Rubble was scattered everywhere, with some dragon clan inscriptions faintly visible on the stones. In the distant dark age, dark elves were slaves of the dragon clan, and they used dragon clan script for their rituals, regarding it as a symbol of nobility and sanctity.
Their history and culture were bestowed by the dragon clan. Even a thousand years later, they remained vassals of the dragon clan, never daring to defy any dragon clan’s will.
Near the altar, there were also remains of creatures, including human skulls, piled together.
Nie Yan could imagine a leader of a small dark elf tribe performing sacrificial rituals here. After the era of co-governance, the dragon clan’s rule was overthrown. Dark elves were hunted and expelled by humans, white elves, and giants, eventually disappearing from the continent. Many large tribes migrated to distant underground realms, although many places on the continent still bore traces of dark elf habitation.
Nie Yan approached the altar. Suddenly, dozens of stone fragments around the altar lifted from the ground and floated into the air. Dark energy filled each stone, clearly displaying some inscriptions.
With his understanding of dragon clan script, Nie Yan could faintly decipher some words: “The Deity of Destruction,” “The Chosen of the Distant Darkness,” “The Dimension of Sin,” and so on, though he struggled to connect these fragments into a coherent meaning.
What did these dozens of floating stones represent?
[System: You discovered an altar left behind by dark elves in the Dark Age, still retaining traces of dark magic. As you gently touch this dark magic, you realize it originates from another dimension—a powerful force.]
[System: The dark elves were vassals of the dragon clan. What have these vile creatures done here?]
Suddenly, Nie Yan noticed the dark magic from the dozens of stones gradually converging at the altar’s center, where a dark portal slowly began to open.
Nie Yan was only a few steps away from the portal. Seeing it open, he cautiously took a step back. He had no idea where the portal led or whether it posed any danger.
He couldn’t afford to take risks!
There were too many unknown and dangerous maps in Faith. For the Courage Chapter and the Freedom Chapter, Nie Yan decided to give up.
Just as Nie Yan was about to leave, a powerful force pulled him forward. Shocked, he tried to retreat, but his strength was nothing compared to this pull.
Like a black beast, the dark portal swallowed Nie Yan whole.
Nie Yan blacked out.
After Nie Yan entered the portal, the stones floating around the altar gradually dimmed and lost their support, plummeting from the sky.
“Did Brother Nie Yan log off?” Sun asked Tang Yao, puzzled, as he noticed Nie Yan’s name had gone dark.
“I don’t know either.” Tang Yao was confused and sent Nie Yan a message, but it indicated that Nie Yan was no longer in the current map. Could Nie Yan have actually been transported to another map?
“What happened to Nie Yan?” Yaoyao asked, concerned.
“He’ll handle it. Let’s continue,” Tang Yao said, placing an almost obsessive trust in Nie Yan.
Greylan Empire was an independent map. Players could whisper to others within the same map but couldn’t contact players in other maps, such as those in the Saturn Empire or Giant Tribes. Unless Nie Yan had already left Greylan, which was impossible. Greylan’s map spanned hundreds of thousands of miles, vast and boundless. They were still deep within Greylan. Even at the fastest speed, it would take at least five days to reach the edge, unless using a portal. The only portal in Greylan connected Carol City to the capital of Saturn.
Although puzzled about what had happened to Nie Yan, they could only suppress their concerns for now and focus on killing monsters to clear their wanted status. After leveling up to 18, Tang Yao’s magic damage against frogs had improved, allowing them to handle elites. They began searching for elites based on Nie Yan’s coordinates.
After an unknown amount of time, Nie Yan regained consciousness. He was lying on the ground, cold rain beating against his face like sharp blades.
Nie Yan quickly stood up and checked his backpack. The Courage Chapter and Freedom Chapter were still there, and he sighed in relief.
[System: You have entered the Illusory Realm of Doro.]
Seeing the system prompt, Nie Yan understood it was a quest map.
It was a vast wilderness, the sky dark and gloomy, cold winds howling, and heavy rain falling.
Nie Yan checked his inventory and found that this was a closed area where the recall spell couldn’t be used.
Some knights riding black skeletal warhorses wandered the wilderness. They wore black metal armor and wielded metal lances over three yards long, but they had no heads.
Nie Yan entered stealth mode and slowly approached one of the knights.
[Headless Knight (Dead): Level 30, HP 1200/1200.]
[System: Quest Progress 1, Kill 20 Headless Knights.]
Nie Yan didn’t know what would happen if he died in this quest map. These headless knights were probably not easy to defeat. Killing such high-level monsters alone was extremely difficult for him.
He couldn’t withstand the headless knights’ attacks, let alone command them. Using the Necromancer’s Ritual recklessly would be foolish.
Nie Yan searched the official website for information about headless knights but found no details, so he gave up and decided to figure it out himself.
Since his attributes were insufficient, he had to find the monsters’ weaknesses.
Thinking for a moment, Nie Yan tested the headless knights by running about seventy yards away and shooting arrows into the ground, trying to determine their field of vision.
Observing the headless knights’ movements, Nie Yan noticed they were very clumsy, especially when turning.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—three arrows struck the ground about thirty yards in front of the headless knight. The knight suddenly moved, urging the bone horse forward in a swift charge of over twenty yards, creating a whirlwind with its powerful burst speed.
The knight’s instantaneous burst speed was at least 120!
Nie Yan was surprised. Despite appearing clumsy, once the knight detected an enemy, its charge speed was incredibly fast!
Nie Yan was startled and activated Rapid Retreat, fleeing far away.
The headless knight’s detection range was about thirty-five yards, with a charge speed of 120. Fighting it head-on was impossible for Nie Yan at his current level!
Nie Yan looked at the distant headless knight, troubled. The faster the knight charged, the higher its attack bonus. The knight was much higher in level than Nie Yan. If it detected him, it might instantly kill him!
The headless knight didn’t detect any enemy and stood still, slowly guiding its horse. As undead, their joints were very stiff, making turning movements slow and difficult.
Observing the knight’s clumsy movements, Nie Yan suddenly had an idea. He circled behind the headless knight and tested it similarly from the rear.
He shot arrows to determine the knight’s detection range from behind. After more than ten minutes of testing, he finally determined that the knight’s detection range from behind was very small, only about three to four yards. Even if the knight detected movement behind, it would take at least half a minute to turn its horse around.
Nie Yan smiled slightly. This was much easier to handle. He raised his crossbow and shot at the headless knight.
Thud, thud, thud—three arrows struck the knight, causing damage values of -26, -29, and -31 to float above its head.
The headless knight detected the attack from behind and tried to turn its horse.
Nie Yan naturally didn’t stay in place, circling around the knight and continuously shooting at its back.
No matter how the knight urged its horse, it couldn’t face Nie Yan directly, spinning in circles and failing to locate Nie Yan. With its low intelligence, it had no idea how to respond.
Thud, thud, thud—arrow after arrow flew, continuously reducing the knight’s HP. Within three minutes, the headless knight fell.
[System: Quest Progress 1, Headless Knight Killed 1/20.]
Perfect! Nie Yan approached and picked up the dropped items: two silver coins and a damaged blueprint covered in various symbols.
[Doro’s Mounted Crossbow (Blueprint): Quantity 1/10, Requires Advanced Blacksmith.]
[Doro’s Mounted Crossbow: Sub-Legendary Item. Requires Strength 800.]
Item Attributes: Attack 307-327, 30% Piercing Damage, 30% Chance of Triple Critical Damage, 100 Fire Damage, Five-Shot Barrage.
Weight: 56 Pounds.
Class Restriction: Rogue, Knight, Warrior.
Unexpectedly, it was a sub-legendary item with astonishing attributes, making Nie Yan marvel. However, the weight of 56 pounds and the strength requirement of 800 were daunting. He probably wouldn’t be able to wield it until reaching level 60 or 70.
Could he craft this sub-legendary mounted crossbow by collecting ten damaged blueprints?
Nie Yan examined the materials required for crafting the mounted crossbow: 10 units of Superior Magical Nanmu Wood, 3 Superior Fire Mother Crystals, 3 Magical Black Veined Gold, 3 Magical Rune Stones, and 1 Fire Essence Core.
Upon seeing these materials, Nie Yan was stunned. Superior Magical Nanmu Wood and Superior Fire Mother Crystals were relatively easier to obtain, albeit expensive and scarce. Magical Black Vein Gold and Magical Rune Stones were exceedingly rare magical materials. As for the Fire Essence Core, it was a legendary item—Nie Yan had never even laid eyes on one in his previous life.
Even if he found the materials to craft Doro’s Mounted Crossbow, Nie Yan couldn’t wield it for now. He decided to put it aside temporarily but could collect the blueprints first and work on crafting the crossbow later.
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