"Have you made your choice?" Nolan's lips curved into a faint smile. "Looks like you're unwilling to submit."
He slowly turned his head, his gaze sharp as he looked toward Nokron's inner city in the distance.
The magnificent city stood solemn and mysterious beneath the night, and it was as though he were staring down certain people within it from afar.
Nolan was no expert in scientific research, and the two Noxians in the prison wagon were only mid-level figures. They did not know much about the technology behind the Mimic Tear either.
But that aura... Nolan's smile widened. "Nothing but last-ditch resistance."
Everything was within expectations.
If the Eternal City could simply create a powerhouse on the level of an Elden Lord, why would they have feared the Star Beast, Astel?
In the Lands Between, where Demigod warlords fought among themselves, someone like that could have slaughtered their way through almost anything.
Perhaps biological weapons would one day surpass the monsters that roamed the Lands Between, but clearly, that day was not today.
"Treat them to a feast, behead them, and take them in as dogs. We haven't even started the first step of that three-step strategy yet," Nolan muttered to himself. "But starting with the last two steps should work too."
With that, he withdrew his gaze and casually swept his eyes over the area. The surroundings remained quiet, with only a light breeze brushing past and bringing a faint coolness.
The nearby streets had long since been ruined beyond recognition. The buildings on both sides had nearly all collapsed, the ground was pitted with large craters, and broken bricks and rubble lay everywhere.
Amid the wreckage, Blaidd's figure stood out clearly.
Blood covered his body, and his armor had been torn open in several places. Clearly, he had not come through the previous battle unscathed.
Firelink Army Knights knights and Tarnished were gathering toward them, their eyes fixed on Nolan, the shock and wild joy on their faces yet to fade.
The Nox naturally knew who had arrived. Though they had never seen this legendary Lord with their own eyes, they had heard plenty of stories about him during the standoff between the two armies.
The legendary Lord was said to have a flawless face and long silver-white hair as smooth as silk. He wore armor of gold and silver, with a brilliant crimson cloak over it, and each time he appeared, it was like a god descending from the heavens.
"You're late," Blaidd said as he walked up behind Nolan, his voice low and clearly displeased with Nolan's tardiness.
He knew this unreliable fellow would come, but he always kept delaying things.
"Something held me up, didn't it? Besides, there's no rush to retrieve that thing right now. And wasn't the timing just right?"
As he spoke, Nolan looked around. His sharp gaze caught the fear in the Noxians' eyes.
The sight of the Dragonkin Soldier being sent flying had clearly left a deep impression on them. After all, that was one of the strongest fighting forces they currently possessed.
"Are we retreating?" Blaidd asked.
"I'm already here, so why would we retreat? We're charging in, of course. But don't kill them all. Surrender is acceptable too. I have a use for those who remain." Nolan glanced at the three Dragonkin Soldiers lying in the ruins.
Technology capable of mass-producing first-rate heroes. What Lord could look at that and not be tempted?
Even a thousand years ago, in that era when gods and kings fought in chaos, such technology would have driven every faction into a frenzy.
Heroes were already qualified to take part in the battles between Demigods. With enough of them, they could even bury a Demigod through sheer numbers.
If the Firelink Army could mass-produce Dragonkin Soldiers, they would become an overwhelmingly powerful force within the legion. That was why Nolan did not think there was any need to rush into wiping out these great scientists.
Researchers were worth protecting.
Since the Nox all obeyed the Night Witches, Nolan felt he could try communicating with them and talking reason.
If they were reasonable, that would be best. But if they refused to listen, then among so many Nox, surely a few would be willing to be reasonable.
"The Firelink Army's strength is going to surge again. I'm afraid Caria will be in danger from now on," the werewolf said irritably.
"We're allies. That makes us family. Why would you say something like that?" Nolan said.
Blaidd frowned. He felt there was something wrong with Nolan's words, but for the moment, he could not find a proper way to refute them.
Nolan gave Blaidd no more time to think. He suddenly turned around, and saw the three Dragonkin Soldiers charge out of the ruins once more.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!
Three heavy impacts rang out in succession, and the entire district began to shake.
These huge creatures had no concept of fear. To them, battle was the entire meaning of life.
They were pure weapons, born only to fight to the death. This time, however, they seemed to have learned something.
They did not rush straight in as before. Instead, they kept their distance and surrounded Nolan and Blaidd from afar.
Then the three Dragonkin Soldiers gathered white Lightning Strikes and hurled them forward. The range of the lightning was vast, wide enough to cover a large stretch of the city.
If no one stopped it, hundreds of soldiers and Tarnished would surely be reduced to dust.
But this was not something no one could stop.
Hum.
The air twisted violently, as if kneaded by an invisible giant hand.
In the next instant, the blue shield formed from Thops's stance appeared in the sky like a vast curtain, completely covering the area about to be swallowed by white lightning.
The moment the two forces met, their energy twisted and collided wildly.
The lightning actually veered off course in midair, and the deflected current shot northward, blasting a huge hole through the inner city wall with a thunderous boom.
The Dragonkin Soldiers finally sensed an unprecedented mortal danger. Instinct told them they had to flee this terrible place at once.
They roared as they backed away, but the two pairs of ruined dragon wings on their backs could not carry them into the sky.
They saw fire ignite across the Lord's body. Wild, scorching flames surged out like a pride of hungry lions, pouncing straight at the Dragonkin Soldiers.
"Living dead things, turn to ash."
Nolan looked at them coldly, his great cloak fluttering behind him. The burning flames spreading from beneath him were like a vivid red cloak, completely engulfing the three Dragonkin Soldiers.
The night over the Eternal City seemed to be lit by a sun. The three Dragonkin Soldiers might have been able to suppress Blaidd, a hero knight, but they could not withstand the ultimate flames of Nolan, the mightiest of Lords.
The monsters' bodies were enormous, but their intelligence clearly did not match their oversized heads. Retreating on instinct alone could not save their lives.
The crimson flames soon swallowed the three colossi, the raging fire licking across their bodies.
The three monsters thrashed violently in the flames, their massive bodies crushing broad stretches of houses and sending out dull, heavy crashes.
But the flames did not go out. Before long, the three Dragonkin Soldiers finally stopped struggling. Their bodies gradually burned into drifting ash and scattered through the air.
The Nox stood frozen in place. The Ancestral Followers were even more straightforward and immediately began to flee.
So this was a Lord from the surface? It was terrifying beyond belief.
The Ancestral Followers were merely stunned, but the Nox were so horrified that their bodies trembled.
The Dragonkin Soldiers were Nokron's strongest weapons, at least in the eyes of ordinary Noxians. Yet now, they had been killed in an instant.
More terrifying still, this seemed to be only the beginning.
Unleashing such a powerful attack appeared to have no effect on that Lord at all. He was already reorganizing his forces, his target fixed on the high tower where the Priestesses resided.