Winged Misbegotten! Annihilate!

Jingle!

Jingle!

Jingle!

Accompanied by the urgent ringing,

Xia Tong summoned two Godrick Soldiers, one Spirit Jellyfish, and three Stray Wolves in one breath!

As a slight dizziness washed over his head, he hurriedly pulled out a Cerulean Tear Flask and took a huge gulp.

The icy liquid slid down his throat, transforming into a clear, cold current that rushed straight to his head. Only then did the splitting pain slowly recede, and his thoughts became clear again.

Then, he rang the bell once more.

Jingle!

Two Fanged Imps materialized as well!

At this point, Xia Tong's Spirit Ashes army had fully assembled.

Against such agile enemies, heavy weapons were a major taboo.

Xia Tong decisively put away the Lordsworn's Greatsword on his back. Instead, he pulled a Brass Shield from thin air and held it in his left hand, while drawing a lightweight Lordsworn's Straight Sword with his right.

These Winged Misbegotten were extremely nimble, and they could fly.

The Lordsworn's Greatsword was too heavy. Its momentum was too great when swung, and if he missed, the inertia would make him stagger, exposing a fatal opening.

"Gurgle!"

Xia Tong sent an order to the Spirit Jellyfish through their mental connection.

The Spirit Jellyfish's translucent body immediately turned bright red. Its bell rippled violently like silk, gathering strength.

Pfft!

A stream of pink venom with a foul, fishy stench sprayed precisely onto the two Winged Misbegotten in front of him.

"Roar—!"

The two Misbegotten were scorched by the venom and immediately let out low growls.

One of them violently beat its wings and flew into the air. Then, using the momentum of its dive, it swooped down fiercely, swinging its Iron Cleaver at Xia Tong.

At the same time, five or six Misbegotten in the distance heard the commotion and came rushing over with strange cries.

"Kill!"

Xia Tong immediately stepped forward, raised his shield, and slashed with his sword.

Behind him, one of the Godrick Soldiers equipped with a crossbow knelt on one knee and fired a bolt straight at the Winged Misbegotten's head.

Whoosh!

Clearly, the Godrick Soldier Xia Tong had summoned had been a seasoned veteran in life.

That shot was both accurate and vicious.

Although it did not hit the head, it pierced straight through the Misbegotten's windpipe.

The Winged Misbegotten struggled violently in midair, making a leaking, wheezing sound before crashing heavily to the ground and going still.

Golden Runes flowed into Xia Tong's body.

63 points.

Immediately afterward, the remaining Misbegotten was hacked to death under everyone's combined assault in only a few seconds!

However, the danger had not passed.

By now, the group of Misbegotten rushing toward Xia Tong had drawn close.

The two in the lead charged over first, with the remaining four following close behind!

Spirit Ashes possessed intelligence. The greater their intelligence had been in life, the better they worked together.

Xia Tong's mind raced as he began assigning tactics:

He alone would control and command all the Spirit Ashes.

The three Stray Wolves would hold back one Misbegotten;

The two Fanged Imps would use their agility to fight one Misbegotten;

The two Godrick Soldiers would work together against one Misbegotten;

And he and the Spirit Jellyfish would face the remaining three Misbegotten.

He would hold the front line and attack, while the Spirit Jellyfish supported him with poison from the rear!

However, ideals were plentiful, while reality was cruel.

The Misbegotten did not follow Xia Tong's script entirely.

One Winged Misbegotten seemed to see through the formation. It directly ignored Xia Tong, who was trying to draw its attention, and ran toward the fragile Spirit Jellyfish in the back while screeching!

Damn it!

But Xia Tong had no time to deal with it.

Because the two Winged Misbegotten in front of him had already arrived.

All of these Misbegotten wore the same outfit and had the same appearance. Ugly flesh wings grew from their backs, their bodies were covered in messy feathers and scales, and they held huge, rusted Iron Cleavers in their hands.

These two Winged Misbegotten possessed extremely violent combat instincts.

They used their wings to hover briefly in the air. Then, borrowing the force of gravity, their two Iron Cleavers swept in from the left and right like enormous scissors, viciously shearing toward Xia Tong's neck!

Clang!!!

A deafening clash of metal rang out.

The tremendous impact traveled through the shield into Xia Tong's arms, making his bones ache and numbing half his body.

Fortunately, the Brass Shield was exceptionally sturdy even among medium shields.

Combined with the combat skills Xia Tong had honed over the past several days, he knew to tilt the shield slightly at the moment of impact, deflecting most of the force.

Even so, Xia Tong could not help stumbling backward repeatedly. His feet plowed two deep furrows into the ground before he barely managed to steady himself.

The two Misbegotten had struck Xia Tong's Brass Shield together. The force was simply too overwhelming.

If he had not added points to Strength during his earlier level-ups, improving his body's toughness,

that combined strike would have broken through his guard and left his center wide open.

"Hah... I barely held on!"

Xia Tong gritted his teeth and panted heavily.

But after that blow, both his arms were aching and weak, as if the air had been squeezed out of his lungs.

At that moment, he had no strength to counterattack by borrowing the force from his block.

If he forced himself to swing his sword, his movements would only become slow and weak, exposing openings instead.

Xia Tong's eyes hardened.

Since he could not counterattack immediately after blocking, then he would take the initiative and attack!

Without hesitation, he adjusted his breathing and stepped forward.

Taking advantage of the brief stiffness after the two Misbegotten landed their attacks, when their old strength had faded but new strength had yet to rise, the straight sword in his hand shot out like a venomous snake!

The instinct formed from memories of his previous life, along with the reactions he had honed through days of battle, made this thrust fast and ruthless. It pierced straight into one Misbegotten's throat.

It was the most vulnerable part of any creature!

As Misbegotten, their skin was far tougher than a human's, but they wore no armor.

Thus, after only the slightest resistance, the blade pierced straight through.

Squelch!

Blood immediately sprayed out, splashing all over Xia Tong's face.

Before he could pull out his sword, the other Misbegotten swung its cleaver at him.

Xia Tong had no choice but to temporarily abandon the Lordsworn's Straight Sword lodged between the Misbegotten's bones and roll backward.

At the same time, he pulled the throwing knives strapped to his leg and fired three of them in succession at the other Misbegotten.

While it dodged, Xia Tong immediately picked up the huge Iron Cleaver dropped by the dead Misbegotten and hacked at the remaining one.

It had to be said that the Misbegotten's iron cleaver was extremely heavy.

But Xia Tong's repeated increases to Strength had greatly enhanced the power in his arms. Using both hands, he could barely handle it with ease.

Most importantly,

as slaves, the Misbegotten had no systematic combat techniques. They relied entirely on bodily instinct and brute force, swinging wildly.

But Xia Tong's combat skills far surpassed those of the Misbegotten.

That was why he had been able to thrust his Lordsworn's Straight Sword into one Misbegotten's throat from such a tricky angle during the gap between the two attacks.

Even with the traits of Aspects of the Crucible, that Misbegotten was still on the verge of death after its neck had been pierced.

Now that he was facing one Misbegotten alone, things became much easier.

Xia Tong dodged lightly and swung his cleaver when the moment was right.

In only three to five minutes, that Misbegotten was beheaded beneath his blade.

He threw away the huge iron cleaver in his hand, pulled his Lordsworn's Straight Sword from the other Misbegotten's corpse, then stabbed down hard once more to make sure it was completely dead.

Another stream of Runes entered his body.

Huff!

Xia Tong let out a long breath, then collapsed onto the ground and panted heavily.

As for the Spirit Ashes, their battles were also nearing an end. Xia Tong's earlier assignments had left each small team almost completely suppressing its Misbegotten opponent.

Of course, the downside was that the pressure on his side had been especially great.

"Lord Xia Tong... are you all right?"

The noble young lady Irina had stayed in a safe area in the distance according to Melina's instructions, so as not to cause Xia Tong trouble.

However, her long-term blindness had made her hearing exceptionally sharp. She could clearly sense how brutal and intense the battle had been.

At the same time, she felt guilty and pained by her own helplessness.

"I'm sorry, Lord Xia Tong. I'm truly too useless. I can't help you at all."

Gentle and humble Irina stirred Xia Tong's sympathy.

He did not blame her.

Supporting himself with one hand, Xia Tong slowly sat up. Then he reached out and gently stroked Irina's hair.

Her hair was somewhat messy from their journey, but it still felt soft and smooth.

"Protecting yourself well is the greatest help you can give me. Besides, we're still going to meet the lord of Castle Morne, aren't we?"

Xia Tong comforted her warmly.

Then, his tone grew serious:

"And do you know what matters most?"

"What is it?"

Irina looked slightly bewildered. With her eyes closed, she faced Xia Tong's direction somewhat helplessly.

"When we reach Castle Morne, I'll be an outsider who knows nothing about the place."

"I'll definitely be completely lost inside the castle."

"But although you can't see, you grew up there and know the castle's layout like the back of your hand. That will be an enormous help to me!"

Looking at her, Xia Tong said firmly:

"So you're a very useful person. Never call yourself useless."

"Mm... mm!"

Irina nodded forcefully. A little more light appeared on her previously dim face, and she seemed far more confident.