Chapter 451: The Hilton Fortress

The watercolor and blade light were currently in the Venomous Swamp instance, and it would probably take two or three hours before they emerged. Those two from Angel Tyranny seem quite skilled; watercolor and blade light might not be able to handle them,” Guo Huai remarked. Kuanshen and Tuolan stood at the pinnacle of power throughout the Satern Empire, rivaling watercolor and blade light with no clear advantage on either side; the outcome between them would likely be a toss-up.

“They’ve already started the Venomous Swamp instance; their progress is pretty good,” Nie Yan said with mild surprise. The Venomous Swamp was the most difficult of the level 60 instances, and it dropped powerful gear, especially poison-resistant equipment. “Once watercolor and blade light come out of the instance, let them go and play with those two for a while. As for who wins, we’ll see when the time comes. They shouldn’t be any worse than those two.”

Nie Yan thought that with watercolor and blade light’s strength, they definitely wouldn’t be inferior to those two from Angel Tyranny. Recently, top players from Cow Tribe had been frantically leveling up and seeking better gear. The triggers for sub-legendary and legendary gear that Nie Yan had released were highly attractive to them, so they were all afraid of being too slow and missing out on those items.

Since the reclass, players could start crafting their divine gear. The higher the level, the harder it became to level up further. Having some strong equipment could definitely make leveling up much easier. As both their levels and gear improved, Cow Tribe would truly become powerful.

This group didn’t have much time to indulge in such trivial competitive games with Kuanshen and Tuolan. However, since they had come looking for a fight, refusing to respond would inevitably damage Cow Tribe’s reputation.

Cow Tribe would ensure those two returned with their tails between their legs!

For now, Nie Yan decided to let those two have their fun while he went to claim his reward for defeating the legendary lich mage.

At the central square of Carol City.

Since Kuanshen and Tuolan had set up their challenge arena here, the event had stirred up a storm in Carol City. At least seventy percent of Carol City’s players favored Cow Tribe. By setting up a challenge arena in the central square and directly challenging Cow Tribe, Kuanshen and Tuolan were essentially slapping the face of every Carol City player. If Cow Tribe lost, it wouldn’t just be Cow Tribe’s shame, but the disgrace of all Carol City players.

To prevent being mocked for having no capable players in Carol City, even those not belonging to Cow Tribe felt compelled to defend the dignity of Carol City’s players. Being challenged so brazenly and not responding would make them the laughingstock of others.

Once the forum announcement was posted, many players gathered, forming a unique spectacle in the central square.

Some players who considered themselves skilled began stepping forward to challenge Kuanshen and Tuolan.

“If you want to challenge Kuangzai Nieyan, beat us first. Don’t let just anyone come challenge our leader; our leader doesn’t have that much free time,” a Cow Tribe player scoffed at the two challengers.

“Exactly, beat our group first!”

The crowd stirred with excitement.

Kuanshen scanned the onlookers and said to Tuolan beside him, “Want to play with them first?”

Tuolan nodded, “Of course, otherwise Kuangzai Nieyan won’t come out.” He wore a casual expression.

“You or me?” Kuanshen turned to Tuolan, his fists clenched eagerly. He loved slaughtering ordinary players, and it would be best if a group came at once.

“I’ll leave it to you,” Tuolan showed little interest in the surrounding spectators. No matter how many came, they were just cannon fodder. Fighting them was a waste of time.

“Fine then, I’ll warm up a bit.” Tuolan’s words suited Kuanshen’s mood perfectly.

Kuanshen strode to the center of the arena and began setting the rules for the duel. Players who died could resurrect without losing gear or levels. Each entrant had to pay twenty gold coins as entry fee, and defeating him would earn two hundred gold coins.

Seeing Kuanshen’s rules, many Carol City players became eager. This was a tenfold payout! Murmurs spread through the crowd.

“Kuanshen is quite famous in Satern Empire. Those not strong enough should avoid giving him money. At least level fifty-five experts should try,” someone warned in the crowd.

There were quite a few players above level fifty-five in the crowd, at least a dozen, and more experts were likely on their way.

Kuanshen drew two golden greatswords, planted them on the ground, and scanned the crowd for strong players, smirking faintly. His tone was arrogant and overbearing, making the stronger players in the crowd furious enough to charge forward and beat him up. Some were cautious, while others could hardly contain themselves.

A greatswordsman named Aotianzhi stepped onto the arena. He had just completed his reclass recently and was somewhat proud of his strength. Seeing the orc warrior’s arrogance, he leaped into the arena.

“Damn, too arrogant.”

“Boss Aotianzhi, crush him!”

A cheer rose from below, making Aotianzhi feel somewhat elated.

Orc warriors had two reclass options: orc berserkers or orc shield warriors. Kuanshen had chosen orc berserker, which granted certain strength bonuses and increased size, making him noticeably taller than Aotianzhi.

The greatswordsman’s talent was versatility, including increased balance, focus, trip, and other attributes, along with a skill called Tendon Mastery, enhancing the effectiveness of tendon-breaking abilities. In terms of talent, it wasn’t much inferior to the orc berserker.

As Aotianzhi was about to speak, Kuanshen interrupted him, “No talking; I don’t have much time. Defeating you allows me to call the next challenger.”

Provoked, Aotianzhi roared and charged at Kuanshen.

Seeing Aotianzhi rush forward, Kuanshen growled and swung his two greatswords to meet him.

In a flash of blades and blood, contact was enough for the crowd to discern the outcome. Kuanshen’s attacks rained down like a storm, constantly pressuring Aotianzhi. Several times Aotianzhi tried to counter with skills, only to be interrupted by Kuanshen. Within seconds, Aotianzhi was slashed and sent flying, landing on the ground.

Kuanshen’s unstoppable and formidable aura during the duel made the surrounding players shudder and gasp. Throughout the battle, Kuanshen didn’t use any significant skills, relying solely on simple slashes and kicks to defeat Aotianzhi.

Kuanshen looked around and declared in a condescending tone, “Next.”

Aotianzhi resurrected, feeling humiliated, and slunk away.

Following Aotianzhi, many other reclassed players stepped forward to fight Kuanshen, but each was defeated and left in disgrace. Their strength was far inferior to Kuanshen’s. In all of Carol City, very few could rival Kuanshen and Tuolan. No matter how many players challenged him, they were all just cannon fodder.

After dozens of players fell, Kuanshen’s arrogance grew further. He arrogantly declared, “Is this all Carol City has? Any stronger ones? Otherwise, this is really boring!”

This enraged the Carol City players, causing an uproar on the official forums.

At this point, all Carol City players were watching Cow Tribe. If Cow Tribe continued to avoid the challenge, they would face criticism.

After a long time, Cow Tribe still hadn’t shown any signs of responding.

“Why hasn’t Cow Tribe appeared yet?”

“Could it be Cow Tribe is too scared to respond?”

“Possibly, but I heard Cow Tribe’s leader Kuangzai Nieyan and several top players are on a quest. They might come later when they have time.”

…

Rumors spread in Carol City. For now, Cow Tribe’s absence wasn’t a big issue, but prolonged inaction would be problematic. Kuanshen and Tuolan weren’t mere jesters; after dozens of battles, their strength had made Carol City players take them seriously.

Kuanshen had been fighting in the arena, defeating twenty-six challengers, while Tuolan hadn’t even stepped in yet. No one knew his strength, but it definitely wouldn’t be weak. They undoubtedly had the power to challenge Kuangzai Nieyan!

Among those defeated by Kuanshen were several well-known players, making Kuanshen the center of attention.

Nie Yan kept an eye on the developments in Carol City. From the videos, he roughly understood Kuanshen and Tuolan’s strength, but he was unsure if they had any hidden tricks. They must have some confidence to challenge him here, considering they represented Angel Tyranny. If they lost, it would be a disgrace for Angel Tyranny.

Nie Yan decided to watch for now. In an hour or two, watercolor and smoke would return, and those two wouldn’t be able to act arrogantly for long.

Nie Yan arrived outside Hilton Fortress, looking up at the towering twenty-yard walls that seemed impregnable, lined with massive arcane cannons at the top. These arcane cannons were much larger than the goblin arcane cannons at Krips Fortress. The goblin arcane cannons at Krips Fortress were level one, with a range of only one thousand yards and weak power, while these were level sixteen cannons, with a range of ten thousand yards and incredible power, belonging to a completely different tier.

Nie Yan recalled his Falkner steed, entered through the city gate, and walked along the street toward the center of Hilton Fortress.

Inside Hilton Fortress, it was similar to a city, with densely packed buildings. The streets were paved with white stones, somewhat narrow but very bustling, with people coming and going, making it seem crowded. Most of the passersby were NPCs, as few players were present at this time.