The Shadow Werewolf looked at Nie Yan with deep fear in its eyes. This instinctive terror prevented it completely from performing at its full capacity. During the fight, it was repeatedly knocked flying by Nie Yan.
It wasn’t that the Shadow Werewolf lacked strength, but rather that Nie Yan’s Prophetic Power originated from the gods, and divine authority was not to be defiled.
It wasn’t only those five thieves who were shocked; Wu Dao was equally surprised. Although Nie Yan was indeed powerful, he shouldn’t have been strong enough to dominate a level 180 demonic Overlord so effortlessly. Today’s events had truly caught him off guard.
After some thought, Wu Dao realized it must be an additional effect of the Summon Dire Wolf skill, designed to help the Prophet summon a more satisfactory mount.
It was impossible not to feel envious. Wu Dao couldn’t help but wish he could obtain the title of Grand Prophet as well. But it was just a thought—he knew that among the entire Light Faction, Nie Yan was the only player who had obtained the title of Grand Prophet, making it unimaginably difficult to achieve.
The Shadow Werewolf kept resisting, but was continually driven back, unable to even approach Nie Yan, let alone touch the hem of his robe.
Its fear of Nie Yan deepened, and it whimpered lowly, trying to evade him, but there was no escape.
The nearby thief players witnessed a scene they would never forget.
The Shadow Werewolf lay flat on the ground, its chin resting on the earth, as if begging for mercy. Nie Yan walked over directly, placing his right hand on the wolf’s forehead. A burst of white light emanated from his palm, slowly seeping into the Shadow Werewolf’s forehead.
About ten seconds later, a crisp system notification sounded.
System: You have recruited the Shadow Werewolf as your mount.
Nie Yan glanced at the Shadow Werewolf’s attributes. As a level 180 demonic Overlord, its stats were nothing short of terrifying. Moreover, the Prophetic Power granted it an additional 30% boost in strength.
Seeing the formidable attributes of the Shadow Werewolf, Nie Yan was thrilled. Although he couldn’t use the Shadow Werewolf for grinding mobs—since any monster killed by the wolf would yield neither experience nor loot for Nie Yan—it would prove to be a powerful combat force in player-versus-player battles. With a major war looming, the Shadow Werewolf would undoubtedly be a terrifying asset.
After being tamed by Nie Yan, the Shadow Werewolf stood up, its fur even darker and shinier, its muscular frame exuding majesty and might.
Nie Yan looked at Wu Dao and the others and said, “Wu Dao, you all can head back now.”
“Alright,” Wu Dao nodded.
“Nie Yan actually summoned the Shadow Werewolf as a mount! He’s so strong!” exclaimed the thief players, gazing in awe at the giant Shadow Werewolf, their hearts pounding with excitement.
“This must be kept secret. Not a word of this to anyone!” Wu Dao warned the thieves.
“We understand!” they all replied in unison. Naturally, they knew that leaking this information would equate to betrayal, and they dared not tread into that dangerous territory.
Nie Yan stored the Shadow Werewolf into his pet inventory. With such a super mount, the Forcarna warhorse was practically obsolete.
He summoned the Darkwinged Dragon and mounted its back. The dragon flapped its wings once and soared into the sky.
“Let’s head back,” Wu Dao said to the players behind him, and they all dispersed.
What had occurred here remained unknown to anyone except those few thieves.
As Nie Yan was recruiting the Shadow Werewolf, skirmishes had broken out between the Bullman Tribe and the combined forces of Angel Dominion and Century Financial Group. Both sides had experienced minor victories and losses. Before their full forces were assembled, both sides remained relatively restrained, avoiding the use of catapults and limiting engagements to small-scale player battles.
Although both sides remained in a standoff, no major battles had occurred for several consecutive days.
Nie Yan divided the Bullman Tribe’s forces into ten legions, with the main force consisting of 100,000 Bullman members. He completed the deployment and conducted detailed reconnaissance of the surrounding mountainous terrain. On the opposing side, Angel Dominion and Century Financial Group had not only fortified their defenses but also begun digging trenches on the plains, preparing for a prolonged war against the Bullman Tribe.
In the central conference hall of Clemency Fortress, Cao Xu, Ang Wing (Ang Wing Angel), and others wore serious expressions, the atmosphere in the hall feeling oppressive.
At the front of the hall, a video feed displayed various perspectives of the Bullman Tribe’s forces.
“Brother Fan, I’ll leave the on-site command of this battle to you,” Cao Xu said to Ang Wing Angel. Although they had once been rivals, at this critical moment, they had no choice but to put aside their differences and work together.
“Of course, Brother Cao. You’ll remain at Clemency Fortress to oversee the command. If any issues arise on the battlefield, I’ll need your guidance,” Ang Wing Angel had to admit that in terms of command ability, he was indeed inferior to Cao Xu. Cao Xu had an in-depth understanding of everything in Faith, and his battlefield command was certainly no worse than that of the Bullman Tribe. The only drawback was that Cao Xu had never bothered to grind experience or level up, remaining a level 0 player. Therefore, he could never command the same respect among players as Nie Yan, who possessed astonishing strength.
Cao Xu extended his right hand and said solemnly, “This concerns our survival. Let us work together, defeat the Bullman Tribe, and create our own glory!”
Ang Wing Angel clasped Cao Xu’s hand. They both understood that they were now on the same boat; if either held back, they would all perish.
Ang Wing Angel led the elite forces of Angel Dominion and Century Financial Group to the battlefield, while Cao Xu remained at Clemency Fortress, working with a think tank of over 500 strategists to issue commands to the legions.
Dressed in a gray robe, Cao Xu stood upright, watching the continuously looping video feed with a deep and distant gaze. He never imagined that a mere upstart in the game could have pushed him to this point. Not long ago, the Bullman Tribe had been a small guild of only a few hundred members, unworthy of attention. Although players like Ya Zi and Nie Yan had always led in levels, they had not seemed strong enough to threaten him. Back then, Century Financial Group had immense financial resources, and dozens of guilds eagerly awaited his acquisition. Hegemony had seemed within reach. Yet, he had been defeated by a single individual.
Regarding Nie Yan’s rise, Cao Xu felt a chill deep within—not because of Nie Yan’s strength. No matter how powerful a single player was, it wouldn’t instill fear in him. After all, individual strength was always limited. Reflecting on Nie Yan’s history, from initially reselling items, purchasing shops, founding the Bullman Tribe, and recruiting countless elites, Nie Yan had risen to dominate the entire Granland Empire. Every business deal Nie Yan had made had been profitable. Every shop he had bought had later become prime real estate. Every elite he had recruited—such top-tier players as Cui Can Daoguang (Cui Can Blade Light), Shui Se Yantou (Smoke Cigarette), Sun, and others—had proven to be truly elite. It was as if he possessed prophetic insight.
Cao Xu had an intuition that Nie Yan had emerged because of him, as if he were his destined enemy. Nie Yan had disrupted every plan Cao Xu had made, causing him to lose repeatedly. Cao Xu had considered sending assassins to eliminate Nie Yan several times, but had ultimately refrained. On one hand, the Heaven King Organization would not tolerate such an act. The power behind the Tianxia Group was also not to be underestimated. On the other hand, sending assassins might not succeed. After all, Nie Yan himself was quite formidable, and he was protected by top-tier assassins like Cidao (Cidao) and Ying Sha (Shadow Kill). Although Ying Sha had not appeared publicly, Cao Xu knew that he was always secretly guarding Nie Yan. This ghost-like figure deeply unnerved him. If either Cidao or Ying Sha attempted to assassinate Cao Xu, they might succeed. If they worked together, it would be almost impossible to defend against. And if an assassination of Nie Yan failed, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Given all these considerations, despite suffering repeated defeats in Faith, Cao Xu had never dared to make a move against Nie Yan. As far as he knew, Ang Wing Angel had once sent people to deal with Nie Yan, but they had all been secretly eliminated by Cidao and Ying Sha. Among them was even Xue Yue (Blood Moon), the second-ranked assassin. Everyone had underestimated Cidao’s strength. If even Xue Yue had failed, sending anyone else would likely yield the same result.
As for the Tianxia Group, when it had been a small financial group, Cao Xu could have easily crushed it in its infancy. But now, the Tianxia Group had already established itself. Since the Tianxia Group was not a listed company and the Nie family held 100% of the shares, unless there was a problem in its operations, it would be difficult to find an opportunity to strike. The group had formed alliances with Longyue Financial Group and Zhengrong Financial Group and had dozens of cooperating companies. Due to Mo Yuntian’s connections, many old families were also compelled to respect the Tianxia Group. With its thriving virtual industry, there was no way its operations could face significant issues. The amount of cash it controlled was staggering.
What terrified Cao Xu the most was that he had already discovered that the Tianxia Group had secretly acquired nearly 7% of Century Financial Group’s shares. That was the most frightening revelation, causing him sleepless nights. What was the Tianxia Group planning?
Toward Nie Yan and the Tianxia Group, Cao Xu felt a deep sense of helplessness. The more he realized that Nie Yan and the Tianxia Group were his destined enemies, the more determined he became to defeat them at any cost, ensuring they would never rise again. But fate seemed to conspire against him, as if the fortune that had once belonged to Century Financial Group had been stolen by Nie Yan. With each passing day, Cao Xu felt himself slipping further into the abyss, fueling his urgency to confront Nie Yan.
With all the preparations made for this battle, there should be about a 50% chance of victory. I’ll see who will ultimately emerge victorious, Cao Xu thought, raising his head to gaze at the video feed in the conference hall. Before him stretched the Bullman Tribe’s two-million-strong army.
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