Nidhogg bent down, quietly sensing the energy fluctuations from afar.

Over the past day, Nidhogg scouted the entire secret realm and confirmed two things.

Firstly, there are seven locations with energy fluctuations in this secret realm, likely representing seven entrance triggers.

Secondly, the seven Despairers in four directions were continuously killing any sorcerer apprentice daring to approach.

Nidhogg didn't understand why the seven Despairers wouldn't just enter the secret realm directly and instead wasted their time preventing other sorcerer apprentices from approaching. Was it merely to accumulate more mark points?

On the first day, apart from a few hapless sorcerer apprentices meeting their demise, most who had some confidence in themselves chose to stay hidden, waiting for a better opportunity. A significant portion wisely decided to give up.

Nidhogg chose a lurking position from which he judged to be the weakest direction guarded by the Despairers. In contrast, the other three directions either had terrifying mark fluctuations exceeding a hundred points or were guarded by two or three Despairers.

It seemed that other sorcerer apprentices shared similar thoughts to Nidhogg, opting to lurk in this direction, waiting for the right moment. Like a patient hunter, Nidhogg used a geo-bulb seed to hide underground and wait.

On the second day, seven or eight apprentices couldn't resist and rushed towards the distant secret realm, only to fall...

On the third day, two apprentices charged toward the Despairer guarding this direction, detonating a Flame Fusion Orb at the last moment. The massive fire elemental force swept across the sky, allowing one apprentice to escape death's clutches.

On the fourth day, perhaps influenced by the previous day's use of the Flame Fusion Orb, many sorcerer apprentices believed the guardian here was injured and mounted an assault, only to fall...

By the fifth day, no apprentice dared attack the secret realm anymore, seemingly overwhelmed by despair. However, due to the repeated sacrifices of these "fools," the Despairer guarding this place erupted with even more terrifying mark fluctuations, indicating a mark value of one hundred.

At this point, six corpses were piled before Nidhogg, which he had stealthily collected from under the Despairer's nose over the past days.

Firstly, Nidhogg wanted to use these corpses to discern the sorcery abilities of the guarding Despairer. Secondly, he needed them to breed the magical Meng bug mother given to him by Sorcerer Elaine.

After a moment of silence, Nidhogg finally decided to test his luck. If he couldn't contend with this Despairer, he could always retreat.

With that thought, Nidhogg did not hesitate. He took out a bottle from his waist pouch, opened the lid, and the black worm inside eagerly burrowed into the corpses...

From examining the manner of death, Nidhogg deduced some preliminary insights into the Despairer's sorcery. Most prominently, this Despairer was likely adept in earth and wood elemental sorcery, as evidenced by the fact that five of the six died from these elements.

Additionally, the Despairer seemed to have some expertise in poison sorcery—although only one apprentice died from poison, the exact poison was indecipherable to Nidhogg.

Fortunately for Nidhogg, his research in alchemy meant he carried two potent antidotes. One was highly effective against plant-secreted toxins, and the other suppressed and helped expel many metal element-based poisons. For animal-derived toxins, he had concocted two mild general antidotes.

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An hourglass later.

With a rustling hum, the six bodies turned into skeletal remains, and a three-meter-long giant magical Meng monster emerged before Nidhogg.

At first glance, the giant Meng appeared to be an enlarged version of the original, with six black legs, two powerful purplish-red pincers, and a shiny dark-colored carapace dotted with purple spots. But on closer inspection, the giant Meng was actually composed of countless smaller Meng bugs, creating a horrifying and eerie appearance.

Nidhogg had a direct mental link with the Meng bug mother, making this giant Meng his soul servant for a day.

With preparations complete, Nidhogg ventured towards the secret realm with the giant Meng in tow.

Soon after, Nidhogg stopped, while the giant Meng stood with flapping wings and imposing pincers behind him, like a loyal guardian beast.

Under the sonar spell of the pale mask, a black-and-white image appeared in Nidhogg's mind, penetrating 15 meters through trees and bushes with no trace of anyone. Yet, Nidhogg’s Hunter’s Nose detected a "familiar" scent, suggesting this person had previously tracked him during the trials.

"Come out, Ghoul Thief Despairer."

Nidhogg stood with arms crossed, speaking coldly from beneath his mask.

Based on information analysis from the past days, Nidhogg was almost certain the Despairer guarding this area was the mysterious Ghoul Thief.

"Heh, I’ve always been curious about how you discovered me..."

From about 25 meters to Nidhogg's left, a figure slowly emerged from the ground, resting his chin on his hands, lazily watching Nidhogg while chewing on a leaf.

Seeing the Despairer’s dismissive attitude, Nidhogg squinted, and the giant Meng blurred into motion, charging at the Ghoul Thief, causing dirt to explode in all directions.

The giant Meng's attack strength was estimated between 20 and 60, having reached a significant level of power due to the undying trait of the Meng mother.

"Oh, aren't we feisty? You might not know this, but you're quite the main character in this trial ground now, haha..."

The Ghoul Thief’s voice echoed from another tree trunk about ten meters to Nidhogg’s right, demonstrating his elusive nature.

Unfazed, Nidhogg conjured a blazing fireball, sending it toward the Ghoul Thief. Moments later, an explosion scattered flames.

“Enough, I won't play with you anymore. I’ll let the others decide.”

With a face of resignation, the Ghoul Thief appeared on a slope about 40 meters ahead, calling out loudly to the sky, “The Pale Mask is here with me...”

His voice carried on a specific frequency, reaching the other Despairers across a kilometer distance.

Startled, Nidhogg didn’t know what game the Ghoul Thief was playing, but instinctively sensed danger. Without hesitation, he summoned a wind-element bat, trying to escape.

Whoosh!

A wooden spear pierced the wind-element bat under Nidhogg, instantly sprouting branches and thorns. The bat gave a silent cry before dissipating.

The Ghoul Thief emerged halfway from a nearby tree, licking sweat from his brow with an extraordinarily long tongue, cackling, “Heh, you can’t escape. Just play along for a good show.”

Nidhogg felt uneasy, coldly asking, “What do you mean?”

“Oh? You didn’t insult me; I’m hurt, boo-hoo...” Ignoring Nidhogg, the Ghoul Thief mumbled to himself.

Far off, Mechanical Heart heard the Ghoul Thief’s call, and his mechanical tail, restored to its full functionality, perked up.

“Hee-hee, Viktor, the Pale Mask is here. Should we join the fun?” asked the alluring sorceress standing nearby, her enchanting curves and celestial beauty vivid against a long dress adorned with red scorpions.

This mesmerizing woman was Claretia, codenamed Enchantress, one of the seven Despairers.

Her dual-colored gown half-revealed her body, emphasizing her voluptuous figure, while a golden necklace hung between her ample cleavage, luring gazes and sparking imaginations, her seductive voice contrasting her untouchable, holy demeanor—a tempting siren!

Viktor, wary of the bewitching Claretia, dared not look directly, aware of her true, malicious nature.

“Hmph, though tempted, I’ll avoid the chaos between those two,” Viktor hesitated, then commented.

“What a pity. Oh well, if you’re not going, neither will I.” Claretia whispered, swirling a golden ring on her finger, her fiery lips grazing her index finger as she mused, “I wonder if he can withstand Sun's Child's power. That wild woman is absurdly strong.”

With that, she released a red scorpion with transparent wings from her mouth, murmuring, "Go, check the situation for Mommy," before it vanished into the sky.

Meanwhile, Sun's Child, blazing with intense heat, seemed ready to incinerate anything in her path, targeting the distant Nidhogg.

Similarly, Blacksaw’s Solum, Yunli, and Bibilionia, varied in speed, dashed toward Nidhogg to confront him in a potential life-and-death clash.