Chapter 109 Photograph

The group passed through the dark lava cave and reached the exit.

"Boss, let's take a photo," Undying Scoundrel suggested. Such a meaningful and historic moment should be recorded.

Nie Yan thought for a moment and said, "Okay, but we'll post it after this is all over." He couldn't let Triumphant Return know they were already out of the Molten Forest just yet.

"The look on Triumphant Return's faces when they see this photo will be priceless. Their guild has two or three ten thousand people digging up every inch of the Molten Forest, but they never expected we'd already be outside," Undying Scoundrel said with an evil grin.

"Po Tian is definitely going to be spitting blood from anger."

Summer Cicada and the others could already imagine Po Tian's expression.

"Everyone, come stand over here and show off your red names."

Everyone was excited.

The ten of them stood together, the line of red names a rather magnificent sight. Even Big Bro Seven had a red name from the previous PK, though his was a lighter shade than the others, who were all dripping with blood-red names that were quite soul-stirring.

Undying Scoundrel, Sun, and the others struck mocking poses, as if ridiculing the Triumphant Return Empire.

*Click*. The moment was frozen, and the image was recorded.

Once this matter was over, this photo would be uploaded to the internet.

The things that happened today would ensure that these ten people would be forever remembered by the players.

"Alright, everyone, go get rid of your red names," Nie Yan said to his teammates. Maintaining a red name was too dangerous.

"Nie Yan, I'll go scout ahead," Sun said, taking off to reconnoiter the surroundings. If he encountered anyone from Triumphant Return, he would send back a message. There would definitely be a lot of Triumphant Return players watching the area, so they had to avoid their line of sight while retreating.

"Contact Yao Yao and go remove your red names over there. After I'm done with the things here, I'll take you to Eternal City to level up," Nie Yan said, thinking that maybe some of them would drop the Maniac Killer Medal, since they had killed so many people already.

"Okay. Be careful," Big Bro Seven said to Nie Yan and the others.

"Boss Nie Yan, stay safe. Goodbye, Boss Nie Yan," the teammates said to Nie Yan.

"You guys be careful on the way," Nie Yan said with a smile. He was quite confident in his teammates. With their strength, even if they ran into people from Triumphant Return, as long as they weren't outnumbered by a hundred or more, they wouldn't be in any danger.

The group of nine departed, and Nie Yan turned around and headed back into the lava cave. Taking advantage of the remaining time from Intimidation, he rapidly flew towards the Molten Forest.

Inside the lava cave, scalding heat surged, and firelight shone from the depths of the earth.

In his past life, countless players didn't dare enter the lava cave until they were Level 40 or 50. By then, the Venomous Snakeflies were no longer a threat to them. They passed through the narrow underground tunnels and entered the lowest level of the lava cave, where they discovered the secret of the Molten Forest.

Nie Yan smiled slightly. What would happen next would be a disaster for the entire Triumphant Return Empire. Before that, he had to lure all of Triumphant Return's people to the center of the Molten Forest.

Nie Yan came out of the lava cave, entered Stealth, and carefully surveyed the surroundings. Not far away, there were some Triumphant Return players. He slowly crept towards them.

Five Triumphant Return players were chatting idly—a Berserker, an Elementalist, a Paladin, a Holy Magic Swordsman, and a Holy Priest.

Their equipment looked pretty good. They were probably around Level 20.

"How many experts do you think there are in Asskickers United? Those guys in the videos are too strong. They don't feel any weaker than Yu Long, Skinny Dog, and the other leaders," the Berserker player said, feeling a little apprehensive. Those guys might suddenly appear at their side.

"Maybe all of Asskickers United's experts are out," the Elementalist said. It was hard to imagine that a newly risen guild actually had so many top experts.

"Why do you think the leaders are so hell-bent on going against Asskickers United? Isn't this just asking for trouble?" the Berserker said, puzzled.

"What do you know? How long has Asskickers United been established? They're already this strong. What will happen in the future? This is guild strategy," the leading Holy Priest said.

"Are you saying that Asskickers United will threaten Triumphant Return in the future?" the Berserker asked, surprised.

The players fell into silence. Judging from Asskickers United's momentum, it was entirely possible. If one day Asskickers United really surpassed Triumphant Return and became the number one guild, they would lose their psychological advantage. Right now, every time they went out, they held their heads high, wishing they could write on their faces, "We, Triumphant Return, are the number one guild in Calore!" But if Asskickers United surpassed them, the entire Triumphant Return Empire's glory would be destroyed, and what pride would they have left? At that time, many guild members would definitely have the idea of quietly leaving Triumphant Return.

The decline of the Triumphant Return Empire would begin from then on.

Nie Yan slowly crept closer, only five yards away from the Holy Priest. The five players were completely unaware.

Being approached by a Thief in Stealth to within five yards without noticing was basically a death sentence for that Priest. A Thief killed like a cheetah hunting. Once a certain prey was approached by a cheetah in Stealth to within a certain distance, the cheetah could pounce on the prey in an instant with its explosive power and speed.

A sense of danger flashed through the Holy Priest's mind, but that feeling was too faint, too fleeting. He was in the middle of a conversation, so he didn't notice it at all.

Nie Yan approached the Holy Priest to within about three yards, then suddenly erupted into action. His dagger stabbed towards the back of the Priest's head in a Muffle.

The Priest suddenly realized the danger. His reaction was pretty quick. Just as he was about to dodge, Nie Yan's dagger hit the back of his head, stunning him.

No matter how fast his reaction was, it couldn't compare to the speed of Nie Yan's blade.

Nie Yan used Backstab, then Eviscerate to slash open the Priest's throat. The Priest fell to the ground.

The remaining four were stunned. The Elementalist fired an Ice Burst.

The Berserker charged, and the Paladin cast Heroic Aura on the Berserker, instantly increasing the Berserker's charge speed.

The Holy Magic Swordsman cast Holy Word: Judgment.

Nie Yan could clearly feel that these people were much more difficult to deal with than those from Soaring Dragon. They were probably considered skilled players in the entire Triumphant Return Empire.

Although Nie Yan could still kill two or three more before leaving, he didn't linger. He disappeared from the players' sight with Shadow Waltz.

The Holy Magic Swordsman, Elementalist, and Berserker's attacks missed. The surroundings were empty. There was no trace of Nie Yan.

Nie Yan's appearance was like a fleeting glimpse of a startled swan, too fast for them to react. But in that instant, a corpse was left on the ground.

"I saw it clearly! It was that Thief from Asskickers United!" The four of them felt a chill run down their spines. They moved closer together, fearing that Nie Yan would appear again, and the next to fall would be them.

A Thief was actually this terrifying.

They sent a message to Yu Long.

"Boss Yu Long, we've discovered people from Asskickers United," the Berserker sent a message to Yu Long, explaining what had happened with Nie Yan.

"What location? Coordinates."

"2885, 285, 332."

Yu Long thought for a moment and immediately ordered the first and second teams, a total of more than six thousand players, to converge on that area.

Nie Yan's actions didn't end there. Yu Long quickly received messages. Nie Yan's traces were discovered at coordinates 279, 239, 202, and so on. It was the same as before: one-hit kills, and then immediate disappearance. No one could figure out his movements.

"What exactly does he want to do?" Yu Long was inexplicably annoyed. What did Nie Yan's actions mean? Was he just trying to assassinate Triumphant Return players, or did he have other goals?

It was really a bit difficult to catch a top Thief in such complex terrain.

Yu Long had no choice but to gather more players in that area, especially Priests, and have the Priests densely cast Light spells to search for Nie Yan's tracks.

Nie Yan clearly felt that the number of Triumphant Return people nearby was gradually increasing. There were a few times when he was exposed to the Priests' Light spells, but luckily he escaped in time.

"Almost there." Nie Yan smiled slightly, entered the lava cave, went to the Venomous Snakefly spawn point, activated Intimidation, and then skillfully rushed into the depths of the lava cave.

The surrounding temperature was getting higher and higher. Nie Yan drank a bottle of fire resistance potion and rushed in through the scorching heat, entering a deeper level of the earth.

He saw a blazing fire, and scorching flames shot upwards. Below was a flowing magma.

There were no Venomous Snakeflies in this area. A series of -10 damage values kept popping up above Nie Yan's head.

The effect of the fire resistance potion was already very weak. You basically couldn't continue forward with fire resistance below 30.

Nie Yan rummaged through the nearby rocks. During this time, he drank an Intermediate Instant Recovery potion and a Slow Recovery potion, barely holding out against the continuous health loss.

After about three minutes, he finally found a Dark Gold chest. It was embedded in the rock, hidden in a dark corner. If you didn't look carefully, you wouldn't be able to find it at all.

This was it! When he saw the Dark Gold chest, Nie Yan was overjoyed. He squatted down and began to open the chest.

System: Opening the treasure chest, 2% complete... 17%... 29%... 37%...

Time passed by, and with a click, the Dark Gold treasure chest was opened. Nie Yan glanced at his health, which was around 27% left. He stood up and quickly applied a bandage to himself, and his health slowly recovered.

He lowered his head and scooped out two items from the treasure chest. One of the items was a round bead, blood-red in color and crystal clear. It released a dazzling red light in the darkness, like a flame burning. The other item was a black skill book.

(I checked it and found a monthly pass and a recommendation ticket…)