Somewhere in a marsh in the central region of the Demon Tribe, a group of 20 players from Pantheon were grinding on monsters. Two orc Warriors taunted a parade of Spectres, then drew them to an open space, where the Mages bombarded them with magic.
They were well-coordinated with superb teamwork. It would probably take them no more than five minutes to wipe out all these Spectres.
While they were engrossed in levelling, a dark speck appeared in the distant sky. It came closer at a frightening speed, casting a massive shadow on the ground.
What in the world was that!?
As the team members saw the shadow, fear gripped at their heads. Disorder struck. They forgot momentarily they were part of a team. The Priests didn't cast their heals in time, causing the two orc Warriors to succumb to the Spectres. They collapsed to the ground. The Spectres took this opportunity to launch a counterattack.
The team members made a mad scramble for safety. Anywhere but here! But the flying creature didn't swoop down at them, instead flying roughly 20 meters over their heads. A powerful whirlwind struck the ground wherever it passed by, causing both players and monsters alike to be nearly blown off their feet.
Fortunately, this flying creature didn't target them. It quickly flew passed them and disappeared behind the veil of darkness off in the distance.
「W-what was that?」a Mage asked with a trembling voice.
「The Darkwing Dragon! It's the Mad Rogue's Darkwing Dragon!」a Slayer enthusiastically exclaimed.
「The Mad Rogue? Are you sure?」
「Yes! I'm telling you, that was Nirvana Flame!」
「Report it to the boss, now!」
The Slayer quickly reported the sighting of Nie Yan to Godking.
...
"Nirvana Flame is in the Swamp of the Damned? What's he doing there?" Godking contemplated.
"Since he's still in the Demon Tribe, he must be doing a quest!" Flowing Maple[1] guessed.
"That makes sense."
"Boss, should we tell Angud and let him deal with Nirvana Flame?"
Godking shook his head. In all honesty, he was terrified of Angud. "No, if we tell Angud, it'll be the same as last time, and the time before. Nirvana Flame will be gone by the time he arrives, and he'll definitely be pissed off at us again. We'll have to think of something ourselves."
"But we're not strong enough," Flowing Maple argued. "Even Angud couldn't catch him! How are we supposed to?"
"He's flying on his Darkwing Dragon, right?" Godking asked, a plan forming in his mind.
"That's what the report says, yes."
"What rank is it right now?"
"Rank 7."
Godking nodded. Though a Rank 7 flying mount was strong, it wasn't invincible. Pantheon had a total of 3,000 flying mounts in their ranks, among which 130 were Rank 6. They only needed 10 of their strongest flying mounts to take down a Rank 7. Since they couldn't fight Nie Yan on the ground, they'd take the battle to the air! They didn't have to worry about Asskickers United either. Asskickers United might have far more flying mounts in their ranks, but they were thousands of miles away, too far to send back up.
"Pay close attention to Nirvana Flame's movements. Have Purple Blaze and his team hide their guild emblems. Our goal today is to kill Nirvana Flame. If that proves impossible, at least kill his Darkwing Dragon. Remember, this operation is absolutely confidential." Godking looked over the core guild members he'd gathered together. Nirvana Flame would become their enemy sooner or later. So, it was in their best interest to bring him down a notch right now to simplify matters later on.
"Yes, Boss!"
...
Nie Yan flew over the Swamp of the Damned on his Darkwing Dragon. He had no idea what was up ahead. According to his map, at the edge of this marsh was a stronghold. He wondered which guild was occupying it.
Nie Yan was planning to take a detour around the stronghold, when two flying mounts approached him.
After they spotted Nie Yan, they didn't alter their course. Rather, they flew straight at him. Based on their attitude, they were clearly hostile.
Fools!
Nie Yan held on tight as he had the Darkwing Dragon accelerate and charge toward the two flying mounts.
Two Rank 6 Nether Hawks!
Nether Hawks were widely known for their speed, and were extremely aggressive monsters. Their claws were so sharp they could even break through the scales of dragons. Not to mention the corrosive effect of their attacks.
The Darkwing Dragon dove down toward the Nether Hawks with its claws outstretched. The Nether Hawks gracefully dodged to the side, then flew back in and pincered the Darkwing Dragon.
Nie Yan spotted two players riding the Nether Hawks. However, it was too dark to clearly make out their appearances.
Since these two attacked Nie Yan on sight, they clearly came prepared. Likely, they were after the Death God's Edge!
Nie Yan had the Darkwing Dragon make an abrupt ascent and perform a barrel roll to evade the pincer of the Nether Hawks.
The three flying mounts fought back and forth.
Seeing one Nether Hawk fly straight at him, Nie Yan felt his heart sink. He didn't try to evade. Rather, he had the Darkwing Dragon make a sharp turn and shoot forward with its claws outstretched. PSFHT! It caught the leg of the Nether Hawk and tore it clean off.
"KYEEEEH!" the Nether Hawk cried out in pain. Flapping its wings, it turned around and fled away.
Nie Yan chased after the injured Nether Hawk on his Darkwing Dragon. Two minutes, that was all he needed to kill this wounded flying mount and take its Darkness Life Core!
10 meters, 8 meters, 5 meters… Nie Yan was only a few seconds from taking the Nether Hawk down. Suddenly, from all around flying mounts appeared and closed in on him. There were at least 30, and all of them were Rank 6!
Nie Yan's heart trembled. He was surrounded! There wasn't enough light here, so his field of vision was limited. By the time he spotted the danger, it was already far too late. The enemy was within 100 meters of him, it was impossible to escape.
Nie Yan remained cool-headed. He continued chasing after the injured Nether Hawk.
The Darkwing Dragon was nearly on top of the Nether Hawk, when Nie Yan leaped off from its back and shot out a web line. It stuck to the Nether Hawk, after which he pulled it taut.
The player riding the injured Nether Hawk instantly stood up when he saw Nie Yan leaping over. However, he was still a beat too late. A cold light flashed as Nie Yan's blade slashed his throat. His eyes were wide open even in death, an incredulous look on his face. He fell off the Nether Hawk's back and plummeted to the ground below.
Nie Yan plunged the Bloody Dagger into the back of the Nether Hawk's skull. PSFHT! Blood sprayed out into the air. A dark Life Core flickered with a captivating lustre inside the brain matter.
The Nether Hawk cried miserably as Nie Yan stuck his hands in and extracted the Darkness Life Core. He then leaped off the dying flying mount.
The Darkwing Dragon came swooping over and caught Nie Yan on its back before making a break for it.
The Nether Hawk's corpse plunged toward the ground.
The players surrounding Nie Yan were both shock and enraged. He'd killed one of their own right in front of their eyes!
"Don't let him get away!"
"Kill him!"
The numerous flying mounts chased after Nie Yan.
Nie Yan checked his hotbar, only to find all teleportation items and skills grayed out. A Dark Zealot had targeted him with Shackles of Strife! He was caught surrounded by all these Rank 6 flying mounts without a way out!
Damn it! Nie Yan's heart dropped to his stomach. He'd still underestimated the persistence of the Evil Faction players to obtain the Death God's Edge. After slaughtering his way into a village not too long ago, he figured he'd done enough to scare off anyone with thoughts of stealing it from him. But not only were these people unafraid to come after him, they'd also managed to track him down, assemble a team, and surround him, all within half-an-hour. They were definitely an elite team!
In the entire Evil Faction, the only ones capable of this were the likes of Pantheon and Fallen Angel!
The biggest suspect was Pantheon because they ruled over the Demon Tribe.
However, even if Nie Yan knew, he was helpless to do anything about it. Asskickers United wasn't strong enough to deal with so many powerful enemies at the same time.
Nie Yan looked at the enemy. With the Darkwing Dragon's strength, dealing with so many Rank 6 flying mounts would prove incredibly difficult.
Three Silverring Blightflies spewed out a green fog. This was a paralyzing poison that could incapacitate the enemy. The players from Pantheon had antidotes, so they didn't fear it. However, this couldn't be said for Nie Yan. Even though he had high poison resistance and drank a Specialist Antidote, he still felt a slight numb feeling all over his body. As for the Darkwing Dragon, he could tell that it had slowed down quite a bit.
"Shit!" Nie Yan couldn't help but curse. He had the Darkwing Dragon rapidly ascend and ram into a Nether Hawk, sending it flying.
In this desperate situation, the Darkwing Dragon erupted with frightening might. After the Nether Hawk, it took out another five flying mounts in quick succession. Nie Yan tried to escape at every step, but these opponents were like debt collectors, pursuing him relentlessly. Several of them swooped down and attacked the Darkwing Dragon all at once.
PSFHT! PSFHT! PSFHT! The Darkwing Dragon could only evade so much. Several attacks struck its body and carved open large wounds as chunks of its flesh dangled in the air. The wounds were coated in a jet black liquid.
The Nether Hawk's corrosive effect!
The corrosive liquid slowly sapped away at the Darkwing Dragon's strength.
A Silverring Blightfly came flying over. Its abdomen was raised, revealing a sharp stringer like that of a bee. Nie Yan's heart trembled. He definitely couldn't allow this attack to hit the Darkwing Dragon. He leaped toward the Silverring Blightfly.
The rider on top of the Silverring Blightfly was a Thief. Seeing Nie Yan pouncing over, he hurriedly had his flying mount retreat back.
However, he was a step too late. Nie Yan landed on the Silverring Blightfly and plunged the Bloody Dagger into its abdomen. He then drove the dagger further in, causing green blood to spray out.
As the Silverring Blightfly writhed in pain, the Darkwing Dragon came swooping over and grabbed onto its head and abdomen. PSFHT! Its body was torn into two.
1. This is the Spectral Thief introduced in Chapter 833.