Even though the street was crowded, everyone made sure to give way to Nie Yan. These players all respected him greatly. His prestige in Asskickers United was something other people would find difficult to comprehend.
Nie Yan could be described as Asskickers United's absolute pillar. He alone propped up the entire guild.
As Nie Yan made his way through the street, many familiar faces stepped forth from the crowd to ask him about one thing or another.
"Boss, get anything good lately?"
"Of course." Nie Yan chuckled.
"Boss, you're a Shadow Dancer now. Show us something cool!"
"Yeah!"
"Please, Boss!"
The shouts grew louder and louder. For most ordinary Thieves, becoming a Shadow Dancer was an unattainable dream. They all wanted to see what the pinnacle of the Thief class looked like.
At the persistent urging of the surrounding players, Nie Yan couldn't simply flat out refuse. After thinking for a moment, he finally caved and said. "Alright, alright, watch closely since I'm only going to do this once. I have faith that some of you will also become Shadow Dancers one day."
When the players were about to say something, Nie Yan's silhouette turned into a blur as he travelled several dozen meters in the blink of an eye. He was like a human flash. Their hearts shook. This was the speed of a Shadow Dancer? Too frightening!
Nie Yan's speed was absolutely stunning, leaving the entire crowd breathless.
The casters felt their blood run cold. If they were to encounter such a Thief in PvP, there would be nothing they could do. Most likely Nie Yan's blade would've already slit their throat before they even got a chance to chant out a single spell.
Shadow Dancer, this was a Shadow Dancer! The Thieves in the crowd were completely awestruck. This title was instantly engraved deep into their minds as they inwardly made a resolve. From now on, they would also pursue this peak existence.
Nie Yan only showed off a bit of his speed. He didn't reveal too much since there were certainly enemies watching him at this very moment.
Having entertained the players around him long enough, Nie Yan entered the guild headquarters.
...
News of Nie Yan's appearance in the Cripps Stronghold attracted the attention of many powers.
God Executioner Sword guild headquarters, a large group of people had gathered inside a conference hall. Qin Han sat at the head of a large table in the middle of the room. His appearance compared to reality was somewhat different. Donned in ash gray robes, he wore an unsightly expression on his face as Nie Yan's little performance in the Cripps Stronghold was broadcasted to everyone here live. His speed just now caused Qin Han to feel a cold chill a the back of his neck. If he and Nie Yan were to fight, he would definitely be cut down in an instant.
Individually, he was far from being Nie Yan's match.
A dark look clouded Qin Han's face. The people below found it difficult to read his thoughts.
"Qin Han, Nirvana Flame is back. Do we go forward with the plan?" a guild leader asked. The name of the Mad Rogue filled his heart with fear and apprehension.
At least 130 people were in the conference hall. All of them were the leaders of various guilds in the Viridian Empire, including powerhouses like Divine Protectors, Penumbra Empire, and God Executioner Sword. The amount of backing required to bring all these people together was unimaginable.
Sitting in a corner, Eternal Sin[1] looked on with narrowed eyes, an imperceptible light flickering in his pupils. Qin Han was indeed a powerful individual. Having gathered more than half of the guilds in the Viridian Empire, he was certainly capable of contending with Assskickers United.
Circumstances caused Eternal Sin to side with Qin Han. That was why he attended this meeting, and why he would join the assault of Asskickers United and its allies. Yet the pressure of victory didn't rest on his shoulders like it did on the others. What he felt was curiosity, to see who would emerge victorious in this conflict.
The conference hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Everyone was waiting for Qin Han's answer.
"We go forward with the plan! We'll take down Battle Crazed Alliance first, then the War God Tribe next," Qin Han declared. Divide and conquer! Battle Crazed Alliance and the War God Tribe were located the furthest away from Calore.
Qin Han's voice was decisive, cutting across the room.
The people in the conference hall all nodded in agreement. Qin Han was their backer, so none of them dared to go against his word.
With Qin Han giving the order, they immediately got to work. They would strike in six days at the latest.
...
Nie Yan met up with Guo Huai in the Asskickers United guild headquarters.
"Have there been any movements I have to be aware of?" Nie Yan asked. While he was holed up in the Ancient World, he had received little information of the outside world. He had spoken to Guo Huai only a couple of times. So, he didn't have more than a very rough picture of the current situation.
"God Executioner Sword, Penumbra Empire, and Divine Protectors have all been making a lot of small movements. Also, some guilds in Gouvest, Colt, Bennidon, and a few other cities have banded together and formed an alliance. They've all been secretly making contact with each other recently. I think they're planning something big," Guo Huai said. In the past, his information network was lacking, which led to them frequently being caught with their pants down as the enemy arrived at their doorstep. After learning several painful lessons, he worked hard to expand his intelligence division, placing moles in almost every major guild and bribing their core members with large sums of gold. As a result, the reliability and responsiveness of their intelligence had improved by leaps and bounds. This recent development was clear proof that his efforts weren't for naught.
"When do you think they'll make their move?"
"They'll need at least a few more days to finish their preparations. I received a report from Penumbra Empire that they'll be making their first move before the week ends. They'll deal with Battle Crazed Alliance first, then the War God Tribe next. They plan to weaken us by picking off our allies that are the furthest away from Calore since it'll be hard for us to send over reinforcements."
"Is the information from Penumbra Empire reliable?" Nie Yan asked, faintly knitting his brows. He was worried it might be a red herring.
"I think it's trustworthy. It matches up with the reports I've received from my other sources. Eternal Sin is behaving pretty suspiciously, though. He purposefully leaked this information to us," Guo Huai said.
Nie Yan narrowed his eyes. Eternal Sin was the type of person that was really hard to read. Is he trying to express his goodwill to us?
"So, how should we deal with this?" Guo Huai asked.
"Let's strike while the iron is hot and seize the initiative. We've recuperated for long enough, and we're much more powerful now. We can act with a little less restraint. Crush any who dare to challenge us in the Viridian Empire. If they refuse to accept our authority, we'll slaughter them until they're thoroughly convinced!" Nie Yan declared.
Guo Huai's eyes trembled. In the past, since Asskickers United's foundation wasn't stable, they had to advance with great caution for fear of being caught off guard by the enemy. They rarely got the first move in their conflicts. After weathering countless storms, they finally had the strength and resolve to sweep through the entire Viridian Empire. Thinking about how many twists and turns they encountered and how rough the journey had been to get here, he couldn't help but let out a deep sigh of emotion.
"We have 170,000 players in the main guild and 300,000 spread across our branch guilds. Combined with the forces from Holy Empire, Sapphire Shrine, Radiant Sacred Flame, and the others, so long as you give the order, we can sweep through the entire Viridian Empire. God Executioner Sword, Divine Protectors, Penumbra Empire... all of them will be at our mercy!" Guo Huai said, his eyes burning with heroic spirit.
Guo Huai had watched Asskickers United grow from a small and feeble upstart into a ruler contending for hegemony over the entire Viridian Empire. Words couldn't describe how gratified he felt.
"Since we have a good five days, we'll need to make some preparations first. The day after tomorrow, we'll make our move then! Our target will be Colt!" Nie Yan said. Colt was a city located between Nisode and Calore. If they could occupy it, their cities would be connected, and transporting large war machines like catapults and trebuchets would become much more convenient.
"Alright, I'll get to it immediately!" Guo Huai nodded.
"How many siege engines do we have now?" Nie Yan asked. He had almost forgotten this important question.
"We already have 300 Armoured Ice Catapults and 100 trebuchets, and all our important strongholds have been fitted with Gnome Magic Cannons," Guo Huai informed. Since Asskickers United's businesses were flourishing, with large amounts of gold rolling in every day, their Engineers, Tinkerers, Enchanters, and other non-combat professions saw immense growth. Their manufacturing ability skyrocketed. In the time that Nie Yan was away, the number of siege engines had increased exponentially.
"So many?" Nie Yan gasped. He didn't expect so many catapults and trebuchets to be produced. Recalling how he had spent more than two months in the Ancient World, it made sense.
In the previous timeline, Nie Yan had personally witnessed over a hundred trebuchets all firing at once. The falling shells blotted out the sky and completely obliterated the fortified walls of a city.
Reliving this memory, Nie Yan felt his heart race and his excitement boil over. With so many catapults and trebuchets, they could sweep through any stronghold!
"Have you collected information on how many siege weapons the enemy has?" Nie Yan asked. Know thyself, know thy enemy, only then could one emerge ever victorious.
"Divine Protectors, God Executioner Sword, and Penumbra Empire have about 200 ordinary catapults and 20 trebuchets altogether, and they're all pretty scattered. If they're dumb enough to try and compete with us directly, crushing them will be easy. They likely aren't aware of our real strength. I managed to secretly get us a stronghold in Lunarbright and hid almost all our catapults and trebuchets there. Only our most trusted personnel know of its existence, so it's fairly safe," Guo Huai said.
Guo Huai had handled this matter beautifully. By hiding these siege engines, they could catch the enemy off-guard when the war began. God Executioner Sword, Penumbra Empire, and those other guilds definitely had a few trump cards hidden up their sleeves as well, but Nie Yan had already long since come up with a plan. There was a lot of work to be done in the coming two days.
"I brought back some things with me from the Ancient World. Get some people to help sort them out," Nie Yan said. He then started dumping all the skill books out of his bag.
There were more than 200 artisan skill books, all of which were fairly rare.
Guo Huai's eyes went wide with shock. "T-t-this, you got all this from that special map?"
Nie Yan nodded. "Distribute these skill books among the artisans in our guild. I also have collected a bunch of materials."
He dumped out all the ores, medicinal plants, and other materials out of his bag.
"My god! Red Dragon Herb! W-wait, is that Gold Onyx!? And this... so many!" Guo Huai started to pant as his eyes glazed over.
1. Eternal Sin was introduced in Chapter 71. Nie Yan encountered their party while being chased down by a Level 7 Sub Elite Serpentine Lizard and tried passing it off to them.