Lu Mingfei, become the King of Elden!

Chapter 176 Please come to the dilapidated house outside the South Gate.
On the shore of the Ionian swamp.

Lu Mingfei sat in the soft glow of the blessing, lost in thought.

After a full day of experiments, he drew the following conclusions:

1. Crimson Corruption can be resisted; wearing armor increases resistance and slows down its accumulation.

2. The erosion of scarlet putrefaction follows a pattern: the longer it stays, the deeper the contamination and the longer the body is corroded.

3. Red Dettol cannot cure scarlet rot.

4. Putrefaction disease is fucking painful!!! During the onset of the disease, the skin will continuously rot and peel off, the muscle tissue will melt and disintegrate, and in the end, the whole person will become a rotting, dried corpse like the ones on the street, unable to live or die.

5. Torret is immune to erosion.

Yes, Lu Mingfei discovered the most buggy and amazing thing so far: his good companion, the spirit horse Toret with two horns, was not affected by the crimson corruption.

This means that Lu Mingfei can ride the Torret through this not-so-deep swamp. Although he will inevitably get splashed with some crimson decay, it is still better than wading through the water like a fool.

"I love you, Old To!!"

He held the spirit horse whistle aloft, striking a pose like that of a corrupt servant, his gaze devout.

"May I survive this hellhole! I swear... I'll only walk along the shallow water near the shore!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he blew the whistle loudly.

The clear, melodious whistle pierced the deathly silence of the swamp.

As the light and dust converged, Torret's agile figure appeared.

It snorted, its clear eyes glancing at the crimson patch before turning to Lu Mingfei, as if asking:
"What do you want to do?"

Lu Mingfei mounted his horse, gently patted Torret's neck, and pointed to the depths of that boundless lake of corruption.

"It's up to you, buddy."

he whispered.

Torret let out a low neigh, seemingly somewhat helpless, but ultimately did not disobey its master. With its four hooves pounding, it carried Lu Mingfei without hesitation and plunged into the crimson, viscous lake.

The putrid lake water overflowed Torret's hoof and ankle, and the viscous liquid that splashed up dripped onto Lu Mingfei's leg armor, making a soft "sizzling" sound.

He could feel the corrupting power clinging to the armor slowly accumulating, causing a slight stinging and itching sensation.

Toretto, however, was different. It seemed as if it had stepped into an ordinary shallow area, its steps still light and steady, its hooves making a dull sound, leaving only ripples on the scarlet lake surface that were quickly swallowed up.

Lu Mingfei was certainly not crazy. His idea was not to venture deep into the Ionian Swamp, but to walk along the shore to see how big the swamp was and what the surrounding terrain was like.

At the very least, we must find a second blessing on the shore.

Lu Mingfei had a bold guess.

The Ionian Swamp must be a very crucial place.

Blessings represent the guidance of two fingers, and every blessing is not meaningless. They either represent an inevitable path or a powerful tool, object, or person.

This swamp must contain multiple blessed points.

Perhaps this was once the center of the battle between General Shattered Star and the Valkyrie, the place where the flower bud called Crimson Corruption bloomed.

He dared not venture too far, and proceeded only along the cliffs and shallows.

Along the way, he saw a large number of Miranda flowers assimilated by crimson corruption, and mushroom people wandering through the ruins with tattered spears and covered in mushrooms.

The gaze passed over them, landing on the center of the swamp. There, an unimaginably enormous, gnarled tree soared into the sky, its shape twisted and bizarre, its branches resembling countless limbs writhing in agony, its tips adorned with enormous, unopened flower buds.
Lu Mingfei's gaze calmed down, as if deep in thought.

Spores, mushrooms, buds. Is this the "culture" symbol of scarlet decay? An ecosystem that feeds on destruction and regenerates from decay?
Time passed in repression.

After traveling for half a day, the outline of a huge town ruin gradually appeared in the decaying crimson.

Lu Mingfei instigated Toret to cautiously approach the town ruins, constantly on guard against any monsters that might jump out at them, and walked towards the steps leading to the town amidst the broken walls, where a blessed light shimmered faintly.

Lu Mingfei dismounted and lit the blessing.

“Serlia Town (below the stairs)”.

Serlia Town? Serlia, the town that forged the famous sword Moonshadow, the town of magical artisans?
Lu Mingfei was a little surprised.

I didn't expect to get here so quickly.

The warm light enveloped my body, dispelling the slight stinging sensation caused by decay.

He greedily absorbed the power of the blessing, repairing his weary body. When he was feeling better, he habitually looked around, his gaze sweeping over the stained ground beside the blessing.

There, a line of advice written in white ink was clearly visible, a common way for the faded people of the border region to leave messages.

Lu Mingfei frowned slightly. He squatted down, took off his gloves, and steadily placed his palm on the line of cold white writing.

hum-

A slight vibration was felt.

The white admonition seemed to come alive, radiating a soft halo.

The halo coalesced, quickly outlining a blurry humanoid silhouette.

The white figure had no face; it simply raised its arm and pointed in a certain direction from the ruins.

At the same time, a clear line of information immediately entered Lu Mingfei's mind:
"Please come to the dilapidated house outside the South Gate."

The phantom lasted for a few breaths before dissipating, and the white admonition faded, returning to ordinary markings.

Lu Mingfei withdrew his hand, rubbing the faint energy remaining on his fingertips. He stood up and looked in the direction the white figure was pointing.

The South Gate... lies on the other side of that town, now reduced to ruins. And what secrets do those so-called "dilapidated houses" outside the South Gate hold?
Is it a trap? Or a clue?
Or was it a distress signal left by a faded person struggling in dire straits?

Anyway, let's take a walk around the town now.

Lu Mingfei gripped the Lost Knight's Greatsword tightly in his hand and slowly stepped inside.

As far as the eye can see, there are only collapsed houses and bricks.

On one of the walls, a magical seal was set up with special runes. Lu Mingfei tried to break through it but gave up after finding that he could not.

Occasionally, the figures of some magicians would suddenly appear, and Lu Mingfei had no way of knowing whether they were invisible or spirits.

However, these mages were not difficult to deal with. The Radiant Stone Shards they unleashed had limited damage to Lu Mingfei. They were also slow-moving and physically weak. As long as he could withstand the magic, he could basically be killed with a single strike.

Lu Mingfei took a quick stroll around the town but didn't find anything.

He glanced at Torret, who stood quietly beside him, and gently patted its neck.

"Let's go, old Tor."

He whispered, his gaze fixed ahead:
"It seems someone has shown us the way."

(End of this chapter)