Chapter 552: Annihilation!

Nie Yan glanced at the attributes of Ying Sha’s shoulder armor. It was an item that increased the rogue’s hiding ability.

Erdeli Phantom Shoulder: Agility required 620.

Description: Shoulder armor once used by Erdeli the Phantom, bearing traces of Erdeli’s soul, possessing great power.

Attributes: Agility +50, Speed +20, Stealth +20, Concealment +10, Reflex +10. Comes with level 7 Phantom skill. Phantom skill grants additional Stealth and Concealment +60, Movement Speed +50. For ten seconds, cannot be detected by vision or light-based skills. Skill duration is thirty seconds, during which the user cannot attack.

After viewing the attributes of the Erdeli Shoulder, Nie Yan suddenly understood. That’s why Ying Sha had repeatedly escaped his pursuit! This skill was indeed quite good, a rare and uncommon skill.

He equipped the Erdeli Shoulder and checked his gear inventory. Most of his equipped items were already Legendary or Sub-Legendary grade.

At this time, Ying Sha had already respawned from the graveyard. His expression was somewhat dejected. This was his first ever crushing defeat, at the hands of Kuang Zei Nie Yan. Although Nie Yan had used some special methods, the outcome was clear for all to see.

Nie Yan’s assassination techniques were far superior. When Ying Sha killed someone, it was usually through direct confrontation and skill superiority. Nie Yan, on the other hand, made use of almost every external factor, such as props and terrain. His attacks were unpredictable and hard to defend against.

“Our agreement, you haven’t forgotten, right?” Nie Yan initiated a voice call with Ying Sha. He was now the victor.

“I admit my defeat. According to our previous bet, I will kill three people for you. Tell me, who are these three people?” Ying Sha said somewhat despondently. He always kept his word and would not renege on a bet. Ying Sha had a premonition that Nie Yan would not let him go easily.

Nie Yan hesitated for a moment. It was clearly not the right time to recruit Ying Sha. He quickly changed his mind and came up with a plan. First, he would make Ying Sha break ties with Century Corporation and Angel Dominion!

Nie Yan originally wanted Ying Sha to assassinate Kuang Fa and Sheng Yan, but now Wang Zhe Tian Xia and Sun were already going to assassinate Kuang Fa and Sheng Yan, so there was no need for Ying Sha to get involved.

“The first target is Ang Yi Tian Shi from Angel Dominion. For now, just this one. Go complete it first,” Nie Yan said. Once Ying Sha attempted to assassinate Ang Yi Tian Shi, regardless of success or failure, the outcome would push him into opposition against Angel Dominion and Century Corporation.

Ying Sha clenched his fists. Nie Yan was forcing him into a desperate situation. Once he assassinated Ang Yi Tian Shi, he would inevitably face pursuit from several major forces, including Century Corporation and Angel Dominion. If he were alone, it wouldn’t matter, but he had a studio behind him. His actions would plunge the studio into a comprehensive crisis. However, if he didn’t do it, it would undoubtedly be breaking his promise.

From the moment Nie Yan successfully assassinated him, it was destined that he would be manipulated by Nie Yan.

Seeing Ying Sha’s hesitation in responding, Nie Yan displayed a slightly mocking expression and said, “If you feel that my request is beyond your capabilities or you simply lack the strength to complete it, then forget it. Consider our previous bet as never having existed. The reputation of Ying Sha is nothing but exaggerated.”

“I will give you an answer,” Ying Sha said with some bitterness. He was temporarily unable to make a decision.

Nie Yan smiled indifferently and said, “I’ll wait for your response.” Nie Yan understood that Ying Sha was now cornered. He would face two choices: first, assassinate Ang Yi Tian Shi and break ties with Century Corporation and Angel Dominion; second, break his promise, which would undoubtedly make him the laughingstock of everyone.

After finishing his conversation with Nie Yan, Ying Sha ended the call and walked away aimlessly. He was still hesitating. Dark Immortal Studio was his life’s work, and he didn’t want it to be destroyed because of him. If he were alone, even facing endless pursuit from Angel Dominion and Century Corporation, he wouldn’t be afraid. However, as the leader of Dark Immortal Studio, he inevitably had attachments that prevented him from being so carefree.

Nie Yan was ruthless and merciless! But as a leader, there were some things Nie Yan had to learn, such as being ruthless to his enemies.

Before being recruited by Nie Yan, Ying Sha was his enemy.

If Ying Sha could not be recruited, then he had to be completely eliminated!

Ying Sha was conflicted about how to make a choice. At this moment, several members of Dark Immortal Studio were grouped together, grinding monsters and leveling up, including House and Soha and others. A team of twenty players traversed steep mountains and began to tackle an elite monster at level 80.

“Are we going to betray the leader like this…?” House’s expression was somewhat hesitant and uneasy. He still felt guilty about the things they had done behind Ying Sha’s back.

“If you were loyal to the leader from the start, then don’t betray him. But since we’ve already done it, we can only go all the way! Besides, we have no choice. Do you want to fight against Century Corporation? Ying Sha is stubbornly taking us down a dead-end road, so we can only look out for ourselves,” Soha said beside him. Compared to House, he was calmer and more ruthless.

They spoke without any regard for their teammates nearby, and those teammates showed no surprise at all.

“The boss contacted us,” Soha’s voice chat rang out. Seeing it was Cao Xu, he quickly answered the call.

“Has Ying Sha shown any recent activity?” A deep voice came through the voice chat.

Soha immediately became very respectful and said, “Ying Sha recently asked us to gather information and locate Kuang Zei Nie Yan’s position.”

“Then let him continue playing like this,” Cao Xu said. Ying Sha was like a stone in a toilet, smelly and hard.

Soha suddenly noticed that Ying Sha’s level had dropped one level on his friend list and exclaimed, “Ying Sha has died.”

“What happened?” Cao Xu slightly frowned.

“Don’t know,” Soha shook his head. He had just found out too.

“Go ask,” Cao Xu ordered through the voice chat.

“Yes,” Soha quickly responded.

After ending the call, Soha wiped the sweat from his forehead. Talking to a big shot like Cao Xu was still quite stressful. Ever since Ying Sha’s failed assassination of Nie Yan, Cao Xu had secretly bribed Soha, House, and others. Everyone in Dark Immortal Studio was already working for Century Corporation. Ying Sha had already been sidelined and was now a leader without followers. Ying Sha’s refusal to hand over Dark Immortal Studio to Cao Xu was just in name, as the studio was already effectively defunct and had become a vassal of Century Corporation. Soha, House, and others had been reporting Ying Sha’s every move to Cao Xu, and everything Ying Sha did, even his half-hearted compliance with Century Corporation, was known to Cao Xu. This was the terrifying aspect of Cao Xu—the capital of Century Corporation was everywhere.

Cao Xu could probably guess that Ying Sha had been eliminated by Nie Yan. Besides Nie Yan, almost no one could kill Ying Sha. People like Wang Zhe Tian Xia and Sun could at best fight Ying Sha to a draw.

After a while, Cao Xu learned from House and Soha about the agreement between Ying Sha and Nie Yan, and that Ying Sha had just been defeated by Nie Yan.

“What do you think Ying Sha will choose?” Cao Xu asked.

“Based on my years of experience, according to Ying Sha’s personality, he will never break his word,” Soha said cautiously, trying to gauge Cao Xu’s potential reaction through the voice.

“So you mean Ying Sha will follow through with his bet with Nie Yan and assassinate three people?” A cold glint flashed in Cao Xu’s eyes. Ying Sha had always been difficult to control, and with the bet between Ying Sha and Nie Yan, Ying Sha was no longer usable. As for someone who could no longer be used, he could only be completely eliminated!

“Yes,” Soha nodded.

Cao Xu was silent for a moment and then sent some messages to his subordinates. Under his arrangement, a conspiracy around Ying Sha began to unfold.

After Nie Yan eliminated Ying Sha, he knew that Wang Zhe Tian Xia and Sun had already infiltrated the guild headquarters of the Mage Alliance, watching Kuang Fa and Sheng Yan. At this time, there were at least twenty people in the meeting hall, making it impossible to find a suitable opportunity to strike. They could only patiently lie in wait.

Nie Yan headed in that direction, preparing to assist Wang Zhe Tian Xia and Sun in their operation. With Ying Sha dead, if they could successfully assassinate Kuang Fa and Sheng Yan and post the video online, what kind of sensation would that create?

A guild leader being assassinated by enemy players in the most heavily fortified stronghold of his own guild would undoubtedly be an indelible disgrace, a heavy blow to the morale of the entire Mage Alliance.

Nie Yan stealthily made his way toward the hall. Just as he was approaching the hall entrance, he suddenly received a voice call from Guo Huai.

Guo Huai contacting him at this critical moment must mean something important, so he answered the call.

“What’s up?” Nie Yan asked.

“There’s just been a message from Dao Guang. Someone from Century Corporation contacted him and sent him a five-year employment contract worth two million per year, saying that if he agreed to sign and join Century Corporation, they would provide Dao Guang with the best benefits. Dao Guang rejected them and sent the content of the agreement for me to see. Here’s the agreement, take a look. Also, Century Corporation has approached some members of our Bull Tribe guild,” Guo Huai said, sending Nie Yan the full content of the agreement Dao Guang had forwarded.

Nie Yan received the contract and read through its contents. The conditions outlined were clearly extremely favorable. Such a contract was probably only something Century Corporation could offer on such a grand scale. Nie Yan’s heart sank. The very thing he had feared the most had finally come to pass!

Large corporations like Century Corporation would obviously not be willing to be gradually pushed out of the Granady Empire by Bull Tribe. They were bound to take some action. The strongest aspect of Century Corporation was their capital. In a previous life, the once-mighty War God Tribe had collapsed under the slow erosion of Century Corporation’s capital. Would Bull Tribe follow the same path?