Golem Guardian

Moen caught the scent, his appetite instantly whetted. He eagerly took the bowl and drank several mouthfuls.

"Whew—!"

At once, he felt every pore open as sweat poured from him. He even removed the heavy fur coat he wore to ward off the damp chill of the Weeping Peninsula.

"This spicy flavor really packs a punch! It reminds me of the old days."

Moen sighed, a trace of nostalgia appearing in his eyes.

"Back when I was still with the Grand Caravan, everyone would gather around to eat like this too."

"We'd eat until we were drenched in sweat."

As he spoke, the corners of Moen's eyes actually grew a little wet.

He turned and began rummaging through the enormous bundle strapped to the donkey beside him.

After searching for quite a while, he finally found a somewhat blackened, faintly reddish chunk of dried meat.

"Take it."

Moen stuffed it into Xia Tong's hands.

"This is Hero's Meat Chunk. Eating it will greatly increase your strength and make you excited."

"Only use it at a critical moment. It might save your life."

Then he glanced at Irina before looking toward Castle Morne, his expression turning grave.

"Also, you're not heading to Castle Morne, are you? I tried to enter the city yesterday."

"The fighting is still going on there. It's a complete mess—I could hear the sounds of battle and killing from inside. I thought something was wrong, so I came back."

Hearing Moen's account, Xia Tong instead felt relieved.

This was good news.

The fact that fighting was still going on meant Castle Morne still had some forces capable of fighting.

It meant Lord Edgar was still holding on desperately, and the castle had not yet fallen.

Xia Tong accepted the precious chunk of meat and asked uneasily,

"How many Runes?"

"No Runes. It's a gift from a friend."

Moen waved his hand and served himself another bowl of soup.

"Thank you, brother, for letting me drink this soup. By the way, what was this soup called again?"

"Peppery Hot Soup!"

"Oh, Peppery Hot Soup... What a fine name."

Seeing Moen, who had always been shrewd, be so unexpectedly generous, Xia Tong could not help feeling touched.

So he told him in detail the recipe for the Peppery Hot Soup he had developed.

It was not anything rare, so he treated it as a return gift.

After finishing their meal, Xia Tong did not delay any longer.

He helped Irina onto the horse and continued riding Torrent toward Castle Morne.

As they traveled, Xia Tong could already see the towering outline of Castle Morne in the distance through the thin sea fog.

Suddenly, Xia Tong spotted a flash of brightness on a nearby hill.

It was a small golden tree—a Minor Erdtree Sapling!

The sun was already close to setting, and it stood out conspicuously in the dim evening.

Just as he was about to pat Torrent's rump and have it climb the hill to collect the Golden Seed, he was suddenly startled.

Xia Tong pulled hard on the reins.

Beside the Minor Erdtree, a massive figure was crouching.

Even from far away, Xia Tong could see it clearly.

It was a Deathbird!

"What the hell is that thing doing beside a Minor Erdtree?"

Xia Tong cursed inwardly.

Ghostly green deathfire burned in the Deathbird's hollow eye sockets.

Its body was incredibly hunched and lanky, and it held an enormous hooked club steeped in deathly energy.

Worst of all, the thing could fly.

Though its rotten wings looked especially small and ridiculous, Xia Tong clearly remembered that once it went berserk, it was extraordinarily mobile.

Xia Tong held his breath. He gently patted the back of Irina's hand, signaling her not to make a sound.

Then he directed Torrent to lower its body and slowly leave the area.

Fortunately, the Deathbird seemed not to have noticed Xia Tong's group.

Or perhaps it had seen them but simply did not care.

After all, Xia Tong had kept a safe distance from it.

After traveling for more than half an hour, Xia Tong thought back to the Deathbird from earlier.

If they really had to fight, he could kill it if he went all out.

After all, it was merely an ordinary Deathbird, not the terrifying Death Rite Bird.

But this was not the time to waste combat strength. Edgar's side might not be able to hold out much longer.

Xia Tong adjusted course and continued racing at full speed toward the main gate of Castle Morne.

Suddenly, a terrifying sound of something cutting through the air faintly came from above.

"Whooo—!"

Xia Tong abruptly looked up.

Something was shooting toward them at tremendous speed!

It was a gigantic iron spear as thick as Xia Tong's entire body!

The spear flew with incredible speed, trailing a howling wind as it shot toward them with the precision of a cruise missile.

It was the giant golem guarding the gates of Castle Morne!

As an old Elden Ring player, Xia Tong had naturally prepared himself for this thing long ago.

But seeing this pillar-like giant arrow flying at him in reality was far more shocking than anything in the game, enough to make his scalp tingle.

"Torrent! Jump!"

"Boom!"

Thanks to Torrent's miraculous double jump, Xia Tong avoided the direct hit at the last possible moment.

But the violent explosion still blasted a massive crater into the ground.

Rubble flew everywhere, and the shockwave scattered sharp stone fragments in all directions.

One of them even grazed Irina's calf, leaving a tiny wound.

Fortunately, she was completely shielded in Xia Tong's arms, while his thick armor protected her back, preventing more serious injury.

"It looks scary, but it's really just a paper tiger."

Though Xia Tong put on a brave front, his body remained tense, and he did not dare relax in the slightest.

He stared fixedly at the enormous spear whistling toward them like a cruise missile.

Although the Golem Guardian itself had fairly average defenses, its long-range attacks were simply too powerful.

Xia Tong remembered that when he had first played Elden Ring, he had turned and run at the sight of this Golem Guardian's arrows.

They were terrifying!

The kinetic force behind one of those arrows was several times greater than the cannons on the Bridge of Sacrifice.

As long as it hit you, even if it merely grazed you, you would basically die on the spot.

"Lord Xia Tong, I heard it. That's Castle Morne's Golem Guardian."

Irina lay low against the horse's back and said anxiously,

"My father told me about it. It's an ancient creation, and its weakness is at the ankles."

"See, Irina? You're very useful. Don't ever say you're useless again."

Hearing this crucial information, Xia Tong immediately felt much more reassured.

In the dark night, focusing on evading the Golem Guardian's enormous arrows was no easy task.

He was already beginning to pant.

And by now, night had fully fallen.

The spear itself had no fiery glow, making its trajectory extremely difficult to discern in the darkness.

Yet strangely, Xia Tong had no idea how the Golem Guardian locked onto its targets, but it could always easily predict where he was about to go.

Several times, gigantic spears had flown right past Torrent's rear.

Xia Tong immediately pulled out a handful of Rowa Fruit from his pack and stuffed it into Torrent's mouth.

"Eat! Hurry up and eat!"

After eating the Rowa Fruit, Torrent's speed immediately increased again.

Wind seemed to rise beneath its hooves as it ran noticeably faster than before, tracing a zigzagging "Z" path.

"Finally, I can see you."

Amid one bombardment after another, Xia Tong finally drew closer.

He was now only around fifty meters from the Golem Guardian and could clearly see its towering outline.

As the distance closed, the oppressive feeling before him grew stronger and stronger.

The Golem Guardian was not truly a living creature.

It was a gigantic magical construct built from black stone and ancient bronze.

It stood as tall as a three- or four-story building, with orange-red power flames burning in the furnace cores at its chest and joints.

At the same time, the colossal crossbow in its hands slowly drew taut.

The bowstring let out a teeth-grating creak.

It aimed at Xia Tong and fired another arrow!

"Whoosh!"

The shrieking sound of air splitting apart was like a buzzer screaming madly beside his ear.