Signs of Contagion
Nighttime, the Leyndell, the Royal Palace.
Inside the King's bedchamber, several maids, covered in cold sweat, were carefully helping King Anzi III clean his body. They dared not breathe, for fear of waking the King and having him devour them alive.
Anzi III's condition seems to have stabilized recently. Although he still becomes violent, he sleeps much more often and for long periods at a time.
Iliphis came and saw it, and said that this was normal and there was nothing to worry about.
I don't know if he meant the King's health was not a concern, or the throne was not a concern.
The maids were ordered to help the King wipe his body during this time, and although they were terrified, they had no choice but to do so.
"Ah!"
A piercing scream rang out as the maid's arm was suddenly gripped tightly by Anzi III's large hand with its sharp nails, which dug into her flesh, drawing blood.
Upon closer inspection, Anzi III also had a wound on his palm, from which blood was seeping out.
In this way, his blood mixed with the maid's blood, but no one paid attention to this detail.
People quickly covered the maid's mouth, because the King had not yet woken up, and what he had just done might have been an unconscious movement.
They hurriedly finished their last task, picked up their buckets, and ran away.
The handmaid, whose arm had been scratched, went to the Priest, seeking not only medical treatment but also emotional support.
In the church, bathed in Holy Light, her wounds healed completely, and her tense mind gradually relaxed. It seemed that she would not suffer any psychological trauma.
My arm feels a little itchy?
Discussions about Irithyll of the Boreal Valley have become increasingly heated recently.
If there were a trending topics list, it would probably stay in the top ten.
"Boss, we agreed to rest tomorrow!" Malu's exhausted voice echoed through the streets of the Leyndell.
"The plan has changed. We finally managed to get the qualification to enter Irithyll. Don't you want to be the first person to enter Irithyll of the Boreal Valley?"
Leon clutched the Small Doll tightly in his hand, afraid of losing it even if he put it in his pocket. He hadn't been this excited in a long time.
Although they had guessed that the Small Doll would be in the Cathedral of the Deep, they didn't expect to get it so easily. Moreover, judging from the extra rewards given to them by the dungeon, they were the first to defeat the Deepwater Bishop Congregation.
The dungeon is closing time now, which means they are the only ones qualified to enter Irithyll tomorrow!
No one can refuse this honor!
That being said, the strength of the Deepwater Bishop Congregation should be at the bottom among the current leaders, so there shouldn't be anyone they can't defeat, right?
Really?
Thinking of this, Leon patted Malu's head and comforted her, "After we come back from Irithyll, I'll take you to play with the Little Pot, okay? I've already bought the Poké Ball."
"You have to keep your word!" Malu perked up immediately. "Then let's go have a big meal today to replenish our energy for tomorrow's trip to the Irithyll of the Boreal Valley!"
Laughter and cheerful voices immediately filled the air, and even in the dead of night, the Leyndell remained brightly lit.
Strategy Team travelers passed a street corner, a newsboy was hawking his wares. Leon recognized the face of the person buying a newspaper in front of him.
But before he could even take a good look, his companions dragged him into the tavern.
"A newspaper, please."
Gong Qiying, who hadn't had a chance to get some fresh air in a long time due to his busy work schedule, was now sitting on a bench on the street with a newspaper in hand, looking like an office worker who had finally found a chance to slack off.
At first, he wondered if the world's technology was really capable of producing something like a newspaper. But then he thought of magic, and that made him understand.
This time, the newspaper he bought wasn't from one of the major newspapers, but from a second-rate tabloid. This newspaper was originally a worthless entity on the verge of bankruptcy, but after the appearance of the Zane Dungeon near the Leyndell, it decided to focus on producing content related to the dungeon.
As it happened, it caught the wave of the dungeon craze among the nobles and even received investment from Princess Serena. In this way, it rose from obscurity to become somewhat well-known.
Gong Qiying reads this newspaper mainly because it has a section that randomly interviews adventurers about their feelings on popular dungeon areas, and a group of people expressing their opinions is just like browsing online forums in his past life.
Today's topic is "Irithyll of the Boreal Valley". Reporters only need to ask a few formulaic questions and then wait for the adventurers to eloquently answer.
Adventurer A: [Irithyll? I love it there so much! Why, you ask? Because we can't get in! Distance makes the heart grow fonder, you know? I wait every day for the Strategy Team to figure out a way to get in.]
Adventurer B: [That city is obviously a place where rich people gather. I'm already looking forward to showing off my lock-picking skills. You ask about my profession? Hehe]
Adventurer C: [It's beautiful. After going through so much hardship to traverse the Catacombs and defeat the Overlord Wolnir, seeing such a beautiful view makes my life worthwhile.]
Reporter: [However, the legendary Sky Courtyard of Dragons and the Sea of Gems of Fairies are said to be comparable to Irithyll. Isn't your judgment on whether life is worthwhile a bit too hasty?]
Adventurer C: [Legends are just legends. Perhaps they really exist, but they are scenery that only a few can see. Even if I hear the descriptions of those few, I can't feel their beauty. But in the Zane Dungeon, I saw Irithyll, and its beauty has become an imprint in my mind. I can go back anytime I want. That is the scenery that truly belongs to most of us.]
Reporter: [That's well said. I'd like to go see for myself. Let's see what the next adventurer has to say. He seems a little unhappy.]
Adventurer D: [**** Zane Dungeon! ** Irithyll! What's with releasing dogs on the bridge?! I'm so mad!]
Upon seeing this, Gong Qiying finally laughed.
Just as murderers always return to the crime scene, he believed that the Yugi developers in his previous life must have also enjoyed going to forums to see players' exasperated reactions.
On the other hand, keeping track of the adventurers' movements at all times is of great help to him in building the Zane Dungeon, so he's not slacking off, he's working!
Just like before, when the Sain Style was just becoming popular among the nobles of the Leyndell, he noticed the trend almost immediately.
So he added a bunch of fancy-looking but useless trinkets to the city of Sien. The result was obvious: these exquisite, fashionable little junks were very popular with the nobles.
Later, he also prepared some ingredients that were said to have aphrodisiac properties and sent them to the Gourmet Area, successfully helping the Gourmet Area's ingredients reach the tables of thousands of households in the Leyndell.
At first, he thought it would be difficult to make the products of the Zane Dungeon popular in the Leyndell, but it turned out that he just hadn't grasped the characteristics of the people in the Leyndell. Of course, Earl Ka Rong of the Bede Family and others also deserve credit. He was much more pragmatic than his father.
Gong Qiying flipped through the newspaper, which contained follow-up reports on the newly discovered Saen's Road of Sacrifices and its subsequent developments.
"With more and more skilled adventurers, the speed of conquering new areas has increased significantly."
Numerous guides have emerged regarding the Road of Sacrifices and the Impaled Corpse Forest. Notably, this time, guides are no longer solely provided by Leon or Lu Lu Wo. More and more Strategy Team are appearing, some of which are just as capable as, or even stronger than, the Strategy Team from Bede City. Lu Lu Wo must be sweating buckets these days.
Further down the list, someone even mentioned a guide to the Cathedral of the Deep.
But as you continue reading, you realize that the so-called guide only mentioned the cemetery, and you couldn't even get past the rooftop.
"Leon and the other two teams have already obtained the Small Doll, Irithyll of the Boreal Valley can also be activated, but there are still some minor issues that haven't been resolved."
He controlled his physical body to return to the inn, while his mind returned to the Zane Dungeon. A miniature model of the Zane Dungeon appeared before him, and he slid to the Irithyll of the Boreal Valley.
The map of Irithyll is quite large, and it can be divided into the city, the city walls, and the Underground Jail. The Underground Jail is connected to the Profaned Capital in the Yugi, but that hasn't been implemented yet, so we won't discuss it for now.
The city, the city walls, and the Underground Jail each have their own unique characteristics and forms of torture, with the final boss, Pope Sulyvahn, bringing an unexpected surprise.
Behind Sulyvahn lies the most famous map in Dark Souls III – the Backyard.
That's where the original Dark Souls 5 players fought each other, honed their skills and morality, and competed for the title of "Knight," which is of great significance in Dark Souls 3 and even the entire history of Dark Souls.
Gong Qiying plans to transform this backyard into a place where adventurers can fight each other to their hearts' content, believing it will be the most vibrant area in the entire Zane Dungeon.
In addition, a new covenant will also appear in Irithyll, namely the famous Dark Moon Blade.
Darkmoon Madman is back for a limited time!
Behind Irithyll lies a crucial scene in the Dark Souls world: Anor Londo, the city of the gods inhabited by Gwyn and his bloodline.
This place should be the one that Gong Qiying designed with great care, but no matter how he designed it, it feels a bit strange. What exactly is strange about it?
After much contemplation, he finally realized the problem: the timeline.
With Sulyvahn's arrival, Anor Londo now belongs to Aldrich. The once glorious Leyndell has been corrupted by the drowned boars and will never regain its former glory. Any undead who witnessed the grandeur of the Leyndell in Dark Souls Leyndell will be emotionally affected by its corruption.
But adventurers wouldn't, because they hadn't seen the Leyndell before it was corrupted, and therefore couldn't empathize with it.
Gong Qiying felt that this was somewhat inappropriate, as it weakened the emotional impact.
After much thought, he decided that he still wanted adventurers to see the desolate Leyndell only after they had seen the normal Anor Londo.
"Let's use the form of Painting World. Make several Painting World and place them near the campfires in Irithyll."
He scribbled in his notebook, muttering to himself, "But Anor Londo can't be too easy. Adventurers might not be able to clear it. Should we give them some extra help?"
He subconsciously drew a helmet that looked like an iron bucket in his notebook, and laughed at himself after seeing it.
"As expected, the best teammate is still the Sun Warrior."
On the surface, Irithyll is simply a map.
But in reality, people will also witness the splendor of Anor Londo here!