Chapter 133: Kill!

Nie Yan had always been reluctant to use his skill “Death Strike,” which had a long cooldown period of two days. He had an upcoming task that required this skill. However, pride was essential to a man. If Nie Yan allowed someone else to steal his kill and then simply backed off without uttering a word, he would truly be a coward!

Seeing Nie Yan rushing over, Ye Ying stepped back and brandished his dagger, facing Nie Yan.

“Combat Stance!”

Ye Ying activated Combat Stance. After activating it, Combat Rogues gain a 30% attack speed increase and 20% increased attack power, making their offensive capabilities rival even some Berserkers. Their only weakness remained their light armor defense.

A crisp clang rang out as two daggers collided.

Nie Yan’s dagger suddenly switched from a reverse grip to a forward grip, changing direction sharply like a snake. It bypassed Ye Ying’s dagger and struck him. Everything happened in a flash; Ye Ying didn’t even see what had happened before he was hit and stunned.

Nie Yan’s movements were highly deceptive. This was a technique showcased by Shadow Dancers in official videos back in his previous life. By switching the direction of the dagger, opponents could be deceived. Even in direct confrontation, one could successfully bypass the opponent’s defenses and stun them.

Nie Yan had practiced this technique repeatedly tens of thousands of times back then. This move might not work against a Shadow Dancer, but it was more than sufficient against players like Ye Ying.

Ju Zi and Cang Dao both believed that even if Ye Ying couldn’t defeat Nie Yan, he could at least hold his ground for a while. They never expected Nie Yan to stun Ye Ying in a single exchange, which came as a complete surprise to them.

A magical projectile flew through the air in an arc, speeding toward Nie Yan.

Ju Zi’s spell arrived just at this moment. If Nie Yan dodged, it would give Ye Ying time to recover, just like their first encounter.

However, the situation was vastly different this time. During the first encounter, the Ghoul King’s aggro was focused on Nie Yan, forcing him to retreat temporarily. Now, the Ghoul King’s aggro was on Cang Dao. It wouldn’t be that simple for Ju Zi to drive Nie Yan away and rescue Ye Ying with just one spell!

Nie Yan endured Ju Zi’s spell. With a bang, the arcane fireball exploded on him, dealing 130 points of damage.

What terrifying damage! Nie Yan’s equipment was already quite good, yet he still took so much damage.

Nie Yan performed a backstab followed by a bleed, dealing over 180 points of damage to Ye Ying, with continuous -10 bleed damage floating above Ye Ying’s head.

Tough HP! Ye Ying’s health was as high as 520.

However, compared to Nie Yan’s attacks, it was still insufficient!

Nie Yan circled behind Ye Ying and used a Kidney Shot, causing a Sheep Transformation Scroll to drop. However, this scroll was not meant for Ye Ying but for Cang Dao.

As Cang Dao was about to use Flame Strike on the Ghoul King, a beam of white light struck him, interrupting his Flame Strike and transforming him into a little lamb.

The Ghoul King’s health was now only at 8%. When its health dropped below 20%, it triggered the Bloodlust effect, gaining lifesteal with its attacks, which slowed its health loss. If Cang Dao and his team stopped dealing damage, the Ghoul King would quickly recover its health.

To rescue Ye Ying, Ju Zi kept attacking Nie Yan. With Cang Dao transformed into a sheep, the Ghoul King’s health stopped decreasing at 3% after the Ghoul King attacked Cang Dao once, restoring its health to 5%.

Cang Dao’s Sheep Transformation ended.

Nie Yan drank an instant recovery potion and applied a medium combat bandage. With a bang, Ju Zi struck Nie Yan again, dealing another 130 points of damage.

Nie Yan performed a backstab followed by a Ruthless Strike, dealing 253 points of damage to Ye Ying.

Ye Ying recovered from the Kidney Shot but hadn’t had time to drink a healing potion.

“Die!” Nie Yan executed a critical strike, his dagger slicing across Ye Ying’s throat like a brilliant rainbow.

Ye Ying’s last bit of health was drained away, and with a thud, he collapsed to the ground.

Ju Zi was stunned; she hadn’t expected Nie Yan’s attack to be so fierce. In just a moment, Nie Yan had taken down Ye Ying, and she hadn’t even managed to cast her third offensive spell yet.

Cang Dao recovered from the Sheep Transformation, saw the system message indicating Ye Ying’s death, and hesitated for a moment. As the Ghoul King charged at him, he quickly blocked, but his health dropped to just over 200 due to the Ghoul King’s attacks.

“Flame Strike!”

Cang Dao finally unleashed his Flame Strike, his flaming greatsword cleaving into the Ghoul King. The Ghoul King let out a piercing scream, and a soul floated from its body before dissipating into the air.

Nie Yan had just defeated Ye Ying when he turned around and saw that Cang Dao had already killed the Ghoul King. He was just a moment too late, and the Ghoul King’s experience was stolen!

Seeing the Ghoul King’s experience, painstakingly reduced to a large portion of its health, being snatched away, Nie Yan became furious.

Seeing Ye Ying defeated, Cang Dao was already furious and charged at Nie Yan with a Charge.

If Nie Yan was caught by Cang Dao and immobilized with Hamstring, he would be finished.

Meanwhile, Ju Zi’s Arcane Fireball also flew toward Nie Yan. Under this pincer attack, Nie Yan was sure to die!

It was a matter of life and death; unless Nie Yan defeated Cang Dao, he had no chance of survival!

“Death Strike!”

Nie Yan’s health instantly dropped to 30%, reaching the brink of depletion at just 11%. His dagger transformed into a sharp bolt of lightning, with arcs of electricity dancing and scattering. With a thud, it pierced into Cang Dao’s chest, and the ravaging energy instantly tore through his body.

-193.

A damage number floated up from Cang Dao, his eyes filled with disbelief. He had thought his 193 health points would be sufficient to kill Nie Yan, as the damage from a rogue’s attack would never exceed 30 points. His sturdy plate armor could easily block short weapons like daggers. He believed that by charging forward and using Hamstring, he could cripple Nie Yan, then finish him off with a single Cleave.

He died because of his absolute confidence in his warrior’s defense and equipment.

Nie Yan’s Death Strike was an exception!

He had never imagined that Nie Yan could unleash such high damage.

In an instant, Ye Ying fell, and Cang Dao fell, leaving only Ju Zi alone. Despite having experienced countless battles, she hadn’t expected the outcome to be like this. Even though she usually remained calm in life-or-death situations, her heart was now unable to calm.

At the moment Cang Dao fell, Nie Yan rolled and dodged Ju Zi’s Arcane Blast.

With a bang, the Arcane Blast exploded, but it was a complete miss.

Nie Yan picked up the dropped equipment from Cang Dao, Ye Ying, and the Ghoul King, stood up, and stared directly at the woman named Ju Zi.

Ju Zi finally showed a panicked expression. Losing a level was trivial, but if she died, her set of equipment would no longer be complete.

In an instant, three people were reduced to just her, which was a massive psychological blow.

“I thought you were so powerful. What’s wrong, are you scared now?” Just moments ago, Ju Zi had completely ignored his presence. Nie Yan still remembered that arrogance and disdain, and he stepped toward Ju Zi one step at a time.

“This isn’t over yet. Don’t get too cocky!” Ju Zi still tried to sound tough, raising her staff, but the sense of superiority she had felt was now completely gone.

Skills like Dispel Magic indeed had good effects against rogues, but they could only drive rogues away and couldn’t threaten their existence.

Ju Zi overestimated her strength. If it was a one-on-one fight, Nie Yan could easily toy with her to death!

If she thought Nie Yan was just another rogue she could easily defeat with high magic damage, she was mistaken.

Ju Zi raised her staff and began chanting a spell. Magical auras gathered on her staff, then emitted a brilliant blue light, dazzling and eye-catching.

This woman actually had Arcane Flare!

Arcane Magic, Elemental Magic, and Holy Magic all had terrifying power. Arcane Flare had a relatively short casting time and a two-day cooldown. It could instantly reset the cooldown of all an Arcane Mage’s skills, lasting for three minutes. In such a short time, as long as the mage had enough mana, they could cast as many spells as they wanted without worrying about cooldowns. This skill was extremely dangerous in single-target attacks. With sufficient mana, the mage could cast dozens of spells in just a few seconds.

Nie Yan absolutely could not allow her to fully utilize the power of this terrifying skill. Even a tank warrior with high HP would not dare to face it recklessly. Nie Yan threw a Flash Powder. With a bang, intense light stimulated Ju Zi’s pupils, causing her pupils to instantly darken.

“Die!” Ju Zi’s expression instantly turned fierce, and a barrage of Arcane Fireballs shot out.

Dudu, du du, countless Arcane Fireballs flew through the air like streams of fire, striking the empty ground in the distance, exploding with a loud crackling sound.

“Foolish woman, where are you aiming?” Nie Yan laughed. The place where he stood was still intact, while the ground not far from him was pockmarked from the explosions of the Arcane Fireballs.

After a while, Ju Zi’s vision finally recovered.

“Out of mana already?” Nie Yan sneered coldly. It was time for this arrogant woman to taste the bitter consequences. Although Arcane Flare was fierce, it was equivalent to unleashing all the damage output in an instant. However, after the burst, her mana would be completely drained.

Ju Zi looked like a defeated rooster, glaring at Nie Yan with hatred and growling, “I will get my revenge.”

“I’ll be waiting anytime. Well, let me send you back.” To avoid being ambushed, Nie Yan remained very cautious. He rushed toward Ju Zi and stunned her with a strike, sending her into a stunned state. Then he performed a series of attacks, finishing her off. Her health was much more fragile compared to Ye Ying’s.

After defeating Ju Zi, Nie Yan picked up the item that had fallen to the ground—a level 10 staff for Arcane Mages.