Bai Shi emerged from the Site of Grace.
Melina was clearly quite shy, and he suspected that even if he stayed longer, she wouldn't have appeared before him again.
In that case, there was no need to waste any more time in the Site of Grace.
Still, Bai Shi's heart couldn't stop pounding.
What had just happened was an overwhelming surprise for him.
Evidently, it wasn't just him who felt that way; Melina did too.
What could be more joyful than mutual affection?
Speaking of which, did this mean their relationship was official now?
Slude, who had been waiting in front of the magic tower for a while, was a little puzzled when she saw Bai Shi emerge from the Site of Grace.
Ever since Bai Shi had come out, he seemed somewhat distracted.He felt completely different from before.
In Slude's impression, Bai Shi was a remarkably decisive person.
Once he decided to fight, he showed no mercy, and whatever he set his mind to, he would absolutely find a way to accomplish.
But the Bai Shi before her now felt a bit strange.
His intensity had greatly diminished.
However, it had nothing to do with her.
All she needed to know was that for now, she was to follow Bai Shi's commands.
Bai Shi saw that Slude was waiting, so he composed himself and got back into character.
He would think about cuddling with Melina after he had crafted a physical body for her.
Right now, the priority was to finish the task at hand.
Bai Shi took a moment to size up Slude.
She wore a simple and elegant black, sleeveless dancing dress. Against the dark fabric, her Numen skin was so pale it practically glowed. The dress clung to her curves, accentuating her beautiful figure.
A mane of white hair cascaded over her shoulders, its ends dancing carelessly in the air.
She leaned against the wall of the magic tower, arms crossed, the fingers of her right hand hooked around the hilt of an exquisite, silver-decorated dagger. Her two long legs, extending from the hem of her dress, were crossed.
Her face was dignified and beautiful, yet ice-cold, exuding an aura that kept strangers at a distance.
With a change of clothes, Slude's entire demeanor had transformed. She had gone from a Black Knife Assassin to a foreign dancer.
Bai Shi was very satisfied. It was a pleasing sight.
Most importantly, no one would connect her to the Black Knife Assassins anymore.
He wondered where Ranni had procured this outfit. It didn't look like it was from the Lands Between; perhaps it was from Tanith's homeland.
Since everything was ready, it was time to set off.
First, he needed to take Slude back to Stormveil.
There were still about six or seven days until the Radahn Festival.
If they started their return journey now, it would likely take a day or two to get back to Stormveil.
In that case, he wasn't sure if he could stick to his original plan of taking the Dragonblood Knights to Caelid to find their mounts.
It felt a little tight on time.
However, it didn't really matter if he didn't take them for now.
This was not a task that absolutely had to be completed before the festival.
Besides, he still didn't know if the Dragonblood Knights had dealt with the Dragonkin Soldier in the underground area.
With that in mind, he decided not to seek out the Dragonblood Knights underground once he returned to Stormveil.
He would have a Stormhawk deliver a message, telling them to stay put near that area after they finished off the Dragonkin Soldier and to look for a lift leading to Caelid.
After returning to Stormveil, he would first visit Sellen, give her all the sorcery scrolls, and see how much he could learn before the festival.
He also wondered how Sorcerer Thops was progressing with his research on force fields.
Bai Shi planned to rest in Stormveil for a few days after returning, then teleport directly to Caelid to participate in the festival.
Bai Shi led Slude through Caria Manor.
Ranni had probably made arrangements in advance, so they encountered no further obstacles along the way.
Except for the Fingercreepers, who, not knowing any better, continued to raise their middle fingers and attack Bai Shi and Slude.
Perhaps Ranni hadn't informed them.
It wasn't a problem, though. The Fingercreepers were very weak, and even their ambushes posed almost no threat.
Once they left Caria Manor, the defensive magic arrows no longer rained down from the sky.
It seemed Seluvis had also received Ranni's warning.
So, Bai Shi and Slude easily reached the vicinity of Iji's forge.
Next to the forge was a thick wall that completely blocked the path.
While this slope wasn't particularly wide, it was still three to four hundred meters across.
Bai Shi remembered there was supposed to be a hidden door here that he needed to find to pass through.
Of course, he could just destroy the wall and step over it.
But since he could easily find the hidden door using the wind, there was no need.
Bai Shi unleashed a gust of wind across the face of the wall, giving it a free cleaning in the process.
The magic concealing the path was quickly dispelled, revealing a large gate they could pass through.
Beyond the hidden gate, behind the wall, lay the ruins of a massive residential area.
This had once been the domain of the Carian royal family, a place where numerous members of the royal family, nobles, and upper-class citizens resided.
This territory was built on the western slope of Caria, with residences covering the entire mountainside, overlooking Liurnia of the Lakes.
Judging by its scale, at least several thousand people must have lived here once.
However, when the Cuckoo Knights attacked, this place was utterly destroyed.
Not just the buildings; not a single life was left behind.
No, something was left behind.
A bizarre, spider-like creature suddenly leaped down from a nearby ruin, attempting to pounce on Bai Shi.
Slude shot up, intercepting the strange assailant in mid-air.
The dagger in her hand sliced across the creature's fragile neck, cleanly severing its head in a single motion.
When the corpse hit the ground, Bai Shi got a clear look at the creature.
It was clad in a blackened, foul-smelling robe, tattered like a filthy rag, and its hands were adorned with various pieces of jewelry.
Twisted below its body were several pairs of limbs, making it look somewhat similar to a Grafted Scion, yet entirely different.
Unlike the handsome, clearly noble-blooded Grafted Scions, this attacker's skin was dark as a corpse's, and its face looked as if it had endured endless torture and abuse.
The people of the Lands Between generally called such creatures Wraiths.
Wraiths had not always looked this way.
They were once normal humans, but after the Cuckoo Knights conquered the Carian territories, they subjected these captives to inhuman modifications.
The common Wraiths were created from the attendants of the royal family members.
Although Wraiths were quite strong, at least as biological weapons, their power was considerable.
Their bizarre attack methods and physical forms made them more formidable than the second-generation Albinaurics.
But the Cuckoo Knights didn't modify them for their combat prowess.
The Wraiths hardly obeyed commands and could even cause some harm to the Cuckoos themselves.
Yet, the Cuckoos tirelessly continued to create Wraiths. Because what the Cuckoos truly wanted was to use their existence to humiliate the Carian royal family.
That was why they had been twisted into this state, neither human nor ghost.
They were even deliberately left in the abandoned royal domains.
They could often be seen in other ruins within Liurnia of the Lakes as well.
Bai Shi remembered that Wraiths often moved in groups, wandering around ruins and attacking anyone they encountered indiscriminately.
Some would even ride equally decayed, undead horses to get around.
If that was the case, didn't that mean there were quite a few more in these ruins?
It was like finding a cockroach at home. When you see one, it's not because there's only one, but because there are too many to hide.
Bai Shi raised his Sword of Night and Flame.
The glintstone crystal embedded in one side of the blade lit up, emitting a soft glow.
A small star made of magic hung above Bai Shi's head, illuminating the surrounding ruins.
The sorcery—Starlight.
The Sword of Night and Flame in Bai Shi's hand could now be used as a casting medium, and its sorcery scaling was not low.
The glintstone crystals arranged on the blade were designed for this purpose.
As the starlight shone, faces twisted in agony emerged from various parts of the ruins.
Once exposed, they shrieked as if they abhorred the light and rushed madly towards Bai Shi.
Many of the Wraiths shook bells in their hands.
These bells were similar to the Spirit Calling Bell, but what they summoned were Cursed Souls that roamed the world due to a curse.
The summoned Cursed Souls immediately gave chase, pursuing the two of them.
Slude leaped nimbly through the ruins. The Cursed Souls formed a long line behind her but could never touch her.
As she moved to evade, the dagger in her hand continuously reaped the lives of the Wraiths, freeing them.
Bai Shi raised the Sword of Night and Flame and held it vertically before him.
Raging flames suddenly erupted from the hollowed part of the blade.
Unlike ordinary fire, Bai Shi could feel an ancient, savage power within these flames.
Their heat was so intense it even made his eyes sting.
This was the flame of the giants.
With a swing of the Sword of Night and Flame, a massive wave of fire spread out.
The firestorm burned the very air, consuming everything in its path as fuel.
An area tens of meters in radius was instantly engulfed in flames. The relentless Cursed Souls were melted away by the inferno, their existence purified.
The moment the flames touched the Wraiths, they were immediately consumed.
After just a few seconds, their struggles ceased.
When the flames gradually died down, the surrounding ruins were scorched black.
The stone walls were left with carbon-like fire marks.
All the Wraiths in the vicinity had been wiped out in one go; only those far away had managed to escape.
Bai Shi nodded with satisfaction.
The power of the flame was impressive, and it had such a large area of effect even without being amplified by his wind.
This made Bai Shi look forward to the power of the Night-Comet from the Sword of Night and Flame even more.
Torrent suddenly dashed forward. Bai Shi sensed it too and spun around, slashing with his sword.
The sharp blade sliced through, and several limbs were severed neatly and cleanly, the blade feeling no resistance.
The ambusher let out a painful howl.
A deathly pale face, mouth wide open, as if the world-famous painting "The Scream" was branded upon it.
Such a distinctive face could only belong to a Royal Revenant.
The shriek was piercing and shrill, not a sound any normal creature could produce.
Even the roar of a Grafted Scion sounded like a whimper in comparison.
If a Grafted Scion's roar could make a child cry, a Royal Revenant's scream could scare a child to death.
As one of the most foul creatures in the world of Elden Ring, the Royal Revenant had all sorts of disgusting traits.
Whether it was its sudden ambush from underground, its disgusting appearance, or its deadly flurry of strikes that could combo a person to death...
If a vote were held to choose the most hated monster in Elden Ring, the Royal Revenant would undoubtedly be a strong contender for first place.
The Royal Revenant seemed to have even more limbs than a Grafted Scion.
But it lacked the Scion's bulky body, appearing rather frail.
If the Grafted Scion was a spider, the Royal Revenant was more like a house centipede or a regular centipede.
The ornate crown on its head, deliberately designed by the Cuckoo Knights, allowed one to instantly recognize their former royal status.
And their previous garments had been torn to rags, draped carelessly over their bodies, leaving them a final shred of dignity.
The Royal Revenant shrieked as it crawled toward Bai Shi on its many pairs of limbs, a truly unsettling sight.
Royal Revenants were not weak to holy damage, and the Law of Regression was useless against them.
Only healing incantations had a unique effect on them.
This implied two things:
First, they were alive, not some form of Those Who Live in Death.
Second, they had been turned into this state by some kind of injury, but this injury was incurable.
In fact, if someone tried to save them with healing incantations, it would only harm them further.
Normally, he should use a healing incantation to deal with the Royal Revenant.
But Bai Shi was eager to test the power of his Sword of Night and Flame.
Bai Shi held the sword level, its tip pointing at the Royal Revenant before him.
Magic flowed through the blade. The glintstone crystals on its surface lit up one by one, their power converging at the tip.
A deep blue stream of comet sorcery erupted from the sword's point, piercing straight through the Royal Revenant's body.
Everything in the Night-Comet's path was obliterated.
The stream of magic continued unabated, streaking across the sky above Liurnia of the Lakes like a true comet.
When the torrent subsided, the Royal Revenant had vanished, leaving only a few cleanly severed limbs behind.
Bai Shi was stunned by the weapon's power.
So this was a +7 legendary armament.
Although it consumed a lot of magic, and the diameter of the comet stream had a limit, the power of that blast was immense, and its range was also very long.
In terms of single-target piercing damage, Bai Shi had no other attack that could match it.
Although the opponent was just a single Royal Revenant, the destructive power it contained was obvious even without a proper target.
That stream of comet sorcery was far more powerful than the flame.
Although the Sword of Night and Flame housed two different powers, it was ultimately crafted by Astrologers. It made sense that their area of expertise, glintstone sorcery, would be stronger.
After all, the blade was inlaid with glintstone to amplify magic, but it had no equivalent component to enhance the flame.
However, this was not a problem.
The flame could be combined with Bai Shi's wind, so it would surely serve its purpose.
Besides, it was a straight sword that could shoot fire.
With the Royal Revenant destroyed, the other Wraiths let out wails and charged forward recklessly.
Bai Shi granted them their release, so they would no longer have to live in such a painful state.