"Fucking hell! That NPC is way too strong! Everyone, use your Unknown Transfer Scrolls. Retreat!"
The Thieves from Bloodfiends split up in different directions. Lafus immediately went into pursuit.
Dark pulled out an Unknown Transfer Scroll, only to be instantly silenced by Lafus. His face paled. "Dammit, what kind of combat AI is this? This NPC is more frightening than a top rank player!"
Holy Judgement!
Lafus raised his sword high. A beam of holy light descended from the sky and struck Dark. BOOM! He was sent flying.
Unable to use any scrolls or skills, Dark was completely helpless. Without the slightest chance of escape, tragedy was his only fate.
After killing Dark, Lafus looked around. Ardent and the others had already ran far away. With no idea where they went, he could only give up his pursuit.
Nie Yan picked up the equipment Dark dropped, a Level 100 Dark Gold-grade leather chestpiece and Level 100 Dark Gold-grade leg guards. Both pieces were socketed with gems that reduced level requirement. With how strong those main five from Bloodfiends were, their equipment naturally wouldn't be lacking.
"Pretty decent. Too bad they're worse than what I have on now. Hmm, someone in the guild might want them, though." Nie Yan put away the two pieces of equipment in his bag.
This was merely the appetizer. Nie Yan planned to make them pay for daring to ambush him and the other members of Asskickers United. Since Bloodfiends was a club of the Top Military Academy, he would have plenty more opportunities for revenge. There was no need to rush.
Ardent, Shadow, and Night regrouped in the forest. Gazing at Lafus slaughtering the players of Winter Darkness, Death Descent, and Sky Siever in the distance, they felt fear lingering in their hearts.
"That Paladin Lafus is way too overpowered. If we hadn't quickly made a run for it, all of us would be dead right now," Ardent said in a gloomy tone. This was the first time they had suffered such a large setback, and it was at the hands of an NPC!
"That NPC is smarter than most players. Someone has to be controlling him. That's the only explanation that makes any sense!" Shadow said.
"I think so too," Night agreed. He wondered which person had a bone to pick with Winter Darkness, Death Descent, and Sky Siever.
Before long, Dark and Seal resurrected from the graveyard. Ardent, Night, and Shadow disappeared into stealth and left the battlefield.
They were determined to find out the identity of Lafus' owner.
After Bloodfiends withdrew, even more tragedy befell the forces of Winter Darkness, Death Descent, and Sky Siever. Their corpses littered the ground. Ice Age was cut down by Splendid Star, while the other elites fell to Lafus and Splendid Temple. Only a few small fry managed to escape with their lives.
Splendid Temple vented their anger. With thousands of players watching, they massacred three large rival guilds.
The idle spectators watched Lafus in awe. Anyone with half a brain could tell that he was stupidly powerful. Fearing he still hadn't satisfied his craving for blood and would turn his blade on them, they retreated further back. No one dared to approach within 200 meters.
Splendid Star was also extremely wary of Lafus. He only relaxed after Lafus didn't show any hostility toward them. Even so, he didn't dare to poke the bear.
Splendid Temple's players collected the equipment that the forces of Winter Darkness, Death Descent, and Sky Siever dropped.
Phantom Princess Ina's health had regenerated back up to 7%. She was surrounded by a group of Warriors.
Nie Yan looked around. Of the several powers present on the battlefield, Splendid Temple was the strongest. The players who had died in the battle ran back to their corpses and safely revived. With this, a significant portion of their losses were mitigated. They sat on the ground, recovering their health and mana while waiting for the weakened status effect to wear off.
Nie Yan thought for a moment, then messaged Splendid Star,「Do me a favour. Help me kill Phantom Princess Ina.」
While preparing to face off against Phantom Princess Ina again, Splendid Star's chat rang. He was surprised to find the sender was Nirvana Flame. After reading through the message, he immediately put two and two together. Ever since Paladin Lafus appeared on the battlefield, he always felt like someone was secretly extending a helping hand. After all, an NPC, especially one so powerful, wouldn't go out of their way to interfere in a battle between players. He kept waiting. However, the mysterious expert never revealed themselves. He finally realized Nie Yan was the one helping them all along!
Splendid Star was deeply moved. He was having a hard time calming down. If it weren't for the aid of Paladin Lafus, Splendid Temple would've suffered disastrous losses, with all 2,000 of their players dying—dropping at least one level and a piece of equipment. Such a setback would be impossible to recover from in a short time. Not to mention guilds like Winter Darkness, Death Descent, and Sky Siever certainly weren't above kicking someone who was already down. Splendid Temple would be facing a future full of uncertainty.
Lafus' appearance completely reversed the situation. He rescued more than 300 Splendid Temple players from impending doom and helped them kill in the excess of 3,000 enemies. The 1,700 players who died during the battle all revived by running back to their corpses or with the help of Priests. So, their death penalties were reduced to 20% experience. Splendid Temple also managed to collect more than 2,000 pieces of equipment. All in all, they had come out of this slightly ahead.
「I really can't thank you enough for earlier. If it wasn't for you, we would've taken disastrous losses. In the future, if you need anything, just say the word. Come hell or high water, I'll definitely rush over to help you,」Splendid Star said sincerely. He was a man who would always repay favours.
Nie Yan chuckled. He never took these kinds of promises to heart. Splendid Star having this kind of sentiment was enough.
Splendid Star glanced down at the post-battle report.「We collected 2,058 pieces of equipment from the battle in total. After we kill Phantom Princess Ina, I'll immediately dispatch people to deliver it all to Asskickers United's headquarters.」He felt they had already received a great favour by being saved by Lafus. It was only right that the equipment would go to Nie Yan. He was a person of principle.
「It's fine. You guys collected the equipment, so you should have it. Just help me kill Phantom Princess Ina, and you can consider the favour repaid,」Nie Yan said. He simply wanted Phantom Princess Ina dead. Only then would his heart be at ease.
「You sure…? Alright then.」Splendid Star nodded. He felt helping Nie Yan kill Phantom Princess Ina hardly counted as repaying the favour.
「As for anything related to Paladin Lafus, I trust you'll keep that a secret.」Nie Yan didn't wish to reveal his cards unnecessarily, especially an ace like Paladin Lafus.
「Of course,」Splendid Star replied. Recalling the might of Lafus, he couldn't help but sink into deep thought. Why was the Mad Rogue Nirvana Flame able to maintain his undefeated streak? Because no one could gauge his true strength! Apart from Paladin Lafus, just how many other cards did he have hidden up his sleeves? The only one who knew was the person in question himself.
After hanging up the call, Splendid Star shouted, "Everyone, we're going to kill Phantom Princess Ina! Warrior Platoon #1, you're up! Paladins, cast your blessings! Mages, Priests, get ready!"
At Splendid Star's orders, Splendid Temple's forces immediately mobilized into action. A group of 60 Warriors charged toward Phantom Princess Ina.
The Paladins followed closely behind. Each was assigned to a Warrior. They provided healing, buffing, and dispelling. The Mages and Priests raised their staffs and started chanting incantations.
It wasn't long before Splendid Temple took over as the main force attacking Phantom Princess Ina. At this moment, Lafus raised his sword into the sky. Rays of light fell over the players from Splendid Temple. Their stats rose severalfold.
"Damn! These blessings are awesome!"
"Boss, is Paladin Lafus a mercenary you hired or something? Is that why he's healing and buffing us?" a player asked.
"That's a guild secret. Focus on killing Phantom Princess Ina. Don't ask too many questions," Splendid Star replied. His ambiguous response only left the players of Splendid Temple feeling more curious.
Several players with ulterior motives failed to get any information out of Splendid Star. They could only give up, or risk arousing suspicion.
As the Warriors secured Phantom Princess Ina's aggro, the casters released their magic. Countless spells whizzed through the air and bombarded her body. BANG! BANG! BANG! A string of damage values ranging from 700–800 floated up above her head.
These casters were dealing three times more damage after being buffed by Lafus' blessings.
Under the intense assault, Phantom Princess Ina's health started falling again, and at a much faster rate than before.
Everyone was astonished by the powerful effects of Lafus' blessings.
Soon, Phantom Princess Ina's health fell below 3%. She let out a furious cry and unleashed a barrage of magic. The Warriors around her were instantly annihilated.
"Warrior Team #2, you're up!" Splendid Star shouted.
Warrior Team #2 barely lasted 30 seconds before wiping.
"Warrior Team #3, charge!"
Group after group of Warriors dauntlessly charged in front of Phantom Princess Ina, sacrificing their lives to keep her locked down.
Under the intense barrage of spells, Phantom Princess Ina's health eventually fell to zero. She let out a mournful wail and collapsed on the ground.
Phantom Princess Ina finally died.
The players on the sidelines immediately stirred into action.
"Everyone, snatch the loot!"
"Quickly, get it!"
Countless players surged forward. No one could resist the allure of equipment dropped by a Level 100 Variant Lord!
The Mages at the back started casting AoE magic. An endless torrent of fireballs rained down from the sky. Many of the Warriors from Splendid Temple failed to get away in time and were transformed into rays of light.