Chapter 35: The Trip

The Chapter of Order should not fall into the hands of the incompetent, so the Order Warden came into being.

The central intelligence designed a powerful creature, the Order Warden, to guard the Chapter of Order, but only equipped it with low-level intelligence. Its actions were purely instinctual, driven by programmed hatred.

At a critical moment for Nie Yan, General Nisode came to his rescue.

“There are quite a few people here,” Nie Yan muttered, scanning the area. He noticed many players eyeing the Order Warden hungrily. Once the Order Warden fell, over a hundred players would rush in unison to grab the dropped equipment!

Well, with so many people around, there’s no way we can get the gear. We already got the Chapter of Order; we should be satisfied.

Nie Yan thought to himself. He was a person easily satisfied, never longing for things he definitely couldn’t obtain.

His eyes focused behind several obstacles, and he spotted a few familiar faces.

Star Brilliance: around twenty years old, with a square face. Although not particularly handsome, he looked decent enough. His clean-shaven jawline gave him a neat and refreshing appearance. He was the guild leader of the Temple of Brilliance. In the previous life, he had a decent relationship with Nie Yan, being quite loyal and helping Nie Yan several times. Nie Yan had also joined his guild’s team to clear dungeons.

Lima Hengdao: the guild leader of Dark Slaughter, thirty-six years old, with a ruffian-like demeanor. It was said that in real life, he was involved in the underworld, commanding a large group of followers. He wasn’t a very commendable person and had a rivalry with Star Brilliance, which also affected Nie Yan’s impression of him negatively.

Half-Awake Fox: around thirty years old. Nie Yan wasn’t very close to him and had no particular relationship, but as the leader of the Holy Roman Empire guild, he was somewhat famous. It was said that he had high prestige within the guild and led the Holy Roman Empire into becoming one of the top ten guilds, which itself proved his strength.

He was also the previous holder of the Chapter of Courage!

Star Brilliance’s forces were lying in ambush in the western ruins, while Lima Hengdao’s were in the southwest. Both sides stared at each other like tigers ready to pounce, seemingly about to start a conflict at any moment. Half-Awake Fox, on the other hand, brought his subordinates to the east, a mocking and amused smile on his lips as if watching the tigers fight from the mountain.

Nie Yan couldn’t help but wonder what Half-Awake Fox would think or whether he would gather his men to seek revenge if he knew Nie Yan had taken the Chapter of Courage that should have belonged to him.

“Lima Hengdao, with us Temple of Brilliance here, you Dark Slaughter should step aside. Don’t argue; I leveled up five levels higher than you and led my team to clear both the Treant Forest and Black Flame Forest first. Whether in reality or in the game, I am superior to you!” Star Brilliance proudly looked at Lima Hengdao and spoke disrespectfully.

Lima Hengdao’s face turned dark with anger, and he sneered, “So what if your Temple of Brilliance cleared the Black Flame Forest? Your evaluation score was only 68%. Your Guild Glory is only 200 points higher than ours. We’ll catch up soon enough.”

“It’s 200 points higher now, maybe tomorrow it’ll be 1000, and the day after that 2000. If you want to catch up with us, try again in your next life.”

Guild Glory was a symbol of a guild’s strength, which was why they cared so much about such small differences in data.

“Damn it, boss, let’s fight them.”

“What’s so great about Star Brilliance? Let’s crush them.” The Dark Slaughter group was agitated.

“Little punk, come at us if you’ve got the guts!”

The Temple of Brilliance side also refused to back down, but both sides were only exchanging insults. Their main objective remained the equipment that would drop from the Order Warden.

This piece of equipment was the target of these three guild leaders.

The Holy Crusader warriors firmly resisted the Order Warden, not giving an inch, while the archers behind them shot arrows in dense, rain-like volleys, striking the Order Warden.

The Order Warden roared furiously and cast spells, its low, draconic incantations echoing over Link Town, unleashing a barrage of magical attacks.

“The Order Warden is almost out of HP! Rush to grab the gear!”

Someone shouted, and the players rushed toward the Order Warden.

General Nisode roared and shot an arrow that pierced the Order Warden’s shoulder, blood spewing forth. The Order Warden let out a piercing shriek, turning into streaks of white lightning that vanished into the air, leaving behind a golden armor.

“It’s gear! Grab it!” Star Brilliance coldly commanded.

“Whoever tries to grab the gear will be killed!” Half-Awake Fox, the leader of the Holy Roman Empire, also shouted in the guild chat channel.

Three to four hundred players rushed from all directions toward the gear dropped by the Order Warden, from all sorts of guilds, creating an extremely chaotic scene.

No one expected the Order Warden to actually drop a piece of gear, seemingly a golden armor. Nie Yan also rushed toward it, since he was already here, might as well try his luck.

A Berserker from the Holy Roman Empire led the charge, utilizing a charge ability that drastically boosted his speed. Just as he was about to seize the golden armor, dozens of spells simultaneously struck him. Hit by so many spells at once, the Berserker instantly turned into a streak of white light.

“Damn it!” Half-Awake Fox cursed as the gear slipped away again, “Attack!”

Before the three major guilds could approach the gear, they engaged in battle, hurling spells at each other. Several players who were about to approach the golden armor were blown into fragments.

Nie Yan was still about twenty yards away from the golden armor when a shield warrior from the Dark Slaughter guild blocked his path, swinging his weapon to intercept Nie Yan.

Nie Yan ducked and dodged, passing by the shield warrior.

The shield warrior missed his strike, hesitated for a moment, and when he turned his head, Nie Yan was already far away.

“Charge!” Half-Awake Fox, a Berserker, led the charge.

Over a dozen spells rained down, seemingly about to hit Half-Awake Fox, but he rolled on the ground to dodge. Only two or three of the over a dozen spells hit him.

“This is mine!” Half-Awake Fox was ecstatic, crouching to pick up the gear on the ground.

“Don’t get too excited!” Lima Hengdao coldly said.

“Entangle!” Lima Hengdao waved his staff and uttered three syllables, casting an entangle spell. Half-Awake Fox immediately froze in place.

Lima Hengdao was a Shadow Priest. Entangle was a relatively rare targeted spell that could completely immobilize a player. At the basic level, it could immobilize for three seconds.

“Damn it!” Half-Awake Fox cursed inwardly, unable to move at all.

Lima Hengdao and Star Brilliance simultaneously rushed toward the central golden armor, getting closer and closer.

Five yards, three yards…

At this speed, Lima Hengdao would definitely reach the gear before Star Brilliance.

Nie Yan was in stealth, following closely behind Lima Hengdao and Star Brilliance, but they were a step ahead of him, so he definitely couldn’t grab the gear. Since he couldn’t get it anyway, he might as well give it to someone he knew.

Nie Yan hooked his left foot, performing a trip maneuver!

A trip was a basic move in Faith. A melee unit could trip an enemy. The success rate of a trip was related to the person’s strength and the enemy’s weight.

His left foot happened to get in front of Lima Hengdao’s foot. As Lima Hengdao’s foot was hooked, he immediately lost his balance and fell forward.

With a thud, Lima Hengdao fell to the ground, and Star Brilliance reached out with his right hand, grabbing the golden armor and putting it into his backpack.

Only then did they realize there had been a rogue following them all along.

After obtaining the gear, Star Brilliance gratefully glanced at Nie Yan and said, “Thanks.” He found Nie Yan unfamiliar, not from his guild, and not close to him before, but this time, Nie Yan had genuinely helped him.