Chapter 841: Siege

In a swamp located in the central region of the Muye Tribe, a group of more than twenty players from the Tribe of Gods were grinding monsters to level up. Two half-orc warriors lured a large group of specters toward them, using taunts to hold aggro, while the mages behind began dealing damage.

The entire team was relatively well-organized, and it was estimated they would defeat these specters in less than five minutes.

As they focused on grinding monsters, a massive dark shadow swiftly flew toward them from the distant sky.

What was that?

They panicked, and their formation immediately fell into chaos. The priests at the back failed to heal in time, causing the two half-orc warriors in front to be knocked down to the ground. The specters launched a fierce counterattack.

The players scattered in a frenzy. A large flying creature flew past at less than twenty yards above the ground, creating a powerful whirlwind across the swamp that knocked players and monsters off balance.

Fortunately, the flying creature did not attack them, merely passing overhead before quickly disappearing into the darkness far away.

“What was that?” a mage nervously asked in the party chat.

“The Darkwing Dragon! It’s the Darkwing Dragon of Kuangzei Nieren!” a dual-wielding swordsman player replied.

“Kuangzei Nieren? Are you sure?”

“It’s definitely Kuangzei Nieren!”

“Quickly inform the leader!”

Soon, they relayed the message to Shenwang (God King).

“Kuangzei Nieren is in the Specter Swamp. What could he possibly be up to?” Shenwang mused.

“Kuangzei Nieren hasn’t left the Muye Tribe. I think he must be doing some quest!” Liufeng guessed beside him.

“That makes sense.”

“Boss, should we pass this information to Angud the half-demon and let him deal with Kuangzei Nieren?”

Shenwang shook his head and said, “If we pass the information to Angud the half-demon, once he arrives, Kuangzei Nieren will just teleport away again, which will surely provoke Angud’s anger. We’ll handle this ourselves.” Shenwang harbored a deep fear of Angud the half-demon.

“But our people can’t really handle Kuangzei Nieren,” Liufeng pointed out. If even Angud the half-demon couldn’t catch Nie Ran and ended up letting him escape, who among them could capture Kuangzei Nieren?

“Kuangzei Nieren is riding the Darkwing Dragon?” Shenwang suddenly had an idea and asked.

“Yes, according to the messages from the players who witnessed it.”

“What level is Kuangzei Nieren’s Darkwing Dragon now?”

“It’s currently at level seven.”

Shenwang nodded. Although a level seven flying mount was still a high tier, it wasn’t insurmountable. With recent accumulations, the Tribe of Gods now had more than three thousand flying mounts, including one hundred and thirty level six mounts. Ten level six flying mounts would be enough to defeat a level seven flying mount. Since they couldn’t catch Kuangzei Nieren on land, they could certainly go after him from the air. Although the Niuren Tribe had no fewer flying mounts than the Tribe of Gods, the two tribes were separated by thousands of miles, one on the surface and the other underground, making it impossible for the Niuren Tribe to send flying mounts for reinforcement.

“Keep a close eye on Kuangzei Nieren’s movements. Have Ziyan and others remove their guild emblems and corner Kuangzei Nieren. If we can’t take down Kuangzei Nieren, we must at least eliminate the Darkwing Dragon! Remember, this operation must be kept absolutely secret.” Shenwang looked at several core members in the guild. Kuangzei Nieren would inevitably become a formidable rival for the Tribe of Gods. If they could weaken Kuangzei Nieren’s strength now, it would save them a lot of trouble in the future.

“Understood,” several people replied in unison.

Nie Ran, riding the Darkwing Dragon, flew over the Specter Swamp.

He wasn’t sure what lay ahead, so Nie Ran opened the map of the Muye Tribe to check. Beyond the Specter Swamp, there was a fortress ahead, but he didn’t know which guild it belonged to.

As Nie Ran was about to bypass the fortress, two flying mounts approached from a distance.

After spotting Nie Ran, they didn’t avoid but instead charged straight at him. It was clear they intended to attack his Darkwing Dragon!

Fools!

Nie Ran suddenly dove downward, and the Darkwing Dragon accelerated rapidly, charging toward the two flying mounts.

They were two level six Umbral Thunderhawks!

Umbral Thunderhawks were known for their speed. They were highly aggressive, fierce, and brutal, with sharp talons that caused strong corrosive damage, even capable of tearing through the scales of dragon-type flying mounts.

The Darkwing Dragon lunged downward, but the two Umbral Thunderhawks suddenly executed a perfect sideways roll, dodging the Darkwing Dragon’s attack and launching a pincer assault from both sides.

Nie Ran saw the players on the backs of the two Umbral Thunderhawks, but due to the dim light, he couldn’t make out their features clearly.

They had attacked him immediately, clearly coming prepared, probably again for the Death God’s Blade!

Nie Ran maneuvered the Darkwing Dragon to rise sharply, performing a roll to evade the pincer attack from the two Umbral Thunderhawks.

The three flying mounts became entangled in mid-air. As one Umbral Thunderhawk charged head-on, Nie Ran’s heart sank. Instead of maneuvering the Darkwing Dragon to evade, he quickly adjusted its position. The Darkwing Dragon struck downward with its claws, and with a thud, its steel talons met the talons of the Umbral Thunderhawk. With a snapping sound, the Umbral Thunderhawk’s talons were twisted and broken.

The Umbral Thunderhawk let out a piercing shriek, flapped its wings to dodge the Darkwing Dragon, and turned to flee.

Nie Ran immediately maneuvered the Darkwing Dragon to pursue. In no more than two minutes, he could defeat the Umbral Thunderhawk and retrieve its dark crystal core!

The Darkwing Dragon drew closer, now only five yards away from the Umbral Thunderhawk. Suddenly, from a distance of about a hundred yards, two or three dozen flying mounts appeared, all kinds of mounts, all at level six.

He was surrounded! Nie Ran’s heart sank. The area was too dark, and his visibility was limited, so he only noticed the approaching flying mounts when they were already within a hundred yards. By the time he noticed, it was too late; he had no time to recall the Darkwing Dragon.

At this critical moment, Nie Ran displayed an extraordinary calmness, continuing to chase the Umbral Thunderhawk relentlessly.

Nie Ran leaped from the back of the Darkwing Dragon, shooting out a strand of spider silk with his left hand, pulling himself toward the back of the Umbral Thunderhawk.

The player on the Umbral Thunderhawk saw Nie Ran flying toward him and stood up abruptly, but before he could react, a flash of cold light swept across his throat. His eyes widened in disbelief as his body fell from the back of the Umbral Thunderhawk.

Nie Ran’s right hand, the Bloody Dagger, plunged swiftly into the head of the Umbral Thunderhawk, slashing it open. Blood sprayed out, revealing a black crystal core that glimmered temptingly.

Letting out a piercing cry, the Umbral Thunderhawk fell. Nie Ran extended his hand, grabbing the crystal core, and leaped upward.

The Darkwing Dragon dove sharply, catching Nie Ran on its back, and flew forward.

The body of the Umbral Thunderhawk plummeted from the sky.

Nie Ran had actually slain an Umbral Thunderhawk right under their watchful eyes, leaving them both shocked and furious.

“Don’t let Kuangzei Nieren escape!”

“Damn it, kill him!”

A multitude of flying mounts rushed forward.

Nie Ran looked down and noticed a Dark Priest had cast a lock on him, rendering his random teleport scroll useless. He was now completely surrounded by this group of level six flying mounts!

Damn it! Nie Ran’s heart sank to the bottom of his stomach. He had underestimated the determination of the dark faction players to seize the Death God’s Blade. He thought the previous battles would be enough to deter most players, but he never expected to be intercepted in the air. The Darkwing Dragon flew so fast, merely passing over the Specter Swamp for less than half an hour, yet he was still ambushed. The enemy must be formidable.

Among the entire dark faction, only a few forces like the Tribe of Gods and Angel’s Fall could possibly achieve this!

The Tribe of Gods was the most likely, since they were in the Muye Tribe!

Even if he knew, there was nothing Nie Ran could do. The Niuren Tribe wasn’t yet powerful enough to confront so many enemies at once.

With the Darkwing Dragon’s strength, it would be very difficult to deal with so many level six flying mounts!

Three Silver-ring Poison Flies sprayed several bursts of poison mist toward Nie Ran, quickly enveloping the area in green toxic fog. The poison mist emitted by the Silver-ring Poison Flies was a potent toxin that could cause paralysis. They had specific antidotes for their own group, so they were unaffected. However, Nie Ran was in trouble. Although Nie Ran had high poison resistance and had taken an expert-level antidote potion, he still felt a slight numbness in his body. As for the Darkwing Dragon, Nie Ran could sense its movements had become noticeably sluggish.

Nie Ran couldn’t help but curse. He pulled the Darkwing Dragon upward and crashed heavily into one of the Umbral Thunderhawks, sending it flying.

In this desperate situation, the Darkwing Dragon unleashed tremendous combat power, severely injuring five level six flying mounts. Nie Ran tried to escape with the Darkwing Dragon, but the flying mounts clung to him like a sticky wad of gum, relentlessly pursuing and frequently ganging up on the Darkwing Dragon with several mounts at once.

Puh puh puh! The Darkwing Dragon’s body was struck by multiple wounds, flesh torn and bloodied, with the wounds looking as if smeared with black ink, a horrifying sight.

It was the corrosive effect of the Umbral Thunderhawks!

The corrosion from the Umbral Thunderhawks was gradually draining the Darkwing Dragon’s remaining stamina.

Nie Ran noticed a Silver-ring Poison Fly approaching, its tail raised high, with a sharp stinger like a bee’s sting. Nie Ran’s heart tightened. He couldn’t let it attack the Darkwing Dragon. Nie Ran leaped up and charged toward the Silver-ring Poison Fly.

The Silver-ring Poison Fly had a rogue standing on its back. Seeing Nie Ran lunging toward him, the rogue quickly maneuvered the Silver-ring Poison Fly to retreat.

But it was already too late. Nie Ran landed on the Silver-ring Poison Fly’s back, and his dagger plunged into its abdomen, slicing it open. A foul-smelling green liquid spewed out.

The Silver-ring Poison Fly was severely injured and hesitated momentarily. At that moment, the Darkwing Dragon swooped down, its two claws grabbing the head and abdomen of the Silver-ring Poison Fly. With a mighty pull, it tore the Silver-ring Poison Fly into two halves.