Undying Scoundrel, Xie Yao, and the other casters blinked over toward the loot.
Bladelight, Smokestub, and the rest also flew over. They erected up a human wall around the loot dropped by Phantom Princess Ina. The ordinary players had no way of approaching.
Those rushing forward, hungry for the loot, suddenly found themselves face to face with Bladelight and the other Masters. They came to a quick halt. Some of the smarter ones slowly backed away. They understood there was a fundamental difference between someone like Bladelight and them. If he decided to take action against them, they'd only be welcoming dead with open arms. He'd kill them in a single blow.
"Ghost Shadow, Birdman, get the fuck back. Are you guys looking to die!?"
"Monk, back off! If you take one more step forward, I'll cut all ties with you!"
...
The players from Asskickers United shouted at those they recognized. Nie Yan was truly angered this time. If a battle really broke out, none of these people would leave here alive.
Many players weighed their options before ultimately deciding to withdraw. However, some still continued rushing towards the loot.
Nie Yan wouldn't go after those who willingly gave up. He wouldn't wantonly slaughter innocent players.
Several dozen Thieves came rushing forward. Hidden in stealth, they hoped they could snatch away the loot without being noticed.
They already pictured the loot in their possession. Only a few more steps! Bladelight let out a deep roar. The deafening sound swept out.
A blank of damage values floated up in the air. The Thieves were forced out of stealth.
Seismic Slam!
Bladelight stomped down on the ground, sending a powerful shock wave out around him. BANG! BANG! BANG! Numerous players were sent flying away. Five were instantly killed.
Young Seven raised his staff and cast Illuminate. The other casters quickly locked onto a respective target and waved their staffs. BANG! BANG! BANG! More than 30 players collapsed on the ground.
As a large crowd of players came charging over, Xie Yao waved her staff and chanted an incantation. Stagnation Domain! All several hundred players within the 30-meter wide area instantly slowed to a crawl, as if they were moving in slow motion. With another wave of her staff, a barrage of holy beams pierced down from the clouds and blasted them away.
Undying Scoundrel, Xie Yao, and the others were slaughtering ordinary people like chopping vegetables. The immediate vicinity was cleared of all players.
Seeing this scene, the players further back came to a screeching halt and glanced at each other with ashen faces. They were all thoroughly deterred by Asskickers United's show of might. None of them wanted to throw their lives away.
「Secure the drops,」Nie Yan ordered.
Sun, King of the World, and the other Thieves started collecting the loot off the ground.
The onlookers watched on helplessly from several hundred meters away. They were all salivating over the drops, but none of them dared to take even half a step forward.
Nie Yan looked around at the hundreds of thousands of players in the immediate surroundings, all of them with unresigned looks on their faces.
Too many of Asskickers United's Masters were present. No matter how unfair this situation was, they didn't dare to try anything funny.
At this moment, a player stepped out from the crowd. He wore a fiery red robe and had the appearance of a 30 year old man. Holding a staff with a red gem at the tip, he gazed at Nie Yan and shouted, "Nirvana Flame, don't you think you're being a bit too unreasonable? I know you killed Phantom Princess Ina, but we helped you! Are you really going to claim it all for yourself? Isn't that a bit too greedy? The only reason we came here to help today is because your guild is known for its righteousness and fairness. However, as you are now, you're no better than those you claim to condemn!"
The Mage's incendiary words immediately gained the crowd's approval.
Everyone broke out in chatter.
"I heard a lot in the past about how Nirvana Flame treats everyone fairly. Looks like it was all a lie."
"We sacrificed our lives, and this is the thanks we get!"
Seeing Nie Yan not immediately replying, the Mage continued, "Are you not even going to give us an explanation? Do you think you're too good for us? We helped Asskickers United defeat Phantom Princess Ina, but you turn around and kill hundreds of us! What kind of justice is this!?"
Everyone stared at Nie Yan. If he didn't give them a proper explanation, it would spell disaster for Asskickers United's reputation.
Nie Yan inspected this player with Transcendent Insight. This elven Mage was called Foxfire Magic. He had never heard of this name before. Just where did he pop up from?
"We demand an explanation!"
Nie Yan had long since thought of a way to resolve this matter. "It's true that everyone here today helped us in defeating Phantom Princess Ina. I, Nirvana Flame, am not a man who doesn't know favours. However, without rules, there is no order. The loot dropped by Phantom Princess Ina doesn't belong to any one person, but rather everyone on the battlefield. That's why it's a free for all. It's true we secured all the spoils of the battle for ourselves. However, since we've taken something, we'll also give back. Everyone who helped out in today's battle can show proof through video at the Asskickers United guild office and receive 10–30 gold. As for those who died, they can receive a compensation of 20 gold. As for accusations of being unfair, I'm sure I don't need to speak. We all know the unspoken rules here."
The crowd immediately started stirring. A few dozen gold might not be much to Nie Yan or the members of Asskickers United, but it was still a fair sum to ordinary players. Anyone with a keen eye could tell that at least 100,000 players had participated in this battle. Even if each person only received 10 gold, that was still 1,000,000 gold! Add this to the compensation for players who died, and Asskickers Untied was paying out at least 3,000,000 gold! Even if the loot Phantom Princess Ina dropped was extremely valuable, could it really be worth this much?
Seeing the crowd starting to feel appeased, Foxfire Magic became anxious. He shouted, "You think you can buy us off just like that? Show us the equipment Phantom Princess Ina dropped!"
This time around, much fewer players agreed with Foxfire Magic. After all, Asskickers United's forces dealt almost 95% of the damage to Phantom Princess Ina. Most of them only came here to join in on the fun and didn't actually put in too much effort. Even if Nie Yan kept the equipment for himself, there was nothing they would say, especially since he was paying out compensation to them.
"Nirvana Flame is honourable! We take back our words!"
"Apologies for misjudging you, Nirvana Flame!
Much of the crowd felt too ashamed to continue pursuing this matter and gradually scattered. Before long, Foxfire Magic had lost almost all the people behind him.
Nie Yan coldly gazed at Foxfire Magic. "If you're willing to pay out the same compensation I offered to everyone here, I'll transfer all of Phantom Princess Ina's drops to you. How does that sound? I, Nirvana Flame, am a man of my word!"
Foxfire Magic immediately shut his mouth. With no way of refuting Nie Yan's words, he tucked his tail between his legs and walked away.
Everyone gradually dispersed.
Bladelight walked up to Nie Yan with a smile on his face. "That was a good response."
Nie Yan smiled. He looked at Bladelight and asked, "What did we get?"
"Some good things, at least enough to cover our losses. We got some high quality gems and a Legendary armour with great properties," Bladelight said. Especially the armour had him endlessly excited, since it was another item with over 5,000 defense.
If Foxfire Magic had agreed to Nie Yan's trade just now, he would've made a killing. The drops from Phantom Princess Ina were definitely worth more than 3,000,000 gold. However, that frightening figure had directly scared him off.
Nie Yan inspected the properties of the Legendary chestplate. It was Level 180 and offered 5,520 defense. He planned to have it socketed with level requirement reduction gems so Bladelight could wear it. Like this, his defense would be even more frightening. The more powerful the main tank, the more powerful bosses they could take on, which in turn would help them obtain better equipment.
Besides the Legendary chestplate, Nie Yan found something else of interest. A high grade Nightfall Gem about the size of his fist, jet black, and extremely pure.
Nie Yan could feel that this Nightfall Gem contained a powerful dark magic element. But he didn't know its use. He could only do some research on it later. For now, he put it away in his bag.
Looking around, a large section of Okoron had been turned to ruins by Phantom Princess Ina. Nie Yan estimated it'd cost several million gold to pay for all the damages and rebuild this place.
Though it came at a sky high price, the threat of Phantom Princess Ina had finally been removed. Nie Yan could be at ease. He could now go out into the wilderness without having to look over his shoulder. He only lost money, something he didn't lack. Smaller guilds might never recover from such a setback, but for him it was nothing big.
Everyone gradually dispersed. Guo Huai and his men started working on rebuilding the destroyed buildings, streets, and city walls. It would take quite some time for everything to be restored to its original state.
Nie Yan started selecting players from Asskickers United to form an expedition team to explore World's Edge. He also received some good news. Lofty Shadow and Blue Yarn Thread had successfully completed their class advancement quests and become the latest Masters. With the release of the Age of Gods expansion, the rarity of Masters would slowly dwindle away, but for now they were still important strategic resources.
Asskickers United had 30 Masters now!
Nie Yan suddenly thought of Karsi and the 10 Holy Paladins quest. He wondered if they now met the requirements to beat Cerberus. If he could complete this quest, Karsi would become his servant. This would be an incredible boon.
Nie Yan thought it over. For now, it was still too early. They should first focus on gradually growing stronger before taking on this high difficulty quest.
Before long, 1,000 elites from Asskickers United gathered outside the guild headquarters in Okoron, awaiting Nie Yan's orders. They represented the pinnacle of Asskickers United.
"How much information have you gathered on World's Edge so far? Send it all over to me," Nie Yan instructed Guo Huai.