Chapter 524: The Debate

“How are you?” Nie Yan sent a text message to Tang Yao with a bit of anxiety.

“Not too bad, I managed to escape, but the Thunderbird was severely injured.” Tang Yao replied, exhaling in relief when he noticed the guy riding the Wind Serpent hadn’t pursued him.

Nie Yan frowned tightly upon realizing that the Mage Alliance had already acquired Wind Serpents. This was a bit problematic.

“I don’t think the guy riding the Wind Serpent is with the Mage Alliance. If they had coordinated beforehand, I wouldn’t have had any chance to escape at all.” Tang Yao said, recalling the previous battle.

Even if he wasn’t part of the Mage Alliance, Nie Yan was certain the person was an enemy rather than a friend.

Meanwhile, the battle on Cui Can Dao Guang’s side had already ended. Cui Can Dao Guang, Shui Se Yan Tou, and more than sixty elite members managed to escape. Counting it all up, the Niuren Tribe suffered 1,200 casualties in this conflict, while the Mage Alliance and Shen Sheng Shou Hu suffered around 5,000 casualties, with some players even dying two or three times.

Both sides had suffered heavy losses. At this casualty ratio, the Mage Alliance and Shen Sheng Shou Hu had barely gained any advantage.

Conflicts between guilds were essentially mutual attrition; whoever couldn’t hold out any longer would lose.

Although the Niuren Tribe members lost a lot of equipment when they died, these losses were nothing to Nie Yan, who had ample financial resources.

Nie Yan was furious at the Mage Alliance and Shen Sheng Shou Hu. The Niuren Tribe had no intention of starting a war because it wanted to accumulate contribution points quickly, seize land for the Hilton Fortress, and avoid dragging into a war that would disadvantage the Niuren Tribe. The Mage Alliance and Shen Sheng Shou Hu couldn’t accumulate contribution points nearly as fast as the Niuren Tribe, so Kuang Fa couldn’t wait anymore. If the Niuren Tribe wasn’t dragged into war, it would eventually seize all the land around Hilton Fortress!

Although the Niuren Tribe players were cautious, they still couldn’t prevent being ambushed by the Mage Alliance. The ambush caught them off guard, and the Niuren Tribe suffered some losses.

However, for the Niuren Tribe, such losses were superficial and couldn’t affect its core strength. Players who lost a level could quickly level up again, and as for lost equipment, the Niuren Tribe had no shortage of money!

The Niuren Tribe players returned to the city to regroup. Nie Yan thought for a moment and decided to return to Hilton first since the battle was over.

Just as he was preparing to return to the city, Nie Yan received a message from Guo Huai.

“Nie Yan, check the official forum.”

Nie Yan opened the official forum, where many videos had been posted with the title “The Niuren Tribe’s Defeat.”

The videos were edited clips of the battle, showing only scenes of the Niuren Tribe being surrounded and fleeing. Clips showing the Mage Alliance and Shen Sheng Shou Hu’s heavy losses were conveniently cut out. These videos immediately caused a sensation on the official forum and were prominently pinned to the top.

“Did the Niuren Tribe lose?”

“Why hasn’t the Niuren Tribe responded?”

“I heard they really retreated to the Hilton Fortress and are gathering at the villa there.”

“This is the Niuren Tribe’s first defeat.”

Uninformed players discussed wildly, while some Niuren Tribe members tried to refute the videos, but their comments were quickly buried by various means.

Nearly hundreds of videos occupied a large portion of the forum’s Eldoria Empire section, creating a serious impression.

Nie Yan sneered. The Mage Alliance and Shen Sheng Shou Hu’s tactics were too clumsy.

“We can’t let them continue spreading this propaganda; it will greatly affect our morale,” Guo Huai said. If these videos remained on the homepage, it would affect the Niuren Tribe players’ morale.

“I’ll respond with one sentence.” Nie Yan smiled and posted a single sentence on the forum.

“What are you going to post? I’ll get people to promote your post,” Guo Huai said, immediately contacting the guild members below him.

Guo Huai looked at the forum and saw Nie Yan’s post: “Grandsons of the Mage Alliance and Shen Sheng Shou Hu, dare you show the casualty numbers from both sides?”

It was just a simple question, but Nie Yan’s tone was still so brash. However, Guo Huai was already used to Nie Yan’s manner. After a moment’s thought, he smiled slightly. Sometimes, a simple sentence could solve everything. He started contacting the Niuren Tribe members to reply to Nie Yan’s post.

First came Tang Yao, Cui Can Dao Guang, and Shui Se Yan Tou, followed by players like Sha Bu Si De Huai Dan and Ben Zhi E Mo. Within moments, more than 60 replies appeared under the post.

Seeing that it was a post from Kuang Zei Nie Yan, many players clicked in immediately. Seeing the list of names on the post, they were momentarily dazzled.

“Getting a close-up view of the divine miracle!”

“First seat.”

…

Players kept replying to the post, some discussing the matter and others just trolling, quickly pushing the post to the most prominent and visible position on the forum.

Seeing Nie Yan’s words, they began to feel some doubts. Could there be something fishy about these videos? They couldn’t help but wonder about the actual casualty numbers in the war between the Niuren Tribe and the Mage Alliance. Whether the videos accurately depicted the Niuren Tribe’s crushing defeat? The players’ growing doubts and interest in the casualty numbers soon overshadowed the videos.

At that moment, Kuang Fa, who was in a church in the Hilton Fortress, was closely monitoring the forum. These were all initiatives by his subordinates, and although a bit clumsy, they had some effect. Seeing Nie Yan’s post, he snorted coldly. Nie Yan’s move was equivalent to a brilliant defensive counterattack, shifting everyone’s attention and focusing it on the casualty numbers, which was exactly what they least wanted to discuss.

Soon, someone online managed to obtain the casualty numbers from the battle at Hilton Fortress. The Niuren Tribe had suffered 1,200 deaths, while the Mage Alliance and Shen Sheng Shou Hu had suffered as many as 5,000 casualties.

Such numbers left all players in silence. With such casualty figures, did the Mage Alliance and Shen Sheng Shou Hu still have the face to claim victory?

The Niuren Tribe’s combat capability was truly terrifying, with each member capable of taking down five top-tier players from the Mage Alliance and Shen Sheng Shou Hu on average! In the wild, if a player encountered five enemies of the same level or even a few levels lower, no matter how good their equipment was, they would generally be overwhelmed and killed. Only certain classes like thieves and paladins could escape using some skills, but winning was practically impossible. Even winning against three opponents was relatively rare among players. A true “myriad-man slayer” didn’t exist; a single player facing an onslaught of ten thousand would absolutely be killed without a trace left.

The top elites of the Mage Alliance and Shen Sheng Shou Hu, who could rise to the top ranks in guilds with hundreds of thousands of members, were technically solid under their elite titles. Compared to them, the Niuren Tribe members were simply too monstrous, leaving people speechless.

With such a stir on the official website, no one dared to say anything about the Niuren Tribe retreating to the Hilton Fortress anymore.

Nie Yan and Xie Yao returned to the Hilton Fortress together and claimed their experience rewards for defeating monsters. Nie Yan leveled up to level 96, while Xie Yao reached level 85, an astonishing speed. Additionally, Xie Yao purchased another piece of land from the ruling office, adjacent to Nie Yan’s villa, with a large area suitable for opening an auction house or upgrading to a level 16 shop. Such a piece of land was priceless, and acquiring one more meant a continuous flow of wealth in the future.

Nie Yan noticed that more and more land in the Hilton Fortress was being sold. Two prime commercial spots he had his eye on had already been bought. He didn’t know who had done it, but they were quick. It seemed they needed to accelerate their plans. The land in the Hilton Fortress was limited, and once it was all taken, it would be gone for good.

The two arrived at the villa in the Hilton Fortress. As Nie Yan walked inside, the Niuren Tribe players were gathered in small groups.

Seeing Nie Yan’s arrival, these Niuren Tribe players greeted him one after another.

“Boss Nie Yan.”

“Boss Nie Yan, you’re here.”

Nie Yan looked at these Niuren Tribe brothers. Some had lost a piece of equipment, and many had died once or twice, but there was no trace of depression on their faces. Even though they had been ambushed, they hadn’t suffered any real losses.

As Nie Yan walked through the crowd, he overheard a few Niuren Tribe members discussing in hushed tones.

“I took down seven Mage Alliance bastards, felt so good, worth losing a piece of equipment.”

“I only took down five, Boss is here.”

The players nearby made way.

Nie Yan, Xie Yao, and Cui Can Dao Guang and others gathered together, filling the villa with people.

“Where are the other brothers?” Nie Yan asked. There were only about 200 people here.

“The others went to replenish consumables.”

Nie Yan checked the guild warehouse and said to Ge Ling Zhi Ge, the knight in charge of managing various affairs nearby, “Tell Guo Huai to find a few thieves to transport some equipment here. Everyone who lost equipment will get replacements. Additionally, according to the number of enemies killed, each kill will be rewarded with 50 gold coins.”

Fifty gold coins were a considerable sum. Some players who killed many enemies could receive over a thousand gold coins. The Niuren Tribe players had killed 5,000 enemies, meaning Nie Yan had to spend 250,000 gold coins on this reward alone. Other guilds probably wouldn’t dare to spend money like Nie Yan, but 250,000 gold coins were nothing to him. With money, the players who contributed to the Niuren Tribe could comprehensively upgrade their equipment, which was worth it.

Nie Yan continued arranging various tasks.

“Boss, what should we do? The Mage Alliance and Shen Sheng Shou Hu have already made the first move. Should we keep retreating? If the tiger doesn’t show its might, they’ll think we’re just weak cats?” Sha Bu Si De Huai Dan said nearby.

“Exactly, Boss Nie Yan, we’ve been pushed to the limit.”

Hearing Sha Bu Si De Huai Dan’s words, the crowd below became passionate and angry.