The Source of the Rebellion

Lucian stared blankly at the devastation before him. There was no trace left of the small village that had once stood here.

Before the storm unleashed by the Ancient King, the Storm Stomp on his weapon's Ash of War seemed as laughable as a breeze. Did that thing really deserve to bear the name of a storm?

But such immense power did not come from nowhere. Lucian's magic was completely drained.

Lucian took out his Flask of Cerulean Tears and drained it in one gulp, replenishing his magic.

He called upon the Ancient King again, but the Ancient King ignored him this time.

Lucian recalled the sensation from before and tried to direct his own magic.

But he still could not control magic with any precision. He could only crudely pour magic into his weapon to release it.

Giving up on the idea of directly unleashing a storm for now, Lucian stomped the ground again and used Storm Stomp.

Deliberately imitating the Ancient King's storm and recalling the path the wind had taken, he increased its power once more.

However, with no targets or points of comparison left, he had no idea just how much stronger it had become.

It was still far from the Ancient King's storm, but he had improved greatly.

It consumed far more magic than before, but he could still use it at maximum power five or six times.

And Lucian could control how much magic he put into it himself, which gave it plenty of flexibility.

Lucian was quite satisfied with this. Facing the large number of Misbegotten in the city would be much safer now.

Looking at the sky, the Erdtree's radiance was beginning to brighten. Night was about to end. It was time to return.

Lucian mounted Torrent and hurried back toward the place where they had rested the previous night at the foot of the slope.

By the time Lucian returned, it was fully light.

The wandering merchant was already awake. When he saw Lucian return, he nodded in greeting without asking where he had gone.

Lucian took out the Sacred Chalice at the Grace, and Melina sat beside him.

"How can I use this to improve the effects of the Flask of Crimson Tears?"

"You don't need to do anything."

"I don't need to do anything?"

"That's right. You don't need to do anything. As long as you bring it back to a Grace, the ritual effect of the Flask of Crimson Tears gathering Tears will improve, and the Tears' effects will improve as well."

Lucian placed the Sacred Chalice before the light of the Grace, then took out an empty Flask of Crimson Tears. Under his gaze, Tears gradually filled it drop by drop.

Once it had filled about halfway, Lucian drank it to test the taste.

Hmm, it seemed a little sweeter.

After the Flask of Crimson Tears had filled up again, Lucian rose from the Grace and returned to Irina's side. The girl was still asleep.

However, Lucian did not wake her. Once they entered the city, they might not have time to rest, so she should get as much rest as she could now.

Lucian stared absentmindedly at the Spark Butterflies dancing above the bonfire. Their wings were clearly on fire, yet they continued fluttering back and forth through the flames.

After a while, Irina suddenly jerked her head up beside him, interrupting Lucian's daze.

Irina first hurriedly wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth before realizing that Lucian, who had been lying across her legs, was gone.

"Mr. Lucian? Are you still here?"

Irina asked uneasily.

"Yeah, I'm right beside you."

"I woke up a little earlier than you, so I got up first."

Hearing Lucian's voice, Irina relaxed and asked him with a bright smile,

"Mr. Lucian, did you get enough rest last night?"

Lucian felt a little embarrassed. He always felt guilty for deceiving a young girl, but sleeping really had been comfortable.

"Of course. Thanks to you, I slept very well."

"Hehe, I'm glad I could help."

"Grrr~"

As soon as she finished speaking, Irina's stomach let out an uncooperative growl.

A trace of embarrassment appeared on Irina's little face. She had not had a drop of food or water since yesterday afternoon.

Although people in the Lands Between would not starve to death, normal people who had not become living corpses still needed to eat.

Lucian felt somewhat annoyed with himself. He had carelessly forgotten about that yesterday.

He rummaged through his pack and handed Irina some Jerky and a water pouch.

"This is Jerky and water. It tastes terrible, but it should fill your stomach a little. Once you finish eating, we'll set out for Castle Morne."

Irina shyly accepted the food and began nibbling on a piece of Jerky with both hands raised like a little hamster.

Seeing the wandering merchant across from them watching the two of them, Lucian assumed he wanted some food too and took the initiative to speak.

"I still have some. Want some? Come to think of it, I never asked your name. I'm Lucian."

"Yanogo. That is my name. There is no need for the food. I am a merchant, after all, so I have brought food with me."

Yanogo stared at Lucian as if hesitating. After a long while, he finally spoke.

"You are going to Castle Morne, correct?"

Lucian nodded. It was not something that needed to be hidden.

"Then I have some information that may be useful to you."

"Castle Morne is guarded by a Golem. It can spot people and attack them from a great distance. Only those given a token can pass its identification."

"I am an old acquaintance of one of the soldiers guarding the city. Through his recommendation, I met the quartermaster in the city. I agreed to occasionally transport some things for them, so I was given a token."

"But two days ago, when I had just returned to this area, it was already late and the city gates had closed, so I camped on the hillside outside Castle Morne where there is a Sword Monument."

"To my surprise, I happened to witness a group of people sneaking into the city."

Irina stopped eating, unable to believe it.

Yanogo carefully recalled the scene from that time.

"There were four of them, all wearing black robes. One of them was particularly huge. The Golem did not attack them at the time, so I merely assumed they were people with tokens."

"But they bypassed the main gate and went to the left side of the castle. That huge fellow climbed up a tree, then leaped onto the castle wall. Finally, he lowered a ladder and brought the other three up."

"That one who jumped up there was definitely not human. I saw thick hind legs and a tail beneath its cloak. Oh, and it had red fur on its head."

"The day after they entered, a rebellion broke out in Castle Morne."

The Jerky fell from Irina's hand to the ground, but she had no mind to pick it up.

The rebellion in Castle Morne had been orchestrated by someone...

Lucian's expression also turned grave.

Thick hind legs and a tail, red fur—it had to be a Leonine Misbegotten.

But who were those three black-robed figures? Confessors?

It was quite possible. In the game, the Leonine Misbegotten could fight alongside Crucible Knights. At the very least, it belonged to the Erdtree's larger faction, so it was not impossible that it had been brought here to carry out a mission.

But Lucian thought of the Winged Misbegotten that had attacked alongside the Frenzied Flame-infected people last night.

If the Misbegotten had been incited by the Confessors, then why had the Misbegotten last night been on the Frenzied Flame's side?

The Two Fingers and the Three Fingers should not have been able to cooperate.

Were they simply two separate groups of Misbegotten? Or was there some more hidden reason?

It seemed the waters of Castle Morne ran far deeper than expected.

Plots involving several factions were such a hassle. My head felt so itchy—it was about to grow a brain. O.o