Chapter 200 – The Master Emerges (1/2)

Chapter 200 – The Master Emerges

Nie Yan thought highly of everyone he recruited, but he still underestimated the skills of the players under him. Leader Young Seven, for example, was normally consigned to the role of a support and rarely ever seen engaging in direct combat. Nie Yan was never clear on how good Young Seven was at PvP. Today, however, he witnessed Young Seven’s prowess first-hand.

In the face of imminent death from an ambush by four Thieves, Young Seven hadn’t shown the slightest trace of panic. He feared the closest Thief, crippled the second with curses, and resisted being incapacitated by the third with a shield and a blessing. Relying on skill alone, he had effortlessly dealt with three Thieves.

Nie Yan felt Young Seven even rivalled some Mages who were experts at PvP. He previously hoped that Young Seven could hold out for at least ten seconds, so he could take out the Thieves and rescue him. However, Young Seven showed that he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. Only now did Nie Yan gain a better understanding of what Young Seven could truly do. He was one of the Seven Archbishops in the previous timeline after all. It would be strange if he didn’t have the ability to protect himself.

Only when a Priest reached the same stage as Young Seven, where they were not afraid of engaging in PvP, would they start to truly grow. If they had to rely on others to save them whenever they encountered danger, they would forever linger in mediocrity.

“There’ll be more of them arriving soon. Let’s get out of here while we still can,” Nie Yan said. There was no time to pick up the equipment from the ground. The players from Unhindered weren’t likely to drop anything good anyway.

Relying on his understanding of the terrain, Ne Yan guided the group through the underground lava caverns, periodically popping out of the woods to launch ambushes on the forces of Unhindered. They were playing a game of cat and mouse, and Unhindered was helpless to stop them.

Nie Yan and the others were in a murderous frenzy, slaughtering countless players from Unhindered.

The post on the official forums was constantly seeing updates:

「10:29, Players Killed: 278」

「10:58, Players Killed: 308」

「11:27, Players Killed: 323」

…

Although the number of players dying in recent updates wasn’t as terrifying as the first two, it was still extremely astonishing. While the kill count was steadily rising, Nie Yan’s group had yet to lose a single member. If the players on the forums only felt slight admiration for them before, then most now came to genuinely revere Nie Yan and the other members of the group. Ten people were actually able to force an entire guild into such a powerless situation. Asskickers United truly struck dread into the hearts of all.

The players of Unhindered grew more and more paranoid after every successive ambush. They were filled with fear and trepidation, not knowing when or where the enemy would strike next.

Nie Yan and the others were like specters, taking out anywhere from ten to twenty plus players every time they appeared. When more forces arrived to surround them, all traces of them would disappear.

“Shit! How do they keep escaping?!” Hei Zhuo cursed. He was consumed by unending fury, while also feeling utterly helpless as he watched the number of casualties continue to rise.

Yu Long calmly pondered over the question. What Nie Yan’s group was doing couldn’t simply be accomplished with Invisibility Potions. The answer probably laid beneath the ground. Could they have found some method to safely pass through the lava caverns?

The forces of Unhindered were too weak and spread too thin, leaving them incapable of controlling the entire map. From the start, they had no way to resist the ambushes. Unhindered was in a precarious position, unable to retreat or advance. If they withdrew from the Kiln Fire Woods, they would become even more of a laughingstock.

Since this matter was plotted by Victorious Return, they would undoubtedly be humiliated as well. Even a blind person could tell they were pulling the strings from behind the scenes. After this was all over, the reputation of Victorious Return would reach an all time low, while their enemy would benefit greatly. If enough time was given to Asskickers United, then Victorious Return really might be forced to abdicate their throne as the top guild in Calore.

Yu Long thought for a moment. If he continued to allow Unhindered to be tormented like this, the number of people killed by Nie Yan’s group would only rise higher and higher. Once the total casualties surpassed a thousand, it could undoubtedly be considered a victory for Asskickers United! A thousand players dead! He could scarcely imagine what sort of reaction the players on the forums would have.

Yu Long consulted with Heaven Breaker. When the time came for Victorious Return to act, even if Nie Yan’s group couldn’t be surrounded, they would at least have to be driven away. They couldn’t be allowed to run rampant in Kiln Fire Woods any longer!

…

Nie Yan and the others killed around ten more players before withdrawing. The safety of every member of the group took the highest precedence. They never lingered around for long, leaving shortly after scavenging the loot.

After yet another successful ambush, Nie Yan received a message notification.

「You guys need to get out of Kiln Fire Woods, quickly!」Guo Huai warned.

「What’s wrong?」Nie Yan asked. Unless something big happened, Guo Huai would never sound so anxious.

「A large force of players from Victorious Return is mobilizing in Kiln Fire Woods. They’re moving towards in direction!」Guo Huai sounded flustered. Right now, he couldn’t help but be anxious about the safety of Nie Yan’s group. Whatever happened to them would affect the entire guild.

Nie Yan’s eyes flashed with a desire to commit murder. It wasn’t easy for him to create such a large stir, but he finally forced Victorious Return to act. Unhindered was nothing more than a lackey, merely an appetizer before the main course. No matter how many of them he killed, it would never deal a serious blow to Victorious Return. Now that the dog was beaten, the master had emerged.

「Don’t worry. We won’t be caught so easily.」Nie Yan coldly chuckled. He casually glanced at the guild chat. It was filled with the messages of countless members showing their support for him and the others, as well as telling them to all come back.

「Boss! Please, all of you should return! To everyone in the guild, the safety of you and the others is the most important thing. You’ve already killed over 500 of those bastards from Unhindered. You guys are the glory of our guild!」- Paladin of the Elegy