Zane Stood on the Final Floor

Healing Magic is very useful; this is a consensus among magicians.

However, it can sometimes leave some aftereffects, like Leon's current situation.

"You guys are laughing way too loudly."

Leon's head was tilted at a 45-degree angle, making him look like he had a stiff neck.

He just broke his neck, and because Delu's treatment was rushed, this is how he ended up.

"Yes, I'm sorry, Meow Boss." Malu quickly turned around, but her smile was so wide it was clearly visible even when she turned away.

Leon's forehead bulged out in a "well" shape; he was just short of punching the guy on the head.

"Sigh, I'm so tired."

Who would have thought that those were actually completely harmless phantoms? I bet no one would feel nervous the first time they encountered them!

I may be the first, but I'm definitely not the last to embarrass myself!

He looked up with a touch of melancholy. The sky above was the typical cold night of the Irithyll of the Boreal Valley, the night sky as if covered with a layer of frost, and under the cold moonlight, specks of frost were sparkling.

Under the moonlight, rows of pointed buildings reach straight to the sky, creating an indescribable charm. It is beautiful, but after seeing it for a while, you feel that something is missing, like a touch of human warmth.

Looking more specifically at the building below, which is the street where they are currently standing, they suddenly feel extremely small.

A strange feeling of the vastness of the world and his own insignificance resonated in Leon's heart. He showed a sentimental expression, when he suddenly heard Malu call out "Boss" behind him.

"What's wrong?" He was still lost in thought and subconsciously turned his head.

With a "click!" a flash of light, Leon saw Malu holding the Image Stone and grinning as she said:

"Boss, the way you tilted your head and sighed just now was so funny, I had to take a picture and show it to everyone, hehe."

"Malu!"

Leon yelled, his previous sentimental mood completely shattered, and he opened his arms to rush up and teach the girl a lesson, while Malu ran up the stairs with a grin.

Irithyll's phantoms walked numbly like a parade, while Leon and Malu, one large and one small, moved through the phantoms, bringing a rare vitality to this icy city.

Malu a little nervous at first, after all, it was her first time navigating through so many enemies.

But once you get used to it, it's not a big deal. Anyway, these phantoms won't attack you, and it's actually quite fun to walk through them.

"Boss, come and get me! If you catch me, I'll—"

"Thump!"

Malu's "arrogance" didn't last long. She was turning around and running backwards to tease Leon when she suddenly bumped into something and fell backwards.

"Huh?"

She let out an unexpected scream, and suddenly felt someone's limbs entangle around her, tightly gripping her neck and trying to kill her.

Most importantly, Malu couldn't see the thing that was supposed to kill her, even though it was right in front of her.

The enemy is invisible!

Malu pulled out her dagger and stabbed at the air. Only one or two out of ten stabs hit the target, which allowed her to roughly grasp the enemy's size.

Leon rushed over and kicked the monster that was pinning Malu away. He drew his sword and slashed at the spot where the monster had been kicked away, but instead struck the floor. Sparks flew as his weapon collided with the floor, and he couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.

Did that transparent monster escape? No, it was hiding behind Leon, staring at his waist, and thrusting at him with a short sword.

Although Leon couldn't see it, he could sense the killing intent. Suddenly, the Caria Straight Sword in his hand condensed into the Great Carian, but he didn't release it. Instead, he turned around abruptly and spun the longer and wider magical blade around him!

Great Carian can be used like this?!

The feeling of Execute a monster came from the blade, and his own soul energy also increased. In other words, he had killed the invisible monster, right?

But Malu is still fighting against thin air; there's more than one invisible monster!

"Come and gather here."

Leon pulled Malu and her companions together. He exchanged glances with Delu and Te Er, and they immediately understood.

Hidden among the shadowy figures that fill the streets are invisible monsters!

That's the [Transparent Man], a monster from the Shadowwood map in Dark Souls II.

The original Irithyll also had monsters that could become invisible, but they had a flaw: they couldn't be completely invisible and their eyes would still be visible.

Therefore, Gong Qiying replaced the original invisible monster with the Transparent Man from Dark Souls 2. The two monsters are roughly the same in strength, but the Invisible Man's invisibility is improved and its agility is also good, further increasing the mental pressure on players.

"I originally thought that the Zane Dungeon used these phantoms to scare us, but I never expected that there were invisible monsters hidden inside. It is always deeper than we think."

Leon raised his shield and listened carefully to the sounds around him; if he heard footsteps, he would strike.

However, the sound of the raging wind and snow greatly disturbed the sense of hearing. Did the Zane Dungeon even take environmental factors into account in the end?

"[Dispel Invisibility] " Delu chanted and waved his hand to release the magic, but it had no effect.

You're using the magic of this world to target monsters in Dark Souls 2? The principles are completely different, how could it possibly work?

"No, then let's use a low-level spell like [Splash Paint]!"

A large amount of red paint sprayed out of the magic wand, and in an instant, three Transparent Man that were almost indistinguishable from human figures appeared and were Execute by Leon.

The monster was defeated, but the people didn't show any happy expressions.

"We can't exactly walk around splashing paint, can we?"

The number of Transparent Man is unknown, but Delu's magic is limited.

However, if they don't splash paint, it means they have to be on guard against possible sneak attacks at all times, and they can't relax their vigilance for a moment.

The beautiful scenery of Irithyll suddenly appeared dangerous to everyone, like a rose with thorns, and the thorns were covered in Scarlet Corruption.

"I have an idea," Delu suddenly said. "Let's go back to the Firelink Shrine. Do you remember the Kindling Secret Ritual?"

Yes, the Kindling Secret Ritual that can enhance the mind can improve their perception of the surrounding environment. If a Transparent Man tries to ambush them, they will have a higher probability of noticing it.

The Kindling Secret Ritual can only be performed by actively choosing a spot by the campfire. It can only be done once a day, and if you die, you have to wait until tomorrow. Moreover, each time you need to invest your humanity. When they came in, they were so focused on entering Irithyll that they completely forgot about this.

The group immediately returned to the Firelink Shrine, and after being strengthened by the Kindling Secret Ritual, they all returned with Element Bottle hanging from their waists.

But speaking of which, where did the Crocodile Sunlight King go on the bridge?

Never mind, I hope I won't run into it again.

Upon returning to Irithyll, the monsters have reappeared due to the teleportation, a phenomenon known as respawning.

With Strategy Team enhanced Spirit Power, the team could indeed hear the Transparent Man footsteps amidst the wind and snow, which reduced the difficulty of their exploration.

As I said before, use dungeons to deal with dungeons.

Upon Upper Rank, a deserted avenue unfolds before them, flanked by winding alleyways, suggesting a wealth of places to explore.

Leon took a deep breath, a challenging glint in his eyes, and said:

"Take it slow, even if you spend the whole day here."

As soon as I stepped onto the main road, phantoms appeared one after another, and seeing these things out of the blue was quite frightening.

Along with them appeared the Transparent Man and a brand new monster called the Ice Wraith.

This is a specialty from Skyrim. It is a serpentine monster made of frost, whose body can blend perfectly into the snow of Irithyll. Its attack method is to spew frost, which leaves marks on the ground, making it look like Frost Stomp.

Placing such a monster in Irithyll wouldn't feel out of place at all.

"Luckily, I specifically learned fire magic for today."

Delu first cast a fire shield on the people, then applied a fire enchantment to the weapons, but Leon refused. Instead, he took out Fire Grease and applied it to his Backhand Sword —because the Caria Straight Sword couldn't be enchanted with grease of any element.

The combination of the Transparent Man and the Ice Wraith is enough to give most teams a run for their money, and it's quite troublesome.

However, Leon felt that such a long road couldn't possibly only have these two types of monsters, as it didn't fit his stereotype of Sain.

Sure enough, when they had traveled about a third of the way along the main road, their inner alarm bells were ringing wildly.

Flames suddenly surged beneath their feet, and the next moment, a pillar of fire as thick as a water vat shot into the sky!

Te Er because he couldn't dodge in time, or perhaps because he was too big, half of Tel's body was burned black, but fortunately he didn't die.

The pillars of fire seemed to have a life of their own, tracking Leon and his companions' every move. Wherever they landed, flames would shoot up into the sky!

It wasn't until the fire pillars had spewed out four times that there was a brief respite, allowing people to finally catch their breath and discover where the fire attack had come from.

Right in front of them, on the main road, stood three rather tall enemies on a high bridge connecting the buildings on both sides.

Their armor and the non-aggressive phantoms were extremely similar, and they held long staffs in their hands, which were their medium for casting spells, from which the flames were released!

Their name is "Pontiff Knight Fire Witch," loyal knights of Pontiff Sulyvahn, and considered to be among the top tier of knightly enemies.

I believe every ashes has experienced being chased and burned by them.

When designing Irithyll Gong Qiying also referenced some of the design of the Tower Town, Barrett. The three Fire Witch who cast spells on the bridge are modeled after the Tower Town.

The Fire Witch's magic can be summarized as fast-acting, highly lethal, and highly homing, making her extremely annoying.

The three Fire Witch, working together, unleashed a continuous barrage of magic, enough to prevent any adventurer from advancing.

Rushing through is one way, but when adventurers try to run the marathon, they will encounter a random number of melee-formed Pontiff Knight along the way.

Based on Gong Qiying's judgment, the Pontiff Knight in melee form are stronger than when they use magic. Although they are physically weak and lack resilience, their attack frequency is far higher than that of the Carthus Warrior.

Leon squinted as he observed what lay ahead. It would be difficult to kill the Pontiff Knight at this distance using ranged attacks, and if he charged straight ahead, he didn't know what monsters he might encounter on either side of the road.

So.

"Take the side paths!"

He pulled the burned Te Er and his companions quickly into a nearby alley.

Sure enough, once the adventurers disappeared from sight, the Fire Witch stopped attacking.

"You guessed right. It seems we'll be navigating through alleys from now on."

It's a classic example of Soul Wanderer: taking the main road but not the side road.

Dark alleyways often signify danger, but this time, an unexpected sound rang out.

"Sulyvahn, I will, I will definitely become your knight, please look to me!"

A white spirit knelt on the ground. Leon walked over quietly and found that it was a young boy.

When you stay near the spirit, the word "Sulyvahn" always appears in the other person's words, and their words are full of reverence for the Pope, or rather, Furious Rajang.

Such words give people goosebumps, because religious Furious Rajang always give people a creepy feeling.

"How did Pontiff Sulyvahn manage to Brain Control people like this?"