Chapter 1 The Wind Serpent

The wind serpent was a flying mount. Currently, there were already three flying mounts on the flying mount rankings. The Netherthunder Eagle ranked first, the White-Headed Griffon ranked second, and the wind serpent ranked third. Among flying mounts, the wind serpent was a lower-grade species with limited combat ability, but it had an extremely powerful attack: poison. They could spray venom that caused fatal damage to other creatures, making them quite formidable.

Any flying mount was an incredibly powerful entity to ordinary players.

A dark priest in a gray cloak sat on the wind serpent, the cloak concealing his face, making it impossible for players to see his features.

The wind serpent's appearance was so sudden that Tang Yao and Kuangfa's people were somewhat astonished. The person riding the wind serpent wasn't from the Mage Union, nor was he obviously from the Bullshorn Tribe!

There were countless experts in Faith. Even Nie Yan wouldn't dare call himself invincible. Since his rebirth, Nie Yan had used his experience to improve the Bullshorn Tribe players' combat power as much as possible. A top-tier player from the Bullshorn Tribe could simultaneously fight more than three top players from the Mage Union and Sacred Guardians, which was already a remarkable achievement. However, it was hard to say how many experts were hidden in Faith and how many players' names didn't appear on the level rankings.

No one knew where this dark priest came from or which faction he belonged to. To be able to obtain a flying mount, his strength must be extraordinary.

"Nie Yan, is the wind serpent powerful?" Tang Yao whispered to Nie Yan. The official website had always been tight-lipped about information on various flying mounts, so he didn't know much about the wind serpent.

"You encountered a wind serpent?" Nie Yan asked, alarmed.

"What's wrong?" Tang Yao heard the change in Nie Yan's tone and asked, a knot forming in his stomach.

"If you encounter a wind serpent, hit it with a lightning spell and run! Whatever you do, don't touch its poison!" Nie Yan said urgently. Although the wind serpent was a relatively low-grade flying mount, its poison could make many people turn pale. Even the Netherthunder Eagle would suffer moderate damage from its poison.

Nie Yan knew from Guo Huai that the Bullshorn Tribe's forces were being intercepted. Extremely anxious, he interrupted his leveling and rushed toward the battlefield with Xie Yao. His mount, the Faulkner Warhorse, was seriously injured and hadn't recovered yet, so he could only run on foot. At this moment, he felt an even greater need for a flying mount. He absolutely had to get the Darkwing Dragon!

With the Darkwing Dragon, ordinary flying mounts were trash. Plus, his mobility would be greatly increased, allowing him to support his guild brothers at any time.

After listening to Nie Yan, Tang Yao's heart tightened. Seeing the wind serpent blocking his escape route, he quickly steered the Netherthunder Eagle to the side.

The wind serpent's actions clearly showed hostility towards Tang Yao.

With a cry, the Netherthunder Eagle unleashed a bolt of lightning at the wind serpent.

The player riding the wind serpent rolled in the air, causing the lightning to miss.

Seeing the Netherthunder Eagle attacking the wind serpent above, Kuangfa excitedly shouted in the team chat, "That wind serpent is our helper! Everyone, quickly take down the Netherthunder Eagle! Throwing axemen, pay attention, throw!"

Tang Yao was about to escape when a series of spinning throwing axes flew toward the Netherthunder Eagle in the sky.

With throwing axes rapidly approaching from behind, the dark priest saw Tang Yao's predicament and had already steered the wind serpent to block the Netherthunder Eagle's escape route.

Sandwiched between two sides, Tang Yao's heart sank. It seemed he wouldn't be able to escape this time.

Seeing the throwing axes about to hit the Netherthunder Eagle, Tang Yao suddenly had the Netherthunder Eagle ascend, dodging more than a dozen throwing axes, but it was still hit by five. The Netherthunder Eagle gave a shrill cry, and blood rained down from the sky.

A good opportunity! Seeing this, the dark priest in the distance revealed a sinister smile. The wind serpent beneath him suddenly hissed sharply, spitting out a stream of green venom.

He didn't know what the result would be if he was hit by the venom, but at this close range, it was unavoidable. Tang Yao gritted his teeth and issued an order to the Netherthunder Eagle.

The Netherthunder Eagle cried out, its body enveloped in white lightning. Ignoring the venom, it pounced toward the wind serpent. A giant, thick bolt of lightning descended from the sky, striking the wind serpent and the dark priest riding it.

The dark priest riding the wind serpent was shocked. He hadn't expected Tang Yao to launch such a swift counterattack in desperation. This was clearly a suicidal move!

The dark priest hesitated. Sacrificing his wind serpent wouldn't be worth it, even if he won!

The dark priest quickly steered the wind serpent backward, preparing to deal with the Netherthunder Eagle later. But as he steered the wind serpent backward, a loud crash resounded as a thick bolt of lightning struck him head-on. The lightning stunned the wind serpent.

Bolts of electricity swirled around the wind serpent, and it began to fall from the sky, no longer responding to the dark priest's commands.

In a head-on battle, the wind serpent was still at a disadvantage against the Netherthunder Eagle, after all, the Netherthunder Eagle was of a higher grade.

"Too bad." Seeing that the Netherthunder Eagle's lightning hadn't killed the dark priest, Tang Yao couldn't help but feel disappointed. If the Netherthunder Eagle's lightning had hit the dark priest, it would have instantly killed him. Hitting the wind serpent only stunned it for a moment.

The Netherthunder Eagle was seriously poisoned, the toxins spreading throughout its body. It had also been hit by so many throwing axes, leaving it severely injured. Not daring to linger, he rode the Netherthunder Eagle and sped away.

The Netherthunder Eagle rapidly ascended, flying beyond the range of the throwing axes.

"Damn, he got away!" Kuangfa cursed in frustration. The Netherthunder Eagle flew further and further away, and they couldn't catch up.

With a crash, the wind serpent, stunned by the lightning, fell into the dense forest, struggling and snapping several large trees in half. Its force was astonishing.

"Boss, should we go take a look?" the nearby thief asked.

Kuangfa pondered for a moment. Could it be that the Century Financial Group had sent him to assist them? It seemed that only the Century Financial Group could send such a powerful expert. Although the Century Financial Group hadn't created a guild, Cao Xu still had many experts under his command. The most mysterious studio in the country, the Wild Wolf Studio, was controlled by the Century Financial Group. No one knew the true strength of the Wild Wolf Studio, but it was said that there were many top experts inside. They received high salaries from the Century Financial Group and didn't show their faces to ordinary players like ordinary professional players.

The Century Financial Group had been operating in virtual games for so many years, so it still had some resources.

The dark priest had helped them, so Kuangfa naturally assumed that the dark priest riding the wind serpent was sent by the Century Financial Group.

"Let's go take a look," Kuangfa said, leading the twenty or so thieves toward the direction where the wind serpent had fallen.

After a while, the wind serpent woke up from its daze, swaying unsteadily before stabilizing. The dark priest looked up at the sky. The Netherthunder Eagle had become a black dot on the horizon, impossible to catch up to. He could only give up.

The dark priest noticed someone approaching and looked at the ground not far away, finding Kuangfa leading dozens of thieves toward him.

Kuangfa gestured and shouted to the dark priest, "Friend, are you from Wild Wolf?"

Kuangfa was surrounded by twenty or so thieves, which was a decent force, but they still felt a bit apprehensive when they saw the huge wind serpent.

The wind serpent was dozens of yards long and very thick, only slightly smaller than a wyvern. It hissed, flicking its red tongue as if it was about to devour someone at any moment.

Hearing Kuangfa's question, the dark priest didn't answer. His face was hidden inside his hood, making it impossible to discern his expression.

Kuangfa frowned and patiently said, "Friend, if you're from Wild Wolf, come down and talk."

The dark priest still didn't answer.

Kuangfa was starting to get angry. So what if he had a wind serpent? He was still the leader of a guild, and this dark priest was giving him no respect.

Several thieves were already itching to curse. If Kuangfa hadn't been holding them back, who knows what they would have said.

The dark priest looked at Kuangfa and the others, his eyes suddenly flashing with a cold light. The wind serpent, which had been calm, suddenly went berserk. With a hiss, it spat a stream of venom at Kuangfa.

Kuangfa was stunned. He realized that the wind serpent was acting strangely and was actually attacking him. He used Blink, escaping fifty yards away. By the time the thieves behind him could react, it was too late.

The venom rained down, hitting three thieves, who screamed in agony and fell to the ground.

The venom quickly killed them. Two other thieves were splashed with a bit of venom. They used Stealth and ran about a dozen yards, but still fell to the ground. The wind serpent's venom was too deadly.

"Damn it, that guy's attacking us!"

"Crap, get him!"

The thieves had used up their throwing axes when dealing with the Netherthunder Eagle earlier, and they had no way to deal with the wind serpent. The scene turned into a one-sided massacre. These Mage Union thieves collapsed at the first touch and couldn't mount an effective counterattack. Some of the quicker thieves ran away, but sixteen corpses lay on the ground.

The wind serpent was like a demon from hell, killing people like butchering pigs and dogs. Its copper-bell-like eyes glowed with bloodthirsty red light.

In the distant forest, Kuangfa frowned and pondered as he watched the back of the dark priest standing on the wind serpent. He just couldn't figure out who this person was. It seemed this dark priest wasn't from Wild Wolf. Whose side was he on?

The dark priest hidden in his cloak aroused speculation about his identity, which was shrouded in mystery. No one knew who he was.

Could he be from a third-party force, or just a lone player?

The wind serpent was invincible at this moment. To avoid being hunted down, Kuangfa quickly left.