More than an hour after the meeting ended, Nie Yan finally received news from Guo Huai—Cao Xu from Century Syndicate had visited Moonlight City. The Mage Union and Sacred Guardians had received substantial funding from Century Syndicate, totaling over five million gold coins, delivered in three installments. Nie Yan couldn’t help but marvel at the sheer scale of the investment. Century Syndicate was truly generous, splurging so lavishly. It seemed he had underestimated their financial strength.
Many of Century Syndicate’s investments remained under the radar. The exact number of shops and businesses they owned across the entire Granland Empire and Sather Empire was unknown to anyone except perhaps Cao Xu himself.
Besides this, Guo Huai had also learned that Cao Xu had dispatched over a hundred of his trusted men secretly to Carol City. Their purpose, however, remained unclear.
Upon hearing this, Nie Yan felt a twinge of unease. He immediately messaged Guo Huai back, instructing him to investigate the intentions of those men.
Carol City was the stronghold of the Bull Man Tribe. It must not be compromised under any circumstances!
Guo Huai also discovered another piece of information—Shadow Kill was currently at Edgeton Fortress. Nie Yan recalled his previous agreement with Shadow Kill and a dangerous thought flashed through his mind. Perhaps he should pay a visit to Edgeton Fortress?
After all, Mage and Holy Flame had been living too comfortably lately. It was time to spice up their lives with some excitement.
Only five people in the entire Bull Man Tribe could infiltrate Edgeton Fortress undetected—himself, Kingly World, Sun, One Hit Engagement, and the Frog in Distress.
Nie Yan considered whether to bring along Kingly World and the others. More people meant better coordination during the operation. With that in mind, Nie Yan sent messages to the other four.
“Do you guys want to take a stroll inside Edgeton Fortress?”
Upon hearing that Nie Yan was planning to infiltrate Edgeton Fortress and target the Mage Union, Sun immediately became excited. How could he miss out on such an exhilarating opportunity?
“Brother Flame, count me in!”
Kingly World, however, remained calm. The Edgeton Fortress of the Mage Union was in a completely different league from the fortresses they had previously infiltrated in the Triumph Empire. It was heavily guarded, with at least 100,000 players inside daily. Sneaking through such a densely populated area and causing trouble without being noticed would be no easy feat.
“Try to keep the number of participants as low as possible,” Kingly World suggested. Too many people would draw too much attention and increase the risk of being discovered.
“Maximum of five,” Nie Yan replied. “We can definitely infiltrate Edgeton Fortress. Even if we are discovered, as long as we’re not unlucky enough to be locked down by Dark Priest’s War Shackles, we can still escape using random teleport scrolls.”
“Who’s your target?” Kingly World asked. Nie Yan must have someone specific in mind for assassination.
“Shadow Kill, Mage, or Holy Flame—taking down any one of them will make a huge impact,” Nie Yan replied. Eliminating any of them in Edgeton Fortress would be a sensational act.
Though the likes of Shadow Kill, Mage, and Holy Flame might not be easy targets for assassination, Nie Yan remained confident. Conventional methods might not work, but unconventional ones could yield different results.
After all, Nie Yan had once been an assassin and killer. Some of the real-world killing techniques could be replicated using in-game items.
“Since you already have a target, count me in,” Kingly World said. He wouldn’t miss out on such an operation anyway—it was his duty to protect Nie Yan, even though Nie Yan’s in-game strength rendered such protection unnecessary.
Shortly after, both Frog in Distress and One Hit Engagement also agreed to join Nie Yan’s operation.
Nie Yan asked Guo Huai to gather some special items—extremely rare ones. However, for Guo Huai and his team, collecting them was relatively easy. After all, the Bull Man Tribe had so many members that borrowing from them would likely meet no objections.
A while later, Guo Huai entered the living room where the five of them were gathered. Approaching Nie Yan, he said, “I’ve gathered everything you asked for. Two Weavers’ Rings borrowed from Ya Zi and Cold Shadow, one Lightning Ring, one Levitation Ring, and one Disguise Necklace.”
Guo Huai took out each item one by one, introducing them with pride. Most of these items were borrowed from top-tier members of the Bull Man Tribe, while some were stored in the guild’s warehouse by other players.
Nie Yan turned to Kingly World and the others. “Pick a few of these items. They’ll come in handy for this operation.”
Kingly World, Sun, and the others each selected five or six items. Since Nie Yan already had many items, he only chose a Disguise Necklace and a Lightning Ring.
The Disguise Necklace allowed the wearer to transform into the appearance of a specific player, hiding their identity with a 98% similarity. It lasted for fifteen minutes and had a two-hour cooldown.
The Lightning Ring could release a lightning bolt that would cause temporary paralysis upon impact. It had a one-hour cooldown.
These two items, if used effectively, could prove quite useful.
Everyone picked their items and stocked up on consumables like high-tier instant recovery potions. Nie Yan also added several high-tier combat bandages.
“I’ll handle Shadow Kill, Kingly World will take Mage, and Sun will target Holy Flame. You two assist Kingly World and Sun,” Nie Yan instructed One Hit Engagement and Frog in Distress. Traveling together as a group of five into and out of Edgeton Fortress would be too conspicuous and risk exposure.
“Got it,” One Hit Engagement nodded.
Frog in Distress also agreed. This was his first participation in such a significant mission since joining the Bull Man Tribe. Nie Yan had included him not only because of his strength but also as a sign of trust, which moved Frog deeply. It was rare for a professional gamer to be accepted into the core of a guild, as guild leaders usually refrained from fully trusting such profit-driven individuals. Yet Nie Yan had done so.
After handing the items to Nie Yan and the others, Guo Huai returned to his duties. He had many tasks ahead, including directing the Bull Man Tribe’s operations and selling gems.
After Guo Huai left, the five of them gradually departed. Each used their own method to evade the Mage Union and Sacred Guardians’ surveillance, slipping out of Moonlight City toward Edgeton Fortress.
The assassination of any one of Mage, Holy Flame, or Shadow Kill inside Edgeton Fortress would become a headline across the entire Granland Empire, causing a massive stir. The Mage Union and Sacred Guardians would suffer a severe blow to their prestige, which would be highly beneficial for the Bull Man Tribe’s future assault on Edgeton Fortress.
After leaving Moonlight City, Nie Yan activated his Windstep ability and sprinted toward Edgeton Fortress. He carefully avoided the sight of all players along the way—under no circumstances could his movements be exposed, or the Mage Union and Sacred Guardians would easily deduce his intentions.
During his sprint, Nie Yan encountered some Mage Union members hunting Bull Man Tribe players. Although he longed to intervene, he restrained himself and continued on.
After about twenty minutes of running, a magnificent fortress city came into view. Edgeton Fortress, like Krips Fortress, was a mid-tier fortress—Moonlight City had only one such fortress, strategically located with convenient transportation and surrounded by many level 60-70 and 80-90 training zones.
The Mage Union had fortified Edgeton Fortress like an impregnable fortress. They had built walls over thirty yards high, with a moat five yards wide in front. Behind the walls, numerous arrow towers were densely positioned. Although they didn’t yet possess the blueprints for magic-artillery cannons, they had still constructed many towers in preparation for future use.
This towering fortress gave an impression of invincibility. Breaking through its walls with trebuchets and storming inside would be a formidable challenge for the Bull Man Tribe.
Due to the Mage Union’s unshakable dominance in Moonlight City, the training zones near Edgeton Fortress were usually occupied solely by Mage Union members or allied players. Other guilds rarely ventured there. The Mage Union’s overwhelming power meant that any conflicts with other players usually ended in the latter’s disadvantage. Without competition for monsters, the area had become the Mage Union’s stronghold.
As Nie Yan approached, he encountered only Mage Union members. Under such watchful eyes, scaling the walls to infiltrate Edgeton Fortress was practically impossible. The only option was to enter through the main gate while evading detection—sneaking in!
Nie Yan walked toward the entrance of Edgeton Fortress, now only a hundred yards from the gate.
Recently, due to frequent conflicts with the Bull Man Tribe in other training zones, Mage Union players had opted to stay near Edgeton Fortress for safety. The fortress was now more than 50% more crowded than usual, bustling with activity.
This gate was the sole entrance to Edgeton Fortress, resulting in a constant flow of people coming and going.
Seeing this, Nie Yan furrowed his brow. With so many people crowding the gate, sneaking in unnoticed was impossible unless he waited for a lull in the crowd.
After a moment’s thought, a brilliant idea struck him—why not use the Disguise Necklace? He equipped the Disguise Necklace and checked his skill bar, where a new Disguise skill had appeared.
Nie Yan scanned the distance, searching for Mage Union players, and locked onto a rogue player whose build closely resembled his own. A grin spread across his face. Perfect!
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage