Chapter 306: Marquis

The white light emitted by the crystal ore illuminated the entire cave. Deep within the dark cave, shadows occasionally flickered—probably the monsters that had respawned here, the Crystal Cavern Dwellers!

These were creatures that would drop crystal ores upon being killed!

Nie Yan and his group gradually retreated into the crystal cave, pursued relentlessly by the group of thieves.

Inside the cave was a large open area. If they allowed the thieves to enter, it would become problematic. With the Crystal Cavern Dwellers ahead and the thieves harassing from behind, Nie Yan and his team would be caught between two fronts.

“They still won’t back off. What should we do?” Shuise Yan Tou and others looked toward Nie Yan. They couldn’t possibly guard their rear while fighting the monsters ahead simultaneously.

Nie Yan thought for a moment and said, “I’ll go lure the Crystal Cavern Dwellers over to block the entrance.”

“That might work, but there’s one problem. The Crystal Cavern Dwellers won’t obey us. If we lure them here and they don’t block the entrance but instead attack us, things will get messy,” Shuise Yan Tou replied.

Shuise Yan Tou’s concern was valid. When a thief attacked one Crystal Cavern Dweller, the aggro of the others would be scattered. If they lured them here, they would likely spread their attacks among all the teammates, and with the Bloodthirsty Blade thieves hot on their heels from behind, a total wipeout was possible.

“The key is to consolidate their aggro. Does anyone have the Icebound Expanse skill?” Nie Yan asked. If someone had that ability, it would be ideal.

Bu Neng Sha Si De Huai Dan chimed in, “I do.” Icebound Expanse was a basic area-of-effect spell for elemental mages, so naturally he had it.

“Then, does anyone have a basic Void Elixir?” Nie Yan continued. If they had one, his plan could proceed. Otherwise, he’d have to think of another way.

A basic Void Elixir could temporarily place a player in a basic void state. In this state, the player would transform into a mist-like form, immune to physical attacks, but taking 300% increased damage from magical attacks and suffering a significant reduction in movement speed. This potion was quite rare, carried only occasionally by top-tier players.

“I have one,” Cui Can Dao Guang said, glancing at a deep blue potion in his backpack.

“I also have one. It was a reward from completing a shield warrior quest,” Leng Ao Ying said, having one such potion in his inventory as well, saved for emergencies.

“You two should trade your basic Void Elixirs to Bu Neng Sha Si De Huai Dan. Then, Bu Neng Sha Si De Huai Dan, follow me. Everyone else, stay put and wait,” Nie Yan instructed. Drawing the monsters was a task for just the two of them.

Bu Neng Sha Si De Huai Dan received the basic Void Elixirs from Cui Can Dao Guang and Leng Ao Ying, then followed Nie Yan. Nie Yan walked further into the cave, observing that the area nearby was a large open space.

“You wait here. I’ll go draw the aggro,” Nie Yan said, explaining his plan to Bu Neng Sha Si De Huai Dan.

Nie Yan activated Shadow Waltz and dashed deeper into the cave, skillfully weaving past clusters of Crystal Cavern Dwellers.

The Crystal Cavern Dwellers were entirely green, their bodies composed of crystalline structures. They had oversized heads, shrunken limbs, and wielded spears. They wandered about in groups of fifty to sixty.

Crystal Cavern Dweller: Level 50, HP 8000/8000.

In Nie Yan’s experience, these Crystal Cavern Dwellers had a certain innate physical damage reduction, making warriors’ physical attacks largely ineffective. However, mages’ spells were somewhat more effective against them. This imbalance made it easy for the Crystal Cavern Dwellers’ aggro to shift toward the mages, leading to wipes when facing elites or bosses due to aggro shifts. This was why the Crystal Cave remained unexplored by any team so far.

Nie Yan continued deeper into the cave, eyeing a cluster of Crystal Cavern Dwellers in the distance. He raised his D’Artagnan’s Phantom Steed Crossbow, aimed, and fired a volley of arrows.

The arrows struck one of the Crystal Cavern Dwellers.

The entire group of Crystal Cavern Dwellers charged toward Nie Yan. Nie Yan sprinted back toward the cave’s entrance, quickly gathering a massive following. One group after another joined the chase, creating a spectacular sight of two to three hundred Crystal Cavern Dwellers in hot pursuit.

Bu Neng Sha Si De Huai Dan was visibly startled by the sheer number of them.

“Start casting Icebound Expanse!” Nie Yan messaged him.

Upon receiving Nie Yan’s message, Bu Neng Sha Si De Huai Dan immediately began chanting Icebound Expanse. A chilling magical aura quickly gathered, and the surrounding air turned frosty, dropping the temperature significantly.

Soon, snowflakes began to fall, transforming the area into a frozen wasteland.

The Crystal Cavern Dwellers entered the Icebound Expanse area. Damage numbers floated above their heads, each dealing only about ten points of damage. While Icebound Expanse’s damage was low, it effectively consolidated the aggro of all the Crystal Cavern Dwellers onto Bu Neng Sha Si De Huai Dan.

After casting Icebound Expanse, Bu Neng Sha Si De Huai Dan immediately sprinted toward the cave’s entrance.

“All aggro is now on Bu Neng Sha Si De Huai Dan. Don’t attack!” Nie Yan said in the party chat. He positioned himself in front of the fastest Crystal Cavern Dweller, maneuvering left and right.

When the Crystal Cavern Dweller encountered Nie Yan blocking its path, it paused momentarily. After a few steps forward, it encountered Nie Yan again and paused once more.

This significantly slowed the Crystal Cavern Dwellers’ movement. By the time one raised its spear to strike Nie Yan, he had already dodged aside.

Nie Yan slowed down the fastest Crystal Cavern Dwellers, reducing the overall group’s movement speed by about ten percent.

The massive group of Crystal Cavern Dwellers reached the cave’s entrance.

The Bloodthirsty Blade thieves were lingering near the entrance, stunned by the sheer number of Crystal Cavern Dwellers.

“Damn! So many Crystal Cavern Dwellers!”

Shuise Yan Tou, Cui Can Dao Guang, and others quickly moved aside, carefully avoiding the Crystal Cavern Dwellers as they passed by, then sprinted away with the rest of the team. All the Crystal Cavern Dwellers’ aggro was focused on Bu Neng Sha Si De Huai Dan, ignoring Shuise Yan Tou, Cui Can Dao Guang, and the others.

The group of Crystal Cavern Dwellers blocked the cave’s entrance. As several of them were about to strike Bu Neng Sha Si De Huai Dan, he quickly drank a basic Void Elixir, transforming his body into a mist-like form. The Crystal Cavern Dwellers’ aggro toward him immediately reset to zero.

Bu Neng Sha Si De Huai Dan slowly moved, “running” outward. Although he exerted himself, his movement speed was extremely slow, almost like walking, akin to a slow-motion scene in a movie.

After a while, the first basic Void Elixir’s effect wore off, so he quickly consumed the second one. Fortunately, the potion had a short cooldown period.

Thanks to the effects of the two basic Void Elixirs, Bu Neng Sha Si De Huai Dan finally managed to escape.

Looking toward the entrance, it was now completely blocked by two to three hundred Crystal Cavern Dwellers. The Bloodthirsty Blade members couldn’t enter unless they cleared them out. By the time they did, Nie Yan and his group would already be deep inside the Crystal Cave, with the respawned Crystal Cavern Dwellers along the way.

It would be interesting to see how the Bloodthirsty Blade’s leadership would react upon hearing this news—probably furious enough to want to kill someone. Nie Yan’s group had caused chaos in Radiant City, and now they had escaped without a trace, leaving the Bloodthirsty Blade helpless. Xue Chi Kuang Dao would definitely be furious!

Nie Yan smiled and said casually, “Alright, the entrance is blocked. Let’s go inside and grind monsters to clear our red names.” This way, they had nothing to worry about anymore.

Shuise Yantou and the others couldn’t help but admire Nie Yan’s ingenious idea. If he hadn’t come up with this method to block the entrance of the Crystal Cave, they might have been stuck at the cave’s entrance with no way to advance or retreat.

They began advancing deeper into the cave, determined to penetrate as far as possible into the Crystal Cave before Warblade Bloodthirst could eliminate the two to three hundred Crystal Cave Dwellers blocking the entrance. That way, Warblade Bloodthirst’s forces wouldn’t be able to catch them.

Brilliant Blade, Cold Pride Shadow, and Yi Yan began to engage the monsters. The three super shield warriors held the front line, while the mages behind continuously attacked, clearing out one Crystal Cave Dweller after another. The group ventured deeper and deeper along the winding cavern.

While clearing monsters, Half-Awake Fox sent Nie Yan a message: “Check out the Assassin Alliance—you’ll be in for a big surprise!”

What happened to the Assassin’s Alliance? Nie Yan froze for a moment and checked the Assassin’s Alliance, searching for the so-called astonishing discovery mentioned by Half-Awake Fox. The page of the Assassin’s Alliance was clear at a glance—among the professional players, there was actually one Marquis and three Earl positions, which was quite unbelievable. To become a Marquis, one had to complete at least three missions worth over a thousand gold coins each. Taking a closer look at the person holding the Marquis title, the name turned out to be a familiar one—Shadow Kill!

The three tasks he completed were just delivered. The first one: assassinate the leader of the Holy Roman Empire, Half-Awake Fox, reward 1,200 gold coins—completed. The second one: assassinate the leader of the Mage Alliance, Blazing Sun, reward 2,200 gold coins—completed. The third one: assassinate the leader of the Temple of Jialan, Falan, reward 1,800 gold coins—completed. Additionally, the fourth task: assassinate the leader of the Bull Tribe, Nie Yan, reward 3,900 gold coins—not completed.

Damn, Shadowkill actually joined the Assassin Alliance, which gave Nie Yan a real scare. There was even a mission posted in the Alliance to assassinate him—what a huge misunderstanding!

However, he had previously told Half-Awake Fox and others that the League of Assassins’ clients would never revoke any task they issued, not even assassination orders against themselves. Little did he know that his words would prove prophetic.

Yingsha is truly formidable. Apart from these three high-profile missions, he has assassinated countless individuals—regardless of their faction—as long as the price was right. Of course, only true masters were worthy of his personal involvement! However, his attempt to assassinate Nie Yan ended in failure.