With several dozen of his people killed, Splendid Star ordered a retaliatiation without hesitation. A dense shower of magic rained down. The unaffiliated players fell in droves.
Everyone made a mad scramble for the loot.
"Kill anyone that dares to approach Phantom Princess Ina's corpse! Anyone that tries to snatch the equipment will be a sworn enemy of Splendid Temple. Slaughter without mercy!" Splendid Star declared. He believed Nie Yan wanted Phantom Princess Ina's drops. Why else would Nie Yan ask him to kill her? He was a man of his word. He didn't care how many bridges he had to burn. Even if it meant killing everyone here today, he would get those drops!
After receiving the order, Splendid Temple's forces started slaughtering the unaffiliated players. Their corpses littered the ground. They were too weak to put up any kind of resistance.
Any player showing the slightest sign of greed for the loot was annihilated with a barrage of spells.
"Fuck! Splendid Temple is too overbearing. It's just a few pieces of equipment! Why do they have to kill everyone!?"
The unaffiliated players were full of grievances. Several small powers banded together to deal with Splendid Temple. A chaotic battle broke out.
Five Thieves tried to test their luck, only to be revealed by the Illuminates of the Priests from Splendid Temple. Splendid Star charged forward, cutting down each Thief with a single slash. He resembled a blood-soaked killing god.
"Looks like they still won't give up. Bombard them with AoE magic!" Splendid Star yelled.
Fireballs started raining down on the unaffiliated players. Screams of people dying rang out.
These small fries weren't a match for Splendid Temple. After repelling wave upon wave of players scrambling for loot, they eventually gained complete control of the area around Phantom Princess Ina's corpse.
Splendid Star walked over to Phantom Princess Ina's corpse and picked up the items she dropped.
Seeing that everything was more or less settled, Nie Yan recalled Paladin Lafus. He turned around and prepared to leave. He had no hopes of obtaining the drops.
At this moment, Splendid Star contacted Nie Yan.「Luckily, I didn't disappoint. I secured the loot. Phantom Princess Ina dropped three items. Two are Level 100 Legendary-grade equipment. If it isn't convenient for you to reveal yourself, I'll send someone to deliver them to you.」
Nie Yan was at a loss for words. He simply thought Splendid Star really wanted Phantom Princess Ina's loot drops. But after hearing these words, he realized that Splendid Star had snatched the equipment for his sake. This was why Splendid Star dared to act so overbearingly, even in the face of harsh censure. If he rejected this show of goodwill, Splendid Star would've made enemies of so many people for nothing!
「Thank you. If you need anything in the future, just send me a whisper,」Nie Yan said. As the guild leader of Asskickers United, a promise from him was capable of altering the fate of a guild like Splendid Temple.
「No need. You've already done so much for us. It's the right thing to do,」Splendid Star replied. He was deeply moved. Nie Yan's words were much more valuable than these three loot drops.
Seeing that Phantom Princess Ina's drops had already fallen into the hands of Splendid Star, the unaffiliated players could only leave in dejection. With the loot gone, there was no point in staying here any longer. They gradually dispersed.
This event had finally concluded. All that remained was a barren battlefield littered with corpses.
「Then I'll be going. Contact me if anything comes up,」Nie Yan said. He bid farewell to Splendid Star and disappeared into the trees.
With Phantom Princess Ina dead, Nie Yan had one less worry on his mind. He was Level 100. After making a few preparations, he could head to the Temple of Light and do his Luminous Dancer class advancement quest.
While travelling through the forest, Nie Yan recalled he had a piece of Level 100 Legendary-grade equipment in his bag he could finally equip.
Ygris' Guardian Gages (Legendary)
Requirements: Level 100 Description: A piece of equipment crafted by Ygris, the blacksmith of the Hilton Stronghold. It boasts excellent defense and can protect the user from receiving any damage.
Properties: Defense 720-768, Block Rate +20%, All Control Skill Ranks +1, All Freedom Skill Ranks +2
Restrictions: Thief
Nie Yan switched out his current pair of gloves for the Ygris' Guardian Gages. He was quite pleased with the properties of this piece of Legendary-grade equipment. With All Control Skill Ranks +1, skills like Concussive Blow and Smothering Strike would rise by one rank. His freedom skills also saw a big boost. Backbreaker for instance went from Rank 11 to 13. Phantom Assassination and his three other freedoms skills went from Rank 10 to 12.
Backbreaker counted as both a freedom skill and control skill. However, All Control Skill Ranks +1 and All Freedom Skill Ranks +2 didn't stack. This was why it was only Rank 13.
Backbreaker was already pretty powerful. Now it was even more broken. Nie Yan glanced at its effects. The cripple duration had increased to 12 seconds. Even a Lord would still be CC'd for at least eight seconds. As for Phantom Assassination and his other freedom skills, their base damage had also sharply increased.
"Hmm... I should socket Ygris' Guardian Gages with a few gems when I get back to Calore. I still have those rare gems in my personal storage. They should boost my Dexterity, Evasion, and other stats by a decent amount," Nie Yan mumbled to himself.
Ygris' Guardian Gages was an ideal piece of equipment to tide him over until he reached Level 180. It would be an utter waste to socket it with level requirement reduction gems, at least Nie Yan felt that way. This was why he patiently waited until Level 100 to bring them out.
Nie Yan pulled out a Return Scroll and started chanting. With a flash of light, he returned to Calore.
Nie Yan crafted a few Advanced Combat Bandages, then headed to the Starry Night Potion Shop. He picked up 20 Master Health and Mana Potions, and stocked up on Antidotes, Anti-Corrosion Potions, and other consumables. After which he went and got his Ygris' Guardian Gages socketed. With this, all his preparations were complete.
Just as Nie Yan was about to set out, a notification popped up.
Player Ramshackle has deposited three items into your personal storage.
"Wow, it's already here. Splendid Star sure is quick." Nie Yan's heart trembled. "The drops from a Level 100 Variant Lord... I wonder if there's any equipment I can use."
Thinking to this point, Nie Yan headed to his personal storage.