Lord of Cinder in American Comics

Standing outside a rounded doorway, Geralt said to Clint, "Next, once you're inside, whatever you do, do NOT look to your left. You don't have a pass here, and if you attract the Black Knight's attention, he'll kill you on the spot."

This warning made Clint swallow hard and nod to show that he understood.

Following Geralt, Clint stared at Geralt's heels, keeping a close eye on him.

Upon entering the doorway, an indescribable sense of oppression emanated from the left, as if one were being roasted next to a flame, or as if one could hear the wails of a large creature being slaughtered in red and black magma.

This oppressive feeling from within made Clint afraid to look up, as if he would see a giant dragon spewing flames at him and burning him to ashes.

The oppressive feeling only gradually subsided after Geralt opened an iron gate and led Clint through it.

Clint was now covered in sweat, looking as if he had just been pulled out of the water.

Gasping for breath, Clint asked with certainty, his voice trembling with the feeling of being pricked by needles, "This is the Black Knight you were talking about? I don't even have the courage to face him! I wasn't this terrified when I defused a roadside bomb that had been modified into a grenade launcher..."

"So you're still weak, you need to work hard to become stronger..."

Passing through the iron gate, there was a balcony walkway. Blue crystals were scattered all over the balcony. The crystals were crystal clear, and their blue fluorescence caught Clint's attention.

Picking up a piece and holding it in his hand, this crystal, about the thickness of a forearm, had a completely disproportionate weight. Even the now-initialized Clint felt it was heavy in his hand.

"This is an environmental relic left behind by the crystal lizard when it stayed here. It's not very useful, it's just pretty. You can take it back and make it into jewelry."

I tried to break off a piece from the crystal, but no matter how hard I tried, the crystal didn't change at all, so I had no choice but to throw it away.

Hearing the clanging sound of the crystal hitting the ground, Clint asked, "Where do we get transportation now?"

Clint's question was not unfounded, after all, looking out from the balcony, all that could be seen was a basin hidden by tall trees, and the black color of the trees made the whole basin look ominous.

Geralt pointed to a section of wall that had been smashed below the balcony and said, “From there! But before that, take these.”

Geralt handed Clint several earthenware pots wrapped with thin hemp rope.

The earthenware pot is about the size of a peeled coconut, and the brown earthenware jar fits perfectly in the hand and can be held tightly.

"This is a fire pot, containing fire-attribute powder. It can explode upon breaking, inflicting fire damage. The enemy you'll be facing next is terrified of fire. When I tell you to throw it, make sure it hits the enemy accurately, understand?"

Having given his instructions, Geralt jumped off the broken wall without waiting for Clint's reply.

Clint, who jumped out next, found himself on several consecutive platforms that had been artificially created to provide a foothold.

After jumping down several platforms, the trees began to block out the sky, and the whole environment started to become dark and damp.

Upon reaching the final platform, the scenery beneath one's feet transformed into a decaying green swamp. In the distance, large creatures carrying enormous trees patrolled the area, while closer at hand, small monsters crawled on all fours in the swamp.

Such a harsh environment made Clint, who had never seen anything like it before, feel a chill run down his spine, and the firebomb he was holding began to creak.

"Calm down, there's nothing to be afraid of here. After all, this place has been cleared out. If you had come here a few months ago, you would have seen the friendly cursed frogs rushing towards you."

Clint had learned from Geralt's unreliable explanations that the easier the explanation, the more dangerous it was.

However, the absence of the most dangerous cursed frogs brought Clint a slight sense of relief.

Clint asked one last time, "Where are we going?"

Geralt pointed to the faintly visible stone structure ahead and said, "There it is, the resting place of the old wolf Farron. We need to go to the very top."

Chapter 136: You call this a driver?

Clint nodded to show he understood, and just as he was about to jump into the mud, Geralt grabbed him by the back of his collar and lifted him into the air.

Clint was lifted into the air by Geralt like a cat being held by the scruff of its neck, his limbs dangling like noodles, before Geralt finally placed him aside.

Like a big cat scolding a kitten, Geralt reprimanded Clint: "I didn't say one more word, and you've already killed yourself in this fortress. Can't you be more careful?"

Clint, bewildered, looked at the Fran cesspool in front of him. Apart from the monster and the mud, it was no different.

Geralt pointed at the bubbling mud and said irritably, "With your current physical condition, you would be poisoned and die immediately if you stepped into the mud. Even the Black Knight, a powerful being like him, wouldn't last long if he stepped into the mud."

Upon hearing about the powerful poison pool, Clint involuntarily shrank back, took a step back, and hid behind Geralt.

"You need to find a foothold in the mud. Although they are not easy to find, they can provide you with a temporary foothold in the mud."

As he spoke, Geralt leaped down towards a dark area.

Sure enough, this area was formed by a foundation that rose up from the mud, and its color had turned dark after being corroded by the toxicity of the mud.

Stepping through these more secluded locations, Geralt led Clint closer and closer to their target.

"Wait, throw a firebomb over there."

Before they reached their next landing spot, Geralt stopped Clint and ordered him to attack with a fire pot.

In this dangerous environment, it was important to follow instructions. Clint threw a firebomb at the location Geralt had indicated.

The fire pot shattered at its next landing point, scattering its contents, which then spontaneously combusted, igniting the entire area and creating a shockwave that spread across the surrounding mud.

The moment it was engulfed by flames, the area began to churn, splitting into smaller parts that spread outwards, and several wriggled towards the two of them.

"This is silt, which only reacts strongly to fire-type attacks. Ordinary slashes or blunt hammer blows will hardly cause it any damage."

With that, Geralt drew his longsword and slashed at the mud several times, the entire blade penetrating deep into the mud before bursting out.

However, the silt only moved slightly before returning to its original state.

"Another thing to note is that it has its own attack methods, like this..."

The mud, which had just been attacked, began its counterattack. It tried to shrink itself and compress its volume, then suddenly released it outwards. Clusters of spiraling spikes appeared in front of Geralt as it spewed them out.

She took two steps back slightly to create distance, and the mud's attack lost its target.

"Don't underestimate these slow-moving creatures. I've tested their spikes; they can pierce 20mm of homogeneous armor. What's even more annoying is that they attach themselves to walls and rooftops, falling down as people walk by and devouring the heads of these unfortunate souls."

As Clint listened to the introduction, he imagined the scene Geralt described, and the thought of having his head bitten off by this slime-like creature sent chills down his spine.

Using this method, and relying on fire pots to clear a path, the two finally arrived at their target building without any major incidents.

Unlike the peaceful edge of Farron Keep, this place is filled with the roars of various monsters and the writhing of silt.

Burning wooden stakes were driven into the open ground in the mud, providing some light to the shady environment.

On the only path they could take, a tall, thin monster stood with its back to the two. It had legs with reversed joints and a head covered in tumors. A few strands of white hair grew tangled around its head.

“That’s Gollum, a unique monster of Farron Keep. It was once a descendant of the auxiliary priests of Farron Keep. Although it doesn’t have much intelligence now, it still guards its tribe.”

After giving a brief introduction to Gollum, Geralt pointed to the stairs across the mud pit and said, "That's the way up. Listen carefully, as long as I take down Gollum first, the rest will be distracted. You take advantage of this time to quickly go up."

"how about you?"

Hearing Clint's concern, Geralt said somewhat irritably, "Now you're the trouble for me, kid. You're so weak that I have to protect you all the time."

Clint scratched his head awkwardly, then calmed down completely and waited for Geralt's signal.

Geralt, wielding a longsword, slowly approached Gollum, who had his back to them. He held the sword with both hands, swung it in a wide arc, and delivered a powerful upward slash that swept from Gollum's rear end all the way up its back.

Gollum, having been attacked, turned around and unleashed a terrifying roar at Geralt. The sound waves traveled through the air, creating visible white sonic booms.

This roar was Clint's signal; he mustered all his strength and dashed towards the stairs like an arrow.

The roar of the Gulu attracted more companions, and the smaller Gulus, on all fours, rushed towards the scene like wild beasts.

Geralt severed Gollum's legs, but before he could execute it, he turned and parried the charging Gollum with his sword, kicking it away. He then unleashed a powerful spinning slash, severing Gollum's head.

Clint dodged the mud in the puddles and rushed to the bottom of the stairs, only to find a pile of mud guarding the place.

Clint threw all the fire pots he had at the pile of mud, watching them disappear in a baptism of flames.

Once he was done, Clint called out, "Geralt, this is all done!"

"Hurry up!"

Following Geralt's instructions, Clint climbed the seemingly endless staircase using both his hands and feet.

After climbing up for a while, Clint subconsciously looked down and spotted a giant goblin that was over ten meters tall. The goblin casually uprooted a large tree and walked towards Geralt.

"Geralt, a big guy is coming at you!"

Clint loudly reported the battlefield situation to Geralt, but unexpectedly, Clint's voice attracted the attention of the Gollum elder.

The elder Gollum brandished the giant tree in his hand, and clusters of blood-brown magic orbs appeared at the base of the tree.

"Climb up quickly, keep moving, and don't stop."

Geralt's warning also reached Clint's ears as the Elder Gollum cast his spell.

Clint's enhanced body began to climb the stairs rapidly. He glanced down out of the corner of his eye and was so frightened he almost jumped out of his skin.

The spell orbs summoned by Elder Gollum flew continuously toward Clint, and within each orb was a skull with its mouth open and making a cracking sound.

These skull-shaped spell orbs, trailing flames like burning tails, flew towards Clint.

Fortunately, Clint heeded Geralt's warning and kept climbing without stopping. The spell orbs simply followed Clint's path and bombarded behind him.

Death always comes a step behind. The bombardment of magic made Clint feel the impact of a 152mm grenade exploding next to him, but the building did not tremble at all.

Finally, after climbing for who knows how long, Clint finally saw the top of the stairs.

Just as Clint was a step or two away from the top, a hand reached down and pulled him up.

"Oh, thank you. Wait, Geralt, how did you get up here? You were down there!"

Standing on the rooftop balcony, Clint realized that the person who had pulled him up was Geralt. Unlike Clint, who was drenched in sweat after climbing up, Geralt wasn't covered in a speck of dirt.

"Didn't I tell you? I need to waste my energy and time to protect you. Come on, the road ahead won't be dangerous anymore."

Without directly answering Clint's question, Geralt simply led Clint up the stairs on the balcony.

As he turned a corner on the stairs, Clint saw a flash of blue light disappear in an instant.

Clint then asked, "Geralt, I saw a glimmer of light, like the crystal from before, slip away over there?"

Geralt stroked his neatly trimmed beard and said, "Then you're in luck. It's said there's a gem crystal worm on this rooftop. If you catch it and hand it over to those mages, they'll forge a magical weapon just for you. But let's get down to business now."

Entering the building from the left, Clint immediately spotted a wolf lying amidst swords. Although the wolf was dead and only had dark skin left, losing its former glossy fur, its indomitable spirit still filled the entire space.

Geralt walked up to the old wolf, knelt down on one knee, and prayed softly.

Just as Clint was about to kneel down and pray like Geralt, Geralt stopped him, saying, "Don't do that, Clint. You're not a proper hunter yet. Only those who have joined the Farron Undead Legion to guard Farron Keep and prevent the Abyss from spreading can pray to the Old Wolf of Farron. You should rest for a while."

After saying this, Geralt lowered his head and whispered something. Clint, seeing this, didn't disturb him further and circled the old wolf's hall once more.

The entire hall was empty and even somewhat shabby. Only on one side of the hall were the remains of the old wolf and various offerings brought by the priests. Next to the old wolf was another square area with a huge stone floor.

After Geralt finished praying and stood up, Clint's figure had disappeared. Just as Geralt was about to go out to look for him, Clint walked in from outside, holding a shimmering gem crystal insect tightly in his hands.

"Look, Geralt, I caught it! The little guy is really strong."