Once he realized the creature's identity, Mohg abandoned his plan to fly toward Liana and Horuff's position.
For one, he was worried that dragging Liana into this might lead to unforeseen accidents. For another, the sky was ultimately the domain of raptors like the Deathbird; continuing his flight toward them might invite further complications mid-air.
Whoosh!
With a sharp beat of his wings, Mohg activated the Aspects of the Crucible to bolster his dive, plunging toward the forest floor. Seeing its prey attempt to flee, the Deathbird twisted its sinuous body and gave chase.
However, Mohg had overlooked one critical detail: it was the dead of night. The golden radiance emitted by the Aspects of the Crucible was as blindingly obvious as a distress flare.
The sentries in the Carian military camp, situated not far away, immediately noticed the anomaly. They rushed to report what they had seen to Harold.
"Golden light in the sky?"
Harold's brow furrowed. Although Rennala hadn't explicitly stated why they were on high alert, he suspected it was because traces of Erdtree influence had been detected within the Lake District. Therefore, he was eighty percent certain that the golden light belonged to someone from the Golden Order.
"To think they would show themselves in my jurisdiction..." Harold narrowed his eyes, turning to grab his weapon and staff. "Men! Follow me! We head in that direction to investigate!"
The commotion in the military camp naturally drew attention from Toriland Town.
At that moment, Lord Camo happened to be in the spire of his manor, using a telescope to observe the surrounding area—a minor hobby of his. Ordinarily, such instruments were used by sorcerers to study the stars or the moon. However, Camo lacked the patience for scholarly research. He usually used the telescope to admire the distant scenery... or to peep at things he shouldn't be seeing.
Because of this, the angle and position of his telescope were somewhat unconventional.
"Where is that commander rushing off to this late at night?" Camo muttered. He adjusted the telescope to follow the direction Harold was galloping.
The terrifying visage of the Deathbird suddenly filled his entire field of vision, giving him a fright that nearly made him jump out of his skin. But soon, clutching his racing heart, he let out a grin. How exhilarating!
"But with things like this, doesn't that leave the camp without a powerhouse in residence? I hope no trouble starts..."
After watching for a while longer and finding nothing else of interest, Camo sat back in his chair. He eventually remembered the situation at the Ainsel River Well.
"Forget it... whatever happens, it's none of my business." Camo shook his head. After some hesitation, however, he went back downstairs and ordered a portion of the town guard to patrol the area closest to the military camp.
"There, now I can rest easy. No one can say I didn't do anything..."
Little did he know that it was precisely this redeployment that created a brief gap in the security at the gates of Toriland Town. The "Three Stooges" took that exact opportunity to slip inside.
"I don't know what happened, but they actually moved the guards away from here..."
"Who cares? As long as it's good for us, that's all that matters."
"True enough..."
Boom!
Mohg made an emergency landing on the ground, instantly manifesting the Aspects of the Crucible: Tail to act as a brake, slowing his skid across the dirt. He then looked up toward the sky with a grim expression.
Sure enough, only a few seconds passed before the silhouette of the Deathbird reappeared, diving toward him at incredible speed.
Flash!
As Mohg stabilized himself, a golden light shimmered. The wings on his back vanished, replaced by the Aspects of the Crucible: Breath (specifically the throat sac) and a surge of golden energy forming the Aspects of the Crucible: Feathers.
If he remembered correctly... these Deathbird things didn't care about Hemorrhage!
"Crucible Feather Swarm!"
In the next instant, countless golden feathers, sharp as blades, flew toward the diving Deathbird.
Sensing the terrifying Holy power contained within the feathers, the Deathbird—despite its lack of facial expression—showed clear signs of panic through its frantic movements. It twisted its body violently in mid-air, attempting to dodge the barrage. However, because its dive was so forceful, it was unable to avoid the attack entirely and took several feathers head-on.
Unable to endure the onslaught, the Deathbird let out a horrific, piercing shriek. It unleashed a wave of sonic energy that blasted the nearby feathers away.
Boom!
The creature finally slammed into the ground, its massive body kicking up a cloud of dust upon impact. Once landed, it glared fixatedly at Mohg. It knew that the figure before it was the source of that searing Holy damage—damage that, while not immediately fatal, felt like being dipped in acid.
Mohg watched the creature warily. His "compatibility" with this opponent was quite poor. If Morgott were here, he could probably beat the stuffing out of this thing in seconds, but for Mohg, it wasn't so simple to resolve.
However... he actually had a very quick solution. Although he hadn't used it in years, it didn't mean he had discarded it.
Mohg reached into his robes and pulled out a dagger. Its blade shimmered with faint, dancing threads of golden light.
The moment the dagger appeared in the Deathbird's sight, its instincts screamed at it: either kill the threat in front of it immediately, or flee!
"SCREE—!"
With a roar, the Deathbird's wings snapped back, and its body surged forward with terrifying speed. It had chosen to eliminate the threat.
Facing the incoming strike, Mohg slowly raised the dagger.
"Golden Retribution!"
The sky... turned to day!
BOOM!
A brilliant pillar of golden light descended in a flash, instantly illuminating the darkness of the surrounding forest. Accompanying the blinding radiance was a wave of scorching heat and a concentration of Holy energy so dense it made the Deathbird feel as if it were drowning in filth.
As the golden light slowly faded, the Deathbird's body collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud. It had been decapitated. Its form began to disintegrate into black, ashen particles, slowly fading away.
Seeing this, Mohg quickly stepped forward to retrieve the creature's weapon and plucked a handful of its feathers for good measure.
The weapon Morgott had forged for him previously had been left with his duplicate in the sewers; he didn't have a decent weapon for his main body yet!
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Elden Ring: As the Consort, I Reject Miquella (286 Chapters – Ongoing)
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