Elden Ring, building a legion of ashes

Chapter 147 The Secret Method of Recreating a New Body (Thanks to King of Starfire)

Xia Tong casually picked up a skewer of shrimp claw meat from the campfire and put it in her mouth. Biting through the crispy, slightly charred skin, she found the shrimp meat inside plump and juicy.

Xia Tong's previous question left Melina somewhat silent.

Fortunately, his slightly rough chewing sounds diluted the awkwardness between the two.

After a moment, Xia Tong swallowed her food and continued, "Do you know about the Great Rune of the Unborn?"

"I know." Melina nodded gently. "You mean the Great Rune that 'Queen of the Full Moon' Renara possesses? I heard it was a farewell gift from Lord Rdagan to her years ago."

"That's right, that's it." Xia Tong stared intently at the fire. "Perhaps, that Great Rune can directly materialize a real body for you."

"No," Melina shook her head, her eyelids slightly lowered. "The Great Rune that cannot be born cannot create life from nothing. Its true core authority is rebirth."

"Any being who wishes to reincarnate through this Great Rune must already possess a physical body as a vessel."

Upon hearing this explanation, Xia Tong seemed to fall silent.

After a moment of contemplation, he looked up again and posed an extremely bold hypothesis: "What if we used 'silver teardrops' as the medium?"

"Silver teardrops? You actually know about such an ancient creation?" Melina's expression instantly turned extremely shocked.

She always felt that Xia Tong was unfathomable, because he would always, intentionally or unintentionally, reveal the ancient secrets buried deep in the border region.

"I also know that there are some strange mages who are proficient in puppetry hidden in the land of Lienia."

Xia Tong analyzed clearly and eloquently, "If we can use puppetry techniques, and supplement them with silver teardrops that have the properties of imitation and transformation, we might be able to perfectly replicate a body for you."

Then, the Great Rune of those destined for birth will bestow upon them the divinity of "rebirth"—so, Melina, will you finally possess a body of your own?

This crazy idea had been swirling in Xia Tong's mind for months, and he finally voiced it today.

"No one has ever attempted this before—" A rare, intense emotion flickered in Melina's usually calm eyes. "Perhaps—perhaps."

As a soul that can only rely on the whistle of the spirit horse, how could she not yearn to experience the real body of this world?

Boo!

A clear eagle's cry echoed from the distant sky.

The Stormhawk descended slowly through the mist, and through the faint senses of its soul, it relayed accurate information: a dilapidated wooden hut had indeed been found in the waters ahead, and in front of the hut was a huge iron pot steaming and cooking shrimp.

"Well done!"

Xia Tong perked up and finished the last sip of the soup. Then he blew the spirit horse whistle, mounted Toret's horse in a flash of light, and prepared to set off.

The Stormhawk hovered slowly at low altitude, guiding Xia Tong below through the mist.

However, even though Xia Tong tried his best to choose the most secluded and shallow routes, monsters hidden in the thick fog continued to suddenly attack him.

This made him somewhat agitated, and he secretly lamented: if only he had learned the magic of turning into nothingness sooner, it would have saved him a lot of trouble.

If you also carry a small bottle of Krep that can eliminate sound, the combined effect would be unimaginable.

In this perilous border region, you can practically go wherever you want.

"He is, after all, the nominal lord of Stoneville City, yet he has to travel alone through muddy puddles, enduring wind and rain." It's ridiculous.

Xia Tong couldn't help but shake her head and let out a self-deprecating laugh.

Back in Stoneville, he had once made the outlandish suggestion that they could gather the city's army and escort him all the way to the Academy of Reyalucaria.

But unsurprisingly, this proposal was met with strong opposition from Kenneth Hyde and the two Forge Knights.

Firstly, Stoneville City, having just experienced a brutal civil war, was already severely weakened, and its current remnants were simply incapable of launching a cross-border expedition against Lienia.

Secondly, although the Kalia royal family has declined, the academy still controls a large Cuckoo Knights and a legion of mages. Launching a war rashly would be tantamount to throwing an egg against a rock.

Furthermore, an overly grand military march might alert those forces hiding in the shadows.

"Ring ring"

Left with no other choice, Xia Tong could only ring the Soul Summoning Bell and summon Oreg as well.

Both he and Ruthel can teleport, making it as easy for them to travel even through muddy swamps.

Most importantly, with them protecting them on both sides, the combat efficiency in clearing out those swamp monsters was astonishingly high, saving Xia Tong a lot of time and energy.

However, as Xia Tong entered a grove of trees above shallow water, the surrounding fog gradually became thicker, and visibility dropped to less than ten meters.

As Xia Tong ventured deeper into the dark forest, eerie and sinister bell sounds gradually began to echo around the area.

This bell is completely different from the soul-summoning bell that Xia Tong uses to summon ashes.

If Xia Tong's summoning bell is to be described, then the sound of the bell is ethereal and leans towards divinity.

The sound of bells coming from all around at that moment sounded extremely mournful and shrill, like a summons from hell.

Before Xia Tong could react...

"Hiss, three figures riding ghostly warhorses charged toward him like phantoms from the thick fog directly in front of him."

"Summoner!"

They wore tattered, gray-black cloaks, the wide hems of which danced wildly in the damp, cold wind, vaguely revealing their withered, lifeless, ashen limbs beneath.

"Ho--ho--"

They emitted low, hissing sounds that were chilling.

Ruth immediately transformed into a stream of light and appeared before Xia Tong.

She pushed her massive Eclipse Shield forward, sending a shield blast hurtling violently towards the mounted Summoner in the center.

"Bang!"

A muffled thud.

The latter, along with his horse, was thrown off by the immense force, tumbling awkwardly from the illusory ghost horse.

The remaining two summoners, riding ghost horses, continued to flank Xia Tong from the left and right.

Oregon's response was more direct and violent.

He conjured a storm on the spot, and his twin swords, like a meat grinder, met the summoner on his left.

"Leave this last one to me."

Xia Tong snorted coldly and gently shook the demi-human queen's staff in her hand.

A dark blue magic stone suddenly materialized behind the summoner on the right.

Then it sped toward the back of his head at an extremely fast speed.

"laugh!"

This unexpected attack knocked the summoner off his horse.

Xia Tong didn't stop. She immediately swung her staff again and fired another Radiant Stone Great Magic Gravel.

The head-sized magic pebbles slammed directly into the Summoner's torso like cannonballs.

"boom!"

The Radiant Stone Great Particle exploded on its body, blasting it into a pile of minced meat, with mud and black blood splattering everywhere.

Xia Tong looked up, and on the other side, Oreg and Ruthel also cleanly and efficiently ended their battles.

Just as Xia Tong was about to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Ring! Ring! Ring!"

Suddenly, ringtones blared all around!

From the shallow water and on the tree branches, spirit summoners wearing tattered cloaks kept crawling out from the hidden corners.

In an instant, more than thirty spirit summoners appeared like ghosts in the thick fog, surrounding Xia Tong and her two companions.

Surround.

Compared to the previous cavalrymen, these infantry summoners lurking in the ruins and swamps appeared even more twisted.

They resembled some kind of giant spider, crawling frantically through the moss-covered mud, each wearing a rusty metal headband.

The cold iron rings dug deep into their decaying temples, looking both eerie and painful.

"Splash!"

They all raised their withered arms in unison, and below each of their wrists hung a bronze bell that emitted a faint glow.

"Ding!" As the first bell rang, the surrounding summoners followed suit.

Suddenly, the ringtones blared, sounding like countless demons screaming in my ears.

When the summoner frantically shook his arms, the sound of the bell striking the inner wall was not crisp, but rather a dull thud.

A hollow, yet penetratingly powerful lament.

"Holy shit!"

Xia Tong suddenly felt a headache coming on.

It wasn't out of fear, but rather because the rapid, shrill ringing of these bells was truly jarring, clearly exerting some kind of mental influence, attempting to affect one's mind.

Fortunately, Xia Tong had the blessing of the Great Rune of Greck, and her mental strength far exceeded that of ordinary people, so she was able to force herself to stay awake.

If it were an ordinary faded being, facing more than thirty spirit summoners ringing their bells at the same time, they would probably be knocked unconscious in the mud by the demonic sound on the spot.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh" As the summoners frantically shook their bells, one after another charred black fireball appeared out of thin air around them.

However, they only look like fireballs; in reality, they are vengeful spirit flames composed of pure resentful souls.

These charred, vengeful spirits, accompanied by mournful shrieks, instantly gathered around Xia Tong and the other two, with more than fifty of these deadly spiritual flames.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

These vengeful spirits, trailing charred, burning tails, attacked Xia Tong and the other two.

Xia Tong sat calmly on the back of the spirit horse Toret, facing the overwhelming attacks. He slowly raised the demi-human queen's staff, and a huge amount of magic power instantly gathered at the tip of the staff.

A massive crescent-shaped arc of brilliance materialized out of thin air, then skimmed along the water's surface and sped toward the three or four Summoners closest to it.

Thanks to the improvement in intelligence, the Radiant Stone Curve that Xia Tong is now using is much larger and faster than when he first learned it from Teacher Serian.

"The pyroxene arc that sped out at high speed stirred up a violent ripple on the shallow water."

It then slammed into the several summoners in front of it.

"what!"

The latter was immediately sent flying backward by the force of the impact.

One of them even slammed into a thick, dead tree with a loud "bang," then collapsed to the ground like a limp rag, no longer moving.

This powerful arc of radium stone directly tore a gap in Xia Tong's encircled battle circle.

Then, he lightly kicked Torret's horse's belly, and it charged forward fiercely.

However, the charred black vengeful spirits and flames summoned by the spirit summoner are themselves sentient.

As Xia Tong rode the Torret out of the encirclement, the vengeful spirits and flames that had previously missed their target immediately began to spin rapidly in the air.

Most of them, trailing flames, chased after Xia Tong like a persistent, lingering ailment.

Instantly, flames shot into the sky behind Xia Tong, like a moving wall of charred fire.

Fortunately, they don't fly very fast.

Xia Tong glanced back and secretly rejoiced: "Luckily, I rushed out decisively. Otherwise, being trapped inside and bombarded by these vengeful spirits would have been very troublesome."

After breaking out of the battle, Xia Tong immediately created distance and began riding her horse in large circles around the group of Summoners.

Dozens of vengeful spirit flames behind him drew long arcs in the air, relentlessly biting at the rear of Xia Tong's horse.

Meanwhile, in the sky, Xia Tong's summoned Stormhawk circled, waiting for its chance to strike.

The fireballs below were too dense for it to dive down.

It's clear that most of the firepower has been drawn away by Xia Tong.

The war eagle seized the opening, let out a sharp cry, and swooped down towards a summoner below.

"Whoosh!"

The two sharp, thin knives strapped to its claws, propelled by its dive, slashed viciously across the body of one of the summoners.

"Crack!" A crisp sound.

The latter's arm, which was raised high and frantically shaking the bell, was instantly severed by the thin knife!

The severed arm, along with the bell that emitted the demonic sound, fell far into the swamp.

Compared to Xia Tong, who was riding around in circles like a kite, Ruth appeared much more relaxed.

She wielded a large shield and was extremely skilled in defense.

The charred, blackened flames of vengeful spirits bombarded her Eclipse Shield, only exploding into plumes of black smoke, causing almost no real damage to her.

Moreover, her body could disappear and reappear at will throughout the entire battle, like a true ghost.

Each time she raised her spear, the flaming spear with black and gold flames would hurled out with deadly force, piercing a summoner with pinpoint accuracy. Then, the black flames of death would instantly spread, turning the latter into charred ashes.

As for Oreg on the other side, he was even more insane.

He brandished his greatswords in both hands, transforming himself into a raging storm of blades.

Wherever there are many spirit summoners, he rushes there like a whirlwind.

The shallow waters of Lienia were whipped high by his storm, almost forming a small waterspout.

The vengeful spirits that tried to attack him bombarded the water curtain surrounding the storm, and were instantly torn apart and scattered, unable to penetrate the storm and harm his body.

Then, one after another, the summoners were swept into this terrifying storm, and amidst screams, they were completely cut into pieces by the greatsword.

As for Xia Tong, she gently waved her staff while trailing behind the trail of vengeful spirit flames.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

He kept shooting out streaks of pyroxene meteors.

Compared to the wide-ranging and powerful Supersonic Gravel, Supersonic Meteor is faster and its trajectory is easier to control.

Each meteor burst through the air as if it had eyes, accurately striking the wrists of the summoners who were casting spells.

"Clang!"

Without the bell as a medium, these spirit summoners can no longer summon vengeful spirits and flames, greatly reducing their combat power.

"What a pity, you've run into me, Lord of Stoneville, the future King of Elden."

Xia Tong looked at the one-sided battle ahead, shook her head, and said with a hint of smugness.

If it were any other ordinary Faded One, ambushed by more than thirty Summoners in this thick fog, they would probably have been brutally killed in the swamp long ago.

The battle ended quickly.

Xia Tong put away her staff and continued to advance towards where Brother Shrimp was, led by the Storm Warhawk circling in the sky.

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