Chapter 767: The World of Demon Riders

The drowned fish and others noticed that Nie Yan’s gaze was directed toward them. His sharp eyes seemed to penetrate into one’s soul.

Just a fleeting glance, and The drowned fish felt a chill down his spine. Having watched many videos related to the notorious thief Nie Yan, they understood just how formidable the infamous thief was.

Their breath caught slightly, and their hearts skipped a beat.

“Boss, the Mad Bandit Nie Yan has spotted us,” one player whispered in the team chat, his voice trembling slightly.

From such a distance, Nie Yan’s perception was still able to accurately pinpoint their location, which was genuinely terrifying.

In their eyes, being targeted by the mad thief Nie Yan meant only one fate—death.

Nie Yan merely glanced at them and then turned his head away.

“He didn’t notice us?”

“No, he definitely saw us!” The drowned fish shook his head. “Then why didn’t he come over and deal with us?”

“Perhaps he deems us unworthy of his attention. Let’s go,” said The drowned fish. Nie Yan had already warned them. If they still didn’t know when to back off, they would soon become corpses on the ground.

With such thoughts in mind, they slowly retreated. A figure flashed across the sky, and a warrior leapt across rooftops before landing beside Nie Yan.

“Nie Yan, I’m here,” Leisu chuckled.

As Leisu touched down, figures swiftly closed in from every direction. The fastest were the Archmages, utilizing their Blink ability—their forms flickering in and out of existence like the legendary art of teleportation. In mere moments, they had traversed five or six hundred yards from the street’s end and came to a halt beside Nie Yan.

Unbelievably swift! Is this the power of a Grand Magus? The Drowned Fish and the others stared in shock. That continuous teleportation was utterly terrifying.

(Note: I made the following adjustments for better readability and natural flow in English:

1. “魔导师” translated as “Grand Magus” – a common fantasy term for high-level mages

2. “blinking” changed to “teleportation” as it’s the more standard gaming/fantasy term for short-range magical movement

3. Adjusted sentence structure slightly for dramatic emphasis while maintaining the original meaning

4. Kept “The Drowned Fish” capitalized as it appears to be a character name/alias)

It seemed like a grand gathering of top-tier classes. There were twenty-one elite classes altogether. What were they doing here?

Leisu glanced toward the direction where The drowned fish and others were hiding and asked Nie Yan, “Shall we eliminate them?”

“Just a few low-level thieves. Give them one minute. If they haven’t left by then, clean them up,” Nie Yan replied.

If The drowned fish and others had heard Nie Yan’s words, who knows what they would have thought. Their strength was considered very high among ordinary players, yet in front of Nie Yan and his group, they couldn’t even hold their heads high.

“Boss, I recorded the video,” an excited player said in the team chat. The speed of those top-tier classes had been captured on video. If this footage were posted on the forums, who knows what kind of sensation it would cause.

“Everyone, retreat now!”

“Boss, let’s wait a bit longer.”

“They’ve already spotted us. We’re pushing their limits. If we don’t leave now, we’ll definitely be wiped out.” The Drowned Fish remained composed. Gazing into the distance, six Shadow Dancers stood together, chatting. A fervent gleam flashed in his eyes. Those were Shadow Dancers—the ultimate aspiration of countless thieves. The Bull Man Tribe had six of them! Would he ever reach the day when he could stand at the pinnacle and converse with legendary thieves like Nie Yan, Sun, and the others? Maybe he’d never attain that level, but at least hope still lingered.

These thieves gradually withdrew, disappearing at the end of the street.

“They’ve left,” Leisu said.

Nie Yan looked at Ying Sha, who had been recruited into Bull Man Tribe by Guo Huai. He hadn’t been in the guild for long and had been on a quest to advance to an elite class, so he hadn’t met Nie Yan yet.

“Long time no see,” Nie Yan smiled at Ying Sha.

Seeing Nie Yan, Ying Sha revealed a helpless bitter smile. He couldn’t quite describe his feelings upon meeting Nie Yan. Before joining Bull Man Tribe, he had been severely targeted by Nie Yan. First, he assassinated Angel Winged Angel, prompting the entire Angel Empire to mobilize every resource to hunt him down. Then he assassinated Cao Xu of Century Finance, which enraged Cao Xu, leading to twenty plus guilds issuing bounties on him. Almost every day, as soon as he logged in, no matter where he appeared, there were hundreds of thieves watching him. He narrowly escaped death several times, forcing him into hiding and living in constant fear until Guo Huai recruited him, finally bringing him some peace.

During that time, he was abandoned by everyone, though it was largely his own doing, so he couldn’t blame Nie Yan. Still, he harbored intense resentment toward Nie Yan.

However, later on, his mindset gradually changed, leading him to eventually join Bull Man Tribe.

In Nie Yan’s presence, he was undoubtedly a failure, yet he couldn’t help but feel some admiration for Nie Yan. It was a complex feeling.

“Although I’ve joined Bull Man Tribe, it doesn’t mean we’re even. I’m no match for you now, but I will eventually redeem myself,” Ying Sha said solemnly.

“I’ll always be ready for you,” Nie Yan laughed heartily. He appreciated Ying Sha’s straightforwardness. Being able to speak so candidly proved that Ying Sha no longer held any grudges against him, just a slight reluctance to admit defeat.

Everyone couldn’t help but smile. Although they had many prejudices against Ying Sha before, after joining Bull Man Tribe, they had come to understand him anew and got along quite well.

“Alright, we’re all here now,” Nie Yan looked around at the group.

“No, not yet,” Daotou Lao Ge Qi Zi corrected Nie Yan. “Shi Li Hua Sha, Hei Bai, Wu Feng, and others are at crucial stages of their advancement quests. They should successfully complete their class changes soon.”

“Not only Hua Sha, many others are also doing their class advancement quests. There might be some surprises,” Xie Yao, standing beside Nie Yan, added.

“Indeed, I look forward to seeing some new faces.”

Everyone’s expressions turned wistful. As time passed, Bull Man Tribe was gaining more and more elite classes, widening the gap with other guilds. When the number of elite classes reached a certain level, they would truly dominate the world.

“It would be great if we could recruit a few more Archmages. Bombarding enemies with forbidden spells is just too awesome,” Shabuside Huaidan grinned wickedly.

Nie Yan had a general idea of which members of Bull Man Tribe could advance to elite classes. After all, many had been specifically recruited by Guo Huai on his orders. However, as the guild developed, each member’s experiences varied. Top players exchanged techniques and knowledge, and many newcomers rose rapidly, so Nie Yan couldn’t be certain exactly how many elite classes Bull Man Tribe would eventually produce.

They split into two groups, preparing to head toward the inner city, when distant rumbling sounds came from the eastern edge of the inner city, indicating some kind of disturbance.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know. I’ll go check it out,” Sun said, leaping onto a spire and looking from the tower’s summit. “It looks like a boss has appeared. There must be tens of thousands of players in the square over there.”

“What kind of boss?” Nie Yan asked in the team chat.

“It looks somewhat like an octopus, but I can’t see clearly.”

Somewhat like an octopus? Nie Yan immediately thought of Princess Aina, the wandering princess. Princess Aina had indeed entered this realm.

“Boss, what should we do? Continue toward the inner city or go check it out?”

Nie Yan briefly explained Princess Aina’s quest. “Let’s go clear her out first. Otherwise, she might follow us.”

“If that’s the case, let’s go.”

Everyone rushed toward the scene, each moving at an astonishing speed.

In the eastern part of the inner city, there was a massive plaza filled with many players, clearly divided into various factions. Several well-known major guilds, including Angel Empire and the Saten Empire, were present.

Princess Aina was furiously roaring in the center of the square. Several shield warriors and druids in bear form formed a massive encirclement, trapping Princess Aina inside.

Dense magical attacks rained down on Princess Aina, but she continuously lashed out with her tentacles, sending shield warriors and druids flying.

“Which guilds are they from?” Nie Yan asked in the team chat. The scene was too chaotic, with players from different guilds intermingled, making it hard to distinguish clearly.

“There’s Xie Luo Di Yu and Mo Qi Tian Xia. That’s the leader of Mo Qi Tian Xia!” Daotou Lao Ge Qi Zi pointed toward the rooftop direction of the southern plaza.

Nie Yan looked in the direction Daotou Lao Ge Qi Zi indicated. A shaman wearing gray robes stood proudly on a rooftop. From this distance, Nie Yan couldn’t make out his features.

Nie Yan had heard of Xie Luo Di Yu and Mo Qi Tian Xia. These were two other factions from the Saten Empire. Although they controlled fewer strongholds, they were still regional powers, each occupying a city with more than twenty strongholds under their control. They usually didn’t submit to Angel Empire. Previously, Angel Empire had fought several battles with Xie Luo Di Yu and Mo Qi Tian Xia without decisive outcomes. Forced by the threat from Bull Man Tribe, they had to abandon further conflict. Earlier, Nie Yan had sent people to contact these two guilds, but they were unwilling to cooperate with Bull Man Tribe. In their view, the Saten Empire was their domain. Why should a human empire guild come to share their spoils? Regarding the conflict between Angel Empire and Bull Man Tribe, they had always maintained a watchful stance.

The three guilds’ positions were clear, each occupying one side of the square and maintaining mutual vigilance.

Besides these three major guilds, many other smaller teams had also joined in, attempting to seize some spoils during the boss fight.

“Has Angel Winged Angel not come?” Nie Yan asked, scanning the battlefield but failing to spot Angel Winged Angel himself.

“He might not be here. According to information from Guo Huai, Angel Winged Angel himself has taken four elite class players to complete a quest.”

“Five elite class players doing a quest together?” Nie Yan frowned slightly. As Bull Man Tribe continued to accumulate more elite class players, Angel Winged Angel wouldn’t sit idly by. Nie Yan wondered if that guy was planning something.

“Since he’s not here, let’s teach Angel Empire a lesson first and then deal with Princess Aina. These people are so slow,” Leisu said, rolling up his sleeves. Despite so many people attacking Princess Aina, they had only managed to deplete 20% of her health. He was getting impatient.