Elden Ring, building a legion of ashes

Chapter 51 The Great Escape in the Stairwell

Xia Tong became interested.

He held up the glowing staff and examined it, discovering that there was indeed a dusty portrait of a knight hanging on the innermost wall.

Xia Tong stepped forward and gently pulled the knight's portrait aside.

It was indeed a hidden paradise inside.

A large, heavy sword with an ancient design hung quietly in the hidden compartment.

Xia Tong gently removed the greatsword and wiped away the dust.

Then, his eyes narrowed.

With the help of the pyroxene's light, he could clearly see the exquisite relief carvings on the sword's blade.

"Isn't this the greatsword with the 'Lion Slash'?"

This sword, known as the "Greatsword" in the game, is an extremely well-rounded and easy-to-use weapon.

Xia Tong immediately gripped the greatsword with both hands and swung it around a few times.

The sound of it cutting through the air is deep and powerful, the center of gravity is excellent, and the feel is very suitable for use.

"As expected, with my current attributes, I fully meet the requirements for using this greatsword."

Xia Tong nodded in satisfaction.

He removed the King's Army Greatsword he was using and replaced it with this one.

Although its name is simple and unadorned, just a common "greatsword", it doesn't even have a prefix.

However, its accompanying War Gray Lion Slash can greatly enhance Xia Tong's combat power.

"From now on, I'll call you Lion Greatsword!"

Just as Xia Tong was feeling smug about having chosen a weapon she was satisfied with.

A figure appeared out of thin air inside the house.

It is the headless knight Ruthel.

Ruthel had no head, so Xia Tong couldn't see her face.

However, several conspicuous semi-transparent cracks appeared on her originally solid spirit armor, and her aura was also somewhat dimmer than before.

Clearly, in order to lure away those dozens of crazed hybrids, even someone as powerful as the legendary Ashes of Time inevitably suffered damage to her spiritual body.

"How are you? Are you alright?"

Although Ruth has the ability to teleport, it would still be somewhat difficult for her to face so many flying winged hybrids all by herself.

After all, she hasn't been enhanced yet.

"Minor injury."

Ruthel's deep and magnetic voice resonated directly in Xia Tong's heart.

This reminded Xia Tong of Brienne of Tarth, the powerful and reliable female knight from the American TV series "Game of Thrones" that he had watched in his previous life.

Although Ruth said it was just a minor injury, Xia Tong was still worried.

He sensed Ruthel's spiritual strength through a mental connection and found that it had decreased by about 5% to 6%.

After confirming that everything was alright, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although outnumbered, Ruthel is a legendary veteran with a defensive focus and the ability to teleport, so she is safe.

Xia Tong and the others continued to walk out of the warehouse through the back door.

Here, you can already faintly hear the sound of waves crashing against the rocks.

As we walked further on, the sound of the waves grew louder and louder, becoming deafening.

At the same time, there was also a salty, fishy sea breeze blowing in.

The entire city of Moen was built on a cliff overlooking the sea, making it a strategically important location.

After walking up the stairs a few steps, Xia Tong and the others arrived at a seaside corridor.

Under the bright moonlight, one can already see the vast, shimmering sea stretching to the horizon.

The salty, moist sea breeze rushed into her nostrils, which eased Elena's expression as she lay on Xia Tong's back, and her fear and worry lessened considerably.

However, the good times did not last long.

Just then, seven or eight winged hybrids on patrol flapped their wings and flew over.

These winged hybrids were originally sentinels responsible for patrolling the skies.

Xia Tong and the others were currently in the open seaside corridor, and with the moon being exceptionally bright tonight, they were practically sitting ducks.

"Lord Xia Tong, there's a room with a large iron gate ahead. Go that way."

On Xia Tong's back, Elena whispered rapidly in his ear, giving him instructions.

Because Elena is blind, Xia Tong always carries her on his back when they are on a forced march.

As a faded being, Xia Tong's body was strengthened by Rune, making her extremely strong. Carrying the slender and light Elena on her back was incredibly easy.

Xia Tong immediately started running.

The ashes behind them were also very agile, following closely.

Besides the floating jellyfish Kurala.

To avoid falling behind, all of Kurala's tentacles clung tightly to a lone wolf.

As a jellyfish, it doesn't have much mass.

Therefore, without affecting the running speed of a lone wolf, Kurala can also hitch a ride and move very quickly.

Xia Tong and the others ran wildly ahead.

Meanwhile, Ruthel, who was responsible for covering the rear, would occasionally appear in the air.

She hurled one flaming spear after another, burning with deathly flames, accurately shooting down the winged hybrids that tried to dive.

Xia Tong felt a strong sense of familiarity with the slightly yellowish-black flames on the spear of the headless knight Ruthel.

Looking back now, I suddenly remembered.

The color and texture of this flame are almost identical to those on the Eclipse Hook Sword.

The Eclipse Hook Sword is a legendary weapon of the city of Sol, symbolizing the lost sun and death.

Then, recalling the large shield with the eclipse pattern in Ruthel's hand, Xia Tong seemed to understand the origin of this.

However, these thoughts only flashed through Xia Tong's mind.

He immediately turned around and continued running forward.

At the same time, a mournful bugle call sounded from behind.

More and more mixed-race individuals were alarmed and began to gather frantically in this direction.

"Oh shit!"

Hearing the sharp whooshing sound behind her, Xia Tong's heart tightened.

Driven by instinct, he swung the lion-shaped greatsword he was holding sharply backward.

"when!"

Sparks flew everywhere.

A rusty iron axe that flew towards them was precisely deflected by Xia Tong's greatsword!

But the situation remains critical.

Due to the surge in the number of hybrids, several winged hybrids have already crossed Ruthel's defenses and are charging straight at her.

Fortunately, at that moment, the life-saving iron gate finally appeared in front of them.

Xia Tong suddenly flung open the door.

There were no mixed-race individuals lying in ambush inside.

Three stray wolves and the jellyfish Kurala went in first, followed closely by Xia Tong.

With a loud "clang".

Xia Tong immediately locked the heavy iron door shut.

Almost the instant the door was locked, Ruthel transformed into a phantom and slowly materialized within the iron gate.

The savages outside lost their target and began frantically pounding the iron gate with their giant axes and bodies.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The dull thud made the entire door frame tremble, as if it would collapse at any moment.

"Hurry up, this door won't hold for much longer."

Inside the iron gate was not a room, but a narrow, dark corridor.

Inside is a right-hand spiral staircase leading to the upper level, winding upwards.

Moen City is a typical defensive structure consisting of a main building and an outer wall.

The square that Xia Tong saw when she arrived, filled with mixed-race people jumping around, was the outer city wall.

The place where Lord Edgar was located was at the very top of the main building.

Apart from some functional rooms, 70 percent of the castle's activity area is located on the top of the wide city walls or in the square.

Because the interior of castles is usually crammed with supplies or designed to be very narrow for defense.

Just like what Xia Tong is facing now.

The entire right-hand spiral staircase is extremely narrow, allowing only two people to walk side by side.

This terrain is an excellent pass for the defenders, but for the attackers—that is, Xia Tong and his team—it's hell.

They ran at top speed up the right-hand spiral staircase.

At the same time, the iron gate behind them collapsed with a loud crash.

The mixed-race people from outside swarmed in like a flood.

The two leading winged hybrids used their flight advantage to fly straight up to the top of the stairwell.

They occupied the high ground, raised their rusty iron cleavers from above, and slashed down at Xia Tong and the others below.

In the narrow corridor, Ruthel, who was responsible for covering the rear, displayed the suppressive power of the legendary ashes.

It can be said that one man can hold the pass against ten thousand.

She erected the enormous eclipse-patterned shield in the middle of the corridor, and not a single hybrid could cross it even half a step.

At the same time, Ruth would occasionally thrust out a precise shield stab from behind her shield, often resulting in a fatal blow.

Soon, two or three winged hybrid corpses were piled up in the stairwell below.

Sadly, the commotion here traveled up the spiral staircase like an echo chamber, carrying far and wide.

The distinctive sharp howls of the hybrids began to appear above.

"Oh no, I'm going to be wrapped up like a dumpling."