Ambushed

Let's move the timeline forward slightly.

The Firelink Shrine.

Gallagher stood by the Bonfire, his face grim as he stared at the messages flashing in the communications window.

Those were battle reports sent by Tessa and other players trapped in the Anor Londo.

In the Anor Londo, Lu Xiu, the Architect of Nine Provinces, simply used the enemy aggro mechanism in the dungeon to eliminate two Chosen Player, Lei and Enoch!

She has now reached the Sen's Fortress through the Demon and has completely blocked the Anor Londo's access to the outside world.

Upon hearing this information from Gallagher, the other players in the Prison Rock by the Bonfire instantly turned ugly, and many couldn't help but curse.

"Useless! What happened?!"

"Two Chosen Player, how could they be so easily killed by a Architect? How did things turn out like this!"

Are they pigs?

"Quiet."

Gallagher raised his hand, interrupting the crowd's impotent rage.

"We don't yet know where the other Chosen Player in Nine Provinces are gathered, but we definitely need to go to the Anor Londo, this strategic location."

Gallagher said in a deep voice, "Zane has already gone to retrieve the Eerie Puppet. When he returns, half of the people will go directly to the Anor Londo with him and use his Chosen Skill to support Anor Londo people inside."

As for now—

Gallagher turned his head and looked at Queenie was standing in the corner.

Currently, the only nominally "Nine Provinces player" on the field holds a crucial intelligence piece in their hands.

Let's look around the neighborhood first.

Gallagher stared at her, his eyes sharp. "There seems to be a Core Bonfire here. Let's see if we can find it. Queenie, are you sure the Nine Provinces players haven't mentioned any powerful bosses here, right?"

Queenie, pale-faced, nodded mechanically upon hearing this.

"I'm sure."

At this moment, Queenie's mind was still in a daze.

She had been asleep for more than ten days and was only recently forced to wake up due to a forced match.

When he opened his eyes, he found that the sky had fallen.

The Prison Rock faction is on the verge of collapse.

"Let's search around first. If we can't find it, that's fine. What we still have are the five Core Bonfire on the Architect's body, and the Core Bonfire in the Painted World —it's just that the Sen's Fortress is not suitable for combat, and it will take some time for the Architect from Nine Provinces to come out."

Gallagher thought for a moment, "Let's send someone to keep an eye on the exit of the Sen's Fortress. Once the Architect comes out, immediately notify the others to find the point in time when no monsters are following her."

"Click."

Finn, who had been leaning against the ruins, suddenly straightened up and twisted his wrist. "I'll go."

Gallagher turned his head and looked at the top player of Prison Rock who was unarmed not far away, somewhat surprised. "----Are you going to keep watch?"

"Yes, and while we're at it, let's see if we can test this Architect's skills."

A glint of fighting spirit flashed in Finn's eyes. "According to intelligence, her fighting style relies heavily on the parrying of melee weapons."

My Domain Skill is a natural counter to hers. Now that I know her exact location, I want to go and see what she's really made of."

Gallagher stared at him for a while, quickly weighing the pros and cons in his mind.

After a moment, he nodded.

"OK."

But then...

Gallagher solemnly instructed, "But remember, if she comes with a horde of monsters like she did in the Anor Londo, don't hesitate, leave immediately."

Your Domain Skill are most effective when combined; don't waste opportunities, use them where they're most appropriate.

Finn nodded, then turned and walked towards the Sen's Fortress: "I know."

"Etc."

At this moment.

Still in a daze, Queenie finally reacted and shouted, "She created a dungeon called [Sifu]!"

Finn didn't even stop walking. "I know, but the first SS-rank dungeon arena battle we won—the setting was our Sifu."

Ding--Ding----

The Blacksmith's hammering continued to echo, seemingly oblivious to the imminent danger lurking nearby.

Lu Xiu stopped in front of the door, her gaze sweeping over the pool of Demon ashes on the ground that had not yet been completely refreshed, before finally settling on the man in front of her.

[Finn, Sequence 31].

Looking at the mess on the ground, Lu Xiu instantly completed a preliminary profile of the enemy.

The Titanite Demon has high health and defense, and an extremely large attack range.

The man before them was unarmed, his life force was fully restored, and he bore no injuries whatsoever.

Extremely strong and explosive, possibly specializing in close-quarters combat.

----Based on the sequence, their combat strength is definitely not bad.

"So fast? What on earth is that idiot Tessa doing? How could his intelligence be wrong?"

Finn was also taken aback when he saw Lu Xiu standing in front of the door.

He never expected Lu Xiu to emerge from the Sen's Fortress so quickly.

My immediate thought was that Tessa's intelligence was outdated.

but----

He looked behind Lu Xiu.

There are no monsters.

There was only Lu Xiu.

moment.

Finn calmed down.

He twisted his neck, and with a cracking sound, stared at the slender Lu Xiu.

"You must be Lu Xiu, the Architect of Nine Provinces?"

"Nice to meet you, my name is Finn."

"I've just heard about your exploits in the Anor Londo, and I've also heard what those trash you annihilated in the recapture battle had to say—time stop, attack reflection, super high stats, flashy skills."

You're really strong.

"Interested in playing against me?"

As Finn spoke, he took a step forward, accompanied by a shockwave that instantly scattered the Demon ashes on the ground. "I'm a little better fighter than a fool like Ray."

Lu Xiu looked at him without saying a word, but simply drew her Nameless Blade.

Seeing Lu Xiu's actions.

A hint of excitement flickered in Finn's eyes. "Looks like there is, but weapon-based combat is so boring."

He slowly raised his arms, assuming an extremely imposing fighting stance, the veins on the back of his hands bulging like coiled dragons.

"Since you can create a copy like Sifu's, then let's settle things with our fists!"

"Domain Expansion -- [The Edge-less Prison]."

The words had barely left his mouth.

Buzz!

A visible ripple, centered on him, instantly swept across the entire room.

Lu Xiu was taken aback, then lowered her head slightly and glanced at the pop-up window.

[Note: You are affected by an area of effect. The damage of bladed weapons is forcibly reduced by 90%, and their weight is increased by 300%. Weapon durability slowly decreases during use. If disarmed, you will lose the weapon permanently.]

Are you surprised?

Finn spoke again.

This is the biggest reason why he dared to hunt down Lu Xiu alone!

Domain Skill melee weapons!

Within his domain, blades become dull, swords lose their cutting power, daggers cannot pierce skin, and even arrowheads lose their power.

All weapons will also have their damage forcibly changed from slashing/thrusting to striking, with a significant reduction in damage.

Conversely, within this area, his unarmed attacks receive a 30% damage bonus and his attack speed increases by 20%.

%.

This is an area perfectly tailored for melee combat.

Moreover, in this field.

There is also a hidden mechanism: if Finn successfully catches an opponent's weapon bare-handed within his area of effect, he can disarm the opponent immediately.

They are truly natural counters.

Not really surprised.

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiu immediately sheathed her Nameless Blade, clenched her fair hand into a fist, and assumed a fighting stance, finally speaking, "I can only say that I truly had foresight—"

She knew this would happen.

It's alright.

I created the [Sifu] instance back then.

[Nine Provinces Live Room]

One second ago.

The comments section, which was still filled with questions about Lu Xiu's flawless speedrun of the Sen's Fortress, changed the moment Lu Xiu encountered Finn and was forced to sheathe her Nameless Blade and adopt a fighting stance.

Why did Lu Xiu put the knife away?

"Domain - Domain Skill of the Chosen Player 'Prison Rock One'!"

"It's alright! Lu Xiu has done this dungeon Sifu! She can definitely beat it bare-handed!"

"Look at their sequence! Rank 31! The sequence difference is so huge! How can they fight without Deflect?!"

And there are no monsters behind Lu Xiu anymore!

"No, no! I've seen clips of Lu Xiu's Sifu in the dungeon. She's very skilled in martial arts; otherwise, she wouldn't have included so many different styles in the dungeon!"

"But the problem is! This is a player at Prison Rock Sequence 31! Just looking at her physique, you can tell her strength attribute is terrifying. She, a Architect, is going to engage in close combat with her?!"

"It's all over! It's all over! Although Lu Xiu has created a dungeon of her Sifu, real-world opponents and dungeon enemies are not the same thing! What's more, she's still within the domain!"

Holy crap!!!

Players in Nine Provinces started arguing; some felt relieved, while others were as anxious as ants on a hot pan.

The latter is clearly more common.

no way.

Although Lu Xiu demonstrated extremely terrifying micro-management and understanding of dungeon mechanics, it was all based on dodging and Deflect.

Now, Deflect is useless; it's all about hard, direct, fist-to-fist combat.

Look at Finn's muscles, bulging like rocks, then look at Lu Xiu's fair, slender arms, which seem as if they could break at any moment—

This huge difference in size sent the hearts of all Nine Provinces players to their lowest point.

This is terrible!

[Prison Rock's Livestream]

In stark contrast to the despair in Nine Provinces.

The previously listless players of Prison Rock now seemed to have grasped at a last straw, their enthusiastic comments flooding the screen, their confidence restored.

"Hahaha! She's actually stupid enough to pose unarmed in front of Finn!"

"Does she think Lord Finn doesn't get any boosts from his domain? That's Mythic Grade domain!"

"Without that bizarre deflection attack! Without the BOSS's help! How could she possibly be a match for Lord Finn!"

"In close combat, Lord Finn is a god!"

"Tear her apart! Lord Finn, show her what real violence is!"

Smash her!!!

Inside the basement room.

The firelight cast flickering shadows of Lu Xiu and Finn on the wall.

Seeing Lu Xiu take a stance.

Finn was taken aback at first, then threw his head back and burst into wild laughter.

"I like you!"

Finn looked at Lu Xiu again. "If only you were the Architect of Prison Rock! I really liked your Sifu's dungeon too! It was so imaginative! It's so much better than that crappy dungeon build from Helag!"

"You have great ideas about hand-to-hand combat, and that Neutralize- mechanic is ingenious!"

"But the enemies in the dungeon didn't stop me, even though every attack they landed had elemental damage."

"Furthermore—a dungeon is a dungeon! Real-world combat is real-world combat!"

"In my territory—what do you think you can use to fight me?!"

Boom!

Finn had barely finished speaking when he moved.

The stone slab beneath their feet shattered with a deafening crash.

His massive body, carrying an overwhelming force, surged forward in an instant, instantly bridging the distance between the two!

Quick!

Very fast!

Finn's movements were so fast that he left a trail of Afterimage in the air.

It's truly unbelievable that a player of that size could be so fast.

His fist, bigger than a clay pot, tore through the air with a sharp whistling sound, heading straight for Lu Xiu's face!

Faced with this overwhelming attack.

Lu Xiu's steps were slightly heavier, and she used her waist to raise her fair right arm, preparing to receive Finn's fierce and unparalleled punch.

However.

Just as she raised her arm.

A sudden change has occurred!

A strange sensation, as if she were being wrapped in invisible threads, came from her right arm without warning.

Immediately afterwards, a strange pulling force suddenly yanked her raised arm back.

This sudden loss of control instantly disrupted Lu Xiu's rhythm of exertion.

She widened her beautiful eyes slightly, realizing there was no way to avoid it!

In the nick of time, he could only rely on his experience to forcefully twist his body and hastily raise his arms, crossing them in front of him to block the attack!

Bang!!!

It exploded with a blast of air.

A dull, heart-stopping thud exploded in the room!

Finn's terrifying punch, amplified by increased damage, slammed solidly into Lu Xiu's hastily parrying arms!

A brute force erupted suddenly.

Lu Xiu let out a muffled groan, her feet carving two shallow furrows in the ground as she uncontrollably slid along the ground until her back slammed hard against the stone wall.

A dull, muffled thud.

Several spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the wall, and gravel and dust fell from between the bricks.

[Nine Provinces Live Room]

The barrage of comments, which had initially held onto hope, came to a complete halt at that moment.

Immediately following was a screen full of desperate wails.

"It's over----"

"It's all over! It's all over! We really can't stop it!"

"It's over, I'm really doomed here—"

"One punch took away a third of his health."

Inside the arena.

Hahahaha!

Finn watched as Lu Xiu crashed into the wall and let out a wild and violent laugh.

"See that? This is reality! Faced with absolute violence, all those fancy tricks you come up with in dungeons are utterly useless!"

"----"

Lu Xiu lightly flicked her arm, not even glancing at Finn, who was laughing wildly.

He wasn't even given a glance.

She slowly turned her head, looking directly to her right. Her gaze seemed to pierce through the thick stone wall and across the vast distance, locking onto something hidden in the shadows.

at the same time.

The Undead Parish outside the city.

A woman who bore a striking resemblance to Jian Li sat listlessly atop the Bell Tower, gently swinging her snow-white legs.

Several almost transparent silk threads were wrapped around her fair fingertips.

It was as if they could sense that gaze that transcended space.

The woman's fingertips, which were playing with the silk thread, paused slightly.

Then, a soft smile slowly bloomed on her beautiful face.

"Ah----"

"So that's how you discovered it?"