Elden Ring, building a legion of ashes

Chapter 146 Melina, Do You Want to Have Your Own Body?

The first generation of Platinum Children, these created beings, were born with crippled legs and short lifespans, making them truly tragic creations.

"Splash! Splash!"

Five or six withered, pale-faced first-generation Platinum Sons spotted Xia Tong and, as if smelling blood, frantically crawled on the water's surface. These first-generation Platinum Sons let out shrill, ear-piercing laughter as they charged toward Xia Tong.

Their faces, devoid of human features and resembling mummies, bore only eyes filled with extreme resentment towards the living.

Just as a Platinum Child suddenly pounced into the air, attempting to attack Xia Tong on horseback with its sharp nails and teeth.

"Pfft!"

A sudden burst of flames shot out from nowhere, piercing straight through it in mid-air!

Compared to Ruthel's enormous body and tower shield, these first-generation Platinum Sons appeared so small and fragile.

Not to mention that they were originally so dry that they looked like skeletons.

With a blank expression, Ruthel swung her spear sharply, tossing the corpse of the Platinum Child aside like trash.

Then, Xia Tong waved her staff repeatedly from behind.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Several brilliant meteors pierced the mist, accurately striking the remaining Platinum Sons.

The powerful magic pierced right through their skulls.

A few splashes of blood appeared on the water's surface, but they quickly disappeared without a trace, sinking back into the mud.

"This can be considered saving you from your misery, right? —"

Xia Tong looked at the gradually sinking corpses of the Son of Platinum and said softly.

The area was shrouded in thick fog, resulting in extremely low visibility.

Xia Tong dared not gallop wildly as before, but instead rode Toret, remaining vigilant and slowly making its way through the shallow water.

However, an unexpected event still occurred.

"Click—click—"

A loud, chilling scraping sound of carapaces suddenly came from the thick fog directly ahead.

Xia Tong stopped in her tracks instantly.

.

His keen intuition, akin to that of a Great Rune, caused all the muscles in his body to tense up instantly.

A murky wave, carrying a strong, putrid stench, was rapidly approaching him from afar.

Without warning, an extremely large black shadow violently tore through the fog in front of them!

"boom!"

Accompanied by a huge splash of water.

A giant Lienian lobster, the size of a small house, suddenly appeared before Xia Tong's eyes!

Its entire body is covered with a thick, dark green shell covered with moss and barnacles, resembling a heavy armored vehicle.

Two red eyes, each the size of a fist, gleamed with a ferocious light in the mist.

The most terrifying thing is its pair of disproportionately large pincers.

The pliers were covered with sharp barbs, and even a casual swing in the air stirred up a foul stench.

"Oh? So it's the 'Shrimp King' who's here."

Xia Tong looked at the enormous thing in front of her and a cold smile appeared on her lips.

"Rutil, don't do anything later, just watch from the sidelines."

Ruthel struck the massive shield with her spear, producing a clang, to indicate that she understood, and then stepped aside.

Since beheading Grik in Stoneville, I leveled up 10 levels in one go and activated Grik's Great Rune.

Xia Tong felt that her current state was terrifyingly strong.

But he hasn't had a proper opportunity to properly test where his current limits really are.

The Deathborn One I encountered yesterday and the Platinum Child I just fought are not even qualified to be "test stones".

And this "King of Shrimp" has arrived at just the right time.

Xia Tong did not use magic and instead hung the hound's fangs back on Toret's saddle.

Then, he slowly drew out the extremely heavy and wide Lion Greatsword from the baggage behind him.

Faced with a giant lobster, a monster covered in heavy natural armor.

A curved sword like the Hound's Tooth, which is geared towards cutting, might have some difficulty breaking through the shell.

The Lion Greatsword, a heavy sword that relies purely on weight and brute force to smash people, is perfectly suited for dealing with this kind of hard-shelled monster.

The fog rolled in, and a foul wind swept over us.

The giant lobster, brandishing its terrifying claws covered in barbs, charged forward like a moving mountain of flesh, exuding an overwhelming aura.

When it was still more than ten meters away from Xia Tong, it suddenly stopped.

The abdominal segments contracted violently, and the mouthparts suddenly opened.

"puff--!!"

A jet of extremely turbid, high-pressure water with tremendous penetrating power shot straight toward Xia Tong's face!

"Well done!"

Thanks to the comprehensive attribute enhancement brought by the previous Grek's Great Rune.

At this moment, the water column, which appears to be as fast as lightning to ordinary people, seems to have slowed down.

Xia Tong did not choose to dodge; he casually raised the incredibly heavy Lion Greatsword in his hand.

With his arms bulging with muscles, he suddenly delivered an extremely simple and violent downward chop.

The broad blade traced a deadly arc in the air as it descended from top to bottom.

"Tch, 7"

The sound of water being cut open rang out.

The turbid, high-pressure water jet, powerful enough to shatter rocks, was smoothly cleaved in two the instant it touched the blade of the Lion Greatsword by the terrifying force attached to the blade!

The water column transformed into two curtains of water, grazing past Xia Tong's side and crashing into the mud behind him, blasting out two large craters.

"Too weak."

"Shrimp King, did you not eat enough before you went out today? Is that all the strength you have?"

Xia Tong, holding the greatsword in one hand, taunted loudly.

Seeing that the water jet attack was so easily neutralized, the giant lobster seemed to sense the provocation and let out an extremely angry hiss.

Its massive body lunged forward again, its two giant claws like enormous scissors, determined to cut the "little thing" in front of it in two.

A glint flashed in Xia Tong's eyes, and instead of retreating, she advanced.

He raised his right foot high, then stomped it heavily into the muddy swamp beneath him with tremendous force.

Combat Skill - Storm Step!

"boom--!!"

A violent gust of air, centered on his landing point, swept wildly outwards like a thunderclap from a clear sky.

The sudden burst of a circular, howling gale actually managed to halt the savage charge of the giant lobster's massive body.

Even the powerful airflow caused its sturdy limbs to lose their balance in the storm, and its massive body staggered backward uncontrollably, stirring up a spray of water.

"Just as I expected."

Xia Tong watched this scene with secret delight.

As he became more proficient in combat skills and his mental attributes improved.

With the same amount of focus invested, the combat skills are much more effective than before.

If you're willing to put in more focus to activate it, the power of this storm can be increased to another level.

"Fine, I'm not going to make fun of you anymore."

Xia Tong's eyes narrowed, and she gripped the hilt of the Lion Greatsword tightly with both hands, rushing towards the giant lobster that was leaning back.

Then, he leaped high into the air and, with all his might, slashed his sword hard at the giant lobster's right claw.

"Snap!!!"

A very crisp sound of shells cracking.

The base of a lobster's claws is relatively thin, where the joints connect.

Add to that Xia Tong's terrifying strength and the weight of the Lion Greatsword.

This giant claw, which it was so proud of, was cleanly and decisively severed by a single sword strike!

"Bang!"

The huge pincers landed heavily in the shallow water, splashing out a cloud of mud.

A clear, viscous fluid gushed out like a fountain from its smooth wound.

Xia Tong pressed her advantage relentlessly, unleashing another ferocious spinning slash.

"Snap!"

The giant lobster's left claw also followed suit, breaking off and falling to the ground.

"Hiss!!"

The giant lobster, having lost its claws, let out an extremely painful and low growl.

It finally realized that the two-legged creature in front of it was a monster it couldn't afford to mess with.

Seeing that the situation was not good, it instinctively turned around and tried to escape the water.

It must be said that this giant lobster was still incredibly fast at escaping in shallow water.

Its limbs thrashed wildly, and in just over a second, it darted away more than ten meters.

"Trying to run away?"

Xia Tong snorted coldly, pushed off the ground with both legs, and leaped into the air like a cannonball.

Then, he spun rapidly in the air, using the force of the spin to throw the incredibly heavy Lion Greatsword in his hand like a javelin!

"call--!!"

The heavy lion greatsword flew through the air at high speed, emitting a piercing whistling sound.

Xia Tong seemed to have anticipated its escape route long ago.

Thanks to the frequent use of magic for ranged attacks during this period.

Xia Tong possesses an astonishingly accurate ability to judge the trajectory of such high-speed moving objects.

"Pfft—!!"

The powerful sword strike pierced deep into the hardest shell on the back of the giant lobster.

The immense penetrating force pinned its massive body firmly to the muddy swamp, rendering it unable to move.

"Hiss"

The giant lobster struggled frantically on the ground, but it could not break free from the spikes of the greatsword.

Seeing that the other party had completely lost the ability to escape.

Xia Tong stepped forward, too lazy to torture the "Shrimp King" who had left him with countless psychological traumas in the game any longer.

Then, gripping the sword with both hands, he aimed at the lobster's soft abdominal segments and slashed it in half!

"Pfft!"

Bodily fluids splashed.

Its massive body was instantly split in two, completely extinguishing its life force.

"I wonder if the meat inside the pincers is tastier, or if the meat at the tail is more chewy?"

Xia Tong sheathed her greatsword, looked at the enormous corpse on the ground, and stroked her chin.

"Rutil, come lend a hand!"

Xia Tong waved her hand and began to call on the headless knight who was on guard to help her prepare the ingredients.

To be honest, Xia Tong hasn't had a drop of water since this morning, and her stomach has been growling with hunger for a long time.

Xia Tong immediately drew his reverse dagger, and the sharp short sword easily sliced ​​open the thick, hard shell of the Lienian giant lobster's tail along the gaps in its carapace.

Then pick out a small piece of translucent raw shrimp meat.

"In border areas, there shouldn't be any problem with common parasites, right?"

He then put the shrimp meat into his mouth. At first, there was a faint fishy taste, but then an extremely pure sweetness bloomed on his taste buds.

"I didn't expect the meat to be so chewy."

Xia Tong couldn't help but chew a few more times. The shrimp meat was rich in moisture, had a chewy texture, and filled her mouth with a sweet, refreshing juice that invigorated her.

However, the Lienian giant lobster was simply too enormous. Xia Tong could only rummage through the bag on Torret's back and find two empty cans.

After filling one of the jars with the freshest tail meat, I smashed the two huge claws and took out the plump claw meat to stuff into another jar.

After tidying up, Xia Tong looked around.

This area of ​​Lake Lienia is shrouded in thick fog all year round, and countless submerged dead trees and ruins are scattered on the water.

If we keep searching aimlessly like this, when will we ever find that girl named Laya?

Finding someone in this vast swamp is like finding a needle in a haystack.

"I've got it! How could I have forgotten about this guy?"

With a crisp "ding-a-ling" sound, Xia Tong summoned the Stormhawk.

Although this war eagle is not very intelligent, it can still understand basic commands, after all, it was once a soldier under Storm King Mo.

Xia Tong simply expressed her needs to it: to find a dilapidated house, the most obvious feature of which was a large iron pot in front of the door where lobsters were being cooked.

The war eagle let out a clear cry, then spread its wings and took flight, slowly rising into the mist-shrouded sky.

The reason why Warhawk wasn't allowed to directly search for Laya's whereabouts was simply impractical.

The entire Lake Lienia was shrouded in thick fog, and even from high altitudes, the view was extremely limited, making it almost like being blind.

It would be better to go directly to the shrimp-cooking hut of the rogue "Brother Shrimp".

There must be a fire burning in front of that little house, used for cooking shrimp. With the firelight and thick white smoke as a guide, it would be much easier to find it even in the fog.

While the Stormhawk was conducting aerial reconnaissance, Xia Tong led his horse gradually toward the edge of the shallow water area.

Beside a pile of broken stones in a sheltered ruin, he lit a warm campfire.

The shrimp tail meat from one jar was poured into a small pot to make a broth, while the plump claw meat from the other jar was skewered and grilled directly over the fire.

Soon, an enticing aroma filled the damp, cool air.

"Melina, if only you had your own body. Then I could share this feast with you; it looks absolutely delicious."

As soon as he finished speaking, specks of blue light converged.

Melina's figure slowly materialized beside the campfire.

She tidied her long hair behind her ear, leaned forward slightly, and carefully observed the chunks of meat simmering in the small pot.

In the scalding broth, the originally translucent shrimp meat quickly curled up amidst the bubbling white foam, eventually turning into a creamy white.

"It looks really good, let's scoop it out and try it," Melina said softly, a rare hint of curiosity flashing in her eyes.

Upon hearing this, Xia Tong immediately used a wooden fork to pick up a piece of piping hot shrimp meat, blew on it to cool it down, and then tore it into a large bite.

The cooked giant lobster meat is extremely tender and melts in your mouth with just a gentle touch.

The hot, rich, and delicious juice overflowed from the corners of my mouth, instantly dispelling the chill brought by the lake area.

"Delicious! So delicious!"

Xia Tong couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

"It's alright. Although I don't have a physical body, I don't have to worry about food and drink, and I don't feel hungry or cold," Melina smiled slightly.

From their first meeting in Nymgfu to their months of sharing life and death experiences, the two have gradually become acquainted.

"So, Melina—do you want to have your own body?" Xia Tong asked casually.