Carl's Baptism Church

Xia Tong packed his belongings and prepared to set out.

All the Spirit Ashes had been nurtured back to health and restored their vitality.

Xia Tong rubbed the intelligence report on the Demi-Human Group in his hand and set out once more with Miss Irina.

Attached to the report was a map, which showed the route to the Demi-Human Ruins where the Demi-Human Queen was located.

Xia Tong did not dare delay.

Irina sat in front while Xia Tong sat behind her. The Spirit Steed Torrent was fairly swift, and even carrying both of them, it still raced along at a rapid pace.

After traveling for a while, they could vaguely make out the silhouette of Castle Morne through the thin mist.

Then, following the map's directions, Xia Tong pulled the reins and turned right.

He tried to stay on the main road. It would let them travel faster and reduce the risk of an ambush.

They occasionally encountered scattered Winged Misbegotten along the way, but Xia Tong casually disposed of them without any trouble.

As they traveled, the terrain gradually rose, and the woods around them grew denser. The light became mottled and dim.

Whenever they came across gatherable items, such as Erdleaf Flowers and Eyes of Yelough, Xia Tong consciously collected them.

That included Smoldering Butterflies, which always appeared near flames. They were a symbol of Melina.

Whenever he saw one, Xia Tong carefully tucked it away.

Suddenly, the shrill cry unique to rodents sounded beside them.

"Squeak! Squeak!"

"Squeak! Squeak!"

Xia Tong glanced to the side and discovered a gray-black rat the size of a mutt in the bushes to his left, staring straight at their group with bright yellow eyes.

"Fuck, it's huge!"

Xia Tong was shocked. Even as a veteran player, seeing such an enormous rat in real life for the first time was still quite an impact.

Compared to the blood-red eyes of ordinary rats, this rat's bright yellow eyes seemed even more terrifying, overflowing with madness and bloodlust.

That bright yellow was not merely a color. It was as though flames burned within its eyeballs, making them especially glaring and eerie in the dim forest.

"Frenzied Flame Rat!"

As a hardcore Elden Ring player, Xia Tong naturally recognized it at once.

Though this monster was not particularly strong, its distinctive eyes meant it carried the dreadful Frenzied Flame virus.

Stray Wolves were perfect for dealing with this kind of rat.

With the crisp chime of the Spirit Calling Bell, three Stray Wolves were summoned, transforming into white phantoms as they pounced forward.

Then, to be safe, Xia Tong summoned two Fanged Imps as well.

Within a few breaths, the Frenzied Flame Rat was completely eliminated under the assault of the five Spirit Ashes.

After the rat died, a glowing substance that was half-liquid and half-solid seeped from its corpse.

It gave off a faint bright-yellow glow. Xia Tong touched it with his hand, but it had no warmth.

"This should be Yellow Ember."

Xia Tong collected it. It might come in handy for crafting items someday.

"They've been infected by the Frenzied Flame."

Melina's figure emerged as she looked at the dead Frenzied Flame Rat. She spoke slowly, her tone carrying a hint of gravity.

"Frenzied Flame?"

Xia Tong repeated softly.

He was far too familiar with the Frenzied Flame.

In his previous life, while playing Elden Ring, he had gone underground beneath the Royal Capital to receive the Frenzied Flame and follow Vyke's old path, all so Melina would not burn herself at the Giant's Cauldron.

Naturally, at the end, Melina had opened her purple dusk-colored eye and sworn to deliver "Destined Death" unto him.

(ಥ_ಥ)

Shaking his head hard, Xia Tong stopped dwelling on that depressing matter.

He turned to look at Melina and found confusion in her eyes as well, as though she were wondering what he was spacing out over again.

They continued exploring, finding several more Frenzied Flame Rats along the way and directing the Spirit Ashes to eliminate them one by one.

Gradually, a church-like building emerged from deep within the woods—Carl's Baptism Church.

"There's some kind of powerful presence nearby."

Melina warned him softly.

Xia Tong was no fool. He had a rough idea of what was inside the church.

After all, he was a hardcore player. He had long memorized the layout here.

As he slowly entered Carl's Baptism Church, he found that the surrounding walls had long since been damaged and collapsed, giving the place an air of desolation.

At the very front stood a damaged statue of Queen Marika.

In the shadows beside the statue lay an absurdly huge body, nearly the size of two adults.

Its enormous tail swayed continuously like a whip, sweeping up clouds of dust.

A Giant Frenzied Flame Rat.

Seemingly sensing the presence of living people, the Giant Frenzied Flame Rat slowly turned toward Xia Tong and the others.

At the same time, it let out piercing, ear-splitting squeaks.

Then, more than a dozen ordinary-sized Frenzied Flame Rats crawled out from gaps in the ruined rubble.

"A swarm tactic?"

Xia Tong sneered.

"I can do that too."

Jingle, jingle.

Jingle, jingle.

To guard against any surprises and end the fight quickly, Xia Tong always went all out.

Kulala the Spirit Jellyfish and two Godrick Soldiers were summoned again.

The Spirit Ashes legion swiftly engaged the ordinary Frenzied Flame Rats, and the scene quickly descended into chaos.

Xia Tong took the opportunity to remove the light crossbow from his back and fired several arrows in quick succession at the Giant Frenzied Flame Rat.

The difference between a crossbow and a bow was that a crossbow only needed to be aimed; it did not require any advanced drawing technique.

Combined with the Tarnished's powerful physique, Xia Tong's shots were both fast and accurate.

However, the Giant Frenzied Flame Rat's hide was incredibly thick.

Xia Tong's three bolts lodged in its body, drawing only a little blood and failing to inflict any serious damage.

Even so, the intense pain still enraged the Giant Frenzied Flame Rat.

Its thick hind legs slowly crouched down, gathering strength, before it launched itself off the ground like a cannonball!

It leaped straight over the Spirit Ashes in front and lunged at Xia Tong, teeth bared!

It was unbelievably fast!

Naturally, Xia Tong did not dare take it head-on. This rat was built like a small calf!

Its sharp teeth protruded outward, and its body reeked of rot and burnt flesh. Its fur had ulcerated in many places, oozing pus and blood.

Facing the charge, Xia Tong slid sharply to the left.

The Giant Frenzied Flame Rat missed its pounce and skidded straight toward the entrance of Carl's Baptism Church!

Having failed to land its attack, the giant rat grew furious and squealed loudly.

Its claws frantically scraped the ground, producing a shrill, grating sound that sent one's sanity plummeting.

In the distance, Miss Irina sat astride Torrent with her ears perked, trying to follow every moment of the battle.

Her hands were clenched tightly as she worried deeply for Lord Xia Tong.

Torrent, meanwhile, faithfully followed Xia Tong's instructions and did not approach.

A few Frenzied Flame Rats that had slipped through the net rushed out of Carl's Baptism Church, tearing toward Torrent and Irina.

However, the speed of those old Frenzied Flame Rats was far inferior to that of the Spirit Steed Torrent.

With a single double jump, Torrent easily dodged aside.

Inside the church, the battle suddenly changed.

"It's calling for its companions!"

Apparently drawn by the Giant Frenzied Flame Rat's screech, five or six ordinary Frenzied Flame Rats that had been circling around the outskirts suddenly changed direction and charged Xia Tong with red eyes, gnashing and biting.

A giant rat ahead, a rat swarm at his side.

Xia Tong's scalp went numb for a moment. The densely packed visual assault was utterly nauseating.

With five or six Frenzied Flame Rats suddenly leaving the battle to surround Xia Tong, the pressure on the Spirit Ashes lessened considerably, but Xia Tong was now in danger.

Just then, with a splat!

A stream of purplish-red acid arced through the air and sprayed toward them, splashing precisely over the Frenzied Flame Rats.

At once, the stench of protein scorched by strong acid filled Carl's Baptism Church.

It was Kulala!

Seeing Xia Tong in danger, the adorable jellyfish Kulala was the first to react.

"That really touched me."

Xia Tong's eyes welled up for a moment. This was his little sweetheart.

While those Frenzied Flame Rats writhed in agony as the venom corroded them, Xia Tong decisively drew the Lordsworn's Straight Sword and viciously stabbed at them.

This time, he did not choose the greatsword. Against these nimble, disgusting creatures, a cumbersome greatsword could easily miss, which would be nothing short of suicide.

Shk! Shk!

Two Frenzied Flame Rats were precisely pierced through their vital points by Xia Tong and died on the spot!

Meanwhile, the Giant Frenzied Flame Rat that had charged outside had already turned back and lunged at Xia Tong once more!

This time, the yellow Frenzied Flame in its eyes grew brighter and more frenzied, faintly tinged with blood-red.

Even its speed had increased considerably!

Several surviving ordinary Frenzied Flame Rats at his side were also lunging at him.

"Shit, I can't dodge this!"

Xia Tong cursed under his breath and tightened his grip on his shield.