Seizing the Prize

Let's rewind a few minutes.

Oolacile, the arena.

The battle between Lu Xiu and Artorias has entered its most intense and suffocating phase.

Or to be more precise...

I've entered the stage where I'm almost there, but I need to restrain myself from being greedy and making those cuts.

Artorias the other hand, leaps and bounds about, and in his later moves, he completely lost any trace of a set pattern.

Simply put...

If you said Artorias was a player right now, everyone would believe you.

At the beginning.

He also has a set routine of two to three throws, followed by various attacks.

Now his throws can easily change mid-throw.

Unbelievable!

Lu Xiu was almost driven to the point where she wanted to directly request Audience with him and fight him with swords.

However, considering the need for cooling, I ultimately refrained from doing so.

Artorias another indistinct roar, leaping high into the air, his greatsword crackling with raging purple lightning.

Lu Xiu was about to roll away to avoid it.

But right in mid-air!

Artorias twisted his body abruptly, canceling his downward strike in an instant. His greatsword drew a twisted arc in the air, transforming into a wide-ranging sweep!

A mid-air maneuver!

Feint to trick me into rolling!

But Lu Xiu's reaction was also outrageous.

As she rolled halfway through, she saw this scene and immediately used her waist strength to twist her center of gravity. She Loathing Halberd halberd into the ground and used the force to slide backward at the limit, barely managing to avoid the black sword blade.

Brush!!

In response to this...

The core players of Nine Provinces have become numb.

Gods are fighting.

This is truly a battle of gods!

"Damage! He's almost out of health!!" Cheng Xiu shouted, jolting the others back to reality.

Take advantage of the gap and unleash your ranged skills on Artorias.

And it was in this desperate situation, where the powerful BOSS kept changing its tactics and gradually became unpredictable, almost suffocating, that things began.

Lu Xiu was panting and trying to avoid her.

Finally! Once again, they keenly caught Artorias's movement ending in less than a second.

She didn't retreat any further. Instead, she decisively took a step forward, her figure moving like lightning as she closed in, the Nameless Blade becoming a Afterimage.

A single, powerful strike!

Brush!

Pfft!

The blade sliced through the seams of Artorias's armor and pierced into his armor.

It finally became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Above Artorias's head.

The health bar that had filled many with despair flickered briefly before finally reaching zero.

Seeing that Artorias's health had reached zero, Lu Xiu's tense nerves finally relaxed.

She slightly raised her slender, snow-white chin, gazing at the dim sky through the arena.

I only feel regret.

I deeply regret it.

I'm so tired.

I should have known better than to go so far!

However.

Just when the core players of Nine Provinces, who had been mostly slacking off throughout the battle, thought the battle was over and were about to cheer, they suddenly discovered that Artorias did not disappear the moment its health reached zero, unlike other monsters.

"No way----"

Upon witnessing this scene, Cheng Xiu and the Nine Provinces players' pupils constricted slightly, and they immediately shouted, "Lu Xiu!"

Two phases aren't enough?

This guy has a third stage?!

Lu Xiu looked down again and was somewhat surprised to see that Artorias hadn't disappeared. She gripped the Nameless Blade and the Loathing Halberd tightly once more.

At the same time, Artorias, standing opposite her, slowly raised the heavy Abyss Greatsword in his hand.

only.

He did not launch another attack.

He simply held the greatsword upright in front of him, its blade pointing straight at Lu Xiu.

Then, his left arm, which was hanging down, moved as if trying to raise it, but he failed and only swayed slightly.

Thus, the Wolf Knight, corrupted by the Abyss, could only hold his sword in one hand and bow his head slightly to Lu Xiu, who had defeated him.

Lu Xiu was stunned when she saw this scene.

This looks so much like the etiquette of the Farron Undead Legion.

No way?

She only did it once, when she was building Artorias, her original intention was to try out some high-minded chivalrous rituals or something like that.

This will also become part of the dungeon character's experience.

this----

Lu Xiu stared blankly at the Wolf Knight was bowing his head and raising his sword to her.

Before she could fully react...

Artorias his pose, his body gradually transforming into countless dazzling specks of light, slowly dissipating in the dilapidated arena.

The entire Oolacile Colosseum was deathly silent.

Whether it was the core players of Nine Provinces at the edge of the arena or the countless viewers in the main live stream, they were all frozen in place, staring blankly at the girl standing in the center of the dazzling light.

They won?!

This is a terrifying boss with absolutely no room for error.

This is a desperate knight who would be instantly killed if he were even slightly grazed.

She actually did it! Completely unharmed! Relying solely on melee weapons and unbelievable skill, she managed to cut him down with her bare hands!

And it seems Artorias even paid homage to her at the end?

----They even managed to subdue the BOSS?!

On the other side.

Lu Xiu was unaware of the gazes around her.

Because at the same time.

In the center of the Duel Arena.

Bonfire has been lit.

never mind----

Let's think about these things later.

Lu Xiu thought for a moment and decided not to dwell on whether the last thing was actually a ritual of the Farron Undead Legion. Instead, she put away the Nameless Blade and the Loathing Halberd, a look of exhaustion on her face, and went straight to the newly appeared pile of ashes in the center of the arena, slowly extending her fair hand.

Boom!

The warm, orange-red flames suddenly intensified, sparks flying everywhere, dispelling the lingering Abyss aura within the arena.

Immediately afterwards.

The crisp system notification sound echoed throughout the entire battlefield, and also reached the ears of the players Prison Rock in the Painted World and the Firelink Shrine.

[Congratulations! Player Lu Xiu from Nine Provinces has lit the second Core Bonfire in Oolacile!]

An exciting announcement was then made.

Cheng Xiu, Wei Yidong, and other core players from Nine Provinces suddenly realized what was happening and quickly surrounded them.

Although they didn't understand the meaning behind Artorias's final gesture of raising his sword and bowing his head.

But they were certain it was a tribute.

Therefore, at this moment, the way they looked at Lu Xiu had completely changed.

However.

Just as this group of core Nine Provinces players gathered around with a pilgrimage-like feeling...

Lu Xiu, who had just lit the Bonfire and whose posture had remained ramrod straight, suddenly deflated like a punctured balloon.

She took a few steps forward, then bent over and rested her head limply on Jian Li's shoulder.

Jian Li's body stiffened slightly as she felt the weight on her shoulder and the faint fragrance emanating from Lu Xiu's hair. She glanced down at her, then slowly relaxed.

Lu Xiu closed her eyes. The extreme micro-management she had just performed had really exhausted her. She just wanted to lean on someone familiar, and at the same time, she couldn't help but say, "Shen Nian, help me with my hair."

"Yes, Master----"

Still reeling from the battle, Shen Nian's mind was a complete mess, but her body reacted with obedience faster than her consciousness.

But those two words had barely left his lips when...

Shen Nian suddenly realized what she had said, and her pretty face instantly turned bright red. She hurriedly stepped forward and began to help Lu Xiu untie her ponytail and re-tie it.

Pretend nothing happened.

But everyone heard it.

Jiang Qiu looked at Shen Nian with a strange expression.

Cheng Xiu, Wei Yidong, and other core players from Nine Provinces were instantly petrified, standing rooted to the spot, looking at Shen Nian with faces full of question marks.

What is her name, Lu Xiu?

Master—Master?!

Is that true?!

all of a sudden.

Everyone's emotions were out of sync.

At the same time.

In Nine Provinces's main live stream room.

Countless viewers had just witnessed the entire breathtaking BOSS battle, and the comment section was still in a state of collective speechlessness and shock.

Suddenly, I saw this scene and clearly heard Shen Nian say "master" so naturally.

The chat room exploded with comments!

[??????]

[Holy crap?! What did I just hear?!]

[Master?! What did Shen Nian call Lu Xiu?! Master?!! Something's fishy!!]

[Wait! This is too much information! My CPU is going to burn out! That member of the Strategy Group was named Lu Xiu —Master?!]

Something's fishy! There's definitely something fishy going on between these two!

[Oh ho ho, yuri is wonderful! So Lu Xiu likes this kind of thing. I understand now. I don't know why, but I actually think it's very good.]

[Wow, the style changed so fast! One second she was dancing on the edge of a knife, the next she's leaning limply on someone's shoulder—so cute!]

[What kind of treatment is this! I also want to do Lu Xiu's hair! Please give me a chance!!]

[Lu Xiu! What did you do?! Why do you have such a strange nickname?! Can you tell everyone? Hehe----]

[Just a moment ago he was like a Martial God, and now he's all sprawled out, hahaha, so cute----]

[I'm really in love, I'm not kidding, guys! I'm really in love! I really like it! I can be like a god of war, and I can also be like a high school student!]

[Actually, I also----]

[----]

It's obvious.

The audience's focus was also diverted.

The thrilling boss battle that had just taken place was now completely forgotten.

At the same time.

Oolacile Arena.

Lu Xiu leaned on Jian Li's shoulder for a while, letting Shen Nian gently untangle her ponytail, which was a little messy from the battle.

As her strength returned slightly, her mind, which had been somewhat dazed from intense focus, finally began to function again.

This operation.

She immediately sensed something was wrong!

Etc!

What am I doing?!

She sprang up from Jian Li's shoulder, straightening her back with a whoosh. The movement was so sudden that it startled Shen Nian, who was helping her fix her hair.

As soon as Lu Xiu looked up, she saw Jiang Qiu's strange expression.

Cough cough.

Lu Xiu instantly remembered everything, her earlobes turning slightly red. She immediately coughed and quickly took the hairband from Shen Nian's hand. "I can do it myself, I can do it myself—"

I was careless.

He forgot that he wasn't clearing the dungeon alone, nor was he with Shen Nian Jian Li.

What am I doing?

Unbeknownst to Lu Xiu, the moment she jumped up, the live chat exploded again.

And her popularity exploded once again----

"Let's take a break."

Lu Xiu barely managed to regain her composure. "Then let's discuss what to do next."

Cheng Xiu, Wei Yidong, and the other core male players responded, then continued to study the dilapidated arena.

It looked as if flowers had grown on it.

This arena—it really looks like an arena!

On the contrary, the female players, led by the round-faced girl, were staring intently at Lu Xiu, especially the round-faced girl, whose eyes seemed to sparkle with admiration.

Lu Xiu felt a little uncomfortable being stared at by the round-faced girl.

He turned slightly to the side.

Then, she skillfully retied her long hair into a high ponytail and secured it with a hairband.

Then, she turned around, took a deep breath, forcibly putting aside the awkward interlude, and swept her gaze over everyone. "So, what are your plans next?"

Hearing about important matters.

Cheng Xiu finally turned his gaze away from the dilapidated arena, which was practically devoid of any distinguishing features, and straightened his expression. "What do you think? We have a huge advantage right now. The Oolacile map only has two Core Bonfire, and we've already captured both of them, while Prison Rock hasn't even taken one yet—"

But he hadn't finished speaking.

Suddenly, the system notification sounded again throughout the entire group battle arena.

[Congratulations to player Zane from Prison Rock for lighting the first Core Bonfire in the Painted World!]

Upon hearing this announcement...

The atmosphere in the arena instantly froze.

"----Now it's two against one."

Cheng Xiu lowered his head and continued, "Our advantage isn't as significant now. We haven't lit many ordinary Bonfire along the way, so it feels like we need to capture a Core Bonfire to be on the safe side. What do you think?"

Although Nine Provinces still maintains a lead in the number of Core Bonfire, with one.

But it is indeed not very stable.

Who knows if the other side will take the second one?

Lu Xiu nodded and casually said, "Then let's rob it."

"Now that Oolacile no longer has a Core Bonfire Core Bonfire, which location should we try to seize next?"

"Um----"

Lu Xiu lowered her head slightly, lost in thought.

She had a vague feeling.

The Core Bonfire that Prison Rock occupied this time should not be the Core Bonfire guarded by the Sister Friede and Midir, but rather the Core Bonfire in another part of the Painted World.

Let's go to Firelink Shrine first.

Lu Xiu had a vague idea of what was going on. She looked up and said directly, "The Painted World is too far away, and the monsters attracted to the Anor Londo are troublesome to clear out. It's much faster to get to the Firelink Shrine from here."

These words were spoken.

The core players from Nine Provinces present all nodded slightly.

However, the hearts of the Nine Provinces players watching the live stream were on edge.

Go and face that terrifying dragon head-on?

Although Lu Xiu had just demonstrated superhuman micro-management skills.

But that was when facing a humanoid monster.

Facing a massive ancient Ancient Dragon would be difficult, wouldn't it? It would be better to confront the Sister Friede and Father in the painting directly.

The audience erupted in discussion.

But the players in the group battle arena are unaware of these things.

"Good."

Cheng Xiu nodded. "But we still need to leave someone here to guard it, after all, we also need to prevent the people from Prison Rock from coming to steal it. According to the rules of the Painted World, once the first player enters the hidden map, other players do not need to complete the prerequisites."

"Um."

Lu Xiu nodded. "Then you can arrange it as you see fit; I won't interfere."

"OK."

Cheng Xiu had no objection to this, and knew that Lu Xiu didn't like it, but he quickly thought of something else, "Should we still light the other ordinary Bonfire? The ordinary Bonfire in Oolacile? Although the other Bonfire don't have as many points as the Core Bonfire, the Bonfire in Oolacile still has a higher score than the ordinary Bonfire outside."

1

You can arrange it as you see fit.

Lu Xiu pondered for a moment, "Take what you can, but remember not to provoke the Lord of the Abyss or the Ancient Dragon, or we might be wiped out."

Cheng Xiu was taken aback. "Lord of the Abyss? Ancient Dragon? The map of Oolacile —wasn't it already finished?"

Even the terrifying Artorias has appeared.

Lu Xiu: "Who told you it's over? There are still two bosses left on this map!"

Everyone:

???

What???

That boss we just saw wasn't the final boss of this map???

no.

Just how much inhuman stuff did Oolacile stuff in there?!