Elden Ring, building a legion of ashes

Chapter 67 Burke Sobbing Uncontrollably

Xia Tong gently kicked an inconspicuous little shrub by the roadside.

"Bang."

White smoke rose up.

The small shrub disappeared.

Instead, there was a tiny, hunched-over, subhuman figure.

His face was covered with grayish-brown hair, and he had a flat nose and a wide mouth similar to an ape, with large and pointed ears.

What's even funnier is that he was wearing a hat that was a bit too big for him, which made him look rather comical.

"Thank you……"

Upon seeing Xia Tong, the demi-human immediately bowed deeply.

My name is Burke.

"Because they were disliked by the other people in the cave, they were kicked out..."

"And then it was turned into a tree..."

Burke moved timidly, and often rubbed his hands or held his head when he spoke.

"...So, you really helped me a lot."

Looking at the little monkey in front of me, filled with fear and inferiority, yet extremely kind.

Xia Tong sighed softly again.

In this borderland where laws have collapsed and chaos reigns, Burke, a weak demi-human, can be considered to be at the very bottom of society.

They might fall by the roadside one day, or even be hacked to pieces, with no hope of returning to the tree, their souls forever wandering in the borderlands.

Burke kept talking, as if it gave him a great sense of security.

Xia Tong listened attentively, understanding everything Burke said.

"It's a pity...it's a pity that when I was kicked out, all my valuables were taken away."

"That's all... I'm really sorry, there's no decent compensation."

As he spoke, Burke took a tattered cloth bag from his pocket.

He carefully opened it, and inside were nearly ten wrinkled mushrooms.

That was the food he collected bit by bit in the wild.

Xia Tong gently took it, looked at Burke's chapped lips, and suddenly asked:

"You haven't eaten yet, have you?"

"what?"

Upon hearing Xia Tong's question, Burke was immediately stunned.

He blinked his big eyes, seemingly not understanding.

This seemingly concerned remark left him somewhat at a loss for words.

He hadn't been cared for or noticed by anyone for a very long time.

Even something as simple as "You haven't eaten, have you?"

Burke was momentarily at a loss for words and could only stand there dumbfounded.

Xia Tong smiled helplessly and whistled.

Hearing the call, Torret, who was in the distance, came running over.

Xia Tong took her baggage off the horse.

A small campsite was temporarily set up in the bushes by the roadside.

He added the seasonings and sea salt he had obtained from Moen City, as well as some marinated beef and mutton that the generous city lord Edgar had given him.

After a while, a thick pot of meat soup was cooked.

Finally, Xia Tong also washed the nearly ten mushrooms that Burke had given her and put them into the pot to stew together.

"What... what is this?"

The aroma of wild onions mixed with the natural meaty scent of beef and mutton filled Burke's nose.

He could hardly believe that such delicious things existed in the world.

"Eat."

Xia Tong handed a full bowl of steaming hot meat soup to Burke.

"I...I...I...Can I eat this?"

Burke's hands trembled slightly, and his eyes were filled with disbelief.

He could hardly believe his ears.

In this cruel world, besides my deceased mother, is there anyone else willing to cook such a delicious meal for me?

And it was given to an ugly, demi-human who had been driven out of his own kind?

"Of course, this was originally cooked so that everyone could eat together."

"Here, try the mushrooms you picked, and this beef."

Xia Tong carefully used her homemade wooden chopsticks to place large chunks of beef and tender mushrooms into Burke's bowl, piling them up like a small mountain.

The skinny Burke could no longer hold back and shoved it into his mouth.

As she ate, tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

Half a bowl of meat soup and half a bowl of tears were mixed together and went into his emaciated stomach.

After finishing his meal, Burke looked at Xia Tong, wiped away his tears, and said apologetically:

"I'm sorry... sir."

"Not only did I not help you at all, but I also ate such a sumptuous meal from you."

"If possible, please give me some time."

Burke mustered his courage, raised his head, and said:

"Let me go back into the coastal cave and retrieve my own things."

"Although I don't have anything valuable on me right now, I will repay you when I get back."

Upon hearing this, Xia Tong couldn't help but purse her lips, thinking to herself: Wait for you to go back? With your small frame, you'll definitely get beaten to a pulp by those demi-human leaders and thrown out unconscious.

However, he did not discourage Burke; he simply nodded.

"I still don't know your name, sir. Could you tell me? I will always remember you."

"My name is Xia Tong," he replied sincerely.

……

On the way to the ruins of Yizhan Street.

Xia Tong casually killed a wandering Kaidan mercenary and then took possession of his tall black horse.

He pointed at Burke and asked:

Can you ride a horse?

"Ride... on a horse?"

Burke was completely stunned.

He wasn't even as tall as a horse when he stood up, so asking him to ride a horse was simply a pipe dream.

However, urged by Xia Tong, he reluctantly tried to mount the horse.

As soon as he put his leg on the horse's back, he lost his balance and tumbled off, falling flat on his face.

Helpless, Xia Tong forcibly lifted him up and placed him on the horse's back like a chick.

But after the horse had run a couple of steps, he was too nervous and stiff, and fell off again.

Seeing this comical yet pitiful scene, Xia Tong couldn't help but sigh and rub her forehead.

He thought to himself that he was indeed putting this little subhuman in a difficult position.

So he changed his strategy and had the docile spirit horse Torret carry Burke, while he rode the black horse that he had stolen from the mercenary Kadan.

Riding on Torret's broad and sturdy back, the demi-human Burke felt as if he were dreaming.

Just hours before, he was just an ordinary shrub, deprived of even basic personal freedom.

But now, he has ridden on a legendary spirit horse and is being treated like a knight.

The most terrifying thing is the owner of this spirit horse.

He actually killed the Kaidan mercenary, whom he thought was invincible, in just a few moves.

Those are mercenaries from Kadan!

The fierce warriors from the North, when they roar, their bodies glow red, and a single strike from their blades can practically cut down a tree.

Yet this valiant warrior was slain in just three moves before Lord Xia Tong!

Poor Burke didn't realize that this was just the beginning.

On their way to the ruins of Post Station Street, Xia Tong and the demi-human Burke were unstoppable.

Burke witnessed firsthand how Lady Xia Tong summoned several ferocious, lone wolves, a giant blood-red jellyfish, and fully armed soldiers simply by ringing a bell.

Even under the spirit horse's belly, he saw two stone monsters that looked like little devils, laughing strangely at him.

But what terrified Burke the most was the headless, very tall knight.

Even sitting atop Spirit Horse, Burke still had to look up at her.

She was a fraction taller than Lady Xia Tong, and with her massive Eclipse Tower Shield in front of her, no monster could cross her defenses.

The enormous spear in his hand, engulfed in a yellow-black flame of death, could easily pierce through the living corpses of the powerful who tried to block his path with a mere swing.