Chapter 360: The Great Summoning
After using Shave several times in a row, Zhou Ning burst out of Darkland Fortress. What greeted his eyes was a scene so suffocating that he could hardly breathe.
Because of the strange and erratic weather, rain had already started to fall from the sky, while on the other side, thick fog mixed with heavy snow blanketed the city.
To the left lay the canal; to the right, the Great Clock Tower. They were close to Withershire Cathedral Square, where the seventh day of the Sun Goddess's Christmas Parade was taking place. The nearby streets were still lined with floats and devout believers.
But now, though the floats remained, the singing and dancing faithful had all turned into dark shadows and undead, packed so densely that the end of the horde could not be seen.
Countless visible clusters of resentment and life energy gathered together, rising into the sky—it looked like the end of the world.
At that moment, several hidden quests on Zhou Ning's game panel quietly updated, revealing a new follow-up:
[You have triggered an S-Rank Main Quest: Save Darkland. Accept?]
Quest Reward: Unknown.
"Oh?" Zhou Ning froze for a second. An S-Rank Main Quest?
The requirement was simple—Save Darkland. This didn't conflict with his current goal at all, so he accepted without hesitation.
All around him, hooded cultists in black cloaks were searching for any living humans—some preaching, others raising their blades. What made Zhou Ning's scalp prickle was that as blood, resentment, and negative emotions converged, the enormous blood sphere in the sky grew more solid, while down below, within the heavy fog, a massive spider-shaped shadow appeared. It prowled back and forth, occasionally striking at transcenders rushing toward the disturbance.
Though only a phantom, the mythical creature's aura radiated overwhelming pressure. Ordinary transcenders didn't even dare to move under its presence—they trembled and bent at the waist. Only a few priests from the Ascetic Church stood their ground, unleashing dazzling divine arts one after another. Among them was someone Zhou Ning recognized instantly: the current High Patriarch of the Ascetic Church—Stuart Crow.
He held an ornate staff, using Divine Word spells to subtly alter the spider's movements, slowly chipping away at its health bar.
That's the Dark Spider Mother—Matalita? Zhou Ning realized. For now, it was just a phantom. He couldn't tell whether it was a projection summon or if the deity's true body was preparing to descend. If Matalita and the evil god Nyastora descended simultaneously, even with all his trump cards, victory would be far from certain.
Worse still, he could sense multiple spider phantoms stirring throughout the city, spreading death wherever they went.
As for the one before him, Stuart Crow seemed capable of handling it, so Zhou Ning turned his attention elsewhere. Raising his ebony-and-ivory pistols, he leaped forward and pulled the triggers—activating Hive Shot.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A storm of bullets poured out.
Hive Shot was a technique from Devil May Cry, used by Dante in Gunslinger Mode. It condensed magic, ripple energy, or Haki into bullets for ultra-high-speed fire, doubling the pistols' destructive power.
Most of these cultists were transcenders between levels 40 and 50. At Zhou Ning's current strength, it was like mowing grass in Musou Mode. In the wind and rain, his white coat flared like a blooming flower of death, while cultists fell one after another under his gunfire.
But there were far too many of them. Zhou Ning quickly issued a bounty quest in the regional channel, accessible to all players nearby.
"[Save Darkland: A-Rank Main Quest. A great crisis is imminent—the cultists are attempting to summon an evil god, beginning with the destruction of Darkland and ultimately the entire world. Follow Wayne Sturwell and eliminate every cultist you see. This is a bounty-style mission with a total pool of 4,000,000 EXP. Accepting the mission costs 3,000 EXP. Rewards are distributed proportionally to the top 50 contributors (individuals or parties).]"
Of course, the "Main Quest" tag was something Zhou Ning had filled in himself during quest creation—but the A-Rank classification and 4,000,000 EXP reward were genuine. That was the upper limit of what he could issue. With the player base now averaging over level 30, the cultists shouldn't pose much difficulty.
It also forced players to choose sides—after all, if endlessly revivable players sided with the enemy, their destruction could easily surpass that of an evil god.
Soon, players noticed the quest, and the massive EXP reward sent them into a frenzy.
"Holy crap! A-Rank Main Quest—Wayne's posted another one!"
"This has to be the first A-Rank Main Quest in the entire game! That EXP is insane!"
"Damn! Four million EXP—if you factor in the bounty pool, that's over ten million! If I'm lucky, I could hit level 40 in one go!"
The forums exploded again. Thousands of players eagerly spent 3,000 EXP each to accept the mission and joined the fight. Within minutes, cultists in Zhou Ning's vicinity were swarmed by players—each one surrounded and beaten down by mobs.
Zhou Ning looked up. The massive blood sphere overhead hovered in the southwest of the Trade District—near the border of the Canal District, close to his own shop. That area housed laborers and craftsmen—an epicenter of resentment and negative emotion.
From the beginning, blood from across the city had been flowing there nonstop. Only now did Zhou Ning fully grasp that the ritual was complete. The descent of the evil god could no longer be stopped. All he could do was fight to the end—do his part, and leave the rest to fate.
But how could he reach there quickly?
After a moment's thought, Zhou Ning pulled out Damian's Ordinary Mirror. He'd already imprinted a mark on the full-length mirror in his alchemy shop, allowing instant travel.
Through the mirror's reflective teleportation, Zhou Ning emerged from his shop seconds later—only to find it deserted. Richie Burke and his men had vanished.
As he stepped outside, his eyes froze.
At the gates of Vick University, a massive spider phantom rampaged through the streets. A hooded stranger stood on its back, while Professors Edwin and Riley fought desperately to hold it back.
Down an alley, a familiar undead figure pushed a wheelchair forward, while a few players peeked from behind walls, preparing to attack.
Zhou Ning fell silent. He hadn't expected Mrs. Turing to become one of the undead.
Gone was the kind and gentle woman he once knew—her face was ashen, her aura chilling. Yet she still clung to her mortal habit, pushing Mr. Turing's wheelchair for a walk. Mr. Turing was still alive, though frail, his expression calm.
"Move aside." Zhou Ning's tone was flat as he stopped the players from attacking. He walked up to Mr. Turing, at a loss for words.
"It's all right, child. This is fate." Mr. Turing's face softened when he saw Zhou Ning, relief flickering in his eyes. "Can I ask you for one last favor? Help Larela rest in peace. She's suffered long enough."
[You have triggered E-Rank Quest: Slay Larela Turing. Accept / Decline?]
Reward: Mr. Turing's Final Gratitude.
It might be the hardest E-Rank quest Zhou Ning had ever received. Yet faced with the old man's pleading eyes, he couldn't bring himself to refuse. His face twitched slightly—then he raised his gun and pulled the trigger.
A bullet infused with ripple energy pierced Mrs. Turing's skull, turning her to ash.
"Thank you," Mr. Turing murmured, his eyes dimming. Then he looked at Zhou Ning again. "The gift I left you is in my living room—you'll like it. The key's above the flowerpot by the door. Also, in my desk drawer, you'll find my alchemy notes and another key—to my old house in Brysanna, 37 Cross Street. The weather there's fine all year round, and the wine is wonderful. If one day you have nowhere to go, you can settle there."
He rambled for a long while, then held out his hand. "Wayne, may I borrow a gun?"
"Wait, you—"
He was cut off as Mr. Turing smiled faintly. "I'm just an old alchemist left behind by the times. This world has no place for me anymore—and I can't live without Larela."
Zhou Ning took a deep breath and placed a pistol in his hand. He had never experienced it himself, but he understood—this was love.
"Thank you." Mr. Turing pressed the gun to his temple and pulled the trigger. Perhaps his skull was too hard—the bullet lodged inside without passing through. His head drooped forward.
Zhou Ning stood silently for a while, lifted his hat, and placed it over his heart. A deep, wordless fury burned within him.
Darkland has no living legends left.
He looked up at the spider phantom still rampaging in the distance and exhaled slowly. From his inventory, he took out the Prepaid Hourglass and borrowed 1,000 points of mental energy from his future self.
Instantly, his mind grew crystal clear—his thoughts expanding infinitely. For the next hour, he would have 1,120 points of mental energy.
Then, channeling his heightened Observation Haki, he flicked a golden-edged UR card from his fingers. Without even checking its contents, he activated its Manifestation ability.
"When he descends, scorching gales will sweep the earth barren, and the living shall become corpses!
Descend—Obelisk the Tormentor!"