Skeletons, Suspension Bridge, Crown

What everyone is seeing now is a scene of hell.

The skeletons writhed like a tsunami, sweeping across every foothold they could find, even the crushed bone fragments came to life, joining in this carnival of the dead.

A normal person would scream and scatter to their death in this situation, let alone look down.

Thousands of Carthus Warrior moved, their undead bodies thrashing about as they desperately climbed upwards.

The hollow eye sockets gleamed with a scarlet light, the dense red glow standing out starkly in the darkness, enough to send chills down one's spine at a single glance.

The ground began to tremble for some unknown reason, and a piercing, noisy scream came from somewhere, stimulating everyone's brains like a mental attack.

The abyss of the cave seemed to be stimulated, writhing wildly, the chaotic aura agitating the already agitated monsters.

"Retreat!"

The mercenaries' shouts were deafening, but their small noises couldn't even make a ripple in the wave of screams.

Fortunately, their survival instincts led them to flee towards the rock face, but just then, the mage in the group shouted anxiously:

"No, the earth magic isn't working for some reason!"

The inability of earth magic to take effect means that it is impossible to create stairs to climb the rock wall and escape the platform, which represents death.

At such a height, one can use various items and magic to reduce damage and avoid injury when jumping down, but climbing up is much more difficult. The mercenaries then discovered that the rock wall was smoother than ever before, and it became increasingly sloping as they went up. How were they supposed to climb it?!

I'm afraid only Elsa could jump up there using her physical abilities!

"Wait, I can use Slime Technique to make my skin sticky so I can climb up there—"

The magician had just raised a finger, thinking of a good idea, when a spear suddenly pierced him from below.

Everyone was shocked to discover that weapons had appeared in the surging sea of skulls, doubling the danger level once again.

"Hurry up!"

Elsa suddenly exerted her strength, smashing all the skeletons that dared to surround her in one go, creating a small clearing for everyone amidst the waves.

If this doesn't work, then...

Sally forced herself to calm down and looked around, eventually focusing her gaze on the suspension bridge.

The abyss opposite the suspension bridge is writhing, but it doesn't seem to be moving away from the cave yet. I wonder if it would be dangerous to get too close.

However, compared to the potential danger, the danger that has already occurred should be chosen, at least to save one's life!

"Head towards the suspension bridge! Bring out all your gear, don't be stingy!"

Facing the sea of skeletons head-on, Elsa led the way, with the mercenaries following closely behind. They threw out Holy Water, magic scrolls, crosses, and even Garlic Sausage as if they were free, which actually had some effect and relieved some of the pressure on Elsa.

The Skull Sea can bully ordinary people, but low-stat monsters like Elsa can temporarily withstand the pressure and take a bath in it.

After being yelled at as a monster by the mercenaries last time, her mindset underwent a subtle change. However, the members of the Assault Team lived together every day and had a deeper bond than other teams. At this moment, she genuinely wanted to protect them.

As if in response to her wish, sparse red patterns gradually appeared on the greatsword in her hand, making it heavier and more powerful, unleashing a rough sword aura with each swing.

Amidst screams, the crowd approached the suspension bridge, which swayed precariously due to the tremors of the ground. As soon as someone stepped onto the bridge, they lost their balance and fell.

At that moment, the Carthus Warrior also climbed up, their sharp claws mercilessly pulling the mercenary down. The narrow terrain of the suspension bridge made it impossible for Elsa to use her weapons or even react in time to protect her companions.

As a result, severe casualties began after they climbed onto the suspension bridge!

"Give it your all, and hurry up!"

Mercenaries are not afraid of death, but they are afraid of dying in a terrifying way.

Sally's eyelids twitched. As they ran across the suspension bridge, the massive sea of skeletons caught up, and the bridge began to sway precariously. He could even hear the ropes snapping!

No way, it's going to break already?

They've only run halfway!

Some things can last a long time without breaking, but once they suffer even the slightest damage, they will break down almost instantly.

The suspension bridge produced by Carthus works on the same principle. Under Gong Qiying's modifications, there will be no demonic ruins below for the time being, only a large number of monsters.

Just between you and me, the Carthus Warrior below can actually be considered as. texture images.

Less than one-tenth of them are actually movable; they just look very imposing. To prevent any mishaps, anyone who falls down will be met with a full-force attack from the movable monsters. If that person can actually kill them all, then the texture will become real.

The ropes of the suspension bridge were breaking more and more, and the other side became a place that was out of reach. Just when people were in despair and released their wonderful Spirit Power, Elsa suddenly grabbed Sally's shoulder.

"Hey, what are you doing!"

Amid Sally's scream, Elsa, holding him in her left hand and another mercenary in her right, mustered all her strength and was about to throw them over!

"Wait a minute, Elsa, don't worry about us, you go ahead!" Sally stopped her.

"Yes, Captain, there's no use in sending us over there. You should go and fight the next enemy!" The Assault Team members also tried to dissuade them.

Elsa hesitated for a moment, and the suspension bridge broke.

"Wow!"

People fell together into an endless abyss!

The entire army was wiped out; there might have been some lucky survivors.

May there be no nagging in heaven.

A moment later, near the campfire of the Three Corpse Necromancer, Sally and her group reappeared.

The words "excessive fright" were written all over everyone's faces. They had probably never seen such a large monster in their lives.

No one wants to recall the feeling of falling into an endless, churning sea of skeletons; they'd rather fall into a latrine.

As soon as she fell, Elsa was slammed away in mid-air by a giant skeleton whose size was comparable to a giant. Without protection, Sally and the mercenaries were hacked to death in no time and returned to the campfire.

After counting and counting, something seemed off about the number of people around the campfire. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that Elsa was missing.

"As expected of the captain, he's really strong." The mercenary sighed, looked at Sally who was squatting in front of the campfire in deep thought, and asked, "Vice-captain, what should we do? Should we wait for the captain to return and then retreat?"

Retreat at this moment is indeed an option. The scene they just witnessed was extraordinary. Whether it was the sea of skeletons or the caves filled with the abyss, it all demonstrated their unusual characteristics.

Perhaps, that's where the leader is hiding!

Having obtained such explosive news, he could report back to Iliphis right now and perhaps even receive a reward.

"No, let's go again." Sally's eyes gleamed. "Let's wait here a little longer, until Elsa returns, then we'll set off."

Going back directly is a good option, but information from just one scene doesn't tell the whole story.

In order to earn a reward from Iliphis, he must explore what is hidden inside that cave!

"Even if it really is the Overlord himself inside, I dare to go in and investigate!"

However, Elsa never returned to the campfire.

"Where did the captain go? Could it be..."

"Let's go." Sally stood up.

"Aren't we waiting for Captain Gers?"

Sally shook his head. Since Elsa hadn't returned yet, either she had a new opportunity or she had survived the siege. Although he was worried, there was nothing he could do to help her, so he might as well focus on his own business.

Elsa will be alright, because she is the Brave.

Without Elsa, the mercenaries felt uneasy as they set off again, wary of any monster that might appear in the darkness.

They are clearly quite strong, but they have been living too comfortably under Elsa's protection, to the point that they have become cowardly.

Sally watched their performance and couldn't help but sigh, thinking that he would have to give these guys a good workout when they got back.

After an unknown amount of time and countless hardships, they successfully reached the room of the Battle Knight again, relying on their previous experience and memories. Further back was the sea of skeletons that had just sent them to be resurrected.

People shivered, so Sally had the magician cast a series of spells on them, including Group Excitement Spell and Invigorate Spell.

"Oh oh oh!"

The mercenaries immediately perked up as if they had been injected with chicken blood.

Hugging the rock wall and traversing the narrow path, the sea of skeletons and the Carthus Warrior had returned to calm, and the suspension bridge had inexplicably been repaired. Everything had returned to its original state.

"Mage, unleash all speed-boosting spells, and also the LIGHT shield."

"Jump down and run immediately, don't hesitate for a moment. Last time these skeletons took a while to react, so they must have some reaction time. We have to get to the suspension bridge within that time!"

"On my command, three, two, one jump!"

The mercenaries leaped off the cliff in unison, tumbling to their feet upon landing, and sprinted towards the suspension bridge with all their might. They swore they had never been this excited, not even when chasing each other on the battlefield.

One second passed, two seconds passed

In the thirteenth second, just as the mercenaries were about to reach the suspension bridge, the skeletons moved!

"Accelerate, accelerate, sprint!"

Those running at the back immediately cried out in alarm. The surging sea of skeletons was attacking again, and this time, when they surged onto the suspension bridge, everyone had already run halfway!

Sally's face lit up with joy. "Great! This time I can run over!"

"Charge!"

Running amidst the shouts of slogans is the passionate youth of mercenaries.

After the last person was grabbed by the skeleton because he was too slow, Sally immediately drew his knife and cut the ropes of the suspension bridge.

The next moment, the suspension bridge collapsed with a roar, and a huge number of skeletons fell into the abyss. This scene made people feel a surge of satisfaction, and the sense of accomplishment of surviving a disaster made people cheer involuntarily.

Sally also let out a long sigh of relief, a sudden wave of fear washing over her.

If he had been a step slower, if their strength had been insufficient, they might have ended up like the last unlucky guy, dragged down with them.

Currently, there are fifteen mercenaries remaining standing here, excluding Elsa and those lost on the way here.

Unity is strength, and the more people there are, the safer Sally feels.

However, in the Zane Dungeon, numbers are probably not very useful. At most, they can provide a sense of security when running away—as long as you can run faster than others.

"Don't move here, I'm going to check over there," Sally said, looking towards the cave. "If something happens to me, you all run."

He was halfway through his sentence when he suddenly realized something was wrong, because the suspension bridge had collapsed and the mercenaries had nowhere to run.

"I'll go, Vice Captain. My life isn't worth much," a mercenary volunteered.

"Stop, you're not allowed to say that," Sally waved her hand and walked towards the cave. "You are all priceless treasures in my eyes."

The mercenary was so moved by the "vice-captain's" words that he cried.

Sally carefully examined the churning abyss. He had never seen anything like it before, and had only recently learned about it from intelligence gathered from Bede City.

He felt that this thing was hard to describe, and even though he dared to approach it, it did not trigger any abnormalities.

"It doesn't seem like it will attack me?"

He thought for a moment, then first tried to probe the target from a distance with magic, but there was no response. He then stabbed the target a few times with his sword, but still there was no response.

Finally, after being persuaded by the mercenaries, he reached out and touched it.

The next second, before he could even scream, he was sucked in!

"Vice Captain!"

The mercenaries were startled, but the abyss suddenly came to life, opening its "bloody maw" to devour them one by one, and some were so frightened that they jumped off the cliff.

Once there was no longer any sign of life in the vicinity, the abyss gradually returned to calm.

Where did those who were swallowed go?

Sally felt dizzy and disoriented. When he came to his senses, he found himself in front of an ancient Stone Gate that had been pushed open. Behind the door was a scene like Grave Chamber, and a person he knew was fast asleep against the door.

"Elsa? What are you doing here?" He stared wide-eyed.

"Sally?" Elsa opened her eyes. "How did you get in here? It's dangerous here. Where is the others?"

"They are safe."

As soon as he finished speaking, the mercenaries were thrown in with a clatter. A dozen pairs of eyes stared at each other, speechless for a moment.

"How come you all..." Sally's lips twitched.

Finally, with Elsa's explanation, everyone gradually understood everything.

After being swatted away by the giant skeleton, she used her greatsword to get stuck on the cliff, and finally slowly climbed up by punching holes in the mountain wall.

This can only be described as having a very distinctive personal style.

Then, because I was being impulsive, I got sucked in and can't get out.

Are there any dangerous monsters here?

Elsa shook her head. "There are no monsters, no traps, but there is a dangerous aura."

Sally's gaze turned serious, but having come this far, there was only one option left: to move forward!

The group rested for a while to allow their bodies to recover to their best condition. They had used up most of the supplies earlier, so they picked out the usable ones and left the rest behind to lighten their burden.

With the atmosphere already at this point, and the possibility of facing the leader next, everyone was on high alert.

After passing through the Grave Chamber's main entrance, people fell silent. The chilling atmosphere in the air grew even heavier, as if the cries of the dead were being heard, and the traces of the abyss vanished.

As Elsa said, there are no monsters or traps.

But I felt increasingly uneasy. Was this the Tranquility before the storm?

At the end of the Grave Chamber, there was another closed Stone Gate.

Sally had just placed his hand on the door panel when he suddenly pulled it back, his expression shifting several times.

The moment he touched the door, he felt an intense sense of impending death.

Behind this door lies an extremely terrifying existence!

Perhaps it was the legendary Overlord Wolnir.

Elsa patted him on the shoulder, which instantly reassured him. The two of them, with serious expressions, pushed open the door together, while the mercenaries behind them prepared for battle.

The moment the door opened, they saw the crown.

On the altar, a skull, adorned with a crown dusted by time, gazes upon each visitor with its empty eye sockets.

As their gaze met the empty eye sockets, a sudden change occurred.

People were suddenly horrified to find that they could not move their bodies; at that moment, darkness descended.

Endless black mist surged from the skull, engulfing the ground, the crowd, and finally shrouding the entire Grave Chamber.

People strained to raise their heads, but ultimately could not escape the fate of being shrouded in darkness. Some held their breath, afraid that the fog might be poisonous.

But they soon discovered that as the thick fog turned their vision completely black, the space had changed.

Where are we?

The group suddenly found themselves back in control of their bodies, but they felt no joy or surprise, because they had been enveloped in black mist and found themselves in an unknown space.

Just like the previous Black Zone, it was pitch black, except for a single bright spot of light not far away.

Sparkling points of light?

No one can resist the allure of the light, no one.