Nie Yan smiled. For this mission, Xie Yao had indeed used quite a bit of cleverness.
“All the characters active in this tribe are NPCs, with varying levels. Those fully armed NPCs are very powerful. The last time I came here, I killed one NPC and my criminal value increased by more than 300 points. Therefore, we cannot attack them. However, if they discover us entering the tribe, they will immediately sound an alarm, and everyone in the tribe will rush over and surround us,” Xie Yao explained. These were lessons she had learned through several painful experiences.
“Do you have a way to get to the central part of the tribe?” Nie Yan asked. Since Xie Yao had made it to the final checkpoint, she should have already figured out solutions to these earlier troubles.
“Mm.” Xie Yao nodded.
“Then I’ll follow you in.” Nie Yan said. If Xie Yao, a mage, could get in, then naturally it would be even easier for him, a rogue.
Xie Yao showed a hesitant expression.
“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?” Nie Yan looked at Xie Yao.
“I used Blink to get in,” Xie Yao replied.
Nie Yan smiled. So that’s how it was. Xie Yao used Blink, so he couldn’t follow her while stealthed. He said, “You go in first, then I’ll stealth in.”
Looking ahead, there were many fully armed guards patrolling the streets. Even Nie Yan would find it somewhat difficult to sneak in silently, not to mention Xie Yao.
“Mm.” Xie Yao nodded. She had full confidence in Nie Yan; she believed sneaking into the tribe would be effortless for him.
“You start first,” Nie Yan said. He wanted to see how Xie Yao would use Blink to get in.
Xie Yao glanced around, fixed her gaze on a certain point, and checked the timing. After about five seconds, she started walking forward.
Wouldn’t this expose her to the guards’ sight? Nie Yan couldn’t help but feel anxious for Xie Yao.
Far away, the guards crossed paths, while Xie Yao happened to be at a blind spot in their vision.
Xie Yao watched the timing carefully. Exactly three seconds later, she used Blink twice in a row, arriving at a wall seven yards away. Three patrols of guards turned their gazes inward at that moment, completely overlooking Xie Yao by the wall.
Ahead at the entrance of a hut stood two guards scanning around. Their eyes turned left just as Xie Yao blinked again, appearing behind those two guards. She stood still for two seconds. A distant patrol guard looked this way, but Xie Yao’s small frame was completely hidden behind the tall guards.
The patrolling guard’s gaze swept past. The two stationary guards seemed to sense something and turned their heads. However, by then, there was already nobody behind them. They turned their heads back, completely unaware that Xie Yao had just passed behind them.
“Coordinates 290, 280, three seconds. Coordinates 220, 208, two seconds. Three consecutive Blinks.” Xie Yao perfectly and clearly executed the route she had previously planned, while also incorporating some improvisation.
Nie Yan looked into the distance. Not long after, Xie Yao had already moved far away. Her speed was quite impressive. From his vantage point, he could clearly see every step Xie Yao took. However, each time she moved, she positioned herself precisely at the guards’ blind spots, thus successfully infiltrating.
This was a unique skill Xie Yao had developed herself. Nie Yan had never seen anyone else demonstrate such a technique before. Overall, this technique was quite difficult. It required continuous observation and meticulous attention to detail to slowly figure out a suitable path. Moreover, the guards’ patrol routes weren’t entirely fixed; unexpected situations often occurred. If one’s ability to adapt was insufficient and a single mistake was made, all previous efforts would be wasted.
Just after more than ten minutes, Xie Yao had already disappeared at the end of the street.
Nie Yan activated Stealth and advanced forward. After moving more than ten yards, he slowly approached one of the highest-level guards. At about five yards away, he was about to take another step forward when the guard seemed to sense something and looked around. Nie Yan’s right foot was halfway forward but he quickly retracted it and landed slowly.
The guard didn’t detect anything and resumed his original stance.
“3.7 yards!” Nie Yan murmured. This guard had a higher level, and the safe distance was 3.7 yards. This meant Nie Yan was absolutely safe as long as he stayed beyond 3.7 yards.
After confirming the safe distance, Nie Yan increased his speed. While moving rapidly, he still maintained the safe distance, darting forward in a curved path. He controlled even the smallest distances with extreme precision.
After about three minutes, Nie Yan spotted Xie Yao standing at the entrance of a cave on the edge of a distant cliff.
This tribe was originally built on the edge of a cliff. This cave was unknown territory.
Nie Yan stood beside Xie Yao.
Nie Yan arrived so quickly? Xie Yao was surprised. When she was halfway through her route, she saw Nie Yan had just started moving, yet he arrived only a few minutes later. However, thinking about it, anything happening to Nie Yan was normal.
“Are we almost there?” Nie Yan asked.
“There’s still a long way to go. This is a cave. We need to clear all the monsters inside before passing through. At the end of the cave is a lake. There’s a small boat on the lake. We’ll take the boat across to the end of the riverbank, where there’s a cemetery. That’s the final destination,” Xie Yao explained.
“What’s the final challenge?” Nie Yan asked.
“It’s a giant wolf spider. It has webbed many areas of the cemetery and feeds on the corpses there. The locals worship it, believing it to be a divine creature. Periodically, they transport nearby deceased people here and discard them as food for this creature. It’s a level 180 mutated lord,” Xie Yao said. She explained the origin of the quest. She needed to find the final piece of the set equipment within the cemetery. While searching, she would inevitably face the wolf spider. She was no match for it at all, so the quest remained incomplete.
“This kind of task is better left to me,” Nie Yan smiled. Searching for items was something he was particularly skilled at.
Xie Yao looked worried. “This task is very difficult. I’ve died three times there, yet I haven’t made any progress at all.”
Nie Yan was silent for a moment. Considering Xie Yao’s equipment and skill level, a task that could challenge her was certainly not an ordinary search mission. He decided to go in first and check it out before making any promises. It would be embarrassing if he boasted confidently now but failed to complete the task later.
As usual, Xie Yao would go first. She had her way of passing through the cave, while Nie Yan would stealth in afterward.
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