The men who should have been guarding Kercius at his side were now too busy saving themselves, fleeing in every direction.
At this point, he wanted to run too, only to realize there was nowhere left to go.
In his despair, he could only force himself to raise the greatsword in his hand and make one last stand.
Without time to think, he lifted the blade as Magical Power gathered in the Glintstones set into it.
Carian Greatsword!
Even as commander, this was only the highest-tier Sorcery he had mastered.
But before he could fully unleash that power, he suddenly saw, to his shock, that the Dark Moon Knight had vanished from more than ten meters away.
His vision blurred, and that tall figure was already right in front of him, the cold magical greatsword flashing with icy light in midair.
"Wait!! I..." Kercius cried out in terror, his voice full of despair and unwillingness.
But what was coming still came.
Slash.
A white flash of sword light disappeared in an instant.
Kercius's head flew into the air, spinning like an overripe fruit.
Nolan paid no attention to the bloody scene, letting the warm spray of blood splatter across him and stain his armor red.
As the severed head hit the ground, he turned and swept a cold gaze across the surroundings. His figure remained straight and unmoving, radiating a presence that chilled everyone to the bone.
"Die, or surrender?"
The brief words echoed in everyone's ears, grinding against their sanity.
Everyone knew that surrendering and running were traditional Cuckoo specialties. As for noble sentiments like fighting to the death and staining the battlefield with blood, those had nothing to do with them.
Nolan did not need to say another word. The soldiers had already begun, as if by common instinct, to throw down their armor and cast aside their weapons.
Some of them even tried to curry favor with Nolan by shouting for surrender on his behalf.
Of course, some people were going to die no matter how well they behaved.
Nolan hunted down the knights one by one and cut off their heads, stopping only when the Carian army, having received news of the victory, poured into the camp.
"From this day on, the Cuckoo Legion is no more. Send men to guard the entrances to the Divine Tower."
A faint smile appeared on Nolan's face as he turned to look at the young woman beside him riding a giant wolf.
Latenna nodded at the order and turned to leave. Melina, splattered with blood, walked over.
"You stepped in?" Nolan asked, unable to hide his surprise.
That really was unusual.
At his question, Melina merely gave a low huff by way of answer, then silently walked over to stand beside him.
After a moment of silence, she finally said, "I found the prison where they were holding captives." Her voice was low and restrained.
"It's been too long since I last fought. If I don't move a little, my skills are going to dull."
Hearing that, Nolan could not help but sigh with feeling.
"I never expected this. Melina, so you're actually such a kind-hearted girl."
Bad habits tended to sink deep into the bones. Casting them off completely was never easy.
Even if Kercius had wanted to turn over a new leaf, getting all the men under him to abandon the past and wash their hands of it would have been difficult.
As for the inexperienced girl before him, she must have seen something she should not have by accident, lost control of her emotions, and stepped in on impulse.
But that was not entirely a bad thing. At the very least, it showed that Melina was not a block of wood.
Just as Nolan was wondering how to soothe the girl's mind and keep those disgusting sights from leaving a shadow on her young heart, he suddenly looked up.
A massive shadow had blotted out the sky overhead.
A dragon descended, its body covered in wounds, its hide marked with shocking gashes from blades.
"You're hurt?" Nolan raised a brow.
Adula opened its bloody maw and spat out a humanoid shape blackened like charcoal.
It growled curses under its breath.
"Those damned wolfmen again!"
"Careful Blaidd doesn't hear you say that."
Nolan took out a thick blanket and wrapped up the charred little Ranni that Adula had spat out. Then he reached out and gently pressed a hand to the dragon's head.
A few seconds later, the black flames coiling around Adula's body dissipated, and the ghastly wounds across it began healing at a visible pace.
"Th... that's Ranni's body?" Melina's eyes widened as she stared at the burnt, charcoal-like form, as if it had been scorched by raging fire.
Meanwhile, Nolan carefully lifted it up as though it were some priceless treasure.
"That's right." Nolan nodded.
"What do we do next?" Melina asked.
"We take the teacher and go find Ranni first. It's about time we left too." Nolan smiled brightly.
The thought of going to find Mohg with two Great Runes in hand instantly filled him with confidence, and the last trace of doubt vanished with it.
He turned and gave Hank a few brief instructions, then gently carried the charred little Ranni as he, Sellen, and Melina rode the Glintstone Dragon back toward the Mage's Tower.
The three of them did not take the usual way in. Nolan had Adula hover outside in midair, then jumped straight through the window.
Perhaps because of the noise they made on the way in, Her Highness the Princess, who had been fast asleep, was startled awake by the sudden commotion.
Rubbing her still-drowsy eyes, she murmured in a slightly dazed voice, "Nolan, is that you? You're back?"
Before the words had even fully left her mouth, Ranni suddenly jolted. She had just woken up and forgotten to maintain her dignity.
Realizing that, she quickly coughed lightly twice, trying to cover up her inner fluster.
At the same time, she subtly straightened her posture, doing her best to recover her usual noble and composed bearing.
"Yes, Your Highness, I'm back." Nolan's lips curved into a gentle smile as he walked over carrying the charred body.
"I have returned successful. From this day on, there will be no more Cuckoos, and I've brought your body back as well."
"You... you didn't do anything unnecessary, did you?"
Ranni's voice trembled slightly. Her body was stiff as she slowly lowered her head, her gaze flickering uncertainly.
After hesitating for a moment, she cautiously reached out and gently lifted one corner of the blanket covering herself.
The corner of Nolan's mouth twitched.
Hah. What did this woman mean by that? Did she think I'd take advantage of the situation? She was seriously underestimating me.
How could I possibly be that desperate? She's already in this state. Even if I wanted to do anything, I wouldn't be able to.
"No. Everything was handled cleanly." Nolan smiled faintly and told her all about what had happened with the Night's Cavalry.