Chapter 714: Blazing Grenade!

Nie Yan was astonished. Yalop brought back NPCs?

What exactly had happened?

Filled with curiosity, Nie Yan hurried towards the direction of the mercenary guild in Aokulen City.

Upon arriving at the mercenary guild, Nie Yan found a large crowd of Bull Tribe players gathered inside, shoulder to shoulder.

“The leader is here.”

“Leader Nie Yan is here.”

When Nie Yan arrived, everyone stepped aside. Finally, Nie Yan saw Yalop, who was just exiting the mercenary guild.

Yalop stood a head taller than the average player, making him very noticeable. Even more striking, however, was the group of twenty to thirty burly men following behind him. They stood like iron towers, exuding a heavy pressure.

Nie Yan even doubted whether these men might have Barbarian bloodlines.

“Respected master, they are my brothers. We once conquered various tribes of Abernathy together. After I was captured by Sampur, they were expelled by Kawanath. Since learning that I have come to Aokulen, they have willingly followed me,” Yalop explained.

Nie Yan used his Super Insight ability to check the attributes of these burly men. Most were elite NPCs at levels 160-170, with five of them matching Yalop at level 180 elite.

This was truly a case of luck falling from the sky. Nie Yan was genuinely delighted to learn that all these NPCs had already joined the city guard of Aokulen.

“Yalop, from now on, you will be the commander of the First Legion of Aokulen’s city guard. The First Legion will have a total of 500 troops under your sole command,” Nie Yan declared solemnly.

When Yalop lifted his head, his eyes suddenly sparkled with excitement.

“Thank you, respected master. I, Yalop, swear in the name of the grassland god Beikapei, that I will not betray your trust,” Yalop said, bowing deeply.

A cheer erupted from behind Yalop.

Nie Yan counted and found that there were 28 people who came with Yalop. All were warriors, wearing tattered clothes and exposing sun-darkened skin covered with terrible scars.

“Give them some healing and equip them with the best gear. Bring over the two Rock Set components for Yalop,” Nie Yan instructed Wu Dao.

Quickly, Wu Dao and Ballad of the Knight brought a pile of equipment and distributed it to Yalop and the others. After receiving the gear, the NPCs looked completely refreshed and were even more grateful to Nie Yan. When these hulking warriors donned full sets of metal armor, their presence became even more imposing.

So far, Aokulen had recruited 136 NPC guards. As Aokulen continued to develop, more and more NPCs would surely join the city guard.

The next day, Nie Yan invested over ten million gold coins to upgrade Aokulen to an intermediate-level city.

To gather so much funding in such a short time and directly upgrade Aokulen to an intermediate city amazed the players with the Bull Tribe’s immense financial strength. Given the Bull Tribe’s previous performance, Aokulen was destined to become a prosperous metropolis. Teams from the Glinlan Empire and the Saatern Empire began heading to Aokulen, all eager to strike it rich in the city.

News of Aokulen’s growing city guard quickly reached Qin Han.

Nie Yan’s actions were quite bold, and gradually, Qin Han could no longer remain calm. Unable to directly strike Aokulen, which was far away on the Abernathy Grassland, he shifted his focus to the Bull Tribe’s stronghold in Karol City. The stronghold began facing frequent attacks from skeleton armies. The Bull Tribe, using various strongholds as bases, resisted fiercely.

The war of attrition continued, and the longer it dragged on, the more advantageous it became for the Bull Tribe. Nie Yan wasn’t in a hurry to confront Qin Han directly. As long as the Bull Tribe could hold their strongholds, Qin Han’s skeleton army would be like a lion facing a hedgehog—powerless to strike. Nie Yan understood that Qin Han was preparing for a massive offensive. Before that, Nie Yan needed to accumulate enough strength for a decisive battle.

More and more NPCs poured into Aokulen, and numerous commercial associations successfully established themselves there, further boosting the city’s popularity.

“Leader Nie Yan, several guilds from the Abernathy Grasslands are requesting to establish their headquarters in our Aokulen City. Should we approve?” Ballad of the Knight inquired. After arriving in Aokulen, he had taken on the responsibility of managing the city’s affairs.

“Which guilds are they?” Nie Yan inquired. As Aokulen progressed, numerous guilds would inevitably attempt to establish their presence there. Nie Yan had limited knowledge about the Abernathy Grasslands, possessing only a vague comprehension.

The Abernathy Grasslands were somewhat different from other regions. Here, people from both the Glenham Empire and the Saatern Empire coexisted. On the streets of Aokulen, humans and beastmen walked side by side. Most were transient visitors, coming to the grasslands for quests or to level up, with few staying for long. Nie Yan couldn’t say exactly how many guilds were active in these grasslands or how many were merely passing through.

The guilds that had long resided here naturally wanted to secure guild headquarters upon seeing Aokulen’s rise.

“Over twenty guilds have submitted applications. Some have even made unreasonable demands, like requesting street-front locations for their guild headquarters,” Ballad of the Knight said, clearly annoyed by these guilds. These guilds, relying on their influence in the Abernathy Prairie, tried to pressure the Bull Tribe. However, given the Bull Tribe’s strength, how could they be intimidated? Still, out of a sense of responsibility, Ballad of the Knight suppressed his anger and reported the matter to Nie Yan.

Ballad of the Knight sent Nie Yan a list. Nie Yan glanced through it and found detailed information on twenty-five guilds, from both the Glinlan Empire and the Saatern Empire. The largest guild had 170,000 members, while the smallest had only over 2,000. Together, these twenty-five guilds totaled over 700,000 members.

Nie Yan was somewhat surprised that so many players were active on the Abernathy Grassland.

After some thought, Nie Yan realized that most of these guilds interacted with various tribes on the grasslands, operating near tribal camps. Due to its location at the border of the Glinlan and Saatern Empires, the grasslands had a thriving commercial and mercenary industry, which attracted many players.

“Inform them that they are permitted to establish themselves here and set up their guild headquarters, but street-front locations are strictly off-limits. They must adhere to Aokulen’s regulations. Any guild wishing to operate within Aokulen must sign a mutual defense pact. Should Aokulen face an attack, they are obligated to assist in its defense. If they no longer desire to survive on the Abernathy Grasslands, the Bull Tribe will not hesitate to expel them. Let there be no doubt about the Bull Tribe’s capability,” Nie Yan stated. He recognized that yielding to these guilds would only embolden them, making them perceive the Bull Tribe as fearful and inviting further demands. Although the Bull Tribe’s main forces were still mobilizing to confront Qin Han’s undead army, they could not afford to display any weakness toward these minor guilds. While currently unable to divert resources for a confrontation, the Bull Tribe’s imposing presence must remain uncompromised.

Ballad of the Knight was exhilarated after hearing Nie Yan’s words. He nodded and went to reply to those guilds.

About an hour later, Ballad of the Knight reported back. Sixteen guilds had agreed to sign the mutual defense treaty and stationed themselves in Aokulen, while several large guilds refused.

Nie Yan checked the numbers and found that the sixteen guilds that had joined totaled around 360,000 members. He noticed that the Dark Chant guild, which he had encountered during the Ape King battle, was among them. The influx of these guilds would significantly boost Aokulen’s population.

Nie Yan received over 200 Flame Bombs crafted by Ziyan.

Each Flame Bomb was two inches long, with a pointed, spindle-shaped front resembling a miniature rocket. The entire device was made of dark golden metal. Flame Bombs were quite dangerous; contact with water or violent impacts could trigger explosions. The attack power of Flame Bombs could even seriously damage high-level bosses, making them extremely potent items.

Nie Yan modified the Flame Bombs slightly. He took some top-grade arrows and attached the Flame Bombs to their tips, creating special arrows.

After finishing these modifications, Nie Yan had an idea. Aokulen was developing quickly and steadily. He could afford some time to level up.

“Knight, send me a list of all the bosses on the Abernathy Prairie, including their locations,” Nie Yan messaged Ballad of the Knight.

“Got it. I’ll have it ready in five minutes,” Ballad of the Knight replied.

Less than three minutes later, Ballad of the Knight sent the information: “Boss, all the boss details are here.”

Nie Yan examined the map sent by Ballad of the Knight. It was a detailed map of the Abernathy Grassland, clearly marking the locations and coordinates of every boss, with all the boss details neatly compiled into a document.

Nie Yan smiled in satisfaction. Ballad of the Knight’s work was indeed reliable.

With this information, Nie Yan summoned his Darkwing Dragon and leapt onto its back.

The Darkwing Dragon flapped its wings and soared into the sky, flying westward over the Abernathy Grassland.

The first target was a level 160 boss—the Abernathy Ragebear.

This Savage Bear was a tank-type boss, and Nie Yan had heard of its reputation. In a previous life, several of his friends had joined a raid group to fight the Savage Bear, but they wiped multiple times before giving up. Nie Yan himself had never come to Abernathy before—it was too far, and the round trip would waste too much time.

This time, he planned to take on the Savage Bear alone—a feat no one else would dare to attempt.