Chapter 13 A Terrifying Lineup

Thirteen top-tier classes—this was an incredibly impressive lineup.

Nie Yan thought of the Lava Giants of the Molten Forest. Back then, those Lava Giants had killed countless players, a sight still fresh in his memory. Once Asskickers United had even more top-tier players, they could probably go farm Lava Giants.

After a short preparation, they summoned their respective flying mounts and set off.

Thirteen flying mounts streaked across the sky.

Nie Yan glanced at the flying mounts of his team members. As top-tier players, it would be embarrassing not to have a high-grade flying mount to match, so they had all acquired pretty good ones recently.

Nie Yan's flying mount was a Rank 7 Darkwing Dragon, the highest grade among them all. Next were two Rank 6 flying mounts, both newly hatched. One was Xie Yao's phoenix, and the other was Water Color Rose's Blue Dragon.

The phoenix was slightly smaller than the Darkwing Dragon, its entire body shrouded in blazing white flames. Wherever it passed, waves of heat rolled out. Xie Yao had mentioned that she hatched the phoenix during her class advancement quest, imbuing it with holy attributes, making it a mutated species.

Water Color Rose's Blue Dragon was covered in crystalline blue scales, refracting rays of blue light under the sunlight.

Besides these two flying mounts, the rest were all Rank 5, including Royal Griffons, Wyverns, and more.

Top-tier players were strong enough on their own, and they always found ways to get high-grade flying mounts.

"I still have a dragon egg in my personal warehouse. If any of you are interested, you can take it and hatch it." Nie Yan shared the dragon egg's properties. Hatching it required completing a difficult quest, one that he estimated only top-tier players could accomplish, which was why he brought it up now.

Everyone looked at the dragon egg's properties.

"It seems more suitable for a Warrior."

"Blade Light, do you want it?" Undying Scoundrel asked.

Brilliant Blade Light glanced at it and shook his head. "I obtained a quest line before. The reward is a Rank 6 flying mount, so I'll pass on this dragon egg. Give it to someone else."

Among the Warriors, Brilliant Blade Light didn't want it, and Water Color Rose already had one, leaving only Lei Su.

"Give it to Lei Su," Nie Yan said.

No one had any objections to Nie Yan's distribution plan.

"Really giving it to me?" Lei Su asked, stunned. He was still relatively new to Asskickers United.

"I've set the extraction rights for the dragon egg to you. You can go to the warehouse and take it when you return to town," Nie Yan said. Although Lei Su had joined for a short time, he already considered Lei Su one of his own.

"Thank you," Lei Su said gratefully. He felt a sense of trust from Nie Yan and the others.

Thirteen flying mounts soared through the sky, especially the leading Darkwing Dragon, phoenix, and Blue Dragon, attracting considerable attention. Players leveling below looked up at the sky, watching Nie Yan and his group's flying mounts streak overhead before disappearing into the horizon.

Soon, the major powers learned of Nie Yan's movements, but they dared not do anything. Without experts who could match Nie Yan and his group, sending more people would only be throwing away lives.

"Everyone, search separately. If you find the Ape King, contact us in the team chat," Nie Yan said in the team chat.

"Understood."

The thirteen flying mounts split up, heading in different directions. They surveyed the ground, searching for the Ape King's trail. Below was a vast plain, with relatively open terrain, making it easier to spot their target.

"I've found the Ape King," Black Hell said in the team chat. "But it seems someone got here before us."

"What are the coordinates?"

"3829.2385.2880."

"Alright, we'll head over immediately."

Everyone quickly converged towards the location Black Hell mentioned, descending slowly.

Nie Yan looked ahead. In the distant grasslands, a giant ape came into view.

That giant ape was the Ape King the NPCs of Abenesi spoke of. It was enormous, like a small hill. At least a thousand players had gathered around it, besieging the Ape King.

Seeing a thousand-player team in Abenesi, Nie Yan was somewhat surprised. The Abenesi Wastelands was a relatively desolate, lawless border region. He never expected so many players to be here.

Due to the distance, Nie Yan couldn't make out the faces of those people, but he saw three players holding the front lines against the Ape King, which was constantly swinging its iron fists, smashing down.

Boom, boom, boom, the sounds of the explosions could be heard even from Nie Yan's position.

The Ape King relentlessly attacked the three figures around it, but they dodged and weaved, preventing it from landing a hit.

"Those guys seem to have good skills," Black Hell commented. He usually remained silent, only occasionally chiming in, but no one ever ignored his presence. Ever since Nie Yan fulfilled his promise and had Asskickers United crush Dark Ranger, he had stayed with Asskickers United. Black Hell seemed mysterious to the players below, but he held a rather high position within Asskickers United.

"Where did these people come from? Logically, ordinary players can't deal any damage to the Ape King. Aren't they wasting their time surrounding it?" Undying Scoundrel asked, somewhat puzzled.

"It's hard to say. There are all sorts of special items. I've seen some things, like Scrolls of Penetration. After buffing all the players in the team, they have a chance to ignore defense and deal critical damage for a certain period. It's especially effective against high-level Lords," Youthful Delinquent said.

"Youth is right. If a team is determined to take down a Lord, as long as the leader is smart enough, they can always find a way," Brilliant Blade Light said. He often led teams to kill bosses, so he spoke from experience.

"Let's go down and take a look," Nie Yan said.

The group's flying mounts slowly descended, landing a thousand yards away from the other players. Landing too close might cause disputes. The other players might think Nie Yan and his group were there to steal their monster.

The thirteen of them walked together towards a distant high slope, where the battle had reached a fever pitch.

The Ape King roared wildly, but it seemed trapped by something, unable to break out of an area about ten yards in radius. On the open ground around the Ape King, sixteen Archmages were raising their staffs, chanting incantations. They stood in a unique formation, forming a mysterious array. Two Warriors and a Paladin were blocking the Ape King's path, constantly swinging their swords.

"Damn, this guy's hide is really thick! It's only lost 12% after all this time. How long are we going to keep hacking?" the Paladin cursed in frustration, slashing a Holy Strike at the Ape King's waist, dealing over 700 damage.

Streaks of magic tore through the sky, landing on the Ape King. Damage numbers of fifty or sixty floated above the Ape King's head. Although the damage was low, the sheer number of players, at least seven or eight hundred Mages attacking together, made the overall damage quite significant.

"Thankfully, we have this Sanctioning Array. Otherwise, all sixteen hundred of us would have been wiped out. This guy has such high defense!" a Shield Warrior next to him roared, leaping high into the air and slamming a Shield Bash onto the Ape King, staggering it back two steps.

The group's attacks on the Ape King were rhythmic and skillful. They were focused on dealing with the Ape King when a player suddenly said in the team chat, "Guild Leader You Nan, there are about a dozen people approaching from the northeast, about a thousand yards away."

"Who are they?" a female Paladin, who was directing the battle among the players, asked. She wore silver-white light armor, her black hair tied back neatly, giving her a clean and capable look. Tall and curvaceous, the leader of this group was actually a beauty.

"It's Nief Yan, the Crazy Thief from Asskickers United!" a player said in the team chat, having spotted the Darkwing Dragon earlier.

"Him?" Yue You Nan frowned slightly. This was not good news. If it were anyone else, they could have easily dealt with them, but if it was Crazy Thief Nie Yan, it wouldn't be so easy.

This group belonged to the Dark Hymn Guild, with Yue You Nan as the guild leader. Dark Hymn was only a small guild, with about two thousand members. Among them, Yue You Nan and thirty other core members belonged to the Dark Hymn Studio, which was somewhat known in the country.

"Crazy Thief Nie Yan was just appointed Lord of the Abenesi Wastelands. If we want to stay here, we can't afford to offend him," the Paladin holding the front lines against the Ape King said. Around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with a sturdy build, he wore silver-gray heavy armor. He was named Canon and was the vice-chairman of the Dark Hymn.

Yue You Nan weighed her options. She had to admit that Canon made a lot of sense. They couldn't afford to offend Nie Yan. If they fell out with him, they might not be able to stay in the Abenesi Wastelands.

"Although Crazy Thief Nie Yan was just appointed Lord of the Abenesi Wastelands, there are so many NPC tribes here, and at least twenty other guilds of varying sizes. Ruling the entire Abenesi Wastelands won't be easy. Let's not stick our necks out," Yue You Nan said.

"What if Crazy Thief Nie Yan tries to steal the boss from us later? Are we just going to hand over the Ape King?" a tall Warrior near the Ape King asked.

"If Crazy Thief Nie Yan really wants to steal the boss, there's nothing we can do. But judging from his style, he probably won't directly steal our monster, leaving him open to criticism," Yue You Nan said, a sly smile appearing on her fair face.