Chapter 1 The Conflict

The conflict between Eternal Guild and Nirvana's Flame immediately attracted the attention of all players, and the forums suddenly became lively as they heatedly discussed the matter.

This was Nirvana's Flame's first strong offensive, a cross-city operation. Their target was clearly the three fortresses of Eternal Guild. If they didn't capture at least one or two fortresses, Nirvana's Flame's expedition would be meaningless. Players couldn't help but wait and see what the final outcome of this war would be.

If Eternal Guild lowered its head and admitted its mistake, things might turn around, but to do so before the battle even began would cause Eternal Guild to lose face in Element City. Therefore, they had to stand up to Nirvana's Flame. If they could withstand the first wave of attacks and then apologize, they would have a way out.

In the words of Huo Tian Kuang Long, the guild leader of Eternal Guild, Nirvana's Flame had only sent three thousand people and wanted to wipe out Eternal Guild. This idea was simply too naive.

Neither Nirvana's Flame nor Eternal Guild made any statements on the forums. The Mage Alliance and the Sacred Guardians closely monitored the development of the situation. Five or six thousand extra members of the Mage Alliance and the Sacred Guardians appeared out of nowhere in Element City, active in the streets and alleys, forming a deterrent to Nirvana's Flame. The Mage Alliance and the Sacred Guardians were waiting for Eternal Guild to ask them for help.

The major guilds of Element City were all silent. Eternal Guild's three allied guilds suddenly went mute, not stating their position. If Nirvana's Flame suffered a crushing defeat, they might cheer for Eternal Guild, but if Eternal Guild suffered a crushing defeat, they would definitely not provide assistance. This was the so-called alliance.

Various forces were deploying, staring at the outcome of this war. If Nirvana's Flame retreated in defeat, the Mage Alliance and the Sacred Guardians, who were watching from the sidelines, would definitely not let Nirvana's Flame off easily.

Demon Prison Fortress.

This fortress was Eternal Guild's second largest fortress. The city walls were more than thirty yards high and extremely thick. Behind the city walls were arrow towers everywhere. Because the war between Eternal Guild and Nirvana's Flame was imminent, more than three thousand players from Nirvana's Flame had already been teleported into Element City. The fortress had entered a state of full alert. Sentries were stationed every ten steps on the city walls, fully armed and prepared to defend the fortress.

Without heavy machinery such as catapults, it would probably not be easy for Nirvana's Flame to break through such city defenses.

The players from Nirvana's Flame were still in Element City and hadn't moved, and no one knew what they were doing. As a result, the players on the city walls of Demon Prison Fortress seemed a little lax.

Outside Demon Prison Fortress was a vast wasteland, once an ancient battlefield.

The cold wind howled, and few plants grew in the wasteland, making it seem particularly desolate.

On the city walls, several players from Eternal Guild were chatting.

"Which fortress do you think Nirvana's Flame will attack first?"

"That's a little hard to say."

"It should be the main fortress, Keloa. If the main fortress, Keloa, falls, Eternal Guild will be removed from Element City. With the strength of Nirvana's Flame, they will definitely go straight for the heart."

"I think, strategically speaking, Nirvana's Flame won't attack Keloa."

"Why?"

"If Keloa Fortress falls, Eternal Guild will be finished, but what good will it do Nirvana's Flame if Eternal Guild is finished? Several forces in Element City are eyeing Eternal Guild. If Nirvana's Flame breaks up Eternal Guild, someone will definitely come out and swallow Eternal Guild, and Nirvana's Flame will be doing the work for others. If I were the guild leader of Nirvana's Flame, I would never do such a stupid thing. Therefore, the target of Nirvana's Flame must be Demon Prison Fortress or Lingsu Fortress."

"That sounds like it makes a little sense, but you're not Crazy Thief Nie Yan. How would you know what Crazy Thief Nie Yan is thinking?"

Just as these players were chatting, three figures appeared below Demon Prison Fortress. They hid in the corner of the city wall, using some rubble as cover, and approached the city wall of Demon Prison Fortress. No one noticed their presence.

These three people were the three most famous thieves in Nirvana's Flame: Nie Yan, Wang Zhe Tian Xia, and Sun. Yi Chui Ding Qing had other tasks and didn't come, so there were only the three of them.

Nie Yan gave Wang Zhe Tian Xia and Sun a signal. They moved about a hundred yards along the corner of the wall. Nie Yan looked up at the city wall, and players were passing by from time to time.

"Let's go up from here." Nie Yan said. He used the skill on the Crawler Ring, like a spider, sticking to the city wall and quickly climbing upwards. His movements were agile and fast, and his body slowly blended into the background of the wall.

Sun, not far away, took out a giant crossbow, about the same size as Nie Yan's Dullahan's Mounted Crossbow. A long rope was tied to the back of the arrow. He pulled the trigger, and with a thud, the arrow was nailed into the stone wall more than thirty yards above, firmly embedded in the stone wall. Sun quickly climbed up the rope.

Wang Zhe Tian Xia took out two strangely shaped daggers with sharp barbs on the blades. He stabbed the daggers into the stone wall and climbed quickly with his arm strength. The muscles on his arms were constantly twitching, full of powerful strength.

Nie Yan reached the top of the city wall in nineteen seconds. Sun and Wang Zhe Tian Xia were not inferior either, one taking twenty-one seconds and the other taking twenty-two seconds. The three of them flipped over the city wall and landed silently.

They were in a state of stealth, and the players from Eternal Guild on the city wall didn't notice at all. Nie Yan and the others sneaked in.

With the perception of these players, they couldn't detect Nie Yan and the others unless they got very close.

There were many players from Eternal Guild walking back and forth on the city wall. Nie Yan carefully lurked, dodged a few players, walked to the edge of the opposite city wall, and jumped down towards the fortress. A height of thirty yards would not cause any damage to a thief who was good at jumping.

Nie Yan landed lightly and quickly hid inside the Eternal Guild fortress. They hid in a corner.

"How are you guys? Are you all in?" Nie Yan asked in the team chat.

"I'm in," Wang Zhe Tian Xia replied.

"Me too," Sun replied.

"Let's split up!" Nie Yan smiled slightly. This kind of job was really not difficult for the few of them.

The three thieves set off in different directions and disappeared into the buildings.

After investigating, Nie Yan, Wang Zhe Tian Xia, Sun, and others found that there were about five thousand people inside the entire Demon Prison Fortress. Among these five thousand people, only about 20% were strong enough to exchange a few moves with them.

There was a teleportation array in the center of Demon Prison Fortress. If Eternal Guild knew that Nie Yan was attacking Demon Prison Fortress, they could transport tens of thousands of people over in ten minutes.

This was the advantage of the teleportation array.

Because of this, Eternal Guild was confident in letting so few Nirvana's Flame players stay in Demon Prison Fortress. They believed that even if Demon Prison Fortress was attacked, it would be easy to hold out for ten minutes.

However, they never expected that Nie Yan and the others entering Demon Prison Fortress was like entering their own home, treating the defense of Demon Prison Fortress as if it were nothing.

Because Demon Prison Fortress was in wartime lockdown, the ordinary players who were active here had left. The entire fortress seemed empty. Except for a few players from Eternal Guild who occasionally walked by, there was no one else.

Various buildings inside the fortress were scattered in a well-organized manner, and the streets crisscrossed. However, few people were seen. Most of the Eternal Guild players were guarding the city walls, and the rest were stationed in various arrow towers and defensive buildings. A fortress that could accommodate five or six hundred thousand people for trade and entertainment now only had five thousand people left. One could imagine what kind of scene it was.

Nie Yan found a quiet place in the fortress and looked around. The buildings here were very dense. In the center was an open space, and there were several shops near the open space, but they were all closed. The Eternal Guild players probably wouldn't come to such a remote place. It was only about five hundred yards away from the teleportation array in the center of the fortress. At full speed, it would only take a minute to get there.

After discovering that everything was arranged, Nie Yan said in the regional guild chat: "Let's begin."

After receiving Nie Yan's order, the Nirvana's Flame players who were strolling around Element City took action.

This group of Nirvana's Flame players puzzled all the forces. They gathered in Element City, doing nothing, as if they were waiting for something. In fact, under the cover of this group of Nirvana's Flame players, one arcane mage after another avoided the sight of the major forces and entered the teleportation array, teleporting to Molongduo Town, which was only about a thousand yards away from Demon Prison Town. Because there were only a few of them, only three or four hundred, their actions were very scattered and did not attract too much attention from Eternal Guild. These arcane mages posed no threat to them.

The people of Eternal Guild believed that as long as the main force of Nirvana's Flame was still here, nothing would happen.

After the group of arcane mages teleported to Molongduo Town, they entered the hotels opened by the NPCs one after another. They opened a few rooms and then went in, with about twenty people in each room.

Some people followed behind this group of arcane mages. They thought that this group of arcane mages was going to sneak attack a certain fortress of Eternal Guild, but they didn't expect that these arcane mages didn't leave Molongduo Town. Instead, they opened rooms in a hotel in Molongduo Town. What was going on? What did this group of arcane mages want to do?

No one could understand. What exactly was Crazy Thief Nie Yan up to!

They were all confused by Nie Yan, completely bewildered.

In a room in a hotel in Molongduo Town, more than twenty arcane mages gathered together. The leading arcane mage in the middle held a group teleportation scroll in his hand, chanting a spell. Brilliant light filled the entire room. After a moment, the more than twenty arcane mages suddenly disappeared from the spot, and the room was empty.

Happy New Year, everyone! I will be visiting relatives during the first, second, and third days of the Lunar New Year, so there will probably be one update. If there are unexpected circumstances and I can't update, please forgive me. After all, it's the New Year, and I definitely have to visit relatives and friends.