novelnext Chapter 128 The Strengthening of the Headless Horseman Ruthel
Chapter 128 The Strengthening of the Headless Horseman Ruthel
Chapter 128 The Strengthening of the Headless Horseman Ruthel
"Xia Tong, I didn't expect you to have such rare items."
Roger, standing to the side, looked at the brass binoculars that Xia Tong took out of the package, his tone tinged with surprise.
In border areas, such sophisticated observation instruments are actually quite rare, especially handheld ones, which are even scarcer.
"It was a gift from my good friend, a wandering merchant named Carrie, and it's come in handy now."
Xia Tong casually replied, then raised the binoculars to her eyes and aimed them at the terrifying thing in the distance.
As the viewing distance closed, the enormous, repulsive "face" finally came into clear view.
It was an alien face that was at least two stories tall.
Its skin is a deathly grayish-black, covered with a thick layer of barnacle-like parasitic grime and growths.
His facial features were already severely distorted and displaced, as if countless invisible hands were forcibly pulling them.
Even more terrifying was that the enormous eye socket had no pupil, only a bottomless, pitch-black void, and a black liquid that was as viscous as oil constantly seeping out.
It was clearly an inanimate object, yet it exuded a chilling sense of life.
Immediately afterwards, a sense of fear originating from the depths of her soul exploded in Xia Tong's heart without warning.
When his gaze met that empty eye socket through the lens, a chilling feeling of being "watched" by something indescribable instantly spread throughout his body.
Xia Tong shivered violently and instinctively put down the binoculars, no longer daring to look directly at that face.
The next moment, he was horrified to discover that the veins on the back of his hand, which were originally bluish, were rapidly turning purplish-black.
Those blood vessels seemed to come alive, writhing and bulging wildly like tiny snakes under the skin.
"Xia Tong, what did you see?!"
Roger sensed something was wrong and asked anxiously.
"There's no time to explain. Do you have anything that can withstand death? I told you before!"
Roger reacted instantly, took out a small package tightly wrapped in leather from his pocket, unfastened the leather clasp, and handed it over.
Xia Tong grabbed it and took out a piece of "anti-death liver dried" that had been dried in the wind.
This dried meat, which exudes a strange herbal and fishy smell, was specially sourced by Roger.
Xia Tong ignored the bitter taste and chewed and swallowed it in large gulps.
As the medicine took effect, after a few minutes, the purplish-black veins on his arm that writhed like earthworms finally began to fade slowly, returning to their normal color.
Xia Tong then recounted what she had seen.
"Is this the secret hidden beneath Stoneville City—a gigantic alien corpse?"
After listening to Xia Tong's description, Roger lowered his head slightly and pondered.
"Let me see it too. I can only see a blurry outline here, it looks like a human face."
"Take your medicine first," Xia Tong reminded her.
Under Xia Tong's warning, Roger also took out a piece of liver that could fight death and swallowed it. Only then did he take the binoculars and cautiously look at the being in the abyss.
After a long while, Roger slowly lowered the binoculars, his face turning pale and solemn.
"This must be a remnant of the night of the Black Knife Plot."
He turned to look at Xia Tong and explained this long-forgotten history in a low voice.
"The golden tree in its prime, long before the Elden Ring was broken."
"It is unknown who stole the Death Rune fragment possessed by 'Black Sword' Maricus."
"On that cold night, the assassins killed 'Golden' Godwin with black blades imbued with death runes."
"That was the first death of a demigod in history. This series of tragedies ultimately led to the shattering of the Ring of Law and the subsequent War of Shattering."
A complex light flickered in Roger's eyes, with a hint of fanaticism.
"Roger, how do you know so much about these things?"
Xia Tong tried to get Roger to reveal more of his true feelings.
"Actually, I originally wanted to become a scholar, so I've been investigating this conspiracy."
Roger gave a wry smile and stroked the rapier in his hand.
"I believe that in order to correct the distortions in this world, we must first understand the root causes of tragedy."
"But be careful, we can't stay in contact with this alien body for too long."
Xia Tong nodded and pointed to the bottomless darkness.
"The power of sudden death there is so intense that even through binoculars we are being corroded. If we were to get really close, these dried livers might not be able to protect us."
"you're right."
Roger agreed, then looked at Xia Tong with some doubt.
"But Xia Tong, haven't you been here before? Otherwise, how would you know to remind me to prepare these anti-death items?"
"No, it's all just speculation."
Xia Tong told a lie without changing her expression.
"You mentioned earlier that this place is related to the Dead Root. Since we are going to explore it in depth, such preparations are naturally necessary."
Roger nodded, not delving into the matter, but simply sighed regretfully.
"I wish I could see it up close; I really want to take a sample for a survey."
"Don't panic, I have a plan."
Xia Tong turned around and looked at the headless knight Ruthel, who had been silently guarding her from behind.
The latter nodded slightly.
As a temple knight who follows the demigod of death, Ruthel's power originates from the same source as this "Prince of Death".
Her figure slowly blurred, and with each teleportation, she moved towards the corpse of the Death Child.
Xia Tong dared not approach, and could only hold up her binoculars to track Ruthel's movements.
Through his glasses, he stared intently at the dead land.
Suddenly, something strange happened.
Through the telescope, a torrent of blackish-yellow liquid suddenly gushed forth from the enormous, rotten, and cracked mouth of the corpse, heading straight for the approaching Ruthel.
In the torrent, countless tiny, spore-like particles were buzzing wildly.
"Oh no!"
Xia Tong's heart tightened.
However, faced with this torrent that was powerful enough to annihilate all life, Ruthel did not retreat an inch.
She didn't even lift the heavy eclipse-patterned shield in her hand.
Just as the deadly yellow-black mist was about to engulf her, the Flame Spear in her hand suddenly burst forth with a blinding light.
The cluster of yellow-black flames that had been burning on the tip of the spear now surged wildly like a hungry beast.
Ruthel raised her spear high with both hands and, with a resolute gesture, thrust it into the core of the churning mist.
"Sizzle—sizzle—!"
A loud, intense sound, like a red-hot iron probing into rotting flesh, filled the air.
In an instant, a shocking scene unfolded.
The nauseating, twisted yellow-black mist, as if finding its outlet, frantically converged towards Ruthel's spear.
Collapse.
Ruth's figure gradually became more solid, as if she were greedily devouring this death power of the same origin.
As a massive amount of sudden death energy was absorbed, the original yellow-black flames on the spear began to violently surge and compress.
As the last wisp of mist was swallowed up, Ruthel slowly lowered her spear.
A deep black-gold flame, rising from the tip of the spear, meandered along the shaft, reflecting off her cold, headless armor.
After absorbing the contents, Ruthel continued searching around the corpse for a while before returning to Xia Tong's side.
"Rutil, you seem to have changed."
Xia Tong could clearly feel that the pressure emanating from the spirit was much heavier than before.
Although Ruthel could not speak, the whooshing sound as she gently swung her spear proved that her strength had been significantly enhanced.
"How much has the spirit's strength increased?"
"Thirty percent!" Ruth's voice echoed in Xia Tong's mind.
Just as Xia Tong was overjoyed by Ruthel's enhancement, Roger, standing to the side, frowned and fell into deep thought.
"Xia Tong, do you know who this distorted face is?"
"Godwin, I guess."
Xia Tong answered softly.
"That's right."
Roger's voice trembled slightly.
"When this corpse appeared underground in Stoneville, it actually meant something very terrifying."
"What's wrong?"
"This means that the entire root system of the golden tree has been contaminated."
Roger closed his eyes in pain.
Just then, Ruthel extended her armored hand.
In her palm lay a piece of something she had just picked up from near the corpse's face.
Looking at that unsettling mass, Xia Tong suppressed her nausea and gently turned it over with her short-handled dagger.
It was a strange, hardened piece of flesh that felt extremely cold and heavy to the touch.
Its surface is covered with unsettling bumps and textures, like countless hardened, grayish-white blisters squeezed together.
The entire abscess had a morbid, waxy color.
Between those withered cracks, faint traces of dark gold, like dried blood, could still be seen seeping out.
"This is----"
Roger reached out with trembling hands, picked it up, and examined it closely.
"The dead prince's boil."
In this desolate underground world, Roger stood there for a long time as if in deep meditation.
After a moment, he suddenly opened his eyes, and his once gentle eyes now shone with a kind of sudden enlightenment.
"Xia Tong, I understand!"
"On the night of the Black Knife, the black knives wielded by the assassins who carried out the assassinations must have had special markings on them!"
"That is the key to the truth!"
Roger's voice began to tremble uncontrollably, and two lines of tears slid down his cheeks.
"That's it, the black blade brand—it must be this, absolutely this!"
"Xia Tong, I really—I really touched the truth!"
The usually gentle and refined magic swordsman was now acting like a madman, gripping Xia Tong's arms tightly with both hands, so hard that white marks were left on his skin.
"I know, I know everything you know—"
Xia Tong silently complained in her heart, but did not show it on her face.
This is enough to show that Roger was a scholar of exceptional talent.
In this world full of mysteries and lies, he deduced the truth that was enough to overturn the Golden Law based on just this one clue.
With their own thoughts on their minds, the two left the oppressive underground world and returned to the upper districts of Stoneville.
"Xia Tong, I need to go back to the Round Table Hall. I need to sort out these clues properly."
"Okay, then you can communicate with the Great Blessing!"
About 10 minutes later, Roger's figure turned into golden light and disappeared from the spot.
After seeing Roger off, Xia Tong began to worry.
The city of Stoneville has a complex structure with countless rooms, and he has no way of finding any trace of Neferi.
Xia Tong wandered around aimlessly and unexpectedly stumbled upon a small golden tree. He happily put the golden seed into his arms.
Suddenly, the sounds of fierce fighting came from afar.
Interspersed among them was a woman's angry shout.
Xia Tong's eyes sharpened, and she quickly ran towards the source of the sound.
Turning past an archway, the firelight flickered in the courtyard ahead.
"Drink!"
With a roar like that of a lioness, two gleaming hand axes drew two deadly crosses in the dim torchlight.
Standing opposite her was a fully armed knight who had lost his homeland.
The latter, clad in heavy plate armor and wearing a red-tasseled helmet, wielded a halberd imbued with Stoneville's unique "Storm Combat Technique," creating a gray-white whirlwind that swept fiercely towards the female warrior before him.
The heavy halberd carried immense force, enough to crack the marble pillar.
But just as she was about to touch Neferi, she moved!
And they chose the most brutal form of attack.
Neferi's long, powerful legs slammed into the ground, shattering the stone slab beneath her feet.
Instead of retreating, she advanced, like a cannonball, crashing headlong into the inner circle of the Lost Knight's halberd attack.
The eagle-patterned wooden-handled axe in her hand emitted a piercing roar in the air.
As her abdominal muscles twisted violently, the double axes transformed into a storm.
The first axe strike precisely knocked away the halberd shaft of the lost knight who was trying to defend himself, the immense force causing the knight's hand to split open.
The second axe, with terrifying force capable of splitting rocks, slammed heavily into the knight's thick breastplate.
"clang--!!!"
A sickening metallic, distorted sound exploded.
The Knight of the Lost Land's prized steel plate armor collapsed inwards like paper under this blow.
The knight let out a muffled groan, his massive body staggering backward as he tried to regain his footing.
But Neferi gave him no chance to catch his breath.
She leaped high into the air, her bronze skin gleaming in the firelight.
He then raised his double axes high above his head, using the force of his fall to deliver the final blow to the knight's head.
puff.
The sharp axe blade brutally embedded itself between the knight's cervical vertebrae and collarbone.
Blood gushed out like a fountain, splattering onto her wild face.
The Lost Knight's massive body twitched, then he crashed to the ground with a dull thud.
Battle over!
Neferi stepped on the corpse's chest, forcefully pulled out the double axes embedded in the bone, and casually flicked the blood off the axe blades.
"Wow, that's fierce!" Xia Tong exclaimed inwardly from afar, carefully observing this wild girl, who was like a cheetah.
Neferi had thick, dark brown hair, which was braided into several rough braids and hung down her back.
Her facial features were very deep, especially her sharp, eagle-like eyes, which looked extremely cold.
Unlike most knights in the border region who would have wrapped themselves in tin cans, she wore a set of smart animal skin armor.
She stood beside the corpse, her chest rising and falling slightly from the outburst.
Then, she suddenly raised her head, her sharp eyes locking onto Xia Tong, who was standing in the distance.
He slightly raised the two axes in his hands.
"Who's lurking around there?"
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