Midgame Maps Are Meant to Be Torturous

A temple, much larger than any other building and exuding an aura of solemnity, sits at the deepest part of the city.

The sky above the Eternal City is covered with stars; wherever you go, you can look up and see a sky full of dazzling stars.

However, the starlight dimmed in the area surrounding the temple.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that the closer you get to the temple, the dimmer the starlight becomes, until finally, the area around the temple is completely devoid of starlight.

Only an endless, deathly silence remained in the night.

That place looked like the Demon King's Castle that the Brave would finally challenge.

Just one glance was enough to make one feel the oppressive atmosphere contained within. Leon wouldn't be surprised if something jumped out of that tightly closed door.

He leaped out from an inconspicuous flaw in the mountain, and thus witnessed a sight he had never seen before.

This is one of the common map design methods used in the Zane Dungeon, which adds more positive feedback to people's exploration.

Even though he had encountered similar scene designs many times before, such as emerging from the cave after defeating Overlord Wolnir to overlook Irithyll of the Boreal Valley, Leon never hesitated to praise such maps.

"Beautiful! Sion!"

However, the only thing about this place that isn't quite pretty is—

With his current parabolic trajectory, he will crash directly into the Bottomless Abyss upon landing.

The Upside-Down Building next to him, which offered footholds, was more than two or three arm's lengths away!

Leon instantly snapped out of his reverie and immediately decided to pull back the Grappling Hook he had thrown towards the cliff edge and throw it back towards the building.

He can do it. With his current strength and reaction speed, he can do such a thing!

"Whoosh—"

A whooshing sound suddenly erupted from behind.

Leon instinctively dodged to the side, but the next instant, a piercing pain shot through his shoulder, and hot blood gushed out.

No, he failed to dodge; the Spirit-Piercing Arrow his shoulder!

The pain from the injury was bearable, but the Ancestral Spirit People were all incredibly strong barbarians, and the impact of the arrow pulled his body forward!

Although the Grappling Hook was successfully pulled up, it was broken by a hail of arrows, leaving only a thick piece of rope in Leon's hand.

With Bottomless Abyss beneath his feet and a rope without a hook in his hand, no matter how strong he was or how rich his combat experience, only if he could instantly grow a pair of wings could he solve this situation.

Unfortunately, Leon is not a winged race like Demonic Gargoyle or an angel.

And so it was.

He turned in mid-air and Ancestral Spirit People who had chased him to the edge of the cliff and were firing arrows at him indiscriminately the middle finger.

"Damn it!"

With a roar filled with resentment, Leon killed Robert.

"Hiss"

He didn't know how much time had passed when he woke up again, and beside him was the Blessing statue at the corner of the bridge.

Yes, it was the blessing he couldn't reach because the Calamity Shadow suddenly invaded.

The Zane Dungeon showed mercy this time. Although it was invaded by the Calamity Shadow, it was ultimately determined that Leon had touched the blessing here, allowing him to revive in a closer location.

Otherwise, we'd have to endure another long and incredibly boring marathon, and there aren't any high-quality monsters along the way.

The lack of high-quality, torturous monsters is the ultimate reason why the Zane Dungeon has become so lenient this time. If it were in Farron Keep, do you think it would be so lenient?

"I never expected to recover here. Saine is really—ugh, my head hurts."

Before he could even finish a sentence, Leon groaned, clutching his forehead in a headache.

He hadn't felt such excruciating pain in a long time. He had recovered too many times in the Zane Dungeon today. Ever since he gradually figured out the Zane Dungeon's patterns, he hadn't had such a headache.

"It's because he fell too many times when he jumped down into the giant pit to scout the way."

After downing a bottle of Painkiller Potion, Leon shakily stood up.

Looking around, the Ancestral Spirit People had been chasing them earlier, as well as the summoned Spirit Beasts, had long since disappeared, leaving only footprints all over the ground. The trees and bushes were trampled beyond recognition, making it a scene of utter devastation.

Where did everyone go?

Leon waited in place for a while, but no one else appeared. Instead, two or three Ancestral Spirit People came and attacked him.

Frustrated with his anger and nowhere to vent it, he used all his strength from the very beginning, wiping out the enemies completely. When the battle ended and no one returned, he simply started walking into the forest.

Looking at the direction he was heading, it was clearly the same direction he had run in when he was being chased by the animals.

Leon decided to go back to that area full of buildings and take another look; it wouldn't hurt to explore it on his own.

Forests are dangerous places, where Ancestral Spirit People and strange animals may lurk everywhere.

For example, there were a group of goats several times larger than the Berserk Te Er, who rolled together like dump trucks and could send people flying dozens of meters in an instant. There were many other strange but powerful animals like these, and they all obeyed the command of the Ancestral Spirit People who blew the horns.

"Whoosh—"

A cold arrow shot from behind, but he, already on edge, dodged it all with a few leaps. As he turned to attack, he saw the archers drawing their Stone Axe and charging towards him.

The dynamic strength of these Ancestral Spirit People is comparable to that of Jia Paer, meaning that their numerical power has been amplified to near full strength.

Unfortunately, their attack methods were somewhat simplistic, and they were not particularly powerful opponents. Leon, relying on his exquisite control of his Backhand Sword while dodging, killed all of these Ancestral Spirit People in a short time.

Normally, adventurers' physical abilities are at a disadvantage against the monsters in the Zane Dungeon, so almost every adventurer trains their movement skills so that they either fight the monsters without taking any damage or are killed in one or two hits.

Having grown up in such an environment, Leon was naturally as slippery as a mudfish and difficult to catch.

He plundered the Spirit-Piercing Arrow that appeared as points of light from the dead Ancestral Spirit People.

"The elves of Si Telan should like this."

[The Calamity Shadow has invaded us!!!]

Before he could even put the Spirit-Piercing Arrow into his pocket, a vicious notification came through.

"Um?"

This time, Leon learned his lesson and lunged forward the instant the prompt appeared.

"Bang!"

The instant he lay down, a sound of exploding cold air came from the spot where he had been standing.

"You bastard, how dare you come looking for me!"

Leon finally found an outlet for his anger, instantly drawing the Carian Knight's Sword from his back. The azure-blue Carian Greatsword swung back and slashed at the Calamity Shadow.

That crimson spirit was the real Calamity Shadow. It leaped to dodge the slash of the Carian Greatsword and was about to launch a new attack on Leon with the Royal Greatsword when...

Leon suddenly canceled the Carian Greatsword spell and instantly activated a new Carian Greatsword. Almost in the blink of an eye, the giant blade stood upright and slammed the leaping Calamity Shadow to the ground!

Cast a new spell to cancel the aftercast delay of the previous spell!

This is Weapon Skill he has learned from years of using the Ring!

It sounds simple, but only the right magic can do it this way, and he's done a lot of training for it.

"This time I will avenge my previous defeat!"

Holding the Carian Knight's Sword in both hands, Leon rushed forward to try and stop the Calamity Shadow from getting up, but the latter quickly adjusted his posture with a backflip, swung the Royal Greatsword, and started fighting with him.

The battle on the scene was extremely fierce, and all the flowers, plants and trees that were caught in the turbulence were completely destroyed by the wind pressure from the clashing swords.

This battle actually looks somewhat evenly matched?

Under the enemy's relentless onslaught, Leon fought with all his might to defend himself. Even in this critical moment, he remained hidden, secretly charging up his weapon, intending to unleash a powerful Weapon Skill to kill the Calamity Shadow.

No wonder he's Jia Paer's apprentice; the two of them use almost identical strategies.

The charge is complete; it's time to end this battle!

A slight smile appeared on Leon's lips, and a faint light emanated from the Carian Knight's Sword—

"Boom!"

Suddenly, the Calamity Shadow roared at the ground. The roar exploded the moment it hit the ground, and the shockwave rushed in all directions. Leon had no choice but to raise his sword to defend himself.

And what about the enemy? Taking advantage of the impact, the Calamity Shadow leaped backward dozens of meters, making a startling move.

He turned and ran!

"#!"

Seeing this scene, a "well"-shaped vein popped up on Leon's forehead.

"Hey! Don't run away, get back here!"

But how could pale words hold back the Calamity Shadow that had made up its mind to escape? The figure disappeared into the forest in a few leaps, and it was too late for Leon, who had blocked the shockwave, to chase after it.

A wolf howled through the forest, and the bushes rustled. Several Ancestral Spirit People emerged to investigate. Upon seeing Leon, they immediately blew their horns, and various small animals rushed out.

"Hateful!"

Seeing that there weren't many small animals, Leon thought for a moment, then grabbed his sword and charged forward to start the fight.

After the battle, he was completely certain that the Calamity Shadow he had just encountered was definitely not Blaidd; apart from their appearance, the two had no relation whatsoever.

Based solely on Blaidd's performance at the Battle Festival, it's clear he's not the type to run away halfway through a battle!

No matter how powerful the Calamity Shadow is, or how well it can wield cold energy, it will never become the real Blaidd.

However, in reality, the Calamity Shadow doesn't use cold energy; he just swings his greatsword around and slashes. The [Wolf Strike] Weapon Skill and the use of cold energy on his Royal Greatsword were added by Gong Qiying specifically to make it closer to Blaidd's characteristics, with a slight enhancement as well.

Although the Ancestral Spirit People in the forest are not everywhere, they are not far apart.

At least when they hear the sounds of their comrades fighting, they will definitely be able to run over and provide support.

Leon, braving the attacks of hidden arrows, wiped out all the animals he was commanding, but when he looked back, a new Ancestral Spirit People appeared in all their glory, each of them aiming their arrows at him.

A tactical retreat is necessary; at this point, running away is neither shameful nor particularly useful.

But just then, the sound of heavy Iron Ball splitting through the wind came from above, and Leon instinctively dodged to the side.

"Boom!"

The explosive chill blasted around him, but luckily he tore off a Magic Shield scroll in time, which successfully blocked it.

Sure enough, it was the Calamity Shadow that attacked him.

"You... you bastard with no Wu De!"

Comparing the character of the Calamity Shadow to that of Blaidd, Leon felt even more determined to tear the guy to pieces.

"Trying to team up with monsters? Come on, I'm a veteran of countless battles and I'm not afraid of you!"

At this point, Leon was unaware that he was caught in a long and agonizing tug-of-war.

If we had decisively chosen to retreat when we encountered the Ancestral Spirit People, the situation would never have turned out this way.

At the same time, they were also in the forest.

[The Calamity Shadow has invaded us!!!]

"Meow!?"

Malu leaped and bounded through the forest, several excessively long Spirit-Piercing Arrow piercing her back, while the howling Calamity Shadow relentlessly pursued her.

"Why is this guy chasing me?!"

The most crucial point isn't why the Calamity Shadow is chasing her.

Instead, this bastard would disappear every time he chased her to a place where monsters gathered, and only reappear when she finally managed to defeat all the monsters!

Unfortunately Malu isn't very good at head-on combat. She struggles to fight the Calamity Shadow head-on and can only be chased and fight other monsters.

"How can this guy be so shameless!"

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest...

[The Calamity Shadow has invaded us!!!]

Delu instantly conjured Magic Shield on the spot, and almost at the same moment the Magic Shield was opened, the crimson greatsword, wreathed in cold air, slashed down.

"Boom!"

A tremendous crash resounded, and the Magic Shield was instantly riddled with cracks from the strike. Delu had to quickly expend his magic power to rebuild the shield.

When he released the new shield, the Calamity Shadow appeared again and shattered it with a single sword strike.

The two, one human and one wolf, attacked each other in a very rhythmic manner.

"That despicable guy!"

Delu gritted his teeth. He glanced at Te Er, who was lying on the ground barely clinging to life. Although he wanted to heal him, he couldn't even focus on healing him because of the Calamity Shadow.

It could have shattered the shield directly, but it kept managing to evade the attack.

Delu understood that this bastard was playing him.

It's like a skilled hunter toying with his cornered prey, but Delu, the prey, lacks the ability to fight back and bite the hunter.

"That's outrageous!"

Accompanying his angry curses was the sound of the greatsword striking the Magic Shield once more.

Sometimes, a complex map design isn't even necessary.

All you need to do is split up a well-organized team of adventurers, add a group of powerful monsters and a cheeky invader, and you can achieve the ultimate tormenting pleasure.

As a map that isn't in the early stages and offers plenty of benefits at the beginning, adventurers should know that this is not a place to enter lightly.

Where am I?

Jia Paer looked at the complex of buildings in front of him, especially the temple, and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

He clearly followed Leon's trail here, so why didn't he see him and instead found a new place?

"It can't be that he went inside."

With that, Jia Paer leaped away from the forest and arrived at a place that resembled Nokron.

But the real name of this place is actually the [Night's Domain] that just appeared before their eyes.

There are no roads here, only a jumble of houses pieced together from all sorts of upside-down and crisscrossing structures. You have to be careful just to walk, let alone walk around.

"Bang—"

Two plumes of smoke erupted not far away.

Watching the two Silver Tear slowly transform into his own shape in the smoke, Jia Paer gripped his weapon tightly.