Chapter 148: Ambush

The news of the guild warehouse opening spread like a plague, triggering a new surge of membership applications.

Guo Huai, Hao Cheng, and Zhao Li clicked the confirmation button until their fingers ached. Although many players had already joined, they still needed to sort through all the guild members in the next few days to ensure the guild’s smooth operation. They had a lot more work to do.

With people like Guo Huai managing the guild, Nie Yan wasn’t particularly worried and could comfortably leave things in their hands. As for himself, he could focus entirely on leveling up by grinding monsters.

“Nie Yan, come do Heiyan with us? We’re at the entrance right now, Ya Zi is here too, and Yue Er, whom you met last time. We’re all waiting for you,” Yaoyao sent Nie Yan a message. They were very excited about playing together with him.

Nie Yan thought for a moment. Doing Heiyan wasn’t a bad idea; it would only take an hour at most. If it was the expert-level Heiyan, there might even be a chance to obtain a treasure.

“Okay, I’ll be there soon.”

Nie Yan took a teleportation scroll to the town of Yidan Beiduo. Located east of Karuo’er City, this town exuded the atmosphere of ancient co-governance times. Many aspects of the town still bore traces of that era. The stone walls, weathered by wind and rain, had their carvings nearly erased, and the damaged buildings and ancient streets still carried the lingering charm of a bygone era, giving a profound sense of historical weight.

The NPC guards here wore strangely old-fashioned attire, still bearing traces of the co-governance era. They wore short robes and cloth armor, along with steel-plated helmets, resembling gladiators from ancient tribal societies.

Nie Yan walked down the main street. A group of about sixteen or seventeen players approached him from the opposite direction. Their equipment was excellent, at least matching the gear from the Saosi Valley. Nie Yan felt puzzled—players who had already completed Saosi Valley shouldn’t be here.

These people varied in build, some tall and muscular, others short and wiry, representing various classes. Their only commonality was the aura of ferocity they exuded, causing Nie Yan to frown. Who were these people?

“Skinny Dog, when you kill someone, make sure your blade is sharp,” a tall elemental mage in a gray robe smirked coldly, glancing at Nie Yan before quickly looking away.

“Don’t worry, my dagger will be faster than your staff,” a short, thin rogue skillfully twirled his dagger. His face was hidden beneath a black hood, making it impossible to see his features clearly.

The group laughed loudly while chatting, giving Nie Yan a sidelong glance before passing him by.

Nie Yan vaguely recognized them. Their names were hidden, and his memory wasn’t good enough to remember every player he had encountered in his past life. Unless they had some particularly distinctive features, he couldn’t recall their names.

He probably hadn’t interacted much with these players in his previous life.

Nie Yan walked out of the town. Heiyan Forest lay to the north of Yidan Beiduo. It was a scorched wasteland, filled with charred remains. Legend had it that during the Dark Age, the black flame phoenix Solux fell here, igniting endless flames that never extinguished. When players entered Heiyan Forest, they could still see the massive skeleton of a phoenix scattered throughout the forest.

The ever-burning flames attracted many fire elementals to reside here, making it an important early-level dungeon.

The outer area of Heiyan Forest was a wasteland, filled with scattered rocks and devoid of any plant life. Only level 3 goblins roamed here. At the entrance of Heiyan Forest, there was an open space where teams often gathered to enter the dungeon. However, today it was unusually quiet, which felt somewhat eerie.

Yu Lan and others were waiting at the entrance of Heiyan Forest.

Nie Yan walked up and greeted them with a smile, “Hello.”

“Finally, we’ve been waiting for you, Mr. Busy Man,” Yaoyao smiled, her bright expression instantly lifting everyone’s mood.

“Nie Yan Leader, we’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”

Nie Yan smiled slightly, nodded at Yu Lan and others, and greeted Yue Er beside Yaoyao, “Hello.”

It had been a few days since they last met. Yu Lan and others had significantly improved their gear and had leveled up quite a bit, reaching around level 10. Their reason for coming to Heiyan was likely to have Nie Yan guide them through the expert-level dungeon.

“Once again, we’ll trouble you to take us through the dungeon,” Yu Lan looked at Nie Yan with slight embarrassment.

“You’re already guild members now. It’s only natural for me to guide you,” Nie Yan nodded. He scanned the group and counted twenty people in total, mostly familiar faces. He even noticed Huanghun.

“Doesn’t your guild have any activities today?”

Huanghun smiled awkwardly, “My guild’s event is tomorrow. I’m here just to farm gear.”

Huanghun was already wearing a full set of Zuiyu gear, obtained from the Medusa dungeon. He probably wasn’t here just for gear. Banxing De Hulu must have learned about his and Tang Yao’s guild formation and sent Huanghun here for some ulterior motive. However, Banxing De Hulu and Nie Yan still had some rapport. With Banxing De Hulu’s wisdom, he must know that cooperation benefits both parties. After all, he knew quite a bit about Nie Yan’s background, including his support from the Starlight Pharmacy and his mysterious connections. Banxing De Hulu wouldn’t easily jeopardize their relationship. Therefore, cooperation between Niuren Tribe and the Holy Roman Empire was possible.

“We’ll leave the team. You create the group,” Yu Lan said to Nie Yan.

Nie Yan nodded and started inviting them into the group.

System: Player Yaoyao has joined your party.

System: Player Yazi has joined your party.

“Nie Yan, you’re already level 16? That’s so fast,” Yaoyao exclaimed. Tang Yao hadn’t told anyone Nie Yan’s level without permission, so Yaoyao and others didn’t know his level yet. Although they knew he was pretty high-level, they hadn’t expected him to be at level 16 already.

“Why isn’t he on the level leaderboard?” Yue Er furrowed her brows, puzzled.

“He’s hiding his level, so he’s not on the leaderboard,” Huanghun said, thinking that his leader’s guess had been correct.

Nie Yan probably wanted to keep a low profile. Everyone thought it through and realized that if the top two spots on the level leaderboard were both from Niuren Tribe, it would undoubtedly send shockwaves through other guilds.

Everyone was now in the group.

“Let’s go over everyone’s stats as usual,” Nie Yan said in the party chat. Although he knew Yu Lan and others met the requirements, he needed to confirm each member’s stats for thoroughness. If anyone didn’t meet the standards, they couldn’t enter the dungeon.

Every dungeon run must be approached seriously and meticulously; otherwise, even the smallest mistake could lead to a wipe. A single wipe might not cripple the team, but losing 20% experience was still painful.

Yu Lan, Baikai Shui, and others began reporting their defense, magic damage, health, and other key stats.

“520 HP, 180 defense…”

“320 HP, 158 magic damage…”

One by one, they reported their stats. Nie Yan nodded in approval. It seemed Yu Lan and others had invested considerable effort into their gear. Especially Baikai Shui, whose 180 defense and 520 HP were quite impressive for this stage.

Just as Nie Yan’s team was about to set off, a large group of players emerged from the rocks surrounding them from all directions, quickly surrounding the group.

There were about two to three hundred of them, completely blocking all escape routes for Nie Yan and his team.

Nie Yan’s heart sank. These players were clearly up to no good.

“What’s going on?” Nie Yan’s heart dropped as he scanned the opposing group. These players were all equipped well, likely around level 10.

“Who are they?” Tang Yao tightened his grip on his staff, sensing the hostility from the approaching group.

The members of Yu Lan’s team quickly formed a defensive formation, preparing to face the encroaching players from all directions.

“I’ve seen the leaders. They’re from Kai Xuan,” Huanghun whispered beside Nie Yan.

Nie Yan’s gaze fell on the leading figures. A tall elemental mage and a thin, monkey-like player stood out particularly. They were the same group of Saosi Valley graduates Nie Yan had encountered in Yidan Beiduo.

“We’re surrounded. They’ve got at least 300!” Baikai Shui and others said nervously. They were only about twenty people, while the opposing side had over 300, each with gear no worse than theirs!

The power disparity was enormous. If the enemy attacked, their entire team would surely be wiped out!

This wasn’t a dungeon. Dying inside a dungeon only cost 20% experience and no gear loss. But dying outside meant losing a full level and dropping a piece of equipment!

No one could remain indifferent to such a prospect!

Nie Yan wasn’t particularly worried about losing levels. His main concern was the two Order Scrolls in his bag and Tang Yao’s Arcane Sprite!

Was the painstakingly built foundation about to collapse before it could reach its full potential?

It was already too late to use a recall scroll. The enemy was too close and would interrupt the teleportation at any moment!

“Skinny Dog, there’s a phrase called ‘catching turtles in a jar,’ which perfectly describes the current situation!” The tall elemental mage laughed wildly, “Even if Nie Yan is strong, they’re finished!”

The rogue named Skinny Dog licked the edge of his dagger with a crimson tongue, eyeing Nie Yan and the others like prey about to be caught.

“They still think they can fight back. Twenty people? What do they think they can do?” Skinny Dog grinned arrogantly.

“Remember, don’t let the men attack first. Send a few people to engage Nie Yan and make him a red name. Our boss ordered us to strip him of all his gear, not leaving a single piece behind!”

“Don’t worry, I understand!” Skinny Dog toyed with his dagger. He loved the sensation of watching someone bleed out.

These people had come for him. Nie Yan looked at the bony man, barely over 1.5 meters tall, vaguely recalling him. In his previous life, this person had no reputation as a Shadow Dancer but had killed one. He was ranked sixth in Kai Xuan’s strength and had a considerable reputation.