Nie Yan received news that the attacks from Angel’s Fall towards Angel’s Domain had become increasingly frequent, even escalating to massive battles involving tens of thousands of players. The two factions fought fiercely, locked in life-or-death struggles. From time to time, Cowherd Tribe would intervene, sending several tens of thousands of troops to engage Angel’s Domain and Century Financial Group in battles.
Players from both the Empire of Griland and the Empire of Saturn sensed something unusual in the air. It seemed Cowherd Tribe was likely preparing to strike against Angel’s Domain and Century Financial Group. If a full-scale war erupted, it would be an unprecedented battle. Both sides were dominant powers in the empires, boasting massive memberships and numerous branches. The number of players directly involved could reach into the millions. Eventually, the entire interests of Griland and Saturn would be affected, leaving no one untouched.
The frequent conflicts had caused tensions to escalate continuously, filling the air between the two empires with an intense sense of impending war.
What puzzled many players was that although several skirmishes had occurred within Saturn Empire, Angel’s Domain had not launched any strong counterattacks, maintaining a defensive posture instead. High-ranking members of Angel’s Domain had rarely appeared in public for over a month, and even regular members of Angel’s Domain were unaware of the whereabouts of players like Angelic Wings.
Angel’s Fall had established several small towns as bases, gradually advancing and expanding the war. They were already operating near the edge of a fortress and were preparing to attack it.
Angel’s Fall and Angel’s Domain were bitter rivals, with even their guild names carrying a sense of hostility. Their conflict was irreconcilable. With Angel’s Fall as a powerful ally, Cowherd Tribe had significantly fewer problems to deal with.
Nie Yan had just received news that seven top-tier classes from Angel’s Fall were preparing to arrive at the surface through underground tunnels. Top-tier classes from the Empire of the Dead were commonly referred to as “Wu.” These Wu classes were as valuable as the top-tier classes of Griland and Saturn Empires, far superior to the Silver Wings of the Demon Tribe. In total, the Empire of the Dead had only thirteen Wu classes, yet Angel’s Fall alone possessed seven, making them exceptionally formidable.
The arrival of these seven Wu classes on the surface would certainly give Angel’s Domain quite a headache.
While issuing orders to Cowherd Tribe players to head to Saturn Empire and harass Angel’s Domain, Nie Yan also instructed promising members of the guild to focus on leveling up and completing dungeons to improve their levels and equipment. The war between Cowherd Tribe and Angel’s Domain would be a prolonged one, and only those who endured until the end would emerge victorious. Therefore, maintaining an advantage in levels and equipment was crucial. They needed to continue expanding their strengths and gradually erode Angel’s Domain’s power.
Since Angel’s Domain was maintaining a defensive stance, Nie Yan had no intention of launching a large-scale offensive at the moment. After all, Saturn Empire was Angel’s Domain and Century Financial Group’s stronghold, developed over a long period and not easily shaken. There was an old saying: “Even a mighty dragon cannot overpower the local snakes.” If Nie Yan were to enter Saturn Empire, he had to consider the consequences should he suffer defeat.
Approximately 300,000 active members of Cowherd Tribe were already operating in Saturn Empire. Additionally, under the leadership of Sanjie Buliu, the Heaven’s Song Guild in Saturn Empire was steadily growing. They could gradually weaken Angel’s Domain’s power from within.
Other than these developments, nothing major had occurred in either Saturn or Griland Empires over the past month.
On the cliffs of the Golin Mountains, a figure dashed across protruding rocks. To him, the steep cliffs were as easy to traverse as flat ground.
This figure was none other than Nie Yan. He had been searching the Golin Mountains for over a week now. The jeweler Orphine from the city of Flame had told Nie Yan that during a delivery, he had been robbed by bandits in the Golin Mountains. All his goods, including the Abak Focus Legguards, had been stolen. With no further leads, Nie Yan had no choice but to search the Golin Mountains himself. He had spent nearly a month in this mountain range, leveling up while searching for the Focus Legguards. Although he had yet to find any trace of the Focus Legguards, his level had risen to around 86%, nearing the next level.
The Golin Mountains were filled with creatures around level 180, including numerous elites and lords. Occasionally, massive flying creatures soared overhead, making the area extremely dangerous. Nie Yan could not mobilize a large number of Cowherd Tribe players to assist him, but he had gathered over a hundred thieves, gradually expanding a reconnaissance network.
At least there was some lead to follow, since the jeweler Orphine had told him that the one who robbed him was a group of bandits.
As the situation in Griland stabilized, players like Cui Can Dao Guang (Cui Can Daoguang) had expanded their operations. They began clearing out notable bosses ranging from level 150 to 180, including many mutated or demonized lords. Cui Can Daoguang’s team possessed the Shield of Demon Dirakru, which provided high defense, making their encounters with these bosses relatively manageable. As they defeated more and more lords, they acquired numerous high-quality items, significantly enhancing their team’s overall equipment level.
“Have you found the Focus Legguards yet? If not, maybe we should just go ahead and farm the Lava Beast,” Cui Can Daoguang messaged Nie Yan. Nie Yan had wanted to gather the Focus Legguards before taking on the Lava Beast, but after nearly a month without any trace of them, the team members were growing impatient. If not for a few unexpected incidents, they would have already taken down the Lava Beast instead of delaying this long.
“Alright, maybe we’ll collect the Abak Focus Legguards later,” Nie Yan sighed. With no news for so long, he could only hope for new leads in the future.
“Okay, I’ll get everyone ready,” Cui Can Daoguang replied, proceeding to make arrangements.
Just as Nie Yan was about to give up, a thief from the thief group messaged him, reporting that a temple in the summit of Mount Moradus in the northern Golin Mountains had been occupied by bandits.
Upon receiving this message, Nie Yan’s heart raced. This was promising! The jeweler Orphine had told him that the Focus Legguards had been stolen by a group of bandits.
Nie Yan quickly messaged Cui Can Daoguang, asking them to wait while he checked out the temple first.
Nie Yan activated his Haste Step, swiftly dashing across the rugged mountain paths.
His movement speed on the mountain trails was less than one-fifth of normal. After sprinting for about fifteen or sixteen minutes, he finally reached the northern region of the Golin Mountains. This mountain range stretched across the southern and eastern regions of Griland Empire, covering a vast area.
Upon reaching the vicinity of Mount Moradus, Nie Yan met up with several of his thief team members—around a dozen thief players.
“Boss Nie Yan, you’re here,” the team members greeted him excitedly.
“Have you scouted the temple yet?” Nie Yan asked.
The thieves exchanged glances. One of them replied sheepishly, “Boss Nie Yan, we failed. None of the sixteen of us who entered the temple survived; we all respawned at nearby graveyards.”
“Oh?” Nie Yan was surprised. He knew the skills of these team members—they were quite capable. Normally, even if they encountered danger, a thief’s numerous escape abilities should allow them to escape. For all sixteen to perish without a single survivor was unusual. “What did you encounter inside?”
“We only reached the outer hall. The bosses there were all level 180 mutated lords. The bandits were of various races—humans, elves, orcs, even giants, numbering in the hundreds. We didn’t make it into the inner sanctum,” one thief answered.
Level 180 mutated lords—no wonder. If the outer hall already had such powerful bosses, the inner sanctum’s contents remained unknown.
“What kind of temple is this?” Nie Yan asked.
The thieves shook their heads. “The temple was a ruined wasteland. We received no system prompts when we entered.”
Nie Yan asked several more questions, but they had not ventured deep enough to provide any useful information. It seemed he would have to investigate the temple himself.
“You can head back. Each of you will receive ten thousand contribution points for today’s attempt,” Nie Yan waved them off.
“Thank you, Boss Nie Yan,” the thieves replied gratefully. Ten thousand contribution points could even be enough to exchange for a decent set of equipment.
Just then, one thief hesitated, as if wanting to say something.
“If you have something to say, just speak up,” Nie Yan turned to him.
“When I was in the outer hall, I saw a library through a window. On one of the stone pillars was a symbol like this,” the thief opened his hand and drew a strange symbol with his right finger—a circular shape with a few strokes depicting a tree. “After checking some references, I found out this is the symbol of the Goddess of Life. I suspect this temple might be the Temple of the Goddess of Life. It’s said that the goddess perished and her divine essence shattered, so this temple was likely abandoned after her death.”
He looked at Nie Yan, who was deep in thought, and dared not interrupt.
“Do you have any other discoveries?” Nie Yan asked.
“Not really, but I remember reading a line in a book while wandering the library: ‘Possessing a complete divine essence allows one to comprehend divine power, the threshold to legendary status.’ I wonder if that has anything to do with this temple?” The thief looked slightly nervous, feeling immense pressure in the presence of a legendary figure like Nie Yan.
Nie Yan’s heart pounded. The threshold to legendary status—what did that mean? He thought of the three fragments of divine essence in his bag. Could these fragments be combined into a single complete divine essence?
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage