Nie Yan started reading the recall scroll. A flash of white light enveloped him, and he returned inside the Orcish Kingdom. There, a group of twenty-one players regrouped on the streets of the city.
“How bad are the losses?” Nie Yan asked.
“Sun, Xiaorong, and Mo Jue each lost an epic sub-legendary item, while I lost a level 130 legendary piece,” Shuise Yan Tou replied. The losses were quite severe, but compared to the Demon Diracru Shield, they weren’t that significant.
Nie Yan nodded. The lost items were relatively unimportant. Fortunately, before this, the Kings’ Union had already handed him the five Pages of Order in his possession, preventing their loss.
Nie Yan handed the Demon Diracru Shield to Cui Can Dao Guang (Radiant Blade).
“What’s your defense now?” Nie Yan asked Cui Can Dao Guang.
“Over 36,000, with an 83% defense rate,” Cui Can Dao Guang replied excitedly after checking his stats.
Upon hearing this, the entire team looked at each other in astonishment. Shuise Yan Tou hadn’t exaggerated when he said that Cui Can Dao Guang’s defense was hard to penetrate. Among all classes, warriors had the highest defense, and among warriors, shield warriors were the undisputed top because of the added protection from their shield. While a normal warrior having a 10% defense rate was already impressive, shield warriors typically reached 30–50% when wielding a shield. An 83% defense rate was unheard of. This meant that any physical attack against Cui Can Dao Guang had an 80% chance of being ineffective, and the remaining 20% still had to contend with over 36,000 defense points.
Among the group, only Nie Yan and the magi could reliably bypass Cui Can Dao Guang’s defense.
With the Demon Diracru Shield equipped, Cui Can Dao Guang exuded a renewed vigor. He was now undeniably the top shield warrior in the game.
Nie Yan took out the three shattered divine fragments from his bag and placed them in his palm. “I just acquired another piece of the shattered divine fragment, making it three now. When you level up, complete quests, or run instances, keep an eye out and see if you can gather any information about the shattered divine fragments from certain NPCs.”
Cui Can Dao Guang and the others were aware Nie Yan had some shattered divine fragments, but they hadn’t expected him to obtain another one this time.
“We’ll keep that in mind,” Shuise Yan Tou nodded.
Nie Yan checked his current level, which was already over 149. It was time to search for the remaining two pieces of the Abak Set. Once he had a complete set, he could finally equip them.
“Let’s head back to the Bull Tribe and form a team to take down the Lava Colossus first,” Nie Yan said. The Bull Tribe now definitely had the strength to handle the Lava Colossus. Previously, they had lacked a tank capable of withstanding the Lava Colossus, as Cui Can Dao Guang’s defense had been insufficient. Now, with the Demon Diracru Shield, things were different.
“Sounds good,” everyone replied excitedly.
Among players, the Lava Colossus was seen as an unbeatable powerful boss. The Lava Colossus’s invincible image had been deeply imprinted in players’ minds after the battle in the Molten Fire Forest. If the Bull Tribe managed to defeat it, the impact would be immense.
As they were discussing their strategy, Guo Huai sent Nie Yan a message: the Blood Demon Knight Squad had reappeared, this time near Carol City, engaging a large Bull Tribe team in battle.
The Blood Demon Knight Squad had been silent for days, and Nie Yan had assumed they had left. He never expected them to reappear.
“The Blood Demon Knight Squad is here. Let’s head back to Carol City,” Nie Yan told the group.
“That bunch of trash dares to come to Carol City? Let’s make them regret it,” Sha Bu Si De Huai Dan (Unkillable Rogue) said, rubbing his hands together with fighting spirit.
“What are they doing in Carol City?”
“We must get there immediately!”
The group dashed toward the Orcish Kingdom’s teleportation array and shortly after returned to Carol City via teleportation.
“Guo Huai, where are they?” Nie Yan asked urgently.
“They’re south of Carol City, east of the Kara Wetlands,” Guo Huai replied with the exact location.
If they were too slow, the Blood Demon Knight Squad might escape. After leaving the city, Nie Yan and his group summoned their flying mounts and sped toward the location.
Twenty-one flying mounts soared through the sky. After five or six minutes, they arrived east of the Kara Wetlands. Nie Yan stood atop his Darkwing Dragon, looking down at the chaotic battlefield below, where at least five to six hundred players were engaged in combat.
“Nie Yan, there they are! We’ll go down first!” Cui Can Dao Guang said.
Cui Can Dao Guang, Shuise Yan Tou, and Lei Su dove down from the sky.
“Those with Feather Fall Devices, follow me down! The rest of you, hurry up!” Nie Yan said, as he also jumped down. The Blood Demon Knight Squad was different from their previous opponents; sixty Silver Wings were quite difficult to handle.
Nie Yan and his group rapidly descended.
On the battlefield below, Blood Demon executed a Dark Whirlwind Slash, sending three warriors flying. He then unleashed a sword wave that instantly killed one of them.
“Boss Blood Demon, Nie Yan’s group is here!” Shen Qiu De Leng Feng (Autumn Chill) shouted beside him.
Blood Demon looked up at the sky, where several dark figures were rapidly approaching.
“We retreat. Use random teleport scrolls!” Blood Demon ordered.
“Boss Blood Demon, why retreat? We might not be afraid of Nie Yan’s group!” one member protested.
“Yeah, why retreat?” others echoed.
The team members were reluctant, asking why they should withdraw before even seeing Nie Yan’s group. If word got out, the Blood Demon Knight Squad’s reputation would be damaged and they might be ridiculed.
“There will be other chances to confront Nie Yan in the future. For now, follow my orders and retreat!” Blood Demon said seriously.
Within the Blood Demon Knight Squad, Blood Demon had absolute authority. Although reluctant, the members had no choice but to obey. They crushed their random teleport scrolls and quickly vanished.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Lei Su, Cui Can Dao Guang, and Shuise Yan Tou landed one after another.
Seeing them arrive, the Bull Tribe members rushed forward.
“Boss Dao Guang, Boss Shuise, Boss Lei Su, you’re here.”
“Where are the Blood Demon Knight Squad members?” Cui Can Dao Guang asked, scanning the area. Nearby was a battlefield in chaos. The Bull Tribe still had about three to four hundred players, but there were around five to six hundred Bull Tribe player corpses scattered on the ground. Equipment was strewn everywhere, and the Blood Demon Knight Squad hadn’t had time to collect it.
“They just left using random teleport scrolls,” a warrior said angrily.
Nie Yan and the others landed and looked at Cui Can Dao Guang and the rest.
“Did the Blood Demon Knight Squad escape?” Nie Yan asked, not seeing any trace of them.
“Yeah, they’re all gone. Damn, those cowards ran fast,” Cui Can Dao Guang said in frustration.
Nie Yan surveyed the area. The ground was littered with Bull Tribe player corpses, and the losses were severe. He frowned. What was the Blood Demon Knight Squad’s purpose? In the group chat, he said gravely, “Start tallying the losses.”
“Reporting to Boss Nie Yan, we lost 521 players in total, including 351 who were level 130 or higher. We lost 76 pieces of equipment, including one sub-legendary item,” a player reported in the group chat.
Upon hearing the numbers, Tang Yao and others felt heavy-hearted. Many of the fallen were players they could recognize by name, and they had occasionally grouped together for leveling or instances.
“Damn it!” Unkillable Rogue punched a nearby tree. “Blood Demon Knight Squad, we’re not done with you!”
Nie Yan was furious. The Blood Demon Knight Squad had truly enraged him, and he would definitely settle this score!
Although angry, the group was helpless. The Blood Demon Knight Squad had escaped too quickly, using random teleport scrolls before they could approach.
“Immediately have all our thief groups track their movements. Once their location is found, report it immediately. Don’t engage them; wait for us,” Nie Yan instructed Guo Huai. After receiving Nie Yan’s command, Guo Huai deployed a comprehensive reconnaissance network across Carol City.
In addition to tracking their location, Nie Yan also instructed Unkillable Rogue to post a declaration of war against the Blood Demon Knight Squad on the forums. The post was filled with mockery, calling the Blood Demon Knight Squad cowards and challenging them to a decisive battle. He claimed that the Bull Tribe only needed fifteen members to handle them, aiming to provoke the Blood Demon Knight Squad. If they refused to back down, Nie Yan and his group wouldn’t mind teaching them a lesson.
This post received many replies from Bull Tribe members, pushing it to the top of the forums. The forums became lively as everyone discussed what had happened between the Bull Tribe and the Blood Demon Knight Squad. Why did the Blood Demon Knight Squad keep targeting the Bull Tribe, and why did the Bull Tribe seem determined to fight to the bitter end?
Nie Yan understood that a top-tier team like the Blood Demon Knight Squad, engaging in guerrilla warfare with a guild, was very difficult to deal with. It would be hard for the Bull Tribe to catch them.
“Boss, what should we do? Should we form an elite team to fight the Lava Colossus?”
“It seems the Blood Demon Knight Squad has targeted the Bull Tribe. Let’s hold off on the Lava Colossus for now and focus on finding the Blood Demon Knight Squad first!” Nie Yan said after a moment of thought. They couldn’t allow the Blood Demon Knight Squad any opportunities. He looked at Cui Can Dao Guang and the others. “You all form small teams to hunt bosses in the wild. Don’t enter instances. Wait for my notification. If the thief groups discover the Blood Demon Knight Squad’s movements, we’ll act immediately.”
“Understood,” everyone replied.
“You all need to be careful. The Blood Demon Knight Squad might try to harass you. I think their appearance here today was intentional. There must be a mole within the Bull Tribe!” Nie Yan warned. There were definitely people like Hui Ming within the Bull Tribe.
For now, they could only wait for further news. They couldn’t afford to search aimlessly, as it would be a huge waste of time.
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