Tricks and Counter-Tricks

Outside the portal of the Light Eagle Legion, there was a huge crowd.

People came to watch the so-called competition, mostly mercenaries since this was their home ground, and the rest were adventurers and residents of nearby cities.

This portal is adjacent to two cities: the Leyndell and the "Garden City" of Ka Di Ya. As the name suggests, Ka Di Ya is the Leyndell's backyard, which has prospered thanks to its beautiful scenery and tourism industry. Its population is no less than that of the Leyndell, and in short, it completely surpasses Bede.

Thanks to the intentional promotion by the Light Eagle Legion, people in the vicinity learned about the competition. Due to the arrogance of the big city, their trust in the master, and their reliance on the reputation of the Light Eagle Legion, more than 90% of the onlookers supported Kent's team.

As for Lu Lu Wo? What country bumpkin? I don't know her.

It seems that the famous Skyrim Strategy Team is only known in the area of Bede City; no one recognizes them after they come to the big cities.

Not long ago, someone discovered that it is possible to teleport between the bonfire at Firelink Shrine and the bonfire in the Catacombs of Carthus. However, this function can only be unlocked by dying once in Carthus. Moreover, after dying in the Catacombs of Carthus, you will be teleported to the local bonfire by default. The location of the bonfire in the Catacombs is called the "Grave Chamber".

However, there is one problem: after teleporting between campfires, I feel dizzy, and I don't know why.

Gong Qiying: Since the cost of using the campfire teleportation is equivalent to dying halfway, give me a good burst of Spirit Power!

Overall, the Skyrim Strategy Team is currently fighting on foreign soil, with very little support. In addition, the Kent team has been subtly spreading negative rumors about them, resulting in no one supporting them except for the adventurers in Bede City.

"Hehe." Kent stroked his beard, enjoying the praise from the onlookers while glancing at Lu Lu Wo and the others, his expression full of satisfaction.

The old man is so old but still loves to show off. But unlike Jia Paer, this guy is open to everyone and will accept any praise he receives.

She faces no support, a formidable enemy, and a difficult challenge. But to think that Lu Lu Wo could be defeated by this would be to underestimate her!

"Old fogies with outdated strategy ideas, hurry up and start raking in gold coins! There's no ship in this new era that can carry you!"

"Captain, don't be so irritable!" Ta Mi's voice was extremely panicked.

Lu Lu Wo gave Kent a very rock-and-roll-style middle finger, then quickly turned around and pulled everyone into the portal, so fast that no one could react.

"This woman—" Aston was about to chase after her in anger, but was stopped by Kent, whose eyes darkened.

"Heh," he sneered, "I'm out of date? Heh, how could I be out of date after integrating hundreds of years of dungeon exploration experience? Let's go in too."

"Hurry up and keep up, we're off!" Aston shouted.

For hundreds of years, dungeon explorers have followed the same set of experience and procedures, so how could they possibly make a mistake!

The reason why the ancestral methods are called ancestral methods is because they have been passed down for so many years and are still effective!

The nineteen members of the Light Eagle Legion who accompanied him were all his loyal followers, and they did whatever he asked.

After passing through the portal, Kent and his group arrived at the starting point, known as the Grave Chamber, where they saw an unlit campfire.

"Be careful. It's said that you can see images uncontrollably after lighting a campfire. What if it's some kind of mental influence magic?" Before Aston could finish speaking, Kent had already lit the campfire and said, "The most important thing for exploring dungeons is courage. What kind of explorer are you if you don't even have the courage to challenge the unknown?"

Aston was instantly scolded, but before he could even speak, the scenery suddenly changed. He was startled to see the scene from the Zane Dungeon TV series!

He has always been averse to the unknown, but now that the campfire has been lit, you have no choice but to see what you want!

A grand yet melancholic soundtrack, the burning and decay of flames, the possessor of the King's Soul and the Sunlight King.

When the group finally snapped out of the image, their eyes were glazed over, and some even collapsed to the ground, unable to utter a single word.

Aston moved his body with difficulty. Others may have seen the weight of history in the images, but he felt a deep fear, a fear of powerful forces.

As a result, his already slight aversion to campfires was magnified!

Just then, he suddenly saw Kent smile, a smile as joyful as an old chrysanthemum in full bloom, and he muttered to himself:

"Interesting! My name must be inscribed on the first stone tablet in this underground city!"

Kent suddenly became motivated. If he had only reluctantly agreed to explore the dungeon at first, he was now really serious!

"Set off!"

The group marched out of the Grave Chamber with great pride and strode into the Catacombs of Carthus!

"I see. It's a typical graveyard-type dungeon, so necromancer monsters should make up a large proportion of it. Bringing Holy Water and a lot of necromancer-related items this time was a wise choice."

As soon as he stepped out of the Grave Chamber, during the initial exploration phase, Kent already displayed a professional attitude in analyzing and commenting.

"Be careful of any bone along the way. Every bone fragment could become a monster. Also, be wary of coffins and even bottles and jars. One of the characteristics of necromancers is that they are impossible to guard against. As a mage, activate your Holy Light protection in time."

"Don't touch that wooden suspension bridge lightly. How much does each person weigh? Use Mage Hand to lift an equal weight up there to test if you can withstand it."

Just as the magician piled a few coffins on top, the suspension bridge snapped with a loud crack, plunging straight into the Bottomless Abyss.

Seeing this, everyone quickly switched to praise mode, showering Kent with compliments, which he thoroughly enjoyed. With their morale high, the group continued onward.

The Catacombs has a repetitive and circular structure, with highly repetitive scenes everywhere, which can make you dizzy and disoriented if you wander around for too long.

On their journey, they encountered several waves of monster attacks, as well as a flip door, a ground crack, two fog events, and several forks in the road.

Even Aston felt dizzy, but when he turned around, he found Kent writing and drawing in his notebook. Upon closer inspection, he found that Kent had drawn out the route of all the places they had been, including some small details that could be used to distinguish them.

Judging from his energetic appearance, he was not affected at all.

Aston could only repeatedly express his admiration; he truly deserved to be called a master.

Even Lu Lu Wo probably doesn't have this level of spatial memory ability; it's both a talent and the result of training.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, they found their first purple light.

[Carthus Milk Ring - Standard Condition]

The rings worn by the Carthus Warrior in the Gravel Country slightly enhance their agility.

The Carthus swordsmen wielded curved blades with effortless skill and moved with the lightness of sand. They swept across many nations along with the fame of the Overlord Wolnir.

"Here you go." Kent tossed the ring to Aston, who glanced at it and then gave it to his subordinate.

"This is the first time I've seen a dungeon that provides background information on items and even has a dedicated manual. It's really unique."

Kenta flipped through the Hunting Handbook he had bought from other adventurers. Information about the ring had already appeared on it. Although the content was fragmented, there were subtle connections between them, making it hard to put down.

"From every detail, you can see that the ancient kingdom buried in this cemetery was unprecedentedly powerful and Crucible Knight."

He flipped through the manual; the magic section at the back recorded the magic used by enemies encountered by the manual's owner.

[Curse: Spray Acid]

[Carthus's peculiar spell can Spray Acid to damage equipment]

The fiercely competitive Carthus Warrior were determined to win, even with the aid of magic. But what honor could their actions possibly hold when faced with the gruesome corpses of the dead?

These two introductions alone vividly depict the warlike, murderous, and cruel characteristics of the Carthus.

Kent frowned. People tend to crave peace as they get older, and naturally, he didn't have a good impression of Carthus.

The mercenaries' attitudes varied; some frowned, some were indifferent, and some admired.

Aston, on the other hand, showed great anticipation.

What kind of impression will the so-called Overlord ultimately leave on the Light Eagle Legion?

The exploration continues, and the deeper one goes, the more dangerous the traps and monsters become.

Kent was once again praised for successfully leading the mercenaries to safety.

"As expected of a master, his thinking is so thorough." Aston praised him highly.

Kent stood tall and proud, then suddenly pointed to a tombstone not far ahead and said, "Do you see that tombstone? Doesn't something seem off about it?"

Something's not right? Aston didn't think anything of it, but if the master said something was wrong, then something was wrong, so he nodded repeatedly, "That's right, the tombstone appeared too abruptly, it's very strange!"

"That's right. Based on my experience, there must be a powerful monster lurking inside, and it will only be triggered when you get close. You guys, take the Holy Water over there. The rest of you, prepare Holy Light Magic to catch the monster off guard!"

So a group of people sang and danced around the tombstone that suddenly appeared in the middle of the road, with Holy Water Holy Light pouring over it. The scene was so chaotic that it resembled a shamanistic dance.

"Great! The monster has been defeated!" Kent announced loudly, and the crowd cheered.

"Are these people crazy?" Gong Qiying, who was spying in the city lord's room, was speechless. The tombstone was just an ordinary scene; it was placed there simply to attract people's attention. There were no demons hidden inside.

He had just thought Kent was a wise hermit, but now he suddenly wondered if the other person was an older version of the cautious Brave —the cautious old man?

However, Kent was right about one thing: there was indeed a story behind that tombstone.

Gong Qiying also revealed a wicked smile.

Just as people were gathered around the tombstone discussing whether to dig up the grave to see if the so-called powerful monster would drop any glowing spots after it died, a muffled sound came from behind.

"Boom!"

When they came to their senses, a huge iron cage descended from the sky, centered on the tombstone, and enveloped everyone—all twenty of them were caught!

People all looked at Kent.

Kent's smile froze for a moment, then he coughed twice and said, "What a treacherous dungeon! They actually used the terrain to their advantage to block our view of the ceiling!"

Yes, yes, yes, whatever you say makes sense.

Although everyone was skeptical, they still believed Kent and joined in cursing the Zane Dungeon. At the same time, a "clattering" sound rang out, and countless white bones emerged from the ground— Skeleton Monster!

They were all armed with bows and arrows, intending to riddle the mercenaries with bullets!

People struggled, but they couldn't break through the sturdy iron cage in a short time—because this thing was modified from the cage of the Great Curse Frog in Dark Souls 2—so the mages quickly put up a shield to block the attack, but simply defending was not a solution!

In this critical moment, Kent remained calm. He crouched down, touched the ground, nodded, and said, "The ground explodes, let's go down below."

Is there really a road below!?

"Just keep frying!"

As the dense barrage of arrows rained down, an explosion followed, and the ground trembled before cracking open to reveal the dark space below. Jumping from this height wouldn't be fatal!

"Jump before the cage falls down with us!"

The mercenaries jumped down quickly, and before they could even catch their breath, they rushed to the side. Almost instantly, the ground cracked open even more, and the large iron cage fell down!

"Ah!" A scream rang out.

When the smoke cleared and the firelight dispelled the darkness, people discovered that two mercenaries had been crushed to death by the iron cage, the most tragic way—cut in half at the waist—and had turned into streams of light that returned to the campfire.

"It was my mistake," Kent said with a dark expression.

"It's not your fault, it's all the fault of the treacherous dungeon." Aston slammed his fist on the wall, followed by a cracking sound. As the wall crumbled, thick darkness flowed out. If Da Er were here, he would have exclaimed in alarm, "The Abyss!"

One after another, figures covered in strange, writhing black matter emerged, emanating an extremely dangerous aura.

[Human Dregs!]

Aston engaged one of them in combat, leaving the other to the other mercenaries, while Kent, under their protection, kept a safe distance, searching for a way to escape the hidden chamber.

"This underground city lives up to its name; it actually anticipated our actions." Kent smirked and instructed the group, "Knock on the walls and the floor, find the weakest point and chisel it out!"

Watching the busy crowd, he thought to himself:

Although the design of this underground city is indeed unique, it generally follows the rules and is not difficult for me.

"Dungeons are nothing more than this: the right place with the right monsters, constantly stimulating the adventurers' spirits to the highest level, and always leaving people a glimmer of hope in times of crisis."

He didn't know that dungeons required Spirit Power to function, but his years of experience exploring dungeons had given him a vague sense that dungeons needed to stimulate people's minds.

Therefore, the real strategy in dungeons is to find a way out of a desperate situation!

This is a secret he has never revealed.

"These monsters are only used to stimulate our minds; they're not actually that strong!"

"Ah!" A mercenary was bitten in half by the Human Dregs, his blood splattering everywhere, and another was smashed into a pulp.

At this moment, the third Human Dregs emerged, revealing its gaping maw to the mercenary.

The slap in the face came so quickly that Kent's own lips twitched.

What's wrong with the monsters in this dungeon? Even mercenaries can't handle them? That shouldn't be the case. Dungeons aren't supposed to constantly provide challenges.

That's because the design philosophy of the Saine was from the very beginning aimed at killing people!

Here, the so-called "survival from the brink of death" scenario is merely a condiment served up in a specific context to accomplish a specific task.

The "gentleness" of the first half of the Catacombs of Carthus is actually a trap to lure you deeper. The reason why other dungeons focus on continuously stimulating Spirit Power is because they don't have campfires. If an adventurer dies, they are teleported out, so killing them only once is too much of a loss.

"No, Mr. Kent, the walls nearby are too thick; we can't break through them at all!"

"Impossible, there must be weaknesses."

Kent broke out in a cold sweat; it felt like being racing with an old friend when they suddenly asked you, "What is the meaning of life?"

What's going on with this Zane Dungeon? Why isn't it playing by the rules? Where can I find a way to survive?

He undoubtedly possesses great talent and a keen ability to observe his surroundings. If there are any tools that can help him survive, he can find and use them immediately.

But if you don't have any survival tools from the start, you'll be completely helpless!

"Are there books inside the walls?"

As they were digging, someone suddenly discovered books buried inside the wall and quickly dug them out and handed them to Kent.

He glanced at Aston when he had a spare moment. Although he was the captain of the logistics team, Aston also possessed considerable strength. At this moment, he had already accomplished the feat of Human Dregs with minor injuries and was dealing with the other two with the mercenaries. However, a new darkness was seeping out from the cracks in the wall.

In this critical moment, Kent had a premonition that there must be a way to escape in this book.

He quickly flipped through the pages, but it seemed to be a history book, recording some past events of the Kingdom of Carthus, which was of no use in getting out of the current predicament!

Normally he would be very interested in these things, but now, this underground city has defied his common sense. Although he doesn't want to admit it, he already knows—

Several transparent Ghost Hand suddenly emerged from the book, grabbed Kent's head tightly, and gave him a hair wash that was even more enthusiastic than Ghrū's!

"Ahhh!"

The sudden attack caught everyone off guard, especially Aston, whose eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he saw Kent being attacked. He tried to rush to help but was blocked by Human Dregs.

As people get older, they can't withstand much stress. Kent's body simply couldn't withstand the power of a hair wash, and he was about to die back at the campfire when, at that moment, a Ghost Hand suddenly pulled out a painting.

The painting slammed heavily onto Kent's face, nearly dislocating his nose. It was in that instant when his face made contact with the painting that he realized what it was.

[The Painting World "Carthus Warrior""]

The scene before my eyes changed in an instant.

Smoke and dust filled the sky, and yellow sand rolled in, foreshadowing the war horns echoing across the battlefield.

Where am I?

Kent was startled to find that his body had changed, but the surging power within him also thrilled him.

What on earth is going on?

"Warrior of Carthus, charge! Slaughter the enemies before you for the Overlord!"

He suddenly realized he was on a battlefield, surrounded by Bloodlust Carthus Warrior, with a terrified and routed enemy army in front of him, and behind him...

An overwhelming aura surged from behind him—the aura of a king, the aura of the abyss, the domineering power to devour the world.

Overlord Wolnir!

Kent was startled, the name flashing through his mind, but some unseen force prevented him from turning back to behold the Overlord's true face.

At the same time, his body involuntarily raised his weapon and charged towards the enemy soldiers who were about to be slaughtered.

[The Painting World "Carthus Warrior""]

[This chronicles the journey of a veteran of Carthus, the most loyal Warrior of Overlord Wolnir, who participated in every battle and achieved glorious victories, his body bathed in the blood of his enemies.]

[Except for the last time, when facing an army composed of immortals.]