Elden Ring, building a legion of ashes

Chapter 57 The Ritual on the Beach

"Lord Xia Tong!"

"Lord Xia Tong!"

A figure hurriedly ran over from a distance. When the person got closer, it was Edgar, the lord of Moen City.

He looked extremely anxious, and he wasn't even wearing a helmet, so something serious must have happened.

"What has happened, Lord Edgar?"

"Please come with me to the top of the tower. There's been a problem on the beach..."

……

Upon reaching the top of the tower, Xia Tong saw a standing telescope mounted there.

Its bottom is riveted to a heavy iron base, and the main body is made of dark gold brass, covered with intricate gears, connecting rods and dials.

This thing looks very familiar. Xia Tong remembers that when she was playing with the old man's ring in her previous life, there were also these devices called "bird's-eye view mirrors" in various places on the map.

Its lens is very large, like a giant single eye, and is surrounded by a ring of exquisite metal ornaments.

The old city lord gripped the cold metal handles on either side of the telescope with both hands.

With a series of clicking gear grinding sounds, the heavy telescope slowly turned to a certain spot on the beach below.

"Your Excellency, please take a look."

Xia Tong went to the telescope and put her eyes close to it.

Upon seeing this, Xia Tong immediately felt a chill run down her spine.

On the beach known as the "Tomb of Lamentation" below Moen City, nearly a hundred hybrids gathered together.

On the beach, the howls of the mixed-breeds resounded.

But unlike the previous riots, everything before us presented a strange yet solemn sense of order.

Hundreds of hybrids were kneeling in the middle of the beach in an almost pilgrimage-like posture.

They raised their crude daggers and neatly slashed open their wrists and chests.

"Tick-tock, tick-tock... splash."

Those were countless streams of filthy, dark red blood, bearing the characteristics of a furnace.

Instead of seeping into the sand, they were drawn together by some invisible force, forming winding, blood-red streams that surged wildly toward the center of the beach.

There, there is a crimson magic circle formed naturally from the convergence of blood.

The enormous lion hybrid was sitting cross-legged in the center of the magic circle.

Its expression was no longer that of a ferocious beast, but rather that of a king with composure and majesty.

And the legendary weapon—the Greatsword of the Skull—stood in the pool of blood before it.

This massive steel sword, forged from the molten metal of countless defeated swords, was not stained with blood at this moment.

On the contrary, the surging hybrid blood seemed to be alive, flowing and seeping merrily along the sword.

"Sizzle—sizzle—"

The sword vibrated, resonating perfectly with the increasingly heavy breathing of the lion hybrid.

If what Xia Tong saw in the square was a frenzied celebration, then what is now presented to them is undoubtedly some kind of mysterious awakening ritual.

"What are they doing? The sword stuck in the center of the blood pool looks like the Greatsword of the Skull?"

Xia Tong looked away and asked with a serious expression.

"That's right! It's the Sword Skeleton Greatsword!"

Edgar's voice trembled slightly.

"Greek ordered me to be stationed in Moen City, one of the tasks of which was to guard this Greatsword of the Skull."

"The Greatsword of the Sword Skeleton has awakened."

Edgar's face showed a hint of fear.

"Awakened?"

This touched upon Xia Tong's area of ​​ignorance.

Aren't legendary weapons supposed to be usable as soon as you meet the attribute requirements?

Seeing Xia Tong's somewhat puzzled expression, Edgar took a deep breath and slowly explained:

"In border areas, legendary weapons often possess their own spirit."

"Especially this Greatsword of the Skull, which was forged from the weapons of countless defeated heroes."

"To use them effectively, in addition to meeting basic physical requirements, one must also gain the approval of the spirit within them."

"Spiritual approval?"

Xia Tong pondered those words carefully.

A seemingly absurd but logically consistent idea came to mind.

As a veteran player, Xia Tong naturally knew the origin of the Sword Remains Greatsword.

Back then, the first King of Elden, Gofulei, led the Golden Tree army in battles across the north and south, and conquered Moen.

The surviving heroes of the fallen kingdom of Moen City picked up the weapons of countless fallen comrades, melted and forged them, and finally created this Greatsword of the Skull.

The purpose of this sword is to declare revenge.

Ironically, its target of revenge is undoubtedly the Golden Tree army led by Govery, which is the current Golden Law.

In the more ancient "Forge of Life" era, the hybrids who are now universally reviled actually held a very high status and were considered sacred beings close to the spirits of nature.

Their horns, scales, and tails were once considered sacred symbols.

Since the advent of the Golden Law, the fate of mixed races has been completely changed.

The Golden Law advocates absolute order and singular purity.

From this point on, any life form bearing the "furnace characteristics" was defined as "defiled," "atavistic," and "impure."

Forget about mixed-race individuals; even if you are of royal blood, the son of Queen Marika, if you grow horns, you'll be thrown into the sewers as a son of evil.

So, doesn't this make sense?

The sword spirit of the Greatsword of the Skulls hates the Golden Law and yearns for revenge.

Lion hybrids and their prides are also oppressed and enslaved by the Golden Law, filled with rage.

The enemy of the enemy is the friend.

This sword of vengeance is practically a divine weapon made for lion hybrids.

Seeing Xia Tong's smile gradually appear on her lips, Lord Edgar of Moen City raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Lord Xia Tong, have you come up with a strategy to defeat the enemy?"

"A good strategy to defeat the enemy?"

Xia Tong pondered for a moment, but instead of answering, she asked a question that had been lingering in her mind.

"Lord Edgar, if I may ask, have you ever tried using that Greatsword of the Skull?"

"Using the Greatsword of the Skull?"

Upon hearing this, Edgar showed a hint of shame on his face.

"The Greatsword of the Skull is a legendary weapon, forged from the wreckage of dozens of weapons belonging to defeated heroes, and its weight far exceeds that of ordinary people."

"Although I can barely wield it thanks to the physique of the Knight of the Lost Land, it doesn't suit my fighting style."

Edgar paused, his eyes dimming:

"More importantly... I cannot gain the approval of the spirit within the Greatsword of the Sword Remains."

Xia Tong understood.

Edgar, as a knight who lost his homeland, is undoubtedly powerful.

If the original game storyline had continued, Edgar would have become a hysterical avenger after Elena's tragic death, completely breaking down in the process.

Perhaps then, filled with hatred, he would gain the sword's approval?

"Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore."

Xia Tong shook his head, then said in a deep voice.

"Lord Edgar, we must take the initiative now! We can no longer sit idly by and wait to be defeated!"

……