Chapter 751: Divine Artifact – Paternoster Warhammer!

Paternoster Warhammer: Artifact.

Requirements: Strength 60,000, Agility 9,000, Divine Might 300 (Unusable).

Item Description: Off-hand item, Artifact of the Beast King.

Attributes: Attack 39,000, Attack Bonus 500%, Strength +350%, 60% chance to cause Thunder Stun effect, 30% chance to cause Frost Freeze effect, All Warrior Skills, Thunder and Ice Magic Level +10. Additional Skill: Thunder God’s Hammer—hurls a Thunder Elemental Hammer causing 60 seconds of stun to the target and piercing Sacred Armor, with a 10-minute cooldown.

For the item holder: All attributes increased by 30%. Usable Skill: Frost Guardian—summons a field of ice to encase oneself, entering an invincible state lasting up to 30 minutes, which can be canceled at will. During this time, the user cannot attack others. Cooldown period: two full days.

This item cannot be stored and will drop upon death.

Nie Yan examined the Paternoster Warhammer’s attributes, feeling somewhat shocked. He immediately took out the Death Scythe. These two items were obviously of the same caliber, and for now, both remained unusable. The immense power of these weapons left Nie Yan in awe.

Although he couldn’t use the item fully yet, the Paternoster Warhammer was somewhat different from the Death Scythe. The Death Scythe’s attributes were entirely inaccessible, whereas the Paternoster Warhammer had some usable effects, including a 30% increase to all attributes and the Frost Guardian skill. As long as the Paternoster Warhammer was placed in the backpack, these two effects would activate.

The Frost Guardian skill was a protective ability, quite powerful. It allowed Nie Yan to become immune to damage for a specific period. Thirty minutes was a very long time—long enough for all escape skills to complete their cooldown.

With a 30% increase in all attributes, Nie Yan checked his stats. His defense had reached an astonishing 28,700, his HP exceeded 37,000, and his base attack was over 12,000. With equipment bonuses, his total attack could reach 32,000.

Such stats were enough to leave many warriors speechless. Take someone like Cui Can Dao Guang (Brilliant Blade), a shield warrior, whose defense was only around 20,000.

With leather armor defense at 28,700, when calculating physical resistance, it equated to approximately 15,000 in heavy armor. Against magic damage, it was equivalent to over 26,000 in heavy armor.

In other words, Nie Yan’s resistance to magic had already far surpassed that of Brilliant Blade, while his physical defense was somewhat weaker.

As Nie Yan examined the Paternoster Warhammer, a system notification appeared.

Quest Progress—Song of the Nightingale: Take the Paternoster Warhammer to the lost city of Bartel and seek out Mephisto, who will tell you how to obtain the Assassin’s Heart.

Bartel City? Seeing this quest clue, Nie Yan furrowed his brow. He recalled that Bartel had once been a very prosperous city, but was later cursed by the legendary demon Georgia and sank beneath the earth. It should be located in the northern region of the Sa’thern Empire.

According to geographical divisions, the area beneath the northern surface of the Sa’thern Empire was the territory of the demon-blooded tribes.

It seemed he would have to go there. However, after obtaining the Paternoster Warhammer, the Song of the Nightingale quest had fully activated.

The Paternoster radiated a cold chill, and the surrounding air had become enveloped in a hazy white mist due to the extreme cold. Meanwhile, the Death Scythe exuded a dark aura that grew stronger over time. These two unique artifacts seemed almost sentient, opposing each other.

The surrounding elemental friction grew increasingly intense, tearing at everything nearby. If this force continued to increase, Nie Yan feared he wouldn’t be able to withstand it.

Quickly, he stored both items in his backpack space. Checking his inventory, he saw they had finally calmed down.

What secrets did these two artifacts hold?

Besides these two, how many other artifacts existed within Faith?

In his previous life, some players must have obtained artifacts. Artifacts were different from ordinary items, as they would drop upon death. It was likely that few players who obtained an artifact would go around boasting about it.

After staying in the Orc King’s City for a while, Nie Yan received a message from Ji Feng. It was said that a level 130 demon slayer had appeared near the Orc King’s City, destroying five or six villages already, seemingly searching for something. However, it appeared afraid to approach the Orc King’s City itself.

Upon hearing the news, Nie Yan was momentarily stunned. He hadn’t expected the demon slayer to take out its frustration on the surrounding villages after being unable to enter the Orc King’s City.

With the demon slayer’s immense power, unless a legendary NPC intervened, no one could really deal with it.

No one knew when the demon slayer would finally stop.

Suddenly, an idea struck Nie Yan. A slight smile appeared on his lips as he messaged Ji Feng: “Ji Feng, any way I can sneak into Angel Dominion’s fortress?”

“Sneak into Angel Dominion’s fortress? How long do you need to stay inside?”

“About a day or two.”

“That’s a bit difficult. Although Angel Dominion’s fortresses have a semi-open policy, they strictly prohibit random human players from entering.”

Upon hearing Ji Feng’s words, Nie Yan frowned slightly. Angel Dominion’s fortresses tightly controlled player access, making it difficult for him to sneak in. It seemed he would have to use the old method—sneak in!

“I’m planning to infiltrate Angel Dominion’s Clemency Fortress. Get me the layout map inside.”

“No way, that’s too dangerous. Guo Huai assigned me to ensure your safety. I can’t let you take such a risk,” Ji Feng replied. For ordinary players, dying a couple of times was normal—they could just resurrect. But Nie Yan, having been dubbed the “Invincible” through players’ exaggerations, was a huge loss to the Bull Tribe if he were to die.

“It’s just infiltrating a fortress. No real danger. Just send me the information. I’ll talk to Guo Huai myself.”

“Alright then,” Ji Feng reluctantly agreed after failing to dissuade him.

Angel Dominion’s main fortress had now moved to the Clemency Fortress, located north of the Orc King’s City.

It was a low-tier fortress, but its geographical position was extremely advantageous, situated at the center of Angel Dominion’s fortress cluster. Additionally, it was nestled in a canyon, with a very narrow plain in front and steep cliffs on both sides, making it extremely easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Originally, Angel Dominion’s main fortress was located at another mid-tier fortress, but as Nie Yan’s Okolen City developed, Angel Dominion’s leader, Angelic Wings, felt uneasy and moved the main base to the safer Clemency Fortress, significantly upgrading its defenses. On the high cliffs near Clemency Fortress, dense rows of arrow towers and cannons had been deployed. In terms of defensive investment, Angel Dominion’s Clemency Fortress was at least two or three times that of the Bull Tribe’s peak at Kribs Fortress, though still incomparable to Okolen City.

Soon, Ji Feng managed to obtain a very detailed layout map of Clemency Fortress, along with a topographical map of the surrounding area.

These were two very complete and meticulously drawn maps.

“Heard you’re going to Angel Dominion’s Clemency Fortress?” Guo Huai sent a message to Nie Yan.

“Yeah,” Nie Yan replied.

“Be careful. Clemency Fortress isn’t like other places. I’ve seen their layout map. It’s fortified like a hedgehog. It won’t be easy to attack. They’ve invested heavily in upgrading the fortress. Its defenses are no worse than a mid-tier fortress, and the population density is very high.”

“Don’t worry. When have I ever had any problems? Even if discovered, escaping will be easy. They won’t dare fire cannons into their own fortress.”

“I know I can’t stop you. Alright, stay in touch,” Guo Huai sighed.

Nie Yan studied the layout map and was somewhat surprised. Angel Dominion had indeed invested heavily in Clemency Fortress. Surprisingly, there was no credit-point commercial district inside, and civilian housing was minimal. Apart from the guild headquarters and a few other important buildings, the entire fortress was filled with cannons and arrow towers. There were over a thousand magical cannons alone, and countless arrow towers.

Angel Dominion’s mechanical industry was not much worse than the Bull Tribe’s. In fact, they had more members. The Bull Tribe’s advantage mainly came from having many high-tier blueprints, thanks to Nie Yan’s NPC slave who could copy blueprints.

The Bull Tribe’s catapult development was unmatched by any guild, with an extremely high production capacity. Angel Dominion, on the other hand, focused entirely on magical cannons, producing nearly 3,000 in total, distributed across various fortresses.

Looking at the defenses of Clemency Fortress, Nie Yan felt somewhat discouraged. It would not be easy to capture Angel Dominion’s fortresses in the future.

Nie Yan studied the infiltration route and prepared some necessary consumables.

“Guo Huai, send a few thieves to monitor the demon slayer’s location,” Nie Yan said. He didn’t want to be ambushed by the demon slayer en route.

Nie Yan estimated that riding the Darkwing Dragon to Clemency Fortress would take about ten to fifteen minutes. The distance wasn’t far, as long as he was slightly cautious.

Everything was ready. Nie Yan went to the outskirts of the Orc King’s City, found a relatively secluded spot, and summoned the Darkwing Dragon.

He checked the Darkwing Dragon’s status. Most of its previous injuries had healed, and it was now only lightly wounded—flying would pose no problem.

Nie Yan leaped onto the Darkwing Dragon’s back. The dragon flapped its wings, and with a whoosh, it soared into the sky.