Chapter 727: Abak’s Frostguard Pauldrons

Nie Yan had an idea. He climbed back into the tunnel and summoned the Shadow Assassin.

The Shadow Assassin was a physical unit with only basic intelligence, but Nie Yan could control it to perform many tasks.

The Shadow Assassin leaped down into the stone chamber and walked toward the stone coffin.

At this point, Nie Yan no longer hesitated and decided to use drastic measures. After all, even if the Shadow Assassin died, Nie Yan could summon it again after some time.

Under Nie Yan’s command, the Shadow Assassin stood in front of the stone coffin. A powerful surge of energy gathered in his hand. After a while, the Shadow Assassin unleashed a powerful punch toward the coffin.

With a loud explosion, the stone coffin shattered into pieces, and fragments of stone flew outward, crashing against the chamber walls.

The stone chamber violently trembled as numerous traps fired densely toward the Shadow Assassin.

Looking into the chamber, countless arrows, throwing knives, and tiny needle-like projectiles rained down like a storm.

Nie Yan could already imagine the Shadow Assassin’s fate.

Indeed, a system message appeared shortly after—indicating that the Shadow Assassin had been killed.

For a full three minutes, the traps inside the chamber did not stop firing.

In his past life, he didn’t know whether anyone had ever opened that stone coffin. To open it likely cost many lives!

After a while, the chamber finally quieted down. Nie Yan peeked inside. The room was now in complete disarray, littered with arrows, throwing knives, and needles. The stone coffin in the center had been completely destroyed.

Inside the coffin, unlike what Nie Yan had imagined—neither a corpse nor a monster was present—only some items remained. There were pieces of clothing, decayed and torn into rags. Only one item remained intact, radiating a dazzling glow.

It was a shoulder guard, woven from black silk, shimmering with metallic luster.

This was it!

Nie Yan’s gaze locked onto the item instantly. This was likely a symbolic tomb, not an ordinary burial site, containing only the deceased’s clothing.

Nie Yan still couldn’t be certain whether the chamber was safe. Thinking for a moment, he extended his left hand and shot out a strand of spider silk. The silk stuck to the shoulder guard, and with a swift pull, he retracted the silk, bringing the item into his hand.

Got it!

Nie Yan examined it closely. It was indeed an Abak item, exuding a frigid aura, as if it were made of ice.

**Abak Shoulderplate of Arctic Chill**: Required Strength 1500, Agility 1200, Level 180. (Cannot Equip)

Item Description: Only the Shadow of Order’s bearer can wear the Abak Dictator components. The full set must be worn together. Abak worships power; only sufficient strength can maintain dictatorship. Rebels shall perish!

Item Attributes: Defense +1220, Strength +500, Agility +320, Ice Resistance +300, Ice Magic Damage Reduction -30%. The wearer cannot be frozen.

This item binds to the player who holds the First Volume of the Order Scroll. It cannot be traded or dropped.

With the Arctic Chill Shoulderplate, this made the fifth piece of the Abak set. Three pieces remained. He was one step closer to completing the entire set.

The Arctic Chill Shoulderplate had impressive attributes, especially its Ice Resistance. Ordinary equipment with 50 resistance was already considered excellent. For instance, Nie Yan’s Molten Heart only provided 50 Fire Resistance. The Abak set offered 300 Ice Resistance, allowing him to completely ignore many ice-based spells. Combined with a 30% reduction in ice magic damage and immunity to freezing, these effects could completely suppress ice-wielding mages.

For rogues, ice and lightning mages were the most troublesome foes, as they belonged to the strong crowd-control class. Once touched by their ice magic, one would be immobilized. Especially against Archmages, if hit by their ice magic, it was practically game over. However, with the Arctic Chill Shoulderplate, ice Archmages posed no threat to Nie Yan. Even if their control spells landed, they couldn’t freeze him.

A great item—Nie Yan liked this Arctic Chill Shoulderplate more than other set components.

Such an item was not only useful in PvP but also played a significant role in certain specific quests.

Nie Yan stored the Abak Shoulderplate of Arctic Chill away and checked his inventory. He couldn’t use a random teleport scroll here and would have to return the way he came. Fortunately, the traps along the path had already been disabled, so his journey back should be safe.

Along the way, Guo Huai sent Nie Yan a message: “Where are you now?”

“I’m doing a quest in the Sacred Mountains. What’s up? Did something happen?” Nie Yan asked, wondering if there was an issue with the guild.

“Not really. I have some news for you. In the eastern and southern regions of the Grelan Empire, we’ve spotted members of the Demonkin tribes and the Undead Empire. They probably came up from underground and had some conflicts with our people. Fortunately, our side wasn’t harmed. However, there’s one thing to note: recently, more and more Demonkin and Undead have been reaching the surface. Could it be that the underground passage has been opened? Also, Sun, Kingly Domain, Tang Yao, and thirteen others want to go underground. They’re asking if you’d like to join.”

“Demonkin tribes and the Undead Empire?” Nie Yan recalled. Considering the timeline, the expansion packs like “Undead Vengeance” had started much earlier in this life. It was possible that the underground passage had indeed been opened.

“It’s fine. Even if the underground passage is open, it’s still difficult for large numbers of Demonkin and Undead to reach the surface. They won’t pose a threat to us. Those who come up are just giving us more glory. Tell Sun and the others I don’t have time to go underground recently. I’m planning to visit the Saten Empire tomorrow. Let them go ahead.”

Hearing Nie Yan’s explanation, Guo Huai felt reassured and asked, “You’re going to Saten Empire. Do you want Sun and the others to accompany you for safety?”

“No need. I’m just doing a quest, not looking for trouble with Angel Dominion. Too many people would draw too much attention.” Nie Yan replied. He was going to complete the Rogue’s Heart quest. Though alone, it wouldn’t be easy for Angel Dominion to hunt him down.

“Alright, be careful then.” Guo Huai thought for a moment. Since Nie Yan had already made his decision, he must have a plan.

“If Sun and the others go underground and end up in the Undead Empire, let them contact Angel Fall. I’ll give them the trading method. Tell them to bring some rare underground items that are cheap on the surface and return with valuable goods.” Nie Yan said. This trade route had once helped Bull Tribe through tough times, and he wouldn’t forget it.

“Got it. I’ll handle it right away.” Guo Huai nodded. As for equipment, he could simply take from the guild warehouse, which was overflowing with gear of all kinds.

Thinking about Angel Fall in the Undead Empire, Nie Yan smiled slightly. He was actually looking forward to the underground passage opening. He had an informal agreement with Duo Duo, the leader of Angel Fall, that once the passage opened, they would fight Angel Dominion together.

Angel Fall was a powerful force in the Undead Empire, rivaling Angel Dominion and Bull Tribe. If Angel Fall and Bull Tribe cooperated, Angel Dominion would have no chance. However, Nie Yan understood this was a strategy of using one tiger to devour another. The Undead Empire and Grelan Empire were opposing factions and would eventually clash. If Angel Dominion fell, and their common enemy disappeared, the future relationship between Angel Fall and Bull Tribe would be unpredictable.

Still, Nie Yan had his own thoughts. Angel Dominion and Century Financial Group were their greatest enemies. If they clashed with Angel Fall, it would be a faction conflict. He could mobilize Grelan Empire’s NPC armies to fight back, making it relatively safe.

Guo Huai relayed Nie Yan’s response to Sun and the others. The group of fourteen prepared and set off underground. With fourteen top-tier players, even in the depths below, few could threaten them. Therefore, Nie Yan felt confident about their safety.

Nie Yan exited the tomb, carefully using stealth to avoid the Dark Followers.

Since his disguise as a gnome had been dispelled, avoiding these Dark Followers had become relatively more difficult.

More than ten Dark Followers wandered around, only five or six yards away. The dark aura emanating from them seemed to be observing everything, giving Nie Yan the feeling of being completely exposed.

It was extremely hard to pass without being noticed. Nie Yan’s heart sank. He decided to activate Wind Walk and sprinted forward.

His speed suddenly increased, and his figure blurred past.

The Dark Followers immediately noticed Nie Yan and waved their staves.

**Dark Binding!**

**Shadow Entanglement!**

One skill after another flew toward Nie Yan. If he were caught by these skills, he would be immobilized.

Just as the shadowy tendrils were about to ensnare him, Nie Yan activated a Death Save to block the skills.

Suddenly, a black swamp appeared in front of Nie Yan, covering an area of about a dozen yards.

Nie Yan halted his steps. One more step forward would plunge him into the deep swamp. With pursuers behind, he couldn’t afford any hesitation. He quickly leaped, soaring over twenty yards, clearing the swamp. As soon as he landed, he activated Shadow Step, vanishing from the Dark Followers’ sight.

The Dark Followers tried to pursue but could no longer find Nie Yan’s trail.

Mission accomplished, Nie Yan looked back at the distant Dark Followers and smiled slightly. He quickly ran toward the exit of the dimensional space.

Nie Yan stepped into the crevice. When he looked back, the entrance to the dimensional space had already vanished without a trace.