Ashen Xia Yu was stunned. We are all buddies from the same world, so why did you secretly do this behind my back!
[dark souls iii]: Sun Armor or whatever, when did you get that? Where on earth did this thing come from?
[dark souls i]: Just now. Why did you think I was collecting metal with you? It was to upgrade my own equipment.
It was still for that same reason—because of the difference in world intensity, The Xia Yus' universal nano-armor was actually less durable in their world than the local armor.
Although the nano-armor had many functions and was very convenient, it was slightly fragile. Since they spent almost every day in battle, they naturally chose the higher-defense armor of the Soul World.
Anyway, they didn't feel bad about using these armors stripped from enemies; if one broke, they'd just swap it for another set.
[dark souls i]: While collecting metal, I asked the AI to help me manufacture some battle armor along the way. Armor you make yourself is definitely more useful than those sets stripped from enemies.
The Xia Yus' battle armor technology was actually quite mature. Not to mention the two future worlds, even the soul knight world had mature mechanical armor craftsmanship. Using special metals to manufacture armor was just a matter of spending a bit more time for them.
Therefore, while Undead Xia Yu was collecting metal, he also asked AI Xia Yu to help him manufacture a few sets of armor. They didn't need many functions, as long as the defense was strong enough.
[dark souls iii]:...You brat.
[dark souls iii] @ [the talos principle]: *Whimper whimper*, Big Boss, I want one too.
[the talos principle]: Then you'll have to wait. After all, manufacturing armor with special metals is quite a hassle.
[dark souls iii]: It's fine, I'm not in a hurry. I'm going to fight the Crystallized Elder first. With his soul, my crystal magic will surely take another step forward.
Legend says there are two Crystallized Elders, disciples of the ancient archmage Big Hat Logan. One researches magic in the Grand Archives of Lothric Castle, while the other teaches spells to the Undead Legion in Farron Keep.
To be able to ally with the Farron Undead Legion and teach them spells, the magical attainments of the Crystallized Elder here must be quite high.
Xia Yu didn't intend to use various methods to cheese the fight. He planned to use the Crystallized Elder to test his current strength. After all, one's power must be tempered through actual combat to be fully mastered.
"Although I plan to test my current strength, it's definitely impossible for me to risk my life. Hmm, as expected, I still need to keep a trump card."
Risking his life was out of the question. Although he was an Ashen One who wouldn't die, seeking death in all sorts of ways just because he was immortal would be a sign of mental illness.
After organizing his equipment, Xia Yu strode towards the Road of Sacrifices.
The path through the Road of Sacrifices was filled with thorns, rotting corpses, and those mutated mushroom heads.
Fortunately, these mushroom heads weren't the 'One-Punch Mushies' from dark souls i. He wasn't confident in dealing with those yet, but these small mushroom heads he could one-shot with his gun.
One had to admit, guns were truly useful. No wonder Isshin Ashina always said the Ashina Style was invincible; the man had experience!
"Tsk, it's actually a crab. You bullied me so many times in the game; today I'm back for revenge."
Within the rotting swamp, Xia Yu suddenly lunged forward, drew the apprentice sword from his waist, held it high, and slashed straight down in the blink of an eye.
*Pshhh!*
Before the crab's blood could even splatter, it was frozen by the apprentice sword's frost enchantment.
Looking at the small crab by his feet, Xia Yu poked it with the tip of his sword and found there wasn't a single bit of edible meat, immediately showing a face of disgust.
"Bah, what garbage crab. No edible parts at all, despite looking like a crab."
Just as Xia Yu was grumbling, a rustling sound suddenly came from behind him, and then a massive black shadow covered him.
Judging by the shadow, this was a relatively large crab.
"..."
Xia Yu swallowed hard. The shadow from the game instantly clouded his mind. He stiffly turned his neck, and a giant pincer enlarged in his field of vision.
*Boom—!*
The Great Crab slammed down heavily, kicking up water four or five meters high, but Xia Yu had already dodged the attack with a quick flash.
Splattered mud fell back into the swamp. This loud noise also seemed to attract the nearby mindless Hollows.
Seeing the Hollows that had already noticed him, Xia Yu's eyes sharpened. He gripped the apprentice sword with both hands and poured all his magic into it.
In an instant, the frost enchantment on the apprentice sword was activated. Xia Yu calmed his mind and took a deep breath of the slightly cold surrounding air.
Then he slashed the longsword straight down, and a brilliant, icy-blue sword qi was instantly unleashed.
The sword qi, carrying frost magic, formed a crescent-shaped slash that flew straight towards the four-to-five-meter-tall Great Crab.
Facing this attack, the Great Crab tried to burrow into the mud, but the cold carried by the sword qi had already frozen the nearby wet silt.
In the next moment, the sword qi tore through the Great Crab without any resistance, and then continued its momentum, tearing and freezing a straight trench through the swamp.
Finally, it split several large trees at the end in two, but the frozen cuts kept the trees from collapsing.
Xia Yu looked at the Great Crab that was split in two and frozen. He raised a middle finger and said with a face full of disdain, "You little trash. In the game, I might only be able to roll around pathetically, but this is reality! *Ptooie~*"
After waving his hand to clear the remaining glittering ice crystals from the air, Xia Yu walked over to the Great Crab and looked closely inside. To his disappointment, there were no edible parts inside the Great Crab either—it was all blackened, dried meat.
"Sigh, as expected, I was overthinking it. How could the crabs here be edible? This isn't the world of elden ring."
With a casual swing of his sword, he killed a 'Lite Version' Ogre carrying a wooden cage on its back. Xia Yu then walked towards the ruined chapel in the distance. He remembered there was a Black Knight there, as well as the Farron Coal used for forging.
Before, he was only thinking about finding Orbeck to learn magic and hadn't had the chance to take the good stuff from here yet.
After spending some effort, Xia Yu arrived at the chapel ruins. A *clack-clack* sound of walking immediately came from ahead, and a figure wearing a helmet with curved demon horns gradually appeared.
They were the Black Knights who wandered the world. These Black Knights once served 'Lord of Cinder' Gwyn, following the original God-King.
But since Old Man Gwyn chose to link the fire, they also chose to link the fire with him. Consequently, their bodies were burned, and they too became ash.
Having become ash, the Black Knights had been wandering throughout the world ever since, without death and without a home.
*Clack~*
Seemingly noticing someone ahead, the Black Knight immediately raised the ultra greatsword in its hand and charged over with immense pressure.
Facing the Black Knight who had already become ash, Xia Yu did not act arrogant.
The Black Knights were once an army that fought Chaos Demons. Even if their strength was greatly reduced by the burning, they were still not something that could be defeated easily.
Under the clash between the two sides, the chapel, which was already a ruin, suffered another blow that altered the terrain. Originally, you could still tell it was a chapel, but now it had completely turned into a pile of rubble.
After a long time, the two sides crossed blades one last time. Xia Yu sheathed his sword, and the Black Knight crashed to the ground.
Let's use a few chapters as a transition. I'll try to set up a major event. After all, I've had the idea for a long time; the mutual crossing-over was prepared for this. But I felt I couldn't handle it, so I never wrote it, and I'm not good at writing group battles either –_–
However, since someone brought it up, I'll give it a try. If you're not interested, just skip it. After all, this book is equivalent to an ensemble piece or an episodic drama; skipping it won't affect future reading.