Chapter 41: Global Mission | Monsters Are Coming
Emperor's Mound Village, Primordial Altar.
Qi Sheng's consciousness, guided by the Guide, passed through the chain of volcanoes, following the departing Evil Spirit Warrior to the northern area of the Emperor's Mound Mountain Range.
The Evil Spirit Warrior stumbled and landed on the platform atop a tall tower. At that moment, several pitch-black tendrils extended from the dark red eye above, piercing into the Evil Spirit Warrior's body. The wounds on its body began healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"It seems this trip didn't go very smoothly," a hoarse voice came from within the dark red eye as a slit opened.
"I didn't lose," Dinian responded in a low voice upon hearing the eye's slightly mocking tone.
"Winning or losing doesn't matter. I can still sense the aura of the Anti-Tide Legion warrior. He isn't dead."
"I know. He's stronger than I imagined, but if it hadn't been for a group of rule-wielding creatures blocking me, I would have killed him."
"Rule-wielding creatures? I didn't sense any other lifeforms when you were fighting."
"A group of physically weak, mysterious beings. They were able to use some unknown method to briefly force me into a state of rage, causing me to attack them uncontrollably."
Upon hearing this, the dark red eye fell silent for a moment before speaking again.
"You must have encountered Primordial Monsters. These are extremely special beings. According to intelligence shared by other nodes, Primordial Monsters are likely evolved from the Primordial Power of the creator of this world, the Emperor's Sign. Every Primordial Monster is a manifestation of a Rule Power. They cannot be truly killed. Even if they die, they will be reborn somewhere in this world in the future."
"I see. But aside from wielding Rule Power, these Primordial Monsters don't seem very strong."
"You're mistaken. Never underestimate the strength of this world. According to information provided by other nodes, the power gap between Primordial Monsters is immense. The stronger ones can even kill our Commander Class and King Class warriors."
"King Class?" Dinian was startled upon hearing the explanation from the dark red eye.
"The Dungeon World you once helped conquer was merely a low energy world, far inferior to this one beneath your feet. Based on my judgment, your strength in this world only places you in the lower-middle tier, perhaps even lower. Do not overestimate yourself. You are young but overly arrogant. This world may very well become the end of your growth."
"What do you mean?" Dinian asked coldly.
"Our race has lost countless Commander Class warriors trying to conquer this world. You are likely to become one of them… but as your Overseer Eye, I hope to see you grow into one of our race's Commander Class, or even King Class warriors."
At this, Dinian took a deep breath.
"I understand."
"At the base of this tower lies an infinite energy source. Next, I will draw from it to create warriors for you, to help you conquer the nearby territory nodes. Until then, wait patiently."
As the voice fell, the dark red eye blinked.
Immediately, surging black gas spread upward from the tower's base, engulfing the tower in black flames. A vast amount of black gas converged and compressed at the furnace in the center of the tower, rapidly forming hideous and terrifying Evil Entities, which dropped from mid-air like dumplings.
Qi Sheng's consciousness followed the Guide downward to explore beneath the tower.
Through the conversation between the two, Qi Sheng realized that this tower was built atop a Territory Node.
What intrigued him was the specific trait of this Territory Node.
While intelligent Evil Entities could use the energy of Territory Nodes, they couldn't utilize their traits.
Compared to the energy, he cared more about the powerful Territory Traits.
For example, Emperor's Mound Village's trait 'Flesh Reconstruction' was a key component of the player recruitment plan.
His consciousness sank into the earth, and the Guide's analysis function activated.
A flood of data poured into Qi Sheng's mind, ultimately translated into text he could understand.
[Territory Node: Abyss of Heaven]
Territory Type: Rule Class
Territory Trait: Furnace of All Forms
Trait Description: Smelts abilities of the same attribute to produce wondrous transformations of effect.
Territory Status: Black Tide Occupation
—
From the analysis information alone, Qi Sheng could not fully understand the exact effect of this Territory Node's trait. Its specific function would only become clear after integrating it into Emperor's Mound Village.
What mattered to him was that this was a Rule Node.
Compared to resource nodes like the Shadowed Cavern, Rule Nodes were far more powerful.
[Boss, you're drooling.]
"Of course. I absolutely must take this Rule Node."
[Unfortunately, your main body can't move freely. Every second outside costs an enormous amount of sacrificial power. You'll have to wait until the players grow strong enough to seize this place.]
"Although I can't take it for now, it's time to reclaim the Shadowed Cavern's Territory Node… Let's head back."
As Qi Sheng finished speaking, the Guide pulled his consciousness back toward Emperor's Mound Village.
The moment his consciousness returned to his body, Qi Sheng sent out a message to all players.
[Challenger Notification (Global): The first battle between players and intelligent Evil Entities has triggered a global hidden mission: Purify the Node.
Mission Description: Proceed to the fifth subterranean level of the Shadowed Cavern and purify (shatter) the Territory Node Crystal corrupted by Black Tide energy.
Mission Reward 1: Emperor's Mound Village expansion, direct connection to Shadowed Cavern. Players will be able to directly enter Shadowed Cavern from Emperor's Mound Village to mine spiritual ore resources.
Mission Reward 2: Players participating in purifying the Node Crystal will receive generous contribution rewards (Star Vein unlock privileges, Body Tempering level increases, sacrificial power bonuses).
Note: Contribution value will be calculated based on actions such as killing monsters and damaging the Corrupted Crystal. Final rewards will be distributed according to contribution value.]
—
The appearance of the global mission immediately captured all players' attention.
The forum was abuzz with heated discussion about the mission.
Realizing the profitability of this global mission, all the major guilds began organizing manpower, each hoping to profit handsomely from it.
Solo players were no exception. The reward of a direct shortcut from Emperor's Mound Village to Shadowed Cavern was hugely attractive to them.
Previously, players had to depart from Emperor's Mound Village and walk for about an hour to reach the mine. If unlucky and surrounded by Iron Shell Bugs leading to death, they would have to spend another hour traveling after logging back in, which was quite frustrating.
Qi Sheng was well aware of this problem too.
In other games, features like teleportation would solve the travel time issue.
But he couldn't do that.
Teleportation arrays couldn't be used indefinitely once constructed. Keeping them active continuously would consume sacrificial power every second. Only when the player population grew large enough would he consider offering paid teleportation services.
However, if the players could complete this global mission, Emperor's Mound Village would gain a convenient direct passage to Shadowed Cavern, saving a great deal of travel time.
Half an hour after the global mission was issued.
Players scattered throughout the various areas of the Emperor's Mound Mountain Range began heading toward the Shadowed Cavern on the Blood-Soaked Plains.