Since the Chapter of Peace was guaranteed to drop upon death, Nie Yan decided to take advantage of its God's Blessing skill while he still could. He might even come out of here alive by some stroke of luck!
God's Blessing had a duration of 60 seconds. During this time, Nie Yan wouldn't have to fear any magic.
After downing a Haste Potion he got from the Starry Night Potion Shop, Nie Yan fled for his life while brushing off the bombardment of spells. With only 10 seconds remaining on God's Blessing, he bolted past the last group of Skeleton Dragon Priests and escaped through the passage to the next room. He found a dark corner to duck into and disappeared into the shadows.
The Skeleton Dragon Priests chased after Nie Yan into the passageway. But after finding no signs of him, they turned around and left.
Nie Yan breathed out a sigh of relief. He left his hiding spot and continued travelling deeper into the tomb. Much to his dismay, the next room he arrived at contained nearly six times as many Skeleton Dragon Priests. He had no idea how to deal with so many Elite-class monsters.
These Skeleton Dragon Priests completely barred Nie Yan's path forward.
"How do I get past this room...?" Nie Yan muttered. He surveyed his surroundings and confirmed that this room didn't differ much from the last in design, meaning sneaking past these Skeleton Dragon Priests would be next to impossible. Taking them out one by one was another route he could take. After all, with his outstanding gear and wide array of skills, disposing of a Level 50 Skeleton Dragon Priest would be a piece of cake.
However, in front of him were over 70 Skeleton Dragon Priests with even more further up ahead.
Even with the Silk Spinner Ring and Crawler Ring in his possession, Nie Yan had no way of sneaking past them.
While Nie Yan was pondering his next step, one of the Skeleton Dragon Priests split off from the group and began wandering in his direction. In its idle state, it alternated between moving around and stopping to survey its surroundings.
It got closer and closer to Nie Yan. Only a few more steps and it would discover him!
There was a large crowd of Skeleton Dragon Priests only 20 meters up ahead. If they were all alerted of his presence, Nie Yan would be left without a corpse!
His only option was to take out this Skeleton Dragon Priest as quickly as possible!
Nie Yan gritted his teeth and activated Gale Ambush. He dashed forward with an explosive burst of speed and plunged his dagger deep into the Skeleton Dragon Priest's chest. After which he circled around and followed up with Cut Throat.
Nie Yan's speed reached its absolute limit thanks to the 200% bonus from Gale Ambush.
Gale Ambush increased damage by 60% and ignored armour and level difference. Combined with the Advanced Demon Hunter title which reduced the stats of all nearby undead by 30%, Nie Yan dealt massive damage.
Before the Skeleton Dragon Priest could react, Nie Yan had brought it down to almost half health.
The Skeleton Dragon Priest began casting, a sphere of light condensing in its palm. But before it could retaliate, Nie Yan temporarily delayed it with a swift kick to the shoulder.
Nie Yan threw himself back at the Skeleton Dragon Priest and struck out with Backstab and Eviscerate.
Just as the Skeleton Dragon Priest was about to unleash its magic, Nie Yan activated Blast and finished it off with a loud explosion.
The ruckus alerted the crowd of Skeleton Dragon Priests up ahead. As they turned their heads to look over, all they saw was a black robe and scattered bone fragments on the ground. Nie Yan was nowhere to be found.
These undead lacked the intelligence to wonder how their comrade ended up in such a state. Without a target, they would remain idle, leaving Nie Yan safe for the time being.
Nie Yan returned to the corner. He relaxed his breathing after seeing the Skeleton Dragon Priests turn their gazes away. Had he not acted with such resolve, he would be facing a calamity right now!
Taking down a single Skeleton Dragon Priest wasn't enough to allow Nie Yan to get through this area, nor did he have the luxury of waiting all day for them to split off from their groups, allowing him to pick them off one at a time.
"Is there nothing else I can do?" Nie Yan scanned through the list of skills and items available to him before his gaze settled on the Pearl of Disguise. "Maybe I really can sneak past these Skeleton Dragon Priests if I disguise myself as one of them!"
After a moment, Nie Yan made his decision. He could think of no other way.
Nie Yan activated Disguise, and his body was instantly shrouded by a black robe. His face concealed beneath the robe turned skeletal while flickering green orbs emerged in his eye sockets.
He looked identical to a Skeleton Dragon Priest!
The Disguise skill was quite impressive. Nie Yan examined his body and confirmed that the transformation was complete. Every part of his body had turned into a skeleton!
Nie Yan didn't know if the Skeleton Dragon Priests could see through his disguise, or if there was a safe distance and what it was. So he decided it best to stay as far away from them as he possibly could.
What awaited Nie Yan if he was caught was an endless barrage of spells. Later, he would awake in the Calore graveyard.
Nie Yan took a deep breath, then began walking towards the Skeleton Dragon Priests in the distance. He even perfectly mimicked their gait. This way, his cover was less likely to get blown.
Nie Yan silently prayed that the Skeleton Dragon Priests didn't possess any skills like Eye of Truth; otherwise, he was toast.
Nie Yan slowly approached the Skeleton Dragon Priests. At about five meters, he could clearly make out their faces under the robes. Their bone-white, skeletal appearances were extremely off-putting.
Even though Nie Yan couldn't see his own face. He reckoned it didn't differ much from these Skeleton Dragon Priests.
This was the effect of Disguise!
Nie Yan lowered his head. He saw a pair of hands that were mostly bone with a bit of mummified muscle and tendons attached to them.
These were his hands!
He firmly grasped his staff as he advanced. He was only a short distance away from the Skeleton Dragon Priests.
Nie Yan felt like his heart was going to jump out of his chest as he got closer and closer to them. I'm done for if I expose myself now! Calm down! He forcefully composed himself, then continued onward.
Several Skeleton Dragon Priests looked over at Nie Yan. They stared at his face for what seemed like an eternity before finally turning away.
None of the Skeleton Dragon Priests noticed anything off about Nie Yan.
Nie Yan felt reassured as he slowly snuck past the groups of Skeleton Dragon Priests without being noticed. When he reached the end of the room, he breathed out a sigh of relief. This sort of activity truly tested the limits of a person's mental fortitude.
Nie Yan took advantage of his disguise to travel deeper into the tomb. He bumped into Skeleton Dragon Priests in every room and corridor. If a player hadn't reached Level 70 or didn't possess any special methods, there was no way they could make it this far by themselves!
Nie Yan used the Pearl of Disguise to make it through the areas that were littered with Skeleton Dragon Priests. After travelling for another half an hour, he exited a long, narrow passageway and arrived in a room significantly hotter than the others. Below was a lake of boiling lava while ahead was a stone arch bridge that stretched past the haze of volcanic gas.
Nie Yan spotted a statue towering over the lava in the distance. It was roughly 70 meters tall and resembled a titan of antiquity. Clad in golden armour and sporting a pair of giant wings, it was a spectacular sight to behold.
This was a statue of Dragon King Zennarde in his prime! Brimming with muscle, he appeared domineering with a murderous countenance that inspired fear to all.
Slaughterer of all beings, the indisputable tyrant throughout the ages!
His establishment of the Hiberyth Empire and subsequent reign was known as the Dark Era! For all other races, it was the darkest time in their history!
The statue's right hand was placed in front of its chest with its palm facing upward. Its immense palm was large enough to fit six people. Floating just about a meter above the center of the palm was a pitch-black short sword. It was covered in a blazing black flame.
Zennarde's Sword was roughly the same size as an ordinary one-handed sword. It was entirely black, shrouded in an otherworldly flame.
Since Zennarde's Sword was so high up, Nie Yan couldn't get a good look at it. However, it immediately drew his attention. In this expansive room, it was undoubtedly the focal point.
This was a frightening weapon that took millions of lives, but also a legendary weapon that countless people drooled over.
Nie Yan stared at the treasure that was so close, yet so far away. Even though he was fully aware of the danger, he had an urge to charge up ahead.
Nie Yan walked over the stone bridge. A dense noxious cloud of smoke rose up from the boiling pit of lava below, carrying along with it waves of heat and even smoldering flames. The burning smoke enveloped him, lingering for a long while, before gradually extinguishing.
Despite being burned by the smoke, Nie Yan was still unscathed.
Nie Yan possessed the Kilnfire Heart, making his fire resistance extremely high. Even a Level 80 player wasn't necessarily a match for him in this regard. So the environmental hazards here had no effect on him. These clouds of smoke only dealt 50 points of damage at most.
Ahead of him was a 10 meter wide river of lava. Nie Yan searched for a long time but he couldn't find a bridge to the other side.
The lava below boiled and roiled. From time to time, gas bubbles would explode, sending waves of heat rising into the air.
After considering his options, Nie Yan equipped the Leaper Ring. He leaped over the lava and landed safely on the other side.
Nie Yan gazed into the distance. He was one step closer to the statue at the center.
There was still roughly 60 meters to go!
There was a vast sea of lava ahead of him. Wanting to obtain Zennarde's Sword wouldn't be an easy task.
Nie Yan wondered how the people in the previous timeline reached Zennarde's Sword or how many of them were engulfed by the boiling lava.
Nie Yan felt his expectations for Zennarde's Sword soar. It was definitely on par with the Grimmar Soul Staff!
Nie Yan's eyes swept over the ground in the distance. To his shock, he discovered a person hung up on a giant cross, about eight meters above the lava. The hanged man looked quite large and muscular.
Because it was so far away, Nie Yan couldn't see this person clearly. However, for an NPC to appear in this place, and to be strung up on a cross no less, they were definitely related to Zennarde's Sword and the quest in this map.
It was hard to tell if this NPC was still alive.
Nie Yan thought for a moment before decisively walking over.