At the border between the Greenlan Empire and the Satern Empire, nestled among towering mountains, lies a vast expanse of forest known as the Griffon Woods. It covers an enormous area, roughly one-fifth the size of the Greenlan Empire. The forest is perpetually shrouded in thick mist, limiting visibility to only about five yards under normal conditions. Even with Mist Dispelling Scrolls, visibility remains somewhat restricted.
The Griffon Woods is home to a variety of monsters, particularly numerous flying creatures such as griffons, wind serpents, venomous flies, and occasionally even dragons.
Approximately 5,000 members of the Bull Tribe operate within the Griffon Woods, divided into ten teams. They search daily for un-hatched flying mounts, a task fraught with danger. They must constantly be prepared to confront various monsters that spawn in the woods, as well as encounter rival guild members.
The Griffon Woods contains many graveyards for corpse resurrection, leading to prolonged battles whenever guilds clash. However, the Bull Tribe has generally held its ground. The Angel Dominion has deployed at least 100,000 players to search for flying mounts in the Griffon Woods, vastly outnumbering the Bull Tribe by dozens of times. Other guilds like Holy Guardians, Divine Slayer Sword, and Light-Dark Empire have also sent large contingents. Despite being heavily outnumbered, the Bull Tribe’s players are highly skilled, allowing them to evade danger through quick reflexes.
In fact, the Bull Tribe could deploy over 50,000 players into the Griffon Woods, but such a move would severely strain the guild’s resources. Lower-level players entering the woods risk significant danger. Therefore, Nie Yan specifically instructed Guo Huai to deploy no more than 5,000 players, while the rest should continue leveling up and pursuing elite class advancements. Flying mounts would eventually appear when the time was right.
Nie Yan’s Darkwing Dragon circled high above the Griffon Woods, scanning the mist-covered terrain below. Occasionally, flying creatures passed by. Despite the seventh-tier Darkwing Dragon’s formidable strength, Nie Yan remained cautious, as encountering powerful creatures or swarms of lower-tier flying mounts could still pose a threat.
He had received coordinates from various Bull Tribe teams, but without descending, he couldn’t pinpoint their exact locations through the dense fog.
“Everyone, gather at the southeastern part of the Griffon Woods, target coordinates 385.288.386!” Nie Yan issued orders to several team leaders.
Far within the dense forest, Knight Elegy’s team had just cleared a wind serpent nest and obtained a flying mount egg. Suddenly, he received a message.
Seeing it was from Nie Yan, Knight Elegy quickly opened it and immediately relayed the orders: “Nie Yan is coming. Head southeast, everyone, start forming up!”
Upon hearing Nie Yan was coming, the team members grew excited, whispering amongst themselves.
“Is it true, Boss Knight?”
“Of course.”
“Great!”
The players quickly assembled and moved southeast. One by one, Bull Tribe teams across the Griffon Woods organized and headed toward Nie Yan’s designated location.
As Nie Yan prepared to descend and explore the woods, he noticed distant dark specks approaching—about dozens of them.
Nie Yan’s heart sank. Were these flying creatures from the Griffon Woods?
Encountering a swarm of flying creatures was best avoided, as provoking one could lead to relentless attacks from the entire group. They would swarm relentlessly, summoning reinforcements until every last one was defeated.
Nie Yan prepared to land the Darkwing Dragon, but the dark specks rapidly approached—a group of over twenty flying creatures, including wind serpents, venomous dragonflies, and griffons. Some carried riders.
It was a player squad!
Few guilds had more than twenty flying mounts. Nie Yan wasn’t overly concerned; such a mixed group would struggle to coordinate aerial attacks, making them vulnerable to being picked off. Even when his Darkwing Dragon was only sixth-tier, he had defeated the Mage Alliance’s aerial forces. Now at seventh-tier, he had even less to fear.
Liehu, a top-tier player in Angel Dominion, ranked around thirtieth, commanded a rare fifth-tier flying mount, Void Ray Serpent. Its powerful skill had secured five flying mounts for Angel Dominion, making it a secret weapon.
Liehu, as usual, led his team hunting flying mounts. Spotting a distant speck, he pursued it with his team.
Twenty-six flying mounts formed a formation, converging on Nie Yan from all directions.
“Liehu, there’s a player on that flying mount!” a warrior exclaimed.
Liehu squinted and confirmed the figure. As they drew closer, he realized the mount was a Darkwing Dragon.
“It’s the Darkwing Dragon! Nie Yan is here!”
The Angel Dominion squad erupted in panic, some halting while others advanced, causing chaos.
“Damn it, he’s alone! We have twenty-six flying mounts. What are you panicking for? This is embarrassing!” Liehu cursed, frustrated by the disarray before any engagement.
The Angel Dominion players who had halted felt their faces burn with shame. They were supposed to be elite, yet they panicked at the sight of Nie Yan. His reputation and the Darkwing Dragon’s imposing presence were overwhelming.
The seventh-tier Darkwing Dragon was significantly larger than its sixth-tier form. Ordinary flying mounts appeared like children compared to its massive frame, with the largest only reaching a third of its size.
Seeing such a colossal creature, especially the legendary Darkwing Dragon, they couldn’t help but panic.
“Form up!” Liehu barked from atop his Void Ray Serpent.
The Angel Dominion players reined in their mounts.
“Liehu, according to previous records, Darkwing Dragon is a sixth-tier creature, but it’s much bigger now. Could it have evolved?” a warrior beside Liehu speculated.
Liehu frowned, weighing his options. Attacking the Darkwing Dragon could elevate his status within Angel Dominion if successful, but failure would carry heavy consequences. The temptation was strong.
Nie Yan stood atop the Darkwing Dragon, unable to discern the approaching riders’ identities from afar, only recognizing their Satern Empire affiliation.
Watching them approach, he showed no sign of retreat.
He had no intention of losing a confrontation.
He needed to identify the opposing guild. Besides Angel Dominion, Satern Empire housed many powerful guilds with tense relations. Nie Yan wished to avoid unnecessary conflicts but couldn’t see their guild insignias from this distance.
His gaze settled on a high-tier mount—a massive ray serpent. Its gray-black body resembled a ray, with trailing tendrils and a long tail.
A fifth-tier Void Ray Serpent!
Nie Yan messaged Guo Huai: “Do you know which guild has a fifth-tier Void Ray Serpent?”
“Void Ray Serpent? I think Angel Dominion, Holy Guardians, and Garam Temple each have one,” Guo Huai replied after checking records.
Angel Dominion? Nie Yan’s eyes narrowed with killing intent. If he encountered Angel Dominion’s flying mounts in the wild, he would seize the opportunity to weaken them.
As both sides hesitated, Liehu considered letting Nie Yan strike first, absolving himself of responsibility for any failure. If they succeeded in defeating Nie Yan, it would be a significant gain for Angel Dominion, regardless of their losses.
Liehu sent a private message to a trusted warrior.
The warrior whispered to a large, dim-witted mage nearby.
“Old Six, notify Boss Angwing. We’ve cornered Nie Yan. Tell him to send reinforcements!” the mage shouted.
Nie Yan overheard, confirming they were indeed Angel Dominion. He surveyed the twenty-six flying mounts surrounding him.
Since evolving to seventh-tier, the Darkwing Dragon hadn’t had a chance to demonstrate its full strength. This would be its first true test!
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