Seeing some of the posts, Nie Yan sneered coldly. The Sacred Guardians had no skill in battle, but they were quite diligent in posting online. In contrast, the Tribe of Elites remained relatively low-key on the forums. Nie Yan had always believed in letting strength speak for itself, and this attitude had subtly influenced the players in the Tribe of Elites, who rarely engaged in flame wars on forums.
After reading several posts, Nie Yan was provoked into anger and decided to write a post himself under his own name. The title of the post was “List of Sacred Guardians’ Deaths, Posted by the Rampant Thief Nie Yan.”
The post listed names one by one: Sheng Yan, Kuang Fa, Xue Kuangdao, Po Tian, and others were all clearly listed, along with some other well-known figures within the Sacred Guardians.
When this post was published on the forum, players were quite surprised upon opening it. They couldn’t understand what Nie Yan meant by posting such a list. Sheng Yan, Kuang Fa, and others were still alive and well, commanding the Sacred Guardians in a relentless pursuit and encirclement of Nie Yan and his group within the Kruks Fortress.
Although they didn’t understand Nie Yan’s intentions, many people replied and followed up on the post simply because it was from Nie Yan, pushing the post to the top of the forum. Some players speculated that Nie Yan might be planning to target these individuals. However, in their opinion, Nie Yan and his companions were in a very unfavorable position; escaping might be a problem in itself, let alone hunting down and killing Sheng Yan and the others.
At this moment, Sheng Yan had dispatched five or six hundred of the Sacred Guardians’ top experts swiftly moving toward the location of Tang Yao, Xie Yao, and others. The number of players in the square had significantly decreased.
“The Rampant Thief Nie Yan has posted something on the forum,” Kuang Fa said from the side.
Hearing Kuang Fa’s words, Sheng Yan opened the forum with some confusion. Upon seeing Nie Yan’s post, he immediately became furious, sneering, “Nie Yan is too arrogant! Does he think Kruks is his own home?” The intent behind the death list Nie Yan had posted was already crystal clear—he wanted to kill all of them within this fortress.
“There’s even our names on it. Do you think Nie Yan will actually come?” Xue Kuangdao said, actually curious to see how Nie Yan planned to kill them.
Nie Yan noticed the significant decrease in the number of players in the square and decided it was time to act.
Hidden in an alley, Nie Yan chanted a spell. A golden glow flashed, and the Golden Earth Dragon was summoned.
The Golden Earth Dragon let out a low, rumbling dragon roar and spewed a jet of dragon breath toward the players in the square.
Several players closest to the Golden Earth Dragon had no time to react before being hit by the dragon breath. They let out piercing screams as the scorching breath instantly melted them away.
“It’s the Golden Earth Dragon! Nie Yan is here!”
The players in the square were immediately thrown into panic and chaos. A large group of shielded warriors rushed toward the Golden Earth Dragon.
Sheng Yan and others noticed the commotion at the square’s corner and looked toward the distance. The massive Golden Earth Dragon appeared in their field of view, and their expressions turned grim. Nie Yan had indeed arrived as expected.
Sheng Yan and others looked at each other in shock. Sheng Yan gritted his teeth and said, “We can’t let him be so arrogant. Let’s find an opportunity to take him down!”
Sheng Yan glanced into his backpack, where dozens of high-level scrolls and some totem items were stored. He said, “I’ll give you a few scrolls; use them when the time comes.” Sheng Yan understood that tracking Nie Yan’s movements would be extremely difficult. Intercepting the Rampant Thief Nie Yan was a huge challenge for them, and they could only rely on magical items.
After glancing at the Golden Earth Dragon at the edge of the square, Sheng Yan summoned two flying mounts to block the Golden Earth Dragon. He knew the Golden Earth Dragon’s reputation well. He realized that sending regular players to confront it would be tantamount to suicide—they would be slaughtered without even being able to inflict real damage. Only flying mounts could handle it. They would use the flying mounts to tank the Golden Earth Dragon while the mages launched a collective assault to take it down.
After confirming that the two flying mounts were in position, Sheng Yan began organizing players around him to set traps and plant totemic items, intending to lure and kill Nie Yan.
The Golden Earth Dragon had drawn the attention of some Sacred Guardians, making the defenses around Sheng Yan relatively weak.
Nie Yan observed Sheng Yan hastily setting something up. A red glint flashed in his eyes—True Sight!
Invisible totems appeared on the ground around Sheng Yan and his group. It was clear that these guys had already prepared, waiting for him to appear.
Nie Yan sneered coldly. Did they really think he would foolishly walk into their trap?
He took out the Headless Horseman Dolo’s Crossbow from his backpack and aimed at Sheng Yan in the center of the square. He estimated the distance—about two hundred yards. His crossbow’s range was only one hundred twenty yards, so he planned to kill Sheng Yan and his group with long-range attacks.
Who said rogues had to attack up close? Who said rogues couldn’t kill with ranged attacks?
Under normal circumstances, the damage from a rogue’s bow or crossbow was extremely limited, only suitable for luring monsters. However, Nie Yan’s enhanced Headless Horseman Dolo’s Crossbow completely broke this rule. With a range of one hundred twenty yards, it could easily ignore their traps.
After the Golden Earth Dragon slaughtered over a hundred players, it was entangled by a Wind Serpent and a Thunder Eagle, temporarily unable to deal effective damage. However, with the Golden Earth Dragon’s terrifying health, it could still hold out for about ten to fifteen minutes.
Nie Yan stealthily approached Sheng Yan’s location. The distance between them gradually decreased from two hundred yards to about one hundred twenty yards. Sheng Yan was now within attack range! At a point less than five yards from where Nie Yan stood, there were more than ten Sacred Guardians players, scanning the area with their eyes, but they completely failed to notice Nie Yan, who was right beside them.
With their perception, even if Nie Yan approached within two yards, they wouldn’t detect him while he was hidden.
After setting the traps, Sheng Yan and his group still couldn’t detect Nie Yan, scanning the entire square.
“Could it be that Nie Yan is too scared to come?” Xue Kuangdao said.
“It shouldn’t be. Based on Nie Yan’s personality, he wouldn’t break his own word,” Sheng Yan replied. His nerves were still extremely tense, already simulating countless tactics in his mind on how to hunt down Nie Yan here.
Seeing that Nie Yan remained inactive, Sheng Yan gradually withdrew the surrounding players in small groups. He understood that these people couldn’t stop Nie Yan at all—they were just a burden. If Nie Yan didn’t show up, all the traps they had set here would be for nothing.
As Sheng Yan turned to say something to Kuang Fa and others, slightly distracted, Nie Yan seized this fleeting moment. He aimed at Sheng Yan’s throat and pulled the trigger.
Swoosh! Five arrows flew through the air in a straight line, speeding toward Sheng Yan.
After the shot, Nie Yan’s figure briefly appeared. But before the nearby Sacred Guardians players could react, he re-entered stealth, swiftly moving dozens of yards away. He took out five more arrows from his backpack, loaded them into the crossbow, and pulled the trigger again. His movements were as smooth as flowing water.
The Sacred Guardians players saw Nie Yan’s figure flicker past and used skills like Light Spell and Divine Eye to locate him, but Nie Yan seemed to vanish into thin air, leaving no trace.
“Sheng Yan, watch out!” Kuang Fa and others noticed the incoming arrows and cried out in alarm.
Instinctively turning his head, Sheng Yan spotted five arrows speeding toward him. His heart leapt in alarm. He heard several thuds as the arrows struck the protective barrier around him. After the third arrow, the barrier wavered slightly, and the fourth and fifth arrows pierced through it.
“Radiant Shield!”
Sheng Yan waved his staff, casting a shield spell on himself. With two loud pops, the shield was also penetrated. The fifth arrow struck Sheng Yan directly.
A damage number over 6,000 floated above his head.
What an astonishing attack! Sheng Yan couldn’t help but feel a chill in his heart.
His shield had a 70% damage reduction effect, yet Nie Yan’s arrow still dealt over 6,000 damage. It was simply unbelievable.
Weren’t rogues’ bows and arrows supposed to be incapable of killing people?
Qin Han had previously been killed by Nie Yan’s crossbow, but he was too embarrassed to tell Sheng Yan and others about it. Therefore, Sheng Yan and his group had no idea about the power of Nie Yan’s Headless Horseman Dolo’s Crossbow, leaving them unprepared.
Before Sheng Yan could recover, another five arrows shot toward him.
“Boss, watch out!” A warrior nearby noticed the danger, activated a defensive stance, and stood in front of Sheng Yan.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Three arrows struck him. Damage numbers floated above his head—two over 10,000 and one over 20,000. He was instantly killed.
The warrior died without understanding how such terrifying damage could result from only three arrows.
Nie Yan’s attacks never ceased, and his firing rate was astonishingly fast.
Several Sacred Guardians players around Sheng Yan tried to shield him and were successively killed by Nie Yan’s arrows.
As three arrows shot toward his forehead, Sheng Yan rolled to the ground. The arrows passed just an inch above his head, making him feel his scalp tingle. He had narrowly escaped death.
Before he could stand up, more arrows flew toward him. He couldn’t help but curse inwardly—what the hell kind of attack rate was this!
Nie Yan was shooting from over a hundred yards away, giving him time to dodge. If they were closer, he would have been dead already.
As he was about to be hit again, Sheng Yan quickly turned his head. Two arrows whizzed past his cheek.
“Damn it…” Sheng Yan had just started cursing when another arrow pierced through his throat, and yet another struck his forehead, exiting from the back of his head. The powerful momentum sent his body flying.
-8921, -17382.
A massive critical hit number floated above Sheng Yan’s head. His health was depleted, and he fell to the ground.
Sheng Yan’s quick demise left Kuang Fa and others stunned and at a loss.
Seeing this, Nie Yan revealed a cold, sinister smile. This was the first one! He re-entered stealth and vanished without a trace.
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