Three Treasure Chests

Murloc Guard Skoda erupted.

Giant waves churned beneath his tail, and endless surges of water rushed in from behind, sweeping swarms of Murloc Killer Crabs into the sea.

Although these Murloc Killer Crabs were naturally immune to drowning, the immense power of the tidal waves battered them, leaving them stunned and suffering from internal injuries.

Then, the Murloc Guard swung his Trident violently; guided by a mysterious power, the seawater formed a massive Tidal Vortex, shredding the Murloc Killer Crabs trapped within.

However, there were simply too many Murloc Killer Crabs, and the Murloc Guard's mana was finite.

Casting spell after spell, the Murloc Guard's mana was soon completely exhausted.

Yet, the Murloc Guard continued to engage the Murloc Killer Crabs in melee combat.

Despite his thick hide, he was soon covered in wounds.

Though covered in wounds, he continued to fight bravely.

Though he fought bravely, his injuries grew increasingly severe.

Though his injuries grew severe, he was still able to hold off the Murloc Killer Crabs' assault.

The number of Murloc Killer Crabs in this stretch of sea was, after all, limited.

Murloc Guard Skoda had finally defended his honor, refusing to allow himself another failure.

Though exhausted, battered, drained of mana, and fragile, he had ultimately emerged victorious.

He could finally return to the deep sea to heal the wounds of his body and soul.

Yet, at that very moment, a spell that had been prepared for ten seconds finally arrived.

"BIU!"

It was a Fireball—a Fireball that, under normal circumstances, would have been nothing, something the Murloc Guard could have extinguished with a wave of his hand.

But the Murloc Guard was now covered in lacerations, his flesh a bloody mess, his mana spent; he could no longer resist.

The Fireball struck the Murloc Guard, roasting his flesh into charred meat.

This was not the end.

When he cast the first Fireball, Shawn had already begun channeling Arcane Missiles.

One Arcane Missile after another struck the Murloc Guard in the heart—the same spot, attack after attack, pain after pain, until he could no longer feel the agony.

The Murloc Guard opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, nothing came out.

With a loud crash, the Murloc Guard collapsed.

The honor belonging to the Murloc Guard had not been defended, yet he died in battle, and thus, he died as he should have. He had finally shaken off the shadow of failure, for he was dead. Death ends all troubles, a thousand ends, all finally ended.

Shawn let out a long breath.

In a short amount of time, he had exhausted both his mana and his physical strength, collapsing to the ground to rest for five minutes.

With only a short half-hour remaining of his three-hour buffer, Shawn had no time to waste.

At this moment, Shawn heard a pleasant notification sound.

"Ding!"

"Instant Quest: The Wrath of Murloc Guard Skoda (Completed)."

"Reward: Gathering."

"Note: Only applicable within the instance."

A stream of information flooded into Shawn's mind.

Shawn hurriedly walked toward the Murloc Shoal.

Murlocs, Kobolds, Murloc Killer Crabs, and Murloc Guard Skoda—thousands of corpses left behind a wealth of treasures for Shawn.

It was impossible for Shawn to gather everything, so he could only choose the most important items.

First was Murloc Guard Skoda.

This Naga warrior, with a profession level of at least 6, had left behind many good things for Shawn.

"1 Pristine Naga Hide, 2 Naga Claws, 120 Pristine Naga Scales, one Trident, and one Murloc Guard Amulet."

Naga Hide could be used to craft high-quality leather armor, Naga Claws could be used to craft fist weapons or claws, and Naga Scales could be woven into high-quality scale armor.

Most importantly, there were two pieces of equipment.

"Skoda's Trident, Green Quality, Excellent Equipment. Strength +10."

"Solidified Magic: Tidal Vortex. Summons a giant wave from the Elemental Plane of Water to form a high-speed vortex, shredding enemies."

"Murloc Guard Amulet, Green Quality, Excellent Equipment. All Attributes +1."

Shawn could wear the Murloc Guard Amulet. As for the Murloc Guard's honor, Shawn had no use for it, but it could be traded for a significant amount of gold coins.

After putting on the Murloc Guard Amulet, Shawn felt his spirit and physical strength improve, and he continued gathering.

Shawn first targeted the spellcasters—the Coldlight Oracle, Coldlight Seer, Darkscale Oracle, and Kobold Shaman—eventually harvesting 15 white Common Staffs and one green Excellent quality Staff.

In addition, there were several tattered, filthy robes.

Then, he harvested the combat classes among the Kobolds and Murlocs, and finally harvested the larger Murloc Killer Crabs. He obtained quite a few Murloc Scales, candles, iron weapons, seashells, pearls, gold ore, and some miscellaneous gemstones.

In the end, Shawn moved three treasure chests out of the Murloc camp and, taking advantage of the final few minutes, returned to the spawn point and left the Murloc Shoal.

Lying on the soft, warm bed in a room on the second floor of the Lion's Pride Inn, Shawn grinned from ear to ear.

Although this trip to the Murloc Shoal was fraught with danger and high difficulty, the final harvest made Shawn feel it was worth more than the price of admission; the trip was absolutely perfect!

In addition to the high-quality materials and two green-tier pieces of equipment harvested from Murloc Guard Skoda, there were even more materials and equipment gathered from the Murlocs, Kobolds, and Murloc Killer Crabs, as well as the three treasure chests.

These three treasure chests were not items produced by the Space Garrison like "Newbie Boxes," but were genuine chests—storage containers the Murlocs had collected from various shipwrecks in the Murloc Shoal, containing treasures they had salvaged.

Shawn rubbed his hands together and began the pleasant life of opening chests and looting gear.

The first treasure chest was crafted from solid wood; having been submerged for years, it showed no signs of water damage, comparable to thousand-year-old agarwood and full of ancient charm. It was equipped with a vintage iron lock, but there was no key.

Shawn took out a tattered iron hammer he had seized from a Kobold and smashed it down; the lock snapped.

Opening the chest, it shimmered with gold, silver, and copper light...

An entire chest full of gold, silver, and copper coins!

The designs of these coins were diverse, clearly originating from different nations, races, and eras. Shawn even discovered a familiar pattern among them—a gold coin from the Arathor Empire!

Shawn plunged his hands into the chest, scooped up a large handful of coins, and tossed them into the air; the three different lights intertwined and flashed, practically blinding his hardened krypton-gold dog eyes.

"Haha, I'm rich, I'm rich!"

Shawn laughed heartily and began to count the money.

One, two, three...

A total of 42 gold coins, 365 silver coins, and 2,475 copper coins!

Well, it was indeed a significant amount of wealth, but thinking of the Lightforge set that Gryan Stoutmantle had spent 800 gold coins on, Shawn immediately felt like a stark, penniless pauper!

Then came the second treasure chest.

This was an iron chest, forged from refined iron with an anti-rust coating, exquisite patterns, and a heavy alloy lock; the whole thing was a work of art.

Inside the second chest was a gentle glow of white, blue, black, and various other colors. Amidst the radiance were smooth, lustrous pearls.

Shawn's laughter grew even louder.

"Hahaha, I've struck it rich, I've really struck it rich this time!"

A whole chest of pearls—the value of this was far higher, much higher, than a chest of coins!

Especially the black, silver, and gold pearls; pearls of various colors were far more expensive than ordinary ones. These were all high-quality goods, absolutely beloved by women and jewelers alike.

Shawn could practically see piles of gold coins flying toward him.

With these two chests as a foundation, Shawn looked forward to the third chest with even greater anticipation.

In a state of extreme nervousness and expectation, Shawn turned his gaze toward the third chest.