Lu Mingfei, become the King of Elden!

Chapter 45 Afternoon
Lu Mingfei, panting, sheathed his greatsword; blood was dripping from the sharp blade.

He grabbed a rag and vigorously wiped the dried bloodstains off his armor, but the strange, foul smell still lingered.

To be honest, Lu Mingfei seriously suspected that Grek had mastered some kind of advanced biotechnology that allowed him to transform a handsome young nobleman into this kind of appearance.

"How the hell did they do that?"

Lu Mingfei muttered a curse under his breath.

Regardless, judging from what I saw and heard along the way, the process must have been cruel and bloody.

The title of "demigod" should have carried the glory of divinity and the majesty of a king, but Grek trampled on it wantonly, turning it into a blasphemous carnival.

He greedily seized power, tearing and piecing together living bodies without hesitation. The hanging limbs and twisted monsters all revealed the truth that he was, in reality, a "weakling."

The so-called "limb extension" is nothing more than the cowardly man's morbid thirst for power, using the screams and flesh of others to fill his own empty throne.

The name of gold.
Lu Mingfei shook his head, trying to dispel the random thoughts in his mind.

He looked up and was suddenly drawn to a huge oil painting on the wall.

The man in the painting is clad in magnificent armor, wears a golden crown, and has a majestic face, accompanied by a lion. Although it is just an oil painting, Lu Mingfei can clearly feel the man's imposing presence and awe-inspiring power.

"That was the first King of Elden—Giverley."

Kaneki Ken's voice came from behind him. He flicked the blood off his kagune and followed Lu Mingfei's gaze to the oil painting:

“Greek’s ancestor was also the father of ‘Gold’ Godwin.”

Lu Mingfei stared at the mountain-like figure of the man in the painting, then glanced at the severed limbs and remains scattered throughout the room, and couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement:

"The difference is too big! I'm starting to wonder what Grek actually looks like."

“Greece is the true god of war,” Kaneki Ken said softly. “Legend has it that he fought everywhere, vanquished ancient dragons, defeated the Storm King, and was the founder of the Golden Tree Age.”

As for Grek…

He seemed to remember something, sighed, and said:
"You will soon see his 'honor'."

In the oil painting, Greta's gaze is piercing, as if he is looking down on this bloody place of limb extensions.

Lu Mingfei suddenly felt a profound sense of irony. Perhaps besides the authority in that gaze, there was also a hint of barely perceptible sorrow.

"How far have we walked? And how much further ahead is it?"

Lu Mingfei asked, his voice tinged with weariness.

Kaneki Ken extended a finger and gently tapped his cheek, tilting his head to ponder:

"Well, if you really want to challenge Grek, there is a shortcut. But in terms of exploration, it's about one-tenth."

"what?"

Lu Mingfei was shocked:
"We've fought our way through this hell and only unlocked one-tenth of the map?"

Ken Kaneki smiled gently:
“Stoneville is the main city of Ningmgford, and it’s quite large. However, there are some places that I don’t think you need to go to. If that’s the case, it should take three days to reach the small room deep inside.”

"Three days?"

Lu Mingfei hesitated:
"You mean, even if we avoid the places we don't need to go, we still have to scout and fight for at least three days without sleep before we can see Grek?"

His voice was filled with disbelief. In Lu Mingfei's understanding, Stoneville was an old medieval castle. Although the terrain was complex and the roads were complicated, it shouldn't take three days to get there, right?

It's important to know that a sunrise and sunset at the border takes much longer than on Earth!
Kaneki Ken nodded slightly, his tone calm but tinged with a hint of helplessness:
"Yes, and that's assuming no unexpected situations arise."

Lu Mingfei rubbed his temples.

He certainly knew what Kaneki Ken meant by the unexpected situation.

If a troublesome elite knight suddenly appears, or if he is ambushed, Lu Mingfei will be reborn from the Blessed Point and start over.

After all, Lu Mingfei was a novice.

In terms of strength, his current actual strength is roughly as follows:
Exiled Soldier < Famyazra's Orc < Grik Knight ≈ Lu Mingfei ≤ Ordinary Lost Knight < Omen Demon
He turned to look at Kaneki Ken, his tone suddenly becoming somewhat uneasy:
"Hey Kaneki, you don't actually need to stay with me all the time. This place is filthy and smelly, and I can handle it on my own without much pressure."

Or you could give me a map or something, and I can go there myself.

Kaneki Ken gently wiped the blood from his kagune and said calmly:

“Lu Jun, you don’t need to do this. When we were at the border, time in the original world was slowed down to almost stopped.”

"I know I know!"

Lu Mingfei sighed dramatically and used the tip of his sword to pick up a piece of the still twitching severed limb:

"I just feel really bad about it. Look how disgusting this is, I'm sure I won't have an appetite for a couple of days after I get back."

For some reason, Kaneki Ken suddenly showed a strange expression.

He hesitated, but ultimately said nothing, only patting Lu Mingfei on the shoulder.
-
Lu Mingfei suddenly sat up in bed, his forehead still covered in cold sweat.

The curtains of the Norton Pavilion were blown by the wind, and a ray of sunlight shone in, casting the shadows of the leaves outside the window onto the ground.

The digital clock on the table showed 14:23 PM, an ordinary afternoon, as if the fighting was just a nightmare that was too real.

To avoid suspicion, Lu Mingfei went to the border area at midnight. When he returned, he was so exhausted that he was almost paralyzed, so he simply fell asleep.

When he woke up, he subconsciously reached for his waist, and through the fabric of his coat, his fingertips touched the outline of a hard, cold object—the hilt of Xiaolian's sword.

This alchemical weapon, crafted by Caesar Gattuso, lay quietly in its specially made leather sheath at his waist.

Lu Mingfei was stunned for a moment. His first thought was that the feel of the sword was wrong, completely different from the Storm Knight Greatsword. Then he realized that he was not in the border area, but in Kassel College.

Do I also have PTSD?

He muttered to himself and casually pulled out the "Night Practice" sword.

The bronze hilt gleamed with a matte metallic sheen in the sunlight, felt slightly cool to the touch, and had a moderate weight. The ancient dragon-scale-like patterns left a clear tactile sensation on the fingertips.

"Now it truly is a case of 'a dream of Zhuangzi's butterfly, and desolate clouds separating the Chu Terrace.'"

Lu Mingfei twitched the corners of his mouth and muttered under his breath:

"Sooner or later, I won't be able to tell which side is reality. Oh well, why think so much? Let's go eat."

Lu Mingfei rubbed his rumbling stomach and slowly strolled towards the cafeteria of Kassel College, carrying "Xiaolian".

(End of this chapter)