It had to be said, for Duanmu Huai, this harvest was truly remarkable.
First of all, the effect of [Doom Slayer] had activated for the first time, and it was nothing short of excellent. Strength +3, Constitution +2, Intelligence +1—six attribute points gained at once. Considering it normally took two level-ups just to earn a single point, this was already an incredible reward.
From this, it was clear that Doom Slayer was the kind of specialization designed specifically for fighting bosses with high attributes. To maximize its benefits, one had to face powerful enemies. Slaughtering ordinary mobs, no matter how many, wouldn't yield much.
In addition, the [Dragonform Power] card was also extremely useful.
Truthfully, as Duanmu Huai's level increased and the enemies he faced grew stronger, the Puppet Legion had become almost irrelevant. He seldom summoned them in battle anymore, at most using them as material to transform into undead or paladins.
But even paladins and undead were only situationally useful. Against an opponent like Alduin, they meant little.
Being able to transform them into wyverns, however—that was another story!
Duanmu Huai experimented and found that puppets transformed into wyverns were basically like the ones he and Guleya had encountered outside Whiterun: they could fly, they could breathe fire, but had no special powers and no Thu'um. Still, for most enemies, a squadron of fire-breathing dragons on the battlefield was terrifying enough.
Beyond that, Guleya had also gained greatly.
Her best reward was—she learned every Thu'um!
That's right. As a Dragonborn, in absorbing Alduin's soul, she also inherited its knowledge and thus the ability to wield all dragon shouts.
After watching Guleya demonstrate, Duanmu Huai realized just how terrifying these Thu'ums were.
They covered almost every kind of effect imaginable: controlling animals, sensing life, clearing storms into sunny skies, summoning powerful whirlwinds, freezing everything in ice, raining down meteors as they had seen in Helgen, disarming enemies, even slowing time and resurrecting fallen dragons…
Looking at it now, most of Alduin's power had been tied to its Thu'um. If Duanmu Huai hadn't sealed its voice beforehand, the fight would have been far harder.
As for Guleya's favorite, it was "Dragon Soul Awakening." This was a shout that awakened the dragon soul within her, granting her the power of a dragon. Perhaps because she was a dragonkin, when she used it, she transformed directly into a pitch-black dragon!!
That had startled Duanmu Huai at first.
But after some research, they realized she hadn't literally become a dragon. It was more like Filine's magic, extending mana outward to temporarily form a dragon's shape, while her true body remained dragonkin.
For example, Filine summoned and condensed ice to form a giant ice dragon shell around herself for combat. Guleya's Dragon Soul Awakening worked on the same principle. Though temporary, it made her very happy. After all, she was the princess of the Dragon Nation, where all were dragons, while she herself was only dragonkin. It had always been a bit of a burden for her.
From Duanmu Huai's perspective, this was actually safer than fully transforming into a dragon. Even if someone gouged the dragon's eyes or struck it, her real body wouldn't be harmed. After all, the bigger the body, the bigger the target.
Excited with her newfound power, Guleya tested Dragon Soul Awakening several times. She discovered that outside of battle, she could maintain the dragon form for two to three hours. But once combat began, the time dropped sharply, as the mana consumed in fighting made it harder to sustain.
Not only that—after Alduin's death, Guleya also learned the location of Fafnir.
Just as Duanmu Huai suspected, Fafnir's soul had fled to this continent and found Alduin, striking a deal. Once Alduin devoured the continent, it would go to Manaria. But Alduin clearly had no fondness for such a traitor, imprisoning Fafnir's soul inside the Dragon Cult's artifact crystal.
Naturally, with the Dragon Cult's location revealed, Duanmu Huai immediately notified Anne and Lorena to gather.
Fortunately, the cult's lair wasn't far. Lorena even revealed she had already traced leads on them nearby.
So the group agreed to meet outside the Dragon Cult's base and storm it together to kill Fafnir, the traitor who had betrayed his homeland.
Anne and Lorena moved quickly. By the time Duanmu Huai arrived, they were already waiting.
"Ah, Sir Knight!"
"Knight sir!"
Seeing him, the girls waved eagerly, but soon noticed something odd.
"Where did this dragon come from?"
That's right—since Night Raven Blackstar had been destroyed by Alduin, Duanmu Huai and Bambi had come riding on Guleya, transformed into a dragon. Or rather, Guleya had insisted they ride her.
Clearly, she was ecstatic about her new dragon form.
"Hehehe, you know this dragon too."
"Eh? We know it?"
"That's right."
Duanmu Huai leapt off the dragon's back, made a gesture, and before their eyes, the dragon's body dissolved into mist—then Guleya stepped out.
"Wah! Guleya!!"
Anne squealed, leaping into her arms.
"Amazing! When did you learn to turn into a dragon?!"
"It's all thanks to the knight, I barely managed to grasp it…"
Smiling, Guleya clearly couldn't wait to show Anne her new power.
"And this child must be Bambi, right? Hello…"
Lorena approached Bambi with a kind smile. They had known of her, but this was their first meeting.
As always, girls chatting quickly filled the air with excitement. Only after some time did things quiet down, and Duanmu Huai finally asked about their situations.
Anne had little to report—mostly studying magic, going on occasional adventures, or reading with Olgis at the College of Winterhold library.
Lorena's journey had also been fairly normal. They had faced bandits and wild beasts, but with Sahariel's protection, nothing dangerous. As for contact with the Nine Holy Spirits, she said most gods were friendly. Sometimes they gave difficult tasks, but they did not oppress them. To the Nine Holy Spirits, their duty was only to safeguard the Empire. As long as the Holy Church did not threaten it, there was no hostility.
As for the Dragon Cult, Lorena explained: they worshiped Alduin, the World-Eater, believing the world was destined for destruction and thus following the god of destruction. Honestly, Duanmu Huai could never understand such twisted logic, whether in movies, games, or anime. It wasn't like Christianity, where believers at least hoped for salvation in the Last Judgment.
But wishing gleefully for the world—and yourself—to be destroyed? What kind of sense did that make?
One or two such lunatics in any race was understandable.
But entire groups of them? It was beyond reason.
In any case, Lorena's investigation revealed they were nothing more than glorified bandits.
Which meant… no need to show mercy.
"Guleya, it's up to you!"
After making his decision, Duanmu Huai gave the order. Guleya nodded, then looked toward the mountain ahead—the Dragon Cult's lair. From the foot to the halfway point, it was littered with their structures and altars. To Duanmu Huai, it looked no different than some demonic sect fortress from a martial arts world.
"Understood, knight."
Perhaps because of her excitement over Dragon Soul Awakening, Guleya didn't refuse. She stared at the cult's camp, then opened her mouth, drawing in a deep breath.
"Fus—Ro—Dah!!"
With a thunderous roar, the once-clear sky darkened, clouds swirling into a vast vortex. Then countless meteors rained down onto the cult's camp, engulfing it in fire and screams.
"Wow! Amazing amazing amazing!!! Guleya, you're incredible!!!"
Anne clapped wildly, nearly jumping with joy, while Duanmu Huai gripped his warhammer, eyes fixed ahead.
"All right, let's go!"
He gave the command without hesitation.
(End of Chapter)