The chapters from the Book of Order weren’t going to be left in incompetent hands, thus existences such as the Guardians of Order emerged.
The game designers put in such a powerful creature to guard the chapter, yet only gave it low-level intelligence. Therefore, the Guardian of Order only acted by instinct and its aggro system was the same as any other ordinary monster.
Therefore, Commander Nisode’s arrival had saved Nie Yan’s life at the most critical juncture.
There’s actually quite a few people here… Nie Yan swept his gaze over the surrounding environment and noticed many other players eyeing the current battle like tigers watching their prey. The moment the Guardian of Order died, these hundred or so players would all simultaneously take action in an attempt to pilfer whatever equipment that dropped!
There’re so many people here. Even if the equipment does drop, I definitely won’t be able to snatch it. I already got the Chapter of Courage… I should be satisfied with what I have, Nie Yan inwardly contemplated.
He was an easily satisfied person. Thus he never held high hopes when situations occurred where it was certain he would not obtain anything.
Nie Yan focused his gaze after peering past several obstacles and caught sight of a few acquaintances.
Splendid Star: a twenty-something-year-old man with a squarish jawline. He was the guild leader of Splendid Temple. Even though he couldn’t be regarded as handsome, he was still passable in terms of looks. His clean-shaven face gave off a bright and refreshing kind of look. In Nie Yan’s past life, he had friendly interactions with Nie Yan. Having helped Nie Yan on several occasions, he had a reckless personality but valued loyalty and friendship. In turn, Nie Yan had also accompanied him and his friends during several guild expeditions.
Swift Slash: a sloppy looking man and the thirty-six-year-old guild leader of Dark Massacre. According to rumours, he was part of the criminal underworld and had quite a few underlings under his command. His personality was nothing great and on would every so often butt heads with Splendid Star. As such, Nie Yan himself didn’t have too great of an impression on this person.
Sleepy Fox: a player who was roughly thirty years old. Nie Yan wasn’t too familiar with him nor did they have any sort of relationship. However, as the guild leader of Holy Empire, he was a somewhat well-known name. It was rumoured his prestige within the guild was fairly high—he was capable of leading Holy Empire into becoming one of the top ten largest guilds. This achievement alone was proof of his strength.
He was also the holder of the Chapter of Courage in Nie Yan’s previous life!
Splendid Star and his group were lying in wait among the ruined buildings in the west. Swift Slash and his group were located in the southwest. Both sides were watching like tigers awaiting their prey, ready to act any moment. On the other hand, Sleepy Fox was located in the east. The corner of his mouth curved into a ridiculing smile as he gazed at the two sides ready to duke it out. He planned to swoop in when both sides were exhausted.
As he watched such a scene unfold, Nie Yan couldn’t help thinking… what if Sleepy Fox were to know he had taken the Chapter of Courage which was supposed to belong to him? What kind of reaction would Sleepy Fox have? Would he grab all his men and unrelentingly chase him down?
“Swift Slash, with our Splendid Temple members here, your Dark Massacre guild should just step off to the side. Don’t be so unwilling to accept it. I was the first to reach Level 5 before you. I was also the first to clear the Treant Forest and Blackflame Forest before you. No matter in real life, or in the game, I’ve always been ahead of you!” Splendid Star bluntly proclaimed as he stared at Swift Slash in an unyielding manner.
Swift Slash’s face turned ashen. Splendid Star’s words had infuriated him quite a bit. He sneered, “So what if your Splendid Temple guild cleared the Blackflame Forest? Your clear rate was only sixty-eight percent—it’s nothing to brag about. Your guild’s Honour is only higher than ours by two hundred points. Given some time, we’d easily catch up.”
“We’re two hundred points ahead of you right now, but who knows? Maybe by tomorrow, we’ll be ahead by a thousand, then the day after, two thousand. Trying to overtake us? Try again in your next life!”
Guild reputation was a representation of a guild’s strength; otherwise, why else would they care about such a tiny gap in Honour points?
“Bastard! You’re looking to die!”
“What’s so terrific about Splendid Star and his guild? Come on, let’s kill them!” A member of Dark Massacre passionately shouted from within the group.
“Brat! If you have the guts, then come up here!”
Over on Splendid Temple’s side, their members were itching to go as well. However, neither side made a move and only continued cursing at each other. The main goal of their trip was still to secure the equipment the Guardian of Order might drop.
This equipment was the target of all three guild leaders.
Meanwhile, the Holy Crusaders vehemently resisted the Guardian of Order, not yielding by even a single inch. The archers at the rear continued to fire a rain of arrows with every single one concentrated solely on the Guardian’s body.
The Guardian of Order thundered furiously and cast its magic. The deep and archaic dragon language echoed above Link with spells one after another pouring down like a torrent of raindrops.
“The Guardian of Order doesn’t have much health left! Quick, snatch the equipment!”
No one knew which person shouted those words, but immediately, a deluge of players pounced towards the Guardian of Order.
After Commander Nisode let out an explosive shout, a single arrow shot out from his bow and pierced the Guardian of Order’s shoulder, causing blood to gush out everywhere. The Guardian issued a mournful cry before transforming into white light and vanishing in the air. A single gold piece of armour fell from where it had been.
“It’s the equipment! Get it!” Splendid Star coldly shouted.
“Kill whoever manages to snatch the equipment!” The guild leader of Holy Empire, Sleepy Fox, also ordered from the guild chat.
Three to four hundred players pounced from all directions and charged towards the armour that had fallen from the Guardian of Order. Every guild within the game could be seen included in the crowd—an especially chaotic scene to behold.
He never expected the Guardian of Order would actually drop a piece of equipment. Moreover, it appeared the equipment dropped was Gold-grade as well. Seeing this, Nie Yan also charged into the fray. He was already here, so why not give it a try anyway?
A Berserker from Holy Empire had taken the lead by activating Charge which increased his speed by a significant amount. Soon, it appeared as if he were about to snatch the equipment at any moment. However, ten spells immediately came flying over, bombarding his body simultaneously. After being hit by so many spells at once, his body transformed into a beam of white light and vanished.
“F*ck!” Sleepy Fox, seeing the piece of equipment just within his grasp fly away once more, cursed loudly. “Keep fighting!”
The three major guilds still didn’t approach the dropped equipment. Instead, they began fighting and fired barrages of spells at one another. Seven or so players approached the dropped equipment and were immediately met with an explosion of spells that turned them into ashes.
Nie Yan was roughly twenty meters from the dropped equipment with a member from Dark Massacre, a Fighter, obstructing the path ahead. The Fighter noticed Nie Yan and came forward to intercept him.
With his body lowered, Nie Yan evaded and weaved his body past the Fighter’s attack.
The Fighter’s body shot into empty space. He stared out blankly before turning his head. By that time, Nie Yan had already run far away.
“CHARGE!” As a Berserker, Sleepy Fox took the lead and rushed forward.
Immediately, a dozen spells came bombarding towards him. As he was about to be hit, Sleepy Fox dodge rolled at the last moment. Of the dozen spells, only three managed to land on his body.
The equipment belongs to me! Sleepy Fox felt ecstatic as he bent down to pick up the equipment on the ground.
“Don’t be so quick to get happy!” Swift Slash coldly shouted.
“Immobilize!” Swift Slash brandished his staff, chanted several syllables, and cast Immobilize. Sleepy Fox’s body immediately became rigid as he was rooted in place.
While Swift Slash was a Shadow Priest, Immobilize was still a rarely seen spell that could cause a player’s body to become rigid. At Beginner level, it could root a player in place for three seconds.
Dammit! Sleepy Fox cursed in his mind. He was unable to move any part of his body.
At the same moment, Swift Slash and Splendid Star both simultaneously pounced towards the armour and drew increasingly near.
Five meters, three meters…
In terms of speed, Swift Slash would definitely be able to snatch the armour before Splendid Star.
Nie Yan had entered stealth and followed Swift Slash and Splendid Star closely from behind. However, the two were still faster than him by a pace which meant he definitely wouldn’t be able to snatch it away. Since he couldn’t get the equipment himself, why not send it to a friend?
Nie Yan swept his left leg out!
Tripping was a basic movement in Conviction. In melee combat, a player could trip their opponent and cause them to stumble. The success rate depended on the person’s Strength stat and the opponent’s body weight.
Fortunately, Nie Yan’s left leg managed to stop right in front of Swift Slash’s foot, causing him to immediately lose his balance and fall once his leg was hooked.
「Thud!」Swift Slash fell onto the ground while Splendid Star extended his right hand and grabbed the armour before stuffing it into his bag.
Only then did they realize there had been a Thief following them closely from behind.
After retrieving the equipment, Splendid Star gave Nie Yan a grateful glance and said, “Thank you.” He discovered he didn’t recognize this Thief’s face at all. He wasn’t a part of their guild and Splendid Star had never met him before. However regardless, this Thief had still helped him at this moment.