Fa Biao De Wo Niu
Chapter 135 Encounter
Nie Yan stood up, preparing to use a Return Scroll to head back to town. He needed to visit the auction house to deal with the equipment in his bag. Only seven slots remained, and it would be full again after just a few more items.
A low growl tore through the air. Nie Yan paused, putting away the Return Scroll. Judging from the sound, it was likely an elite or sub-elite Ghoul King! These creatures occasionally roared to assert their dominance over the territory, forcing weaker players to quickly evacuate.
After searching for nearly two days, he finally encountered a monster bordering on elite.
Nie Yan followed the sound, passing through a pile of rocks. In the open area ahead, a giant ghoul came into view. This Ghoul King stood three yards tall, its body pitch-black and covered in bumps oozing a foul-smelling pus. Its front claws were extremely long, sharp like steel blades, and stained with an eerie crimson color.
He cast Detect on the ghoul.
Ghoul King: Level 10 Elite, 3200/3200 HP
It was indeed an elite creature. Nie Yan pondered briefly, surveying his surroundings. The only usable terrain were the scattered piles of rocks. Killing this thing shouldn't be a problem, though using Flashbang Powder, Webbing, and Polymorph Scrolls would be a waste of money. However, the items dropped by the Ghoul King should more than make up for the cost of the Flashbang Powder and scrolls. He leaped onto a rock, raised his Bloody Crossbow, and aimed at the Ghoul King. *嗖嗖嗖* (sōu sōu sōu), three arrows flew in a straight line towards the Ghoul King.
*笃笃笃* (dǔ dǔ dǔ), all three hit the Ghoul King's back.
-13, -12, -15...
The Ghoul King, enraged by the attack, turned its head, its gaze searching the rocks.
Nie Yan agilely ran among the rocks, continuously firing arrows at the Ghoul King.
After searching for a while, the Ghoul King finally locked onto Nie Yan and pounced in fury.
Nie Yan turned and ran towards the rocks, his Bloody Crossbow never ceasing, firing arrow after arrow, trying to whittle down the Ghoul King’s health.
The Ghoul King angrily searched for Nie Yan, sweeping away the nearby rocks with its claws, quickly closing the distance.
*嘭* (Pēng), a cloud of Flashbang Powder exploded in front of the Ghoul King.
The intense light temporarily blinded the Ghoul King, and the pain in its eyes caused it to let out a miserable shriek.
Seeing the nearly crazed Ghoul King, Nie Yan smiled slightly, circled behind it, and used Eviscerate then Slice, dealing 120 damage. Then, a series of -10 bleed damage numbers appeared above the Ghoul King's head.
The blinding effect of Flashbang Powder would only last for a few seconds. Nie Yan finished his attack, activated Haste, and retreated quickly. The bleed damage from Eviscerate and Slice was cumulative; the longer it lasted, the more damage it dealt.
Nie Yan continued to fire his crossbow. Because the Ghoul King was the same level as him, the damage was still considerable.
The Ghoul King finally recovered from its blindness and quickly pounced towards Nie Yan.
Just as it was about to reach him, Nie Yan released a Webbing Scroll, binding the Ghoul King firmly in place.
Nie Yan leaped high, used a Vital Strike, his dagger slashing across the Ghoul King's neck, then landed and circled behind the Ghoul King, stabbing his dagger into its back with a Backstab.
After the two attacks, Nie Yan didn't dare to stay in place for too long. He retreated quickly, switching back to his crossbow and firing arrow after arrow.
With Nie Yan's health and fragile leather armor, he couldn't withstand a single blow from the Ghoul King. Generally, elite creatures required a team of at least five people to handle, with at least one high-healing priest, a fully armored shield warrior, and a supply of antidotes. The Ghoul King's attacks contained potent fire poison, causing players to lose at least thirty health points per second until death. Therefore, Nie Yan had to be extremely careful not to get hit.
The Ghoul King's health steadily dropped under Nie Yan's consistent attacks, but it couldn't touch Nie Yan. He had numerous ways to hinder its attacks, and no matter how enraged it became, it was useless.
"The sound seems to be coming from over there."
"Let's go take a look."
A group of three people hurried through the rocks. They were all from the Victorious Return guild. Being able to grind and level up in the Blackrock Mines at this time meant they were quite skilled, considered elites within the guild.
Among the three were a combat rogue, a berserker, and a female arcane mage. They were grinding ghouls nearby when they heard the commotion and came to investigate.
"Nightshade, hurry up and see what's going on," the berserker said to the combat rogue.
"Alright, I'm always doing the dirty work," Nightshade said helplessly. As an agility-based combat rogue, his speed was more than 20% faster than warrior classes, even without considering skills. Therefore, the job of scouting fell to him.
Swiftness!
Nightshade's speed suddenly increased significantly, like a rainbow shadow streaking forward.
"I think there might be an elite ahead. Orange, if we find an elite, Nightshade and I will hold it, and it's up to you," the berserker said. As a berserker, tanking an elite Ghoul King was difficult, but he had a Life Activation skill that lasted for twenty minutes and had a two-day cooldown, which would allow him to barely hold it.
"Should we have the guild leader send a priest? Elite Ghoul Kings are very troublesome," Orange said, her brows furrowed slightly. She was average-looking, not particularly beautiful, but her status in Victorious Return was very high.
"It's probably not necessary. Who knows when the priest will arrive? Can you use Arcane Empowerment?"
"Arcane Empowerment has a two-day cooldown. I'm going to run a dungeon with the guild tomorrow."
"Then forget it. Let's see how it goes."
Nie Yan was still whittling down the Ghoul King's health. As he watched its health drop below 20%, a bad feeling rose in his heart. At his current level, his perception was incredibly high, so he could keenly sense even the slightest movements nearby. He quickly released another Webbing Scroll. A web fell from the sky, trapping the Ghoul King.
Nightshade couldn't describe his shock. People like them were already considered outstanding in Victorious Return. Even if they weren't in the top ten, they were definitely in the top twenty. He, Orange, and Hidden Blade would hesitate before fighting an elite Ghoul King, yet this rogue was single-handedly grinding the Ghoul King down to 80% health and looked like he could easily kill it. This was beyond his comprehension.
After scouting him, Nightshade discovered that the rogue was called Nirvana Flame!
It was him!
Nightshade remembered him. When their guild was besieging the murlocs in the Murloc Tribe, Purpleflame had been killed by someone named Nirvana Flame, who had then escaped from a group of pursuers. After that incident, many people in the guild were talking about it. It was hard not to remember such a formidable person.
Nightshade never expected to encounter him here!
As members of Victorious Return, they were always reckless. If anyone offended them, they would definitely retaliate with full force, especially when it came to such a shameful incident as having someone killed and escaping.
Nightshade smiled slightly. If they killed Nirvana Flame, they could not only snatch the Ghoul King's experience and loot but also claim the bounty from the guild. It was a win-win situation.
As for Nie Yan, no matter how strong he was, could he withstand the Ghoul King and the three of them attacking him at the same time?
Especially since the Ghoul King's aggro was focused entirely on Nie Yan!
"Come here quickly! There's a big fish!" Nightshade messaged Hidden Blade and Orange.
"Nightshade has a message." Hidden Blade and Orange exchanged a look and quickly quickened their pace, rapidly approaching.
If the Ghoul King's health was depleted, it wouldn't be worth it. Hidden Blade and Orange should be here soon. Nightshade entered stealth, slowly creeping towards Nie Yan's back. Nie Yan's head was completely exposed to his view. He was very confident in his stealth ability.
Unexpectedly, just then, Nie Yan suddenly turned his head.
Eye of Truth!
The blood vessels in Nie Yan's eyes turned crimson, radiating a dazzling light. Under the scan of the Eye of Truth, a faint figure appeared in his vision, approaching him. A cold smile appeared on Nie Yan's lips. Trying to sneak attack? Not so easy. He pulled out Flashbang Powder. *嘭* (Pēng), the Flashbang Powder released a blindingly bright light, turning the surroundings a dazzling white.
Nightshade was gradually approaching Nie Yan when he suddenly noticed Nie Yan turn his head, his eyes filled with blood vessels, radiating a divine light. This light seemed to be able to see through everything, as if he was standing naked in front of Nie Yan. He was shocked. Had he been seen through?
Before he could react, Nie Yan's hand burst out with a blinding light, like a sharp knife, instantly blinding his eyes.
Not good. Nightshade felt a strong sense of unease and retreated quickly, activating Haste. The ground here was uneven, and he had completely lost his vision. He tripped over something and fell to the ground.
As a top player, he instantly realized that the Flashbang Powder was a blinding agent. He balanced himself, placed his right hand on the ground, did a somersault, and regained his footing. At that moment, a sharp, cold light stabbed towards his face.
It was lightning fast.
So fast!
Nightshade felt a sense of despair. No one could dodge such a sharp attack. He finally understood why Nie Yan was able to kill Purpleflame and escape so easily.
Today's first update, continuing to ask for monthly tickets...