If Qin Han knew what Nie Yan was thinking, just what kind of reaction would he have? Would he cough out blood in a fit of rage?
After a while, a large company of Thieves arrived at the scene of the crime. They started searching for traces of Nie Yan, who had already long since departed. So, they came up with nothing.
「Boss, Nirvana Flame already left. What do we do?」
Back in God Executioner Sword's guild headquarters in the Brocchi Stronghold, Qin Han let out a storm of curses and furiously stomped the floor. Because Battle Angel Kalenna had purified his corpse, he had lost two and half levels' worth of experience. Even worse, he had also dropped his Necronomicon. He had spent blood, sweat, and tears and died three times to obtain this Legendary item from the Undead Depths. But now it was in the hands of the enemy, his arch-rival no less! How could he not feel indignant?
「Expand the search! Report back immediately if you discover Nirvana Flame!」Qin Han gritted his teeth. Nie Yan was already aware of the existence of his skeleton army. He had to move things forward ahead of schedule to prevent Nie Yan from ruining his plans!
At Qin Han's command, the skeletons under his control expanded their range of activities, attacking both players and NPCs alike and razing the villages near the Brocchi Stronghold.
Qin Han decided to go all out, no longer caring about exposing himself. These skeletons were extremely frightening, with few players possessing the might to stop them.
The number of skeletons rapidly multiplied.
"I want to see how you'll deal with this, Nirvana Flame!" Qin Han bellowed. He would soon have enough skeletons to attack more densely populated areas such as Hilderlocke. When his skeleton army reached 1,000,000 strong, he would launch a full out assault on Asskickers United's strongholds!
Nie Yan continued clearing the skeletons with Lil' Gold. However, he clearly sensed their numbers suddenly swelling.
Nie Yan gradually realized the terror of the Vengeance of the Undead event and why the skeleton army was able to sweep through the Viridian and Satreen Empires in the previous timeline.
A war that threatened to engulf the entire continent loomed over the horizon.
Asskickers United had already finished making their preparations. As for whether or not they were enough remained to be seen. There wasn't much else they could do. Going on the offensive, which meant engaging the skeletons in the open wilderness, was far too dangerous. In fact, it would be incredibly stupid. Every death on your side would simultaneously see the enemy's army grow.
Nie Yan thought for a moment. He should infiltrate the Brocchi Stronghold to collect some evidence, then report his findings to the Elder Council. On one side, he could receive the Great Prophet title, and on the other, it would allow the empire's army and the temple's Paladin Legion to mount a proper defense.
Thinking to this point, Nie Yan made his way toward the Brocchi Stronghold.
...
News of a large army of skeletons being spotted in the east of Hilderlocke spread like wildfire. Players on the forums all speculated, giving birth to the wildest of rumours. Some guessed a new undead map that spawned skeletons had appeared. Others thought it was some sort of quest; as long as they cleared the skeletons, a boss would emerge who would drop a Legendary item upon its death. No one could've ever imagined that it was the release of a new expansion.
The general outlook of the situation was fairly positive. Even if these skeletons slaughtered villages and towns, there was no way they could make their way into a city, right?
Everyone was oblivious to this approaching calamity. Even if someone reported these skeletons had attacked a city, no one would believe them. When word got out Hilderlocke had already dispatched an extermination force composed of 2,000 level 160 Elite guards to deal with the skeletons, the general populace nearly couldn't contain their excitement any longer.
With the guards taking action, the players believed the skeletons would be wiped out in a flash. All the large teams in Hilderlocke mobilized into action and followed behind the extermination force, hoping to fish some benefits.
Close to 1,000,000 players in Hilderlocke set off for the east. They had no idea they were heading straight to their deaths.
...
Nie Yan arrived at the base of the Brocchi Stronghold. Like a spider, he crawled up the walls and snuck inside, finding himself in the residential district.
Surveying around, the streets were teeming with skeletons. Many were Elites or even Lords. One could imagine how terrifying it would be if they were to surround you.
Nie Yan employed the techniques of a Shadow Dancer to stealthily move around the residential district.
Nie Yan eventually arrived outside a two-storey building. He kicked off a nearby wall and leaped up onto the roof. Breaking into a sprint, he bounded six meters through the air and clung onto the side of a wall. He then started clambering his way up.
With his high Dexterity and Jumping, the buildings, walls, and other structures inside the stronghold posed no obstacle to him.
Surveying the surroundings from a high vantage point, Nie Yan noticed a stone shrine in the distance. It was quite imposing with its sinister, ashen coloured walls.
Nie Yan didn't know why, but this shrine gave him an uneasy feeling.
After hesitating for a moment, Nie Yan decided to go over there for a look.
Nie Yan snuck past the skeletons and arrived outside the shrine. The entrance was sealed shut. The gates were five meters tall and made out of solid metal. It was impossible to pry them open.
A group of skeletons were approaching from the distance Nie Yan hurriedly ducked behind a corner.
After not discovering anything, the skeletons departed, disappearing behind the end of the street.
Nie Yan investigated the outside of the tower. Looking up, he spotted a hatchway on the roof. "I wonder if I can get in from there..." He leaped onto the roof and made his way over. Letting himself in, he found himself inside an attic filled with junk.
Nie Yan was about to leave, when something in the room caught his eye. Walking over, he rummaged through the boxes and fished out a necklace. It emanated a powerful aura of darkness.
"Quite old..." Nie Yan examined the necklace.
Necromancer Vorderman's Lost Necklace
Properties: Unknown
This mysterious necklace had no properties. Appraisal didn't seem to work on it either. Nie Yan thought for a moment and decided to store it away in his bag for now.
After finding nothing else in the attic, Nie Yan continued down the stairs into a wide and spacious hall. Letting his gaze wander, his footsteps froze. First it looked like a giant mess of bones, then his mind processed the wings spanning half the room and its 26-meter high frame.
A bone dragon!
It stood completely still, like an unmoving statue.
This bone dragon dwarfed the Darkwing Dragon in size. If the two were to stand side by side, the Darkwing Dragon would reach up only to its abdomen.
"So terrifying... I can't imagine what it'll be like if it's revived."
Nie Yan inspected the bone dragon with Transcendent Insight. It was a Level 160 Demonic Lord!
"My god! How is anyone supposed to deal with that!?" Demonic Lords were frightening existences. Thankfully, they were very rare. Nie Yan had only ever encountered one in his past life. It was a Behemoth, but he had been killed before he could even get a good look at its appearance.
Nie Yan vaguely recalled there being such a bone dragon in the previous timeline. If he wasn't mistaken, Karsi personally slew it.
"It seems like players aren't a match for this bone dragon. We can only leave it to an NPC."
Investigating around, Nie Yan spotted multiple Lord-class Skeleton Kings roaming around. At the front of the room stood a figure in a black cloak muttering some kind of incantation.
"Is that Necromancer Vorderman?"
In the ancient record books, Vorderman was described as an incredibly powerful Necromancer. This kind of NPC who could shape the history of the continent was definitely a frightening existence.
Nie Yan didn't dare to approach any closer. If Vorderman discovered him, even he feared he might not get out alive!
All Magisters had a method that could render Unknown Transfer Scrolls useless. Nie Yan was even less willing to take a risk against a Legendary Necromancer like Vorderman.
"Don't tell me I'll have to back away, just like that?"
Nie Yan felt a bit reluctant. He had already come all the way here. Going back without anything to show for it was a bit depressing.
Nie Yan suddenly thought of the Shadow Clone skill. Its stats were even higher than his! But more importantly, even if it died, there would be no loss for him!
Nie Yan pulled up his skill window and summoned his Shadow Clone.
A silhouette appeared before Nie Yan. Its appearance was identical to his own, almost as if they had come from the same mold. It had 30% higher stats than him with all his skills and equipment. He could use it to carry out work that was too risky for him to do himself.
Nie Yan had the Shadow Clone enter stealth and slowly approach Vorderman from behind.
Noticing several Skeleton Kings coming over, Nie Yan had the Shadow Clone activate the Pygmy Ring and shrink down to a third of its original size.
The Skeleton Kings patrolled around, unaware of the Shadow Clone passing between their legs.
Time ticked away. Nie Yan carefully controlled the Shadow Clone from his hiding spot. Although it had a large variety of skills in its arsenal, it could only use a few of them by itself. If it encountered a monster, the most it could do were the basics; buff itself, debuff the enemy, and robotically swing its weapon. At least with him controlling it, its execution of skills would be far less restricted.
The Shadow Clone inched closer and closer to Vorderman. The two were only 20 meters apart.
Vorderman was chanting out an incantation. He was completely focused, unaware of the Shadow Clone's presence.
Nie Yan raised his eyebrows in surprise. Vorderman appeared to be carrying out a ritual to revive the bone dragon.
Nie Yan had the Shadow Clone continue approaching closer. Even at 10 meters, Vorderman didn't appear to have noticed anything.