Chapter 796: The Keeper of the Tombs, Calis

Citadel Clemenzy, the headquarters of Angel Dominion. In the grand hall of the Angel Dominion guild, a middle-aged man wearing a black decorative robe entered. He raised his head and saw ahead an angelic winged hunter wearing demon hunter leather armor, sitting on a chair.

“Brother Liu, it’s been a while. Hope you’ve been well,” he smiled slightly.

“Brother Cao, what brings you here?” The winged hunter’s eyes narrowed slightly. Their relationship was not as harmonious as it appeared to the outside world. They had many conflicting interests. If not for their common enemy, the Bull Tribe, their current cooperation would likely not be sustainable.

“I’m implementing a plan and need your cooperation,” Cao Xu said, sitting down on a nearby chair.

“Brother Cao, please speak freely. If I can help, I will certainly do my best,” the winged hunter replied readily, while internally pondering what Cao Xu, that sly fox, really wanted.

“You must already know about the Blood Demon Knight Order in the Granland Empire.”

“I’ve heard something about it. Was it your doing?”

Cao Xu smiled slightly. “The Blood Demon Knight Order will certainly give the Bull Tribe a headache. I hope we can work together. I’ve already bribed over a thousand members of the Bull Tribe. I assume you’ve done the same. If we cooperate, we can at least weaken the Bull Tribe temporarily.”

“That might help, but to think that this alone can defeat the Bull Tribe would be difficult,” the winged hunter replied. After battling with the Bull Tribe for so long, he was well aware of their strength.

“This is just one of several plans. I’m also planning to spend heavily to bribe players from the Demonblood Tribe and the Undead Empire to cause trouble for the Bull Tribe. Not expecting to deal major damage, but hoping to buy us some time to acquire a few more top-tier professions,” Cao Xu explained, a reluctant move. The gap between them and the Bull Tribe was too large. Recently, the Bull Tribe had been expanding constantly. Once they solidified their dominance in Granland Empire, they would likely turn their attention to Angel Dominion and Century Financial Group.

“I will use all of Angel Dominion’s resources to assist,” the winged hunter said. He understood that Angel Dominion’s greatest enemy was the Bull Tribe. Any disputes with Century Financial Group could be set aside temporarily, focusing their efforts on the Bull Tribe.

The two strongest factions in the Saten Empire began cooperating closely, secretly launching a series of initiatives.

The power dynamics in the Underdark began to shift under the activities of Century Financial Group and Angel Dominion. One after another, player groups accepted missions and set off for the surface.

On the Bull Tribe’s side, their guild’s rogues had been searching for the Blood Demon Knight Order but found no trace. The Blood Demon Knight Order seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Nie Yan and others could not stay in the city indefinitely. Some focused on leveling up, while others hunted bosses.

Nie Yan headed alone to Emerald City. He had received information about the remaining two components of the Abak set.

If he could gather the Abak set first and then confront the Blood Demon Knight Order, he would have a better chance.

Since the Sword of Divine Punishment had pledged allegiance to the Bull Tribe, the Bull Tribe had gained absolute control over Emerald City, making it much more peaceful. The various guilds within Emerald City were well-behaved, with no major conflicts occurring.

The Bull Tribe’s influence in Emerald City was growing, becoming the general consensus. Any guild opposing the Bull Tribe would likely collapse internally first. In their view, the Bull Tribe was too powerful; provoking them would bring no good. When the Bull Tribe first entered Emerald City, they faced resistance from several guilds. Nie Yan gave the order, and those guilds were subjected to a joint, relentless assault by the Furious War Alliance and the Sword of Divine Punishment, forcing them to disband. Since then, no guild dared to challenge the Bull Tribe. Other guilds were initially anxious, fearing the Bull Tribe would eventually absorb them one by one. However, the Bull Tribe won them over with virtue, merely establishing a relatively fair treaty for all guilds in Emerald City, which calmed them down.

Seeing the inevitable trend, the Sword of Divine Punishment, having no other choice, bargained with the Bull Tribe before accepting their reorganization. From then on, the Bull Tribe held absolute authority in Emerald City. The Bull Tribe players walking the streets of Emerald City could hold their heads high, receiving respect from players of other guilds.

Nie Yan passed through the streets of Emerald City and exited the city gates, heading outward.

His destination was a cemetery outside the city. The mission clue indicated that the remaining component of the Abak set was there.

It was only about a thousand yards from Emerald City, a few minutes’ walk.

Nie Yan activated his Dash Step and swiftly made his way toward the cemetery.

About a minute later, Nie Yan arrived at a vast open square. It was a magnificent tomb, though its occupant was unknown. The central entrance was constructed with many white stones. The surrounding area, spanning a thousand yards, was enclosed by fences. At the entrance were many NPCs. Counting them, there were thirteen in total, all dressed in solemn white clothing. They were the tomb keepers of this burial site.

Besides these NPCs, there were also many players, about two or three hundred. Many of them were chatting with the tomb keepers, probably discussing certain quests. One twenty-player team after another entered the tomb.

At that moment, a crisp system notification sounded.

System: Talk to the tomb keeper, Karis.

Nie Yan headed toward the tomb keepers, scanning his eyes until they landed on one of them. It was an elderly man in his sixties, but still vigorous and alert. This was the Karis he was looking for. He was speaking with three or four players, and there were at least ten more waiting in line to talk to Karis.

Nie Yan waited on the spot for a while, but the number of players around Karis did not decrease; instead, it kept increasing. He became impatient and walked directly toward Karis.

“Hey, kid, you wanna die? Get to the back and pay first!” A tall warrior saw Nie Yan approaching and swung a slap at Nie Yan’s head, speaking rudely.

Hearing the warrior’s words, Nie Yan finally understood the situation. No wonder the crowd hadn’t thinned despite his long wait; these guys were deliberately slowing things down!

Nie Yan sidestepped, dodging the warrior’s strike, and then gently hooked his right foot, causing the warrior to lose balance and fall flat on his face with a loud thud.

In his past life, Nie Yan had encountered similar situations at certain popular NPCs. Some players would monopolize an NPC, demanding payment from anyone wishing to receive or complete a quest from that NPC. Nie Yan had experienced this many times before, and back then, although he felt humiliated, he could only obediently pay like the other players.

Nie Yan glanced around and saw at least thirty people nearby, all wearing Grizzly Bear Medals, preparing to charge him.

Nie Yan moved his right hand, and suddenly the Zennad’s Sword appeared in his palm, burning with fierce flames.

“Shit!” The fallen warrior was enraged, lifting his head to yell, but his gaze fell on Nie Yan’s Zennad’s Sword, and his expression froze instantly. Rogue Ancestor Nie Yan!

The thirty-odd people at the periphery were about to surround Nie Yan to teach him a lesson, but upon seeing Nie Yan’s Zennad’s Sword, they were stunned.

“Ancestor Nie Yan, we’re sorry, we didn’t expect it to be you.”

“Ancestor Nie Yan, we apologize. We’ll leave immediately; there’s no need for you to take action.”

They quickly apologized, bowing and scraping. Gaming was their livelihood, and they were all freelance professional players. Nie Yan, however, could easily take away their means of survival. With just one word from Nie Yan, various guilds could soon hunt them down to level zero—a terrifying kind of power. Thus, upon seeing Nie Yan, they were terrified.

Seeing these guys act like cowardly lapdogs, Nie Yan lost interest in fighting them and said indifferently, “Clear out within two minutes. I don’t want to see any of you here again.”

“Yes!” These guys quickly fled, their tails between their legs.

Nie Yan approached the tomb keeper Karis.

“Respected Great Prophet, Light Arbiter, and Holy Shadow Dancer, Lord Nie Yan, greetings,” Karis bowed deeply.

Players nearby watched from a distance, shocked to see Karis’s extreme respect for Nie Yan. They were familiar with the high status of Karis in Emerald City, equivalent to a marquis, yet he was acting like a servant before Nie Yan.

“Mr. Karis, I would like to ask if you have seen this item,” Nie Yan said, opening his Shadow of Darkness and pointing at a picture.

Clearly visible was the Abak Swift Boots. Nie Yan could only inquire this way, as it was difficult to explain otherwise.

Karis showed a thoughtful expression and nodded. “I have seen this item at the Magus Lefis, but…”

“But what?” Nie Yan asked, noticing Karis’s hesitation.

“May I ask, Great Prophet Nie Yan, are you seeking this item?” Karis inquired.

“Yes.”

“Magus Lefis is a very peculiar NPC, and he dislikes others coveting his belongings.”

“So, how can I obtain the Swift Boots from him?”

“Only by defeating him,” Karis replied.

Upon hearing Karis’s words, Nie Yan’s eyebrows lifted. A Magus-level NPC? He wondered how strong that character was.