Chapter 416: Phineas’ Poisonous Sack

Nie Yan casually glanced at the Golden Earth Dragon’s attributes and found that although it had died once, its loyalty had not dropped much, only by six or seven points. Since the Golden Earth Dragon had not died for a long time, its accumulated loyalty was very high, so losing a bit of loyalty after dying once or twice was relatively minor.

The Golden Earth Dragon had lured the Rock Astrologers away, but it couldn’t last long. Nie Yan estimated it could only distract them for a few dozen seconds. Given its strength, it was no match for the Rock Astrologers.

Nie Yan accelerated toward the Astral Altar, his heart pounding wildly as he drew closer to the floating Fenath’s Venom Sack.

He just needed five or six seconds to collect Fenath’s Venom Sack.

Just then, suddenly, came the news of the paladin Raine’s death.

The paladin Thunder had barely run twenty or thirty yards before being caught by the three Rock Dire Wolves and torn to pieces.

The Golden Earth Dragon ran fifty or sixty yards outward, but the Rock Astrologers pursued it, waving their staffs. A powerful force surrounded the Golden Earth Dragon.

Shadow Strangulation!

A series of shadows wrapped tightly around the Golden Earth Dragon, binding it in place, immobilizing it completely.

The Golden Earth Dragon let out a piercing scream as it was strangled by this terrifying force.

Nie Yan was getting closer and closer to Fenath’s Venom Sack, only a few steps away. At this moment, the three Rock Astrologers sensed something and turned their heads, spotting Nie Yan. They waved their staffs and their throats moved, emitting piercing shrieks.

Terrifying Roar!

A powerful sound wave swept toward Nie Yan. Just as Nie Yan was about to be hit by the Terrifying Roar, he instinctively used the Celestial Arbiter skill. The sound wave swept over him.

MISS!

Celestial Arbiter spell immunity.

Additionally, several curses were cast upon Nie Yan. If not for activating the Celestial Arbiter, both the Terrifying Roar and these curses could have instantly paralyzed him.

Taking advantage of this moment, Nie Yan lunged toward Fenath’s Venom Sack, grabbed it with his right hand, and immediately felt a strong burning pain. Just like Fenath’s Venom Fang and Fenath’s Eye, the Venom Sack was covered with deadly poison.

His skin quickly turned emerald green, but before the toxin could take effect, Nie Yan used the Detoxification Pearl skill to remove the poison. Then he threw the Venom Sack into his backpack.

At that moment, the three Rock Astrologers rushed forward, swinging their long staffs toward Nie Yan.

Nie Yan quickly retrieved a random teleport scroll from his backpack and crushed it directly.

The staffs of the three Rock Astrologers struck Nie Yan, but it was only a phantom left after the random teleportation. Nie Yan had already vanished from the spot.

The light and shadows shifted abruptly. When Nie Yan opened his eyes again, he was a thousand yards away, standing in a dark forest.

He was safe now. Nie Yan exhaled in relief, hiding in a corner and quietly waiting for the Dark Portal to reappear. He looked at the recently obtained Fenath’s Venom Sack.

Fenath’s Venom Sack: Quest item, a spirit-summoning object. When striking an opponent, it inflicts deadly poison damage, causing continuous damage equal to 30% of the attacker’s damage for 30 seconds.

Finally, he had obtained all three spirit-summoning items. All conditions for using the Spirit-summoning Talisman were now met.

Nie Yan checked his quest progress.

Quest Progress: Find the Spirit-summoning Talisman – Spider Queen Fenath.

There was another Spirit-summoning Talisman? It seemed to be the one for summoning the Spider Queen Fenath. Nie Yan had not yet used the talisman for summoning the Lurker Lord. He was curious about its effects. As for the talisman for summoning the Spider Queen Fenath, he would look for it later.

Nie Yan waited in place. After several hours, the Dark Portal opened, and Nie Yan stepped through.

The sky was a brilliant blue as Nie Yan returned to the surface. Fresh air rushed toward him. Going underground made surface dwellers feel very oppressed and caused a significant drop in their attributes. The same applied to underground players coming to the surface.

After returning to the surface, Nie Yan used a recall scroll to teleport to Carol City. The Niumeng Tribe guild office in Carol City appeared somewhat deserted, as all the members of Niumeng Tribe had gone to Krips Fortress.

Whether Krips Fortress could be preserved was crucial to the survival of the Niumeng Tribe!

Nie Yan teleported from the office’s portal to Krips Fortress. Inside the fortress, the scene was bustling with activity, as players from the Niumeng Tribe moved back and forth.

When they saw Nie Yan, they all showed excitement and felt reassured. Nie Yan was undoubtedly the backbone of the Niumeng Tribe.

“Boss, you’re back!”

All the players of the Niumeng Tribe were busily working inside Krips Fortress. It housed the most elite forces of the tribe.

Nie Yan walked toward the guild headquarters, where Guo Huai, Cui Can Da Guang, and others had gathered. Seeing Nie Yan return, they all greeted him.

“How’s the situation? Where are Da Guang and the others?” Nie Yan asked Guo Huai.

“They are setting up the defenses of Krips Fortress. The Warblade Bloodthirsty guild will arrive in two hours. They are advancing step by step using Iron Catapults as their base. We don’t have a good solution. The Jiulan Temple and the Holy Roman Empire held them back for a long time, but suffered heavy losses. Good thing you’re back,” Guo Huai replied. If the fortress fell in Nie Yan’s absence, he would be unable to bear the responsibility.

“I just got a batch of gear. Send someone to sell it as soon as possible. It should fetch at least a million gold coins,” Nie Yan said, handing all the gear from his backpack to Guo Huai.

The trading interface was filled with numerous pieces of equipment, each worth thousands of gold coins. Such high-quality gear was rarely seen. Guo Huai was shocked by the sudden appearance of so many top items. Selling them would provide the Niumeng Tribe with a substantial amount of money, which would help alleviate their financial burdens for a while. The tribe had many expenses: compensating players who died, and providing support to the Jiulan Temple and the Holy Roman Empire, which had suffered heavy losses.

“You go and gather all the Archmages from the Niumeng Tribe, Jiulan Temple, Holy Roman Empire, Kuangzhan Alliance, and Zhanshen Tribe. I’ll need them,” Nie Yan instructed. At the appropriate moment, he would use the Spirit-summoning Talisman to summon the Lurker Lord. This talisman needed to be used carefully and strategically, as it had a cooldown period of sixty natural days. Once used, it would be a long time before it could be used again.

Guo Huai was somewhat surprised but did not ask further questions. He issued orders to gather the Archmages from the various guilds.

“How is the Gnome Magi Cannon coming along?” Nie Yan asked. If they could get a Gnome Magi Cannon, it might come in handy. The Gnome Magi Cannon had a longer range than the Iron Catapults and could be effective in defending the city.

“The first Gnome Magi Cannon is almost completed. Not sure how much longer it will take to assemble, probably five or six hours, maybe a bit faster,” Guo Huai replied. Given the strong defenses of Krips Fortress, it would take Warblade Bloodthirsty at least a day or two to breach its defenses.

“Let’s go check how much progress has been made on the Gnome Magi Cannon,” Nie Yan said, following Guo Huai toward a secret chamber behind the guild headquarters.

The Gnome Magi Cannon was extremely important for this war.

They passed through a narrow tunnel and entered the secret chamber.

Inside the chamber, a group of alchemists were working intensively on the Gnome Magi Cannon. They had accelerated their progress, as Guo Huai had issued orders to complete it before Warblade Bloodthirsty arrived at Krips Fortress.

According to the intelligence Guo Huai and others had received, the Iron Catapults had a maximum range of about five or six hundred yards, making them more suitable for battlefield engagements than sieges. In contrast, the Gnome Magi Cannon had a range of over a thousand yards. If placed on high ground along the city walls, its range could be even greater. Currently, Warblade Bloodthirsty was unaware that the Niumeng Tribe possessed the Gnome Magi Cannon. If used effectively, it could have an unexpected impact.

When the alchemists saw Nie Yan and Guo Huai enter, they greeted them. Nie Yan nodded and examined their progress. The Gnome Magi Cannon was already taking shape, with only the final touches remaining.

The cannon’s barrel was three yards long, with a muzzle as large as a basin. Its entire body was black with a dull metallic sheen. Below it was a base, and the entire cannon weighed several thousand pounds, giving it a strong visual impact.

It was easy to imagine the immense power this massive weapon could unleash.

Beside the Gnome Magi Cannon were numerous iron shells. These were actually solid iron balls weighing twenty to thirty pounds each. When fired, these solid iron shells would be heated to a red-hot state by gunpowder and then dropped from a height, causing massive destruction.

“How much longer until it’s finished?” Nie Yan asked one of the alchemists in charge of the project.

“We’ve already produced over fifty shells, and the gunpowder is sufficient. We just need to polish the barrel of the Gnome Magi Cannon. If we work quickly, it should take about three or four hours,” the alchemist stood straight and explained respectfully. He had recently joined and had not met Nie Yan before, but he immediately recognized Nie Yan upon seeing him. The name Kuang Zei Nie Yan was well known to everyone.

Making this much progress in five days was quite good, especially since it was their first attempt. Nie Yan said, “Try to speed it up a bit. We need it soon.” Warblade Bloodthirsty was outside, and the Niumeng Tribe was in a desperate situation.

“Yes,” the alchemist nodded and urged his subordinates to work faster.