In the Flame Canyon, there was a special area known as the Phoenix Nest, renowned for producing various high-tier flying mounts. However, acquiring these mounts came at a steep cost. The Bull Tribe had never dispatched troops into the Phoenix Nest, and other guilds acted similarly due to the complex and dangerous conditions there. Among all the guilds, only Angel Dominion had previously sent members inside. It was said that they suffered heavy losses but gained little. Now, it seemed Angel Dominion had finally managed some decent rewards from the Phoenix Nest.
These flame-elemental flying mounts were all captured from the Phoenix Nest. As for the Crimson Flame Dragon, it frequently appeared in the area as well, often stealing phoenix eggs.
The sudden appearance of these flame-elemental flying mounts caught Nie Yan and Xie Yao completely off guard.
The Dark Winged Dragon roared loudly, struggling continuously, but it could not break free. The fiery bindings tightened more and more, even preventing the dragon from breathing.
On the other side, the Crimson Flame Dragon was locked in battle with Xie Yao’s Phoenix. Due to a previous ambush that had inflicted a critical wound on the Phoenix, it was at a disadvantage during the fight and was now firmly grasped by the Crimson Flame Dragon.
Standing atop the Crimson Flame Dragon was a warrior whose face was very familiar—Nie Yan had encountered him several times before. It was Lie Yan!
“The Phoenix isn’t all that impressive!” Lie Yan sneered, his expression twisted with malice.
If not for the ambush earlier, the Phoenix would never have been so easily defeated!
Moreover, a group of fifth and sixth-tier flying mounts hovered near the Crimson Flame Dragon, providing cover for Lie Yan. Each time the Crimson Flame Dragon launched an attack, five or six of these fifth and sixth-tier mounts would clamp down on the Phoenix, preventing it from evading the Crimson Flame Dragon’s assault. Soon, the Phoenix was gravely wounded.
“Don’t worry about me, just run!” Nie Yan urged desperately. He understood the dire situation—Dark Winged Dragon couldn’t escape, and he couldn’t afford to lose Xie Yao’s Phoenix as well! Meanwhile, fierce battles were also taking place around Cui Can Daoguang and Shui Se Yan Tou, who were suffering heavy losses and unable to provide assistance.
Xie Yao gritted her teeth and steered the Phoenix to charge sideways.
“Think you can run? Not so fast!” Lie Yan roared furiously as the Crimson Flame Dragon dove swiftly, seizing the Phoenix by the neck.
Xie Yao commanded the Phoenix to suddenly spit out a jet of flames at the Crimson Flame Dragon. A sixth-tier Thunder Hawk swooped in from the side, blocking between the two creatures. With a thunderous boom, the Thunder Hawk was blasted away, instantly destroyed!
But now, the Phoenix had no chance of escape whatsoever!
With no other choice, Xie Yao waved her staff and used an illusory skill, causing her body to vanish into thin air.
With a mournful cry, the Phoenix transformed into flames that disappeared into the void.
Lie Yan glanced at the system message.
System: You have killed the Immortal Phoenix.
Lie Yan sneered, “Immortal? Still died like any other!”
Under his control, the Crimson Flame Dragon turned toward Nie Yan’s Dark Winged Dragon.
The fiery net held tightly. Nie Yan checked and saw that the icon in the upper-left corner for recalling the Dark Winged Dragon was grayed out—meaning he couldn’t recall it at all.
Several sixth-tier flying mounts dove from above, attempting to kill Nie Yan. He leapt onto the back of a sixth-tier Thunder Hawk. With a flash of his dagger, a player was instantly eliminated. The weapon in Nie Yan’s hand instantly transformed into the Zainnard Blade—Annihilation Strike!
A powerful arc of swordlight cleaved downward, exploding in a dazzling flash.
Five sixth-tier flying mounts were instantly consumed by the blade. With a deafening boom, the strike slammed into a Flame Giant Bird, which shrieked in pain, severely wounded, and flew backward.
The fiery net binding the Dark Winged Dragon was reduced to four strands.
However, Nie Yan only had one Annihilation Strike. Ordinary skills were completely ineffective against seventh-tier flying mounts!
Damn it!
Right from the start, he had underestimated Angel Dominion’s strength, leading to this ambush. Additionally, Flame Giant Birds were a species he had never encountered before, so he hadn’t prepared adequately. Now, it was too late to regret.
After eliminating the Phoenix, the Crimson Flame Dragon lunged toward the Dark Winged Dragon.
Nie Yan had already used Annihilation Strike. He no longer had any skills capable of dealing with large flying mounts.
Suddenly, the Crimson Flame Dragon opened its mouth, unleashing a stream of searing flames.
Seeing the flames approach, Nie Yan immediately used the Divine Arbitration skill. The fire swept across his body and struck the Dark Winged Dragon, which roared in agony.
The Dark Winged Dragon was beyond saving. Feeling the immense pain of his mount being engulfed in flames, Nie Yan’s eyes reddened, veins bulging on his arms, as he locked eyes with Lie Yan atop the Crimson Flame Dragon.
“You must really despise me, huh, Mad Thief Nie Yan? If you’ve got the courage, come at me! Let’s see how you manage to kill me this time!” Lie Yan stood atop the Crimson Flame Dragon’s head, shouting arrogantly. Yet for some reason, seeing Nie Yan still standing like a deity amidst the flames, his legs involuntarily trembled. At this moment, he was too terrified to bring the Crimson Flame Dragon any closer to the dying Dark Winged Dragon.
The Crimson Flame Dragon’s fire breath had a cooldown!
Nie Yan quickly switched the Zainnard Blade back to his Bloody Dagger. He thought desperately, gradually realizing one thing—this time, there was no saving the Dark Winged Dragon.
He glanced at the Resurrection Crystal in his backpack, his heart growing cold. Helplessly, he had to make this decision.
“Idiot Lie Yan, hurry up and finish him off! Do you want to give the mad thief Nie Yan time to escape?” Ang Winged Angel cursed furiously in the team chat.
“The boss just ordered—don’t let the mad thief Nie Yan escape!”
Receiving Ang Winged Angel’s command, Lie Yan immediately steered the Crimson Flame Dragon forward.
Nie Yan had no way of confronting the Crimson Flame Dragon head-on. Extending his left hand, he fired a strand of webbing, attempting to leap onto the Crimson Flame Dragon’s back and kill Lie Yan. However, the webbing curled up upon touching the dragon’s flames, losing its stickiness.
Webbing was vulnerable to fire!
Seeing the Crimson Flame Dragon charge, Nie Yan leapt aside, dodging its claws, and delivered a powerful kick to the dragon’s head.
But the Crimson Flame Dragon remained unscathed. Ignoring Nie Yan, it raked its claws across the Dark Winged Dragon’s neck.
The Dark Winged Dragon let out a pained cry.
System: Your Dark Winged Dragon has perished.
After being bound by the fiery net for so long, the Dark Winged Dragon was already on the brink of death. The final blow from the Crimson Flame Dragon sealed its fate.
Nie Yan chanted a short incantation. A flash of light enveloped the Dark Winged Dragon’s body, and it vanished.
The massive corpse suddenly disappeared, causing everyone to momentarily freeze in confusion.
As they hesitated, Nie Yan leapt onto the back of a Wind Serpent, delivering a quick slash to its rider, instantly eliminating the player.
“Boss Lie Yan, the mad bandit Nie Yan is over there!”
“Don’t let him escape!” Lie Yan screamed hysterically.
Standing atop the Wind Serpent, Nie Yan began chanting another spell. From all directions, flying mounts surged toward him.
“Boss Lie Yan, the Phoenix has revived!”
“What happened?” Lie Yan turned his gaze. Flames ignited where the Phoenix had fallen moments ago. These flames quickly coalesced into a massive Phoenix, and Xie Yao, who had vanished earlier, reappeared atop it.
It was the Rebirth skill!
The revived Phoenix immediately flapped its wings and soared into the distance.
“Boss Lie Yan, she’s escaping!”
“She’s so fast!”
They realized that the reborn Phoenix was now moving at lightning speed, vanishing from their sight.
“Focus on the mad thief Nie Yan first!”
Countless flying mounts rushed toward Nie Yan.
Nie Yan stood atop the Wind Serpent, chanting his spell. Watching the approaching mounts, he sneered coldly. He would remember this day. Mentally counting, three, four, five—on the fifth second, a blinding flash enveloped him, and he vanished.
At that moment, everyone atop the Flame Giant Birds and the Crimson Flame Dragon froze in shock.
“Fatso, quickly pull him back with spatial magic!”
“Hurry! Only five seconds!”
A somewhat overweight Archmage waved his staff frantically, unleashing a powerful magical wave. After several seconds of casting, he frowned and said, “Nie Yan the Mad Bandit didn’t use a random teleport scroll—he used a fixed-point teleport. My spatial magic isn’t high enough to counter it!”
“What? You idiot!” Lie Yan raged, “Damn it, he escaped again!”
The Archmage flushed red with frustration, “Breaking a fixed-point teleport requires at least level 13 spatial magic. Who has that level nowadays? The highest I’ve seen is only level 8.”
“Fine,” Lie Yan muttered in frustration. Nie Yan had clearly planned his escape carefully.
They turned their gaze back, but Xie Yao’s Phoenix had already vanished into the distant horizon, beyond pursuit.
Ang Winged Angel watched the video and slammed his fist on the table, “Useless pigs! Can’t even do one thing right!” They had failed to eliminate Mad Thief Nie Yan, and the Phoenix, which they had painstakingly killed, inexplicably revived. Their only possible gain was the Dark Winged Dragon’s death, but its sudden disappearance left him deeply uneasy. Normally, flying mounts couldn’t be resurrected, but exceptions existed—if they had the corpse and a Resurrection Crystal, it could be revived once.
Resurrection Crystals were extremely rare. Did the Bull Tribe possess one? No one could be sure.
The Winged Angel paced back and forth anxiously. Was this battle a victory or a defeat? Not a single crystal core had been obtained, yet at least they had executed a successful ambush. He commanded the Angel Dominion forces stationed outside Ork Lun City to escalate their offensive. Thus began another ferocious wave of attacks.
Nie Yan returned to the guild headquarters in Orkran City and entered the hall. He had no idea how Cui Can Daoguang, Shui Se Yan Tou, and the others were doing. They needed to retreat immediately. Without delay, he swiftly sent a recall message to Cui Can Daoguang and his companions.
A while later, Xie Yao also returned. Fortunately, the Phoenix possessed the Nirvana skill, allowing it to narrowly escape death. The revived Phoenix seemed significantly different from before.
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