Chapter 201 – The Secret of Kiln Fire Woods (1/2)

Chapter 201 – The Secret of Kiln Fire Woods

Travelling through the dark tunnels of the lava caverns, the group finally arrived at the exit.

“Boss, let’s take a photo!” Undying Scoundrel suggested. What they had just accomplished was a historic moment for the entire guild. Of course he’d want something to commemorate it with.

Nie Yan thought for a moment. “Sure, but only release the photo after all of this is over.” It was best if Victorious Return temporarily didn’t know that they had left Kiln Fire Woods.

“The people from Victorious Return definitely won’t be happy when they see the photo. I can already see their ugly expressions! They have twenty to thirty thousand players digging three feet deep into the ground across every inch of the map, searching for us right now. I bet they’re not expecting that we’re already gone!” Undying Scoundrel let out a wicked cackle.

“Heaven Breaker will be so furious that he’ll definitely vomit out blood!”

Blowhard Summer Bug and the others imagined Heaven Breaker’s reaction in their heads.

“Everybody, gather around! Let’s make sure our red names are in plain view!”

Everyone was in high spirits.

Ten people stood together, all of whom were branded red. It was a spectacular sight. Even the name of Leader Young Seven was tainted red, although his was the lightest shade out of the entire group. Everyone else was a deep, soul-tremoring crimson.

Undying Scoundrel, Sun, and the others made rude poses, as if to mock the people of Victorious Return.

「Snap!」A camera shutter sound rang out. The picture was taken. After this matter passed, it would be uploaded to the web. They would invariably go down in history for the events of today, remembered by the players for a long time to come.

“Alright, everyone should run along now. Go clear your red names,” Nie Yan said. It was too dangerous to stay branded as a PKer for long.

“Big Brother, I’ll go scout the path ahead.” Sun set off to investigate the situation outside. He would immediately report back if he encountered anyone from Victorious Return. The number of players patrolling the outer perimeter of the map definitely weren’t few. So when retreating, they would have to be extra cautious to avoid being discovered.

‘Get in contact with Yao Yao. You guys should join up with her to clear your red names. When I’ve settled the matter here, I’ll take you all levelling with me in Everlasting City,” Nie Yan said. With how high all their kill counts were, maybe one of them might get lucky and find a Killer’s Demonic Medallion.

“Alright, be careful too,” Young Seven said.

“Boss, be safe.”

“We’ll be leaving. Take care, Boss.”

The members of the group spoke their farewells to Nie Yan one after another.

“Stay safe on your journey!” Nie Yan smiled. He felt more or less reassured about them. Even if they encountered a patrol group, as long as the number of players on the enemy side didn’t exceed one hundred, Victorious Return would be helpless to stop them.

The group of nine players set out. Nie Yan turned around and returned to the lava caverns. Taking advantage of the remaining duration on Deterrence, he rushed back toward Kiln Fire Woods.

In the depths of the lava caverns, the scalding hot air churned and roiled and tongues of flame billowed upward from deep underground.

In the previous timeline, only after many players reached Level 40–50 did the first group of people dare to explore the lava caverns. With the Viper Flies no longer posing a threat, they travelled through the long and narrow tunnels to the deepest parts of the lava caverns, where they finally uncovered the secret of Kiln Fire Woods.

Nie Yan smirked. The next phase of his plan would bring disaster to Victorious Return. But to proceed, he would have to lure their forces to the center of the map.

Nie Yan left the lava caverns. He activated Stealth, then began investigating the surroundings where he found a group of players from Victorious Return. He slowly approached them.

The players were currently chatting. They consisted of five members, an Elementalist, a Berserker, a Paladin, a Holy Mage, and a Priest.

All of them wore decent gear, and were around Level 20.

“Say, how many strong players do you think are in Asskickers United? Those guys in the video are really strong. I feel like they aren’t any weaker than Yu Long, Skinny Dog, and them!” the Berserker said in a slightly fearful tone. Such a terrifying group of players had a chance of appearing before them.

“Who knows? Maybe those ten are all they have,” the Elementalist replied. He found it almost inconceivable that a newly-emerged guild would have so many top-notch experts.

“Why do you think the guild leader keeps insisting on making trouble for Asskickers United? Isn’t that just asking for trouble?” the Berserker asked in a puzzled tone.

“Are you stupid? What do you know? Asskickers United has only been around for a few weeks at most, yet they’ve already grown so powerful! Can you imagine how strong they’ll get in the future if we don’t do anything about them now? It’s basic guild strategy!” said the Holy Mage who was the leader of the group.

“You’re saying Asskickers United will pose a threat to Victorious Return in the future?” the Berserker asked in a startled manner.

Several members in the group sank into deep thought. Looking at the current momentum of Asskickers United, there really was such a possibility. If Asskickers United did surpass them to become the top guild in Calore, then they would lose all feeling of superiority. Currently, every time they set out, they would hold their heads up with pride. Some of them even loathed the fact they couldn’t scribble the words—We, Victorious Return, are the number one guild in Calore!—on their faces. However, if Asskickers United took away that position, the glory of Victorious Return would be all for naught. What else would they have left to take pride in? On that day, many members would definitely start having thoughts of departing the guild.

And so would begin the demise of Victorious Return

Nie Yan slowly crept up behind them. He was only a five meters away from the Priest. All of them were incognizant of the imminent danger to their lives.

By allowing a Thief to approach so closely to them, they had basically sealed the fate of their Priest. How a Thief ambushed a target was similar to the way a cheetah stalked its prey on a hunt. With a cheetah’s explosive sprinting power, as long as it could get within a certain distance of its prey, the prey would be taken down in a flash.