Chapter 544 Nightstalkers
The wood elf looked around and, with a solemn voice, spoke. ''The stories said that the city was lively and full of life, but now look at it. It's stuck in an underground lair of some creatures who use it as a breeding ground.''
After she stopped speaking, Archer heard something close by and cast an Element Bolt from the light element.
He sent it flying toward the sound and heard a spalt, which shocked the two girls, who turned to get ready to fight.
But they saw nothing. Nala turned to him and asked confusedly, ''What happened? What's out there?''
''There's something out there. I'll be right back.'' He answered the lion girl before casting Shadow Shroud.
Archer's body changed into a shadow and vanished from the spot, but he didn't forget about protecting the girls.
He moved through the shadows, causing his violet eyes to glow as he approached a dead body, and what he saw took him by surprise.
It was the same humanoid but was slimmer and taller. The creature had elf ears and long hair, but they were twisted into something different.
Archer picked the corpse up to get a closer look. A sickly odor emanated from his mouth, a scent of rotting flesh clinging to the jagged edges of his teeth.
Long and dagger-like, the claws protruded from his fingertips, ready to carve through the fabric of reality itself.
He knew the Swarm was experimenting with the humanoids they captured, but what bamboozled him was how many they had.
Archer shook his head and stopped thinking as a creature lunged at him from the shadows, but he smiled as he grabbed the thing by the neck with a dark tendril.
It wrapped around the thing and held it still. When he did this, Archer scanned the creature to see if anything was different.
[Nightstalker]
[Rank D]
When Archer saw this, he sighed before casting Soul Sunder and ripped away the creature's soul.
He ate it and gained its memories. Archer saw the creature hunting around the city when groups of people appeared.
This continued for years as the Swarm soldiers would return and take hundreds before vanishing.
The creatures allowed the Nightstalkers to procreate so the Swarm could have their army of flesh-devouring humanoids like the rest.
But soon after, Archer saw the memories before they were experimented on and saw the labs the victims were dragged to.
He witnessed the strange concoctions the weird Ratlings injected into their bodies, which morphed them into the Nightstalkers.
After witnessing that, he saw the life of a blacksmith working in Arvandoril City. The elf was very busy taking orders and running his shop.
He had a beautiful wife and several children. Archer watched all this like a movie as his shadows created a safe space for him.
The violet flames painted the underground city, casting an eerie glow that mesmerized the two girls watching the scene.
Archer's eyes gleamed as he purged the city of the horrifying creatures that had infested its streets.
His roar echoed through the burning expanse, declaring vengeance and cleansing. The city was now burning.
Archer glanced skyward and conjured all eight hundred hearts, which descended into his waiting maw.
Consuming the hearts, he felt a rush of experiences flooding him as he ate. After doing that, he returned to his humanoid form.
When Archer was on the street, he returned to the girls while checking his new status.
[Exp: 1185000/4000000] [Status Points: 0>800] [Level Up: 613>614] [Mana: 659690>678690] [Dragons Domain: 5>6] [Analyze: 6>7] [Anti-Magic: 8>9] [Dragon Synergy: 1>2]
Once Archer checked his status, he saw that he had eight hundred status points and decided to save them for a while.
He walked for ten minutes and came across the shadow shield. Archer dismissed it to see the two girls relaxing, but Nala stared at him with glowing blue eyes.
The lioness rushed over to him and started getting excited over his dragon form and how strong he was.
While she was doing this, a sad Llyniel walked up to the two and looked upset. Archer spoke to Nala. ''Give me a second, my lioness. We'll catch up with you.''
She nodded before rushing off with a big smile on her face. Archer turned to the wood elf and asked in a concerned voice. ''What's wrong, my elf?''
When the elf heard this, she started to talk. ''It's horrible. The people here are trapped and are in pain. Nature told me they want to die but can't.''
After speaking, Archer smiled brightly, which caught her off guard and offended, but what he said next shocked her. ''Oh, Llyniel. They are all resting now. My flames turned them to ash and set them free.''
He got closer, scooped her into a big hug, and leaned down to whisper in her ear. ''Don't worry, they are happy now.''
Llyniel smiled before nodding her head. ''Thank you, husband. That was kind of you to do.''
Archer was about to speak, but she closed the gap between them. In a surprising yet tender gesture, Llyniel reached up and gently pressed her lips against his.
They shared a sweet kiss that made time feel like it stopped. Archer was surprised at first but then kissed her back warmly.
After the kiss, Llyniel smiled happily, and he playfully kissed her nose. They continued their journey, the sweet moment hanging in the air before they moved on.
The two caught up to Nala, standing by a collapsed stall covered in dust and cobwebs while the surroundings were the same.
Archer got close and spoke in a quiet voice. ''What's up?''
Nala quickly answered while looking around. ''Somethings here, and it's angry. I can feel it.''
[If there are any mistakes, point them out, and I'll edit it. Thanks]
