Nie Yan began reconstruction efforts on the several ruined strongholds Asskickers United had conquered. Advancing at a steady pace, he planned to eventually swallow up all the guilds near Colt. As their assault continued, compelled by circumstances, some of the guilds that hadn't joined up with the Monet Financial Group gave up any resistance and surrendered to Asskickers United.
Only after putting forward extremely stringent conditions did Nie Yan allow them to merge into Holy Empire, Sapphire Shrine, the War God Tribe, and the other guilds in the alliance. These guilds numbered more than 100,000 players altogether. After fully absorbing them, the strength of the alliance would increase by quite a bit.
Another day flew by. As evening approached, Nie Yan had Asskickers United's troops garrison in a recently reconstructed stronghold, bolstering its defenses. They would continue with their war efforts the next day.
What left Nie Yan a little baffled was that the Monet Financial Group showed no signs of movement.
The Monet Financial Group was like a predator hidden in the darkness. Asskickers United had already provoked it. It was simply waiting for an opportunity to strike. As long as the timing was right, it would leap out and take a ruthless bite out of Asskickers United.
...
Undead Temple.
Few players were aware that such a place existed on the surface world.
The Undead Temple was located in a foggy abyss on the northwest border of the Viridian Empire. It was hidden deep within a labyrinth with an ever changing structure. Even if players somehow cleared it, entering the temple was still incredibly difficult since most of the monsters that spawned there were over Level 100.
A group of several teams had once made their way through the labyrinth and stumbled upon this temple. However, they were all wiped out without exception. After learning about the existence of the Undead Temple, God Executioner Sword never stopped sending people over to explore it.
Most recently, Qin Han and Matchless Divine Sword, the guild leader of God Executioner Sword, had entered this place. After passing the Undead Temple's defenses, they finally reached the inner hall. Their losses on the way were disastrous. Since the undead here were especially hostile against anything holy, they would ignore the Warriors fighting for their aggro and rush straight at the Paladins and Priests. With the healers first to fall, the others soon followed. In the end, only five players managed to enter the Undead Temple.
The interior of the Undead Temple was filled with all sorts of strange sculptures. At the front of the hall was the carving of a large skull with green flames flickering in its eye sockets.
Qin Han's face was hidden behind a black cloak. His eyes scanned the surroundings with both suspicion and curiosity.
As soon as he set foot into the Undead Temple, he felt a voice beckoning to him. He couldn't help but walk toward it.
"Boss, what's going on?" The other players felt something was off about Qin Han.
Clad in the armour of a Warrior, Matchless Divine Sword wanted to say something.
Qin Han raised his hand and said, "All of you, remain on standby."
Everyone halted their steps. Staring at Qin Han with looks of bewilderment, they watched him continue walking forward.
The green flames in the eye sockets of the giant skull at the front of the hall suddenly flared to life.
Qin Han walked through a small, barely noticeable doorway. A shabby coffin appeared before him, emitting a ghastly death energy. It was already completely rotten through. He could vaguely make out the figure of the corpse lying inside. A quest he received some time ago came to mind.
Are you willing to follow the will of death and revive Necromancer Vorderman?
Qin Han walked up to the coffin and pushed open the lid. A pungent smell assaulted his nostrils, causing him to retch in disgust.
Qin Han gazed at the corpse lying inside the coffin. It was dressed in extremely shabby robes. Its bones were dyed a deathly gray colour and were covered with chunks of rotten flesh. It was extremely ugly. This corpse in front of him was none other than Necromancer Vorderman.
Qin Han hesitated for a moment. If he went through with reviving Necromancer Vorderman, it meant he would be turning his back on the light and become the public enemy of the entire Viridian Empire.
For the sake of power, after thinking for a moment, he gritted his teeth and extended his hand. In his grasp was a black pendant which emitted a shadowy radiance. A black light converged on his hand and slowly stretched out toward the corpse before finally entering it.
A moment later, two green flames lit up in Necromancer Vorderman's eye sockets. His fingers slowly started moving as his gaze fell onto Qin Han.
Qin Han immediately felt a cold and gloomy energy lock onto him, rendering him immobile.
Inside the main hall of the Undead Temple, Matchless Divine Sword and several other players were anxiously waiting.
"Guild Leader, Qin Han has been gone for so long. How come he still hasn't come back? Do you think something happened?" a player asked.
"Yeah, should we go in and take a look?"
"No, we wait." Matchless Divine Sword shook his head. If something had truly happened, a notification would've popped up.
"Look, it's Qin Han! He's back!"
Matchless Divine Sword and the others looked over to the front of the room. There was some difference between now and when Qin Han first went inside. For one, he had taken off his black cloak, and there was now someone standing beside him. This person was wearing his cloak. Their face was completely covered. It was impossible to make out their appearance.
As Matchless Divine Sword and the others walked over, they immediately felt a cold and gloomy aura sweep over them.
"Boss, you're finally out!"
Matchless Divine Sword glanced at the strange person standing beside Qin Han. He wanted to ask what happened inside, and who this newcomer was.
However, before anything could be said, Qin Han spoke, "We're going back."
Matchless Divine Sword swallowed his words back down. Even though his heart was filled with doubt, he didn't dare to ask. Qin Han didn't like his subordinates asking too many questions. He could only shrug off the eerie feeling coming from the cloaked figure.
The group disappeared behind the entrance of the Undead Temple.
...
With the situation in Colt more or less under control, Nie Yan returned to Calore and headed for his personal storage.
Nie Yan planned to sort out his personal storage. As he walked through the streets, he felt like the sky today was especially gloomy. Thick, black clouds prevented any sunlight from penetrating through. Because of this, the temperature plummeted way below normal, as a cold wind swept through.
Nie Yan recalled a period in the previous timeline when the entire Viridian Empire was enveloped in black clouds. Even during the day, it was as dark as night. This lasted for close to a month.
Nie Yan suddenly thought of something. "Is that event about to happen...?"
The new expansion, Vengeance of the Undead!
Of course, this was only a guess on his part. If a new expansion had come out, there would've been an announcement. Perhaps this black cloud cover was nothing more than an ordinary weather phenomenon. After all, the skies over Calore changed quite often.