Chapter 132: An Insult Too Far

Nie Yan’s movements were incredibly swift—from the initial Flash Dust to the subsequent pounce, forming a seamless series of actions.

After playing the game for so many years, Nie Yan understood what kind of attack was most lethal for a rogue. One was control—keeping the opponent in a state of stun, unconsciousness, or paralysis. The other was speed—so fast that the opponent couldn’t evade.

Nie Yan landed a stun on Ye Ying, causing him to enter a stunned state.

Only then did he realize that this person named Ye Ying was from Triumph, again from Triumph! This guy wore a set of black leather armor, clearly the best current black wing gear for a combat rogue in the raid. He must be a top-tier player in Triumph.

However, no matter how influential the opponent was, whether in terms of combat skills or experience, they were no match for Nie Yan.

Nie Yan never held back against someone attempting to ambush him. Just as he was about to finish off Ye Ying, a black fireball whistled through the air.

It was Arcane Flame Blast!

They had backup. Nie Yan was startled. If he continued attacking Ye Ying, he would take a scorching blast. With interference from the enemy, it was futile for him to try to eliminate Ye Ying in the short term. He rolled to dodge the Arcane Flame Blast and glanced at the distance. On top of a large rock, a female arcane mage had just finished casting her spell. Precisely as he rolled to evade, she cast a Morale Break on him.

Nie Yan checked his status and saw a Morale Break debuff—attack power reduced by 30% for 20 seconds. This debuff completely neutralized Nie Yan’s offensive capabilities against Ye Ying.

What fast spellcasting!

The Morale Break lasted for 20 seconds. During this time, his attack power was too weak. The Ghoul King charged in from behind, and from the other side, a warrior wearing a full set of Stoneguard Armor also rushed forward.

The Ghoul King roared and lunged at Nie Yan, its blood-red claws slashing down from the sky.

“See where you can run now!” Cang Dao stood behind Nie Yan, blocking all his escape routes.

There were three of them. From the first exchange, Nie Yan knew they were formidable players. Moreover, the Ghoul King’s aggro was focused on him. As long as Cang Dao and others didn’t attack the Ghoul King, its aggro wouldn’t shift.

In other words, Nie Yan was caught between two fronts.

At this moment, Ye Ying also recovered.

“Don’t let him escape. He is Nie Yan, wanted by our guild leader!” Ye Ying was still shaken. If not for Ju Zi and Cang Dao’s timely appearance, he would have been finished.

The last time Nie Yan killed Zihuo, who held a high position in Triumph. Each member of the elite team was the cream of the guild. Being easily defeated by a casual player caused their raid progress to stall for a whole day—an utter slap in the face. As a result, Po Tian, the guild leader of Triumph, was furious and issued a guild-wide bounty. This was Po Tian’s nature—arrogant and intolerant of any slight.

“Understood, rest assured, he won’t escape.” Cang Dao charged forward, swinging his greatsword at Nie Yan.

Caught between two fronts, although unwilling to let the Ghoul King be taken by others, Nie Yan had no choice but to temporarily retreat for survival. He used Shadow Dance, disappearing from their sight, and with the speed boost from the skill, he dashed far away.

Unexpectedly, Nie Yan suddenly vanished. By the time Cang Dao swung his greatsword down, Nie Yan had already fled far, his attack missing entirely.

“Be careful, he’s in stealth!”

“Too fast, couldn’t stop him!” Ye Ying felt tense. Battling an expert like Nie Yan was both exhilarating and perilous.

Nie Yan stealthed out of the Ghoul King’s sight, causing its aggro to shift. The Ghoul King lunged at Ye Ying, who was nearby and had weaker defenses.

Taunt!

Cang Dao used Taunt, pulling the Ghoul King’s aggro, and activated Life Activation, gaining +300 HP, +36 defense, and +13 poison resistance. His status instantly became formidable as he tanked the Ghoul King.

“Be careful, don’t let him ambush us.” Ye Ying warned Cang Dao.

“Don’t worry, that guy is fast, we can’t catch him, but this Ghoul King is definitely ours!” Cang Dao said confidently. With his current state, what tricks could Nie Yan possibly have left?

Generally, in the wild, rogues could only avoid warriors. Warriors had high defense and HP, making rogues’ attacks largely ineffective, while warriors’ attacks could easily penetrate a rogue’s fragile armor.

This was why rogues usually targeted spellcasters in cloth armor.

After activating Life Activation, Cang Dao’s HP, defense, and other stats reached a new level. In this situation, any rogue attempting to ambush him was essentially committing suicide—a condescending view. Even if you stood there and let him attack, could he kill Cang Dao within fifteen seconds?

Fifteen seconds in a fight could bring many changes. With a hamstring, Cang Dao could completely cripple Xia Yan.

Seeing Cang Dao holding aggro, Ye Ying joined him to attack the Ghoul King together, though he wasn’t as reckless as Cang Dao. However, Nie Yan seemed to have vanished into thin air.

From behind, Ju Zi’s arcane spells bombarded the Ghoul King, its HP steadily dropping by at least a hundred each time.

Nie Yan frowned slightly. This arcane mage’s attack power was terrifying!

“Drink antidote potion!”

“Keep pushing, we’ll kill it soon!” Cang Dao said excitedly. This time they got lucky, effortlessly defeating an elite.

They were indeed shameless, trying to directly steal the Ghoul King.

Seeing his painstakingly weakened Ghoul King about to be taken by others, Nie Yan was furious. He originally planned to save some skills for completing tasks, but now this situation was intolerable!

Glancing at his skill bar, Nie Yan moved toward the arcane mage called Ju Zi. First, he would eliminate her. Her attack power was too overwhelming. Without the arcane mage’s support, he could deal with Ye Ying and Cang Dao.

“Ju Zi, be careful.” Ye Ying warned. That Nie Yan gave him no sense of security. This guy was very powerful, even surpassing several rogues in their team.

“Just another rogue. I’ve killed dozens, maybe hundreds of thieves.” Ju Zi scoffed.

Ye Ying thought again. Ju Zi’s skill ranked third in the entire Triumph guild, with the best arcane gear currently available. Combined with her comprehensive skills, few could defeat her. There was little to worry about.

“He has some strange skills, so be cautious, don’t trip over your own feet.”

“Don’t worry!” Keen Perception! Ju Zi cast a skill, scanning the direction Nie Yan had stealthed toward.

At this moment, Nie Yan dropped a Web Scroll, casting a net from above, trapping Ju Zi inside. Since spellcasters had strong resistance to transformation magic, making it likely to be ineffective, he chose the Web Scroll instead.

The Web Spell firmly trapped Ju Zi in place. Nie Yan charged at her with his dagger.

Although the Web Spell could pin someone in place, it couldn’t stop them from casting spells.

Nie Yan lunged toward Ju Zi, preparing to use Cheap Shot. Ju Zi couldn’t evade. If the Cheap Shot succeeded, she would be doomed!

With her right hand, Ju Zi waved her staff, casting Dispel!

A powerful force pushed Nie Yan back, forming an insurmountable barrier between them. Her staff waved again, vibrant magical elements danced, casting Arcane Flame Blast!

Another black arcane fireball tore through the air in a straight line, directly shooting at Nie Yan.

This woman actually had Dispel, a rare and troublesome skill for all rogues. It could push the opponent ten yards away and last for five seconds.

Unable to approach the spellcaster meant rogues couldn’t use any attack skills on them, making them the spellcaster’s target.

Nie Yan rolled to dodge the woman’s attack.

“Ju Zi, focus on the Ghoul King first. Deal with that guy later!” Cang Dao urgently said in the party chat. The Ghoul King was nearly dead. At this moment, its attack was too strong. Once they eliminated the Ghoul King, Nie Yan couldn’t cause much trouble. Ju Zi had plenty of ways to deal with a rogue. Killing a thief was simple.

Ju Zi contemptuously glanced at Nie Yan ten yards away. She cast an arcane spell, which exploded on the Ghoul King with a bang, completely ignoring Nie Yan. This was a blatant display of disdain toward Nie Yan.

Nie Yan needed a few seconds to reach Ju Zi, and during that time she had plenty of counter-spells ready.

Originally planning to eliminate Ju Zi first before dealing with Ye Ying and Cang Dao, now it was too late.

Ju Zi, Ye Ying, and Cang Dao were from Triumph’s elite team, almost gathering all the outstanding resources of the entire guild. Their equipment and skills clearly reflected the deep foundation of a large guild.

Although Nie Yan’s gear was also decent, the advantages of the Courage Chapter and Freedom Chapter would only become apparent at higher levels. Although the Shadow of Sogdote was good, it was only a single piece. Therefore, objectively assessing his current gear, it was slightly inferior to theirs.

Moreover, outnumbered three to one, with a highly skilled arcane mage watching from the sidelines, it was difficult for Nie Yan to fully commit against Ye Ying and Cang Dao.

If it came down to a fight, Nie Yan wasn’t afraid of Ju Zi, but killing her quickly was difficult. At this moment, the Ghoul King’s HP was already critically low.

If the Ghoul King was taken, the gear was secondary. For Nie Yan, this was a slap to his face—he couldn’t afford to lose face like this!

Nie Yan used an Acceleration Scroll, charging at Cang Dao with his dagger gleaming coldly. Damn it, let’s go all out. Is a berserker so impressive?