Chapter 956: The Skull of the Deceased

Numerous doubts swirled in Nie Yan’s mind, none of which could be resolved for now.

In fact, the titles of Pope and Duoduo’s Dark Council Leader weren’t the highest attainable titles in their respective factions. If there were other titles above the rank of High Light Arbiter, would advancing further grant a title surpassing that of the Pope?

His Reputation in the Human World had increased by +1200, an absolutely astonishing number, even greater than the reputation bonuses from titles like Great Prophet. As for the resurrection skill, it was probably useless. Resurrecting an NPC? Nie Yan didn’t think he’d ever have the opportunity to use this skill, as such situations were extremely rare.

Regardless of how his titles changed, Nie Yan continued forward, heading deeper into the Dark Dead Zone while leveling up.

This place was an ideal spot for leveling. The nearby monsters were endless, constantly respawning.

The environment here was monotonous and repetitive, making Nie Yan feel as if time moved unusually slowly.

He moved forward through the mountains of corpses and seas of bones, as if the end would never come.

A day passed quickly. Nie Yan checked his level. After using several forbidden spells with the Light-Dark Holy Dragon, his level had risen to 182. He had gained three levels in just one day—an increase that would shock others. However, he couldn’t continue leveling like this afterward because the Light-Dark Holy Dragon’s forbidden spells required about a month to cool down. Still, leveling here was significantly faster than elsewhere—even the Black Magic Dimension couldn’t compare.

Nie Yan searched the area, hoping the undead creatures might drop something valuable, considering they were level 180 creatures.

The monsters here had an extremely low drop rate.

Passing by the charred corpse of a demon, something shiny and black on the ground caught Nie Yan’s eye.

What was that?

Curious, Nie Yan bent down and picked it up. It felt icy cold, like a piece of ice. Opening his palm, he found it was something resembling an ore.

Nie Yan’s heart skipped a beat. He had become very sensitive to ores lately, immediately associating ores with Void Metal. He quickly examined it.

Ancient Mithril Ore: Special material.

Nie Yan frowned slightly, feeling somewhat disappointed. This probably wasn’t Void Metal. Then what was it?

Nie Yan searched the official website for “Ancient Mithril.” There was information on regular Mithril, but nothing about Ancient Mithril. It seemed he would have to take this to the Artisan God, Bronek, to find out what Ancient Mithril was used for.

The area was filled with corpses. Nie Yan was like a scavenger, searching everywhere for loot. These monsters didn’t drop equipment, only random fragments.

Ancient Black Copper Ore: Special material.

Ancient Platinum Ore: Special material.

Ancient Blue Iron Ore: Special material.

Ancient Purple Gold Ore: Special material.

There were quite a few of these unusual ores—about fifty to sixty pieces in total. Though Nie Yan didn’t know their uses, he decided to collect them all since he was here, even though picking them up was a bit time-consuming. He noticed that only level 180 boss monsters dropped these ores, and even after defeating fifty or sixty bosses, he might only obtain one or two of these ores.

With such a low drop rate, these materials must be quite valuable.

In addition to these ancient ores, Nie Yan also collected over 600 skulls.

Skull of the Dead: Undead Bone Demon, level 180 elite.

Skull of the Dead: Undead Shadow Warrior, level 180 boss.

Nie Yan didn’t know the use of the Ancient Black Copper Ore, but he was very familiar with these skulls. Undead necromancers of the Dark Faction could summon undead creatures to fight for them, but these creatures couldn’t be summoned at will. They required catalysts—Skulls of the Dead.

Generally, a necromancer needed at least twenty to thirty Skulls of the Dead. Lower-level skulls had a higher drop rate and were more common, while higher-level skulls were rare and expensive.

The skulls Nie Yan obtained were already of rare quality. On the Dark Faction market, a Skull of the Dead from a level 180 elite monster could fetch 10,000 to 20,000 gold coins. For a level 180 boss monster’s skull, the price was even higher.

Moreover, these items were extremely rare on the market and would be immediately snatched up by Dark Faction players once they appeared.

If Nie Yan sold all these Skulls of the Dead in the Dark Faction, it would cause quite a stir!

Only in a place like the Dark Dead Zone could so many high-level Skulls of the Dead be obtained! Looking at the rows of Skulls of the Dead in his backpack, Nie Yan could already envision piles of golden coins.

Of course, Nie Yan wouldn’t be foolish enough to sell all these Skulls of the Dead at Dark Faction auction houses. If he did, countless Skulls of the Dead might end up in the hands of Angel Descending, posing a serious threat to Niu Ren Tribe!

How should he handle these Skulls of the Dead? Such valuable items couldn’t just be left to rot in storage after returning.

As he continued killing monsters and collecting loot, Nie Yan pondered this issue.

Suddenly, a brilliant idea popped into his mind. Although Angel Descending had ruled the Dark Faction for over three years, resistance groups across the region had never ceased their activities. Similarly, in the Light Faction, remnants of former guilds like Angel Empire and Century Financial Group had formed resistance groups, occasionally causing trouble for Niu Ren Tribe. Though these resistance groups couldn’t cause significant damage under Niu Ren Tribe’s suppression, they still survived like persistent weeds.

Nie Yan decided these Skulls of the Dead must not fall into Angel Descending’s hands. Instead, he could sell them to the resistance groups—making money while causing trouble for Angel Descending. Why not?

Having figured out a solution, Nie Yan felt much more cheerful. He could collect more Skulls of the Dead here and, upon returning, there would be quite a show to watch.

Nie Yan remained in the Dark Dead Zone, day after day passing. He felt that he was gradually closing the gap in level and strength with the top-tier players. He couldn’t wait to return to his peak.

While Nie Yan was furiously leveling in the Dark Dead Zone, the Abernathy Grasslands were far from peaceful.

Kuang Ao Zhan Qiang (Arrogant Spear) and twenty elite members of Angel Empire appeared in the Doomsday Canyon. They first went on a killing spree, wiping out over 1,200 Niu Ren Tribe players. Then they vanished from the canyon, reappearing at a fortress outside the Doomsday Canyon belonging to Niu Ren Tribe. The players inside the fortress were no match for these nearly level 200 top-tier experts, resulting in over 6,000 deaths. Finally, a curse caster from Angel Descending used the Curse of the Land skill, turning the fortress into a barren wasteland. Any player entering the area would lose 1,000 HP per second until death. This curse would last for a year, rendering the fortress useless to Niu Ren Tribe for the entire duration.

Suddenly suffering such a fierce attack from Angel Descending, Niu Ren Tribe players were furious. Over 200 top-tier professional players pursued Kuang Ao Zhan Qiang and his group relentlessly. However, Kuang Ao Zhan Qiang’s group was well-prepared and proceeded to attack another fortress at the opposite end of the Abernathy Grasslands.

At the Ochren City guild headquarters, Guo Huai read the battle reports coming in from various locations, his anger rising. This act by Angel Descending was clearly a provocation! Did they think Niu Ren Tribe had no one?

Guo Huai immediately sent instructions in the group chat.

“Dao Guang (Sword Light), you guys hurry back.”

“We’ll be there in five minutes!” Cui Can Dao Guang (Radiant Sword) replied immediately. He had just been browsing the forums and already knew the situation. Seeing Guo Huai’s message, he touched the great sword in his hand, feeling a sense of excitement. Finally, there was some action. He had been killing monsters and raiding dungeons nonstop for quite some time and was getting bored.

Cui Can Dao Guang glanced at his teammates and noticed that Lei Su and the others were also eager, sharpening their blades. He smiled and said,

“I believe you all already know the details. Angel Descending has been quiet for a while, but now they’re finally coming to stir up trouble. Let’s go, we’ll play with them. The others aren’t too bad, but their guild leader and Kuang Ao Zhan Qiang might be a bit tough. One is the Dark Council Leader, and the other is apparently some council member. Their gear probably isn’t too shabby either.”

“It’s been a while since our last fight. Our bones are getting loose. This is a perfect chance to warm up.” Shui Se Yan Tou (Smoke) smiled. Not only were the lower-ranking members restless, even he, usually calm and composed, couldn’t help but feel excited.

About five minutes later, a large number of top-tier Niu Ren Tribe players gathered in Ochren City, totaling around 2,000 people. There was no need for a large-scale legion battle yet—ordinary players couldn’t help. These top-tier experts would naturally handle Kuang Ao Zhan Qiang and his group.

Inside the Niu Ren Tribe meeting hall, it was bustling with activity. The spacious hall was packed with over 2,000 top-tier players, a truly spectacular sight.

“Executive Guild Leader, give us your orders. How should we deal with them?” a player asked from below.

Upon hearing the news of the two fortresses being attacked, the Niu Ren Tribe members were already boiling with anger, unable to contain their fury. The dignity of Niu Ren Tribe could not be violated!

Faced with this situation, Guo Huai remained calm and composed, showing no sign of panic. Over the years, he had seen countless major incidents, developing a demeanor as steady as a mountain collapsing before him.

“Shui Se (Smoke), Lei Su (Thunder), each of you take two teams into the Dark Faction. Since Angel Descending has come to us, we should return the favor. They destroyed how many fortresses of ours? We’ll repay them double! Dao Guang, you lead a team to intercept Kuang Ao Zhan Qiang, but be careful. Kuang Ao Zhan Qiang is quite strong, known as the top warrior in the Dark Faction. You’re less familiar with the skills of the Undead Warrior class, so be cautious.” Guo Huai issued his commands one by one.