Flamedrake Talisman

"What incredible strength!"

Before, he had only controlled a character in a game during battle and had never felt any real sense of it.

But now, facing this Beastman over two meters tall in person and feeling the foul wind rushing at him, Xia Tong still instinctively felt a trace of fear.

This guy was completely different from the Godrick Soldiers outside.

Soldiers were still human, not much different in size from ordinary people.

But this Beastman was a pure killing machine.

Fortunately, the days of intense combat against the Godrick Soldiers had steadily improved Xia Tong's control over his body.

Facing that powerful blow, he did not meet it head-on. Instead, he shifted his feet lightly and dodged to the right, barely evading the massive Dismounter.

Boom!

The curved blade slammed into the ground, sending shattered stones flying.

At the same time, three Stray Wolves rushed over from behind.

Rip!

Like three bolts of black lightning, they pounced on the Beastman from the front and both sides at once.

The wolves did not attack blindly. Instead, they focused on biting the Beastman's limbs and hind legs, using their bodies and fangs to tightly restrict its movement and disrupt its attack rhythm.

"Roar—!"

The intense pain stirred the Beastman's fury.

It spun around violently, its huge Dismounter howling through the air as it smashed down hard onto the back of one Stray Wolf.

Bang!

A dull thud rang out.

The spectral wolf did not even have time to cry out before its entire body collapsed into specks of starlight and vanished.

"So strong! It killed a Stray Wolf in one hit!"

Xia Tong's heart tightened.

Although one wolf had been destroyed, the other two seized the opportunity to leave deep wounds on the Beastman's back and flank.

"Go!"

Xia Tong gave the order, seizing the opening.

The two Fanged Imps followed close behind, both swinging their Forked Hatchets at the Beastman's waist and abdomen.

As long as they kept attacking the same spot, they would definitely trigger the Bleed effect.

Spirit Ashes could be revived if they were gone, but if Xia Tong died, there would truly be nowhere for him to revive.

Just like his predecessor, who had fallen forever amid the ruins of Gatefront.

As the battle continued, it grew increasingly fierce.

Unexpectedly, the Beastman went berserk.

Dragging its enormous Dismounter, it began spinning like a top!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!

The remaining two Stray Wolves had no time to evade and were directly sent flying by the terrifying whirlwind, crashing into the rock walls. It was impossible to tell whether they were alive or dead.

Fortunately, the Fanged Imps were small and nimble. They rolled across the ground and narrowly avoided it.

Even while retreating, the two Imps did not forget to counterattack.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two dark brown Magic Pots were hurled out, striking the Beastman with perfect accuracy.

Boom!

Blue-violet magical flames erupted!

This Beastman from the long-collapsed time and space of Farum Azula had formidable physical defense, but clearly lacked resistance against magic. The explosion tore open its flesh, leaving it staggering.

Thud, thud, thud!

It stumbled backward repeatedly.

"Awwooo!"

At that moment, the last Stray Wolf still able to move suddenly lunged forward, leaping high and clamping its jaws tightly around the Beastman's chest.

However, the Beastman's ferocity surged.

It actually threw away its curved blade, and its two large, furry hands fiercely seized the wolf's neck.

With a hard squeeze!

Crack.

The wolf's tail drooped limply, and its body soon collapsed and dispersed.

Now!

While its hands were occupied, Xia Tong had already circled behind it.

He gripped his sword with both hands and lowered his center of gravity.

Skill—Square Off!

Then came a heavy upward slash!

Thump!

The blow landed precisely behind the Beastman's knee, destroying its balance.

The Beastman let out a howl and dropped directly to one knee.

Without any hesitation, Xia Tong drove the Lordsworn's Straight Sword viciously into its back, all the way to the hilt!

Then he planted a foot on its back and yanked the sword free.

Splat!

Blood poured out like a flood.

"Without a health bar, when the hell is this thing going to die?!"

Xia Tong panted heavily and was just about to step back and observe.

Suddenly, he felt his throat tighten!

A rough, foul-smelling hand shot out like lightning at the very edge of death and clamped viciously around Xia Tong's neck!

"Cough—!"

Suffocation instantly rushed to his brain.

I got careless! I didn't dodge!

Damn it, why does this bastard love grabbing people's necks so much?!

The Beastman's strength was terrifying. Xia Tong could feel his neck bones creaking under the strain, and his vision began to darken.

At that critical moment.

The two Fanged Imps that had been standing by rushed over in unison, desperate to protect their master.

Pfft! Pfft!

The two pointed spikes on the Forked Hatchets plunged viciously into the Beastman's eye socket and throat.

That became the final straw.

The pair of beastly eyes filled with killing intent finally lost their focus.

The hand clutching Xia Tong's throat finally loosened weakly and dropped heavily.

Its massive body collapsed with a crash.

"Cough, cough... cough cough cough..."

Xia Tong clutched his throat and coughed violently, greedily gulping down air.

He tried to communicate with the Spirit Ashes.

He discovered that the three Stray Wolves that had been destroyed could no longer be summoned for now. Waves of weak whimpering came through their mental link; they needed to return to the Spirit Ashes and recuperate for a long time.

The two Fanged Imps had also been injured in this battle.

One of them had its entire left arm severed. Though it was only a spirit, the sight was still gruesome.

"You won."

Light flashed.

Melina appeared inside the cave.

Seeing the bruised finger marks on Xia Tong's neck, a trace of concern flashed through her eyes.

She formed a hand seal and gave a gentle flick.

Incantation—Blessing of the Erdtree.

A two-meter-tall phantom of a small Erdtree materialized within the dark, damp Mistwood Cave.

Warm golden light cascaded down upon Xia Tong from above.

He immediately felt warmth spreading through every limb and bone. The sharp pain in his neck began to ease, and the scrapes on his body gradually started to heal.

"Thank you, Melina."

Bathed in the light, Xia Tong let out a long breath.

Melina looked at him and said softly,

"My strength is recovering very slowly... Perhaps one day, there will come a time when I can fight alongside you."

"I'm looking forward to it, Melina."

Xia Tong smiled, then glanced at the panel.

"This battle earned another 1,000 Runes. I can level up."

"Then let's go to the Site of Grace ahead."

Under the light of the Site of Grace, Melina extended her hands once more.

Xia Tong placed his hands in hers, and the Runes within his body were guided by Melina, transforming into pure strength.

This time, Xia Tong chose to increase—Dexterity.

Following a cautious approach, he should have continued increasing Vigor.

But that terrifying moment just now had made Xia Tong realize that in this real world, dodging was sometimes more important than taking a hit head-on.

If his body had been nimble enough, if his reactions had been just a little faster.

Then when the Beastman launched its dying counterattack, he might have had a chance to evade that fatal chokehold.

The level-up was complete.

Thanks to Melina's incantation and the help of the Site of Grace, the deep finger marks on Xia Tong's neck had gradually faded.

For that instant just now, he had truly felt as though one foot had stepped through the gates of death.

Besides the 1,000 Runes, this boss battle had brought another reward.

Xia Tong walked to the depths of the cave and picked up the dropped talisman.

"This should be the [Flamedrake Talisman]."

It resembled a slightly shield-shaped metal plate. It felt extremely rough, and its material seemed to be aged brass.

A striking full-body image of a red dragon was stamped in the center of the talisman, depicted in the act of breathing fire.

Just holding it brought wave after wave of warmth.

Xia Tong tried wearing the talisman.

But there was no reaction at all.

The fire resistance value on the panel did not budge.

"As expected... I'm missing the most important thing—the Talisman Pouch."

Only with a Talisman Pouch could a talisman's power be activated.

Xia Tong remembered that although this was only a basic talisman, it could reduce fire damage by 13%.

It was not much, but against enemies that could breathe fire, that 13% damage reduction might give Xia Tong the chance to take a sip of the Flask of Crimson Tears instead of being killed in one hit.

With Melina's help, Xia Tong refined his Runes once more and leveled up.

He successfully leveled up in just a few minutes.

Then Xia Tong looked at his current panel:

[Character Data]

Level: 10

Runes Held: 216

Vigor: 13

Mind: 20

Endurance: 10

Strength: 15

Dexterity: 11

Intelligence: 18

Faith: 2

Arcane: 10

This time, he had put the attribute point into Dexterity.

He actually wanted to put it into Vigor, because that would have offered better value. But what had just happened made him realize that his current Dexterity was too poor. After all, he had to fight at close range, and lacking agility was fatal.

He then looked at his current total attributes.

A normal Wretch at level 10 should have around 90 total attribute points.

But Xia Tong had a full 110.

After all, he had received a higher education in his previous life and was also a transmigrator. It was perfectly reasonable for his Intelligence and Mind to be slightly higher, wasn't it?

Because his ability, World Deconstruction, had improved.

That night, Xia Tong did not continue recklessly pushing forward.

Instead, he got a good night's rest at the newly activated Site of Grace in Mistwood Cave.

At daybreak the next day,

Xia Tong rode Torrent to Gatefront once more.

This was his second time here.

But this time, he did not rush to act. Instead, he carefully prowled around the outskirts, scouting the area.

"Damn, there were still some differences from the game."

After a morning of exploration, Xia Tong hid atop a ruin, his brow tightly furrowed.

He discovered that there were actually two soldiers in the camp holding horns.

In the game, there was usually only one sentry.

The horn-bearing Godrick Soldiers were the most troublesome enemies.

If he could not kill them in a single blow, or if they managed to sound their horns,

then he would face the combined assault of most of the Godrick Soldiers at Gatefront.

And among them, there would certainly be that headache-inducing elite enemy—

the Godrick Knight.

Clad in heavy armor and wielding a spear and greatshield, its Deathly Chain Thrusts were practically a nightmare for newcomers.

Night fell quickly.

By the light cast by the campfires, Xia Tong was able to clearly make out the camp's defenses.

At the center of the camp, aside from the knight captain wielding a spear, there were also three fully armed Godrick Heavy Infantrymen patrolling back and forth in a triangular formation.

The ordinary fodder soldiers were even more numerous, turning the entire camp into something like a small fortress.

Xia Tong conservatively estimated that Gatefront Camp alone contained nearly forty Godrick Soldiers.

The good news was that although the overall number of soldiers was far greater than in the game,

there was only one elite knight clad in full plate armor with absurd combat power.

"Looks like I need to plan my tactics carefully."

Xia Tong lay prone atop the broken wall, his eyes flickering.