Who Designed This Underworld Dungeon?
Chapter 461 - 320 Signs of Contagion

Chapter 461: Chapter 320 Signs of Contagion

Night, Royal City, Royal Palace.

Inside the King’s bedchamber, several maids, drenched in cold sweat, are carefully assisting King Ainz III, cleaning his body. They don’t dare make a sound, fearing they might wake the King, who would swallow them whole.

Lately, Ainz III’s illness seems to have stabilized. Although he can still become violent, he sleeps noticeably longer, sometimes for a very long time.

Eliphas came to check and said it’s a normal situation and there’s no need to worry.

It’s unclear whether he meant the King’s health or the throne has no need to worry.

The maids were ordered to take this opportunity to help and wipe the King’s body. Despite their fear, they have no choice but to comply.

"Ah!"

A sharp scream echoed; it turned out a maid’s arm was suddenly grabbed tightly by the large hand of King Ainz III, whose sharp nails pierced the flesh, causing blood to flow.

Upon closer inspection, Ainz III’s palm also had wounds, with blood seeping out.

Thus, his blood mixed with the maid’s blood, yet no one paid attention to this detail.

They quickly covered the maid’s mouth because the King had not woken up yet; it might have been unconscious body movement.

They hurriedly finished the last tasks and made a quick escape with their buckets.

The injured maid covered her arm and went to find a Priest. She needed not only physical healing but also spiritual comfort.

In the Church, bathed in Holy Light, her wound was restored to its original state, and her tense spirit gradually relaxed, seeming not to leave a psychological shadow.

But... her arm is a bit itchy?

——————————

Discussion about [Yilushier of the Cold Valley] has become increasingly heated recently.

If there was a trending list, it would probably stay in the top ten.

"Boss, you promised we’d rest tomorrow," Maru’s voice echoed tiredly on the streets of the Royal City.

"Plans have changed; it wasn’t easy to secure a spot for entering Yilushier. Don’t you want to be the first to enter the Cold Valley?"

Leon tightly gripped the Little Puppet, worried about losing it even in his pocket. He hadn’t been this excited in quite some time.

Although they had previously guessed that the Little Puppet would be in the Deep Church, they didn’t expect to secure it this easily. Furthermore, from the Dungeon’s extra rewards, they were the first to defeat the Deep Bishop group.

Now the Dungeon is closing on time, which means they are the only ones qualified to enter Yilushier tomorrow!

This honor, no one can refuse!

Speaking of which, the strength of the Deep Bishop group, among the current bosses, should be at the bottom. Shouldn’t everyone be able to defeat them?

Wouldn’t they?

Thinking of this, Leon patted Maru’s head, comforting her, "After we return from Yilushier, I’ll take you to play with Little Pot, okay? I’ve already bought the Elf Ball."

"You better keep your word!" Maru perked up immediately, "Then let’s go for a big meal today and replenish our energy for the Cold Valley trip tomorrow!"

Laughter immediately filled the air, and even in the deep night, the Royal City remained brightly lit.

The Strategy Group passed a street corner, where a newsboy was hawking. Leon found the appearance of the person buying the newspaper in front of him somewhat familiar.

But before he could take a closer look, he was dragged into the tavern by his companions.

"One newspaper, please."

Because of his busy work, Gong Qiying hadn’t had time to relax in a while. Now, sitting on a bench by the street holding a newspaper, he seemed like an office worker finally finding a chance to take a break.

Initially, he wondered if the technological level of this world could actually allow people to produce newspapers? Then he thought of Magic and was relieved.

This time, the newspaper he bought wasn’t from those big newspapers but a second-rate one. Originally, this newspaper was on the verge of closing, but after the Sain Dungeon appeared near Royal City, they bet everything and focused on Dungeon-related content.

As a result, they perfectly caught the nobles’ Dungeon craze and even received investment from Princess Selene, thus leaping from obscurity to gain some fame.

Gong Qiying reads this paper mainly because there’s a section where adventurers are randomly interviewed about their feelings on trendy Dungeon areas. Everyone shares their opinions like he was browsing forums in his previous life.

Today’s topic in that section is [Yilushier of the Cold Valley]. The reporter only needs to ask a few basic questions and then wait for the adventurers to elaborate eloquently.

Adventurer A: [Yilushier? I love it so much. You ask me why? Because I can’t get in, do you understand that distance creates beauty? I’m waiting every day for the Strategy Group to come up with a way to enter.]

Adventurer B: [That city clearly looks like a gathering place for wealthy people. I’m already looking forward to showcasing my lockpicking skills. You ask about my profession? Hehe...]

Adventurer C: [It’s so beautiful. After going through the Underground Cemetery and defeating Overlord Vonier, seeing this scenery makes me feel my life is worthwhile.]

Reporter: [But the legendary giant dragon’s sky courtyard and the fairy’s sea of gems are said to be comparable to Yilushier. Aren’t you being too hasty in saying your life is worthwhile?]

Adventurer C: [A legend is just a legend, maybe it really exists, but it’s scenery only a few people can see. Even hearing their descriptions, I can’t feel the beauty, but in the Sain Dungeon, I’ve seen Yilushier. Its beauty has become a mark in my mind, and if I want, I can visit again anytime. That’s the scenery that truly belongs to most of us.]

Reporter: [Well said, it makes me want to see it. Let’s hear from the next adventurer. He seems a bit upset.]

Adventurer D: [**** Sain Dungeon! ** Yilushier! What’s with setting dogs loose on the bridge!? I ****!]

Seeing this, Gong Qiying finally laughed out loud.

Just like a murderer always returns to the crime scene, he believes the game developer in his former life must also loved watching players’ angry reactions on forums.

Speaking of which, constantly keeping tabs on the adventurer community’s movements greatly aids him in developing the Sain Dungeon, so he’s not just slacking off, but actually working!

Just like before, when the Sain trend among Royal City nobles was just beginning, he discovered the trend almost immediately.

Thus, he added a bunch of fancy but useless trinkets in Sain, and as expected, these stylish, chic little trash were widely favored by the nobles.

Later, he also stocked up on food that was rumored to enhance vitality in the gourmet area, successfully promoting the gourmet area’s ingredients onto the dinner tables of thousands of households in the Royal City.

Initially, he thought it would be difficult for Sain Dungeon’s products to trend in Royal City, but it turned out he simply didn’t capture the unique traits of Royal City folks. Of course, Count Charon of the Bed family and others played no small part; he’s much more attuned to the times than his father.

Gong Qiying flipped through the newspaper, which followed up on the newly emerged Path of Living Sacrifice in Sain and subsequent areas.

"There are more adventurers with outstanding skills, speeding up the strategic exploration of new regions."

Regarding strategy for the Path of Living Sacrifice and Punishment Forest, numerous strategies have emerged. Notably, this time the strategy is no longer monopolized by Leon or Luluwo; more strategy groups have appeared, some equally strong or even stronger than the ones from Bed City, probably making Luluwo sweat a lot lately.

Looking further, someone even mentioned the strategy for the Deep Church.

But upon closer inspection, it turned out the so-called strategy only mentioned the cemetery, not even reaching the rooftop.

"Leon and two other teams have obtained the Little Puppet, and Yilushier in the Cold Valley can now be opened, although there’s still a small problem unresolved."

He controlled his external body to return to the inn, while his spirit went back to the Sain Dungeon, where the micro-model of Sain Dungeon appeared before him. He slid over to Yilushier in Cold Valley.

The entire Yilushier map is quite large; generally, it can be split into the city area, lower part, and underground prison. The underground prison in the game connects to the City of Sin, which hasn’t been developed yet, so let’s not mention it for now.

The city area, lower sector, and underground prison each have their own characteristics and tortures, while the final boss, Pope Shalivan, brings unexpected surprises.

Behind Shalivan lies the most famous map in Dark Souls III—the backyard.

That’s where, initially, the Soul V fought each other, honed their martial art and ethics, and contested for the title of "Knight." It holds significant importance in the history of Soul III and the entire Soulslike Game.

Gong Qiying plans to turn the backyard here into a place where adventurers can fight each other passionately, believing it will be the most vibrant area in the entire Sain Dungeon.

Moreover, a new covenant will debut in Yilushier, namely the renowned [Dark Moon Sword].

Crazy Dark Moon returns for a limited time!

Behind Yilushier is the critically important scene in the Dark Souls world, the city of gods where Divine King Gwyn and his bloodline reside, Yanor Londo.

This should be a heavily designed area by Gong Qiying, but no matter how he designs it, it feels somewhat odd. What’s truly odd here?

After contemplating deeply, he finally discovered the issue—it’s [timeline].

Shalivan has already appeared, so the current Yanor Londo belongs to Elderly. The once glorious Royal City has been polluted by the Drowned Pig, no longer retaining its past glory. Any Undead Man who has witnessed the great posture of the Royal City in Dark Souls I would experience emotional turmoil seeing the polluted Royal City.

But adventurers wouldn’t, as they haven’t seen the appearance of the Royal City before pollution, unable to empathize.

Gong Qiying finds this somewhat inappropriate, lacking emotional appeal.

Thinking this through, he still wants adventurers to see the normal Yanor Londo before witnessing the desolate Royal City.

"Use the form of the Painting World, might as well create several Painting Worlds, placing them near the bonfires in Yilushier."

He scribbled and drew in the notebook, murmuring to himself: "But Yanor Londo cannot be too simple; adventurers may not pass through. Should I provide them more assistance?"

He instinctively sketched a helmet resembling an iron barrel on the notebook, laughed upon seeing it.

"Indeed, the best ally has to be the Sun Warrior."

On the surface, Yilushier is just a simple map.

But in reality, people will also witness the glorious Yanor Londo here!