When Nie Yan passed through the fog, he saw a giant hound in the distance. It was as large as a grizzly bear with thick black fur. Its scarlet-red tongue radiated an intense heat.
It was a creature capable of using flames!
The hound paced back and forth in the cave restlessly. A thick and solid chain was tied to its neck with the other end spiked deep into a large boulder. Its range of movement was extremely limited, but it still had a ranged attack that was deadly to players. It would spit out flames at any intruder that entered its line-of-sight.
Nie Yan gradually approached until he was roughly 30 meters away from the hound and inspected it with Transcendent Insight.
Black Flame Hound (Lord): Level 70
Health: 320,000/320,000
Another Level 70 Lord, and this one had 320,000 health. With this Black Flame Hound guarding the only path forward, there was no way Nie Yan could pass, nor could he see an end to this cave.
Given Nie Yan's current strength, it was impossible for him to kill the Black Flame Hound. He estimated the chain around its neck was roughly 12 meters long.
The only option was to make a run for it! Too bad this was easier said than done.
Nie Yan gradually approached, inching ever closer to the Black Flame Hound. At around 20 meters away the Black Flame Hound noticed him. It belched out scorching hot flames in his direction.
The flames were fierce and oppressive.
Nie Yan activated God's Blessing and braved the attack head-on.
The flames surged toward Nie Yan like a raging torrent but quickly dissipated upon making contact with the thin membrane surrounding him and produced a sound that resembled the crackling of firecrackers. He was completely unharmed! God's Blessing granted immunity to all magic!
The flames were so bright Nie Yan couldn't open his eyes.
At this moment, the Black Flame Hound pounced into the air and swiped down at Nie Yan, wanting to tear him to shreds.
Just as the Black Flame Hound's claws came down on him, Nie Yan activated Gale Step. A loud klang rang out as he took advantage of the first three seconds of invincibility to avoid taking damage.
Nie Yan slid under the Black Flame Hound's legs, nearly being squashed in the process, and came out the other side. Crushing a Haste Scroll and activating Swift Retreat, he sprinted away with all his might.
The Black Flame Hound's claws missed and struck the cave floor, blasting mud and debris into the air. It swung around and leaped after Nie Yan.
Nie Yan was no match for the Black Flame Hound in terms of speed. It quickly caught up to him from behind and ruthlessly swiped down on his back.
Shadow Waltz!
「Klang!」Taking advantage of the initial two seconds of invincibility from the enhanced Shadow Waltz, Nie Yan blocked the Black Flame Hound's attack yet again. The powerful blow still blew him away like a ragdoll.
Nie Yan pivoted his body mid-air and planted his right hand on the ground, causing him to flip over and land back onto his feet.
Before Nie Yan could do anything else, the Black Flame Hound had already caught up behind him. He didn't dare to linger even for a millisecond and fled for his dear life.
With both Gale Step and Shadow Waltz on cooldown, he had nothing left to block the Black Flame Hound's next attack.
The Black Flame Hound was several times faster than him. Its attacks couldn't be dodged with just a simple sidestep or roll.
A single attack from the Black Flame Hound would probably kill him.
Nie Yan was already at the limit of how fast he could go. He constantly changed directions and ran in a zig-zag pattern to avoid the Black Flame Hound's attacks. It would only be delayed for a slight moment before quickly catching up to him again.
When the Black Flame Hound was about to pounce directly on top of Nie Yan, he shot out a web line at a stalactite five meters away and swung away to safety.
The Black Flame Hound still refused to let Nie Yan go. Its sharp claws were only a few inches from his back.
Nie Yan flew for more than 10 meters before letting go of the web line and landing back on his feet.
The Black Flame Hound caught back up in a flash and swiped down at Nie Yan, who looked dazed and caught off-guard.
Just when Nie Yan's death seemed imminent, the chain around the Black Flame Hound's neck tightened and fiercely jerked it back.
The Black Flame Hound tried to pounce on Nie Yan again, but it was once again jerked back by the chain. No matter how hard it tried, it couldn't reach him.
The chain had already been pulled to its maximum length. The Black Flame Hound indignantly blasted Nie Yan with flames to no avail. God's Blessing was still active.
Nie Yan's lips parted into a faint smirk. Sure enough he had correctly guessed the length of the chain. Despite nearly losing his life on several occasions, he was happy he made it through this harrowing experience without any mishap.
He quickly turned and left the Black Flame Hound behind as he hurried forward. Only after moving more than 50 meters away from the Black Flame Hound did he finally feel safe enough to slow his steps.
Nie Yan looked back and saw the Black Flame Hound standing there panting away non-stop, occasionally breathing out flames in his direction.
After getting past the Black Flame Hound, Nie Yan continued travelling through the winding and twisting tunnels of the cave. He advanced several hundred meters before encountering a prison cell up ahead. It was very small, only covering an area of three by three meters. The cell door was crafted out of a peculiar dark golden metal which exuded rich magical energy and was sealed shut by a giant metal lock.
This prison cell looked extremely secure.
Nie Yan gazed through the bars and spotted a slim old man bound up inside. He was reclined on the wall with both his wrists and ankles tied up in shackles. He could only slightly hobble around in the cell.
The old man's robes were starting to become faded, but he still had a healthy appearance. He wasn't all that tall, but his body brimmed with explosive power.
Nie Yan's brows raised in rejoice. It was the last hostage!
He inspected the old man with Transcendent Insight.
Pallot (Lord): Level 70
Titles: Thief Association Elder, Marquis
This old man's background wasn't shallow! He was actually an Elder of the Thief Association and a Marquis! Thinking about the journey here, he truly wasn't an easy person to find!
Nie Yan examined the cell door. Each bar was engraved with tiny runes that could be easily overlooked if one wasn't paying close attention to them.