Chapter 136: Level 30 Elite!

Tang Yao looked at Nie Yan with an incredulous expression and chuckled, “You must be kidding, right? Why would we start a guild?”

“To dominate the world, of course,” Nie Yan replied matter-of-factly.

“Are you bored out of your mind? Isn’t it better to just happily level up, grind monsters, and flirt with girls?” Tang Yao asked, puzzled.

Nie Yan thought about Tang Yao’s words for a moment, then laughed. What others saw as a grand ambition meant nothing to Tang Yao. Reflecting further, Nie Yan realized that the timing for establishing a guild was indeed premature. Nie Yan had too few trustworthy allies, and alone, he couldn’t sustain the operation of a guild.

Although Nie Yan’s father was currently stationed at the border, he had already laid out a grand blueprint for the future company. Officially named a metallurgy and machinery manufacturing enterprise, the company secretly conducted profitable trade with several nations near the northern and western borders. However, the business carried enormous risks. If this trade line were severed, the company would collapse. Moreover, Nie Yan’s father’s control over this lucrative channel had made him many jealous enemies. To reduce the risks, Nie Yan’s father invested heavily in the game “Faith,” often referred to as the Second World, recruiting players from major studios to establish the once-mighty guild, War God Tribe.

With his father’s massive financial backing, War God Tribe had once come close to rivaling the dominant guild, Triumph. The guild had countless elite warriors and skilled commanders. However, due to the threat War God Tribe posed to Triumph’s supremacy, the latter launched a fierce counterattack, aggressively assaulting War God Tribe’s strongholds. Triumph captured two strongholds in succession, crippling part of War God Tribe’s economy. Additionally, since War God Tribe was established relatively late and lacked a solid foundation, its only influential asset was an auction house run by Nie Yan’s cousin. Thus, War God Tribe was on the verge of collapse under the intense pressure.

In fact, during War God Tribe’s fierce counterattacks, Triumph had already shown signs of weakening. If War God Tribe had persisted and organized several effective counterstrikes, it might have been Triumph that was destroyed instead. However, other guilds like Holy Flame and War Blade joined the fray, finally leading to War God Tribe’s disintegration and Nie Yan’s father’s investment turning into a complete loss.

This world was ruthless. If War God Tribe had managed to hold its ground or even defeated Triumph, it would have gained thirteen strongholds, each generating substantial daily revenue. Combined with profits from shops and auction houses, Nie Yan could have comfortably lived as a carefree second-generation heir for life.

Despite his father’s painstaking efforts, the endeavor ended in a crushing defeat. It was partly due to bad luck, but also because of their shallow foundation. However, in this life, things were much improved. The numerous shops and properties Nie Yan had already purchased were sufficient for War God Tribe to establish a firm foothold in Karol City. With a massive economic foundation, expansion would be even more aggressive. Only with a stable foundation could War God Tribe grow into a towering giant.

Nie Yan had always planned to wait for his father to reestablish War God Tribe before getting involved in guild affairs. He intended to recruit his father’s old comrades and classmates and hire a large number of management talents, so guild management wouldn’t burden him. Now, thinking back, would it be too late by then?

Nie Yan’s power alone was limited. Even as a reincarnator, he could only drift with the tide, gradually building his own forces. Rushing too quickly could lead to a fall.

Looking at Tang Yao, Nie Yan smiled and shook his head. “You wouldn’t understand. Often, being alone means you can’t protect yourself or the people around you. Against a guild, even the strongest individual is powerless.”

“I don’t get it. I don’t have any conflicts with those guilds. Why bother with them?”

“Sometimes, even if you don’t seek trouble, trouble will find you,” Nie Yan chuckled and shook his head. “Establishing a guild is extremely difficult. For now, let’s just focus on leveling up.”

“Alright, let’s level up first.” Tang Yao was confused. Why had Nie Yan suddenly brought up guild matters when they were just leveling up peacefully.

Nie Yan understood that Triumph had already set its sights on him. However, as long as he remained cautious, Triumph wouldn’t be able to do anything to him. It was extremely difficult to ambush a rogue in the wild, especially since Nie Yan rarely stayed in low-level zones.

Gradually, Nie Yan and Tang Yao entered a quiet forest, dim and damp. A giant scale-frog appeared before them. Covered in warts, its black scales bore white stripes. It moved slowly, its bulging eyes rolling around as it crawled forward a few steps before stopping for a long time.

Although the scale-frog appeared clumsy, it could move extremely fast once it locked onto a target. Without a target, it wouldn’t react even if attacked for half a day.

Scale-frog: ??-level elite.

Nie Yan couldn’t yet determine its level, but he already knew from his past life that it was a level-30 elite.

“Are you ready?” Nie Yan asked Tang Yao.

“Ready.” Tang Yao replied, slightly nervous.

“Don’t worry. As long as you stay more than 25 yards away from it, it’s just a stationary target. Just keep casting spells.” Nie Yan patted Tang Yao’s shoulder and smiled.

“I’ll be careful. Let’s start.” Tang Yao raised his staff. The Dark Wind staff Nie Yan had given him significantly boosted his spell power, but facing a level-30 monster still made him uneasy.

Nie Yan took out a vial of Mist Dust and stealthily approached the scale-frog. When he was about ten yards away, the scale-frog stirred slightly, as if sensing something. With a pop, the Mist Dust exploded in Nie Yan’s palm, spreading a thick fog over a 30×30 yard area, lingering without dispersing.

Nie Yan quickly retreated. The scale-frog, clearly unaware of what had happened, continued moving slowly.

“You can start now. Just don’t get too close.”

Hearing Nie Yan’s words, Tang Yao gradually approached the scale-frog, staying about 30 yards away, well within his spell range.

Arcane Flame Blast!

Tang Yao chanted a spell, and a black fireball shot toward the scale-frog. With a bang, the fireball exploded on impact, dealing 10 damage.

The scale-frog became alert, its round eyes rolling around but failing to spot Tang Yao. It slowly crawled forward a bit and stopped again.

Seeing the scale-frog move, Tang Yao’s heart raced. But noticing it had only moved slightly and hadn’t detected him, he grew bolder, casting several more spells. Despite taking multiple arcane attacks, the scale-frog still seemed oblivious.

Everything was going smoothly. Nie Yan’s elaborate efforts to create the conditions for killing the scale-frog were not in vain.

Tang Yao finally felt secure. As long as he stayed beyond the 25-yard range, he was safe!

That meant they could actually defeat a level-30 elite scale-frog using this method! Amazing! Tang Yao couldn’t help but get excited. What great loot might such a high-level elite drop?

As Tang Yao circled the scale-frog, he began unleashing a barrage of spells. Massive arcane elements gathered around his Arcane Sprite, which continued blowing bubbles casually while the arcane elements swirled around.

Arcane Fireball! Arcane Missile! Arcane Flame Blast…

Tang Yao’s mana seemed inexhaustible, and the spells consumed little mana.

“My Arcane Flame Blast just leveled up!” Tang Yao exclaimed, looking at the system prompt. He recalled the encounter with Holy Flame, when a player named Diancang used Elemental Flame Blast to instantly kill one of their teammates, scaring him badly. Now, his own Flame Blast could kill instantly too.

Watching Tang Yao unleash spells like a machine gun, Nie Yan recalled that player with a level-5 Arcane Sprite. Tang Yao was becoming somewhat like him.

-10, -11, -10, -132…

Damage numbers floated above the scale-frog’s head. Most were small, but occasionally a high number appeared, indicating a level-ignoring strike.

There was nothing more for Nie Yan to do now but wait to collect experience and loot.

Tang Yao chanted a spell and coldly shouted, “Celestial Fall!”

A barrage of fireballs rained down from the sky, bombarding the scale-frog. The surrounding ground was scorched black by the intense flames.

After casting Celestial Fall, Tang Yao’s mana dropped by about a fifth but quickly began regenerating in increments. Previously, casting Celestial Fall would drain more than half his mana. With his level-3 Arcane Sprite boosting his mana by around 300%, the spell’s mana cost was now trivial.

Tang Yao’s damage output was incredibly fierce, making Nie Yan whistle in admiration.

In his past life, Arcane Sprites had extremely low drop rates, and over 90% of them died before even being obtained. Tang Yao’s luck was truly amazing.

“Did you get your Arcane Sprite as a drop while grinding with Yulan and the others?”

“Yeah.” Tang Yao replied while casting a few more arcane spells.

“Didn’t the other arcane mages in their team want it?” Nie Yan asked. Such a rare item should have been highly sought after.

“They were too polite to compete with me, but I’m still grateful they let me have it. I gave each member of their team two silver coins, otherwise I wouldn’t have had enough money to teleport to Hemus.”

Under the relentless magical bombardment, after nearly thirty minutes, the scale-frog finally kicked its legs, flipped over, and died.

System: Your party has defeated the elite scale-frog. Experience bonus for defeating a higher-level monster: 2800%. You gained 98,290 experience.

Nie Yan checked his experience bar. It had surged by 83%, bringing him to 92% of level 11.

On the other side, a beam of white light shone over Tang Yao. Having just leveled up to level 10, he immediately gained another level, reaching level 11. He stood there, stunned.