Chapter 171 An Intense Battle

As he was about to be hit by the Ice Ring, Nie Yan's two clones simultaneously cast Divine Descent. A beam of white light descended, granting him three seconds of spell immunity, completely ignoring the effects of the Ice Ring.

Ultimate Fear!

Nie Yan locked onto Archmage Lefis once again.

Storm Assault!

Storm Assault!

The two clones, moving in perfect synchronization, suddenly lunged at Lefis, the daggers in their right hands transforming into flashes of lightning.

Cataclysm!

As he approached Archmage Lefis, Nie Yan used the Cataclysm skill, significantly reducing his stats.

Archmage Lefis waved his staff, using Blink to suddenly teleport fifteen yards away.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Nie Yan used Divine Hire to summon the Holy Knight Levis. Reviving the Holy Knight Levis cost him over seventy thousand gold coins, causing Nie Yan a pang of heartache.

Now, Nie Yan had three units on his side.

The Holy Knight Levis cast Heroic Aura on himself and charged toward Archmage Lefis.

Just as Archmage Lefis was about to wave his staff to cast a spell on the Holy Knight Levis, the Holy Knight Levis swung his greatsword, inflicting Silence on Archmage Lefis, causing his magic to fizzle out.

As the battle progressed, Nie Yan found a rhythm to his attacks, gradually turning the tide. Together with the Shadow Assassin and the Holy Knight Levis, they frantically pursued Archmage Lefis, taking turns attacking, preventing him from casting spells consecutively.

The scales of victory began to tip in Nie Yan's favor.

Upon realizing this, Archmage Lefis became enraged. He let out a deep, explosive roar and unleashed an Ice Storm with a wave of his staff, causing hailstones to rain down around him.

Ignoring the damage from Archmage Lefis's skill, Nie Yan used the momentum of Storm Assault to rapidly close the distance between them. The dagger in his right hand transformed into a streak of light, aiming straight for Archmage Lefis's throat.

The Ice Storm swept across Nie Yan's body, dealing over twenty thousand damage. But the Holy Knight Levis swung his greatsword, casting a healing spell on Nie Yan, instantly restoring his health.

After being forced into close combat by Nie Yan, Archmage Lefis used Blink again to escape.

He had barely landed when Nie Yan predicted his landing spot. The Shadow Assassin was already waiting, delivering a kick to Archmage Lefis's back.

Archmage Lefis quickly cast Ice Armor on himself. He staggered a few steps from the impact, but thanks to the Ice Armor, he wasn't crippled.

Nie Yan's attacks were truly sharp, forcing Archmage Lefis to reevaluate him.

This might have been the first time he truly acknowledged a player.

The Shadow Assassin charged forward again, and Archmage Lefis cast Swiftness on himself, quickly dashing fifty or sixty yards away.

Nie Yan, Holy Knight Levis, and the Shadow Assassin didn't pause for a moment, accelerating to pursue him.

Archmage Lefis waved his staff, and his aura suddenly intensified, unleashing a powerful force that swept outwards.

Nie Yan sensed danger and immediately retreated with Holy Knight Levis and the Shadow Assassin.

Archmage Lefis's aura rapidly increased, his robes fluttering wildly, as icy shards swirled around him.

This wasn't a forbidden spell; it was likely a secret technique.

"Die!" Archmage Lefis roared. Hundreds of icy shards shot into the sky, then accelerated downwards towards Nie Yan.

Nie Yan quickly ordered the Shadow Assassin and Holy Knight Levis to scatter while he fled outwards.

The ground was filled with icy shards. Nie Yan leaped, flying outwards. As the shards struck the ground, they exploded.

Archmage Lefis could freely control these icy shards, accurately targeting wherever he wanted to attack.

Using this skill, Archmage Lefis pursued Nie Yan, the Shadow Assassin, and Holy Knight Levis. The endless icy shards rained down like a storm. Holy Knight Levis was hit by three shards, resulting in three damage numbers exceeding twenty thousand and a thick layer of frost covering his body.

The Holy Knight Levis's movement speed decreased significantly, making it difficult to even walk. He quickly cast a few spells on himself, melting the frost.

Another barrage of icy shards fell from the sky.

Nie Yan suddenly accelerated, swiftly passing by the Holy Knight Levis and kicking him away.

The area where the Holy Knight Levis had been standing was covered in a thick layer of frost.

Archmage Lefis was like a god controlling everything. The crowd control skills of an ice mage were far superior to those of other mages. The continuous control spells forced Nie Yan, the Shadow Assassin, and the Holy Knight Levis to desperately evade.

The battle grew fiercer. The mist condensed into ice, gradually clearing the visibility. More and more players gathered to watch. A player fighting a famous NPC Archmage from the Grinland Empire to a standstill was an unprecedented event in the empire's history.

Although Nie Yan had only gained the upper hand for a few brief seconds, it was still admirable. Several players who had previously flaunted their strength in front of Archmage Lefis were instantly killed without any suspense.

The dancing icy shards resembled the notes of a melody as Archmage Lefis calmly walked while pursuing Nie Yan, the Shadow Assassin, and the Holy Knight Levis.

Looking at Archmage Lefis in the distance, Nie Yan considered his options. He and the Shadow Assassin simultaneously activated the Gnome Transformation skill, shrinking their bodies to about one-third of their original size.

Archmage Lefis was stunned. After Nie Yan and the Shadow Assassin's bodies shrank, their target area suddenly became much smaller, making them more difficult to hit. The Gnome Transformation skill was usually very effective when fighting ranged class players.

Nie Yan and the Shadow Assassin nimbly dodged. With their smaller bodies, they could evade magic more easily, handling the ice shard attacks with greater ease.

Both sides were using every possible method.

Vanish!

Nie Yan dodged Archmage Lefis's storm of ice shards and pounced like a cheetah. The dagger in his right hand pierced toward Archmage Lefis's head.

Archmage Lefis activated Focus Casting, firing ice orbs like a machine gun, but they all missed, narrowly passing by Nie Yan's body.

He had little experience fighting gnomes, leading to a severe misjudgment of Nie Yan's size. Even when magic did target Nie Yan, he could evade it with agile movements in the air.

Die!

Nie Yan's dagger struck downwards with a Mute.

Archmage Lefis suddenly sensed something was wrong. A chill ran down his spine. He was being attacked from both sides again!

He was about to Blink when the Shadow Assassin's Ultimate Fear froze him in place.

Ultimate Fear and Lockdown were excellent skills for countering Blink, but they required a high level of skill to use effectively. Ultimate Fear or Lockdown had to be used the instant before the enemy cast Blink in order to be effective.

Nie Yan's attack reached its peak.

Archmage Lefis was still protected by his ice shield when Nie Yan struck.

Damage numbers of over three thousand floated above his head. Fortunately, the ice shield absorbed most of the damage, so he wasn't controlled. He immediately waved his staff in retaliation.

The three figures were locked in close combat. Holy Knight Levis continuously cast Silence and other similar skills on Archmage Lefis from a distance.

They were fighting at close range. Soon, Lefis's health was reduced to about half.

Success was within reach! Nie Yan remained calm, knowing he couldn't afford to make any mistakes. He had to take down Lefis!

Elbow Strike!

Nie Yan struck Lefis's abdomen with an elbow strike, followed by a roundhouse kick to Lefis's throat and then a downward leg chop.

Combo 1, Combo 2, Combo 3...

Nie Yan's movements were fluid and continuous. If not for Lefis's ice shield, he would have been killed long ago.

Enraged by the relentless attacks, Lefis staggered backward, looking for an opportunity to retaliate. At that moment, Holy Knight Levis used his last Silence skill. He wouldn't be able to use it again for a short time.

Lefis suddenly went berserk. With a wave of his staff, he shouted, and dense ice spikes erupted from the ground.

Fortunately, Nie Yan was in the air, or he would have been pierced by the spikes. However, the Shadow Assassin wasn't so lucky. An ice spike pierced his right calf, completely freezing it. He was frozen in place on the ground.

With a series of explosions, the Shadow Assassin was blasted away by several ice orbs, falling to the ground and disappearing.

As for Holy Knight Levis, he was too far away to be affected.

As Archmage Lefis finished casting that skill, Nie Yan flipped over and kicked Archmage Lefis in the face, triggering a Knockback effect. Lefis was sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground.

The ice armor on Lefis's body shattered. Seeing Nie Yan raise his dagger, Lefis, in desperation, unleashed a Frost Nova, sending a massive ice orb towards Nie Yan.

They were too close, and the ice orb was too large. Nie Yan had no time to dodge, so he quickly cast Obsidian Shield on himself. With a loud explosion, Nie Yan felt a powerful force slam into his chest, sending him flying fifty or sixty yards. He spun through the air before crashing heavily to the ground, rolling away.

Before he could stand up, Nie Yan heard several explosions and a system notification sounded.

System: Holy Knight Levis has been killed.