Bai Shi stared blankly at the scene of devastation before him. It was impossible to tell that a small village had once stood here.
In the face of the storm unleashed by the Ancient King, the Storm Stomp from the Ash of War was as laughable as a gentle breeze. Did it even deserve to be called a storm?
But such immense power didn't come from nothing. Bai Shi's mana was now completely depleted.
Bai Shi took out his Flask of Cerulean Tears and drained it, replenishing his mana.
He called upon the Ancient King again, but there was no response.
Recalling the sensation from moments ago, Bai Shi tried to manipulate his own mana.
But as he was now, he was incapable of finely controlling his mana. He could only crudely imbue it into his weapon to unleash its power.
Temporarily abandoning the idea of unleashing a storm directly, Bai Shi stamped his foot again, using Storm Stomp.
By intentionally imitating the Ancient King's storm and recalling the wind's trajectory, he enhanced its power once more.
However, with no targets or points of reference left, he couldn't tell exactly how much stronger it had become.Although it was still a far cry from the Ancient King's storm, he had made significant progress.
The mana consumption was much higher than before, but he could still use it five or six times at full power.
Furthermore, Bai Shi could control the amount of mana he put into it, which offered great versatility.
Bai Shi was very satisfied with this. Now he would be on much surer footing when facing the large group of Misbegotten in the castle.
Looking at the sky, he saw that the light of the Erdtree was beginning to brighten. The night would soon be over; it was time to go back.
Bai Shi mounted Torrent and hurried down the hill toward the place where they had rested last night.
By the time Bai Shi returned, the sky was completely bright.
The nomadic merchant was already awake. Seeing Bai Shi return, he simply nodded a greeting, not asking what he had been up to.
At the Site of Grace, Bai Shi took out the Sacred Tear. Melina sat beside him.
“How do I use this to enhance the effect of my flask?”
“You don't have to do anything.”
“I don't have to do anything?”
“Yes, nothing at all. Simply bringing it to a Site of Grace enhances the flask's ritual for gathering tears, thus strengthening their effect.”
Bai Shi held his empty flask before the light of the Site of Grace, and under his gaze, the vessel filled drop by drop with tears.
When it was about half full, Bai Shi took a drink to taste it.
Hmm, it seemed a little sweeter.
Once the flask was full again, Bai Shi rose from the Site of Grace and returned to Irena's side. To his surprise, she was still sleeping.
Bai Shi didn't wake her, though. Once they were inside the castle, there might not be another chance to rest. It was best to let her sleep a little longer.
Bai Shi zoned out, watching the Smoldering Butterflies flutter above the campfire. Though their wings were aflame, they continued to dance tirelessly in and out of the fire.
After a while, Irena, who was beside him, suddenly lifted her head, interrupting his reverie.
Irena frantically wiped some drool from the corner of her mouth before realizing that Bai Shi was no longer resting his head on her lap.
“Sir Bai Shi? Are you still here?”
Irena asked uneasily.
“Yes, I'm right beside you.”
“I woke up a little before you, so I got up first.”
Hearing Bai Shi's voice, Irena relaxed and asked with a bright smile,
“Sir Bai Shi, were you able to get a full rest last night?”
Bai Shi felt a little embarrassed. He had a nagging feeling of guilt for tricking the young woman, but it had indeed been a very comfortable sleep.
“Of course. I slept very well, thanks to you.” “Hehe, I'm just glad I could help.”
“*Grrrowl~*”
No sooner had the words left her mouth than Irena's stomach let out an embarrassing growl.
A blush crept onto Irena's face. She hadn't had anything to eat or drink since the previous afternoon.
Although one couldn't die of starvation in the Lands Between, normal people who weren't undead still needed to eat.
Bai Shi was annoyed with himself for having carelessly forgotten about this yesterday.
He rummaged through his pack and handed Irena some dried meat and a waterskin.
“Here's some dried meat and water. It doesn't taste great, but it'll fill you up. We'll head for Castle Morne once you're finished.”
Irena shyly took the food and began nibbling on a piece of dried meat, holding it with both hands like a little hamster.
Noticing the nomadic merchant across from them staring, Bai Shi thought he might want some food as well and took the initiative to speak.
“I have more, if you'd like some. By the way, I never asked for your name. I'm Bai Shi.”
“Arnogo is my name. And thank you, but I'm a merchant, after all. I have my own provisions.”
Arnogo stared at Bai Shi, seemingly hesitant. After a long moment, he finally spoke.
“You're going to Castle Morne, aren't you?”
Bai Shi nodded. It wasn't something that needed to be kept secret.
“In that case, I have some information that might be useful to you.”
“Castle Morne is guarded by a golem. It can spot people from a great distance and attack them. Only those with a special token can pass.”
“I'm acquainted with the soldiers guarding the castle, and through their recommendation, I met the quartermaster. I agreed to occasionally bring them some supplies, so they gave me a token.”
“But just two days ago, when I'd just gotten back to this area, it was already late and the castle gate was closed, so I made camp on the hill outside the castle—the one with the sword monument.”
“I didn't expect to, but I ended up witnessing a group of people sneaking into the castle.”
Irena stopped eating, her face a picture of disbelief.
Arnogo carefully recalled the scene from that time.
“There were four of them, all wearing black robes. One of them had an especially massive build. The golem didn't attack them at the time, so I just assumed they had a token.”
“But they bypassed the main gate and went around to the left side of the castle. The huge one climbed a tree, then leaped onto the ramparts. He then lowered a ladder to bring the other three up.”
“The one who jumped up definitely wasn't human. I saw its thick hind legs and a tail beneath its cloak. Oh, and it had a red mane on its head.”
“The day after they went inside, the rebellion broke out in Castle Morne.”
The dried meat fell from Irena's hand, but she was in no mood to pick it up.
The rebellion in Castle Morne had been orchestrated...
Bai Shi's expression was also grave.
Thick hind legs, a tail, and a red mane—it had to be a Leonine Misbegotten.
But those three figures in black robes... who could they be? Agents of some kind?
It's quite possible, he thought. In the game, the Leonine Misbegotten could fight alongside the Crucible Knights, so they're at least part of the greater Erdtree faction. It's not out of the question that they were brought here on a mission.
But then Bai Shi remembered the winged Misbegotten that had attacked alongside the Frenzied Flame worshipers last night.
If the Misbegotten rebellion was instigated by those agents, then why were the ones last night aligned with the Frenzied Flame?
The Two Fingers and the Three Fingers should never cooperate.
Are they simply two different groups of Misbegotten? Or is there a more hidden reason?
It seemed there was far more to the situation in Castle Morne than he had anticipated.