Chapter 1 After Traversing a Narrow Cave

After Nie Yan passed through a narrow cave, he entered a huge karst cave. It was incredibly spacious, with a ceiling fifty or sixty yards high. Boiling hot magma surged everywhere on the ground. Two tall lava monsters appeared in Nie Yan's view. These lava monsters were five or six yards tall, their bodies composed entirely of magma. They were extremely bulky, with hot magma constantly dripping from them, splashing onto the ground with a "badabada" sound.

They looked like miniature versions of the Lava Giants. Lava-type creatures were immune to fire-based magic, and their physical defense was also very high. Players usually used ice-based magic to attack them for better results. The lava monster's attack type was lava attack, which was neither magic nor physical, but also inflicted fire damage, making them very difficult to deal with.

Blazing Lava Monster: Level 80 Elite, HP 120000.

They were level 80 elites, and their health seemed very high. It was impossible for Nie Yan to kill these two Blazing Lava Monsters; he could only bypass them for now.

He looked at the surrounding terrain. There were ravines of lava on the ground, with molten rock flowing. The two Blazing Lava Monsters completely blocked Nie Yan's path, moving back and forth. Wherever they walked, they left behind a patch of fiery lava that burned for a long time without extinguishing.

Nie Yan glanced at the cave wall. The top of the cave was also covered with melted lava, sparks flying. Fortunately, a large number of yellow crystals had solidified on the edge of the cave wall, which should be passable.

He entered Stealth and groped towards that side. With a leap, he jumped over the flowing lava and used the skill on the Creeper Ring, clinging to the cave wall and climbing along it, slowly bypassing the two Blazing Lava Monsters.

Nie Yan’s Stealth was high, and the two Blazing Lava Monsters did not notice his presence, wandering around.

Suddenly, the Blazing Lava Monster closest to Nie Yan paused and looked in his direction.

Nie Yan quickly and carefully pressed himself against the wall, casting some state skills on himself to increase his Stealth.

The Blazing Lava Monster looked at Nie Yan's hiding place for a long time, then waved its right hand, and a stream of lava magma was flung towards his location.

Nie Yan's heart tightened. Had he been discovered?

He suddenly realized that the direction the lava was flung was wrong. He clung tightly to the wall, and with a bang, the lava struck about three yards away from him. Cracks appeared on the wall, and he was almost shaken off.

The Blazing Lava Monster's lava attack was truly terrifying.

It didn't find anything, turned its head, and resumed its wandering state.

Nie Yan continued to climb forward. The cracked cave wall was even more difficult to cling to than before. As he was moving forward, a piece of rock on the wall cracked and fell, hitting the ground with a "pata" sound, shattering into powder.

"Damn it!" Nie Yan thought depressingly, looking at the two Blazing Lava Monsters. He discovered that the Blazing Lava Monsters were indeed alarmed by the sound and pounced towards him.

Nie Yan could no longer care about anything else. He lunged forward, leaping down, landing steadily, and sprinting quickly into the distance.

The two Blazing Lava Monsters began to attack Nie Yan, raising their hands and sending streams of lava flying into the sky, covering the area where Nie Yan was located. There was a series of crackling sounds, sparks scattered and burst, and bursts of flames rose.

Seeing that he was about to be hit by a stream of lava, Nie Yan used Gale Step to dodge past it, running wildly.

The two Blazing Lava Monsters quickly chased after him. They swung their fists, slamming down on Nie Yan from different directions.

Seeing that Nie Yan was about to be hit, he stretched out his left hand and shot a spider silk, sticking to the rock wall in front of him. With a hard pull, his body flew up. Taking advantage of the Creeper Ring's effect, he clung to the wall and climbed quickly, then leaped out.

The two Blazing Lava Monsters missed their attacks. Their bodies collided heavily, and with a loud crash, the force of the impact knocked them out, and they fell to the ground.

Nie Yan took the opportunity to rush far away, shaking off both Blazing Lava Monsters.

This map was also being explored for the first time, so there were quite a few elite creatures. Nie Yan was carefully in Stealth, afraid of the slightest problem.

After traveling through the cave for more than an hour, bypassing one Blazing Lava Monster after another, Nie Yan had to marvel at how unfathomably deep this cave was.

Looking at the time, there were still about five hours left until the time agreed upon with Kuang Ao Zhan Qiang. His progress was still a bit slow, and he hadn't even found the target yet. Nie Yan still didn't know where Bennett's spirit was leading him.

Passing through a rugged and narrow passage, and looking ahead, everything suddenly opened up. This was a vast area of about 1000 by 1000 yards, with a ceiling about twenty yards high. It was covered in lava, and about twenty or thirty Blazing Lava Monsters roamed this area.

In the center of this area was a thirteen- or fourteen-yard-high platform, standing alone and abruptly. It was very flat on top, as if something had been placed there.

It would be difficult to bypass this group of Blazing Lava Monsters. They were active near the high platform, guarding it. If any creature approached, they would attack it as a group. According to normal thinking, Nie Yan might choose to hang down from the top of the cave wall. Unfortunately, the top of the cave wall was covered with flames, making it impossible to climb or stick spider silk. It was indeed a bit difficult for Nie Yan to reach that high platform.

Just as Nie Yan was thinking about a solution, he suddenly received a message from Guo Huai: Zhan Dao Shi Xue had a force of about 50,000 people, heading to the Ni Ren Tribe's Blackrock Fortress. The Ni Ren Tribe had a total of four fortresses, one Intermediate Fortress, Crypts, and three Primary Fortresses. Among the Primary Fortresses, the weakest in defense was the Blackrock Fortress. Although arrow towers had been built, there were very few NPC archers hired, and no large siege crossbows were equipped. The city walls and such were slightly inferior to other fortresses, and the credit point business district inside had not been fully developed.

Although the loss of the Blackrock Fortress would not fundamentally damage the Ni Ren Tribe, it was still a fortress after all! Moreover, if Zhan Dao Shi Xue captured the Blackrock Fortress, they would definitely take further steps to attack other fortresses of the Ni Ren Tribe. The Blackrock Fortress was just the first step.

"How did Zhan Dao Shi Xue get here?" Nie Yan asked Guo Huai in a private message.

"Most of the members are riding horses, about 50,000 people. They have been on the road for five hours. Several thousand people were teleported here, teleporting to the people of Zhan Dao Shi Xue in Carroll City. I asked the Temple of Kalan and the Holy Roman Empire to control them, so they can't leave the city easily." Guo Huai said. His handling was very timely and appropriate.

Riding a horse would take a long time, but it was the most economical way. And if all 50,000 people were teleported to Carroll City, they would definitely be blocked in the city by the Ni Ren Tribe and unable to get out.

Zhan Dao Shi Xue dared to cross the city with 50,000 people to attack the Ni Ren Tribe's fortress, they must have some reliance.

"What are the Mage Alliance and the Holy Guardian doing?" Nie Yan asked. He was most worried about these two guilds. In the previous few wars, the Mage Alliance and the Holy Guardian's strength had not been damaged at all, and they had developed well. If they also participated, the Ni Ren Tribe would be in big trouble.

"They each sent about a thousand elites to participate in the war. Angel Ascendant also came to join in the fun, about 500 people." Guo Huai said worriedly.

Hearing Guo Huai's words, Nie Yan suddenly became nervous. On the battlefield, the number of people was not the only thing that determined everything. Twenty elite players cooperating tacitly, bombarding with group attack magic, even thousands of ordinary players might not be able to resist. Angel Ascendant, Zhan Dao Shi Xue, and the Holy Guardian had all sent elites, so this matter was a bit troublesome.

"Is there any other news?" Nie Yan asked. He was silent for a moment. It seemed that this war was unavoidable. If the Ni Ren Tribe lost, it would definitely be greatly weakened. If Zhan Dao Shi Xue lost, the result waiting for Zhan Dao Shi Xue would likely be the disbandment of the guild. Neither guild could afford to lose, so both sides would definitely fight to the death.

"This is a video recorded by our people. Take a look at it." Guo Huai sent a video to Nie Yan.

Nie Yan found a hidden place and clicked on the video to watch it.

The video should have been recorded by a thief. The thief was observing outside the Zhan Dao Shi Xue team. Teams of Zhan Dao Shi Xue players passed by not far from him. After a while, a huge machine passed by on the plain. This huge machine was made of wood, and its whole body was covered with a hard iron shell. In the center, there was a long and thick wood, and the top was like a dipper, which could hold stones and other things. It was very exquisitely made.

When Nie Yan saw this huge machine, his expression changed drastically. In his previous life, he had not participated in siege warfare, but he had seen these big guys several times when he passed by the battlefield. This big guy's name was Ironclad Catapult!

There were many types of catapults, including ballistic catapults, ironclad catapults, etc. Ballistic catapults had a longer range and were most often used to siege cities. Ironclad catapults had a shorter range, but also had a range of over five or six hundred yards. They could simultaneously launch five or six burning iron balls. They were also quite powerful when attacking cities. When the two armies were facing each other, these ironclad catapults were simply killing machines. One launch could sweep away a large number of players.

In his previous life, Nie Yan had seen the shocking scene of hundreds of ironclad catapults firing tens of thousands of shots at the same time. After two rounds of bombardment, half of a level 6 reinforced city wall collapsed.

"What are those big guys?" Guo Huai asked. His knowledge was limited after all, but from the structure of this machine, he could guess that it should be a catapult. He didn't know how powerful it was.

"Ironclad catapults. How many such ironclad catapults do they have?" Nie Yan asked with a frown.

"I don't know yet, it shouldn't be many."

"Let the thief hundred-man squad find out exactly how many ironclad catapults they have!" Nie Yan said solemnly. This question must be clarified.