“We do know the notorious rogue Nie Yan, that’s true,” Li Rui argued, but he wasn’t very articulate and couldn’t back up his claim with facts, so he just sulked.
“We also know Nie Yan, but Nie Yan doesn’t know us. What can we do about that?” Mo An glanced sideways at Li Rui beside him and scoffed. “If you really know Nie Yan well, why don’t you call him over? Let him take you through a few levels. Wouldn’t the Dark Swamp instance be a breeze then? Do you think he would even pay attention to you?”
Li Rui’s face flushed red as he wanted to continue arguing with Mo An, but was interrupted by Zhai Hao, who said, “Enough arguing.”
Li Rui felt a surge of anger but realized he had no choice but to let it go. Unless they could actually bring Nie Yan over, Mo An and the others wouldn’t believe them. Nie Yan treated them as friends, and they didn’t want Nie Yan to think less of them for seeking his help over something like this. If they were the type to flaunt their relationship with Nie Yan, wouldn’t they look terrible in his eyes?
Li Rui clearly saw the mockery in Mo An’s eyes, but he had to swallow his pride.
“If it’s just something made up out of thin air, don’t bring it up again,” Mo Tao sneered. “We’re still short a few people. See if you can bring over a few high-damage casters. If you can’t, I’ll call some friends of mine. They’re top-notch players in the Dark Ranger guild. But if they come over, we’ll at least have to offer them something, otherwise I won’t feel comfortable asking them to come.”
Zhai Hao understood that if those people really came, they might ask for too much. If they could find people on their own, it would be better not to call those people over.
“Let’s wait a bit longer. I’ll see if I can find a few brothers from the guild,” Zhai Hao hesitated.
“Wait more? We’ve already waited half an hour. I don’t have time to waste here with you,” Mo An said impatiently.
Hearing their words, Zhai Hao also felt a bit annoyed. He had finally managed to gather fifteen people, and once he found a few high-damage casters, they could enter the Dark Swamp instance. Was he really going to give up like this? He felt reluctant and looked at the other brothers and classmates, apologizing, “Sorry everyone for making you wait so long.”
“Zhai Hao, you’re being too formal. We’re all brothers, no need to be so polite. Just keep looking for people. We don’t mind waiting a bit longer,” said Jiang Fan, a member from Class 5. They all understood that unless they had a fixed team, gathering a twenty-man group would naturally take one or two hours. Even with a fixed team, it was common to have members occupied with quests, making it hard to gather everyone.
Jiang Fan’s words immediately received everyone’s agreement. They understood Zhai Hao’s difficulties and weren’t as unreasonable as Mo An and the others.
Hearing these words, Zhai Hao gritted his teeth, thinking he might as well take a loss. He was determined to form the team today and prepared to ask Mo Tao to bring over the Dark Ranger members. It was a last resort, but he couldn’t let these brothers wait in vain.
Nie Yan approached. He had overheard their conversation and roughly understood the situation, feeling a strong dislike for Mo Tao, Mo An, and others’ attitudes.
Seeing a stranger in a black cloak approaching them, Zhai Hao and others felt puzzled.
Nie Yan pulled back his cloak, looked at Zhai Hao, smiled slightly, and asked, “Need any help?”
“Nie Yan?” Li Rui exclaimed in surprise.
Zhai Hao also hadn’t expected Nie Yan to appear here. Others were even staring wide-eyed. For the notorious rogue Nie Yan to suddenly come over and greet their group was simply unbelievable, yet it was happening!
Zhai Hao was momentarily stunned before regaining his composure and patted Nie Yan’s shoulder, “Brother, how come you’re here?” Suddenly realizing something, he hesitated slightly, his hand suspended mid-air. After all, their statuses were vastly different. Nie Yan was the leader of the Bull Tribe, a legendary figure, while he was just a small fry unnoticed in the crowd. For Nie Yan to come over and greet him was already a huge honor.
“I was passing by and happened to meet you guys, so I came over. Are you preparing to form a team for a dungeon run?” Nie Yan asked, glancing at the people behind Zhai Hao.
“We’re preparing to run the Dark Swamp instance,” Zhai Hao replied, his expression slightly embarrassed. Someone like Nie Yan naturally wouldn’t consider the Dark Swamp instance as anything significant. Nie Yan was a legendary figure in the game, while they couldn’t even gather enough people for a simple Dark Swamp run. It was hard to say it out loud.
Hearing Nie Yan and Zhai Hao chatting, Mo An stared with wide eyes, his face alternating between red and green. He privately messaged Mo Tao and Mo Yan beside him, “Damn it, Zhai Hao and the others really know Nie Yan! These two are on completely different levels. How could they know each other?”
“Who knows? I also find it confusing. If Zhai Hao and Li Rui really knew Nie Yan, why didn’t they argue with us earlier?” Mo Tao also couldn’t figure it out. If it were them who knew Nie Yan, they would definitely show it off. They wouldn’t be like Li Rui and Zhai Hao, silently enduring the humiliation. This was the difference in character. Why would Nie Yan treat Zhai Hao and Li Rui as friends, but look down on Mo Tao, Mo An, and Mo Yan?
“Zhai Hao, Li Rui, and those guys must have just been lucky,” Mo An said enviously. With a backer like Nie Yan, they could get whatever they needed. Even taking a few pieces of equipment from the Bull Tribe’s guild warehouse would be better than their own gear.
“Let’s go over and get close to Nie Yan. Maybe we can get some benefits from him,” Mo Tao said excitedly, looking at Mo Yan. “Mo Yan, it’s your turn.”
“I can do it, but Nie Yan has seen all kinds of beautiful girls. Would he even pay attention to me?” Mo Yan said with a slightly sulky tone.
“You never know.”
Thinking about how difficult it was for Zhai Hao and Li Rui to even form a team for the Dark Swamp instance, Nie Yan felt a bit guilty. He had been too busy and hadn’t had time to help, not realizing these old friends had been treated poorly here.
Nie Yan said to Zhai Hao, “In the future, if you need any help, don’t hesitate to ask me. I’ll tell the acting guild leader of the Bull Tribe. If you have any problems, go to him. His ID is Wangfeng de Woniu. You’re already level 62. Try to take the Bull Tribe’s test. If you meet the requirements, you can join the Bull Tribe. I’ll bring a few people over to help you run the Dark Swamp instance.”
Nie Yan sent a message in the guild chat, “Need five high-damage casters to help my friends with a dungeon run. Levels 60 to 65. If you meet the requirements and have time, type ‘1’.”
“1.”
“1.”
…
The guild chat immediately flooded with hundreds of responses. At least three or four hundred people replied. With Nie Yan’s reputation, naturally everyone in the guild responded enthusiastically. He wanted people to help his friends with a dungeon run, and which eligible caster wouldn’t do their best? Nie Yan asked Guo Huai to select five casters between levels 60 and 65 who met the requirements, with high damage and good skills.
After three or four minutes, five casters arrived and lined up in front of Nie Yan and Zhai Hao. These people were at least wearing full sets of dark gold equipment. Seeing Nie Yan, they all showed excited expressions.
“Boss!”
“Boss! We’re here. Are these the people?”
…
Mo An, Mo Tao, Mo Yan, and others had relatively good equipment among players of their level, with most of their gear being golden, but compared to these Bull Tribe players, they looked like paupers, which was extremely embarrassing. The Bull Tribe players didn’t even bother to look at them.
Among these Bull Tribe players, Nie Yan recognized a couple of names.
“Sha Bing, these are my brothers. Get to know them. Take them through the Dark Swamp instance, help them get all the equipment from the Dark Swamp instance, and then take them to the Dreamy Canyon,” Nie Yan said. With the strength of these five Bull Tribe casters, taking Zhai Hao and others through the Dark Swamp instance would be as easy as pie.
There were many things in the Bull Tribe’s guild warehouse that Zhai Hao and others could use, but he understood Zhai Hao’s personality. They wouldn’t accept things given freely.
“Got it, Boss. Don’t worry. Your brothers are our brothers. We’ll guarantee they clear the instance thirty times in a day and get all the equipment!” Sha Bing, the arcane mage, said confidently.
Zhai Hao, Mo Tao, and others were shocked by Sha Bing’s words. Thirty clears in a day? That was too incredible! Their estimate for running the Dark Swamp instance was at least three or four hours each time, and they often encountered wipes. But listening to Sha Bing’s tone, it sounded as simple as having a meal. Thinking about it, Sha Bing and others were wearing full sets of dark gold gear at level 65. Even without Zhai Hao and others’ help, the five of them could easily clear the Dark Swamp instance.
They hadn’t expected Nie Yan to be so warm towards Zhai Hao and Li Rui, showing no air of a guild leader. Others gradually started chatting more with Nie Yan.
Mo Tao and Mo An tried to approach Nie Yan and get close to him, but Nie Yan remained indifferent.
Although these two had a lot of history with Nie Yan in the past life, Nie Yan no longer cared. In this life, they were just minor characters with little interaction with Nie Yan. There was no need to pay attention to them.
Seeing Nie Yan’s cold attitude towards these two, Sha Bing and others took note. Nie Yan didn’t like these two, so they wouldn’t need to give Mo An and Mo Tao any good treatment either.
As the saying goes, it’s easier to deal with the King of Hell than the little devils.
Sha Bing and the other four became familiar with Zhai Hao, Li Rui, and their group, calling them brothers affectionately. Li Rui also stood up straighter, finally releasing the previous frustration. From now on, they no longer had to endure the airs of Mo An, Mo Tao, and Mo Yan.
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