Chapter 1 A Highly Poisonous Mire

"Shuise and Daoguang are doing the Highly Poisonous Mire dungeon. It'll probably take two or three hours for them to come out. Those two from Angel Corps seem to be pretty skilled. Shuise and Daoguang might not be able to handle them," Guo Huai said. Kuangshen and Duoluo were both top-tier players in the entire Saturn Empire, no less skilled than Shuise, Daoguang, and the others. The odds were probably fifty-fifty.

"They've already started the Highly Poisonous Mire? Not bad," Nie Yan said, a little surprised. The Highly Poisonous Mire was one of the most difficult level 60 dungeons. The equipment it dropped was very strong, especially the poison-resistance sets. "When Shuise and Daoguang come out of the dungeon, let them play around with those two. As for who wins or loses, we'll see when the time comes. They shouldn't be worse than those two."

Nie Yan thought to himself that with the strength of Shuise, Daoguang, and the others, they definitely wouldn't be worse than those two from Angel Corps. Recently, the top players of the Numinous Miracle Guild had been leveling up and searching for equipment like crazy. The locations of sub-legendary and legendary equipment that Nie Yan had released were very attractive to them. They were all afraid of being too slow, and that the sub-legendary and legendary equipment would all be taken, and they wouldn't get any.

Starting from the Thief class advancement, players could focus on building their divine equipment. The higher the level, the harder it was to level up. Having some powerful equipment could definitely make leveling up twice as effective. Only by improving both levels and equipment could the Numinous Miracle Guild truly become powerful.

These guys didn't have much time to play these boring competitive games with Duoluo and Kuangshen. However, since they had come to their door, if they didn't accept the challenge, it would damage the prestige of the Numinous Miracle Guild.

The Numinous Miracle Guild had to make those two go back with their tails between their legs!

For now, let those two make a fuss. Nie Yan continued to collect his reward for killing the Legendary Undead Mage.

Carol City Central Plaza.

Ever since Kuangshen and Duoluo had set up a ring here, this matter had caused a huge uproar in Carol City. At least 70% of the players in Carol City were inclined towards the Numinous Miracle Guild. Kuangshen and Duoluo setting up a ring in the central plaza to challenge the Numinous Miracle Guild was like slapping all the players in Carol City in the face. If the Numinous Miracle Guild lost, it wouldn't just be the Numinous Miracle Guild that would lose face, but all the players in Carol City.

In order not to be said that there was no one in Carol City, even if they weren't players from the Numinous Miracle Guild, they had to defend the dignity of the players in Carol City. Being provoked like this, people would laugh at them.

As soon as the announcement was posted on the forums, many players gathered. Crowds surged, forming a unique scene in the central plaza.

Some players who considered themselves to be relatively skilled began to challenge Kuangshen and Duoluo.

"If you want to challenge Mad Rogue Nie Yan, beat us first. Don't let just anyone come and challenge our Guild Leader. Our Guild Leader doesn't have that much free time," a Numinous Miracle Guild player said disdainfully to the two of them.

"That's right, beat us first!"

The players stirred.

Kuangshen glanced around at the surrounding players and said to Duoluo, "Do you want to play with them first?"

Duoluo nodded. "That's for sure, otherwise Mad Rogue Nie Yan won't come out." He had an indifferent expression on his face.

"You go, or should I?" Kuangshen looked at Duoluo, his hands itching for action. He loved to slaughter ordinary players, especially a whole group of them at once.

"You go ahead." Duoluo was uninterested in the people surrounding them. No matter how many of these guys came, they wouldn't be enough to kill. PK'ing with them was a waste of time.

"Alright, I'll warm up." Duoluo's words were exactly what Kuangshen wanted.

Kuangshen walked to the center of the arena and began to set the rules. After being killed in the arena, you could be resurrected. Equipment wouldn't drop, and levels wouldn't be lost. Each player who entered had to pay 20 gold coins for the arena fee. If they won against him, they could get 200 gold coins.

Seeing Kuangshen set the rules, many players in Carol City began to eagerly try. This was a tenfold payout! Some whispers could be heard below.

"This Kuangshen is quite famous in the Saturn Empire. If you're not strong enough, don't go up there and give him money. You need to be at least level 55 to be considered a高手 (gaoshou, expert)," someone reminded the crowd.

There were quite a few players in the crowd who were over level 55, at least a dozen. More experts would probably come soon.

Kuangshen took out two golden greatswords and rested them on the ground. He looked over the players in the crowd who were relatively strong and said with a faint smile, "Anyone want to try?" His tone was arrogant and overbearing, making the few stronger players in the crowd so angry that they wanted to rush up and beat him up. Some were more cautious, while others couldn't hold back.

A greatswordsman named Aotian Zhi Jian (Sword of Arrogance) walked onto the arena. He had just completed his class advancement recently, and he was a little proud of his strength after completing his class advancement. Seeing the Orcish Warrior being so arrogant, he jumped into the arena.

"Damn, too arrogant."

"Aotian Zhi Jian, kill him!"

Cheers erupted below, making Aotian Zhi Jian a little smug.

There were two advancement classes for Orcish Warriors, one was Orcish Berserker, and the other was Orcish Shield Warrior. Kuangshen had advanced to Orcish Berserker. The Orcish Berserker's talent had a certain strength bonus, and their size would increase slightly. He was clearly taller than Aotian Zhi Jian.

The Greatswordsman's talent was all-around, including increased stats in balance, focus, tripping, and more. He also had a Hamstring Mastery skill, which gave a certain bonus to the Hamstring effect. In terms of talent, he wasn't much worse than the Orcish Berserker.

Just as Aotian Zhi Jian was about to say something, Kuangshen interrupted him, "Don't talk nonsense. I don't have much time. After I kill you, I can call the next one."

Aotian Zhi Jian was angered by Kuangshen. He roared and charged towards Kuangshen.

Seeing Aotian Zhi Jian pounce, Kuangshen roared and waved the two greatswords in his hands, meeting the attack.

In a flurry of sword light and blood, players could immediately tell who was better with just that one exchange. Kuangshen's attacks were like a storm, constantly pressuring Aotian Zhi Jian. Aotian Zhi Jian tried to use skills to counterattack several times, but Kuangshen directly interrupted them. In just a few seconds, Aotian Zhi Jian was knocked away by Kuangshen's sword and fell to the ground.

The powerful and unmatched aura that Kuangshen displayed during the PK made the surrounding players' hearts tremble and gasp. Throughout the entire battle, Kuangshen didn't use a single important skill, but simply used simple slashes and kicks to knock Aotian Zhi Jian down.

Kuangshen looked around and said in a condescending tone, "Next."

Aotian Zhi Jian revived, feeling ashamed, and left somewhat dejectedly.

Following Aotian Zhi Jian, many other players who had completed their class advancement went up to fight Kuangshen, but they were all defeated and came down with their faces covered in dirt. Their strength was too different from Kuangshen's. There were only a handful of people in the entire Carol City who could fight Kuangshen and Duoluo. No matter how many of these players went up, they would only be cannon fodder.

After dozens of players fell to the ground, Kuangshen's arrogance grew even more. Kuangshen said even more arrogantly, "Are there only a few small fish in Carol City? Is there anyone stronger? Otherwise, it's too boring!"

This made the players in Carol City extremely angry. The forums on the official website were in an uproar.

At this time, the players in Carol City were all staring at the Numinous Miracle Guild. If the Numinous Miracle Guild didn't respond, they would probably be criticized.

After a long time, there was still no movement from the Numinous Miracle Guild.

"Why hasn't the Numinous Miracle Guild appeared yet?"

"Could it be that the Numinous Miracle Guild doesn't dare to accept the challenge?"

"Maybe, but I heard that the Guild Leader of the Numinous Miracle Guild, Mad Rogue Nie Yan, and several top players are doing quests. They don't have time and may come later."

...

Rumors were flying around Carol City. It was fine if the Numinous Miracle Guild's players didn't appear for the time being, but it would be hard to say after a long time. After all, Kuangshen and Duoluo weren't just clowns. After dozens of battles, they used their powerful strength to make the players in Carol City truly take them seriously.

Kuangshen had been the one fighting in the arena, defeating twenty-six people in a row. Duoluo hadn't made a move, so it was unknown how strong he was, but he definitely wasn't bad. They definitely had the strength to challenge Mad Rogue Nie Yan!

Several of those defeated by Kuangshen were very famous players. Kuangshen had definitely shown off.

Nie Yan was constantly paying attention to the movements in Carol City. From the videos, Nie Yan had a general understanding of Kuangshen and Duoluo's strength. He just didn't know if they had any tricks up their sleeves. They dared to come here to challenge Nie Yan, so they must have something to rely on. After all, they also represented Angel Corps. If they lost, it would be Angel Corps that would lose face.

"Let's see what happens. Shuise Yanhua and the others should be back in an hour or two. Those guys won't be arrogant for long."

Nie Yan arrived outside Hilton Fortress and looked up. The twenty-meter-tall city walls were like an impregnable fortress, giving people a feeling of indestructibility. Giant magic cannons were placed on top of the city walls. The magic cannons here were much larger than the Goblin Magic Cannons in Cripps Fortress. The Goblin Magic Cannons used in Cripps Fortress were level one, with a range of only 1,000 yards and weak power. The magic cannons here were level sixteen giant cannons, with a range of 10,000 yards and amazing power. The two were not on the same level at all.

Nie Yan recalled Faulkner's warhorse, entered through the city gate, and walked along the street towards the center of Hilton Fortress.

The inside of Hilton Fortress was similar to a city, with buildings everywhere. The streets were paved with white stones, somewhat narrow, but very prosperous, with people coming and going, looking a little crowded. The vast majority of the people coming and going were NPCs. At this time, it was rare for players to come here.