Church of Elleh

Lucian listened coldly to Varre's nonsense. He knew Varre was a recruiter for the Blood Dynasty, poaching people everywhere and tricking them into joining the Blood Dynasty.

They had set their sights on the fact that most Tarnished had no Maiden at their side and could not see Grace, yet possessed considerable martial skill.

They used Stormveil Castle to test the mettle of these Tarnished, then recruited the best among them as Blood Knights.

But Lucian was in no hurry to make a move against Varre. He wanted to keep him around for now.

Once he entered the Blood Dynasty through Varre, it would be time for Varre to pay for his loose tongue.

So Lucian pretended to be uncertain and quietly headed off in the direction Varre had pointed.

"Hehe, I have a feeling we'll meet again soon, my dear~"

Lucian ignored him. He was afraid that if he stayed any longer, he would not be able to resist killing Varre ahead of time.

And so Varre quietly watched Lucian disappear into the distance.

His eyes beneath the mask were cold and unfathomable. No one knew what he was thinking; only the bloodstained White Mask continued to smile.

Following the direction indicated by Grace, Lucian crossed hill after hill before finally reaching the vicinity of the church ruins.

Only one hill now lay between him and the church ruins—the former Church of Elleh—but Lucian stopped.

He crouched amid the bushes scattered everywhere, taking off the helmet Hakan had given him to keep its glare from exposing his position.

That was because a powerful field boss, the Tree Sentinel, patrolled back and forth nearby.

This was not the time to fight him. Lucian had needed cheats even to defeat an elite enemy like the Grafted Scion, let alone a field boss like the Tree Sentinel.

Although he had Wind Spirit Moon Shadow, its uses did not seem to recover over time so far. Of course, perhaps not enough days had passed yet.

In any case, every use of Wind Spirit Moon Shadow was exceedingly precious.

Compared to the Tree Sentinel, Lucian would rather save his cheats for the main-story bosses who possessed Great Runes.

Lucian remained perfectly still in the bushes, searching all around for any sign of the Tree Sentinel.

But after a long while, he still had not seen the Tree Sentinel's eye-catching golden figure.

With colors that bright, it would have been impossible to miss if he had entered Lucian's field of vision.

"Could this be different from the game? Maybe there isn't a Tree Sentinel stationed here at all? Or maybe he was transferred somewhere else?"

Lucian rose and slipped out of the bushes, but after only two steps, he immediately darted back in.

Cold sweat poured down Lucian's back. The moment he had stood up, he suddenly spotted a golden figure emerging from his blind spot on the right at the foot of the hill he was on, along a dirt road leading to the Church of Elleh.

Back in the bushes, Lucian watched the Tree Sentinel in full golden armor slowly patrol the dirt road atop a massive horse clad in golden armor as well.

Its enormous body was even as tall as the trees by the roadside.

"Just how far does this guy's patrol route go? He actually came from the direction I came from."

Earlier, worried that soldiers might be guarding the road, Lucian had not followed the dirt path. Instead, he had traveled over the hills the entire way, only to narrowly miss the Tree Sentinel.

"Whew. That was dangerous, but at least he's within my sight now. I don't have to worry about him suddenly charging out and taking a swing at me while I'm moving."

Lucian breathed a sigh of relief and pulled the dense bushes beside him closer around himself.

He had already decided to wait here until he fully understood the Tree Sentinel's patrol route.

"Grrr~"

Lucian's stomach growled traitorously, and he looked up at the sky.

Seeing only the colossal Erdtree, he remembered that the Lands Between had no sun.

He decided not to worry about the time. If he was hungry, he would eat.

Lucian slowly pulled out the packet of white meat slices from his small bag.

It was merely a packet of ordinary meat slices, not soaked in any special potion, so it had no special effects and could only fill his stomach.

The slices had been dried for easy storage and carrying, so naturally, they did not taste good.

Not to mention that they had drifted here with Lucian and been soaked through by seawater once.

They were truly nothing more than food to fill his belly. Lucian chewed with difficulty while keeping his eyes on the Tree Sentinel.

The Tree Sentinel walked slowly. Fortunately, because the meat slices tasted so awful, Lucian ate even more slowly than the Tree Sentinel walked.

By the time the last slice of meat had gone down his throat, Lucian had also figured out the Tree Sentinel's patrol pattern.

"The patrol range is much larger than in the game. One round trip takes over half an hour."

Though the Tree Sentinel rode slowly, that giant horse was enormous, so the patrol route was still quite long.

"And he never patrols the roadless area on the left. Once he leaves the hill below me, I'll set off and circle around from the left."

After making his plan, Lucian continued waiting quietly for the right moment.

When the Tree Sentinel passed the hill below him again, Lucian counted three minutes in his head before swiftly leaving the bushes.

Nothing unexpected happened along the way. Lucian jogged the whole distance and successfully reached the Church of Elleh.

More than half of the ruined church had collapsed. Broken walls and rubble stood scattered about, turning the place into an open-air structure. Only a little of the church's front entrance remained.

The moment he entered the church, Lucian saw a fire burning in the corner, along with a man and a donkey beside it.

The man was dressed in strikingly festive clothes: a bright red coat with a white scarf, orange-yellow trousers, and a fluffy red hat adorned with several strange feathers.

He held an odd instrument, playing it while humming an unfamiliar tune.

At the sudden arrival of someone in the ruined church, his body stiffened, and his tune stopped.

Only when he saw that Lucian had no intention of attacking did he gradually relax.

"You're Tarnished, aren't you...? And you don't look like you're going to attack me. In that case, how about we do some business?"

He put away his instrument and introduced himself.

"My name is Kale. You might not be able to tell, but I'm a merchant."

Kale looked at Lucian. His hair was long and graying, while the lower half of his face was wrapped in a mask. He truly did not look like a shrewd merchant.

Lucian nodded. He remembered that Kale had quite a few useful items available early on.

"Sure. Let's see what you have first."

Kale stood up, unloaded the goods from the lean donkey beside him, and spread them out before Lucian.

"By the way, that Tree Sentinel patrolling outside won't come in here, will he?"

"Oh, it's fine. He doesn't bother anyone except Tarnished. I've been here for quite a while. As long as you're careful not to let him see you, you'll be fine."

Knowing the Tree Sentinel would not come inside, Lucian breathed a sigh of relief. Back when he played the game, the Tree Sentinel had slaughtered him more times than he could count. He still had a bit of trauma from it.

Lucian began picking through the assortment of items before him.

After looking through everything, Lucian ultimately chose a torch, a Telescope, a Crafting Kit for making items, and two crafting notes left behind by wandering warriors.