Victory

After smashing the shield-bearing Godrick Soldier away, the Night's Cavalry advanced rather than retreating.

The Night Cavalry's Flail in his hand began to spin again. Then he swung it fiercely, the wind howling as it smashed toward Kulala in midair.

Xia Tong was still rushing over, too far away to help.

The remaining two Stray Wolves desperately tore at the Funeral Horse's hind legs, but it was useless.

The Funeral Horse seemed to have been driven mad as well. Its four hooves flailed wildly, and it actually kicked one Stray Wolf flying.

The two Fanged Imps leaped up together, clinging fiercely to the Funeral Horse and attacking madly, but they still could not stop the knight's movements.

Kulala's bell slowly expanded, then contracted sharply as she tried to float higher and evade the attack.

But the Night Cavalry's Flail was linked by a chain. It already counted as a long weapon to some extent, with an extremely broad range and enough flexibility.

Bang!

That blow ultimately struck Kulala's fragile bell.

Even though she was a spirit, and her soft body provided immense cushioning.

The force of that strike was simply too great. It directly tore open part of her translucent bell, scattering glittering fragments of spirit-light in every direction.

"Mm!"

Xia Tong's heart instantly leaped into his throat.

Through their mental connection, he could clearly feel Kulala's profound pain and sorrowful cries.

Among all the Spirit Ashes, Kulala was the one Xia Tong cherished most.

In life, she had only been a girl not yet fourteen years old.

In the Lands Between, the souls of children who could not return to the Erdtree sometimes became these translucent jellyfish.

Xia Tong remembered it clearly.

Back when he had played the game, Kulala the jellyfish had possessed her own unique questline.

She had made a promise with her sister, Kulalis. They had promised that when they turned fourteen, they would go see the real starry sky together.

Regrettably, both sisters died young before reaching fourteen.

Although they had both become Spirit Jellyfish, they had been forcibly separated, each stranded at opposite ends of the world.

Kulala's soul remained on Stormhill in Limgrave, foolishly waiting for someone to take her home.

Her younger sister, Kulalis, was in the far north, keeping a lonely watch over the stars amid the frigid Stargazers' Ruins on the Mountaintops of the Giants.

At heart, she was only a teenage girl.

A little girl who loved to cry, loved to act spoiled, and longed to see the stars!

And now, after becoming a Spirit Jellyfish, she had actually been so brutally injured by this damned Night's Cavalry!

"Unforgivable!"

At the center of the battlefield.

Though Kulala was in pain, her tentacles did not stop dancing.

Instead, they wrapped tightly around the Night's Cavalry's body like vines.

Then her damaged bell rippled.

Psh!

A massive jet of thick purple-red acid sprayed out!

In an instant, the Night's Cavalry and the Funeral Horse beneath him were drenched from head to toe, as though a bucket of concentrated acid had been poured over them.

Sizzle, sizzle!

Plumes of green smoke rose from the Night's Cavalry's armor as the acid seeped through the gaps and onto the skin beneath.

"Urgh—!"

The previously silent Night's Cavalry finally howled in pain, his voice hoarse and twisted.

The Funeral Horse beneath him reared up violently, trying to struggle madly.

But it could not move.

One Stray Wolf had its hind leg clamped tightly in its jaws, while two Fanged Imps clung to its body.

The Forked Hatchets in the imps' hands stabbed in and out, bleeding it without pause!

Meanwhile, the Godrick Soldier who had originally wielded a crossbow had drawn the longsword from his back and charged forward.

Psh!

His sword stabbed viciously into the horse's belly!

Perhaps the pain was too great. The Night's Cavalry forcibly tore free from the restraints on both arms.

His eyes bloodshot, he raised the Night Cavalry's Flail again, preparing to smash it viciously into Kulala, who was wrapped around him.

It was a killing blow!

Over here.

Xia Tong's rage nearly surged out of his throat as he shouted:

"Torrent!"

Neigh!

Torrent suddenly leaped, soaring into the air.

Then, while in midair, he made a second jump!

The two jumps carried Xia Tong and his horse nearly ten meters into the sky!

They were directly above and in front of the Night's Cavalry's head!

"Die...!!"

Xia Tong slapped the saddle with his left hand, borrowing the force to launch himself from Torrent's back.

He curled into a ball in midair, then suddenly unfurled. Using the gravitational force of his descent, his entire body began spinning wildly!

Spinning with him was the heavy Lordsworn's Greatsword!

Lion's Claw!

Though he had not learned the true skill, his fury brought his movements incomparably close to that legendary attack.

Whoosh—!

A shrill tearing sound descended from above, carrying the crushing force of a mountain pressing down.

The Night's Cavalry could not help glancing sideways, his pupils contracting sharply.

He immediately abandoned his attack on the jellyfish and could only pull back the Night Cavalry's Flail.

One hand gripped the right side of the handle, the other the left side of the chain, crossing it before himself in an attempt to withstand the blow head-on!

Clang!!

Xia Tong's Lordsworn's Greatsword slammed viciously into the chain of the Night Cavalry's Flail, sending brilliant sparks bursting outward.

The immense recoil instantly split Xia Tong's palm, drawing blood!

The Night Cavalry's Flail was incredibly flexible and unpredictable in attack.

But when used to defend and block—especially against a jumping slash from such a heavy weapon—it was simply inadequate.

Creak!

Before the tremendous force of Xia Tong's furious blow.

The three chains connecting the shaft to the black spiked iron ball could not bear the pressure at all and bent downward together.

They failed to fully block Xia Tong's Lordsworn's Greatsword!

The greatsword's momentum did not diminish as it slashed fiercely into the Night's Cavalry's helmet.

Bang!

A dull impact rang out.

Blood flowed from the gaps in his black face-covering helmet.

Xia Tong could clearly hear bones cracking!

The overwhelming pain and blurred consciousness sent the Night's Cavalry tumbling straight from his horse.

Boom!

The Funeral Horse, already too badly injured, could no longer support its massive body. It let out a mournful cry and collapsed to the ground.

The moment it fell, the two Stray Wolves seized the opportunity, viciously biting into its throat. It never rose again.

The Night's Cavalry truly was an elite warrior.

Even after suffering a devastating blow to the head and falling from his horse, he was not sluggish for long.

He shook his head and staggered as he tried to get back up, reaching for the flail that had fallen nearby.

But how could Xia Tong give him that chance!

"Up!"

Enduring the searing pain in his palm, Xia Tong gripped his sword with both hands and swung upward with all his strength.

Thud!

The off-balance Night's Cavalry was sent flying into the air like a rag doll.

Then he crashed heavily back to the ground.

The two Fanged Imps nearby had been waiting for this moment.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two more Magic Pots exploded against his body, one after the other.

Only then did the Night's Cavalry finally stop moving, falling into a near-death state.

But Xia Tong did not lower his guard.

Panting heavily, he strode forward and thrust the Lordsworn's Greatsword viciously through the gap in the other's neck armor!

Psh!

Only when blood gurgled out from within and stained the ground red did Xia Tong finally stop.

Buzz—

A golden Rune surged into Xia Tong's body like a flood.

Vast and immense.

That energy filled his muscles with a swollen ache. All five of his senses sharpened, and even the sound of his own heartbeat seemed clearly audible.

This Rune was the greatest fortune Xia Tong had obtained so far.

3400 points!

Runes were essentially a form of life energy. This energy could not appear from nothing; it could only be transferred.

The strong lived, and the weak died.

Xia Tong did not look at the Night's Cavalry's corpse. Instead, he hurriedly turned and ran toward Kulala, floating not far away.

By then, Kulala had already left her enraged crimson state.

She had returned to her original, faintly translucent white.

Only, her glow was so dim that it seemed as though it could go out at any moment.

Xia Tong stepped forward and examined her carefully.

Several of Kulala's tentacles had been severed outright.

As for her beautiful bell, a full quarter of it was missing, deeply torn apart by the flail.

"I'm sorry... I made you suffer."

Xia Tong gently held Kulala in an empty embrace, hoping to make her feel protected and cherished.

Kulala lightly rubbed against Xia Tong's hand, letting out a faint but affectionate hum.

Jingle, jingle.

Xia Tong gently rang the Spirit Calling Bell.

Kulala transformed into specks of starlight and slowly faded away, returning to the space of his consciousness to recuperate.

Xia Tong then walked over and helped the Godrick Soldier's Spirit Ashes, whose chest had been crushed inward, up from the ground.

Only then did he ring the Spirit Calling Bell and recall him.

This battle had not been easy.

After doing all this.

Xia Tong finally turned around, his gaze icy as he looked toward the dead Night's Cavalry.

He walked over, crouched down, and reached out to grab the deformed black helmet.

"Fuck! Hiding behind a mask and playing mysterious, huh? Let's see what you really look like."