The Envoy's Attack

Xia Tong rode Torrent across the alpine meadow, feeling quite pleased with himself.

After all, he had obtained the legendary Spirit Ashes—the Headless Knight, Lhutel.

With Lhutel, he would no longer have to struggle alone on the front lines.

Yet when he recalled the battle with the Cemetery Shade, a lingering fear still remained in his heart.

He never wanted to experience the sensation of being gnawed alive a second time in his life.

After reviewing the encounter, Xia Tong formed a faint suspicion about the Cemetery Shade.

First of all, there was no doubt that the creature had been a gravedigger parasitized by insects.

They belonged to the category of "insects" and seemed to share some sort of kinship with the so-called Kindred of Rot.

They were not undead, but living, subterranean aberrations.

Most crucially, there had been those two horrifying antennae above the Cemetery Shade's head.

Their shape was exactly like the enormous scent organs extended by Black-striped Ashen Moths during mating season in the real world.

And moths naturally brought Miquella to mind.

Miquella's symbol was the "nascent butterfly." In order to become a god, he had parasitized himself within the cocoon of the Haligtree.

And speaking of Miquella, one had to mention how this Empyrean had always longed to revive Godwyn, the soulless demigod. Unfortunately, his eclipse ritual at Castle Sol had failed.

Moreover, the places where Cemetery Shades appeared were mostly connected to Mausoleum Knights.

The Mausoleum Knights served those demigods who had lost their souls—in other words, beings like Godwyn, Prince of Death.

That led to a bold conjecture.

Could these Cemetery Shades actually have been servants created by Miquella?

"This guess is a little too crazy."

Xia Tong shook his head and decided not to dwell on those obscure tales for now.

He lightly nudged Torrent's flank, signaling him to run faster.

His most urgent task now was to pick up Miss Irina and Melina.

Inside Pilgrimage Church.

Miss Irina sat quietly beside the bonfire.

Before her lay several unfinished pieces of smoked Rolling Sheep jerky wrapped in leaves.

"I wonder how Lord Xia Tong is doing now?"

"He left at dawn. Has he finished what he needed to do? Did he run into any danger?"

Irina's heart was filled with worry.

Lord Xia Tong truly was the strongest, kindest, and gentlest knight she had ever met.

She did not know whether calling Lord Xia Tong a knight suited his identity.

But he truly possessed the noble qualities celebrated by knights.

During the day, she had chatted with Sister Melina.

They had talked about Lord Xia Tong's adventures before meeting her, and she had also told Melina about the happy days she and her father Edgar had spent living in Castle Morne.

Sister Melina had always been calm, patiently listening to everything she told her.

She liked Sister Melina, and she liked Lord Xia Tong as well.

After they finished talking, Melina had returned to the Site of Grace to rest.

Although Irina could not see the Site of Grace, she knew what it was.

It was the blessing of the Erdtree, the guidance of Queen Marika, visible only to those who had been acknowledged.

By then, night had completely fallen.

Yet the moon above was exceptionally bright, casting silver light through the shattered dome.

Because Pilgrimage Church stood at the highest point of the Weeping Peninsula, Irina could hear the wind howling outside the church.

The wind was not fierce, but instead seemed remarkably gentle.

Relying on her memory, she crawled into the simple tent and prepared to rest.

But what she failed to notice was that the church had, at some point, fallen into a strange darkness.

Like ink dropped into clear water, that darkness rapidly spread through Pilgrimage Church, swallowing the moonlight.

Within the deep black mist, a figure appeared at some unknown moment.

His footsteps made no sound, but he was undeniably there.

Step by step, he approached the defenseless Irina.

Strangely, his build was not sturdy, but rather somewhat thin.

He wore a black, one-piece cloak with a hood, looking exactly like a church assassin.

Yet in his hand, he carried a huge rusted Iron Cleaver that did not suit his appearance at all.

"Who's there?"

Irina's hearing was far too sharp.

Even though the assassin had used the incantation Assassin's Approach to conceal the sounds of his movements as much as possible, Irina still keenly sensed something amiss.

For someone unable to see, she was overly sensitive to sound, and her intuition had always been exceptionally sharp.

Thus, she easily detected that something was approaching from behind her.

Though the moon above Pilgrimage Church was bright, it could neither pierce nor illuminate the artificially created black mist.

The assassin raised the rusted iron cleaver and viciously slashed down at Irina's slender back!

Clang!

With a piercing clash of metal.

That enormous cleaver was firmly blocked by a small, exquisite dagger.

Melina had materialized beside Irina at some unknown moment.

Her golden right eye was open as she stared fixedly at the assassin. Looking at the familiar church adornments on him, she slowly asked,

"Are you an envoy sent by the Two Fingers?"

The envoy did not answer.

The corner of his mouth curled into a dangerous arc beneath the shadow of his hood.

Then he twisted his wrist and swung the cleaver sideways at Melina!

Though Melina was currently only a spirit, and the Dagger of Calling in her hand was also a divine weapon she had materialized, that did not mean she was powerless.

Golden holy radiance suddenly flashed across the dagger.

A crescent-shaped blade of golden light flew free, shooting toward the envoy.

The light blade was so fast that it drew a golden line through the black mist, accompanied by the howl of wind.

With a clang.

Sensing trouble, the envoy decisively abandoned the cumbersome Iron Cleaver and dodged aside.

Immediately afterward, he drew a broadsword from his waist with his backhand.

It was a weapon broader and heavier than an ordinary straight sword. Though its reach was somewhat shorter, its attack power ranked among the best of straight swords.

The envoy lightly ran his left hand along the blade.

Whoosh—

A scorched yellow flame of madness instantly ignited across the entire broadsword.

"Frenzied Flame?"

Melina's gaze suddenly turned icy.

She stared intently at that ominous fire. It was unmistakably Frenzied Flame.

"You are an envoy of the Two Fingers. Why can you wield Frenzied Flame? Have you betrayed the Order?"

A suspicion faintly rose in Melina's heart. Perhaps this envoy's mind had already been corrupted by the Frenzied Flame.

"Irina, get behind me."

Her eyes remained locked on the envoy's movements, but she urgently called out to Irina.

The Finger Seal in the envoy's left hand glimmered once more.

Centered on it, the surrounding black mist became heavier and more viscous, and even his breathing gradually vanished.

"Assassin's Approach combined with a darkness incantation?"

Melina frowned tightly.

There were clearly no footsteps at all. He had used a high-level incantation that had almost completely erased every sound of movement.

"Back right!"

Irina suddenly shouted.

At the same time, the black mist behind Melina's right side suddenly churned violently.

The envoy sprang out from behind her like a ghost.

His right arm drew back, and the tip of his Frenzied Flame-burning sword pointed directly at Irina's heart from behind.

Why does he insist on killing Irina? There must be some conspiracy behind this.

The thought flashed through Melina's mind, but her body had already instinctively shielded Irina behind her.

Then she abruptly raised her left hand.

A golden incantation barrier rose from the ground, blocking the two of them.

Crack!

Cracks spread across the golden barrier beneath the heavy blow of the Frenzied Flame broadsword, but it had at least stopped the killing strike.

A fierce wind surged between them, scattering much of the surrounding black mist.

Seeing that his sneak attack had failed and the darkness incantation had been broken.

The envoy waved his hand, no longer maintaining the black mist or suppressing the sound of his footsteps.

He looked at Melina's hood, which had slipped down during the battle, and the smile on his face carried a savage, terrifying edge.

"So you're just a little one-eyed girl. And you're nothing but a spirit—what do you have to fight me with?"

A murky, frenzied yellow gleamed in the envoy's eyes.