"Boss, we just received word that Alliance of Mages can't hold on much longer. Should we dispatch some reinforcements?" Rocksplitter asked. Angel Corps was still technically allied with Alliance of Mages.
Soaring Angel shook his head and chuckled. "We only dispatched reinforcements last time because the Century Financial Group requested us to. There's no need for that this time around. Alliance of Mages already has no chance of turning things around. Even if we send reinforcements over, it won't be of any use. In any case, the Century Financial Group is too preoccupied fending off another major power to spare any time for Alliance of Mages right now. Plus, Asskickers United is still a long ways off from dominating the entire Viridian Empire. They're no threat to us. Even if they defeat Alliance of Mages and Divine Protectors, there'll be many more obstacles ahead for them. To my knowledge, another major power not slightest bit inferior to the Century Financial Group is rising up fast in the Viridian Empire, and have already acquired several dozen guilds. Let Asskickers United continue with their little game of war. Their future will be anything but peaceful."
Soaring Angel wasn't the least bit concerned about the war in the Viridian Empire. Asskickers United's Armoured Ice Catapults couldn't reach them all the way over in the Satreen Empire. Angel Corps was currently researching high level siege weapons. In a few months time, the Armoured Ice Catapults would be obsolete.
Angel Corps' position in the Satreen Empire was unshakeable. Meanwhile, Asskickers United still had a long journey ahead of them.
After Soaring Angel voiced his opinion, the several Angel Corps higher ups threw away any thoughts about sending reinforcements to aid Alliance of Mages. Their top priority was to continue exploring Gryphon Woodlands and obtain enough flying mounts to form a powerful aerial force! Once they established superiority in the skies, cross nation wars would become much more feasible.
With Angel Corps deciding not to lend a hand, Alliance of Mages and Divine Protectors were in a real pickle.
Guo Huai made some inquiries and discovered Angel Corps had decided not to send any aid to Alliance of Mages and Divine Protectors. He breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Angel Corps didn't take action, things would be much easier. They could slowly chip away at Alliance of Mages' forces.
Crazy Magic would probably be incredibly vexed to find out that Angel Corps wasn't sending any reinforcements.
While Asskickers United's Armoured Ice Catapults continued razing Alliance of Mages' strongholds to the ground, two Trebuchets were completed. Alliance of Mages' fate was sealed. All that was left to do was to decide how to collect the spoils.
Guo Huai estimated that in at most three days the Edgarton Stronghold would be transformed into a pile of ruins.
Their dominance in the war filled Asskickers United's players with confidence. Their momentum was unstoppable.
Since the war seemed to be progressing smoothly, Nie Yan could focus on training his skills without worry. In the previous timeline, even Level 100 and higher Shadow Dancers wouldn't necessarily be able to raise a Freedom Skill to Rank 8. After he finished this skill training session, challenging the class advancement quest would be a piece of cake.
Before Nie Yan's eyes was a brilliant future.
Nie Yan immersed himself in training, hunting down Barbarian Warriors while exploring deeper into the map.
This Land of Dreams was quite vast. No matter how far Nie Yan walked, he couldn't see any end in sight. His harvests were ample, obtaining more than 50 skills books. This place only dropped skill books, nothing else. However, many of these skill books were high quality drops. So, there was nothing to complain about. If he threw these skill books into the treasury, Asskickers United's players would probably go wild with joy. A few Thief skill books dropped, one of which was for a Freedom Skill. However, with so many skills already in his arsenal, continuing to learn more would have a negative effect. So, he could only put it aside for now. He would train all his current skills up first.
After climbing up a hill, Nie Yan gazed at a hollow basin in the prarie up ahead. A giant Barbarian Warrior entered his sight. It resembled a grizzly and was about two heads taller than the ordinary Barbarian Warriors. It was clad in spiked golden armour and wielded a supersized greataxe.
"It's probably an Elite," Nie Yan muttered. He cautiously approached the Barbarian Warrior from behind until he was only 30 meters away, then activated Transcendent Insight.
Berserk Barbarian Warrior (Elite): Level 120
Health: 3,000,000/3,000,000
"I was right! It is an elite! Damn, what a crazy stupid amount of health too." Nie Yan's heart trembled. Any Elites Level 100 and up were incredibly tough to deal with. He was absolutely no match for it in his current state.
After thinking for a moment, Nie Yan decided to leave. Out of all his skills, only the Rank 8 Backbreaker could deal any appreciable damage to the Berserk Barbarian Warrior. Sadly, a single skill wasn't enough take it down.
Just as Nie Yan was about to leave, something flashing in the grass beside the Berserk Barbarian Warrior caught his eye.
This was a seven coloured radiance, incomparably beautiful and ever-changing.
At first, Nie Yan thought it was the light reflecting off the Berserk Barbarian Warrior's armour.
"Is that a treasure chest? For it to have that kind of visual effect, it should at least be Sub Legendary, maybe Legendary-grade."
Nie Yan moved about 10 meters closer.
The Berserk Barbarian Warrior started moving around, each step shaking the earth.
Seeing the Berserk Barbarian Warrior getting restless, Nie Yan hurriedly calmed his breathing and buffed himself with several skills that boosted stealth.
After failing to discover anything, the Berserk Barbarian Warrior returned to an idle state.
It appeared the Awareness of the Berserk Barbarian Warrior wasn't that high. Nie Yan continued approaching closer. When he was about seven meters away, it finally noticed something and started scanning around.
Nie Yan halted his steps and gazed at a patch of knee-length grass up ahead. Hidden there was a small chest made out of some unknown metal. It appeared quite sturdy. Hanging off the lid was a fist-sized lock.
Inspecting this chest, Nie Yan determined it was Sub Legendary-grade.
Nie Yan observed the Berserk Barbarian Warrior. Although it was roaming around, it always maintained a distance no further than five meters form the chest.
He had to find some way to lead the Berserk Barbarian Warrior away!
Having Lil' Gold draw aggro was one option. However, Nie Yan wanted to avoid Lil' Gold dying if possible. After thinking for a bit, he decided to summon a Paladin from Divine Recruitment. At worst, he would have to pay a penalty fee if the hired Paladin died.
Nie Yan returned to his previous spot about 30 meters away from the Berserk Barbarian Warrior. He opened up Divine Recruitment and summoned the Rank 10 Paladin, Kilwater. A Rank 10 Paladin was much higher specced than the ones he summoned previously, especially in terms of movements speed.
"Greeting Sir Nirvana Flame, I'm willing to serve!" Kilwater greeted.
Nie Yan had Kilwater slowly approach the Berserk Barbarian Warrior.
When Kilwater arrived at the 20-meter mark, the Barbarian Warrior turned to stare at him. However, it didn't move from its position to attack him.
Kilwater drew closer and closer, 19 meters, 18 meters… continuing to test the Berserk Barbarian Warrior's limit. Nie Yan broke out in a cold sweat. He had Kilwater buff himself with several speed boosting skills and prepare to run at a moment's notice.
When Kilwater reached the 13-meter mark, the Berserk Barbarian Warrior couldn't hold back any longer and charged at him.
"It's now or never." Nie Yan's heartstrings were stretched taut.
Kilwater raised his sword and cast Purify on the Berserk Barbarian Warrior.
As the Berserk Barbarian Warrior closed in, Kilwater turned tail and fled.
The Berserk Barbarian Warrior's greataxe lit up with a blazing brilliance as it chopped down with unrivalled might.
Kilwater suddenly accelerated and covered six meters in an instant.
With a loud bang, the Berserk Barbarian Warrior struck the ground, causing cracks to rapidly spread in the earth. Almost as if a mountain was being torn apart, dirt and crushed rock flew everywhere.
Fortunately, Nie Yan had passed down his orders in time, allowing Kilwater to escape.
However, the Berserk Barbarian Warrior's assault wasn't over. It let out a furious roar, causing a powerful sound wave to spread out.
War Roar!
Kilwater barely made it a few steps before a powerful sound wave struck him in the back, sending him flying and crashing into the ground.
Kilwater stumbled back to his feet and continued fleeing. He restored his own health and gave himself a few buffs.
However, Kilwater was too slow. The Berserk Barbarian Warrior quickly caught up with Charge and ruthlessly chopped down with its greataxe.
Nie Yan's pupils contracted. What frightening attack speed!
Ordinary Barbarian Warriors attack quited slowly. However, the Berserk Barbarian Warrior's attacks were fast to the point of being overpowered!
With a bang, Kilwater was sent flying. Stunned for a few seconds, the Berserk Barbarian Warrior finished him off with one final chop.
Kilwater died.
The Berserk Barbarian Warrior snorted out hot air from its nose. It lingered around Kilwater's corpse for a while before returning to its original position beside the chest.
The Berserk Barbarian Warrior's strength was too frightening. It wouldn't be easy for Nie Yan to fetch whatever was inside that Sub Legendary-grade chest.
Nie Yan initially planned to have Kilwater lure the Berserk Barbarian Warrior away. Now it seemed like that plan had gone up in smoke.
Nie Yan looked down at his skill bar. "Maybe I'll have a chance after training the rest of my Freedom Skills to Rank 7 or 8…" He could only give up for the time being. After doing some more training, he could come back and try again.