Chapter 723: Betrayed by All

Nie Yan logged out of the game and exhaled in relief.

His heart remained unsettled for a long time. By the time he logged back in, the guild headquarters would already have moved to Auklun City.

Qin Han’s skeleton army had dwindled to less than two million, with only the lich Bodeman and the bone dragon posing the greatest threat. Whether the three thousand Royal Gryphon Riders could wear them down remained uncertain. If they could eliminate Bodeman and the bone dragon, then peace would be secured.

As for the remaining 900,000 enemy troops, Nie Yan was confident he could gradually whittle them down. By the time they reached Auklund City, most of the players from the Niu Ren Tribe would have already respawned.

Nie Yan had just finished breakfast when his phone rang. It was a call from Guo Huai, which he promptly answered.

“Did you successfully relocate the guild headquarters?” Guo Huai asked anxiously.

“Of course. Once we log in tomorrow, the guild headquarters will be in Auklun City,” Nie Yan replied with a slight smile.

“In that case, I can rest easy. As soon as we log in, we must immediately deal with the lich Bodeman. He seems to have suffered serious injuries. We cannot miss this opportunity.”

“I understand,” Nie Yan nodded. “Any other news?”

“Following your plan, we did some work on Guang An Yong Zui. Qin Han ordered them to attack the southern fortress of the Niu Ren Tribe, but they’ve been holding back. I think Qin Han must be furious by now,” Guo Huai chuckled.

“Guang An Yong Zui, that old fox, wouldn’t suffer any losses even if he openly defied Qin Han’s orders. He avoids making enemies with us while safeguarding his own interests. If we win, Guang An Empire avoids conflict with us. If we lose, in the end, Qin Han will still have to rely on them,” Nie Yan said. He understood Guang An Yong Zui’s mindset very well.

“For us, there’s no loss. Given Guang An Yong Zui’s position, I suspect several guilds under the Mone Consortium share the same sentiment. Though people like Qin Han have tied these guilds together through mutual interests, he lacks the true charisma of a leader. His single-minded pursuit of profit will ultimately lead to betrayal and isolation,” remarked Guo Huai. In this regard, the Mone Consortium and the Niu Ren Tribe were fundamentally different.

After finishing his conversation with Guo Huai, Nie Yan accompanied Xie Yao for a walk around Huanghai, and also took her to visit the Tianxia Group. The elders were delighted to see their future daughter-in-law. In every aspect, Xie Yao was beyond reproach—exceeding the elders’ expectations by far.

As for the Xie family, since the appearance of Mo Yuntian, they had no objections left and silently accepted Nie Yan and Xie Yao’s relationship.

In a good mood, Nie Yan re-entered the game with Xie Yao at night.

As soon as the server launched, everyone plunged into the tense situation.

Qin Han was dispatching his skeletal forces to encircle the city guards of Auklun City, commanded by Yaluo Pu, who was on the verge of being surrounded. Suddenly, more than three thousand Royal Gryphons emerged on the horizon, swiftly closing in.

Seeing this, players of the Niu Ren Tribe became ecstatic.

“Nie Yan, our leader, is back!”

“Those are the Royal Gryphon Riders from Karol City!”

The two thousand plus units of the Royal Gryphon Riders roared as they dove toward the skeleton army outside Krips Fortress. In an instant, dense magical attacks swept through the battlefield. The massive Royal Gryphons soared overhead, crashing into the skeletons with thunderous impacts, sending them flying in all directions.

Rows of warriors and paladins clad in standard armor leapt from the sky, launching successive charges. Wherever they went, they were unstoppable, forcing the skeleton army into a steady retreat.

The skeletons were no match for these professional troops, crumbling upon contact.

The entire skeleton army fell into chaos. Seeing this, Qin Han was nearly desperate. His only hope now was that the lich Bodeman could withstand the attacks of the Royal Gryphon Legion.

The bone dragon carrying lich Bodeman took flight. The remaining one thousand plus Royal Gryphons immediately surrounded it, launching fierce attacks.

The bone dragon engaged in fierce combat with the Royal Gryphons that rushed in close. Within moments, two or three Royal Gryphons screamed as they plummeted from the sky. However, more immediately surged forward, bombarding the bone dragon with dense magical strikes, explosions erupting across its body.

The sky had already descended into chaos.

Nie Yan, mounted on the Darkwing Drake, hovered at the edge of the battlefield, no more than two hundred yards from the bone dragon. He could clearly see the bone dragon and the lich Bodeman riding atop it. The bone dragon bore numerous wounds from holy light burns and claw marks. As for the lich Bodeman standing on the dragon’s head, he leaned weakly against it, also severely injured.

Just as Guo Huai had said, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—the absolute best moment to eliminate both the bone dragon and lich Bodeman!

Among this force of over one thousand city guards, more than a hundred were top-tier classes. Their damage output against the bone dragon was considerable.

After a while, Cui Can Dao Guang (Radiant Blade), Tang Yao, and others summoned their flying mounts and soared into the sky.

“How’s the situation?” Cui Can Dao Guang asked Nie Yan.

“Not sure yet. We don’t know if we can wear down lich Bodeman completely,” Nie Yan replied. Lich Bodeman was a legendary mage, not to be underestimated.

They could only engage in attrition warfare. Every so often, more Royal Gryphons fell from the sky.

The Royal Gryphon Legion had already lost over fifty units to the bone dragon’s claws.

About an hour later, Nie Yan received great news: the entire skeleton army had been completely annihilated, utterly wiped out by the Royal Gryphon Riders and the Auklun City guards.

This was a force of six million skeletons!

The destruction of the entire army at Krips Fortress was an incredible miracle for the players.

Now, only lich Bodeman and the bone dragon remained, fighting alone.

The two thousand plus Royal Gryphons that had finished clearing the skeletons took flight, surrounding the area where lich Bodeman and the bone dragon were located.

The lich and the bone dragon were completely encircled. Unless they slaughtered the entire Royal Gryphon Legion, there was no escape.

This battle gripped the hearts of all players in the Grinland Empire. Between lich Bodeman and the Royal Gryphon Legion, only one side would emerge victorious, determining the future of the Grinland Empire. If the lich survived, the empire would remain under a dark shadow.

The six million skeleton army had been reduced to piles of corpses scattered across the hills and fields, a devastating blow that drove Qin Han nearly mad. He was now bordering on hysteria.

“Shen Jian (Divine Sword), is the army assembled? I will make the Niu Ren Tribe suffer irreversible destruction!” Qin Han coldly declared in the party chat. This group included leaders from major guilds such as Shen Jian Wu Shuang (Divine Sword Unparalleled), Guang An Yong Zui (Eternal Sin of Light and Darkness), and Sheng Yan (Holy Flame), totaling sixteen guild leaders.

After Qin Han’s message, a long silence followed.

“Shen Jian Wu Shuang, Guang An Yong Zui, Sheng Yan, what are you doing? Are you ready or not?” Qin Han shouted angrily.

Still no reply.

After a while, Shen Jian Wu Shuang responded in the party chat: “Qin Han, it’s over. We can’t possibly defeat the Niu Ren Tribe.”

“What do you mean? Who said it’s impossible? As long as we take Krips Fortress, the remaining fortresses will be ours for the taking!”

“Lich Bodeman can’t hold out anymore, and the Niu Ren Tribe still has so many NPC troops. We won’t be able to take Krips Fortress,” Guang An Yong Zui casually replied in the chat.

No one opposed him. Others clearly agreed with Guang An Yong Zui’s opinion. Qin Han had gathered them together with money, and they were all here for profit. Knowing it was a dead end, why would they follow Qin Han all the way to ruin?

Although Qin Han held controlling stakes in their guilds and had the authority to mobilize their forces, they still had dozens of ways to protect themselves. For example, they could stage a golden cicada shell escape—organizing guild members to leave and form new guilds. They had long prepared such strategies, giving them the confidence to defy orders.

Suddenly, Qin Han realized he could no longer command these people. If only one or two disobeyed, he still had ways to deal with them. But now, they had clearly colluded, leaving him as a lone commander with nothing he could do.

“You have accepted funds from the Mone Consortium, yet now you seek only self-preservation, refusing to dedicate yourselves to the consortium’s mission. Do you not fear being betrayed and disgraced for eternity?” Qin Han roared in fury.

“Qin Han, you’re being too harsh. Back then, you organized the skeleton army, and we at least brought in eight or nine hundred thousand people. Whatever you asked us to do, we never failed once. Now, opposing the Niu Ren Tribe will surely lead to our destruction. Who would willingly go to their death?” one guild leader replied in the chat.

His words received unanimous support.

“Qin Han, you can’t be so absolute. We’ve done plenty for you. We can’t possibly sacrifice our entire guilds—it would be too unethical,” Guang An Yong Zui added.

“Shen Jian Wu Shuang, Sheng Yan, is this your opinion too?” Qin Han shouted in the chat.

Shen Jian Wu Shuang and Sheng Yan remained silent for a long time.

“We agree with Guang An Yong Zui.”

“Haha, today I admit defeat. Don’t expect a single coin from the Mone Consortium ever again! And better watch your backs!” Qin Han hissed darkly before exiting the party.

Upon hearing Qin Han’s final words, Shen Jian Wu Shuang, Sheng Yan, and Guang An Yong Zui felt a chill in their hearts. They understood Qin Han’s nature. However, they had seen enough of the world to not be intimidated so easily.

Qin Han, now betrayed and abandoned, saw his expensive army completely disintegrate. Once this news spread, players from the Niu Ren Tribe were overwhelmed with joy. They had expected a bitter battle ahead, but unexpectedly, their enemy had collapsed from within.

In the following days, the Guang An Empire was the first to publicly declare allegiance to the Niu Ren Tribe on the forums. Soon after came Shen Sheng Shou Hu (Divine Guardians) and Zhu Shen Zhi Jian (Godslayer Sword), along with many other guilds, all seeking peace from the Niu Ren Tribe.

Only lich Bodeman remained!