“Thief?”
“Uh, is that an NPC?” a mage stammered.
“No, he’s a player!” a rogue replied, shivering with fear.
“Are those skeletons his summons? Is he a necromancer?”
“He looks like a rogue!”
Nie Yan, standing silently beside the Dark Gladiator, exuded an invisible pressure that unsettled them. At this moment, Nie Yan controlled their fate. If he commanded that massive skeleton to charge, combined with the firepower of the four skeleton mages, they would barely have any chance of survival.
The green flames in the Dark Gladiator’s eye sockets flickered ominously as it awaited Nie Yan’s command. If Nie Yan ordered to kill these players, it would strike immediately.
Nie Yan cast a Super Insight on these players.
“Daibang Dage Qizi, Wangzhi, Yi Yan”—familiar names appeared before his eyes. They were all high-level players: level six, level six, level five. In the previous life, they were all prominent figures. Although they didn’t join any guild, they formed a team called “True Dragon Mark,” whose strength was comparable to elite teams from major guilds.
Nie Yan suddenly recalled that while tracking the lizard, he had encountered these players briefly.
Indeed, at this level, any player daring enough to come to the ancient city of Sogot must be exceptional.
Daibang Dage Qizi was a Holy Word Priest, one of the seven divine priests later on. Divine priests were crucial to any team, capable of saving the entire team at critical moments.
As for Wangzhi, he had been slightly ahead of Nie Yan in the previous life, one of the many Shadow Dancers. In terms of skill, he might have been on par with Nie Yan, but Wangzhi started playing earlier and had a fixed top-tier team, giving him an advantage in both level and equipment. However, the situation was different now. Nie Yan had ten more years of rogue experience, and since both entered the game around the same time, their positions in this life were destined to change.
Perhaps one day, they would learn to look up to Nie Yan.
The others, although not as famous as Daibang Dage Qizi and Wangzhi, were still somewhat well-known. Take Yi Yan, for example; he was a decent shield warrior. Although he couldn’t make it into the top ten shield warriors’ rankings, he was at least within the top fifty. This ranking was quite impressive, considering that there were hundreds of thousands of teams in the entire good-aligned faction ten years later.
Nie Yan had heard of these people before but never interacted with them.
After a long stare, Daibang Dage Qizi’s hand, gripping his staff, sweated slightly, but he didn’t show his inner tension. If Nie Yan attacked, their six-man team would likely have no chance of survival and would probably lose some equipment as well.
If Nie Yan did attack, it would be a one-sided massacre.
However, Nie Yan had his own considerations. These individuals were formidable; even though their current levels were low, they were bound to become top-tier experts in the future. If Nie Yan were to command the Dark Gladiator to charge in and eliminate them now, all he would gain would be a few pieces of equipment and a red name—hardly worth the trouble, especially since he didn’t need the money. Why create such enemies? They didn’t even know why he had come to the Ancient City of Sogot, and at his current level, he had no reason to worry about anyone stealing the Shadow of Sogot.
Nie Yan smiled faintly, ignoring the other players as he walked deeper into the ancient city of Sogot.
The Dark Gladiator glanced at Nie Yan’s back, then at the players, before turning and following Nie Yan.
Several skeletons rushed toward Nie Yan, but the Dark Gladiator’s tail rose high and slammed down, shattering those skeletons into pieces.
No one dared to pursue; chasing Nie Yan would be tantamount to suicide.
Nie Yan walked away calmly and elegantly. Just a fleeting glance was enough for Daibang Dage Qizi and others to never forget Nie Yan’s face.
“Wait!” Wangzhi called out to Nie Yan’s back.
Nie Yan didn’t turn around, continuing to walk away and disappearing at the end of the path.
Countless skeletons crowded in, blocking their view, until even the towering Dark Gladiator was no longer visible.
“Who was that guy? He’s amazing! Those skeletons are really his summons!” Yi Yan muttered beside them. If that were true, it would be terrifying.
“Maybe they aren’t summons. Didn’t we also obtain a Scroll of Summoning Spirits? Perhaps he obtained something else.” Daibang Dage Qizi thoughtfully replied, “Even so, he dares to come alone to the ancient city of Sogot; he must have some skills.”
“By the way, Wangzhi, what did you want to say to him?” Yi Yan asked curiously.
“He turned and left, proving he won’t harm us. Someone like that is worth getting to know better.” Wangzhi said.
“But others might not want to team up with us.” Daibang Dage Qizi replied. Otherwise, Nie Yan wouldn’t have left without saying anything, clearly showing no intention of interacting with them.
“It doesn’t matter. Chatting now can lead to familiarity later. I just detected that person’s name: Nie Yan.” Wangzhi couldn’t help but feel mixed emotions. As fellow rogues, there seemed to be a significant gap between them.
“Nie Yan? I think I’ve heard that name before. A friend told me that Holy Light Flame was defeated by someone named Nie Yan, losing many members. It must be him. I’ve heard he’s somewhat acquainted with Ban Xing’s Fox,” said Daibang Dage Qizi. With his extensive social network, he had better access to information. Friends often chatted about such gossip—which guild suffered losses against whom, which guilds were fighting each other, and so on.
“Is he from the Holy Roman Empire?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t see him wearing a guild emblem just now, so probably not.”
A mere glimpse was enough to leave them deeply impressed. A lone warrior bold enough to charge through the ancient city of Sogot was someone they could only look up to. If they had the chance to befriend Nie Yan or even recruit him into their ranks, they would never let such an opportunity slip away.
Nie Yan made his way through the labyrinthine passages toward the heart of the ancient city of Sogot. He had no idea about their intentions or plans. Had he known they wanted to recruit him, he would have surely advised them to drop such notions. Nie Yan would never allow himself to be controlled by anyone. Even joining the elite team of the Holy Roman Empire was merely a means to acquire certain equipment. While he did need a team, the command authority had to remain firmly in his own hands.
The Dark Gladiator charged bravely, defeating wave after wave of monsters. Under such terrifying spawn rates, Nie Yan’s experience rapidly increased.
After crossing through maze-like areas, he entered a vast open square spanning thousands of yards, with a magnificent pyramid-like structure at its center.
In the center of the square, towering Skeleton Executioners roamed about. Across this open area, dozens of these Skeleton Executioners were scattered. Each Skeleton Executioner stood five yards tall, merely a massive moving skeleton. Their right arms were especially thick, carrying a heavy axe on their shoulders. Though covered in rust, the axe still appeared formidable and mighty.
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