Chapter 46 – The Prowess of a True Thief (1/2)

Chapter 46 – The Prowess of a True Thief

“Nie Yan, are you really sure we can do it?” Yao Yao said, gently nudging Nie Yan with her arm. The expression in her eyes was filled with worry.

“Rest assured, there won’t be any problems.”

Yao Yao’s actions couldn’t be considered excessively intimate; however, Chen Bo thought otherwise. He believed Nie Yan was stepping out of line by being too overly close with Yao Yao. As a consequence, the resentment and hatred in his eyes only grew all the more extreme as he covertly gazed at the two.

The team of twenty slowly advanced deeper into the forest. The Warriors and Paladins were on the frontline, and the Mages were in the back. Under Nie Yan’s repeated warnings, no players were more than two meters apart from each other.

“Brother Chen, how about you come in front and scout the path ahead?” Nie Yan suggested. The corner of his eyes flashed with a cold, peculiar light. Chen Bo had a hypocritical and petty personality. Therefore, he would firmly hold onto a grudge if even the slightest enmity occurred between the two of them. By making him lose face, Nie Yan had already thoroughly offended him. Despite this, Nie Yan wasn’t the slightest bit fearful. Chen Bo, you’re just a useless brat who’s barely capable of the simplest tasks. Do you really think you can stir up any trouble with me leading the team?

“You’re a Thief too! Why the hell are you making me go!?” Chen Bo coldly replied.

“I’m the team captain, so I have to lead the team. Would you rather have me scout ahead and have you lead the entire team instead, Brother Chen Bo?” Nie Yan countered.

“Hmph, no need! I want to see how exactly you plan to lead us through this dungeon on Specialist difficulty!” Chen Bo coldly snorted and walked to the front of the team. Utilizing his profession’s nimbleness, he then began scouting the path ahead.

From Chen Bo’s movements, Nie Yan could tell he was barely decent for an average Thief. If Chen Bo ever tried to compare with him, he would find that Nie Yan was of an entirely different caliber.

A cold breeze from the depths of the forest occasionally blew past, leaving the team with a strange sensation, almost as if they were being watched by some other entity. Nie Yan’s mind was on constant alert. With his keen sense, he caught glimpses of shadows hiding in the distance. They were Dark Elves, experts of camouflage and hiding in the darkness to mount ambushes. They were impossible to perceive unless the player had an Awareness of above ten.

Chen Bo moved forward and began scouting ahead for the rest of the team. On either side were thick branches with lush foliage which blocked his path. Beneath his feet were jungle vines and tree roots which resembled thick serpents as they lay strewn across the path ahead. They were tripping hazards and made advancing forward quite difficult.

“Ugh! Damn these things to hell!” Chen Bo tried kicking away one of the vines lying on the path. However, it seemed to have to mind of its own. As if it were an actual snake, the vine coiled around his legs, whipped upwards, and left him dangling in midair with his head facing the ground. “Save me!” Chen Bo miserably shrieked.

The towering tree beside him suddenly came alive, whereupon vines stretched as far as the eye could see. Chen Bo saw the tree grow a pair of eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Even the vines surrounding the trunk grew into what seemed like a beard. Chen Bo had been caught off guard by a Treant!

“It’s a Treant! Bai Kaisui (Plain Boiled Water), Dumpling, attack from the right. Paladins, form a wall. Mages, start casting spells,” Nie Yan calmly ordered. He had actually noticed the Treant in disguise earlier when Chen Bo was scouting the area. However, he intentionally chose not to warn Chen Bo in order to give him a good lesson. You impolite brat, I’ll have this Treant teach you in my place.

Dumpling rushed forward from the right side as he held a wooden shield in his hand. “Shield Bash!”「Bang!」A loud sound echoed out as the wooden shield collided with the Treant.

The crowd of frontliners firmly stood in place, surrounding the monster, while the Mages in the back fired off volley after volley of spells. A shower of magic flew up into the air and went streaking towards the Treant.「Boom! Boom! Boom!」Several explosions rang out in quick succession as they bombarded their target. The Treant issued a painful roar whereupon it transformed into a lump of wood debris that lay collapsed on the ground. The one they encountered was merely an ordinary mob. Therefore, it was impossible for the Treant to withstand such a concentrated assault.

The vine’s grip on Chen Bo loosened and he was sent hurtling towards the ground.「Thud!」He fell flat on his face.

Seeing his sorry figure, everyone on the team couldn’t help but laugh.

“What did it drop?”

“Three coppers.”

Chen Bo felt embarrassed. He cast an angry gaze at Nie Yan and said, “You did that intentionally, didn’t you!?” He knew Nie Yan noticed the Treant earlier but still chose not to warn him. Otherwise, how could Nie Yan have reacted so calmly in such a sudden and urgent situation?

“Brother Morning Wood, you’ll have to speak a bit more clearly. I’m finding your reasoning a little strange. It was you who wasn’t careful and ended up getting caught by the Treant. What does that have to do with me?” Nie Yan gave a barely discernible smile as he gazed at Chen Bo, his expression telling otherwise. I did notice the Treant earlier, and I did intentionally not warn you. What can you do about it?