Barricade Shield

Xia Tong put in a little effort and found that he simply could not remove it. So he used Lordsworn's Greatsword to painstakingly pry open the Night's Cavalryman's iron faceplate.

He then pried the entire deformed helmet out from around the man's shoulders.

Only then was a complete head revealed before Xia Tong.

He had not been able to see clearly during the fight. Now, after lighting a torch and leaning in close, he could finally make it out clearly.

Judging by his features, he was probably in his forties or fifties.

But his skin, having gone so long without sunlight, was a dull, lifeless lead-gray.

There was a deep sword wound in his neck where Xia Tong had stabbed him. The blood that had flowed out was not the bright red of an ordinary person's, but an almost viscous reddish-black.

"There's a fluctuation from an Ash of War on him."

Melina materialized beside him, staring at the dead Night's Cavalryman as she spoke softly.

"An Ash of War?"

Only then did Xia Tong recall that Night's Cavalrymen would most likely drop Ashes of War.

So, he began stripping off the armor.

He removed every piece of armor from the Night's Cavalryman's body, yet found nothing.

Then his gaze fell upon the Night's Cavalryman's somewhat shriveled skin.

Right in the center of his chest was a gray crystal the size of a fingernail.

"That is the Ash of War."

Melina's voice was gentle yet certain.

Xia Tong pulled a short knife from his trouser leg, carefully pried off the crystal, wiped it clean, and examined it in his hand.

The gray crystal was dull in color and rough on the surface. It looked utterly ordinary, like a stubborn stone by the roadside.

"This is an Ash of War?"

Xia Tong looked at Melina and asked in confusion.

"Take out the thing you found in the underground chamber at Gatefront. Then use it to lightly touch this crystal."

"You mean... the Whetstone Knife?"

Xia Tong had not kept that thing on him. It was too heavy, so he had left it in the pack on Torrent's back.

He dug it out, picked up the unremarkable little stone knife carved with ancient inscriptions, and lightly touched the gray crystal with it.

Buzz!

The instant they touched.

A faint glow began to flow across the Whetstone Knife's surface.

Xia Tong felt a strange resonance form between himself and the crystal before him.

The previously dull crystal lit up at once.

At the same time, Xia Tong's mind buzzed, and his vision went black.

His consciousness was forcibly cast into an ancient battlefield.

The endless sounds of weapons clashing and warriors shouting filled his surroundings.

Before him, swords, spears, blades, and halberds came raining down, every strike fatal.

But he did not panic.

In his field of vision, he held a tower shield half the height of a man, firmly raised before him.

All the strength in his body slowly twisted into his left arm, and even the sounds of breathing around him became crystal clear.

A mercury-like sheen rippled across the shield's surface.

The clanging by his ears never ceased.

Countless sharp swords chopped down, while warhammers, great lances, and crossbow bolts crashed into him in a dense barrage.

Every impact brought tremendous roars and violent tremors.

Yet he remained utterly unmoved.

Every muscle in his body served that shield, perfectly channeling the force of impact into the ground.

He held a half-crouched stance, yet his spine stood as straight as a mountain peak.

Combat skill—Barricade Shield!

Immovable as a mountain!

Boom!

The scene abruptly shattered.

Xia Tong suddenly came back to his senses, and everything before him became clear once more.

The Night's Cavalryman's corpse still lay quietly on the grass in front of him, as though nothing had happened.

But Xia Tong's palms were drenched in sweat.

"That is an Ash of War."

Melina looked at his stunned expression and explained,

"These Ashes of War contain the will of the great warrior their host was in life. Put simply, they are living fossils of combat skills."

"Whenever a powerful warrior tempered their craft, their spiritual power resonated intensely with their life energy—namely, Runes."

"After the body perished, their deepest muscle memory and comprehension of technique did not fade away. Instead, they attached themselves to some kind of medium."

For the Night's Cavalryman, that medium was naturally the gray crystal embedded in his chest.

Xia Tong stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"Then how do I use it?"

"Hold the crystal carrying the Ash of War in one hand and the Whetstone Knife in the other. Carefully sense the spiritual power within the Ash of War."

"Then use the knife to carve its unique pattern onto your weapon or shield."

Melina paused before adding,

"However, once you carve the pattern onto a shield, the spiritual power within the gray crystal that carries the combat skill transfers along with it. At its core, the crystal is merely a container."

Xia Tong understood.

So this was the true nature of the Ash of War system from the game.

He could put this on the Brass Shield later. It would definitely be a godsend for clearing areas.

After putting away the Ash of War, he went to inspect the massive weapon that had dropped—the Night Cavalry Flail.

He gripped the end of the handle with both hands and gave it a swing.

After trying it out a few times, he found it rather unwieldy.

The inertia of those three spiked iron balls was too great. It never felt flexible enough, and it would be easy to injure himself by mistake.

Based on his experience from his previous life, it was probably because his Dexterity was not high enough.

Xia Tong's Dexterity was currently 13, which was indeed a little low.

Most of his Runes had been used to improve his Mind and health.

"Lord Xia Tong, are you all right?"

In the distance.

Irina approached, supported by the merchant Moen.

Following the sound to determine his location, Irina jogged toward Xia Tong, her face full of anxiety.

She was very clever.

She could sense that this battle had been far more dangerous and lengthy than the previous fight against the Misbegotten squad.

This was the legendary Night's Cavalry!

When she was little, she had heard her father tell stories about the Night's Cavalry. Every one of them was a highly skilled powerhouse, and quite a few heroes had died beneath their iron hooves.

"I'm fine, didn't die! Still in one piece."

Xia Tong chuckled, walked over, and naturally smoothed out Irina's wind-tousled hair.

It had to be said, Irina was exceptionally good at offering emotional support. She really made one want to protect her.

"Just now, I thought you would die at the Night's Cavalryman's hands."

After this battle, the wandering merchant Moen's respect for Xia Tong had increased tremendously.

In the Lands Between, the strong were respected.

"I just got lucky and survived."

Xia Tong laughed it off without offering any further explanation.

During this battle, Xia Tong had not drunk from the Crimson Tear Flask. He had only routinely taken a drink from the Cerulean Tear Flask to replenish the Focus Points consumed when summoning Spirit Ashes.

Ever since coming to this world, Xia Tong had deliberately avoided drinking flasks during battle.

Because in a fierce fight, drinking a flask was an extremely dangerous act.

Of course, he had Spirit Ashes drawing attention for him, so the risk was much lower.

But even so, Xia Tong avoided drinking whenever possible.

Unless the battle was over and drinking a flask could mend his injuries. That was another matter entirely.

"Brother Moen, thank you for looking after Miss Irina just now."

"No need to be polite. I didn't really look after her at all. Besides, the Night's Cavalryman's target was you from beginning to end."

Moen waved his hand.

"To show my thanks, let me see your goods. You might have something I need."

"Brother, you've finally decided to patronize my business!"

Moen was overjoyed.

He led Xia Tong over to his little donkey and untied the bulging cloth sack.

Rattle, rattle.

It was filled with a dazzling assortment of wares.

Xia Tong looked through them and had Moen introduce them as well.

Then he made a sweeping gesture.

He spent several hundred Runes on some Kukri. These throwing weapons had a very strong bleed effect.

He also spent 600 Runes to buy a Cracked Pot.

Finally, he spotted an ash-gray key in the corner.