A guard in golden imperial armour approached Nie Yan, and asked in a deferential tone, "Sir Demon Hunter and Grand Scholar, Captain Quinn of the Calore guards greets you. How may this lowly one serve you today?" He didn't dare to neglect the person in front of him in the slightest.
Everyone saw how the guard captain treated Nie Yan with great respect.
The crowd of Victorious Return players dropped their jaws after witnessing the guard captain's attitude. All of them were stunned on the spot.
Demon Hunter? Grand Scholar? What sort of titles were these?
Although they were aware Nie Yan was formidable—possessing a great degree of Influence in Calore, to the extent he could walk around freely with a red name—they never expected him to hold a title that even let him order around the guards!
With such a large group of high-level guards surrounding them, the players from Victorious Return were scared witless. Quaking in their boots and fearing the worst, they were terrified about what might happen next.
Nie Yan's icy gaze swept over the crowd of players, sending chills down their spines.
"Captain Quinn, I've endured unwarranted verbal abuse from these people. According to the laws of Calore, what is the punishment for insulting a Demon Hunter and Grand Scholar?" Nie Yan asked. Now that he had the enemy in the palm of his hand, how could he possibly let them off lightly?
"Sir, the law states that all accomplices will be thrown into jail for one to five days, while the main offender must serve for at least three days. Harsher penalties may be imposed if they attempt to resist," Captain Quinn succinctly replied before looking over the crowd, his imposing aura dispelling any thoughts of putting up a fight.
At their current level, facing off against Level 60–70 Elite Guards was simply suicidal.
Even if they logged off right now, they would just be arrested the moment they came back online. If they turned tail and fled, they would be labelled as wanted fugitives. An arrest warrant would be issued out in every town and city, and they would forever be on the lam. It didn't stop here, they would also be attacked on sight by every NPC belonging to the imperial army.
Under these circumstances, they could only allow themselves to be arrested by the guards.
Only now did Heaven Breaker realize that he had been tricked. This was the enemy's plan all along. He didn't expect that even his foul mouth would be used as a weapon against him. His face sank as he stared daggers at Nie Yan with a wolf-like gaze. He hadn't fully lost his sense of reason. He was aware that opening his mouth right now would only invite further trouble. If he had an outburst, who knew how many more days he would spend locked up in jail? He suppressed the endless rage in his heart.
Nie Yan was extremely satisfied with this outcome. The results were perfect. Heaven Breaker and many of his experts and high level personnel would be thrown in jail. No one who cursed at him was spared! Without the leadership of the higher-ups, Victorious Return would sink into complete disorder!
I should call up Guo Huai and Sleepy Fox after this. If we're going to make a move, now is the best time!
The war between Asskickers United and Victorious Return was no holds barred from the start. Both sides used any means possible to deal with each other.
When Heaven Breaker was released from jail three days later, the stronghold battle would be long over!
"I request these people be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Throw them in jail," Nie Yan said. The guards stepped forward, and began arresting almost everyone standing in front of the guild headquarters entrance. Over 160 players were taken away. Who knew if the Calore jail cells could hold them all.
Nie Yan couldn't help but think he scored big this time.
The street outside the guild headquarters entrance returned to its usual calm after the commotion was over.
Even their guild leader was taken away, so how could the remaining players dare to continue provoking Nie Yan?
Nie Yan turned to look at the cloaked figure in the distance. Shadow Killer noticed his gaze and stared back. He revealed an indifferent smile, as though everything that just transpired had nothing to do with him, before vanishing like a wisp of smoke.
Nie Yan scanned his surroundings, but he could no longer find any traces of Shadow Killer's presence. It was as if this person had never been there in the first place!
What a formidable stealthing ability!
Shadow Killer never just revealed himself in front of people. This was him provoking Nie Yan!
Nie Yan understood that if he ever encountered Shadow Killer in the wilderness some day, a fierce battle would definitely take place. The boss of the number one gaming organization in the nation… he was eager to see just how strong this mythical figure was.
Nie Yan was inwardly delighted. Heaven Breaker suffered a defeat at his hands yet again. With that explosive temper of his, who knew how long he could last in jail? This time, Victorious Return fell face-first into the mud, leaving them in a wretched state. He cast a glance at their guild headquarters one more time before departing for the Starry Night Potion Shop.
Before long, Nie Yan was bombarded with calls.
「Amazing! You really are something... You actually got Heaven Breaker tossed into jail. It looks like he won't be able to participate in the stronghold battle tomorrow!」Sleepy Fox exclaimed. It went without saying that Radiant Sacred Flame was going to rely on Victorious Return. Due to the relationship between these two large guilds, Victorious Return would definitely send over their top forces to lend support. But now, over half their elites had been locked up in jail by Nie Yan, with many of them being unable to get out in time to participate in the stronghold battle. This instantly increased Holy Empire and Asskickers United's chances of victory by over 30%!
「You're sure it's tomorrow?」Nie Yan asked. Due to the release of the Buried History expansion, he expected some things would be shifted to an earlier date such as the stronghold battle.
「Yes, I just received confirmation. Tomorrow at 21:00, don't be late,」Sleepy Fox replied. He now felt more confident than ever about seizing the stronghold.
Nie Yan nodded.「Don't worry. We'll be on time.」
Guo Huai was next to contact him.
「Nie Yan, I just received a report from a subordinate. You sure are fierce, getting Heaven Breaker put behind bars like that. The whole guild is practically bursting out in cheers,」Guo Huai said emotionally. He recalled how much they had suffered at the hands of Victorious Return. Nie Yan had done well to settle the score since then.
Undying Scoundrel, Summer Bug, and the others also lit up his voice com. Each and every one of them was endlessly excited. Getting Heaven Breaker put away, Nie Yan's actions this time around were simply too satisfying!
Nie Yan broke out into a faint smile when he saw how excited everyone got. He shifted his attention away from the chat to the scene around him as he travelled back and forth through narrow alleyways until he reached a secluded area. He found this place where no player was even remotely close to because he wanted to check out his new mount.
Nie Yan started chanting, calling forth his mount from the Glimpse of Darkness. After a bright flash illuminated the gloomy alley, a towering steed emerged before him.
This Faulkner Warhorse looked just like the ones Nie Yan saw in videos during his past life. It had a reddish brown coat without the slightest blemish, outlining a robust frame which brimmed with power, and onyx-black eyes which sparkled with intelligence. It was a good bit taller than him, and looked ready to charge into battle with its sparkling, silver armour.
The Faulkner Warhorse snorted, blowing out hot air, before bowing its head. It rubbed its muzzle against Nie Yan's body, as though seeking his affection.
Nie Yan gently stroke the horse's neck, a sense of familiarity arising in his heart. Since it was his summon, there existed a telepathic link between them which allowed him to command it with a single thought.
"Hey, partner. From now on, you'll be my mount," Nie Yan mumbled. This Faulkner Warhorse was quite intelligent.
Nie Yan examined the Faulkner Warhorse's information. Just like for the vast majority of mounts, this one didn't allow for mounted combat. Not that this was all that surprising to Nie Yan. There were only a very special few that could. Of course, these types of mounts were even more expensive.
The Faulkner Warhorse increased movement speed by 300% while being ridden. It was precisely this movement speed bonus that made the Faulkner so highly-prized. An ordinary mount that could increase movement speed by even 100% was already considered an extremely rare sight.
A mount allowed a player to save much precious time. Countless hours which would've been wasted travelling by foot could instead be spent on levelling, giving the player an edge over others. This held especially true for travel between cities and towns. Owning a mount could save the player a lot on travelling expenses.
This gallant steed was capable of traversing a thousand miles in a single day, providing Nie Yan with fast transport between large maps. As for travel between cities and towns, he had no need for the Faulkner Warhorse, since all transfer fees were waived thanks to his Grand Scholar title. He could even make a visit to the Satreen Empire's King City to purchase a few exotic items.
Hearing the sound of approaching footsteps, Nie Yan recalled the Faulkner Warhorse. He headed for the Starry Night Potion Shop, passing by many player-owned shops along the way. There were potion shops, equipment shops, general shops, and so on. Although none of them were at a very high tier, it was at least proof that Calore's commerce was slowly growing.
So far, Nie Yan had opened up several dozen shops in major cities across the Viridian Empire. These included potion shops, tinkerer shops, and so on. Due to the Demon Hunter title, Bird Leaves No Eggs received a great amount of preferential treatment when applying to start a business on Nie Yan's behalf. Now that Nie Yan held the Great Scholar title in addition to this, who would dare to cause trouble in his place of business? Anyone who did would get dragged away by the guards. No one would be that foolish.
Aside from these several dozen shops, Nie Yan still had a few open plots of land he planned to lease out to people for a decent price. In the last few days, he had over a dozen visitors who approached him about this matter. But they hadn't moved past the initial negotiations just yet. Nie Yan told Bird to wait until the real-world currency exchange went live before settling anything. This was because the Currency Conversion Hall would be opened near the Starry Night Potion Shop, and all the surrounding shops would soar in value. At that time, the leasing price would definitely rise as well. By just collecting rent, Nie Yan would already be able to earn a huge profit.
Aside from this, his level had dropped to a miserable state. He could only wait until he returned online to get it back up.
After the expansion was fully released tomorrow, it was crucial that Nie Yan finished all his preparations.
The release of the Buried History expansion was akin to opening Pandora's box. Who knew what the future would have in store for him. Nie Yan could only steadily observe the changes.
Checking the progress of the virtual property auction, Nie Yan found his bids for the auction house at the heart of Calore and the Mercenary Auction House still standing on top. He could still observe any changes to bids with his phone after getting off the game.
This whole time, Nie Yan was still amassing funds. He currently had over 6,000 gold at his disposal. It was enough snatch away the two auction houses he was eying. He wasn't worried about any competition emerging.
Nie Yan arrived at the Starry Night Potion Shop and finished most preparations. Seeing that it was about time for the servers to go down, he logged off.