[Greatsword of Solitude (+7)]
The moment Lucian saw the name of the weapon, he instinctively straightened his posture.
Kids, this was the kind of weapon you stood up properly to look at.
…Alright, it was Greatsword of Solitude, not something split awkwardly into pieces.
Still, that didn't stop Lucian from mentally associating it with a certain "legendary figure."
A pity, really. That knight earlier hadn't thrown an elbow at him, and he hadn't returned the favor either. It felt like a missed opportunity.
Then again, the man had used a repeating crossbow, so in terms of underhandedness, they were about even.
Even within a walking mausoleum, the "Gaol boss" hadn't won his revival match. Tragic.
Lucian lifted the heavy greatsword and examined it closely.
Only now, holding it up in front of him, did he notice the details carved into its body.
There were two emblems embedded in the blade.
Both were silver, standing out starkly against the pitch-black metal. One large, one small, set along the centerline of the sword.
The upper emblem, closer to the hilt, was adorned with faint decorative patterns, almost like rays of light radiating outward.
The lower one, by contrast, was plain and unadorned, hanging there quietly.
He couldn't tell what they symbolized, but they seemed faintly reminiscent of the moon.
Thinking back, the sword waves that knight had unleashed earlier also carried a lunar quality, though Lucian hadn't paid it much attention at the time.
He gave the blade a few casual swings.
Among greatswords, this one was undeniably heavy, yet the handling felt unexpectedly smooth.
Compared to the Storm Knight greatswords he had used before, as well as the blade he paired with Lion's Claw, this weapon felt even more natural in his hands.
On top of that, its upgrade level was already quite high. As a Somber weapon, it had reached +7.
Perfect. That saved him the trouble of gathering Somber Smithing Stones to upgrade it further. He could put it to use immediately.
Lucian turned and picked up the battered set of armor lying nearby.
It had clearly weathered a long passage of time without maintenance. The surface was worn and dulled.
Aside from the upper torso, which had taken repeated hits during their fight, the rest of the armor remained relatively intact.
Ignoring the helmet, it vaguely reminded him of someone he once knew.
This armor bore the same name as the greatsword: Solitude Set.
That alone made the knight's identity obvious.
The Knight of the Solitary Gaol.
Lucian couldn't say where the man had come from, but his strength had been undeniable.
His moves had been straightforward, almost rigidly textbook, yet backed by overwhelming power.
Whether it was due to some amplification from the Land of Shadow or not, the strength he displayed here easily reached the level of a top-tier champion.
Then again, someone capable of remaining alone inside a walking mausoleum probably wouldn't be weak to begin with.
If anything, he might have been even stronger in life.
Lucian let out a quiet sigh.
Power scaling… it was getting out of hand.
The enemies here were clearly tuned far above those in the Lands Between. Every opponent he had encountered so far had been formidable.
Even the horned inhabitants he had seen earlier at the ruins were strong enough to rival the soldiers of the demigods' armies.
If this were some kind of game expansion, the difficulty spike would definitely make people lose their composure.
That thought made Lucian pause, a realization flickering across his mind.
The item description of the Giant-Crusher once mentioned that, compared to ancient times, humans had grown weaker over generations.
[A hammer made from a boulder, used in the War against the Giants. One of the heftiest weapons in the entire Lands Between.
After the giants were quelled, and man turned against man in violence, this weapon was all but forgotten.
Man has grown feeble in comparison to his forebears.]
It hinted at a gradual decline across the Lands Between.
The Giant-Crusher itself was a weapon used during the War against the Giants, and the sealing of the Land of Shadow seemed to have happened not long after that era.
If strength truly diminished over time, then this disparity might actually make sense.
The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
In the game, enemy models were often scaled up to make their attacks easier to read. Even the most ordinary soldiers tended to be taller than the Tarnished.
But based on Lucian's actual experiences in the Lands Between, that wasn't the case. Human heights were generally similar.
Take the Stormveil knights, for example. As inheritors of their legacy, their height was roughly the same as Lucian's.
Yet the Knight of the Solitary Gaol he had just fought was noticeably taller than him.
Perhaps once he encountered more humans native to the Land of Shadow, he would finally understand why the combat strength here was so abnormal.
After storing the entire set of armor, Lucian picked up the final item lying on the ground.
[Repeating Crossbow]
This weapon featured a broad, fan-shaped loading mechanism capable of holding a large number of bolts at once.
Once loaded, it could unleash them all in a single burst, empowered by magical energy.
Lucian studied the crossbow carefully, and couldn't help but admire its design.
In a world like the Lands Between, pure mechanical force alone wasn't enough.
Even with superior materials, a crossbow's potential was limited. Compared to sorcery, incantations, or even bows, it could barely compete. At best, it served as a weapon for ordinary soldiers.
After all, no matter how refined the design, it was still just a tool. In the hands of a demigod or a soldier, its baseline power remained the same.
At higher levels of combat, the only way to enhance it was usually through specialized bolts.
But this crossbow was different.
Not only could it unleash a barrage of bolts in an instant, creating overwhelming suppressive fire—
More importantly, its unique design allowed it to channel magical power through a dedicated skill.
That single feature dramatically increased its damage output. No longer relying solely on the weapon itself, it could now incorporate the user's own power.
That meant it could remain effective even against powerful enemies.
If he imagined someone like Godrick the Grafted as the target, ordinary bolts would probably do little more than scratch him.
But a full volley from this crossbow, enhanced by magic, might actually be enough to make him feel it.
Even if the inherent limits of crossbows still existed, in the hands of a strong wielder, this weapon would far outperform its peers.
In simple terms, it had evolved from a toy into a proper weapon.
Lucian wasn't lacking in ranged options.
He had sorceries, incantations, lightning spears, and even the Lion Greatbow he had taken from General Radahn, which he hadn't used much since acquiring it.
Even so, he decided to add this crossbow to his arsenal.
After all, the joy of a repeating crossbow was something no Souls player could resist.
After collecting all the loot within the mausoleum, Lucian made another round through the interior. There were no additional burial goods or spoils to be found.
With nothing left, it was time to leave.
Following the cliffside path, Lucian and Melina made their way to the location marked on the map.
At the edge of the crossroads stood a prominent cross-shaped marker, identical to the one depicted on the map.
This was clearly the rendezvous point.
Several people had already gathered beneath it.
Three familiar faces stood among them: Leda, Freyja, and Dane. Lucian had already crossed paths with them many times.
But aside from those three, there was someone new.
A figure whose appearance was, to put it mildly, unsettling.
His clothes were tattered and filthy, as if he had thrown on scraps of cloth and bound them together with random cords.
Below the waist, he wore almost nothing, just a loincloth beneath the ragged upper garment, leaving his thighs exposed.
To put it bluntly, even the frenzied creatures of Mount Gelmir dressed better than he did.
More disturbingly, his entire head was covered in writhing, caterpillar-like growths, forming a grotesque mask that concealed his face completely.
From the gaps, thin, ominous horns protruded.
It was the kind of design that made people uncomfortable at a glance.
In most games, a character that looked like this was either a surprisingly kind soul… or a complete lunatic.
Freyja spotted Lucian and Melina approaching and immediately raised her arm, waving enthusiastically.
The group stopped their conversation and waited for them to arrive.
Leda stepped forward and gave a slight bow.
"Lord Lucian, you've finally arrived."
"You've obtained the map, I assume?"
Lucian nodded as he and Melina dismounted.
"Yes. We did. That's why we came this way."
"Though on the road, we came across a few interesting things, so we took some time to explore."
Leda nodded in understanding.
"I see. That explains it."
Their group had come straight here after obtaining the map.
Ironically, that made them arrive earlier than Lucian, who had entered the Land of Shadow ahead of them.
"Oh, right. I should introduce you to the other companions who follow Lord Miquella in this land."
Leda gestured toward the silent, strange figure nearby.
"This is a Hornsent, a native of the Land of Shadow. He is traveling with us."
Lucian raised an eyebrow.
"Hornsent? That's the name of a people, isn't it?"
The man had been silently observing Lucian and Melina, studying them intently.
Only now did he speak, his voice tinged with bitterness.
"Heh. You're not wrong."
"I have no name."
"Thanks to your kind, the followers of the Erdtree, I carry the hatred of my entire people. I walk the path of vengeance."
Lucian glanced at him sideways.
This one had quite the temper. Starting off with hostility like that… he clearly needed to be taken down a notch.
Sensing the tension, Leda quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
"Besides him, we have several other companions here, though they haven't gathered yet."
"The Hornsent is a native and is familiar with the terrain. He has taken on the task of tracing Lord Miquella's footsteps."
"It was also through his exploration with another companion that the map was created."
"We're fortunate they were already in the Land of Shadow. Otherwise, things wouldn't have gone this smoothly."
Lucian nodded and chose not to dwell on the Hornsent any further.
The man hadn't been targeting him specifically anyway. That had been a blanket statement, everyone here had been included in his hostility.
But Lucian did pick up on something else.
Perhaps Miquella's charm wasn't as gentle as it had seemed when he experienced it firsthand.
When necessary, Miquella could likely deepen that influence—forcefully guiding, even overriding a person's thoughts and actions.
Otherwise, aside from a native like the Hornsent, Lucian didn't believe the others could have entered the Land of Shadow right under Mohg's nose.
That would also explain what happened before Mohg's death.
It seemed likely that in his final moments, Mohg had been forcibly restrained for an instant by Miquella, just long enough for Lucian to strike him down without resistance.
Freyja suddenly spoke up.
"Lord Lucian, was that massive golem ahead… your doing?"
On their way here, they had all noticed the enormous construct lying in the distance.
Even without seeing it in motion, its sheer size made it obvious how dangerous it must have been.
From where they stood now, they could still make out the fallen Furnace Golem, motionless on the ground.
Lucian nodded.
"Yes. It was fairly strong."
Freyja let out a soft sigh of admiration.
"As expected of you, Lord Lucian."
"We're currently being suppressed by the Land of Shadow. We can't fully exert our strength."
"If it had been us facing that thing… we likely wouldn't have stood a chance."
There was no denying it, having Lucian as an ally brought a strong sense of security.
Lucian waved it off.
"I'm being suppressed as well. What I can do now isn't comparable to before."
Freyja looked disappointed at that, but Leda, on the other hand, quietly felt relieved.
Because of Miquella, Lucian wouldn't turn against them, but if the gap in strength was too wide, it was hard not to feel uneasy.
Of course, Lucian was lying.
There was no need to tell them he had already freed himself from the Land of Shadow's suppression.
If anything, it helped lower their guard.
At that moment, the Hornsent spoke again.
"The Erdtree is my people's enemy. By Marika long betray'd, set aflame."
"I believe Miquella's apologies, when he says our delivery will come."
"But never will I see your kind as worthy."
"Especially you."
He raised a hand and pointed directly at Lucian and Melina, without the slightest hesitation.
From the beginning, his gaze had lingered on Melina, sensing something in her that closely resembled Queen Marika.
"There's a stench about you that I find particularly revolting."
"It carries Marika's essence."
"Under normal circumstances, I would have killed you the moment I saw you."
"But since you're also following Miquella… and you defeated the Furnace Golem, I'll let you live."
Leda's face turned pale, her lips trembling at his words.
Melina pressed her lips together, remaining silent.
She didn't know the full reason why her mother had slaughtered the Hornsent.
But the slaughter itself had undeniably happened.
Whatever the justification, once a war turned into a massacre, there was no righteousness left to speak of.
As one of the victims, their hatred toward her was something she could not refute.
Lucian, however, frowned deeply.
He didn't even know the details of the conflict between the Hornsent and Marika, and more importantly, it had nothing to do with them.
And yet this man dared to speak to Melina like that.
Lucian reached out and grabbed the Hornsent's outstretched finger.
The Hornsent reacted instantly, trying to pull back, but he was too slow.
'Fast…!'
A flicker of clarity cut through the haze of hatred clouding his mind.
For the first time, he realized that the man before him might be far more terrifying than Leda's group had described.
In the next moment, Lucian twisted the finger upward.
Crack.
The bone snapped.
Cold sweat beaded on the Hornsent's forehead, yet he didn't make a sound.
Pain like this meant nothing to someone driven by vengeance.
He still refused to yield, preparing to speak again.
But Lucian tightened his grip.
With a sickening crunch, he crushed the finger completely, grinding bone and flesh into pulp.
By the time Lucian released him, the finger was gone—as if it had never existed.
The Hornsent finally collapsed to his knees, unable to suppress a cry.
"—Ahhh!"
Lucian wiped the mangled remains of flesh and blood onto the man's ragged clothing.
Then he looked down at him coldly and raised a finger.
"First, let me correct something."
"I'm not one of Miquella's followers. I'm not even his ally."
"Even if Miquella himself were standing here, he wouldn't speak to me like that."
"I came to the Land of Shadow out of my own interest, and to help my companions along the way."
He raised a second finger, deliberately waving it in front of the Hornsent.
"Second."
"I don't care what Marika did to your people, or what Miquella promised you."
"You've suffered. Fine. That doesn't give you the right to speak like that to my partner."
"I don't know your history, so I won't judge it. This is simply punishment for you."
"It has nothing to do with the Erdtree."
"I just didn't like what you said."
"You crossed the wrong person."
The Hornsent knelt there, staring at his mutilated hand.
He lifted his head, glaring at Lucian and Melina with raw hatred.
Even without seeing his eyes, the intensity of his gaze was unmistakable.
"Still not convinced?"
Lucian stepped forward.
In an instant, a surge of magic flowed into the ground.
Jagged stone erupted upward, driven by both gravitational force and earth-shaking power, launching the Hornsent high into the air.
You want to act tough? Then fly.
For a brief moment, the Hornsent hung suspended.
Then gravity slammed him back down, crushing him deep into the earth.
He didn't move for a long time.
Dead or alive, no one could tell—but none of them dared approach to check.
Leda and the others had interacted with Lucian enough to know his usual temperament.
He was normally easygoing.
If those words hadn't involved Melina, he might not have done anything at all.
But the Hornsent had chosen the worst possible target.
Everyone here had already noticed how close Lucian and Melina were. Seeing him this angry was rare.
Melina gently tugged at Lucian's sleeve.
Only then did Leda dare to speak again.
"Lord Lucian… please forgive him."
"The Hornsent is consumed by vengeance. His mind is… not entirely stable."
"If not for Lord Miquella's promise to bring salvation to his people, he would never have joined us."
"Even now, he still harbors deep hatred toward those aligned with the Erdtree."
Lucian gave a small nod, saying nothing further.
—
[T/N: Please allow me to explain the "legendary figure" reference at the start of the chapter.]
The name of the Greatsword of Solitude in chinese is "孤牢大剑". The chapter jokes about splitting it differently:
孤牢大剑 → 孤 / 牢大 / 剑
This weird segmentation is a hint, it makes the phrase sound like or visually resemble a name.
It's alluding to Kobe Bryant (科比·布莱恩特).
In Chinese internet slang, people sometimes jokingly mangle characters/spacing to resemble "科比". "牢大" is a meme nickname tied to Kobe in some communities (kind of a joking or coded way to refer to him). The mention of "肘击" (elbowing) is the giveaway: Kobe was famous (and memed) for aggressive moves, including elbows.
I hope this helps.. Umu!