Chapter 471: Fall of the Cinder King, Blood for Xuanyuan |
Ding—! Clang—!
The clanging sounds of metalworking echoed through the narrow altar space.
The scene before them was utter chaos.
Though time had passed and Discouraged Bro had long since left the Fran Fortress,
the slaughter within the Fran Undying Host had never truly ceased.
Liu Liu panted heavily as he watched the battling Undying Host members, his eyes filled with shock and awe.
Indeed, at that critical moment just now, a sudden slash had sent the captain flying away from him.
Looking closely, the one who attacked the captain was actually another red-eyed Undying Host member who had been corrupted by the abyss.
And the next moment, ordinary Undying Host members rose again from death, assisting the captain in attacking the abyss-corrupted Undying Host.
Fran Greatswords swung through the air, their flashing blades radiating nothing but decisive, lethal intent.
The abyss-corrupted Undying Host, fallen into madness, wildly brandished their greatswords, blades scraping against stone slabs and creating blinding sparks.
The captain resisting the abyss also tirelessly raised his weapon, even temporarily setting aside his fight with the Ashen One to focus entirely on dealing with his comrades corrupted by the abyss.
In this moment.
Liu Liu seemed to understand Hawkwood's despair.
Day after day, year after year, the Undying Host had been trapped in this cycle of slaughter for countless days and nights.
They swore to monitor the abyss, even if it meant cutting down their own comrades.
Yet the advance of the abyss corruption never ceased.
Perhaps raising their blades against comrades could temporarily suppress the abyss outbreak, but it only treated the symptoms, not the root cause.
Eventually, the abyss would infect them all like a virus, turning the Fran Undying Host who monitored the abyss into an Undying Host controlled by the abyss.
This might be exactly what Discouraged Bro meant by the "curse"—
The noble knights who fought with all their might to prevent evil's invasion ultimately became the spokesmen of evil themselves.
When one truly realizes that their lifelong endeavor, pursued with complete dedication, is nothing but a laughable futility under fate's curse, being crushed by utter despair is hardly surprising.
Just as he was thinking this!
Whoosh—!!!
Suddenly, a blade came slashing toward him!
Having caught his breath, Liu Liu instinctively raised his shield to block, hearing a loud clang!
A heavy, jarring impact transmitted through the shield as the captain who had just dealt with his abyss-corrupted comrade launched another assault, determined to see the duel through despite his battered body.
But he was ultimately half a step too slow.
Liu Liu's unintentional shield raise perfectly blocked his greatsword.
Immediately after, Liu Liu executed a stepping slash!
Slice—!!!
Contrary to expectations, the captain didn't perform his usual backstep dodge.
Instead, he seemed to accept it willingly, making no movement, just calmly watching the blade swing toward his chest.
In that instant, Liu Liu even heard the captain's soft, satisfied chuckle.
Well done, Ashen One.
How could he not know that the abyss had already seeped deep into the Fran Undying Host's bloodline by now?
The endless slaughter would ultimately only result in becoming puppets of the abyss.
We once had the courage to step into the furnace, becoming Lords of Cinder who burned ourselves to prolong the world's lifespan.
And now that we've reawakened, our unwillingness to return to the thrones isn't because we're cowardly, nor because we can't endure the soul-scorching flames.
It's only because the Fran Fortress, as the entrance to the abyss, has now fallen into decay, and we need to return to the fortress temporarily to contain the abyss.
But now.
The abyss has already spread like wildfire through the Undying Host, with the mountain of corpses in the courtyard serving as the best proof.
We who swore to block the abyss are about to become the abyss's apostles.
We once made a vow before the wolf's blood, swearing to contain the abyss at any cost.
For this, we can sacrifice anyone's life.
Including our own.
Slice—! Thud—!!!
The blade cut deeply into the captain's body!
The captain's form flew backward like a kite with its string cut, sent flying by the slash!
He fell to the ground, lifeless!
"This..."
Liu Liu looked incredulously at the fallen, dead captain before him, momentarily unable to believe it:
"Is this... over?"
Liu Liu was bewildered, even feeling like his victory was somewhat unearned,
because throughout the entire battle, most of the time had been spent on the Fran Undying Host's internal slaughter, and the boss health he had personally depleted was only about half.
And for that final slash, the captain had been fully capable of dodging backward and then countering with a spinning slash to kill him instead.
But the captain hadn't done that, instead calmly meeting the blade with his body, clearly seeking death.
However!
Just as Liu Liu was still confused!
Suddenly!
Gurgle—gurgle—
A sound like blood flowing through veins slowly rose in the silent altar area,
accompanied by increasingly grand chanting and symphonic music, crimson blood slowly separated and floated up from countless Undying Host members,
like streams suspended in midair, converging toward the Undying Host captain at the center of the area!
We share bloodlines, we share souls, we swore vows witnessed by wolf's blood, becoming the undying Lords of Cinder who monitor the abyss!
Whoosh—!!!
A weak yet powerfully surging flame ignited on the captain's bloodstained cloak!
Immediately after!
Heat waves intense enough to distort the air slowly steamed up from the captain's body!
Creak—creak—
The groaning sound of twisting armor echoed.
The bitter wind of the Fran Fortress swept through, like wind passing over a bonfire's embers, causing the color of burning cinders to brilliantly erupt across the Lord of Cinder's body!
Amid the mournful yet grand violin concerto symphony!
The true Lord of Cinder, burning with flame, the Abyss Watcher who gathered all the souls of the Fran Undying Host, rose again!
And the next moment!
Whoosh—!!!
The Fran Greatsword burst into raging flames, illuminating the entire altar, as magnificent and dazzling as a phoenix reborn from ashes!
Drawing the sword shakes the heavens, sun, moon, and stars suddenly dim their brilliance!
Come! Ashen One! Since the outcome of abyss corruption is inevitable, then let the final victory and glory of the Fran Undying Host be written by you!
At this moment, Liu Liu couldn't help but feel his scalp tingle, all his hairs standing on end!
Having absorbed all the souls and bloodlines of the Fran Undying Host, the captain, though transformed into a Lord of Cinder, had inevitably also suffered abyss corruption, his eyes turning into maddened crimson.
And the reason he did this was precisely so that the Ashen One, who had already proven his strength, could serve as the final glory of the Undying Host, completely severing the Fran Undying Host's long-polluted abyss bloodline!
At the same time, the Ashen One would also return them to their thrones, burning their final souls in response to the distant, ancient bell chimes!
"Entrusting my wishes to cold stars unheeded, I offer my blood to proclaim my loyalty to the nation!"
Liu Liu's astonishment was simply beyond measure!
Without a doubt!
If there were still noble and steadfast souls remaining in this tragic, broken world,
then the Fran Undying Host were undoubtedly the most deserving heroes!
Hum—!
The first Lord of Cinder encountered!
An overwhelmingly domineering entrance!
A performance steeped in profound epic grandeur!
The Abyss Watcher's Lord of Cinder form immediately caused an uproar among all players upon appearance—
'OHHHHHHHH—!'
'MY FUCKING MAN—!'
'This is so damn cool!'
'Holy shit, red-eyed captain!'
'I never expected the most stunning boss performance so far would be from a humanoid boss!'
'Seriously, this effect is absolutely masterful, especially when the greatsword burst into flames'
'It has to be Old Thief'
'After all, he's the father of Wolf-type games, this flavor is absolutely irreplaceable'
'Sis, you're so cultured, that "I offer my blood to proclaim my loyalty to the nation" just gave me goosebumps'
'The story here is so stunning, both restrained and impactful at the same time'
'This is Golden Wind we're talking about, whenever they incorporate story elements, they never disappoint'
'Old Thief really knows how to tell a story...'
'To be honest, if we're rating this game, purely from quality perspective, I feel it should be higher than Sekiro'
'But Sekiro was the groundbreaking work after all'
'This one is more like an evolved version, truly top-tier...'
......
Unparalleled visual performance!
Unprecedented visual impact!
Plus the restrained yet profound story setup!
Without a doubt, as the first Lord of Cinder to appear in the game, the Fran Undying Host's second phase immediately drew exclamations of amazement from players!
And as the Lord of Cinder state activated, the captain's skill effects and performances made players in-game scream with excitement!
Flames swept across, heat waves rushing towards the face!
Though the captain-turned-Lord of Cinder still used the Wolf Sword Technique, it had undergone earth-shaking changes now!
The originally sharp and swift triple aerial slashes now carried blazing flames, with the final heavy smash even triggering geothermal fire eruptions!
The lightning-fast thrusts would also leave a trail of fierce flames along their path!
As for the whirlwind lightning slash and thunder crescent slash, they were even more outrageous—not only did their attack range increase significantly, but each swing would leave soul-burning flame arcs hanging in the air!
And what was even more deadly—as the captain also fell into abyss madness, all his attacks became increasingly frenzied!
Whoosh—whoosh—boom—!!!
The area was filled with soaring flames and erupting geothermal fires!
Faced with the Lord of Cinder's unparalleled power, many players didn't even dare to fight—some lacked the courage to even look!
Screams and howls!
Running around like headless chickens!
"Aiya—hahahaha—no no no—oh my god! I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!"
"I—damn—Captain Bro! Wow, this Captain Bro is too fierce! Flame greatsword breakdancing tough guy! Amazing!"
"Hey! Hey hey hey! Oh damn you! At least let me take a sip from my flask!"
"Ho-ly! Shi-it! You fucking man? This combo doesn't even give me a chance to run! How are we supposed to fight this!"
"Captain! Captain, don't swing your sword! It's me, Captain! The Fireguard Maiden asked me to bring you a message..."
"Damn! No no no, I need to take a break and drink some water, my heart rate is like 150, this is scarier than horror games..."
Just as a viewer had mentioned earlier:
In Sekiro, where most bosses are humanoid, the giant-sized bosses are particularly troublesome.
But in Dark Souls, where the vast majority of bosses are giant-sized, the humanoid bosses are the real source of suffering.
Perhaps in Gu Sheng's previous life, the Fran Undying Host, known as the Breakdancing Crew, weren't considered high-difficulty bosses.
But don't forget, this is the motion-sensing pod.
An incredibly agile, variably attacking, mixed-tempo wielding, aggression-filled Lord of Cinder alone is enough to qualify as nightmare-level experience.
Not to mention that with full sensory immersion, the captain's flame-engulfed Fran Greatsword feels overwhelmingly oppressive!
The temperature intense enough to distort the air, combined with those dazzling attacks!
For a while, players were howling and screaming in agony!
Some were cursing loudly, some were having breakdowns, some were putting on the "pain mask," and some were even knocked right out of their motion-sensing pods by a single slash!
All kinds of abstract reactions kept appearing!
But such grand, stunning, and intense performance effects undoubtedly greatly boosted players' competitive spirit!
This is the first Lord of Cinder!
Whoever can clear it faster will naturally enjoy greater cheers and admiration!
If one attempt doesn't work, try two! If two don't work, try five!
Even though the Fran Fortress map's pain level is no less than Sekiro's Aquatic Village.
The curse-spewing giant tree monsters, the curse fog-spitting curse frogs, the rampaging giant crabs, and the haircut trio that could give you a full wash, cut, and blow-dry at any moment.
Even running through the area is torture!
Finally!
After Liu Liu didn't know how many deaths!
The captain's health in Lord of Cinder state finally dropped to an unprecedented low!
"Hey hey hey—no! No! No!"
Whoosh—! Whoosh—! Whoosh—!
A triple slash combo!
Liu Liu quickly rolled to dodge, cold sweat pouring down his back!
He had died during this critical final phase just before!
"Can't get reckless at this point,"
Taking out his Estus Flask, Liu Liu drank the last sip:
"The more panicked you are now, the easier it is to make mistakes."
As he spoke!
Liu Liu began moving cautiously, constantly creating distance from the captain, looking for openings in his attacks.
Slice—boom—!
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—!
The captain's attacks came like an endless river.
Fortunately, having died countless times already, Liu Liu had now completely mastered the captain's attack patterns.
Saying he could perfectly read everything might be exaggeration, but he was fairly confident about dodging or blocking about eighty percent of attacks through rolling and shielding.
He was waiting.
Waiting for one particular move from the captain.
A powerful, heavy attack with a long recovery period.
And just as he thought of this!
Shua—
Suddenly, the captain took a small step back after creating distance, crouching low like a wolf, his greatsword raised and charging at his waist!
Now!
Instantly, Liu Liu reacted like a conditioned reflex, almost skipping the thinking process, instinctively rolling backward!
And simultaneously!
Slice-boom—!!!
In the blink of an eye!
The captain, holding his burning wolf greatsword, shot forward like a bullet fired from a gun, the sharp blade thrusting forward!
Immediately after, raging flames erupted behind him!
Whoosh—!
And right now!
Perfectly timed!
Liu Liu's incredible distance control, born from extensive death experience, allowed him to barely dodge the captain's thrust, maintaining a subtle distance between them!
This is Dark Souls.
Perhaps through repeated boss battles, my stats haven't visibly improved,
but my skills have long been tempered through experience, completely different from before!
"My turn now!"
Taking a deep breath, he shouted loudly!
Giving the captain no chance to recover his sword stance!
Liu Liu stepped forward closely, swinging his sharp sword, unleashing four consecutive slashes using all his stamina!
Thud thud thud—crack!!!
With the final heavy slash!
The captain's chest suddenly burst with a spray of scalding blood!
Everything returned to silence.
And the next moment, a cluster of characters burning with embers suddenly appeared in Liu Liu's UI interface, brilliant and intense—
[LORD OF CINDER FALLEN]
[Lord of Cinder Fallen]