The westerner Krow became restless and was the first to take action.
"Nirvana Flame, fight me!" Krow shouted as he activated Charge. Clad in his golden armour, he resembled a tank as he crushed everything in his path. His arrogance soared beyond the heavens. He had never put Nie Yan in his eyes.
"War God's Rage!" Smoke Stub's muscles swelled with power as he rushed forward to intercept Krow.
War God's Rage was a step above Barbarian Strength. After activating it, Smoke Stub's veins swelled. He brimmed with a destructive power that couldn't be contained.
"Punk! You think you can challenge Nirvana Flame? You're not qualified! Get past me first!" Smoke Stub roared.「Klang!」As the two Warriors clashed, Krow was forced several steps back.
Krow's expression turned ugly. Smoke Stub's overwhelming might left him with no choice but to pay attention. He didn't dare to drop his guard in the slightest.
In the instant Krow took action, Raven and the others also stepped forward, each finding a respective opponent.
Tang Yao, Xie Yao, and the other Mages raised their staffs, firing a barrage of spells at Raven's group.
On top of this being a 12 versus seven, Asskickers United's side also had the equipment advantage. Direwolf's players didn't stand the slightest chance. Their resistance was only delaying the inevitable.
This was the most difficult battle Raven and the others had experienced since entering Conviction. As elites of Direwolf, each with their own pride, they had at least some confidence in victory. Thinking back to that now, they realized the absurdity of this conjecture. It was laughable!
Nie Yan, King of the World, Painted Muslin, and the others remained off to the side without taking action, conveying that ganging upon the enemy would be beneath them. Smoke Stub, Tang Yao, and the others were enough to deal with these Direwolf players.
Tang Yao raised his staff, firing spells out like a gatling gun. His attack speed was frightening, and the gap between spells was extremely short. Furthermore, his mana bar never seemed to fall. The Arcane Fairy constantly buffed him, so he was free to use high damage and high mana consumption spells without worry. His firepower was unmatched.
A Direwolf Warrior took the brunt of Tang Yao's attack. As his health rapidly fell, he quickly drank a Health Potion. Behind him was also a Priest healing him non-stop. However, he still failed to hold out in the end and was sent flying. Tang Yao's damage was too high. Even with the support of a healer it wasn't enough!
This was a Warrior with 6,000 defense and 8,000 health! Even with the support of a healer, he still couldn't endure. Tang Yao was too overpowered!
Raven's expression distorted. Both he and Tang Yao were Arcane Mages. However, the difference between them was like heaven and earth.
The fact that the name of Young Sparrow Hawk had stayed at the top of the level leaderboards all this time without ever once falling wasn't without reason.
Raven's opponent was Xie Yao. After being part of Direwolf for so long, this was the first time he had met his match. Furthermore, his opponent was a girl. This was something he had a hard time accepting.
With this exchange, the difference between the two sides was clear as day. After encountering Asskickers United's top elites, the insufferably haughty players of Direwolf became soft eggs.
Smoke Stub, Tang Yao, and the others were completely dominating the Direwolf players. Even in a one versus one situation they weren't a match. To top it off, Nie Yan hadn't even taken action!
Raven was dejected. Perhaps Nie Yan felt it was beneath him to fight with them!
Watching their videos, Raven and the others only had a rough idea of Asskickers United's strength. Only after meeting them face to face did Raven and the others experience the heavy pressure which left them with no room for a comeback.
A single person, no matter how talented, would find it extremely difficult to reach the level of these players from Asskickers United, let alone create such a shocking lineup. Just how did Nie Yan accomplish this?
Nie Yan was different from others. He was a reincarnator. Before Bladelight and the others had revealed their talents to the world, he had already gathered them together, allowing these experts to learn from each other as well as imparting his 10 years of game experience to them. Their progress was definitely outside the perception of normal players.
Smoke Stub's previous words weren't spoken from arrogance, but rather from his absolute confidence in Asskickers United!
With a thud, another Direwolf player collapsed to the ground. They couldn't understand for the life of them how they were getting crushed so badly.
Krow and Smoke Stub had exchanged several dozen blows by now. Both were powerful Warriors. Even though Krow was a famous talent, his skills were a notch below Smoke Stub's. One could clearly see the difference. In terms of equipment, however, Krow was far inferior. Smoke Stub's equipment was handpicked by Nie Yan, sporting a full set of twinked Level 100 gear. Krow's equipment was roughly on par with Smoke Stub's previous set. However, Smoke Stub's old set had long since been gifted to Cold Peak Absolute Sword.
Krow was getting thrashed left and right. He didn't expect Smoke Stub to be so domineering, appearing far stronger than in the videos.
During this one month's time, Smoke Stub and the others had continuously improved their skills. Meanwhile, the legends of Krow, Raven, and the other Direwolf players were fading into history.
Krow's face flushed with anger. Each of Smoke Stub's blows seemed to carry the weight of Mt. Tai. He couldn't even breathe under this pressure!
Krow felt unwilling. Was he really going to lose to Smoke Stub and the others like this? Were his past glory and achievements going to vanish like a puff of smoke, washed away in the river of time?
Krow roared out in anger. He leaped into the air, his greatsword igniting with raging flames as he slashed down at Smoke Stub.
"Impudent!" Smoke Stub snorted. Blocking the Flame Slash, Smoke Stub went for an elbow strike. The thick elbow pad of his armour was ruthlessly planted into Krow's stomach. Krow immediately curled up like a cooked shrimp as the sharp pain caused him to lose all control of his body.
「Klang!」With a Seismic Slam, Krow was sent flying. Smoke Stub immediately rushed forward and dealt the finishing blow, draining Krow of his remaining health.
When Raven looked back, he saw the corpses of Krow and his five other Direwolf companions lying on the ground. He was the only one left alive. He couldn't help but despair.
Nie Yan gazed at Raven. "Pass this message onto your boss. Alliance of Mages is finished. Next up will be Divine Protectors. Tell him to quickly scram out of the Viridian Empire, or risk getting none of his investment back. Of course, if the Century Financial Group thinks they have all the money in the world to waste…"
Hearing Nie Yan's words, Raven didn't have any opportunity to reply before Xie Yao's spell sent him flying.
Glancing at the corpses on the ground, Nie Yan faintly smiled. "Seems like we've cleared out the area here. Collect the equipment. We're leaving."
Before long, the results of the battle in the Realm of Death became known to the public. No videos of the battles were leaked out, with both Alliance of Mages and Asskickers United staying radio silent. However, the statistics of the battle were still announced. All 3,000 players on Alliance of Mages' side had been wiped out while Asskickers United had only lost 392 players.
Without a doubt, Asskickers United had achieved victory. However, when players saw these casualty numbers, they were absolutely dumbstruck. What was going on? How did Asskickers United only lose 392 people? This was unbelievable!
Since Alliance of Mages had hired a large number of experts, common opinion was that the two sides were roughly on par, with Alliance of Mages maybe holding a slight advantage. Even if they lost in the end, how could they have lost so badly? Losing 3,000 players while not even being able to kill 400 from Asskickers United, this was too shocking!
All the players in the Viridian Empire were fervently discussing the outcome of the battle. Eventually, some information leaked. With so many different organizations participating on the side of Alliance of Mages, it was only a matter of time. A video website paid big bucks to obtain footage of the battle. After watching the video, everyone finally understood what had happened.
Regarding Asskickers United's tactics, all players were dumbfounded. Some players were saying Nirvana Flame was despicable resorting to such dirty tricks. They said that even though Asskickers United defeated Alliance of Mages, the victory didn't count. Others were on Asskickers United's side. If winning like this wasn't honorable, was needlessly sending your own people to their death honorable?
The victor was king and the loser a bandit. Alliance of Mages had lost, losing so badly there was nothing left to say!
No matter what people on the outside thought or said, Asskickers United's players were extremely grateful. Nie Yan's benevolence was deeply engraved in their hearts. He would never send his players to their deaths needlessly. In this battle in the Realm of Death, even though he was the one to propose the challenge, he had done his best to prevent losses on their side. Having this kind of guild leader was definitely a blessing.
Before this matter settled down, another explosive piece of news began making the rounds. Asskickers United's troops had left Calore's borders and were advancing towards Moonlight City. Was Asskickers United planning to lay siege to Moonlight City?
Moonlight City was in a state of panic.
Nie Yan claimed his reward, selecting five strongholds belong to Alliance of Mages. These five strongholds formed an enclosure around Alliance of Mages' main stronghold, the Edgarton Stronghold.
Even though Crazy Magic was unwilling, under the system's enforcements, he could only reluctantly fulfill his end of the bet, handing over the five strongholds.
These five strongholds would become a springboard for Asskickers United to attack Alliance of Mages. War was unavoidable!
Alliance of Mages was restricted from attacking these five strongholds for one month. Under these circumstances, could the Edgarton Stronghold hold out?