Chapter 135: Millicent's Bud

After bidding farewell to Jerren, Bai Shi first returned to the residential area.

After greeting Hilbert, Bai Shi left Redmane Castle and began his exploration of Caelid.

Just now, Jerren had wanted to hand over the Ruins Greatsword to him, hoping he would wield it.

Bai Shi didn't refuse.

Putting aside the actual power of the Ruins Greatsword, he needed to collect all the legendary armaments to get the corresponding achievement, regardless of their power.

The current count for Fengling Yueying was four. Although it wasn't maxed out at the upper limit of five, it was more than enough.

He had used the five times experience and super damage buffs once each when he defeated the Fell Omen and Godrick.

However, defeating them both also completed an achievement each, granting him two uses and thus balancing his expenditure.

Later, after activating the Great Rune, he completed another achievement for reactivating any Great Rune.

This was because in the game, aside from the required legendary weapons, there were other golden-quality weapons of the same tier.

It was just that for various reasons, their legends were not widely known.

If the requirement was only for the legendary weapons from the game, Bai Shi remembered most of them and was unlikely to miss any.

But if it required all golden-quality weapons, then things would get a bit tricky.

Moreover, what exactly did "collecting" entail?

Castle Morne was now under his rule, so did the Grafted Blade Greatsword stored there count as being in his collection?

All of this was still unknown for now and would likely only become clear after he unified the Lands Between in the future.

As for now, Bai Shi had no use for the Ruins Greatsword, so he decided to leave it at Redmane Castle for the time being.

When Bai Shi left, he didn't take anything extra with him, only swiping some mask-like items from Hilbert.

These were items frequently used by perfumers, functioning just like face masks and requiring regular replacement. Hilbert had stuffed plenty into his luggage when he left his residence.

As long as it didn't enter the body, cleaning off the Scarlet Rot was relatively simple.

Of course, that was on the condition that one didn't soak in the Scarlet Rot for too long. Prolonged physical contact with the rot could lead to a serious external infection that was not to be underestimated.

In addition, Bai Shi also took some Preserving Boluses with him.

As for supplies to clean the Scarlet Rot off his equipment, Bai Shi brought almost none.

Although getting covered in Scarlet Rot was inevitable, he reasoned that as soon as he left the rot-filled waters, he could use the scouring force of a storm to strip it away.

Following the direction on the map, Bai Shi headed toward the vicinity of Sellia, Town of Sorcery.

After some travel, he saw a massive gate built into the side of a mountain; this was the passage to Sellia.

But Bai Shi didn't go through the gate. For the time being, he had no plans to go to Sellia.

Bai Shi followed the side of the gate, moving toward the Swamp of Aeonia.

He remembered Commander O'Neil's approximate location was in the eastern part of the Swamp of Aeonia, in an area with a very conspicuous expanse of large, withered scarlet branches.

Going down from here and following the shore should lead him to that area.

Walking along the shore, searching as he went, Bai Shi encountered quite a few puppet soldiers and avian-like puppet soldiers.

"Bai Shi, these should be the same things you've seen before."

"It seems they're from the Academy."

Melina spoke up, reminding Bai Shi.

"Hmm, you mean the puppet soldiers from that camp when we went to rescue Teacher Sellen?"

"Yes, their craftsmanship looks the same."

Bai Shi recalled that battle. Although he hadn't fought himself, they did indeed look the same.

The design of these puppet soldiers was very unique; it seemed that only the Academy of Raya Lucaria possessed this type in all the Lands Between.

Radahn, Rykard, and Ranni were close siblings, and they were all on the same side during the Shattering.

Radahn even had Abductor Virgins from Volcano Manor here, so the presence of puppet soldiers from the academy wasn't surprising.

On the battlefield where Leyndell counterattacked Volcano Manor, puppet soldiers were also active. They were likely all reinforcements from the academy.

As for the puppet soldiers before him, they patrolled in groups, their only targets being creatures of rot. Whenever they encountered one, they would charge in and attack.

Often, they would manage to kill the wandering rot creatures at the cost of a few soldiers being shattered to pieces.

Afterward, they would pick up usable parts from the wreckage of the fallen puppets on the ground, attach them to their own bodies to replace damaged limbs, and then continue their patrol.

These puppet soldiers were extremely cheap combat units—very crudely made, yet they possessed some fighting ability, making them highly cost-effective.

Perhaps Redmane Castle possessed the technology to manufacture these soldiers, which would explain why so many of them were roaming about.

After walking along the edge of the swamp for a long time, the path along the shore finally ended, leaving only an unclimbable cliff face.

Gazing at the lake of Scarlet Rot surging before him like a tide, Bai Shi dismounted from Torrent and crouched by the water's edge.

Bai Shi took off his left gauntlet and dipped his hand into the rot-filled lake. Instantly, a strange sensation traveled up his arm.

This wasn't water at all, but more like churning, mushy mud. It was hard not to associate it with the rotten flesh of decomposed corpses.

The waters of rot clung to Bai Shi's hand, constantly squirming as they tried to invade his body. In just over ten seconds, his hand began to feel itchy.

He pulled his hand out of the lake, a layer of Scarlet Rot still clinging to his skin.

He casually shook the Scarlet Rot from his hand, and the strange sensation quickly vanished.

The Scarlet Rot at the edge of the lake wasn't particularly potent. He wondered if it would be different in the center.

Bai Shi looked at Torrent and asked if it could move in this environment.

After confirming that Torrent was not afraid of the Scarlet Rot, Bai Shi began to advance into the depths of the Swamp of Aeonia.

As Bai Shi ventured deeper, the surrounding withered branches became more numerous and thicker.

This was a good sign; it meant he was heading in the right direction. He was getting closer to his destination.

Strange creatures, corroded by the Scarlet Rot, gradually began to appear around him.

There were land squirts that spewed Scarlet Rot.

There were land octopuses covered in white and red fungi.

From the bottom of the rot lake, bubbles from breathing creatures occasionally surfaced.

However, since they didn't attack him, Bai Shi never saw them in their entirety.

Before long, Bai Shi encountered a squad of Cleanrot Knights that were still active.

Bai Shi attempted to communicate with them, but there was no response.

These Cleanrot Knights seemed to have lost their wills to the Scarlet Rot as well, attacking Bai Shi without a word.

The Cleanrot Knights were warriors who revered Malenia and, despite knowing the consequences of succumbing to the rot, had willingly followed her into battle.

It was precisely because they knew their fate that they fought without fear of death, their assaults bordering on madness. Even though their armor had been treated with incantations to resist the rot, it had failed over the long years, causing them to lose their minds to the Scarlet Rot's corrosion.

The knight commander leading them raised his Halo Scythe and swung it repeatedly, sending sacred halos of Miquella flying toward Bai Shi.

Another Cleanrot Knight planted his spear in the ground, and a dense volley of golden spears spread across the earth.

The other two Cleanrot Knights raised their longspears and charged at Bai Shi from the left and right.

The golden brilliance shimmering from their bodies was completely out of place in the Scarlet Rot-covered land of Caelid.

Watching the incoming attacks, Bai Shi raised the Dragonslayer's Swordspear from Torrent's side.

Torrent carried Bai Shi, galloping toward the Cleanrot Knights.

The approaching halos and spears were nimbly avoided by Torrent, while the longspears thrusting from either side were blocked by Bai Shi.

As Bai Shi swept past the two Cleanrot Knights, one was impaled through the chest by the swordspear and left hanging from it.

The next second, with a swing from Bai Shi, the knight's body was completely torn asunder by the swordspear, his mangled remains crashing onto the withered branches.

The commander of the Cleanrot Knight squad continued to relentlessly hurl out halos.

Bai Shi thrust his swordspear forward, and the torrent of the storm obliterated the halo along with the knight's body.

The remaining two Cleanrot Knights were also swiftly dispatched by Bai Shi.

Bai Shi prodded a relatively intact corpse and retrieved a talisman.

The Winged Sword Insignia.

This was the talisman bestowed upon the Cleanrot Knights, featuring a raised prosthetic sword in the center, flanked by unfurled wings.

It was said to embolden the wearer during successive attacks, thereby increasing their power.

Ignoring the bodies of the Cleanrot Knights, Bai Shi continued his advance through the lake.

Suddenly, Bai Shi noticed something different amidst the expanse of withered trees.

It was an extremely thick, withered scarlet branch, spread horizontally in the lake, occupying a large area like a small island.

At the thick base of that branch were five scarlet buds lined up in a row, and it was they that had captured Bai Shi's attention.

These five buds were clearly not naturally grown here. Throughout his journey, the scarlet buds Bai Shi had seen tended to grow in higher places.

And while some of those buds grew in clusters, they never grew side-by-side so neatly, as if they had been transplanted.

The sight was reminiscent of cloning pods from a science fiction movie.

Bai Shi rode Torrent over to investigate.

As he drew near the buds, Bai Shi realized that all five had already opened.

Not in the way a normal flower blooms, but rather they still retained their bud-like shape, each with a smooth slit, as if they had been opened from the outside and something had been removed from within.

Four of the buds looked like this.

But the very last bud was in a completely different state from the other four.

It had been torn apart from the inside.

There was no smooth slit, but a jagged tear ripped open from within, as if something had struggled to break out of its shell.

Bai Shi put on his mask and stood before the giant bud. It was massive, nearly as tall as a person.

However, discounting the outer petals, the space inside was likely only large enough for a person to curl up like a baby.

Bai Shi used both hands to pry open the tear in the flower bud and observed the situation inside.

Within the bud grown from the Scarlet Rot, there was still some residual pollen.

Liquid Scarlet Rot constantly churned and squirmed.

Inside this bud, there was also a blood-drenched right arm, being consumed by the encroaching Scarlet Rot.

Tendrils of Scarlet Rot, like flesh and blood, were attached to the right arm.

Bai Shi reached out to pull the severed arm, but it was held fast. If he pulled any harder, the arm would likely tear into several pieces before he could retrieve it.

Abandoning the idea of taking it out, Bai Shi simply observed it.

The arm must have been severed, as was evident from the cut on the muscles.

However, the cross-section of the cut was not smooth. It looked less like it had been chopped off and more like it had been sawn off little by little.

Considering the cramped space within the bud, her right arm must have been bound. Even after breaking open the bud, she couldn't escape. Therefore, Millicent must have used some method to cut off her own right arm, bit by bit, in order to get free.

Bai Shi was certain that this had once been Millicent's bud.

In that case, these buds must also be the handiwork of the so-called "Sage" Gowry.

They, the kin and faithful of the Scarlet Rot, had gathered all of Malenia's offshoots—still in their infancy after she unleashed the Scarlet Rot—and raised them.

Then, at a certain point, they used these flowers of Scarlet Rot in an attempt to corrupt them, seeking to create the Scarlet Goddess they envisioned.

The pollen from the flowers could drive creatures into a frenzy, and the Scarlet Rot itself had the power to alter one's mind.

If they had succeeded, they would have harvested five vessels qualified to become the valkyries serving the Goddess of Rot.

When Malenia fully became the Goddess of Rot, her five sisters would also become Valkyries of Rot.

And they had indeed succeeded.

At least, for the most part.

Unlike Millicent, her other four sisters did not resist the Scarlet Rot and had become exactly what the rot worshipers had hoped for.

In the game, they were in a completely different faction from the rot-resistant Millicent, even fighting each other to the death.

However, it seemed Gowry had underestimated Millicent's tenacious will.

Each of the five sisters, including Millicent, represented a part of Malenia's own heart.

Their weapons and incantations served as proof of this.

And Millicent represented Malenia's pride in her struggle against the Scarlet Rot, and the very will to resist that she possessed.

Malenia was fighting against the God of Scarlet Rot directly. Having inherited this will, Millicent naturally fought back when faced with a mere flower of Scarlet Rot.

Unfortunately, will alone was not enough.

Although Millicent was not completely corrupted, the process still caused an incomplete transformation. The Scarlet Rot surged within her body, and her memories became blurred, leaving her unable to clearly recall past events.

And she had lost an arm, becoming maimed just like her sisters.

If Millicent had not lost this arm, she would have been the most complete of the five sisters, with no missing limbs.

The physical flaws of the other four sisters were all too apparent; between the four of them, they only had two intact eyes in total.

Bai Shi rubbed his chin.

Where exactly is Millicent now? Is she at the Church of the Plague?

If that's the case, then Millicent didn't truly escape after all. She was simply found and taken back by the kin of rot.