“So this is... the Land of Shadow?” Melina gazed at the scene unfolding before her, a sense of wonder filling her. The Land of Shadow was completely different from the Lands Between, possessing a unique and magnificent beauty. The place felt foreign to her, yet at the same time, strangely familiar. “I have this inexplicable feeling of familiarity with this place. It seems I must have lived here once before.” Bai Shi turned his head to look at Melina, who was trying to pinpoint the source of that familiar feeling. Just moments ago, Melina had also arrived in the Land of Shadow through the withered arm. Unexpectedly, the land's shadow did not manifest on Melina, and her strength was not suppressed by its power. Leda and the others would be arriving later, so for now, it was just the two of them. He still didn't know if Miquella had used his ability on him alone, or if a trap had been left on the withered arm. A test seemed necessary. Otherwise, his wife could be swayed away right under his nose and he'd be none the wiser. Looking at Melina, Bai Shi spoke. “Melina, I want to run a quick test to see if you've been influenced by Miquella.” Melina nodded. She, too, was a little worried she might have been affected. “What are your thoughts on Miquella?” “Given the current situation, I think it's safe to say he's our enemy.” Bai Shi nodded. Based on his own recent experience, someone who was charmed would be incapable of having hostile thoughts toward Miquella. But just then, Bai Shi was struck with a sudden urge to tease Melina a little, and so he asked another question: “So, who do you like the most?” Melina grew slightly shy, the tips of her ears turning red. “Is this also part of the test?” “I couldn’t quite hear that.” Melina took a deep breath, lifted her head, and met Bai Shi's gaze. Her expression was now serious as she closed the distance between them, all traces of her earlier shyness gone. “I like you the most.” “I love sitting by the Sites of Grace with you on our journey, watching the light swirl upwards. I love listening to you share your triumphs after a battle, and I love watching you fight bravely, growing stronger and stronger.” “But what made me happiest of all was after I regained my body, walking with you through Stormveil.” “Even though I knew Stormveil inside and out, that was the first time I truly walked the streets with the person I love.” “So, can you confirm my status now?” Bai Shi’s heart hammered in his chest as Melina advanced on him. Melina leaned into him, rose lightly to her tiptoes, and pressed a kiss to his lips. It was as gentle as a dragonfly skimming water; the soft warmth on his lips vanished in an instant. Caught off guard by such a sudden confession, Bai Shi found himself at a complete loss. Seeing her tactic had succeeded, Melina’s lips curved into an imperceptible smirk, though she quickly replaced it with a playful pout. “Hmph. And you thought your little tricks could be used on me.” Today’s bout went to Melina. Bai Shi summoned Torrent, and with both of them aboard, they rode across the plain toward the largest ruin below. A tall, spiraling tower that shot straight into the sky stood beside the ruins, catching Bai Shi’s interest. Along the way, stone structures shaped like massive door frames were scattered everywhere. Based on their design, Bai Shi guessed they might be related to graveyards, but he didn’t know why they were strewn so haphazardly across the plain. As they passed one of the stone arches, Bai Shi felt a presence and glanced up. Perched atop the structure was a hunched, humanoid creature. The moment Bai Shi spotted it, it spotted them and leaped down from its perch. It was a man, probably. He wore a golden mask, and his long white hair was tangled with numerous twisted, sharp horns. His body was gaunt, his skin a dark, ashen color. Aside from a ragged loincloth, the creature wore only bracers on its arms and legs. Could this be one of the Hornsent? After landing, the creature contorted its body into an unnatural posture and charged toward Bai Shi and Melina. Judging by the twin, gleaming circular blades in its hands, it clearly wasn’t approaching with friendly intentions. Bai Shi watched the creature sprint toward him, taken aback by its bizarre running form. Its posture was grotesque; its entire upper body was bent straight forward, almost like a bow, with its head lower than its waist. A normal human wouldn’t be able to see a thing, yet this creature’s head was wrenched unnaturally upward, staring straight ahead. Thıs content belongs to novel•fire.net It was vaguely reminiscent of a “ninja run,” but far more twisted and freakish. As it bolted, its arms, gripping the circular blades, were bent back behind it in a strange M-shape. Seriously, that pose is just weird. Bai Shi had never seen anyone move in all his time in the Lands Between. And unlike a Bloodhound Knight, whose limbs were physiologically altered for their movements, this thing’s body and limbs were not so different from a human’s, which only made it look all the more grotesque. The creature was nearly upon them now. The oddly-shaped enemy exhaled a thick, dark mist from its mouth, obscuring the view between them. Bai Shi summoned a gust of wind to disperse the mist, only to find the monster already somersaulting forward, launching a flying kick at him. Bai Shi casually drew a dagger and plunged the blade into the sole of its oncoming foot. Another one who likes going barefoot. The dagger sank into its foot and emerged from the top, unleashing a torrent of blood. Pain shot through the creature's foot, but it reacted instantly, pushing off to flip over Bai Shi’s head. It landed on its hands, expertly using its legs to flick two throwing knives from somewhere on its body, sending them flying at Bai Shi in quick succession. Bai Shi found himself intrigued by this thing's strange fighting style. After knocking the two knives from the air, he dismounted, ready to see what other tricks it had up its sleeve. Bai Shi stood before it, making no move to attack, simply waiting for it to strike again. After circling for a moment, the enemy could no longer restrain itself and lunged forward once more. It spread its arms, balanced on one leg, and began to spin its body over and over. The sharp blades in its hands became a whirlwind, lashing out at Bai Shi again and again. Facing the relentless assault, Bai Shi effortlessly parried every blow with just his dagger. The creature’s strength was considerable, on par with a hero—and a fairly strong one at that. But its appearance didn't give Bai Shi the impression of a boss; it seemed more like one of the elite enemies found throughout the Lands Between. A peculiar black shadow clung to its body, similar to the one that had affected Bai Shi earlier. Previously, those shadows had weakened him, and dispelling them had merely returned him to normal. This creature's shadow, however, seemed to be enhancing it, allowing it to display the power of a hero. He wondered if this power-enhancing shadow was unique to this one, or if all the creatures in the Land of Shadow possessed it... Lost in thought, Bai Shi continued to block all of the creature's attacks. If these were all the moves it had, he was starting to get bored. As if sensing Bai Shi’s disdain, the enemy leaped into the air, spinning its body and whipping its two circular blades into an impenetrable blur. But this signature move was still blocked with ease. After completing its flurry of attacks, however, the creature repositioned itself, then suddenly dropped into a handstand, its powerful legs clamping around Bai Shi’s arm and shoulder. The next instant, it twisted its waist, unleashing terrifying strength in an attempt to flip Bai Shi over. A smirk unconsciously formed under its mask. Once it got within its preferred range, it could easily kill any foe with its powerful legs. But as it executed the grappling move, Bai Shi moved with its momentum, spinning even faster and instead slamming it into the ground. When faced with an attack like a death-roll, all you had to do was spin faster than your enemy to turn the tables. Looking down at the strange man on the ground, Bai Shi threw the dagger in his hand. The blade instantly buried itself in its neck, severing the connection between its vertebrae and pinning it to the ground. The strange man dropped his circular blades and reached up to pull out the dagger. As his body instinctively removed the blade, his head disconnected from his spine. He twitched for a moment and then fell still. Bai Shi walked over and picked up the pair of circular blades the enemy had used. A line of text, one he hadn't seen in a long time, appeared before him, revealing the weapon's name—"Curse-Blade Dancer's Twinblade." This weapon required a reverse grip, which was somewhat novel. At first, Bai Shi hadn't paid it much mind, assuming it was just a simple ring blade. But upon closer inspection, he realized the blades weren't fully connected, only roughly circular in shape. The outer edge of the weapon was lined with several sharp, protruding blades. A direct hit would likely cause irregular wounds and massive bleeding. This was a unique armament, imbued with a special weapon skill. Picking up the twinblade, Bai Shi decided to try out its skill. Infusing it with magic and activating the skill, Bai Shi performed the same acrobatic, spinning attack as his previous foe, finishing with a powerful downward axe kick. Bai Shi put the weapon away. It was quite flashy. Wielding it felt more like performing a dance. He wondered if this "Curse-Blade Dancer" served as some kind of performer here. With the enemy dispatched, Bai Shi and Melina continued along the road toward the ruins. On the side of the road, Bai Shi spotted a long-lost ‘old friend’—a stele. Bai Shi urged Torrent to hurry over, hoping to find a map. As they neared the stele, he saw a small box resting on its thick base. Bai Shi opened it. Inside were three rolled-up goatskin scrolls. He casually picked one up, and upon unrolling it, he saw that it was indeed a map. Melina opened another one, and its contents were identical to the one in Bai Shi's hands. Though there were slight variations between the three maps, they were clearly drawn by the same person, depicting the local terrain in detail. Melina glanced over the map and said: “It seems these were left here by Leda’s companions in the Land of Shadow.” “The map doesn't cover a large area, just the immediate surroundings, but it should be enough for now.” “Then let's take one. The two remaining will be enough for the three of them.” Melina nodded again, waving the map she held. Bai Shi carefully re-rolled the one in his hand and placed it back in the box. Melina spread the map out before them. In addition to the terrain and towns, the map was also labeled with names. The area they were currently in was called the Graveyard Plain, a fitting name indeed. As for the large town nearby, along with the scattered remains of smaller settlements, they were all collectively referred to as the Scorched Ruins. Melina was very experienced with cartography, and she nodded in approval as she looked at the map. “This map is very clearly drawn. The person who made it must be meticulous and reliable.” Bai Shi couldn't tell much, so he just shrugged and pointed to a strange mark on the map. A main road was drawn running from south to north, cutting straight through the Scorched Ruins and intersecting with another road on the plains ahead. At this crossroads, a special symbol was marked. It was a golden cross with a semicircle hanging from its right arm. It was clearly a symbol of special significance, likely intended to guide them there. For now, Bai Shi and Melina had no plans to head directly to the mark. They wanted to investigate the ruins first. And so, the two followed the road beside the stele and continued forward. After a short while, brick and stone walls began to appear on either side of the road, along with the charred remains of buildings. A pale spirit appeared at the roadside, kneeling on the ground and staring at the ruins before it. Like the common white spirits in the Lands Between, it mechanically repeated its lingering obsession. Bai Shi walked over and listened silently to its words. “Burned by Messmer and his minions.” “What did we do? We were just living our lives peacefully...” Bai Shi looked at the spirit with some surprise. It was clearly one of the Hornsent who had been slaughtered and burned. Upon closer inspection, Bai Shi noticed three small, irregular horns on the spirit’s cloth-wrapped head, protruding from above its left ear and from the back of its head on both sides. So this is what an ordinary Hornsent commoner looks like? To be honest, they didn't look much different from the residents of the Lands Between. However, there were some physical differences. The Hornsent seemed to be a fair bit taller than ordinary people and had a leaner build. The Curse-Blade Dancer he had fought earlier was taller still than this spirit and had more horns on its head. Considering what Godfrey had said before—that the Hornsent race was savage, with a strict class hierarchy and a reverence for horns and the Crucible—it made sense. It seemed the class divide wasn't just about status, but was even more pronounced in their physical form and strength. Bai Shi led Melina forward, only to discover that many more people were wandering within the ruins. He was surprised. How could there still be survivors in these ruins? With this thought, Bai Shi moved forward, hoping to find a local he could speak with. However, as he and Melina drew closer, they realized something was wrong with the Hornsent there. While it was normal to have a shadow on you in the Land of Shadow... These Hornsent looked like they were made of shadows pulled straight from the ground, completely black, just like a Cemetery Shade. Bai Shi had already encountered the unique Hornsent wielding the circular blades, and that one had a solid, physical body. Clearly, something was not right with the state of these Hornsent. Upon seeing Bai Shi, the Hornsent in the ruins all surged toward him. Watching the Hornsent rush him as if he were their mortal enemy, Bai Shi sighed. Here we go again. It all feels so familiar. This feeling, like every stray dog on the street wants to take a bite out of you, really had that classic game feel. Well, since they came looking for a fight, Bai Shi wouldn't be polite. Dammit, seems like every rogue wants a piece of the throne! Eat my Sea Tiger Demolition Punch! Bai Shi threw a punch, and a furious storm tore through the already dilapidated ruins, shredding the shadow-like Hornsent to pieces. Standing before the deep trench his punch had carved, Bai Shi thought back on the Hornsent that had just charged him. There were at least a dozen of them, and there were probably more still wandering the ruins. “The number seems a bit off...” “This is quite strange.” Bai Shi stroked his chin. He wasn't an extremist. But if what happened here could be called a massacre, then why wasn't it done thoroughly? They went so far as to completely seal off the Land of Shadow to prevent any word from getting out. Bai Shi had assumed it was the kind of purge where not a single Hornsent was spared, inside or out. But not only had they not been completely wiped out, they had even been transformed into another state? And speaking of which, why did these things react so violently to seeing him? He hadn’t done anything; he was just a passing Tarnished. Bai Shi glanced at Melina. If Melina's brother was indeed the Messmer who burned and slaughtered the Hornsent, then perhaps they weren't after him at all. Not that it mattered. The result was the same. Bai Shi wandered the ruins for a while, eventually finding a peculiar shortsword. The blade was narrow, caked in blood, and so damaged it could no longer be used as a weapon. However, it was suffused with a sinister aura, which had given it a special power. This power had transformed it into a talisman with a unique effect. A line of text once again appeared before Bai Shi, revealing its name—the "Kaishaku Blade." Bai Shi twirled the shortsword in front of him, then tossed it into his spatial inventory. There was nothing else of interest here. He recalled that a few of the Hornsent had scrambled out of a graveyard-like area, and one of them had a pot on its head. After it had rushed to its death, a special fragment had fallen out of the pot. Bai Shi could feel that absorbing the fragment would lessen the suppressive effect of the Land of Shadow on his power. If he absorbed enough of them, he might even be able to draw strength from the shadow. Bai Shi had already removed the negative effect from himself, and Melina didn't need it at all. He didn’t use it right away, however. He put it away, planning to learn more about it before using it to avoid any unforeseen consequences. Being dragged out to eat by family every day. I feel national holiday is even busier than usual...