Elden Ring, but with Wind Spirit Moon Shadow

Chapter 401 Entrustment

Chapter 401 Entrustment
Bai Shi walked out of the banquet room where Bernal was, and looked for Laya following the sound.

Soon, Bai Shi found Laya in a nearby room.

The door was open and Laya was sitting on the ground with her back to the door.

And in front of her, a dark and gloomy passage inexplicably appeared on the wall of the room.

Bai Shi walked quickly forward, squatted beside Laya, and stretched out his hand.

Faced with Bai Shi's offer of support, Laya did not lend a hand, but pointed towards the passage.

"Mr. Bai Shi..."

"There! Something went in there just now!"

Bai Shi looked at the passage hidden in the mezzanine of the Volcano Mansion.

That was the secret passage of the Volcano Residence, leading to the real core torture area.

That is the real Volcano Residence that served as a prison and torture chamber.

Shaking his head, Bai Shi gently held Laya's hand and pulled her up from the ground.

Thinking back to what had just happened, Laya was still a little bit incredulous.
-
Just now, after Laya brought Bai Shi to the banquet room, she continued to wait silently by the side.

However, this time, she heard the sound similar to breathing and the rubbing of scales again.

And the distance is closer than ever before.

After a brief hesitation, Laya succumbed to curiosity and decided to find out the truth.

Following the sound, Laya kept searching along the walls of the corridor.

Finally, right in front of this room, she saw a wriggling black shadow...

The excited Laya completely forgot about the possibility of encountering danger and rushed in immediately.

However, after the black shadow walked into the room, it disappeared completely, and Laya, who followed closely behind, could only face this empty room.

It was not until this time that Laya began to slowly feel a little fear.

Looking around this ordinary room, Laya began to shrink back and become suspicious.

Maybe she shouldn't have come alone, but should have asked someone else to come with her, so that she could have some company.

A sound coming from nowhere suddenly startled Laya, and she subconsciously leaned against the wall to protect her back in order to protect herself.

But it was precisely this leaning that broke the magic of the phantom on the wall.

Laya suddenly leaned against empty space and screamed, then sat down on the ground in the hidden passage.

There was no light or candlelight in there. The entire passage was extremely dark and exuded an ominous atmosphere.

When Laya stretched out her hand, she even touched two white bones scattered on the ground.

Laya immediately crawled back into the room using her hands and feet, and realized that the black shadow disappeared from this passage.

Fortunately, Bai Shi arrived in time, and Laya regained some courage.

After standing up with the help, Laya looked at the hidden passage that led to nowhere.

There really is some shocking secret hidden in the volcano mansion where she has lived since she was a child.

When Laya thought about her carefree life in the past, she felt a chill on her back when something was watching her from behind the wall.

Standing up, Laya still pointed there with a trembling finger and asked:
"Is there some terrifying place in here..."

Facing Laya's wild thoughts, Bai Shi patted her on the back and said soothingly:
"It's okay, calm down first."

"For the Volcano Residence, this is not something to worry about."

"Tannis is a very capable leader."

"Besides, there is a strong warrior like Bernal here. It is impossible to hide it from him."

"So you don't have to worry too much."

"This is obviously just part of the Volcano Residence."

Laya blinked and realized that it seemed to be the case.

"I see. So I was the one who scared myself."

But this also means...there are secrets in the Volcano Residence that she doesn't know about.

Laya turned to look at Bai Shi and asked again:

"Mr. Bai Shi, do you know anything about this situation?"

"If you know anything, please tell me!"

Bai Shi spread his hands and did not directly answer Laya's question.

"You can ask your mother."

“Communication is the most effective way to solve problems.”

Laya's eyes were half closed, as if she was thinking about Bai Shi's suggestion.

But after a while, Laya raised her head and said:

"I'll ask, but..."

"Now I still want to go inside and find out what's going on..."

Bai Shi thought of the creatures inside and felt a little worried.

"Want to go in and take a look?"

"Then I'll accompany you for a while, just in case you run into any danger."

A smile finally appeared on Laya's uneasy face.

"Mr. Bai Shi, you are indeed a very gentle person."
-
As they stepped into the secret passage one after another, a bit of azure magic power lit up on Bai Shi's fingertips, and a ray of starlight illuminated the entire passage.

The ground was covered with traces of dragging and struggling, and piles of white bones were scattered around.

In the darkness, the vague outlines on the walls were also illuminated.

However, facing Laya, the creatures in the darkness chose to retreat.

Under the starlight, they saw the full picture of these creatures: a group of snails.

Although it has a snake head, snake-like teeth in its mouth, can spit out tongues, and crawls in an S-shaped manner, this subspecies of the Summoning Snail does not even have tentacles but actually has two eyes...

But this kind of creature is called snail in the border area. Don't ask, if you ask, it's the story of The Crucible and Hidetaka Miyazaki's childhood.

Maybe in Miyazaki Hidetaka's eyes, a long thing with a shell on its back is a snail.

Bai Shi observed the passage leading to the volcanic torture chamber and walked forward slowly.

The creatures here have no intention of attacking actively, it seems that they are still following Tanis's orders.

Laya gradually became braver. She passed the snails and followed Bai Shi to move deeper into the water.

The journey was uneventful until the two of them continued to the next level.

A scimitar slashed over the moment Bai Shi stepped in.

Bai Shi just lightly tapped with his fingertips, and the hound's long fangs were blocked, unable to move forward at all.

The full-strength blow caused a few drops of hot blood to flow from Bai Shi's fingertips, and then it was blocked intact by the pyroxite skeleton.

The Hound Knight's figure retreated as if it had disappeared in an instant, away from Bai Shi, ready to wait for an opportunity to attack again.

Facing the Hound Knight swinging his sword at him, a candlestick appeared in Bai Shi's hand.

Tolina's lavender candle flickered and spread toward the Hound Knight.

In an instant, the lavender flames filled the entire passage, leaving nowhere to hide.

The Hound Knight struggled to hold on in the flames, but after being burned for several seconds, he finally collapsed to the ground powerlessly.

Bai Shi put away the candlestick, and the flames around it dissipated.

Bai Shi smiled at Laya, who was a little worried, and said:

"Don't worry, he's just asleep."

"Although you may not know it, this kind of knight is a loyal dog of the Volcano Mansion."

Laya nodded and continued to move forward with peace of mind.

The secret passage of the Volcano Residence extends downward like the throat of a giant beast.

The further you go in, the more ancient and dilapidated it becomes. The charred rock walls on both sides are covered with spider-web-like cracks, and a dark red glow seeps out of each crack, as if coagulated blood is flowing in the stone veins.

The temperature continued to rise and the smell of sulfur became stronger.

With an extremely high fire damage immunity rate, no matter how high the temperature is, it will have no effect on Bai Zhi.

However, looking at these unusual traces, Bai Shi knew that they were already very deep into the volcano.

Sure enough, they didn't walk far before they arrived at a small church.

The hound knight just now was obviously ordered to guard this road.

Dozens of bronze torches were embedded in the wall at intervals. The burning unknown oils constantly made crackling sounds, as well as a burnt smell that made humans inexplicably uncomfortable.

The prison town church is the place where sinners are given the last bit of mercy.

However, after praying to the gods as much as they could, all they got in response was endless despair and torture.

From the moment of prayer, the cruel torture began.

Behind this church is the real Volcano Residence, which is also the Volcano Residence that Laya does not know about.

When Bai Shi pushed open the church door, the smell of sulfur suddenly became strong and flames illuminated the sky.

The view suddenly became clear, and the boiling lava river was rolling in the besieged city, engulfing this horrible torture prison.

A long whistling sound came from the depths of the lava, as if something darker than magma was spreading underground.

Countless rough iron chains were stretched across the lava, hanging simple cages.

Red-gold lava continued to roll down from upstream, stirring up sticky waves a foot high, which scattered and hit the cages hanging above, blasting out millions of sparks.

As for the lava river below, there were countless half-melted cage wreckage floating there, swirling in the vortex.

As a horrific torture chamber, the torturers were best at taking advantage of this unique geographical resource.

Being locked in a small cage where one can't even stand up straight, and having to face the terrifyingly high temperature of lava, not many people can endure it.

However, after the war, this place was on the verge of destruction, and many torture chamber buildings sank into the magma.

Unlike her white consciousness which was paying attention to the scenery, Laya looked around, trying to find the black shadow she had seen before.

The more Laya thought about the black shadow, the more familiar it seemed.

If she had seen it correctly, the shadow had the outline of a snake... just like her.

What exactly did Lady Tanis hide from her?
With such questions in mind, Laya soon reaped the rewards.

Not far from the church exit, Laya saw a moving snake man.

The creature had the same appearance as her original, except that it held a sword and shield, looking like a warrior.

When she saw her own kind, Laya immediately widened her eyes with excitement.

After a burst of mist, Laya turned into a snake and walked quickly towards her fellow tribesman.

However, when the snake man saw Laya approaching, he raised his sword and shield and even prepared to attack.

With its intelligence, it cannot distinguish Laya's identity.

But through the perception of blood, it can know:
Although the creature in front of it has the same appearance as it, it is not of the same species.

Seeing the other party's actions, Laya stopped and stood there in a daze.

Bai Shi stood behind Laya, silently fixing his eyes on the snake man.

Suddenly, the snake-man's tiny mind was taken over by primitive instincts and he fled in fear.

Bai Shi touched Laya's head and said nothing.

He knew what was going on.

Although they have similar bodies, Laya is completely different from them.

There is a little introduction in the Snake Man's Ashes text:

It is said that long ago, a giant snake lurking in Mount Gmir swallowed a demigod and gave birth to a group of snake people.

In other words, the so-called snake people are the offspring or weapons produced in large quantities by the immortal giant snake.

However, Laya's birth was not like this.

She was a child born from a ritual, an experiment in a sense.

That's why she has the appearance of a snake, but the heart of a human.

They will be regarded as aliens by humans and will not be accepted by their own kind.

Being caught in the middle, Laya must be feeling very uncomfortable.

It’s a pity that now is not a good time to tell Laya.

This matter should be left to the mother and daughter to resolve themselves.

Laya's thoughts were so complicated that she was almost unable to think.

So the bewildered Laya looked at Bai Shi with tears in her eyes, hoping to get clear instructions.

"Mr. Bai Shi, I..."

"This secret seems to be deeper than I thought..."

"Excuse me, what should I do?"

But this time Bai Shi just said softly:
"This is your own life choice. I can't give you an answer."

"I believe in your choice, no matter what it is."

"I just want you to remember one thing: no matter what the truth is, love is real."

Laya nodded disappointedly, still unable to come back to her senses.
-
After sending Laya back to the Volcano Residence, Bai Shi returned to his room, preparing to teleport back to Stonewell.

Although they had reached the depths of the Volcano Residence, Bai Shi had no plans to explore further.

Since I have already agreed on a specific time with Bernal, there is no need to waste time now.

It's only three days left, no problem.

During this period, please wait for a while and deal with and solve other things first.

Originally, Bai Shi had planned to quickly explore the Volcano Mansion after finishing the matter with Lani, and then rush back to the Shadow Land to look for Michaela.

But now that it takes some time, it would be better to go back first.

For example, first send Grandpa Iggy and Celine Shanks to the Shadow Land, and then return to the Yatan Plateau.

Let Celine Shanks take Sif to wander around the Shadow Land and look for Michaela's trace.

Moreover, Bai Shi also hopes that Grandpa Iggy can start forging equipment as soon as possible.

In this way, maybe I can wear it next time I return to the Shadow Land.

Since both sides started working together, Bai Shi had time to explore the Yatan Plateau briefly during these few days.
-
Back in Stonewell, Bai Shi found old man Iggy and prepared to set off.

Because instructions had been given in advance, Grandpa Iggy was ready early and could set off at any time.

However, just when Bai Shi was about to set off with Iggy, they were stopped.

Taking advantage of this rare opportunity to be alone, Iggy also had some true words he wanted to say to Bai Shi.

"Master Baishi, as the military advisor of Master Lani, I am wrong..."

"As an old attendant who has taken care of her since she was a child, let me express my deepest gratitude to you."

"…Thanks to your help."

Iggy faced Bai Shi and said solemnly:

"Master Bai Shi, I can more or less sense the affection between you and Lani."

"You are a true hero, Lady Ranee."

"…My duty is about to end."

"I, Iggy, have served Lady Ranee for many years without interruption... This has been a long, but fulfilling journey."

"You are unique to Lady Ranie, unlike anyone else."