After warning him, Frieren lingered no longer, turning and striding out of the room.
Left behind was the Dung Eater, still shaken and struggling to breathe. After all, the pressure from a prospective Lord was not something to be taken lightly. He thought he was going to die.
So be it.
He needed to start preparing for the next step. He had to make the power of the curse manifest within the Elden Ring.
Little did he know, his general plan held no secrets in Frieren's eyes.
Another clue to mending a Rune, she thought, but it's hardly good news. One look at its creator and you know it will most likely lead to a bad end. In any case, I'll leave it for later. No need to worry about it now.
A simple warning was enough. She wouldn't be overbearing.
Returning to the forging room, Roderika asked cautiously, "How did it go? Did he curse you with any vile words?"
"No. Because as long as you are strong enough, the other party becomes friendly."
"That's true."
"I saw he was in a hurry. I estimate he won't stay for long. It was just a small interlude, not worth mentioning," Frieren reassured the timid spirit tuner.
With a resonance, a brand-new set of Spirit Ashes was attuned to its bell. At that moment, she felt the spirits leap with joy.
As expected of the mod known as the Spirit-Calling Snail, it could generate corresponding ashes from ordinary wild monsters, breaking through the species limitation. Quality aside, at least there was no shortage in quantity. Even rabble had their uses, and besides, a mage could strengthen them.
In time, the army of ashes would become worthy of its name. As long as they cooperated with her well enough, she wouldn't have to specifically use her personal guard's resources.
"I'm happy as long as I can be of help to you," Roderika said with a bright smile. "Remember to come back and patronize my business often."
With that, Frieren stepped into the light of the Great Grace, her figure vanishing in an instant. The heavy feeling in the air of the Roundtable Hold seemed to dissipate. Although she hadn't intentionally displayed her pressure, the influence of her mana was omnipresent.
Sensing that oppressive aura had disappeared, the Dung Eater let out a sigh of relief.
It was best to rest honestly for now. There would be plenty of time for long journeys later. The important thing was to conserve his strength. As for spreading the power of the cursed Rune, he would find an opportunity eventually.
In his office, Sir Gideon Ofnir stared in the direction of the Great Grace and murmured, "Has she grown stronger again? No... to be precise, she has liberated and activated more of her power. Does a Great Rune mean that much to you?"
If so, it wasn't hard for him to guess that the Rosy-Kindling Queen would never be satisfied with just two pieces.
This path of collecting all the fragments of the Elden Ring would be fraught with hardship, and the waves it stirred would wash over the Lands Between.
Northern Liurnia.
After finishing her business at the Roundtable Hold, Frieren rushed to the location mentioned in the meeting report without stopping.
With a whistle, her good partner Torrent appeared, also eating a few Rowa Fruits.
A moment later, the silver-haired girl leaped onto her steed and galloped towards the end of the great road. The surrounding grass and trees were lush. The ruins she remembered had been cleared away, and the once overgrown stone road was now as bright as new, wide enough for an army of ten thousand to pass through quickly.
The main road of the lake region had been completely renovated.
The spirit steed, galloping freely after a long time, let out a spirited neigh. They continued until they were below the precipice of the Altus Plateau. On one side was the high point of the Lands Between, and on the other, a strange aura was hidden.
"Be extra careful. There is indeed the aura of the Frenzied Flame," Melina said, gazing into the distance. "That must be the Frenzied Flame Beacon that Moongrum mentioned."
Following that mana, it felt as if there had once been a great ball of fire like a sun.
Anyone who had witnessed it in the past would have gone mad.
"The cleaning wasn't thorough enough."
Frieren could still sense some lingering auras of Frenzied Flame infection, and there were even a few believers hiding. She would have to finish them off one by one. But there was no need to blame Moongrum's actions. After all, they had never expected to get it all in one sweep.
To be safe, it was indeed best to inspect the Frenzied Flame strongholds in batches.
In other words, there might be treasures here that hadn't been searched for yet. She had to look carefully.
As she pondered, she released her Ancient Death-Spirits. In broad daylight, a black mass of wailing skulls appeared above the beacon.
Whoosh!
Without any specific instructions, they began to hunt for any sign of living beings with great initiative, directly tracking soul and life reactions. No matter how deeply you hid, you couldn't escape.
As expected, some believers were forced out of their hiding places in large vats, wells, and other spots.
"Fear not! This is but a trial of the Frenzied Flame!"
"We will live forever! No one can kill the Frenzied Flame! It is an entity of madness!"
"It is coming! The age of chaos!"
Originally, Frieren had intended to communicate with them, to ask about the Frenzied Flame. But their crazed appearance clearly made conversation impossible. It was best to keep a distance.
She wouldn't waste her breath on people who had been brainwashed by a cult. On the contrary, she had to be wary of them spreading the contamination under the guise of preaching. So, she did not stop the slaughter of the Ancient Death-Spirits in the slightest, letting the screams ring out one after another, leaving no one alive.
A purely chaotic faction was, of course, also an enemy of the future Elden Lord. She could not let them continue to wreak havoc in the Lands Between.
A moment later.
What the two now saw was an abandoned place, devoid of any Frenzied Flame believers. They wouldn't be able to stir up trouble again.
Facts had proven that in a region with a complete ruling order and a solid organization, a few cultists couldn't make any waves. They couldn't withstand a single sweep from the Academy of Magic, and were completely wiped out without a trace.
A burnt smell wafted from the dilapidated ruins.
Frieren pushed aside a pile of rubble. There was a corpse with flames coming out of its eyes, likely missed by the Death-Spirits during their sweep. She casually cast a Chaos Flame, completely erasing the potentially contaminating entity. Good at hiding. No wonder they could cause trouble.
The reason it hadn't been completely occupied was because the army was worried about contamination in this place and planned to observe first before considering the next step.
"Too weak. For the Three Fingers of the Frenzied Flame, they are probably insignificant."
"To it, a prospective Lord like you is more suitable."
"If Vyke had made some deal with the Three Fingers, it would have been disastrous. In the end, neither he nor his maiden had a good outcome. It's clearly not a reliable god. In terms of being a nuisance, it can't even compare to the Goddess of Rot."
"Perhaps because it has already been sealed. At least, that's what the rumors say." Melina's face showed a hint of nostalgia. "I'm not sure where, exactly."
"No matter where it is, we'll have to meet it eventually. The Lands Between, returning to an age of abundance, cannot allow such dangerous elements."
"Wouldn't it be best not to see it at all?"
Although she knew she probably couldn't persuade Frieren, as long as it was for her "full collection" of exploring the Lands Between, she would even confront an Outer God.
Hopefully, one day we can clean up the source of this contagion.
The Frenzied Flame was undoubtedly one of the most hated factions, with extremely high enmity. It was a rat crossing the street, with everyone shouting to beat it. As long as it existed, it could create more trouble.
Frieren continued towards the Frenzied Flame Village.
As far as the eye could see, it was a scene of decay, with no signs of life, a stark contrast to the idyllic scenery of the south.
One look and you could tell it was their own doing. The Frenzied Flame aura was deep in the soil, not from an incantation. But if they had restrained themselves a little and not gone completely mad, they could have been used as healing samples. Who knows, maybe they could have been cured. But now, they were worthless.
Suddenly, she noticed a speck of light not far away. A treasure! Although in a place like this, it might not be anything good, it couldn't be missed.
[Shabriri's Woe]
[A crazed portrait with its eyes gouged out. The faint smile carries a hint of charm.]
[Makes the bearer more easily targeted by enemies.]
[A man named Shabriri, for his seditious words, suffered the punishment of having his eyes gouged out by the masses.]
[It is said that later, his eye sockets became host to the sickness of the Frenzied Flame.]
A taunt talisman?
This was the first time Frieren had seen a talisman with such a function. What was its use? To make enemies hate her more? She didn't mind, but as long as it didn't make them hate her to the point of losing their minds, it wasn't anything particularly powerful.
When in doubt, seek wisdom from the players:
[One of the core pieces of equipment for the Spirit-Calling Snail build. With it, you just need to be a spectator. Ring a bell, and your path to becoming Lord will be worry-free.]
[Give it to the Mimic Tear and you no longer have to worry about the boss suddenly losing aggro. Of course, it's not absolute, but it's very useful. As long as your aggro value is lower than another friendly unit, you win.]
[You must prioritize attacking the follower with the taunt.]
[Using it on yourself is also a build. A self-contained area-of-effect aggro magnet. Come one, kill one.]
[It still loses aggro too easily.]
[Stay far away, let Big Brother Tear do the fighting. Just hold up your shield.]
[Actually, if you specialize in Spirit Ash summons, there's no talisman slot left for this thing. It's just a nice-to-have, doesn't really matter.]
[A joke talisman.]
[A talisman modeled after Shabriri has a taunt function. How hateful you must be!]
[Ever since I gave it to my Mimic Tear, I don't have to worry about sneak attacks...]
Compared to the information on the talisman itself, Frieren was more interested in the players' repeated praise of the Mimic Tear. She had only seen it mentioned in passing before. The reviews were overwhelmingly positive. Could it be some powerful treasure?
It was most likely a Spirit Ash. Judging by the word-of-mouth reviews, it was probably the number one Spirit Ash in terms of strength.
Unfortunately, its whereabouts were unknown, suspected to be in the underground world. She didn't know the specifics either and could only take it one step at a time. When she reached the place, there would surely be a hint.
She would not miss anything on her journey across the Lands Between.
As she was studying the talisman, Melina also cast her gaze and said:
"Shabriri is the great sinner who spread the Frenzied Flame. He is wanted by every faction in the Lands Between, and is unwelcome everywhere. But he is very good at hiding. It is said he has the ability to possess others' bodies, so he can always escape capture."
"With your qualifications, it's not surprising to be targeted by the Frenzied Flame believers. You must draw a clear line with them."
She made no secret of her disgust for these cultists.
The power within her own body was too mixed and in a fragile balance. Encountering a madness-attribute mental attack was indeed troublesome. It wasn't pure malice, but a state that could easily bypass defenses. Therefore, she needed to pay attention to the Frenzied Flame.
Furthermore, even if the Lands Between were vast, there was no room for troublemakers like you.
"Sooner or later, I'll have to deal with that Outer God of Frenzied Flame you mentioned. It, along with the God of Rot and the source of Those Who Live in Death, must be purified."
"These are all world-level contaminations, more dangerous than the regional destruction caused by some of the shardbearers."
In Frieren's eyes, Godrick's grafting and Rykard's devouring were things that needed to be dealt with, but for now, they were confined to one area, sealed within their domains. It wasn't a pressing matter. Once the main culprits were killed, it would naturally end.
Stretching her back, the silver-haired girl continued to walk through the ruined village.
Along the way, she dealt with a Teardrop Scarab and got an unexpected reward:
[The Flame of Frenzy]
[An incantation originating from the Three Fingers of madness. It allows one to condense and release yellow Frenzied Flame from the eyes.]
[Its power can be enhanced with incantations, breaking through defenses.]
[In the past, those who tried to master the Frenzied Flame, at the end of those desperate inner wars, all ended in madness, without exception.]
[This incantation is proof of having slightly overcome the Frenzied Flame.]
As expected of a Frenzied Flame village, all it produced were unusable Frenzied Flame incantations. But this one was quite special, which really made one's hands itch. After all, the players had given it surprisingly unanimous praise:
The longest-range incantation.
At full charge, it could penetrate all enemies in a straight line and had the effect of ignoring defenses...
"Frieren, you're not thinking of using it, are you?" Melina's wary voice came.
"How could I? I'm just studying it a little..."
The two walked and talked, and in a short while, they had explored the entire Frenzied Flame stronghold. As it turned out, there were no extra discoveries. After all, the Carian knights had already swept it clean and tidy.
They didn't linger and turned to another isolated small building on the other side.
The Church of Inhibition.
It was situated on a lush green hillside, dotted with shrubs. Ivy even climbed the church's stone walls, full of mottled history.
Even among the generally ancient buildings of the Lands Between, this one could be considered dilapidated. It had surely endured the wind and rain of long ages.
The reason it stood to this day, undisturbed, was because it was in a remote location, and it was rumored that all visitors had died without exception.
For some reason, the church exuded a murderous aura.
When Frieren's footsteps entered its range, the solemn mana became even more active. At the same time, Melina proactively concealed her form, sensing that a battle might be imminent.
Ding!
The notification for a red spirit invasion sounded. Hearing this, the silver-haired girl subconsciously switched to a small dagger and applied a grease, holding it in both hands, ready for battle. She even did a few strafes on the spot as a warm-up.
She had gotten her old touch back. The blade was not yet dull.
This artistic behavior made Melina ask with confusion, "What are you doing?"
"If it's an invasion from a fellow traveler, I have to use special combat methods."
"I don't like invading either, but I can't be ignorant of it. In any case, you stay far away. This red spirit's aura is very strong."
Remembering her numerous battles with Ashen Ones from parallel worlds in the world of Dark Souls, Frieren did not dare to be careless at this moment. Fortunately, things took a turn:
[Invaded by Vyke of the Scorching Fingerprints]
The newcomer was fully armed, his armor bearing the scorch marks of three fingerprints, as if he had been grabbed by three super-hot fingers. He held a long spear, his steps steady, with the air of a battle-hardened warrior. But he was definitely not a player.
So it wasn't an invasion from a fellow Tarnished. That was a close call.
Frieren switched back to her staff, gathering her wits and facing the famous Roundtable Knight, Vyke. Strange, why is he invading as a red spirit?
"Are you a lingering will you left here?"
The strong in the Lands Between had indeed shown the ability to create doppelgangers. She could do it too. The invader before her was probably the same principle.
"Heh..."
Suddenly, Vyke threw his head back and roared at the sky, sharp and shrill, echoing for miles, accompanied by a ripple-like diffusion of Frenzied Flame mana. Caught off guard, Frieren felt a pain in her head as the will of the Outer God was stirred.
She quickly cast several calming and soothing spells on herself, forcefully offsetting the accumulation of madness, and only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.
This isn't good. Letting the Frenzied Flame stir up the Outer God would be trouble.
As she was applying her buffs, she saw Vyke coat his spearhead in a layer of fierce flame, the high temperature boiling.
Stab!
A simple movement combined with extreme speed crossed tens of meters in the blink of an eye, leaving a long rainbow of fire as it pierced straight through. In that instant, the silver-haired girl dodged to the side. It was best not to make contact with it.
But unexpectedly, the spear, with such ferocious force, suddenly changed its trajectory, turning from a thrust to a sweep.
With a crisp sound, her staff deflected it.
However, the force of the rotation, instead of making Vyke lose his balance, was used by him to carry his body with the spear. With another killing blow, he shot out, trailing a line of fierce flames.
Rock Sling.
The two exploded in mid-air, canceling each other's power.
The high-speed offense and defense battle made Frieren look at the invader with new respect. As expected of an ancient dragon knight, his martial arts skills were top-notch.
After all, of the demigods she had fought before, Mohg was a sorcerer and Radahn was mad, neither of them displaying such exquisite battlefield techniques.
The next moment, he charged again, his spear like a dragon. The sharp point was lightly tapped by a Carian longsword, the force already dissipated.
It was the silver-haired girl's keen eye that had captured the fleeting weak point, once again seizing the initiative.
Carian Slicer.
At short range, she suddenly swung out a killing move, the glintstone edge of the sword changing length with the swordsmanship, a hellish level of difficulty. Seeing the situation was not good, Vyke quickly rolled left and right, narrowly dodging the attack and then dashing to create distance.
The two were evenly matched. After a round of mutual attacks, neither had gained the upper hand.
But their abilities were synergistic and restrictive. Frieren's right hand was now stained with a trace of burning Frenzied Flame, desperately trying to drill into her body and cause madness.
She patted it, extinguishing it.
"Be careful, the will of the Frenzied Flame may take advantage of this opening," Melina warned. "Vyke is the best medium."
"True to his reputation. But he lacks a certain spark. It's a battle of muscle memory and instinct. It's only enough to overwhelm someone of insufficient skill at the beginning. Let's see how much of a gap there is with his real body."
As her voice fell, Frieren unleashed the Ancient Death-Spirits.
A flock of gray skulls rushed forward, roaring as they pursued Vyke, each one capable of causing an explosion.
And with the silver-haired girl eyeing him from the side, his margin for error was getting smaller and smaller. But this was perfect for luring the battle away from the church, which was the place that had to be protected. Then, in the midst of kiting, he would find an opportunity—
Zap!
He shot out a ball of Frenzied Flame.
Almost at the same time, a rock sphere collided with it. As expected, he was seizing the timing.
Vyke thought he had neutralized a round of attacks, but in the gap of the shockwave, Frieren had closed the distance, the staff in her hand turning into a massive hammer.
He barely managed to roll away.
"A Tarnished enemy is still flexible." Since that was the case, she slammed the hammer into the ground.
With a loud rumble, she added gravity magic, lifting the ground. A stream of magical light from below shot through the sky, the tremors intense, even the distant lake rippled with waves.
The stationed soldiers in the distance quickly looked up at the scene of the incident.
"It's Her Majesty fighting a red spirit!"
Normally, the Liurnia region was quite peaceful. But the moment Frieren returned, things got lively. And from who knows where, a red spirit of at least a top-tier hero level had popped up, and the two were fighting with great enthusiasm. As expected of Her Majesty, always finding trouble or having trouble find her.
The soldiers immediately sent out a signal to evacuate. Although they weren't sure how much destruction would be caused, it was best to stay far away.
Boom!
Vyke was thrown into the air by the powerful magic shockwave and then landed on the ground, his armor scraping heavily. An ordinary person would have been knocked senseless.
But he fiercely turned his spear and plunged it into the ground behind him. Using that force, he launched a high kick. The attack, powerful enough to shatter mountains, landed on the glintstone sword, shattering it to pieces, forcefully breaking the siege.
"Good! But still a bit short."
Frieren's staff in her other hand once again turned into a hammer and slammed towards Vyke.
"Did it hit?" Melina, watching the battle, followed the sound. "He reacted to that too!"
In the nick of time, he blocked with both hands, then rolled away to dissipate the force, completely unscathed. Even though his gauntlets were shattered, he had escaped disaster.
The Flame of Frenzy!
The silver-haired girl's Azure Comet was deflected from its path, but she was not discouraged. Then, a circle of glintstone swords shot out. The opponent swung his spear and cut them down. At the same time, his eyes shot out streams of scurrying flames that burned in all directions.
The two fought until the sky was dark and the earth was dim, back and forth. Every exchange of blows was accompanied by the collapse and vibration of the hillside.
What was special was that neither Frieren nor Vyke had been injured yet. They were mainly looking for opportunities, constantly trying to create an opening through their moves. This was different from the demigod battles Melina had seen. The two were too flexible, leaving no openings.
Being of the same Tarnished kind made it easier to neutralize each other's attacks.
Dancing on a tightrope, yet full of beauty. The exchange of moves between the two was the ultimate martial art. Even Frieren had put away some of her magic and was mainly fighting at mid-range.
She was observing the Frenzied Flame incantations.
"Don't get interested in something so strange. This contamination is very dangerous."
Melina estimated that her partner was judging the value of the Frenzied Flame incantations. After all, she was also a mage who was good at another kind of chaos flame. It was inevitable that she would want to learn from it. You've finally found a reference sample.
Whoosh!
Vyke once again used The Flame of Frenzy, but Frieren's staff lightly tapped it and captured it, turning it into an even more scarlet flame.
"What a useless Outer God. You can't compare to the Chaos Flame."
At the same time, she waved her slender hand, and a small sun-like fireball formed in the air, absorbing all the surrounding stray Frenzied Flame. Even the frenzied red spirit paused for a moment.
Now is the time!
A full-power Night Comet shot out, saved until this moment for the element of surprise. As expected, Vyke reacted and had a dodging motion, but the stealthiness of the dark magic made him still search for it by sense. In that split-second of hesitation, his breastplate was pierced.
If it had been an Azure Comet, it would have been easy to dodge. For a Tarnished of the same build, stealth was more suitable.
Taking this hit, Vyke's movements immediately faltered.
Just as Frieren was about to pursue, she saw him create a wall of fire on the spot to separate them. At the same time, he raised his flask and drank it all down. He even shook the Flask of Wondrous Physick to cancel the recovery animation and speed up the process.
The fluid operation allowed him to down the entire flask. His wounds recovered as before.
Not only that, there must have been other crystal tears mixed in. At this moment, the red spirit's aura expanded and rose, entering a new phase entirely.
This was her first time fighting a powerful Tarnished.
As expected, they also drink from flasks. Next time, I must interrupt him.
__
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