Chapter 325: Departure and Demise (Part 2)

The Golden Sand Venerable Lord had been forced to kill his own child.

His heart-wrenching agony, born from knowing the full story, attracted the attention of a certain entity.

And so, a deal was struck…

The Golden Sand Venerable Lord could have indeed traveled to other regions to acquire food through this deal, but he did not.

He needed more pain to trade for the Resurrection of his wife and son.

The Sea Star Clan People could only be coerced by him, offering up an endless supply of pain…

Luo Ge was lost in thought after hearing the story.

“Finish packing up and wait for me here.” Luo Ge pointed toward the Spirit Candle. “I need to make a stop somewhere else.”

A short while later.

Luo Ge returned to the Sea Star Race’s settlement.

But when he reached the center of the village, he couldn’t help but frown.

Of the nearly fifty Sea Star Clan People who had been there before, only a dozen or so remained, and they were on their last breaths, clearly not having much time left.

The statue in the center of the village was shattered.

On the chests of the dead Sea Star Clan People, the fleshy orbs manifested by the Power of Painful had struggled to burst forth, but had ultimately lost their vitality, dying upon the bodies of their hosts.

And without that energy to sustain them, the Sea Star Clan People had died one after another.

Surprisingly, most of the deceased Sea Star Clan People had peaceful expressions, as if they had simply fallen asleep.

After such prolonged agony, they had finally found a moment of peace before death claimed them…

It seemed this was the series of effects caused by the death of the Golden Sand Venerable Lord, the source of the Power of Painful.

“…”

Strictly speaking, if he and the players hadn’t killed the Golden Sand Venerable Lord, these Sea Star Clan People might have been able to continue living in this excruciating manner.

Luo Ge fell silent for a moment. Then, he quietly gathered the ones who were still breathing, took out the Painful Tumors, and gave them Fish Balls to replenish their energy.

Sand Reef was still alive. He awoke with a start, as if from a Nightmare, and stared at Luo Ge with a dazed look in his eyes.

“I have killed the Golden Sand Venerable Lord, and this place will be destroyed by what I’m about to do…”

Luo Ge crouched down, explained the whole story calmly, and then presented him with a choice.

“You can all come with me to a new place to live. I will provide you with a source of food and energy.”

“On one condition: you work for me.”

After hearing what Luo Ge said, especially the reason why the Golden Sand Venerable Lord sought to resurrect his wife and son, Sand Reef dragged his weak body to his feet.

He glanced at the devastated village, then at the bodies of his clanspeople, long dead yet peaceful in their expressions. A look of bitterness and regret crossed his face.

He let out a long sigh and closed his eyes.

“Enduring endless pain just to survive, unable to rest day or night… Perhaps they should have been allowed to sleep this peacefully long ago…”

“This is all because of my foolishness…”

“Thank you, my lord…”

Hearing his words, some of the Sea Star Clan People burst into tears and tried to comfort him, but Sand Reef stopped them with a raised hand.

His gaze lingered on one of them for a moment before he said hoarsely, “Qing Jian, come here.”

“Chief, you…”

“Come here.” Sand Reef’s tone was weary yet resolute.

At this, the young Sea Star clan member called Qing Jian, who was also the Executioner that had stood beside Sand Reef earlier, silently walked to his chief’s side.

Sand Reef took a green necklace from his own neck and placed it around the other’s.

“My lord, his name is Qing Jian. He is the next chief of the Sea Star Race.”

“From now on…”

Sand Reef glanced at all the surviving Sea Star Clan People.

“The Sea Star Race of the Golden Sand Islands belongs to you.”

“They will obey your commands unconditionally, as long as… you are still willing to let them live.”

Hearing this, Luo Ge nodded silently.

He already knew what Sand Reef intended to do and had no plans to stop him.

The burden this chief carried had long since surpassed what the taut string of his will could bear.

After seeing his clanspeople in death and realizing he had been deceived, he had fallen into a bottomless pit of regret and anguish.

“Thank you. Please, I’ll trouble you to take them away…”

Sand Reef said slowly.

“I… won’t be going.”

At these words, the group of Sea Star Clan People could no longer hold back their sobs, some crying loudly while others wept softly.

“Chief, this isn’t your fault!” Qing Jian gritted his teeth, tears streaming down his face.

“Say no more. Go, child.”

Sand Reef smiled and patted his head.

Just then, Luo Ge looked at one of the Sea Star Clan People and asked a question. After receiving an answer, he nodded, stepped forward, and slowly raised his hand.

The next moment.

Azure firelight tore through space from the sky, pouring down.

The sand on the shore at the edge of the village was dug up.

The remains of the deceased Sea Star Clan People were buried within, leaving behind rows of sandy mounds.

Watching this scene, the Sea Star Clan People were sobbing uncontrollably.

Sand Reef was also deeply moved. His lips trembled, but he couldn’t utter a word.

He gave Luo Ge a trembling nod.

A moment later.

The azure Spirit Candle Power extended out from the void.

Navor, who had been standing perfectly still, was instantly enveloped by this power and vanished on the spot.

The Sea Star Clan People also disappeared into it, one by one.

Finally, it was the Broken Core on the Sand Castle.

The next moment, everything in the Golden Sand Islands—time and space—began to collapse from the outside in.

The Dark Boundary spread rapidly.

Sand Reef lay down beside the sandy mounds of his clanspeople. A look of long-awaited relief appeared in his eyes as he gazed at the sky.

“Finally… no more pain…”

…

「Candle Island.」

After the player squad returned, they weren’t in a hurry to run dungeons or do other things. Instead, they were chatting idly.

Except for Faraway, of course. He had logged off the moment he returned to Candle Island for some unknown reason.

“Over 300 War Contribution points, not bad. I’ll save up a bit more and buy a set of armor.”

Li Miao was pleased.

He initially thought this quest would be extremely dangerous, but all in all, they barely encountered any absurdly strong monsters. It was much easier than a normal dungeon run.

“Damn, we were forcibly teleported out. I was going to pick up some stuff in the Sand Castle.”

Forgotten Dao was a bit bummed. He was a dedicated hoarder who couldn’t bear to throw away even useless junk.

“Yeah, and I wonder what happened to that Brother Centaur. He looked like a blacksmith.”

Hearing Shore’s words, everyone’s attention was immediately drawn to the topic. They had noticed the strange NPC, but they were in the middle of a battle and hadn’t had a chance to pay him much mind.

Now that the quest was complete, their curiosity was naturally piqued, and they all started asking Shore what he had discovered.

Shore honestly shared what he had seen.

“All that hammering and banging… yeah, he really does seem like a blacksmith,” Li Miao said, rubbing his chin.

“Could it be that Spirit Candle is planning to add a blacksmith NPC in a future storyline?” Brother Mangzi’s eyes lit up, and he added excitedly, “It would be great if he could enchant gear!”

“I don’t think that’s very likely.” Niuniu shrugged. “We already have the Sin Furnace for crafting and Enhancement, and we can even reforge gear.”

“If they add another blacksmith NPC, the functions would overlap. I doubt the developers would spend resources on that.”

Niuniu’s speculation wasn’t without reason. Spirit Candle already fulfilled those functions, and from a typical game design perspective, it did seem unlikely.

It’s like having different kinds of rest points. They all serve the same purpose. There’s no need to have both a Milestone Spirit Candle and, say, a coffin. It’s just a waste of game resources.

However, Niuniu hadn’t considered one thing: the creation of Special Weapons.

Logically, his thinking was perfectly normal. After all, it makes sense that powerful gear can only be obtained from killing monsters and exploring.

But at that moment, Li Miao couldn’t help but think of the Sea Star Clan People in the village.

“That group of Sea Star Clan People was pretty interesting. I wonder if there will be any follow-up quests related to them?”

“True.” Shore, for once, agreed with him. “I quite admired that ‘tough guy’.”

The others were stunned for a second, then burst out laughing.

Hearing this, Li Miao’s face darkened.

This punk was obviously taking a jab at him!