Chapter 556: Smashing the Coffin
This was supposed to be difficult? The task itself couldn’t have been simpler. All Marcus had to do was knock the Navy Captain’s crystal coffin off the swirling whirlpool within five seconds.
For someone with Holy Shield Charge, his exclusive knockback skill, it sounded almost laughably easy, not a problem at all.
He was honestly speechless. Elder Eagle had made it sound so ominous earlier.
"It’s not exactly hard, but it’s not exactly easy either."
Marcus had thought the old man was just being overly dramatic. Was there really any need to make it sound so mysterious?
Just as he was about to puff out his chest and confidently promise that he’d handle it, Elder Eagle continued, "Stonehaven, destroying that beast’s cultivation may sound simple, but corpses are heavy and difficult to move. This one is a zombie that has cultivated for over two thousand years and is on the verge of becoming a Millennium Golden Corpse King. His body weighs as much as a mountain. Knocking him away will be far more difficult than you think."
So there was a catch, and Marcus immediately understood why Elder Eagle had been so cautious with his wording. Damn, he’d almost assumed this was going to be a free reward.
"Elder," Marcus asked at once, "if knocking it away is the difficult part, what exactly are the requirements?"
Elder Eagle nodded solemnly. "If your strength is lacking, let alone knocking the traitor’s crystal coffin away, you won’t even be able to move it. Even a sharp blade would struggle to leave a mark on that coffin."
Marcus grimaced. "Elder, how much Strength would I actually need to move it?"
For the first time, he felt genuinely uncertain. Pebble’s Mountain Fang Shot hadn’t even made the coffin tremble, and Marcus himself was still in his Full-Power state with 1,118 Strength. If even that hadn’t been enough with a ranged attack, just how absurd were the requirements? He couldn’t imagine many players having more Strength than he did, and for a brief moment, the quest actually felt impossible.
Just as Marcus was beginning to doubt it, Elder Eagle thought for a moment before answering.
"Based on my estimation, you’ll need at least 1,000 Strength, and the attack must be delivered in close combat. Only then will you have any hope of knocking that beast’s body away."
A melee attack and one thousand Strength. Marcus’s eyes immediately lit up, and it finally clicked. Like a flash of light cutting through darkness, everything suddenly made sense. No wonder Pebble’s ranged attack had accomplished nothing; the requirement wasn’t simply raw Strength, it had to be a direct melee impact.
Without another word, Marcus switched his Twin-Winged Ice Owl Bow for the Divine Artifact Adamant Shield, already picturing himself collecting the quest reward.
Naturally, Elder Eagle had no idea what Marcus’s attributes actually were, and he continued speaking in a serious tone. "Stonehaven, during my long imprisonment, I accidentally developed a secret art that allows my soul to remain stable and retain its consciousness. Even so, I still need to find a secluded place to cultivate if I wish to be reborn. I can only remain here for another ten hours."
His expression turned grave. "Within those ten hours, you must either raise your Strength beyond one thousand or find someone capable of doing so. Under the protection of my spell, knock the coffin off the swirling whirlpool, and the mission will be complete. Otherwise... in five hundred years, that traitor will awaken with power comparable to a Divine Beast, bringing disaster upon humanity."
The moment Elder Eagle finished speaking, the familiar system notification echoed through the air.
Ding!
[Congratulations, player Stonehaven. Your mercenary group has released Elder Eagle’s soul, triggering the Unique Hidden Quest: Elder Eagle’s Wrath. Complete it to receive a generous reward from Elder Eagle.]
A Unique Hidden Quest, and Marcus’s mood instantly improved. Even the system had specifically described the reward as "generous," which alone was enough to tell him this quest wasn’t ordinary.
Just to be safe, he opened the quest log and checked the details himself.
—
Elder Eagle’s Wrath: Unique Hidden Quest. Within ten hours, find a way to obtain over 1,000 Strength, or recruit a party member with over 1,000 Strength. Under Elder Eagle’s protective spell, knock the Navy Captain’s crystal coffin off the swirling whirlpool.
—
Marcus couldn’t help smiling. No need to wait ten hours; he could finish it right now.
"Hyah!"
At his command, Blackie leaped into the air and flew toward the floating crystal coffin, stopping roughly five meters away.
That was as close as Marcus intended to get for now. Judging from what had happened to Pebble’s arrow earlier, crossing that invisible boundary without protection would immediately trigger the deadly Black Demon Corpse Smoke.
Marcus looked back at Elder Eagle. "Elder, cast your spell. I’ll avenge you right now and send that traitor’s coffin flying."
Naturally, he was also looking forward to collecting that reward.
"Stonehaven... you..."
Elder Eagle stared blankly for a moment. Mounted atop the flying Blackie, Marcus floated confidently in midair with shield in hand. His calm expression and unwavering confidence made him seem as though nothing in the world could stand in his way, and even the old man couldn’t help being taken aback.
Still, seeing Marcus’s confidence, Elder Eagle wasted no more time. He raised both hands and began chanting an ancient incantation. The power of his soul condensed into a brilliant stream of white light that shot straight toward Marcus.
The light instantly enveloped both Marcus and Blackie, and a system notification appeared.
Ding!
[Congratulations, player Stonehaven. You have received Elder Eagle’s full-power blessing. For five seconds, you are immune to all poisons.]
Exactly what Marcus had been waiting for. "Hyah!"
With a sharp shout, Blackie burst forward.
Temple Cavalry activated automatically, causing rider and mount to become a single streak of motion as they charged together.
Wrapped in Elder Eagle’s protective light, Marcus rode straight through the dense Black Demon Corpse Smoke without suffering the slightest effect. In the blink of an eye, he reached the floating crystal coffin.
"Holy Shield Charge!"
Marcus let out a thunderous roar as he slammed the Divine Artifact Adamant Shield, held firmly in his left hand, into the side of the crystal coffin.
CRASH!
The instant the shield connected, Holy Shield Charge’s powerful knockback effect activated.
The massive crystal coffin was blasted clean off the swirling whirlpool. The moment it left the whirlpool’s influence, the strange force keeping it suspended disappeared, and the coffin spun violently through the air before crashing toward the stone floor beside the whirlpool.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
The enormous crystal coffin slammed into the ground with tremendous force, bounced repeatedly across the stone floor, and scraped along the ground in a shower of sparks before finally sliding to a stop more than twenty meters away, lying completely still on its back.