With the Hundred Thieves tracking Shadow Killer, Nie Yan could carry out his assassination at any time. As for what sort of method he would use, that would depend on the situation.
By winning the bet Nie Yan could have Shadow Killer assassinate three people for him. A few faces already came to mind.
「Shadow Killer came looking for you?」Guo Huai asked. Nie Yan wouldn't tell him to track Shadow Killer for no reason. They had probably fought again.
「I was almost killed by him,」Nie Yan replied. Their battle had really been a close call. Fortunately, he had activated Death Immunity in the nick of time. Else if he was a step slower, he would be a cold corpse on the floor.
Guo Huai's eyes widened in shock, sinking into silence. After a while, he said in a resolute tone,「We need to deal with Shadow Killer once and for all!」He knew Nie Yan's death would be a heavy blow to Asskickers United's morale. He couldn't be allowed to die, at least not until the guild grew stronger. His undefeated legend was vital to them. For this very same reason, other guilds spared no effort in trying to kill him.
Nie Yan informed Guo Huai of his bet with Shadow Killer.
Guo Huai pondered for a moment.「That's good. Even relying on all our informants across the Viridian Empire, keeping track of Shadow Killer won't be easy. Don't worry, though. Leave it to me. You have to be careful as well. Many guilds are eyeing you right now, specifically God Executioner Sword from Moonlight City. They've been getting restless lately!」
God Executioner Sword...? Nie Yan suddenly recalled something.「Ignore them. Let them run wild for a bit longer. We'll deal with our own growth first.」
Nie Yan and Guo Huai chatted for a bit longer before hanging up. He prepared to continue on with his quest, leading the four Demonsmiths and Lil' Gold deeper into the hall.
Hiding behind a corner, Blazing and Sky Felled had witnessed the battle between Shadow Killer and Nie Yan. The whole exchange seemed fleeting, lasting only a short five seconds. But whether it was Nie Yan or Shadow Killer, both were existences they could never hope to reach. Shadow Killer's ambush which practically reached the pinnacle of speed left a deep impression on them. If it were them, they would've never been able to pull off something like that. Shadow Killer's assassination skills had reached the utmost perfection.
In the instant Shadow Killer took action, Blazing and Sky Felled believed Nie Yan was done for. If Shadow Killer had succeeded in assassinating Nie Yan, that one strike would've become an instant classic. But against all expectations, the battle took a completely different turn. Nie Yan used a unique and practically suicidal method to get himself out of danger.
After the battle, Blazing and Sky Felled kept replaying the video over and over again until they understood everything that happened. Their hearts were filled with immense shock. Shadow Killer's opener was breathtaking. The skill displayed absolutely rivalled that of top experts. This was the mark of a true assassin! Meanwhile, Nie Yan's response was practically inhuman.
Nie Yan somehow managed to react with Death Immunity despite the speed at which Shadow Killer ambushed him. Just what kind of freak was he?
Even if Blazing and Sky Felled trained for another 10 years, they still might not necessarily reach Nie Yan's caliber. The two of them were thoroughly convinced of their inferiority.
Several minutes later, a video of Nie Yan slaughtering the more than 30 Thieves from Alliance of Mages and Divine Protectors—along with his clash against Shadow Killer—was making its rounds on the forums.
The video left many players speechless. It was an absolutely sublime exchange, a confrontation between two peak experts. Even though the fight lasted only a short few seconds, it was watched countless times on repeat, leaving a deep impression that lingered in the collective mind of the playerbase. The strength of Nie Yan and Shadow Killer was on clear display.
Many Thieves studied this video religiously. The more insight they gained, the more they marveled at the skill of Nie Yan and Shadow Killer.
When people watched the video, the first thing that came to mind was, "Fuck, even this can't kill Nirvana Flame!?" In such a short amount of time, against such a ruthless and decisive attack, he still somehow survived! This was simply inconceivable!
Besides the exchange, players were also talking about the four Demonsmiths under Nie Yan's control.
With four Demonsmiths and a Golden Dragon under his command, Nie Yan was truly awe-inspiring. His image was deeply engraved into the hearts of the players. Furthermore, he was already Level 72! The person at the top of the level leaderboards was Young Sparrow Hawk at Level 69. This meant Nie Yan had long since surpassed him!
With four Demonsmiths and a Golden Dragon at his beck and call, it was no wonder Nie Yan levelled up so quickly.
Nie Yan had once again reaffirmed his legend with this display of might.
Every Thief recalled a certain message that came from the Mad Rogue himself. Only Shadow Dancers were qualified to challenge him!
Just what was a Shadow Dancer? Many players couldn't help but start wondering. Would it really allow one to reach Nie Yan's level of skill?
「Sky Felled, was it you who shared that video on the forums?」Blazing asked. This video undoubtedly raised the prestige of Nie Yan. Their guild leader would kill them for posting it for everyone to see.
「No, why would I do that? If it was me, it would be from my perspective here.」Sky Felled gazed at a nook in the distance. They weren't alone.
Many people were eyeing Nie Yan. His entrance into Golden City was simply too conspicuous.
Suddenly, Sky Felled felt a chill at the back of his neck—a Thief!
He hurriedly retreated several steps, taking cover behind a statue.
This statue depicted a Fallen Demon. With an overly obese body and skin coloured a peculiar shade of red, it was clad in silver gray armour. Even its brows, eyes, expression, and other features were sculpted vividly and life-like.
As Sky Felled retreated, his right hand accidentally touched a round recess at the back of the statue.
At this moment, the ground started trembling. The hall was shaking as if the whole place was going down.
What was happening!?
Sky Felled and Blazing's faces paled as a feeling of danger washed over them. They hurriedly disappeared into stealth, trying to conceal themselves to the best of their ability.
After the shaking settled down, the statue of the Fallen Demon suddenly came to life. It brandished its giant hammer and swung at a nearby shadow.
"Ahhhh!" a Thief hiding in a corner cried out pitifully as he transformed into a ray of light and disappeared. His Cloaking was too low, leaving him exposed to the Fallen Demon.
Fallen Demon (Elite): Level 90
Health: 90,000/90,000
「It's a Level 90 Elite! Run!」Blazing anxiously shouted out. He and Sky Felled quickly bolted toward the exit with Gale Step.
The Fallen Demon was in hot pursuit, repeatedly smashing down with its hammer. The ground shook incessantly as it left crater after crater in its wake. Blazing and Sky Felled didn't dare to dally. If they were struck, they would be done for!
Sky Felled and Blazing bolted out of the hall. After losing sight of its targets, the Fallen Demon looked around before shifting its attention to Nie Yan.
Noticing the commotion, Nie Yan was flabbergasted when the statue of the Fallen Demon came to life. It turned out the statues in this hall were real monsters!
Nie Yan guessed one of the Thieves tailing him had accidently triggered the activation mechanism of the statue.
Nie Yan was unperturbed. A single Fallen Demon was relatively easy to deal with.
Nie Yan had his four Demonsmiths surround the Fallen Demon.
It was four versus one. Nevertheless, the Fallen Demon was much stronger than the Demonsmiths individually. It had over 90,000 health, not to mention its other stats.
−923
−861
−897
…
The four Demonsmiths repeatedly struck the Fallen Demon with their hammers.
After being attacked, the Fallen Demon roared out in anger and brandished its hammer in retaliation. Every attack dealt more than 5,000 damage to the Demonsmiths!
Nie Yan's heart trembled in apprehension. The Fallen Demon was strong enough to be a Variant Elite!
Nie Yan targeted the Fallen Demon with Undead Rite.
Undead Rite has failed! Invalid target!
This Fallen Demon was basically a gargoyle.
Gargoyles were monsters unique to dungeons. They weren't alive, and they possessed the strongest armour type—siege armour! They were tough to deal with. Ordinary attacks wouldn't faze them. Only players who had reached a certain level of strength could even leave a scratch on them.
Thankfully, Nie Yan had Four Demonsmiths and Lil' Gold to help out. Handling this Fallen Demon wouldn't be an issue. Since it couldn't be controlled with Undead Rite, the only option was to take it down!
Nie Yan had Lil' Gold blast the Fallen Demon with Dragon Breath, dealing more than 2,000 damage. It was fairly effective against siege armour.
At the same time, Nie Yan also controlled the Demonsmiths, having them take turns tanking the Fallen Demon. As soon as one of them got low, they would be switched out. After three Demonsmiths fell to critical health, the Fallen Demon finally collapsed into rubble.
The Fallen Demon dropped a cloak.
As Nie Yan walked over to pick up the loot, all the statues in the hall started undergoing a transformation. The atmosphere turned gloomy while the surrounding temperature plummeted. The faces of the statues twisted with malevolence. Whoever triggered the mechanism had awoken all the statues. It appeared clearing this hall wasn't going to be as easy as he thought.
Nie Yan carefully recollected on the memories of his past life. He had visited Golden City several times, but it was only to run the Underground Mines. He was completely clueless about the upper layer.
Nie Yan recalled hearing about a guild wiping almost 30 times clearing Golden City. For their efforts, they only obtained the Sub Legendary-grade dagger, Slaughter Gold. What should've been their true reward, the riches stored within the treasury, remained sealed away. They searched all over the place, but they couldn't find the key. Even up until his death, no one had triggered the quest for unlocking Golden City's treasury. It was an unsolvable mystery.