Infinite Journey: Dark Souls

"Oops."

They underestimated the intelligence of these strange enemies once again. After hearing Xiaoyan's footsteps, Zhi ignored the warning from the Demon Eye and ran out ahead of time, intending to reduce the time Xiaoyan was watched. She was caught in the glare of the big eye that did not turn around.

When the tinnitus started, she was unsure whether to rush forward or retreat.

The crimson spikes on its body began to increase.

"Retreat! I'll attack this time."

Xiao Yan shouted these words and immediately drew a weapon that could cause bleeding, which she had just obtained from the old woman.

It was a thief's dagger; she didn't even look at it before stabbing it directly into the body of the Evil Eye. Next came the Flame Greatsword; after this massive weapon pierced through, the Evil Eye visibly trembled.

"It worked!"

Xiaoyan skipped over the katana, pulled out a spiked hammer-spear, and swung it with difficulty, smashing it into the eyeball's body once again.

At this moment, Zhi finally retreated behind the pillar, and the three consecutive attacks from weapons capable of causing bleeding finally triggered the bleeding effect. Amidst the splattering blood, Evil Eye finally realized that Little Flame was not an existence that could be ignored.

However, after it angrily flipped over, Little Flame had already retreated behind the pillar.

"……vomit."

This time, it was Weaving who gagged, having also endured for a while, creating time for Xiaoyan to attack.

"Zhi, I've thought of a better way!"

"Ugh... what is that?"

"Let's exchange swords first."

"--I see!"

Having learned her lesson, her large eyes darted around rapidly, repeatedly scanning the two pillars where people were hiding, ready to glare at whoever popped out.

Footsteps were heard, and figures appeared simultaneously from behind two pillars.

They ran towards each other, quickly passing each other, their two swords having switched owners.

The big eyes only had time to take in both of them at the same time for a fleeting moment, and then their figures passed each other again, almost causing it to develop a fear of making a choice.

It began to thrash wildly, repeatedly casting its gaze towards the entire top of the tower.

The two figures disappeared behind the pillar once again.

"Ugh...!" ×2

The big-eyed creature's crazy behavior did have a significant effect. Although the two were not constantly under its gaze, the accumulated mental pollution from before still caused them intense discomfort.

But they all suppressed their discomfort and quietly waited for the next opportunity to attack.

The frantic rolling of its large eyes made it dizzy, and it finally couldn't withstand the crazy behavior any longer and swayed to a stop.

Zhi's demonic eyes opened, and she found a momentary opening. She took a step forward, and Xiao Yan on the other side rushed out at the same time, just as she had done.

The giant eyeball had truly gone mad. Despite the fact that the tentacles connecting it to the giant were being torn apart by its own rapid flipping, it kept alternating its gaze between the two of them.

But when the two approached at the same time, it was too late. The two swords flashed out of their sheaths in the exact same iaido stance, and the blood that splattered out stained the two different girls red.

Sheathed it, then drew it again!

The tinnitus suddenly spiked at that moment, only to end with a hoarse, broken sound.

Blood trembled, and the sword was sheathed.

The last obstacle before the cursed tree has been removed.

Chapter 41: I'll be writing two chapters about this BOSS battle!

Mad Ashes sacrificed himself to the Deep Saints, thus the cannibalistic Lord of Cinder reached the other side of the Abyss and sent back the message of the Godseekers of the Other Side. Thus, the Deep Sea and the Flame were linked.

The Pope had acquired the knowledge he had longed for and was eager to fulfill his ambitions, but with the intuition of a shrewd strategist, he did not make any rash attempts... He needed to conduct some experiments first.

Mensis responded to him by sending help through certain means, hoping to find some new taboos in this world where the sun still shines.

At least that's how it appears on the surface.

The Undead Settlement was chosen as the testing ground; it was practically a natural place for such inhumane experiments, with countless readily available materials to be used.

The only problem is that this isn't the Pope's territory, or rather, not entirely.

Therefore, they kept a low profile, and in this experimental field, the only ones who could truly be considered combatants were the Pope's trusted knights.

In a world of ashes, this woman had been standing guard at the temple above the haunted house of spirits for a long time. She stood there quietly, letting the thin, cold blade intimidate the ignorant villagers.

The specific details will be handled by the mentors of the Deep Cathedral; her job is simply to exclude any strangers who appear here.

She suddenly moved, and glistening specks fell from the thin veil, the chill drawing out wisps of white from the surrounding air.

It is dazzlingly beautiful in its icy coldness, yet deadly.

The busy executioners were terrified. When the cold air blew over, their frostbitten fingers could no longer hold onto the large vats, and the sounds of shattering echoed. The blood and flesh scattered on the ground, after the papal knight passed by, became a blood-red icy path that cut through the crowd.

The mentors were puzzled as to why this knight had started his operation and made such a mess of the previously orderly work site.

But the knight didn't waste words with them. She shoved aside these abnormally obese creatures who had learned to eat their own kind like her saints, brandished her curved sword, and plunged into a small side path behind the temple gate.

A chill immediately swept through the surroundings. To the astonishment of the mentors, two figures covered in frost rolled out from under the Pope's knight's blade and swiftly entered the temple.

————————————————————————————————————————

The two figures were none other than Xiaoyan and Zhi. After dealing with some kind of replica of the Evil Eye on the tower, they rested for a while by the campfire at the end of the dilapidated bridge before heading straight for the location of the Cursed Tree.

They did see the cursed tree, but the current situation is somewhat unexpected.

The knight who looked extremely formidable actually charged into the temple with them, and the fog gate, which they had placed so much hope in, only slowly sealed off the temple's entrance after the Pope Knight entered.

Moreover, the situation inside the temple is not good either. If an Ashbringer who has completed the Undead Settlement walkthrough is present, they may find that there is a new cave on the right wall of the temple, and the villagers who gathered near the Cursed Tree to pray are gone. In their place are several executioners carrying large vats and feeding flesh and blood into the cave.

"Haha, it seems I'll never be able to get rid of my unreliable reputation."

"No, I've changed my assessment now. It was your intelligence that was unreliable. As for your people, they still need to be tested."

As the executioners, who had thrown away the large vat, gradually surrounded them, Zhi and Xiaoyan retreated step by step under the coercion of the Papal Knights.

"What do we do now? We can't exactly lure them under a big tree and see if plants can distinguish friend from foe, can we?"

"I think this is a good idea. Generally, larger creatures won't care if they accidentally knock down some beneficial insects while swatting away the smaller insects that bite them."

"So you mean?"

"Let's wake that big tree up first."

Xiao Yan casually pulled out a bunch of fire bottles and threw them into the enemy ranks, then immediately turned and ran towards the big tree in the corner of the temple.

Zhi, who was a step behind, still had the leisure to wave to the Papal Knight. However, after the Papal Knight raised his hand and cast a Tracker spell, Zhi was so frightened that he rolled away in a sorry state and turned around to catch up with Xiao Yan.

"Watch out, that knight can use magic!"

Then he told Homura about the information he had obtained through his own reckless actions.

During the chase, the Cursed Tree quickly magnified in their field of vision. It was a thick, bloated tree with wrinkles and disgusting white, egg-shaped objects. Four root-like branches supported it on the ground, making it look like a fat, wooden humanoid figure sitting on the ground.

They immediately understood what Denise meant when she said she had "a lot of malice towards men".

The two thick roots at the front are like two thighs, and the area between the roots, roughly at the groin, is where the white, egg-like substances are most concentrated.

These white, egg-shaped objects were clearly the weak point of this enormous creature, so the two girls, without any hesitation, each pulled out their weapons and struck the egg-shaped objects hard.

The tree sprang to life; having been attacked in a vital spot, it braced itself on all fours and did a dramatic spin.

Zhishou used her magic eyes to pinpoint the gaps between the limbs during the rotation. She pounced on Xiaoyan, avoiding the spinning torso, and slipped into the gaps between the limbs.

The pursuers weren't so lucky. Several executioners who rushed too fast were immediately struck by the spinning limbs and sent flying with screams.

The Papal Knight nimbly dodged the direct blows to his limbs, only getting grazed, and also burrowed under the Cursed Tree.

The slender curved sword circled around her once, and in the next swing, a huge scimitar made of ice slashed down at the two fallen figures in an instant.

Having already sensed the fierce attack, Zhi immediately pulled Xiao Yan forward and rolled again. Sharp ice sliced ​​past them, covering the area with white frost.

The Cursed Tree trembled. The massive, icy attack had not only frozen the area but also damaged its eggs. Although it was unknown whether this disgusting man-made creature felt any anger, the roots it slammed down the next moment clearly showed its displeasure.

Pebbles flew everywhere, leaving a scar on the stone pavement of the temple square.

The impact caused the wind to lift the veil covering the Papal Knight's body, but she moved lightly, dodging the direct hit from the roots.

But she also lost the chance to chase after the two girls.

Zhi Ke would not let this opportunity to counterattack slip by. Sheathing her sword, she slid forward and swung her iaido at the very moment the Papal Knight regained his footing after dodging.

The flash of the katana was blocked by the crystalline blade. The weapon cut, but instead of sparks, it scattered ice shards.

Having missed his first strike, he had no room to retreat. His katana flashed again, clashing once more with the Papal Knight's curved sword, which had been swung away.

Zhi was immediately dragged into a sword duel. The sword and blade clashed in the confined space, and the sharp slashes covered their bodies. If they made a slight mistake, they would be left with a wound covered in congealed blood.

But they also have a disgusting tree above them. Little Flame, who can't get involved in this high-skill head-on confrontation, can make the scene even more chaotic.

Lothric drew her spear from her shield, and with both hands, she thrust the extremely long shaft into the egg-shaped weak spot of the Cursed Tree.

A disgusting egg shattered, and the cursed tree trembled like never before.

An even more disgusting cracking sound came, and a pale, sticky arm burst out from the chest of the humanoid tree, sweeping viciously towards its crotch.

Xiaoyan used time reversal to dodge, and the two who were exchanging blows with their weapons actually stopped their continuous swings at that moment, colliding their weapons heavily and separating instantly by the mutual reaction force.

His pale arms rolled across the temple's stone floor, but he only managed to grab a handful of pebbles and dust; he got nothing else.

As the dust settled, Zhi hurriedly gulped down a mouthful of elemental vial, immediately raised her katana, and caught the sharp, curved sword.

Frost had covered her entire body, but the next moment, when the curved sword was raised again, she ran straight backward in the face of the huge blade formed from frost.

The enormous, pale arm was naturally unwilling to let its attack miss. After its grasp failed, it clenched its claws into fists and slammed them down on the ground in a frenzy.

The earth began to shake, and cracks gradually spread along the stone path of the temple.

The Weaver's magic eye saw the flaw in the cursed tree, but the Papal Knight was too slow to react.

Her elegant veil was disheveled as she tumbled and rolled, desperately trying to dodge the massive arms of the cursed tree as it swung and pounded her.

Finally, with yet another punch landing, the Papal Knight's dissatisfaction reached its peak, and she decided to teach this disgusting monster at the bottom of her protection list a lesson.

The moment she tumbled and landed, she circled the curved sword around herself, and a chilling aura emanated from it. In the next circle, the aura gathered on the blade, solidifying into a sharp, large saber.

The pale, giant arm hadn't realized it had provoked its own kind. It instinctively raised its arm and slammed it down again.