Chapter 165 – Dungeon Storyline
Suspended midair with nowhere to dodge, Zhou Ning didn't panic. As he hung in the air, his gaze locked onto Hogger below. A wave of overwhelming aura surged down toward him.
Conqueror's Haki!
Hogger suddenly froze, the tentacles he had been flailing with also came to an abrupt halt. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zhou Ning quietly landed on the ground, avoiding the tentacles still swinging through the air.
Next, a delicate charm appeared in Zhou Ning's empty left hand. It was one of four charms he had looted from Wright Phillips earlier—Thorns, Imprisonment, Wave, and Flame. Each charm had around ten uses.
"Thorns!"
As the incantation in Ancient Falric echoed out, a mass of thorny vines burst forth and rapidly expanded, wrapping around Hogger.
Caught off guard, Hogger was instantly entangled and firmly bound to his original position.
At that moment, Jaina, not far away, had also freed herself. Taking advantage of Hogger's immobility, her deep blue eyes grew darker, and a swirling frost aura gathered around her raised right hand. With a graceful motion, an enormous ice arrow formed instantly and shot toward Hogger at a speed almost impossible to dodge.
As the layers of frost melted away, the ice arrow pierced cleanly through Hogger's body, leaving a bloody hole. All of the purple tentacles on his body writhed upward at once, lashing violently in all directions.
His health bar plummeted.
No wonder she becomes a legendary mage in the future—her damage is insane… Zhou Ning couldn't help but be slightly stunned at the sight.
But he didn't stop. After putting away the charm, he drew his ebony pistol with his left hand, calmly aimed it at Hogger, and pulled the trigger.
With the hammer striking the firing pin, gunpowder ignited in the chamber, releasing thick smoke. From the dark muzzle, six shots rang out in rapid succession.
When the fifth bullet was spent, the sixth—carved from ivory—once again triggered its special effect: a purification bullet imbued with light energy!
Hogger's head snapped back as if struck by a heavy hammer. His savage gnoll face was pierced by the final bullet, and with a spray of red and white, it exploded into pieces.
One shot, one kill.
"Boss… I've let you down…"
[You have slain the BOSS: Scourge Lord Hogger. Contribution: 72%. You gained 32,000 EXP.]
After killing Hogger, Zhou Ning noticed two pieces of equipment had dropped—one was the chain hammer Hogger had wielded, and the other was a leather bracer.
---
Hogger's Beloved Heavy Chain Hammer
Type: Hammer Weapon / Thrown Weapon
Rarity: Epic
Damage: 159–474
Attack Speed: 2.0
Attributes: +20 Strength, -8 Agility
Effect: Can be thrown after equipping
Requirements: Level 50, Strength 90
Description: Five crooked words are carved into the hammer: [Fight for the Boss].
---
Bracer of Dark Will
Slot: Wrist
Type: Leather Armor
Rarity: Rare
Attributes: +9 Agility, +9 Stamina
Equip Level: 42
As expected, the boss dropped gear. Zhou Ning picked up both items without hesitation. His current level was exactly 42, so he could immediately equip the bracer, boosting his Agility to 156 and his Stamina to 72—another jump in combat power.
Though it was only a rare item, in Apocalypse, equipment was notoriously hard to come by. Attribute-granting gear was usually classified as extraordinary and not commonly seen. They were typically crafted through high-tier manufacturing or found at auction. Zhou Ning definitely felt the thrill of the drop.
As for the epic chain hammer—its high strength requirement and agility penalty made it utterly unsuitable for his build. However, it would look perfect displayed in his shop alongside Frostmourne as a "store treasure" to dazzle visiting players.
While Zhou Ning was finishing off Hogger, Varian and Arthas were still engaged in fierce combat with a gargoyle boss named Herald Kirtonos and its minions. Sword light and blade shadows clashed—two burly figures built like WWE wrestlers completely surrounded the boss, leaving Zhou Ning with no opening to assist. As for the remaining mobs, they posed no threat to Zhou Ning's group. He even had the leisure to summon the little Deathwing and let it hide behind him to leech EXP.
Unfortunately, perhaps due to its lack of participation or the level difference, by the time the battle ended, little Deathwing had barely made it halfway through level 1—far less than Zhou Ning had anticipated.
Finally, as the number of gargoyles dwindled, Herald Kirtonos realized something was wrong and began to retreat. Zhou Ning was about to pursue when the screen suddenly shifted and zoomed out—it was now transitioning into a cutscene.
Arthas stepped forward, looked at Zhou Ning's group with resolute determination, and said, "I'm glad to have knights like you under my command. Listen, brave warriors! Head to Stratholme at once! We must battle that wicked clown and his minions and free the city from their evil grip!"
"Shouldn't we wait for Uther?" Varian asked.
"There's no need to wait. Anyone who wants to save this land, follow me! Pursue those Scourge vermin!" With that, Arthas summoned his Holy Light Warhorse and charged off after the fleeing Kirtonos.
Zhou Ning: …
He had just been about to speak when a system prompt appeared:
[Talk to Arthas. Hear his thoughts. Follow his lead.]
Zhou Ning took a deep breath and shut his eyes—out of sight, out of mind. This was clearly a forced "plot moment" within the dungeon. Players had no way to interfere.
If he guessed correctly, the only way to break this scripted sequence would be to simultaneously kill both Hogger and Herald Kirtonos within a short window.
As Arthas galloped off after Kirtonos toward Stratholme, Zhou Ning watched himself appear on the city wall—dressed in a purple suit with gaudy clown makeup. The figure turned around and, with a dramatic flourish, made a conductor's gesture like he was leading an orchestra.
BOOM!
Flames roared behind him, and amid the thunderous explosion, Arthas was blasted sky-high. Seriously, Zhou Ning felt like he had just witnessed Arthas achieve ascension on the spot.
His instincts as a demolition expert told him this lunatic had probably used triple the usual amount of gunpowder.
[Optional Quest 1 Complete: Defeated gnoll Hogger and his undead forces. Reward: 60,000 EXP.]
[Optional Quest 3 Failed: Protect Arthas from becoming undead.]
As expected, the dungeon storyline proceeded exactly as it had in the simulator. The clown opened his arms with a crazed, exaggerated smile and offered Varian and Jaina two choices:
First, escort Arthas away immediately and seek out the nearby Lightbringer, Uther. Perhaps there was still hope to save Arthas. But if they did, all the townsfolk would surely die of infection.
Second, enter Stratholme and attempt to destroy the plague barrels to save the entire city.
[Arthas has left the party.]
[Jaina Proudmoore has left the party.]
Just like in the simulation, Jaina chose to escort Arthas and retreated, while Varian pushed onward into Stratholme, determined to rescue the townsfolk.
Zhou Ning took a deep breath. Phase One wasn't particularly difficult—at least not for him. For level 60-ish players, it shouldn't be too hard either.
The real challenge was whether or not it was possible to kill both Hogger and Herald Kirtonos at the same time, and what came next—Phase Two.
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