Corpse Mound

Another explosion rang out, and Xia Tong narrowly dodged disaster once again.

He leaped off Torrent, patting Torrent's rump to signal it to quickly carry Irina away from the area.

"Jingle, jingle—"

Xia Tong rang the Spirit Calling Bell in midair.

Ghostly ripples spread outward.

Lhutel the Headless emerged from the void.

Without a word, she vanished instantly. When she reappeared, she was already beside the Golem Guardian's massive foot.

Her flaming spear viciously pierced the Golem Guardian's vulnerable ankle!

Xia Tong landed and rolled to absorb the impact. Then he drew Lordsworn's Greatsword, roared, and slashed fiercely at the same spot!

"Bang! Bang!"

Two dull impacts rang out.

The Golem Guardian seemed to feel pain.

Once an enemy got close, its enormous greatbow became a burden, utterly useless for counterattacking.

It could only furiously raise its huge stone foot and repeatedly stomp the ground, trying to shake away the ants at its feet.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

But it was too massive.

The sluggishness brought by its immense size made it seem clumsy and laughable before the nimble Xia Tong and the teleporting Lhutel.

"Thud! Thud!"

As Xia Tong and Lhutel continued their relentless assault on its ankle, the crucial support structure finally snapped.

The Golem Guardian could no longer remain standing. Its enormous body tilted, and both knees slammed heavily into the ground.

It discarded its greatbow and tried to strike with its enormous hands instead.

But that was merely its final struggle.

Not long after, the Golem Guardian finally crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust that filled the sky.

It no longer moved. The firelight in its chest, which had churned like magma, gradually faded from brilliant gold to dark red before going completely out, becoming a cold, charred black.

A Rune then flowed into Xia Tong's body: 1091 points!

After the battle ended, Xia Tong looked up at the sky. It was already completely dark.

Before him, the towering Castle Morne stood silently.

"Captain Lhutel, please protect Miss Irina." Fighting inside the castle would be unavoidable. With her ability to teleport, Lhutel was the perfect choice to protect the frail Irina.

Lhutel had no head, so she could not nod in response to Xia Tong.

She merely raised the tower shield bearing an eclipse emblem and lightly struck it, producing a dull, dependable metallic sound.

That counted as agreement.

Xia Tong then walked to the Site of Grace at Castle Morne's entrance, sat down, drank two mouthfuls from his flask, and summoned all of his Spirit Ashes.

He then gently touched the Site of Grace, allowing the Erdtree's power to fill his body.

The Flask of Crimson Tears was replenished, and his spirit became full once more.

Once everything was ready, Xia Tong finally led his Spirit Ashes warband into Castle Morne.

The corridors on Castle Morne's lower level were piled high with all sorts of clutter.

There were either heaps of corpses or stacks of heavy, rotten barrels and wooden crates.

They lay crisscrossed in chaotic disorder. Blood had long dried on the floor, and the entire place was steeped in confusion and disorder.

Holding a torch, Xia Tong slowly moved forward.

It was strange.

This was clearly the entrance to the first floor of Castle Morne, yet there was not the slightest sign of any living person.

Only clamor and strange cries came from above.

They should have been coming from the plaza inside the castle.

Ahead of him, three Stray Wolves kept twitching their noses, crouching low with their tails swaying as they warily watched the movements in the surrounding darkness.

Miss Irina stayed tightly at Lhutel the Headless's side, never taking a single step away from her.

"Tap, tap, tap."

The only light in the corridor came from Xia Tong's torch, and the only sounds were the footsteps of him and his Spirit Ashes warband.

Yet even when they reached the end of the corridor, not a single Misbegotten leaped out to attack Xia Tong.

Clack!

Xia Tong pulled the mechanism, and the massive wooden lift slowly descended.

Xia Tong and his group stepped aboard.

As the gears turned, the scraping of rusted chains echoed through the empty shaft, sounding especially piercing.

Xia Tong's heartbeat began to accelerate.

He had no way of knowing what kind of hellish sight awaited them ahead.

Would hundreds of Misbegotten swarm him together at the exit?

To be honest, being surrounded was what Xia Tong feared most right now.

With a click, the lift slowly came to a stop at the top level.

The moment he stepped off the lift, Xia Tong smelled an overwhelmingly strong scorched stench.

It was not the aroma of roasted meat, but the foul reek of burned corpses.

Firelight spilled down from the plaza above the stairs, casting flickering red glows across Xia Tong and his companions' faces.

"It smells awful... The air reeks of something burnt."

Irina covered her mouth and nose with a frown as she spoke softly.

Xia Tong felt that something was wrong.

He waved a hand, signaling Lhutel and Irina to stay in the shadows by the lift entrance and not move recklessly.

He himself took one Stray Wolf and climbed the stairs, preparing to scout ahead first.

His steps were light, and he tried not to make any sound.

The higher he climbed, the more frenzied the clamor became.

Xia Tong cautiously poked his head out and looked toward the plaza atop the platform.

The sight before him made his pupils contract.

In one corner of the plaza stood a huge mound of corpses and earth.

It was an "altar" built from rubble, broken cheval de frise, and countless human soldiers' corpses.

A raging fire burned atop the mound.

Several human soldiers wearing Castle Morne uniforms had been hung from wooden stakes and roasted alive.

They had long since died, becoming twisted, blackened mummies that swayed gently in the wind like pendulums amid the heat waves.

And beneath the bonfire were countless Misbegotten.

These monsters, with wings, bodies covered in scales, and rusted iron greatblades in hand, were wildly jumping and roaring around the burning corpses.

Some gnawed on fallen limbs, while others struck their shields with the weapons in their hands, creating a primitive rhythm of "bang, bang, bang."

"Awooo! Awooo! Awooo! Awooo—!"

Led by several powerful Scaly Misbegotten, they howled loudly and danced with flailing limbs, as though they were holding some evil celebration.

The ordinary Winged Misbegotten followed the rhythm, dancing and howling around the fire like a horde of demons.

Xia Tong had sharp eyesight, and in a dark corner of the plaza, he spotted a hulking creature draped in a tattered green cloak.

It was a crazed Pumpkin Head Soldier.

His huge body was curled up on the ground, while his signature flail hammer had been casually tossed aside.

Even from this far away, Xia Tong could still hear the thunderous snoring coming from inside that enormous metal helmet.

There were roughly fifty or sixty Misbegotten reveling across the plaza, plus that Pumpkin Head Soldier.

One had to know that Misbegotten were not Demi-Humans. They were far stronger in battle.

If they all rushed in at once, they could instantly drown Xia Tong's Spirit Ashes warband without leaving even scraps behind.

They were finished. Totally screwed!

Xia Tong's heart nearly sank to the bottom.

Unfortunately, although Lhutel the Headless could teleport, that ability only worked on herself. She could not take others with her through space.

And teleportation had strict distance limits as well.

Otherwise, having Lhutel teleport their group directly to the entrance on the other side of the plaza would have been so much easier.

"Wait..."

Xia Tong looked at Lhutel, and a flash of inspiration suddenly struck him.

Since moving his own side would not work, why not make the enemy move instead?