In fact, Nie Yan was under considerable pressure as well. To make this maneuver more convincing, Nie Yan chose not to use items like Flash Dust, Sheep Transformation Scroll, or Web Scroll.
The Manticore Leader moved extremely fast. Although Nie Yan used a Haste Scroll, the Manticore Leader quickly caught up, leaped into the air, and lunged toward Nie Yan.
As the Manticore Leader closed in, Nie Yan rolled sideways at the last moment, narrowly dodging its attack.
The Manticore Leader’s claws gleamed with icy brilliance and its attack speed was very fast. However, Nie Yan rolled away just in time, causing the attack to miss and slash past his ear.
Nie Yan quickly turned around and ran in the opposite direction.
This moment was extremely thrilling, a life-or-death situation. Those who witnessed it were deeply shaken. Nie Yan truly had the courage of a skilled expert, daring to perform such a risky maneuver.
The Manticore Leader twisted its powerful body around and charged at Nie Yan again.
Nie Yan kept repositioning and dodging to buy time.
Every five or six seconds, or seven or eight seconds, three Manticores would peel off from the main group chasing Nie Yan. Soon, the number of Manticores following Nie Yan dropped from a massive group to just two, and finally only one Manticore Leader and one female Manticore remained.
No one could believe it—how could a rogue possibly endure for so long while being chased by so many Manticores, especially with one of them being a leader-class monster?
At this moment, no player in Ban Xing’s Fox team dared to question Nie Yan’s skills anymore. They finally understood why Ban Xing’s Fox had been so serious about inviting Nie Yan and appointing him as the team leader.
Nie Yan truly deserved the position!
Ban Xing’s Fox speculated that Nie Yan might be a member of some powerful team, occasionally participating as a guest player. They must have already cleared the Expert-level Ogramet Swamp. Otherwise, Nie Yan wouldn’t have been able to lead the monsters so skillfully. If that were the case, how terrifyingly strong must Nie Yan’s original team be?
Nie Yan’s background had become even more mysterious.
Ban Xing’s Fox could never have imagined that Nie Yan was actually a reincarnated individual who had indeed cleared the Expert-level Ogramet Swamp—but that was in his previous life. Back then, strategies for all the low-level dungeons had already been made public, and it wasn’t uncommon for low-level teams to successfully complete Ogramet Swamp.
As Ban Xing’s Fox was deep in thought, he saw Nie Yan leading the Manticore Leader and the final female Manticore toward them.
“Everyone, get ready for battle,” Ban Xing’s Fox quickly reminded the team. The Manticore Leader was still quite difficult to deal with.
Kuang Tao raised his shield and ran toward Nie Yan to provide backup.
At that moment, the Manticore Leader suddenly leaped high into the air and lunged toward Nie Yan’s back.
“Watch out!” the team members shouted in alarm.
As Nie Yan seemed about to be torn apart by the Manticore Leader’s claws, the team members couldn’t bear to watch anymore. After enduring for so long, was Nie Yan really going to fail at the final moment?
Just then, it seemed as if Nie Yan had eyes on his back. While running, he suddenly changed direction.
Because of Nie Yan’s abrupt turn, the Manticore Leader’s claws narrowly missed him by inches.
Including Ban Xing’s Fox, everyone on the team broke into a cold sweat. It had been just a hair’s breadth away, and that tiny margin was the most valuable skill of all.
Nie Yan, who had frightened the team members, remained calm and composed. To him, such a situation was nothing out of the ordinary.
“Shield Bash!” Kuang Tao shouted as he struck the Manticore Leader with his shield, drawing its aggro away from Nie Yan. Magical attacks rained down from behind, striking the Manticore Leader with loud smacking sounds. Damage numbers floated above its head one after another.
Another shield warrior drew the female Manticore away.
Nie Yan rushed behind the Manticore Leader and unleashed a series of attacks.
-67, -73, -78—Nie Yan’s damage output was quite impressive.
Seeing the Manticore Leader’s aggro shifting slightly toward Nie Yan, Kuang Tao roared furiously, his hoarse and heavy voice carrying an intimidating power.
Demoralizing Shout!
The Manticore Leader staggered back a few steps and resumed attacking Kuang Tao with even greater fury.
The shield warrior’s Demoralizing Shout could stun the monster for several seconds, halting its attacks and drawing its aggro. It was an excellent skill for warriors to control monsters.
Now isolated and alone, the Manticore Leader stood no chance. In this battle, the monster was quickly torn apart by the violent magical assault from the mages.
The Manticore Leader fell, dropping a Silver-grade item—a Paladin’s equipment.
In this Expert-level dungeon, Silver-grade loot had practically become worthless.
Without needing a devastating spell like Scorching Meteor, they had easily defeated a nest of Manticores. Ban Xing’s Fox was finally convinced of Nie Yan’s abilities. His skills were truly remarkable. Ban Xing’s Fox considered Nie Yan a rare talent and offered him a generous invitation to join their guild, but Nie Yan politely declined. Trying to bind Nie Yan to their team was practically unrealistic. It seemed for now, they could only maintain a good cooperative relationship with him.
After clearing this area, they went on to defeat more than a dozen nests of Manticores. Ban Xing’s Fox was the first to level up, reaching level 7, followed shortly by other team members. Nie Yan checked his experience bar and saw that he was only 35% away from level 7—it was close. During this time, a Rogue’s Legguards dropped. It was a Gold-grade item, providing +10 Strength and +6 Balance. It was a decent upgrade compared to what he was wearing. Naturally, Nie Yan claimed it without hesitation, and none of the other rogues felt comfortable challenging him for it. During this time, Ban Xing’s Fox and the others obtained many good items, significantly improving the team’s overall equipment quality.
Nie Yan did a quick calculation. After finishing this dungeon, he should receive at least ten or more silver coins from Ban Xing’s Fox. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing.
Gradually, Nie Yan and his team approached the lair of the Manticore King. It was a large open area in the center of the swamp, filled with many female Manticores—about sixty to seventy in total. In the distance, about a hundred yards away, they could see a massive Manticore with golden fur wandering about. It was much larger and stronger than the ordinary Manticores. That was the Manticore King.
“It would be great to have Scorching Meteor right now,” Ban Xing’s Fox said awkwardly. He couldn’t help but regret his earlier reckless use of Scorching Meteor.
“No problem. We can pull these Manticores out one by one. Only the Manticore King is difficult to handle—it’s a Lord-class monster,” Nie Yan explained. In simple and normal difficulty dungeons, the final boss was usually Sub-Elite class. In hard and expert difficulty dungeons, the bosses were Elite-class. In Expert-level dungeons, they would face Lord-class bosses. Lord-class bosses were extremely difficult to defeat, but the gear they dropped was vastly different from that of lower-tier bosses. At minimum, it would be Gold-grade, and occasionally even Dark Gold-grade top-tier items. They also frequently dropped special items such as gems, unique items, or rare materials.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage