‘The Old Man’ sat cross-legged on the plaza floor.
Rivers of Blood was sheathed and laid horizontally across his lap, while another wakizashi remained tucked into his belt.
However, the murderous aura of Rivers of Blood was not sothing its scabbard could conceal.
Especially not after it had just tasted blood again.
‘The Old Man’ himself kept his eyes closed in ditation, motionless.
Before him were his two unworthy disciples, both from the Inaba contingent.
The two n knelt on the ground, their bodies leaning slightly forward.
Each placed his left hand on his scabbard, thumb pressed against the guard, while his right hand gripped the hilt tightly.
From Bai Shi’s vantage point, he could see that their blades were already partially drawn, glinting coldly in the light.
However, their actions could proceed no further.
Because they had already died by their master's Rivers of Blood.
At the necks of both n was a deep, bloody gash from which fresh blood continuously gushed, drenching their burial armor crimson.
The drawing technique was one for ambushes.
Designed for sudden attacks during face-to-face seating, the single instant of the draw was the fastest and most difficult to react to.
Yet when the two from the Inaba contingent launched their surprise attack, their blades were not even fully drawn before ‘The Old Man’ had cut them down with casual ease.
To their deaths, they maintained the very posture they held at the mont of their attack.
Bai Shi looked deeply at ‘The Old Man’.
Although in terms of stats, ‘The Old Man’ was definitely not his match.
But in terms of skill, ‘The Old Man’ had truly reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship.
The undisguised baleful aura emanating from him also proved how many he had slaughtered.
Jerren parted the crowd and ca before ‘The Old Man’.
With a casual glance, Jerren tapped the ground with his greatsword, its blade shaped like a wavy fla.
“Do you know these two?”
‘The Old Man’ finally opened his eyes.
He first stared intently at the greatsword in Jerren’s hand, then shifted his gaze upward to look at Jerren.
After recognizing the man’s identity, an old, cold voice ca from under the wooden mask.
“Yes. They were once my disciples.”
“After I abandoned them, they actually pursued
all the way here.”
“A pity. They were ultimately just unworthy disciples. How disappointing...”
“I did not an to cause a commotion here. My deepest apologies.”
Jerren had not expected this man, who had just killed soone in the plaza, to be so courteous.
“I see. I don’t care about your grudges.”
“But do not involve innocent people.”
“Otherwise, I will banish you from Redmane Castle.”
With that, Jerren sheathed his flamberge and prepared to leave.
The sole purpose of hosting a festival for heroes from all over was to give General Radahn an honorable death.
As for whether there were grudges among the attendees, that was not their concern.
Jerren would never say that they should hold back on their grudges just because they were participating in the festival.
If there were scores to settle, they should settle them themselves.
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
As long as it didn’t harm Redmane soldiers or cause a commotion like this, even killing was of little consequence.
As long as one had the strength and used proper thods—without resorting to cheap tricks or gadgets that would insult the General—there was no need to interfere.
Provided, of course, that they truly possessed such strength.
‘The Old Man’ suddenly stood up from the ground, calling out to the departing Jerren.
“Are you Castellan Jerren?”
Jerren turned to look at ‘The Old Man,’ wondering what he wanted.
“Yes, that's .”
‘The Old Man’ returned Rivers of Blood to his side, placed his hands flat against his body, and bowed deeply to Jerren.
Then, ‘The Old Man’ straightened up, his gaze locking onto Jerren like a predator.
“I have long heard of your na. It is said that you are a powerful warrior...”
“So, if we both survive the festival, would you grant
the honor of a spar?”
Although ‘The Old Man’s’ attitude was respectful, the surrounding crowd could clearly feel the dense killing aura erupting from him.
So of the weaker onlookers were affected by this soaring aura and even began to see illusions:
A phantom of a four-ard shura standing amidst a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, hungrily selecting its next victim for slaughter.
After eting the shura’s gaze, many began to tremble, frightened by the hallucination.
Jerren, standing directly opposite ‘The Old Man,’ remained calm and composed.
He had seen much in his ti, fighting in campaigns across the land alongside Radahn, and had t many a demigod.
A re killing aura could not affect him.
Although this fellow seed strong, Jerren was not afraid.
‘I have other matters to attend to after the festival...’
‘But I cannot refuse the challenge and disgrace the na of the Redmane.’
Jerren thought for a mont before accepting ‘The Old Man’s’ challenge.
“Very well. After the festival is over.”
“If you are not dead by then, I will grant you a battle.”
Receiving a satisfactory answer, ‘The Old Man’ bowed deeply once more.
“Then, I shall await it with anticipation.”
The tense atmosphere dissipated, and the weaker warriors around them finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Bai Shi gave ‘The Old Man’ another long look.
He was wondering if he should ensure ‘The Old Man’ remained here permanently after the festival.
‘The Old Man’ was a great swordsman, but he was also a shura.
As a great swordsman, he had honed his spirit to the absolute limit, abandoning all useless things, leaving only his sword and himself.
However, the path he had realized as a great swordsman, the path unique to him, was the shura path of slaughter.
After joining Mohg's Bloody Dynasty, he beca even purer—purely bloodthirsty.
If not for the festival and the gathering of so many experts, ‘The Old Man’ would have likely already begun his massacre.
The people of the Bloody Dynasty were all bloodthirsty madn, and ‘The Old Man’ was an exemplary mber.
Whenever Bai Shi encountered one, he would kill them on sight, almost without fail.
However, since Jerren and ‘The Old Man’ had already arranged their duel, Bai Shi had the patience to wait for that battle to conclude.
——
As the incident concluded, Redmane soldiers ca out to clear away the bodies.
With that, the matter was closed, and the plaza returned to its previous state.
Except for a wide circle intentionally left empty around the seated ‘The Old Man’.
They no longer dared to provoke ‘The Old Man,’ lest they beco the next victim of his blade.
Many gathered in their own groups, eting new companions or reuniting with old friends.
Without exception, everyone was filled with anticipation for the coming festival.
A Redmane Knight stood on a platform, re-explaining the rules to the newcors in the plaza.
The arena was ant as a warm-up before the festival, and anyone could go up to fight.
By default, the matches were spars, not duels to the death.
If one wished for a duel to the death, both parties had to sign a death waiver beforehand.
If soone suddenly dealt a killing blow without a signed waiver, the Crucible Knights and Misbegotten warriors standing by would intervene and eliminate the rule-breaker.
Bai Shi had no intention of dueling these people; their strength was far too low. However, it seed Alexander and Blaidd were keen to go have so fun.
So, the two of them stayed behind, while Bai Shi went to find Jerren alone.
A Crucible Knight of Redmane Castle saw Bai Shi and led him to the second floor of the plaza, to Jerren’s room.
So of the people below who didn’t recognize Bai Shi saw this and grew curious as to who he was.
Castellan Jerren did not receive visitors except under special circumstances.
Why would this person be personally escorted by a Crucible Knight?
Even though Bai Shi’s fa was known throughout Limgrave, his reputation was still lacking in other regions.
At this mont, the Tarnished who had co from Stormveil proudly began to recount Bai Shi's heroic deeds to them.
And so, through word of mouth, the news spread like wildfire.
Everyone in the plaza soon knew that the Lord of Stormveil had also co to participate in the festival.
Without Bai Shi’s knowledge, he had just gained another wave of fa.
——
On the second level of the plaza, Jerren was not in the church as usual, but was sitting by the open-air altar to the side.
Next to him, the massive Iji sat on the ground.
His huge fra simply couldn’t fit inside the church, so Jerren had no choice but to sit outside with him.
After bringing Bai Shi to the location, the Crucible Knight left on his own and returned below.
“Oh? If it isn’t Lord Bai Shi. It has been so ti since we last t.”
Iji was the first to see Bai Shi and greeted him.
Bai Shi smiled and nodded.
“Long ti no see, Old Man Iji.”
“This set of armor you forged is truly excellent. I like it very much.”
Hearing his craftsmanship praised, even an elder like Iji felt happy.
“I’m glad you like it. By the way, there is still so ti before the festival. Would you like
to repair it for you?”
“Looking at this armor, it has seen its share of battles.”
Indeed, this set of equipnt had been damaged several tis.
Although it had been repaired by the blacksmiths at Stormveil before, their skill was certainly no match for Iji's.
“In that case, I’ll trouble you.”
“Oh, and my weapon as well. I hope you can help
strengthen it.”
The Dragonslayer’s Swordspear also needed strengthening; he couldn't forget that.
Iji agreed.
“Alright, leave it to .”
“However, I didn't bring much with
on this trip, so you’ll have to provide the materials yourself.”
Bai Shi agreed; that was not a problem.
After chatting with Iji, Bai Shi turned to Jerren, who had remained silent so as not to interrupt them.
“Castellan Jerren, that man from earlier does not seem to co with good intentions.”
Jerren stroked the white beard on his tal mask.
“Mm, that fellow clearly has hands soaked in blood.”
“But bearing the honor of the Redmane, I have a reason I absolutely cannot lose.”
Seeing Jerren's confidence, Bai Shi didn’t say much more, only reminding him to be careful.
“In any case, you should be on your guard. He doesn’t look weak.”
Jerren laughed heartily.
“Haha, thank you for your concern.”
“But though I may be old, I am no weakling to be trampled upon.”
That was indeed true. Jerren was one of the top fighters in the Redmane army.
Otherwise, how could he command both Crucible Knights and the Misbegotten?
Moreover, he was an opponent that even Sorceress Sellen had to take seriously, even seeking help to face him.
But ‘The Old Man,’ who had walked out of a sea of blood and corpses, was no pushover either. The outco of their fight was hard to predict.
Bai Shi shook his head, not thinking about it further. He would just wait for the final result.
“By the way, where is the perfur I brought with ?”
“I went to her room just now, but no one was there.”
Jerren had a flash of understanding; so that's why Bai Shi had co.
“You an Miss Hilbert.”
“You asked us to protect her before, so we arranged safer quarters for her.”
“So that you could find her upon your return, we should have left notes in both your room and hers.”
Bai Shi recalled that he hadn’t actually entered his room earlier.
And since Hilbert's door was closed, he hadn’t opened it either.
Bai Shi scratched his chin with a finger. This was a little awkward.
Seeing Bai Shi’s expression, Jerren knew he hadn’t returned to his room.
“Mm, rest assured, Miss Hilbert is under our protection.”
“She should be with several other physicians right now, discussing thods to combat the Scarlet Rot.”
“Her neutralizing perfu has been a great help to us.”
Alright, as long as he knew Hilbert was safe, that was fine for now.
Bai Shi decided not to leave just yet. He sat down beside them and began chatting about the festival.
From Jerren, he learned that several hundred warriors from all over the Lands Between had already gathered in Redmane Castle.
Among them were the strong and the weak. The strong numbered thirty to forty, each with the power of a hero at minimum.
The festival would begin in three days.
On the night before, a grand celebration would be held in the plaza.
There would be a passionate feast, serving as the best opening for the festival.
Bai Shi had no plans to leave Redmane Castle during this ti, and a feast sounded like a good way to pass the ti.
As they were chatting, a burst of hearty laughter ca from the stairs.
Without an escort, a powerfully built woman with the casual confidence of an old friend walked up the stairs.
She wore golden armor and a black wool cloak, her attire sowhat resembling that of a gladiator.
There was an unrepaired scar on the faceplate of her helt.
“Hahaha, Grandpa Jerren, I’m back!”
Jerren was astonished to see the visitor and shot up from his chair.
He walked forward, in disbelief.
“Freyja?!”
“You’re still alive.”
Bai Shi looked at the suddenly-appeared woman nad Freyja.
He had never seen her before, and she didn’t seem to be a nobody.
Bai Shi was curious about her story.
And behind Freyja, two people followed her up the stairs.
These two also had distinctive appearances.
One was a man dressed in a simple robe, wearing a large hat, looking like an ascetic.
The other was a knight clad in a snow-white cloak and a simple tunic over his golden armor.
Without a doubt, the brilliant suit of armor drew more of Bai Shi's gaze.
As if sensing Bai Shi's stare, the knight also looked over, nodding at Bai Shi in acknowledgnt.
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