Elden Ring, building a legion of ashes

Chapter 39 Pilgrimage to the Church

Xia Tong was suddenly startled.

"Melina! What happened to her? Is she still alive?"

Melina's cool voice rang in Xia Tong's mind at just the right moment, carrying a hint of soothing:

"It's just a mild case of poisoning causing unconsciousness; there's no major danger."

Xia Tong finally breathed a sigh of relief, gently patted Torret's belly, and slowed down to move forward.

At the edge of the horizon, several staggering figures could be vaguely seen.

Those were irrational, wandering nobles, aimlessly roaming the hillside leading to the church.

Among them were even a few powerful magicians wielding staffs.

Normally, Xia Tong might have cleaned it up casually, but at this moment he had no interest in such things and directed Torret to go far away from them.

Finally, the ancient pilgrimage church came into view.

Compared to the dilapidated Chapel of Karl next to the sick village, this church, standing on the hilltop, is much better preserved.

Its main building is majestic and grand, exuding a solemn and weathered feeling.

Before even stepping through the church doors, Xia Tong immediately spotted the warm light flickering in the dim light—the blessing point of the pilgrimage church.

The moment Xia Tong stepped into the church, a long-lost sense of tranquility washed over her.

Compared to the churches of Islay and the Baptistery of Karl that he had seen, this pilgrimage church appeared more solemn and dignified.

"Place her gently on the ground."

Melina's figure slowly appeared, and she spoke softly to Xia Tong.

Xia Tong gently placed Irena on the ground, letting her soft upper body lean against her chest.

Irena's originally fair cheeks were now covered with a sickly pale green.

The green foliage seemed to have sprouted tentacles, greedily spreading from her neck up her torso.

Her eyelashes trembled from time to time, and her breathing became slightly rapid.

Melina knelt to the side, her right hand gently placed on the flickering firelight that was bestowing blessings.

His other hand rested lightly above Irena's forehead.

The light of blessing seemed to shine even brighter at that moment.

Centered on Melina's left hand, a pure golden light enveloped Irena's entire body.

The pale green poisonous gas surged across Irena's face, finally seeping out in wisps from her pores, and was then completely purified in the light.

The whole process lasted about five minutes, and Irena's face regained its rosy color.

"She's mostly recovered and will wake up soon."

After finishing with Irena's business, Xia Tong and Melina sat facing each other across the campfire.

"Queen Marika's words of wisdom remain here. Would you like to hear them?"

Xia Tong nodded slightly; he was very interested in this ancient proverb.

"After you face death, what has been taken from you will be returned—"

"Return to the borderlands, engage in battle, and unleash the Elden Ring as you please."

"Be strong and live with death—warriors of the king, my king Godfrey."

Xia Tong listened quietly to Melina's slow recitation, and understood.

This refers to the Faded Ones returning to the Borderlands, regaining the Blessed Recognition, and then gradually becoming the King of Elden.

The phrase "displaying the Elden Ring at will" actually hints at multiple endings.

You can repair the Dharma Ring, or you can burn it all down. Burn everything with the Mad Fire, and you can naturally welcome the Age of Stars.

While Irena was still awake, Xia Tong left the church.

On the way up the mountain, he saw some sheep rolling around, and his mouth watered.

"Ring ring—"

Xia Tong shook the summoning bell and summoned a small demon with sharp teeth.

Through a strategy of encirclement and suppression, the human and the demon finally managed to capture two plump, rolling sheep.

Although the methods were somewhat inhumane, Xia Tong still decided to carry out the slaughter in the church.

This creature, jokingly called the "rolling sheep," has unusually tight muscle fibers due to its long-term curling and rolling, but it also carries a persistent earthy smell.

Xia Tong dragged the two whelping sheep, which had already been killed, to the area beneath the statue of Queen Marika, where there was a pool of water.

"As expected, there are still Holy Grail drops."

Xia Tong bent down and gently picked up the fingernail-sized, golden-red liquid crystal from the edge of the pool, then put it into her already replenished Holy Grail bottle.

With the two Holy Grail Bottles upgraded once again, Xia Tong brought up her health panel to check.

My current Vitality Points are 17, and my Health Points are approximately 568.

Xia Tong usually doesn't pay much attention to his health, nor does he need to look at it deliberately, because he can sense whether his health is high or low.

If it's just a minor sword or knife wound, you won't actually lose much blood.

However, similar to the time when he was hit head-on at close range by the Demi-human Queen's "Crystal Scattering," he felt like he was about to faint, and at that time his health was basically at its lowest.

In that situation, you don't need to look at the panel; just keep giving the medicine.

I've upgraded the Holy Grail Dew from the Chapel of Karl once, and compared to the original unupgraded bottle, the recovery amount has increased from 250 points to about 330 points.

Now that it has undergone a second upgrade, the recovery amount is estimated to reach over 400.

This is an incredibly high number, meaning that Xia Tong can now recover nearly 75% of her health in one go.

Xia Tong thought about it and decided that once she finished cooking, she should upgrade her attributes.

Beneath the statue of Queen Marika, Xia Tong skillfully completed a series of operations, including slaughtering, skinning, and pickling the two rolling sheep.

For the one that was to be roasted on the spot, Xia Tong evenly spread the crushed Roya fruit on the several deep cuts she had made beforehand.

Then rub a thick layer of salt on it, and stuff the mutton's belly with some freshly found wild onions and the phosphorus powder of the Martian butterfly.

When mutton is placed on a fire, the fat drips onto the charcoal and makes a sizzling sound.

The sugar in the Roya fruit turns into caramel under high temperature, and the originally damp and musty smell in the air is instantly dispelled by a domineering aroma that is a mixture of fruit and meat.

As for the other goat, Xia Tong decided to pickle it for later consumption during her trip.

Xia Tong was already quite familiar with this process.

He cut the mutton into strips about two fingers wide along the grain—this method of cutting maximizes the extraction of moisture from the meat.

He then coated the meat strips with a thick layer of salt until the meat turned slightly dark due to dehydration.

A short while later, a fire was rekindled in the corner of the church.

This time, Xia Tong didn't put the meat directly on the fire to roast. Instead, she used branches and discarded bricks to build a simple high rack and hung the meat strips upwind of the campfire.

He threw a handful of damp moss into the fire; there was plenty of that stuff in the corners of the church.

Sobbing Peninsula is a peninsula surrounded by the sea, so the climate is actually quite humid.

"Cough cough..."

The flames dimmed instantly, replaced by thick white smoke.

Smoked meat strips can be stored for longer, although the texture will be much worse, but that doesn't matter.

Xia Tong didn't care about any of that. They were already at the border, so what did it matter?

These two tasks kept Xia Tong busy for an entire afternoon.

On the other side, Miss Irena also slowly woke up.

Although she cannot see, her sense of smell and hearing are extremely sensitive.

The campfire in front of us was emitting an enticing aroma.

"This? Is this barbecue?"

Irena's voice was timid; she hadn't eaten barbecue in ages.

After escaping from Moen City, he was so hungry that he could only eat grass.

Fortunately, Lord Xia Tong found her on the big rock, and she was able to enjoy soup and dried meat. Now she can even eat roasted meat!

It's important to know that grilling meat is a very wasteful way to use oil, and in border areas where productivity is low, it's considered a terrible waste.

But the advantage is that the baked food tastes very good.

Even though she was the daughter of the lord of Moen City, she might not be able to eat barbecue even once a month.

As she spoke, Irena couldn't help but swallow hard. Already weakened by the poisoning, she desperately needed to replenish her energy.

"Yes, it is indeed roast meat. It's roasted lamb from the area near the pilgrimage church," Melina replied.

"Rolling sheep? I've heard my father say that they often curl up and roll around on the grass. They're very cute animals."

"It smells good too."

Xia Tong came over and chimed in.

The dried meat was being smoked in the corner, and he finally had a chance to rest.

He then plopped down next to the campfire, looked at Melina and Irena, and smiled contentedly.

Feeling a little embarrassed by Xia Tong's bluntness, Irena's face slowly turned red.

Xia Tong picked up a Gurkha knife, sliced ​​off a piece of meat that was already cooked through, and gently offered it to Irena's mouth.

Open your mouth.

Irena opened her small mouth, put the slice of meat into her mouth, and chewed it slowly.

She immediately groaned from the heat, but still kept shouting how delicious it was.

Even the usually serious and composed Melina couldn't help but smile upon seeing this scene.

"Melina, you smiled."

"What, can't I laugh?" Melina replied, a rare occurrence for her.

"Of course, hahaha."

The laughter of the three echoed in the air above the pilgrimage church.

The statue of Marika in the church, illuminated by the firelight, now appeared warm and radiant.