After dealing with Jori the Inquisitor, Bai Shi didn't leave right away.
First, after confirming there were no stragglers, he picked up the pristine golden greatstaff from the ground.
The Barbed Staff-Spear. That was its na.
Taking it in hand, Bai Shi gave it a quizzical swing.
In the horned man’s hands, it was clearly a staff, and upon gripping it himself, he could feel its faith-scaling properties.
But it had a substantial weight, and it felt perfectly balanced for a swing.
And that na, staff-spear...
So was this thing actually a greatspear?
What a strange novelty, to be able to use a greatspear to cast the tower's incantations.
But on second thought, Bai Shi wasn't all that surprised.
It was just a weapon that doubled as a casting dium. It wasn't that rare, just uncommon in the ga.
Bai Shi’s own Sword of Night and Fla could cast sorceries, and the scepter Sir Gideon Ofnir wielded could unleash both sorceries and incantations.
Of course, when that scepter finally ended up in the player’s hands, it was nothing more than a glorified club—a rather amusing downgrade.
Bai Shi raised the Barbed Staff-Spear high, channeling his magic into it and attempting to use its skill.
Through a life of interrogation—a process that pierced his own existence as much as it did others'—Jori's thods had coalesced into a skill, lingering on this instrunt of tornt.
In the next mont, the dense barbs on the staff-spear lit up one by one, and a continuous stream of golden arcs surged forth.
The sheer frequency of this attack could only be described as an incantation machine gun.
After testing the skill’s power, Bai Shi nodded.
Although Golden Vow was just a basic tower incantation and Bai Shi's faith score wasn't particularly high—not even 40 points—the weapon's enhancent still made it shockingly powerful.
Bai Shi nodded again and put it away.
Another toy for the collection. No, this was actually one of the better faith weapons he now possessed.
But his collection of toys was growing so large... he wondered when he'd ever get the chance to take them all out for a spin.
After dealing with Jori's last relic, Bai Shi looked behind him.
There, a passage built of brick and stone extended from the cliff face.
Judging by its design, it looked like so kind of tomb.
Bai Shi guessed this was likely the proper path down to the valley floor, which they had bypassed by teleporting.
Later, he could go back up through this tomb to see where the other exit was.
But for now, it was ti to head toward the Lord of Frenzied Fla.
——
Bai Shi led his small group into the mist-shrouded valley bottom.
Within the fog-filled chasm, traces of frenzy, lted by fla, were everywhere.
Unlike the distinct aura of the Lord of Frenzied Fla, the presence of frenzied creatures was difficult to discern in this environnt.
To ensure they cleaned out every last one, Bai Shi chose not to have Lilianna teleport them, instead searching along the path.
However, the valley was quite large. The long journey through such a madness-infused environnt was beginning to wear on their spirits.
After so ti, Irena's breathing grew heavier.
Although she still had so energy left, she was showing signs of fatigue.
Seeing this, Bai Shi shook his head slightly.
He blew the Spirit Steed Whistle to summon Torrent, intending to let him carry lina and Irena.
But today, after he blew the whistle, Torrent did not appear imdiately as he usually did.
The Spirit Steed Whistle on Bai Shi’s finger trembled twice, then fell silent.
Seeing this, lina moved to Bai Shi's side and gently shook her head.
“Torrent fears the aura of the Lord of Frenzied Fla. It seems he’s quite frightened.”
Bai Shi raised an eyebrow, suddenly finding it a bit funny.
Torrent was usually fearless, charging into the most dangerous battles without hesitation. Why was he getting spooked now?
Since their relationship had broken through that thin barrier, the two of them were more in tune with each other's thoughts than ever.
As if she could read Bai Shi’s mind completely, lina explained,
“Don’t bla him. The Frenzied Fla is a terrifying thing. Even a spirit like Torrent can be lted by it.”
“Torrent can ignore ordinary attacks; that is the confidence his spiritual body grants him.”
“But if he were lted by the Frenzied Fla, Torrent would cease to exist, utterly erased from the Lands Between.”
Sighing softly, Bai Shi abandoned the idea.
Torrent had always been a diligent companion. He could have a day off today.
Bai Shi suddenly recalled the Frenzied Fla ending, where lina retrieves the Spirit Steed Whistle from a pile of ash.
He supposed that in that tiline, Torrent must have been incinerated by the Lord of Frenzied Fla after they had descended into madness.
Bai Shi snapped his fingers, and a gentle breeze wrapped around Irena.
Instantly, Irena floated into the air, flying along at the sa pace as Bai Shi and the others.
After a mont of panic, she simply relaxed and allowed the wind to carry her along.
At the sa ti, Bai Shi turned to Lilianna with so concern.
“I’ve been aning to ask, is it really okay to bring Irena here?”
“I promised her father I would protect her, and now you’ve brought her to a place this dangerous.”
“If the Lord of Frenzied Fla breaks free of his seal, even I can’t guarantee her safety.”
When they were coming over, Lilianna had teleported them in a hurry without asking.
Bai Shi had originally intended to co alone, or at most with lina.
The two of them were more than strong enough and were practically invincible against the Frenzied Fla.
Bai Shi himself was a god with his Fengling Yueying system—no need to even pretend—so that went without saying.
And he wasn’t worried about lina either.
After all, she was capable of hunting down a Lord of Frenzied Fla single-handedly across the desolate Lands Between. Now that her body had been reford by the Teardrop Chalice, her strength was assured. There was no need for concern.
Unlike this Lord of Frenzied Fla with its faint aura, the one lina hunted was the one embodied by the player character.
That was a ruthless figure whose frenzy was powerful enough to turn the Erdtree into a torch and lt the entire Lands Between back into primordial chaos.
If lina dared to hunt a being like that, she was naturally confident.
With the two of them fighting as a couple, and with Ashmi making it a three-on-one, the Lord of Frenzied Fla would have to kneel.
Lilianna coming along was acceptable; fairies were indeed wondrous, and he needed her to lead the way.
But bringing Irena was completely outside Bai Shi’s expectations.
After Irena received the fairy’s legacy, Bai Shi had considered that they might one day fight side-by-side.
After all, with the precedent set by the blue-clothed swordstress, Irena would surely beco strong in the future.
But that ti was definitely not now.
Irena was still too weak and hadn't fully assimilated the fairy’s legacy.
She had previously described so of the effects of this inheritance to him.
Besides the obvious changes in her appearance, her physical abilities would continue to improve, gradually transforming her into the realm of the extraordinary.
But the current Irena was far from reaching that point.
Her transformation had only just begun. Facing the Lord of Frenzied Fla was far too advanced for her.
Although saying this in front of Irena might hurt her feelings, this was about her life.
Bai Shi couldn't afford to worry about anything else.
Lilianna, however, was completely unconcerned. “Oh, it’s fine. Irena has the fairy’s legacy from ...”
Bai Shi cut her off, retorting,
“I know, the fairy’s legacy is powerful. The Blue-Clad Swordstress used the Flowing Sword Arts to seal a god of rot.”
“But Irena can’t fully wield that power yet, and her own transformation isn’t complete. It’s too dangerous for her to face the Frenzied Fla.”
Irena lowered her head and said nothing.
She wanted to help Bai Shi, too, but she knew he would never feel at ease letting her fight the Lord of Frenzied Fla.
“It's okay,” Lilianna said. “Once you encounter the frenzied fla, you’ll see why I’m so confident.”
“While I can’t vouch for other attacks, as long as I’m by her side, the Frenzied Fla can’t harm Irena.”
“Besides, she isn’t here to fight the Lord of Frenzied Fla. She’s here to secure the seal, and that’s sothing only she can do.”
Irena lifted her head and spoke in a small voice,
“Yes... what Lilianna said is true.”
“This fairy power is specifically for dealing with the Frenzied Fla.”
“It seems that only I can seal the Lord of Frenzied Fla...”
“I want to be of help to you, Lord Bai Shi, so please allow to accompany you.”
Bai Shi sighed, still a little worried.
But if sealing the Lord of Frenzied Fla truly required Irena’s power, and Lilianna guaranteed the frenzied fla couldn’t hurt her, then Bai Shi wouldn’t argue any further.
As long as she wasn’t directly involved in combat and had Lilianna protecting her, it should be fine.
Worst case, he could have them hide far away and wait until the battle was over for Irena to co and deal with the aftermath.
After traveling much further, the aura of frenzy grew stronger. Lilianna warned,
“There must be frenzied creatures ahead.”
“I don’t know what kind of things they are, so we need to be careful.”
“So of those things are very good at ambushes.”
Bai Shi nodded, his senses on high alert.
Just then, he noticed several gray marks on the ground ahead, glowing faintly.
Bai Shi froze for a mont, then hurried forward to inspect them.
He saw that on the ground were three ssages left by those who ca before:
‘Don’t let that thing spot you...’
‘Once it sees you, there’s no escape!’
‘Why... can’t I touch that thing!?’
Three consecutive ssages, their distorted script conveying the terror of their authors.
And a little farther ahead, there was a final one:
“Hide in the tall grass!!!”
The ssage was wild and twisted; it was hard to imagine what its author had endured.
These were words left from an ancient era, before the Tarnished lost their grace.
So people had co to this valley back then?
It seed that after the outbreak of frenzy, this place had been left unattended for a long ti, long enough for others to venture here.
It wasn't until the influence of frenzy spread from the valley to the surface that the Lord of Frenzied Fla was discovered, and the inquisitors were dispatched to contain and seal him.
Returning his attention to the ssages, Bai Shi grew thoughtful.
It seed the enemy couldn't be touched directly, or rather, those people lacked the ans to deal with it.
‘Once it spots you, you can’t escape...’
That statent seed sowhat aningless. When a stronger entity spots you, very few can escape anyway.
As for hiding in the grass?
Could it be that the creature had poor eyesight?
With no more useful information to be found, Bai Shi could only shake his head.
After a mont's thought, he turned to the others.
“I’ll go on ahead. You all maintain a safe distance.”
“Even if sothing unexpected happens, don’t rush over unless I call for you.”
lina was the first to nod.
She trusted Bai Shi completely and supported whatever he chose to do.
Though Lilianna and Irena were surprised by his decision and a bit worried, they thought of Bai Shi's strength and felt reassured, nodding in agreent.
Ignoring the ssage’s advice to hide in the grass, Bai Shi walked openly down the path.
The others followed far behind, keeping him just at the edge of their vision.
Before long, Bai Shi saw ‘that thing’ the ssages had warned about.
Its head had been replaced by a swollen, tumorous mass of countless glowing yellow eyes of frenzy.
Beneath that colossal head, a gaunt, shadowed body struggled to support the mismatched, ocular cranium.
Upon seeing it, Bai Shi was startled.
No wonder those who ca before were so terrified. This thing didn't look like it belonged in the Lands Between.
If anything, it seed like it had wandered over from a Lovecraftian world like Bloodborne.
The mont Bai Shi spotted the grotesque creature, the countless eyes on its head turned in unison to face him.
Instantly, the frenzied creature’s figure vanished from sight.
Without the slightest hesitation, Bai Shi flashed forward, precisely dodging the staff the monster thrust at him.
As he dodged the attack, a flicker of fire erupted in Bai Shi’s hand, and the flas of the sun burst forth.
However, as the flas engulfed the space, Bai Shi's brow furrowed.
He could clearly feel the fire pass right through the frenzied creature's body, having no effect on it whatsoever.
It’s really untouchable? No, impossible.
There couldn't be sothing truly invincible in the Lands Between.
If even a common frenzied creature was impossible to hit, then no one could have ever contained the Lord of Frenzied Fla.
This particular type of frenzied creature must just possess so kind of special power.
Just then, as Bai Shi stared into the cluster of frenzied eyes, he heard dented whispers at the edge of his hearing and saw faint illusions flicker in his vision.
So this was the madness buildup.
Bai Shi didn’t panic. He calmly focused his senses on the enemy before him.
Soon, he thought of a counterasure.
This creature probably had so kind of phasing ability.
His previous burst of fla hadn’t caught the exact mont of its attack, likely allowing it to phase back into its incorporeal state.
Thinking of this, Bai Shi smiled faintly.
So what if it could phase? Did it think it couldn't be hit just by hiding?
He drew the Sword of Night and Fla. Without using any other powers, he swung forward with a simple, unadorned slash.
The Sword of Night and Fla warped space-ti ever so slightly, and the frenzied creature had nowhere left to hide.
Even while it was phasing, its massive eye-head was cleanly split in two by Bai Shi’s blade.
A miserable university student encounters a lab report. The experintal principles are shockingly complex, the revisions are monstrously frequent, and it takes every ounce of effort just to scrape by with a victory.
However, the fire is fading, and the update schedule is now but a candle in the wind.
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