Elden Ring, building a legion of ashes

Chapter 20 The Wandering Merchant Moen

Xia Tong did not rush on her way, but chose to rest on the spot and set up camp.

It was already getting dark.

He took out the materials for the large tent from the backpack on the back of his horse, Toretto, which were spoils he had found in the camp ahead of the pass.

After setting up the tent and cooking the meat soup, Xia Tong closed her eyes to rest.

At the same time, he nurtured the ashes of the lone wolf and the soul jellyfish, which had been damaged in the battle, in his spiritual world.

After doing all this, he finally fell into a deep sleep.

Another night passed peacefully.

.......

three days later.

A strange group emerged from a long canyon.

First was a magnificent horse with two horns on its head.

On either side of the horse, three imposing lone wolves provided support and guard.

Behind the horse was a simple cart, bulging with armor and weapons.

It was Xia Tong and her group.

He had Elena sit in front, while he sat behind, the two of them riding together on Toret's broad back.

Xia Tong originally intended to get down and lead the horse herself.

However, Elena was, after all, a young lady who had received a strict aristocratic education.

In her eyes, having her benefactor lead her horse was extremely impolite, even outrageous.

Moreover, Xia Tong also has to clean up those wild hybrids that suddenly appear by the roadside from time to time.

"The battle is already tough enough, how can we let our benefactor go to the trouble of leading the horse?"

So, after Elena's repeated requests, Xia Tong reluctantly agreed to ride with Elena on one horse.

A gentle breeze blew by, but the expected stench of sweat did not reach my nose.

After many days of fighting and wandering, frankly speaking, no one had the means to take a shower or wash their hair.

However, Elena did not have any unpleasant odor; instead, she had a faint, fresh fragrance, like flowers and grass after the rain.

"This is truly a fantastical world..."

Xia Tong sat in the back and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

"Lord Xia Tong?"

Irena seemed to sense the movement behind her and turned her head slightly.

"It's nothing, just sit tight."

The winged hybrids and the scaled hybrids wielding large axes that we encountered along the way were not actually that dangerous.

As long as it's not a large, clustered group, Xia Tong can handle it.

The most dangerous one is actually the mountain demon who roams the canyon carrying a giant golden sword.

"If a real fight broke out, there would inevitably be some injuries. But thanks to Torret's speed, we were able to quickly run past it and escape unharmed," Melina said to Xia Tong, appearing in her presence.

"That mountain demon looked so scary..."

Elena shrank back slightly and whispered:

"Although I can't see it, I can feel the terrifying aura emanating from it. My father has also told me some stories about them before, but I don't know much about them."

"Lady Xia Tong, could you tell me about it?"

Elena turned around.

Her eyes were tightly closed, her long eyelashes trembled incessantly, and a curious yet gentle expression appeared on her face.

The weather was great today, and Xia Tong was in a very good mood. She didn't encounter any random enemies on the way.

He continued on his journey quietly, telling Elena the legends about the mountain trolls.

"At the beginning of the Golden Tree, Queen Marika and the first king, Govre, launched a brutal war of extermination against the giants in the north in order to establish their dominance."

Xia Tong's voice was calm and magnetic:

"These mountain demons were originally close relatives and descendants of the fire giants."

"But in order to survive, or because they did not agree with the belief in the evil god, they chose to betray their fellow humans and join the forces of Marika and the Golden Tree."

"The Golden Law strongly rejects the fire of the evil god worshipped by giants."

"To prove their loyalty, or as a condition for joining the Golden Tree faction, the mountain trolls personally gouged out the evil god's face from their own chests."

"This act caused them to lose their ability to use the fire of destruction, and also their original dignity. From then on, a black hole was forever left in their chests."

"..."

Elena listened intently, murmuring:

"They are pitiful too. They sided with the winners, but instead of receiving the respect they deserved, they were turned into laborers."

"Yes."

Melina added from the side:

"Because they have lost their divine origins and have been enslaved for a long time, many wandering mountain demons have lost their minds and only attack passersby on instinct."

.......

As we walked, we suddenly heard melodious music coming from ahead.

That's the unique, melancholic tone of bowed string instruments.

As the crowd approached, the sound became clearer.

It is already evening.

The firelight was very conspicuous beside the ruins on the roadside ahead.

Beside the fire sat a nomadic tribe member wearing a red hat.

"It seems we've reached our destination."

Xia Tong's expression immediately brightened.

On the hillside not far from the bonfire, however, emanated a different, warm, bright yellow light.

That is—the blessing point in front of the city wall of Moen.

Xia Tong didn't go towards Cifu first, but went straight to the wandering merchant.

He has a large truckload of goods to process.

"Hello, friend from afar, would you like something? My name is Moen."

"Moen? Moen City? Interesting," Xia Tong thought to herself.

This homeless merchant looks very much like Kalek, after all, they are from the same ethnic group and their clothing and appearance are similar.

However, his expression became more casual.

Kale looked more worried, after all, he was burdened with the heavy mission of finding the great caravan.

This person, however, seems more like a pure businessman.

"I have a big business deal to do with you." Xia Tong dismounted.

"Oh? What big deal?" The businessman's eyes lit up.

Xia Tong turned to the side and pointed to the cartload of goods being towed behind Toret.

He went over and untied the bag and the ropes used to secure it.

Splash!

Immediately, the weapons and equipment inside poured out and piled up into a small mountain.

That was a whole vehicle full of equipment!

There were more than ten sets of weapons and armor.

Some were scale armor and large machetes worn by hybrids, while others were standard armor and weapons worn by Grik soldiers and Morn City soldiers who died fighting hybrids.

Among them was even a huge golden sword belonging to a mountain demon.

This sword was certainly not obtained by Xia Tong through battle; he didn't have the ability to fight the mountain demon alone.

It was found by scavenging among the wreckage of a horse-drawn carriage by the roadside.

"The item is genuine..."

The wandering merchant rummaged through the pile of equipment for a moment and casually remarked:

"But it's not very useful."

He pointed to the enormous golden sword and said disdainfully:

"Look at this mountain demon golden sword. Apart from mountain demons, how many people can lift it? It can only be melted down and turned into raw materials to be sold as scrap metal."

"This was a gift from Queen Marika to those mountain trolls as proof of their allegiance! How come it's become scrap metal to you?"

Xia Tong retorted somewhat discontentedly, as he had gone through great lengths to get this over with.

"6000 Runes, I'll sell it to you as a package deal." Xia Tong made an outrageous demand.

"6000? Why don't you just rob someone?"

The wandering merchant jumped up as if his tail had been stepped on, his beard bristling with anger:

"2000! That's the most I can get!"

"4500!"

"2500! These hybrid knives are all chipped!"

"3800! That's high-quality iron from Moen City!"

"3000! Take it or leave it!" the merchant gritted his teeth.

"Okay! Deal!"

Xia Tong immediately agreed with a smile, her expression changing faster than turning the pages of a book.

For him, if this pile of scrap metal could be sold for 3000 runes, that would be quite good.

After all, most of them were just junk equipment from those mixed-race individuals, like broken machetes and tattered leather armor.

There were even the armors of the Morn City soldiers and Grik soldiers who had been killed earlier.

There are just more of them.

In the blessed warehouse, he also stored a batch of equipment that he had previously seized on the Sacrifice Bridge.

However, Xia Tong did not want to sell them at the moment, because the runes she had were enough to upgrade them.

The transaction is complete.

Night fell quickly.

Xia Tong didn't bother the wandering merchant any further, but instead led Elena to the nearby blessing point.

"Is it going to be upgraded again?"

Melina appeared beside the blessing, smiling as she inquired.

"Yes. This time, we still need to focus more."

Xia Tong and Melina clasped hands and closed their eyes simultaneously.

Soon, Xia Tong felt the golden rune energy dissolving in her body and then flowing to her limbs and bones.