Chapter 780: The Governor-General

More than two months had passed. On the desolate plains of this dark world, a group of twenty-one people advanced slowly.

Nie Yan looked ahead. They were now very close to the volcano, though the journey had taken far longer than they had anticipated. Everyone’s level had risen only slowly. Nie Yan had reached level 145, while others like Tang Yao and Xie Yao, who had leveled up slightly faster, were only at level 146.

However, during this time, Nie Yan had received many good news. Seven members—Heise Tiantang (Black Heaven), Luonan de Qingwa (The Frogs in Distress), Wu Dao (Silent Path), Heibai (Black and White), Wu Feng (Silent Blade), Kuaile Yinshi (Happy Hermit), and Xihuan Jiangnan (Like Jiangnan)—had successively advanced to their ultimate classes. Thus, the Cowhide Tribe now had a total of twenty-eight ultimate-class players, including all three divine priests, all belonging to the Cowhide Tribe. Other major guilds like Angel Empire, as well as some independent players, had also produced successful ultimate-class players, but only nine in total, with Angel Empire having three.

In terms of numbers of ultimate-class players, the Cowhide Tribe had a significant advantage. With twenty-eight ultimate-class players gathered together, plus Nie Yan’s Golden Earth Dragon and the paladin Lai Fusi, they should be able to face the Blood Demon Knight Corps without being at a disadvantage. In 1v1 combat, the ultimate-class players from the Greenlan Empire were far superior to the Silver Wings of the Magus Tribe. However, when it came to team coordination, the situation was different. The Blood Demon Knight Corps was renowned for their teamwork, having defeated countless teams from both the Greenlan and Sattern Empires in the past.

With so many ultimate-class players, Nie Yan felt somewhat reassured. It would not be easy for the Blood Demon Knight Corps to dominate their territory.

Nie Yan had learned that the Blood Demon Knight Corps had become a major headache for the Sattern Empire’s guilds. The Sattern Empire had dispatched hundreds of thousands of players to search for them but had found nothing. Instead, several thousand of their players had been killed, suffering heavy losses. The players of the Sattern Empire were in a state of panic, to the point of fearing even to mention the Blood Demon Knight Corps. Even the thieves sent by the Cowhide Tribe had repeatedly lost track of them.

As Nie Yan and his companions approached the foot of the volcano, they received a message.

System: You have discovered the Mephisto Volcano.

Seeing this message, Nie Yan raised his eyebrows. This volcano was actually named after the NPC Mephisto.

They must be approaching their destination.

After receiving the message, the Paternoster Warhammer in Nie Yan’s backpack became increasingly violent, emitting waves of raging lightning and icy power. He felt as if a soul inside the warhammer was beginning to stir and awaken.

System: You sense a powerful dark force. Oh great spirit, it is gradually awakening. You hear its call. This is the shattered soul and will of the War God. It roars in anger. Brave one, slay the vile Diraklu, this despicable and contemptible villain!

A series of scenes flashed through Nie Yan’s mind, forming a complete story. Diraklu was an orc, once the commander of the Sattern Empire’s orc legion. During the war against the Magus Tribe, his mistake had led to the legion’s defeat. To evade responsibility, he killed several innocent generals. From then on, demons had taken root in his heart. He attempted to seize the throne of the Sattern Empire but was discovered by the Orc King. Diraklu severely wounded the Orc King and fled, embarking on a life of exile. The Orc King died from his wounds, and the Sattern Empire fell into thirty years of internal chaos. Diraklu became a public enemy of the Sattern Empire. During his escape, he finally allowed demons to control his heart, becoming a demonized lord.

A crisp system prompt sounded, and Nie Yan glanced at it.

Quest Progress: Assassinate the traitor Diraklu. Before that, speak with Mephisto first.

It was an assassination quest, though its specific details were unknown. Since the volcano before them was named after Mephisto, he should be nearby.

“Boss, how’s your quest going?”

“I just received a system prompt telling me to find someone named Mephisto.”

“Why don’t we let Sun, Wangzhetianguo (Kingdom Under Heaven), Yingsha (Shadow Kill), Xiaorong (Smile), and Yichui Dingqing (One Hammer Decides) split up and search? That would be faster,” said Shuise Yantou (Watercolor Cigarette). Searching the entire area around the volcano as a group would take a lot of time. It would be better to split up. It was not suitable for mages or warriors to search, so only thieves could be sent.

“Nie Yan should stay. If we don’t have any thieves here, it will be difficult,” said Cui Can Daoguang (Brilliant Blade).

Nie Yan thought for a moment and looked at Sun, Xiaorong, and the others. “Then I’ll leave it to you.”

“Not a problem,” Xiaorong Bushi Wei Xiaole (Smile Not for Me) replied with a smile.

The five of them split up, entering stealth mode and searching in different directions, each responsible for a specific area. Nie Yan and the others continued to advance.

“Boss, what kind of quest did you take?” asked Sha Bu Si de Huaide (Undying Villain) and others. They had faced many dangers on the way here, nearly suffering total party wipes several times. They could imagine how difficult this quest must be, so they became curious about it.

“It’s a quest to obtain the Heart of the Assassin, involving the assassination of a demonized lord. It’s extremely difficult. If we can’t make it, we’ll just have to die and escape. It’s a pity about some of the items I’m carrying. They were hard to obtain, and now I’ll have to drop them. I don’t know if I’ll be able to come back here or find an exit next time,” Nie Yan said. If he died, the loss would be severe.

“What items? Are they guaranteed to drop when you die?” Xia Chong Yubing (Summer Insect Ice) asked in surprise. He had seen a few such items before, and they usually had great attributes.

Nie Yan thought for a moment. There were no outsiders here. “It’s a hammer.” He shared the attributes of the Paternoster Warhammer.

Silence fell, as if the world had gone still.

After a while, Sha Bu Si de Huaide exclaimed in shock, “F***! A divine artifact! There’s actually such a thing in Faith. The attributes are insane!”

“Pity it can’t be used.”

“Some of the attributes are useful. Didn’t Boss Nie use the Ice Seal skill from this hammer to deal with that demonized lord in the Clementsi Fortress last time?”

“Yeah.” Nie Yan nodded.

The group chattered excitedly. They were all shocked by the attributes of the Paternoster Warhammer. This was a true divine artifact. Ordinary equipment was nothing compared to it. Although it couldn’t be used, just having such an item to look at was satisfying enough.

“What’s ‘Divine Power’?”

“I think these divine artifacts should be quest items. Players might never be able to use them. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be a requirement for Divine Power. I’ve never even heard of Divine Power. Plus, the required strength and agility are too high. Even reaching level 200 might not be enough. I estimate that even wearing a full set of legendary gear might not meet the requirements,” said Lei Su (Thunderous).

“Probably.” Nie Yan nodded. What Lei Su said made sense.

“Even if it’s just a quest item, a task related to this item must be extremely difficult!” said Shuise Yantou. Just this alone made the Paternoster Warhammer extremely valuable.

“I also have a Deathblade. Its attributes are similar, also unusable, related to the Archangel Tyrode, and also a quest item.” Nie Yan said, sharing the attributes of the Deathblade.

The group looked at each other in astonishment. One Paternoster Warhammer was enough, but Nie Yan actually had a second.

“Whatever happens, we can’t let the boss die,” said Sha Bu Si de Huaide. If Nie Yan died, both items would be lost.

“We’ll see when the time comes,” Nie Yan said. If they couldn’t leave the Dark World, they would have no choice but to die and return.

As they were talking, a large group of demon hyenas slowly surrounded them from the front.

“Brothers, it’s time to work,” said Cui Can Daoguang. He raised his shield and walked forward.

No one dared to slack off. They chose their positions carefully, preparing to face the onslaught of the demon hyenas.

Tang Yao and others had already begun constructing firewalls. Nie Yan ordered the Golden Earth Dragon to guard one side, preparing to face the charge of the demon hyenas.

As Nie Yan and his companions began clearing the demon hyenas, Nie Yan received a message from Guo Huai.

Nie Yan kicked a demon hyena flying, then stepped forward with an elbow strike, sending another demon hyena flying, and answered the voice call.

“What’s up?” Nie Yan asked as he retreated backward.

The surrounding team members were frantically fighting the monsters, creating a chaotic scene.

“Our people have just lost track of the Blood Demon Knight Corps again. But this time is different from before. This time, the target was lost near the Krasom Canyon, which happens to be the border between the Greenlan Empire and the Sattern Empire. Recently, the Sattern Empire has been pursuing the Blood Demon Knight Corps very aggressively. I estimate that the Blood Demon Knight Corps is about to enter our Greenlan Empire.”

Hearing this news, Nie Yan’s heart trembled. It had been more than two months, and the Blood Demon Knight Corps had not entered the Greenlan Empire. He had been praying for a few more days, but what was coming could not be avoided.

Once the Blood Demon Knight Corps entered the Greenlan Empire, the Cowhide Tribe would definitely not be able to remain uninvolved. With Nie Yan and others away, the Cowhide Tribe lacked experts capable of dealing with the Blood Demon Knight Corps. Given how well-informed they were, it would be very difficult to track and confront them.

“Any other updates?” Nie Yan asked.

“Just received news: the leader of the Blood Demon Knight Corps, Blood Demon, has just advanced to the rank of Commander.”

“Commander?” Nie Yan’s heart tightened. “How did he advance so quickly?” But thinking about it, he roughly calculated that the Blood Demon Knight Corps had been on the surface for nearly three months, killing countless players. As the leader of the Blood Demon Knight Corps, that guy’s kill count must have reached a terrifying level. If Nie Yan had stayed underground for two months, he probably could have reached Commander as well.

“These guys have been killing too brutally. The Sattern Empire has been nearly driven to collapse. Dozens of guilds have been chasing and blocking them, but still can’t deal with them. The casualties on their side are countless. Reaching Commander is actually quite normal,” Guo Huai said with a bitter smile.