Pilgrimage Church

Xia Tong's heart lurched.

"Melina! What happened to her? Is she still alive?"

Melina's cool voice rang out in Xia Tong's mind at just the right moment, carrying a hint of reassurance:

"She is only unconscious from mild poisoning. There is no great danger."

Xia Tong finally let out a long breath, gently patting Torrent's flank and slowing down as he headed forward.

At the edge of his vision, several staggering figures appeared faintly.

They were mindless wandering nobles, aimlessly roaming the hillside leading to the church.

There were even several Noble Sorcerers among them, waving their staffs.

Under normal circumstances, Xia Tong might have cleared them out along the way, but he was in no mood for that now. He directed Torrent to circle far around them.

At last, the ancient Pilgrimage Church came into view.

Compared with the ruined Carl's Baptism Church beside the Sick Village, this church standing atop the hill was far better preserved.

Its main structure was towering and grand, carrying an ancient, solemn air.

Before he even stepped through the church doors, Xia Tong spotted the warm glow swaying in the darkness at a glance—the Site of Grace at Pilgrimage Church.

The instant Xia Tong entered the church, a long-missed sense of tranquility washed over him.

Compared with the Church of Elleh and Carl's Baptism Church he had seen before, Pilgrimage Church felt far more dignified and solemn.

"Lay her down gently."

Melina's figure slowly appeared as she spoke softly to Xia Tong.

Xia Tong gently set Irina down, letting her limp upper body lean against his chest.

Irina's originally pale cheeks were now covered in a sickly light green.

The green seemed to have sprouted tentacles, greedily spreading from her neck toward her torso.

Her eyelashes trembled from time to time, and her breathing had become slightly rapid.

Melina knelt beside her, lightly placing her right hand over the flickering firelight of the Site of Grace.

Her other hand hovered gently above Irina's forehead.

At that moment, the Site of Grace seemed to shine even brighter.

With Melina's left hand as its center, pure golden light enveloped Irina's entire body.

The pale green poison churned across Irina's face before finally seeping out of her pores strand by strand, where it was completely purified by the light.

The process lasted around five minutes. Irina's face gradually regained its rosy color.

"She is fine now. She will wake up soon."

After taking care of Irina, Xia Tong and Melina sat facing each other across the bonfire.

"Queen Marika's words remain here. Would you like to hear them?"

Xia Tong nodded slightly. He was very interested in these ancient words.

"After facing death, what was taken from you will be returned—"

"Return to the Lands Between, throw yourselves into battle, and brandish the Elden Ring as you please."

"Stand beside death and become strong—O warriors of my lord, O Lord Godfrey."

Xia Tong listened quietly as Melina recited the words, and understanding dawned on him.

This referred to the Tarnished returning to the Lands Between, gaining the recognition of the Site of Grace once more, then becoming Elden Lord step by step.

Brandish the Elden Ring as you please—this phrase also hinted at multiple endings.

You could restore the Elden Ring, or burn it all down and reduce everything to ashes with the Frenzied Flame. Naturally, you could also welcome the Age of Stars.

While Irina was still waking up, Xia Tong left the church.

On the way up the mountain earlier, he had seen some Rolling Sheep, and the sight had made his mouth water.

"Jingle, jingle—"

Xia Tong rang the Spirit Calling Bell and summoned a Fanged Imp.

Man and demon worked together to corner and bring down two plump Rolling Sheep.

Though the method was somewhat inhumane, Xia Tong still decided to butcher them inside the church.

These creatures jokingly called "Rolling Sheep" spent their lives curled up and rolling around, giving them unusually dense muscle fibers, though their meat also carried a stubborn earthy smell.

Xia Tong dragged the two already-dead Rolling Sheep beneath Queen Marika's statue, where there was a pool of water.

"As expected, there is a Sacred Tear here."

Xia Tong bent down, gently picked up the fingernail-sized golden-red liquid crystal by the pool, and dropped it into his already fully replenished Flask of Crimson Tears.

After the two Flasks of Crimson Tears were upgraded again, Xia Tong pulled up his health panel to take a look.

His Vigor was now at 17, and his health was roughly 568 points.

Xia Tong usually paid almost no attention to his health, nor did he need to check it deliberately, because he could feel how much health he had left.

If it was only a minor sword or knife wound, he would not lose much health at all.

But when the Demi-Human Queen had blasted him head-on at close range with Crystal Barrage last time, he had nearly fainted. At that point, his health had basically been at the bottom.

There was no need to check the panel in that situation. He just had to chug potions like mad.

After upgrading once with the Sacred Tear from Carl's Baptism Church, the recovery amount had risen from 250 points to around 330 points compared with the unupgraded flask.

Now that it had been upgraded a second time, the recovery amount would probably exceed 400.

That was a terrifying number. It meant Xia Tong could now restore nearly 75% of his health in one go.

Xia Tong did the math. Once he finished cooking, it would be time to upgrade his attributes.

Beneath Queen Marika's statue, Xia Tong skillfully completed the butchering, skinning, and salting of the two Rolling Sheep.

For the one he intended to roast immediately, Xia Tong evenly rubbed crushed Rowa Fruit into several deep cuts he had made beforehand.

He then heavily coated it with salt. As for the sheep's belly, he stuffed it with some wild scallions he had just found and Smoldering Butterfly phosphor powder.

When the meat was placed over the fire, fat dripped onto the coals with a sizzling sound.

The sugar in the Rowa Fruit caramelized under the high heat, and the damp, moldy smell in the air was instantly driven away by an overpowering aroma that mixed fruitiness with roasted meat.

As for the other sheep, Xia Tong decided to cure it for later consumption during their travels.

Xia Tong was already fairly familiar with this whole process.

He cut the meat along the grain into strips two fingers wide—this method forced out the moisture in the meat as thoroughly as possible.

He then coated the strips with a thick layer of salt until the meat darkened slightly from dehydration.

Before long, another fire was lit in a corner of the church.

This time, Xia Tong did not roast the meat directly over the flames. Instead, he used branches and discarded bricks to build a simple high rack, hanging the strips of meat above the bonfire and upwind from it.

He tossed several handfuls of half-damp moss into the fire. There was plenty of the stuff in the corners of the church.

The Weeping Peninsula was a peninsula surrounded by sea, so its climate was naturally quite humid.

"Cough, cough..."

The flames immediately dimmed, replaced by thick white smoke.

Smoked meat could be preserved longer. Its texture would become much worse, but that did not matter.

Xia Tong did not care about such things. He was already in the Lands Between, so what was there to care about?

Those two tasks kept Xia Tong busy for an entire afternoon.

On the other side, Miss Irina slowly woke up as well.

Though she could not see, her sense of smell and hearing were extremely sharp.

The bonfire in front of her was clearly giving off an enticing aroma.

"Is this... is this roasted meat?"

Irina's voice was timid. She did not know how long it had been since she had last eaten roasted meat.

After fleeing Castle Morne, she had once been so hungry that she could only eat grass.

Fortunately, Lord Xia Tong had found her atop that boulder. Only then had she begun living a life with soup to drink and jerky to eat. And now she could even eat roasted meat!!

Roasting meat was an extremely wasteful use of fat. In the low-productivity Lands Between, it was simply extravagant waste.

But the advantage was that roasted food tasted incredibly good.

Even as the daughter of Castle Morne's lord, she might not get to eat roasted meat even once a month.

As she spoke, Irina could not help swallowing. Already weak from the poison, she desperately needed energy.

"Yes, it is roasted meat. It is Rolling Sheep from near Pilgrimage Church," Melina replied.

"Rolling Sheep? I heard Father talk about them. They often curl up and roll around in the grass. They are very cute animals."

"And very delicious, right?"

Xia Tong walked over and chimed in.

The jerky was smoking in the corner, and he finally had a chance to rest.

He then plopped down beside the bonfire and smiled contentedly as he watched Melina and Irina.

Embarrassed by Xia Tong's bluntness, Irina's little face slowly turned red.

Xia Tong picked up a Kukri, sliced off a piece of the already-cooked outer layer of meat, and gently held it to Irina's lips.

"Open up."

Irina opened her little mouth, took the slice of meat, and chewed carefully.

She was immediately burned and began going, "Huff, huff, huff," yet she still loudly cried that it was delicious.

Even Melina, who was usually serious and tranquil, could not help smiling at the sight.

"Melina, you smiled."

"What, am I not allowed to smile?" Melina unusually shot back.

"Of course you are. Hahaha!"

The laughter of the three echoed beneath the vaults of Pilgrimage Church.

The statue of Marika within the church also seemed to become gentler and more radiant under the firelight.