The more Bai Shi thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. To make it in this world, one needed power and backing.
Leyndell, the Royal Capital, had countless knights, not to mention Gargoyles, Tree Spirits, and the Erdtree Avatars.
The Academy of Raya Lucaria was filled with automaton puppets, and sorcerers were everywhere.
Although Godrick's forces in Stormveil were the weakest, they had comprehensive siege equipment and a massive number of soldiers.
Even that old schemer Gideon Ofnir was secretly cultivating his own network of informants.
If Gideon could raise his own forces, why couldn't he?
All those champions, sealed away by Marika in evergaols that ordinary people could never find.
Their incredible strength, their determination for revenge—he knew they were the cream of the crop among the imprisoned.
The Crucible Knight, in particular, had been an unexpected bonus.
Setting aside the Troll Knight who served Caria, the frenzied Vyke, and the Hound Knight who was hiding in his gaol from Blaidd, it seemed he had a chance to bring the rest under his command.
If any proved unfriendly or difficult to control, he could always just kill them later.
He temporarily pushed aside the chaotic thoughts in his mind. These plans were still too far off.
Besides, not every champion was as long-lived as Erlisa. It was more likely that he would open an evergaol only to find the champion inside had already become a hollow.
Bai Shi began to summarize the gains from his last battle.
During the fight with Erlisa, he had finally mastered the storm-related Ashes of War.
By constantly mimicking her spinning movements, he had also successfully perfected his dual-wielding Lion's Claw technique.
Although his lightning whirlwind slash still had flaws, he had managed to use it successfully, which meant perfecting it would be much quicker from now on.
He also had a lead on learning an ice storm ability, which was a delightful surprise.
Then there was Radagon's Soreseal.
The thought of embedding that thing into his body made Bai Shi a little nauseous, but thankfully, he could use a Talisman Pouch.
But where would he find a Talisman Pouch?
In the game, you started with one, and the Fell Omen at the gate of Stormveil dropped another.
But right now, he didn't have one, and he had no idea if the Fell Omen would still be guarding the castle gate.
If the Fell Omen was there, then killing him would yield one.
But Bai Shi wasn't satisfied with just one Talisman Pouch.
There were four in the game. Now that he'd transmigrated, why not stitch a dozen of them together and wear it like a bulletproof vest?
He could stuff it full of all sorts of damage-reduction talismans and walk all over the Lands Between.
Bai Shi thought for a moment. This was something crafted by the Finger Reader Crone of the Two Fingers. She should have plenty of them, right? When he met her, he would see if he could ask for a few more.
Or... maybe he could rob other Tarnished in the future?
Bai Shi shook his head, driving the dangerous thought away.
He wouldn't attack unless attacked first.
He couldn't just abandon his principles because he'd come to a crazy place like the Lands Between.
Bai Shi and Erlisa arrived at the church entrance.
Unlike the other churches, this one was guarded by two headless spectral soldiers.
These soldiers were mere grunts, not worth Bai Shi's attention. Erlisa had already moved forward and cut them down.
"Strange fellows," Erlisa commented suddenly after felling the two soldiers.
"They have no heads, exist as spirits, and yet they can be struck by weapons."
Bai Shi examined the pattern on the corpses' armor. It was the bell of a mausoleum.
Combined with their unique headless appearance, the identity of these two was obvious to Bai Shi.
They were Mausoleum Knights who served Godwyn's corpse, loyal soldiers who had followed their master into death.
Bai Shi had always been curious about how these soldiers managed to guard Godwyn as spirits after death. Ordinary spirits couldn't be attacked, nor could they attack others.
The state of these soldiers, somewhere between life and death, was the exact opposite of Godwyn's.
Godwyn's soul was dead, yet his body continued to grow. These soldiers had committed suicide, abandoning their flesh, yet their souls were able to fight on, forever guarding the monarch they served.
As Bai Shi was searching, he suddenly found a few black feathers on one of the bodies.
The feathers were completely out of place with the soldier's attire. They were clearly not for decoration but served some other purpose that Bai Shi couldn't figure out.
After pocketing the feathers, Bai Shi led Erlisa into the church.
This church was much larger than the other two Bai Shi had visited, laid out in an L-shape.
Around the corner, a giant statue of Marika came into view.
Bai Shi searched the area around the statue and once again found a Sacred Tear.
Bai Shi crossed his arms, a thought suddenly occurring to him.
He had successfully obtained three Sacred Tears now, significantly improving his healing efficacy.
But there were many Tarnished, and future collections might not be so easy.
Although the fact that even those low-level envoys from before had flasks suggested that recovery items were more plentiful in this world than in the game, so much so that even grunts could use them.
But their method of acquiring recovery items was beyond his reach, and he had no desire to be a lackey for the Two Fingers.
That meant he had to get the Sacred Tears and Flasks of Wondrous Physick at the locations he knew of as soon as possible.
Erlisa's voice broke Bai Shi's train of thought.
"What is it you wish to ask? As long as it is something I know, I will not hide anything."
Bai Shi had so many questions that for a moment, he couldn't decide which to ask first.
In that case, he might as well start from the beginning.
"I have quite a few questions. Let's start with your past identity, and why you were sealed away." Thıs content belongs to 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹✦𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✦𝓷𝓮𝓽
Erlisa nodded and began her story.
"My people and I lived for generations in the snowy mountains. We were a clan that worshipped ice and were eternal enemies of the Fire Giants."
"The war continued unabated, until Queen Marika sent us a message, wishing to form an alliance with us to utterly destroy the Fire Giants."
"We readily agreed. At that time, as the strongest warrior of my clan, I was summoned for the first time."
"She gave me that brand and promised all sorts of benefits for destroying the giants and ushering in the age of the Erdtree."
"The brand, she said, was proof that a person had been chosen by a god and given a lifelong mission."
"But it was all just a lie."
"After we vanquished the giants, the age of the Erdtree began, and we did indeed receive a brief period of favor."
"But then Godfrey defeated the Stormhawk King, the ancient dragons made peace with the Erdtree, Caria allied with Radagon through marriage, and the Erdtree unified the Lands Between."
"After that, I was summoned for a second time, only to be subdued and sealed away in the evergaol."
Bai Shi interrupted Erlisa's story with a question:
"Why did Queen Marika only imprison you instead of killing you? It seems unnecessary."
Erlisa fell silent, finally shaking her head after a long pause.
"I once pondered this question, but I never reached a conclusion. After a long time, I gave up."
"It is impossible to fathom her thoughts."