Into the Depths of deadly 'Royal Waterways' | Hollow Knight

Hello, gamers. Welcome back to my blog.

I am still exploring the depths of Royal Waterways and in my last session, I came across a knight called the Dung Defender. That was a tough fight but after you understand its attacking patterns you will eventually manage to kill it.

I still had no maps and was looking for Cornifer who would get me the map of this area. Without a map in this dark place can be very confusing.

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I found enough enemy bugs that kept me entertained along the route. They are getting stronger now. One of the most irritating bugs is the 'flukemon' which splits into two halves after dying and both these halves will attract you with some speed. I just hate those.

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Some bugs are slow and have very predictable movements and are easy to kill. This place is infested with a lot of bugs though.

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I reached a big pool of acid and there was no way I could fly to the other end. Maybe I need to find another way or activate some mechanism which forms a bridge. Otherwise, this looks like a dead end.

I went back to almost where I started and found a loose drain cover which I could break with my new 'Desolate Dive' ability.

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I went through a tunnel further down and reached an interesting place. There were a lot of flukemons and the area looked like full of dead shells.

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You can see a lot of destruction and the pile of dead carcasses in the background says a lot about this place. I was preparing myself for another boss fight. But even before I was killed by a boss those flukemons got me and I was killed here adding to another carcass in this already rotting place...lol

But I could cheat and respawn back at the bench xD. The next time I was much more careful and cleared this big level full of deadly bugs.

Just to the left of this room, I saw a lot of eggs and it looked like there is an army of these eggs.

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As I moved further left it gets worse and there were unhatched eggs all over the place.

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A small tunnel led me to a room filled with water and on the other side of it was the mama fluke who was the culprit behind this mess.

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It was hanging in the cava wiggling and making noise. Until I attacked it she was peaceful but as I hit it with my nail it got mad and that's when the boss fight begin.

This was not the usual boss fight where a giant bug tries to kill you. Here this Flukemarm will ooze out her baby flukes right at you. And those little buggers fly directly towards you like a guided missile. They are quick and take a couple of hits to kill.

But she produces more and more, while fighting with her little pups you have to find time to hit her too and oh boy! those little buggers give you no time and you will be swarmed by them quickly.

This was the toughest fight I have fought in the game and I died like 15 times. I just gave up thinking my nail is not strong enough or I need more spells or charms. Trust me I spent half an hour trying multiple strategies but those little buggers are too quick and too annoying.

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I tried different charm combinations but I had no idea how to get rid of those flying flukes quickly. The worst part is you get no time to heal in this battle too.

I had to give it up and come back later here. There were still more paths to take in this dark region. I came across a new unexplored area which I missed earlier somehow.

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I was so relieved to see the paper on the ground. It indicates that Cornifer the cartographer is near and I can finally get the map of this area.

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I followed the paper trail and it led me to a valuable artefact. I found another mask shard!!

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This completed my mask as I had found other fragments earlier. I now have 6 mask shards which is the maximum health and increasing health is so crucial, I beat so many bosses on my last mask shard.

Just close to this area was another interesting plant. A glowing golden plant, I had seen this before but forgot what it drops. And it drops a 'Rancid egg'. I have no idea what I can do with those eggs. I can't sell them nor I can eat those or equip them as a charm. Haven't found anyone talking about it too. They are quite a mystery to me.

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Back to following the paper trail, this was a rather long one which was a new thing for me. I entered this big room and the metal bars closed on both sides trapping me. It was a challenge as I had to deal with those floating bugs which increase their size when hit like the birds in the angry birds game. lol

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Their movement is quite restricted so it was an easy challenge for me. Once you kill all of them the door will automatically open and you can go then. Just over this arena was Cornifier, busy with his maps and charting these hallways.

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He likes this place and that's why he travelled a lot this time. I bought the map for cheap, which is not a complete map but I can now fill this map by exploring the unexplored areas and filling them by resting on a bench.

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As you can see on the map, the Royal Waterways is connected to the Fungal Wastes and that's where I went next. I was so sick of those flukemons down there.

Fungal Waste is a nice change of view. Much brighter and less deadly bugs but the platforming is challenging here.

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The last time I was here I didn't have the claw ability so I could not climb the big wall on the left. This time I was able to and after a challenging platforming section. I found a new bug.

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I heard her cry last time but couldn't help her. This time I was able to reach her. She was Breeta and got lost in here. I opened a new path for her and she felt much better afterwards. Maybe she will help me later in the game. I hope so!

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I found a bench just close by and rested there to save my game. I opened my map and half of it was still empty so there are many places yet to be explored and charted on the map.

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That's it from me this time, I will try to go to the Mantis Village next and see what I missed there. I still see a lot of paths that lead in different directions.

Thanks for reading...

Until next time...