Bait

With a frontliner, Lin Luo moved much faster.

Edgar fought with difficulty. After all, his age was his greatest weakness, but with Lin Luo there, things became much easier.

The two worked efficiently. In less than half a day, they had cleared away nearly all the Misbegotten atop the city walls.

But this still fell short of Lin Luo's goal—he wanted to purge all of Castle Morne.

"Edgar."

Lin Luo put away his staff and spoke.

"Do you still have enough stamina...?"

"I... can!"

Edgar looked at Lin Luo in confusion, then his gaze hardened with determination.

"I have a way to get it done once and for all, but it's a little risky..."

Lin Luo looked at Edgar and spoke seriously.

"What do you need me to do?"

Without a moment's hesitation, Edgar asked.

"I need you to be bait!"

Lin Luo said, "If we keep going like this, our efficiency definitely won't be enough."

"Of course, if you..."

"I can do it."

Edgar said it directly.

"Very good."

"Take this..."

A strange stone carving of a human head appeared in Lin Luo's palm.

"This is the Calamity of Shabiri..."

"Its effect is simple... uh... it makes you more... punchable? Anyway, it's for drawing aggro."

Lin Luo bit his lip and thought for a long while before finally coming up with that description.

"When the time comes, just lure them here."

"Mm... no problem."

After some thought, Edgar accepted the accessory Lin Luo handed him and put it on his chest.

"Do you want to rest for a while?"

Lin Luo looked at Edgar. He did not seem to be in particularly good condition.

"It's fine... I can keep going for another three days and three nights!"

Edgar said resolutely.

"Impressive!"

Lin Luo praised him lightly, then handed him two chunks of green turtle neck meat.

"Eat this first and recover some energy."

"Thank you."

Edgar took them and stuffed them directly into his mouth. Before he could chew more than a few times, he picked up his greatsword.

"Golden Vow! Magic Fortification."

Lin Luo took out the Erdtree Seal in his right hand and cast an incantation on Edgar.

Edgar was instantly enveloped in golden light, and he immediately felt strength filling his entire body.

Worried that he might accidentally hurt Edgar later, Lin Luo handed him a flask of Wondrous Physick.

"When you lure them over later, remember to drink this. It can block most of the damage from one attack."

Lin Luo said, "The incantations I cast on you also increase your defense and resistances."

"This..."

Edgar could not help but feel moved. He was about to kneel to Lin Luo again.

Lin Luo reacted quickly and hurriedly held him up.

"Don't. Absolutely don't."

"Just think of me as a heartless quest-completing machine."

"Great kindness needs no words of thanks!"

Edgar gave Lin Luo a deep look, then turned and walked away, looking like a hero heading off never to return.

"Why does the lord of the castle look at me so strangely...?"

Lin Luo scratched his head and could not help shivering.

No! Absolutely not!

After that little interruption, Lin Luo quickly forgot what had just happened and took out the Sword of the Incarnate from his inventory bag.

"Mm... this..."

Lin Luo looked at the Sword of the Incarnate, lost in thought.

"Forget it, I'll switch weapons..."

The image of Irena crying while holding her father surfaced in Lin Luo's mind. She had tremblingly asked who had killed him. He would surely be awkward if that happened.

"I'll be a spellblade for now."

Lin Luo put the Sword of the Incarnate back into his inventory bag and took out the Glintstone Staff of Azur.

Unlike the Staff of the Death Prince, this staff could increase casting speed, but it also consumed more FP.

The Staff of the Death Prince, on the other hand, could greatly enhance the power of death sorceries.

About half an hour later, a commotion startled Lin Luo from his rest.

The disturbance downstairs was intense, accompanied by roar after roar. It was probably the group of Scaled Misbegotten Edgar had lured over—along with several huge rats.

Lin Luo had no idea whether Edgar could actually bring them here. Judging by that heavy armor, he did not seem like he could run very fast.

But at this point, Lin Luo could only pray that Edgar was all right. He was starting to regret it. If he had known, he would have played it safe and killed them one by one. If Edgar turned out to be unreliable and something happened to him, Lin Luo would not know how to face Irena.

This was not a game. He could not just reload and start over.

"Lord Lin Luo! I'm counting on you!"

Just as Lin Luo was preparing to head for the Chapel of Anticipation to atone for his sins, Edgar's voice rang out.

"Oh! Not bad..."

Lin Luo looked over in surprise. Good grief, Edgar's armor was already in tatters. Who knew what brutal ordeal he had just gone through.

"Throw the accessory over there!"

Lin Luo shouted. He did not waste any more words; he knew it was time for his performance.

He raised the staff in his hand and slowly traced a circle in the air.

Then he unleashed his most iconic skill.

"Meteorite of Astel!"

Lin Luo drove the staff fiercely into the ground. Countless meteors appeared behind him and rained down wildly ahead.

Edgar was also stunned by the sight before him.

But he did not hesitate. He quickly threw the Calamity of Shabiri from his chest, then immediately pulled out the Wondrous Physick Lin Luo had given him and drained it in one gulp.

The Scaled Misbegotten chasing behind him suddenly fixed their eyes on the Calamity of Shabiri Edgar had thrown away and swarmed it. Countless greatswords and axes instantly smashed the stone head into pieces.

Even when they accidentally wounded nearby Scaled Misbegotten, they showed no intention of stopping. Instead, the scent of blood drove them even more frenzied.

It was not that they had no brains, but their intelligence was not particularly high. Under the Calamity of Shabiri's influence, their innate beastly nature had been stirred awake. Even beneath Lin Luo's endless meteor shower, they showed not the slightest fear and instead looked utterly insane.

With the accessory thrown away, Edgar opened some distance from the surrounding Scaled Misbegotten.

But it did not last long. The Calamity of Shabiri's aura still lingered on Edgar. After smashing the accessory, the Scaled Misbegotten turned their attention back to him.

Several Misbegotten that had completely lost their minds charged at Edgar at nearly impossible speed. Even Lin Luo clicked his tongue at that speed.

"I can't use this thing again!"

Looking at the dozens, perhaps hundreds, still left in his inventory bag, Lin Luo wondered if he should dispose of them all at once someday.

The Scaled Misbegotten's claws came within ten centimeters of Edgar. At the critical moment, Lin Luo's spell finally finished channeling. The Stars sorcery—Meteorite of Astel—finally began to roar.

A meteor struck precisely between the Misbegotten and Edgar.

"Bang!"

A muffled sound rang out.

If Lin Luo had guessed correctly, it was the sound of Edgar's Wondrous Physick shield breaking.

But the good news was that the meteor had sent Edgar "flying" to safety, where he landed right beside Lin Luo.

"Are you all right?"

Lin Luo put away his staff and handed Edgar a red flask of Crimson Tears.

"Thank you... I'm... fine..."

Wincing in pain, Edgar slowly stood up. That impact had made him feel as if his little brother had nearly snapped in half.

He took the flask Lin Luo handed him and hurriedly drank it.

At once, he felt as though his body had been cleansed, and the pain in his lower half was no longer so severe.

Only then did Edgar turn back to look.

"...Lord... Lord Lin Luo, Castle Morne... doesn't need to be rebuilt, right?"

Edgar forced a smile. Good grief, half of this section of the city wall had been blasted down.

"Uh... out with the old, in with the new."

Lin Luo scratched his head awkwardly and quickly fell silent.