Lord of Cinder in American Comics

I'm a complete novice, a total complete beginner, even though my outline is quite comprehensive. But ultimately, writing it down is just my own self-indulgence.

No one points out my mistakes, and I will forever remain immersed in my own world, unable to extricate myself, and will never understand the root of my problems.

So, if you have any opinions on my writing, please feel free to point them out to me. If there are any issues that need improvement, I will humbly accept them and correct them immediately.

Thank you to everyone who has been supporting Efan (a popular online community for food lovers) until now, thank you for your votes. There will be no app recommendation slots this week, and judging from the word count, it will be ready for publication soon.

Thanks for the suggestion, brother, to "steal vegetables in your spare time".

Thank you.

I thank you for the food I was hungry.

## Chapter 87: The Escape Trio

Even in times of global crisis, the Security Council is considering how to bring others into the regulatory system and seeking countermeasures.

Ash was the first assistant they found.

He has a long track record of oversight and no other misconduct. The only relevant incident in the report is Ash's repeated retelling of his story of linking the fire for a period of time.

This was irrelevant to the council; if power came from faith, then all that was needed in the struggle was to destroy that faith.

The best way to break their faith is to get them to join another powerful cult—the Money God Cult, where the Ami who keeps printing money is the cult's god.

However, the power derived from one's own cultivation, which is completely under one's own control, is seen by the council as a threat and a danger.

After comparing the two, Ash has become the Security Council's current target for winning over.

Ash hesitated for a moment before saying, "I need to ask the Pope. After all, the Firelink Shrine is currently only overseen by me and the Fire Keeper. I will suggest that the Pope send one or two saints and knights over."

After hearing Ash's words, the members of the Security Council looked at the Firelink Shrine in disbelief, comparing its scale and number of people to the original dilapidated site.

In an instant, Ash became like an ascetic in everyone's eyes. As for the items donated by Kingpin, they were intentionally or unintentionally ignored.

The annual distribution of wealth by religious groups across the country can reach as high as 300 billion, and this is all publicly disclosed liquid assets. Kingpin's assets are completely unacceptable.

"Then you should inquire about it as soon as possible. New York needs churches that make outstanding contributions like this."

After praising Ash, the Security Council expressed its strong support for Ash's missionary work and propaganda, as long as it could bring in forces to fight against these mages.

Before the discussion was even finished, Ash's private channel was filled with a continuous stream of calls.

Signaling to the wax-headed sages to escalate the situation further, Ash disconnected from the Security Council.

The call connected, and all that could be heard was Stark panting and shouting, "Ash, Ash, help! That vortex is getting bigger and bigger!"

Stark and Cassell, who had been temporarily forgotten, received news that they had found Jack and were preparing to return the way they came, but a vortex created by the power of Sithon blocked their way.

The crimson vortex continued to expand; this was clearly not a move that righteous people would use. The two decisively led Jack away in a more distant direction.

However, the vortex behind them continued to expand, causing the two to frantically flee and evade its pursuit.

At that moment, Cassell, carrying Jack, charged ahead, while Stark frantically ran after him to escape.

Feeling that he was about to give up, Stark contacted Ashe to ask about the current situation.

Sensing the location of the two white tree branches and confirming their direction, Ash urged Stark to quicken his pace: "Stark, you need to run faster."

Stark, panting heavily, asked in confusion, "What do you mean? You can't handle that vortex? I saw someone in the sky casting a spell to suppress it."

"No, the vortex can be dealt with, but some of those fleeing orcs have headed in your direction. They're about to find you."

As soon as Ash finished speaking, Stark, who didn't believe him, glanced behind him and saw some small black dots moving on the ice cap in the distance.

Some orcs who couldn't make it in time were swallowed by the blood vortex without even letting out a wail, while the remaining orcs ran frantically on all fours.

"Oh my god, what the hell are we going to do!"

Stark rushed toward Cassell and put the headset he had just pulled off Cassell back into Cassell's ear.

Ash and Constantine's current goal is to seal away the power of Sithon. If they rush to do so now to save Stark and Cassel, it would be a case of starting strong but finishing weak.

Sending soldiers was clearly too late.

Sensing the location of the two and thinking of the white tree branches on their bodies, Ash instantly had an idea.

“Stark, Cassel, listen up! You only have one chance now, and it all depends on your luck.”

"Tell us your methods quickly, or we won't even have a chance to try our luck before the guys behind us eat us up."

Stark urged Ash on, while he helped Cassel lift the little boy Jack, the two of them sharing the boy's weight so that they could run faster.

"There is a small reef in front of you. Just find some soil on the reef, stick a white tree branch in the soil, and pray. Then a giant guardian will come."

"The giants will attack anyone who gets close to the White Tree, but they will not attack anyone who has a branch of the White Tree. So those of you who have branches must stand in front of the giants' attacks so that the others can survive."

After telling Stark the solution and guiding Stark and Cassell toward the reef, Ash turned her attention to Sithon ahead.

After all, this Sithon is the real competitor now. If something happens between Stark and Cassel, we can just resurrect them. With the scent of the White Tree branch, their souls won't be taken away by Hell.

As for whether they will live as immortals or humans in the future, that depends on their adaptability.

Stark and Cassell, in a race against time, finally found the reef Ash had mentioned.

At this moment, in their line of sight, several reefs extended out from the ice surface, forming an irregular circle in a circling manner.

Upon arrival, the two began frantically searching for soil to insert branches, but finding even a handful of soil on the frozen ocean was incredibly difficult.

In the center of the ring-shaped reef, even with constant erosion by the waves, mud still remains. But this is beneath a thick layer of ice.

It was completely impossible for the two of them to break through the thick ice layer.

Stark was frantically analyzing the ice when the sound of ice chiseling nearby snapped him out of his daze.

All that could be seen was Kassel kneeling on the ice, holding a church pistol, gripping the muzzle, and violently pounding the ice next to the reef with the butt of the gun.

Under Kassel's command, Stark spotted a hint of brown, the color of moss on the reef.

Mosses that live near sea level can anchor some of the soil and obtain necessary substances from the sea according to the ebb and flow of the tides.

At this moment, the moss was their only hope for survival.

Stark quickly reached Cassel's side, ignoring the biting cold of the ice, one of them chiseling at the ice while the other cleared away the broken pieces.

The two searched for traces of moss as much as possible, carefully collecting any soil they could find and putting it into their pockets.

The little boy Jack was acting as a lookout, placed on a large rock, searching for any orcs that might come.

## Chapter 88: The Performance Ends

"They're coming soon!"

The little boy, Jack, warned the two who were still searching through the dirt.

In Jack's eyes, the orcs in the distance seemed to have smelled something and were rushing over along the route they had come from.

In the urgency of the situation, Stark, unsure if the mud mixed with moss would be enough, poured the mud from his pocket directly into a depression on a rock.

Stark hesitated as he pulled out the white tree branch hidden in his inner pocket.

Without waiting at all, Kassel planted his white tree branch into the soil.

"Why isn't there any reaction? Is there not enough soil?"

He called Jack over, and took the little boy into his arms. Kassel looked at the unresponsive tree branch and felt a sense of despair.

Stark carefully recalled what Ash had said and found the key point: "Ash said to pray!"

However, he was immediately discouraged, as he had only met Ash for a short time and knew nothing about Ash's story of linking the fire.

Kassel, however, began to make continuous attempts. Having spent a happy boyhood with Ash, he gradually learned about the characters from different eras in the story of linking the fire through Ash's words.

Although he wasn't quite sure who he was praying to, Kassel kept trying.

"I beseech you, great exile Rudolf, heir of the blood of the wolf of Artorias, King Yhorm the Giant, Aldrich the Devourer of Gods, Prince of Lothric..."

He called out the names of all the kings in the stories, but the white tree in front of him still did not react at all.

Without any response, a desperate Kassel knelt before the white tree branches and gave up on praying.

Stark listened to Cassel's string of titles and was astonished at how Cassel could utter so many words in one breath.

But seeing the unresponsive white tree, Stark realized that such prayers were of no use.

However, the quick-witted Stark still pointed out the key point, saying eagerly, "Isn't there some kind of most powerful god? Why don't we just pray to him!"

In an instant, Cassel blurted out, "The great Sun King Gwyn, I beg for your help."

At this call, the branches of the white tree in front of Kassel began to grow, and in a very short time it became a white tree as tall as a person, and it continued to grow.

Stark, still covered in white tree branches, vaguely saw a giant covered in strips of cloth on a tall clock tower in his line of sight, raising a life-sized bow beside him.

The giant, who had raised his great bow, picked up an arrow from beside him.

The description of arrows is a deliberate choice based on their placement beneath the giant's massive body. To Stark, however, they appear to be nothing more than siege spears.

The giant drew his bow and released an arrow into the air with tremendous force. The massive, hard bow, in the giant's hands, created a sonic boom cloud on the spot.

The arrow sliced ​​through the air and arrived in front of the white tree in an instant.

The moment the giant came into view, Stark stepped in front of Cassell and Jack. Cassell held Jack in his arms, shielding him beneath him. Stark's not-so-large frame completely protected the two of them behind him.

The arrow pointed at Kassel and fell on the rocks beside the white tree.

The immense impact completely destroyed the surrounding reefs, leaving only the reef with the white tree standing there.

Despite such immense power, the shockwave gently grazed Stark's body, causing no harm to Stark or the two people behind him.

"Friend, try your best, I don't want to shoot."

A language that he couldn't understand at all appeared in Stark's ears, but strangely, Stark could understand its meaning perfectly.

With the surrounding reefs destroyed, Stark and Cassel were exposed to the orcs in the distance.

The orcs roared and charged toward the food not far in front of them. Stark could even see the fangs in the mouths of the orcs at the front and the saliva dripping from their mouths.

To protect the two behind him, Stark dared not make the slightest movement. If he did, and the arrows targeted Cassell and Jack, he would regret it.

Even when the orc was within reach, Stark remained motionless.

The orc, crawling on all fours, leaped toward Stark, its mouth aimed at Stark's neck.

Just before the feast was about to be in his mouth, a giant spear pierced through the excited orc and pinned him to the ice.