Chapter 799: Abak’s Swift Boots

The death of Paladin Lefus bought Nie Yan some time.

Nie Yan got up, watching a massive ice pillar descending from the sky. He quickly dodged sideways, narrowly avoiding the pillar.

With a loud bang, the ice pillar shattered into pieces.

Nie Yan glanced at his skill bar. “Haste Step” had cooled down. He immediately activated it and quickly evaded.

At this point, Lefus was already showing signs of rage, casting spells at an increasingly rapid pace.

Nie Yan sprinted to a position roughly three to four hundred yards away from Lefus, entered stealth mode, and disappeared from sight.

Due to the distance, Lefus couldn’t detect Nie Yan’s location. He calmed down slightly, half-raising his staff, walking slowly while scanning the surroundings with sharp eyes.

“A Mage Lord NPC is so powerful!” Nie Yan thought. Almost all of his skills had been countered by Lefus, and even Nie Yan himself was unsure what to do next. Looking at Lefus moving slowly in the distance, he wasn’t even sure how far he needed to stay away to remain safe—at least two hundred yards, probably.

Facing a Mage Lord NPC, things would be much easier with the Celestial Judgment skill. Unfortunately, he had used it to defeat Dillakru and it hadn’t cooled down yet.

He glanced at his skill bar. His other powerful skill, “Annihilation Slash,” was still on cooldown. Ordinary skills were practically useless against a Mage Lord NPC. Nie Yan couldn’t even get close to Lefus, and even if he did, his abilities would be disrupted by magic, making it difficult to stun Mage Lord Lefus.

If this continued, Lefus’s health would gradually recover, and Nie Yan’s chance of defeating him would diminish.

Lefus walked around, his gaze sharp like a hawk, seemingly able to pierce through anything.

The surrounding ice shards slowly dissipated, and the players witnessed Mage Lord Lefus killing the Shadow Assassin and Paladin Lefus, murmuring among themselves.

“Judging from the situation, it seems like Rogue Nie Yan will lose.”

” Mage Lord Lefus is too strong. Mage Lord NPCs are indeed formidable.”

Although they weren’t optimistic about Nie Yan’s chances, they were deeply impressed. Being able to hold his own against a Mage Lord NPC was unprecedented. Other players would probably fare far worse.

Step by step, Lefus approached. Nie Yan could feel the agitated ice elemental magic all around.

Nie Yan focused his mind. As Lefus drew closer, the distance between them shrank—two hundred and thirty yards, two hundred, one hundred and seventy…

Time seemed to freeze.

Nie Yan understood: there was no avoiding it—he had to make his move!

“Damn you! I will turn your corpse into an ice sculpture and place it in an icy cave in the frigid lands…” Lefus cursed viciously, like a maddened dog.

Lefus’s words faintly reached Nie Yan’s ears. Nie Yan smirked coldly. The outcome had yet to be decided!

Stay calm. He had to stay calm!

Nie Yan kept reminding himself. Mage Lord Lefus was undoubtedly one of the strongest opponents he had ever faced. He would never back down now. If he lost, his Abak set would be gone, and many items on him would be dropped.

Watching Lefus approach, Nie Yan gradually entered a unique state. His mind settled, his focus sharpened, and he entered an unusual state of clarity.

Utterly calm, his emotions completely still.

The entire world narrowed to just him and Lefus, his mind free of distractions.

One hundred yards, eighty, sixty… Suddenly, Lefus seemed to sense something. His gaze, as solid as steel, locked onto Nie Yan’s location. Almost simultaneously, his staff moved.

A dense array of ice spikes erupted from the ground.

At the moment Lefus cast the ice spikes, Nie Yan suddenly moved. Though his steps seemed slow, his actual speed was incredibly fast, swiftly dodging the attack.

“Frozen Hail!”

“Cry of the Frost!”

Lefus’s staff moved rapidly, unleashing a barrage of spells. As a Mage Lord, he had abundant magic. These low-level spells required no incantation time and were all instant-cast.

Nie Yan’s figure was like lightning, continuously dodging, narrowly escaping one attack after another from Lefus.

His mastery of speed was becoming increasingly fluid. This extreme speed gave him an unprecedented thrill, everything around him flashing past in a blur.

This was the speed of Shadow Dance!

Nie Yan felt an urge to shout. Dodging one spell after another from Lefus, it seemed perilous to ordinary players, but Nie Yan knew he still had ample room to maneuver, in no danger of being hit.

It felt like a step technique. A sudden realization flashed in Nie Yan’s mind.

System: You have learned the technique “Haste Dance.”

Exactly! One of the steps of Shadow Dance.

Nie Yan dashed forward, his body slightly leaning, moving at lightning speed. He adjusted to his new speed and locked his gaze on the Mage Lord Lefus in the center!

What if he was a Mage Lord NPC? Let him witness the power of Shadow Dance!

Shadow Dance’s speed was the bane of Mage Lords. Once speed reached a certain threshold, it could overcome any powerful Mage Lord!

Lefus’s spells kept missing Nie Yan. He felt immense pressure, even panic. He couldn’t understand why Nie Yan’s strength seemed to surge suddenly. He kept swinging his staff, casting spell after spell, his arm nearly cramping, but still couldn’t catch Nie Yan.

Suddenly, Nie Yan changed direction, rushing toward Lefus. The Zennarde Sword in his hand became a streak of light.

“Flash!”

Lefus flashed backward five or six yards. As soon as he landed, before he could counterattack, he saw Nie Yan already upon him. The Zennarde dagger aimed at his forehead, dark corrosive energy rushing toward him.

Lefus flashed again, five yards away.

No sooner had he landed than Nie Yan was behind him.

Such incredible speed! Even Lefus couldn’t help but feel his heart race. He could only keep flashing to escape, but found that consecutive flashes were largely ineffective. Nie Yan was too fast, accurately predicting his escape direction based on his line of sight every time.

Lefus was pushed back on the defensive again, struggling to keep up.

Nie Yan would never give him another chance!

As Lefus flashed and just landed, Nie Yan suddenly jumped, the Zennarde Sword in his right hand aiming for Lefus’s head.

“Flash!”

Lefus barely started to swing his staff. Before his spell could take effect, Nie Yan locked onto him, a powerful aura seizing Lefus, interrupting his Flash ability.

His Flash interrupted, Lefus’s heart clenched. He hurriedly tried to swing his staff, but a sharp pain from a blade cutting into his head stunned him.

Nie Yan was simply too fast. He couldn’t cast any spell in time!

Seeing Lefus stunned, Nie Yan sneered coldly. Since you’re stunned, don’t wake up again.

Nie Yan struck Lefus’s back with a Backstab, followed by a brutal Slash.

Several strikes later, floating damage numbers of five to six thousand appeared over Lefus’s head. His health dropped significantly.

With a bang, a ring of icy aura erupted from Lefus.

As the icy aura approached, Nie Yan activated his Death Immunity skill. The aura swept over him, coating his body in white frost.

This guy even had a triggered passive skill! Fortunately, Death Immunity could ignore control effects, saving him from freezing. However, the attack still cost him over ten thousand health points, drastically reducing his speed.

Lefus’s fingers twitched, trying to escape Nie Yan’s control. Nie Yan spun sideways, delivering a Spinal Slice straight into Lefus’s back. With a bang, Lefus was stunned again.

Another Reverse Backstab followed. Lefus’s health dropped to a sliver, around a thousand points.

Nie Yan placed the Zennarde Sword at Lefus’s throat, about half an inch away, the rising flames ready to engulf Lefus at any moment.

Although Mage Lord Lefus had a peculiar temper, he wasn’t an irredeemable NPC. On the contrary, he held a prominent position in the Glinlan Empire. Killing such an NPC would undoubtedly stain Nie Yan’s record. After careful consideration, he chose not to kill him.

Moments later, Lefus slowly regained consciousness. He opened his eyes and met Nie Yan’s gaze.

“I lost,” Lefus said bitterly. This was the first time he had been defeated by a player. Though disheartened, he accepted it with grace.

“According to our previous agreement, give me the Abak Boots of Swiftness,” Nie Yan said, staring into Lefus’s eyes.

Lefus moved his right hand, producing an item and tossing it to Nie Yan. “This is what you want.”

Nie Yan caught it and looked. It was indeed the Abak Boots of Swiftness, another piece of the Abak set. Now only one piece remained. His heart swelled with excitement.

“You may go,” Nie Yan lowered the Zennarde Sword and walked away directly. Finally done, he could return. Besides collecting the Abak set and learning the Haste Dance, this was a major gain.

The gathered players hadn’t expected this outcome. A Mage Lord NPC ultimately couldn’t defeat Rogue Nie Yan. They looked at each other in astonishment, shock evident in their eyes. Watching Nie Yan’s retreating figure, they all showed admiration. For a player to reach Nie Yan’s level was truly fulfilling.