During the prolonged battle of attrition with Asimi, Mohg gradually began to gain the upper hand.
This place was originally his domain. Within this area filled with cursed blood, he possessed all kinds of powerful advantages; sealing the battlefield, launching attacks, forming defenses, and moving freely across the terrain.
Moreover, Mohg had come well prepared this time. The cursed blood here was directly connected to the blood pool of the Mohgwyn Dynasty, meaning the supply would never run out unless this avatar was completely destroyed.
For Asimi to approach Mohg and deal damage, the cost she had to pay was far higher than what Mohg needed to spend on defense.
Most of the time, she needed to use an entire combination of abilities just to lock down his movement long enough to harm and exhaust him.
Asimi noticed this as well and began thinking about how to destroy the domain itself.
Leaving the area would be easy, the opponent could not stop her from escaping, but Asimi had no intention of retreating.
What she wanted was to eliminate him completely.
If she could dismantle this domain, then defeating him would become much easier.
So Asimi stopped launching active attacks. She merely guarded the space around herself, counterattacking only when Mohg approached to harass her.
Meanwhile, she began experimenting with Agheel's flame and Black Flame, attempting to burn and dry up the blood surrounding them.
The blood blades and blood spikes here were trivial for her to destroy, and both bloodflame and cursed blood had no effect on her body.
Because of that, once she stopped advancing aggressively, Mohg didn't have many effective ways to deal with her either.
After some time, seeing that he still could not defeat Asimi, Mohg used cursed blood to communicate with the contingencies he had planted within Stormveil.
Although his blood domain could conceal and isolate the interior from the outside world, it could still be noticed.
Especially since his brother had once told him that the wind of Stormveil acted as watchful eyes.
Reinforcements arriving was only a matter of time.
Mohg wasn't afraid of reinforcements.
On the contrary, he wanted more of them to come.
Hundreds would be ideal.
As long as it wasn't the situation where Lucian alone came.
Asimi might not be affected by cursed blood or bloodflame, but other people were different.
For ordinary people, even the slightest contact meant death.
Mohg released another swarm of bloodflies.
This time, however, their target was not Asimi.
The bloodflies, hatched from cursed blood, slipped through the crimson barrier and automatically flew toward the areas where the largest crowds were gathered.
Asimi realized what was happening and immediately summoned a storm, attempting to annihilate the bloodflies on the spot.
But Mohg erected a wall of blood to block her attack, allowing some of the swarm to escape.
On top of a distant building, Morgott, disguised in his corpse-like appearance, stood by a window and looked toward the faraway street.
The area there was completely dark, but he could sense two incredibly powerful forces clashing.
One of them felt very familiar.
Turning his head, he saw that signs of combat had already begun appearing throughout various parts of Stormveil.
Right below him, on the street, a Storm Knight was already locked in battle with a figure cloaked entirely in black.
After thinking for a moment, Morgott altered his appearance, transforming himself into a completely ordinary-looking soldier.
He leapt down from the window and began jumping rapidly across rooftops.
Hidden within the darkness, Morgott sped toward the center of the battle.
However, this time Morgott had been a little too hasty.
He had underestimated the Ancient King, who constantly monitored Stormveil.
Unbeknownst to him, the Ancient King had already placed him under special scrutiny.
Through the storms that filled Stormveil, the Ancient King could continuously survey the entire territory without pause.
Everything happening within Stormveil was clearly visible to him.
Although Morgott's outward appearance had changed, the Ancient King had already recognized Mohg's true identity.
Back in Castle Morne, it had already assisted Lucian in fighting Mohg once before.
The blood-based attacks he used were extremely strange, and now they had appeared inside Stormveil.
Fortunately, the one he had encountered was Asimi.
Her strength was formidable, she was no weaker than Mohg.
The Ancient King had already notified Lucian's subordinates to set out and surround Mohg's avatar.
In addition, he had mobilized the Silver Knights long ago. As soon as Mohg's Bloody Fingers began acting, the Storm Knights were also dispatched to intercept them.
This sudden attack by Mohg was unexpected, but the Ancient King was not worried about Stormveil's safety.
Judging by the current situation, the matter could probably be resolved without Lucian even needing to intervene.
So the Ancient King did not rush to notify Lucian.
After all, he had personally witnessed Melina sneaking into Lucian's room earlier.
There was no need to disturb them right now.
And besides, if the situation truly became dangerous, Lucian's current strength meant he would notice it without needing any warning.
—
On the street where the Tarnished had gathered, very few people were still able to sit calmly.
After Asimi and Mohg had left earlier, sounds of battle began echoing from the distance.
In the darkness of night, the clash of blades rang out clearly.
Later, an extraordinarily brilliant comet even streaked across the sky.
Something was clearly wrong over there.
Their instincts told them that something major might happen tonight, filling them with unease.
Especially now that the Storm Knights and Silver Knights, who normally handled Stormveil's defense and administration, had begun deploying in large numbers.
This only confirmed their suspicions.
After remaining here for a while, the Storm Knights hurriedly scattered to other locations, leaving only a few behind to maintain order.
Meanwhile, the numerous Silver Knights formed groups blocking the road ahead, refusing to let anyone pass.
They didn't know exactly what was happening up front.
They only knew that a powerful enemy was there, one they could not defeat even if they fought with all their strength.
Therefore, the order they had received was not to attack, but to stand guard here in case of unexpected situations. Someone else would deal with the enemy ahead.
Behind the defensive line, several Silver Knights began asking the surrounding Tarnished to withdraw and stop gathering here.
To avoid unnecessary trouble, most people listened and gradually retreated, leaving the street much quieter.
However, quite a few people remained.
After all, this was the Lands Between. Many of these Tarnished were confident in their own abilities and didn't believe they were in any real danger.
Besides, if something critical happened, they could step in and help.
In their simple understanding, with so many Silver Knights here and so many capable Tarnished present, surely any enemy could easily be defeated.
Of course, not everyone stayed for that reason.
For example, Leda and her group, who had been gathering intelligence about Stormveil.
Leda watched the Silver Knights standing guard ahead with great interest, curious about what exactly was happening there.
They had already been nearby earlier, but until recently she hadn't been particularly interested.
Even if that woman really was Lucian's sister, there was no need to pay too much attention without an opportunity to interact.
But if something major was happening ahead, then perhaps this would be a chance to approach the person suspected of being Lucian's sister.
Still, this was not the time to stand out.
She preferred to wait for the moment when the situation became even more chaotic.
At that time, taking action would be most advantageous.
Aside from their group, others also stayed behind with their own motives.
For instance, the two lackeys Mohg had recruited earlier.
They didn't have much strength and felt extremely uneasy, yet they remained where they were, waiting for their boss to return so they could show their loyalty.
Of course, they weren't actually loyal to Mohg.
They had no intention of becoming his devoted followers.
They were only interested in the Runes he had given them.
"Why hasn't he come back yet? Did he really get into a fight?"
"Who knows… The sounds over there feel a bit off. Should we just leave?"
"…If we leave now, we might never get another chance to latch onto him. He's really generous with Runes."
"Sigh… Let's wait a little longer then. There are still plenty of people here anyway."
But the longer they waited, the stronger the unease in their hearts became.
"Bzz—"
A faint sound came from ahead.
Amid the noisy street, it wasn't particularly noticeable.
"Hey… did you hear something?"
One Tarnished suddenly asked the others nearby.
Most of them hadn't noticed anything and assumed he was imagining it.
"No. You're just too nervous."
"Is that so… maybe."
However, the sound gradually became clearer.
More and more Tarnished began noticing the strange noise.
"Bzzz—bzzz—"
Something was rapidly approaching, and it was becoming impossible to ignore.
Finally, the Silver Knights at the front of the formation saw what was producing the sound.
In the darkness of night, a massive black swarm rushed toward them.
It was a swarm of ferocious flies.
The Storm Knights stationed here immediately began directing the Silver Knights, summoning a storm together to block the swarm outside the defensive line.
However, the bloodflies personally released by Mohg were extremely troublesome.
The knights' power was simply not enough to eliminate them quickly.
Although more than half of the swarm was destroyed, the remaining bloodflies burst through the storm barrier with a furious buzz.
Ignoring the heavily armored and powerful knights, they rushed straight toward the Tarnished standing behind them.
Realizing something was wrong, the Tarnished quickly warned each other and cautiously tried to stay away from the creatures.
A bloodfly flew toward one Tarnished. He waved his arm to drive it away, but it had no effect.
Yet when the bloodfly landed on him and attempted to pierce his skin with its proboscis to drink his blood, its body was blocked by a gust-shaped helmet of wind.
The storm that never ceased above Stormveil was part of a massive formation modeled after the Terra Magica, a formation capable of turning storms into power for the warriors.
The Ancient King, who had been watching the area all along, finally intervened.
Using the storm, he placed a helmet of wind over the Tarnished.
Its defensive power wasn't particularly strong, but against creatures like bloodflies, it proved surprisingly effective.
Suddenly, the two lackeys who had been following Mohg earlier turned bright red in the face, unable to utter a word.
They desperately scratched at their necks and faces with their fingers, tearing their own skin bloody without stopping.
And from various parts of their bodies, sharp, twisted horns slowly began to burst through the flesh…
The surrounding crowd ignored the bloodflies and immediately backed away from the two men.
Horns growing from the body, that was the unmistakable symbol of a terrifying curse.
Blood was one of the carriers of power.
Most people in the Lands Between would go their entire lives without realizing this, and ordinarily blood contained almost no power at all.
But for Mohg, things were different.
The faint power contained within the blood of those two Tarnished had been transformed by the seed he had planted inside them, gradually turning into cursed blood.
That curse-like power spread through their bodies. The energy within their blood was gathered together and condensed into small quantities of cursed blood.
After a brief buildup—
their bodies suddenly swelled and exploded.
The cursed blood ignited into bloodflame.
The burning blood splattered everywhere, and even the wind helmets were set ablaze when touched by the flaming droplets.
Caught off guard, many people were struck.
The plague and curse of blood began to spread.
Those Tarnished contaminated by cursed blood fell into despair before their bodies burst apart one after another.
These secondary explosions were somewhat weaker, but they still continued spreading the contamination.
Bloodflame crawled across the bodies of the Tarnished, impossible to extinguish.
Only now did they realize how terrifying their enemy was.
Against such an attack, they had no ability to resist at all.
The enemies they had fought in the past were always tangible, things they could see and touch. At worst, they could charge forward and fight.
But who had ever seen something so bizarre and insidious?
This was the source of Mohg's confidence.
For weaker Tarnished, his abilities were nothing short of pure despair.
No other demigod could match him in efficiency of slaughter.
The Silver Knights quickly dispersed the crowd, preventing the curse from spreading further among the densely packed people.
Meanwhile, the few remaining bloodflies changed direction.
They dove into the cursed blood on the ground and rapidly reproduced, causing a large swarm of bloodflies to rise once again.
But then—
a violent storm surged forth.
More powerful than before, it instantly eradicated the bloodflies entirely.
After witnessing how troublesome the combination of bloodflies and cursed blood could be, the Ancient King concluded that the situation had already exceeded what the knights could handle.
So he intervened personally.
If cursed blood and bloodflame were difficult to remove from inside the body, then he would first eliminate the bloodflies, the easier half of the problem.
Among the panicked crowd of Tarnished, Leda revealed a smile beneath her helmet.
From this attack, she had clearly felt the unique blood power belonging to the "Lord of Blood," Mohg.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
She had already suspected that something unusual was happening earlier.
But she had never expected Mohg himself to be the one making a move.
However, this was perfect.
Mohg had actually dared to attack someone suspected of being Lucian's sister inside Stormveil.
Now there was no need to think about how to provoke conflict between Lucian and Mohg.
They would naturally clash on their own.
All she needed to do was tell Lucian the method of reaching the Mohgwyn Dynasty.
That would be equivalent to placing a knife directly into his hand.
And now it seemed she could also step in to help and earn some goodwill along the way.
Leda stood up and began walking forward against the flow of fleeing people, pushing past the crowd.
A Tarnished retreating from the front immediately warned her not to keep going.
But a hand gently patted his shoulder.
A man wearing a wide-brimmed hat gave him a reassuring smile and lightly pushed him back toward the direction of escape.
That man was Dane.
As a clergyman, he possessed not only fierce fighting spirit but also a kind of reliable calmness that reassured others.
Without such qualities, one could hardly be considered a good clergyman.
"Hah! Finally something interesting!"
Freyja stood up as well and followed after Leda.
The three of them moved forward against the current of people, parting the crowd.
Soon they reached the front lines and saw a horrifying scene.
Bodies were exploding one after another, and filthy blood covered the entire street.
Even the Silver Knights stationed there were struggling.
Although they were stronger than ordinary Tarnished, they still had no immediate way to deal with such bizarre abilities.
They could only keep their distance from the spreading danger, preserving their lives rather than dying pointlessly.
Leda raised the Golden Light greatsword in her hand.
The next moment, dazzling golden power lit up along the blade, illuminating the hellish scene like holy light.
More than a dozen illusory golden needles, formed from the power of Unalloyed Gold, shot out from the blade and flew into the bodies of victims who had been contaminated by cursed blood but had not yet erupted.
After their power was sealed, those people managed to survive temporarily.
However, they would still require further treatment to escape danger completely.
The Silver Knights initially intended to stop them from advancing.
The situation ahead was unknown, and charging forward recklessly was extremely dangerous.
But Leda chuckled softly beneath her helmet and said kindly to the knights:
"No need to worry. We have fought alongside your Lord Lucian before. Our strength is quite considerable."
"If you have the chance, please send him our regards."
The Silver Knights exchanged glances.
They had just witnessed her power, it was indeed far beyond theirs.
In the end, the leading Storm Knight bowed to them and stepped aside.
"Thank you for your assistance."
"Please be careful."
Passing through several deserted streets, Leda and the others soon arrived before the blood barrier that had engulfed the entire road.
She smiled slightly.
Taking a deep breath, she gathered the power of Unalloyed Gold onto her sword and swung it forward.
The power of cursed blood was briefly suppressed by the pure gold, turning into ordinary blood.
A crack immediately split open in the otherwise solid barrier.
"Go."
At Leda's command, Freyja and Dane rushed inside without hesitation.
Only then did Leda calmly step into the domain herself.
The moment Dane and Freyja entered, they were met with fierce attacks.
But their strength was not weak.
They were able to defend against the blood spikes and blood blades without too much difficulty.
However, when Mohg redirected his attacks toward them specifically, the two of them quickly found themselves in trouble.
After stepping into the blood domain, Leda briefly observed its internal structure before speaking calmly:
"Keep him occupied."
Freyja immediately charged forward.
Dane remained in front of Leda, defending her from incoming attacks.
Leda drove her Light greatsword into the ground.
Golden light spread across the battlefield, covering Mohg's blood.
The blood was suppressed by Unalloyed Gold, gradually causing Mohg's domain to lose its effectiveness.
Seeing this, Asimi immediately rushed forward again, swinging her blade at Mohg who could no longer hide by turning into blood.
Mohg glared at Leda with undisguised disgust.
Miquella's followers had actually chased him here?
How irritating.
He immediately summoned even more cursed blood, which surged across the ground like a crimson tide.
Leda's expression showed signs of strain.
With her power alone, it was indeed difficult to compete with Mohg. The golden light was slowly pushed back.
Seeing this, Mohg laughed triumphantly and once again transformed into blood, narrowly avoiding the incoming attacks.
Asimi clicked her tongue.
This domain was far too troublesome.
If only someone could just tear it apart.
As if responding to her wish—
a massive crimson lightning spear suddenly pierced down through the top of the blood domain.
Lightning instantly filled the entire space.
A giant claw tore through the opening, ripping the domain's ceiling completely apart.
The enormous ancient dragon Selinsax thrust her head into the battlefield, her vertical pupils staring coldly at Mohg.
On a nearby rooftop stood a visibly exhausted Lancelot, glaring resentfully at Mohg.
The intruder had clearly interrupted his nighttime activities, and he was not pleased.
With a wave of his staff, a violent storm locked onto Mohg's position.
A tornado briefly restrained his movement.
Seizing the opportunity, Leda once again pushed forward with the power of Unalloyed Gold, sealing Mohg's ability to hide.
Selinsax's dragon claw and Asimi's Starscourge Greatswords descended simultaneously.
Mohg cursed inwardly.
The situation had become extremely unfavorable.
Asimi alone was already slightly stronger than him.
And that Ancient Dragon was clearly on the same level.
The Golden Needle Knight was somewhat weaker, but she was still among the top-tier heroes of the Lands Between.
As for the others, they were more than capable of participating in a battle of this level.
Facing the incoming attacks, Mohg reluctantly attempted to defend.
His plan tonight had not achieved the results he wanted.
Not enough blood had flowed within Stormveil.
But it seemed he would have to withdraw in disappointment.
However—
just as everyone believed Mohg's defeat was inevitable—
an unexpected change occurred.
A figure no one recognized suddenly appeared in front of Mohg.
Together with him, that person blocked the fatal blow.