Minor Erdtree Guardian

Xia Tong keenly identified the crux of the problem.

"I can feel that your spirit form has become much fainter than before."

Melina's once-solid figure now carried a faintly translucent, illusory quality.

"I did expend some power."

Melina did not deny it, her expression still cool and detached.

"But once we reach a Site of Grace, I may be able to recover gradually."

"May be able to? What do you mean?" Xia Tong immediately pressed.

"Do you need my help?"

Melina fell silent for a while, seemingly weighing something before finally speaking softly.

"I need some Runes."

"About fifteen hundred."

"I need to burn them and convert them into pure energy to replenish myself. Only then can I make up for the loss from intervening this time."

"Only fifteen hundred?"

Xia Tong laughed, and the tension in his heart immediately eased.

"Take as much as you need, Melina. What's mine is yours."

At the mention of Runes, Xia Tong immediately stood a little taller, and his tone turned generous.

In the fierce battle against the Demi-Human Queen just now, he had made a fortune.

He was now holding several thousand Runes in his hands.

He had cleared out over fifty ordinary Demi-Humans, along with two large, powerfully built ones. The gains were already substantial.

Adding the thousand-odd Runes awarded for killing the Demi-Human Queen, as well as several Golden Runes [1] he had unexpectedly found while looting the battlefield—

Xia Tong's total wealth had now nearly reached the four-thousand-Rune mark!

Faced with Xia Tong's unhesitating generosity, even a faint ripple of warmth crossed Melina's usually placid face.

She slowly nodded, then pulled her hood back on. Her figure turned into specks of blue light and vanished into the air.

That night, Xia Tong ultimately forced himself to stay awake and keep watch alone until dawn.

Fortunately, the night passed without incident.

The sun rose over the Lands Between as usual.

This time, Xia Tong gently woke Miss Irina, who was still asleep.

He took out the Spectral Steed Whistle from his robes and blew it against his lips.

With an ethereal neigh, Torrent slowly stepped out of thin air.

As usual, before setting off, Xia Tong grabbed a handful of Rowa Fruit from his bag.

The fruits were plump and juicy, sweet and tart—Torrent's favorite.

After resting for the entire night, Xia Tong had recovered quite well.

Thanks to the Tarnished's unusual physique, along with the Focus attribute he had deliberately raised.

Even after a major battle and an entire sleepless night, he was still full of energy.

Compared to the drained feeling he had felt when last night's battle had just ended, this was far better.

He estimated that his Focus Points had recovered to around eighty percent.

The only regret was that he still could not freely summon those powerful Spirit Ashes.

Xia Tong himself had been utterly exhausted last night and simply could not spare any mental energy to nurture the souls within the Spirit Ashes.

They could only remain in a state of slow, passive recovery.

If he wanted them to fully recover their peak strength, it would probably take another full day and night.

Only the Godrick Soldier carrying a light crossbow, along with one of the Fanged Imps, had recovered faster because their injuries last night had not been severe.

After a night of nurturing, they could barely be considered fully recovered and capable of fighting.

After briefly packing up, the group set off once more.

The terrain ahead gradually rose, with nothing but long, continuous slopes.

Fortunately, Torrent was a spectral steed with a naturally powerful body and astonishing endurance.

Even burdened with heavy luggage and carrying both Xia Tong and Irina on his back.

He still moved with vigor, looking completely at ease.

Whenever they encountered steep terrain, he could occasionally perform a nimble double jump and effortlessly clear massive rocky barriers.

The group traveled on like this.

Until a withered, decaying tree appeared in the road ahead.

Beneath it, a figure clad in magnificent golden armor blocked Xia Tong and the others' path.

The figure held an enormous polearm and stood silently in the shadows.

His face was covered by an expressionless golden mask, but what sent a chill through Xia Tong was that growing from his head was not hair, but a tangled mass of thick, twisted roots.

Several thin, wooden strands of beard hung beneath his cheekbones, swaying faintly in the wind.

Yet the golden plate armor on his body was indeed exquisitely crafted. It gleamed beneath the sunlight, radiating an untouchable aura.

Pretty intimidating-looking. Xia Tong thought, then lowered his head to inspect himself.

Even now, he was still wearing a battered set of Godrick Soldier armor.

Compared to the other man, he looked like a beggar.

He had previously considered claiming the Night's Cavalry's sleek black armor for himself.

But the thing was far too large and did not fit him at all.

Worse, the armor constantly emitted a faint, rotten stench that could not be washed away.

In the end, he could only toss it into the Site of Grace storage space to gather dust. At least he had not casually sold it to that shady merchant Moen.

Looking at the silent obstacle blocking the road ahead.

Xia Tong slowly dismounted and lightly patted Torrent on the rump.

He signaled for the spectral steed to take Irina farther away, out of this dangerous battlefield.

"This appearance... a Minor Erdtree Guardian?"

Xia Tong frowned slightly and searched through his memories, quickly recognizing the other party's identity.

He knew these things all too well.

Back when he had explored the game in his previous life, he had slain countless monsters like this beneath Minor Erdtrees all over the world.

They were guardians tasked with protecting Minor Erdtrees. Though not as absurdly strong as Tree Sentinels, they were still quite troublesome.

And these creatures had three forms in total.

The one Xia Tong had encountered now should be the most ordinary Bud Form.

Beyond that were the more advanced Deadwood Form, and the most troublesome Flower Form.

The final Flower Form could even hoist a Tarnished high into the air before delivering a lethal impalement.

If their health bars were doubled again, they would be even more disgusting than Royal Revenants.

"Jingle, jingle—"

Xia Tong did not dare be careless and honestly rang the Spirit Calling Bell.

A flash of ghostly blue light appeared, and the fully recovered Godrick Soldier was summoned.

It was not that Xia Tong did not want to summon the Fanged Imp as well for support.

His Cerulean Tear Flask was simply empty now, leaving him with no way to restore Focus Points.

If he summoned all his Spirit Ashes at once, his Focus Points would probably bottom out instantly, leaving him with only a pitiful third remaining.

That would leave his mind foggy and severely affect his judgment in battle.

One moment of distraction, and he might be cut down by the enemy.

The Erdtree Guardian opposite him still said nothing, like a silent statue.

But the instant it sensed Xia Tong's hostility, it moved.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Heavy footsteps rang out.

It broke into a charge, whipping up fierce gusts as it rushed toward Xia Tong.

The strange weapon in its hands—the Guardian's Swordspear—was topped with an enormous golden greatsword.

Borrowing the momentum of its charge, the heavy blade tore through the air and hacked viciously down at Xia Tong!

This was Xia Tong's first time fighting such a monster since crossing into this world.

He did not dare underestimate it in the slightest.

For the moment, he adopted a defensive, mobile strategy.

Sidestep, roll, retreat.

Again and again, he dodged at the very limit, trying to disrupt the enemy's rhythm while moving.

After several probing exchanges, Xia Tong gradually figured out the thing's attack patterns.

They were nothing more than the same three tricks.

Wide sweeping slashes from a standstill, stationary thrusts that exploited its polearm's reach, or powerful jumping chops.

Over and over, it was just those three moves.

Just as Xia Tong thought he had seen through its routine and tightened his grip on his weapon, ready to counterattack.

A sudden change occurred!

The guardian abruptly stopped attacking and began shaking its body wildly.

Then the tangled old roots atop its head burst open like a flower bud.

"Pfft—"

A thick cloud of green, mist-like spores instantly sprayed out and spread through the air.

"Damn it! Can't win, so it uses poison!"

Xia Tong felt his stomach churn, disgusted beyond measure. He quickly held his breath and retreated at a rapid pace.

At the same time, he mentally ordered the Godrick Soldier nearby not to stay engaged and to pull back immediately.

But they were still one step too slow.

Using the green mist as cover, the Minor Erdtree Guardian charged out like a phantom.

It leaped high into the air and raised its swordspear with both hands.

A crushing jumping chop descended with the force of a mountain, smashing toward the Godrick Soldier, who could not evade in time.

Clang!!

The sound of metal striking metal was deafening.

The Godrick Soldier desperately blocked with the straight sword in his hand, but the immense impact instantly broke his balance and forced him heavily onto one knee.

Xia Tong's eyes narrowed as he caught that fleeting opportunity.

He immediately slid forward and thrust, his longsword driving straight for the opening exposed by his opponent and forcing it back.