Elden Ring, but with Wind Spirit Moon Shadow

Chapter 477 Aren't the lives of the dead also lives?

Deep beneath the intricate web of roots, Bai Shi and his companions followed the scent of death as they journeyed forward.

Schiff's keen sense of smell came into play once again, and he reluctantly led the way.

In its eyes, the aura of 'death' was disgusting, nothing more than rotten, decaying flesh, and it had no desire to even glance at it.

But thanks to this situation, Schiff was also exceptionally sensitive to the scent of 'death,' and could point the way with just a sniff.

Schiff let out a howl and then disappeared in a flash.

It burrowed far away into some ruins of the nameless, eternal city, peeking out only its head to observe.

Bai Shi smiled and shook his head, then summoned Ashmi within his body, telling her to go out for a dog walk.

Schiffs are, after all, beings of the ancestral spirit kind; they themselves resist death and thus continuously gain control of the power of life and nature.

It's normal for it to feel aversion to the aura of death. Anyway, since it has led the way to the destination, let it have its fun.

As it happened, Ashmi also wanted to explore this nameless, eternal city, so the task of walking the dog was entrusted to her.

Based on previous collections, Ashmi still has one last Tear of the Holy Grail to collect, and he's just a little short of completing the set.

Now, in this last nameless, eternal city, there might be traces of the Holy Grail.

It would be great if we could find it, but it doesn't matter if we can't.

With Bai Shi's current power, he can fill the missing piece of Ashmi's body without the Tearful Holy Grail. If he can't find it, it's just a matter of moving his fingers when he comes back.

However, even Ashmi himself knew that the chances of finding it were slim.

This place is under the roots of a golden tree, so it's probably been explored long ago.

Ashmi just wouldn't give up without looking for it.

After watching Ashmi leave with Shif, Bai Shi and the others continued moving forward.

Schiff led the way very accurately, and now, incomplete gargoyles began to appear before them.

These gargoyles often have their own defects, most of them are immobile, and are weapons that were scrapped during the war.

Now it serves as a mobile artillery platform, barely managing to exert its last bit of power.

However, even a complete gargoyle is nothing more than a speck of dust to Bai Shi and the others, let alone these incomplete ones.

The gargoyles didn't gain even a second; Bai Shi pushed forward relentlessly without even stopping.
-
Behind the nameless, eternal city, the towering roots of the golden tree have been eroded by death, and Bai Shi finally met Fiya beneath the lifeless roots.

Among the many heroes guarding the area, Fia sat quietly beside the dead prince.

Seeing that Bai Shi had finally arrived, Fiya sighed inwardly, feeling powerless against her destined defeat.

...Perhaps this was not her predetermined fate, but Bai Shi's power was more irresistible than fate.

Bai Shi calmly approached, not rushing to pay attention to Fiya, but instead observing the body of the resurrected prince.

With its back against the golden tree roots, its enormous and twisted body resembled a mountain, a far cry from the handsome golden prince of the past.

The face on its head is upside down and flattened into a bizarre octopus-like shape, while its arms are covered with fins and even have webbed feet growing from its sharp claws.

The part that best reveals his transformation is his legs, which have turned into a giant fish tail and emit a putrid, fishy stench.

His body expanded countless times, yet he still maintained the posture from when he was being stabbed with his arms outstretched. The power of death transformed into thorns that pierced out of his body and merged with the golden tree roots behind him.

Flies swarmed around him, and maggots transformed into deadly thorns covered his entire body.

Even the majestic roots of the golden tree have been eroded and covered with the eyes of the dead.

It was only a few similarities of atavism that turned the hybrids blessed by the furnace into something otherworldly.

At this moment, the Hundred Forms of the Furnace, which contained the life force of all species in the border region, was fully manifested on the body of the Dead Prince.

Ultimately, it was transformed into this hybrid monster covered in aquatic creature features.

The armor text of the Forge Knights clearly states that the original golden tree was the Forge of Life.

Since Godwin's soul did not respond, the Golden Tree's Return to Tree system failed to determine that he was still alive and needed to be healed.

A continuous life force filled Godwin's body, transforming the soulless flesh into a twisted and hideous dead prince.

His soul was dead, but his body remained alive, and he eventually became the king of the dead.

This ending, so disproportionate to his status and position, is truly lamentable.

Seeing Bai Shi so calm and composed, Fiya's heroes rushed forward to stop him with heavy hearts.

Bai Shi ignored them and walked straight toward Fiya, seemingly not seeing them at all.

Since Roger isn't among these heroes, there's absolutely no need to worry about him.

Upon seeing this, Fia's heroes gripped their weapons tightly and silently quickened their pace.

Although their strength was no match for this king, they were still renowned heroes from the borderlands...

The name of a hero is one that even the Golden Tree Dynasty would acknowledge; such disrespect would be too humiliating for them.

As Davin saw Fia's lackeys approaching, he gritted his teeth and charged at them fiercely.

The two ceremonial straight swords were now gleaming with golden light, and Davin's body was also imbued with the protection of the Golden Law.

Davin's strength was a challenge even for the heroes. He wielded his two ritual swords so tightly that they were impenetrable, and he single-handedly blocked the attacks of several of Fia's heroes.

However, Fia had embraced a large number of heroes, and Davin was no match for them all; one person could not possibly stop all the enemies.

In the end, he could only watch helplessly as they bypassed his defenses and charged toward Bai Shi.

A hero wielding a greatsword charged ahead, blocking Bai Shi's path with a death wish.

However, just as this hero was about to draw his sword, Bai Shi gave him a cold glance.

Before the greatsword could strike, that gaze swept over his body like a heavy blow, freezing him into a stone the instant their eyes met.

He completely forgot to breathe, and the blood in his body seemed to be flowing backwards.

Beneath that humanoid shell churns a power powerful enough to reshape the world.

He had no idea what kind of enormous power it was; its strength was worlds apart from his, completely beyond his comprehension.

But one thing is clear: even without knowing the extent of that power, the body already knows fear.

Even if it is just an ant that meets a god, fear will arise in its mind, which is completely unaware of anything else.

The hero's unyielding knees suddenly cracked under the strain, his grip on his weapon tightened, and he instantly collapsed to his knees.

At that moment, for some reason, a feeling of absurdity arose in his heart.

It seems that the purpose of his skeletal structure was to kneel and prostrate himself before Bai Shi at this moment.

It seemed that his legs had no bones at all, that they were born soft and could be blown over at the slightest breeze.

What he was wielding was not a weapon, but merely a blade of grass in the raging storm that was trying to pierce the mountain; it would break with a single gust of wind.

If that's the case... what use does he have for this weapon?

As the weapon slipped from his hand and slammed into the ground, he vaguely heard the tremor of his own soul and found a sense of relief.

If laying down those useless weapons, abandoning the identity of a hero, and giving up everything one has worked for in the past would allow one to avoid facing Bai Shi...

There was no room for consideration or hesitation. He fell heavily to his knees like a puppet with its strings cut, the sound of his skull hitting the ground seeming like a death knell tolling for the fighting spirit of all heroes.

Before Bai Shi, heroes and mortals seemed to make no difference.

All the power they wielded throughout their lives was nothing more than ants to him.

Bai Shi walked towards Fiya without any expression and proactively released the pressure of a god.

When this immense divine power descended, the heroes found it difficult to withstand the pressure and chose to give up resistance.

Bai Shi's footsteps never stopped, and wherever he went, the heroes' armor groaned under the strain, slowly bending and cracking.

Both will and steel yielded before him.

Fia watched in stunned silence as her legion knelt down like waves of wheat.

There were no wounds, no clashes, and no hesitation.

These heroes, on whom she had placed such high hopes, could not stop Bai Shi's advance even for a moment.

Unlike the Headless Horsemen who had already dedicated themselves to Godwin and died alongside their lord, they were still living beings, filled with fear that emanated from every cell of their bodies.

The power contained in Bai Shi's avatar walking on the borderland had not actually increased; he did not use the power of his original body to further enhance his strength.

However, the body inside is now a genuine deity.

When standing on the same side as Bai Shi, one can bask in the warm sunlight and blessings.

However, once you stand opposite him, what you see is an eternally blazing sun that is impossible for a person to look directly at.

Bai Shi walked through the heroes of Fiya, who had given up resistance, and reached her side without any hindrance.

As Fiya watched Bai Shi slowly approach, her body began to tremble involuntarily.

How could she not know the power of this king?
Bai Shi's arrival signified that all their plans, from ancient times to the present, had utterly failed.

Fia didn't think she was wrong; she just knew she was about to die.

Seeing that Fiya was beginning to feel overwhelmed, Bai Shi withdrew his oppressive aura and stood quietly in front of her, watching her intently.

With the immense pressure in her heart dissipating, Fiya raised her head and looked at Bai Shi with a resentful expression.

Looking at Bai Shi, Fiya couldn't help but cry out in pain, asking him:

"Lord Bai Shi, aren't you the benevolent Sun King?"

Bai Shi remained calm and composed, and replied indifferently:
"Yes, so what?"

Fiya shook her head firmly and continued speaking to Bai Shi:

“You are not truly merciful, nor are you an omnipotent king or god.”

"You can even tolerate those mixed-race and demi-humans who were once slaves and bandits, so why can't you tolerate the existence of the dead?"

"Your ideal is to build a peaceful paradise for all life, so why can't there be a place for the dead and the living?"

"Isn't the life of the dead also a life?"

Bai Shi was taken aback at first, not quite understanding what Fiya was saying, and then began to think about it.

—I wasn't thinking about whether what Fia said made sense or not, but rather why she could say such a thing.

Does she think everyone should love the dead as much as she does?

If Fiya criticizes Bai Shi from any other angle, then he should first reflect on whether there are any aspects he has overlooked.

In Bai Shi's eyes, he had done everything as perfectly as possible.

But when Fiya said those words, Bai Shi almost laughed out of anger.

Even the corrupt relatives that Bai Shi once thought were unable to get along with ordinary people, after witnessing the changes in his creature-collecting companions and Marlenia, he arranged a plan for them to integrate into the border region.

If any living being can live in harmony with normal life, then Bai Shi will not give up any possible opportunity.

However, it was through continuous in-depth understanding that Bai Shi realized that it was impossible for the dead and normal life to live on the same land.

The existence of the dead is inherently incorrect; it is a bug caused by the collapse of death and reincarnation.

They need to be repaired and thrown back into the spirit world to be burned, instead of being given a nest.

Faced with Fiya's accusation, Bai Shi nodded seriously to her and solemnly said:
"Yes, how can the fate of the dead be considered fate?"

"What's the point of talking about life when someone is already dead?"

Before Fiya could retort, Bai Shi continued:
"If even the life of the dead is considered a life, then what about the lives that continue to flicker on the borderlands?"

"Where should we place those lives that struggle to survive and continue to exist; those resilient and beautiful lives that refuse to be easily bent?"

"Moreover, there is an unavoidable conflict between the dead and the living."

"The pitiful dead beings you speak of actually have no will of their own."

"They attacked people and swallowed up villages simply out of a thirst for life or out of jealousy of life."

"It would be ridiculous to call such a thing life."

Fiya was unable to refute for a moment, and could only look at Bai Shi with difficulty, saying:

"Fine... If you can't give it to us, can't we just come and get it ourselves?"

"Why can't we create a world where even the dead can live?"

Bai Shi shook his head even more helplessly.

The girl in the dead sleep probably thinks in a completely different way than him.

Leaving aside the fact that the original law of death was created, turning the entire borderland into a world suitable for the dead to live in, the second plan alone was enough to make Bai Shi lose his composure.

Even if she wanted to take the Deadborn away from the border, she couldn't possibly take the entire Spirit Realm with her!

Bai Shi looked at Fiya and sighed sadly.

Despite being human, she devoted herself entirely to the Deadborn, making Fia a true mother figure to them.

However, for Bai Shi, they are an enemy he cannot let go.

"Faced with so many things detrimental to the Deadborn, you've managed to completely avoid talking about them..."

"To you, it seems as if they have done nothing wrong."

"Since you spoil them like this, you probably can't possibly know where the problem lies."

Looking at Fiya, who was pale and speechless, Bai Shi felt as if his words of truth pierced her heart like a sharp sword.

"You love the dead, but not all life except for them."

"You seem to want to give justice to the dead, but you are actually causing all life on the border to lose justice."

"If you succeed, it will be a disaster for the entire border region."

"I have never been merciful in my dealings with the enemy."

Daven stood behind Bai Shi, sword in hand, waiting for his command to kill the filthy witch.

(End of this chapter)