Chapter 423: Dance of the Thieves!!

Nie Yan summoned the Golden Earth Dragon, which followed the players from the Bull Tribe towards the Warblade Bloodthirsty faction. Streams of dragon breath blasted through the Warblade Bloodthirsty players, sending them flying.

Countless magical spells swept across the sky like a grand fireworks display.

Shui Se Yan Tou (Water Smoked Tobacco) charged forward fearlessly, rushing into the Warblade Bloodthirsty players’ ranks. He rampaged through their formation, cutting down enemies like wheat, instantly throwing the Warblade Bloodthirsty into chaos.

“Boss, the players from Temple of Kalan and Holy Roman Empire have arrived,” Knight’s Elegy said beside Nie Yan. “Also, all players level forty and above from our five branch guilds have come.”

“How many people did they bring?” Nie Yan asked. In such a large-scale guild war, numbers were crucial.

“Kalan Temple brought over 50,000, Holy Roman Empire over 70,000, and our five branch guilds about 50,000. The War God Tribe and the Crazy Battle Alliance also sent some elites, approximately 5,000,” Knight’s Elegy replied.

“What about the Mage Alliance and other guilds? Are they making any moves? They probably won’t let their elites perish here easily,” Nie Yan asked.

“The Empire Triumph finally couldn’t hold back anymore. They seem determined to settle everything with us, gathering all their remaining 70,000 high-level players. They’ve urgently contacted the Light of Divinity, and the Mage Alliance and Divine Guardians have also assembled large forces, though exact numbers are unknown. Combined, they should be around 60,000 to 70,000. They’ve teleported to the town of Roland on the Feimeng Plains,” Knight’s Elegy explained. The scale of the war was growing larger and involving more players.

Analyzing the current battlefield situation, Nie Yan realized that Empire Triumph had been suppressed for quite some time. Having been driven out of Karol City by Bull Tribe, they were naturally unwilling to accept defeat. Seizing this opportunity, they had poured all their resources into a final decisive battle. However, they remained unaware that Light of Divinity had already fallen into Nie Yan’s hands. Contacting Light of Divinity was practically a suicidal move. Having received intel from Guo Huai’s side, Light of Divinity was covertly coordinating with Empire Triumph’s actions while awaiting Nie Yan’s orders.

The Mage Alliance and Divine Guardians were initially reluctant to deploy their forces since the outcome of Warblade Bloodthirsty wouldn’t significantly impact them. If Warblade Bloodthirsty were defeated and disbanded, their members would likely join the Mage Alliance and Divine Guardians, strengthening their power. However, under pressure from Cao Xu’s side, they had no choice but to send some elites to join the battle.

With so many guilds joining, this war was turning into a full-scale chaotic conflict.

As Nie Yan was thinking, over a thousand elite players from Warblade Bloodthirsty and the other three guilds charged forward, clashing with Bull Tribe’s thousand elites.

Among them were many post-transformation Archmages and Great Swordsmen, whose combat power was formidable. The two forces were evenly matched, engaging in fierce combat with heavy losses on both sides.

Looking around, Nie Yan noticed an enemy Great Swordsman wearing the level 60 Dark Gold Set “Blood of Darkness” charging through the battlefield. With sword flashes, he quickly eliminated five or six Bull Tribe elites who hadn’t yet undergone class transformation.

“That’s Xie Huang Ba Jian (Evil Emperor Great Sword) from Divine Guardians!” Knight’s Elegy said seriously. Xie Huang Ba Jian was a well-known player with astonishing combat power, slightly inferior only to Bloodthirsty Knife.

Seeing Bull Tribe members being eliminated one by one, Knight’s Elegy grew anxious. He cast “Mighty Aura” on himself and charged forward.

Nie Yan controlled the Golden Earth Dragon to unleash a stream of dragon breath at Xie Huang Ba Jian.

Seeing the dragon breath approaching, Xie Huang Ba Jian quickly cast a golden shield. With a loud bang, the golden shield trembled slightly before the flames dissipated into the air.

Under attacks from several Bull Tribe players, Xie Huang Ba Jian retreated. Immediately, several Mage Alliance players rushed forward to assist him.

At this moment, Knight’s Elegy charged in.

“Holy Judgment!”

The two engaged in fierce combat. Xie Huang Ba Jian used “Tendon Cut,” slashing at Knight’s Elegy’s waist with ruthless precision.

As Knight’s Elegy was about to be hit, he cast “Divine Protection,” enduring the strike without being crippled.

Xie Huang Ba Jian launched a “Shockwave,” forcing Knight’s Elegy to retreat again.

Neither gained any advantage.

Under Nie Yan’s control, the Golden Earth Dragon prepared to attack when another Great Swordsman charged in, intercepting and engaging the dragon.

Three Mage Alliance Great Swordsmen surrounded Nie Yan’s Golden Earth Dragon, continuously using shield strikes. Their attack intervals were short, interrupting the dragon’s magical attacks every time, preventing it from exerting its full combat power. However, the dragon’s counterattack storm also made them struggle greatly. Without healers behind them, they would have already fallen.

Nearby Bull Tribe players wanted to help the Golden Earth Dragon but were preoccupied.

Currently, the number of post-transformation players from the Mage Alliance, Divine Guardians, Warblade Bloodthirsty, and Angel Overlord factions was three to four times that of Bull Tribe, giving Bull Tribe little advantage.

Nie Yan stealthily approached a Mage Alliance Grand Priest from behind, using “Intimidate” to immobilize him. With Zennarde’s Sword in hand, he swung at the priest’s head.

The priest was focused on healing the Mage Alliance Great Swordsmen ahead when he suddenly sensed something amiss behind him. He opened his mouth, letting out a piercing scream—”Fear Howl!”—a habitual survival skill for priests.

At this critical moment, Nie Yan used the “Mental Immunity” skill from the Ten Knights’ Medal. The ear-piercing sound hurt his ears but had no effect.

Nie Yan swung his sword, landing a “Sunder,” followed by a “Backstab!”

-1536!

Nie Yan dealt massive damage but noticed the priest still had over 2300 HP remaining. After class transformation, priests had significantly increased defense and HP.

At this moment, a nearby Archmage noticed Nie Yan, waved his staff, and cast “Frost Explosion” at him.

Frost Explosion had a freezing effect!

An ice ball shot toward Nie Yan.

Seeing that he hadn’t killed the priest instantly, Nie Yan took advantage of the “Sunder” stun effect, striking the priest’s back with “Eviscerate,” finally taking him down.

“Wind Step!”

Just as the ice ball was about to hit Nie Yan, he vanished from their sight using Wind Step.

With a loud crack, the ice ball exploded harmlessly in midair.

“It’s Rogue Nie Yan!” the Archmage exclaimed in the party chat. Nie Yan’s quick elimination of a Grand Priest shocked them.

Fighting against these transformed players was challenging for Nie Yan. This group of top-tier players worked together seamlessly, making it hard to find any openings. Nevertheless, Nie Yan still managed to eliminate one or two when possible.

Sun, like Nie Yan, became a ghost on the battlefield. Whenever they appeared, they inflicted fatal damage on enemies.

Sun retreated to a bush, observing the battlefield. Bull Tribe had suffered heavy losses. The four guilds—Warblade Bloodthirsty and others—had too many first-transformation players. Non-transformed players struggled to fight effectively against them.

In these top-tier player confrontations, mages rarely had opportunities to cast high-level spells. High-level mage spells required over twenty seconds of chanting, while paladins’ “Silence” was an instant cast with only a twenty-second cooldown.

Thus, whenever someone attempted area-of-effect or high-level magic, someone would rush in to silence them.

Looking toward the battlefield, Sun noticed that Xie Huang Ba Jian was overpowering Knight’s Elegy. Ultimately, paladins’ frontal combat capability was slightly inferior to warriors’.

“Not good, danger!” Sun noticed some subtle movements from Xie Huang Ba Jian. The sword-holding hand shifted slightly, immediately raising suspicion.

As he watched, an elven rogue lunged at Sun, dagger flashing, aiming for his forehead.

Sun dodged the attack using Wind Step.

The elven rogue hesitated, activating Elven Vision, but Sun had already vanished without a trace.

A hundred yards away, Knight’s Elegy blocked Xie Huang Ba Jian’s “Shatter” with a shield.

“Die!” Xie Huang Ba Jian coldly hissed, piercing his great sword through Knight’s Elegy’s chest.

Knight’s Elegy’s head floated an 800+ damage number, entering a stunned state.

As Xie Huang Ba Jian prepared to deliver another blow, a glint of cold light suddenly flashed behind him.

Startled, Xie Huang Ba Jian immediately cast “Holy War Shield,” maintaining a two-yard distance between Knight’s Elegy and himself. He turned around, slashing at the shadowy figure behind.

“A rogue,” Xie Huangbajian sneered. In wilderness battles, he feared rogues the least. Previously, even if some rogues stunned him and attacked nonstop for ten seconds, they couldn’t inflict significant damage. Warriors’ high defense made them hard targets for rogues. A single “Tendon Cut” from a warrior would cripple a rogue. Rogues were only suited for targeting cloth-wearing magic users.

Xie Huang Ba Jian slashed, hitting his target!

He wore a disdainful expression, only to realize the figure twisted and disappeared—it was merely an illusion!

A sharp glint of cold light struck Xie Huang Ba Jian’s forehead.

“Shockwave!”

Xie Huang Ba Jian had just recharged “Shockwave,” launching it immediately. The two-yard attack range caught Knight’s Elegy, who was about to recover consciousness. A powerful force swept over him, knocking him back and re-stunning him.

Xie Huang Ba Jian thought this time he would hit the rogue but again found the rogue had vanished.

So fast!

A chill ran through Xie Huang Ba Jian’s heart. He abandoned his contemptuous attitude, ignoring the rogue, and charged at Knight’s Elegy with his great sword. He decided to eliminate this paladin first!