Nie Yan transferred 350,000 gold coins he had earned underground to Guo Huai. Guo Huai used part of the funds to reinforce the defenses of Krips Fortress, adding several arrow towers, significantly strengthening the fortress’s defenses. He also distributed rewards to the players defending the city. With a large amount of gold invested, the entire Krips Fortress was filled with high morale, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Warblade Bloodthirsty guild.
The defending players, including members from the Bull Tribe and several branch guilds, numbered around one hundred thousand. They were determined—if the Warblade Bloodthirsty guild managed to break into the fortress, they would make sure they left in coffins.
Nie Yan walked onto the city wall. The wall, standing over ten yards high, appeared impregnable. Behind it, arrow towers were densely arranged, their concentrated firepower covering an area at least fifty yards beyond the wall.
However, such defenses were still insufficient to withstand bombardment from Ironclad Catapults. The Ironclad Catapult was an item beyond their current level, extremely powerful at this stage. Therefore, the Bull Tribe couldn’t simply defend Krips Fortress—they needed to launch a counterattack.
Around two hours later, Nie Yan looked toward the distant horizon. The Warblade Bloodthirsty guild members were finally within sight.
They had arrived!
Nie Yan descended from the wall. More than a thousand Bull Tribe members had gathered in the plaza in front of the guild headquarters, ready to depart at any moment. They were filled with excitement, eagerly awaiting Nie Yan’s orders. The Warblade Bloodthirsty guild had already reached their doorstep—how could the Bull Tribe possibly retreat?
Almost all of the Bull Tribe’s elite members had assembled here. Even those with missions had postponed or canceled them.
This was a moment of life and death for the Bull Tribe!
Nie Yan stepped to the front of the crowd.
“Boss, those bastards from Warblade Bloodthirsty are finally here. Should we charge right now?” Badboy, who was nearly impossible to kill, said excitedly. His gear and level had recently improved again. He felt restless if he didn’t get to fight for a few days.
“What’s the rush? Let’s hear what the boss has to say first,” Xia Chong Yubing said, somewhat exasperated with Badboy.
Nie Yan glanced at the crowd. Familiar faces appeared before him—Cui Can Daoguang, Shui Se Yantou, Leader Seven, Hei Se Tiantang, Yu Wang Ran Zhi Qingchun, Xi Huan Jiangnan… They represented the Bull Tribe’s most elite forces. So far, in the conflict with Warblade Bloodthirsty, the Bull Tribe had only suffered losses among lower-level members. Their core strength remained intact—these were the true elites of the Bull Tribe. The real game between them and Warblade Bloodthirsty was just beginning!
Nie Yan turned to Guo Huai and asked, “Are the twenty grand mages I requested all here?”
“They’re all here. Here’s the list,” Guo Huai nodded and handed the list to Nie Yan.
Nie Yan scanned the names: Yaoyao, Yu Wang Ran Zhi Qingchun, Xi Huan Jiangnan, Xia Chong Yubing, Badboy… Thirteen members of the Bull Tribe had become grand mages. The remaining seven included three from the War Alliance, two from the War God Tribe, and one each from the Cathedral of Jalan and the Holy Roman Empire.
They had practically dispatched all their grand mages. Compared to that, the Bull Tribe was clearly filled with elites.
At this level, each grand mage was an extremely powerful strategic force. Most guilds could only field two or three grand mages. Even large guilds like Warblade Bloodthirsty, Mage Alliance, and Sacred Guardians probably had no more than a dozen grand mages at most.
“Boss, when do we strike?”
“Boss, let’s go already! We’re all furious seeing those arrogant bastards from Warblade Bloodthirsty!”
“Yeah, wipe them out! They think we’re just weak cats because we haven’t shown our claws yet!”
…
The Bull Tribe members were filled with passion. Blackstone Fortress was now a pile of ruins. In Carol City, no guild had ever dared to challenge the Bull Tribe’s authority. Now, being so openly humiliated by Warblade Bloodthirsty left every Bull Tribe member feeling angry. However, Guo Huai had conveyed Nie Yan’s instructions to avoid direct confrontation for now and conserve their strength. Thus, on the frontlines, it had always been the Bull Tribe’s five branch guilds along with the Cathedral of Jalan and the Holy Roman Empire holding the line. Although they had managed to weaken Warblade Bloodthirsty somewhat, the results weren’t very effective. The main reason was the overwhelming power of the Ironclad Catapults, and with elite members from Warblade Bloodthirsty, Mage Alliance, Sacred Guardians, and Angel Domination defending them, they had no opportunity to destroy the catapults.
However, the Cathedral of Jalan and the Holy Roman Empire had still played a significant role, buying the Bull Tribe valuable time.
“Everyone, stay calm. Let them keep dancing for a while longer. Their arrogance won’t last much longer. Warblade Bloodthirsty? Who are they to us? Right here at the gates of Krips Fortress, we will wipe them out completely! Let the battlefield be covered with corpses and rivers of blood!” Nie Yan said coldly, filled with killing intent. Not just Warblade Bloodthirsty, but also the Mage Alliance, Sacred Guardians, and Angel Domination—he would make them all disappear, one by one.
A name flashed through Nie Yan’s mind: Cao Xu!
The Warblade Bloodthirsty, Mage Alliance, Sacred Guardians, and Angel Domination—all these guilds were under Cao Xu’s control!
As long as the Century Financial Group existed, Nie Yan would never feel at peace. He absolutely could not allow history to repeat itself. The Century Financial Group was like a never-satisfied crocodile, ready to swallow every prey within its sight at any opportunity!
If he didn’t want to be the prey, he had no choice but to become the hunter!
Nie Yan would gradually erode Cao Xu’s forces, piece by piece. Now, it would begin with Warblade Bloodthirsty.
“Boss Nieyan, with you saying that, we all feel confident!” Sir Lancer solemnly said.
“Damn Warblade Bloodthirsty!”
The surrounding players shouted in agreement. Sir Lancer had spoken their minds. As long as Nie Yan was determined, with so many of them united, they weren’t afraid of defeating Warblade Bloodthirsty!
Under Nie Yan’s command, the twenty grand mages gathered together. Among them, Yaoyao, dressed in white mage robes, stood out particularly.
Nie Yan gave Yaoyao an apologetic smile. Right now, he had to coordinate the Bull Tribe’s forces and couldn’t pay much attention to her.
Yaoyao privately messaged Nie Yan: “Don’t worry about me. It’s fine. You go ahead and do what you need to do.”
Nie Yan nodded. As the guild leader, at a critical moment like this, he naturally had to prioritize guild matters.
“We have a few group teleportation scrolls. Not sure if they can be used—they were obtained by Cui Can Daoguang and others from the Siren’s Tomb,” Guo Huai said suddenly. He had just remembered that the guild warehouse still had some rare items, and the group teleportation scrolls might come in handy.
Nie Yan was surprised to hear they had group teleportation scrolls. These scrolls were extremely rare. Even on the market, spending several thousand gold coins might not get you one—they were basically priceless. The fact that they had managed to obtain several surprised him.
“What level are they?” Nie Yan asked. Generally, a basic group teleportation scroll could teleport around twenty to thirty people, with a maximum range of about one thousand yards. An intermediate-level scroll could teleport one to two hundred people, with a range of two thousand yards. As for high-level scrolls, Nie Yan had never seen one in his previous life.
“One intermediate, two basics!” Guo Huai replied. The guild warehouse still held quite a few treasures.
“That’s already great,” Nie Yan said. With three group teleportation scrolls, if used wisely, they could achieve unexpected results.
Group teleportation scrolls were somewhat different from regular teleportation scrolls. Someone had to reach the destination first, establishing coordinates. Then, others could use the group teleportation scrolls to teleport to that person’s location. Still, they were very useful.
Under Nie Yan’s leadership, over a thousand elite members of the Bull Tribe left Krips Fortress and entered the nearby mountainous areas. The dense forests provided excellent cover. Although Warblade Bloodthirsty could easily detect their location, they couldn’t do much against such a large group hidden in the dense forest.
The terrain in the forest was complex, and numbers alone wouldn’t be very effective.
After some time, Nie Yan reached a hilltop and looked toward Krips Fortress. More than fifty thousand Warblade Bloodthirsty players were gathered on the plains outside the fortress, a dark, endless sea of players, with the enemy at the gates!
Three massive Ironclad Catapults slowly approached Krips Fortress, stopping about two to three hundred yards from the walls. They began bombarding the fortress. Burning iron balls flew through the sky, crashing onto the walls with thunderous booms, sending shards of stone flying. The powerful impact caused the walls to tremble. Elite members from the four guilds—Warblade Bloodthirsty, Mage Alliance, Sacred Guardians, and Angel Domination—set up defenses around the catapults, including Thunder Totems and traps, to prevent Bull Tribe players from approaching.
If the four guilds attempted to storm Krips Fortress directly, they would suffer heavy losses. The fortress’s towering walls, dense arrow towers, and over one hundred thousand defending players formed an almost impenetrable defense. They could only rely on the overwhelming firepower of the Ironclad Catapults to breach the walls before rushing in.
Across the battlefield, only the Ironclad Catapults tirelessly hurled their deadly projectiles. Neither side had moved their main forces yet, but the oppressive tension of an impending storm was palpable.
Nie Yan led the twenty grand mages away from the main force, finding a secluded clearing in the forest. Yu Wang Ran Zhi Qingchun, who was well-versed in magic arrays, began carefully transferring the complex hexagram design from Nie Yan’s blueprint onto the ground. Each line was drawn with meticulous precision, without the slightest error. Soon, a circular pattern filled with geometric shapes and glowing lines appeared on the ground, radiating a strange, powerful energy.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage