Wolnir's Terracotta Army

Time flies.

In the third week since the opening of the Catacombs of Carthus, the most advanced progress is in the lower level, and the average progress is in the first half of the middle level.

Various Strategy Team have published their own guides, which have been summarized and compiled by dedicated individuals, resulting in the strategy collections that adventurers now have in hand.

[Shortest route to obtain the Kindling Secret Ritual and Three Corpse Necromancer (including a list of monsters with the highest Humanity drop rate)]

Background Investigation of the Catacombs of Carthus: The Overlord's Ambition and Legend

[List of small Forging Stone mining sites and possible locations of large Forging Stone]

These three are the strategy tips that adventurers are most interested in right now, and they even attract different groups of people.

The Kindling Secret Ritual is very attractive to everyone, especially those who need to use their brains for long periods of time. No one can resist the thrill of fire-ignition when they are exhausted from working overtime and on the verge of sudden death. The instant clarity they feel is more addictive than the highest concentration of Blood Therapy Potion.

Carthus's backstory attracts story-driven viewers and draws attention from those interested in the Undead Legion. The character of Overlord Wolnir, an ambitious monarch, is also quite appealing. However, the fragmented introductions revealing Carthus's tyranny make him unlikable to most people.

The location of the Forging Stone is attracting people who are eager to make money. This is easy to understand. People who used to stay in Farron Keep to Bloodstone are heading here because the price of Forging Stone is currently much higher than that of Bloodstone. Everyone loves the forging skills of blacksmith Andre.

With these rewards as a backdrop, the difficulty of the Catacombs of Carthus is not so discouraging. This area is full of undead creatures, and bringing Holy Light and other countermeasures can at least make the early exploration less difficult.

In fact, as long as you don't aim to complete the game, Sion is a pretty good treasure trove for everyone. The first half of each area has a lot of rewards, while the second half is full of rare items.

If you want to beat the game, be prepared to suffer.

Lu Lu Wo, Leon, and other more capable Strategy Team from all over the capital were working on the front lines. It's worth mentioning that the number of adventurers in the Leyndell was not as many as people thought. There were more veteran adventurers who were semi-retired or retired, who had achieved great success and were now just enjoying life.

It's understandable, since there were no monsters or dungeons around the former Leyndell, and ordinary matters were not worth hiring adventurers for; the guards on the street could handle them.

This resulted in Leon and his group having enough strength to hold their positions firmly at the forefront, and none of the legendary Gold-Rank Adventurer managed to get here.

While the adventurers were focused on conquering the city, a major event occurred in the Leyndell:

King Anzi III has found his long-lost bloodline, which is truly a cause for celebration, ensuring a worthy successor to the throne.

Princess Serena made a grand appearance before the public. She was a dignified and elegant young woman who showed no stage fright under the gaze of almost the entire capital. As if she were already used to such scenes, she had a very successful meeting with the public. Her elegant and confident demeanor greatly increased the public's confidence in the royal family.

The current leader of the powerful Light Eagle Legion Iliphis, and Minister Aoluo accompanied the Princess, making their stance clear.

With the assistance of these two key ministers, the kingdom will surely prosper and its future is promising.

Even King Anzi III regained his senses and made a final appearance before the people, seemingly indicating that everything was getting better.

Everyone was happy, but a group of people were not.

For example, the captains of the Light Eagle Legion, or, to narrow it down further, Sally.

At this very moment, he was in the Catacombs of Carthus with Elsa and a group of mercenaries.

Although the journey was smooth sailing, without encountering any bugged characters like the Man-Eating Girl from before, and with Elsa's guidance, they successfully reached the lower level, but...

He was still trembling.

"The thought that this is the Zane Dungeon makes me want to faint."

"Vice Captain, take it easy. What if you wake up and find yourself surrounded by monsters? That would be even worse," a mercenary remarked.

Shut up!

The mercenary chuckled slyly, glancing at Elsa stood unmatched amidst the monsters, and the several Holy Light- wielding mages assisting her. He muttered to himself:

"I love going on missions with Captain Gers; there's no need to worry about combat at all."

Indeed, there's no need to worry about combat when going on missions with Elsa, because Elsa will handle everything. But if it really comes to a point where she can't handle it, then there's no use in the mercenaries worrying.

The mercenaries in the Assault Team are simple-minded and straightforward. Compared to mercenaries in other teams, they are the easiest to communicate with. They are especially loyal and you can become the leader if you can subdue them.

Sally was second only to Elsa when he was with the Assault Team, but now he was frowning.

The reason he's in the Zane Dungeon now is because...

They were severely reprimanded by the returning commander Iliphis.

Sally and the other captains couldn't remember what Iliphis said on the day he returned, but they vaguely remembered that after hearing about Aston's situation, he not only didn't punish him, but instead rewarded him.

Sally and the other captains who did nothing suffered the consequences. Iliphis got angry, he didn't swear, but he gave people a suffocating feeling, which was terrifying.

Although Sally wanted to say that he was innocent, that it wasn't that he didn't want to help, but that Aston was confident in not letting others help him, it was too late to say anything.

Sure enough, he quickly rolled into the dungeon and joined the vanguard to push forward, so that the raid leader could stop the attack.

However, the guild leader also said that he would personally come to the dungeon after he finished dealing with matters concerning the royal family.

Thinking about the progress, his expression turned strange again, recalling what had happened one day.

"You mean, you were persuaded by the cavalry to go into the dungeon to farm rewards, but you got cursed and were rejected by them, and then you and Ta Mi went through the Black Zone together and had a big adventure in the Painting World, and he even gave you a ring?"

Back in the present, Sally watched Elsa wielding her greatsword in a frenzy, the [Pontiff's Right Eye] on her index finger gleaming. In his heart...

Anyway, my emotions are quite complicated.

The good news is that after that great adventure, Elsa became the person with the highest exploration progress in the entire Light Eagle Legion.

The bad news is that she didn't reveal the relevant information until the day the competition ended, by which time it was too late.

If Sally knew that Elsa had casually told Ta Mi about the second path, she'd probably be spitting blood and saying:

"Grandma, why are you siding with outsiders?!"

Fortunately, he didn't know.

Elsa has an exceptional memory; she memorized the route after just one trip. The group easily followed her through the Black Zone, defeated the Battle Knight, and began exploring further down.

"This is?"

After the Battle Knight fell, a purple dot appeared on the spot. Upon picking it up, it turned out to be a straight sword emitting a chilling aura.

Irithyll Straight Sword

[Weapon Skill: Frost Stomp]

The straight sword bestowed upon the Battle Knight of the Irithyll of the Boreal Valley is imbued with a chilling aura.

All Battle Knight will eventually become beasts, but Pontiff Sulyvahn's black eyes keep them constantly burning with fighting spirit.

"Irithyll of the Boreal Valley? Pontiff Sulyvahn?"

Sally squinted, searching her memory carefully, feeling as if she had heard similar words somewhere before.

By the way, Elsa's ring is the "Pontiff's Right Eye"!

[The Pontiff's Right Eye]

[The enchanted rings bestowed upon the knights by Sulyvahn increase their attack power the longer they continue attacking.]

[Gazing into those black eyes will ignite a fierce fighting spirit and a desire to Deathmatch. Ultimately, the knight will degenerate into a beast-like Warrior. Therefore, the Pope will only bestow this title upon knights who are out on campaign.]

From the moment he met the Battle Knight, he felt that the other's style was different from the other monsters in the Catacombs; it was quite incongruous.

Looking at the description of the Irithyll Straight Sword now, it's clear that the Battle Knight belong to another faction.

So, where is the so-called Irithyll of the Boreal Valley, and who is Pontiff Sulyvahn, and why did he send the Battle Knight here?

A new mystery emerged, and Sally handed his straight sword to his men to put away, sighing sincerely:

"Even the placement of items in the Zane Dungeon is carefully planned, with each level building upon the previous one and each item linked together."

It was rather strange to hear these words coming from someone who had a blood feud with Sain for killing his father.

However, he wouldn't go against his conscience and belittle Saine; that's something only a petty person would do.

"Be careful, there's a dangerous aura."

Just as they ventured deeper into the lower levels of the tomb, Elsa suddenly issued a warning.

The thing that could make her so careful must be extraordinary, and everyone's expressions became serious.

After passing through the room guarded by the Battle Knight, there was a long and dark tunnel, with howling winds and the aura of death surrounding everyone.

As they stepped out of the tunnel, the eerie glow of the Spirit Fire illuminated the scene.

"Ah!"

Someone was so startled that they fell to the ground with a thud, their face filled with terror.

"These, all of them are..."

Sally's expression was grave. She took a few steps forward but was stopped by Elsa.

"Don't go near them, they might not be dead yet."

"Not dead yet"

Sally gasped in shock.

They were standing on a cliff, with narrow, unguarded paths on either side; a fall would mean certain death.

But that's not the point; the point is what's below the cliff.

Those were one after another, totaling over a thousand Carthus Warrior!

They formed a battle formation, standing neatly and uniformly below the cliff, their bodies reduced to bones, their equipment rusted and rotten, yet a strong killing intent clung to their skeletons.

Looking around, it seemed as if it were quietly awaiting war.

Despite the deathly silence, and the fact that they appeared to have been dead for a long time, it gave one the illusion that they would wake up at any moment and begin a massacre if they sensed the presence of living people.

No, it's not a misperception. Anything is possible in the Zane Dungeon. Maybe this hellish place will really put them to fight against thousands of Carthus troops!

"This is the army of the Overlord."

Sally recalled the Painting World called "Carthus Warrior," where one could see the living Carthus army at its peak.

But here, facing the Carthus who still stand as skeletons, people felt an even more terrifying sensation.

Ultimately, no matter how realistic Painting World is, it still doesn't feel real. But here, the real Carthus army appears! The Iron Hoof that once slaughtered nations are right here!

This is probably the most direct way to experience Wolnir's reputation as a "Overlord"!

Sally suddenly forced herself to look away; she couldn't keep staring at these things, or her mind would become timid.

"Go, keep going forward, don't look down," he commanded.

The group carefully walked along the narrow path, clinging to the rock face. Soon they finally discovered that flat ground had appeared below, and someone jumped down first.

The narrow path is some distance from the flat ground; if you jump down, you won't be able to get back up for a while.

"Bones, all bones!"

The ground was littered with scattered bones. How many were there in total? Nobody knew. If all of these things were to resurrect as Skeleton Warrior, they could probably even flood a village.

Sally suddenly had a bad feeling. Could these things really be able to come back to life?

He looked ahead at the flat ground, where a suspension bridge, wider than before, was not far away.

At the end of the suspension bridge lies an enormous cave.

The moment Sally saw the cave, Sally shuddered violently.

The entrance to the cave was blocked by a thick, dark substance, making it impossible to see what was inside. However, this dark substance was not simple.

It is an abyss, an abyss of extremely high purity.

There are no abysses anywhere else in the Catacombs of Carthus, but there is one here. Could it be that—

"The Overlord Wolnir has been tainted by the abyss, seeking to become the last of the dead."

Sally muttered to herself, then her eyes suddenly widened. She grabbed Elsa's arm, turned to everyone, and said:

"Retreat for now! Where are the mages? Quickly create stairs on the rock face so we can get up there!"

People initially didn't understand why Sally had suddenly become so flustered.

But the next second, they became even more panicked Sally.

"Clatter, clatter."

The sea of skeletons suddenly began to writhe, the dead swirling and howling, and purple mist drifting everywhere.

Beneath the sea of skulls stand the Carthus Warrior, like terracotta warriors.

It moved.

There are still experts!?