Who designed this underworld dungeon?.

Chapter 685 The Faded Ones (Part Two)

"Who?"

When Lanler saw the words "faded ones," he was stunned for a moment.

As everyone knows, adventurers can invite their familiar figures to participate in battle festivals. As long as they are not merchants with no combat power like Karel, the familiar figures generally will not refuse the invitation.

Therefore, apart from a fixed number of people, the afterimages appearing at the Battle Festival are all random, since no one knows who else has been invited.

Perhaps it is because the Sion Dungeon takes care of everyone, these enthusiastic afterimages that come to help will generate summoning symbols on the battlefield after they die. As long as they are summoned again, they can continue to fight alongside them.

Except for Patchwerk, who doesn't leave any summoning symbols after he runs away.

When considering how to deal with Rataen, the people of the Warrior Kingdom also considered using the power of the assisting afterimages, because these afterimages could truly fight continuously as long as someone was pulling them, and could wear down the enemy!

However, this proved to be completely unfeasible, because the speed at which summoning symbols were generated seemed to be slower than the speed at which the Shattered Star General could kill people, and for some reason, some powerful afterimages that people knew could not be invited in.

For example, there's Sollard in Anor Londo, and Onion Knight still sleeping in Irithyll of the Boreal Valley.

Operation Phantom was declared a failure.

However, thanks to this, Lanler had the opportunity to learn about all the afterimages in the Sien Dungeon, greatly expanding his brain's database, so he would never encounter an afterimage he didn't recognize again.

However, the unfamiliar afterimage finally appeared in front of him.

"The Faded Ones?"

Who is this? This name doesn't exist in my database!
Lanler didn't understand, because in his mind, "faded ones" was a general term for a group of people, and who would use such a term as their own name?
"Who found this afterimage in some hidden corner?"

He had little hope for this suddenly appearing faded person, just like how a helper NPC in a game is directly named Black or White. Just by looking at him, he felt that the other party was a minor character who didn't even deserve a name.

Never mind, at least after I summon it, I can stand and fight Rataen.

With that thought in mind, Lanler touched the summoning symbol and chose to summon.

He forgot one thing: they had actually been in contact with someone who was directly referred to as the Faded One.

The ominous demon, the limb-splitting Grek, and other figures who were either enemies or afterimages, all uttered the word "Faded One" the moment they encountered the adventurer.

And all of this that the adventurers are experiencing has one ultimate source—

Memories of the King of Elden.

"Om-"

As a light, seemingly indistinguishable from other summoning symbols, slowly illuminated the ground, people were drawn to it and turned to look.

The illusory figure gradually solidified in the light, and people suddenly felt that the wind on the sand dunes had become stronger, even the cloak of the figure that was not yet fully solidified was blown.

Surprisingly, the summoned afterimage was solid! It wasn't a golden phantom, but rather had a posture identical to that of a normal person.

The "faded ones" have their backs to the people.

The battle-hardened cloak, weathered by countless battles, revealed glimpses of armor as it fluttered. It was a pale silver, stained with a faint red hue as if it had been drenched in blood.

He looked ordinary, just like any other one of the countless faded individuals, but standing there, he somehow managed to attract people's attention.

Judging from his back alone, some people in the crowd felt that he was very familiar, as if they had seen him somewhere before.

"what?"

Exhausted and lying in the crowd, Stella suddenly sat up, not even having time to groan because she had hurt her back. Her eyes were fixed on the faded one.

There was no mistake; she swore she had seen the "waste stone" of the painting world countless times, she absolutely recognized that afterimage.

"Ah, Elden—"

Before she could finish speaking, her words were drowned out by a deafening roar that echoed across the earth. Only those around her, who heard her scream, showed expressions of astonishment.
It was Ratan who had shown rare mercy to people in his corrupted mind by giving them time to laugh; now he could no longer bear it.

The warriors' attacks did indeed inflict respectable damage on him. His ferocity was not only aroused, but the corrosive influence became increasingly difficult to suppress. He had now fallen into complete rage and would treat nothing with kindness except for the warhorse beneath him!

Dozens of meteorites floating behind him hurtled towards the people, and for a moment it could be seen as Estée, the Dark Abandoned, unleashing a powerful attack.

"Once we get out, I'm going to brag to my wife and kids about today's victory."

Surprisingly, the soldiers were relaxed in the face of this inevitable end, and even had the mood to joke.

Today was their closest chance to victory. There were still too few people attending the festival. If they had used that level of fighting spirit two or three more times, they would have definitely been able to defeat Rataen.

However, the mages are still working on their second forbidden spell, and a bunch of people are excitedly putting their strange and unusual experiments into practice, so maybe this time everyone can make the results even more impressive.

This time, the warriors proved one thing: if Ratahn appeared outside the dungeon, or if there were more challengers than there are now, people are capable of eliminating him.

Try to summon as many afterimages as possible to buy time for the mages.

Thinking this, people lay on the ground searching for summoning symbols, but strangely, they found none. Perhaps one faded being wasn't enough!

"Magicians, good luck to you all," the group lamented sympathetically after their fruitless search.

They're going to go ahead with the meteorite; they won't stay here and join the magicians in their antics.

But the magicians wouldn't just sit and wait to die; they would continue to fight and live on!

Various magical shields appeared, and numerous spells of different colors launched attacks on the meteorite.

If it were just these meteorites, everyone could hold them off with some effort, but the real challenge is the subsequent attack from Rataen.

"Hurry up, squeeze out every last bit of magic!" one of the mages shouted. "Professors, hurry up and cast the forbidden spell again!"

“Get ready, just a moment!” Tulsi replied.

Just as the warriors calmly accepted the meteorite, and even opened their arms to embrace it, people suddenly felt fluctuations of magical energy around them.

Generally speaking, magic that exists in the environment is difficult to detect, but when it makes any dramatic movements, it becomes easy to detect.

The direction the magic flows is towards the faded ones.

People looked up and saw him holding a magic wand. A huge amount of magic power gathered on the wand, solidifying into a large, azure bow, with countless arrows ready to be fired.

This magic looks really useful! Japal's eyes lit up in the crowd.

[Magic: Loretta's Special Move]

The magic cast by the Royal Guard Knight Loretta can create a magical bow that can fire at least four large arrows simultaneously.

This is the magic she honed to perfection during her long journey of battle.

The giant arrows, formed purely of magic, spun around like snakes, automatically scattering towards the incoming meteorites. Was this to protect the warriors? No, people then realized that the vast majority of the meteorites were actually hurtling towards him.

As the magic arrow struck the meteorite, a violent explosion occurred, turning the meteorite into a dazzling display of fireworks.

The Faded One fired twice with lightning speed, and the magnificent arrows shattered the meteorites!

The shattered stones crashed down on the crowd, enough to cause serious injury, but everyone stared blankly as the Faded One put down his magic wand and drew a simple, unadorned greatsword.

"Gulu."

The sound of swallowing saliva could be heard everywhere.

"This...this level of strength is beyond the norm, isn't it?"

The arrow that shot at the meteorite seems to be on a completely different level from the other supporting afterimages.

The other teammates were a spinning pot, a wolf wielding a sword, and an old man in a wheelchair, but without exception, they were all very "primitive".

This faded one gives the feeling of a Gundam suddenly appearing in World War II!

"Huh? Huh?" Lanler didn't know how to react. Did he just summon a super big shot?
"He is Elden—"

Stella's shout was interrupted by a loud noise once again before she could finish speaking.

Because the battle between the Faded Ones and Rataen has already begun at this very moment.

The earth trembled, rocks flew, and a deafening roar erupted as Ratan's twin swords slammed into the ground, propelling him into the air as he unleashed the Lion Slash, a combat technique most familiar to all, at the Faded One!
The move he used was the strongest that people had ever seen, both in terms of style and power. Compared to him, the moves that people used from the Battle Ash were just ordinary imitations.

"Could it be!" Lanler couldn't help but exclaim with anticipation.

The giant arrow that shot down the meteorite just now raised everyone's expectations for the Faded One to an unprecedented level. Even if he suddenly stretched out his hands and steadily slashed the lion, no one would be surprised!
However, the reality was not as outrageous and fantastical as people imagined. Faced with the powerful slash, the Faded One merely shifted his feet slightly, and just as the blade was about to touch him, his figure suddenly disappeared, appearing outside the attack range in the next instant.

Everyone recognized the combat technique he was using – it was [Hound Stance]!

Before Ratahn could retract his twin swords, the Faded One took a heavy step forward, his greatsword slashing out with a powerful, spinning motion, leaving a blood-gushing wound on the enemy's calf!
"【Ready Stance】! This is the ready stance!" Someone in the crowd recognized the name of this move.

Just as the Faded One struck Rataen, the opponent's heavy twin swords suddenly changed their attack, slashing vertically with the force of a thunderbolt!

"boom!"

A sound that could lift one's spirits was heard, and the body of the faded one was struck by this tremendous force and knocked back a considerable distance.

Did he miss? No, he defended perfectly! The greatsword was held in front of him, and as the Star Shattering Greatsword's attack came, he swung his own sword at the perfect angle, achieving a perfect defense!
"It feels a bit like a parry?" people said uncertainly, because they didn't recognize what kind of move it was.

As the distance increased, the berserk Ratan swung his sword twice, executing those around him. But the next moment, a large number of sharp, shattered crystal fragments shot into his bare chest, the shards embedding deeply into the wound!
Tulsi recognized the magic as [Exploding Crystal], which could shoot out crystal fragments!
It was also used by the Faded One. He waved his magic wand in succession, and after the crystal exploded, he followed up with [Spinning Magic Gravel] and [Radiant Meteor]. He switched between these spells with ease.

Undeterred by the magical attacks, Ratan charged across a distance of over a hundred meters, his heavy greatsword slashing down with all its might, striking directly at the location of the Faded One!

But with a loud crash to the ground and the explosion of black mist, the figure of the Faded One suddenly appeared in mid-air, slashing down heavily with his greatsword, leaving a deep bloody gash on Ratahn's arm!
"I recognize this move; it's the [Hidden Mist Raptor]! It allows him to leap into the air and dodge attacks!"

The moment the Faded One landed, he turned his greatsword around and struck Ratahn's leg from below, inflicting another wound. He then used the force of the swing to leap back several meters.

Just as he retreated, the Shattering Star Greatsword slammed into the spot where he had been standing, followed by Ratahn's frenzied slashes.

Even more people recognized this combat technique; it was undoubtedly the [Hound Sword Technique]! This move should also have a follow-up derivative.

Just as everyone was thinking this, the Faded One launched the follow-up action of the Hound Sword Technique the instant that Rataen's combo ended. His figure disappeared again, and the moment he reappeared, he launched a fierce attack on the enemy's legs.

His continuous, almost dance-like slashes were what he was using now – the [Sword Dance]!
How many combat skills and spells are there now?

Unlike the simple-minded Ash, is the Faded One a type that cultivates both physical and magical abilities and is proficient in all martial arts?
Rataen roared to the sky, unleashing a torrent of gravity magic that instantly summoned stars, inevitably pulling the Faded One's body forward.

But just as the Shattering Star Greatsword was about to crash down, he suddenly pulled a brass shield from his cloak, and as he raised the shield, a golden light enveloped his entire body in an instant.

"boom--"

The final move of the Star Summoning technique destroyed everything around it, but when the golden light faded, the faded one remained intact.

This move is something no one has ever seen before. It's the combat skill "Invincible" in action. When golden power fills the entire body, it can make the user instantly invincible!
Rataen, having retracted his Star Summoning stance, looked down at the Faded One, who in turn looked up at him.

Without words or communication, an even fiercer battle suddenly erupted in the next instant.

The warriors, who had long since lost their ability to move, have now found a new source of enjoyment: identifying the combat techniques and magic used by both sides in the battle!
They had never seen a person who combined combat skills and magic so perfectly. The Faded One's every move was seamless and fluid, as if magic and combat skills were born to work together in this way.

Watching too much of this can even inspire people, letting everyone know how to fight better in the future!
"It's like a textbook! Wow, is this kind of valuable information really free to watch?" Luluwo, who was carrying the projector, gasped.

People are now highly enthusiastic, and the sudden appearance of the Faded Ones and their impressive victories have also inspired the audience.

Some people started taking notes on the spot using the video as a template, some looked thoughtful, but many more simply waved their arms like they were giving a shout-out.

They would have cheered whether Rataen gained the upper hand or the Faded Ones launched an offensive, but now that the warriors have fallen, they no longer have a target to firmly support.

Then all you need to do is enjoy it!

Whoever plays the best game gets the most cheers!
"This, this could be..."

Bontou craned his neck to look at the projected image in front of him, as if he were about to sink into it. The attendants beside him were worried that he would fall off the throne.

He stared intently, muttering to himself:
"I can't believe such a thing exists."

In the underground city of Sien, at the Weeping Dunes, Ratahn unleashed his full power, employing both fierce swordsmanship and various large-scale destructive spells without reservation. The entire Weeping Dunes resembled a missile testing ground, filled with booming sounds that left everyone dazed.

The Faded Ones always manage to use the perfect combat skills or magic, as if they were master players who knew Rataen's actions inside and out and had calculated every possibility.

Sometimes he fiercely clashed swords, sometimes he nimbly dodged, sometimes he raised his shield to stab, and sometimes he unleashed magic. He would always choose the most suitable tactic to add more injuries to the Shattered Star General's body.

His fighting style is neither as unadorned as Ash's, nor as ethereal and ferocious as a hunter's duality. There is one word that perfectly describes him:
Make the most of everything

No matter what kind of magic or combat technique it is, it can be used as long as it is suitable. This is the significance of the borderlands being full of a wide variety of skills!

Who exactly is this guy, and why is he so powerful?!

However, while those who fade away can cope with it easily, others will suffer.

Such a large-scale and high-density release of gravity magic naturally resulted in the deaths of countless living beings in the surrounding area.

The first to die at the hands of the berserk Rataen were not the warriors, but the mages.

They excitedly began their forbidden experiment, intending to take advantage of the fact that the monsters in the dungeon had no human rights to observe the results.

As a result, when those bizarre experiments were first launched, a group of magicians suffered a severe backlash and died before they could even begin.

The remaining mages, as planned, darted towards Rataen, but suddenly Rataen unleashed a gravity-based spiking attack from 800 miles away, striking the mages directly in the face. After two such attacks, none of them survived!

They died without ever having the chance to observe the results of their experiments, and felt extremely frustrated.

The destructive white light erupted once again on the Weeping Dunes, but this time it didn't hit Rataen at all, because he was attracted by the Faded Ones and left the place instantly before the explosion occurred.

On the contrary, the mages who had been diligently preparing the forbidden spell were caught in the crossfire. First, their magic shields were shattered by Rataen, and then they were blown away by the forbidden spell, turning into shooting stars in the sky.

In the end, the soldiers who lay motionless in place made it to the final round and became the group with the longest survival time.

No longer paying attention to the unfortunate mages, the warriors now focused entirely on Rataen and the Faded Ones, or more precisely, on the combat skills and magic they used.

Every time a new combat skill or magic appeared, they would shout out its name, creating an incredibly lively discussion atmosphere. An outsider might have thought they were on a spring outing.

"[Storm Blade]! [Frost Stomp]! [Phantom Gun]! [Spin ​​and Spin]! [Lightning Sheep Ball]!"

"【Radiant Sword Array】! 【Summoning Vengeful Spirits】! 【Dragon Prayer】!"

The moves used by the Faded Ones are all incredibly powerful, and the warriors have now been reduced to ruthless machines that simply recite menus.

This is a carnival for martial arts practitioners, where they can see the exquisite application of their familiar moves, which is the ultimate enjoyment for them.

And it can really inspire people.

A feast, an absolute feast!

Even though the soldiers were being decimated by the attacks, they still watched the battle with great interest.

Some people felt that their bodies had regained some strength, so they picked up their weapons and went back to the battlefield.

Although death is inevitable, Ratahn will strike them a few extra times for them instead of ignoring their challenge and waiting for them to be killed by the aftershocks.

Gradually, people got up from the ground.

Whether they can only walk on two legs or can barely lift a weapon, anyone who can still move will be drawn to the battlefield and keep moving towards the center of the fight.

Even in the Sien Dungeon, one could sense that the spiritual power emanating from these people seemed to be even higher than before!

but.

Even the grandest feast must eventually come to an end, and for those trapped in the underground city, their annihilation is the end of that feast.

Now only a few people are alive, and even many of the photographers have died. There are only a dozen or so people left alive.

They were determined to preserve their lives, no matter what, in order to witness the victory of the faded.

"I think I understand."

Lanler, lying on the ground after being cut in half at the waist, was still clinging to life, weakly muttering to himself:
"We had already won the battle the moment we were able to stop the meteor."

Did the Faded One appear after the meteor shower to get people back up and fight alongside him?
He felt that wasn't the case, because in a battle of that intensity, people rushing in would be like mayflies trying to shake a tree, eventually disappearing without a trace.

Just as the Farron Undead Legion, once in Lord of Cinder form, can obtain the soul of the wolf even if an adventurer is killed, perhaps in battles of this magnitude, the Dungeon of Sion doesn't want the adventurers to achieve a complete victory, but rather to fight to their best and limit.

By blocking the deadly meteor, the challengers have proven their worth and are now entitled to the reward.

The fading ones that have appeared now are less like allies helping in battle and more like beings fulfilling people's dreams.

Lanler strained his eyes as he saw that Rataen was already panting heavily, and the Faded Ones were launching their final offensive.

He absolutely must not lose consciousness before seeing the ending!

The battle was short, lasting until Ratan, heavily wounded, rose into the sky once more.

The Faded One raised his staff high, and a deep blue blade formed from the convergence of magic took shape. As more and more magic was poured in, the blade became increasingly exaggerated, expanding and expanding until it finally shot straight into the sky.

A meteor streaked down from the sky, accompanied by billowing flames, and the Faded One unleashed its final attack on the meteorite.

The final, magnificent Kalia!
The familiar explosion flashed across the sand dunes, but its power was far less than before, and half of Lanler's body was blown away.

In mid-air, he saw the flames and smoke gradually dissipate, and what was revealed in the dissipating flames was...

It was that enormous body that was turning into dust and slowly drifting away with the breeze.

The legend of the shattered star returns to the Golden Tree at this moment, and the stars in the sky revolve, with a shooting star streaking across the horizon.

"It's done."

Before he could finish speaking, Lanler crashed heavily to the ground. Already on the verge of death, he suffered such a severe injury that he could no longer maintain consciousness.

Before he closed his eyes, he clearly felt the ground beneath him trembling, as if the earth was enduring countless impacts from beyond the heavens.

In his final moments, he wanted to take one last look at the sky above the weeping dunes, only to find that the crimson surrounding the sky had vanished, replaced by...
A shower of dazzling shooting stars.

This time, it was a real star falling right before my eyes.

(End of this chapter)