In the end, after Patches was disarmed, Bai Shi had D escort him to Stormveil Castle.
As for the other Tarnished, they had been tricked by Patches’s sign and ended up near the Those Who Live in Death, a disaster they hadn’t asked for.
Although Patches’s scheme to lure them failed, it was still a stroke of bad luck to be caught up in such a mess.
Therefore, Bai Shi gave them some compensation, ensuring they would receive some benefits after arriving at Stormveil.
Whether in business or in enlisting in the army, they would receive a bit of preferential treatment.
Of course, it was just a little bit of preferential treatment, not some life-altering super-perk.
Whether they could achieve something in the end still depended on their own abilities.
As for D, he and Bai Shi agreed that once Bai Shi was free, he would go to the Roundtable Hold to find him. In the meantime, D would be responsible for sealing the Deathroot.
When they met again, D would introduce him to Gurranq, the Beast Clergyman.
The items from the Beast Clergyman's questline were all quite good and very practical as incantations.More importantly, the Beast Clergyman was Maliketh, the Black Blade.
Maliketh's identity was of great significance.
Maliketh was Queen Marika’s loyal shadow and sworn stepbrother who bound Destined Death into his own blade, striking fear into all the demigods.
It was because of Maliketh’s intimidating presence that the demigods knew fear and, in turn, became heroes.
At the same time, Maliketh was the shadow beast bestowed upon Marika.
However, as Queen Marika vanished, Maliketh, her stepbrother, also disappeared without a trace. He never appeared, even during the most intense period of the Shattering war.
But it made sense. Although Maliketh was Marika’s stepbrother, based on in-game dialogue, he didn’t know why Marika had shattered the Elden Ring.
Marika had betrayed her shadow as well.
In the end, lost and confused, he could only continuously consume Deathroot to atone for his failure—it was because the Destined Death he guarded had been stolen that Godwyn the Golden was assassinated.
Afterward, Destined Death began to spread from Godwyn’s not-quite-dead body, sprouting throughout the Lands Between along the roots of the Erdtree.
If left unchecked, the Lands Between would be consumed by Death, eventually becoming a paradise for the dead.
Death was something the Golden Order could not tolerate.
Because the Golden Order was founded only after Destined Death had been removed.
Maliketh swallowed the bitter fruit of this failure. Only he, the sealer of Destined Death, could consume the Deathroot.
Bai Shi definitely wanted to communicate with him ahead of time.
Maliketh was currently acting under the guise of the Beast Clergyman, and others were unaware of his true identity as the Black Blade.
But Bai Shi knew his real identity.
That meant Bai Shi might be able to use this information gap to learn from him about the events of the past.
Although Maliketh was tight-lipped, consuming Deathroot was not without its effects on him, such as intermittent bouts of madness and poor mental stability.
He should be able to learn a little about the ancient era, right?
You didn’t even tell your stepbrother Maliketh. Queen Marika, why did you shatter the Elden Ring?
This little episode took no more than half an hour from start to finish.
Bai Shi and Torrent continued on their journey, pushing onward toward their destination, Caelid, until late into the night.
Finally, when the night was at its deepest and even the light of the Erdtree had dimmed to its faintest, Bai Shi arrived near the Smoldering Wall.
Seeing a line of fire glowing against the night sky on the horizon, Bai Shi knew he had reached the border between Limgrave and Caelid.
Torrent slowed his pace and approached the wall of fire.
This wall was built of stone, yet flames inexplicably burned upon it, even though there should have been nothing to fuel them.
The flames did not burn fiercely, but they blazed ceaselessly upon the stone wall, never extinguishing.
No matter how the Scarlet Rot crept up its sides, it was always held back by the flames burning within the stones.
Bai Shi moved his hand closer, feeling the intense heat.
It felt as if, in that gesture alone, he could feel the unyielding will of the Redmane soldiers.
Bai Shi stood before the wall for a moment.
"Those who remain in Caelid, who built these walls to fend off the Scarlet Rot... they are true warriors."
Melina's voice sounded beside Bai Shi's ear.
The long, stretching wall of fire had moved her as well.
Since leaving Stormveil, the two of them had finally embarked on their journey through the Lands Between once more.
Melina had been sitting sideways behind Bai Shi, leaning against his back and quietly taking in the scenery along the way.
Usually, Melina didn't speak much, so as not to disturb Bai Shi.
But since their heart-to-heart talk that lasted through the night, the two had grown considerably closer.
Now, whenever Melina had a thought, she would share it with Bai Shi immediately.
If others were around, Bai Shi wouldn't reply, but he would keep it in mind and discuss it with Melina later at a Site of Grace. This was their agreement.
"Yes, they are a very respectable group of people."
Bai Shi strongly agreed.
The soldiers of the Redmane army, even after General Radahn had fallen into madness, did not abandon this land. They used every method they could think of to protect Caelid.
They fought day and night amidst the Scarlet Rot that ordinary people could not endure, constantly resisting it.
They would constantly clear it, but the Scarlet Rot would constantly expand. Then came another cleansing, followed by another expansion, in a never-ending cycle.
In this struggle that had lasted for who knows how many years, they built the continuous Smoldering Wall, completely separating the Caelid region from others, preventing other lands from suffering the same fate.
If Bai Shi had to choose his favorite legion of soldiers from the game in his past life, he would undoubtedly choose the soldiers of the Redmane army.
There are no cowards in the Redmane army. This saying was true.
If it weren't for the fact that Tarnished in the game were hated by everyone and everything, with all manner of creatures attacking them on sight, Bai Shi would have been reluctant to make an enemy of the Redmane soldiers. They deserved that respect.
Suddenly, two barks echoed in the distance.
Bai Shi looked over and saw two small, skeletal wild dogs corrupted by the Scarlet Rot.
Their bodies were covered in all sorts of white pustules, and numerous wounds lay bare, with flies buzzing around them.
Next to the two dogs was a mangled corpse. They seemed to be feasting, but Bai Shi's arrival had interrupted their meal.
As Bai Shi approached, the two dogs backed away, letting out low growls and looking ready to pounce at any moment.
Normal dogs would have been scared off long ago by the lingering draconic aura from the materials on Bai Shi, but these wild dogs infected with Scarlet Rot showed no fear.
It seemed the Scarlet Rot's influence on living creatures was indeed profound, even rewriting their habits and instincts.
"Really now, you little dogs are already so un-cute, and yet you still act so fierce. No one will like you, you know."
Bai Shi held out two fingers, forming a gun gesture, and aimed at the two dogs.
As two compressed bullets of wind shot out, the two wild dogs instantly became two corpses.
Bai Shi casually dealt with the dogs and had already turned to enter Caelid, but having approached them just now, he had caught the scent of blood from the corpse on the ground.
It was the scent of fresh blood, which was very unusual.
Normally, no sane person would venture into Caelid, but now, with the festival of combat about to begin, things were different.
Those who came, even if not incredibly strong, shouldn't be taken down by a mere two wild dogs.
Bai Shi turned and approached the corpse.
Bai Shi remembered that near the Smoldering Church, there was supposed to be an invasion event by Anastasia, Tarnished-Eater, also known as the "Cannibal Girl" in his past life.
As her name implied, a Tarnished-Eater killed and then consumed corpses.
In a world like the Lands Between, that was indeed a way to grow stronger.
Could it be her doing?
Bai Shi went forward and looked at the corpse the dogs had been gnawing on.
The head of the corpse had been completely smashed, exploding like a watermelon.
The shattered fragments of the head had been dragged off by the dogs to who knows where, leaving only the lower jaw hanging from the neck by a shred of skin.
The corpse was dressed in a beautiful long robe, though it was now filthy.
This attire was very familiar to Bai Shi; it was the long robe worn by maidens.
Bai Shi was a little confused. Why a maiden?
There was indeed a maiden who appeared at the festival of combat: Therolina.
Therolina might appear in Caelid, but that was unlikely.
Because Therolina was currently in Bai Shi's Stormveil Castle, running her little maiden shop, helping various Tarnished turn Grace into strength.
She was no longer obsessed with finding a Tarnished and helping him become a lord.
As long as Bai Shi followed the guidance of Grace, fulfilled his destiny, and became the Elden Lord, Therolina didn't mind. All that mattered was that someone became Elden Lord.
So who was this dead maiden?
No, maybe it wasn't a maiden, just someone wearing maiden's clothes.
Could it be Anastasia, Tarnished-Eater?
Did she fail to ambush a Tarnished and get killed in return?
But the weapon nearby was a blood-stained dagger, completely different from the giant butcher's cleaver Bai Shi remembered.
Soon, Bai Shi completely dismissed this idea.
Because on the remaining part of the corpse’s neck, there was a prominent adam's apple.
Bai Shi then sized up the corpse's figure and found that its height and skeletal structure looked very much like a woman's.
Could it be a femboy?
Along with that, Bai Shi found nothing of value on the corpse.
Bai Shi pondered for a moment, searching his mind for characters who might fit the description.
In the end, Bai Shi realized that he couldn't find a single character from the game who matched. So he gave up thinking about it.
It was just one death. Too many people died in the Lands Between every day.
Bai Shi paid the strange corpse no more mind. It was about time he found a place to rest for a bit.
It was already late at night, and there was no need to rush. He should have enough time to arrive tomorrow anyway.
Bai Shi scanned his surroundings and soon found his destination: the ruins of a church—the Smoldering Church.
—
Bai Shi dismounted and led Torrent into the church, only to find that someone was already inside the ruins.
This person was completely wrapped in dirty, blood-stained bandages, even their head, leaving only two cloudy eyes exposed. They looked severely injured.
But this person was also wearing a maiden’s long robe.
Hearing the noise, the person looked towards Bai Shi.
Melina's ethereal spirit stood beside Bai Shi, gazing at the maiden with her one remaining right eye.
Upon seeing this maiden, a strange sadness inexplicably bloomed in Melina's heart.
The sadness came suddenly, bringing with it a strange, faint feeling.
Like... a premonition of the future.
"Bai Shi, this person is covered in burns..."
Bai Shi nodded slightly, indicating to Melina that he understood.
The gaze of the maiden wrapped in bandages swept over the area around Bai Shi.
As she spoke, her voice was raspy and unpleasant, as if damaged by smoke and fire:
"My lord over there, are you, by any chance, a Tarnished?"
Her eyesight also seemed to be poor. She looked around the area back and forth, finally managing to vaguely lock onto Bai Shi's general location.
"Yes, I am a Tarnished."
"Ah, that's wonderful."
The maiden let out a sigh of relief, then asked Bai Shi a little cautiously:
"I was separated from the Tarnished lord I serve a long time ago, but I have been waiting for him."
"I wonder if you've seen anyone who, like you, is a Tarnished? He should be wearing shining silver armor."
"His name is Bernahl, and he is a truly magnificent hero."
"A while ago, I faintly sensed that he might be somewhere nearby."
"Unfortunately, I cannot move well, and my eyesight is failing. Though I have been searching for a long time, I have not found him."
Bai Shi's eyes flickered. It was Bernahl's maiden. Right, he should have realized it from her appearance earlier.
—
Time rewound to several hours earlier.
It was dusk, around the same time Bai Shi had rescued Alexander.
Bernahl arrived near the Smoldering Wall with a 'maiden'.
"Hey, hey, Lord Bernahl, how much longer until we reach Caelid?"
This 'maiden' spoke with a soft androgynous voice. An uninformed person might have actually mistaken him for a woman.
But this person was, in fact, a man, merely disguised as a Finger Maiden to lure, kill, and consume Tarnished.
Bernahl pointed to the Smoldering Wall up ahead and said:
"Once we cross this wall, we will have officially entered the territory of Caelid. Then, it will be about another day or two's journey to the vicinity of Redmane Castle."
"When we get there, we can find some ruins to set up camp and prepare for the mission."
The young man dressed as a maiden touched the scorching stones of the Smoldering Wall, then sat on top of it.
His expression was normal, as if he were sitting on an ordinary stone wall, not one on fire.
"Is this all there is to the fire of the lions of Caelid? It feels much weaker than the magma in our Volcano Manor."
Bernahl's gaze went past the wall, looking out at the lands of Caelid covered in Scarlet Rot.
"The Redmane fire is rumored to have some connection to the flames of the giants. Also, you'd best not underestimate the Redmane army."
The young man swung his feet from his perch on the wall.
"Hah? Why would I be afraid of a bunch of idiots?"
"They could have just run away, but they insisted on staying in this godforsaken place, waiting to rot away with their master."
Bernahl wore the Beast Champion Helm, which concealed his expression.
Bernahl said nothing.
After all, the so-called Recusants of Volcano Manor were now nothing more than a band of villains who blindly devoured and slaughtered their own kind for the sake of power.
Forget a knight's code, they couldn't even be called warriors. They were a group of individuals with no sense of honor whatsoever.
There was nothing to say to such shallow people.
Not to mention, this person wasn't his partner. He had no partner, so there was no need to correct or explain.
Originally, upon hearing that a festival of combat was about to be held in Caelid, Volcano Manor had planned to send a group to ambush and hunt some Tarnished, recruiting anyone who could be swayed.
This kind of minor affair should not have involved Bernahl, who held a special status.
But Bernahl had his own private reasons and volunteered to come, so he was assigned a team.
There had been two other members in this team, but they had already been lured and killed on the road by the young man dressed as a maiden.
If a companion was an easier target than other Tarnished, the Recusants would absolutely not let the opportunity slip.
By feigning weakness in front those who gain power by killing their own kind, those two fools fell for it immediately.
This young man by Bernahl's side was the beloved younger brother of Anastasia, Tarnished-Eater. Similar to his sister's epithet, 'the Demoness', he was known as 'the Demon Child'.
Like his sister, though he was very young, he was an expert at luring and consuming others.
Bernahl ignored the man and warned him:
"You stay here. Don't wander off, or you might find yourself with no place to be buried."
"I have something to attend to."