Chapter 284: Escape
A moment later, it felt as though he had slogged through a swamp, and when he came back to his senses, he was already inside a thin membrane within the mirror. Behind him, he could still see the interior of the dark cathedral. The projection of the Dark Spider Mother, Matalita, had fallen into a frenzy, darting about the second floor of the cathedral as if still searching for his traces, while Solia Lane knelt in the distance, her expression fanatical.
Behind him lay the ancient ruins of the Elven Kingdom where he had entered. Richie Burke and the others seemed to be in combat with another group of people.
There was no need for confirmation—so long as he passed through this thin membrane, he would return to the real world, back to the world of warm beds and delicious food.
"Finally made it out alive…" Zhou Ning wiped away the bloody tears at the corners of his eyes, shed from staring directly at Matalita. His undershirt was almost completely soaked, his face slick with sweat, and he felt nearly drained.
In the battle just now, his vitality, willpower, and focus had all dropped into double digits. He was only a hair away from simultaneously dying, losing control, and transforming into a spider—with debuffs stacked to the brim. If not for Molly's help, it would have been a disaster, and he might have been forced to rely on the Pirate King possession card.
He truly needed to consider helping Molly rebuild a body someday—beautiful, busty. She deserved it. She was a good one.
But Zhou Ning had his reservations just now. He didn't really know the true strength of the Pirate King. In his mind, even if the Pirate King was powerful, he would still be fighting with Zhou Ning's body. The suppression of his rank was unavoidable, and there was no guarantee he could gain the upper hand against the Dark Spider Mother. On the contrary, if he focused too much on battle, the chance of overturning was even higher.
Looking back carefully, this adventure was the most dangerous—and the most thrilling—experience he had ever had. Not only had he entered the tomb of the Elven King, he had even faced the projection of an Old God in the dark cathedral—and fired a gun at It. If he told others about this, they would surely think him mad.
Because the word "Old God" was not like "true gods"; it was always accompanied by madness, chaos, and corruption. Mortals had no way to touch it.
This was also the first time in his life he had faced the oppressive aura of a mythic creature head-on. The result was indeed terrifying—he had almost been flattened instantly.
Fortunately, this Dark Spider Mother was only a projection. Her true form, like other Old Gods, was likely either slumbering, bound, or half-fallen. And fortunately, beast-type Old Gods were more madness than reason, and their projections even more so. Otherwise, an instant kill was very possible. Yet though this brief encounter was perilous, it wasn't without benefit. At the very least, it gave him a bit of resistance to facing mythic beings, so he wouldn't collapse entirely like this time. The direct effect on his panel was that his willpower had increased by a full 5 points, leaping to 105.
Zhou Ning let out a long breath, his expression gradually calming. If he had another chance, he would still draw his gun on an Old God without hesitation. For fear was what most easily caused mistakes.
He then shifted his focus to the other side of the mirror. He noticed that Richie Burke and the others were fighting another group of pirates. Not far off, a floating three-masted ship hovered in the air. Clearly, this was the enemy Richie Burke had mentioned earlier—the one pursuing him: Aaron Ingersoll.
The name had sounded familiar when Richie Burke mentioned it. Seeing him now, Zhou Ning remembered—this was none other than the infamous northern pirate general, Aaron Whitman the Bloodthirsty, likely a later alias. He was known for slaughtering caravans and civilians near the Misty Sea entrance, and even Rivendell's top-class professionals were helpless against him. In his previous life, the combined bounty on his head across the Ruins Kingdom, Rivendell Maritime Kingdom, and Bryston Kingdom had reached 300,000 Vecktas Even now he was worth 15,000 Vecktas Just recently, he had robbed and slaughtered a caravan traveling from Ruins to Bryston. Zhou Ning had even read about it in the newspaper.
In Zhou Ning's eyes, Aaron Ingersoll's head instantly turned into stacks of ink-scented banknotes. Killing this sort of villain, with no moral bottom line, had never weighed on Zhou Ning's conscience, and he didn't even consider the possibility of losing.
Nine Reales increased his deterrence against pirates by 50%, and the Pirate Emperor's Symbol bond added another 50%. Together, the 100% deterrence boost, combined with Conqueror's Haki, was enough to terrify any pirate below the super-tier profession into submission on the spot.
At this moment, the battle hadn't yet produced a victor, but it was clear that the scales were tipping toward Aaron Ingersoll. His side already had the numbers advantage, and with the Myrny Rooster hovering above providing steady fire support, they pressed their lead even further.
A few players' performances, however, were somewhat surprising. Sunken Star and Wrath of Thunder-Chasing Winds, both Devil Fruit users, had transformed into a jackal and a spotted hound, making their presence felt. Alongside two allied sailors, they were ganging up on an enemy advanced professional, occasionally landing decent damage, and even managing to sneak in hits with the gun-in-sword trick Zhou Ning had taught them.
XB and Jinse, the two highest-level players, weren't doing too badly either—their output was surprisingly steady.
Of course, this was from Zhou Ning's perspective. From the players' own view inside the battle, the large-scale clash was overwhelming. Dozens of advanced professionals fought fiercely, flames and magic flashing in the sky, the weather shifting rapidly, the roar of guns and cannons—it was the perfect collision of science and mysticism. It was plain to see they were nothing but cannon fodder here.
Especially the battle between Richie Burke and Aaron Ingersoll. One specialized in ranged flintlock and close combat daggers, the other a warrior unleashing spectacularly flashy finishing moves. The two fought with neither side gaining the upper hand.
"These two are both so strong!" Wrath of Thunder-Chasing Winds exclaimed.
Sunken Star nodded in agreement. "Best stick to supporting from the sidelines. At this stage we can't handle these NPCs."
"Exactly. If we go in head-on, we're just feeding them," Jinse said helplessly. In battle, dying without a priest's resurrection meant losing 5% experience. In just a single hour, she had already lost 30%. A moment ago, she had been killed instantly just from the shockwaves of the two men's fight.
While the others fought with passion, Zhou Ning could only remain where he was, recovering. The expenditure earlier had been too great; he had to make sure he had enough strength to crush the battle when he finally made his move.
It didn't take long before Richie Burke's side began suffering casualties. The fire mage Sheldon, who had been performing quite well, was struck in the chest by a flintlock shot, suffering a serious injury. Meanwhile, the firepower from the floating ship above was fiercer than Zhou Ning had expected, cannons booming like a Kirov airship.
"Time to get ready."
With that thought, Zhou Ning straightened himself, adjusted his collar, smoothed the wrinkles from his sleeve, and stepped toward the mirror's edge.