60-meter high walls lined with large magic cannons surrounded the Clemenci Stronghold. The dark and foreboding muzzles of the cannons pointed toward the outside.
In the technological field of magic cannons, Angel Corps was one step ahead of the competition. According to the data from Swift Maple, their magic cannons had a minimum field of range of 1,800 meters, with their newest ones capable of firing over 2,000 meters.
This kind of defense was astonishing to say the least. After losing nearly all their strongholds in the battle against the Monet Financial Group, Asskickers United couldn't launch an offensive against Angel Corps for the time being. Taking down this kind of stronghold with just a few Masters wasn't possible. Even though Asskickers United had many Magisters, AoE Forbidden Magic could perhaps destroy a few of the less important surrounding structures, but damaging the stronghold's core was impossible. Especially if the stronghold's defensive barriers were activated.
Nie Yan arrived outside the base of the Clemenci Stronghold. The entrance was sealed shut.
The Clemenci Stronghold was unique. Unlike most strongholds which had real world shopping districts and flourishing commerce among players, here all businesses were barred from setting up shop. This was purely a military base. Only guild members were allowed entry. Furthermore, players didn't enter through the front entrance but rather by teleporting inside through the transfer point.
The Clemenci Stronghold's security was extremely tight.
「Nie Yan, the Demon Slaughterer is flying towards the Clemenci Stronghold,」Guo Huai warned. The Thieves he dispatched had located the Demon Slaughterer's whereabouts.
Wow, that's faster than I expected! Nie Yan's heart trembled. I should sneak into the Clemenci Stronghold quickly!
After finding a relatively remote corner, Nie Yan activated the Web Crawler Ring and started slowly climbing up the stronghold's walls.
Nie Yan was as nimble as a house gecko. The 60-meter high walls posed no obstacle to him.
There were many players patrolling the walls. They were chatting idly, oblivious to an enemy player sneaking by them only a few meters away.
After making his way past these patrolling players, Nie Yan leaped off the other side of the wall and landed on the ground. He was already inside the Clemenci Stronghold.
Nie Yan hid among the buildings in the stronghold. He slowly made his way toward Angel Corps' guild headquarters. Since he was already here, there was no harm in checking the situation out.
Nie Yan's shock grew deeper the more he moved through the stronghold. This place was like a labyrinth. If it wasn't for the detailed map Swift Maple provided him, he would have a hard time finding his way around. Every building was placed with a specific purpose in mind. There were countless ballistae and other war machines, their combined might something no enemy would willingly face.
About 10 minutes later, after passing numerous winding and twisting paths, Nie Yan came out of an alleyway. Looking up ahead, a grand and imposing building entered his vision.
This building was crafted out of white stone. It looked solemn and dignified. According to the marker on the map, this was Angel Corps' guild headquarters.
At this moment, the elites of Angel Corps were arriving from all over. They gathered outside the entrance of the guild headquarters. There were about 5,000 players altogether. They were idly chatting and talking with one another, a shared curiosity as to why Soaring Angel had summoned them here.
Soaring Angel and the other four Masters walked out of the guild headquarters.
When Soaring Angel appeared, all the players quieted down. The entire square became dead silent.
Five Masters and 5,000 elites. Everyone realized this matter wasn't simple.
"Today, we're going to explore a new map. If you don't have any important business, put it aside. Everyone, prepare Advanced Potions…" Soaring Angel spoke. Angel Corps was starting to fall behind to Asskickers United. For the sake of catching back up, they had to be proactive in their efforts by exploring more new maps, obtaining more high level equipment, and so on.
Soaring Angel was only half-way through his speech, when a player rushed over. "B-b-boss, b-bad news!"
Soaring Angel knitted his brows. "What?"
"A Level 130 Demonified Lord appeared outside our stronghold! It's the same one that massacred several villages on the border of Orc King City's territory!"
Hearing this news, the crowd immediately went into an uproar.
"W-what!? Why would the Demon Slaughterer come here!?"
"Right! That doesn't make any sense!"
This wasn't the first time they experienced one of their strongholds under siege by a boss. Back when they first occupied the Silverlight Stronghold, a Level 160 Variant Lord had attacked them. It considered them intruders on its territory. After a back and forth battle for more than a week, they finally managed to get their magic cannons and catapults in place and took care of it.
Every effect had a cause. A Demonified Lord wouldn't come to the Clemenci Stronghold for no reason.
"Where is it right now?" Soaring Angel asked in a grim tone.
"It's already attacking our walls!"
Soaring Angel sank into deep thought. None of them had provoked a Demonified Lord. Yet one had travelled all the way over to the Clemenci Stronghold, where there guild headquarters just happened to be located. Recalling Nie Yan's recent appearance in the Satreen Empire, the dots quickly connected.
"Activate the guild's sealing formation! Guard the transfer point! Absolutely do not let anyone come near it! Have everyone make a sweep of the stronghold. See if anyone has sneaked in! You four, come with me! We're going to check out the walls!" Soaring Angel said.
If the sealing formation was activated, that meant no one could leave the Clemenci Stronghold.
The 5,000 players in the square immediately set off.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The sound of something smashing into the walls rang out through the air. Nie Yan faintly smiled. Since the Demon Slaughterer had come, he would check out the situation. The fighting outside the stronghold entrance was extremely fierce. With the Demon Slaughterer's strength, it wouldn't be easy for Angel Corps to take it down.
「Boss, be careful. It seems like Soaring Angel found out you're here. He's already activated the sealing formation and dispatched everyone to find your whereabouts,」Swift Maple said.
「Got it. Thanks for the head's up!」Nie Yan's heart trembled. Soaring Angel's senses were quite sharp, having actually guessed he was here! It seemed like he would have to be more careful going forward.
Nie Yan was in the vicinity of the Angel Corps guild headquarters. Seeing so many players rushing over to the walls, he grew curious. He quietly followed them. Perhaps he could fish up some easy benefits.
An enormous silhouette appeared outside the walls of the Clemenci Stronghold. It was the Demon Slaughterer, who was searching high and low for Nie Yan.
After discovering the Demon Slaughterer, the players on the walls panicked. They immediately used the cannons on the walls to fire at it.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Scorching iron shells struck the Demon Slaughterer. The attacks barely dealt any damage, but plenty enraged it. It slashed down with its greatsword, carving out a large chunk of the wall.
The players on the walls attempted to put up a resistance. The fighting immediately intensified. The Demon Slaughterer kept attacking the walls, destroying more and more of it, until it created a large enough breach to step in.
The arrows towers around the walls immediately carried out a fierce counterattack, sending a dense hail of arrows flying towards the Demon Slaughterer.
−893
−927
−825
…
A long string of damage values floated up above the Demon Slaughterer's head. The damage these large siege weapons dealt was considerable.
This only further enraged the Demon Slaughterer. It started wreaking havoc, turning the buildings in the surroundings into a pile of ruins.
Before long, Soaring Angel and the others arrived. Their mouths went wide in shock as they looked at the walls. Standing atop a large pile of rubble, the Demon Slaughterer looked like a destroyer from hell.
One shell after another struck the Demon Slaughterer, only slightly hindering its movements. Despite the concentrated assault, its health had only fallen by 20% so far.
Seeing the Demon Slaughterer, everyone couldn't help but suck in a cold breath of air. So this was a Level 130 Demonified Lord? Too frightening!
The Demon Slaughterer rammed into an arrow tower, causing it to slowly lean over before crashing into the ground and joining the pile of rubble.
"Boss, what do we do?" a player anxiously asked Soaring Angel.
"Drifting, Stone Splitter, Sark, and Cruel Edge, follow me. The rest of you, stand back and wait for my command!" Soaring Angel quickly ran behind the Demon Slaughterer. He took out five arrows from his quiver, notched them on his bow string, then fired. Whoosh whoosh whoosh! Five arrows streaked through the air.
Piercing Arrow!
Put put put! Five arrows struck the Demon Slaughterer's back.
−701
−629
−686
…
Soaring Angel's attacks were fairly effective.
After two volleys of Piercing Arrows, the Demon Slaughterer finally shifted aggro to Soaring Angel. It let out an enraged roar, brandished its greatsword, and chased after him.
Soaring Angel was pretty courageous. He actually dared to draw the Demon Slaughterer's aggro in this situation. Whether he could escape its pursuit was another story.
Nie Yan activated Gale Step, closely following the action. No matter who died first, Soaring Angel to the Demon Slaughterer's pursuit or the Demon Slaughterer to the bombardment from the Clemenci Stronghold's cannons, he would snatch up whatever items dropped. He definitely couldn't allow anything to fall back in the hands of Angel Corps!
At the same time, Nie Yan didn't dare to get too close. The Demon Slaughterer was so stubbornly pursuing him likely because he had Paternoster's Warhammer in his possession. He wanted to avoid having the aggro shifting back to him.