The Area Sealed by the Pontiff

Seven days later.

News of what happened in Anor Londo has spread throughout the area covered by the Zane Dungeon.

"What new tricks do you think those Dark Moon Blade can come up with?"

"You mean the group that believes in the Dark Sun? I think that's the end of the road for them."

In a tavern in Bede City, several idlers sat together, drinking and discussing recent major events in broad daylight.

They are people who live on the fringes of society, working odd jobs, drinking and chatting in their spare time, and not getting deeply involved in any events. As a result, they have become the meeting point for all kinds of rumors and gossip.

"I saw them saying they were going to defeat that guy named Aldrich and save their god, but it's been so long and they still can't even win. Recently, they've only been streaming one match at a time, and they shut it down immediately after losing. I feel a little sorry for them." Idle Man A shook his head.

Idle Man B took a sip of his drink and said, "Besides going to fight those guys God Eater, I think the Dark Moon Blade are still up to something."

"For example?"

"For example, just a couple of days ago, some people tried to warn the still-living Dark Sun in the Painting World, some simply stayed in the Painting World saying they would guard the Leyndell, some danced a ritual dance in front of the statue of Gwyn hoping for divine help, and some even organized a group of people with an average weight of over 300 pounds to attack Aldrich, hoping to tear the Dark Sun's body off while he was eating them."

"Why does it have to be at least 300 jin?"

"Because the heavier Aldrich is, the slower he eats."

Upon hearing this, even the idle man A couldn't bring himself to eat the roasted meat in front of him.

"So what was the result? With so many believers, surely one of them would succeed?"

Idle Man B shook his head, about to say something, when suddenly the tavern door was kicked open. The loud noise attracted everyone's attention, and they all turned to look, thinking that someone had come to cause trouble.

However, what appeared at the door were only a few dejected and disheartened adventurers. They hadn't deliberately rammed the door; they were just too weak and listless to muster any strength, so they simply pushed it open with their swaying bodies.

When the people in the tavern noticed the Dark Moon Blade badges on the adventurers, they turned away unsurprised and continued chatting.

The adventurers, bound by the Dark Moon Covenant, sat listlessly at the empty table. The owner had to ask them several times before they finally ordered a bunch of strong liquor, as if they wanted to numb their senses with alcohol.

Idle Man B pointed at them, made a face, and shrugged, his unspoken words leaving no room for doubt.

The Dark Moon Blade's efforts have all failed.

When disaster strikes, people all think about being heroes, but when they actually fail, they realize that they can't do anything.

You can find the dejected Dark Moon Blade in any tavern in Bede City or even the Leyndell. People don't think their behavior is exaggerated. If you told the Holy Light Follower that the Holy Light God was dead, those guys would probably do something even more extreme, and maybe even take a few more people with them when they are martyred.

The Dark Moon Blade nowadays simply drown their sorrows in alcohol and don't bother others; in the eyes of the residents, they are already a rare group of highly educated people.

"Speaking of the Holy Light Church, you all know about the manifestation of the Holy Light God, right? Finally, a god we're familiar with has started to act again." The idlers changed the subject.

"I've met that blessed Li Ka before. That sickly guy is now a high-ranking member of the Holy Light Church. I'm so envious! Why wasn't I blessed!"

"You don't believe in the Holy Light. But I've been thinking about joining the Holy Light Church recently. Now, whether it's Starfire, Darkmoon, or any other church, it's been crushed by it. And its recent behavior clearly shows that it's deliberately suppressing other churches."

"As expected of the traditional church that is deeply rooted in the kingdom, it may have declined in recent years, but when it gets active, it immediately transforms back into the behemoth it was in history."

The drunken loafer C shouted, "In my opinion, we should believe in big churches like these. If we believe in those small churches, who knows when we'll get into trouble?"

Idle Man B quickly coughed twice and covered the other person's mouth with his hand, because the Dark Moon Blade around the tavern were all looking over with unfriendly expressions!

C, who had originally intended to chat while drunk, was so frightened that he fell to the ground and quickly crawled under the table.

Let's go.

One of the adventurers said something, and everyone slammed their meal money on the table and headed out. Someone angrily kicked the idler's exposed buttocks in frustration.

"Da da da—"

Suddenly, the sound of running could be heard outside the tavern. It sounded rather chaotic. What had happened now?

The adventurer peeked out and saw familiar figures. It was his good buddy Dark Moon Blade, who used to play Happy Invasion with him. He also recognized the people running in the street, and they seemed to be running in the direction of the Zane Dungeon portal.

"What's wrong? Why are you running?" he shouted.

"Gwyndolin!" the man exclaimed. "Fingel has discovered Gwyndolin's message, and it's being spread in real time. Go check it out!"

Upon hearing this, the adventurers quickly ran towards the portal.

Let's turn back time by one hour.

Fingel's live stream appeared on time on the screen set up near the portal, a scene that people had become accustomed to.

The new invention of the Image Transmission Stone is very novel to people, but it has many problems nowadays and still needs to undergo a lot of improvements before it can be launched on the market. The version that Fingel is currently using is the best, but it still sometimes experiences frequent black screens or delays.

Groups of people gathered in front of the curtain, but their eyes no longer held any expectation; they were simply there to see how long these adventurers could hold out.

At this moment, Fingel, who was in the underground city, did not know how much longer he had to hold on.

The battle with Aldrich is still unresolved. There have been several times when victory seemed within reach, but each time it was thwarted by some minor details.

Even though he paid close attention to these issues, he could never completely solve them. His best performance was only enough to force Aldrich to activate his second phase, where sparks flew from his body. After the second phase, his strength was only slightly weaker than that of the Sunlight King form Farron Undead Legion.

However, the Farron Undead Legion's normal form and Sunlight King form are counted separately. Defeating the normal form is considered a victory for the adventurer, while Aldrich's two forms are counted together!

This means that even if adventurers try their best, they cannot defeat it.

At this moment, he and his companions stood before the Fog Gate of Anor Londo, where the enemy he had challenged dozens of times without success was located. He estimated that he would have little chance of winning if he went in again this time.

Aldrich can unleash a powerful attack that clears the entire area of Darkmoon Arrow Rain, instantly killing any adventurer who gets hit. Besides interrupting the charge in time, Topus's Force Field is surprisingly effective against this attack, something he discovered in his last battle.

In the end, they still lost that battle, wasting a hard-won Silver Shield.

Fingel felt a deep weariness, a feeling even more exhaustion than when he was the little boy who had tried so hard to save Irithyll.

"Forget it, I'm not going in this time," he suddenly said, turning and leaving.

When the onlookers saw this, they thought he had finally given up and all showed expressions of disappointment.

However, the live broadcast was not shut down, and Fingel began to explore inside the castle, causing the crowd that had started walking to stop again.

Those who enter Anor Londo arrive only to fight Aldrich, and after losing a few matches, they leave disheartened, resulting in a lack of exploration of the castle.

The main reason is that everyone has been to Anor Londo and is very familiar with its architecture. The rewards placed along the route from the castle to the Aldrich Fog Gate are extremely similar to those in the Painting World, which misleads adventurers into thinking that the later areas are no different from the Painting World.

Viewers who follow Fingel's perspective to see the dilapidated Leyndell covered in ice and snow find it difficult to generate positive emotions other than a sense of desolation; the effect is not as good as fighting Aldrich.

Those who have been to the Painting World observe the details, and they suddenly mutter to themselves:

"Why does it feel like the structure deep inside the castle has changed? The location of the rewards has also been moved."

The items that Fingel found in a hidden corner of the castle surprised everyone even more.

The key to the rotating mechanism

Inserting it into the rotating mechanism would allow it to reach the area blocked by Pontiff Sulyvahn.

The rotating mechanism refers to that spiral staircase, right? It can take you to new places? We didn't see it.

Moreover, the area was blocked by Sulyvahn.

Suddenly, Fingel thought of something, waved to his companions, and quickly ran towards the rotating mechanism outside the castle.

The buildings in Anor Londo have mostly collapsed. The only places that can be reached by rotating mechanisms are the middle and lower levels of the Painting World, which correspond to the road leading to the castle and Gwyndolin's Tomb, which is also where the Fog Gate of Gwyndolin was once located.

Adventurers have also visited Gwyndolin's Tomb, but the helpful Sun Warrior is no longer there, and the Gwyn statue will not disappear, even if you wear the Dark Moon Priest Ring.

Fingel searched for a long time at the rotating mechanism and actually found the keyhole at the push rod!

Because this setting doesn't exist in the Painting World, they subconsciously didn't observe this place carefully!

Insert the key, turn the mechanism and slowly ascend the stairs to the upper floor—no, to a position even higher than the upper floor.

Matilda saw her captain clench his fists, looking very expectant. She hadn't seen him so nervous since she heard about Aldrich's situation.

She even started to speculate about what was on the upper levels. Could it be that Gwyndolin hadn't actually died, but was just being imprisoned somewhere else?

"Boom"

The machine slowly came to a stop, but the scene that appeared before them was beyond everyone's comprehension.

The staircase faces an empty cliff.

A hundred meters away stands a solitary tower, and you can tell that the stairs were originally meant to connect to a bridge leading to the tower.

However, at this moment the bridge broke, splitting off at both ends, leaving a large gap in the middle. Falling into it would definitely result in being smashed into a bloody pulp.

"How about trying Flight Spell?"

"Aren't you afraid that Saine will pull some tricks on you?"

"Hiss"

Just as the two were hesitating, a few straws came over and poked them. When they turned around, they saw that it was Aleya.

"What's wrong?" Fingel asked.

Aleya didn't speak, but simply pointed to her feet. A large amount of straw sprouted from the Straw Man she was controlling, coiling around the air like thin vines!

"So it was Invisible Bridge!"

Fingel suddenly realized that it had been a long time since he had seen Invisible Bridge in Sien.

Aleya walked ahead, her vines wrapping around the invisible bridge as she went, revealing its shape. Fingel and Matilda followed behind, walking steadily.

As you approach the tower, the name of the place appears accompanied by indescribable sound effects.

Prisoner Tower

"Captive."

Matilda muttered the word, then looked up at Fingel, who gave her a "just as I expected" look and said:

"If I'm not mistaken, there should be something here—"

"Who are you, and why are you standing here?"

A strange young woman's voice appeared in everyone's ears.