Bai Shi had no desire to pass judgment on a madman like Nerijus.
A madman was a madman, plain and simple. There was nothing more to say about his way of thinking or his actions.
However, from his words, it was clear that the life of a Tarnished in the Lands Between was far worse than he had imagined.
Tarnished who could strengthen themselves as many times as he had were almost non-existent.
The Tarnished at the Roundtable Hold seemed to be doing all right, but even they struggled to save up enough runes to grow stronger.
As for the greater number of Tarnished who couldn't even enter the Roundtable Hold, their lives were likely even more miserable.
Currently, the vast majority of Tarnished probably landed in the Lands Between via Limgrave and the Weeping Peninsula.
It was nearly impossible to leave the Weeping Peninsula, especially since those Tarnished didn't even have horses.
Even though the bridge's defenses were aimed toward Limgrave, with only a few ballistae facing the Weeping Peninsula, the garrison's strength was not something a newly arrived Tarnished could brute-force their way through.
He didn't know if there were any landing spots in Liurnia, but if there were, it would probably be a bit better than Limgrave.
As for Caelid, there were plenty of places to land, but the locations were rather awkward—for instance, the beach where Starscourge Radahn was...
"Damn it, I forgot to ask him about the Mohgwyn Dynasty."
Bai Shi slapped his forehead. He had felt like he had asked enough and just killed Nerijus.
Normally, not asking wouldn't have mattered, but since he had learned about that piece of cut content from Patches, he could no longer view things through the lens of the game.
Bai Shi remembered that the Mohgwyn Dynasty seemed to have a scrapped map. If it also existed in this world, then the dynasty's power might be even more formidable than he'd previously thought.
When he first met White Mask Varré, Bai Shi was still too weak and probably couldn't have beaten him. Besides, at that time, Bai Shi didn't want to fight him, still thinking along the lines of the game and wanting to go to the Mohgwyn Dynasty.
But now, Bai Shi had discovered that unless one was a madman like them, it was likely impossible to join the Mohgwyn Dynasty.
In that case, leaving Varré alive was just asking for trouble. He had to find an opportunity to kill him and prevent more Tarnished from falling victim.
He was no longer the weakling he had been, who struggled to fight even a few soldiers. He was a genuinely powerful warrior now.
The next time he encountered Varré, he would not show mercy.
Hearing Bai Shi's words, Yura immediately told him what he knew.
"You wouldn't have gotten anything out of him. Whenever the location of the Mohgwyn Dynasty or their lord is mentioned, these Bloody Fingers are unable to speak."
"We Bloody Finger Hunters have tried many times before, and there has never been an exception."
Yura was also greatly troubled. With so little information, they could only hunt down the Bloody Fingers who roamed the lands, but they couldn't eradicate the root of the problem.
If only they knew the location of the Mohgwyn Dynasty.
The Bloody Finger Hunters did not fear death. They had dedicated everything to hunting Bloody Fingers.
As they took down more and more Bloody Fingers, they gradually learned just how terrifying the Mohgwyn Dynasty was.
Powerful incantations, excellent equipment, dedicated recruiters... all of this offered a glimpse into the strength of that hidden dynasty.
If they knew where the Mohgwyn Dynasty was, the Bloody Finger Hunters would surely fight against it, one after another. This was the vow they had sworn.
Bai Shi nodded. Mohg didn't want the Mohgwyn Dynasty exposed. If he dared to send Bloody Fingers out to hunt Tarnished, he must have had ways to prevent information from leaking. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝓷𝓮𝓽
Bai Shi nudged Nerijus's corpse with his foot and looked at Yura.
"Since he's dead, shall we part ways here?"
Bai Shi planned to return to Castle Morne to rest for a bit before preparing to break into Stormveil.
But Yura called out to him. "Please wait. You have not yet taken your spoils."
Yura began to search Nerijus's body, quickly finding a few items.
Yura respectfully handed the items to Bai Shi: a pair of daggers that dripped incessantly with blood and three scrolls of parchment recording Mohgwyn Dynasty incantations.
"You don't consider the things these Bloody Fingers use to be taboo? I thought you would care."
Bai Shi didn't immediately accept them.
He hadn't planned on taking this loot. Nothing was particularly useful to him, though he had to admit the Bloody Finger's attire was quite stylish.
He thought a Bloody Finger Hunter like Yura would have some reservations about it and wouldn't bother looting the body.
After all, Yura had seemed like a good person in the game, and he had come as soon as he heard the commotion. Bai Shi had a good deal of respect for the man.
But to his surprise, Yura actively encouraged him to take the items bestowed by the Mohgwyn Dynasty. It was truly unexpected.
"In my fight against the Bloody Fingers, I've long since understood that to defeat these villains, one must be even more ruthless than they are."
"The weapons of the Bloody Fingers are of good quality, and some even show signs of being upgraded. While I would not use them myself, I don't object to others doing so."
"As for those incantations, they don't require fervent faith to use. To be blunt, those Bloody Fingers only crave blood; their belief in the dynasty is lukewarm at best."
"I know you are strong and can surely control this power. Just remember this: do not let blood cloud your heart."
Yura once again solemnly offered the items to Bai Shi.
Bai Shi silently accepted them.
"...Thank you for your hard work."
Yura turned to leave, leaving only a solitary, proud silhouette behind him.
"From the day we chose to become Bloody Finger Hunters, this has been our mission. There is no need for thanks."
"Hunting Bloody Fingers is our bounden duty."
He set off to search for his next target.
Bai Shi called for Arnogo, and the two returned to Castle Morne the way they had come.
After paying Arnogo 500 runes for the information, Bai Shi bid him farewell.
Below Castle Morne, Bai Shi held the Reduvia before his eyes and observed it closely.
It had a warped blade with a serrated edge.
The blade was constantly coated in wet blood, which dripped off it drop by drop.
It looked less like a dagger and more like a tooth freshly pulled from the mouth of some giant creature.
On the way back, the pouch holding the Reduvia had already become soaked with blood, forcing Bai Shi to carry it in his hand the entire journey.
Bai Shi channeled his magic into the Reduvia. As the magic flowed, the blood on the blade gathered into a clot, poised and ready.
He swung the Reduvia, and the blood clot shot out, severing a small tree at its trunk.
"The power's surprisingly decent."
It felt good to wield, a fine weapon. And there was a pair of them.
Perhaps it was a habit from his past life of gaming, but Bai Shi was fond of paired weapons. Even if he didn't use them, he would still collect two.
"But the constant dripping makes it inconvenient to carry. What a hassle..."