Transcendent Insight!
Vorderman: Level ???
Titles: Legendary Necromancer
Necromancer Vorderman's level was too high. The Shadow Clone had no way of seeing through it.
Even if the Shadow Clone were to ambush Vorderman, killing him was an impossible task.
If Vorderman finished up with the ritual, the Shadow Clone would definitely be a goner. So, time was of the essence.
Nie Yan had the Shadow Clone circle around Vorderman. Various magical items were scattered on the ground. He collected a few of them to serve as evidence, including a bone fragment used in the ritual for summoning the bone dragon.
After obtaining these items, Nie Yan had the Shadow Clone retreat.
It passed within five meters of Vorderman.
Seeing Vorderman still completely oblivious to the Shadow Clone's presence, a dangerous thought popped into Nie Yan's mind.
"I should try stealing from Vorderman!"
The Shadow Clone slowly inched closer to Vorderman. The distance between the two was getting shorter and shorter.
Nie Yan held his breath as his heartbeat raced. He prayed Vorderman wouldn't wake up.
The Shadow Clone finally arrived within arm's length of Vorderman.
Nie Yan had the Shadow Clone extend its hand and use Steal.
Steal failed!
"Dammit!" Nie Yan's heart tightened. Seeing Vorderman still chanting away and oblivious to the Shadow Clone, only then did his heart calm down.
Ever since Steal reached Rank 16, it had rarely ever failed. Nie Yan could steal from any monster, regardless of their level. Vorderman was the first NPC at too high of a level for Steal to always be a success.
"Let's try again!"
Nie Yan had the Shadow Clone use Steal again.
Steal successful! You have obtained a Sable Dragon Core.
Nie Yan raised an eyebrow. This was the first time he saw a Sable Dragon Core. He was curious if it was the same as a life core, or something else altogether.
Vorderman still showed no signs of reaction, with only the bone dragon's awakening in its eyes.
"This guy sure is way too focused when chanting. Alright then, I won't hold back!"
After using Steal several more times, Nie Yan obtained three Sable Dragon Cores and one Synthesis Gem.
Nie Yan was laser focused while having the Shadow Clone steal from Vorderman. The slightest slip-up wouldn't just cost him the Shadow Clone but possibly his own life as well.
At this moment, Vorderman opened his eyes. His eye sockets flared with ferocious crimson flames.
Nie Yan's heart tightened. "Crap, he's awake!"
He hurriedly had the Shadow Clone activate Gale Step and flee into the distance.
Nie Yan retreated in the opposite direction, slipping into the dark shadows of a corner. Before long, the silhouettes of the Shadow Clone and Vorderman were no longer in view. Not even 30 seconds later, he received a notification of the Shadow Clone's death.
"Damn! What a frightening NPC!"
Nie Yan activated a Return Scroll and disappeared with a flash of light. When he opened his eyes again, he was already back in Hilderlocke. He reviewed the Shadow Clone's last moments before death. Vorderman had instantly crushed it to death with Shadow Tangle.
"Wow, so ruthless, so fast."
Nie Yan checked his harvests. Two of the Sable Dragon Cores were Rank 8 and the other was Rank 9. They were Life Cores. Seeing these three items, he faintly smiled. The Darkwing Dragon had really lucked out this time around. With their aid, it could break through to Rank 8 and possibly even Rank 9.
After consuming a large quantity of Life Cores, the Darkwing Dragon would fall asleep for at least half a month. Since Nie Yan would be needing it in the near future, he could only set these Sable Dragon Cores aside for now.
Apart from this, there was also the Synthesis Gem. With either the help of a Jewelcrafter or Pandora's Box, it could be used to combine three accessories together. The only restriction was that they had to be of the same type. For example, you could only merge rings with rings or necklaces with necklaces.
Nie Yan immediately thought of the several special rings in his bag. Since he only had two ring slots, he had to keep switching them out every time he needed to use their abilities. It was extremely inconvenient. Sometimes when he encountered an emergency, there was no time to swap to the ring he needed. With this Synthesis Gem, he could combine the Crawler Ring, Silk Spinner Ring, and Leaper Ring together and never again have that problem.
Thinking to this point, Nie Yan took out Pandora's Box. After placing the Crawler Ring, Silk Spinner Ring, Leaper Ring, and the Synthesis Gem inside, he hit confirm and watched the magic happen. With a flash of dazzling light, the four items merged together into an exquisite, silver-white ring. It had a life-like carving of a spider on the face with web-like engravings covering the band.
Please name this item.
Nie Yan thought for a moment. "Let's just call it the Web-Crawler Ring."
Naming successful!
Nie Yan equipped the Web-Crawler Ring.
After making his way to the Battle Crazed Alliance guild headquarters, Nie Yan met up with Kill Love and talked about the current state of affairs in Hilderlocke. If the Vengeance of the Undead event wasn't handed properly, Battle Crazed Alliance was in danger of being destroyed.
The funds promised to him last time by Nie Yan were already in Kill Love's account. He'd immediately started fortifying the defenses of all his strongholds as agreed upon. But only now did he understand the gravity of the situation. Not daring to dally, he started using his influence to stop the players in Hilderlocke from setting off towards the east. Even though he couldn't stop everyone, he still managed to dissuade some of them.
After settling all the matters in Hilderlocke, Nie Yan teleported back to Calore.
Guo Huai already knew the rough situation. He spared no efforts in setting up defenses. Nie Yan asked about a few specifics. It appeared Guo Huai was handling everything fairly well.
Nie Yan's next stop was the Elder Council. Right now only by relying on the strength of the NPCs could the Vengeance of the Undead event be dealt with.
Two Level 180 guards clad in dark gold armour stood outside the entrance of the Elder Council.
These two guards were both Sword Saints. Few players dared to come here in the pervious timeline. Anyone who tried to force their way inside would meet with tragedy. Back then, a Master Class player tried taking these two guards on. Even though their level was above 180, they still got beaten black and blue.
If you didn't have a high rank title, you might not even have the qualifications to speak to these guards. Nie Yan was fairly special. Be it his Grand Scholar, Luminous Dancer, or Advanced Devil Slayer titles, all of them allowed him to speak to them.
Seeing Nie Yan walking over, the two Sword Saints stopped him.
"What business do you have here, sir Nirvana Flame?" one of the Sword Saints asked. He looked to be in his 40s with a well-groomed beard.
"I'd like to request to meet with the Elder Council," Nie Yan stated his intentions.
"Please hold for a moment. I'll report your arrival." The Sword Saint headed inside.
Time slowly ticked away. Yet there was no reply from inside. Nie Yan started getting anxious.
Another 15 minutes passed before the Sword Saint finally came out. He shook his head. "Elder Redwin said the Elder Council is currently holding a meeting. They won't be seeing anyone. You can come back some other time. If the matter is urgent, I can pass it on for you."
Nie Yan had a vague impression of Elder Redwin. He was a Duke with an esteemed status in the Viridian Empire. At the same time, he was well known for being petty and rude. His reputation among players was terrible. Thinking about having to pass on this information to someone like that, even if they had the title of Elder, he couldn't help but feel somewhat depressed.
Nie Yan shook his head. "No, it's fine."
Nie Yan stared at the building in front of him. Even though the entrance was right there, he had no way of entering inside. The Elder Council was truly haughty!
Nie Yan was deeply troubled. As he was mulling over this issue, a figure suddenly popped into his mind—Karsi of the Temple of Light!
Karsi's position in the Viridian Empire was fairly exalted. If he knew about the revival of Necromancer Vorderman, he could and would directly meet with the Elder Council.
Thinking to this point, Nie Yan headed toward the Temple of Light.
After entering the building, he found Karsi in the same place as before.
"Your Holiness, Karsi, it's good to see you again," Nie Yan greeted.
"Hello, Nirvana Flame. You look troubled. How can I help you?" Karsi asked in a kind tone. He didn't have any trace of arrogance.
"I've come to report some worrying news…" Nie Yan explained in detail his discovery at the Brocchi Stronghold as well as what he believed Necromancer Vorderman was planning to do. He also brought out the evidence he previously collected.
"Necromancer Vorderman… that vile thing. I didn't expect him to revive again. I'll take you to the Elder Council. Come with me," Karsi said. The two left the Temple of Light and hurried over to the Elder Council.
Nie Yan followed behind Karsi and arrived outside the entrance of the Elder Council.
After seeing Karsi, the two Sword Saint's didn't dare to get in the way and directly let them in.
Nie Yan got a firsthand taste of the difference in status. His position was already quite high in the Viridian Empire. But it still wasn't enough to allow him to directly barge into the Elder Council.
After passing through numerous winding corridors, the two arrived in the main hall of the Elder Council. Nie Yan finally stood face to face with the seven people with the most authority in the Viridian Empire. Seated in the highest position was the legendary Jebiah the Great.