Elden Ring, building a legion of ashes

Chapter 43 The Headless Horseman Ruthel

The slime had a nauseating, rotten, and sour smell.

At the same time, Xia Tong felt herself suddenly lose control of her body, and her whole body became extremely stiff.

The enormous, insect-like mouthparts on the head of the graveyard shadow suddenly opened, emitting a chilling hiss.

Then, its figure vanished into thin air once again.

When it reappeared, it was right in front of Xia Tong's face.

Its withered hands clung tightly to Xia Tong's shoulders.

Its ferocious, mantis-like mantis-like mouthparts lunged at Xia Tong, tearing at her fiercely.

"Holy shit! Aaaaaah!"

Xia Tong cursed inwardly, and at the same time, she couldn't help but howl in pain!

This is different from knife wounds, sword wounds, or damage from being bombarded by sapphire magic; it is the pain of being devoured!

At the same time, three stray wolves pounced on it, tearing at the hind legs of the graveyard shadow.

The shadow in the cemetery is extremely eerie. It takes on a physical form each time it attacks, but turns into smoke whenever it tries to escape or launch a sneak attack.

The fanged imp nimbly leaped onto the body of the graveyard shadow, and swung its forked hand axe straight down.

But the shadow in the cemetery was moving so fast that everything happened almost in the blink of an eye.

Xia Tong felt a little dizzy for a moment.

This is not a side effect of overusing mental energy, but rather due to extreme hypoxia and blood loss caused by compression of the carotid artery.

He could even hear the shadow of the graveyard lying in his shoulder, sucking blood with a sizzling sound.

"Bang!"

With a dull thud, the graveyard shadow hanging on Xia Tong was suddenly and violently knocked away.

They are Grek soldiers wielding large shields!

At the same time, the jellyfish Kurala's enormous gelatinous body spewed out a powerful venom at the crucial moment, forcing back the enemy and preventing the Graveyard Shadow from launching another surprise attack.

The shadow of the graveyard, feeling pain, once again turned into smoke and disappeared into the darkness in the distance.

"Gulp, gulp."

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Xia Tong quickly broke free from the spiderweb-like slime, then picked up the Red Dewdrop Holy Grail bottle and took two big gulps.

He wiped away the fine beads of sweat that had already seeped onto his forehead.

As the medicine entered his stomach, he instantly felt himself come back to life.

Within the horrifying bloody hole on his shoulder, countless granulation tissues grew wildly under the catalysis of the medicine, slowly healing.

"hiss--"

Xia Tong couldn't help but glance to the side, and immediately gasped.

A bloody hole the size of a wrist had been bitten into his shoulder, exposing even his shoulder blade.

Xia Tong temporarily placed the Sinner's Shield on the ground and pulled out the Demi-human Queen's Staff from behind her back.

The pyroxene at the top of the staff glowed faintly, poised to strike.

"Kurara, you're right here beside me."

Xia Tong greeted her.

As long as Kurala the jellyfish is next to him, he can take defensive action in time to avoid being almost killed again.

At this moment, Xia Tong's left hand was unable to hold a shield due to a shoulder injury, so she switched to a staff, while her right hand was still holding the Monarch Army straight sword.

He moved his left shoulder and found it was still a bit stiff.

The life-giving dew in the Red Dew Grail Bottle cannot instantly heal a wound; it only accelerates healing, and it still takes time for the wound to fully heal.

Fortunately, the cemetery shadow was not without damage from the fight just now.

Its jet-black, smoky body had noticeably dimmed.

As a veteran player of the Old Man Ring, Xia Tong knew that this opponent was a typical example of "high attack and low defense".

We can't let this drag on any longer; we must end this battle quickly.

Xia Tong stared intently at the location of the shadow in the cemetery.

Suddenly, the shadow of the cemetery vanished into thin air, as if it had completely dissolved into the air.

Immediately afterwards, Xia Tong felt a chill run down her spine.

too fast!

Xia Tong rolled forward in a disheveled manner, barely dodging a series of slashes that were cursed with bleeding.

Taking advantage of the moment when the distance was created, the previously summoned Grik soldiers moved.

Without hesitation, the soldier wielding the tower shield raised his heavy shield and charged towards the shadowy figure.

"when!"

A sharp sound interrupted the movement of the shadow in the cemetery for a moment.

Meanwhile, the crossbowman in the distance knelt on the ground, and a crossbow bolt accurately struck the shadow's shoulder, interrupting its attempt to release the green immobilizing slime again.

opportunity!

Xia Tong did not retreat, but instead slid to the side of the shadow.

He pressed the tip of his staff almost against the chest of the graveyard shadow.

"Crystallization scattering!"

The long-accumulated magic erupted in an instant.

This time, an elegant missile was not formed.

The raging magic transformed into countless sharp blue shards of brilliance, exploding at point-blank range like shotgun shells.

"hiss--!!"

The shadow in the cemetery let out a scream like an insect being crushed.

Its fragile body couldn't withstand such close-range magical bombardment at all. Its ghostly movements instantly froze, and it leaned backward.

Three lone wolves seized the opportunity, pounced on it, bit it, and pinned it to the ground.

Taking advantage of this moment, Xia Tong's staff once again pressed against its lower back.

Crystallization scattering has been initiated again!

"laugh--"

This time, dozens of sharp fragments formed from pyroxene pierced through its already dimming body without any hindrance.

The black mass boiled violently amidst screams, eventually turning into a pool of black ash that dissipated into the cold air of the tomb.

A large mass of runes surged out from where the shadow disappeared and flowed into Xia Tong's body.

Two thousand two hundred points!

"Clang!"

Something fell out of the black ashes.

Xia Tong stepped forward and picked it up.

It was an irregular sphere, like a crystallized soul formed by the natural collapse and fusion of the deceased's ashes under extremely high pressure.

It emitted a faint, cold, pale light in the dim tomb.

There are faint shadows and light flowing within, slowly moving and rotating, like smoke trapped in amber.

In a daze, the wisp of smoke seemed to condense into a miniature human figure.

It was a knight clad in heavy armor, wielding a large shield painted with a solar eclipse pattern.

Most chillingly, the Phantom Knight had no head.

Headless Rider Ruthel!

Xia Tong was extremely excited to see the ashes.

Ruthel the Headless Horseman was once the leader of the Knights of the Mausoleum.

This is the legendary ashes.

This is also the first legendary ashes that Xia Tong has obtained so far.

To continue protecting their lord in the afterlife, Ruthel and her Knights of the Mausoleum performed a terrifying curse ritual:

They voluntarily cut off their own heads.

In the setting of the borderlands, being headless means being unable to return to the Golden Tree.

Through this self-mutilation, they forcibly left their souls on earth through a curse, transforming them into eternal ghosts.

They were simply waiting for their lord, who might never be resurrected, to awaken.

If one day, the soulless demigods in the shrine are reborn, then Ruthel can return as a hero.

Xia Tong carefully collected the ashes and placed them in a separate ceramic jar.

Then, he took the ashes and left the cold, dark underground cemetery.