"I am Anri of Astora, Unkindled, as are you."
The female NPC introduced, "Beside me is Horace, a friend who travels with me."
"Are you also searching for the Lords of Cinder?"
"This is halfway through the Road of Sacrifices. Below is the flooded forest. Through the forest, you will reach the homeland of the Undead Legion—Farron Keep. Following the path should lead you to the Cathedral of the Deep."
"We are heading towards the Cathedral—the homeland of that unpleasant Aldrich. We are all searching for Lords of Cinder. We will meet again sooner or later, and it would be good if we could help each other then."
[Obtained: Blue Sentinel—When equipped with the Blue Covenant, you will be summoned to protect the host when an Ashen one with the Blue Covenant is invaded, to fight against Dark Spirits.]
Their goal was clear—only Aldrich in the Cathedral of the Deep.
Mo Zhi intended to capture this fellow and use him as firewood. She wondered if conflict would arise if they met in the future.
However, the old thief must have placed them meeting at this time for a significant foreshadowing.
After much hesitation, Mo Zhi decided not to attack them. The main reason was that Horace looked quite imposing, and Mo Zhi wasn't sure if she could defeat him.
Bidding farewell to the two, Mo Zhi continued towards the Farron Woods.
Farron Woods was not only filled with poisonous mushrooms but also with werewolves, werewolf hunters, poisonous mushrooms, and giant crabs.
One might mistake it for a gourmet forest, with all sorts of ingredients, both meat and vegetable, readily available.
Only by going through it would one know it was a mixed tag-team of meat and vegetables.
There was also the invading Dark Spirit, Hawkwood, whose Hazel delivered a three-pronged violent assault.
Mo Zhi died as she hadn't in a long time. Fortunately, she had collected enough souls before coming, so she felt no regret about losing them.
It took her at least half an hour to break through the siege. This Hawkwood was a member of the Undead Legion. Defeating him would yield his helmet and pickaxe.
She could also find the Outrider Knight Set.
Once Mo Zhi put it on, she immediately fell in love with it. It was incredibly stylish!
Continuing forward, she encountered the first Black Knight in her gaming career.
Judging by his attire, this fellow did not look like someone to be trifled with. He was also an Ashen one, but much more formidable than the previous Round Shield Knight.
Mo Zhi struggled immensely but couldn't defeat him. Finally, guided by the comments, she returned to Firelink Shrine and bought the Dark Hand from Yuria of Londor for 12,000 souls.
With a flurry of random punches, she took down the Black Knight!
"Wow, this thing is really useful!"
With the Dark Hand, Mo Zhi blazed through like a war god.
She directly reached the final boss of the Road of Sacrifices, the Crystal Sage.
Before that, she encountered a sorcerer, Orbeck. However, because Mo Zhi's intelligence was too low, he ignored her.
He treated Mo Zhi like an idiot.
Mo Zhi promptly attacked him.
After the attack, she faced the boss, the Crystal Sage.
This old fellow would continuously throw magic crystals to attack the player during the battle.
Upon taking damage, he would teleport. However, Mo Zhi was filled with confidence at this moment and pressed forward fearlessly.
Even when the Crystal Sage in his second phase unleashed several high-damage clones, Mo Zhi, after dying seven times, finally figured out the pattern and defeated him.
"That's it?"
Mo Zhi looked unsatisfied, "Is the old thief out of ideas? Tricking people with a boss like this?"
Seeing her smug face, the comments section shook their heads.
"Cough... I wonder who was cursing and crying about the Black Knight..."
"The old thief's design is quite strange. Sometimes bosses are easier to beat after figuring out their patterns than regular mobs. The most difficult are usually some unique elite monsters."
"I'm not afraid of bosses anymore, I'm just scared of those elite monsters with weird attires and weapons."
...
Many players felt the same and shared their experiences.
Through her conversation with Anri, Mo Zhi already knew the path ahead—the Cathedral of the Deep and then Farron Keep.
She first returned to Firelink Shrine to adjust her condition.
Then, she tried talking to NPCs to see if any new side quests could be triggered, besides the thief bringing back a large amount of equipment like a treasure vault.
To Mo Zhi's surprise, Creighton had returned from visiting graves.
Through the fragmented information gathered on the Road of Sacrifices, Mo Zhi had already vaguely deduced Creighton's identity.
That's right,
Creighton was once a member of the Undead Legion of Farron.
Placed before the tombstone was the weapon of the Undead Legion, the Farron Greatsword, exactly the same as the one Creighton carried on his back.
Including the Heavy Gem that Creighton gave her, which was a token of every member. 138 Reading Network.
The armor he wore, except for the helmet, was a chainmail-covered head, and the rest was the uniform of the Undead Legion of Farron.
This legion, which looked incredibly cool in the CG, turned out to have Creighton as one of its members.
The first thing Mo Zhi thought of was not why Creighton appeared at Firelink Shrine, but her relief.
She was relieved that her young and ignorant self didn't carelessly attack Creighton.
Otherwise, Creighton would surely have let her experience the power of the Farron Greatsword early on. This weapon was much more effective at deterring people than Old Demon King Ghru.
Even now, Mo Zhi wasn't confident she could defeat Creighton.
"The Undead Legion of Farron is a military army of the undead. They swear allegiance to the wolf blood and monitor the abyss. As soon as the slightest sign appears, they won't hesitate to destroy a nation."
Creighton's voice interrupted Mo Zhi's thoughts, and he continued, "...They are that kind of people..."
Ruthless people!
Although she didn't know what the abyss was, judging by the attitude of the Undead Legion of Farron, who wouldn't hesitate to destroy a nation if even the slightest sign of it appeared.
It was likely a world-destroying force.
"The Undead Legion of Farron has a unique entry trial. If you extinguish the fires on the three altars in the keep, the door to the wolf blood will open."
"Even the cursed undead still want to believe they are 'special'."
"It's pathetic."
Mo Zhi heard this and said with a heavy tone, "I feel like Creighton's last sentence is mocking himself. It seems his dejected state is not solely due to discovering that the Lord of Cinder is not the hero he imagined.
It's more like he's mocking himself for potentially becoming a Lord of Cinder alongside his teammates, but due to some reason, becoming an Ashen one and being disappointed in himself.
He might have lost his will to fight, left the team, perhaps deserted, or failed to become a cinder and, after failing, burned to nothing, becoming an Unkindled.
Linking the fire must be an extremely painful process, both the hardship of the path and the agony of being burned in the furnace.
Creighton Hawkwood, after enduring hardships in his attempt to link the fire and failing, felt disappointed in himself for not becoming a cinder.
Who knows.
The status of an Ashen one is highly regarded by most NPCs, but in Hawkwood's eyes, this status is an undeniable pillar of shame.
It constantly reminds him that he is inferior to his fallen comrades.
It's no wonder,
At the beginning, he evaluated, 'Ashen ones are half-baked beings who can't even stay dead and will ultimately achieve nothing.' I initially thought he was referring to Ashen ones being able to revive after death.
Now it seems that this statement refers more to pulling Creighton out of the tombstone of failed linking.
Indeed, even Aldrich, who devours people, can become a Lord of Cinder.
But he himself became an Ashen one.
It's not that he lacked the courage to link the fire, but after enduring hardships, he failed, and he couldn't become a cinder.
Creighton believed he wasn't qualified to stand with his colleagues who had become Lords of Cinder.
So, when he was awakened, he left the Undead Legion. Perhaps in some unknown corner, he remained dejected until his flame extinguished.
As a result, due to the player's appearance, a variable emerged!
He came to Firelink Shrine.
He met the player, the Ashen one known as a hero. From initial mockery, he was eventually moved by the player's unyielding spirit.
The player, an Ashen one like himself, accomplished what he believed Ashen ones could not.
Creighton's original despondency was being shattered by the player's every step.
Therefore, he began to willingly guide the player on the Road of Sacrifices and visit the graves of his comrades.
After clearly explaining his understanding to his viewers, Mo Zhi seriously concluded:
"Creighton is also a hero!"
"I absolutely respect every member of the Undead Legion of Farron!"
"Now, let us go together and relive their stories!"
Whoosh!!
...