest sword strike was instantly formed, the blade moving an inch with the movement of his body.

Immediately afterwards, he shifted his feet slightly, sidestepped the counterattack that Tora thrust out with the momentum of turning around, and raised his sword accordingly.

--puff.

Tuola felt the breath of death suddenly approach, and the chill at his waist made him instantly aware of the wound in his abdomen. But all he could see was the slow, leisurely movement of the sword blade. Although the trajectory of the sword was clearly predictable, he had yet to have a single chance to resist.

A nameless fear made Tora's fingers tighten on the gun handle. The moment he realized that his abdomen had been slashed, he immediately took a step back, pressed the gun down to the ground, and quickly steadied himself using the gun shaft for support.

Blood trickled down the seams of the armor, leaving a small, dark stain on the ground.

However, his movements did not stop at all. It seemed that he had digested the fear and turned it into part of his power, allowing the tip of the spear to break through the wind once again.

But each time, just as it was about to make contact with its target, that familiar sword shadow would flicker again, followed by a casual deflection of the spear, its trajectory abruptly altered. And each time, in those split second, Gerald's blade would once again glide past his armor, leaving behind trails of bright red wounds on his body.

It's like a cat playing with a mouse, teasing the other person, yet the other always responds to his attacks.

When he used the inertia of his spinning spear to block his opponent's evasive space and tried to predict the landing point of the evasion to attack, but was easily seen through, Tora realized something.

This was an opponent he simply couldn't handle.

In the next moment, the young Nightmare did not hesitate at all, relying solely on his own consciousness to activate the power within his bloodline.

The air is freezing.

War, extreme environments, "kingdoms", natural disasters, the curses of banshees, the authority of demon kings, the blood of blood demons, roars, thousands of deaths and sufferings.