Bai Shi listened impassively to Varré's nonsense. He knew Varré was a recruiter for the Mohgwyn Dynasty, poaching people everywhere and tricking them into joining.
They specifically targeted the majority of Tarnished who lacked a Finger Maiden and couldn't see the guidance of grace, yet possessed considerable martial skill.
They used Stormveil Castle to test the mettle of these Tarnished, then developed the most outstanding among them into Mohgwyn Dynasty Knights.
However, Bai Shi wasn't in a hurry to make a move on Varré just yet. He wanted to keep him around for now.
Once he used Varré to get into the Mohgwyn Dynasty, it would be time for Varré to pay the price for his insolent tongue.
So for now, Bai Shi feigned a look of doubt and suspicion, silently walking away in the direction Varré had pointed.
"Heehee, I have a feeling we'll be seeing each other again soon, my dear~"
Bai Shi ignored him, afraid that if he stayed any longer, he wouldn't be able to resist killing Varré ahead of schedule.
And so, Varré quietly watched Bai Shi walk away.
The eyes beneath the mask were cold and profound; no one knew what he was thinking. Only the bloodstained white mask maintained its smiling facade.——
Following the direction guided by grace, Bai Shi crossed one small hill after another and finally arrived near the ruined chapel.
He was now just one hill away from the chapel ruins, the former Church of Elleh, but Bai Shi stopped in his tracks.
Bai Shi crouched amidst the ubiquitous bushes, taking off the helmet Hakan had given him to prevent any reflection from revealing his position.
He did this because a powerful field boss, the Tree Sentinel, patrolled this area back and forth.
Now was not the time to fight it. Besides, Bai Shi had needed to use a cheat to defeat an elite monster like the Grafted Scion, let alone a field boss like the Tree Sentinel.
Although he had Fengling Yueying at his disposal, it seemed the uses didn't recover over time—though it was also possible that not enough days had passed.
In any case, every use of Fengling Yueying was precious.
Rather than on the Tree Sentinel, Bai Shi preferred to use his cheats on the main bosses who possessed Great Runes.
Bai Shi crouched motionlessly in the bushes, searching everywhere for any sign of the Tree Sentinel.
But after a long while, he still hadn't seen its dazzling golden figure.
With such a bright color scheme, it would be impossible to miss if it entered his line of sight.
"Could it be that, unlike in the game, there's no Tree Sentinel stationed here? Or maybe it was transferred somewhere else?"
Bai Shi stood up and emerged from the bushes, but after taking only two steps, he immediately darted back in.
A cold sweat broke out on Bai Shi. Just as he stood up, he suddenly saw a golden figure emerge from his blind spot on a dirt path below the hill to his right, a path that led to the Church of Elleh.
Now back in the bushes, Bai Shi watched the Tree Sentinel, clad in golden armor and riding a giant horse similarly armored in gold, patrolling slowly and leisurely along the dirt path.
Its massive body was as tall as the trees by the roadside.
"Just how far is this guy's patrol route? To think he'd pop up from the direction I came from."
Earlier, worried about soldiers guarding the road, Bai Shi hadn't followed the dirt path but had instead been moving up and down the small hills. He hadn't expected to pass right by the Tree Sentinel.
"Phew, that was close, but at least he's in my line of sight now. I don't have to worry about him suddenly charging out to slash at me while I'm on the move."
Bai Shi let out a sigh of relief and pulled the surrounding dense foliage closer to himself.
Bai Shi had already made up his mind: he would wait here until he had thoroughly studied the Tree Sentinel's patrol route before moving on.
"Grrr~"
His stomach rumbled traitorously. Bai Shi looked up at the sky.
He saw only the giant Golden Tree and then remembered that the Lands Between had no sun.
So he decided to ignore the time and just eat when he was hungry. Bai Shi slowly took out the packet of white meat slices from his pouch.
This was just an ordinary packet of meat slices, not soaked in any special potions, so it had no special effects and could only fill his stomach.
Dried for easy preservation and portability, the meat slices naturally didn't taste good.
Not to mention, they had drifted here with Bai Shi and been soaked through with seawater.
This was truly just something to fill his stomach. Bai Shi watched the Tree Sentinel while chewing with difficulty.
The Tree Sentinel moved very slowly. Fortunately, because the meat slices were so unpalatable, Bai Shi ate even more slowly than the Tree Sentinel walked.
By the time the last slice of meat was in his stomach, Bai Shi had also mastered the Tree Sentinel's patrol pattern.
"The patrol range is much larger than in the game. A round trip takes more than half an hour."
Although the Tree Sentinel rode its horse slowly, the sheer size of the giant steed meant its patrol route was still quite long.
"And he never patrols the pathless area to the left. Once he leaves the hill below me, I'll head out and circle around from the left."
With his plan formulated, Bai Shi continued to wait quietly for the right moment.
After the Tree Sentinel passed by the hill below him again, Bai Shi counted to three minutes in his head, then quickly left the bushes.
The journey was uneventful. Bai Shi jogged all the way and successfully reached the Church of Elleh.
The dilapidated church had mostly collapsed, with broken walls and ruined ramparts standing about haphazardly, effectively turning the place into an open-air structure. Only the main entrance at the front of the church retained some semblance of a facade.
Upon entering the church, Bai Shi saw a fire burning in a corner, with a person and a donkey beside it.
The person was dressed in very festive attire: a bright red coat with a white scarf, orange trousers, and a large, red, fluffy hat adorned with a few peculiar feathers.
He was holding a strange musical instrument, playing it while humming an unknown tune.
Seeing a sudden visitor to this dilapidated church, his body stiffened, and the tune came to an abrupt halt.
Seeing that Bai Shi had no intention of attacking, he gradually relaxed.
"You're a Tarnished, aren't you... and you don't look like you're going to attack me. Since that's the case, how about we do some business?"
He put away his instrument and introduced himself:
"My name is Kalé. You might not be able to tell, but I'm a merchant."
Kalé looked at Bai Shi. His hair was long and graying, and the lower half of his face was covered by a mask. He really didn't look like a shrewd merchant.
Bai Shi nodded. He remembered that Kalé sold many useful items for the early game.
"Alright, let's see what you have."
Kalé stood up, unloaded the goods from the skinny donkey beside him, and then spread them out in front of Bai Shi.
"By the way, will that Tree Sentinel patrolling outside come in here?"
"Oh, it's fine. He doesn't bother anyone but the Tarnished. I've been here for quite a while. As long as you're careful not to be seen, you'll be fine."
Knowing that the Tree Sentinel wouldn't come in, Bai Shi breathed a sigh of relief. Back in the game, he had been mercilessly killed by the Tree Sentinel countless times, leaving him with a bit of a psychological scar.
Bai Shi began to browse through the various items before him.
After some careful consideration, Bai Shi finally chose a torch, a single-lensed telescope, a tool leather bag for crafting, and two Nomadic Warrior's Cookbooks.