How Tragic
On the other side.
The Firelink Shrine.
Above the long, dark slide leading to Midir's dwelling cave.
Gallagher leaned against the stone wall, looking at the communication panel in front of him, listening to Zane's report from the Painted World.
After a while.
Zane has finished his report.
Gallagher reached out and closed the communication panel with Zane, a strange, even somewhat absurd, expression on his face.
"What's wrong?"
Finn, standing to the side, looked at him with bloodshot eyes. "Where is the last Core Bonfire that Zane's side captured?"
"The last Core Bonfire is located in Half-Dragon Priscilla."
Gallagher's tone carried an air of unreality. "Right atop the tower in the Painted World, and this BOSS, just like in the dungeon, won't attack the player at first, but will instead advise them to leave."
Even if you forcibly pull her into the boss fight, her attack pattern is exactly the same as in the dungeon, without any changes. Even her stealth mechanism is identical; her footprints are still clearly visible on the snow. She's incredibly easy to defeat! From now on, players of any tier can rush to grab this Core Bonfire immediately.
"We can reliably capture one Core Bonfire!"
T
These words were spoken.
The core players of Prison Rock, who had been looking disheveled, were all stunned, and then their faces immediately lit up with the ecstatic joy of escaping a desperate situation.
Finally!
After enduring continuous torment, they finally encountered an easy target!
"Very good!"
"Finally got the first Core Bonfire!"
"Two against one! We haven't lost yet! As long as we capture one more Core Bonfire and maintain the number of regular Bonfire, we can win!"
"We know the Painted World better than players from Nine Provinces! Players from other tiers can also reliably occupy a Core Bonfire!"
Compared to the excitement of the players around him.
Gallagher breathed a sigh of relief, but still turned to Finn beside him and asked, "Two to one, which Core Bonfire do you think we should focus on next? The Sister Friede in the Painted World? Or the dragon below?"
However.
Finn did not rush to answer when Gallagher asked him a question.
He showed no joy; instead, he frowned deeply, then turned to stare at the bottomless, dark Abyss in the distance, falling into a long silence.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing his expression, Gallagher's smile faded, and he asked.
"I feel like something's not right."
Finn slowly turned his head, somewhat uneasily, and said, "Thinking about it carefully, there are a total of five Core Bonfire in the group battle, and we've already seen the guardian Core Bonfire of three of them."
"Among them, [Darkeater Midir] in Firelink Shrine and [Sister Friede Friede] in the Painted World are both bosses that inspire despair."
"And as for Oolacile, needless to say, we knew from when we cleared the dungeon that you'd encounter a rabid, haunted Sanctuary Guardian as soon as you entered the map—"
"In short, these bosses are all extremely difficult to deal with, so why is the guardian boss of the last Core Bonfire in the Painted World the half-dragon Priscilla?"
"So, among this horde of world-destroying, utterly unreasonable monsters, why is it that Priscilla, a half-dragon also guarding vital strategic resources—"
"It's that simple?!"
--
Gallagher fell silent upon hearing this.
The joy on his face faded quickly like the tide, and he frowned.
The other players were in a similar situation.
Clearly, they followed Finn's line of thought and realized that something was amiss.
yes.
How could the system be so kind as to leave behind a Core Bonfire that's practically free?
Is it to make players compete for it?
"Something does seem off, but I'm inclined to think that the system set it up this way to make players fight over it."
Gallagher shook his head in frustration. "Besides, there's no point in thinking about it now. Finn —what's done is done. Zane has already killed the half-dragon. We can only take it one step at a time."
Finn, hearing this, said nothing more, "Hmm... tell Zane to be careful."
I'll remind her later.
Gallagher nodded and said, "So next—"
"Next— Nine Provinces has seized both of Oolacile's Core Bonfire. They certainly won't waste any more time exploring that map; they'll definitely come out and confront us."
Finn turned his head to look at the gray sky Firelink Shrine and said confidently, "After all, there are still three Core Bonfire outside, as well as a large number of ordinary Bonfire. Even if they have Oolacile's two Core Bonfire, they are not guaranteed to win. To be on the safe side, they will definitely continue to attack."
As for where they'll go—
Finn recalled the Dark Souls Map: "Judging from the distance and the fact that the entrance to the Anor Londo is blocked, after Lu Xiu and the others Oolacile, they most likely won't go to the Painted World, which is closer; they'll probably head straight for Firelink Shrine."
"So----"
Gallagher immediately followed up, saying, "Do you think we should avoid their sharp edge, detour to the Anor Londo, and directly attack the Sister Friede in the Painted World?"
"No."
However, Finn shook his head, determined to go all in. "Inform Zane to leave enough men to guard the Core Bonfire that we've already seized in the Painted World."
"Then, have him lead the remaining main force and immediately move at full speed towards the Firelink Shrine!"
Gallagher was stunned. "Let them come over? You think fighting the dragon is better?"
"Right!"
Finn nodded, a lingering gloom in his eyes. "That Core Bonfire in the Painted World was obtained far too easily."
"So easy it's unsettling."
"I think we shouldn't go to the Painted World and the Anor Londo anymore. We should gather everyone together, make thorough preparations, and fight the giant dragon beneath our feet, whose mechanics we've already witnessed!"
Furthermore, as you've seen, the dragon's attack range is enormous. Once you enter the boss's arena, it won't care who's a Nine Provinces player or a Prison Rock player. If any Nine Provinces player dares to come, it will be immediately hit by Lu Xiu's [Creator] buff.
Attracted, they attacked her Nine Provinces faction.
We might even be able to fight alongside the BOSS against players from the Nine Provinces!
Gallagher's eyes lit up upon hearing this. "That's true!! Great! But we need to prepare for both possibilities. If the Nine Provinces players don't come, we'll still need to seize the Core Bonfire."
"----You mean?"
"Send Gran to the Dragon Bridge and see if we can encounter the Knight of the Sun. Since he helped the players during the dungeon run, he should be able to help now as well. And since the other bosses have been strengthened, he will definitely be strengthened as well. If we have him tanking in front, we can handle things much more easily."
Finn was taken aback, then his eyes lit up.
At the same time.
In the live stream room of the Prison Rock faction.
Countless players of Prison Rock witnessed Zane leading his people away from the church where the Sister Friede lived, heading towards the tower that originally existed in the Painted World.
Then, they easily focused fire and quickly eliminated the half-dragon Priscilla, who initially didn't actively attack the player.
Next, the first Core Bonfire belonging to Prison Rock was lit.
The live stream chat finally rebounded from a state of lifeless despair.
[Phew----Finally! We finally managed to snag a Core Bonfire!]
I thought all the Core Bonfire guardian boss fights were on Hell difficulty!
Even the most meticulous plans can have flaws! No matter how difficult the BOSS that Lu Xiu constructed was, the system would still leave some room for maneuver! That's the power of space!
This Bonfire is practically free!
[I told you! No one's left without a way to survive! It's one against two now. If we hold onto this Bonfire and then capture another, we still have a chance to turn things around!]
[But whatever you do, never engage in a one-on-one fight with Lu Xiu ----]
[Well done, Lord Zane!]
A miraculous escape!
This is the most genuine feeling of all players in Prison Rock at this moment.
The Painted World is within the tower.
Zane had just emptied half of Priscilla's health bar with a single shot, breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the Bonfire that had been lit on the ground.
My tense nerves finally found a moment of relief.
It's finally done.
But just then, his communication panel suddenly lit up.
Gallagher's message popped up, along with Finn's speculation.
Zane frowned as he looked at the text on the panel.
Something's not right—
Zane, who was still immersed in joy, murmured to himself.
"What's wrong, Zane?"
Tessa, who was tall and strong, noticed the change in his expression and stepped forward to ask.
Zane shook his head and turned off the communication panel: "Nothing—Next, you lead one-third of the men to guard this Core Bonfire. No matter how many people come from Nine Provinces, you have to hold them off. Any questions?"
What's done is done; there's no point in dwelling on it.
So what if they killed him?
We can't revive the half-dragon.
"No problem."
Tessa's expression turned serious, and she nodded emphatically.
"Then the other two-thirds, come with me!"
Zane turned around and looked at the remaining core players in the Painted World: "Next, we'll leave the Painted World and head to Firelink Shrine to meet up with Gallagher and the others! Be prepared to face the Nine Provinces players head-on!"
"Oh!!!"
The players in the Prison Rock Core, who had just lit the first Core Bonfire, were in high spirits and raised their weapons.
The personnel were assigned.
Without any hesitation, Zane immediately led most of the group to the edge platform that had been behind the half-dragon Priscilla.
In the original mechanics, jumping down from here would allow you to leave the Painted World and return to the Anor Londo of Anor Londo.
"Walk!"
Zane was the first to leap down.
The players behind him, including those from Prison Rock, followed closely behind and jumped down from the tower.
And obviously.
Even if the dungeon becomes a group battle scenario, the mechanics remain unchanged.
soon.
They landed on their feet, completely leaving the Painted World and returning to the Anor Londo.
But the moment they returned to the Anor Londo...
They realized something was wrong, and looked up in surprise, glancing around.
The once magnificent Anor Londo of Anor Londo, seemingly bathed in divine light, is now dilapidated and gloomy.
And that magnificent sunset, which seemed eternal, also vanished.
The area outside was shrouded in deathly darkness, and an eerie atmosphere permeated the air.
This scene is familiar to any player who has cleared the dungeon.
This is the true state of the Anor Londo that only appears after attacking the illusion of the Gwynevere and killing Gwyndolin.
"Have the players from Nine Provinces gone to Gwyndolin?!"
Behind Zane, a player from Prison Rock looked surprised. "They want to get the Lordvessel and leave the Anor Londo?"
Upon hearing this...
Zane frowned slightly.
He just passed through the dense monster Nine Provinces at the entrance to the Anor Londo by using the "Mist Sea Abyss" domain. For players in the Anor Londo who want to leave, there is no specific domain to target—the only way is indeed to kill Gwyndolin and seize the Lordvessel.
but.
He always felt that things weren't that simple.
Especially after recalling Finn's speculation.
Just as Zane grew increasingly uneasy and was about to order the entire army to be on high alert...
Swish!
The once empty hall was suddenly filled with shadows that began to spread and twist wildly, as if they were alive!
The next second.
Under the horrified gazes of all the players in the Prison Rock.
The shadows began to spread forward, encroaching on their path!
Immediately afterwards.
A figure wearing Crown of the Dark Sun, with silver hair, a beautiful appearance like a woman, but whose lower body was made up of countless ferocious snakes, slowly emerged from the shadows and stood directly in front of them!
He had just walked out.
A health bar appeared above his head.
At the same time, the BOSS's name also appeared.
[Dark Sun Gwyndolin]
Gwyndolin raised his Tin Darkmoon Catalyst and looked at Zane at the front.
At the same time.
A system notification popped up in front of Zane.
[Note: Because you killed the half-dragon Priscilla, Dark Sun Gwyndolin harbors a strong desire to kill you and has begun hunting you down! Due to your sins, if you die, all battle merits earned since the start of the arena season will be reset to zero.]
Immediately afterwards.
A global announcement also sounded.
[Global Announcement: Zane, a player from the Prison Rock faction, is currently being hunted by the Dark Sun for killing the half-dragon Priscilla!]
[Special Mechanism Triggered: Killing this player (Zane) will automatically convert their sin points into a massive amount of points equivalent to one Core Bonfire! All of their battle achievements will also Plunder!]
[Because of its grave sin, from this moment forward, all NPCs in the instance who were previously neutral/friendly will be hostile to players of the Prison Rock faction and will no longer provide any assistance!]
The hall fell into a deathly silence after the two announcements were made.
Zane stood there, his eyes widening little by little, the whites of his eyes instantly becoming bloodshot.
He stared at Gwyndolin, who had appeared directly in front of him to pursue him, and looked at the system announcement that had just sounded.
This moment.
He finally understood why the Core Bonfire guarded by Half-Dragon Priscilla was so easy to obtain.
That's not someone who's easy to bully!
----Killing her would make me Lu Xiu!!!
Not only will it draw massive aggro from NPCs—it will also transform into a breathing Core Bonfire!
And it will affect the entire faction!!!
Zane's breathing became heavy, and his chest heaved violently.
At this moment.
He then noticed that this seemingly empty Anor Londo hall was actually anything but quiet.
Accompanied by a dull metallic clanging sound.
From the depths of the surrounding shadows, wave after wave of Silver Knight slowly emerged!
They were densely packed together; a quick scan revealed at least dozens!
What made Zane's blood boil even more was...
At the exit of the hall, Fan Lixin and other core players from Nine Provinces who had been trapped in the Anor Londo had somehow arrived and were now standing there leisurely.
The Silver Knight acted as if they hadn't seen them at all, showing no intention of attacking them. Instead, they were all focused on the Prison Rock players who had just emerged from the Painted World.
On the other side.
Fan Lixin noticed Zane's gaze and gave him a thumbs-up from afar. "Awesome, buddy! Making such a big fuss."
Seeing this scene...
Zane felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, and his blood rushed to his head.
You @￥%!!!
Prison Rock uses vulgar language!
However, he didn't have much time left to curse Lu Xiu and the system.
"Despicable blasphemer—"
Gwyndolin's androgynous voice rang out.
With a wave of his Tin Darkmoon Catalyst, dozens of soul bullets instantly condensed above his head, Power Accumulation to be fired.
"Block it for me first!!!"
Gwyndolin was about to launch an attack.
Zane decisively stepped back, and at the same time took out a rare item crystal from his backpack—one that was extremely rare even in the entire Prison Rock faction.
Then he crushed the crystal to pieces!
He forcibly reset his long-running Domain Skill cooldown!
"The Mist Sea Abyss!!!!"
Immediately afterwards!
Zane roared.
Accompanied by his roar.
Boom!
A thick white mist instantly exploded outwards from him, creating an area within the Anor Londo palace that deprived people of sight and sensation!
However.
Gwyndolin's Soul Bullets continued to roar forth!
"Ah!"
A scream rang out from the thick fog.
A player standing in front of Zane's Prison Rock Core was hit by all the Soul Bullets, his health bar was instantly emptied, and he turned into Bai Guang and died on the spot!
Until this moment.
Zane suddenly remembered the dungeon's backstory; standing before him now was the dungeon's illusion master!
Using thick fog to obscure his senses—what's the difference between that and burying one's head in the sand?!
"Run!!!"
Zane immediately realized that his own domain, the Mist Sea Abyss, could only barely hold off the charge of the surrounding Silver Knight.
He decisively roared, "Forget about the players in Nine Provinces! Charge out! Get out of the Anor Londo!!!"
Taking advantage of the thick fog...
Zane, leading the other players from the Prison Rock, began a frantic sprint toward the exit of the hall.
Outside the hall, Fan Lixin was already itching to get started.
At the same time.
Undead Burg.
On the wide platform at the back of Dragon Bridge.
A few minutes ago.
Gran, a player from Prison Rock who came in search of the Knight of the Sun Solaire, successfully found the warrior whose armor was painted with a comical sun pattern.
And they successfully struck up a conversation.
It looks like there's about to be progress.
However.
Just as he was halfway through his sentence...
A system announcement suddenly sounded.
The smile on Gran's face froze instantly.
Immediately afterwards.
The sound of a sharp blade being drawn rang out.
He lowered his head stiffly.
Just a second ago, Solaire was all friendly.
now.
He suddenly fell silent and slowly drew his longsword.
At the same time, he took out a round shield with a comical sun painted on it.
Beneath his helmet, his gaze, filled with icy killing intent, shot straight out.
"You----"
Solaire's voice lost its previous friendliness. "You are unworthy to call yourself the Knight of the Sun."
Gran looked at the Knight of the Sun had instantly turned from a powerful ally into an enemy, and the muscles on his face twitched violently a few times.
You @￥%!!!
Prison Rock's profanity!!!
Inside the live stream room.
Upon witnessing this subsequent development, the players of Prison Rock fell into a deathly silence once again.
There was a gap in the comment section that lasted for more than ten seconds.
One second they were banging drums and gongs.
The next second, it exploded.
In an instant, I went from great joy to great sorrow.
The players in Prison Rock felt completely devastated.
Let's not talk about them.
On the other side.
The players in Nine Provinces were completely dumbfounded.
They watched on the split screen as Zane was being chased like a dog by Gwyndolin and the Silver Knight in the Anor Londo Hall.
Fan Lixin continued to throw heavy punches from the side.
Everyone couldn't help but sigh.
That's terrible.
[Yeah! This is just too damn tragic! I feel suffocated just looking at it!]
[Imagine the psychological trauma experienced by Zane and the Prison Rock players right now----]