Deepwater Bishop Congregation

One ounce, two, three, four

One, ten, one hundred.

"By the grace of any god above," Tus's mouth gaped open as if he had eaten a rubber fruit, "This is the first time I've ever seen such a massive boss battle in the Zane Dungeon."

The word "group" in "The Deepwater Bishop Congregation" is so apt.

Just now everyone was discussing whether it was beneath their dignity for a bishop to appear in groups like monsters in the Cathedral of the Deep; now it's even more impossible to comment.

Matilda suddenly glared at Fingel. What had he said not long ago? "If I were to design something, I would definitely have hundreds or thousands of Deep Bishop appear. That would be interesting." "Sean's current design has no excitement at all."

Very well, now you've got what you asked for.

Fingel smiled sheepishly, but his gaze remained fixed on the giant coffin surrounded by the Deep Bishop.

He could sense that a powerful being had once resided within the coffin. Now, that powerful being had departed, and the black mud flowing from the coffin's exterior was merely its remnant. This black mud shared the same aura as the black Slime- like monsters on the first floor of the church, and its name was:

Aldrich's Carrion

It was only then that he remembered the campfire footage he had watched not long ago, and the giant coffin in front of him seemed to be the coffin of "The Deep Saint" Aldrich!

In this way, it seems quite reasonable for the Deepwater Bishop Congregation to be here. They are all here to guard the coffin of the saint, and the bishops do not seem to lose their dignity. On the contrary, it gives them a sense of religious mystery.

This religious mystery manifests itself as a sense of terror in the Cathedral of the Deep.

Hundreds of glowing red eyes stared at the adventurer, and the nightmare was now materialized.

Compared to Saine's previous leaders, the Deepwater Bishop Congregation lacked the imposing presence and oppressive aura, but they still looked quite intimidating.

The Deep Bishop raised their weapons, which resembled ritual implements, and fireballs of all sizes appeared in the air, raining down on the crowd like Meteor Fire Rain.

Previously, the slow movement of fireballs would have been a source of amusement, but now, when swarms of fireballs appear together and slowly move toward people, a sense of oppression arises.

"Aleya!"

Without Fingel speaking, Aleya conjured a high wall of trees in front of everyone. Each tree was wrapped in frost, seemingly native to the far north, and was remarkably effective at blocking fire magic.

Aleya's method of using plants to aid in combat seems similar to that of Si Telan's aunt, Wei En Ma, but the former must utilize seeds, while the latter creates them out of thin air, resulting in a difference in their levels of skill.

The fireballs exploded one after another, but the high temperature could not dispel the cold brought by the darkness. At this moment, everyone's attention was focused on Fingel, and it was clear that everyone listened to him.

"Does that mean the victory condition is to kill all the bishops?"

Fingel glanced at the group. As for the bishops, the Guzha Squad could handle them. Despite the large number of monsters, each one was quite weak. As long as they paid attention to the "magic" they used, the Deepwater Bishop Congregation might become the easiest bosses in the history of Sion.

"Focus on ranged attacks and avoid close combat unless absolutely necessary. Mages, cast frost shields to block fireballs. Remember, act within your capabilities and prioritize safety."

Fingel patted his chest, revealing a reliable adult smile, "Leave the biggest trouble to us!"

The battle was about to break out. Aleya used plants to divide the battlefield, trapping the members of Hasawi Squad together with the largest number of the Deep Bishop, leaving only a small number of enemies for Guzha Squad.

The number of bishops had already exceeded one hundred, so there was no point in counting them anymore. But as soon as they started fighting, Fingel noticed something.

Although the number of enemies has increased, it doesn't seem to have reached a qualitative change!

The bishops were simply fighting their own battles, gathering the scattered monsters here. They could easily kill their way in and out of the place.

They also have plenty of wide-range attack skills, so it seems that victory will only take a short time!

Fingel took them down with a single slash, Matilda with a punch and two blows, the bishop's body flying up and down, the previously intimidating number was steadily decreasing, and the situation looked very promising.

However, on the divided battlefield, panicked shouts came from the Guzha Squad's side.

"What's going on?" Fingel jumped over to take a look and almost couldn't help but curse. He turned to Aleya and said, "What's going on? Didn't you only leave them a few enemies?"

Aleya nodded in confusion; she had only left about ten bishops for the Guzha Squad.

"Then take a look at these guys and see what's going on with them!?"

Aleya peeked over and took a look; the Straw Man was almost scared to death.

Originally, to protect the Guzha Squad, they were separated from a dozen bishops and placed on the edge of the battlefield, with the idea that they could stay inside and rest easy after the Bone Zha squad dealt with the bishops. But...

This small space is now crammed full of the Deep Bishop, and the Guzha Squad is squeezed inside, making one feel like they're in a sardine can!

"When did there get so many?!" The visual effect of this scene was so strong that Aleya was so frightened that she couldn't even speak. It was a clear, childlike voice.

With so many people crammed together, even if the Guzha Squad wanted to resist, they couldn't do anything. The magic used by the Deep Bishop couldn't hit them either, and in the end, a primitive battle unfolded, involving both words and fists.

Fingel quickly jumped in to save them, but in the end he only managed to rescue four people, including Tus; the rest died in the fight with the Deep Bishop.

"[Great Fireball]!"

Fingel cast a spell to wipe out all the Deep Bishop piled up here, but his brain was damaged, and the spells he used were always unpredictable. The Mid Rank [Great Fireball] suddenly turned into the King Rank spell [Prairie Fire], and in an instant, raging flames burned on the bishops. He was caught off guard and had a large amount of magic power drained from him, so his vision went black and he almost fell in.

To this day, no one knows why the Guzha Squad suddenly encountered so many Deep Bishop, but thinking about it is useless now. Counting the bishops who were burned to death earlier, there should only be a handful of enemies left.

Fingel seemed to sense something, and while drinking a magic potion, he looked at Aldrich's coffin.

Without the candlelight of the bishops, the entire venue was plunged into darkness once again, but flickering candlelight reappeared in the darkness.

"Clang." Fingel's hand trembled, and the magic potion fell to the ground.

"Hey, is this for real? How can it come back to life?"

The entire site was illuminated again, which also signifies the resurrection of the Deepwater Bishop Congregation!

The bishops who had been killed earlier have reappeared unharmed, and their numbers seem to have increased. A red light flashed around the bishops, neither particularly hidden nor conspicuous, easily overlooked by people.

"Immortal? No, there must be something we haven't discovered yet!"

Fingel has his eye on Aldrich's coffin. Could it be that the coffin gave the Deep Bishop the ability to resurrect?

He wanted to order an attack on the coffin, but before he could say it, the Deep Bishop suddenly joined forces with the bishops around them, raising their weapons together.

The next moment, red flames, black darkness, white primal force, and all sorts of "magic" appeared here, surpassing their previous slow pace and impatiently attacking everyone.

The sky was filled with magic—this was the Blood-Boiling Combination Skill of the Deep Bishop!

[One of the mechanics of the Deepwater Bishop Congregation to which Sion belongs: A combo skill is unlocked after all members are killed once.]

"Retreat!"

The Hasawi Squad excels in both combat and defense, but faced with a barrage of magic, Matilda cannot guarantee that her armor will be able to withstand it all, and she must choose a more conservative strategy.

The Deep Bishop help each other and can create more powerful and faster magic, including both offensive and support magic. Although their casting speed is slow, once their magical attacks are combined in a chain, they become quite formidable.

But that's not the main point.

The key point is that they used a dark purple magic that has never appeared in the Dark Souls Yugi. Its effect is simple—accumulate [Terror]. Like the roar of the headless Lion Ape, any adventurer who comes into too much contact with this dark purple magic will fall into the same predicament as Leon on that day.

[Second Mechanism: Dark purple magic accumulates the "Terror" status.]

Gong Qiying added this mechanism to target defensive characters, or more accurately, to counter Shield Poke. In short, it's designed to make adventurers fully focused in battle, paying attention to both ordinary magic and dark purple magic.

After all, maintaining a high level of mental tension is also a way to extract Spirit Power, and the original Deepwater Bishop Congregation were really pitifully weak.

Once the state of terror reaches its peak, the hallucinations they experience will be perfectly suited to the environment.

"Ahhh!"

One of the Guzha Squad's shield guards, relying on his magical shield, neither dodged nor evaded, and withstood all the attacks from the Deep Bishop. Even when injured, he kept drinking stamina potions. If he hadn't been afflicted with the terror status, probably no one else would have been.

In his eyes, the world was suddenly shrouded in a black ocean, but upon closer inspection, it was not an ocean, but something that looked very much like Aldrich's Carrion.

Wait, that's Aldrich the Deep Saint!

The Shield Guard watched helplessly as Aldrich devoured him piece by piece. This wasn't some saint; he was a cannibal!

The sounds of flesh tearing, teeth chewing, and all sorts of other sounds combined can drive a person mad!

It was only at this point that he realized that the Road of Sacrifices existed for Aldrich's sake.

"What's wrong with you!"

Tus noticed his companion had collapsed and rushed over to check on him, only to find that the man's body was trembling uncontrollably, foaming at the mouth, and looking like he was about to die.

Meanwhile, Matilda tossed Fingel into the air, where he successfully struck the coffins of the Deep Bishop with Caria Piercing, followed by a Heimo Hammer.

The coffin shook, and the bishops shuddered.

"It's working?"

Before Fingel could even show a hint of joy, the Deep Bishop resumed their activities, not even glancing at him.

The rotting flesh clinging to the coffin fell off due to his attack, forming a twisted, writhing humanoid shape on the ground that attacked the adventurers.

He was wrong; the coffin was not the key to the resurrection of the Deep Bishop.

"Then why is that?"

It seemed the battle had dragged on for too long, as the bishops' magical power increased further, resembling a deep, dark magical rain.

The bishops' incessant whispers filled the church, intensifying the eerie atmosphere.

Matilda's armor became pitted and uneven, having consumed too much energy in a short period of time, and it couldn't recover automatically.

Fingel's twin swords were both ruined, so he used his last sword, the Repair Light Powder. Aleya looked at her shriveled seed bag, her heart aching.

The more critical the moment, the more focused Fingel becomes, desperately searching for a way to resolve the predicament.

Then he saw a red light.

A red light emanated from the bishop he had killed and seeped into the crowd.

"No resurrection?"

He looked around. After one bishop was killed, a new one would immediately emerge from the darkness, but after he killed the bishop whose chest was glowing red, no new bishop appeared.

"Red light! Kill the enemy with the red light on their chest!"

People trusted him unconditionally and immediately searched the crowd for bishops whose chests glowed red. Once they found this feature, the red light would become exceptionally conspicuous.

One bishop after another ceased to be resurrected, and the area from which the red light could escape shrank.

"Die!" Tus aimed at the red light and instantly appeared in front of the bishop.

However, the bishop's attire was somewhat different.

The other bishops were all dressed in long robes of red or purple, but the bishop who suddenly appeared in front of Tus was dressed in white with a white crown, and the scepter in his hand symbolized his majesty.

[Mechanism Three: After the number of Deep Bishop is halved, the Archbishop will appear, and the red light will be fixed on the Archbishop.]

[Mechanism Four: After the Archbishop appears, all the Deep Bishop will work together to unleash a powerful, instant-death clearing Ultimate Skill.]

These two mechanisms are quite faithful to the original work, except that the timing of the Ultimate Skill is brought forward.

The Deep Bishop raised their weapons, and a black aura emanated from them, coalescing into oppressive clouds in the sky.

Every adventurer had a premonition that something terrible was about to happen.