Omen Ogre, Execute Immediately

Adventurers who are used to seeing white Fog Gate find the colorful Fog Gate of Limgrave even more oppressive.

If the white Fog Gate represents the unknown, then this colorful Fog Gate, which flows slowly like paint, is practically a clear indication of danger, almost as if it were shoving the words "a formidable enemy ahead" right in the adventurer's face.

However, at that moment, You Fei blinked, and the Fog Gate suddenly disappeared again.

There was nothing inside the archway. Looking out from here, you could see a corner of the majestic gate of Stormveil Castle, the imposing iron gate that was tightly closed, which added to the city's austere atmosphere.

"Am I seeing things?" She scratched her head and looked at the others, who also said they had seen the Fog Gate appear and disappear.

This is strange. What's going on? It can't be that there's a bug in the Zane Dungeon.

People were puzzled, but the disappearance of the Fog Gate should be a good thing, right? Without the Fog Gate, it meant there were no powerful enemies behind the gate.

"So what exactly happened just now? It can't be that the dungeon deliberately scared us, can it?"

You Fei couldn't help but make a comment.

To be honest, she wasn't sure what to do when facing the unknown boss monster of the Zane Dungeon.

The Crystallized Old Man of Raya Lucaria isn't too strong, right? But if you don't know the mechanics, even a Sword Saint would be outmaneuvered. And the Caria Knight's parrying skills have caused countless adventurers to perish.

Not to mention.

She looked around, but there was no one to bestow blessings in this long, winding tunnel.

That's right, no! Blessing!

"Where was the last blessing we encountered?" she asked, making sure her memory wasn't confused.

"If I remember correctly," Fan En said, beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead, "It seems to be just ahead of the checkpoint."

Damn it, it's right in front of the checkpoint!

This means that if they unfortunately fall, they will have to spend more time breaking through the heavily guarded checkpoints and then travel for nearly half an hour by Torrent to reach Stormveil Castle.

This is no ordinary Three-hundred-and-sixty-five-mile road); it is far more outrageous than any other area before.

"Could it be because we missed the blessing on the way and didn't notice it?"

You Fei could only come up with this explanation: although the design of the Zane Dungeon was rather insane in most aspects, the campfires were relatively generous. While they weren't placed right in front of the boss, they didn't make it so that people had to run a long way after dying before they could challenge the boss again.

"Should we go back and look for it?"

Faced with Fan En's tempting offer, people thought about it for a moment, but ultimately declined.

It's not that I'm afraid of time, but...

Looking back at the tunnel entrance, they saw a large group of Godrick Soldier eyeing them menacingly—they had provoked them on their galloping journey—but they wouldn't come in, and they didn't know why they were unwilling to enter the tunnel.

"Let's go, let's take a look at the city first."

You Fei waved her hand, and the two followed her out of the doorway.

However, as they passed through the doorway, a golden summoning symbol slowly appeared, and by the time it fully appeared, the group had already walked out.

Perfectly missed.

Stepping out of the gate, the entire Stormveil Castle unfolds before your eyes.

Even though the group was wary because of the flickering Fog Gate earlier, they couldn't help but stop and admire the scenery.

It was a military fortress built against the mountain.

The architectural style of Stormveil Castle is characterized by the fusion of various architectural styles, with thick walls and simple decorations, strong lines in the arches and towers, and the inclusion of reliefs in the style of ancient kingdoms.

Beyond the castle's grey and white stone base, there are numerous golden buildings symbolizing royal power. The walls bear the marks of weathering from storms, and the forked design of the towers seems to be a tribute to the Erdtree.

On a steep mountain surrounded by cliffs on three sides, there is only one winding and rugged road leading to the castle.

The storm arrived unexpectedly, with gale-force winds carrying sand and gravel that pounded against the city walls. The tattered flags hanging atop the towers fluttered in the wind, and a cold, oppressive atmosphere, as if a storm was brewing, suddenly filled everyone's hearts.

"Another work of art from the Zane Dungeon," You Fei exclaimed. She couldn't think of many fancy words to describe the castle, but she felt that the beauty it gave her was no less than that of the Raya Lucaria Magic Academy.

If the magic academy perfectly embodies the image of a knowledge palace where magic learners gather, then Stormveil Castle symbolizes power, war, and storms; it is a military fortress that encapsulates force and is filled with the aesthetics of violence.

"There is a blessing there." Fan En had sharp eyes; he saw the golden blessing sitting beneath the great iron gates of Stormveil Castle.

Upon seeing the blessing, people felt a sense of peace, and even You Fei couldn't help but relax a little.

She still felt a little confused. What exactly was going on with the Fog Gate that suddenly appeared and disappeared? It couldn't really be a problem with the image, could it? But since the blessing had appeared, it meant that everything was safe.

However, this single road leading to Stormveil Castle seems excessively wide; it could easily accommodate a battle for the boss.

"Smack!"

She quickly slapped herself. What was she thinking? How could she imagine bad things at a time like this!

Perhaps because she used too much force, red handprints appeared on her face, and her little head turned to the side, her eyes glancing at the doorway they had come from.

There, a layer of colorful smoke slowly climbed up the doorway, completely blocking the way forward.

"!"

You Fei's eyelids twitched.

At the same time, Fan En and Yi Sha also stopped, the reason being that Fog Gate had appeared ahead.

The smoke perfectly separated them from the blessing that represented hope, making it both desirable and unattainable.

Fan En shouted out a classic line from StarCraft:

"This is a trap!"

"O Tarnished— "

Just as people were becoming wary, Stoneville's storm carried a lament-like voice into their ears.

The voice contained a variety of emotions, but the most prominent and obvious one was disgust towards the Tarnished, or rather, the adventurers who had invaded this place.

Fan En looked up in the direction of the sound and saw a golden light, like Erdtree, flash across Watchtower in Stormveil Castle, and a particularly tall figure appeared there.

Upon closer inspection, it might not be called a human, but rather some other unknown race.

"Driven by the fires of foolish ambition, they coveted the Elden Ring."

As the brilliance fades, the true nature of things is revealed.

His entire body was covered in twisted horns, which protruded from his head, shoulders, arms and other parts, intertwined and twisted together, making him look like a curse to anyone who saw him.

He looked more like a beast than a human. He was covered only by tattered fur as a cloak, and his dark skin was clearly visible under the cloak. Although his thick, long hands and feet were thin like an old man's, they were full of strength beneath his skin.

His only weapon, the wooden staff he held tightly in his hand, added to his "wise" aura.

You Fei subconsciously thought of the Orcs Shaman, but then felt that the person who appeared in front of her was much wiser than Shaman.

Moreover, those twisted, sprawling horns seem familiar... Oh right, there was an "unknown ominous sign" guarding the Leyndell in the opening scene!

Hey, hey, hey, it can't really be him who ran here, can it? He's about to match up with the person in the video so quickly?

You Fei's rationality told her that this shouldn't be possible, but this was the Zane Dungeon, and it didn't seem strange for something unusual to happen here.

The ominous sign leaped up and crashed heavily onto the bridge from the Watchtower. The gust of wind it created upon landing instantly escalated into a storm, and people's clothes fluttered wildly in the storm.

"Then, everything, including that fire, should be extinguished."

A dense killing intent emanated from Omen, a feeling far surpassing Cleric Beast Fan En had ever encountered; it was a terrifying aura honed over thousands of years of endless strife.

"I, Omen Ogre Margit, will carry out this immediately."

Markit raised the hand holding the wooden staff, and it seemed as if he was making a gesture similar to a knight's salute.

His elegant chivalry seemed incongruous with his rugged appearance, yet somehow it perfectly matched his inner temperament, which was truly perplexing.

But there was no time to think it through. When those words drifted away in the wind, it symbolized that the battle had already begun!

"I am You Fei, nice to meet you!" You Fei introduced herself, just like Fan En, who was about to speak as well.

However, the ominous demon opposite them didn't seem to care about their names, and its knees buckled!

Anyone with eyes could see that he was about to jump, and judging from his hand movements, he probably intended to use the wooden staff to attack as he landed.

You Fei immediately assessed these factors and calculated the safe distance, then abruptly retreated. Fan En and Yi Sha, who had been trained by her, also made similar movements in sync. This tactic of anticipating events proved invaluable in battle.

However, something puzzling happened.

Knee bend, jump, and slam down – these should be three interconnected movements, with no pause allowed in between.

But the ominous demon deliberately charged up for an extra second before jumping, just as You Fei and the others had finished retreating.

"So it was in slow motion!" Fan En calculated the safe distance again and dodged in advance, however...

An invisible force caused the ominous demon that had jumped up to linger in the air for a second longer, and this brief pause completely defied people's intuition!

Fan En's eyes widened, and he tried to dodge again, but before his legs could move, the ominous demon crashed down.

"Boom—"

Dust and smoke billowed as Fan En flew backward, crashing into a flag before finally coming to a stop.

He paid no attention to his injuries, only staring at the ominous demon.

Immediately following, a bewildered "Huh?" escaped his lips.

Even You Fei, who witnessed the whole thing, couldn't help but twitch at the corner of her mouth.

If she wasn't mistaken, the Ominous Demon used slow motion twice in the three movements of that attack.

The jump itself was relatively normal; using slow motion to lull the enemy into a false sense of security in actual combat is quite common.

But the pause in mid-air is a bit inexplicable!

I didn't see him make any spellcasting movements or use Levitation Spell, so how did he stop in that instant?

You Fei herself can use the Fast and Slow Blades techniques in actual combat, and she uses them quite well, but she really can't do things like the Ominous Demon, which is completely counterintuitive.

A formidable enemy!

She labeled the other person in an instant.

The ominous demon's attack did not stop. Light condensed in its hand into an exaggeratedly large hammer, which it smashed down and even spun around like a windmill.

If it were to be grazed, it would probably turn into mincemeat on the spot. You Fei moved lightly around, waiting for an opportunity to strike, and incidentally threw Yi Sha out to take care of her brother.

The hammer disappeared, and a spear formed from condensed light appeared in the Ghost Hand the Ominous Demon. It still stabbed at You Fei with a movement that was half a beat slower. Yuffie still couldn't adapt to the rhythm and was directly thrown away.

As he landed safely, You Fei pondered:

It seems to be a power-type fighter, skilled at using powerful brick-throwing moves, which makes the movements a bit slower.

Those slow-motion shots are weird, but I can fight them if I can get used to the rhythm.

She watched as the ominous demon charged towards her, carrying a massive hammer. At the last possible moment, she dodged behind it, creating a great distance between them. Her fighting spirit gathered at the tip of her spear, ready to unleash an attack powerful enough to injure it.

"At this distance, you can't do anything, can you?" She was confident that she could unleash her attack and dodge before the ominous demon charged at her again.

Just then, the ominous demon's free hand suddenly swung twice, and a flash of light appeared.

"Pfft! Pfft!"

The sound of flesh being pierced reached my ears.

You Fei paused in her movements, her expression suddenly turning strange as she looked down.

Two daggers formed from condensed light were stuck in his chest, and blood kept flowing out.

"You"

You, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, can even use hidden weapons?!

She swayed, and the fighting spirit on her spear vanished without a trace. She almost fell to the ground from exhaustion and had no choice but to kneel down and try to gulp down the Flask of the Sacred Chalice.

But the instant she reached for the Flask of the Sacred Chalice, the Omen Demon reacted as if provoked, throwing its throwing Flying Dagger again and charging forward with its hammer.

At the brink of life and death, she had something she had to say.

"You're just like the Crucible Knight!"