Elden Ring: Atai vows to have a perfect ending

After shaving, shaving my face, and trimming my hair, when I walked out of the tent, even the vapor rising from the lake made me feel a little cold. Without the protection of hair, I always felt like a bare egg, which was quite uncomfortable.

Nepheli came over, looked at me for a moment, smiled and patted my shoulder: "Well, you are much more handsome, Zero. Your previous appearance made people think you turned into a thief."

“Haha~ Every word of praise you say to me now makes me feel like you are comforting the emotions of a lamb about to embark on its journey to the slaughterhouse.” I complained casually.

Nefeli looked at me, was silent for a moment, and suddenly said: "Then how about... you still don't go?"

"Huh?" I looked at the other person in surprise.

The idea of ​​sneaking into Dujuan was originally proposed by Nepheli, and after discussion, I was not going alone. She personally selected several soldiers and put on Dujuan Knight armor with me so that we could take care of each other after sneaking in.

But what Nefeli said at this time was not a compliment or a witty remark.

She frowned slightly, and her gray-black eyes showed worry and a hint of reluctance.

Seeing her like a kitten sending its owner out, I couldn't help but want to raise my hand and gently wipe away the wrinkles between her brows, but I still suppressed my restless heart, took a deep breath, and said with a smile: "It's okay. After all, I also hope that this war can end as soon as possible... It was you who, after listening to me, mobilized Stonewell's troops without hesitation and helped me a lot. Now, it's time for me to repay you, Nefeli."

"Hmph." Nepheli chuckled. "What's the point of talking about rewards or no rewards? ... The planned action will begin tonight. Take a good rest now, Zero."

"Ah."

We looked at each other and were silent for a moment.

Nepheli looked away first, as if preparing to enter the tent behind me.

I was about to make way for her, but she patted my shoulder again: "You will definitely come back, Ling, I believe in you."

"Of course, let me help you dig out all of Dujuan's secrets."

"Then I'll leave it to you." After saying that, she brushed past me and entered the tent, as if she wanted to talk to Letina who was still attached to Lenya's body.

It was noon now, and as Nepheli had said, it was still early for the infiltration operation we had discussed, so I strolled around the military camp casually.

Speaking of which, where is Laya?

When I came back this time, I couldn’t find my “little tail”. Could it be that she stayed in Stonewell and didn’t come here?

Although this does make people feel at ease, they can't help feeling a little disappointed and lonely.

"zero."

Speaking of Cao Cao, here comes Cao Cao, a familiar call sounded from behind.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise and turned around immediately: "La..."

As a result, a beam of refracted light made me squint for a moment, and then someone put his arm around my shoulder and said, "Oh, I was wondering why a cuckoo is walking here so arrogantly. It turns out to be you, old friend."

"Patch?!"

"You finally remembered me!" Although Patch had a sad face, his anger and dissatisfaction could be heard from his slightly tense arms. "I was wondering how you all disappeared in the blink of an eye in Red Lion City! Can you bear to abandon a good friend like me in such a godforsaken place?"

——Ah, so when Laya said she seemed to have forgotten to bring something, she was referring to Pachi!

——Come to think of it, after the battle festival, we had completely forgotten about him. I don't even know if he ever set foot on the Wailing Dunes.

And Laya actually came over with Diaros... Are you coming to me to form an F4 group for Volcano Residence?

"Cough cough cough, sorry, sorry." I coughed twice awkwardly.

"Forget it, man. I know you're a busy man now. You're totally different from a small fry like me~" Patch said sarcastically.

——Why are you acting like a sulky girlfriend? I can’t stand it.

Fortunately, this guy immediately rubbed his hands and asked with a smile: "Look at your equipment, did you just come back from Du Juan's military camp? How is it, is there anything good over there?"

"What do you want to do?"

"Of course, I'll make some money. For example, Dujuan's throwing pyroxene has good sales. Even people who don't know magic can use it as a self-defense tool." Patch was still familiar with business. "You will definitely be able to beat those guys. I will also take some things with me and sell them in the store."

Then I could only answer honestly: "After we conquer Dujuan, you can go find it yourself. I am not coming back from the military camp over there, but going to Dujuan's camp."

"Huh? Why is that?"

"Why else? We need more information about Dujuan and the academy, so we have to send spies to infiltrate them." I explained to them simply.

Diaros was quite surprised and said, "Wouldn't this be too dangerous? After all...Zero, you should be an important general on Stonewell's side. If you want to be a spy or something, shouldn't you arrange for your subordinates to do it?"

Laya asked quietly, "What is a spiky butterfly? A butterfly with a spiky tip?"

—Um, Miss, as a member of a family of traitors, don’t you even know the term “traitor” which refers to betraying an organization?

After Patch explained to her, I said, "I am indeed the only one who is most familiar with the situation in the academy, and Nefeli and the others have a very sound plan. As long as I am careful, nothing should go wrong."

"But I still think it's too much to ask. If we get discovered... To be honest, even with your skills, it would be impossible for you to escape from those thousands of enemies." For some reason, Diaros seemed to be genuinely worried about my situation.

Ling Laya also sensed a hint of uneasiness and turned to ask, "Zero, is what you are going to do dangerous?"

"It is indeed somewhat difficult, but no matter whether it is the newly born Stonewell or the declining royal family of Kalia, this war will determine their future fate. Nepheli, Blaze, Iggy... they have all done me a favor, so I have to... No, I should say, I must fight." I smiled and touched Laya's little head, "Don't worry, Laya. I will definitely come back."

"Hmm~" Laya rubbed my hand slightly, "I believe you, Zero~"

"Hey, this is our hero~" Patch put his arm around my shoulder like a drunk uncle and talked freely, "Hey, thinking back to when we first met in the Mongliu Cave, you were as timid as a rabbit, and it was totally unexpected that you would become so heroic. You are worthy of being the 'Shadow King' of Stonewell!"

"······Shut up."

——You must be a spy sent by the enemy to alienate Nepheli and me!

——Be careful or I’ll capture you and redeem a reward of 500,000 runes.

But if he could really redeem it for 500,000, old Patch would definitely go to redeem the reward happily, with his head on his shoulders.

Thinking of this, my originally tense mood relaxed a lot.

Patch was still telling Laya and Diaros about some of the "glorious deeds" between him and me. Although he exaggerated some of the content and even made Diaros suspicious and ask questions, it was indeed fun to just listen to it.

While chatting, I looked up and watched the wind and clouds slowly shifting, gradually becoming dyed with the black ink of the night.

The towering golden tree is like a bright lamp at night or a bright moon, illuminating the night at the border.

But under their reflection, the faint stars disappeared and retreated into the darkness.