Chapter 273: The Queen
Zhou Ning bent down to inspect the corpse on the ground. The cause of death was a single stab wound piercing straight through the chest, perfectly matching the long spear held by the gargoyle.
It was obvious now—the killer was you, gargoyle!
Judging from the height and body shape, this corpse was clearly not an elf. Most likely it was an explorer who had found some way to infiltrate the tomb, only to be slain here by a patrolling obsidian gargoyle.
If that was the case, then perhaps the escape gate of this dungeon really was nearby.
Zhou Ning let out a faint sigh of relief. He continued walking forward along the path, carefully scanning his surroundings.
Along the way, he passed dozens of display stands. After nearly ten minutes of walking, he finally reached the end, where a staircase led downward. On the ground not far from the stairway, Zhou Ning spotted another corpse. This one was clad in the Ruins Kingdom's distinctive gauze coat, the cause of death the same—pierced through the body by a sharp weapon.
It seemed likely that those who entered here were a full adventuring team. No wonder there were hardly any traps left in this corridor—they had already been cleared out by the ones who came before.
Zhou Ning carefully skirted around the corpse and descended the staircase. Below, the light was dim. Lining both sides of the passage were nearly two-meter-tall alchemy jars, packed in dense, orderly rows. Zhou Ning was thankful he didn't have trypophobia.
One jar had been opened and toppled over, spilling dried green liquid onto the floor. From his vantage point, Zhou Ning could clearly see inside—it held a Black Iron Dwarf, twisted into a grotesque form.
Even with Zhou Ning's strong nerves, cold sweat broke out across his body. If every one of these jars contained people, then there had to be thousands—tens of thousands—of them. Zhou Ning couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath, his whole body tightening with unease.
No wonder Elf King Alfred was branded alongside Falric Kingdom's Mad King Guerrero as a tyrant in Apocalypse's backstory.
What unsettled Zhou Ning most was that a large portion of the beings in these jars were still alive. With his Observation Haki, he could faintly hear muffled murmurs and heavy breathing. At times, he even felt as if countless eyes were fixed upon him.
His scalp tingled, but outwardly he kept a calm façade, hands tucked in his pockets, striding between the endless rows of alchemy jars.
Not far ahead, in the corner between two rows of jars, lay another corpse, this one dressed in a black classical robe. It had dried into a mummy. Beyond it, another stairway rose upward—the exit to the next area.
Following dungeon logic, there might be some useful clue on this body.
Zhou Ning carefully approached. Unlike the others, this one hadn't been pierced. Its bones were crushed, as if trampled by a mammoth.
"Such a bizarre array of deaths."
He shook his head and looked up—his pupils abruptly contracted. Less than two meters away, a pair of blood-red eyes were locked on him, brimming with madness and violence. Yet with all his powerful Observation Haki, he hadn't sensed it at all!
Their owner was a massive abomination stitched together entirely from human flesh.
Zhou Ning froze. Without hesitation, he yanked the White Ivory from his pocket—already gripped tight in his right hand—and opened fire at the monstrous figure.
Bang!
The extraordinary bullet, infused with flame and Ripple energy, slammed into the monster's chest. Golden fire roared upward, searing a massive wound into its torso.
But within two seconds, the flesh writhed and knit itself back together.
At the same time, notifications flooded his mind:
[Your Ripple Shot dealt 657 damage to Queen Dalian!]
[Your Ripple inflicted 179 burn damage on Queen Dalian!]
[Your Ripple inflicted 165 burn damage on Queen Dalian!]
[You have entered combat. Based on your level, you obtain the following information.]
————
Queen Dalian
Level: 69 Boss Creature
Class: Flesh Puppet
Stats: Strength 265, Agility 120, Endurance 170, Intelligence 15, Charisma 92
HP: 11,854 / 12,800
Status: Hungry
Specialties: Mutation (Strength +165, Endurance +35), Flesh Reinforcement, Advanced Tenacious Vitality
Skills: Flesh Repair (Advanced), Heavy Strike (Expert), Devour (Advanced), ??, ??...
————
Seriously… this was the Queen?
Before he could even voice his complaint, a powerful sense of danger surged in his mind. Zhou Ning dove left instinctively—yet somehow his body swerved right instead, crashing through several jars.
Queen Dalian suddenly accelerated, rushing at him, arms raised high before slamming them down.
What's going on?
Zhou Ning's heart clenched, but his reflexes saved him. He slid back, tapped a rolling jar with his toes, and vaulted into the air, narrowly avoiding the blow. His coat tails whipped upward in the violent gust.
The Queen's palm smashed into the ground. Dust billowed like a tidal wave, cracks spider-webbing across the floor.
That was close…
Zhou Ning frowned. This monster not only had insane regeneration but also some ability to twist his will. Just now, though he'd aimed to dodge left, his body veered right instead—nearly costing him his life.
Holding back was suicide. This crisis was even deadlier than when he had faced three Mithril Puppets at once. And with all the unknown creatures inside these jars, if he dragged this fight out, he'd be surrounded in no time. Best to end it fast.
Without hesitation, Zhou Ning activated his family creed. Lightning flared in his eyes: Knowledge is Power!
His left hand brushed against the Traveler's Ring. With a flash step, he widened the gap, spun, and fired three consecutive shots at Queen Dalian.
This time, the bullets fused with three types of Haki and Ripple energy, unleashing terrifying damage. Black blood and flesh fragments burst forth violently.
–1165! –1459! –1217!
In this state, Zhou Ning's gunfighting skill was monstrous, a killing machine. In mere moments, the monster's HP bar was halved. It couldn't regenerate fast enough, screaming shrilly but still charging. Yet with only 120 Agility, its movements were painfully obvious to Zhou Ning, whose heightened senses read its trajectory like an open book. A slight sidestep let it miss entirely, crashing into more jars.
The will-twisting skill clearly had a long cooldown—it couldn't be used constantly.
Zhou Ning had already slipped behind it, raised his gun to its head, and fired repeatedly.
One flaming silver bullet after another tore through its skull. Even with constant regeneration, its HP plummeted. Moments later, the monster toppled like a felled tree, black blood flooding across the floor.
[You have slain Flesh Puppet Queen Dalian (Lv. 68). You gain 72,000 EXP.]
[Quest Progress: Slay or Defeat 10 Boss-class Creatures above Level 60. Progress: 9/10.]
But then the black blood soaking the ground abruptly vanished. The muffled voices and heavy breathing around him grew louder. From the jars came shuffling noises, followed by cracking sounds as they began to break open. Countless monsters were crawling free.
Zhou Ning's face darkened. He bolted straight for the exit, sprinting up the stairs in a few strides.
There was no need to guess—he had triggered a dungeon event. Clearing these creatures would take at least twenty high-level players. Besides Queen Dalian, there might be princes, dukes, uncles… Staying meant certain death.
As expected, the stairs led to the end of the right corridor. Ahead stood three stone doors. The left and right were sealed shut, but the one in the middle hung slightly ajar, as if waiting to welcome him in.