Night Journey

Chapter 24 The Death Bird

Bohr climbed the high wall, and in the flickering firelight, Nunn stood silently beside it, like a weathered sculpture.

"Nun, the celebration has started, why are you hiding here without saying a word?"

Nunn gazed at the wilderness, offering no reply.

"What? Are you afraid that your presence will make the townspeople feel uncomfortable... especially Cillian and his group?"

Paul, slightly drunk, said, "Indeed, everyone respects you, but perhaps a little too much. When you put on that serious face, even the most decadent drunkard will sober up."

"If you don't like it, you don't have to stay long. Go say a few words and then leave."

Nunn shook his head and said, "It's nothing, I was just thinking about something."

"What's wrong? Tell me, we're old friends."

Nuen has a special status and deep experience, and few people in White Cliff Town can confide in him. Bohr, as the town mayor, is one of the few.

"I'm thinking about the future of Baiya Town..."

Nunn sighed deeply, his face full of exhaustion. "Even if Cillian really arrives in Hel City, it will be a very difficult task to get White Cliff Town out of its predicament."

Paul sobered up a bit. "Won't they help us?"

“Bohr, you’ve never left White Cliff Town, so you naturally don’t know what the civilized world has become.”

Nunn gave a bitter laugh and murmured.

"Once, the Three Sages united the shattered world of civilization, but the outbreak of the Year of Rebellion shattered the healed rifts once more, and we entered an era of isolation."

He took a moment to compose himself, glanced back at the jubilant crowd, and continued,
"Whether it's building Baiya Town or introducing scholars to communicate with other city-states, it all comes at a price."

But the question is, what can Baiya Town afford to pay for?

The harsh reality was suffocating Bohr, who innocently asked a question.

"But we are all human beings, shouldn't we help each other out..."

Nunn remained silent helplessly, and after a long while, he finally spoke.

"Perhaps we should abandon White Cliff Town and move everyone to Hel City. It's a difficult decision, but it's also the easiest possibility to achieve."

Upon hearing these remarks, Bohr felt dizzy and then felt a surge of nameless anger.

“Damn it, Nunn, we’ve always lived here! We won’t give up…”

Halfway through his angry words, Bohr deflated, his anger extinguished by reason.

"You're right, rebuilding Baiya Town is just a beautiful wish."

Bohr's body went limp, and he slowly sat down on the cold ground.

"The fact that Baiya Town has survived to this day is purely due to good luck. The ones that come to harass us every night are just groups of demons, not Chaos believers."

Bohr clearly understood what a miracle it was that Nuenbai Cliff Town had managed to survive until now.

“If Chaos cultists invade, I believe you can kill them all, but before that, there will always be people you can’t take care of… This kind of predicament can’t be solved by adding a few more superhumans.”

A faint singing voice drifted from behind, and bursts of laughter echoed under the gradually darkening sky.

The townspeople were celebrating the bright future of White Cliff, while Nunn and Paul were mired in a quagmire of helplessness, savoring the bitterness of reality.

“Don’t think about the future for now,” Paul said, composing himself. “Go to the celebration, Nunn. Say something encouraging; the townspeople need some emotional support.”

"it is good."

Nunn was about to turn and leave when suddenly he stopped, instinctively placing his hand on the hilt of his sword and gripping it tightly.

Pol noticed Nunn's unusual behavior, and before he could ask, Nunn spoke first.

"Let's end the celebration early. Summon the guards and have the townspeople evacuate to the mayor's hall... no, to the vicinity of the Lighthouse. Tell Cirion and the others to prepare for battle."

"Wha...what?"

Bohr was extremely nervous and looked fearfully at the wilderness below the high wall.

The boundary between dawn and dusk is gradually blurring; night is approaching.

At this time, the gray area of ​​the narrow passage had not yet covered reality, and the demons were nowhere to be seen.

Nunn couldn't see anything in the wilderness, but as a high-level transcendent, he had keenly sensed the malice emanating from the wilderness, as well as the undisguised source energy reaction.

The other party made its presence known, as if it were a tacit invitation.

"We have guests."

Nunn leaped down from the high wall, his cross-shaped longsword flashing with a terrifyingly cold light.

……

The uninvited guests strode towards Baiya Town.

"What's that sound...is it singing?"

Gene frowned and sneered, "They're about to die, and they're still having a party?"

“I don’t know,” Toren licked his lips. “We’ll see for ourselves once we break down their high walls.”

The two drew their longswords and walked at the front of the group, looking eager to try.

"You only need that person named Nunn, right?" Tania asked the Deathbird. "The rest of the town's population can be dealt with by ourselves?"

The Deathbird replied indifferently, "Whatever."

Tania smiled playfully and said softly, "Don't you need some? Those are all top-quality souls, perfect for pleasing... your master."

"Didn't I warn you?" The Deathbird's tone turned icy, and a surge of killing intent burst forth.

"Do not equate my Lord with those vile beings."

Tania's face turned pale, a sharp pain shooting through her neck. The Deathbird silently raised its blade and pressed it against her throat.

Slowly, tears streamed down Tania's face as she confessed, "I'm just curious, who exactly do you serve..."

"You don't deserve it."

The Deathbird's gaze swept over Gene and Toren.

"Remember, we are just business partners."

The Deathbird sheathed its sword, and Tania quickly retreated a few steps, her legs going weak.

Gene and Toren dared not utter a sound. The Deathbird's rank was far higher than theirs, and if he wanted, he could easily kill them in the wilderness.

They deliberately slowed their pace, falling behind the Deathbird and aligning themselves with Tania.

"Are you crazy? If you anger him, we'll all die here."

Gene rebuked him in a low voice; as a fellow believer in Chaos, he knew all too well their madness and disorder.

Tania wiped the tears from her cheeks, her previous fear vanished, and her gaze became calm and composed.

"This is an instruction from the leader: as long as we can investigate the power that the Deathbird serves, we will receive a blessing..."

When the blessing was mentioned, a strong desire appeared on the faces of all three, but then Tania asked a question in return.

Have you heard that rumor?

"What do you mean?"

Gene suddenly felt nervous, even though Tania hadn't explained herself yet.

"Rumors say that another miraculous creation has risen within the Sea of ​​Origin, and it is suspected to be..."

Tania was interrupted by a fierce gust of wind before she could finish speaking.

A pure, unreserved killing intent wafted in the wind, almost solidifying into swords, pressed against everyone's foreheads.

The Deathbird stopped in its tracks. A figure had appeared in front of it at some point. The man slowly drew his cross-shaped longsword, and flames spontaneously ignited, illuminating his weathered face.

"Everyone, go back. You are not welcome in Baiya Town."

Nunn's slender figure stood like an invisible wall, blocking the Deathbirds and their group from view.

The Deathbird asked playfully, "What if I want to continue?"

"Then I'll have no choice but to kill you all."

Nunn raised his cross-shaped sword, poised to slash.

"Haha."

The Deathbird chuckled softly, and then a flash of light erupted from his waist.

Tania swore that from the moment she noticed Nunn's appearance, her eyes were glued to the two of them, yet she still couldn't see how they drew their swords.

By the time her eyes caught the two men's movements, the confrontation was already over.

The explosive stream of fire swept across the land, setting off a fire line that stretched for a hundred meters. The hissing of metal colliding with each other turned into the howling of ghosts, almost piercing everyone's eardrums.

Nunn and Deathbird remained standing in place, neither able to make the other yield an inch.

"Oh?"

The Deathbird held its longsword horizontally in front of it, and in just a moment of clash, cracks and nicks appeared on the blade.

He couldn't help but sigh,
"My Cursed Sorrow Sword is, after all, an extraordinary weapon, but in front of your blade, it is as fragile as an ordinary object."

The Deathbird examined the fire sword in Nunn's hand and said in a feigned surprise.

"Could that be a Boiling Sword?"

Seeing that Nuen remained unmoved, the Deathbird sighed.

"It's actually true?"

"I thought all the Boiling Swords were broken during the Twelfth Expedition, and most of those that survived were rusted during the years of rebellion. Even if some survived, they should have been treated as sacred objects and carefully protected by those clans."

The Deathbird said quietly, "You just swung those swords, which the clans regard as sacred objects, so crudely."

"A sword is a sword; it is born to kill enemies."

At this moment, Nunn finally spoke, "If a sword is kept like a collectible, what difference is there between it and a broken one?"

"Right."

The Deathbird reached to its waist and grasped a dagger.

"You must be Nunn Soflova."

When Nunn heard the Deathbird call out his name, he was not surprised at all.

"You can call me the Deathbird."

Clusters of flames coiled around the broken Cursed Sorrow Sword, its source energy surging and surging, revealing the full power of its fourth rank.

All that could be heard was the Deathbird's words.

"I am also a torchbearer."

(End of this chapter)