The battle was over? Just like that?
The crowd was dazed. From start to end, Mad God only had that one small window of opportunity to force a comeback. Young Seven completely dominated the rest of the fight. The players couldn't help but look at him in a new light. A Priest skilled to this degree was truly something else.
The Priests in the crowd were especially fired up. Who knew their class could actually be played with such vigor and dominance!
It was a common concept that Priests were forever relegated to being healers, nothing more than nannies and wet nurses running to the beck and call of others, quietly supporting from the rear. But as it turned out, even Priests could be frightening existences in PvP, capable of taking down top ranked Warriors like Mad God.
After today, who would dare to claim otherwise?
This match would likely become a textbook example of high skill Priest play people would reference back on for a long time to come.
"I've decided. I also want to become a Priest like Young Seven," a 17-year-old youth with a still somewhat childish appearance declared with clenched fists. He was called Starry Pride, an unexceptional Priest in one of Asskickers United's branch guilds, Warriors United.
"You...? You regularly get distracted and screw up on the most basic things like healing. You want to become a top Priest like Young Seven? Maybe in your next life. Next time we run a dungeon, remember to properly cast your Heal, and for once use Dispel when one of us gets cursed!" a Warrior chided with a teasing smile.
"Those are only small mistakes! What makes you think I can't do it!?" Starry Pride angrily rebuked, his face red from embarrassment.
Young Seven walked down from the stage.
"This time, I want your cape. That makes three pieces of equipment in total. Take them out," Smoke Stub said to Mad God who had just revived. Three pieces of Sub Legendary-grade equipment, how wonderful was this? They didn't even have to do any tediously difficult quests or run the same dungeon over and over in the hope of a good drop!
"Asskickers United, I refuse to accept this! If you have the balls, send someone else up!" Mad God's eyes were bloodshot after his three consecutive defeats. One had to know, he had experienced untold hardship to obtain his Sub Legendary-grade equipment. Obtaining those three pieces had set him back by more than a month. A month in which he didn't get to participate in any guild activities, including the siege of the Cripps Stronghold.
Mad God seemed to have forgotten that in a match between experts relying on equipment alone wouldn't work. He had degenerated into a gambling addict that didn't know when to quit, recklessly pushing on in an attempt to recoup his losses.
Smoke Stub narrowed his eyes, then sneered, "You've already lost all your Sub Legendary-grade equipment. What are you going to bet with?"
"I-I..." Mad God wanted to say something but had no words to refute.
"Mad God, come down. Don't embarrass yourself any further!" Depraved shouted.
Mad God gloomily handed over the three pieces of equipment to Smoke Stub. He glared with fury and malice, wishing for nothing more than to tear Smoke Stub apart limb by limb.
Smoke Stub smirked. He couldn't care less about Mad God holding a grudge. If you have the ability, come! Gaining three pieces of Sub Legendary-grade equipment, he was like a tiger that grew wings. On the other hand, Mad God was like a tiger that lost its teeth, unable to pose any threat.
As Mad God departed, Depraved hopped onto the stage.
Smoke Stub and the others' eyes flashed with killing intent. Given how this Thief hadn't come up until now, his objective was clear-Nie Yan!
"Nirvana Flame, care for a match?" Depraved eyed Nie Yan much like a hawk would its prey.
The crowd, who was excitedly discussing the previous match, immediately quieted down and turned to look at Nie Yan.
"That guy's looking to die. He actually challenged Nirvana Flame!"
"Right, he's tired of living! Seems like watching what happened to his partner wasn't enough for him."
...
Everyone eagerly awaited Nie Yan's answer. Would he dare to accept the challenge?
"What makes you think you're qualified? If your guild leader challenged me, I might consider accepting," Nie Yan calmly replied.
After some thought, this made sense. If any random player from Angel Corps could challenge the guild leader of Asskickers United, what would that say about Nie Yan's status?
Nie Yan instantly solved the issue by placing himself in an invincible position. So what if he didn't accept the challenge? No one would question it.
"You want to challenge our guild leader? How about beating us first?" Lustboy said.
"Right, these guys from Angel Corps are in over their heads!"
"Challenge Nirvana Flame? Are nobodies like you even qualified?"
The crowd stood firmly in support of Asskickers United. It had become the cornerstone of Calore. Nie Yan himself was even more revered as a godly existence. How could they tolerate the provocation of outsiders?
Depraved didn't bother retorting. He muttered out a complex incantation as a giant creature materialized before the crowd's eyes. It stood over three meters tall with fur as white as snow, and had a muscular figure resembling that of a bear, with a pair of long, sharp horns on its head.
The crowd let out a cry of surprise. This beast's immense size caused their hearts to tremble in fear.
"Holy shit! It's a Polar Behemoth!"
A player in the crowd recognized this giant creature. According to legend, behemoths were existences that rivalled dragons. In a direct physical confrontation, they were even stronger than dragons! Their sharp claws could tear apart a dragon's scales!
Nie Yan raised an eyebrow in surprise. He never expected Angel Corps to bring out something like this. It seemed like they had gone through quite a bit of effort to deal with him.
"Is this enough to prove my qualifications? I heard you have a Golden Dragon, Nirvana Flame. I want to see whose pet is stronger, your Golden Dragon or my Polar Behemoth!" Depraved declared loudly. He was following Soaring Angel's instructions. It was time to take Nie Yan down a peg!
Nie Yan inwardly sneered. Soaring Angel had really done his research. Golden Dragons and Polar Behemoths were equal ranked existences. Both had growth rates of 20. The difference was the former specialized in magic while the latter specialized in close combat. In this small arena stage, a Golden Dragon would be at an obvious disadvantage.
However, Soaring Angel wasn't aware of one very important factor. Ordinarily, a Polar Behemoth would have no problem beating a Golden Dragon. But Lil' Gold wasn't a normal Golden Dragon. After being fed an Evolution Crystal, its growth rate had increased from 20 to 25!
A difference of 5 points meant Lil' Gold would gain 20% more stat points for every level up. At higher levels, this difference would become enormous!
At this moment, the Polar Behemoth was Level 59, and Lil' Gold was Level 61. Regardless of whether they fought melee or ranged, the Polar Behemoth was bound to lose miserably!
"What, don't tell me the almighty Nirvana Flame is afraid?" Depraved chuckled. He mistakenly took Nie Yan's silence for fear.
"I'm not opposed to accepting, but you guys should bring something out to tempt me. After all, what's the point if there's nothing at stake," Nie Yan said in an insipid tone. Asking for the Polar Behemoth was out of the question. It was already bound to a master. However, he felt Angel Corps should still pay a hefty price.
The crowd broke out in a cold sweat. First Smoke Stub, and now Nie Yan! What was with this guild and high stake bets?
"What do you want to bet...?" Depraved's confidence was shaken. After all, no one knew Nirvana Flame's true strength. He hardly ever revealed himself in public, and on the scarce occasions he did take action himself, tragedy would always befall his enemies! Most recently, his summoning of the Crypt Lord left an especially deep impression on the collective mind of the players.
"5 pieces of Sub Legendary-grade equipment, any less and all talks are off," Nie Yan replied. If he asked for more, Angel Corps might not take the bait. This was just the right amount. It wasn't too excessive, but it was still enough to hurt.
Sub Legendary-grade equipment was still quite rare at this stage of the game. For example, Asskickers United only had around 30 or so pieces in total. Angel Corps was probably somewhat better off, but they definitely had no more than 50 pieces.
Depraved hesitated. He lacked the authority to make this decision himself. He passed on Nie Yan's words to Soaring Angel.
「Depraved, what are your thoughts? Do you think Nirvana Flame is just blustering?」Soaring Angel asked. He couldn't help but wonder if Nie Yan was trying to scare them off.
「I'm not sure. This guy is too hard to read. I can't tell what he's thinking at all!」Depraved replied. He felt a tremendous amount of pressure. Perhaps Nie Yan was the only one who could propose such an outrageous bet without batting an eye!
This was a duel between Nie Yan and Soaring Angel!
Soaring Angel pondered his options for a long time.
「If we back out, Angel Corps is going to lose face. If we agree and lose, we'll have to gift them five pieces of Sub Legendary-grade equipment. You'll have to decide yourself...」Depraved carefully explained.
「The Polar Behemoth is definitely stronger than his Golden Dragon. We just don't know what kind of tricks he's hiding up his sleeve. If he summons his flying mount...」Soaring Angel hesitated. Flying mounts were existences far more powerful than summoned monsters.「If he doesn't summon his flying mount, we'll take the bet!」
Recently, Nie Yan was probably completely focused on raising his flying mount. Soaring Angel highly doubted he had the time to do anything else.
「Understood,」Depraved replied. He no longer thought about anything but the task in front of him.
"May I take a look at your flying mount?"
"Don't worry, I won't summon it for the match." Nie Yan faintly smiled. It appeared Angel Corps was worried about his flying mount. Little did they know that it hadn't even hatched yet!
"Alright, I accept the bet!" Depraved gritted his teeth.