The gloomy jungle is home to level 90 monsters known as Thorn Lizards. These Thorn Lizards occasionally move through the area in packs. Their bodies are covered with thick armor and sharp spines, granting them formidable defensive capabilities. Additionally, they possess an innate ability to reflect melee damage, making them particularly challenging opponents. However, compared to other level 90 monsters, their health points are relatively low.
Nie Yan climbed up a large tree and gazed into the distance. The Thorn Lizards roamed through the jungle below. He raised his Doro’s Cavalry Crossbow of the Headless Knight and took aim at a distant target. After locking onto his mark, he pulled the trigger. Five arrows whistled through the air, threading through gaps in the foliage, and struck a Thorn Lizard with pinpoint accuracy, producing a series of muffled thuds.
Damage numbers floated above the spiny lizard.
When attacked, the spiny lizard raised its head and surveyed its surroundings. Its gaze locked onto Nie Yan, emitting a piercing screech. Instantly, dozens of spiny lizards began charging in Nie Yan’s direction.
Nie Yan leaped down from the tree and swiftly moved away. Occasionally, he would use the Doro’s Cavalry Crossbow of the Headless Knight to shoot at nearby Thorn Lizards.
More and more thorny lizards surrounded Nie Yan.
Nie Yan activated a Scroll of Death Ripple, unleashing waves of death energy that surged outward, engulfing all the Spined Lizards. Damage numbers exceeding one thousand floated above these creatures.
After using a Scroll of Death Ripple, Nie Yan swiftly maneuvered through the jungle. After a while, once the Scroll of Death Ripple had cooled down, he used another one, causing waves of death to spread outward again.
A few minutes later, Nie Yan utilized another Scroll of Death Ripple. Behind him, the ground quaked with resounding thuds as one Spiny Lizard after another collapsed. After deploying several Scrolls of Death Ripple, the majority of the Spiny Lizards had been vanquished.
(Note: “刺蜥” is translated as “Spiny Lizard” based on common fantasy creature naming conventions. If a specific official translation exists in the context, it should be used instead.)
Nie Yan quietly moved in from behind and finished off the remaining few low-health Spined Lizards. After that, he gathered up the equipment and items scattered across the ground.
Leveling up is a monotonous and tedious process. Nie Yan’s leveling speed is already quite fast. In his previous life, he often spent two or three months grinding monsters in one location to gain just one or two levels. He would usually return to the city to sell his loot only once every couple of weeks.
To become an expert, one must endure loneliness.
Nie Yan ventured deep into the jungle, repeatedly respawning monsters in the Thorn Lizard territory.
(Note: “刷新怪物” is translated as “respawning monsters” to accurately convey the gaming mechanic of monsters reappearing. “刺蜥 territory” is rendered as “Thorn Lizard territory” assuming it refers to a specific in-game creature’s domain. The translation maintains the action-oriented tone of the original while adapting gaming terminology appropriately.)
Elemental City Kawodi’en is a city built halfway up a mountain. Towering buildings stand on the mountainside, surrounded by colorful magical auras in the sky, creating a fantastical atmosphere.
Currently, Elemental City is in a state of chaos. There are more than twenty guilds of level four or higher, with relatively equal strength, making it difficult to determine a clear winner. Without a strong leader to eliminate all other factions, guilds like the Mage Alliance, Holy Guardians, and Sword of Divine Annihilation have established branches here, laying the groundwork for future control of Elemental City. The Bull Man Tribe has also set up an office here.
Although the Bull Man Tribe has a small number of players in Elemental City, their economic influence is quite significant. In Elemental City, the Bull Man Tribe operates more than ten shops, including five branches of the Starry Sky Pharmacy, which accounts for 70% of the local market share. Additionally, they have recruited a large number of professional production players.
A five-player team appeared at the teleportation array in Elemental City Kawodi’en, and then teleported to a small town called Keynes, located in the southwest of Elemental City. Their team consists of an arcane mage, a warrior, a rogue, a paladin, and a priest, making them a fairly standard five-man squad.
“Fat Cat, the Executive Council asked us to go to the southeast of this town to find a wandering scroll merchant. I can’t help but feel this mission is a bit unreliable. The Executive Council mentioned it’s a hidden NPC whose appearance time is uncertain, so we should train nearby and maybe we’ll run into him. Doesn’t that seem strange to you?” An arcane mage named Poxiao asked the warrior beside him.
“Perhaps the Executive Council received some information from somewhere. Let’s look around first before making any judgments,” replied a warrior named Fat Panda.
“Should we remove our guild insignias?” Poxiao asked.
“Elemental City is home to many major guilds. Wearing our guild insignias might cause some trouble. We should take them off. The Executive Council specifically instructed us to keep this matter confidential,” Fat Panda pondered for a moment before saying.
The five players gradually removed their guild insignias.
These five players were all members of the Bull Man Tribe. Fat Panda had the highest level at 63, while the others were around level 60. Within the Bull Man Tribe, they were considered second-tier players, but among all players, they were regarded as top-tier experts.
The group crossed a plain and upon reaching their destination, began searching for the hidden NPC assigned by Guo Huai while simultaneously killing monsters and leveling up.
The task assigned to them by Guo Huai had to be completed, so the rogue in the group continuously scouted the map.
For two consecutive days, they searched the area but failed to locate the hidden NPC.
“What should we do? There’s no hidden NPC here,” Poxiao said in a slightly frustrated tone.
“I don’t know either,” Fat Panda replied helplessly. Whether this hidden NPC even existed was a mystery, and searching aimlessly like this was quite frustrating. “I asked the Executive Council, and they confirmed that the NPC should be around here. Let’s keep looking.”
At that moment, the rogue in the distance sent a message, indicating that he had found the NPC.
Fat Panda, Poxiao, and the others were delighted and quickly rushed toward the rogue’s location.
System: The Eternal Guild is clearing the area. All nearby players are advised to leave immediately, or face the consequences.
After reading this system message, Fat Panda was momentarily stunned and remarked, “The Eternal Guild is so arrogant.” The Bull Man Tribe is regarded as the top guild in Carol City, yet they never cleared areas so blatantly. They typically adopted a more moderate approach, persuading other players to leave without using harsh or overbearing language. They would only resort to force when absolutely necessary.
“The Eternal Guild is the largest guild in Elemental City, with around fifty to sixty thousand members and three allied guilds. They seem to be quite powerful,” Poxiao explained, having browsed the Elemental City forums before arriving.
Fat Panda, however, held the Eternal Guild in contempt. No matter how strong they were, could they possibly surpass the Bull Man Tribe? Still, he was cautious while traveling and decided to complete the task assigned by the Executive Council first before causing any trouble.
“Let’s go find that NPC and then leave this place,” Fat Panda said, glancing toward a group of more than ten players approaching from a distance. They appeared somewhat unfriendly.
More and more players from the Eternal Guild gathered in the area, with approximately two to three thousand players within a few thousand yards, actively clearing the area and sending wave after wave of miners.
“I’ve encountered enemies, and there are way too many of them. They won’t let me get close to the NPC!” the rogue urgently reported in the team chat.
Upon hearing this, Fat Panda furrowed his brow, “What’s going on?”
“These damn bastards, they triggered the NPC first.”
System: Teammate Sandao has died.
After a while, Sandao resurrected at the graveyard.
“What happened?” Fat Panda asked, as Sandao’s death was too sudden.
“It’s the Eternal Guild. I was the one who discovered the NPC first, but they thought it was an NPC giving out a hidden quest, so they wouldn’t let me get close. Several mages tried to kill me with magic, but I dodged. However, there were at least five or six rogues nearby who surrounded me and took me down.” Sandao clenched his fists. Such incidents of being killed and cleared in the wilderness were not uncommon, but experiencing it firsthand was still infuriating.
Poxiao looked at Fat Panda beside him and asked, “What should we do now that the NPC has been taken?”
“Let’s go. We should report this to the guild leader first,” Fat Panda said after a moment of silence. He was also feeling quite angry inside. Normally, he would have taken down a few members of the Eternal Guild, but since there was still a mission to complete, he had to hold back for now.
Poxiao nodded. As they prepared to use their town portal scrolls, a group of people approached them, forcing them to interrupt their action. Being interrupted while using a town portal scroll meant losing the opportunity to escape, making them vulnerable to attacks.
There were more than ten people in the opposing group, led by a warrior wearing a level 65 epic set.
Fire Sky Wing, the top warrior of the Eternal Guild!
In Elemental City, Fire Sky Wing was considered a top-tier figure, and his strength was unquestionable. Among all the warriors in Elemental City, he was definitely among the top three.
Seeing Fire Sky Wing’s equipment, Fat Panda and Poxiao exchanged wary glances. The opposing group had strong members and would not be easy to deal with.
“Which guild are you from?” Fire Sky Wing glanced at Fat Panda and his group. He had plenty of experience in killing and looting others. With the area swarming with Eternal Guild members, there was no way they could escape. He secretly decided that as long as these people weren’t from an allied guild, he would eliminate them.
Seeing the Eternal Guild members surrounding them, Fat Panda and Poxiao exchanged glances, realizing that today’s situation might not be resolved peacefully. They both prepared themselves for defense.
“They don’t have guild insignias, so they probably aren’t affiliated with any guild,” one of the Eternal Guild members observed.
“Fire Sky, their gear looks pretty good,” a few of the members chuckled beside him.
“Eliminate them,” Fire Sky Wing said indifferently. In Elemental City, he truly feared no one. Even if they were from a guild, he would still take them down without hesitation. Let alone a few unaffiliated rogue players!
“They’re too many. I’ll cover you. You all run quickly!” Fat Panda commanded in the team chat, swinging his greatsword and charging towards the players from the Eternal Guild who were rushing towards them.
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