Chapter 468: The One Who Killed Grandma Has Been Found |
"Equip! Oil, you motherf—!"
A single backstab finished off the last spear Lothric rider. Pew finally breathed a long sigh of relief.
"Phew—this is way stronger than the Frost Hound. Good thing I had the ember state, or I would have been screwed."
By design, after players defeat a boss they enter the ember state.
The most obvious effect is a shower of extinguishing sparks on the body, and at the same time the maximum health bar increases.
What a blessing.
After all, in Dark Souls-style games, health remains one of the most crucial stats.
Thanks to the existence of Estus-like flasks, players theoretically have multiple chances to make mistakes and heal when they take damage.
But the problem is that sometimes, during the boss’s relentless attacks, players may not find a chance to heal.
Although by the rules the ember-burning state can be invaded by Red Spirits—those nasty players—fortunately this is still the early game, no villains have appeared yet, and nobody in the motion-sensing pods dares to cheat with their lives, so there are no god-tier entities.
The ember state is very helpful for players’ progression.
Like just now.
If Pew hadn’t just slain the Frost Hound and been in ember state with extra health and endurance, he would probably have been vaporized under the two Lothric riders’ combined assaults.
Damn it!
Pulling out the blade that had pierced the rider, Pew shook the droplets of blood from the edge. "So good! This thing is basically a holy weapon!"
Unlike Liu Liu, Old Chrysanthemum, and the others, Pew didn’t use the Gloomy Battle Axe dropped by the chest monster.
His luck had been excellent: the first time he encountered a Lothric knight he earned the Lothric Straight Sword by killing it.
As one of the best starter weapons for new players, the Lothric Straight Sword’s stats, attack speed, and damage make it a newbie’s miracle weapon. If you don’t mind, continual upgrades can carry you all the way to the endgame.
After finishing the spear Lothric rider with a backstab, Pew proceeded forward and reached the small chapel’s entrance.
The chapel door was ajar.
With a creak, Pew pushed the door open and stepped inside.
A dark-red carpet led to a half-kneeling knight statue.
In front of the statue sat an old woman.
Boom—boom—
As the small chapel’s door opened, an ethereal yet aged voice echoed through the hollow space, lingering and resonant:
"Oh... I have waited long, ember that never dies..."
The old woman’s voice was slightly hoarse but very gentle.
Hearing such a raspy voice in this setting was actually oddly comforting.
"My name is Emma. I am the high priestess of this city—Lothric."
"I have an important message to deliver to you:"
"The Lords of Ashes have left this city, gone down to the lower tiers of the city, to the drifting homeland where they took root."
"And you, must go beneath the high wall."
"The little ring banner will guide you through the city gate."
After she finished speaking, Emma the old woman shakily raised her hand and slowly handed Pew a small white flag.
"This is—"
Pew stepped forward and received it reverently.
"The Gaul national flag?"
He immediately waved his hand. "No, no, no... I’m joking, haha. Don’t open your boxes, Gaul viewers..."
At those words, the livestream chat burst into laughter.
Daily Milk Spell (1/1)
The Gaul national flag is too hilarious hahahahaha...
No wonder you’re the platform’s top troll
So savage...
Scary but silent, won’t speak unless provoked
Gaul players are dying laughing hahahaha...
No need to worry about opening boxes, Gaul players joke about the milk spell even harder than you...
"Hahaha indeed..."
Amid the laughter, Pew accepted the flag.
[Lothric Little Ring Banner]
"Oh—so this is the little ring banner—"
Pew nodded.
After killing the Frost Hound he had received a prompt that said to pass through the vine-sealed gate he would need the little ring banner.
So this was where it came from.
It looked like his exploration of this map was basically finished for now. Although he had probably missed some things in between, he’d focus on advancing the story and collect more later.
While he thought this, Emma the old woman handed him a badge, apparently the emblem of a church called the Green Faith.
Then Emma began to ramble:
"I give you this as a parting gift."
"This is the ancient oath’s crest. If you fear intruders, meaning the dark spirits who forcibly take ember, remember this—"
"You shall use the ancient oath to call the Green Guardian to hunt the dark spirits..."
"O emberless ash, go beneath the high wall,"
"The little ring banner given to you will surely guide you through the gate,"
"But remember, the great gate is guarded by a watch hound, an omen of dire ill, the watch hound of Coldview..."
Emma was, after all, old. Her words were long-winded and seemed to drag on endlessly.
Pew wanted to tune her out, but he feared Old Thief Sam might have hidden key information between the lines.
So, bored, he listened to Emma’s rambling while idly practicing his rolling attacks.
Roll—phew!
Roll—clang!
Roll—slam—!
"Hey, what the—what the heck?!"
While rolling and suddenly rising to charge, a flash of inspiration struck Pew, and he inadvertently executed an attack move other than the usual light and heavy attacks.
Planting both hands on the sword to charge, he suddenly lunged forward with a step, the sharp straight sword thrusting up from below. Immediately after, he flipped and with the sword in hand delivered another upward slash!
Battle Skill: Prepared Strike
Nice!
In this game, every weapon type—even individual special weapons—has its own "battle skills."
During the fight just now, cautious Pew had never held his sword two-handed and therefore hadn’t discovered the weapon’s battle skill.
But now, with no monsters threatening him, Pew two-handed his straight sword and practiced in the air, unintentionally triggering the straight sword’s battle skill—Prepared Strike.
This skill’s main technique is a lower-to-upward thrust followed by a reverse flicking slash, highly effective against shield-bearing enemies.
"So strong!"
Pew was ecstatic and a little regretful he hadn’t discovered the skill earlier.
If he had known this skill when facing the big-shield Lothric knights, he wouldn’t have been so passive, wasting time with the shield dance.
"Woom—hah! Swoosh!"
Overjoyed, Pew immediately began to practice, darting and parrying while narrating his moves out loud.
He even demonstrated on the spot:
"Haha, next time we meet a big-shield Lothric knight we’ll roll, then right into a charged thrust!"
As he spoke, Pew rolled, charged for half a second, and then launched a piercing thrust!
Slash—!
The keen blade cut the air, producing a sharp tearing sound!
Then—
Pew twisted with ferocity and followed up for a second hit!
Buzz—!!
"Ah—!"
Half the style was there!
Suddenly, a short startled cry rang out!
The next moment, a dazed Pew performed a reverse hand chop; the Lothric straight sword, precisely placed, slid across and cut right in front of Emma the old woman!
Splat—!
In an instant, blood spurted across Emma’s chest!
Her feeble scream carried exhaustion, confusion, and deep despair:
"No—what—what are you doing?"
"Please ascend the throne... Lothric... lord..."
With those words, Emma’s body turned into a wisp of green smoke.
Silence.
Silence blanketed the stream.
Pew even forgot to finish his sword motion, staring dumbfounded at the empty chair and the old woman’s ashes, pupils trembling.
The livestream chat, after a momentary hush, exploded!
"Old—grand—ma—!"
"You monster! You actually killed the grandma!"
"Hahahahahaha serves you right! Had to test a battle skill and look what you caused!"
"Tested it and she’s gone."
"Found the guy who killed grandma @Pewdiepee"
"Ominous vibes ahead"
"Good thing she wasn’t the Gray Ember Guy; she died with one thin slice, otherwise you would learn what a Black Hand is."
"Everything of Gray Embers gone because of you"
"[Swoosh! Ta-da!]"
"Hahahaha too hilarious..."
"LOL Pew’s completely stunned"
"This move is so flashy, Pew’s the king of trolling..."
"Wait! No—no... I didn’t mean to!"
Pew stood stunned for a full five seconds before realizing the gravity of the situation. Looking like he’d made a huge mistake, he repeatedly apologized.
"Sorry! Really, really sorry! Fuck! I swear, I didn’t do it on purpose! I was just testing the battle skill!"
For heaven’s sake!
He had only just opened the door to a new battle-skill world, itching to practice!
Who knew a stray slash would send the old woman away!
"Sorry, sorry, sorry..."
Pew apologized breathlessly while skittering backward, trying to flee the "crime scene."
However—
As his foot had only just taken a step back—
Creak—thud!
Suddenly, the sound of the chapel door slamming shut rang out!
In an instant, an icy draft blew across the nape of his neck from nowhere.
Hiss—!
Pew felt his scalp prickle, his hair stand on end!
Twisting his stiff neck to look behind him—
He saw that the chapel door he had entered through was now firmly closed.
Tick—tick—
Thick black droplets, like coagulating corrupt blood, fell onto the deep-red carpet in the chapel’s center, splattering a stench of rot and despair.
Following the trail of the droplets, Pew instinctively looked up, and his expression grew worse.
The once-colorful stained glass ceiling was now shrouded in a gray-white chaotic mist.
The scene was exactly like when he had mistakenly stumbled into the boss arena and awakened the Frost Hound.
Then—
Pew watched helplessly as, from within that hazy cloud—
A face wearing a cold steel mask slowly emerged...