Lustboy, Young Seven, and the others only recently class advanced. So, they weren't too familiar with their new and upgraded skills yet. By practicing against each other in friendly combat, they quickly grasped these skills and gained a better understanding of their might. However, they didn't dare to cast Forbidden Magic here; partly because the cooldown was too long, so they couldn't be used rashly; and partly because their destructive power was too great.
Nie Yan didn't participate in any matches; no one dared to fight him. The final results were in. Black Hell had the highest win rate, winning 7 out of 10 matches. The rest were around 50-50, with some winning only four times. The difference in skill between them was pretty much negligible. So, many times the outcome was determined by class advantages and skills. Warriors had a 70% chance of beating Thieves, Mages had an 80% chance of beating Warriors, and Thieves had a 70% chance of beating Mages.
As for the Priests, Black Hell was an outlier. He was a Dark Archbishop who specialized in PvP. Young Seven had a lower win rate, but he was the most powerful healer, serving as an inexhaustible blood bank. His role wasn't to kill. So, he had fairly few PvP skills. Most of his skills were various blessings, heals, and other support magic. For his win rate to be the lowest was perfectly normal.
"When do you think our guild will finally produce a Guardian? I wonder what a Guardian's skills are like," Lustboy said. Guardians were an all-rounder class. Their stats were fairly balanced. However, their PvP ability definitely couldn't be underestimated.
"It'll probably be a long while," Bladelight said. Asskickers United didn't have as many top rank Paladins compared to their other classes.
This was something Nie Yan couldn't help but worry about. Be it on the battlefield or running a dungeon, a Paladin was indispensable. It looked like he would have to think up some sort of method.
News of Nie Yan's group PvPing in Uhtred spread like wildfire. More and more players rushed over here to watch the Masters fight. They all wanted to be here to witness this grand occasion. However, when they arrived, all they found was a desolate field of destruction. Seeing the flattened grasslands and forests, they could vaguely imagine what sort of battle took place here.
The image of this scene was shared on the forums. There were also some players who managed to record Lustboy and the others PvPing. Since the video was taken from very far away, it wasn't very clear. You could vaguely make out some silhouettes clashing against each other. As for exactly what they were doing, there was no way to tell. However, the powerful might of their skills and spells still left everyone shocked and breathless.
「Masters are so powerful!」
「Work hard on levelling up guys. Maybe one day you guys can advance to Magisters, Shadow Dancers, and Sword Saints too.」
There were all sorts of comments on the forums. Players were brimming with envy and jealousy toward Nie Yan and the others. Reaching Master Class was an unattainable dream for the vast majority of them.
Meanwhile, Nie Yan and the others were riding south on their flying mounts.
"Boss, where are we going?" Lustboy asked.
"Don't tell me we're going to Divine Protectors…?" asked Mistaken Smile, who was a man of few words. After passing through a few more mountain ranges, they would be arriving in Kalond, the old stomping grounds of Divine Protectors!
"Yep. We're going to pay Divine Protectors a little visit." Nie Yan smiled.
The visit Nie Yan spoke of wasn't for leisure and sightseeing. Everyone knew Divine Protectors was in for a nasty surprise!
Vorderman and Karsi's fight had turned into a game of cat and mouse. For the time being, the two wouldn't appear. The undead army was too large to justify a frontal assault. Asskickers United would have to gather all their Masters and slowly shave away at the number of skeletons. Furthermore, they also had to consolidate their defenses. They couldn't let Qin Han's forces overrun Calore.
Divine Protectors, God Executioner Sword, and Penumbra Empire were Qin Han's wings. If Nie Yan wanted to deal a heavy blow to the Monet Financial Group, simply killing a few skeletons wasn't enough. So, he decided to take action against these several guilds. Asskickers United had produced their first batch of Masters. Meanwhile, those others guilds still hadn't even produced one. This was the perfect opportunity to strike.
Lustboy, Sun, and the others became excited. Even though they doubted whether the 12 of them were enough to defeat Divine Protectors, they were all itching for a fight after becoming Masters.
After flying for 20 minutes, Nie Yan and the others gazed ahead. A stronghold situated halfway atop a mountain appeared before their eyes. This was the main base of Divine Protectors, the Karukes Stronghold. The ash gray walls were lined with black cannons.
Kalond was completely surrounded by mountain ranges. It would be as difficult as ascending the heavens for catapults to advance into this city. Much in the same fashion, the strongholds here were generally difficult to siege too. Divine Protectors had started operating in Kalond right when Conviction was released. After uniting this territory, no one had been able to challenge their rule. Even though the defeats at the Cripps Stronghold and Moonlight City had dealt some losses to Divine Protectors, it wasn't enough to shake their foundation. Furthermore, after Victorious Return, Bloodlust Blades, and Alliance of Mages disbanded, a portion of their players had joined Divine Protectors, bolstering the guild even more.
Divine Protectors was content being off in their own little corner. After heavily fortifying the Karukes Stronghold, they were absolutely confident in repelling the sieges of other guilds. The commerce here was booming, to the extent it was even greater than that of Calore. The merchants in the Karukes Stronghold had long since recouped their investment. After which they rapidly expanded the scope of their operations, turning this place into a true commerce city.
Thanks to the booming commerce and the Monet Financial Group's investments, Divine Protectors were quite well off. They had already upgraded to walls of the Karukes Stronghold to Advanced. It became an imposing deterrent, several dozen meters high and lined with 100 magic cannons. A large number of guards also patrolled it regularly. The security was airtight.
"I didn't expect Divine Protector's stronghold to be so developed," Mistaken Smile remarked.
Everyone nodded in agreement. At present, even the Cripps Stronghold couldn't compare to the Karukes Stronghold.
"Focusing on commerce is good and all, but it'll all become meaningless if the stronghold falls. At the end of the day, a guild survives through power. Even if they're flourishing through trade, if they don't have the strength to protect it, it'll all fall to ruins eventually," Smoke Stub said. He valued strength above all else.
The fact that the Cripps Stronghold started development late and that it had already been sieged once had inflicted heavy damages to the confidence of prospective merchants. Their geographical location also couldn't compare with the Karukes Stronghold. However, Asskickers United was powerful and rapidly expanding their territory with their influence growing every day. The confidence of merchants was bound to grow given time. Case in point was the ever growing number of merchants flocking to the Cripps Stronghold. However, the Vengeance of the Undead event had put a damper on this, with some businesses closing down shop and pulling out.
Nie Yan was slightly envious of Divine Protectors. Having developed the Karukes Stronghold to this degree, they had probably earned quite a bit of profit. However, all of that was about to go up in smoke with the arrival of his group!
The group arrived in the airspace above the Karukes Stronghold. Lei Su turned to Nie Yan. "We'll be heading down first!"
Nie Yan nodded.
Lei Su, Bladelight, and Smoke Stub recalled their flying mounts and dropped down from the sky, falling from a height of several thousand meters.
...
In the guild headquarters at the heart of the Karukes Stronghold, Divine Flame, Crazy Magic, Bloodlust Mad Blade, and Heaven Breaker were all gathered together. After Crazy Magic, Bloodlust Mad Blade, and Heaven Breaker led a portion of their people into joining Divine Protectors, their positions in the guild were only second to Divine Flame. Roughly 30% of the players in Divine Protectors were brought in by the three of them.
"After failing several sieges on Asskickers United's strongholds, Qin Han's skeleton army has stopped advancing. Although he's taken out the several surrounding strongholds and cut them off from Battle Crazed Alliance and the War God Tribe, Asskickers United's main force hasn't taken any damage. If things continue on like this, his skeleton army will be chipped away until there's nothing left. Qin Han sent us a message. He's requesting we join up with him to attack Asskickers United. What are your thoughts?" Divine Flame asked, narrowing his eyes as he stared at Crazy Magic, Bloodlust Mad Blade, and Heaven Breaker. The three of them held a lot of sway. He had no choice but to get their opinions in order to maintain the guild's unity.
"If the skeleton army is destroyed, Asskickers United's next target will be us," Bloodlust Mad Blade said. His thinking was fairly simple. He understood they were all in this together.
"What about you guys?" Divine Flame gazed at Crazy Magic and Heaven Breaker.
"No need to rush. When Penumbra Empire and God Executioner Sword make a move, we can take action then," Crazy Magic said with a crafty smile.
"I think the same," Heaven Breaker said.
Divine Flame nodded after pondering for a brief moment. There was no need to stick their necks out first.
"Did you guys watch the video going around on the forums?" Divine Flame shared a video.
Heaven Breaker and the other two nodded after glancing at the video.
"What are your thoughts on Master Classes?" Divine Flame asked. Thinking about how Asskickers United already had 12 Masters while they had none, he couldn't help but feel enormous pressure.
"We already have a few players in our guild over Level 100. Have them quickly go do their class advancement quests, or else we'll lag even further behind," Heaven Breaker said with a heavy expression. He knew Nie Yan was slowly tightening the noose around their necks.
While the four were chatting, the alarm rang in the Karukes Stronghold, its sharp sound cutting across the air.
An enemy attack! Divine Flame's face paled.