Chapter 716: All In!

In the following days, Nie Yan kept farming bosses to obtain level 150–160 equipment and to level up.

Nie Yan’s level quickly reached 115. Initially, defeating just two level 150–160 lords was enough to level up, but by level 115, he needed to defeat over a dozen such lords to gain a level.

He provided a large amount of high-tier equipment to the NPC guards of Okoren City. The city guard, originally numbering over a hundred, rapidly expanded to more than 2,600 and was still growing exponentially.

Nie Yan had originally thought that recruiting one or two thousand city guards would be impressive, but the development far exceeded his expectations.

NPCs of around level 130–140 were considered only average in terms of combat ability among NPCs. Normally, they wouldn’t even qualify to join the city guards of other cities due to their low level and strength. However, Nie Yan didn’t mind, and he happily recruited any elite NPCs above level 130–140, the more the better. His original intention was to use these NPCs to fight against the skeleton army. An elite-level NPC at level 130–140 was extremely powerful. As long as they weren’t surrounded, they could easily take down dozens or even hundreds of skeletons. With a large number of NPCs working together, their combat effectiveness would definitely surpass those piles of bones.

Once this news spread, a large number of NPCs rushed to Okoren City seeking employment.

Most of them were wandering adventurers from various regions, mostly warriors and rogues, followed by paladins, with the fewest being mages and priests.

With the increasing number of NPCs, Nie Yan’s expenses for hiring them also increased significantly, costing over 50,000 to 60,000 gold per day.

This was still far below Nie Yan’s spending limit.

If this continued, it might even be possible to recruit over ten thousand city guards.

Nie Yan was filled with anticipation for Okoren City’s development when suddenly Huai Guo urgently sent him a message. The battle between Karls and the lich Bodman had reached a conclusion: Karls had been defeated and retreated with injuries, while the lich Bodman and his bone dragon had disappeared after sustaining serious injuries. Meanwhile, Qin Han’s skeleton army had begun launching a full-scale assault on the many strongholds of the Bull Tribe.

Upon hearing this news, Nie Yan’s heart sank—history was once again deviating from its original course.

Nie Yan’s rebirth had triggered a chain reaction of butterfly effects, and it was far from over.

The lich Bodman had not died at Karls’s hands but instead fled after injuring him.

Nie Yan immediately felt a headache. The existence of the lich Bodman was a major threat.

Regardless, he no longer had time to dwell on this matter. The Bull Tribe’s strongholds were under attack from the skeleton army, and he had to return immediately!

In the guild chat channel, players were discussing intensely.

“Boss, the fortress of Abraham is under attack!”

“Boss, the fortress of Elaine is under attack!”

“A large skeleton army has been spotted outside the fortress of Billingsley!”

…

Nie Yan received messages from his subordinates. Qin Han had launched a full-scale offensive. Roughly estimating, over twenty fortresses were under simultaneous attack, including the fortress of Crips. Qin Han’s skeleton army had bypassed several fortresses and, after a long march, finally arrived at Crips, surrounding it completely.

In recent times, Qin Han had used various means to maintain his skeleton army at a number around six million. The sheer force of such a massive simultaneous attack was unimaginable.

The Bull Tribe only had a limited number of members and couldn’t possibly defend so many fortresses at once. Moreover, Qin Han’s forces had added the catapult units from Excalibur. Since skeletons and players couldn’t coexist, Qin Han usually first ordered his catapult units to bombard the Bull Tribe’s fortresses, creating breaches in the walls before sending in the skeletons to attack.

The Bull Tribe had about a hundred catapults defending the fortress of Crips, while the rest of the catapults were hidden by Nie Yan somewhere unknown. Other fortresses only had a few magic cannons to counter Excalibur’s catapult units. Soon, two fortresses fell, although the Bull Tribe players suffered relatively few casualties, as they quickly retreated when they realized they couldn’t win.

“Boss, the Mone Corporation is preparing a full-scale attack. Excalibur, Holy Guardian, and Empire of Light and Darkness have all mobilized, gathering around 900,000 player troops.”

In front were six million skeletons, and behind them were 900,000 player troops. Every Bull Tribe player felt immense pressure. Even including all the branch guilds, the Bull Tribe could only muster around 700,000 players.

“The Mone Corporation has pushed us this far, boss. Let’s fight them head-on!”

“Yeah, boss, let’s fight!”

The call for a decisive battle grew louder in the Bull Tribe guild chat. Recently, they had been constantly harassed by Qin Han’s skeleton army. So far, over fifty of the Bull Tribe’s and its branch guilds’ fortresses had been destroyed by the skeleton army. Forced to hide inside the fortresses day after day, they felt extremely frustrated. However, without Nie Yan’s orders, they dared not act recklessly.

“Do you think we can win if we charge out of the fortress?” Nie Yan asked in the guild chat.

“…”

Upon hearing Nie Yan’s question, the guild chat fell silent. Their enemy was no ordinary foe—six million skeletons and 900,000 player troops. If they lost, the Bull Tribe would be completely destroyed, an outcome they couldn’t afford.

In truth, everyone understood that this time was different. Their enemy was too powerful. If the Bull Tribe fell, the entire Granland Empire would fall under the Mone Corporation’s control, leaving them with no place to stand.

The players felt a deep sense of bitterness, and the atmosphere was unbearably heavy.

“Nie Yan, even if the Bull Tribe loses, you’ll still be our leader. Just say the word, and we’ll fight Qin Han to the bitter end and see who has the last laugh!”

“Break the cooking pots and sink the boats. Better to die honorably than live in shame.”

“We swear to stand and fall with the Bull Tribe!”

Nie Yan could feel the entire guild’s mood of grief and anger. He kept asking himself: Would the Bull Tribe really lose? No, absolutely not! He had poured so much effort into the Bull Tribe since his rebirth. He would never allow it to be defeated!

“Back when we faced the Empire of Triumph, when the Bloodthirsty Blade attacked the fortress of Crips, our situation wasn’t much better than now, but did we lose? No! So now, show me your fighting spirit. These piles of bones and a bunch of trash—how can they stand against the Bull Tribe’s elite? Everyone, get ready and strike them hard!” Nie Yan said in the team chat.

“Boss, do you have a plan?”

“Yeah, you’ve kept us in suspense for so long.”

After hearing Nie Yan’s words, the Bull Tribe players’ morale soared. They recalled that every time, Nie Yan had miraculously turned the tide for them.

“Whatever plans I have, just fight hard. Anyone who slacks off will have me to answer to!” Nie Yan laughed in the guild chat. He first let the Bull Tribe players feel despair, pushing them to the point of resolve, then gave them hope—this would surely ignite everyone’s fighting spirit.

“Boss, we’re with you! We’ll fight the Mone Corporation to the end!”

“Brothers, for the glory of the Bull Tribe, let’s give it our all!”

The guild chat was filled with passionate voices. Everyone was preparing to stake everything. Many players even retrieved high-level scrolls and potions from their personal vaults—items they had previously been too frugal to use. They understood that this was a critical moment for the Bull Tribe’s survival. If the Bull Tribe endured, they would rise along with it. But if it fell, they would become homeless wanderers.

The Bull Tribe mobilized completely, and players who were leveling in other cities rushed back.

The streets of Crips Fortress were filled with Bull Tribe players. Players like Wangan and Wudao took charge of organizing the defense, and the entire fortress became a hive of activity.

“Xiao Liu, take the first and second squads to reinforce the northern wall.”

“Yes.”

“Heizi, take the fifth squad to the southern wall.”

“Yes.”

Squad after squad rushed to the walls.

In just a few dozen minutes, Excalibur’s catapult units would arrive outside Crips Fortress, and a fierce attack was about to begin.

At this moment, on the streets near the Bull Tribe guild headquarters in Crips Fortress, two people stood at the edge of a wall, watching the bustling crowd inside the fortress. One was a light priest, and the other was a shadow priest.

Passing players greeted them respectfully before hurrying away.

The busy scene inside Crips Fortress stirred emotions in the two.

“Brother, do you think the Bull Tribe will win?” The light priest, none other than Hei Se Tian Tang (Black Heaven), asked. Although he had previously failed his class promotion, he remained one of the Bull Tribe’s top five priests. The person beside him was Hei Se Di Yu (Black Hell).

“I don’t know,” Hei Se Di Yu replied, shaking his head. Looking at these players filled with passion for their guild, he vaguely recalled his old guild, the Dark Ranger Guild. Although he had personally destroyed it, the once-glorious Dark Ranger Guild remained an indelible memory.

“No matter what, I won’t let the Bull Tribe end up like the Dark Ranger Guild,” Hei Se Tian Tang said firmly.

“Destruction is inevitable. No matter how powerful a guild becomes, it will eventually meet its end. All feasts must come to an end,” Hei Se Di Yu said calmly.

“Even if its destruction is destined, I refuse to let it fall now!”