Hilbert rode the giant dog, leading the way.
Although the giant dog wasn't slow and was already moving at full speed, compared to the pace Torrent and Bai Shi were used to, it was indeed very slow.
Along the way, no other Kindred of Rot came to trouble them.
Hilbert had previously left all the larvae and eggs back at the shack.
The lingering traces of pheromones on her were too faint to be used for tracking, making their trail impossible to follow.
They followed the main road circling the Swamp of Aeonia.
But even by nightfall, the group had not reached Redmane Castle.
Bai Shi and Torrent had set out early in the morning. By the time they reached Hilbert's shack, it was already noon. After watching the scarlet rot flower bloom and scatter its pollen, they then waited for Hilbert to pack her things. It was already afternoon when they officially set off.
Even if they made it to Redmane Castle at this hour, the gates would probably already be closed for the night.
In the end, they decided to rest for the night and continue their journey the next morning.By the roadside, they found a place lit by a fire.
A nomadic merchant was resting there.
The nomadic merchant was warming himself by the fire and showed a surprised expression when he saw Hilbert riding the giant dog.
Giant dogs were not uncommon in Caelid.
And because of that, he knew what savage creatures these giant dogs were.
He didn't know what kind of person could tame one, but they certainly had to be skilled.
However, encountering such a person wasn't necessarily a good thing.
The nomadic merchant stood up, watching Bai Shi and Hilbert warily. He took hold of his little donkey's reins, ready to flee at the first sign of trouble.
In the land of Caelid, there were all sorts of people. It was never lacking in scoundrels or madmen.
The only reliable ones were the soldiers of the Redmane army.
"Care to do some business?"
"Don't worry, we mean no harm."
Hilbert spoke first.
Hilbert dismounted from the giant dog and had it lie down off to the side.
She was well aware of the intimidating effect the giant dog had on ordinary people.
It was normal for people to be afraid upon seeing a giant dog.
Seeing the other party's show of goodwill, the nomadic merchant thought for a moment and finally agreed.
Although he maintained a basic level of caution, he was now ready to do business.
"You don't look like you're going to attack me."
"...In that case, take a look at my goods."
Despite his misgivings, business had to be done.
After all, he was a nomadic merchant, a desperado chasing profit.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have come to a place like Caelid.
If he refused to trade for fear of being robbed, he would only end up starving to death in some corner.
Bai Shi watched the nomadic merchant with great interest, feeling a touch of nostalgia.
He was very familiar with the merchant at this location, though he didn't know if it was the same one from the game.
A long, long time ago, when he was still a newbie, he had encountered this merchant while running around Caelid looking for map fragments.
This merchant sold a type of crossbow bolt called the Firebone Bolt.
It would explode on impact, dealing a certain amount of fire damage, and was quite effective to use.
Back when he was a newbie, Bai Shi often came here to buy bolts and then had fun shooting them everywhere with his crossbow.
After all, he couldn't bear to use the various bolts that were hard to come by.
Only this kind of bolt, which could be bought freely and was reasonably powerful, was suitable.
This was what Bai Shi used to think:
There was no need to use useless items, and powerful items had to be saved for tough enemies.
But after dying countless times to a tough enemy, he would feel that he couldn't win even if he used them.
In the end, after somehow managing to defeat the enemy, the items would still be left over.
He ended up becoming a hoarder.
Only items like this, which had a stable supply and no purchase limit, were the most enjoyable to use.
Even though he didn't know anything back then—nothing about the Arrow's Sting Talisman, Crepus's Vial, or any of the other things for ranged builds—he just shot away.
But the joy he felt back then was real.
After passing the newbie stage, Bai Shi even had several hundred bolts left over. In the end, all these bolts were used to make withdrawals at the blood bank.
The nomadic merchant handed a list of his goods to Hilbert and Bai Shi.
This was also to protect his property. If he simply displayed his goods openly, then if someone decided to rob him, even if he managed to escape, his merchandise would surely be gone.
It might be fine in other places, but one had to be extra careful in Caelid.
What decent person would come to Caelid for no reason?
In fact, even this nomadic merchant had only recently come to Caelid. It was because he had heard news of the Radahn Festival.
He figured many people would show up, so he planned to come and make a profit.
He just hadn't expected the situation in Caelid to be even worse than he had imagined.
He had been here for only a few days and had rarely encountered any humans.
Most of the time, he was busy avoiding various strange creatures.
Caelid could truly be described as vast and sparsely populated.
Even with the warriors drawn here by the Radahn Festival, they were barely anything in a land as vast as Caelid.
So far, the people the nomadic merchant had met mostly had no purchasing power.
So he had been preparing to head to Redmane Castle to see if there was any business there.
He hadn't even reached Redmane Castle yet and had already run into customers on the road—how fortunate.
Bai Shi looked over all the items on the list.
There were no Firebone Bolts, perhaps because this merchant hadn't established a connection with Redmane Castle yet.
It was also possible that this wasn't the same merchant from the game who appeared at this location.
He was selling fewer things than in the game, but he also had many items that weren't originally available.
For example, a simple map of the Caelid region, some Ritual Pots, Stonesword Keys, and information, among other things.
Besides those, there was nothing else of much interest.
However, the names of a few sets of armor did catch Bai Shi's attention.
For instance, the complete Hero set.
But Bai Shi didn't ask any further about the armor sets.
He assumed they had been stripped from some unknown corpse.
In the end, Bai Shi bought a Stonesword Key and a simple map.
The map was hand-drawn by the merchant himself, only roughly marking the locations of some ruined settlements and Redmane Castle.
But for now, it was better than nothing.
Hilbert, on the other hand, bought a Ritual Pot.
Cracked Pots weren't worth much in this world, but Ritual Pots were quite valuable.
All three were satisfied with the transaction, and afterward, they rested for the night.
The giant dog stood guard, and the night passed peacefully.
——
The next day, Bai Shi and Hilbert set out early, traveling without a moment's rest.
Finally, just before noon, they caught sight of Redmane Castle.
The magnificent Redmane Castle stood tall on a distant cliff.
Although not as large in scale as Stormveil, it was still a very grand fortress.
Like Stormveil, Redmane Castle could rely on the natural chasm of its cliffside terrain to defend against enemies.
Not only that, but Redmane Castle also had formidable military armaments; the relatively flat ground outside the castle was packed with countless siege engines.
And like Stormveil, this fortress was connected to the outside world by only a single great bridge.
Both ends of the bridge were heavily defended. On the tall wooden towers, soldiers stood alert with crossbows in hand, and at their feet were catapults loaded with ammunition.
Below the towers, countless soldiers patrolled back and forth.
Outside the camp, there were many bonfires where they were roasting the giant dogs and monstrous crows they had hunted.
Although the corpses of crows and dogs were piled up here, many more still lingered nearby.
They were drawn by the aroma of their kin being roasted.
This was also a strategy of the Redmane army.
On one hand, they could burn the corpses that spread the rot, preventing them from becoming fuel for the corruption.
On the other hand, it could also attract other beasts, allowing them to wait for their prey to come to them.
However, after using this tactic for a long time, it began to lose its effectiveness.
The beasts now knew that the Redmane soldiers would hunt them and no longer approached.
So now the soldiers, just as before, periodically went out to clear away the beasts and weaken the power of the rot.
Ignoring the beasts on the road, Bai Shi and Hilbert made their way to the front of the camp.
They stopped there, waiting for the soldiers to approach.
Forcing their way through the defenses would cause unnecessary misunderstandings.
A Redmane Knight on horseback rode up, blocking their path.
The other soldiers also surrounded them, watching the two warily.
To be precise, they were wary of the giant dog Hilbert was riding.
A giant, white-furred lion also approached; it was a member of the Redmane army.
Like the one in Stormveil, it had a weapon strapped to its paw and its body was covered in severed Omen horns.
They surrounded Bai Shi and Hilbert.
Although they didn't attack immediately because there was a person on the giant dog, they did not let down their guard.
Even a tamed giant dog had to be treated with caution.
As for letting a giant dog into Redmane Castle? That was impossible.
"Halt!"
"Who are you?"
The Redmane Knight questioned the pair.
Bai Shi answered him:
"I'm here to participate in the Radahn Festival, and this person next to me is an artisan."
Hearing he was here for the festival, the Redmane Knight nodded.
But he still didn't let them pass.
"Giant dogs are not allowed inside Redmane Castle."
"Whether it's tamed or not, it carries the Scarlet Rot."
Hilbert was not the stubborn type to insist on bringing the giant dog inside.
"Mm, don't worry. I'll have it stay somewhere else. It won't linger around the castle."
Hilbert planned to have the giant dog go live somewhere far away for a while and call it back after everything was over and they had left Redmane Castle.
It wouldn't do if it was accidentally killed by the soldiers as just another stray dog.
Hilbert jumped down from the giant dog.
She unloaded her luggage from the dog, placed it on the ground, and then patted the beast, which obediently ran off into the distance.
Seeing this, the Redmane Knight finally let them pass, and the other soldiers returned to their posts.
"Continue straight ahead from here, cross the Impassable Greatbridge, and follow the slope up to enter Redmane Castle."
"Please do not cause any trouble or create any misunderstandings, or our soldiers will not be lenient."
Bai Shi and Hilbert nodded.
"Rest assured, we're only here for the Radahn Festival."
Hilbert carried a piece of luggage in each hand, struggling a little.
Bai Shi hung his sword-spear on Torrent's flank, dismounted, and helped her with the luggage, lifting it with ease.
"Ah, sorry to trouble you again."
"It's nothing, don't worry about it."
Bai Shi walked ahead, crossing the battered and scarred Impassable Greatbridge.
On the other side of the bridge, countless siege engines watched the opposite bank menacingly.
The catapults among these siege engines had given Bai Shi quite a few unpleasant memories from the game.
Even when riding Torrent across this bridge, a moment of carelessness could get you hit by the explosives launched by the catapults, easily knocking you off your mount.
Fortunately, now that they had been cleared for passage as festival participants, these weapons would not fire on them.
Under the watchful eyes of the soldiers, Bai Shi and Hilbert reached the main gate of Redmane Castle.
Stepping through the open main gate, the interior of Redmane Castle revealed itself to them.
Just inside the gate were several white lions.
They were lying around the courtyard, resting casually, seeming quite exhausted.
Their bodies were covered in wounds left by other creatures, making their fur look sparse.
Beside them, many soldiers were resting on the ground, wiping their weapons and maintaining their gear.
Some soldiers had wounds still seeping blood, yet they leaned casually against the walls, asleep.
This area, like the outer bailey of Stormveil, also served as a buffer zone. If an enemy broke through the main gate, they could be attacked here.
Now, it was a resting place for the soldiers, convenient for rotating shifts with those stationed outside.
Upon seeing Bai Shi and Hilbert, one of the soldiers stood up from the ground.
This soldier walked up to Bai Shi.
The soldier's armor bore the marks of being bitten through by something, his face was caked with blood and dirt, and he looked as gaunt as a desiccated corpse.
But even though his body was battered, his gaze was exceptionally resolute, as if a fire burned within.
Hidden within that gaze was the determination and fury of the Redmane forces in their struggle against the Scarlet Rot.
"Are you warriors here for the Radahn Festival?"
The soldier stared intently into Bai Shi's eyes.
Bai Shi looked back at him.
"Yes, I have come precisely for the festival."
After confirming their purpose, the soldier turned to lead the way.
"Please follow me, warriors. I will take you to your quarters."
"I hope you can rest well and fight with all your might, to give General Radahn a glorious and honorable end."
Bai Shi and Hilbert followed the soldier, eventually arriving at a residential area.
Small rooms were clustered together here.
The soldier got two keys from the person in charge of this area and handed them over.
"These are the keys to the rooms. Whether you use them or not is up to you. Redmane Castle is currently open to visitors."
"But please be aware, the Radahn Festival will begin in thirteen days and nights."
"Do not miss it."
After saying this, the soldier took his leave.
Bai Shi set down Hilbert's luggage. Now that it was at the door, she could move it inside herself.
He opened the door with the key and saw the room's layout.
The room was small, with light from the window barely illuminating the space.
A bed and a table—it was quite simple.
But surprisingly, it was furnished with a rack specifically for weapons and armor, as well as simple maintenance tools.
It must have been specially prepared for the warriors coming for the Radahn Festival.
Bai Shi sat on the bed, felt the hard planks, and smiled.
"This is truly the military style."
"But I don't dislike it."
The Redmane soldiers were truly admirable.
Given the current situation in Caelid, there were surely many empty rooms in Redmane Castle. Yet they rested casually by the entrance, just so they could relieve or support their comrades at a moment's notice.
In their minds, resting was far less important than fighting against the Scarlet Rot.
Bai Shi sat for a short while before standing up.
He wanted to go and see the current acting castellan of Redmane Castle: Jerren.