Road of Sacrifices
The day before Leon and his companions discovered the Road of Sacrifices.
The Lord's Room in the Zane Dungeon.
"The narratives of the three scenes— the Undead Settlement, the Road of Sacrifices, and the Cathedral of the Deep— are interconnected; separating them individually wouldn't be very effective. So, how should we set them up?"
Gong Qiying looked at the miniature model of the Zane Dungeon and then turned his attention to the Farron Keep and the Catacombs of Carthus.
Why are the narratives of the three scenes above considered continuous? Because this involves the storyline of Aldrich, the Sunlight King Eldritch, Devourer of Gods ".
As everyone knows, Aldrich's nicknames, besides the more respectable "Deep Saint," also include Devourer of Gods and Drowning Pig. The reason he is called Drowning Pig is because of one thing—he kept eating people until his body swelled up and turned into a black, muddy mess.
In the lore of Dark Souls III, the First Flame gradually weakened, and the requirements for those who could link the Flame gradually decreased from the gods and heroes at the beginning to just anyone with a large and durable soul. Even the Iron Golem that were responsible for screening the qualities of those who could link the Flame disappeared.
Cannibalism was originally Aldrich's hobby, but after people discovered that eating people could also strengthen his soul, they locked him up and raised him like a pig, constantly feeding him human flesh, and finally threw him into the Initial Flame Furnace to happily become firewood.
Among all the Sunlight King who have appeared, Aldrich is the least prestigious, as if everyone dislikes him.
Returning to the setting, since Aldrich needs to eat human flesh, there must be a place that can continuously provide enough flesh, such as Undead Settlement.
The Undead Settlement provides human flesh, which is then transported Road of Sacrifices and finally delivered to Aldrich in the Cathedral of the Deep. After he has eaten his fill, he is sent on his way.
This is the storyline of Eldritch, Devourer of Gods. Of course, to experience the complete storyline, you also need to connect with a certain pope who lives in Irithyll of the Irithyll of the Boreal Valley.
Gong Qiying's current dilemma is that separating the three consecutive scenes is not ideal, but including them all would introduce too much new content, which might overwhelm people.
Irithyll of the Boreal Valley is already a large area. To enter Irithyll of the Boreal Valley, you need a Small Doll Small Doll, which can be obtained in the Cathedral of the Deep. This already creates two new areas.
With the addition of the Undead Settlement and the Road of Sacrifices, there are now four new scenarios, making it no less significant than the major transformation that Thane underwent.
Considering many factors, Gong Qiying had to make some choices.
He could have easily just placed an Elite Monster in the Catacombs of Carthus that would give him a Small Doll, but that would have meant giving up the excellent (and torturous) map, The Cathedral of the Deep, which he definitely wouldn't have wanted.
He was tormented by the Cathedral of the Deep for a long time when he played the Yugi, so of course he had to release it to make people happy.
Therefore, the path of Undead Settlement and Road of Sacrifices should be considered for abandonment.
"To be honest, both maps are positioned as beginner maps. The monsters weren't particularly strong to begin with, and the terrain design is excellent as always, but it doesn't have any standout features. I could strengthen the monsters and the terrain, but that would feel a bit off. What powerful monsters could you possibly find in a place like the Undead Settlement, where the old, weak, and disabled gather?"
Gong Qiying thought about it and finally made a decision.
"Add a road connecting the Road of Sacrifices to the front half of the Farron Keep, and the Cathedral of the Deep is beyond the Road of Sacrifices."
"As for the Undead Settlement, let's design it as Painting World for now, and open it as a new area later when conditions permit."
His main focus was on designing the deep, Cathedral of the Deep, while the Road of Sacrifices seemed more like a side effect of the narrative, serving to prevent the scene transitions from being too abrupt.
The scenery Road of Sacrifices is quite similar to that of Farron Keep. The distinctive monsters, besides the Fat Granny and the Cage Man, include the Crow People, oh right, the giant crab, the Black Knight, and the Crystallized Old Man, as well as two hostile Farron Guard wielding the newbie's go-to Divine Artifact — the Exile Greatsword's Greatsword.
Let's design this map as a beginner map. New players who can't beat Farron Keep can practice on the Road of Sacrifices.
In addition to the Road of Sacrifices leading to the Cathedral of the Deep, Gong Qiying originally planned to design a path in the Catacombs of Carthus that also led to the Cathedral of the Deep, with both routes ultimately ending at the same bonfire.
But then he thought, since adventurers in the Leyndell could teleport to the sacrificial site via the campfire and then go to the Road of Sacrifices, adding a shortcut to the Catacombs would only reduce the Spirit Power he could squeeze out, so the shortcut ultimately became a scrapped project.
"That's all, the Zane Dungeon 2.1 update is complete."
Back in the present, Leon and his companions had just entered the Road of Sacrifices when they witnessed an unusual scene.
"Plop plop"
The sound of fresh flesh being chopped up could be heard continuously. Leon and the others hid in the nearby bushes, watching the Heavy Taste event unfolding before them.
"Is that person eating people?"
Malu covered her mouth, her face full of disgust.
Following her gaze, she saw a tall, strong man dressed in tattered clothes, carrying an iron cage filled with something unknown but with an extremely foul stench on his back. He was violently cutting up the Living Dead on the ground with a strange tool that looked like a heavy iron bar or a machete.
He tossed the chopped-off pieces of meat to his hunting dogs, while throwing the larger chunks of carcass into the cage. Now he understood what was in the cage.
Seeing this, Leon recalled the incident that had occurred when they first entered.
They had only taken a few steps into the Road of Sacrifices when they suddenly heard hurried footsteps ahead, and several Living Dead were running towards them.
They thought it was a surprise attack, but sending only a few weak Living Dead to attack them seemed like a huge underestimation of them. Leon was about to Execute them when he discovered that the Living Dead had no intention of attacking them at all and were just running away. However, they were pounced on by the hounds that followed, and then heavier footsteps came from not far away.
Leon and his companions hid in the nearby bushes to investigate, and that's when they witnessed this scene.
He is now certain that the man in the cage did not cut up the corpse out of anger, because the other man's actions were clearly those of a worker.
What was his job? Transporting scraps of meat?
Out of curiosity, Leon and his teammates exchanged glances and quietly followed them.
He was responsible for keeping a close eye on the caged man, Delu was responsible for memorizing the surrounding scenery and drawing a map, Malu was responsible for silently dealing with any monsters encountered along the way that might expose them.
The caged man walked forward at a leisurely pace. The scenery along the way was not particularly beautiful; it was essentially Farron Keep without the Swamp, which did not inspire any appreciation. However, there were gnawed corpses and wrecked carriages everywhere, as if the place had been robbed.
Just then, something strange happened on the caged man's side. Several Living Dead dressed as bandits suddenly appeared and fought with him, their target being the human flesh on his body.
Some people had their bodies cut into pieces, yet they still obsessively stuffed bits of flesh into their mouths, looking like reincarnated starving ghosts.
Seeing that the caged man was no match for him, Leon and his companions secretly helped him out, making him believe that he had won through his own strength.
The man in the cage roughly stuffed the Living Dead into the cage and continued walking. However, after only a few steps, he encountered another group of robbers, and Leon once again helped him out.
Then the third wave of robbers arrived.
"Are all the monsters here a little sick?" Malu couldn't help but complain, "Are they all just after human flesh instead of money? The people here are so honest and simple."
The people on the Road of Sacrifices all enjoy eating human flesh; this is their first impression upon entering.
So why did this custom arise?
Even with their protection, the caged man's strength became insufficient later on. The Living Dead who came to rob them transformed into more powerful Crow People, and then...
With a "thud," while Leon and his men were busy dealing with the Crow People, a large cleaver slashed the caged man to the ground and dragged the cage full of human flesh into the cave around the corner.
"Damn it, we still got robbed!"
Malu kicked the Crow People mage in front of her, only to be met with an ear-piercing scream from behind. Looking down, she saw Crow People hiding behind the rock.
Its cry was quite something; a large swarm of dark, crow-like Crow People suddenly emerged from the grass, the trees, and the cliff edge, rushing towards the group.
Wait a minute, there weren't any monsters in those places before, right? Malu explored them all just now!
It's been a long time since I've seen a scene of hordes of monsters, and these Crow People are actually quite coordinated in their fighting style.
In the distance, Crow People mages cast spells; closer still, there are those wielding short swords; and even closer, there are those crawling on the ground. If you're not careful, you could be ambushed and have a bloody hole torn in your body by sharp beaks and claws.
If it weren't for the fact that it was Leon and his group that were being besieged, they probably would have died long ago.
Are you sure this is a simple beginner map!?
Ultimately, it was Te Er, who had transformed into Green-skinned Orc, who fought his way out, thus saving them from being ganged up on.
By the time Leon and his group ran over to check on the caged man, he was already dead, and their plan to follow him had failed.
If they can truly protect the caged man from dying along the way, they could indeed follow him through the Road of Sacrifices to reach the Cathedral of the Deep.
After the caged man died, two points of light appeared: one was blood and grease, and the other was a letter.
[The church needs more human flesh; the saints' appetite is growing, so the crackdown efforts are intensified.]
This letter looks like it's been there for a long time, maybe more than ten years, and it's really not easy to still make out the handwriting.
"Church, human flesh? How are these two words connected?"
Who would associate a solemn and majestic church, representing God, with cannibalism? What exactly is this so-called saint?
Before they could think further, a strange, mocking laugh suddenly came from behind them. They turned around to look.
A madwoman dressed in tattered clothes with a strange smile on her face charged towards them carrying a large knife. She was the same woman who had killed the caged man and taken the human flesh!
This is the Man-Eating Girl from Dark Souls III, and she looks very similar to Mildred from Dark Souls I.
"Careful!"
Malu one look. This woman's smile was terrifying; she must be an exceptionally powerful individual!
Everyone became serious. As the saying goes, the more arrogant the laugh, the stronger the strength. The Man-Eating Girl's laugh could no longer be described as arrogant.
So, Leon drew the Backhand Sword that Andre had repaired and launched Swift Slash without hesitation!
A moment later.
"So weak."
Looking at the Man-Eating Girl lying on the ground and turned to ash, Malu couldn't help but complain.
All eyes turned to her, and she immediately said, "What? What? I didn't expect her to look so intimidating but be so weak."
It's not that the Man-Eating Girl is too weak, it's that Leon and his group are too strong right now.
Throughout the entire battle, the rock wall inflicted the most damage on Leon. He used two Swift Slash to instantly kill the Man-Eating Girl, but then accidentally crashed into the rock wall.
"Let's go in and take a look."
They entered the cave where the Man-Eating Girl lived, and when they saw the mountain of white bones inside, they couldn't help but exclaim:
"What's wrong with the people here? Do they really enjoy eating people?"
The entire Road of Sacrifices was filled with Furious Rajang fanatics. Although the danger level was not high, it still created a sense of unease in people's hearts.
There was a purple light spot among the bones, and Malu picked it up to take a look.
Mercenary Twinblades
Some mercenaries use paired short curved swords, which can deliver slashing attacks that cut enemies with their sharp blades, but are less effective against metal armor or hard scales.
[Weapon Skill: Whirlwind Slash]
"This is."
Upon encountering the Mercenary Twinblades, a technique for dual-wielding these weapons suddenly appeared in Malu's mind.
"It looks pretty impressive!"