"Kneel?" Xia Yu looked at Godrick's current appearance and sneered. "You? You think you're worthy?"
Although Godrick was now someone Xia Yu could take seriously, he was still not qualified to make him kneel. In fact, no one in this world was qualified to make him kneel!
It was arrogant, but such was his pride.
Hearing the Tarnished say this, Godrick's face darkened, and he said with suppressed rage, "Very well, Tarnished. You have angered me. Let your death herald the rebirth of Godrick!"
The second the words fell, Godrick gripped the handle of his axe with both hands and slammed it down. The surging shockwave instantly shattered the ground, and the broken earth once again produced violent waves.
Large swaths of giant stones from above the tunnel were shaken loose, crashing down toward Xia Yu.
Xia Yu had no intention of dodging. He tightened his grip on the Cursed Death Slash, and with a few swishes, he sliced the falling giant stones into small fragments.
Then Xia Yu held the Cursed Death Slash high. Black-gold flames ignited from the blade, and the edge swirled with boundless death energy, carrying an immense pressure as it slashed forward.
Dust along the way was swept clean, and the space ahead was filled with death energy. The destructive aura was almost unstoppable.
Seeing such a powerful strike, Godrick's heart tightened. He quickly cast aside his contempt, raised the axe of godrick high with both hands, stirred an invisible storm to wrap around it, stepped forward with his right foot, and brought the axe of godrick down with a roar!
Boom! Boom! Boom—!
Death energy and the storm collided, and a boundless power suddenly erupted. The intertwined flames swept out in all directions with the two of them as the center!
The surrounding rubble was instantly turned to dust under the flames, and the already precarious tunnel once again suffered strong vibrations and cracks.
If nothing else, the Royal Capital of Stormveil Castle might have already been affected by the underground battle. At the very least, after this fight, the Royal Capital would definitely need a round of reinforcement.
Blaidd and the others, who had already escaped, looked back in shock at the collapse of the tunnel. At this moment, they were incredibly grateful that they had left in time; otherwise, they would have had to use their swords to dig through the tunnel.
Also, that Tarnished named Xia Yu—had he been hiding his true strength all along?
In the center of the underground battle, the storm ground everything around it, yet it could not completely disperse the death energy. That black death energy, mixed with golden flames, ruthlessly eroded everything in its vicinity.
Black-gold thorns grew from the ground, tangling toward Godrick bit by bit, but the storm around Godrick easily ground the thorns to pieces.
"Oh? Godrick the Demigod, who considers himself reborn—is this all you've got?" Xia Yu mocked as he locked strength with Godrick.
Hearing this, veins popped on Godrick's face, and the muscles in his two arms tensed so tightly they seemed about to burst.
Knowing that the Tarnished before him was likely no weaker than his current self, Godrick roared. Risking being stabbed by the surrounding thorns, he gathered all the storms around him.
A moment later, the storm condensed into a white line. With an indomitable momentum, Godrick slashed it down, cutting a path of death forward.
This storm slash, compressed to the extreme, even cut through the air, creating layers of vacuum zones. Only after a few seconds did the vacuum gradually fill back in with the surrounding air.
The thorns wrapping around him were also ground away by this strike. However, after using his full strength, Godrick wasn't sure if the Tarnished was dead. Just as the storm slash was about to hit, a large amount of death energy had suddenly erupted from that pitch-black greatsword with octopus tentacles, shrouding everything around the Tarnished.
However, although he couldn't see the specific situation, Godrick wasn't worried. Even he had been startled by that strike just now.
Even if it didn't kill the Tarnished, it would surely have caused unhealable heavy injuries. If luck was on his side, perhaps the Tarnished was already dead.
Thinking this, Godrick swung the axe of godrick, intending to sweep away the lingering death energy to see if the Tarnished inside was dead or not.
But to his surprise, a black sword light compressed to the extreme suddenly slashed out from the death energy, violently knocking the unprepared Godrick flying.
A large amount of hot blood sprayed out, and golden flames with black energy also bored into his body from the hideous wound. The sent-flying Godrick slammed hard into the stone wall behind him, becoming completely embedded in it.
"I almost died. Fortunately, I'm a cut above."
Xia Yu walked out from the lingering death energy, holding a transformed second-stage Cursed Death Slash, with an empty glass bottle in his other hand.
At this moment, his upper body armor was almost completely shattered, yet strangely, he had no injuries. Not only was he uninjured, but he seemed even more high-spirited.
Tossing away the empty Healing Spell Potion bottle, Xia Yu slapped his chest hard. The already precarious upper body armor completely shattered, revealing the lean, powerful physique beneath.
"You're finished. This armor was used to seal my overly powerful strength, and now you've broken it!"
"Cough, cough... You actually... hid your strength!"
Godrick reached out to pull himself from the broken wall. He looked incredibly pathetic now, covered in blood, with a bloody gash emitting black energy on his chest and abdomen.
This gash seemed to be blocked by some power, preventing him from healing quickly. He could only slowly wear down the power that hindered his self-healing.
Now, Godrick was heavily injured while Xia Yu remained in good condition. The battle no longer held any suspense; the scales of victory had been tilted from the beginning.
Although Godrick's strength had greatly increased due to being recognized by the shard of the elden ring, this was, after all, power he had just obtained. It was likely not as familiar to him as his Grafting power.
What's more, Xia Yu was a complete cheater. If he was hurt, he had Healing Spell Potions; if he ran out of mana, his Red Envelopes still contained the massive amount of mana he had accumulated last time. He could kill Godrick just by piling up mana.
Quantity leads to quality change; in other words, quantity can overwhelm quality.
Under these circumstances, any resistance from Godrick was futile.
Coming out of the wall, Godrick looked at the unscathed Xia Yu, and his heart sank halfway. But then, an endless rage surged up!
Why? Why, even though he already possessed such powerful strength, was he still helpless against this Tarnished before him!
But—he would not back down. Behind him was the glory of the Golden Lineage. He was a descendant of Godfrey, the First Elden Lord, and the offspring of Godwyn the Golden!
He carried the expectations of all the soldiers who trusted him. He would eventually lead them back to their home at the foot of the erdtree! And then, he would restore the Golden Lineage!
He was Godrick the Golden! He could not lose!
At this moment, there was only a fight to the death, because for this man, he was willing to go all out!
"Aaaaaah—!"
A battle cry full of rage echoed in the deep underground. A red mist permeated Godrick's entire body; this was his boiling body temperature evaporating the blood on his skin.
Godrick tightened his grip on his axe of godrick, a weapon he had forged for himself out of admiration for the First Elden Lord. At this moment, his eyes were fixed solely on the calm figure ahead.
"I will be the one to defeat you! To restore the Golden Lineage! I cannot lose!"
At this moment, the man named Godrick staked everything he had!
Looking at Xia Yu, who still hadn't moved, Godrick poured all his strength into his weapon. The ground beneath his feet crumbled inch by inch, and then his momentum suddenly reached its peak!
"Forefathers, one and all... bear witness—!!!"