Chapter 260: The Swamp Pygmies and Ancient Ruins
"Careful, these venomous insects are extremely poisonous. Even dragons can't withstand their attacks. Stay away from them and let the fire mages handle it," Richie Burke shouted loudly.
In some ways, the profession system of this band of northern pirates was already quite well developed. They not only had meteorologists but also fire mages capable of handling such situations—more like a professional adventurer's guild than a pirate crew.
Zhou Ning had studied the guild template on the game panel. As a player with an NPC template, he could invite NPCs into his guild, appoint them as officers, and strong NPCs could even provide bonuses to guild level, quest quotas, and reputation. Back in Darkland, he hadn't found any suitable candidates—it wasn't as though he could just poach from the Sunwatchers. But if this band of pirates proved cooperative, sensible, and strong enough, Zhou Ning would seriously consider forcing them to join. Judging by the northern pirates' tendency to bend or stretch as needed, the odds of success weren't bad.
So Zhou Ning made no move to interrupt their chance to shine. He simply watched as one of the northern pirates, a fire mage, raised his right hand and lifted it slightly.
With a whoosh, flames leapt sky-high, instantly forming into a fiery dragon that spiraled outward, streaking accurately toward each cloud of black mist.
Boom! Boom!
In an instant, the flames devoured two or three swarms of black insects, filling the air with the sizzle of roasting.
It had to be said—the northern pirate's fire magic control was quite refined. Even from the perspective of his past life as a level 90 fire mage, Zhou Ning found it impressive. Before long, most of the insect swarms making up the black mist were burned away.
"Well done, Sheldon." Richie Burke let out a breath and chuckled. "If one wants to venture deep into the Allsop Marsh, fire mages like Sheldon are indispensable. Whether it's fireless illumination, cooking, or handling situations like this—"
Before he could finish, the whistling of arrows suddenly came from afar. Zhou Ning's eyes flickered. Standing beside Richie Burke, he casually reached out and yanked him up just as—crack crack crack—the ground was peppered with a rain of arrows.
The volley came fast and silent, the arrowheads glistening with a ghostly green poison.
"Damn… thank you." Richie Burke broke into a cold sweat. Without that sudden pull, he might already have been skewered by poison arrows and died an unknown death. He had been plotting to trip Zhou Ning up, but now he found himself feeling guilty.
"Be careful." Zhou Ning gave him a sidelong glance and spoke flatly.
At the same time, Zhou Ning once again drew his ebony-and-ivory pistols, switched to rapid-fire mode, and—bang, bang—two golden bullets tore across eighty meters, piercing through the distant undergrowth.
A sharp, indescribable scream erupted, followed by a rustling in the grass. More than a dozen pitch-black dwarfish figures scrambled out, leaping onto giant lizards and scattering too quickly to pursue.
"That's the swamp pygmies—the descendants of the ancient Gomodorik people. They're the ugliest, filthiest race on the western continent." Richie Burke drew a flintlock and fired a few rounds at the fleeing pygmies, his face dark. "On the ship I used to serve, the Myrny Rooster, there was a sailor with a fetish for other races. He enjoyed both fighting and… fraternizing with them. Minotaurs, walrus-men, boar-men—he didn't mind. But when it came to swamp pygmies, he refused no matter how much money we offered. Heh, these creatures are like cockroaches, living in swarms, never bathing, obsessed with brewing poisons and taming beasts. Their diet is varied, and humans rank fairly high on it. Looks like we've been targeted by them."
Zhou Ning listened silently, inexplicably feeling that this man and Emperor Sadwind were like twin freaks, with equally eccentric tastes.
Pushing aside the grass, they found the corpse of a swamp pygmy struck cleanly through the head by Zhou Ning's bullet. Black blood trickled across the ground, the stench overwhelming, its twisted features and dark skin hideous to behold. Zhou Ning suddenly understood that sailor's revulsion.
The pygmy's corpse even dropped an item—a hide skirt with +3 agility. Zhou Ning, having better taste, naturally had no interest in competing with the players for such a foul thing. In the end, XB snatched it up and happily put it on.
Watching this, Richie Burke's pupils shrank. Did he see that right? These people were fighting over a swamp pygmy's underwear?! A chill crept up his spine, and he subtly pulled away from XB and the others.
Soon after, the needle of Zhou Ning's unfailing compass began trembling more violently. Before long, it spun ninety degrees east, indicating the target was very close.
Following the direction, Zhou Ning discovered a mutilated corpse under a low bush. Though torn to shreds, the green-leaf insignia of the Life Cult was still faintly visible on the chest.
The name etched on the badge was James Bolton—one of the two missing men. At last, they had found one.
But the quest required both wayfarers to be found, and after so much effort, the two weren't even together. How troublesome.
Closer inspection revealed two familiar arrows lodged in the body—the same as the swamp pygmies'—making it clear he had been killed in their ambush.
According to the commission, Zhou Ning removed the badge and tucked it away. The compass needle then swung southeast, pointing toward a location still some distance off.
That one's sure lively, Zhou Ning thought.
He gazed southeast. This was already the very heart of Allsop Marsh. Any further, and they would have to cross a wide stretch of mire—muddy and treacherous.
But there was no helping it. Zhou Ning pressed on, following the compass toward the southeast.
Richie Burke noticed the compass in Zhou Ning's hand and easily guessed its use. His eyes gleamed with envy and greed.
He knew of countless sea treasures… If he had such a thing, wouldn't he soar overnight?
But that was only a dream. No, not even a dream he dared entertain. This man was far too terrifying. Richie Burke forced himself to look away.
As the group ventured deeper into the swamp, the aura of life energy grew denser, and the monsters they encountered more numerous. To Zhou Ning's surprise, Richie Burke proved formidable in battle as well. His flintlock was no ordinary firearm but an unknown relic—it had infinite ammunition and even a chance to instantly kill targets on a hit. If Richie had been an enemy, Zhou Ning would not have hesitated to seize it for himself.
Richie Burke suddenly shivered, as though sensing Zhou Ning's passing thought, and instinctively hunched his shoulders.
According to the compass, they pushed through a stretch of mire until, at the swamp's center, an ancient ruin came into view.
The ruins were steeped in elven style, weathered by wind and rain until barely recognizable. At the heart of the ancient city stood a massive elven altar, built from huge blocks of marble, its surface carved with archaic elven script that radiated an air of ancientness.
Here, the compass needle spun wildly once more, making it clear the last missing man was nearby.