Nie Yan brushed off the spells bombarding him as he killed a Priest with every slash of Zennarde's Sword, slaughtering over seven in the blink of an eye!
Nie Yan appeared incredibly valiant. Heads would roll wherever he stepped! No one was his match, especially not these cloth-armoured casters who fell after a single attack.
The spectating crowd of players from Bloodlust Blades was left breathless. It would be a nightmare to face off against a Thief like this.
Mad Rogue Nirvana Flame really did live up to his reputation!
Who in the entire world would dare to challenge him?
"If possible, I'd like to try facing him one day. That is, without the magic immunity," Maple Blazeheart mused. Nie Yan was absolutely a worthy opponent.
Maple Blazeheart might stand a chance against Nie Yan if he didn't activate God's Blessing or Adjudicator of God, but otherwise it would be impossible for him to achieve victory.
At this moment, Maple Blazeheart received a call. It was from Bloodlust Mad Blade.
「Blazeheart, what the hell are you doing!?」Mad Blade asked gravely.
「I'm paying tribute to the Mad Rogue!」Blazeheart replied. A Thief who could reach such heights should be given the utmost respect.
「Cut the crap! I want him dead within the next 2 minutes. I refuse to believe he can survive getting swarmed by several hundred Fighters. He'll be dead in no time!」Mad Blade ordered in a sinister tone.
「3,000 people ganging up on a single person, is there really any meaning to it? Even if we win, it's nothing to be proud about,」Blazeheart rebuked, not backing down in the slightest. He was the principled sort.
「I don't give a shit if there's any meaning to it! I'll sweep away those who dare to block my path! No matter what method I have to employ, assassination, ambush, or ganging up! Take out Nirvana Flame, right now! Fuck! There's movement over on the side of Asskickers United! Hurry up!」
「No, It's disgraceful. You can pass down the order, but I won't be the one doing it!」Blazeheart replied in a resolute tone. He refused to betray his principles. It wasn't the first time these two butted heads over such a matter.
「Get the fuck out of my sight!」Mad Blade erupted with fury. Stubborn bastard! What are principles worth in a war? Squat!
Maple Blazeheart has been demoted from Vice Guild Leader.
Mad Blade gave the order to all members of Bloodlust Blades present on the scene: Kill Nirvana Flame immediately!
Nie Yan stood his ground while holding Zennarde's Sword. With only about 500 health remaining, he had used everything on him. Even the Combat Bandages were gone. Bloodied corpses littered the ground beneath his feet. He had slaughtered 26 players altogether, almost all of whom were Mages felled with a single slash!
Nie Yan looked quite terrifying. His name was branded a bright crimson while his gear appeared to be dyed red with the blood of his victims. He had sunk into a killing frenzy, mowing down everyone in his path. A dense murderous aura emanated from his body, causing him to resemble a god of slaughter who struck fear into the hearts of all those that saw him.
The remaining players didn't dare to get close. Nie Yan's attacks were too frightening. Even tanky Fighters would fall victim to his blade.
At this moment, the spectating crowd started making a move. Several hundred Fighters with their heavy shields raised moved in to surround Nie Yan, forming a tighter and tighter encirclement.
Nie Yan would have no chance of making it out alive if he was swarmed by these Fighters. Even moving his body would be difficult, let alone getting off an attack.
Watching the enemy slowly tightening the noose, Nie Yan knew the end was nigh.
The wall of shields gradually closed in on Nie Yan, coming to a halt at roughly 5 meters away. If not for Adjudicator of God, he would have long since died. For him to have survived this long was already an impressive feat. He had at least taken down several dozen others with him.
Nie Yan forced a wry smile onto his face. All of a sudden, he felt like he could somewhat empathize with the ancient Warlord Xiang Yu as he committed suicide[1]. A lifetime of glory, yet in vain he died.
Nie Yan thought he was safe because he had the Unknown Transfer Scroll at hand. His defeat was all due to the Shackles of Strife! He believed very few Shadow Priests, if any at all, had already obtained this skil at the current stage of the game. However, mishaps were inevitable!
Ever since things were set into motion, it appeared Mad Blade had always planned to use Shackles of Strife to deal with Nie Yan!
He was thoroughly outsmarted this time!
Death was fast approaching. However, just as Nie Yan closed his eyes in acceptance of his fate, the enemy ranks were suddenly thrown into chaos.
Nie Yan opened his eyes in confusion. Did something just happen?
Dense clouds of magic blotted out the sky. A heavy pressure descended on the players from Bloodlust Blades, causing them to panic.
"Shit! Who's casting that spell?"
"Advanced Magic! Reinforcements from Asskickers United!"
The mob of Bloodlust Blades players almost instantly lost all sense of unity as they trampled each other in search for safety.
Elsewhere, a group of over a dozen players charged into the forces of Bloodlust Blades, killing them left and right as they made their way to the center.
Bladelight and Smoke Stub led this group. With a Charge, Bladelight barrelled through six players. Smoke Stub followed suit and chained his Charge with a Whirlwind Slash, sending another seven players flying away.
Cold Peak, Yi Yan, and the others followed close behind, paving their path with blood. They took care of the players on the side, causing blood to fall like rain. Sun's figure also emerged on the battlefield. He had just finished killing six players.
"Boss!"
"We're here to save you!"
"Big bro, we're here!"
The team was all here. As Nie Yan looked at the mass of friendly faces, he couldn't help but feel moved.
"Such a lively event and you didn't invite us, aren't you ashamed of yourself?" Smoke Stub smiled. This world was truly full of coincidences. Back then, Nie Yan had led a group of players to rescue him and the other members of Withered Leaf from Azure Falling Sky. Now their positions were reversed.
This was just how relationships between people worked: Give and receive. If not for Nie Yan's efforts to save Withered Leaf from Azure Falling Sky back then, they wouldn't have become faithful members of Asskicked United.
"No matter the circumstances, remember that you're not alone. You still have all of us in Asskickers United!" Bladelight faintly smiled.
Nie Yan was touched by Bladelight words. It was true. He was never alone. He still had his brothers in the guild! This held true just as much for him as it did for them!
"I'm sorry," Nie Yan sincerely apologized. He had grown so accustomed to solving problems on his own that he didn't want to trouble others. Bladelight's words reminded him that he had created a guild for just this reason! He couldn't possibly face every danger alone!
The black cloud finally condensed as a torrent of fireballs poured down from the sky. The blaze wreaked havoc over the battlefield, instantly turning over 600 players from Bloodlust Blades into rays of light. The destructive power of Advanced Magic was terrifying.
One after another, area-of-effect spells rained hell upon Bloodlust Blades, quickly crippling most of them. The raging inferno voraciously devoured the previously vast crowd.
"How many of you came?" Nie Yan asked Smoke Stub.
"Not many, a little over 20. These guys aren't so tough." Smoke Stub swept his gaze over the crowd of players from Bloodlust Blades, an expression of contempt on his face.
No one could withstand the might of Advanced Magic. Let alone 3,000 players, even a force of 10,000 players would be thoroughly wiped out by such an intense barrage!
Recently, Bloodlust Blades had created no small amount of trouble for Asskickers United, causing them to suffer some losses. However, this was only the case because Asskickers United's elites had never gotten involved. But now that the peak players had shown up, Bloodlust Blades could give up any dreams of killing Nie Yan. Numbers advantage? No problem: just throw Advanced Magic at it!
Sun chained several skills to cut down a Mage, then walked up to Nie Yan.
"You smelly brat, where have you been these days?" Nie Yan gazed at Sun with a smile. The players from Bloodlust Blades were fleeing like rats. Asskickers United's Advanced Magic combined with Tang Yao's area-of-effect spells were simply too fierce.
In an instant, 3,000 players were reduced to just a few hundred.
"I went to outfit myself with better gear. Big bro, check out this sweet set I have now!" Sun veritably bubbled with excitement as he showed off his new Level 45 armor. His azure leather outfit was truly a treasure for control thieves.
Sun was already Level 47. He could even rank near the top of the leaderboards. During this time, he had vastly improved his combat techniques. His movements were much smoother than before.
Looking at everyone's levels, Nie Yan figured he should start raising his level again. Although he wasn't likely to lose to any of them, he would still be at a huge disadvantage facing a Level 40+ player at Level 30.
Bladelight, Smoke Stub, Cold Peak, and a few others began to clean up the surviving stragglers. Slowly but surely, they picked off the rest of the fleeing players.
After the area-of-effect spells stopped, a group of players made their way over from a distant hilltop. They were Tang Yao, Painted Muslin, Summer Bug, and the other casters.
Clad in a flowing white robe, Painted Muslin stood in the center and was by far the most eye-catching.
"Hey, pretty lady, how about you give me a Heal?" Nie Yan laughed. Since joining the guild, Painted Muslin had also familiarized herself with everyone.
"500 Merit Points, no exceptions!" Painted Muslin cheekily replied with a smile.
"So expensive!?" Nie Yan faked a bitter look.
"You're the guild leader. Don't tell me you can't even take out this much?"
"Fine, fine. 500 points it is."
These team members didn't actually care about such a small amount of Merit Points. They were just joking around with each other.
A ray of white light landed on Nie Yan's body, restoring his health to full. He looked around. The 3,000 attackers from Bloodlust Blades were now almost completely wiped out, with only a handful remaining.
"Let's clean up the survivors and go home," Nie Yan said. There was no telling when more players from Bloodlust Blades would arrive. He suddenly vanished. A moment later, he reappeared over 10 meters away and slashed down with Zennarde's Sword, killing a stray Priest from Bloodlust Blades.
[1] A reference to Chinese history/mythology.