Chapter 180 Lava Giant Beast

Before the five or six hundred players at the entrance to the Lava Caves could figure out what was happening, they were engulfed in scorching lava flows. Their mournful cries filled the air as they turned into streaks of white light.

The scalding lava poured out like a ferocious fire beast, rapidly spreading and consuming everything in its path. Given a few hours, it would turn the entire Molten Forest into an ocean of fire.

The seven exits of the Lava Caves spewed magma like volcanoes, launching countless streams of lava hundreds of yards into the air. They fell like meteorites, creating huge craters where they landed and sending up scorching flames.

The moment the lava erupted, the Soaring Triumph and Zongheng Tianxia guilds lost over two thousand members. The lava flowed too quickly; many didn't have time to react before being swallowed. Some barely noticed the lava before realizing it was too late to escape, let alone use a Return Scroll.

"Return! Return!" Some players desperately dodging the lava frantically shouted in the guild chat.

Many didn't understand what was going on, and when they inquired in the guild chat, the others had already fallen silent.

The rapidly gathering lava morphed into a colossal beast, dozens of yards tall and as massive as a small mountain. Even the Order Guardian Nie Yan had first encountered paled in comparison to this Lava Giant Beast.

Level 200 Lord, Lava Giant Beast, 3,000,000 HP! Skills: Lava Domain, transforming the ground within a 500-yard radius into lava, instantly consuming players with less than 120 fire resistance and causing continuous damage to those with higher fire resistance. Lava Surge, creating a massive wave of lava to engulf all nearby creatures.

And then there was the most terrifying skill, Lava Roar! When magical fluctuations in the Molten Forest became too intense, it could use Lava Roar to interfere with them. It could prevent all mages from casting spells for a short period, disable all magical items, and even interrupt teleportation. It was like a silence domain; in the entire Molten Forest, it was the ruler!

In his past life, players discovered its existence when they were only in their forties and fifties. However, it wasn't until many players reached level 100 that they dared to attempt challenging this Lava Giant Beast, and even then, they needed thousands to participate. Back then, there weren't many Shield Warriors who could withstand the Lava Giant Beast. Brilliant Knife Light was one, and there were two others: one in the Holy Roman Empire and one in the Holy Light Flames. This led to disputes over the Lava Giant Beast because the official website revealed that it was related to the Greyma Set and could解除 (jie chu) the Greyma Staff's seal. It could also drop some good items, such as Earthfire Essence, which was a material for forging legendary items.

Across the entire Atlanta continent, there were quite a few discovered and undiscovered Boss-level creatures, each extremely difficult to deal with. The Lava Giant Beast was definitely one that players below level 100 couldn't touch.

This ferocious Lava Giant Beast pursued Nie Yan in the direction he fled, determined to reclaim Countess Alicia's Greyma Staff.

Nie Yan ran wildly through the Molten Forest.

"Guo Huai, can you pinpoint the areas in the Molten Forest where the Soaring Triumph and Zongheng Tianxia guilds have the highest concentration of members? Hurry, I need it urgently," Nie Yan messaged Guo Huai at the guild headquarters.

"Give me ten seconds," Guo Huai replied upon receiving Nie Yan's message, quickly gathering information.

Nie Yan sprinted through the Molten Forest, and many players scattered upon spotting the Lava Giant Beast. They had little time to use Return Scrolls. Some foolishly ran towards the other entrances of the Molten Forest, only to collide with the oncoming lava.

Soon, Guo Huai relayed the information: "There are several thousand people at coordinates 328, 108, and 028. Zongheng Tianxia's guild leader, Hei Zhuo, is at 2385, 225, 132. With him is a high-ranking member of the Soaring Triumph, someone called Yu Long, I think."

Hei Zhuo, huh? Nie Yan's mind raced as he headed in that direction, estimating it would take only two or three minutes to arrive.

Yu Long and Zongheng Tianxia's Hei Zhuo were chatting among thousands of mages. The mages stood together in groups of three to five, surrounding them like stars around the moon. The Warriors and Holy Knights had escorted the Priests to search for traces of Nie Yan and his group, leaving only two or three hundred Warriors to guard the perimeter around the mages.

The earlier tremor subsided quickly, and although Yu Long felt a little uneasy, it didn't raise enough alarm.

Soon, frantic cries flooded the guild's regional chat.

"Boss, there's lava!"

"What's going on? Explain clearly," Yu Long frowned, asking in the chat.

"A surge of lava erupted from beneath the Molten Forest, and hundreds of brothers have already been killed by it," the player cried. What he saw was only a small fraction; in reality, over three thousand players from Zongheng Tianxia and Soaring Triumph had already died.

Quickly, Yu Long received reports from various locations: two or three hundred dead here, five or six hundred there, adding up to two or three thousand in total.

"Soaring Triumph members, everyone return to town!" Yu Long realized that the Ni Ren Tribe might be behind this. Sensing danger, he quickly ordered his men to return to town and turned to Hei Zhuo. "Quickly, get everyone to return to town!"

"Why?" Hei Zhuo asked, not having received any news from his subordinates yet.

"Don't ask why!" Yu Long almost roared, feeling an intense sense of unease.

Hei Zhuo was slightly angered by Yu Long's loss of composure, but he also realized that something bad might be happening. He quickly sent messages to his subordinates.

In the Molten Forest, one teleportation array after another activated. Thousands upon thousands of players used the teleportation arrays, a rather magnificent sight. Streaks of white light flashed as many Soaring Triumph players returned first.

The violent spatial magic fluctuations resembled the grand prelude to a forbidden spell.

Just then, a deafening roar echoed from the depths of the Molten Forest, carrying a powerful shockwave that spread outward.

It was as if announcing its ownership of this territory, declaring that it would dictate all the rules in this area.

Countless teleportation arrays, just as they lit up, were disrupted by a violent surge of magical energy. Damage numbers of several hundred floated above the heads of many players, and those closer to the source of the soundwave were directly knocked down.

Casualties among the Soaring Triumph and Zongheng Tianxia guilds immediately exceeded ten thousand. Corpses of Soaring Triumph and Zongheng Tianxia members littered the Molten Forest.

Hei Zhuo's teleportation was interrupted, and he staggered from the shockwave, a -378 damage number floating above his head. He was startled, quickly gulping down a bottle of Beginner Instant Recovery Potion and a bottle of Intermediate Slow Recovery Potion.

Yu Long's teleportation was also interrupted, his expression turning grim. The roar, as if from the depths of hell, heralded the arrival of the apocalypse. Five or six hundred of the thousand or so players nearby had fallen. He didn't know the casualties elsewhere, but they certainly wouldn't be small.

"Everyone, get out of here quickly!" Yu Long said. They had to leave quickly, or they would face utter destruction.

Nie Yan was rushing towards Hei Zhuo and the others when a shockwave sent him flying. He regained his footing, a little surprised to see a damage number of over a hundred floating above his head. He hadn't expected the Lava Giant Beast to use Lava Roar so quickly.

The Lava Giant Beast wouldn't use Lava Roar unless certain conditions were triggered.

The Lava Giant Beast's Lava Roar caused over a hundred damage to him. It would probably be an instant kill to the ordinary Soaring Triumph players. He wondered how many people the Soaring Triumph had lost this time.

The road Nie Yan ran along was lined with corpses, a truly spectacular sight. Those who survived were mostly Warriors and Holy Knights, classes with high defense and high health. Mages suffered heavy casualties, and almost no Priests survived. He hadn't stopped recording all the while.

Nie Yan appeared on a high slope, his gaze sweeping over the crowd below before locking onto Hei Zhuo and a Holy Knight beside him. Those two were clearly the leaders of these players.

"It's that Thief!"

Before Nie Yan could enter Stealth, a sharp-eyed Warrior spotted him on the high slope.

Instantly, everyone's eyes focused on the high slope, locking onto Nie Yan.

Discovered, huh? Nie Yan stood calmly on the high slope. Under the gaze of seven or eight hundred Zongheng Tianxia and Soaring Triumph players, he pointed his dagger at Hei Zhuo, gave a thumbs-down, then made a throat-slitting gesture, a cruel smile playing on his lips.

This was Nie Yan's provocation towards Hei Zhuo and the others, as well as the Ni Ren Tribe's contempt and declaration of war against them!

Brilliant Knife Light, I'll avenge you, brother, Nie Yan thought. If he succeeded, Brilliant Knife Light, one of the top three Shield Warriors in the whole server, would be his forever!

"Damn it! Kill him!" Hei Zhuo's face turned livid with anger at Nie Yan's provocation, his expression almost distorted.

Looking at Nie Yan's smile, Yu Long felt a chill run down his spine for some reason. Nie Yan was declaring Hei Zhuo's death! Could he be planning to assassinate Hei Zhuo in front of seven or eight hundred players?

That was impossible!

Wielding his greatsword and clad in silver-white metal armor, Yu Long stood next to Hei Zhuo like an iron tower. Thief, come and try it, see if you can get past me.

The players of Zongheng Tianxia and Soaring Triumph began to encircle Nie Yan. In the blink of an eye, they found the high slope empty; Nie Yan was nowhere to be seen!

Nie Yan had vanished into thin air. The Priests were mostly dead, and the only ones left who could deal with Nie Yan were those high-end Holy Knights who had learned Eye of Truth.

"Protect Guild Leader Hei Zhuo!" a player shouted, and a group of players rushed towards Hei Zhuo's location.

~~~ The thirteenth Thief Reborn Alliance Master has been born. Thank you, Bi Lu Sha, for being another beautiful Alliance Master! Fa Biao De Wo Niu is being spoiled by beauties! Male comrades, stand up for yourselves!

Also, Fa Biao De Wo Niu would like to thank Xiao Chong in the group. This comrade has made an indelible contribution to Thief Reborn. Comrade Xiao Chong will be forever remembered!