Chapter 770: Stepping on the Path of Myth, Aldrich, Devourer of Gods!

Then Caelanbell watched as a group of elves chimed in, "Let’s go, let’s ignore the boss."

And with that, they all went outside the door to twirl and leap.

Then Boss Fang beheld this elven huntress who called herself Caelan, her face a mask of utter despair.

...

The mastery of skills in Dark Souls differed from other paths; weapon arts, swordsmanship, and the like were manifested and comprehended through compatible armaments, whereas sorceries required unique magical scrolls.

Coupled with a certain innate talent belonging to the protagonist, upon acquiring the Farron Greatsword, one could immediately execute the corresponding swordsmanship.

Though all were nameless unkindled, as the protagonist, they clearly possessed some modicum of talent—such as the growth of combat techniques, or the aforementioned mastery of weapon arts and sorceries.

These talents at least offered the players a slight respite; otherwise, it truly would have become a lifetime endeavor.

...

"How tragic. Is this what a Lord is?" The greatsword and vestments of the Farron Undead Legion, condensing the power of their former lives, were placed upon the thrones that originally belonged to them like kindling. The despondent swordsman, who had once guided the protagonist through the Farron Keep, could not help but utter such a self-deprecating sigh of lamentation.

Yes, this was the ultimate fate of all Lords of Cinder.

...

It had to be said that throughout the entire course of the game, every single battle pushed the players' combat limits to the absolute brink.

After watching a stream... these new players of the ninth and saintly echelons were clearly and continuously adjusting their own states, gaining a great deal of insight from the broadcast.

They had also been assimilated into certain habits.

For instance, a rather pathetic kobold, after watching Nalan Hongwu slaughter his way through the Farron Undead Legion with the Dark Sword, felt that this blade was truly formidable. He went so far as to change his stream title from Dark Souls 3 to Dark Sword 3, and was now broadcasting his tenth episode of the Dark Sword.

Meanwhile, a group of elves was working diligently in the game just to obtain the Breakdance Greatsword.

This greatsword, imbued with the swordsmanship legacy of the Farron Undead Legion, though mockingly dubbed the Breakdance Greatsword by Boss Fang, actually boasted impressive performance in both PVP and PVE. For example, when facing the Black Knights—nightmarish existences among ordinary foes—one could basically evade attacks and counter quite easily by blending the swordsmanship with footwork. In PVP, it was a veritable novice killer, the sort of martial style that allowed beginners to smooth out their early journey simply through rote application and a tiny bit of adaptive use.

All in all, those who wielded this sword were either complete novices or absolute titans.

Therefore, when a novice saw someone awkward-dancing before them, they must never look down upon the opponent; otherwise, there was a very high probability they would die a miserable death.

Yet for true masters, once they found a weapon that suited them and specialized in it, any blade would suffice.

...

Thus, before long, the players in the shop split into various factions, such as the Strength Build, the Breakdance Build, and the Dual Blades Build.

...

When the players brought back the remains of the Farron Undead Legion and opened the path to Carthus, a kingdom swallowed by the Abyss that had now turned into underground catacombs, they also embarked on the journey to retrieve the remains of the second Lord of Cinder.

As the second chapter of the entire game, rather than calling it "The Chapter of Aldrich, Devourer of Gods," it was better to say the entire chapter belonged to "Pontiff Sulyvahn of Irithyll."

This was perhaps the most powerful and terrifying enemy the players were about to encounter to date.

Sulyvahn hailed from the Painted World, that land blanketed in ice and snow, a sanctuary already decayed that served as a refuge for the hopeless who found no place in the waking world.

It was filled with refugees who had nothing to their name.

They sought comfort in assimilation, and in that comfort, they gradually rotted away.

It was precisely for this reason that this ambitious young sorcerer found himself utterly at odds with the place.

And so, a sorcerer brimming with ambition walked out of that decaying world.

His footsteps trod through Anor Londo, the City of Kings, shrouded beneath the Darkmoon; within the Boreal Valley, distant Irithyll lay under a blanket of white snow just like his homeland; and passing further through the deep, profound dungeons of Irithyll, there lay the ruins of the once-prosperous Profaned Capital of the giants, where the only legacy left behind was likely the still-burning Profaned Flame.

"The so-called 'Profaned Flame' violates the laws of nature due to its unquenchable property; because its flickering fire contains the power of the Abyss, it hatches the human heart, inducing wickedness with its great power."

As the descriptions of items recounted, Sulyvahn chanced upon the ruins of the Profaned Capital.

By this time, the Sulyvahn who departed from the Profaned Capital was no longer the youth who had just stepped out of the Painted World.

An unquenchable ambition burned as furiously as the Profaned Flame itself.

Bearing a greatsword bathed in the profaned fire and an ambition tainted by the Abyss, he cast his gaze upon Irithyll.

According to the deductions and conjectures of certain information, the current Irithyll was perhaps the ancient Anor Londo, the royal city of Lord Gwyn.

And past all doubt, here dwelt the descendants of Gwyn: Gwynevere, the Princess of Sunlight, along with her Silver Knights; the younger son, Gwyndolin, with his Darkmoon Knights; and their half-sister, the dragon girl Yorshka.

This land where kings once held sway, where knights and royalty who followed Gwyn in the old age resided, remained one of the most powerful cities in the world.

The Silver Knights maintained a strict guard radiating outward from the cathedral, and Smough, one of the four great knights under Gwyn's command, also stood guard here.

Furthermore, there were the clerics located in Irithyll, the Way of White organization led by Archdeacon McDonnell.

Yet this powerful city and its devout believers underwent a earth-shattering transformation the moment Sulyvahn arrived.

No one could have foreseen that this sorcerer from afar would gnaw away the entirety of the decadent dynasty.

Gwyndolin fell mysteriously and gravely ill, causing the absolute power of the Darkmoon Knights to fall into other hands. The clerics of the Way of White could not escape the reach of his influence either; the Deep sorceries discovered by Archdeacon McDonnell lent him immense aid. These bizarre magics, released from the sediments of the human heart, slowly corrupted the clergy. The dark scriptures written in forbidden arts, the congregation already defiled beyond human recognition, and the Pontiff Knights of Irithyll wielding the Profaned Flame coalesced; it was at this moment that Sulyvahn's true visage gradually unveiled itself.

Every corner of Irithyll was filled with residents who had already turned into undead yet remained enslaved; worse still, some were degraded into beasts. If one stepped into Irithyll and looked closely at those rotting, crazed skeletal hounds that attacked, one could discover they still possessed human skulls. There were also the skeletal women in the underground sewers, whose spider-like skeletal bodies still faintly retained human countenances.

And the Outrider Knights under his banner could not escape this tragic fate either; such was the case for the descendant of the Irithyllian royalty who was ultimately forced to become a dancer, the "Dancer of the Boreal Valley," and "Vordt of the Boreal Valley," who long accompanied her side.

In the end, Smough, one of the four great knights who defended the royal city to the death, and Gwyndolin, the younger son of King Gwyn—these legendary gods—degenerated into bait, served like a feast upon a platter to be devoured.

Thus came to be "Aldrich, Devourer of Gods."

Stepping into that deep, dark hall, one could even see that rising above the sludge-like lower half of the body was still the torso of Gwyndolin.

This was the enemy the players were about to face: Pontiff Sulyvahn and "Aldrich, Devourer of Gods."

As the game dug deeper, after experiencing countless hardships and deaths, passing through the Catacombs of Carthus to arrive in Irithyll, and beholding this city under the moonlight—once incomparably prosperous and powerful, now reduced to a frozen waste—even these saint-tier powerhouses found their breathing quickening involuntarily.

Without a doubt, to battle such an enemy, to plunge oneself into such a conflict, was in itself a myth!

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