Asskickers United's ambush caught Divine Protectors completely offguard. In a flash, they slaughtered in the excess of 3,000 enemy players!
All the merchants and ordinary players in Karukes packed up their stuff and hurriedly teleported away with Return Scrolls. This bustling stronghold was evacuated in less than 15 minutes, leaving behind only the people from Divine Protectors.
Lustboy, Tang Yao, and Xie Yao undoubtedly became the nightmare of this stronghold. The frightening destructive might of their spells annihilated all the Divine Protectors players swarming toward them on the streets.
The attack range of these three Magisters were close to 100 meters. Ordinary players had no way of getting anywhere near them. Even if they did manage to close in on the trio, Magisters buffed with Windwalker were incredibly difficult to catch.
A group of Thieves circled in on Xie Yao. They came within 10 meters of her, when she waved her staff and chanted out an incantation.
Stagnant Domain!
All the Thieves in the vicinity froze in their tracks. Their immobilized bodies gradually materialized into view.
They had never encountered this kind of spell before. All of them were affected without exception.
Radiant Judgment!
Xie Yao waved her staff again. An enormous pillar of light crashed down from the sky, striking the dozen Thieves. Their visions turned dark, as their lifeless bodies were sent flying.
Setting up shop in the nearby buildings, Tang Yao, Xie Yao, and Lustboy offered a magic show to all who wanted to see. Naturally, the entry fee was one's life.
Seeing everyone was enjoying themselves, Nie Yan leaped down from the tower. He disappeared into the alley, heading in Divine Flame's direction.
「We're in the Divine Protectors guild headquarters. Divine Flame isn't here,」Bladelight messaged in the group chat.
「All we found were a few small fry,」Smoke Stub added in a dejected tone. They broke into the Divine Protectors guild headquarters hoping to kill Divine Flame. Yet the place was basically empty.
「No problem. I've already found Divine Flame. Leave it to me.」Nie Yan chuckled.
After hearing this, Lei Su, Bladelight, and Smoke Stub no longer worried about this matter. Anyone ever stalked by Nie Yan had never escaped with their lives.
The main hall in the Divine Protectors guild headquarters was quite spacious. Both sides were lined with dozen-meter tall pillars, covered in all sorts of exquisite carvings.
"Hot damn! Divine Protectors really is loaded. I bet they spent a ton of gold making this place look so fancy," Lei Su remarked, feasting his eyes on the beauty all around.
"This is a Tier 10 guild headquarters. So, they spent at least 150,000 gold on it," Bladelight said. It wasn't like Asskickers United didn't have the funds. But spending so much on the guild headquarters simply wasn't necessary. After all, it didn't have any purpose other than being a convenient place for everyone to gather.
This guild headquarters was a landmark of the Karukes Stronghold, Divine Protectors' symbol.
"I guess we should leave."
"Not so fast. Let's wreck this place first!"
"Good idea!"
Lei Su walked up to one of the pillars and threw a punch at it. BOOOM! His fist completely destroyed the pillar, causing the entire hall to tremble and chunks of worked stone to fall down from the ceiling.
Smoke Stub and Bladelight followed suit. After the main supporting pillars were destroyed, cracks began spreading across the walls and ceiling as the hall trembled and groaned. This entire place was about to go down.
At this moment, Lei Su, Smoke Stub, and Bladelight quickly withdrew from the guild headquarters.
...
The southwest square of the Karukes Stronghold, more than several thousand elites from Divine Protectors had gathered here. Standing guard on the perimeter were several enormous summoned creatures.
"Do you have a number yet? With how many did they come?" Divine Flame asked.
"We've only discovered 12 so far."
"What about outside the stronghold? Are there any enemy movements?"
"We haven't found any enemy forces within Kalond, same with the neighbouring cities."
Divine Flame sank into deep thought. For Asskickers United to charge in here with only 12 players, did they think the Karukes Stronghold was easy pickings or something?
"Activate the Spatial Lock Domain!" Divine Flame ordered. Advanced Walls had a special effect, and that was the Spatial Lock Domain, which prevented the use of all teleportation items in the stronghold. Like this, Nie Yan's group had no way of escaping!
As the city's defenses were activated, a stagnant energy rapidly permeated out. All the magic cannons were aimed at the sky. If Nie Yan's group tried to escape with their flying mounts, they would be met with a hail of cannonfire. Furthermore, a large number of troops were stationed on the walls. Combined with the countless arrow towers, Nie Yan's group would be in for a nasty surprise if they believed they could breach the walls and slaughter their way out.
Divine Flame steeled his resolve. He couldn't allow Nie Yan's group to escape the Karukes Stronghold no matter what. This was Divine Protectors' main base. If anyone could just break in and walk out like nothing ever happened, what face would they have left?
"Boss, the magic cannons are in position!"
"The arrow towers are ready!"
...
Divine Flame's lips parted into a cold smile. "I'd like to see how you will get out of this one!" Nie Yan's group was completely sealed inside the Karukes Stronghold. He acknowledged that no one in Divine Protectors was capable of rivalling Nie Yan and the others one-on-one. However, even if it would cost him every last player at his disposal, he would have their heads today!
At this point, a loud crashing sound rang out. The Divine Protectors guild headquarters had completely collapsed, shaking the entire Karukes Stronghold.
"Boss, our headquarters!"
Divine Flame gazed over at the guild headquarters. All he saw was a giant pile of rubble.
"Nirvana Flame, you bastard! Count on my words, I'll get you back for this, or my name isn't Divine Flame! All flying mounts, assemble! I refuse to believe we can't kill them!" Divine Flame snarled, clenching his fists. Nie Yan's group had destroyed the symbol of Divine Protectors. This was the greatest humiliation they had ever suffered!
At this moment, Nie Yan had already arrived on the outskirts of the square.
Nie Yan hid behind the corner of an alley and gazed up ahead. Divine Flame and several others entered his eyes.
Seeing this group of people, Nie Yan faintly smiled. "Looks like the whole gang's here, Crazy Magic, Bloodlust Mad Blade, and Heaven Breaker too, huh, all my old enemies gathered together..."
There were more than 3,000 players gathered in this square. Nie Yan couldn't take action for now. He could only bide his time for a better opportunity.
At this moment, several dozen players from Divine Protectors chanted out incantations and summoned their flying mounts. One after another, they took off in the air.
「Careful, guys. Divine Protectors summoned their flying mounts,」Nie Yan warned. Nie Yan and the others didn't dare to summon their flying mounts because there were definitely anti-air cannons installed in the Karukes Stronghold. If they summoned their flying mounts, they would become easy targets. In other words, they had no choice but to remain grounded.
「Don't worry, Boss! Even if their flying mounts come, we'll still wipe the floor with them!」Lustboy confidently declared. After becoming Masters, they could already take on flying mounts. Even though it posed a certain challenge, at least they wouldn't be helpless.
Nie Yan wasn't too worried. Back when he was doing his class advancement quest in the Ancient World, he quickly realized that flying mounts weren't all that difficult to deal with.
For ordinary players, flying mounts were invincible existences. But to Masters, they were simply overglorified pets. When they were doing their class advancement quests, one of the requirements was to kill high rank monsters. If you couldn't kill any, you would never become a Master!
Nie Yan shifted his focus back to Divine Flame. Likely, Divine Flame was really hating him right now.
News of Nie Yan and the other 11 appearing in the Karukes Stronghold quickly spread, creating an uproar in the forums. 12 people taking on a guild's main stronghold alone, perhaps Nie Yan's group were the only ones who dared to pull such a crazy stunt like this.
The forums were bustling with activity. Everyone wanted to know what was happening in Karukes. News quickly came out that the stronghold was under lock down and Divine Protectors planned to fight a war of attrition. The spectators sucked in a breath of cold air. Though none doubted the strength of 12 Masters, they would certainly be done for now, right?
After learning Nie Yan's group was trapped, the Monet Financial Group sent all their experts rushing over to the Karukes Stronghold. It was reported the Century Financial Group and Angel Corps also followed suit. Nie Yan's group was simply too brazen. The formidable might of Master Classes caused these behemoths contending for hegemony to feel an intense sense of danger. So, they all banded together in an attempt to kill Nie Yan's group in Karukes. They were like a hungry pack of wolves!
Nie Yan still hadn't found an opportunity to take action. He casually browsed the forums and discovered discussions related to the battle in the Karukes Stronghold had already reached a boiling point.
There were all sorts of posts stickied at the top.
「Karukes Stronghold Under Lockdown, Nirvana Flame Bites Off More Than He Can Chew!」
「Waiting For Nirvana Flame to be Surrounded and Killed.」
...
Nie Yan saw a lot of brigading from Divine Protectors shills. He snorted in disdain. Naturally, there were some Asskickers United players posting too.
「Divine Protectors Guild Headquarters Completely Wrecked!」
「Asskickers United Sweeps Through the Karukes Stronghold!」
...
However, the number of Asskickers United players on the forums were far fewer in number.