An unexpected battle

A week later, Waypoint Street had been rebuilt.

True to his promise, the Tarnished held a grand banquet on the new Waypoint Street. Every resident of Castle Morne and Fort Haight could attend, regardless of age, gender, race, or faith.

This time, not only were there unlimited mushrooms and wild fruit, but even the mutton was no longer rationed.

Of course, the ranch was still new. No matter how hard the demi-humans worked, they could not meet the needs of so many people. So Tarn had traded this month's crop of tarnished golden sunflowers with Kale for a huge supply of meat. There were slices of beef, mutton, and other meats, as well as snacks such as turtle neck meat, dried liver, and pickled fowl feet. The selection had everything anyone could want.

Everyone cheered and applauded the decision, and the banquet reached an unprecedented peak.

Only Kenneth Haight sighed over the figures in his ledger, feeling as though his heart were bleeding.

"Come on, don't look so gloomy on such a happy occasion. Have a drink with me." Edgar draped an arm over his old friend's shoulders. As the lord of Castle Morne, he had also been invited to the banquet and had come all the way from the Weeping Peninsula.

"Everything still needs rebuilding. Our limited resources should go toward more important production and construction projects. Once everything is running smoothly, there will be plenty of time to reward the people." Kenneth Haight disliked such extravagance.

"The future matters, but if we can't even seize the present, how can we seize the future? Kenneth, take a good look at their faces. Seeing them like this gives us the strength to move faster and walk more steadily!"

Kenneth Haight looked at the people singing, dancing, and laughing. At last, he let go of his worries and smiled.

"That boy, the Tarnished, does whatever pops into his head. First he claimed he was the Elden Lord, and now he wants to throw a banquet for everyone. He certainly knows how to make trouble for us!"

"He said he'd hold a banquet, and he did. If he says he's the Elden Lord, perhaps he'll really become the Elden Lord someday."

"That boy? Let him establish a foothold on the Weeping Peninsula first! Damn it, I can't believe I let myself get dragged into this mess. Right, I want the biggest piece of mutton. Anything less won't make up for all my hard work these past few days!"

"Hahaha! That's the spirit. Eat to your heart's content. The Tarnished said there's enough food for everyone today!"

Meanwhile, the Tarnished was speaking with Kale at the Church of Elleh.

"You actually rebuilt a shopping street. It's been a long time since this broken world saw any new buildings," Kale said with a sigh of wonder.

"It was all thanks to everyone working together," the Tarnished said with a smile.

Kale shook his head. "Without you, they would never have come together."

"All right, I deserve a little credit too." The Tarnished asked, "Then, about our agreement?"

"Don't worry. The nomadic merchants never break a promise. We will formally begin working with Castle Morne, purchasing everything you produce at fair and reasonable prices!"

"Thank you!"

The Tarnished was overjoyed.

As mentioned before, the Elden Ring was a snob. A broke bastard could never become lord.

Runes were not merely the common currency of the Lands Between. As fragments of the Elden Ring, they were also part of its supreme power.

Through Finger Maidens, the Tarnished could use the power of runes to strengthen themselves.

Although Melina was not a Finger Maiden, she knew the same secret art of conversion. As long as the Tarnished had enough runes, he could keep growing stronger and reclaim the power of the Elden Lord.

Once, the Tarnished had slaughtered his way across the entire Lands Between, from the Weeping Peninsula to the Altus Plateau, from the Haligtree and the snowy mountains to the Land of Shadow. He had killed every person and god he could kill before meeting the requirements to become lord. Yet in the end, he had lost everyone he cherished and gained nothing but an empty Lands Between.

So this time, the Tarnished chose a gentler approach instead of going on another solitary killing spree.

He decided to earn runes through trade. This was no fantasy, for plenty of commerce still took place in the Lands Between. Now that he had reached an agreement with its largest trading group, the nomadic merchants, he could earn a steady stream of runes as long as Castle Morne kept producing goods to sell. If this continued, he could become lord again without ever leaving home-or even the Weeping Peninsula.

Of course, the process would take time, but it was far better than endless killing. All the Tarnished needed to do was increase the population, expand production, and exercise enough patience.

With everything going smoothly, the Tarnished finally allowed himself to relax.

He returned to Fort Haight to celebrate the completion of the new Waypoint Street with everyone, then competed with Edgar in a drinking contest and got utterly wasted.

A leader should not have behaved so indulgently, but when they looked at the Tarnished's sleeping face, even the sternest of them, Kenneth Haight, had no complaints.

Everyone had witnessed the Tarnished's efforts over the past few days, and everyone had personally felt their quality of life improving. What did a little indulgence matter in such a great leader? All they could do was pray quietly that the Tarnished would live a long life.

It was a wonderful night, but dawn brought terrible news.

"Grafted Hunters attacked Castle Morne! They took the Grafted Blade Greatsword and captured the demi-human queen!" the messenger reported breathlessly.

The Tarnished's brow furrowed. Edgar explained further, "Two Grafted Nobles launched a surprise attack under cover of darkness. Castle Morne was already short on guards, so everyone was immediately ordered to take shelter. But Irina is blind, and carrying the Grafted Blade Greatsword made it difficult for her to move. She fell behind. The Grafted Nobles attacked her to seize the sword, and the demi-human queen risked her life to protect her. But the queen was defeated and captured. They took her back to Stormveil Castle along with the Grafted Blade Greatsword."

"I understand taking the Grafted Blade Greatsword, but why capture the demi-human queen?"

"For grafting," Kenneth Haight replied. "Godrick belongs to the Golden Lineage, yet he was driven out of Leyndell and suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Valkyrie. His obsession with power has become utterly twisted. That is why he began his vile practice of grafting. Put simply, by using a secret art to attach the limbs of powerful beings to his body, he can gain a portion of their strength. In the past, he always targeted the Tarnished, whose strength far exceeds that of ordinary people. But as the Tarnished in Limgrave grew fewer, he turned his attention to other powerful, nonhuman races. Trolls and dragons became targets for his grafting. The Grafted Nobles probably captured Mako for her strength too."

"So Mako's arms and legs will be cut off and grafted onto Godrick?" Edgar grew frantic. "Then what are we waiting for? We have to find a way to rescue Mako!"

Kenneth Haight immediately rejected the idea. "Stormveil Castle is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Even King Godfrey could not breach it head-on in his day. Castle Morne and Fort Haight have fewer than a hundred soldiers between them. There is no way we can rescue the demi-human queen!"

"So we just abandon her because we can't rescue her? Mako knew she was no match for the Grafted Nobles, but she stood up to them anyway! Kenneth, do you have less courage than a demi-human?" Edgar roared.

"This isn't about courage. It's about facing reality!" Kenneth Haight roared back. "Attacking Stormveil Castle with our current strength would be like throwing eggs at a rock! Edgar, I know you're grateful to the demi-human queen for saving Irina, but this is no time to let your emotions rule you. We worked so hard to get this far. Would you let everyone's efforts come to nothing because of you alone?"

"But! But!" Edgar slammed his fist onto the table. "What about Mako? Are we supposed to watch her die and do nothing?"

Kenneth Haight sighed deeply. "I know this is a difficult decision, but it is the right one."

"Aren't you the one closest to the demi-humans?" Edgar demanded angrily. "How can you make a decision like this without betraying their trust?"

"I have to do it, whether it betrays their trust or not, because I have a duty to everyone else too!" Kenneth Haight clenched his fists. "I will speak to the demi-humans myself. I'll even kneel and apologize if I must. But we have to preserve the small gains we've fought so hard to achieve. We absolutely cannot attack Stormveil Castle. Edgar, you can curse me however you like afterward, but right now, we must work together to get through this crisis. The demi-humans are impulsive. If we do nothing at all, even I may not be able to calm them down. So I need you to lead a unit in a feigned attack on Stormveil Castle. Remember, only a feint. Make a show of it, then withdraw. That way, I'll have something to tell the demi-humans."

"That's just taking advantage of fools!" Edgar snapped. "Such a despicable act goes against my honor as a knight. I won't do it!"

Kenneth Haight was equally furious. "Think of the bigger picture, Edgar! This is no time to parade your stubbornness!"

When Edgar merely snorted and refused to answer, Kenneth Haight could only turn to the Tarnished. "Tarn, talk some sense into him!"

"If Edgar doesn't want to do it, don't force him." The Tarnished's words delighted Edgar, but alarmed Kenneth Haight.

His next sentence, however, instantly reversed their expressions.

The Tarnished said, "I'll go to Stormveil Castle alone and rescue Mako."

"No!"

Kenneth Haight and Edgar spoke in unison. "Godrick is capturing Tarnished for his grafting rituals. Going there would be like walking straight into a tiger's jaws!"

"Even so, I'm going," the Tarnished said calmly.

"Have you gone mad?"

"No. I've simply decided that this time, I won't abandon anyone!"

"She's only a demi-human!"

"She is a demi-human, but she's also our companion!" the Tarnished countered. "If I abandon Mako today, tomorrow I'll abandon someone else for the same reason. If I do that, will you still follow me?"

Kenneth Haight and Edgar were speechless.

"What if you fail? What if you die in Stormveil Castle?" Kenneth Haight demanded loudly.

"The Elden Lord of the past will not lose, and the Elden Lord of the future will not die!" Tarnished declared confidently. "There are things I must accomplish. I will return victorious!"

And so the lord mounted Torrent and charged alone toward the towering castle.

The sight filled everyone with solemn respect.

As he rode, Melina's voice sounded beside the Tarnished's ear.

"Turn back. Stormveil Castle is too dangerous for you as you are now. You need more runes to strengthen yourself."

"I spent all the runes on the banquet."

"Then wait until next month. Once next month's tarnished golden sunflowers ripen, you can-"

"Mako could be killed at any moment. I don't have that much time!"

"Why go this far for a demi-human?"

"Because I promised to protect everyone."

"Must every promise be fulfilled?"

Tarnished asked in return, "Yes, Melu. Must every promise be fulfilled?"

Melina's heart trembled. After a moment of silence, she said, "Find a Site of Grace and stop there. You have enough runes to gain one level."

"All right!"

Tarnished urged Torrent onward at a gallop. As he had said, he had little time and something he had to accomplish. He could not stop.

But as he rode, hoofbeats sounded behind him. Tarnished looked back and saw Edgar catching up with more than twenty mounted soldiers.

"Let's go together." Edgar calmly explained his plan. "We'll attack from the front and draw Stormveil Castle's attention to help you slip inside."

Looking at the fully armed men with heavy crossbows on their backs, Tarnished felt warmth flood his heart. He could not help saying, "It'll be dangerous. You could die."

Edgar burst out laughing. "Ha! We've all died once already!"

"That's right, Lord Tarnished. You helped us before. Now it's our turn to help you!"

"You're risking your life alone to save the demi-human queen. If ordinary people like us were in danger, I'm sure you'd risk everything to save us too!"

"Exactly! Rather than die for nothing, we'd rather die for you!"

After hearing all that, how could Tarnished hesitate? His heart surged with resolve. All he could do was give everything he had to live up to his brothers' hopes and make the impossible possible!

As they spoke, they entered eastern Limgrave.

"Stormgate is up ahead. It's the only way to Stormveil Castle. We'll cause a disturbance here. The rest is up to you, Tarnished!" Edgar then shouted his orders. "First, take the Gatefront position! Everyone, maintain speed! Three volleys!"

Edgar and his men cocked their heavy crossbows in unison and fired three volleys at Gatefront. Stormveil Castle's soldiers were caught completely off guard and suffered heavy casualties in an instant. Their knight-captain took a bolt from Edgar straight to the head and died on the spot.

But an attack on this scale also raised the alarm. With a loud howl, more soldiers poured out of Stormgate.

Edgar and his men had exhausted their bolts, while the enemy had countless powerful bows and crossbows. To avoid becoming targets, the lord immediately ordered, "Dismount! Shields up! Use the fortifications for cover!"

The soldiers dismounted together and spread out through the Gatefront position. Though they raised their shields and took cover behind its defenses, the enemy had too many archers. They could not even lift their heads under the barrage. They could hold out briefly, but casualties would be inevitable if this dragged on.

Tarnished wanted to help, but Edgar shouted him back. "If you reveal yourself now, all our efforts will be wasted!"

"But-"

"No buts! We're the bait! Even if every last one of us dies, your job is to use the opening to slip inside. Understand?"

He had barely finished speaking when an arrow slipped through his defenses and struck his shoulder with a wet thud. The lord swore, but remained unshaken. He raised his shield higher and continued drawing the Stormgate garrison's attention.

The other soldiers did the same. In mere moments, every one of them was wounded and covered in blood.

At this rate, they would all be wiped out!

Tarnished tried to hold back, but he simply could not. Just as he was about to act, two groups of cavalry suddenly charged onto the battlefield, one from either flank. They carried crude, heavy blades and wore armor wrapped in fur. They were Kaiden Mercenaries!

Stormgate's archers had positioned themselves too far forward. Faced with such a surprise attack, they had no time to react. The cavalry tore straight through them, the Kaiden Mercenaries swinging their blades and sending heads flying into the air.

As mercenaries, they were naturally skilled fighters. The Kaiden Mercenaries cut back and forth through the enemy ranks, only being forced back when shield-bearing soldiers advanced.

"Damn it! If we had more men, I'd cut straight through those tin cans!"

The leader of the Kaiden Mercenaries was a burly man with a scruffy beard. He led his clansmen back to the Gatefront position and called to Tarnished and Edgar, "Boss! Old man! We're here to back you up!"

Tarnished was astonished. "You..."

"Not just us." The Kaiden Mercenaries leader pointed his great blade at their surroundings. "Everyone's here!"

Tarnished looked around. The mushroom people had come, the Minor Erdtree Guardians had come, and Gravitas had come. But most astonishing of all were the demi-humans. Their small, thin figures blanketed the hills like a gray tide, crashing toward Stormgate from every direction!