「What are they doing at the center of Calore?」Nie Yan brainstormed ways of provoking Heaven Breaker as he headed in their direction. Unfortunately, not much came to mind. I'm really not suited for these kinds of things.
「They might be buying something at the auction house,」Guo Huai said, though he too could only guess.
Suddenly, a lightbulb lit up in Nie Yan's mind: Rather than looking for Heaven Breaker at the auction house, why not instead just run straight to his headquarters?
Needless to say, someone as influential as Nie Yan just showing himself in front of Victorious Return's headquarters would cause quite a large scene—precisely what he wanted.
A devilish smile formed on Nie Yan's face. Hehe, I won't even have to say a word. Just my being there will lead to them firing off a slew of insults. When they do, and the city guards would just happen to be nearby…
Now that would truly be a sight to behold.
「Have someone tell Heaven Breaker that I'm heading over to his guild headquarters.」Nie Yan thought for a bit, then added,「Actually, send Undying Scoundrel and tell him to hold nothing back. Tell him to treat Heaven Breaker like family. The more annoying he is the better.」
「Got it,」Guo Huai replied. He knew Nie Yan had something prepared for Heaven Breaker, and also knew that it would be even better if Undying Scoundrel irked Heaven Breaker.
Guo Huai conveyed these words to Undying Scoundrel while Nie Yan changed directions and marched straight towards Victorious Return's headquarters.
「That's all? Ain't that easy? Just tell the boss to sit back and relax,」Undying Scoundrel said. How could he possibly miss out on such an opportunity? Provoking Heaven Breaker… what could be more exhilarating than this?
「Heaven Breaker's at the city center's auction house. Don't waste any time and do it quick. The Boss is waiting after all.」
「No worries, I got this.」
After delegating the task, he carefully monitored the situation around the auction house at the center of Calore. It was much more active here than before, but the Tier 9 expansion brought about by the auction house lowered the feeling of crowdedness inside.
A few players crowded in a distant corner glanced toward the middle, their voices low as they spoke. Some twenty people forcefully reserved almost sixty of the best seats, driving away anyone that approached them. It went without saying that there were not many who wanted Victorious Return's ire, so they allowed themselves to be shooed away. None of them enjoyed being stuck in an endless loop of being chased and killed—something well within Victorious Return's capabilities.
"Look, that's Heaven Breaker, Victorious Return's guild leader."
"Who's that Thief next to him? He looks pretty strong."
Shadow Killer, armed with his Shrapnel Set and a glaring red name, drew quite a few curious eyes.
A split second later, he donned a dark cloak, concealing his appearance amid the darkness.
"Don't know, never seen him before."
Despite Shadow Killer's reputation, very few actually knew what he looked like. The reasons were twofold: First, he generally avoided attention, though that wasn't the main factor. The main reason was the fact he only targeted high-profile personnel. Which one of them would freely send out recordings of their own death? It would do nothing but put shame to their names, particularly so due to their positions. Since there weren't many recordings of Shadow Killer, it was natural players didn't recognize him.
"The main targets in this siege are Nirvana Flame and Sleepy Fox, also Fa Lan if he shows up. How confident are you?" Heaven Breaker looked to the person beside him. His eyes were hidden behind a cloak, while his entire being seemed to ooze with killing intent.
"You want all three?" asked Shadow Killer, his tone flat.
"During the stronghold battle, focus on Sleepy Fox and put aside Nirvana Flame to deal with later," Heaven Breaker instructed. Though he wished the very worst for Nie Yan, he understood that Sleepy Fox was a higher priority target in this siege because of his status as Holy Empire's guild leader. He also knew that despite having an overall smaller impact, Nie Yan nonetheless commanded a great deal of strength and influence. Leaving Nie Yan alone would no doubt affect the battles as well.
Shadow Killer nodded and said no more.
They hadn't expected for some Buried History expansion to come out all of a sudden, just days before the stronghold battle. Neither of them knew how this would affect the flow and results of the battle to come.
Heaven Breaker had just received an equipment blueprint that asked for special types of ores. If he could gear up 180 of his members with this equipment before the start of the stronghold battle, it would prove to be a fantastic boost to the guild's strength. This was one of the reasons he came to the auction house—to purchase large amounts of raw materials. The other was to get ahold of Shadow Killer and discuss some terms. His bounty for Sleepy Fox was 800 gold, while Nie Yan's reached a whopping 2,000; it was a truly absurd amount.
It was at this very moment that a person with complete disregard of his surroundings walked straight up to Heaven Breaker and Shadow Killer. His expression was one that lacked any sort of seriousness.
Needless to say, it was Undying Scoundrel.
The players of Victorious Return hadn't reacted in time to stop him, nor did they dare as he hadn't done anything beyond the usual set of actions that'd allow them to attack him without the city's guards retaliating.
It was this reason alone that Undying Scoundrel felt no fear despite being surrounded by enemies.
It truly was a feeling beyond compare to irritate none other than the leader of Victorious Return, Heaven Breaker.
"Hai there, my good brother. Wassup?" Undying Scoundrel grinned, trying to be as irritating as possible.
A solemn expression gloomed over Heaven Breaker; there had never been anyone who dared to speak to him like that.
The players from Victorious Return looked at each other, all confused. Is this person Heaven Breaker's friend? With that thought lingering in their minds, none of them even dared to stop Undying Scoundrel.
"Who's that guy?"
"I don't know, but I feel like I've seen him before. Just can't remember where though…"
"I remember! That's Undying Scoundrel! He's a player from Asskickers United!"
"Is he a mole the boss planted in their guild?"
"Get lost!" Heaven Breaker never expected some oblivious fool would dare to so rudely disturb him.
"Tsk, tsk… Don't be like that. I was just passing by, and when I saw you I thought I should say hello to a good friend. My boss told us to think of you guys as our brothers, as though we're all family. Isn't it fine to skip the formalities with close relatives? There's no reason for you to act so coldly, is there?" Undying Scoundrel asked, grinning from ear to ear.
Heaven Breaker also realized what was going on. This person was from Asskickers United! What's more, he was one of the ten from Kiln Fire Woods!
Undying Scoundrel could be considered a small-time celebrity now.
"Screw off and go back to your boss! Tell him that small fries shouldn't get cocky. I'll deal with him sooner rather than later," Heaven Breaker spat coldly.
"Hey, hey! How can you speak like that? My boss is a kind and tolerant person. His heart is as vast as the ocean, and his handsome, glowing appearance even puts the moon to shame. How dare you treat him like some kind of villain!? This is slander! How can you tarnish the image of my boss, a virtuous soul who receives the affection and reverence of all…?" Undying Scoundrel chattered on. He was a buzzing housefly, putting on a brilliant show as he riled the other side up. The more he spoke, the more carefree his words became.
Seeing that Undying Scoundrel was being ridiculous and had no intention of leaving, Heaven Breaker looked at his subordinates and ordered, "Come, shoo this undying housefly away!"
Heaven Breaker fumed inwardly at what he saw as Asskickers United's intolerable bullying.
According to the rules of the city, if a player bothered a major figure such as the leader of a large guild, that leader had the right to perform minor disciplinary actions such as having the person dragged away.
Two Victorious Return musclemen immediately came forward, grabbed Undying Scoundrel by his arms, and frogmarched him out of the auction house.
"Oh right! Brother Heaven Breaker, I almost forgot to tell you! My boss is preparing to give your headquarters a visit and enjoy your hospitality. Make sure you have tea ready for him by the time he gets there." Undying Scoundrel was secretly ecstatic to see Heaven Breaker about to blow his lid like a boiling kettle. He had always been carrying a belly-full of anger knowing that some of the brothers in the guild were actually spies for Victorious Return. What frustrated him even more was that he didn't know how many there were. But today, he finally got to let off some steam. He had to admit, irritating Heaven Breaker to no end felt even more refreshing than simply cursing at him.
Heaven Breaker, hearing Undying Scoundrel's words, took on an unsightly expression. Nie Yan visiting the Victorious Return headquarters certainly meant he was up to no good.
"We return to our headquarters!" Heaven Breaker announced. He refused to believe that Nie Yan could accomplish much while in Calore. However, since Nie Yan dared to go to his headquarters, Heaven Breaker couldn't possibly not show.
Shadow Killer's eyes flashed with a gloomy, mysterious light as he touched the handle of the dagger strapped to his waist. Mad Rogue, let's see if you're really worthy of being my target.
A crowd of fuming Victorious Return players rushed back to their guild headquarters. They wanted to see just what Nie Yan was up to.
"I'm serious. I'm only here because I want to sit down and have a chat with Heaven Breaker," Nie Yan said with an innocent expression on his face.
"Fuck off! Only a dumbass would believe that. Beat it! Don't think we're afraid of touching you!" a Victorious Return player shouted, shaking his fists. So long as Nie Yan dared to enter their guild headquarters which was a private area, they could immediately do with him as they pleased.
"Scram!"
Nie Yan leisurely awaited the arrival of Heaven Breaker, wondering what sort tactic he should employ to infuriate him while still having the laws of Calore on his side. Deep in thought on this issue, he spotted a group of players in the distance aggressively moving in his direction. Leading them was none other than Heaven Breaker.
Nie Yan's lips curved into a smile. He had been waiting for quite a while. Seeing the crowd storm over, he was just about to open his mouth to speak when Heaven Breaker cut him off," Nirvana Flame, you motherfucker! Don't think your Asskickers United is invincible! This is the territory of Victorious Return. You think you can just show up here uninvited? Get the fuck out of my sight right now!"
Nie Yan was stunned speechless. He spent nearly half a day without success trying to think up a surefire plan that would provoke Heaven Breaker into cursing at him. After all, quarrelling with others wasn't his speciality. Little did he know that all that effort would go to waste. Heaven Breaker fell hook, line, and sinker with no effort on his part. He couldn't help but wonder what Undying Scoundrel did to get Heaven Breaker so riled up, to the extent that he would hurl out abuse immediately after seeing him!
Heaven Breaker was a born gangster. Receiving anything but profanities was as difficult as scaling the heavens, especially after he suffered under Undying Scoundrel's harassment back at the auction house. Even now, he was still fuming. When he spotted Nie Yan arrogantly idling around his guild headquarters, he couldn't hold back any longer, venting out all his pent-up anger.
Nie Yan raised up both his hands. "I just came here for a stroll. I didn't expect you guys to be so unwelcoming."
The players from Victorious Return were unfazed by Nie Yan's words, only feeling that he deserved a good beating. They swore at him even more ruthlessly. As people who were unruly by nature, with little to no upbringing, they used increasingly vulgar language.
Nie Yan swept his gaze over Heaven Breaker's entourage before noticing a person in a black cloak standing far off in the back. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. It was Shadow Killer!
This guy was watching the events unfold from the sidelines!
The two people locked eyes as sparks flew in the air.
Nie Yan averted his eyes, then turned back to face Heaven Breaker along with the crowd and said with a ridiculing smile, "Have you guys had enough fun cursing at me?"
Just as Nie Yan's voice fell, a deluge of fully armed Calore guards clad in golden armour poured into the street. Most of them were Level 60–70 Elites. Some were even stronger. They surrounded the players from Victorious Return, and gave off an intimidating aura that struck fear into the hearts of all people.
In an instant, the players from Victorious Return were left wide-eyed and speechless. Just what did they do to attract the ire of the city guards?