The two Slayers rushed toward the Mandara Serpent. They leaped into the air and landed a flurry of blows on its body. A string of a dozen damage values displaying over 2,000 damage each floated up above its head.
What ridiculous attack speed!
The Mandara Serpent gaped open its maw and pounced forward. The two Slayers dodged to the side. Leaping up in the air once more, they let loose with another combo of skills.
Nie Yan was inwardly startled. Sure enough, the classes of the Demon Tribe were strong. In terms of class skills and innate skills, both Mystics and Slayers had their own unique strengths. In a direct confrontation, their high attack power was definitely something to be feared. But Nie Yan was a Thief. He snuck around in the shadows and pounced out at the perfect opportunity to deal a fatal blow. With their low health, they didn't have the slightest advantage against him.
"Godking told us to collect some Crimsonheart Grass while we're up here on the surface," one of the Mystics in dark red leather armour said.
"How are we supposed to do that? We don't know where anything is," Hell Ghost said gloomily.
These guys belong to Pantheon! Nie Yan's heart trembled. Though his knowledge of the underworld was shallow, he knew at least this much. Similar to how Fallen Angel was the leviathan of the Undead Empire, Pantheon was the leviathan of the Demon Tribe. They were a very low-key guild with only a little over 100,000 players. However they were rumoured to have many experts. The guild leader Godking rarely ever revealed himself to the public, but Pantheon held a lot of prestige. During their peak in the previous timeline, they had 600 Silver Wings.
Nie Yan played around with Zennarde's Sword in his hand. Since Hell Ghost and the others showed up in his territory knowing full well the dangers, there was no one they could blame. With them coming after his Death God's Edge, he couldn't let them go. After thinking for a moment, he activated the ability of the Shadow Walker Cloak, hiding all his information, then swapped out Zennarde's Sword for another dagger.
Like this, even if Nie Yan killed Hell Ghost and the other four, they wouldn't know who killed them.
He already had his plate full with Angel Corps and the Century Financial Group. He didn't wish to make more powerful enemies.
Locking onto Hell Ghost, Nie Yan shot forward.
Hell Ghost and the other two Mystics brandished their swords and were about to rush forward and deal with the Mandara Serpent, when a silhouette appeared behind them.
Hell Ghost suddenly felt a cold nip at the back of his neck. His heart tightened. As he prepared to swing around to counterattack, his body refused to cooperate. He was immobilized!
What's going on!?
A sharp light flashed before his eyes. Before he had the chance to react, a dagger ruthlessly slashed across his throat.
PSSFFHT! Blood sprayed out into the air.
Hell Ghost's health bar bottomed out, and he collapsed to the ground.
Nie Yan smirked. Even though Silver Wings were only second to Masters, they were still nothing to him. For the sake of pursuing power, those from the Demon Tribe sacrificed a great deal of health and defense. A Mystic was probably not much more durable than a human Thief. After seizing the opportunity, he only needed a single attack to end the opponent's life.
After killing Hell Ghost, Nie Yan immediately disappeared back into stealth.
"Shit, there's a Thief!"
"Hell Ghost died!"
"That quickly!?"
By the time the two other Mystics turned around, all they saw was Hell Ghost's corpse lying on the ground. They couldn't even get a good look at the perpetrator, just a blur and he was gone.
A Silver Wing Mystic was killed just like that? Who in the world was the enemy!?
They broke out in a cold sweat. They activated their perception skills, when another scream rang out in the air. Turning back, the Silver Wing Slayer was already dead while the other Slayer was in full retreat. With such a frightening Thief lurking in the shadows, he had lost all will to fight. He frantically dodged the Mandara Serpent's attacks.
Two Silver Wings were killed in the blink of an eye.
Having suddenly lost their leaders who were also their most powerful team members, a sense of dread bubbled forth from the hearts of the remaining three players. They had come as a group of five, but in an instant they had lost two people. Even now, they still had no idea who the enemy was. They'd never been in a situation like this before, not even in the underworld.
"W-what do we do?"
"What do you think? Run!"
"Teleport away!"
All of them had been provided with a large number of Unknown Transfer Scrolls prior to coming to the surface. Now was when they came in handy. The three immediately pulled out their scrolls. Just as they were about to teleport away, another scream rang out. The remaining Slayer had been struck in the back of the head by a cold blade.
After stunning the Slayer, Nie Yan followed up with a Backbreaker and sent him flying away.
With that settled, Nie Yan turned around to face the two remaining Mystics, only to discover they had already escaped with Unknown Transfer Scrolls.
As long as he killed Hell Ghost, the others couldn't locate the Death God's Edge. There was no need to chase after the survivors.
With all the people attacking it suddenly gone and Nie Yan the only remaining player here, the Mandara Serpent charged toward him.
Nie Yan swapped back to Zennarde's Sword. His silhouette blurred, then reappeared beside the Mandara Serpent. PSSSHHHFT! He stabbed it in the jaw, then cleaved down toward its belly with Lacerate.
The Mandara Serpent thrashed about violently. Nie Yan nimbly evaded. Following up with several kicks and slashes, it was covered in cuts and bruises. It bled out and collapsed dead on the ground.
Nie Yan collected the loot off the ground. The equipment dropped by the players from the Demon Tribe was pretty much useless to him. He could probably bring them back to the Enchanters and disenchant them into some useful materials. Thinking to this point, he tossed everything into his bag.
Nie Yan had no idea how many people received the quest to look for the Death God's Edge. From now on, he would have to be on guard.
Nie Yan planned to head to the Satreen Empire next. Thinking about how Soaring Angel and Cao Xu would try to greet him, his lips parted into a cold smile.
After using a Return Scroll, Nie Yan teleported back to Calore.
…
The Demon Tribe, Darkpool, this settlement was located deep in the abyss. The buildings here were man-made, embedded into the cliff walls. Only a trace of light could reach down here from above, like a dark night with only the light of a few stars shining through the clouds. However, the streets were as bustling as any major city on the surface. Everyone here had high Night Vision. The darkness didn't hinder them in the slightest.
Hell Ghost and his two teammates revived in the graveyard. They teleported to Pantheon's main stronghold, then walked into the guild headquarters.
A player in black robes sat on a throne in the main hall. He had a pair of wings growing from his back. However, unlike ordinary players, his wings were gold rather than silver. He had a white insignia stitched on his collar and sleeves, signifying his status as a Dark Zealot.
"How come you're all back so soon?" the Dark Zealot asked.
"Boss… we were ambushed by a Thief," Hell Ghost replied with great difficulty. This was quite a humiliating matter.
"Weren't there five of you?" Godking asked in disbelief. How could Hell Ghost's group of five lose to a single Thief?
"The three of us were killed by that Thief. Only Silver and Butcher escaped with Unknown Transfer Scrolls."
"Do you know who it was?" Godking asked. He was well aware of how skilled Hell Ghost's group was. Even the weakest among them ranked within the top 50 of the guild, and Hell Ghost was ranked fifth. If he wasn't confident in this line-up, there was no way he would've allowed them to travel to the surface.
"I don't know. They hid their name," Hell Ghost said with a sullen expression. This was the most humiliating part. He was killed without even knowing who the enemy was. He didn't get to see their appearance, nor did he get a chance to record a video down. If word got out, he would be a laughingstock.
Godking had a pensive look on his face. In the entire Viridian Empire, the number of Thieves that could toy with Hell Ghost's group like this definitely didn't exceed five, and the best of them were those few in Asskickers United.
As for one that could annihilate Hell Ghost's group without even revealing their appearance, Godking was 90% sure it was Nirvana Flame!
The Mad Rogue really is a frightening opponent. Godking couldn't help but sigh. If he faced Nirvana Flame, even if he used a single target Forbidden Spell, he didn't think his chances of winning exceeded 50%.
"Boss, I suspect that Thief was-"
Godking waved his hand and cut Hell Ghost off. "You guys can leave. Go run some dungeons with the team and do your best to recover your lost experience. Don't think about heading up to the surface again." Since Nie Yan hid his information, that meant he didn't want to become enemies with Pantheon. Godking was a smart man. Asskickers United was already the ruler of the Viridian Empire. There was no benefit in provoking them.
Seeing Godking's expression, Hell Ghost hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Understood!"
...
Nie Yan teleported back to Okoron, then started stocking up on some consumables.
Ever since Nie Yan spent 50,000,000 gold to upgrade Okoron to an Advanced City, it became all the more prosperous. Where at the start only a few NPC tribes came to explore this new city, now many of them were setting up shop and selling all sorts of high level consumables. This attracted more players. Some relocated here and started doing quests and running dungeons, while others were looking to open up a store. The mad scramble for properties ended as quickly as it began with many of the shopfronts sold. What made Okoron stand out from other cities was that everyone felt welcome here. On the streets you could find humans, orcs, elves, and a myriad of other races.
Nie Yan headed to the Starry Night Potion Shop branch in Okoron. After stocking up some potions, Guo Huai sent word that Mistaken Smile had just completed his class advancement quest and became a Shadow Strifer.
A Shadow Strifer was like a Luminous Dancer. It was a special title that ranked above an ordinary Shadow Dancer.
Nie Yan obtained the Luminous Dancer title in this timeline, causing Mistaken Smile to lose out on the opportunity. However, when one door closed, another would open. Mistaken Smile had received the Shadow Strifer title. Nie Yan couldn't help but sigh. Fate worked in mysterious ways.