Chapitre 146: First Meeting of Uncle and Nephew
According to Nidhogg, the Netherflower is a parasitic plant that grew on the corpses of powerful monsters. So, before anything else, Arkhan had to locate the corpses of these powerful monsters.
He wrote 'Rune - Search' and invisible magical waves spreading in all directions, serving as his eyes and ears, bringing distant information to him.
Until a moment when a very strong aura of death caught his perception, as bright as a light in the dark night.
'Found it... Wait, this appearance...'
Arkhan seemed to notice something. He frowned slightly, contemplated for a moment, and then wrote 'Rune - Space'.
In an instant, it transformed into a spatial vortex portal, towering two people high.
Arkhan entered first, while Artoria and Thrud hesitated for a moment, then followed suit.
The surroundings changed, and when the two women regained their senses, they found no significant difference, except for a towering mountain in front of them.
"Teacher, is there food on this mountain?" Artoria asked curiously.
"This isn't a mountain..." Arkhan replied softly. "It's a corpse, and just a part of it."
'Corpse?!'
Artoria's eyes widened in shock.
'What kind of creature's corpse can be so massive, and it's just a part?'
Thrud seemed to realize something, and her gaze towards the mountain showed a hint of astonishment.
Arkhan snapped his fingers, and a magical screen-like rippling water appeared in the void, showing the appearance of the mountain.
He pinched his fingers, and the screen's field of view expanded wider and higher.
Soon, the true appearance of the mountain appeared before them.
"As I thought..."
The moment Thrud saw it clearly, she finally let out a slow breath.
Artoria slightly opened her mouth, her eyes filled with intense incredulity.
It was a serpent of unimaginable length, its head reaching towards the sky, its abyss-like mouth wide open, as if in battle with a powerful enemy. The center of its forehead was damaged as if struck hard by some heavy object.
"The legendary serpent that coils around Midgard, the serpent that devours the world, Jormungandr." Arkhan looked up at the towering mountain. "I didn't expect it to die here."
In mythology, Jormungandr and Thor were archenemies. They fought fiercely during Ragnarok, ultimately perishing together.
If he guessed correctly, the damage to the forehead should be the result of Thor's hammer.
"So, there really is such a giant snake in the world..." Artoria muttered softly. "I can't imagine what it would be like if it were still alive."
Thrud's eyes showed a trace of dimness. Jormungandr was dead, but Thor had not returned, so the outcome was evident.
Arkhan found many black flowers on Jormungandr's body, roots and stems emitting a bone-like paleness, with strange patterns on the petals, resembling a crying face.
He inquired with Nidhogg, confirming that they were indeed Netherflowers.
Arkhan then used the power of Abyss Flower to purify the poisons in all Netherflowers and handed them to Artoria.
"Are these things really edible?" Artoria held a bunch of Netherflower, her small face full of confusion.
Although she was open to all kinds of food, this thing just didn't look like something you could eat.
"Don't worry, I've removed all the harmful substances inside. So it's safe." Arkhan reassured.
Artoria hesitated for a moment but eventually overcame her reservations. She put a Netherflower in her mouth, chewed it a bit, and swallowed. Then, she proceeded to eat more than ten Netherflowers in a row.
"How does it feel?" Arkhan asked while raising an eyebrow.
"It's a bit unpleasant, but it does fill you up..." Artoria said while rubbing her stomach.
Arkhan tried one himself. It didn't have much taste, and the texture was like chewing on sawdust. It felt a bit like the black bread you'd find in the homes of the less fortunate.
The only upside was that it did serve its purpose of filling the stomach.
"No choice, we'll have to make do for now. Once we get back, I'll have the chefs prepare whatever you want." Arkhan comforted his sister.
Artoria nodded. She was not unreasonable; finding something to eat in this environment was already quite challenging. Truth be told, she had even mentally prepared herself to eat dirt before.
Due to the urgency of their situation, they couldn't afford to stop and take their time. They had to eat while on the move.
After Arkhan purified all the gathered Netherflowers and stored them in his Rune's space storage, he would hand them to Artoria each time she finished eating.
Because it wasn't clear if there were any unknown properties of the Netherflower, he kept a close eye on her condition throughout the journey, ready to intervene if any issues arose.
However, even after she consumed over a thousand harvested Netherflowers, he didn't notice any abnormalities.
It seemed that, aside from being a bit poisonous, the flower was indeed safe.
Arkhan gradually relaxed.
After more than twenty consecutive hours of travel, the three reached the top of a high mountain. In the distance, they saw a giant pillar that extended from the ground to the endless sky, as if supporting the entire world.
This was a scene Arkhan was extremely familiar with because he had seen it in the mental world created by Nidhogg.
It was the anchor of the Norse Realms, the World Tree—Yggdrasil!
"There it is!" Nidhogg exclaimed excitedly. "I've already sensed the aura of my body!"
With the target confirmed, Arkhan didn't hesitate. He used Rune and, together with Artoria and Thrud, instantly covered thousands of meters to arrive at a small hill not far from Yggdrasil.
"Yggdrasil..." Thrud muttered as she looked at the withered tree. A faint sadness appeared in her eyes.
Perhaps it was because she had witnessed so many miracles on this journey, this time Artoria didn't show the same level of astonishment as before. She casually glanced at it and then looked away.
Arkhan's gaze shifted slightly downward, quickly spotting their objective.
At the roots of Yggdrasil, a massive black dragon lay prostrate. Its back was covered with two rows of jagged bone spikes, each scale seemed to be forged from molten iron, reflecting a metallic sheen. Large wings draped behind it, emanating an ancient and imposing aura.
A cocoon-like white halo enveloped the black dragon, lying silently within. It remained motionless, leaving one to wonder if it was dead or in a deep slumber.
"Nidhogg?!" Thrud exclaimed in surprise. "It's still here?!"
She was no stranger to this Dragon of Despair who devoured the world. After all, it was a powerful foe, even for Odin himself.
But she hadn't expected it to linger here for so long, given the time that had passed.
Thrud glanced at Arkhan. Could it be that her new lord's purpose for coming here was because of Nidhogg?
"Phew, finally caught up..." Nidhogg sighed in relief, seeing her body unharmed. Then she frowned and felt troubled. "But what's next? As long as the stupid rules are still in place, I can't break free."
The radiant bounded field was the safeguard she had created with the power of Yggdrasil. If she stepped out of it, the world rules would erase her immediately.
"Don't worry, I've got a plan." Arkhan grinned.
He had been scratching his head over how to free Nidhogg, but the appearance of Oath of Judah had instantly solved the problem.
Oath of Judah's power of binding could suppress all kinds of energy, even the ultimate embodiment of rules like the 'Logos' also known as 'Beasts'. Dealing with a few rules on Nidhogg was a piece of cake.
Although Nidhogg would be affected during the process, these rules only covered the Norse Realms. Once they left this place, she could roam freely.
"What are we waiting for? Let's get on with it!" Nidhogg couldn't contain her excitement after Arkhan's explanation.
After millennia of confinement, the day of liberation was finally approaching!
Arkhan nodded slightly, advancing towards Nidhogg's body step by step.
"Never thought your target would be Nidhogg too."
Suddenly, a deep voice echoed, causing Arkhan to halt and turn toward the source of the voice.
Two figures slowly approached, one with a slender figure, dressed in a white dress, boasting golden long hair and eyes of the same color—a gorgeous woman. The other wore white armor, a middle-aged man with a stern countenance.
"Vortigern, Crimson Moon..." Arkhan's eyes narrowed slightly. "As I expected, this matter is indeed related to you, huh..."
"Oh? You figured it out already?" Vortigern, stopping about five hundred meters away from Arkhan, looked somewhat surprised. "Seems like you're even smarter than I imagined, and luckier too..."
Vortigern then glanced at Thrud, sizing her up and down.
"To think even a Valkyrie could fall into your hands. I can't help but feel a bit envious..." Vortigern said in a soft tone and sighed with pity.
Thrud's expression turned sour. Not only did this man's highly aggressive gaze make her uncomfortable, but his arrogant demeanor and tone made her even more infuriated. It was as if he regarded her as a mere object on display in a shop, ready to be casually picked up.
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