Chapter Summaries

The Skyrim Strategy Team won the dungeon exploration competition after revealing a third route and far more unique discoveries than the Light Eagle Legion. The victory celebration in Bede City ended with Lu Lu Wo asking Ta Mi to join the team for life.

• Aston tried to raise the Light Eagle Legion's morale before the competition results, but the mercenaries remained demoralized by repeated invasions and public humiliations.
• De Nuo Weekly published both teams' findings, and a royal city noble discovered that the Skyrim Strategy Team had found a third route and twice as many unique pieces of information as the Light Eagle Legion.
• Aston raged after learning of the result, smashed a table, and was later buried when his house collapsed; Sally wondered how the team had uncovered the legion's secrets.
• Bede City celebrated the Skyrim Strategy Team's overwhelming victory, while Lu Lu Wo praised Ta Mi for his discoveries and asked whether he would join the team for life.

After joining the Skyrim Strategy Team full-time, Ta Mi studied the latest intelligence on the Catacombs of Carthus and learned that the team was nearing its boss. Meanwhile, King Anzi III suffered another violent illness episode, and Iliphis returned to calm him while bringing back the Princess.

• Ta Mi celebrated becoming a full member of the Skyrim Strategy Team, and Earl Ka Rong rewarded the team while warning Lu Lu Wo about royal capital factions.
• Ta Mi reviewed reports about the Catacombs of Carthus, including its Black Zone, new resources, Ghost Hands, the Kindling Secret Ritual, and the history of Gravelord Nito and Overlord Wolnir.
• Ta Mi read the team's conjecture about the Catacombs' boss location and wondered whether to invite Elsa to fight alongside them.
• King Anzi III endured a severe illness episode as his attendants kept him confined, and the Holy Light Magic Array failed to help him.
• Iliphis entered the darkened bedchamber, subdued the frenzied King Anzi III, and told him that he had brought back the Princess.

Sally and Elsa led a team through the Catacombs of Carthus, where they discovered a vast army of Carthus Warriors and a cavern filled with the Abyss. As Sally ordered a retreat, the skeletons and the warriors began to move.

• Adventurers pursued dungeon rewards while Princess Serena appeared before the royal capital with the support of Iliphis and Minister Aoluo.
• Sally joined Elsa and the Assault Team in the Catacombs after Iliphis reprimanded him and the other captains for failing to help Aston.
• Elsa guided the team through the Black Zone, where they defeated a Battle Knight and found an Irithyll Straight Sword linked to Pontiff Sulyvahn.
• The team discovered more than a thousand Carthus Warriors standing in formation beneath a cliff, along with a field of bones and an Abyss-filled cavern.
• Sally recognized the danger and ordered everyone to retreat, but the skeletons stirred and the Carthus Warriors began to move.

Sally and the mercenaries survived the skeleton tide by crossing and destroying a suspension bridge, then entered the abyss and reunited with Elsa. They opened a Stone Gate, encountered a crowned skull whose black mist transported them to an unknown dark space, and found a distant point of light.

• Elsa led the mercenaries through the skeleton tide toward the suspension bridge, but it broke and the group fell into the abyss, leaving Elsa missing from the bonfire.
• Sally led the survivors back to the cavern, timed their crossing of the repaired bridge, and cut its ropes once they reached the other side.
• Sally touched the churning abyss and was swallowed, after which it drew in the mercenaries; they found Elsa beyond an ancient Stone Gate.
• Elsa explained how she had climbed back up the cliff, and the group rested before passing through a Grave Chamber toward another Stone Gate.
• Sally and Elsa opened the gate and saw a crowned skull on an altar, whose black mist immobilized and engulfed them.
• The mist carried Sally, Elsa, and the mercenaries into a pitch-black unknown space where a distant point of light shone.

Sally’s mercenary team discovered that the glowing treasure was a lure and encountered the Abyssal Overlord Wolnir, whose immense power overwhelmed their attacks. Elsa was engulfed in deathly miasma, and the team was left fighting for survival.

• Erka took the Grave Warden’s Spellbook from a glowing spot, then turned around and was seized by a giant skeletal hand emerging from the Abyss.
• Overlord Wolnir appeared, terrifying the mercenaries; Sally rallied them and urged them to fight and gather information for Iliphis.
• Several mercenaries fled toward the Abyss and were swallowed, while Sally ordered the others to avoid the miasma and protect the mages.
• The mercenaries’ magic and attacks failed to hurt Wolnir, who swept them aside with a giant hand.
• Elsa leaped at Wolnir and struck his skull with her greatsword, but he grabbed her and engulfed her in deathly miasma.

Sally’s mercenary team faced Overlord Wolnir’s Abyssal attacks until Elsa’s greatsword awakened and she joined the fight. Wolnir revealed his Holy Sword and defeated Elsa, leaving her grieving beside the shattered weapon at the Three Corpse Artificer Bonfire.

• Sally ordered the mercenaries to abandon their attack and focus on surviving, but Wolnir’s Black Serpent and summoned monsters killed all but Sally.
• Elsa arrived with a transformed greatsword, healed Sally, and cut through Wolnir’s Skeleton Warriors and Carthus Warriors.
• Sally suspected Elsa’s weapon was her awakened Divine Artifact as she charged Wolnir, who summoned the Wolnir Holy Sword.
• Elsa and Wolnir’s weapons clashed, and the shockwave killed Sally before he could see the battle’s end.
• Wolnir struck Elsa down, then disappeared into the darkness with his Holy Sword.
• At the Three Corpse Artificer Bonfire, Elsa wept beside her broken, dull greatsword as the mercenaries tried to comfort her.

Gong Qiying planned to introduce equipment-repair services and quietly strengthen ordinary monsters as Zane Dungeon drew more visitors. Elsa learned that Andre could repair her broken greatsword, but Iliphis arrived with orders to attack Overlord Wolnir.

• Gong Qiying decided to offer equipment repairs through Andre, Repair Light Powder, and Repair sorcery, then planned to boost ordinary monsters while dungeon traffic was high.
• Elsa mourned her broken greatsword and wondered whether stronger emotions could help her unlock more of her Brave power.
• Elsa overheard adventurers say that Andre could repair damaged equipment and hurried back to camp, delighted at the chance to restore her sword.
• Elsa found Iliphis and Sally at her house, but Iliphis ordered her to prepare to crush Overlord Wolnir that day.

Iliphis led the Light Eagle Legion’s elite team into the Zane Dungeon, where they effortlessly defeated monsters and encountered Dark Spirit invaders. Gong Qiying planned to use Overlord Wolnir to test Iliphis before sending the Black Swordsman after the team on their retreat.

• Elsa declined to join Iliphis’s expedition so she could find someone to repair her greatsword, then set off to find Ta Mi.
• Iliphis assembled twenty elite mercenaries and led them into the Zane Dungeon, where the team lit the Grave Chamber bonfire and advanced through the dungeon.
• Iliphis stopped Man-Eating Mildred with a quick sword technique and dispersed a skeleton conglomerate’s resentment with his Unique Talent.
• Iliphis reached for the invading Dark Spirit Unbreakable Patch to test whether his emotion-controlling ability affected phantoms.
• Gong Qiying chose Overlord Wolnir to test Iliphis’s combat ability and planned to place the Black Swordsman along the team’s retreat route.

Iliphis led the Light Eagle Legion through Zane Dungeon, where Patch damaged his armor and an unseen thief stole supplies. After reaching Wolnir, Iliphis gathered the mercenaries’ life force and holy magic into a pseudo-legendary Ball of Life, then targeted Wolnir’s skull.

• Iliphis tried to convert Patch, but Patch insulted him and threw a pot that released a foul mist and destroyed Iliphis’s armor.
• An unseen creature stole the mercenaries’ supplies, and Iliphis found signs suggesting the thief was a huge, heavy monster with corrosive abilities.
• Iliphis led the mercenaries through the dungeon, defeated the Battle Knight, and reached Wolnir’s figurine pit.
• The mercenaries formed a magic array, and Iliphis used their life force, holy-light scrolls, and a bracelet to strengthen the Ball of Life to the threshold of legendary power.
• Iliphis pulled a point of light named Garbage Debris from the darkness and launched his attack at Wolnir’s skull.

The Light Eagle Legion fought Overlord Wolnir, but its strongest attacks and defensive measures failed to stop his advance. As Wolnir unleashed Wrath of the Gods, Iliphis prepared to risk detonating his magical reserves in a desperate counterattack.

• Iliphis and the Light Eagle Legion struck Wolnir twice with the Ball of Life, scorching his skull and ribs but exhausting their bracelet-shaped weapon.
• Sally ordered the mercenaries to retreat into a long-range formation, while the Assault Captain was flattened after charging at Wolnir.
• Wolnir's attacks killed both of Iliphis's White Eagles and destroyed the Legion's remaining space to retreat.
• Iliphis used the Anti-Slash orb to protect the mercenaries, but Wolnir adapted by pounding them with his sword hilt.
• Wolnir unleashed Wrath of the Gods, and Iliphis prepared to detonate his magical reserves as the Legion's barriers broke.

Iliphis led the Light Eagle Legion against Overlord Wolnir, but Wolnir repeatedly spammed Wrath of the Gods and killed Iliphis and his mercenaries. Iliphis revived at the Three Corpse Artificer Bonfire, while the Assault Captain discovered an invisible wall outside.

• Iliphis used a Magic Cannon to disperse Wolnir's weakening Wrath of the Gods shockwave and sent the mercenaries to safety.
• Iliphis empowered the Bracelet Martial Weapon with a box of living flesh and used the mercenaries' magic to form a giant of light, but its attacks barely affected Wolnir.
• Wolnir cut off the giant's arm and repeatedly unleashed Wrath of the Gods, killing the mercenaries and eventually Iliphis.
• Iliphis revived at the Three Corpse Artificer Bonfire and wondered why Wolnir could use Wrath of the Gods six times in succession.
• The Assault Captain left the bonfire for air and struck an invisible, slippery wall.

The Light Eagle Legion encountered the invisible Mist Dragon in the Zane Dungeon, which stole their equipment and killed or incapacitated most of them before Iliphis was swallowed and revived at the bonfire. As the survivors retreated, a Dark Spirit called Black Swordsman invaded, and Iliphis prepared to vent his frustration on him.

• The Assault Captain Gulen vanished after leaving the protection of the Three Corpse Artificer Bonfire, and Sally disappeared while searching for him.
• Iliphis discovered that an unseen creature was stealing the mercenaries' equipment, and his lightning revealed the Mist Dragon.
• The Mist Dragon killed several mercenaries with its tongue and poison, then incapacitated the rest with acid mist before swallowing Iliphis.
• Iliphis revived at the bonfire and returned to find the Mist Dragon and the mercenaries' equipment gone, then led the survivors away from the dungeon.
• A Dark Spirit named Black Swordsman invaded, killed the archer captain, and tossed Iliphis a Noble's Rapier; Iliphis vowed to use him to vent his frustration.

Iliphis fought the Black Swordsman, whose strength Gong Qiying repeatedly increased until Iliphis was defeated and left humiliated. After the Light Eagle Legion’s failed operation, Elsa arrived in Bede City and paid Mei Erjia to guide her to a blacksmith, though Mei Erjia chose a very different first stop.

• Iliphis initially matched the Black Swordsman in battle, but Gong Qiying raised the Black Swordsman’s strength, and he killed Iliphis before Iliphis revived at a bonfire and returned to fight again.
• The Black Swordsman’s power rose further, and he defeated Iliphis despite his healing and martial weapon; when Iliphis tried one final attack with the Noble’s Rapier, the Black Swordsman spared him and shattered the weapon.
• The Black Swordsman departed, leaving a Painting Fragment, while the Light Eagle Legion’s operation ended in defeat and Iliphis withdrew from everyone.
• Sally found the fragment, and he later worried about Elsa, who had gone to Bede City looking for a blacksmith.
• Mei Erjia met Elsa, sold her a guided tour of the original Zane Dungeon, and promised to take her to the blacksmith after first bringing her to a Curse Frog bath.

Mei Erjia took Elsa through Zane Dungeon’s notorious veteran challenges, but Elsa turned the ordeal around and made Mei Erjia suffer them in her place. After Elsa had Andre repair her beloved greatsword, she reunited with the Skyrim Strategy Team, who said they had found a way to defeat Overlord Wolnir.

• Mei Erjia brought Elsa to Farron Keep, where Elsa died to Curse Frogs after Mei Erjia lured them toward her.
• Elsa forced Mei Erjia to guide her through the remaining challenges, including the Lion Ape, the three incarnations of the Left Bow Swift Slash Katana, and other punishing areas.
• Mei Erjia hurried Elsa to Academy Gate Town and gave her a Nameless Warrior's Large Soul so she could pay Andre to repair her broken greatsword.
• Elsa hugged Andre in gratitude after he agreed to repair her greatsword, then went to a restaurant in Academy Gate Town.
• Elsa met Ta Mi and the Skyrim Strategy Team, and Ta Mi told her they had found a way to completely defeat Overlord Wolnir.

Elsa joined the Skyrim Strategy Team for dinner, where she learned about their preparations to challenge Overlord Wolnir and enjoyed enchanted dishes. After the Happiny Egg cleared the influence affecting her, she began questioning why she had been so obedient to Iliphis.

• Lu Lu Wo and the Skyrim Strategy Team welcomed Elsa to a lively restaurant and shared their plans to use blessings, Wolf Ring Replicas, and Exhilarating Fragrances against Overlord Wolnir.
• Elsa learned that Leon and the others had discovered a crucial secret about Wolnir’s relationship with the Abyss and a stolen Sacred Relic, but Lu Lu Wo stopped explaining when the food arrived.
• Elsa tried Glowing Egg Fried Rice, reacted dramatically to its effects, and eagerly ate the delicious dish.
• Hearing the team discuss the Light Eagle Legion caused Elsa to feel compelled to gather intelligence for Iliphis, but the Hot Spring Happiny distracted her.
• After eating the Happiny Egg, Elsa’s red-eyed influence vanished, and she wondered why she had been so obedient to Iliphis.

After breaking free of Iliphis’s influence, Elsa joined Lu Lu Wo’s team under a contract and set out to help defeat Overlord Wolnir. The team began its attack on Wolnir by targeting the Sacred Relics that kept him from being swallowed by the Abyss.

• Elsa questioned her guilt and devotion toward Iliphis, then asked Lu Lu Wo to let her join the team challenging Overlord Wolnir.
• Lu Lu Wo accepted Elsa after she agreed to a contract forbidding her from sharing the team’s information with the Light Eagle Legion until Wolnir was defeated.
• Elsa retrieved her repaired Greatsword from Andre and traveled with the team to the Catacombs of Carthus.
• Lu Lu Wo explained that Wolnir’s Sacred Relics were the only things keeping the Abyss from consuming him, and Elsa realized destroying them might defeat him.
• Lu Lu Wo tested a Silver Shield against Wolnir’s death miasma, then Mi La and Gers leaped in to strike the three bracelets on his arms.

The Skyrim Strategy Team failed to defeat Overlord Wolnir when they could not break his bracelets, then Lu Lu Wo devised a plan to use Rust Monsters to corrode them. After repeated attempts, they destroyed both bracelets and watched Wolnir get dragged into the abyss, but a mysterious scene appeared before the rewards.

• Elsa struck Wolnir's bracelet while Lu Lu Wo rescued her from his attack, and the team used the Forging Golem to draw his attention as they attacked both bracelets.
• Mi La died after standing her ground against Wolnir, and the team eventually retreated when their attacks could not break the bracelets.
• Lu Lu Wo borrowed Poké Balls from Magician Luo Jeer and led the team back to Wolnir with a plan to use Rust Monsters.
• The team hurled Rust Monsters at Wolnir, weakening his bracelets with their corrosive effect until Elsa broke the first one and then the second.
• After repeated attempts and improved tactics, Elsa destroyed the final bracelet, and the abyss pulled Wolnir down before an eerie scene appeared.

After the adventurers defeated Overlord Wolnir, they watched footage revealing Gwyndolin’s lonely vigil, Irithyll’s growing influence, and Ash’s effortless victory over Wolnir. The group received a blessing for defeating the boss, though Lu Lu Wo wondered whether they had been beaten to the first clear.

• A cinematic showed Gwyndolin guarding Anor Londo with Ornstein and Smough before Aldrich’s appearance and the weakening flame led into scenes of Irithyll’s forces spreading across several regions.
• Lu Lu Wo connected the Battle Knights and the tiny Doll to a possible conspiracy involving the Pontiff and Aldrich, and worried that the powerful figures shown would become future enemies.
• The footage shifted to Ash facing Overlord Wolnir, where he dodged every attack, used buffs, and destroyed each bracelet with a single strike.
• Lu Lu Wo and the others watched Ash defeat Wolnir without taking damage or drinking an Element Bottle, leaving Elsa shaken by the display.
• After the footage ended, the group saw a blessing appear as their reward for defeating Wolnir, and Lu Lu Wo questioned whether they had been the first to clear the fight.

After defeating Overlord Wolnir, Lu Lu Wo chose the Wolnir Holy Sword from the rewards and accidentally drained her magic power with its Weapon Skill. The newly opened path led the exhausted Skyrim Strategy Team to the snowbound city of Irithyll of the Boreal Valley.

• Lu Lu Wo transposed Overlord Wolnir's Soul and chose the Wolnir Holy Sword, while Ta Mi and Elsa selected Overlord's Might.
• Lu Lu Wo unleashed Wrath of the Gods, drained her magic power, and was revived by Bei Er Tuo's magic potion before eagerly proposing they invade people.
• The team gathered their dice-based rewards and discovered stairs opening beyond Wolnir's room, suggesting another area lay ahead.
• Though too exhausted to walk, the team persuaded Elsa to carry them up the stairs, where they found a cave entrance filled with moonlight and snow.
• Ta Mi ran through the cave and saw Irithyll of the Boreal Valley, while Elsa activated the message, "A magnificent view ahead."

Lu Lu Wo’s group entered Irithyll of the Boreal Valley, where extreme cold forced them to rely on fire, but a white mist barrier blocked their way into the city. As they turned back across the bridge, a monster dropped from the sky and attacked them with lightning.

• The group discovered that Irithyll’s magical frost drained vitality and impaired movement, so they used campfires, a bonfire, and Aisi’s Floating Fireball spell to keep warm.
• Lu Lu Wo’s group crossed the empty bridge toward Irithyll and found a white mist barrier enclosing the city that they could not break through.
• Lu Lu Wo concluded that they needed to fulfill a special condition to pass the barrier, so the group turned back to prepare a strategy guide.
• A monster with a crocodile-like maw fell from the sky and struck Bei Er Tuo, whose fate became unknown.
• Lu Lu Wo warned the others to keep their distance, but the monster spat a bolt of lightning at them.