The Ape King roared furiously, raised his fist, and spun around, unleashing a whirlwind of punches. CuiCanDaoGuang, ShuiSeYanTou, and Lei Su, caught off guard by the attack, were sent flying backward.
As the Ape King was about to break free, Nie Yan commanded the Golden Earth Dragon to charge forward.
With a loud crash, the two massive creatures collided.
The Ape King continuously attacked the Golden Earth Dragon with punches, while the Golden Earth Dragon retaliated fiercely with its claws.
Counterattack Storm!
Counterattack Storm!
A series of whirlwinds erupted around the Golden Earth Dragon. Due to the high attack frequency of the Ape King, the Golden Earth Dragon’s Counterattack Storm was triggered more easily, and its damage output was quite significant.
The Golden Earth Dragon had a large amount of health, and with the support of the Paladin Lefus, it could withstand the Ape King for a while without major issues.
The Golden Earth Dragon bought some time for CuiCanDaoGuang, ShuiSeYanTou, and Lei Su, who immediately regrouped and surrounded the Ape King, pinning it down tightly.
Execute!
Execute!
CuiCanDaoGuang and the others did not give up. Although the success rate of Execute was very low, it still had some effect. With continuous attempts, success would eventually come!
Infernal Execute!
Infernal Execute!
Nie Yan unleashed a series of Infernal Execute attacks. The flames of Zennarad’s sword flared up as he slashed at the Ape King repeatedly.
A damage number of -352,098 floated above the Ape King’s head. It let out a mournful cry, staggered backward, and fell heavily to the ground.
“It worked! Whose Execute was it?” BadmanwhoCantBeKilled excitedly asked in the party chat.
“Boss Nie Yan’s!”
A crisp system prompt sounded. Nie Yan checked his current level—it was already level 109. Recently, he had been busy managing guild affairs. Before that, after grinding skeletons for a few levels, his level had remained stagnant. It was time to start leveling up again.
The Ape King’s massive corpse lay on the ground like a hill.
Nie Yan picked up three pieces of equipment from beneath the Ape King’s body. Two of them were for warriors: one was a level 180 Rock Armor, an artifact of sub-legendary quality, and the other was a level 180 Rock Gauntlet, also sub-legendary. Both were excellent items. The remaining item was a green crystal.
What surprised Nie Yan was that it turned out to be a Dialysis Crystal.
Dialysis Crystals were extremely rare, with a very low drop rate. In the past, only bosses of level 180 or higher had a drop rate of one in several thousand.
Dialysis Crystals were nearly priceless treasures in the market. Nie Yan didn’t fully understand their uses, but he did know one thing: they were an important medium for master alchemists crafting Inferno Bombs.
Ziyan of the Niuren Tribe, with the assistance of large amounts of raw materials provided by the guild and the Suyuan Necklace, had already reached the rare Master level, an unparalleled achievement in both the Granland and Saturn Empires.
The task of crafting Inferno Bombs would now fall to Ziyan.
If Ziyan could craft Inferno Bombs, Nie Yan would have a strong motivation to start leveling up again. Inferno Bombs were an excellent tool for leveling, known as the most powerful magical item for single-target damage.
However, crafting Inferno Bombs was very costly, requiring at least a thousand gold coins worth of raw materials.
But for Nie Yan, spending a thousand gold coins for one Inferno Bomb was still a very worthwhile investment.
Thinking about this, Nie Yan couldn’t help but feel eager. He sent a list to Guo Huai, instructing him to start gathering the materials.
“Rock Armor and Rock Gauntlets—could this be a set?”
“It probably is. If we farm the Ape King a bit more, we might be able to get a full Rock Set.”
As they chatted, the Rock Armor and Rock Gauntlets were temporarily stored in the Niuren Tribe’s guild warehouse. Even if each item had three gems embedded to reduce the level requirement, these two items still required a minimum level of 150 to use. They were still far from reaching level 150.
Seeing the Ape King fall, the members of Hei’an Yin Chang felt very reluctant but were helpless. One by one, they left in disappointment.
“Younan, let’s go,” Canong sighed, looking toward the distance. Those thirteen figures were mythical beings admired by countless people, while they were merely ordinary individuals lost in the crowd. There would probably be no intersection between them in the future.
“In the end, they were the ones who saved us. Regardless, I should go up and thank them,” Yue Younan said. She had principles. Although the mood from the failed raid on the Ape King was bad, she still believed in clearly distinguishing gratitude from resentment.
Yue Younan walked toward Nie Yan and his group.
“That girl is coming over,” BadmanwhoCantBeKilled glanced at Yue Younan approaching and said in the party chat.
“She’s pretty. Are you interested?” Desire smiled.
“She probably has a boyfriend already. Didn’t you see her being all sweet with that guy earlier? I’m not going to do anything underhanded like stealing someone’s girlfriend,” BadmanwhoCantBeKilled shrugged.
They were just chatting casually. A few single guys with no girlfriends could only relieve their boredom this way. When Yue Younan arrived nearby, they stopped discussing the topic.
“Is there anything I can help you with?” Nie Yan asked, glancing at Yue Younan. She wore silver-white armor and exuded a sharp, capable aura. Nie Yan had a good impression of her, though it was nothing more than appreciation.
“Thank you just now. If it weren’t for your timely intervention, more of Hei’an Yin Chang would have died,” Yue Younan said sincerely.
Nie Yan smiled and replied, “It was nothing.”
As Yue Younan wanted to say more, Nie Yan didn’t take the matter seriously at all and had never expected any reward. He turned around and shouted, “Alright, everyone, let’s wrap it up.”
“Got it!”
One by one, flying mounts were summoned. They mounted them and soared into the sky.
A strong gust of wind caused Yue Younan to take a few steps back. Looking up, she saw the Darkwing Dragons, Phoenixes, and other flying mounts flapping their wings, flying further and further away.
What a powerful lineup—dragons, phoenixes, and Royal Griffins, dazzling to the eye.
In a short while, Nie Yan and his group had already left, vanishing into the horizon.
Yue Younan stood there for a while, her thoughts in disarray. After a long time, she calmed down and turned to Canong and the others, saying, “Let’s go.”
Soon after, everyone nearby had completely dispersed.
Nie Yan and his group returned to Okolen, placed the two newly acquired pieces of equipment into the guild warehouse, and had someone deliver the Dialysis Crystal to Ziyan.
When Nie Yan and his group left Okolen to hunt the Ape King, Yaluop had temporarily left due to an urgent matter. Nie Yan didn’t stop him. These NPCs had their own thoughts. If he restrained Yaluop, he was worried it might affect Yaluop’s loyalty toward him.
Since Yaluop hadn’t returned yet, Nie Yan felt some concern. Could that guy have secretly gone to Kawanas?
Thinking about it, Yaluop probably wouldn’t be that foolish. If he went to Kawanas alone, it would be suicide! After escaping from Kawanas, he shouldn’t return so soon.
Nie Yan decided to wait and see. If Yaluop still didn’t return, he would have to send someone to look for him.
During Nie Yan’s absence from Okolen, more and more NPCs entered the city—some were refugees fleeing hardship, others were various tribes from different regions. Some planned to settle in Okolen for a long time, while others intended to stay temporarily before leaving.
In any case, Okolen was becoming increasingly lively.
Players who had been active in the Abernathy Grasslands, upon learning about Okolen City, also flocked there. They conducted various trades in the city, purchasing supplies from NPCs. Since Nie Yan hadn’t started collecting taxes yet, all transactions in the city were tax-free, making it very affordable.
Okolen City’s popularity quickly rose, with more and more pedestrians filling the streets.
Nie Yan was very satisfied with this. Additionally, after posting high-paying recruitment notices for NPC guards at the Mercenary Guild, NPCs finally started applying. The applicants were mostly wanderers, not very high-level—around 130 to 140, but they were elite warriors with decent combat abilities, much stronger than ordinary players. They could temporarily serve as guards. Although Nie Yan wasn’t very satisfied with these applicants, the recruitment cost was low—only ten gold coins per day.
With such a low recruitment cost, Nie Yan could hire as many as he wanted without worrying about numbers. If he could recruit a thousand, two thousand, or even more NPCs, such a force would be formidable.
To attract more NPCs, Nie Yan not only posted notices in Okolen City but also in other Mercenary Guilds across the Granland and Saturn Empires, hoping to draw more NPCs to Okolen.
After Nie Yan’s large-scale NPC recruitment news spread, it caused panic among Angel Empire, Mone Financial Group, and Century Financial Group. If Nie Yan formed an NPC army, they would be the first target. Fighting against a group of players was manageable, but facing a fully armed group of NPCs—how could they fight such a battle? They were closely monitoring the effectiveness of Niuren Tribe’s recruitment notices.
Nie Yan offered very high salaries, prompting many NPCs who had struggled in other cities to consider moving to Okolen. They packed their bags and set off from various cities.
As many NPCs from major cities expressed interest in moving to Okolen, many players also began considering developing there, especially some commercial associations eyeing Okolen’s market.
The thirteen individuals each went their separate ways to handle their own affairs. Nie Yan was just thinking about finding a place to level up and prepared some consumables before setting out.
“Boss, Yaluop is back!” Wudao rushed in, panting.
“Where is he?” Nie Yan asked. Yaluop was back—why was Wudao in such a hurry?
“At the Mercenary Guild,” Wudao said, unable to suppress his joy and excitement.
“What is he doing at the Mercenary Guild?” Nie Yan asked, puzzled.
“He brought back a huge group of NPCs! Dozens of burly men, all warriors!” Wudao stammered in excitement.
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