Eve of Taking the Sword

"Doing alright..."

Lin Luo's expression remained unchanged. If he wasn't embarrassed, then whoever was would be.

"It's a good time for a fresh start."

Lin Luo said, his breathing steady and his face uncolored.

"Cough, cough..."

Edgar couldn't help but cough a few times upon hearing this. Good heavens, your one move did more damage than half a year's worth of work by those misbegotten.

The two exchanged a glance, and an awkward atmosphere inexplicably filled the air.

Lin Luo shivered unexpectedly, feeling a strange chill. He quickly turned his head to look at the sky.

"Mmm... the moon today... the sky is exceptionally blue."

"..."

Seriously, the city is covered in smoke, how can you even see that?

A grid appeared between Edgar's eyebrows; he felt his blood pressure rising.

Good grief, he was touched for nothing. He'd apparently hired a grandfather Tarnished.

Still, Edgar came to a realization. Even if Castle Morne were perfectly preserved, it was still ruled by misbegotten.

Although the damage Lin Luo caused was a bit excessive, he had at least wiped out nearly ninety percent of the misbegotten...

In a sense, Lin Luo had completed his commission...

Though the price was a bit steep.

"The only place left to clear is where the Lion Guardian is by the sea,"

Edgar looked at Lin Luo and said.

"There should be a few more misbegotten around, but probably not many. That's the Lion Guardian's territory, so those Scaled Misbegotten don't dare approach it, but there might be a few with ambitions."

"That sword is in the hands of the Lion Guardian."

Edgar pointed towards the sea below. A relatively wide path led to a platform. That should be where the Lion Guardian was.

"Mmm..." Lin Luo nodded, glancing at Edgar.

"Go to the gate and meet your daughter... When you get back, we'll go find that Lion Guardian."

Lin Luo could already see a Site of Grace ahead. If he wasn't mistaken, he could directly communicate with Melina there.

"Irena..."

Edgar's eyes were filled with a hint of tenderness, the last bit of tenderness belonging solely to this man. All that remained was loyalty and life.

"Uh... I'll be going now."

Lin Luo felt his persona slipping in front of this man. If you say he doesn't care about you, he'd kneel and beg you, even offering himself as bait to help.

But if you say he cares about you, after just two sentences, he starts zoning out and thinking about other things.

Seeing that he still hadn't paid her any mind, Lin Luo felt a bit annoyed. Good grief, are you contemplating life here?

Lin Luo forcefully suppressed the urge to kick Edgar and turned to walk towards the Lion Guardian's location.

If he stayed any longer, Irena would likely experience the pain of losing her father.

Lin Luo nimbly jumped off the city wall, reaching a gap with a small, circular roof. Below that, stone walls extended in layers.

It looked very much like stairs, whether it was the work of nature's artistry or human carving, it was hard to say.

There was a Site of Grace below. Lin Luo let the dung beetles he saw midway pass.

After all, Sites of Grace directly replenished the energy missing from the Flask of the Erdtree, but once dung beetles were gone, they were gone. This wasn't a cycle where everything was restored after a Site of Grace.

If you can't find the book by searching the title, you can try searching for the author! Maybe the name was just changed!

Lin Luo reached a small platform made of solid wood in two or three movements. In the center was an irregularly shaped opening, which looked like it had been smashed, perhaps by the Lion Guardian itself.

Lin Luo looked down. Mmm... not too high.

But Lin Luo did not choose to jump directly. Of course, to be clear, it was absolutely not because he was afraid of death. This wasn't like a cycle where falling from a certain distance would kill you, which didn't make sense.

The main reason was the many wooden beams crossing the middle. If he took damage during his flight that couldn't be easily repaired, he wouldn't even be able to cry.

Lin Luo decided not to gamble with his future happiness and instead hopped onto the beams.

Reaching the center of a beam, he made a sharp left turn and landed on the next beam.

Using the same method, he reached the third... and then the fourth.

He saw no more beams.

At this point, Lin Luo leaped down.

The commotion was significant, and the rats in the vicinity instantly opened their eyes... yes, they could smell it: the scent of food.

That's right, the rats in the Boundary Lands were huge, mostly due to mutating after eating people blessed by the Erdtree.

They gnawed on corpses and attacked those blessed by the Erdtree. Over time, traces of the Erdtree's blessing even began to appear within them.

Sometimes, killing these rats can yield a curve of Runes from their corpses. That's the best proof.

I've described all this not because it's strong, but simply because I wanted to ramble... just to explain some common sense about the Lands Between!

Lin Luo landed on his feet. In the darkness, over a dozen pairs of red pinpricks appeared in his vision.

"Squeak... squeak squeak!"

A noisy and monotonous sound arose – the piercing cries of large rats.

"Ding!"

Two rats charged Lin Luo first, their massive incisors aiming for his neck, but they were blocked by the famous blade in his hand.

A grating sound of metal on metal rang out.

Lin Luo furrowed his brow slightly. With a surge of strength in his right hand, the sharp blade sliced directly down from the rat's open mouth.

"Swish..."

The famous blade, Moonveil, was so sharp that the instant its edge touched the rat's flesh, it cleaved it in two. A foul stench immediately filled Lin Luo's nostrils.

The splashing blood didn't scare off the remaining rats; instead, it seemed to further ignite their fury and... perhaps their bestial nature?

The group of rats became increasingly frenzied, swarming towards Lin Luo.

Lin Luo remained unhurried, slowly backing towards the entrance. His right foot began to emanate a white mist.

"Let's see if you can handle the power of my old cold legs..."

Lin Luo murmured, then stomped his right foot hard on the ground. A large patch of ice thorns erupted from the earth, spreading out before him.

The charging rats instantly turned into white mist. Their resistance was low, and they directly triggered the Frostbite status effect. Under Lin Luo's Frost Stomp, they directly turned into Runes.

Seeing no other Oddities remaining, Lin Luo walked out. Turning left twice after exiting led to the Site of Grace.

He lit the Site of Grace as usual and began to summon Melina.

Melina's figure gradually materialized, a hint of surprise on her face.

"So quickly... you've cleared out these Scaled Misbegotten..."

"Something like that..." Lin Luo glanced at Melina and raised his hand, pointing to the small platform below.

"There's only this big guy left."

Lin Luo said calmly, "You go and bring Irena back for me first. Her father is waiting for her at the castle gate."

"Okay..." Melina nodded slightly, her form dissipating once more. She didn't ask Lin Luo if he was confident in defeating that... whatever it was. Lin Luo's strength was clear to her; at least, as far as she knew, this Lion Guardian couldn't possibly be Lin Luo's match.

"Now then, little kitty, you're next!"

A cruel smile spread across Lin Luo's face. Although he looked like a villain, he had to admit, he was getting a little excited.