No Way Forward???

Now, the members of the Holy Light Church have a simple question.

So, what's the next step?

"Wait, where's the road?"

Jaina ran towards the cliff, but all she could see was mist obscuring her view, with towering mountains rising and falling in layers. It seemed like there was no way to go at all!

Even using Flight Spell, I don't know which way to fly to be the correct path!

If an experienced adventurer were here, they would probably be able to tell at a glance that the path in front of the Holy Light Knight is not meant for those who come to explore.

No matter how treacherous or misleading the map of the Zane Dungeon is, it still provides some guidance overall. Whether it's the firelight at the corner of a dark path, the tower in front of layers of mist, or the clearing in the dense jungle, there will always be something eye-catching in each place.

Those eye-catching things are the "guides" that attract adventurers to explore, and whether the adventurers realize it or not, they will always follow the guides.

And now, this cliff and the vast world beyond it offer absolutely no guidance.

So now I really don't know which way to go.

"Where is the road?"

No one responded to Jaina's question with the trope of "the road is under your feet." Everyone looked around, revealing a boundless and equally profound sense of Gui'aoer.

"Do we have to turn back again? Is there some hidden path we haven't discovered?"

"Putting the exit route on top of the Hidden paths? The Zane Dungeon has never done anything like this before. Could it be that their level of treachery is about to rise?"

"Should we go back and ask that knight?"

"The person is already dead, why are you still asking questions?"

Five minutes later, the Holy Light Knight returned the way they came and found the High Knight of Astora who had died alone behind the wall.

However, to everyone's surprise, upon hearing the footsteps of people returning, the knight actually stood up unsteadily.

As the small white flower that Anlesi had placed on him as a gesture of mourning was shaken off, Jaina's surprised voice rang out:

"Hey, you're not dead?"

No sooner had she finished speaking than a sword Weapon Skill, so fast that the blade was almost invisible, slashed down at Jaina.

"No, he's dead."

Anna felt dizzy as Anlesi's voice came from behind her. Before she could finish speaking, Jaina felt the world spinning around her. Anlesi had grabbed her by the neck brace and thrown her high behind her.

"Thump!"

Completely clad in armor and wrapped like a tin can, she crashed heavily to the ground, and it seemed unlikely she could pull herself out of the hole she had smashed through for a while.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Anlesi had already engaged in combat with the knight who had suddenly "come to life." The saber, gleaming with Holy Light, clashed with the simple straight Sabre and shield, creating a cacophony of flashing sword light.

It's true that this High Knight of Astora stood up, but he couldn't be considered alive.

Because the other party has lost all its intelligence, rationality, and memory, it is now just a walking corpse that will attack any living thing in the past.

In other words, Living Dead!

"I didn't expect things to change so quickly."

Anlesi twirled the Sabre in her hand, and with a "bang," the sword blade that the knight was slashing at him was deflected with perfect accuracy. The next moment, a blade viciously pierced his chest, and not much blood gushed out from the wound, staining the ancient wall behind him red.

This was the first time she had ever seen an afterimage transform into Living Dead.

It was at this moment, witnessing the knight's "corpse transformation," that she suddenly realized something.

Could those Living Dead wandering in the Northern Undead Asylum have the same status as, or even higher than High Knight of Astora before they lost their minds?

If that's the case, then it doesn't seem like an unacceptable fact that the Living Dead have become stronger.

The moment the Sabre was drawn, the knight lay on his back on the ground, but before Anlesi could even catch her breath, a muffled sound came from his throat, and he suddenly sprang forward and pounced.

The Holy Light Knight, who had been eyeing them intently, pounced on them all at once, successfully knocking the knight, who was about the same size as them, to the ground.

They couldn't do anything to the big-butt demon, they couldn't do anything to the incredibly strong Black Knight, and they couldn't do anything to the knights whose bodies were about the same size as theirs.

The knight, who had just become Living Dead, still retained some strength, but after being executed by Anlesi through the chest, he was extremely weak and was thus easily overwhelmed by the swarm of people.

As the saying goes, even a master can be defeated by a flurry of punches. After the Holy Light Knight tackled him, they unleashed all sorts of attacks on him.

Finally, as the number of souls in everyone's bodies increased, the knight let out a sound that was both a release and a sigh, and fell to the ground, completely still.

The number of souls the knight added to everyone upon his death seemed quite considerable, enough to allow some weaker individuals to level up.

"So it still doesn't work after all."

With a wave of her hand, Anlesi enveloped the knight in Holy Light. Moments later, the knight's figure turned into light particles and gradually dissipated, leaving behind white specks of light. Upon picking them up, it turned out to be the knight's shield.

The shield looks great, but that's not what people really want. What people really want to know is how to get out!

"The knight has turned into Living Dead, and we can't communicate at all. Now the trail has gone cold." Jaina muttered to herself. This situation was completely unknown in her database.

"Do you think the way out might be related to the Bird's Nest?" a Holy Light Knight suggested.

"What does it matter? It's not like a big bird will fly in and snatch us away, that's too far-fetched." Jaina shook her head, clearly disagreeing with her companion's point of view.

Everyone seemed to think that this idea was not very reliable, so they wandered around the Northern Undead Asylum.

With the key they obtained from the knight, the entire Northern Undead Asylum was now wide open to them, allowing them free passage everywhere.

The Holy Light Knight knocked and tapped on anything suspicious along the way, occasionally casting detection spells in an attempt to find any hidden walls.

The result was, of course, nothing. They did find a hidden path, but upon entering, it turned out to be a road leading to a warehouse where their weapons had been confiscated.

This route could be used to evade the Black Knight guarding the warehouse, but the key is that they don't need it now!

In the end, everyone walked through the Northern Undead Asylum again and again, collecting every single spark of light in every nook and cranny, and they were almost sick of walking the same repetitive paths.

No other way was found.

"Where the hell do we get out of here, you bastard?!"

They regrouped at the edge of the cliff, their voices filled with anger.

Anger is a negative emotion no less than fear, so at this moment, the Zane Dungeon continues to generate profits and absorbs a great deal of Spirit Power.

Perhaps that's why they deliberately didn't give any hints?

Just as people were resting on the edge of the cliff, they heard a strange sound from the sky. When they turned around, they saw a giant bird, all black and shaped like a crow, flying rapidly from the horizon.

"Enemy attack!?"

Unexpectedly, there was even an encounter to fight here. The Holy Light Knight grabbed their weapons, eager to fight this seemingly weak monster bird. Maybe if they sent out Brave, they could take it down in one go.

But to everyone's surprise, the giant bird did not fight them.

Or rather, the other party didn't even glance at them, but simply grabbed a perfectly round giant egg from the bird's nest and turned to leave, leaving people with only a dashing silhouette.

"What the hell is going on?" The Holy Light Knight drew their swords and looked around in confusion, not understanding what the giant bird's appearance was for.

Just then, as Jaina watched the giant bird gradually disappear into the distance, a glint of light appeared in her eyes.

She approached the nest, looking at the few remaining eggs inside, each about the size of a curled-up adult, a thoughtful look in her eyes.

After a moment, she understood! Turning around, she excitedly greeted everyone:

"These eggs are still edible! Let's use them to replenish our energy!"

"Okay!"

So, unable to find a way out, the Holy Light Knight started a fire on the spot to roast bird eggs in order to conserve their strength.

In the Zane Dungeon, which has implemented a weather change system, this outdoor campfire feast themed around roasting bird eggs lasted from dawn to dusk, and then from dusk to dawn. When the bird eggs were almost all eaten, guess what happened?

Something amazing happened! The bird eggs in the nest have been refreshed!

"Yay, I can eat more now!"

As normal human beings with normal thinking abilities, the Holy Light Knight "reluctantly" chose a solution when faced with the special situation of the Northern Undead Asylum:

Let's wait and see.

After all, they had searched the entire Northern Undead Asylum countless times, and there was simply no other way out.

What kind of extraordinary person could find a way out by taking an unconventional approach?

In a time earlier than the Holy Light Church, on the other side of the Sparkfire Church.

"Hey, look, when I curl up, I look about the same size as this bird egg!"

A knight from the Sparkfire Church, his face full of curiosity, deliberately huddled next to a bird's egg, comparing his size to the egg's.

"It really is! The one next to me looks about the same size as me. Let me try it, and it really is about the same size."

As Hervey spoke, he curled up next to the bird eggs. For some reason, he felt a little excited when he found an egg that was not too different in size from his own.

As for the others, they excitedly searched for bird eggs similar to their own, looking like they were having fun.

"Aren't you guys being childish?" Todd muttered from the side. "Isn't the most important thing to find a way out? Why are you wasting time here? There's no way out of here anyway—"

Before he could finish speaking, a sharp bird cry rang out, and the giant black bird that had left earlier suddenly turned back and flew menacingly toward the nest.

"Oh no, are they coming to attack us?!" Todd was shocked. He had heard that Blackbird was very vengeful!

"It's okay, I'll handle it—hey hey hey!"

Just as one of the Starfire Knight was about to make a move, he suddenly let out a panicked cry.

Because his curled-up body was snatched away by the giant bird in an instant!

"What are you standing there for? Help me!"

The Starfire Knight's cries for help faded into the distance as the giant bird flew further and further away until nothing could be heard anymore.

Todd stared blankly as Starfire Knight was snatched away by the giant bird's claws, unsure of how to react. Should he subtly express his concern for the man?

After all, I've heard that giant bird-type monsters can be quite painful when they eat people.

"."

Hervey looked in the direction where the Starfire Knight had been captured and at the gradually disappearing silhouette of the giant bird, a thoughtful glint suddenly appearing in his eyes.

As he pondered, he suddenly pointed to the misty mountains opposite and said with a somewhat dazed expression:

"Road?"