Chapter 824: Advanced Dark Crystal

The villains, Xie Yao, and others flashed into the center of the open field.

Cui Can Dao Guang (Brilliant Blade), Shui Se Yan Tou (Watercolor Cigarette), and others swiftly flew over as well. As they stood there, they formed a wall separating the ordinary players from the equipment dropped by the Wandering Princess Aina.

When the players rushing forward to grab the equipment saw Brilliant Blade and others blocking their path, they all stopped in their tracks. Some more perceptive players even retreated. They understood that against Brilliant Blade and his group, they stood no chance at all. Charging in would only lead to certain death.

“Ghost Shadow, Bird Man, get the hell back here! Do you want to die?!”

“Monk, get back! If you take one more step forward, consider us strangers from this moment on!”

…

The players from the Bull Man Tribe called out to those they recognized. They knew that their leader Nie Yan was truly enraged. If a real fight broke out, none of them would stand a chance.

After thinking for a moment, many players retreated.

While some withdrew, others continued advancing toward the center of the open field, creating a chaotic scene.

Nie Yan had no intention of harming those players who had retreated in time. He certainly wouldn’t slaughter ordinary players without reason.

Dozens of thieves rushed forward, relying on their stealth abilities to attempt grabbing the equipment dropped by the Wandering Princess Aina.

Just as they were about to approach, Brilliant Blade let out a low, deep roar. A piercing sound swept across the area.

Several thieves had damage numbers like ten or more pop up over their heads, revealing their positions.

Shockwave!

Brilliant Blade took one step forward, unleashing a powerful force that swept outward. Bang! Bang! Bang! One after another, players were knocked flying. Five players were instantly killed.

Da Ge Xiong Di Qi Zai (Big Brother Seven) cast a Light Spell, quickly locating targets. The group launched their attacks. Within moments, more than thirty corpses lay on the ground.

A large group of players outside charged forward. Xie Yao waved her staff, chanting a string of incantations, releasing an Immobilization Field. Within a radius of more than thirty yards, hundreds of players suddenly became like puppets, entering a stunned state. She waved her staff again, unleashing a wide-area Holy Light Judgment. Hundreds of players were blown backward.

This group slaughtered ordinary players as effortlessly as cutting melons and vegetables, quickly clearing a large area around them.

Seeing this scene, the players outside all froze in place, exchanging glances. They were terrified by Brilliant Blade, Xie Yao, and others, and no one dared to step forward to their deaths.

“Pick up the loot,” Nie Yan said calmly in the team chat, his voice composed and confident.

Sun, Wang Zhe Tian Xia (King of the Heavens), and others began collecting the items on the ground.

Hundreds of yards away, players watched helplessly as the items were gradually picked up by Sun, Wang Zhe Tian Xia, and others, yet none dared to cross the line.

Nie Yan glanced around. The ordinary players outside looked somewhat resentful.

However, with so many top-tier professional players from the Bull Man Tribe present, even if they were dissatisfied, they dared not challenge the authority of the Bull Man Tribe.

Just then, a fire mage in red robes stepped forward from the crowd. Around thirty years old, he held a staff embedded with red gems in his right hand. Looking toward Nie Yan, he shouted loudly, “Boss Nie Yan, don’t you think you’ve gone too far today? Although the Wandering Princess Aina was defeated by you, we also contributed. For the Bull Man Tribe to take all the equipment for themselves seems rather unfair. We came to help because the Bull Man Tribe has always been known for being fair and just, but today’s actions are truly disheartening!”

The fire mage’s words immediately resonated with the surrounding players.

They began murmuring among themselves.

“I used to hear that Crazy Bandit Nie Yan was fair, but apparently, it’s nothing special.”

“After all the effort we put in, they’re so ungrateful!”

Seeing Nie Yan didn’t respond immediately, the fire mage continued shouting, “Boss Nie Yan, won’t you give us a proper explanation? We helped the Bull Man Tribe defeat the Wandering Princess Aina, yet hundreds of our people were killed by you. What kind of logic is that?”

Everyone turned their eyes toward Nie Yan. If he didn’t provide an explanation, no one here would be convinced.

Nie Yan used Super Insight to check the elf mage’s name. He was called Huo Hu (Fox Fire), and Nie Yan had never heard of him before. He had no idea where this guy had come from.

“Please, Boss Nie Yan, give us an explanation!” Hundreds of people on the outskirts echoed, and the crowd became increasingly agitated.

Nie Yan had already prepared his response. He raised his voice and said, “I am deeply grateful to everyone here who helped the Bull Man Tribe defeat the Wandering Princess Aina. However, without rules, nothing can be accomplished. The equipment dropped by the Wandering Princess Aina does not belong to any single individual; it belongs to all the players present. Therefore, anyone attempting to seize it will be dealt with accordingly. It’s true that the Bull Man Tribe has taken the loot, but since we have taken it, we will naturally share it with everyone. All players who contributed can go to the Bull Man Tribe office and claim 10-30 gold coins based on video evidence. Additionally, any player who died during the fight will receive a compensation of 20 gold coins for each death. I don’t wish to say much more.”

After hearing these words, the players began murmuring among themselves. Dozens of gold coins might not mean much to Nie Yan and his group, but for ordinary players, it was a substantial amount of unexpected wealth. Anyone with a bit of common sense could calculate that with at least 100,000 players present, even giving each player 10 gold coins would cost over a million, not to mention the death compensation. The Bull Man Tribe would have to spend at least two or three million gold coins. Even if the Wandering Princess Aina had dropped some excellent items, their total value probably wouldn’t reach such a high amount.

Huo Hu saw the wavering expressions of the players behind him and grew anxious. He shouted loudly, “Boss Nie Yan, do you think you can just hand us a few gold coins without showing us exactly what equipment you’ve taken?”

This time, far fewer people echoed Huo Hu’s sentiment. The opinions of the players behind him began to waver. After all, the Bull Man Tribe had done most of the work in defeating the Wandering Princess Aina, while the majority of the other players were just bystanders who hadn’t contributed much. Even if the Bull Man Tribe had taken all the equipment, they didn’t really have much to say. Now that Nie Yan had spoken like this, what more could they say?

“Boss Nie Yan is truly noble. We take back what we said earlier.”

“We apologize to Boss Nie Yan for our previous words!”

Many players gathered outside felt too ashamed to continue pressing the issue and gradually dispersed. Soon, most of the people behind Huo Hu had left.

Nie Yan looked coldly at Huo Hu and said, “If you’re willing to pay every player here the amount I just mentioned, I’ll hand over all the items the Wandering Princess Aina dropped to you. What do you say? Nie Yan always keeps his word!”

Huo Hu opened his mouth but couldn’t find a rebuttal. He left in embarrassment.

At this point, the players gradually dispersed.

“Handled it well,” Cui Can Dao Guang approached Nie Yan with a smile.

Nie Yan smiled slightly and asked Cui Can Dao Guang, “How was the loot?”

“Not bad at all. At least we didn’t lose anything. There are a few nice gems and a piece of legendary armor with excellent attributes,” Cui Can Dao Guang replied. He had just obtained a piece of legendary armor with over 5,000 defense, which made him particularly excited.

If Huo Hu had accepted Nie Yan’s offer, he would have made a fortune. The legendary equipment and top-tier gems dropped by the Wandering Princess Aina were worth far more than two or three million gold coins. However, the sheer amount of two or three million gold coins scared Huo Hu away.

Nie Yan examined each item’s attributes. Cui Can Dao Guang had obtained a legendary armor with 5,620 defense, which could be worn at level 180. Nie Yan planned to have Cui Can Dao Guang embed gems that reduce the requirement so he could wear it earlier. This would significantly increase Cui Can Dao Guang’s defense. With such a powerful tank, they could take on higher-level bosses to obtain even better equipment.

In addition to the legendary armor, Nie Yan was particularly interested in a high-grade dark crystal about the size of a fist, pitch black and extremely pure.

Nie Yan could sense the powerful dark magical elements within this high-grade dark crystal.

This item should have some special uses. Nie Yan decided to study it and carefully stored the high-grade dark crystal away.

Looking around, the area was now in ruins after the Wandering Princess Aina’s rampage, and reconstruction was needed. Nie Yan estimated it would cost at least several million gold coins.

Although the cost was significant, the threat of the Wandering Princess Aina had finally been eliminated, giving Nie Yan a sense of relief. Next, he could freely go anywhere to level up and grind for items. The loss was only financial, and money was something Nie Yan had plenty of. Such a massive loss could cripple many guilds, but for Nie Yan, it was just a drop in the ocean.

As the players gradually dispersed, Guo Huai and others began rebuilding the destroyed buildings, streets, and city walls. It wouldn’t take long for the area to return to its original state.

Nie Yan started selecting team members within the Bull Man Tribe to form a team in preparation for entering the World Barrier. During this time, he received some more good news: Leng Ao Ying (Cold Shadow) and Bi Liu Sha (Silk Thread) had also successfully transformed into top-tier classes. The top-tier class transformation quest had been fully unlocked, and in the future, there might be more top-tier classes. However, for now, each top-tier class was a crucial strategic resource.

Counting like this, the Bull Man Tribe already had thirty top-tier classes.

Thinking of the thirty top-tier classes, Nie Yan recalled the task issued by Kars to rescue the paladin. He wondered whether they now had the capability to deal with the hellhound. Completing that task and turning Kars into his follower would have significant implications.

Nie Yan thought for a moment and decided to wait for now. Their strength was steadily increasing, so there was no need to rush into such a high-difficulty task immediately.

Soon, over a thousand elite members of the Bull Man Tribe gathered at their headquarters in Ocolen City, awaiting Nie Yan’s orders. They represented the highest level of the Bull Man Tribe.

“How much information about the World Barrier has been collected? Send it all over,” Nie Yan messaged Guo Huai.