Bai Shi made his way through the city along its main thoroughfare.
But as he passed a certain spot, he suddenly stopped.
He raised a hand and pointed in that direction.
Then he inquired of the Crucible Knight, Red, who stood beside him:
"What is that?"
Red followed the direction of Bai Shi’s finger.
There stood a greatsword carved from rock, its tip pointing diagonally toward the sky, encircled by a storm.
Thanks to the artisan's exquisite skill, the storm entwined around the blade was so lifelike it seemed as though a real tempest had been frozen in time.
Behind this statue of sword and storm was the very section of the city wall that Bai Shi had cleaved open with a tempest when he used Fengling Yueying to eliminate Godrick. The cut was as smooth as a mirror.
"This is a monument commemorating your victory over Godrick and the reclamation of Stormveil."Bai Shi found it strange. How did he not know that something like this had been built in Stormveil?
At least they hadn't directly sculpted a statue of him. Being observed by people day in and day out would have felt a bit odd.
Bai Shi carefully examined the monument.
From a purely aesthetic perspective, the sculpture was quite handsome. The craftsman's skill was evidently superb.
Moreover, using a sword and storm as a theme did indeed capture the spirit of that battle, making it rather fitting.
"When was this built? Why does the person in question not even know about it?"
Red thought for a moment.
"Construction began quite some time ago. The monument was put on the agenda right after the main restoration of Stormveil was completed."
"Everyone thought it would be best to inform you after it was finished."
"But it was only completed a short while ago, around the time you left, so we missed the chance to tell you."
Bai Shi was curious as to who had come up with the idea of building a monument.
He guessed it might be Lanslet; it seemed like something he would do.
"Whose idea was this?"
But to Bai Shi's surprise, Red pointed to himself.
"It was me and Andre."
Bai Shi thought about it, and it seemed quite reasonable.
Back when the Crucible Knights fought alongside Godfrey, they left a trail of achievements everywhere they went, and many monuments were erected to celebrate their deeds.
Perhaps the custom of building sword monuments to commemorate wars in the Lands Between began with them.
Bai Shi walked over for a closer look and noticed an inscription carved into the base of the statue.
That made sense. Without words, it couldn't be called a monument.
The inscription on the base read—
The Battle of the Storm's Restoration.
‘Stormhawk King’ Bai Shi slew ‘the Grafted’ Godrick, restoring the Storm Dynasty.
Thus, Stormveil was once more embraced by the storm.
—
Bai Shi nodded. It was a concise summary of the events.
More than the line boasting of his victory, Bai Shi preferred the final sentence.
Stormveil was once more embraced by the storm. "Embraced" was a very gentle word.
On one hand, it signified a return to the dominion of the storm; on the other, it reflected the benevolent rule Bai Shi had consistently promoted.
Whether it was the peaceful takeover of the post-war situation or the implementation of racial harmony, the word "embraced," rather than "ruled" or "led," truly resonated with Bai Shi's heart.
Seeing that Bai Shi seemed rather pleased, Red continued:
"In fact, after last night's battle with the Night's Cavalry, we're also preparing to build another monument."
"It will be erected on that battlefield to commemorate the complete annihilation of Limgrave's Night's Cavalry."
Bai Shi had intended to stop them, feeling it was a bit of a waste of manpower.
But on second thought, building monuments also served to spread his name and expand his influence, things that could not be achieved with manpower alone.
Besides, it was a token of their goodwill, a symbol of their admiration for him.
Although most of his key subordinates had joined him midway, many after a fight, Bai Shi had a genuinely good relationship with them.
And, he had to admit, being celebrated like this felt pretty good.
—
Bai Shi left Stormveil Castle via a small path at the rear.
After navigating a winding secret passage, he emerged onto the cliffside behind Stormveil.
Stepping out from the dark passage to overlook Liurnia, Bai Shi once again found himself immersed in the spectacular, breathtaking scenery of the Lands Between.
Gazing out from this high vantage point, his line of sight seemed endless, stretching toward an infinite horizon, greedily trying to take in the entirety of the landscape.
Below him lay the boundless, sea-like Lake of Liurnia.
Even now, in the bright light of day, a faint blue mist still hovered over Liurnia's waters, shrouding the region in a veil of mystery.
Beneath the cover of the lakeside trees, the glintstone crystals growing in the region emitted points of shimmering light, appearing just like a cluster of stars.
On the eastern and western shores of Lake Liurnia, vast, lush forests spread out in every direction.
The Raya Lucaria Academy, brimming with an air of mystery and fantasy, stood proudly at the edge of his vision.
The distant Golden Erdtree added a touch of warmth to this breathtaking scene, preventing one's passion from being chilled by the cool waters of the lake.
Perhaps this was how harmonious things were when the moon and the Golden Erdtree were once allied.
Bai Shi stood at the edge of the cliff, gazing out in awe, looking down upon this magnificent worldly view.
Melina stood beside Bai Shi, also deeply captivated by the beautiful scenery, and couldn't help but praise it aloud:
"It's so beautiful..."
Although Red was still nearby, Bai Shi felt compelled to speak, to share this common feeling with Melina.
"It's truly beautiful."
In a tone that didn't sound like a response and wouldn't seem strange to Red, Bai Shi praised the sight from the bottom of his heart.
Red glanced around, confirming that only he was present beside Bai Shi.
Assuming Bai Shi was speaking to him, he pondered for a moment before chiming in:
"...Indeed."
At this, Melina covered her mouth and let out a soft laugh.
Though he couldn't see Melina, hearing her carefree laughter caused Bai Shi's expression to soften.
However, the harmonious atmosphere was soon shattered.
A sharp eagle's cry echoed from the sky.
Then, a broken bird-like marionette soldier plummeted down, crashing beside Bai Shi and the others.
The marionette soldier was very crudely made, little more than sheet metal cobbled together with some strange parts.
It was a mystery how they were made to function. The sheet metal clanged loudly as it hit the stone.
As the bird-like marionette soldier fell from the sky, its body disintegrated, scattering small parts everywhere.
This bird-like marionette soldier was still functional. Spotting Bai Shi and Red beside it, it immediately began swinging its scythes on the ground.
However, since its legs were broken, it only managed to spin around furiously on the ground a couple of times.
Bai Shi didn't humor it, kicking it off the cliff with a single motion.
Behind Stormveil was a series of sheer cliffs, impossible for any human to climb.
This was part of Stormveil's natural defenses; normally, there was no need to worry about an enemy attack from this direction, so the defenses had always been relatively weak.
But from the current situation, it seemed they couldn't afford to be complacent.
The academy's marionette soldiers could scale the cliffs from this side, heedless of any losses.
And then there were these flying, bird-like marionette soldiers and hot air balloons, as annoying as flies.
The body of the bird-like marionette soldier crashed against the stone protrusions of the cliff, tumbling all the way down until it finally broke apart completely.
Only then did Bai Shi notice that at the bottom of the cliff, there were already many wrecked marionette soldiers and hot air balloons.
It seemed these were the ones that Erlisa and the Stormhawks had dealt with earlier.
A massive Stormhawk landed in front of Bai Shi, its twin-bladed talons piercing the soil to steady its body.
For a Stormhawk, this was already a considerably old one.
An artificial vocal sac had been grafted onto its throat, giving it the ability to breathe fire.
Its talons had been amputated, replaced by long, thin blades. Over the long years, flesh and steel had fused completely, becoming one. This was a modification made to some Stormhawks during Godrick's rule over Limgrave.
The marionette soldier that had just crashed was clearly its handiwork.
Every time he saw these Stormhawks, Bai Shi felt a pang of sympathy.
But the Stormhawks themselves were warriors, untroubled by these matters. Instead, they pledged their loyalty to Bai Shi with bodies that were stronger than those of their kin.
Bai Shi nodded and asked the Stormhawk for Erlisa's location.
The Stormhawk took to the skies, flying in a particular direction.
From time to time, it would fly back, waiting for Bai Shi and the others to catch up.
Following the Stormhawk's guidance, Bai Shi and his party soon arrived at a church outside Stormveil.
This church was called the Church of Irith, the location where Sorcerer Thops is found in the game.
However, Sorcerer Thops was currently busy with research back in the city, so this place was vacant.
There was a Sacred Tear here, but Bai Shi had already sent someone to collect it, so the church was now completely empty.
The church was now being used as a resting camp for Erlisa and the Stormhawks.
Many Stormhawks were inside, each one perched on the church's ruined walls.
A few Silver Knights sat on the church pews, their greatbows leaning beside them.
As the marionette soldiers were not launching a large-scale offensive but merely harassing them, not many Silver Knights were stationed here.
These Silver Knights were not permanently assigned here either, but were sent on rotation to practice their archery skills.
The main fighting force still consisted of Erlisa and the Stormhawks.
Erlisa was standing before the great statue of Marika, gazing at it, lost in thought.
Bai Shi knew that when she stood like this, she was actually resting.</
When he was training with her, she had told him that to survive in the snowy mountains, one must possess the ability to recover stamina even in harsh environments.
Upon seeing Bai Shi and Red, the Silver Knights immediately stood up, formed a line, and saluted Bai Shi.
Bai Shi nodded and told them to go rest, but not a single one of the Silver Knights moved, remaining steadfastly at attention.
Bai Shi noted this with approval. The Silver Knights were trained to be exceptionally disciplined, which was the most important quality for guards.
Erlisa turned around and gave a slight bow.
"How has the situation been lately?"
Once Erlisa straightened up, Bai Shi inquired about the state of the battle here.
Erlisa nodded.
"It's manageable. No major issues."
"I don't know what the Academy of Magic is planning, but for now, it seems to be just harassment."
"The marionette soldiers they've sent are very weak; the Stormhawks can handle them easily."
"As for the times when the forces are larger and stronger, I deal with them."
"But it's precisely because of this that it's so annoying."
Bai Shi was quite confident in Erlisa's abilities.
Especially when it came to dealing area-of-effect damage and clearing out large groups of minions, she was far superior to the Crucible Knights.
The Zamor Ice Storm was magic capable of altering the entire battlefield on a large scale; she had once frozen the entire academy outpost guarding Sorceress Sellen with a single spell.
Moreover, she was not one to boast. She would never insist she could handle something if she couldn't.
Since she said there were no problems, there truly shouldn't be anything she couldn't handle.
Bai Shi then asked:
"What about the frequency of the academy's harassment?"
Just as Erlisa was about to speak, a Stormhawk cried out shrilly.
It was the signal that an enemy had been spotted.
Erlisa looked up, then said to Bai Shi with a hint of exasperation:
"See? This is how annoying it is."
"The minions come almost non-stop, requiring the Stormhawks to take turns flying out to clear them."
"And slightly larger forces appear at irregular intervals to harass us. Sometimes the gap is short, sometimes it's very long, making it hard to predict."
Bai Shi frowned as well. This was indeed harassment—not a strong offensive, just purely meant to be a nuisance.
Bai Shi turned and walked out of the Church of Irith.
"Let's go. I'll see what's happening for myself."
A large-scale attack just as he arrived made it hard to believe the academy hadn't spotted him through some means.
Liurnia was the academy's territory; dispatching a unit of marionettes from within didn't even require mobilization.
A Stormhawk led the way, and Bai Shi followed it to a relatively less steep section of the cliff.
Numerous marionette soldiers were climbing up from here.
Occasionally, a clumsy marionette soldier would lose its footing and fall, shattering into pieces at the bottom of the cliff.
However, the broken marionette soldiers below would be pieced together, forming new ones amidst the wreckage.
Bird-like marionette soldiers and hot air balloons carrying marionettes had already arrived, engaging the Stormhawks in the air.
The four-armed marionette soldiers on the hot air balloons held two bows each, their rate of fire astonishingly fast.
Though their accuracy was nothing to write home about, they at least shot quickly, and their erratic trajectories made it difficult for the Stormhawks to predict.
The Stormhawks had to constantly dodge or use gusts of wind to deflect the incoming arrows.
This type of combat was extremely draining, which explained why the Stormhawks he saw earlier had seemed so weary.
However, the marionette soldiers were indeed very weak, and few Stormhawks were injured.
In the short time it took for Bai Shi to arrive, the Stormhawks had nearly reclaimed air superiority.
Bai Shi stood at the edge of the cliff, facing the numerous marionette soldiers, and spoke calmly:
"Academy of Raya Lucaria, I know you can see and hear me."
"Whatever your intentions may be..."
"I am now giving you a final ultimatum."
"From this moment on, if a single life from your faction appears within my domain, war will be declared immediately."
"And then, I will smash my way into your tortoise shell."
"Do not doubt my ability to do so. Your academy's self-imposed seal is not without its flaws."
Having made his declaration, Bai Shi extended his right hand forward.
Boundless magical power surged forth, transforming into a raging storm.
Since allocating his stats yesterday, Bai Shi's magical reserves had increased significantly.
Many inefficient or high-cost abilities he had been reluctant to use before, he could now unleash without a second thought.
The storm rose from below the cliff, and the marionettes clinging to its face were swept up into the sky like toys.
The bird-like marionettes and hot air balloons already in the air were also unable to escape.
The Stormhawks, however, were like fish in water, soaring freely within the tempest.
Bai Shi rotated his hand, palm facing the sky, and slowly clenched his fist.
The storm sealed itself shut, compressing into a dense sphere of air.
Deadly wind blades scoured everything within, grinding it all into dust.
Bai Shi opened his hand, and the remnants of the marionette soldiers were carried by the wind toward Raya Lucaria.
Bai Shi was currently focused on the Radahn Festival and had no intention of immediately marching on the academy. If they behaved, he would let them live a while longer.
But if the Academy of Magic continued to seek trouble...
Then Bai Shi wouldn't be opposed to changing his schedule and taking a few days to deal with them first.