Elden Ring: With God Chapter 333: The Grand Cloister

Chapter 333: The Grand Cloister

Even though Bai Shi had been ticulous in his search for items, it seed... he really shouldn't have gotten his hopes up.

Bai Shi let out a soft sigh.

It made sense. He had just scoured the entire Lake of Rot.

Not much could have survived such a devastating assault.

Besides, he'd reaped a massive amount of Runes here, which was more than satisfying enough.

In the end, Bai Shi only managed to find two weapons in the Lake of Rot that he rembered from the ga.

One was the Scorpion's Stinger, a weapon of special significance to the Kindred of Rot.

It was a dagger forged from the tail stinger of a giant scorpion.

Venom infused with Scarlet Rot dripped endlessly from its tip.

This was a ritualistic tool of a heretical cult, rumored to have been crafted using a relic from a sealed Outer God.

However, Bai Shi had no intention of using it.

The weapon could inflict Scarlet Rot, but compared to his Aeperia—already infused with the powers of Bounty and Rot—it was nothing more than a toy.

So Bai Shi simply took it for his collection.

As for the other weapon, it was the Dragonscale Blade, which should have been dropped by the Dragonkin Soldier of the Lake of Rot.

A weapon forged by grinding down a gravel stone scale, a process born from the study of the ancient dragons’ immortality, resulting in a translucent blade.

The blade was embedded in a giant tree at the center of the Lake of Rot, half-swallowed by its trunk.

Its size was so exaggerated that a single glance was enough to know it was not ant for human hands.

The kind of greatsword that gives you a forty-ter head start (just kidding).

Bai Shi channeled the power of his Great Rune, enlarging his form before gripping the hilt and drawing the sword free.

Once he pulled the Dragonscale Blade free, Bai Shi found himself captivated by its translucent blade, which seed impossible for sothing forged from rock scales.

He could feel the aura of Senessax on the blade, mixed with the faint traces of other ancient dragons.

The Eternal City must have gathered materials from all over the Lands Between just to forge this one weapon.

And in the end, it was taken by a Dragonkin Soldier, never to see use on a proper battlefield.

Even when the god of Rot possessed the Dragonkin Soldier's body, it rely used the creature as a puppet, completely ignoring its original weapon and power.

Although Bai Shi was more than strong enough to wield the blade with ease.

But its ridiculously massive size made it look incredibly awkward in his hands, even when he expanded his body to its absolute limit.

If this Dragonkin Soldier brought a Dragonscale Blade designed for its kind all the way here, then perhaps there were other weapons left behind in Nokstella.

After all, in the ga, there was another weapon that should have been used by the Dragonkin Soldiers.

The Dragon Halberd, imbued with the power of ice lightning.

He had searched Nokron thoroughly and was certain no weapons were left there.

So that weapon might still be in Nokstella.

Bai Shi casually plunged the Dragonscale Blade back into the decaying greatwood, resting his head on his hand as he tried to recall the layout of Nokstella's buildings.

He would leave this Dragonscale Blade for the Dragonkin Soldier in Nokstella, bringing it back as a weapon on his return trip.

Now that the soldier had its own will, it couldn't keep fighting like a wild beast.

Finding the Dragon Halberd would be even better, but if not, at least he had the Dragonscale Blade as a backup.

All that remained were miscellaneous items and various materials.

Having found these two weapons, Bai Shi had lost all desire to continue digging through the filth of the Lake of Rot.

The living conditions of the rot-infested creatures were truly deplorable.

Bai Shi had to press onward, ready to explore the Grand Cloister.

—

The Grand Cloister stood silently at the far end of the Lake of Rot, just as it did in the ga.

Within the basin of the Ainsel River, the upstream and downstream sections flowed with normal water, sandwiching the Lake of Rot between them.

This lake was the seal that bound the god of Rot.

Passing through the Grand Cloister ant leaving the domain of the Lake of Rot and entering the lower reaches of the Ainsel River.

Because of the massive battle earlier, the water level of the Lake of Rot had dropped to a thin layer.

The torrent that had once poured into the Grand Cloister had now subsided into a gentle trickle, slowly seeping downward.

Bai Shi descended the stairs and entered the Grand Cloister with ease.

As the endpoint of the seal, the architecture here remained perfectly intact, its scale staggeringly vast.

It was a testant to the full, unveiled splendor of the ancient dynasty.

After lighting the Site of Grace at the bottom of the stairs, Bai Shi looked around with a sense of nostalgia.

He rembered his first ti exploring this area, completely unaware that he could press a switch to raise the platforms.

He stumbled upon the Dragonkin Soldier in the center of the lake, a monster whose stats were buffed to hell and back by the putrid environnt. After depleting every last one of his flasks, he had barely managed to win.

In the end, with no health or FP left, Bai Shi had dragged himself to the Grand Cloister, only to die from the rot right next to this very Site of Grace.

The anguish of seeing that grace, so close yet as distant as the stars, was still a painful mory.

But then again, Bai Shi mused, that was just how the Souls series was.

As the saying goes: Though the old master tortures

a thousand tis, I still treat the old master like my first love.

With a couple of chuckles, Bai Shi began to explore deeper into the Grand Cloister.

The creatures of rot inside had been unaffected by the chaos outside and were still moving about normally.

However, the commotion had been too imnse for them to ignore completely, and they were now on high alert.

Bai Shi glanced at the remaining duration of his five-tis Runes bonus and, without hesitation, charged straight into the Kindred of Rot's defensive line.

Slaughtering his way through the rot-infested creatures that stood in his way, Bai Shi reached the very end of the Grand Cloister.

There, at the end of the path, countless creatures knelt in devout worship before a massive statue, completely ignoring the carnage unfolding behind them.

It was a giant sculpture of an unknown old man, just like the other statues of the ancient dynasty he had seen before.

But unlike the others, the upper half of this statue was completely encased in Scarlet Rot fungi and crimson sludge, forming an enormous tumor of decay.

This was the object of the Kindred of Rot’s worship, a symbol of the god of Rot in their hearts.

The sealed god of Rot had not left behind its true form here.

Thus, the Kindred of Rot could only console themselves in this manner.

As Bai Shi approached the group of creatures, they remained utterly oblivious to their impending doom. Or perhaps, they simply did not care about their own destruction.

Except for one odd fellow.

A figure in armor covered with fungi, a massive mushroom sprouting from its head, was leaning against one of the Grand Cloister's pillars.

It looked like a corpse that had been carelessly discarded here after death.

At this mont, however, it stood up and looked in Bai Shi's direction.

The armor on this creature was ancient and dilapidated, its cracks filled with mycelium from which dangerously colored mushrooms sprouted.

Naturally, Bai Shi had noticed this peculiar individual.

He observed the unprecedented enemy with keen interest.

Seeing the mushrooms on its body, Bai Shi inexplicably began to ponder if they were edible.

After all, they looked just like sothing one might eat in a certain dungeon-crawling manga. A green, ghostly light glowed from within the helt's visor, locking onto Bai Shi like a specter.

Seeing Bai Shi advance step by step, the strange armored figure picked up the weapon that had long accompanied it.

It was a straight sword in its scabbard.

The scabbard was so decayed it was impossible to tell if the blade inside was broken, making one doubt if it could even be drawn.

The weapon's owner clearly didn't care about such things. It raised the sword before its face and effortlessly drew the blade.

A flash of green light illuminated its face.

The blade was densely coated in a hazardous venom, its sickly green light flickering incessantly.

This was a blade personally blessed by the mushroom kings of a bygone era.

With the poison blade drawn, the mushroom-covered figure flickered like a phantom, leaving several afterimages in its path as it instantly teleported to Bai Shi's side.

Along with the venom-laced blade ca several orbs of tracking poison that floated through the air.

Bai Shi instantly transford into his spectral form and dashed forward, easily evading every attack.

But when Bai Shi reappeared, the mushroom man's blade had already caught up to him once more.

Bai Shi was genuinely surprised by this.

This thing's speed was astounding, easily ranking among the fastest enemies he had ever faced.

The envenod blade swept horizontally toward Bai Shi's side.

If it made contact, the deadly toxin would instantly invade its victim's body, killing them swiftly.

This ti, Bai Shi didn't dodge. Instead, he extended two fingers and parried the attack.

He curled his fingers, precisely catching the poison-coated blade between his knuckles, locking it in place and preventing it from moving another inch.

The remnant fire scorching his hand made the venom on the blade sizzle and hiss.

Only then did the poison orbs arrive, and Bai Shi dispelled them one by one with a circle of glintblades that materialized around him.

Seeing its weapon restrained, the strange mushroom man imdiately deployed a counterasure.

A great cloud of toxic gas spewed from beneath its helt, billowing toward Bai Shi's face.

However, the poison mist it had placed so much faith in was utterly useless, inexplicably dissipating before it could reach Bai Shi.

Seeing Bai Shi's calm and composed deanor, the mushroom man finally tried to struggle and escape.

But the mont its blade was caught by Bai Shi, its fate was sealed.

Bai Shi's free hand shot forward and grabbed its head, clenching it within his palm.

Although it struggled desperately, shedding quite a few mushrooms from its body, it was all for naught.

Purple gravitational magic coalesced in Bai Shi's hand, and a laser beam instantly pierced through its skull.

Seeing the corpse still twitching and struggling, Bai Shi fired several more lasers from his hand, riddling it with holes.

He only released his grip after confirming the enemy was completely dead.

Casually tossing the corpse aside, Bai Shi incinerated all the mushroom juices from his hand.

With its wielder dead, the venom-dripping sword lost its power, reverting to a broken, featureless piece of scrap.

Bai Shi glanced at the weapon, now devoid of the power and madness it had displayed just monts ago, and shook his head.

He truly did enjoy collecting weapons.

There were many enemies he would never understand, witness, or even fight, but their weapons were different.

They were symbols of a warrior's courage, the most vivid retellings of a hero's story.

Defeating and killing enemies, then collecting their weapons, was a form of respect and acknowledgnt.

By all rights, a dilapidated weapon like this was not worth keeping, but Bai Shi stored it away anyway, to commorate this unique foe.

Glancing at the Kindred of Rot who were still kneeling in prayer, Bai Shi casually swept them away as well.

Fanatics... such beings are truly outrageous.

To completely ignore a battle raging right next to them was a bit much.

The cold, unfeeling Kindred of Rot had been turned into heartwarming Runes. A joyous occasion.

However, at the end of the Grand Cloister, Bai Shi did not find a coffin or anything of the sort.

He didn't mind.

The coffin was a teleportation device needed to continue Ranni's questline in the ga.

But now, he could just go find Ranni directly. The coffin was irrelevant.

He would just let Ranni lead the way from here on out.

After a mont of thought, Bai Shi turned and walked toward the other end of the Grand Cloister.

If he rembered correctly, there was an Ulcerated Tree Spirit here. Might as well take care of it and get so Runes.

Bai Shi continued toward the spot where he recalled the Ulcerated Tree Spirit would be.

Soon, he reached the other end of the Grand Cloister.

The path ahead was a dead end, but a strange corner appeared off to the side.

Seeing this peculiar corner, Bai Shi knew this was the place.

He walked around the corner and, sure enough, an Ulcerated Tree Spirit appeared in his line of sight.

In a nearby pool where the waters of the Lake of Rot had gathered, an Ulcerated Tree Spirit, whose massive body was impossible to hide, lay in ambush.

The mont it saw Bai Shi round the corner, the Ulcerated Tree Spirit lunged out, its massive jaws gaping as it threw itself at him.

Bai Shi sneered at the ambushing Tree Spirit.

So you like hiding around corners to attack people? I'll make sure you learn your lesson today!

Bai Shi released the power of his Great Rune, enlarging his body to its maximum size.

The Ulcerated Tree Spirit was already upon him; he could even sll the nauseating stench of Scarlet Rot mixed with decay wafting from its mouth.

Without flinching, Bai Shi let the remnant fire flare up around him to ward off the rot, then simply opened his arms to welco the creature.

The Ulcerated Tree Spirit's charge was stopped cold as Bai Shi effortlessly gripped its upper and lower jaws, one in each hand.

After halting its advance, Bai Shi held its enormous mouth tight and violently slamd it shut.

The Tree Spirit's gaping maw was instantly forced closed.

The twisted branches that ford its jaw shattered on impact.

The Ulcerated Tree Spirit thrashed wildly, but it was t with an even more terrifying, imnse force.

Bai Shi did not release his grip on its jaws. Instead, he pulled his hands apart with incredible speed.

The Ulcerated Tree Spirit's body was torn apart starting from its mouth. Its entire form split like a wave down the middle until the tear finally stopped at its torso.

A ball of intense fla gathered in front of Bai Shi and blasted into the creature's ripped-open body.

A flash of fire erupted, and the Ulcerated Tree Spirit's mutilated remains were instantly pierced by the blaze, completely consud by the explosion.

With the Ulcerated Tree Spirit defeated, the Runes flowed into Bai Shi's body.

Dusting off his hands, Bai Shi confird he hadn't missed anything.

In that case, there was nothing else of note in the Grand Cloister, or the entire Lake of Rot for that matter.

Bai Shi turned to leave, taking the Dragonscale Blade with him as he returned to the Eternal City, Nokstella.