Infinite Journey: Dark Souls

"Tsk, it seems it really won't be easy to get back."

Following her memory, Zhi followed the path toward the temple where the Cursed Tree was located, and was once again astonished.

One after another, corpse transport wagons brought the flesh and blood of failed fusion monsters to this place, parking them on the steps in front of the temple. Then, executioners carrying large vats carried the flesh and blood deeper into the temple. On either side of the temple gate stood a mentor and a bell-ringing woman...

These are not the most crucial details, because among this group of people, there was also a slender knight wearing a silver helmet draped in gauze. She held a thin, curved sword and stood quietly in front of the temple gate, watching the bustling scene before her. Even from a distance, one could feel the chilling aura emanating from that curved sword.

With such a number of formidable enemies, and a knight whose background is completely unknown but who looks incredibly strong, this makeover is practically a turn-off...

"I think we should try our luck at that side road first."

"Coincidentally, I think so too."

Chapter Thirty: Puppet Show

Having decided on their next course of action, they didn't delay any longer and began clearing out the enemies near the gatehouse.

Fortunately, they didn't come head-on; otherwise, they would have been subjected to both the villagers' fire pots and the mentor's insect infestation in the square in front of the gate. Looking at those piled-up wooden barrels, they certainly didn't want to personally experience the art of explosion.

Now, they can walk along the roof of the low house to the gatehouse, take care of the villagers and mentors first, and then deal with the executioner lingering below the gatehouse.

However, how to fight in confined terrain is also a challenge. There is simply not enough space for them to move around on the gate tower. Although the same problem exists for the mentors, the legal codes they wield, which are as heavy as bricks, are not to be trifled with. When necessary, they can also be powerful weapons in close combat.

So they decided to use a righteous method of terrain killing, taking advantage of the narrowest passage from the gatehouse to the stairwell, so that only one of the obese mentors could attack them at a time.

The plan went smoothly. The two mentors, who had been alerted, crowded into the corridor. Xiaoyan was in the back and Zhi was in the front. Xiaoyan was responsible for interrupting the mentors with her gun when they were wielding the Codex or when they were engulfed in flames, while Zhi took the opportunity to unleash her full power, using execution and bleeding techniques to quickly take down the two mentors.

Meanwhile, the executioners downstairs were also alerted, and a hearse happened to pass by, increasing the number of executioners by one.

Fortunately, the staircase leading to the gatehouse was also very narrow, only allowing one burly executioner to pass at a time. So a bunch of people started to play hit-and-run tactics in this narrow space... cough cough, I mean, terrain-based kills.

All I can say is that Xiaoyan and Zhi's abilities work together incredibly well. It's a perfect lineup of a magic support and a melee attacker. In this kind of terrain, no matter how many enemies come, as long as there are no ranged enemies or enemies who can suppress Zhi in a one-on-one situation, they're just there to be eaten.

So, after dragging another convoy of corpses past, the two of them finally cleared out the enemies near the gatehouse and returned to the building where they had encountered a group of slaves.

"Tsk, that's why I find these rat-like creatures far more disgusting than other larger enemies."

Little Flame finally saw the lineup that had sent the Weaver back to the campfire earlier: three wielding flame-shaped greatswords, several others with hand axes, and some who could also use blowguns. Luckily, the terrain here was open, otherwise they would have been the ones killed by the terrain this time.

There's not much you can do against these agile creatures except charge in. Fortunately, Xiao Yan's magic bullets are quite effective against small enemies like villagers and thieves. If you can hit a vital spot, taking them down with one shot isn't a problem.

So the support instantly transformed into an ADC, and Xiaoyan directly activated her own time acceleration, instantly depleting her mana. Although she didn't attack many times because she had to maintain the acceleration state, this attack frequency was so high that even the agile and short slave couldn't dodge it and was immediately killed by half.

The rest was easy. Weaving continued to deal damage in front, while Little Flame used magic bullets to disrupt from behind, successfully clearing out the remaining slaves.

"Tsk tsk, so these slaves were lying in ambush here."

They arrived at the fork in the road that had been hidden by wooden crates, circled around to the back of the building, and discovered that they could directly access the roof from there. The large number of slaves who had jumped down from the building earlier must have originally been lying in ambush here.

They couldn't help but feel a little fortunate that they hadn't taken this wrong turn at the beginning.

They had already dealt with most of the slaves in front of the building, leaving only a few small ones, which did not hinder their advance.

As they circled around to the front of a building, they suddenly saw a group of wandering spirits locked in cages. Before they could get close, these creatures began to struggle, throwing out disgusting filth and shouting incoherently.

"Grandma disappeared, and so did her grandson! The grandson was put in a sack, and like his grandmother, he will never be seen again! Don't go into the sack, we'd rather stay in the cage!"

While Xiaoyan was stunned by the attack from the filth, Zhi slid two steps to the cage and stabbed all the wandering spirits to death with a flurry of blows.

"Although these guys are pitiful, their methods of attack are definitely not something that can elicit any sympathy."

It was obvious that Zhi had seen this enemy before. Xiao Yan glanced at her clothes, which were not splattered with filth, and silently cleaned her entire body with magical flames, not wanting to respond to Zhi's words at all.

"Haha, but all the wandering spirits I've seen before have probably lost their minds. This is the first time I've seen one that can talk."

Zhi quickly changed the subject.

"There's another staircase at the back, let's go take a look."

It must be said that the layout of the Undead settlement is very strange. The houses in this area seem to be built on an independent cliff. The building they are climbing up the stairs has cliffs on both the front and back, but there is a platform on the side, which can only be reached from the top of the building.

Zhi confirmed the location and saw the tower leading to the path of the living sacrifices. There were also many people gathered there, as if they were preparing to fight something.

After Xiaoyan came up, she looked away and took the lead in jumping onto the fairly spacious platform.

Directly in front of them was a church-like building, which blocked their view of the entire platform, forcing them to carefully walk around it.

Then they saw a tall figure wearing a black robe and carrying a cloth bag, standing on the edge of the cliff, looking at the tower in the distance.

“(In a soft voice) Another guy I’ve never met before.”

"(in a soft voice) Judging from his size, he's about the same as the executioner, so he probably won't be too difficult to deal with."

“(Softly) Who knows? But it seems there’s no way to bypass the temple and get directly to the next campfire. There’s no need to fight him.”

"That's not necessarily true; we've already been discovered."

Their quiet conversation still alerted the man carrying the cloth bag. Seeing him turn around, Xiao Yan stopped hiding and went to meet him.

But clearly this guy wasn't someone you could talk to. Without a word, he leaped up and threw a punch.

Xiaoyan was prepared to fight at the slightest provocation. She rolled away and successfully dodged the attack. However, Zhi, who was about to take the opportunity to attack, was forced back by the cloth bag he suddenly threw away.

This was clearly a skilled fighter. After forcing Zhi back, he delivered a knee strike to Xiaoyan as she got up. The speed was so fast that she had to rewind time.

However, in order to conserve magic power, Homura habitually only moved away from the spot where she was being directly hit, but she was still within the range of the punches and kicks.

As soon as she appeared, a fist loomed large in her field of vision.

The powerful punch even created a whooshing sound in the air.

Xiao Yan dared not be presumptuous any longer and went straight back to Zhi's side.

"Hey, this guy gives off a completely different vibe. Compared to him, those executioners who just wildly swing their weapons are utterly pathetic."

Despite his mistake, Brother Budai did not hesitate at all. He was able to continue his attacks smoothly the moment she realized her error. This level of skill surpassed that of ordinary enemies who had no martial arts skills. It was clear that his job was not a safe or simple one.

This time, Zhi rushed forward first. She was confident that she wouldn't be at a disadvantage in a one-on-one situation because of her magic eyes.

However, before she could reach him, she immediately slid away to avoid being in front of him.

Suddenly, Brother Budai raised his hand, and a strong suction force pulled them towards him. Xiao Yan, who was still standing in the same spot, was pulled in directly, and she had to go back in time again to leave the original spot.

But his target was clearly not Homura.

Zhi, who chose to dodge immediately, lost the advantage of striking first and was met with swift punches and kicks.

In an instant, the scene turned into a back-and-forth exchange between two close-combat experts.

Zhi possesses agile skills and a deadly katana, but her strength and speed are no match for the tall, bulky Budai Ge. Every time her katana is about to strike him, she is punched or elbowed into the blade, deflecting her attacks.

The man with the cloth bag also fought humiliatingly. Despite having the advantage in strength and size, he was unable to break through for a long time. His sharp punches and kicks were like hitting leaves. At the slightest rustle of wind, the cloth bag would drift away.

But this battle was destined not to be a one-on-one duel between two martial artists, not to mention that murderers and kidnappers never claimed to be martial artists.

Xiaoyan's gun fired.

The purple magic bullet was caught by a withered hand before it could hit its target, but the opening created in that instant gave Zhi an opportunity.

The sword was sheathed smoothly, and the next moment, it flashed out with the technique of Iaijutsu.

The sharp blade tore a large wound in the man's chest, and as blood splattered, he picked up the cloth bag and swung it around his body with force.

Zhi and the remaining magic bullets were swept away. She gulped down a mouthful of elemental potion and prepared to go forward and draw her sword to fight again.

Meanwhile, as the man in the bag regrouped, he placed one hand in front of his chest, muttered incantations, and a visible red light gradually enveloped his body.

The information fed back by the Demon Eye was warning Zhi, and she immediately slid two steps to the front of the Cloth Bag Brother.

However, the flaw in the demon's eye disappeared before the attack was launched. The blood-red light suddenly spread out, and her vision was covered by a palm flashing red light.

With a thud, Zhi's head made intimate contact with the ground. The cloth bag brother, whose speed suddenly increased, slammed her to the ground, and with such force, he dragged her along the ground for quite a distance.

The intense impact robbed Zhi of control over her body, and she could only watch helplessly as she was pulled up. Xiao Yan, who had switched to a longsword to charge at her after discovering that the magic bullets couldn't penetrate the red light, was also forced back by him with a sack of arrows.

The sack that had forced Xiaoyan back spun around, tossed the quilt up, and pulled her inside the open sack.

The sack was once again used as a weapon and hurled at Xiaoyan, who was trying to get closer. After she dodged it, she clearly felt that Zhi was no longer moving inside the sack that was falling heavily.

She gritted her teeth, braced herself with her longsword, and suddenly appeared behind Brother Budai, right where they had fought before, and thrust her sword upwards.

However, her speed was far inferior to that of the enhanced Cloth Bag Brother. Before her longsword could even pierce the enemy, Cloth Bag Brother, who had turned around, had already punched her in the face.

She vanished abruptly, then reappeared just as abruptly. The moment she reappeared, an attack followed, and she could only vanish abruptly again.

For a moment, only a red figure could be seen rapidly leaping and bounding across the platform. Finally, Xiao Yan's magic power was exhausted by the extremely fast pace of the battle, and she could only watch helplessly as the cloth bag was put over her head, following in Zhi's footsteps.

Chapter Thirty-One: We Must Carry Forward Tradition

"Zhi! Wake up!"

In a daze, Zhi felt as if she were being hung somewhere, swaying back and forth, and that she was holding something soft in her arms.

"Ugh... my head is spinning, let me sleep a little longer..."

Although she didn't know what it was, it felt very comfortable to hold. She tightened her grip on it and rubbed her face against it.

"Although it's not very thick, it's still quite—pfft!"

Then he was hit hard in the abdomen.

"I said... are you awake yet?"

The voice was eerily calm, yet it seemed to conceal a thick, dark aura.

"Ouch, ouch~ I can't get up because I've been hit."

She remained in the same position, hunched over and twisting.

Click—snap—

It sounded like something being cocked, and then she felt something cold press against her forehead.

"It seems someone is beyond saving and needs some healing around the campfire."

"Wait, wait, wait! Your Highness, Zhi is alright now and ready to serve you at any time!"

"Hmph, that's good. Hurry up and lift your head up, and figure out a way to break this bag."

Only then did she have time to raise her head, open her eyes, and take a look at her situation.

Light leaked in through the gaps in the bag, and judging from the frequency of the swaying, they were probably being carried on the back of the Bag Guy.

Xiaoyan was caught in the trap later, so she sat on Zhi's lap, and the two were facing each other at this time.