Even though Nie Yan was under the effects of Shadow Bind, he wouldn't resign himself to fate so easily.
Although Nie Yan's active skills weren't available to him right now, he still had his passive skills!
Shadow Killer's appearance was fast and sudden, but Nie Yan still managed to react in a timely manner.
Just as the Smothering Strike was about to land, Nie Yan instinctively activated Death Immunity. This was one of his quest rewards for advancing to Great Thief. It made him immune to all crowd control for two seconds. Many Great Thieves possessed similar skills, but most of them weren't as good as his Death Immunity.
「Bang!」Shadow Killer's dagger stabbed into the back of Nie Yan's head.
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Shadow Killer's dagger was coated in a highly toxic poison. Nie Yan's skin started turning a pale shade of green. This was a paralyzing poison. He felt his limbs gradually going numb. Thankfully, he had the Detoxifying Orb on him, which boosted his poison resistance. The spread of the poison was slowed down significantly, and its effects were greatly reduced.
This sort of poison was extremely rare. A bottle would generally sell for at least several thousand gold. First the Shadow Bind Scroll, now the paralysis poison. Shadow Killer had really gone all out for the sake of killing Nie Yan.
Shadow Killer was shocked in surprise. Nie Yan wasn't stunned! Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. It was Death Immunity!
What godly reaction speed!
Death Immunity's duration of two seconds was much less than that of Shadow Bind. Even if Nie Yan avoided being stunned, so what? Shadow Killer was confident in killing him all the same!
Although Death Immunity could prevent Nie Yan from being stunned by Smothering Strike, it couldn't remove the effects of Shadow Bind. It could block incoming crowd control skills, but it couldn't remove ones that were already in effect. Taking advantage of his target's immobilized state, Shadow Killer stabbed toward the back of Nie Yan's head with Heavy Pierce. This was a Freedom Skill. It also had a disabling effect which prevented the target from using active skills and running away.
If Heavy Pierce landed, it would basically be a death sentence for Nie Yan. In the several seconds that he would be disabled, Shadow Killer could easily cut him down.
In an exchange between Thieves, even the slightest gap could mean the difference between life and death!
Nie Yan had fought hard for these two seconds provided by Death Immunity. He naturally wouldn't let this time go to waste. This was his only lifeline!
With all his active skills greyed out, Nie Yan couldn't possibly escape. His four Demonsmiths and Lil' Gold were more than 20 meters away. They couldn't come to his rescue in time either. His crowd control immunity skills were also limited. If he tried to trade skill for skill with Shadow Killer, he would definitely lose in the end. In the eyes of an ordinary person, the outcome of this battle was already a foregone conclusion.
From the moment the battle started, Nie Yan was on the backfoot. In this sort of situation, making a comeback was extremely difficult.
At this moment, Nie Yan ordered Lil' Gold to blast both him and Shadow Killer with Dragon Breath.
Dragon Breath was a small AoE magic with extremely high damage. Add this to Lil' Gold's already frighteningly high magic power, and it could pretty much instantly kill anyone. Furthermore, this attack didn't distinguish between enemy or ally. Even Nie Yan would be burnt to a crisp.
Scorching hot flames streaked through the air, carrying incredibly destructive power.
Shadow Killer noticed the Dragon Breath coming towards them. His heart trembled. He had witnessed these flames wipe out numerous players. Even he wasn't arrogant enough to think he could survive such an attack.
If Shadow Killer disregarded everything and followed through with his Heavy Pierce, he would be engulfed by the Dragon Breath. At this crucial moment, he chose to withdraw.
If he was a step slower, the one to die wouldn't be Nie Yan but him.
Could it be that he's immune to the Dragon Breath? Shadow Killer was puzzled.
Just as the Dragon Breath was about to swallow him up, Shadow Killer activated Gale Step and fled out of Lil' Gold's attack range.
In the next moment, the Dragon Breath engulfed Nie Yan as flames soared into the air. Standing in the inferno, tongues of flame danced around him. It was as if there was a faint layer of light surrounding him, insulating and protecting him from the flames.
Seeing this scene, Shadow Killer instantly realized Nie Yan had activated Adjudicator of God. He never expected Nie Yan would use such a reckless method to force him to retreat. Nevertheless, it had worked.
Nie Yan had protected himself from the Dragon Breath with the magic immunity barrier of Adjudicator of God.
Shadow Bind's effects finally wore off. Nie Yan was still affected by the paralysis poison. He stood in the flames gazing at Shadow Killer whose silhouette was half hidden in the darkness. His eyes were like a hawk, staring back at Nie Yan.
Nie Yan used Detoxify from the Detoxification Marble to cure himself of the paralysis poison.
Only now was Nie Yan free of all status effects. He was finally back at full strength. All his active skills were available to him again.
The raging flames surrounding Nie Yan gradually dissipated.
Nie Yan had escaped from the clutches of death with Adjudicator of God.
Nie Yan locked eyes with Shadow Killer. With both sides able to use their active skills, Shadow Killer's chances of killing him were reduced to almost zero.
This was their second exchange. Shadow Killer's attempt on Nie Yan's life had failed yet again.
"You're much stronger than I originally imagined. I admit I'm not your match in PvP. However, next time, I won't allow you to escape so easily," Shadow Killer said. He had no intention of stopping his attempts on Nie Yan's life. Assassination and direct combat were different. He would keep trying until he succeeded. Even if he couldn't kill Nie Yan, it wouldn't be easy to kill him either.
"I won't let you get away next time either. The person who put the contract out, how much did they pay you? I'll double it," Nie Yan said. Being targeted by Shadow Killer was truly a headache. Even the slightest slip up might mean his life. Even the most skilled experts had bad days. It was impossible for him to never mess up.
Shadow Killer coldly chuckled. "It's not a matter of money. Even if no one had offered me money, I would've still come after you."
Nie Yan stayed silent. Shadow Killer wasn't trying to assassinate him only for the money. In the previous timeline, Shadow Killer assassinated famous players one after the other. The people that fell to his blade were all illustrious existences that stood at the very peak. Assassins were often known for being stubborn and unreasonable. Shadow Killer assassinated to test his limits. He enjoyed this sort of stimulation and excitement.
These types of people were the most difficult to deal with!
"If our positions were switched, I'd only need one attempt," Nie Yan declared with a smile. The thought of Shadow Killer continuing to go after him in the future gave him a huge headache. Success or failure was inconsequential. So, he decided to try and settle it once and for all.
Shadow Killer sneered. He couldn't help but feel that Nie Yan was being too conceited. The only reason his two assassination attempts on Nie Yan failed was that Thieves had too many lifesaving skills. In a battle between expert Thieves, if the difference in strength wasn't too great, it would be extremely difficult for them to kill each other. The only other option was to be like Shadow Killer, waiting to ambush the opponent when they least expected it. Only then was there a chance of success. As long as he remained vigilant, even if he were cornered by the four Demonsmiths and Golden Dragon, he could still easily make his escape.
"How about a bet?" Nie Yan proposed. "We both have one attempt to assassinate the other. Whoever gets the job done first wins. If we both fail, it'll still count as your win."
Shadow Killer raised an eyebrow. He wanted to see how Nie Yan was going to kill him. Driven forward by his arrogance, he asked, "This bet sounds interesting. What's at stake?"
"I haven't thought about it yet. We can go with whatever you like," Nie Yan said. He really didn't know what to offer. He just wanted to get this matter over with.
Shadow Killer thought for a moment. "If you win, I vow to stop coming after you, and you can request my help to kill three people. If I win, you'll have to let me kill you three times."
"I see, three lives for three lives. Sounds fair enough," Nie Yan laughed. He couldn't help but recall his previous bet with King of the World. However, the two were different. He understood King of the World's character, a man who was always true to his word. Such a person could be trusted as a subordinate. However, Shadow Killer was an assassin without any scruples. He wouldn't be easily subdued like King of the World. This outcome was already good enough.
Nie Yan accepted the bet.
"Alright, it's settled," Shadow Killer said. His eyes lit up with a feverous brilliance. This was an exciting game.
Their bet was made through the system and would take effect immediately. There was no time limit.
"I'll wait for you to come and assassinate me," Shadow Killer said before melting into the darkness, disappearing without a trace.
Nie Yan couldn't sense Shadow Killer's location. This was a powerful stealth skill similar to Void Shroud!
Shadow Killer had made a grave mistake treating him as an ordinary Thief. Nie Yan had at least seven or eight methods to kill Shadow Killer, leaving him no room for excuses!
After Shadow Killer disappeared, Nie Yan narrowed his eyes. He contacted Guo Huai.「I want the Hundred Thieves to tail Shadow Killer. Report his movements back to me.」
「Shadow Killer? I understand!」Guo Huai nodded. He immediately assigned the Hundred Thieves to this task.