Under Ludleth's guidance, they quickly found the way forward and located the entrance to the lower levels. Unlike the other Familia members, they knew there were undoubtedly good people within the kingdom, but overlooked the level of power wielded by the creatures here.
In the world of Dark Souls, the further one progresses, the stronger the monsters become. To defeat them, one must grow increasingly powerful. At the beginning, Level 1 is enough to handle small fry, but later on, even minor enemies are Level 5 or Level 6.
As for the Kingdom of Lothric, where the last of the Lords of Cinder resides, the knights and monsters here are fearsomely powerful.
Since this is no longer the game world, stairs aren't necessary here, and everyone can simply leap. In the game, only the undead lack knees, so one must kill the Dancer to descend the stairs.
But for everyone else, there's no need, and they can simply proceed. Even when the Loki Familia ascended to the Archdragon Peak, numerous adventurers disregarded warnings and charged forward en masse.
Ludleth, as a former Lord of Cinder, had previously warned adventurers about this area.
Many reports from the Loki and Freya Familias also noted the presence of powerful creatures, advising adventurers to avoid a fatal misstep.
But as the saying goes, 'People die for wealth as birds die for food'. These adventurers naturally weren't inclined to play by the rules and went on their way.
The result was predictable: anyone and any monster encountered above was an adversary. One could say there were plenty of enemies comparable in strength to Finn of the Loki Familia.
Even the Loki Familia had to tread carefully here, so what were these guys thinking? Their levels were nowhere near adequate. A tragic mistake.
Not a single one of those who ventured up returned alive.
"What's with these Familia members? We warned them how dangerous it was here, but they rushed in to throw away their lives!"
When members of the Loki Familia arrived, they were greeted by a grisly sight, adventurers' bodies strewn everywhere, dead in horrific ways.
There was nothing more to be done for them, as they had ventured far beyond their abilities. Dead was dead.
"In the end, relationships between people are complex. Though we provided accurate intelligence, some believed we were giving false information to secure an advantage, and thus they came here. Such people… well, they got what they asked for!"
Finn shook his head again. The Loki Familia's actions were well-known, often helping adventurers in the dungeons. Despite that, these people hadn't believed them. It was, as they say, human nature.
Of course, there was also a darker reason: the mindset of those who saw corruption everywhere, assuming all actions had hidden motives.
This time they came here, Bete had been assigned to guard the entrance, ensuring no monsters entered. Truthfully, Bete's presence as a guard wasn't strictly necessary.
Others could handle the task well enough, and his role served as the final line of defense. Bete's purpose was vital, as if a powerful monster broke through the front lines, it would be his job to step in. Therefore, most of the time, he could remain at the base camp.
The Loki Familia wasn't particularly concerned with these casualties. Had any survived, they might have helped them, but the piles of corpses had grown into small hills, so they chose to move on, clearing out monsters and leaving the bodies where they lay.
Moving forward didn't mean going further ahead but descending to the lower levels. If anyone dared proceed, they were beyond saving. Finn and his team soon found the entrance to the lower levels and descended.
"As Ludleth said, there are so many people here, it's like entering a human hive. There are even parts of the ground laced with poison, and the mist in the air makes it worse, things just keep getting more challenging and dangerous!"
Upon reaching the lower levels, the group discovered a significant number of people. Anyone here with early-stage power levels would have a grim fate.
However, with their current strength, it was a different story. But the real threats were the elite knights outside of Lorian. Their combat prowess, approaching Level 7, was that of the true elite among elites.
As for the Reanimated Soldiers, they were considered mere rookies by everyone, these creatures were weak and barely rational, more like beasts than thinking foes. This made dealing with them much easier.
Moreover, they were highly flammable, their bodies coated with something akin to oil, so everyone took out a variety of fire-based tools they'd acquired from the Firelink Shrine, specifically, Firebombs.
Many items in this world were far more useful than those in their own. In their world, few items had elemental properties, and the most powerful were magic swords, but these were single-use.
For continued access to elemental power, they relied on magic and skills.
The Firebomb, therefore, was incredibly handy, exploding on impact with a wide area of effect, a stark contrast to the single-target damage seen in the game.
Moreover, they also have dragon hunting bows and demon hunting bows in their hands. These massive bows didn't need to be loaded with attribute-enhanced arrows, and simply firing from a distance would be enough to attract attention. As long as they targeted a single enemy without causing too much commotion, they wouldn't be noticed by others.
Tiona and her sister took on the task of operating these weapons. Their arrows streaked through the air like white streaks of flame. Though they were ordinary arrows, the flaming arrows from the massive bows had enough force and is fearsome in their own right.
Shot after shot flew, leaving the enemies disoriented and clueless as to the arrows' source. Without intelligence to analyze, these beast-like monsters were oblivious to the direction of the attacks, falling one by one as they were drawn out and eliminated.
"These guys are easy to handle; they're no different from wild beasts!" one of them remarked.
"Just keep an eye on the knights nearby," Finn cautioned. "They might not be as strong as we are, but a single mistake could cost us dearly!"
After the Reanimated Soldiers were entirely wiped out, Finn drew his weapon and charged at the knights. Though few in number, the knights here were incredibly powerful. Surrounded and overwhelmed by the team, these formidable knights had no other outcome but to be slain, shaken to their core and unable to resist.