Prestige

Nine Provinces has a significant advantage.

But Prison Rock hasn't been driven to the brink of despair yet.

Although players from Nine Provinces felt that the enemies in the Prison Rock dungeon were stiff and full of openings after experiencing the Lu Xiu dungeon, the advantage of fighting on home turf still objectively exists.

Players in Prison Rock are far more familiar with their own instance than newcomers from Nine Provinces.

They hid in the shadows and began using their familiarity with the terrain to draw aggro and lure enemies into environmental kills.

They relied on this home-field advantage.

Prison Rock managed to maintain his composure in the regular arena, avoiding a complete collapse.

But this only barely managed to stabilize the situation.

The disadvantages are still significant.

Despite the large-scale counterattack by players from Nine Provinces, Prison Rock continued to suffer more defeats than victories.

Seeing Nine Provinces continuously occupying new territories, the higher-ups of Prison Rock finally couldn't sit still any longer.

They began to make drastic, painful sacrifices.

Go straight for the recapture!

The 9% all-attribute bonus from Nine Provinces already has a significant impact!

This can't go on.

The Royal Court of Prison Rock directly caused the top-tier Chosen Player to completely abandon the conventional arena.

In short, they allowed Jian Li and his group to advance unimpeded, occupying one area after another, and focusing all their core forces on the recapture operation.

no way.

If we don't do something!

Players in the lower and middle levels of Prison Rock will really struggle.

Who can stand losing every single day!

Soon, system announcements began popping up one after another, announcing that Prison Rock had launched a recapture operation.

Although the Chosen Player of Prison Rock were not like Lu Xiu, and could not kill the guardians every time they met, every battle to reclaim the city was basically a war of attrition.

However, as long as the guardian of Nine Provinces is not Chosen Player, it shouldn't be a problem for the Chosen Player of Prison Rock to personally take over the area.

Faced with the desperate counterattack from Prison Rock, the Nine Provinces Coordination Bureau remained completely unconcerned.

There was absolutely no panic.

Since Lu Xiu had already left behind a substantial foundation of a 9% bonus, the Coordination Bureau simply went with the flow.

They only dispatched a small portion of the Chosen Player from the Strategy Group to the occupied areas to act as defenders, serving as sacrificial pawns to slow down the enemy's advance. Then, they continued to invest the vast majority of their elite combat power into the regular arena, launching a frenzied attack.

The two sides began a strategic exchange.

On the eleventh day of the arena, Prison Rock finally managed to gradually erase the 9% bonus brought by Lu Xiu through the recapture battle, and even managed to gain a 5% bonus to all attributes for himself, barely allowing the mid-to-low-level players to stabilize.

They turned around abruptly and discovered that more than half of Obsidian City had been planted with the flags of Nine Provinces.

It is foreseeable.

The arena period.

They have absolutely no chance of taking back the entire area.

After Nine Provinces occupied more than half of the region, it also began to appoint top players as guardians and launch a large-scale recapture campaign.

The 30-day tournament period is not even halfway over.

The two sides' Chosen Player then engaged in a brutal, meat-grinding tug-of-war.

In the morning Chosen Player of Prison Rock used all his trump cards. After a bloody battle, he managed to kill the guardian of Nine Provinces and reclaim a region, reducing Nine Provinces's bonus by 1%, thus buying his side a little breathing space.

In the afternoon, the Chosen Player of Nine Provinces will kill the Prison Rock players who initiated the recapture battle, thus regaining the lost bonuses.

The attribute bonuses for both sides.

Amidst this intense battle representing the highest combat power of the two regions, the situation fluctuated constantly.

Meanwhile, lower and mid-level players also began to take turns on the stage.

The battle intensified.

but.

Lu Xiu never appeared from beginning to end.

Things are alright here in Nine Provinces.

A persistent gloom shrouded the area around Prison Rock.

The memory of Lu Xiu killing nine guards in the battle to retake the city was still fresh in everyone's mind.

Nobody knows if she will come again.

After all, both sides' Chosen Player are currently in a frenzy of fighting, and there hasn't been a spectacular scene of nine players being instantly killed.

That's a fair statement.

For Prison Rock, Lu Xiu was like the Sword of Damocles; no one knew what this Architect from Nine Provinces would do next.

Prison Rock Royal Court.

Chief Architect Helag was once again urgently summoned by the Prime Minister of the Prison Rock.

The high pressure and setbacks of the past few days had left Helag with heavy eye bags and a haggard look on his face.

When she stepped into the main hall and heard the name Lu Xiu from the Prime Minister's mouth again, the nameless anger in her heart almost surged uncontrollably.

She really wanted to get angry.

Because in just a few days, she had heard that name countless times!

Countless times!!!

And every time it's brought up, it's accompanied by questioning!!!

Why is the opposing team's dungeon so overpowered? Why can't your dungeon build stop the players from Nine Provinces? Why can't you verify your success in clearing the dungeon you're asked to imitate?

So annoying!!!

However, sitting in front of her was none other than the Prime Minister of Prison Rock, so Helag could only clench his fists tightly and forcefully suppress his anger.

"What do you think that Architect on the other side has been doing these past few days, remaining silent?" Prison Rock's Prime Minister asked in a low voice.

Helag took a deep breath, trying to keep his voice steady. "The only possibility I can think of is that she's researching our Prison Rock dungeon. After all, she's essentially a Architect, not a combatant—researching Constructed Instance is what Architect are supposed to do."

Upon hearing this, the Prime Minister looked at her expressionlessly.

At that moment, the Prime Minister really wanted to ask, "Is your copy even worth someone going to the trouble of studying?"

But he ultimately held back and didn't utter those hurtful words.

Before this Cross-Realm Arena opened, everyone in Prison Rock held Helag, the chief Architect, in high esteem.

But after experiencing Lu Xiu's copy, that respect has been greatly diminished.

The difference is too obvious.

Ordinary players in Prison Rock have started to hunt down Helag.

The higher-ups of the Prison Rock Royal Court were also aware of this.

The Prime Minister composed himself and continued, "So, do you think she will still participate in the war?"

"I—I don't think so!"

Helag gritted his teeth, as if trying to convince the Prime Minister, or perhaps as if trying to convince himself, his tone resolute. "While it was exaggerated that she won nine recapture battles in one go not long ago, and it was indeed astonishing that she instantly killed nine Sequence 20+ Guardians, that doesn't mean she's a match for the Chosen Player! The Architect's combat power is definitely not that exaggerated."

She paused for a moment, then continued, "Now the Chosen Player from both sides have personally entered the fray, and the battle is fierce and evenly matched. The intensity is incomparable to what it was a few days ago. If she had even a little bit of sense, she would absolutely not participate anymore."

Her previous nine-game winning streak had already made her a household name. If she were to wade into troubled waters again and launch another retake campaign, it would be a thankless and arduous task—so we don't need to worry about her anymore!

Helag's resolute voice echoed throughout the hall.

The Prime Minister looked at her silently for a moment, his eyes dark, and said nothing, only gesturing for Helag to step down.

After Helag left the main hall somewhat hastily.

The Prime Minister's previously calm expression instantly darkened. He turned his gaze to the ministers who had been standing silently below the steps, his voice filled with anxiety. "Zhang Chongshan —hasn't he been found yet?!"

At the same time.

Within the Construction Space.

Lu Xiu was aware of the changes in the Cross-Realm Arena, but didn't pay much attention to them.

During this period of time.

She focused all her attention on the dungeon.

I really don't have time for that.

She took a deep breath, then brought up the System Panel and activated the role-playing mode.

A brief feeling of dizziness accompanied the notification.

She transformed into an immortal once more, standing at the edge of that familiar circular arena.

Opposite him Artorias, the royal knight corrupted by the Abyss.

--

Just this once.

Unlike before, Lu Xiu did not immediately set up her weapons and prepare for battle.

Instead, he stood quietly in place, extending the Painting Guardian Curved Sword, which he held tightly in his right hand, forward horizontally, while his left hand rested across his right arm, close to his chest.

----They performed a round of the Farron Undead Legion etiquette.

Paying tribute to the Wolf's Blood Covenant is no different from paying tribute to Big A.

This is most likely the last time we'll face this Abysswalker before the dungeon goes live, so let's create a sense of occasion.

It's no fun if all you do is fight each other.

And on the other side...

Because of Lu Xiu's actions.

Artorias seemed to pause for a moment, but he quickly recovered, twisting his stiff neck as his armor made a teeth-grinding scraping sound, and a violent Abyss aura surged out.

Next.

The towering knight tore through the air like a cannonball, charging straight in with earth-shattering momentum!

The opening move is the signature Lion—no, no, the Wolf Jump!

Faced with this highly aggressive offensive.

Holding the Painting Guardian Curved Sword, Lu Xiu suddenly exerted force in her waist at the moment the greatsword was about to touch her head, performing a side roll close to the death line and calmly dodging it.

Boom!

Stone fragments flew everywhere, but Lu Xiu had already used the momentum from the roll to get up, and the effects of her initial practice with the two-handed greatsword were showing.

Now she's an expert at rolling and dodging.

Not to mention, she's now wielding a light, curved blade—essentially removing all limitations.

After dodging the attack.

Lu Xiu had no intention of creating distance; instead, she clung to her like a shadow.

Artorias continuously sweeps, thrusts, and spins—

But Lu Xiu dodged every fatal attack with precise, invincible rolls.

At this moment, Lu Xiu was dancing on the edge of a knife entirely by relying on her honed muscle memory and combat instincts.

Although he was wearing an immortal's skin.

But the movements were very graceful.

No matter how Artorias attacked, she could roll away to dodge and then calmly seize the opportunity to strike.

Although not entirely accurate.

But it really does feel like dancing.

Artorias's attacks were indeed extremely aggressive, ruthless, and highly random.

But he didn't manage to touch Lu Xiu.

On the contrary, his own health began to decrease continuously.

With one final, perfect roll, Lu Xiu gently swung the curved knife in her hand.

Pfft.

The knight's tall body collapsed with a crash, turning into a sky full of light and dust.

And less than two minutes had passed since the start of the battle.

"Call----"

Lu Xiu exited the role-playing mode, then looked at the regenerated Artorias and let out a soft sigh, "Done, can log in now."

These past few days, she hasn't been constantly locked in a fierce battle with Artorias in the arena.

In fact.

She spent a long time re-analyzing all the enemies in the entire new instance.

Simply put...

She raised the overall difficulty of the entire instance significantly.

The enemies are more aggressive, their attacks have shorter recovery times, and the demands on players' spatial distance control have become more stringent.

But this time, she wasn't acting recklessly and disregarding the players' lives.

She did it on purpose—when she first fought Artorias, her fighting instincts kicked in, but when she realized she couldn't continue like that, she abandoned Deflect and focused on practicing rolling.

As she practiced, she discovered...

Rolling and dodging can really improve your spatial distance control.

Moreover, the opponents matched in the Cross-Realm Arena may not actually be human, and players will often encounter attacks that cannot Neutralize Deflect even blocked.

This instance can fill the gaps currently faced by players.

Sekiro teaches weapon combat.

The Sifu taught his disciples to fight.

Dark Souls teaches players to avoid damage entirely by controlling their own bodies, without relying on weapon clashes.

While Artorias has been made to feel extremely imposing, he is ultimately just a hidden boss who doesn't affect the main storyline.

If players really can't beat it or can't stand the torture, they can simply take a detour; it doesn't serve any purpose as forced training.

That won't do.

In order to truly train players and force them to control their physical limits, the other enemies in the dungeon must also be modified accordingly.

Therefore, Lu Xiu made a major overhaul of the enemies in the main storyline.

She significantly reduced the unnecessary attack recovery time of many enemies and added a large number of new moves, as well as a highly deceptive fast and slow attack rhythm.

"Players will definitely suffer a bit at first, but once they get used to it, their control over their bodies will undergo a complete transformation."

As Lu Xiu summoned the System Panel, preparing to seal the dungeon, she said softly, "Besides, we've already earned Survival Points during the arena phase, so players should be able to afford to enter the dungeon multiple times. Add to that the Bonfire rest mechanism, clearing the dungeon should definitely be no problem."

It's a bit of a pity.

This instance.

Lu Xiu couldn't create a fancy ending like in the [Witch] dungeon.

There are only two fixed endings.

Either pass the fire on.

Either put out the fire.

[Replica Status: Can be Sealed]

[Should the copy be packaged?]

"Yes."

Lu Xiu reached out and tapped the confirmation button.

Countless tiny data streams appeared in the air.

The fine lines were drawn out from the entire copy and converged in the sky to form a slowly rotating sphere of light.

Once completed, the system will display another notification.

[Completing packaging--]

[Copy packaging complete!]

[Construction complete, starting to test instance scene structure and scale, Rule Stabilization Cost generation in progress----]

[Rule Stabilization Cost: 250,000 Survival Points]

[The instance is about to be released and requires Architect to extract memories for in-game verification. Please see the attachment for detailed rules.]

[The system rating, completion rewards, and Architect rewards for the dungeon will be given after the Architect clears the dungeon and the dungeon becomes available for online play. Some rewards are affected by the Architect's completion status.]

[Enter the instance for live testing?]

Lu Xiu looked at the pop-up window. Although the Rule Stabilization Cost was a bit unexpected, she was already mentally prepared for it.

After all, this instance is really quite large.

As for verification and customs clearance.

This is definitely going to be a tough battle.

But Lu Xiu had only just gotten up. She had deliberately Artorias until today to regain her feel for the game and directly verify her success.

Go ahead and fight.

Lu Xiu clicked "Yes" directly.

[Entering the instance----]

[Role: Undead]

[Architect Verification Mode Activated]

[Beginning to peel away memories]

[Loading copy----]

The Construction Space in Lu Xiu's eyes began to change.

The whole world seemed to have turned into a water-like substance, and everything began to flow.

The sky is spinning.

Space folding.

Within the Construction Space, accompanied by Bai Guang, Lu Xiu's figure disappeared.

outside world.

A new day dawned as scheduled, and the arena battles resumed once again.

The top players in Nine Provinces and Prison Rock have already skillfully launched the recapture battle, beginning a new round of bloody fighting for that one percent attribute boost.

Meanwhile, mid-to-low-level players from both sides started matchmaking, entered the regular arena, and then fought against their opponents in various dungeons.

As for the high-ranking officials on both sides, who were located in the rear, they began to calculate the gains and losses, just as usual.

Everything is proceeding smoothly.

Both sides are used to it.

until.

That unexpected change occurred suddenly.

--

A deep, resonant sound, as if a distant bell had traveled through countless ages, echoed unexpectedly above all the players.

At the same instant, all the players heard this sound, like a death knell.

Immediately afterwards, the skies above Prison Rock, Nine Provinces, and even the arena all changed.

The dome, which was originally either sunny or gloomy, had all its colors forcibly erased at this moment.

The sky darkened visibly, and a dark eclipse, its edges burning with crimson flames and its interior as deep as an abyss, hung above everyone's heads like a Darksign ring branded into the sky.

All the players stopped what they were doing at the same time, looked up in astonishment at the strange change in the sky, and didn't know what had happened.

But they soon found out.

Immediately following, a system notification sounded like thunder above everyone's heads.

[Global Announcement: The first brand-new dungeon of the Arena season is coming soon and has officially entered the Architect gameplay testing phase. Stay tuned!]

[Instance Name: Dark Souls]

[Source region: Nine Provinces]

[Architect: Lu Xiu]

This copy is currently rated -SSS.

[If the Architect can clear the dungeon, Nine Provinces will become the twenty-second region to construct an SSS-rank dungeon.]

This announcement was made.

After a brief period of deathly silence, both Nine Provinces and Prison Rock were instantly filled with a clamor and gasps that seemed capable of lifting the dome of the sky.

SSS-level?!

However, the system's announcements were not yet over.

[Special Event: Invasion.]

[To reward Architect for creating higher-level dungeons during the arena period, to contribute to the Cross-Realm Arena event, and to help players from both factions become familiar with the dungeon more quickly.]

[During the Architect Verification period, the Cross-Realm Arena will feature a limited-time special event - Invasion.]

[During the special event, enemy units within the new dungeon will bypass scene restrictions and randomly invade any regular arena or recapture battle area where battles are currently taking place.]

[Invading units will not be subject to the arena instance mechanics.]

[Wishing all players good fortune in battle.]

As the final announcement was made, the strange phenomenon in the sky gradually dissipated, the oppressive Darksign disappeared, and the sky returned to normal.

But still, not many players moved; everyone was completely bewildered.

Because it's so absurd!

Whether they are players of Nine Provinces or players of Prison Rock, they all feel this way at this moment.

Last time, after Lu Xiu regained her nine-game winning streak, she suddenly disappeared, and everyone wondered what she had gone to do.

----The result was that he went off to Constructed Instance without saying a word!

The dungeon that was constructed was still an SSS-rated dungeon!!

SSS!!!

Wait, this is how you play? You can do both Constructed Instance at the same time?!

Many players in Prison Rock smiled with relief.

and.

To promote their new dungeon, the system actually pulled off a celestial anomaly! And it's not just limited to the Nine Provinces! What kind of treatment is this?!

And that's not even mentioning the invasion event—to let players familiarize themselves with the dungeon as quickly as possible? They just let enemies from the new dungeon run into the arena where battles are already taking place and cause chaos? Is that reasonable?

What kind of dungeon is this?!

no.

Is it really necessary?????

Amidst the shock, everyone couldn't help but ask the same question in their hearts.