Venerable: Influence in the Viridian Empire +150. Immunity to all dark-attribute crowd control magic Rank 16 and below. Reduces the effects of all dark-attribute crowd control magic above Rank 16 by 50%. Chaos Damage Taken -30%.
Venerable's Authority: Direct a powerful shout at a void creature. 50% chance to stun for 5 seconds, 30% chance to stun for 10 seconds, and 10% chance to stun for 15 seconds. Cooldown: 60 minutes.
The stat bonuses from Venerable were amazing. It was certainly an extraordinary title. With the additional 150 Influence, Nie Yan's total Influence in the Viridian Empire broke through the 1,100 mark. He could finally use the Wolf King skill!
"Oh Great Prophet, thank you for helping me complete my mission. To express my sincerest gratitude, please accept this present. It is not something of this world, but from the distant void, passed down to me by my father. Over this past year, I've seen it begin to stir. When darkness befalls us, a true hero will emerge and lead us back into the light," Katherine said.
Nie Yan's heart trembled. Katherine's words were likely an omen that something big was about to happen. He considered using his Great Prophecy skill right then and there. However, he eventually opted to wait until later.
Katherine took out a small necklace. It was made out of an unknown metal, gloomy-white in colour. The necklace didn't reflect any light. Attached to it was a pendant, shaped like a gemstone but lacking the sparkle. The pendant appeared to contain a mysterious energy which could suck everything into it.
With a single glance, Nie Yan could tell this necklace wasn't of the Atlanta Continent.
Nie Yan respectfully accepted the necklace, and examined its properties.
Void Necklace of Clara
Description: A part of the Void Armour set.
Properties: Defense +2,300, Attack +1,200, +300% damage to void creatures, immunity to Void Gaze.
Restrictions: Master
Nie Yan sucked in a cold breath of air. This simple-looking necklace gave so much defense and attack power! The two other properties were for dealing specifically with void creatures.
Comparing it with his current necklace, Nie Yan quickly concluded that the attack and defense bonuses of this necklace were too good to pass up on, even if the other properties weren't really useful right now. He unequipped Langdon's Necklace of Fake Death and swapped it out for the the Void Necklace of Clara.
The reward for this quest chain was extremely generous. If Nie Yan were to reveal the things he received from it, that person who had turned in the quest 300 times before him would probably be stewing in regret. Who could've imagined the quest chain would end at 360?
Nie Yan chatted with Katherine for a bit, but he didn't get any more information out of her. So, he left the Elder Council.
Nie Yan still hadn't followed up on his quest related to the betrayal of Elder Redwin, nor did he have any clue on where to get started. Since there were no developments, he could only leave it on the sidelines for now.
As Nie Yan left the Elder Council, preparing to return to Okoron, he raised his head to the sky. It was still dark and gloomy, as though a downpour was about to come soon. The atmosphere was filled with a stifling pressure.
"Could this be a sign of something?" Nie Yan muttered. "Is a disaster going to befall Calore? Should I use Great Prophecy here?"
Nie Yan changed direction and headed to the Asskickers United guild office in Calore.
The players in the guild office were busy with work. After seeing Nie Yan enter, the entire place went into a stir. Many of them had worked here for a long time, but the opportunities to meet him were still extremely rare. It was no wonder they were all so excited. Of the many players in Asskickers United, only a small portion could claim they'd personally met him.
Everyone came up to greet Nie Yan. He simply nodded and smiled back. After reaching the courtyard in the center of the office, he raised his head to the sky and closed his eyes.
The players were confused. What was Nie Yan planning to do?
Before their eyes, a large pillar of light fell down from the sky, piercing through the gloomy clouds above.
Holy Proclamation: God's light descends to the human world, blessing all pious believers.
The dark, ominous clouds shrouding Calore's sky gradually scattered. It seemed this Holy Proclamation was a good omen. At least in the immediate future, no great disaster would befall Calore.
Nie Yan could put his mind at ease. Whatever came in the future, he would deal with it then.
Clear and sunny weather returned to Calore. Nie Yan left shortly after using Great Prophecy. Those who had personally witnessed him using the skill were all chatting excitedly. They were wondering what skill he used to change the weather. When the pillar of light fell over him, he looked like a god, brimming with dignity. That scene would forever be imprinted in their minds, something they would bring up in conversations for a long time to come.
Nie Yan returned to Okoron. Even though he hadn't predicted a disaster, Elder Katherine's words had attracted his attention. The information she revealed was probably related to an extremely large expansion. Regardless of what happened in the future, it was better to plan ahead. Since he now had more than 1,000 Influence, he could finally use the Wolf King skill. In other words, he finally had a new mount! It was about time. Even though his Falkner Warhorse was still great, it had fallen behind. Players like Bladelight, Smoke Stub, and the others had already gotten themselves powerful Kodos. Other strong mounts also appeared everywhere. He naturally had to get himself something even better than all of them.
Knowing Nie Yan was planning to make use of the Wolf King skill, Guo Huai had already dispatched people to search various maps and help Nie Yan find a suitable target.
This wolf mount had to be amazing. It couldn't disgrace Nie Yan's name!
Plus, if the wolf mount they captured was extremely powerful, it would also be a great asset on the battlefield!
Given how big this matter was, Guo Huai treated it with the utmost care. For the sake of helping Nie Yan find a suitable wolf mount, Asskickers United's entire Thief corps was dispatched.
Nie Yan waited to hear back from them so he could set out.
"Angel Corps and the Century Financial Groups have been making a lot of big movements. They must be planning for the final battle," Guo Huai said as he chatted with Nie Yan in the master lounge.
"They're that anxious?" Nie Yan asked in surprise. Angel Corps and the Century Financial Group were at a disadvantage right now. If they tried to force an early final showdown, they might as well give up.
"How could they not be anxious?" Guo Huai chuckled. "Over in the underworld, Pantheon are on their last leg. We really have been underestimating Fallen Angel. They're progressing much faster than we are. When they strike, they strike with ruthless ferocity. Pantheon has lost more than half their strongholds already. When Fallen Angel finishes them off, there'll be no one left them to keep them in check. This is also a great defeat for Angel Corps and the Century Financial Group. So, at this moment, even if they only have a 30% chance at victory, they'll still stake it all."
"Is that so? Seems like Fallen Angel has disrupted my plans. I wanted to make money off the Century Financial Group and Angel Corps for a bit longer. Ah well, so be it," Nie Yan said. If his enemies wanted to force the final battle early, he would thoroughly crush them until they had no chance of ever rising back up.
Apart from his movements in Conviction, Nie Yan already had his father mobilize nearly ¥20 billion in capital. Add in the support of the Dragonsoar, Glory, and other financial groups, and the amount of cash they had on hand reached an astonishing ¥50 billion. Furthermore, he had secured some scandalous information on the Century Financial Group. With them investing so much into Conviction yet making nothing back in return, their business performance would definitely suffer. If they were to withdraw from Conviction, their market share in the virtual reality industry would go up in smoke. If he released this information at the right time, causing their stocks to plummet, then seized the opportunity to make a forceful takeover, he might have a real chance of taking out this leviathan-like existence that threatened World Bloc. If he succeeded, it would undoubtedly be a magnificent feat, and World Bloc would rise to even greater heights.
Nie Yan had only shared this plan with his father. Over these past few years, World Bloc's quarterly reports had been remarkable. With someone keeping an eye on everything from above, their various ventures into different markets were a huge success. Every day, their profits reached an astronomical figure. The amount of cash they had on hand also totalled over ¥30 billion. As a privately held company, this was an achievement worth noting. Even though World Bloc ranked among the very bottom spots of the top 10 large financial groups, their strength couldn't be looked down on. With the Glory and Dragonsoar Financial Groups being tightly linked to them, if they joined forces, there was no one that could stop them.
All preparations were complete. Nie Yan no longer needed to stall for time. Since Angel Corps and the Century Financial Group wanted a fight, he would give it to them.
"Nie Yan, someone found a Frost Dire Wolf. It's a Level 160 Variant Lord. What do you think?" Guo Huai asked. A Level 160 Variant Lord was definitely a frightening existence on the battlefield.
Nie Yan thought for a moment before shaking his head. "It isn't strong enough. It's best if we find a Demonified Lord. The difference between a Variant Lord and a Demonified Lord is too great." Since he was going to get a new mount, he might as well get the best.
"I'm afraid if the monster is too strong, it will be too hard to tame," Guo Huai said worriedly.
"If we can't do it, I guess we can only settle for the next best thing. But how will we know if we don't try?" Nie Yan asked. This kind of opportunity definitely couldn't be wasted on a low level monster.