Elden Ring, building a legion of ashes

Chapter 52 Bloodbath

Xia Tong suddenly felt a bit overwhelmed.

This means they have to withstand attacks from above and forcefully launch an upward assault.

However, there was no turning back at this point, so they had no choice but to grit their teeth and charge forward.

Xia Tong's ash-collecting squad immediately switched formations.

The headless knight Ruthel and the fanged imp were responsible for the rear defense, blocking the pursuers.

As for Xia Tong, she led the Grek soldiers wielding large shields, along with three stray wolves, to clear the way.

Xia Tong was initially a little worried about the jellyfish-like Kurala, but she was completely at home in the narrow stairwell.

Its tentacles are naturally long, slender, flexible, and powerful.

With a gentle push against the rough walls on either side of the stairwell, one can glide rapidly through the air, completely unrestricted by the terrain.

It would occasionally wave its tentacles, violently slapping down winged hybrids that tried to fly into the air to carry out aerial attacks.

Its umbrella-shaped body turned bright red, constantly wriggling and brewing.

Finally, it sprayed a mouthful of purplish-red, highly toxic acid at the dense swarm of hybrids above.

"Sizzle sizzle—"

The brethren who were sprayed with acid immediately burst into flames of blue smoke.

Its skin instantly ulcerated, and its feathers were corroded, charred, and fell off.

The entire corridor was instantly filled with a pungent stench and the painful screams of the mixed-race.

As for the crossbow-wielding Grik soldiers, they were responsible for finishing off enemies and providing fire support from the rear.

"Thump!"

Xia Tong suddenly raised the brass shield in his left hand, blocking a long-handled giant axe that came crashing down with a whooshing sound.

It was a strong, scaled hybrid.

The strength of scaled hybrids is much greater than that of ordinary winged hybrids.

Moreover, this strike was delivered using gravitational potential energy, making its force even more astonishing.

"Well!"

Xia Tong groaned, immediately feeling a tingling numbness in her left arm, as if the space between her thumb and forefinger was about to crack.

He gritted his teeth, and with a swift swing of his right hand, wielded the Lion Greatsword, slicing down a winged hybrid that was trying to ambush him.

Climbing stairs while being attacked by the hybrids was an incredibly exhausting and challenging battle.

Every inch of progress requires tremendous physical exertion.

Suddenly, a cunning hybrid flew down from above, skimming over the ceiling and crossing the defensive line.

It opened its large mouth full of fangs, about to start tearing at Elena on Xia Tong's back.

It's a password!

Don't talk about martial arts!

A lone wolf reacts extremely quickly.

It leaped up using the wall as leverage, and in mid-air, it bit down hard on the mutt's throat.

Two bodies rolled onto the ground, entangled.

Another lone wolf pounced on it, quickly killing the mongrel.

"Bang! Bang!"

Xia Tong dared not stop, and taking advantage of the gap above, used his brass shield to launch a shield charge.

Instantly, the three hybrids above were sent flying backward by the force, knocking over their companions behind them like bowling balls.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the lone wolf immediately rushed forward and tore at the throat to finish the job.

Meanwhile, the Grik soldiers wielding large shields stepped forward, using their tower shields to block the stairwell and prevent the hybrids behind them from surging up again.

And so, Xia Tong's ash-collecting team made a few more difficult steps forward.

Every step of the stairs was stained with blood.

After battling it out in this suffocating, confined space for more than ten minutes, Xia Tong and the others finally managed to climb one floor.

"No, no! There are too many mixed-race people!"

"Irena, why are there so many mixed-race servants in your Moen City?!"

Xia Tong gasped for breath and muttered a helpless complaint.

Due to the continuous high-intensity combat, Xia Tong already had several cuts on her right arm and body from sharp blades.

Blood mixed with fine beads of sweat soaked his inner lining.

Elena wrapped her arms tightly around Xia Tong's neck, pressing all her weight onto Xia Tong's back.

She can't see anything.

But she could clearly feel the slippery sensation on Xia Tong's arm—it was a mixture of blood and sweat.

And there was that strong, pungent smell of male sweat, reminiscent of gunpowder and rust.

The sounds of mixed-race individuals hacking, roaring, and clashing weapons filled the air, creating a deafening cacophony.

Irene was already feeling ashamed, anxious, and fearful.

When Xia Tong asked her this question, she fell silent, unsure of how to answer.

Finally, she could only steel herself and whisper, her voice trembling with tears, reply:

"The use of mixed races as servants in Moen City... has been a tradition for over a decade."

"They've been here since I was born..."

"what!"

Before she could finish speaking, Elena suddenly screamed!

It turned out that a rusty giant axe suddenly cleaved towards Xia Tong's neck from the side.

At the critical moment, Xia Tong used his greatsword to blast away the enemy.

"when!"

The sound of metal clashing against metal exploded right next to Elena's ears, making her eardrums buzz.

The fear of brushing past death made her tremble all over.

Xia Tong swiftly beheaded the attacker with a backhand strike.

After a moment of respite, amidst the bloody jolting, Elena continued, trembling, as she spoke:

"Normally... normally the dirty and tiring work in the castle is done by the mixed-race people."

"Most of the soldiers do easy jobs and simple training."

Hearing this, Xia Tong wiped the blood from her face, looked at the ever-growing stream of hybrids above, and sighed with a bitter smile:

"I've been exploited like this for over a decade..."

"If it were me, I would resist too!"

"Bang! Bang!"

The magic pot thrown by the fanged imp exploded suddenly above.

In such a crowded and narrow stairwell, the power of the magic pot is amplified several times compared to an open area.

The explosive magical energy waves echoed between the walls, and the huddled mixed-race people had no way to escape, instantly falling over.

Seeing the scaled hybrid in front of him stagger after being blasted, revealing its weakness.

Xia Tong immediately seized the opportunity and thrust out the Lion Greatsword in his hand with a fierce thrust.

"laugh!"

The greatsword pierced its body, the blade sinking deep inside.

However, the hybrid's vitality was extremely tenacious, and it gripped the blade tightly with both hands, making it impossible for Xia Tong to continue stabbing or pull it out.

"With someone on my back, I really can't move around freely."

Xia Tong thought with a sigh.

Moreover, after fighting for so long, he could feel his muscles starting to ache and feel tired.

Otherwise, even if that sword strike had been aimed at a mixed-race creature, it would have pierced right through it, and any attempt to defend itself would have been futile.

"If this stalemate continues, we'll all die here."

Taking advantage of the moment when she drew her sword, Xia Tong quickly turned her head to look behind her.

Ruthel, the headless knight responsible for covering the rear, had more cracks appearing on her sturdy spirit armor.

Her aura had decreased by more than 10 percent compared to her peak condition.

Ruthel seemed to have become ruthless as well.

The yellow-black flames that had been burning on the knight's lance in her hand began to swirl with eerie black mist.

That power originated from the curse of death.

The knight's lance, shrouded in black mist, pierced straight into the belly of a scaly hybrid who had launched a sneak attack, like a venomous snake.

This instant-death power is specifically designed to deal with tall, tough enemies.

As for the ordinary winged hybrids, she still used her own yellow and black flashing flames to drive them away.

As for the Grik soldiers leading the way, carrying large shields, their movements were far less agile than before.

This was even under the condition that Xia Tong instructed him to only defend and not attack.

All the pressure to move forward fell on him and a few stray wolves.

"Awoo!"

As Xia Tong was thinking, a lone wolf was grazed in the belly by the rusty machete of the hybrid in mid-air.

It screamed and fell into the stairwell. Although it struggled to stand up again quickly, its movements were not as agile and swift as before.

The entire ash-collecting group is struggling to stay afloat.

Only the fanged imps continued to use their size advantage to keep throwing magic pots, bombarding the dense corridors and relieving some of the pressure on Xia Tong and Rutil.

Their slender and agile bodies allowed them to easily evade the heavy attacks of the hybrids as they weaved between the railings and the corpses.

Meanwhile, the soul jellyfish Kurala remained floating above, diligently corroding wave after wave of enemies with her purplish-red venom.

Xia Tong quickly scanned her entire ash-wielding battle group.

Their gaze eventually settled on the middle of the group.

"Brother, it seems only you can help me share this burden."

Xia Tong looked at the ashes of the Grek soldier who was holding a crossbow and had an iron pickaxe at his waist.