Boom!
As a massive, fan-shaped scar was carved into the earth, Rock slumped over, gasping for breath.
His right arm was gone, and the right side of his armor was horrifically mangled. Stains of fresh blood splattered across his steel plates, looking exceptionally macabre. Even the giant hammer gripped in his left hand bore a terrifying gouge—the mark left by Carian Grandeur.
"I thought you would have died under that strike."
Hearing Mohg's voice drift out from the billowing dust, Rock's eyes narrowed. However, his entire body soon went limp, as if he had finally given up the struggle.
Mohg, ever cautious, did not step out of the cover. He remained hidden within the thick haze as he spoke.
"Won't you come out and give me the final blow?" Rock asked, his voice strained after a moment of silence.
"The final blow? No. I suspect with wounds like those, you'll likely bleed out and die before long if you don't receive immediate treatment."
"Is that so? Then I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. Those Carian lot won't be able to hold back our forces for long. They'll be retreating to their town soon enough."
"True. So, why do you think I've been standing here chatting with you all this time?"
Rock's breath hitched. He snapped his head upward, sensing a massive surge of magical energy from above!
In a flash, the dust covering their small pocket of the battlefield was blown away by a gargantuan shadow appearing in the sky. A massive shard of Glintstone Icecrag, radiating a bone-chilling frost, was hurtling toward the earth at a terrifying speed.
The Golden Order's side finally reacted. The previous duel had happened too fast, and Rock's defeat had come even faster. The lead General, finally regaining his focus, didn't hesitate. Shrouded in golden power, he transformed into a golden meteor and shot toward Rock's position.
He could not afford to lose their first Hero-class combatant under his command; the fallout from the higher-ups would be catastrophic!
The Lord of Scarlilan saw the move. Without a moment's delay, he issued the order to intercept.
The ballistae and magic-bolt launchers atop the city walls groaned into motion. Giant bolts, tearing through the air with a horrific screech, streaked toward the Golden General like rays of light.
"Tch!"
Realizing their intent, the Golden General let out a sound of annoyance. He shifted his stance mid-air, hurtling toward one of the incoming magic bolts.
Golden Retaliation!
Whish—BOOM!
A golden sigil manifested before him. Emitting a brilliant light, it absorbed the entire force of the magic bolt and converted it into a volley of empowered golden stars, which he sent crashing into the city walls.
The gold projectiles slammed into the city's magical barrier, creating a series of ripples but failing to break through.
For the Lord of Scarlilan, this was enough. He had bought the necessary time. The massive icecrag above Rock finally made impact.
"HRAAAAAAAAH!!!!"
From a distance, the Golden General heard Rock's desperate roar.
Leaping Strike!
CRASH! CRACKLE!
The sound of the massive ice shard shattering combined with the impact of Rock's hammer echoed across the battlefield. Meanwhile, the Golden Order's secondary forces, under the Vice-General's command, began a frantic push forward, putting immense pressure on the Carian unit covering the retreat.
"I must admit, you are strong. You will make a fine addition to my list of achievements!"
Just as Rock sank to one knee, his strength entirely spent, Mohg's voice hissed from directly behind him. Rock let out a bitter, forced laugh.
"Heh... I never thought I'd end up as someone else's stepping stone. But if you want my life, come and take it!!!"
Fwoosh—!
Unyielding Will!
Crimson energy erupted from Rock's body. The strength he had lost seemed to return in an instant as he surged upward.
Mohg saw it immediately: the man was burning the last of his life force for a final counterattack. In other words, even if he managed to repel Mohg, he would die the next second.
The most logical choice was to retreat and wait out the timer. But... I refuse.
A flash of blood-red light appeared in Mohg's hand. Like a ghost, his silhouette passed through Rock and appeared on the other side. In his hand was a straight sword drenched in fresh gore.
Bloody Slash!
Squelch—
Rock's chest, along with his armor, split open in a massive gash. He had nothing left. Blood sprayed from the wound like a fountain, and his towering frame finally collapsed for good.
"Your... name..."
Mohg paused. After wiping the blood from his blade, he spoke two words.
"Mohg."
The moment he uttered his true name, Rock's presence vanished completely. Mohg felt a surge of power swell within his own body.
So this is the benefit of hunting the strong... Mohg thought privately before turning his attention to the golden meteor rapidly approaching him.
The threat radiating from this newcomer was far greater than Rock's. Furthermore, in his current position, he couldn't afford to reveal any more of his true power.
"Pity..."
Mohg shook his head. With a burst of speed, he transformed into a blur and vanished into the thick forest behind him.
The Golden General saw Mohg's intent and accelerated, desperate to catch him. But in the next second, a massive explosion rocked the battlefield behind him.
The sudden turn of events forced him to halt. By the time he looked back, Mohg had already disappeared into the sea of trees.
"Dammit!"
After a hissed curse, the Golden General turned his gaze toward the source of the noise. A massive army, unseen until now, had suddenly appeared on Scarlilan's other flank and was already engaging his troops!
"ROAR!!!"
A sky-rending howl erupted—the roar of a Troll!
The sheer force of the soundwave pushed back the Leyndell soldiers surrounding it. In the next heartbeat, a gargantuan Carian Knight's Sword swept down from above.
As dust billowed, limbs and shattered steel were sent flying. Several Leyndell soldiers who couldn't dodge were crushed into paste instantly.
The Golden General felt a cold sink in his gut. He realized he had committed the greatest sin of a commander: arrogance and impulsiveness. If his army suffered massive losses after already losing a Hero-class warrior, what would his fate be?
"STOP THIS AT ONCE!!!"
With a roar of fury, he transformed back into a golden meteor, flying back toward his lines at a speed even greater than when he had chased Mohg.
He didn't have time to wonder where these reinforcements had come from. He only knew that if he didn't salvage the situation, he would be court-martialed. And he had absolutely no desire to face "The Impaler" for judgment!
"Haha! Dogs of the Erdtree!!"
The Carian Troll Knight, having wreaked havoc on the field, immediately locked onto the General and began thumping toward him with heavy, earth-shaking strides.
BOOM!
The Troll's massive sword, shimmering with blue mana, collided with the General's halberd. A blinding light washed over the surrounding area.
"WRAAAGH!!!"
Slash!
After another roar, a Greatsword Phalanx manifested behind the Troll Knight, the blades of light streaking toward the Golden General.
The General used Golden Retaliation to absorb the magic blades, then leaped toward the Troll's head, his halberd wreathed in golden light.
Golden Slam!
Just as the strike was about to land, an overwhelming sense of danger surged from below. Without a second thought, the General trusted his instincts, aborted the attack, and retreated violently backward.
The cost of forcibly interrupting his own momentum was a mouthful of blood sprayed into his helmet.
A second later, he felt a wave of relief. A gargantuan, azure magical arrow had slammed into the ground where he had been. In an instant, a sphere of magical energy devoured everything in its radius, hollowing out the earth in a perfect semicircle.
Following this strike, the gates of Scarlilan were thrown wide. The City Lord and the Carian Knight who had been defending the walls decided to seize the momentum and launch a full-scale sortie.
The Golden General's face turned ashen. Looking at the state of the field, his stomach churned with nausea.
In the standard infantry engagement, things weren't entirely one-sided; his Leyndell Knights were still formidable. If the high-tier combatants could hold their own, they could still win the war.
But... Rock was dead. And now...
The General looked over at a nearby Tree Sentinel, who was currently locked in a desperate struggle against a Carian Knight and a Royal Knight. It looked like he was barely hanging on.
Elsewhere, a Leyndell Knight Captain was being picked apart by a highly experienced Magic Professor. Since the Captain hadn't mastered Golden Retaliation, he was being constantly suppressed by long-range spells.
If reinforcements didn't arrive, defeat was only a matter of time.
People often say that individual strength cannot decide the outcome of a war, but that only applies when the individual isn't strong enough. On this field...
The Golden General looked at the Carian Knight charging toward him and the Troll Knight standing in his path. Two-on-one.
He made his choice quickly.
"Everyone! Contract the lines! Defensive formation! RETREAT!!!"
The Tree Sentinel and the Leyndell Knight Captain let out sighs of relief. They unleashed powerful incantations to clear some space, broke off from their duels, and gathered their subordinates.
The Golden General unleashed a final, powerful Erdtree incantation at the Troll Knight and used the golden light as cover to pull back.
The Carian commanders, seeing that the Scarlilan reinforcements were still a short distance away, chose not to pursue immediately. It was a tacit agreement to halt the bloodshed and live to fight another day.
But at that exact moment, a whirlwind of bloody wind swept through the center of the battlefield. Two arcs of blood-red sword-light streaked toward the retreating Golden General.
He was currently at his most vulnerable, having just exhausted his energy on the retreat after his last incantation. Combined with the suddenness of the ambush, he could only stare in shock. He crossed his halberd in front of him and tried to manifest a desperate Golden Retaliation.
"ARGH!!!!"
The attack from below was not fully blocked. The blood-red blade-wind bypassed his guard and tore across his chest, leaving a horrific, jagged wound.
But it wasn't the wound itself that was lethal—it was the delay. The Carian Knight behind him had already caught up!
Whoosh—
A massive magical greatsword cut through the air, thrusting straight for his head.
CLANG!
With the sound of metal meeting metal, a golden object was sent flying, bouncing heavily across the dirt.
It was the Golden General's helmet!
The Carian Knight seized the opening, closing the distance instantly. The General, blood streaming from a gash on his face, looked at his opponent with bloodshot eyes and swung his halberd down with a primal roar.
CLANK!
Halberd met sword, and the two entered a test of strength. The surrounding troops, snapping out of their shock, moved to intervene.
The Golden Order's Tree Sentinel galloped toward the duel. The Troll Knight was even faster, simply hurling his massive sword like a javelin. The terrifying sound of the wind as the blade spun through the air made everyone's scalp go numb.
The Golden General, seeing that the Carian Knight had no intention of letting go, cursed him for a madman. He suddenly gave way, using the momentum to spring toward the approaching Tree Sentinel.
Just then, a figure clad in heavy armor, wielding two greatswords, reappeared on the battlefield. Before anyone could react, a crimson blur surged forward.
Storm of Blood Slash!
In an instant, blood sprayed into the sky as a storm of crimson flames roared and then died down.
"Cough... agh!!!"
A massive hole had been torn into the General's waist. He coughed up a spray of blood, looking at the man who had struck him with utter disbelief.
Nibla slowly wiped the blood from his blade with the crook of his elbow.
"With this blood, I announce the birth of my King!"
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Elden Ring: As the Consort, I Reject Miquella (Full)
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