Chapter 304 – Pursuit
Chapter 304 – Pursuit
「Do you want help?」Guo Huai asked. He had several thousand guild members on standby. Nie Yan only had to give the word, and they would teleport over. Even though the transport fee was steep, around 1 gold per player, they could easily bear the cost thanks to the support of the Dragonsoar Financial Group.
「No need. Glory City is the territory of Bloodlust Blades. No matter how much help arrives, we’ll always be outmanned and outgunned. It’s best if we minimize our losses. Besides, Smoke Stub, Bladelight, the others, and I should be able to get away. Just closely monitor the enemy’s movements for now,」Nie Yan replied. As long as he knew the position of Bloodlust Blades’ forces, there should be no worry of being surrounded in such a large map. He quickly gathered everyone together.
Glory City was to the north, so the safest option would be to head south.
“Everyone, get on your mounts!” Nie Yan ordered. Being the strongest members of Asskickers United, everyone in the group naturally had the best horses the guild could offer.
They summoned their mounts one after another, all of which were high-quality warhorses with movement speed bonuses of 200%. This was one of the perks provided by the guild. With a good mount, players could save a lot on travel time which would otherwise be better spent on levelling.
Mounts made things much more convenient. The group galloped away on horseback, leaving a cloud of dust behind.
Nie Yan swept his gaze over these team members. Aside from Young Seven, Painted Muslin, and the other Priests, the rest all had bright red names. If they died to the forces of Bloodlust Blades, it would be a huge blow to Asskickers United!
The group sped across the wasteland as the scenery blurred past them.
…
Back in Red River Stronghold, Bloodlust Mad Blade flew into a fit of rage after finding out Nie Yan had escaped. He couldn’t believe such a setback had occurred in his previously flawless plan. It was now almost impossible to prevent Nie Yan and the others from fleeing!
However, these were more than 20 elites from Asskickers United, not to mention most of them were branded with red names! How could Mad Blade willingly abandon this thick, juicy slab of meat dangling just out of reach?
Even Mad Blade had to admit that most guilds couldn’t match Asskickers United’s elite line-up. For a large guild to have a dozen or so top-notch players was already impressive. But Asskickers United had more than 60 such players, a fact that left him greatly depressed. Finding an expert generally involved picking out someone with promise, then spending a ton of resources to provide them with the environment to grow. This heavily relied on a guild leader’s eye for talent. There were many instances where a guild would go through all this effort only to end up with a player that was just so-so.
Up until now, Mad Blade had only discovered around 10 talented players whose skill ranked among the top 500 within the entire Viridian Empire. But according to his investigations, Asskickers United had at least 70 such players, about seven times that of Bloodlust Blades! Almost all of Calore’s elites were congregated in Asskickers United. The difference was like night and day.
It was no wonder why Bloodlust Blades treated Asskickers United with such hostility. If a guild like that was allowed to grow, there would be no place left for anyone else to stand in the future!
“Boss, they’re fleeing south!”
“We must kill them, at all costs! Send our squadron of Thieves to hold them up so that our forces can catch up!” Mad Blade ordered in a harsh tone. Nie Yan’s group should’ve already used up all their Advanced Magic to wipe out those previous 3,000 players, meaning they were currently at their weakest. Now was the most suitable time to take action!
Bloodlust Blades also had a Thief squadron of their own. It was established after witnessing the success of Asskickers United’s Hundred Thieves. Naturally, they couldn’t hold a candle to the Hundred Thieves. But what they lacked in quality, they made up in manpower with over 500 members in total. Not to mention they were still hand-picked from the guild, and highly mobile with the mounts provided to them. When such a large force carried out missions, their success rate was quite high.
Mad Blade dispatched a large number of people after Nie Yan’s group. Furthermore, players from Bloodlust Blades levelling in various maps also dropped what they were doing to join in on the pursuit.
Glory City was the territory of Bloodlust Blades. How could they allow players from Asskickers United to do as they pleased?
Mad Blade guided the overall situation from the guild headquarters, mobilizing guild members from all over to chase after Nie Yan’s group.
More and more players came together to form a giant encirclement. It wouldn’t be easy for Nie Yan’s group to slaughter their way out.
Nie Yan’s group fled south out of the barren wasteland. A wide open plain appeared before them, resembling a sea of green gently swaying in the wind. They occasionally spotted one or two Level 40 Dark Bulls grazing on the grass.
At this moment, a horde of Bloodlust Blades players emerged up ahead. The Warriors and Paladins were at the front while the Mages and Priests were in the back. The players quickly moved to surround Nie Yan’s group.
“Dismount, we’re engaging the enemy!” Nie Yan ordered. After which he recalled his Faulkner Warhorse and disappeared from sight with Shadow Waltz.
The group members dismounted one after another.
Sun and One Strike Vow also disappeared into stealth. A Thief was the deadliest while in the shadows! They were the most unpredictable force on the battlefield!
“You bastards. No matter how many of you come, you’ll end up dead just the same!” Undying Scoundrel exclaimed after seeing the enemy’s numbers. He had already used up his Advanced Magic. He condensed a blazing sphere in his palm.
Scorching Flame Explosion!
A fireball streaked across the battlefield like a meteor.「Bang!」It blasted a Fighter in the chest, killing him instantly and sending his corpse flying away.
Undying Scoundrel wore the Flame Dancer Set. As soon as he took action, it badly frightened the players from Bloodlust Blades.
In the blink of an eye, Smoke Stub, Bladelight, Lofty Shadow, and the other frontliners clashed with the 60 Fighters from Bloodlust Blades, while the Priests on both sides frantically provided healing.
Bladelight let out a war cry and sent three Fighters staggering back with a Shield Bash.
These Fighters were simply no match for Bladelight!
Lofty Shadow also faced multiple opponents at once. Spells bombarded his body, but they only dealt around 20-30 damage each. While bathed in holy light, his health bar kept fluctuating up and down. However, he never came close to death.
The group from Bloodlust Blades had more than 30 Priests supporting them from the rear. With the ample healing they provided, the amount of casualties on their side was similarly kept to a bare minimum.
At this moment, a silhouette emerged beside one of the Priests. It was Nie Yan. These Priests had no idea when he snuck his way into the backline!
Nie Yan slashed down with Zennarde’s Sword, felling a Priest instantly. He immediately pounced toward another Priest and cut him down too.
Due to his terrifying damage, Nie Yan mowed down the Priests with impunity.
Nie Yan’s appearance sparked mass panic in the backline. The Priests scattered like rats, fleeing away in every direction. How could they afford to worry about others when they were getting slaughtered left and right themselves?
At this moment, Sun emerged. He stunned a Priest with Smothering Strike, then finished them off with a Backstab followed by Eviscerate. Even though his damage didn’t match Nie Yan’s, his attacks were quick and efficient.
One, two, three… Sun was like a phantom, killing players left and right as he popped in and out of the battlefield. Nie Yan was shocked when he looked over at Sun. Sun’s movements were already starting to carry the essence of a Shadow Dancer.
It took Nie Yan two lifetimes to comprehend the mysteries of a Shadow Dancer. He had only demonstrated the techniques of a Shadow Dancer once, yet Sun was already beginning to understand them. This genius Thief was slowly blossoming into a dazzling figure.
Elsewhere, One Strike Vow had also killed three Priests. Dressed in skin-tight leather armour, her lithe figure danced across the battlefield. She was beginning to show traces of what made her a goddess in the previous timeline. She was the dream lover in the minds of countless Thieves, both because of her beauty and astonishing skills. Back then, her popularity among Thieves even eclipsed that of Sun. A simple smile of hers could topple cities, it wouldn’t be overboard to call her a femme fatale.
The three of them were like sharp daggers, piercing through the defenses of Bloodlust Blades and wreaking havoc on the Priests in the back.
The situation over on the frontline was just as grim for Bloodlust Blades. No longer receiving heals, their Warriors started dropping like flies.
Tang Yao was especially conspicuous. He was firing out spells like a gatling gun, taking out numerous Warriors in quick succession.
When the frontline collapsed, Smoke Stub, Bladelight, Lofty Shadow, and the others charged forward and started slaughtering the Mages.
Bloodlust Blades’ force was routed. They could no longer put up the slightest bit of resistance.
Smoke Stub swept through six Mages with a Whirlwind Slash. He raised his sword and charged forward, felling an Arcane Mage. These Mages were ordinary players. Their reactions and awareness were far inferior to that of Smoke Stub and company. Most of them were cut down before they even got the chance to cast a spell.
Smoke Stub, Bladelight, Lofty Shadow, and the others left a trail of corpses in their path. Soon, they met up with Nie Yan, Sun, and One Strike Vow in the back.
Under the assault of Nie Yan’s group, around 80% of the over 300 players from Bloodlust Blades were slaughtered in a matter of minutes. The remaining 20% had all fled.