Elden Ring, building a legion of ashes

Chapter 131 Army Assembles (Thanks to King of Sparks)

The round table hall, and that room that echoed with the sound of blacksmithing all day long.

"Lord Xiugu, is my hunting hound's fangs fully upgraded?"

Xia Tong looked at the figure busy by the stove and asked.

"It was ready a day ago, kid."

The blacksmith Xiu Gu didn't even turn his head, his voice hoarse and impatient.

"Also, don't call me Master, just call me Xiugu."

He put down the hammer, blew away the sparks from his beard, and seemed particularly averse to the honorific title of "sir".

Xia Tong was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening.

Xiu Gu was once a mixed race and was imprisoned here by Queen Marika to atone for his sins, where he held a lowly status.

Calling him "sir" so casually might sound more like an insult to him.

However, in Xia Tong's mind, this person who could forge god-killing weapons was undoubtedly the most skilled blacksmith in the entire border region.

Thanks to the Discoloration Forging Stone given to her by "Half-Wolf" Blaze, plus the five thousand runes that Xia Tong spent.

This Hound Tooth has undergone a qualitative leap.

When the brand-new hunting dog, Longfang, was returned to Xia Tong, he could clearly feel that the cold light flowing on the blade was even more chilling than before.

The massive, curved blade seemed to come alive; with just a gentle swing, it emitted a deep hum.

The hounds with their teeth strengthened twice are now vastly different from before.

After leaving the blacksmith shop, Xia Tong originally intended to use the blessing teleportation to leave directly.

However, Colin, who had been standing in the corner of the hall, called out to him.

"You want to challenge Stoneville's demigod—'Limb-Setter' Greck, right?"

This usually rigid monk spoke with a hint of barely perceptible worry in his tone.

"In the last few days, seven or eight reckless Faded Ones have attempted to seize the Great Rune."

"But they all failed."

"They were left forever in Stoneville, their limbs cruelly cut off and reattached to the bodies of nobles, becoming part of a blasphemous ritual."

"Yes, thank you for reminding me, Brother Colin."

Xia Tong stopped and turned to bow respectfully to Colin.

"I will be careful."

Two days later, in front of Tongcheng Tunnel.

The Grik soldiers and exiles who were originally stationed here have all turned into cold corpses.

They lay sprawled on the ground, their blood staining the rubble at the tunnel entrance.

Instead, a massive mixed army was formed, enough to terrify anyone.

Thirty or forty enormous mountain demons, wielding giant stone clubs and greatswords, stood in rows in front of the tunnel.

Behind their massive bodies stood 80 elite soldiers dressed in black robes without insignia, standing silently.

To the left of this black-robed legion were nearly two hundred demi-human warriors wielding various crude weapons, and fifty or sixty fully armed soldiers from Hyde Fortress.

The demi-human legion not only included large demi-humans with towering bodies, but also several demi-human leaders wielding short swords.

Kenneth Hyde abandoned his usual style, shedding his ornate aristocratic robes and donning a tight-fitting black battle robe, beneath which lay close-fitting leather armor.

-

He stood tall and proud at the very front of the line.

"My lord, when...when will we attack?"

A giant, clearly the leader of the trolls, bent down and approached Kenneth Hyde, asking in a booming voice.

The local dialect spoken in the border areas is not fluent and is often broken.

"Wait a little longer."

Kenneth Hyde waved his hand dismissively.

"What are you waiting for?"

The giant's doubts deepened, but it still chose to obey.

Because Lord Xia Tong had repeatedly instructed that one must obey the orders of this human nobleman on the battlefield.

Although it didn't understand, it had to admit that this small human's methods of commanding demi-humans and soldiers were indeed far more sophisticated than theirs, which could only roar.

Meanwhile, atop a towering tower near the main gate of Stoneville.

Xia Tong and Neferi Lou stood side by side.

As the adopted daughter of Gideon Ophniel, the true ruler of the Round Table, Neferpitou is well-informed about the movements of the Faded Ones in the city and possesses immense influence.

"You mean—you've joined forces with a group of helpers outside the city to launch a frontal assault on Stoneville's main gate?"

'

Neferi put down her binoculars, her voice filled with undisguised shock.

"Yes."

Xia Tong nodded slightly, her gaze fixed on the distance.

"Are those the ones?"

Neferi raised her binoculars again, looking towards the distant Tongcheng Tunnel.

Through the lens, she could clearly see the dark, dense army and the dozens of towering mountain demons that resembled mobile fortresses.

You should know that those mountain demons who have been betrayed hate humans to the core and are by no means easy to get along with.

How could they possibly obey a human's orders to fight?

Neferi put down her binoculars, turned to look at the faded man beside her who was only slightly taller than her, her eyes filled with disbelief.

"What methods did you use to make those volatile mountain demons obey your commands?"

"And that fellow in the aristocratic robes—isn't that Kenneth Hyde? He's notoriously arrogant!"

Xia Tong smiled calmly as she looked at Neferi's shocked expression.

"No, I didn't convince them."

"Greek himself convinced them."

"Greek has proven through his years of atrocities that he is not a qualified monarch. He is just a greedy pig who happens to sit on the throne."

Neferi pouted, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. Xia Tong made it sound so easy, but just thinking about the details made her scalp tingle.

"Lady Neferi, when shall we make our move?"

Xia Tong glanced at the dark-skinned female warrior beside her, who exuded a strong sense of justice.

"Originally, I planned to lead the Faded Ones in the Round Table Hall to wage guerrilla warfare within the city, but since you've made such a big fuss—"

"Then let's proceed according to your plan."

"Take out the soldiers operating the cannons at the main gate first."

Neferi pointed to the defensive fortifications below, where heavy ballistae and flamethrowers were set up.

"Those fire chariots and fixed ballistae are incredibly powerful. Only by removing these obstacles can the outside army advance unimpeded."

"Okay, I'll do as you say."

Neferi gripped her twin axes tightly, her eyes blazing with fighting spirit.

Xia Tong stopped talking and gently shook the soul-summoning bell.

Accompanied by the clear sound of bells, the figure of the headless knight Ruthel materialized in the air.

Without the slightest hesitation, Xia Tong jumped off the tower, which was dozens of meters high.

His body stretched out completely in the air, like a cheetah.

Just as he was falling, Ruthel teleported to his side.

Her armored arm precisely grabbed Xia Tong by the back of her collar, and then, using the force of her fall, she threw her violently.

call-

Xia Tong soared through the sky like a bird, yet displayed an astonishing sense of balance before landing.

He deftly rolled to dissipate the force and landed steadily on the roof of a barracks in the distance.

Immediately afterwards, he nimbly leaped and darted between the rooftops, silently making his way toward the crossbowmen who were lying in ambush on the arrow towers in the distance.

"Xia Tong—she's quite an interesting person."

Neferi looked at the figure in the distance, whose movements were full of skill, and a slight smile appeared on her lips, revealing undisguised admiration.

Then, she took out a stone tablet engraved with special runes from her bosom and infused it with her spiritual power.

Buzz—

The stone tablet trembled rapidly, emitting an invisible wave.

Meanwhile, shadows loomed throughout Stoneville.

Forty or fifty people who had been lying in wait, dressed in the uniforms of soldiers in the city, all took out similar vibrating stone tablets from their pockets at the same time.

Looking at the stone tablet in their hands, their eyes flashed with a sharp light, and they all gripped their weapons tightly.

They knew their time had come.

The audience hall deep within Stoneville.

A nauseating mixture of smells filled the air.

The dried, stale smell of blood mingled with the cloying sweetness of expensive spices, creating a suffocating stench.

"Helping" Greck stood high above, looking down at the dismembered corpses in the center of the hall.

They were piled up haphazardly like dead dogs, with severed limbs scattered all over the ground.

These are all reckless and ignorant losers.

Some wore standard knight armor commonly seen in round-table halls, while others wore tattered robes of wandering swordsmen.

Of course, the rest were mostly infiltrators disguised as exiled soldiers or Grik soldiers.

These despicable fellows attempted to approach Grek under the cover of night, hoping to seize the Great Rune within him through assassination.

A sinister grin, a mixture of madness and contempt, appeared on Greck's distorted face.

"How dare you covet the power of Golden Greg!"

"I'm a demigod—a genuine demigod!"

Grek was so excited that he trembled all over, and his limbs were spasming.

He looked at the obese supervisor kneeling below, trembling, a cruel glint in his eyes.

"Well done."

"Continue the search and drag out all these rats hiding in the gutter."

Then, Greck dragged the heavy golden axe and paced back and forth beside the pile of corpses.

Behind him, the dozens of grafted, thin arms were twitching wildly like tendrils, making a cracking sound as the joints rubbed together.

"I'm going to cut off their hands and feet one by one."

"Take them all upon me, make them part of my strength."

"Do those guys in the Great Blessing really think they deserve the name of the 'Round Table' from the former royal city of Rodel?"

"They're nothing but a pack of stray dogs abandoned by grace, a bunch of useless trash!"

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly raised one of his deformed, enormous feet.

He stomped heavily on and shattered the breastplate of a faded person.

A tremendous brute force erupted instantly.

The corpse's chest cavity collapsed, emitting a series of teeth-grinding cracking sounds of bones breaking.

Greck's roar exploded under the dome of the hall, sending dust flying.

"I am the Son of Gold, the master of this Storm City!"

"What kind of rubbish 'Faded Ones' are they? And that old codger Gideon from the Round Table Hall, they want to mess with me too?"

"snort!"

Just then.

A loud "bang" was heard.

The heavy oak doors of the audience hall were violently slammed open.

A wiry military commander dressed in a noble robe scrambled in, losing his hat in the process.

"Something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened!"

Greck narrowed his eyes unhappily, staring intently at his flustered subordinate.

"What's the panic?!"

"Aren't they just a few faded individuals who slipped through the net?"

"Just find them one by one and kill them, what's the panic!"

"No—not those who have faded away, it's the army!"

The steward knelt on the ground, his voice shrill and distorted with extreme fear, almost screaming.

"The main gate! A large army has appeared at the main gate!"

"So many mountain demons—dozens of them!"

"And the flag of Hyde Fortress!"

"The one leading it is Kenneth Hyde!"

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