Of the 500 Priests, more than 300 were killed. The survivors fled to the safety of the surrounding forces of Bloodlust Blades. The players from other classes came rushing towards Nie Yan's group.
Three Warriors from Bloodlust Blades came charging at Young Seven from the side with their swords raised high, only for Monochrome to catch up to one of them with Intercept. He followed up with a Seismic Slam, stopping all of them dead in their tracks.
Great Cleave!
Monochrome slashed down on a Level 47 Warrior and sent him flying away.
At this moment, a group of Mages at the back finished chanting and sent a shower of spells flying towards Monochrome.
Glorious Barrier!
A golden membrane of light surrounded Monochrome, absorbing a large portion of the damage from the spells with a pitter-pattering sound and sending motes of light flying everywhere like fireworks. Monochrome rushed forward and felled the other two Warriors in quick succession. His attacks were ruthless and resolute.
At the same time, Young Seven raised his staff and cast Heal on Monochrome, restoring his health back to full.
Charge!
Monochrome advanced toward the Mages like a raging bull. With a Whirlwind Slash, five dropped dead to the ground.
The situation on the other sides of the battlefield were just as lopsided. The teamwork and synergy of Nie Yan's group was seamless.
However, with more and more melee-class players joining the fray, the pressure on Nie Yan's side increased exponentially. The lack of area-of-effect magic was really hurting their ability to clear the enemy away at a fast enough pace.
Nevertheless, as class advanced players, all of them had powerful close-range skills at their disposal. So, when they faced ordinary players, it was still a bloodbath. Especially Bladelight, Lofty Shadow, and Yi Yan, they were Great Fighters geared with some of the best defensive equipment in Asskickers United, which gave them a minimum of 95% damage reduction against ordinary players. Add this to the high block rate of their shields, and even if they were bombarded by a group of 50 Mages, they would come out relatively unscathed.
Despite attracting 80% of the attacks as they pressed forward, Bladelight, Lofty Shadow, and Yi Yan still stood firm and resolute.
The damage of the Fighter trio might not be anything special. But their impregnable defenses left the players of Bloodlust Blades feeling helpless. On top of that, their attacks were still deadly to any squishy caster that allowed them to approach too close.
Simply comparing levels, Bladelight, Smoke Stub, and the others were all at least Level 54, with some even reaching Level 60, and Nie Yan who was the highest at Level 66. Meanwhile, the players from Bloodlust Blades were all around Level 45, with none of them reaching Level 50. All their high level players were at the front!
The Paladins from Asskickers United followed closely behind Bladelight, Smoke Stub, and the other Warriors, buffing them with a myriad of blessings that raised their combat power by at least 30%. At the same time, the Paladins also provided supplementary healing, which was still quite impactful despite not being as powerful as a Priest's.
Paladin of the Elegy raised his sword into the air as several rays of light fell over Edgeless.
Indomitable Will!
Holy Blessing!
Divine Conferment!
Edgeless suddenly felt himself overflowing with power. He glanced at his status bar and noticed numerous buffs, including Magic Immunity!
"Holy crap! I'm invincible!" Edgeless exclaimed. He could really let loose now. Taking advantage of his empowered state, he rushed into a group of Warriors and started a massacre.
Frenzied Blitz!
Eight Fighters were hit by a powerful force and collapsed dead on the ground in an instant.
Nie Yan surveyed his surroundings. Bladelight and the others were immersed in battle, rampaging through the enemy's ranks. He recited a cryptic chant and summoned Lil' Gold.
A giant Golden Dragon suddenly emerged on the battlefield. This was Lil' Gold's first debut in the war against Bloodlust Blades. He had already reached Level 56, with matchless stats that left players breathless. His health and defense were especially frighteningly high.
Lil' Gold immediately attracted the attention of the enemy. But before they had time to react, he breathed out scorching hot flames, incinerating more than 30 players from Bloodlust Blades.
Lil' Gold chanted out a series of words in the dragon language and targeted a dense crowd of players in the distance.
Meteor Drop!
A giant meteor crashed into the earth with a deafening bang. A massive explosion engulfed everything within a 25-meter radius as countless fireballs flew out. Within the raging inferno, more than 300 players were burned to ashes.
It looked like a scene straight out of the depths of hell. The surrounding players from Bloodlust Blades had dumbfounded looks on their faces.
What a powerful spell!
Lil' Gold charged into the enemy's ranks. The players from Bloodlust Blades retaliated in a haphazard fashion. A shower of spells bombarded his golden scales while several Warriors rushed forward with their swords raised in an attempt to stop him.
At this moment, Lil' Gold let out a thundering roar.
Explosive Counter!
Everyone within a 20-meter radius of Lil' Gold was swept up by a powerful force.
Lil' Gold's might was awe-inspiring!
Even the players from Asskickers United were left shaken. Although they knew Nie Yan owned a pet Golden Dragon, they never expected it to have grown so powerful.
Nie Yan was extremely satisfied with Lil' Gold's performance. Ordinarily, any pet with a Growth Rate of 15 would become a powerful existence at Level 50. Lil' Gold was already fairly rare with a Growth Rate of 20. Add this to the fact he was fed an Evolution Crystal, increasing his Growth Rate to 25, and he would become a heaven-defying existence![1]
Bladelight and the others brought out their own pets too. There was a Cheetah, a White Tiger, an Imp, and so on. But all of them paled in comparison to Lil' Gold.
By the time Nie Yan's group had killed around 1,500 players, 60 players wearing high-level gear could be spotted fast approaching from the plains in the distance.
「Everyone, get ready to use your Unknown Transfer Scrolls!」Nie Yan said after spotting these new arrivals.
The enemy's elites had finally arrived. It wouldn't be wise for Nie Yan's group to confront them while being so heavily outnumbered.
At this moment, an arrow wreathed in flames flew toward Nie Yan's back.
Sensing danger, Nie Yan instinctively activated Shadow Waltz just before the arrow struck him, taking advantage of the two seconds of invincibility to block the attack.
A giant flaming bird engulfed Nie Yan in fire. However, he remained unharmed.
Seeing his attack fail, a trace of shock flashed across Soaring Angel's face. He never expected Nie Yan to successfully block his arrow in this kind of situation. He let out a low grunt.
Spirit Eyes!
His eyes blossomed out with a green light. However, no matter where he looked, he couldn't find any trace of Nie Yan.
What high Cloaking!
Soaring Angel no longer paid attention to Nie Yan. He nocked three icy arrows and fired at Lil' Gold.
「Bang! Bang! Bang!」A thick layer of ice covered Lil' Gold's body. This was the Frost Arrow skill of an Elven Demon Hunter. It could lock down a target in ice!
At this moment, the nearby Mages targeted Lil' Gold with their magic. His Meteor Drop just a moment ago was too frightening. Such a threat had to be eliminated first, no matter the cost!
Several dozen spells rained down from the sky, with countless more on their way. Just when it looked like Lil' Gold was about to be killed, he suddenly disappeared with a bright flash of light. Nie Yan had unsummoned him!
Nie Yan looked toward where the Frost Arrows were shot from and saw an Elven Demon Hunter in azure leather armour. He looked quite conspicuous among the crowd. All his equipment was Sub Legendary-grade!
Nie Yan's eyes trembled. It was the guild leader of Angel Corps, Soaring Angel!
Nie Yan's knowledge of Soaring Angel was limited to only a few videos. Besides that, Xie Yao had previously told him at her birthday banquet that Fan Yuan was Soaring Angel! Regardless of what Fan Yuan's relationship with Cao Xu was, he was a target that had to be taken out!
Killing intent welled up in Nie Yan's heart.
Everyone in Nie Yan's group was suddenly in perilous danger as Bloodlust Blades began their counterattack. They suffered attacks on all sides from Soaring Angel's group of elites.
Bladelight and the others crushed their Unknown Transfer Scrolls. They had accomplished their objective. Now was the time to make their getaway!
Following multiple flashes of light, more than half the players from Asskickers United disappeared from the battlefield.
Seeing Bladelight and the others leave, Nie Yan came out of stealth and locked eyes with Soaring Angel from across the battlefield. With a cold smile on his face, he raised his middle finger and made an obscene gesture.
"Shadow Priests, lock him down with Shackles of Strife!" Soaring Angel shouted. Nie Yan still dared to behave so arrogantly under these circumstances? He was infuriated!
But before the Shadow Priests could react, Nie Yan vanished from sight.
Every single player from Asskickers United had escaped. All that remained were the piles of corpses from the players from Bloodlust Blades on the ground.
"Fucking bastards! They sure run fast!" Mad Blade cursed loudly. He hadn't even arrived before Asskickers United's players fled.
1. The raws in this chapter state that the Growth Rate of Lil' Gold increased to 25 after consuming an Evolution Crystal. If you check back to Chapter 278, it actually only changed from 15 to 20. I'm honestly not sure if this is a mistake or retcon from Mad Snail. But I'm leaning towards the latter.