Elden Ring, building a legion of ashes

Chapter 74 Blood Finger Nelius

"hiss--!"

He let out a hoarse voice, like a bloodthirsty beast, as he charged towards Xia Tong.

"Blood Finger Nelius? That must be the Reverse Thrust."

Xia Tong looked at the weapon in his hand and understood. She swung the reverse stab, leaving a blood-red trail.

Without overestimating herself, Xia Tong mounted the horse and squeezed her legs together.

Torret powerfully pushed off the ground with his hind legs, instantly transforming into a blur and creating a safe distance between himself and Nelius.

"Who wants to fight you in melee combat!"

"I am a noble mage!"

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Xia Tong lightly raised her staff.

In an instant, three streaks of deep blue meteors shot toward "Blood Finger" Nelius.

As if possessing their own consciousness, they traced eerie tracking arcs in the air, relentlessly pursuing Nelius's movements.

Pyroxene meteor!

Nelius rolled left and right, narrowly dodging the first two shots.

But the third meteor struck him squarely on the shoulder.

"Ugh!"

The magic exploded.

Although it failed to severely injure him, it disrupted his charge and completely shattered his frenzied mind with rage.

"Die! Die! Die!"

"You despicable bastard, don't try to run away!"

He suddenly swung his arm.

Then a scarlet blade of blood pierced through the air, heading straight for Xia Tong's head.

Combat Technique - Reverse Blood Blade!

Xia Tong gently pulled on the reins.

Torret deftly leaped to the right, and the blood-stained blade grazed past the horse's hooves, leaving a deep corrosive mark on the rock wall behind.

And so, Blood Finger chased Xia Tong, and Xia Tong slipped away from Blood Finger.

Every now and then, a few brilliant meteors would return the attack.

Before long, Bloodfinger Nelius was covered in blood, and the reverse stab of his short sword was stained even redder.

"Faded one, you won't be so lucky next time."

Bloodfinger Nelius glared venomously at Xia Tong.

He realized that this faded one might be something special and decided to end the surprise attack.

Then, he made several leaps, trying to jump onto the riverbank to escape.

Just as he was about to leap onto the shore.

An incredibly long shadow suddenly appeared in his path.

That was a knife.

A ridiculously long, vermilion katana.

"Growing teeth."

Then, the crimson katana, carrying a chilling wind, slashed fiercely towards Nelius.

With a loud "bang!"

Nelius's figure was slammed back onto the river, splashing up a large spray of water.

Then, the figure on the shore fell heavily to the ground, blocking Nelius's path.

He was a man wearing a huge rusty iron hat and a tattered reed armor.

"Yura the Bloodfinger Hunter!"

Xia Tong thought to herself.

Seeing Bloodfinger Nelius trying to get up from the ground and flee again, Yura simply flicked her wrist.

The fanged scabbard was drawn out like a whip.

A crisp "snap" sound.

The blow struck Nelius's knee hard, causing him to fall to his knees again.

"Now."

The tip of Xia Tong's staff was already filled with a deep blue glow.

This time, he didn't use that little tracking trick.

Instead, it was a concentrated burst of the purest and most lethal heavy magic stone—the Glorious Stone Great Magic Stone!

"boom!"

A beam of azure light, thicker than a fist, tore through the air with a piercing whistling sound, striking Nelius precisely in the back.

"Bang!"

There is no suspense.

The magic permeated the tattered leather armor.

Before Nelius could even let out a scream, he was blasted away by the enormous impact and crashed heavily onto the riverbed like a lump of mud.

Without hesitation, Xia Tong immediately dismounted, drew the Lion Greatsword from his back, pointed the sword downwards, and stabbed it fiercely into Bloodfinger Nelius's heart!

With a "pfft".

Nelius was stabbed through the blood finger and never heard from it again.

A stream of runes flowed into Xia Tong's body—1552 points.

"Hello, Faded One."

My name is Yura.

"From the reed lands of the East, comes the hunter who hunts Bloodfinger."

Yura took off his iron hat, revealing his weathered face.

Xia Tong looked up.

He looked to be in his forties or fifties, with black hair mixed with gray and white, and he looked somewhat haggard from not taking care of it for a long time.

Most importantly, it is his eyes. Although his eye sockets are deep-set, his eyes are cold and sharp.

"Hello, my name is Xia Tong, and I am a faded person."

"Xia Tong... you do have some skills."

Yura nodded in agreement.

"That Nelius is no weak opponent."

"The so-called Bloodfinger are actually the fading people who are obsessed with cursing blood; they are a group of villains who attack their own people."

"Wandering around this land, a battle with them is inevitable."

Yura said seriously:

"Listen carefully, even if you are all faded ones."

"But please don't treat them as your compatriots; they've long since gone mad. Don't hesitate to show mercy."

Then, Yura glanced at the Bloodfinger corpse lying on the ground.

"The reverse dagger in his hand is a pretty good weapon; you can take it and use it."

"We'll meet again sometime in the future."

After saying this, Yura put her straw hat back on, turned around, and left.

His silhouette was desolate and lonely.

"He was also a tragic figure."

Xia Tong watched Yura's departing figure and couldn't help but sigh.

Yura's mission is to hunt down those "Bloodfinger" who have been seduced by the Blood King Mongo and are addicted to killing.

Unfortunately, his beloved Elunera was also a Bloodfinger.

Moreover, it is the most powerful being among them—"Pure Purple Blood Finger" Elunera.

Elunera was once a Dragon Knight like him, as well as his former lover and partner.

But she eventually fell into depravity, becoming addicted to the power of dragons and the carnage of bloodshed.

When Yura met her lover again, she died at his hands.

The "Marika Second Church" remains forever on the Altai Plateau.

Xia Tong is more inclined to believe that he ultimately lacked the resolve to kill his lover.

They failed because of their kindness and their holding back.

The most tragic thing is that his body was eventually possessed by that damned Shapolili, turning him into a walking corpse that spreads madness.

In just a few days, I met Wolf Brother and then Yura.

Xia Tong genuinely wanted to change their painful ending.

……

They rode the Torret a little further on.

Xia Tong encountered a few skeleton soldiers and thieves wielding daggers here and there, but she easily dealt with them all.

Finally, Xia Tong found her goal—Mengliu Cave.

The Mong-ryu Caves are located at the end of a tributary of Lake Yaquil.

This place is secluded and dark, making it ideal for robbing lone individuals or caravans passing by.

After lighting up the blessing in front of the cave entrance, Xia Tong slowly stepped into the cave.

Before we even got close to the depths of the cave, we could hear a noisy commotion.

The cave was very dark, with only a few torches lit.

Xia Tong took out the wire torch and lit it, while holding the staff in her right hand, ready to release the Radiant Stone magic at any time.

The ground inside the cave was covered with a shallow layer of sewage, as it was close to a river. Some areas were also covered with thick moss, making them very slippery.

Suddenly, Xia Tong let out a soft "Eh".

He noticed that there seemed to be many thin tripwires on the ground.

He had accidentally touched a few of them, and a clear, ringing sound of bells rang out in the darkness.

This is an alarm!

"Kill them!"

Suddenly, three or four raggedly dressed bandits rushed out of the cave and charged towards Xia Tong, carrying rusty machetes.