The team braved the sandstorm. They didn't look back at Branston Town as it got lost behind the blowing sands.
We're just about far enough away! Nie Yan thought. Stone Splitter's group consisted of two orc Warriors, two tauren Warriors, three Shamans, two elven Thieves, five elven Mages, three elven Demon Hunters, and three Druids. This was a standard team composition. Their equipment was excellent, wearing mostly Dark Gold-grade and Sub Legendary-grade equipment.
Angel Corps distributed most of the high quality equipment they acquired among their top players. On top of this, Stone Splitter's team regularly grinded high level dungeons for equipment. So, they naturally had quite a few good things on them.
Sweeping his eyes over the group, Nie Yan smirked. Soaring Angel would definitely feel his heart ache if their equipment were to fall into enemy hands.
The Warriors and Thieves were right at the front, all too casual. No one was guarding the Druids, Mages, Demon Hunters, and Shamans in the rear. Nie Yan narrowed his eyes. These guys are way too lax. Even if this is your territory, you can't be this confident. Did Soaring Angel not remind you to always maintain your vigilance, no matter the situation?
In comparison, Asskickers United's players were much more professional. No matter where they were, be it in Calore or somewhere far away, they would always have the Thieves patrol the surroundings in stealth and make sure the backline was properly protected.
These players from Angel Corps were far too arrogant.
Nie Yan focused his attention on a fat Shaman in the rear. This fellow appeared to be bored to death.
"Umbra, where are we right now? Are we there yet?" the Shaman asked the elven Mage beside him.
"We're almost there. Five more minutes tops," Umbra replied.
"Man, this really is some awful timing. I was planning to reach Level 126 today. I'm only 3% away! And now I'm here. Who knows how many times we're going to wipe trying to clear this dungeon... I suppose I can forget about levelling up any time soon," the Shaman grumbled.
Umbra chuckled and was about to say something to comfort his friend, when his expression froze. He saw a silhouette appear behind the Shaman like an apparition.
Before he could even get a word out, the Shaman's throat was slit by a dagger.
PFFSSSHT!
"That's one," Nie Yan said.
The ghastly voice which seemed to come from the depths of hell caused Umbra to feel his blood freeze over. He quickly snapped to his senses and hoarsely shouted, "E-e-enemy attack!"
"Shit! Someone killed Red Hot!"
The Mages immediately waved their staffs and sent a barrage of spells flying toward Nie Yan. At the same time, the Demon Hunters let loose with a volley of arrows.
Sure enough, elites like them reacted fairly quickly.
After killing the Shaman, Nie Yan picked up the equipment off the ground. Seeing the spells and arrows flying towards him, he leaped out of the way. The projectiles flew past him by a hair.
Just as he landed back on the ground, Nie Yan pivoted his foot and shot off in another direction like a spring. His target was the elven Mage called Umbra.
Seeing Nie Yan pouncing over, Umbra hurriedly waved his staff and cast Repel.
Unfortunately for him, Nie Yan had already predicted this. When confronted by a Thief, a Mage would normally cast a spell like Repel or Ring of Frost.
Death Exemption!
The force wave from Repel swept past Nie Yan without doing anything. He shot forward and elbowed Umbra in the solar plexus.
BANG! Umbra was sent flying. While in mid-air, a sharp light pierced his throat.
Umbra crashed into the ground dead with a muffled thud.
Two people were killed in the blink of an eye. The remaining players in the back started panicking as they frantically attacked Nie Yan. The firing rate of the Demon Hunters was especially fast. There was practically no pause between each shot.
Rapid Fire!
Frost Arrow!
...
A volley of arrows flew toward Nie Yan.
Gale Step!
The arrows bounced off Nie Yan harmlessly. He reached down with his hand and scooped up the equipment Umbra dropped before disappearing back into stealth.
「What's going on?」Stone Splitter asked in voice chat. He'd finally noticed the commotion in the back. The two notifications left him dumbstruck. Two teammates died.
「A Thief ambushed us!」
「Who is it?」
「 I don't know! The guy hid his information!」
「I think it's Nirvana Flame. I caught a glimpse of Zennarde's Sword!」
Apart from Nie Yan, they couldn't think of any other Thief skilled enough to kill two of their teammates in such a short span of time.
Hearing the name Nirvana Flame, everyone felt a sinking feeling in the pit of their stomachs.
The Mad Rogue had come for them. A deep sense of dread welled up in their hearts. Nobody knew since when, but his name would always evoke an intense reaction. Even after so long, he had never once been defeated. Every time he appeared with that flaming black dagger in his hand, they would tremble in fear. To them, it was the blade of the death god, itching to reap their lives.
「Everyone, stay alert! Don't let him get near you!」Stone Splitter hurried over to the backline.「Shamans, find out his position!」
「The Revealing Totems can't find him!」the two surviving Shamans in the back anxiously cried out.
They had lost their heads in panic. Top players like them rarely ever encountered these sorts of situations. Even when they fought a high level boss, they could still maintain their calm. However, faced with Nirvana Flame who was hiding within the blowing sands, their hearts were gripped with fear.
「His Cloaking is too high! Detection skills won't work on him. Everybody, calm down. We'll attack the moment he appears again. Stay alert!」Drifting said. He swept his eyes over the surroundings, cold sweat dripping from his forehead. Squishy casters like him were the most likely targets in these situations.
「S-should we retreat?」a Mage asked. His nerves were stretched taut.
「If we retreat, Umbra and Red Hot will have died for nothing!」Stone Splitter still latched onto the hope that they could drive Nie Yan away. If they could revive their fallen comrades, their losses wouldn't be as great.
They had two Masters on their side. They weren't necessarily weaker than Nie Yan.
Seeing these players looking around in fear, Nie Yan's lips curved into a cold smile. He locked his gaze onto Swift Maple, who was standing no more than two meters from Stone Splitter.
Nie Yan's eyes flashed with a cold light. He was going to take action again.
Stone Splitter focused his attention as he moved around step by step. The sand on the ground was swept away by the aura around him. It seemed he'd gleaned some insights into a Sword Saint. He could control his aura with ease.
Suddenly, Stone Splitter sensed a killing intent lock onto him. "GRAAAH!" He stomped his foot down. A powerful shock wave swept out in every direction for five meters, cracks splitting open on the barren earth.
A Sword Saint's Ground Stomp was much more frightening than that of an ordinary Warrior.
However, Stone Splitter failed to hit Nie Yan.
Stone Splitter suddenly locked his gaze onto an empty space in the distance. "HAAGH!" He slashed down with his sword, sending a crescent-shaped sword beam flying out!
BOOOM! The sword beam carved out a large wound in the ground.
Stone Splitter knew these attacks wouldn't work on Nirvana Flame. He was simply trying to draw Nie Yan out of stealth. Like this, he and Drifting could take action.
At this moment, a silhouette appeared behind Stone Splitter. He didn't even have the time to recover his stance from his last attack.
"Stone Splitter, be careful!" Drifting shouted. He blinked close to Stone Splitter, then let out a blood-curdling scream.
Fearing Shriek!
Before the sound wave reached him, Nie Yan protected himself with Mind Immune. He stomped down on Stone Splitter's leg, forcing him to kneel down on the ground with a thud. Then with a sweeping kick, he struck Stone Splitter square in the neck.
Stone Splitter felt a sweet metallic taste rise up his throat as he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Sword Saints were pretty resilient. Stone Splitter was still alive even after this normally fatal attack.
"Stone Splitter, watch out!" Swift Maple hollered as he came charging forward.
"Useless struggling!" Nie Yan slashed down with Zennarde's Sword.
Annihilation Slash!
10 sword silhouettes emerged in the air. As they came slashing down, they merged into one massive blade.
Everything happened too quickly. There was no time to react.
Nie Yan's gaze fell on Horny Black Bull among the panicked players in the back. Annihilation Slash was an AoE attack that affected all enemies in a straight line. At this rate, the 10 or so players in the back would be in range of the slash. In the last instant, he slightly adjusted the trajectory.
"Stone Splitter, watch out!"
Seeing the enormous flaming sword coming down on him, Swift Maple suddenly switched directions and charged over to Stone Splitter.
BANG! He rammed into Stone Splitter, sending him flying out before being engulfed by the sword light himself.
"GAAAAAHH!" Swift Maple was killed.
At the same moment, Drifting teleported away with another blink skill, barely escaping death.
As for the players in the back, they weren't so lucky. Never in their wildest dreams did they think Nie Yan's attack was an AoE!
BOOOOOM! Eight players couldn't get away in time. Swallowed up by the enormous flaming sword, they were instantly transformed into rays of light. A powerful tempest swept away the blowing sands as an enormous gash was carved into the ground.
Fear wrapped around their throats like a noose. So this was the might of a single slash from the Mad Rogue!