A single swing—Lion's Claw!
The moment she activated the weapon skill, Frieren leaped into the air and brought her sword down in a ferocious overhead strike, smashing into the ground and splitting it open on both sides. But she wasn't finished. She immediately followed with a somersault into another attack, unleashing a blade of sword-ki that was even more powerful and heavy, combining its force with the previous blow.
This utterly domineering formation-breaking technique was unleashed at full power, cutting through the wind, kicking up sand and stones as a sharp glint of light carved a straight line several dozen meters long. The soil was cleaved open, revealing the bedrock beneath, its severed face as smooth as a mirror and veiled in a layer of grey mist.
The power of the Dark Moon Greatsword combined with the fierce Lion's Claw was astounding.
CRACK!
As she sheathed her sword, the ground split open to the left and right like a peeling onion, revealing an even deeper layer that emanated a cold mist. Melina's eyes widened at the sight; the power was truly outrageous, completely off the charts.
Although the change in her base stats was a factor, it was indeed an exaggeration. Little did she know, in that instant, Frieren had reallocated her main stats into Strength, delivering the blow with the full power of a warrior's build.
The effect was quite good. This meant that Lion's Claw had a high ceiling, enough to match her current combat power. Otherwise, at her level of strength, many skills felt ordinary, suffering from diminishing returns.
According to the player advice, it was considered a powerful weapon skill. It was even more useful than the Divine Beast's Frigid Stomp she had acquired earlier. Compared to elemental damage, physical impact and poise breaking were actually more important.
As a sorcerer, she didn't lack attack power. It was the numerous high-poise enemies in the Land of Shadow that made Frieren feel a sense of danger. Standard sorceries lacked physical impact capabilities, requiring a weapon to complement them. And she had always done so; having one more weapon skill was certainly good news.
"...Did you feel that? There's an atmosphere of fear in the distance?"
Melina pointed toward the edge of the lake.
Several Grave Warden Birds took flight. The monsters and living corpses that had been roaming the wilderness also fled one after another. It was too terrifying; a head-on confrontation was impossible. They had to leave while they could, otherwise, if they were targeted, they wouldn't have enough lives to spare.
"Did they run? I honestly didn't expect Lion's Claw to be this powerful either, to have startled them."
"After all, few warriors can achieve that kind of effect. How did you do it?"
"By analogy, I suppose."
Frieren found it difficult to explain the existence of her modules, so she simply sidestepped the topic and began searching in the direction from which the Grave Warden Birds had scattered. They were merely watching over an unremarkable corner. An ordinary person would probably glance at it and move on, seeing no need to provoke a flock of flying monsters—it simply wouldn't be worth the trouble. Besides, for some reason, these birds didn't seem to show any hostility; they avoided her out of something more than simple fear.
However, the perception of her treasure map would not deceive her.
Following its guidance, a quick scan revealed a set of armor. She went forward and picked it up; it felt light in her hands and was covered in feathers.
[Grave Warden Bird Armor]
[Stone armor with a faint greenish hue.]
[One of the armor types made in the likeness of the Grave Warden Birds.]
[Grave Warden Birds are ancient golems, said to have been created to guard the spirit graves, the place where all death converges.]
The faint aura of necromancy on her own body resonated with it. Perhaps that was why they had taken the initiative to leave, effectively entrusting it to her. The circumstances were beyond their control; they couldn't have guarded it even if they tried.
Unfortunately, this piece of armor only covered the chest and tassets, offering very little protection even for the abdomen. Even Frieren, with her powerful physical attributes, didn't dare to be so bold. Especially when moving through the Land of Shadow, she wouldn't feel safe without wearing a full set of armor, so she could only treat it as a collector's item.
So be it.
Until now, she had been using a streamlined version based on the Dancer's Silk Armor, which was essentially warrior's attire with a bit of protection.
"How is it, does it suit you?"
"I can't just put it on right now, can I? Besides, this armor Hewg and Boc forged for me is good enough. It's sturdy and doesn't get in the way."
"That's because it was reinforced with many smithing stones and your magic. It's indeed the most convenient."
Having witnessed the forging process firsthand, Melina understood its value. In the Lands Between, it would already be considered quasi-regal equipment, because the Rune energy of a powerful individual will, to some extent, reshape and strengthen a piece of equipment's performance. It was probably the most suitable armor for a battlemage, unlike Radahn's Redmane armor, which was built entirely to warrior standards. Besides Radahn himself, it was doubtful anyone else could use it.
The two continued forward. Looking at the map, they should have arrived at the Village of the Diseased.
It originally belonged to the outskirts of the Tower Settlement. When the Horned Folk civilization was still prosperous, it was bustling with people, much like how the thriving great cities of the south now have their own small towns and villages; it must have been a lively place.
Those who live by injustice will perish by it. Now, after the crusade of Messmer's army, only ashes remained. It was similar to the Scorched Ruins, the only difference being the degree of destruction.
What greeted their eyes was a scene filled with charred wood. The wind blew with a creaking sound, even lifting the reed grass from the torn-off roofs. Even after so many years, a burnt smell still lingered in the air, and the ash underfoot still held sparks, ready to ignite at any moment.
It had certainly been burned more than once. With a backdrop of entirely flammable materials, it was likely set ablaze every so often, a perennial purgatory. Thus, very few of the Horned Folk survived.
Starseeker!
With a few casual ranged attacks, Frieren eliminated them, draining this secluded village of its life, and also of its unsightly inhabitants.
She chose to walk into a few of the dilapidated huts, finding only some pots and chainmail that were better than nothing. She couldn't hope for things like books and records.
It was said that Messmer built a massive species preservation vault in the Shadow Keep, which also housed a large collection of documents and data. Surely he didn't bring them along while on a military campaign, did he? They must be spoils of war plundered from the Horned Folk civilization; quite the archaeological-minded fellow. It wouldn't be too late to carefully examine the materials once she got there. In fact, the more thoroughly other places were looted, the more it suggested that the Crusade Army had preserved a great deal of spoils.
"Look, that might have once been a plaza that was then flooded."
Melina, sitting sidesaddle on the spirit steed's back, pointed into the distance.
"The long-term waterworks weren't maintained, so rainwater accumulated? The Horned Folk civilization must have been very large back then."
"Definitely."
So far, the two had only been to a few locations in the Land of Shadow, not many, yet they were all filled with traces of the Horned Folk. The Village of the Diseased, plus the Scorched Ruins, the Tower Settlement of Belurat, and the underground gaol, were scattered like stars in the sky.
One could imagine that in their time, they were the absolute rulers of the Land of Shadow. Both their scale and level of development were quite high, not to be underestimated. The power of the Crusade Army that could pacify an entire civilization must also have been extraordinary.
Frieren murmured to herself, "Since Castle Ensis and the Shadow Keep were built later, does that mean we've explored the vast majority of the Horned Folk civilization's territory?"
Melina heard the anticipation in her tone and her heart tightened. Why hadn't she thought of that before? Indeed, the so-called Spike Mountain, Valley Forest, and Finger Ruins were places that even the Horned Folk civilization dared not touch during its peak. Their danger level should be re-evaluated.
Frieren, however, was pleased with her latest deduction, as it meant that even if she found information on the Horned Folk, she would still know very little about the other half of the Land of Shadow. Ultimately, she had to measure it with her own feet and witness it with her own eyes. Only then could it be said that she had truly traveled the four corners of the world.
After a brief survey of the outskirts of the Village of the Diseased, they continued deeper and finally discovered some settled corpses, swarming with flies or what simply looked like large moss flies, a truly horrifying sight.
Nothing good here.
Even so, she endured the discomfort and leaned down to examine the bodies. The surface showed signs of mutation, a transformation from human to fly. The process sounded bizarre, yet it had happened, and it was very similar to the monsters in the lower levels of the Tower Settlement.
"It seems to be an overflow of some kind of demonic contamination," Melina deduced. "No wonder it's called the Village of the Diseased."
"Any place called a 'Blighttown' should be burned down."
With that, the silver-haired girl very seriously generated a Chaos Fireball, condensing it by her side, ready to be released at a moment's notice. She wasn't just talking; the energy she would detonate would be enough to raze the village to the ground. More thorough than the Crusade Army, guaranteed to leave no contamination behind.
Melina looked puzzled. Why was the Tarnished so repulsed by the mention of a 'Blighttown'? She guessed it was most likely related to Frieren's past experiences. It must have been a terrible place with the same name.
For an adventurer's composure to break like that, it must have been a sufficiently hellish place.
While she was lost in thought, she lost sight of the silver-haired girl for a moment, who had run up to a coffin and, without any hesitation, reached out to touch it. As expected, she made a new discovery:
[Pestilence Talisman]
She had already found several since arriving in the Land of Shadow.
The two examined it closely. It was carved with the image of a patient struggling on their deathbed, so lifelike it sent a chill down one's spine, making one wonder what kind of illness could lead to such a horrifying visage.
[When afflicted by a status abnormality, for a certain period, raises resistance when faced with the same abnormality.]
[When the frail were susceptible to the terrible fly disease,]
[long before they transformed, their lives would first reach their end.]
[It is said that only the caregivers who watch over the patients until their last moment]
[and bury them with care can avoid contracting the disease.]
A pity. Another talisman of little use. There were countless items that could resist status abnormalities, not to mention for a top-tier demigod with a robust physique like Frieren.
Ordinary curses couldn't harm her, and curses that could harm her were likely difficult to dispel and could only be endured. Talismans of this type were better than nothing, but just barely.
After a brief assessment, Frieren lost interest. Her biggest gain from this trip was still [Lion's Claw]; the rest was somewhat lacking. Although there were many talismans in the Land of Shadow, few were truly useful. This [Pestilence Talisman] couldn't compare to the [Crusade Insignia] talisman.
But she never refused a treasure. A change in quantity leads to a change in quality; she would always find a use for it eventually.
Next, the two looked around, but apart from a crafting recipe, there were no other rewards, only the endless gruesome sight of the Horned Folk's corpses.
Even in death, there's no peace.
The contamination probably once spread to the Tower Settlement, otherwise there wouldn't be large fly monsters inside. Fortunately, Messmer's army interrupted the transmission process; otherwise, this particular plague would have been truly terrifying. So only a ruin remained, which was sufficient in the eyes of the Crusade Army.
However, Frieren still held a psychological trauma regarding 'Blighttown'. When she first began her journey in Dark Souls, she was greatly tormented, especially when she reached the depths of Ash Lake, where she could only gaze at the vastness in despair. It later proved that no place with 'Blighttown' in its name was ever good.
That's why she was exploring with such caution.
Seeing the silver-haired girl so serious for the first time in a long while, Melina raised an eyebrow with interest and said:
"Tell me about it later. What history do you have with a 'Blighttown'? It must be something for the number one adventurer in the Lands Between to remember it for so long."
"That's no good thing, but if you're willing to listen, I'd be happy to share."
"Of course."
"We'll talk on the way. Right now, let's clean this place up completely." Frieren continuously infused magic into the fireball by her side. "We must ensure no trace of the fly disease is left behind."
Chaos Flame was the perfect choice. It wasn't a 'good' thing, but its strength was in its ferocity, allowing her to violently overwrite one contamination with another. And by completely controlling and retracting it afterward, it would count as a purification.
The Witch of Izalith's flame went out of control back then largely because the power of her Lord Soul was insufficient. But what she now controlled was more than just a Lord Soul. By the same token, her Chaos Flame was not what it used to be; it was far more powerful. If not for the risk of spawning demons, it would have long since replaced Hellfire magic.
Whew!
A light wave of Lusat's Staff sent the fireball soaring into the sky. The crimson flame released intense heat, scorching everything around it. All things boiled, plants melted, and the flies evaporated in an instant.
The top-down, full-coverage magic ensured no blind spots. First, the high eaves turned to ash, and even the charred substances were not spared, being completely erased. Then, the corpses infected with the fly disease also gradually withered away.
Seeing that the burning was almost complete, Frieren flicked her finger again.
Splash!
The fireball transformed into a liquid state, like an overflowing wine jug spilling forth the spicy, scorching sensation of strong liquor. That wasn't fire; it was genuine magma. The moment it touched the ground, it sizzled, easily melting through the soil and forming volcanic ash, and it continued to spread.
It flowed over the cemetery, over the village, covering the surface of a hundred-meter radius with a layer of Chaos Flame. To be cautious, Frieren further expanded the range.
Thus, the Chaos Flame extended beyond the Village of the Diseased and spread to the nearby lake. The flames made contact with the lake water, producing sizzling steam, blurring the vision and making the skin feel moist.
Melina, feeling a bit bored, plucked at the fur on Torrent's back, quietly observing the situation. She had figured it out.
In the future, whenever they encountered a similar 'Blighttown', Frieren would strike out decisively, as if confronting a psychological trauma, and make sure to completely clean it up.
Screech!
Suddenly, a wave of grey-white flame rose from the lake.
Caught off guard, Melina quickly grabbed the reins and patted the horse's leg. The battle-hardened Torrent immediately performed a double jump.
Almost at the same moment they dodged, they saw Frieren below swing out a wave of sword-ki, splitting the flame in two and sending the lake water rolling back. Even if her two companions hadn't dodged in time, this counterattack would have ensured they were unharmed from the front, a close call but no real danger.
The instantaneous reaction speed of both parties was superb, making ordinary sneak attacks meaningless. Seeing this, the culprit no longer bothered to hide, emerging directly from the water.
A skeletal dragon. It was a wyvern, but a size larger than a typical one, almost comparable to a Glintstone Dragon. Its entire skeleton was entwined with a black substance that fluttered like clothing in the wind, bringing to mind an unsettling thought: could it be rotting flesh? All of this combined to form a gaunt and bizarre monster. Ghostflame flowed from between its teeth, and its two empty eye sockets stared at them.
Melina reminded her, "It's a Ghostflame Dragon, skilled in Death-aspected attacks."
"Looks like we disturbed you?"
At Frieren's question, it became even more enraged, spreading its wings to cast a massive shadow and standing upright on its powerful legs. It roared at the sky, its Ghostflame boiling, vowing to eat the intruders to avenge itself.
How lively.
With a quiet thought, Frieren glanced around. The few scattered monsters were all fleeing. As expected, the Land of Shadow was an easy place to run into enemies. After getting used to the warm welcomes in the southern Lands Between, she hadn't felt this tension in a long time.
She put aside her stray thoughts and turned to face the furious Ghostflame Dragon. Angry as it was, it didn't rush forward rashly. Otherwise, all that would await it was to die again, this time a complete disappearance. This silver-haired girl was very strong.
But the monster, its combat instincts stirred by the invasion of its territory, couldn't think that far ahead. Besides, the Great Rune was very alluring. After some thought, it still chose to strike decisively.
Breath attack!
A pillar of flame shot straight over. With the speed of a thunderclap, Frieren opened Thops's Barrier. With a clang, it deflected the attack into the lake on the other side.
With a booming explosion, hundreds of tons of lake water were thrown up and then turned into steam, not a single drop remaining.
Gathering materials from the scene, she beckoned with her hand and condensed a ball of crimson flame, flinging it at the behemoth, which returned the favor with its own breath attack. The two energies collided, and even the mid-air was split into their respective colors, vying for dominance as they each absorbed the immense power.
A low murmur whispered in the wind. The high temperature made the lake water boil, and sweat couldn't even form; a hundred-meter radius had virtually become a sauna. Neither Chaos Flame nor Ghostflame were easy to deal with.
"Torrent, get back a bit. It's dangerous here. Just leave it to Frieren."
Seeing the situation, Melina patted the spirit steed's head. The latter raised its hooves and with an easy dash, left the center of the battlefield. The temperature dropped again, and breathing became easy once more.
Safe, for the moment.
Although she knew full well that her partner's style was to have ridiculously high mobility and destructive power, this wyvern's agility was not to be outdone. The battlefield would expand, and it was hard to say what areas would be affected then. So Melina proactively withdrew from the lake area, leaving the battlefield to her companion. As expected, the magic of both sides intensified.
"ROAR!!"
The Ghostflame Dragon was the first to strike, spewing a torrent of grey-white flame. This time it was even more ferocious, and it employed a scattered attack that the single-sided barrier couldn't fully cover. A wisp of Death-aspected energy climbed up Frieren's leg.
However, in the face of her powerful resistance, it was still dispelled without causing any real damage. Yet, she felt a charm mixed within the deathly aura. She feared this creature had killed a large number of the diseased Horned Folk, and coupled with its soul-absorbing properties, it had turned into an even more bizarre monster. The infection within the deathly aura was spreading a charm, unsettling the mind.
She herself was already in a state of suppressing Miquella's charm, and yet she ran into a targeted attack. There's enough mental interference in the Land of Shadow.
Frieren, unperturbed in the face of danger, added a layer of Golden Vow, countering the enemy with a holy attribute while also resisting the charm. As expected, the deathly aura on her body vanished completely.
The Ghostflame Dragon showed a look of regret, the flame in its eye sockets dimming and flickering. It no longer had the strength to remain airborne and had to pick a distant spot to land, its heart still filled with shock and doubt.
No time to be distracted.
The next moment, the silver-haired girl stomped her foot, raising a dense array of ice thorns, like an army with a forest of spears, while simultaneously whipping up a storm to make it difficult for the target to escape. Divine Beast's Frigid Stomp manifested completely differently in the hands of different users; her destructive power was a cut above.
The ice thorns reached the great dragon's feet, drawing a cold snort from it. "Too soft. It couldn't possibly penetrate its hard bones. Did you think this body hadn't been steeped in deathly energy for years?"
It may not have flesh, but its bones were hard enough. The cold wind passed through its bones, causing no damage. The ice thorns either went through the gaps in its bones or were useless against its steel-like skeleton, making the Ghostflame Dragon very proud as it raised its head and flapped its wings.
Only then did it notice that its wings, where flesh still clung, were coated in a layer of ice crystals, becoming sluggish. Its body felt heavy, and it couldn't even manage a basic takeoff and glide.
Hiss!
Soul Stream seized the opening and fired, striking the behemoth squarely in the chest. The powerful magical impact sent it tumbling head over heels.
Wasn't this a form of building up damage by rolling? If not for its quick thinking, using the force of the magic to evade, this continuous torrent would have absolutely torn through its body, possibly killing it in one hit.
Heart still pounding with fear, the Ghostflame Dragon temporarily avoided a direct confrontation, scrambling on all fours through the splashing lake water to create distance, even kicking up steam to obscure its form.
"Am I a fool?" Frieren raised an eyebrow at this action. Under her Mana Sensing, what creature could possibly hide its form?
Did it lose its nerve after just one hit? No, that's not right. The feeling just now was that the attack hadn't completely pierced the enemy. A closer sensing revealed that the wound on the Ghostflame Dragon's chest was continuously expanding. Did Soul Stream have this kind of damage-over-time effect? Then the problem was with the dragon; they were incompatible.
"You've absorbed too many of the Horned Folk's souls, and by killing those souls, I've destroyed your body. So that's your obvious weakness."
The initially confused Ghostflame Dragon became even more panicked after its weakness was laid bare.
Time waits for no one. Having figured this out, Frieren immediately used Crystal Soul Mass, which sped towards the target behind the mist with its powerful tracking ability, about to hit in the blink of an eye.
In its desperation, it rolled on the spot, barely dodging a few crystals but getting hit by the splash.
So painful!
It wasn't just the Ghostflame Dragon crying out in pain, but also the resentful souls entwined around it, all of which vanished under the strike of the Crystal Soul Mass. They struggled, their terrifying skeletal beast forms appearing within the grey-white flames, much like Frieren's own Ancient Death Rancor.
At this thought, she continued to release Crystal Soul Mass, but the enemy was not to be outdone. It suddenly stood up and slammed its entire abdomen down, its energy flowing into the ground and erupting. It chose a clumsy method, using its Ghostflame to proactively cancel out the soul attack.
The fan-shaped spread of deathly flame covered the entire Village of the Diseased. Starting from the lake water, it covered the Chaos Flame magma, and then swept across the endless plains, starting a massive fire. But none of it could stop Frieren's steps. The silver-haired girl, bathed in a holy protection, leaped out of the wall of fire, and in mid-air, swung out an arc of golden light.
Her movements were a move familiar to Melina. Even from a distance, she was shocked. Could she replicate it after seeing it only a few times?
Golden Blade!
She hadn't guessed wrong. The powerful holy-aspected attack could also deal extra damage to it.
With a mournful cry, the Ghostflame Dragon fell to the ground. The behemoth crashed into the bottom of the dry lakebed, creating a crater, but Frieren wouldn't give it a chance to play dead and continued her pursuit.
Followed by more Crystal Soul Mass.
But unexpectedly, seeing the situation was dire, the Ghostflame Dragon wretchedly dodged a few times in the mud, shaking the ice crystals from its wings. Then, right in front of the enemy, it turned its back, not caring about anything else, and flew into the air with all its might.
For a moment, Frieren really had no way to stop the enemy from leaving the battlefield. She just watched as the Ghostflame Dragon flew dozens of meters high in an instant, continuously gathering power for a long-distance escape, dead set on avoiding a direct confrontation.
She had rarely seen an enemy so dedicated to the principle of escape.
____
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