Chapter 294: Life Tide
Although he didn't know why, Richie Burke still followed Zhou Ning's words and didn't make a move.
About a minute later, Spark Lambert, who had been glancing around nervously, finally noticed Zhou Ning and the others. His eyes lit up, and he quickly shouted: "Lord Wayne, please save us! The Lambert family will remember your kindness!"
Sure enough, a prompt immediately popped up on Zhou Ning's panel.
[You have triggered a C-rank chain quest [Rescue Spark Lambert]. Accept/Decline?]
There was nothing to hesitate about—accept!
[Quest Hint: Try to rescue Spark Lambert and escort him back to Darkland City. You will gain his friendship and gratitude. Of course, that may not matter much to you.]
Why would this be a C-rank chain quest? Could it be that Spark was actually a key plot character?
Zhou Ning couldn't help being slightly stunned, but since it wasn't harmful to him, there was no reason to refuse. Accept!
As his gaze swept past, several other players also looked pleased—it was obvious they had received similar quests.
"Damn, damn, it's another chain quest! Can I just say I'm jealous?" In XB's livestream, when viewers saw him receiving this new quest, the chat immediately filled with groans.
"People always say idiots have good luck, and it's true. Anyone wanna come to Darkland with me? We'll find a chance to kill that old bastard."
This guy was clearly a hater, and his words stirred up agreement in the chat. XB decisively muted him, then looked up to see his teammates already charging forward with Wayne Sturwell. He hurried to follow, shouting: "Wait for me!"
Before he could catch up, he saw Wayne Sturwell raise his gun, casually walking forward while shooting at a swamp pygmy mounted on a venomous lizard.
Bang!
A bullet flew from the black pistol's muzzle, and at the same instant the enemy fell from his mount, a neat bullet hole stamped on his forehead.
Then came blood, death, and shadows… As Wayne Sturwell advanced, his movements seemed like a dazzling dance. Within moments, over ten swamp pygmies who had been besieging the adventurer party collapsed one after another. In just a few minutes, it was a merciless massacre.
All sorts of unbelievable attacks appeared one after another. The onlookers could only see black-bodied swamp pygmies screaming in sharp cries as they fell one by one.
They didn't even have a chance to intervene.
Sometimes golden bullets wreathed in flames and ripples; sometimes both feet pushing off the ground, his body flipping mid-air with guns in both hands, bullets raining down as he spun; sometimes switching to a rapier, azure light blooming silently.
The whole process was breathtakingly dazzling—cool beyond words. Wayne Sturwell seemed to have grown even stronger! XB admitted he wanted to lick the screen.
A few minutes later, Zhou Ning let out a long breath. The ebony-and-ivory pistols twirled once in his hands before vanishing.
Mission accomplished.
He had deliberately gone all out to test his current strength. After reaching level 65, fighting these sub–level 55 monsters was simply crushing them with overwhelming power—he hardly even broke a sweat.
The surroundings fell silent. Everyone stared at him like they had seen a ghost. After a long pause, Spark Lambert finally stepped forward and said: "Thank you for your help. The Lambert family will remember this favor."
His voice was dry, without the slightest trace of his former arrogance. If not for his family's proud creed, Zhou Ning suspected he might have burst into tears of gratitude right there.
But the quest wasn't complete. Obviously, he had to escort Spark back to Darkland City to finish it. That wasn't difficult, but Spark also had to agree.
Zhou Ning shook his head slightly and smiled. "It was nothing. Where are you planning to go now?"
His gaze sharpened. On Spark Lambert's body, he noticed a familiar insignia: a human face embossed on the crest, with floral symbols on both sides. Could it be… they were all members of the Hermit Order?
"Our goal is the Life Tide in the Allsop Marsh. As you can see, we came seeking the miracle of life," Spark Lambert said frankly with a shrug.
Then they weren't headed the same way. Doing the quest was fine, but risking involvement in something that might get him gender-swapped? No thanks. Zhou Ning breathed a sigh of relief and was about to speak when a young noble in a blue coat up ahead suddenly cheered: "Look, it's the Life Tide! The Life Tide is here! They weren't lying after all!"
"What?" Zhou Ning's heart jolted. He quickly focused on the distance. From deep within the forest, a thick green mist surged forward. Along its path, dead trees sprouted buds, grass and shrubs grew more lush, and flowers blossomed one after another. The life force was so intense that many plants even grew legs and hopped about.
But for some reason, from within that mist Zhou Ning faintly sensed a familiar aura—the aura he had just encountered not long ago, belonging to the Dark Spider Mother, Matalita.
"Wait…" Zhou Ning's heart lurched. An inexplicable sense of danger surged up, a spiritual warning.
Before he could speak, the nobles up ahead spread their arms and rushed headlong into the Life Tide, cheering. Even Argus joined them. The scene was spectacular. Zhou Ning only had time to grab Spark Lambert, ignoring his struggle, and shout: "Fall back! Get out of the Life Tide!"
The pirates and players, dazed until then, finally snapped out of it and followed Zhou Ning in a panicked retreat. Even so, one pirate was a step too slow and was swept up by the advancing tide of life.
"What are you doing? Why did you stop me?" Once they had barely escaped the range of the Life Tide, Spark Lambert tore free, hand on his sword hilt, glaring with fury.
Zhou Ning didn't answer. His eyes were fixed behind him, and he almost gasped in horror.
Within the deep green Life Tide, the nobles swept up earlier hadn't undergone a gender change at all. Instead, their bodies twisted and convulsed. Some grew dark blotches on their skin, others collapsed trembling on the ground. Moments later, some transformed into staggering elemental creatures of life, while others sprouted elongated limbs, turning into massive spiders crawling along the earth—the same swamp crawlers they had slain before.
Through his aura-vision, Zhou Ning clearly saw that their souls had been completely extinguished. Their soul threads became smooth, straight lines—reduced to zero.
"How could this be…" Spark Lambert muttered involuntarily as he too finally took in the scene within the Life Tide.