Chapter 1 A Patch of Open Ground

The open space was approximately 300 by 300 yards, with an uneven surface. White tents were densely packed on both sides. Every one or two minutes, two or three squads of Bloodshadow Warriors would pass by. Each squad consisted of about thirty to forty Bloodshadow Warriors. To traverse this open ground, Nie Yan needed to evade these patrolling Bloodshadow Warriors. Furthermore, he couldn't trigger the Bloodshadow Totems in the open space.

Nie Yan surveyed the tents near the open ground. In the distance, he could vaguely make out Bloodshadow Warriors everywhere. In some areas, one or two bonfires had been lit, and they were gathered around them, seemingly celebrating something.

Nie Yan prowled around the vicinity for a while. The only way to enter the heart of the Bloodshadow Legion's encampment was by crossing this open ground. He had no other choice.

Six Bloodshadow Totems were scattered across the ground. He needed to detonate them all before he could pass through.

He pondered for a moment. It would be fantastic if he could dismantle one or two Bloodshadow Totems. These Bloodshadow Totems could be dismantled, and after dismantling them, they would turn into special items, like scrolls, that could only be used once. However, dismantling these Bloodshadow Totems was a bit troublesome. A slight misstep would trigger them. In his previous life, the official website had showcased the dismantling method for Bloodshadow Totems. At the time, many people found it quite astonishing. Many people tried it, but very few managed to obtain a Bloodshadow Totem. More than 95 percent of them were killed by the Bloodshadow Totems.

That method was indeed effective.

Nie Yan wasn't sure if he could successfully dismantle these Bloodshadow Totems. If he failed, these Bloodshadow Totems would explode. The Bloodshadow Totems were quite useful. If he could have a few more Bloodshadow Totems in his bag, they could come in handy in certain situations.

Regardless, he decided to try the method first. Nie Yan slowly crept towards one of the Bloodshadow Totems.

He stopped about fifteen or sixteen yards away from the Bloodshadow Totem. If he got any closer, the Bloodshadow Totem would be triggered.

Nie Yan took out the Headless Horseman Doro's Mounted Archery Crossbow and loaded it with an arrow. He didn't need to fire multiple shots at this time; one arrow would suffice. Nie Yan aimed the mounted archery crossbow at the Bloodshadow Totem in the distance. He carefully examined the Bloodshadow Totem. The totem pole was about a yard high and as thick as an arm. The upper half had a crossbar, forming a crucifix shape. A small, brightly colored red flag hung from the crossbar. Some mechanisms were arranged on the wooden pole, and there was a deep hole in the middle section.

Nie Yan held the mounted archery crossbow steady and aimed at the hole on the Bloodshadow Totem. Hitting a finger-sized hole from a distance of fifteen or sixteen yards was extremely difficult. It was a challenge for Nie Yan, but it wouldn't hurt to try. At such a distance, he was confident he could dodge the explosion of the Bloodshadow Totem.

Nie Yan aimed at the hole on the Bloodshadow Totem and pulled the trigger. With a whoosh, the arrow streaked through the air in a straight line. With a dull thud, the arrow plunged straight in, hitting the hole on the totem pole and jamming the mechanism of the Bloodshadow Totem. This prevented the Bloodshadow Totem from detonating.

Success!

Nie Yan walked over and picked up the Bloodshadow Totem. The Bloodshadow Totem hadn't been triggered. He looked at the attributes of the Bloodshadow Totem.

Bloodshadow Totem: Special item, Totem item.

Item Description: Place this item on the ground, set the mechanism, and once a creature enters the detonation range, the item will automatically detonate, causing corrosion damage and shadow damage.

Attributes: Attack damage 15,000, attack range is a 30-yard radius centered on the totem pole, ineffective against metal armor, can be dismantled, detonation range is a 15-yard radius centered on the totem pole. This item can only be used once and is ineffective against the Bloodshadow Legion.

This Bloodshadow Totem was a very high-level totem. After all, it was obtained in a Level 90 map, so its grade was very high, and its damage was also considerable. Generally, the attack damage of trigger-type items was very high because they could only be triggered passively and could not attack actively.

Bloodshadow Totems, if used well, were also powerful destructive weapons, like the Thunderstorm Totems in the Battle of Cripps Fortress before.

Having successfully dismantled one Bloodshadow Totem, Nie Yan slowly crept towards the second Bloodshadow Totem, continuing to use the mounted archery crossbow in his hand to aim at the hole on the Bloodshadow Totem in the distance. The target was really a bit small. Nie Yan's eyesight couldn't reach such a distance. His vision was a little blurry. He pulled the trigger. The arrow flew out and struck the totem pole of the Bloodshadow Totem with a thud, failing to hit the hole.

The surrounding air suddenly became agitated. Almost the instant Nie Yan's arrow struck the Bloodshadow Totem, the Bloodshadow Totem exploded with a bang, and a wave of bloody light surged toward him.

Realizing his mistake, Nie Yan quickly ran like mad to get out of the attack range of the totem pole. Just as the bloody light was about to sweep across his body, he activated Gale Step, using the three seconds of invincibility at the start of Gale Step to block the explosion of the Bloodshadow Totem.

Nie Yan's figure flashed past, and he quickly rushed out.

Failed!

There were a total of six Bloodshadow Totem poles, which refreshed only once every two days. Nie Yan wouldn't come here often to collect totem poles. Each failure meant one less totem pole.

The detonation of the Bloodshadow Totem attracted three squads of Bloodshadow Warriors, who began searching in all directions, centered on the totem pole.

Nie Yan went into stealth, carefully dodging these Bloodshadow Warriors. With his concealment ability, it shouldn't be a problem to evade the pursuit of these Bloodshadow Warriors.

With so many skills at his disposal, Nie Yan was also quite skilled and bold, not at all afraid of these Level 90 Bloodshadow Warriors.

Six Bloodshadow Warriors passed by Nie Yan, only five or six yards away from him. Suddenly, two Bloodshadow Warriors stopped in their tracks. They paused. They looked around, but it was empty, and there were no traces of anything. The eyes of these two Bloodshadow Warriors suddenly underwent a strange change. Their pupils became completely red, like flames burning, emitting a bright red light.

Bloodshadow Eyes!

As their gazes swept across, Nie Yan's figure slowly became visible.

Damn it, they have Eye skills!

Not all Bloodshadow Warriors had the Bloodshadow Eyes skill. Only a small portion of Bloodshadow Warriors possessed Bloodshadow Eyes. Nie Yan's luck seemed to be not so good.

The instant he was discovered, Nie Yan dashed away into the distance. The Bloodshadow Warriors followed closely behind him. He used a high-level flash dust produced by Starry Sky Groceries. With a bang, blinding light exploded. Nie Yan disappeared and escaped the sight of these Bloodshadow Warriors, hiding in the corner of a tent.

It took a long time for these Bloodshadow Warriors to recover their vision. They searched the vicinity for a while and, finding no trace of Nie Yan, could only give up and gradually disperse.

After the Bloodshadow Warriors had gone far away, Nie Yan dared to come out of the corner and continue to collect the Bloodshadow Totems on the ground. Out of the six Bloodshadow Totems, he failed three times and collected a total of three Bloodshadow Totems. He put these Bloodshadow Totems into his bag, to be used later.

With no Bloodshadow Totems on this open ground, the path suddenly became much wider. He moved forward in stealth. Because Nie Yan had made such a big commotion, the Bloodshadow Warriors patrolling in this area had become more numerous. Squads of Bloodshadow Warriors passed by from time to time.

The Bloodshadow Warriors were too densely packed, making it much more difficult for Nie Yan to dodge.

Gradually, he was about to leave the open ground when eight Bloodshadow Warriors walked towards him, carefully searching and blocking Nie Yan's path.

Seeing these Bloodshadow Warriors coming towards him, Nie Yan frowned. This time, he was afraid there was no way to avoid them.

There were at least a hundred Bloodshadow Warriors in this vicinity. Once they discovered Nie Yan, they would not hesitate to surround him and hack him into pieces. Level 90 monsters! Even a one-on-one fight would be a bit difficult for Nie Yan, let alone so many monsters gathered together!

They slowly approached within seven yards of Nie Yan. At this moment, the group of Bloodshadow Warriors suddenly became alert. One Bloodshadow Warrior activated Bloodshadow Eyes, focusing his gaze on the area where Nie Yan was located.

The Bloodshadow Warrior discovered Nie Yan and immediately let out a sharp cry. The piercing sound spread, and upon hearing this cry, the surrounding hundreds of Bloodshadow Warriors surrounded the direction where Nie Yan was located, completely surrounding Nie Yan and completely blocking Nie Yan's path.

Charge!

A Bloodshadow Warrior waved the greatsword in his hand and charged towards Nie Yan. The surrounding hordes of Bloodshadow Warriors followed closely behind.

Now he was completely surrounded. There was no escape. Having come this far, Nie Yan wouldn't use a random teleport scroll to escape unless absolutely necessary.

The Bloodshadow Warrior closest to Nie Yan had already lunged forward. He swung his greatsword and slashed down. Nie Yan glanced at the skill bar and quickly retreated, just as the Bloodshadow Warrior's greatsword slashed past his body.

-2203!

Such high damage! Nie Yan was shocked. Faced with such a group of Bloodshadow Warriors, he didn't dare to confront them head-on at all.

These Bloodshadow Warriors were Level 90 monsters, much higher level than Nie Yan, and their attacks did extremely high damage to Nie Yan's armor.

The aggro of these Bloodshadow Warriors was all focused on Nie Yan. Just as they were about to come up and gank Nie Yan, he quickly used the skill on the Pendant of False Death, his body fell backward, and with a bang, he slammed onto the ground, concealing all signs of life, like a corpse.

Nie Yan's sudden death stunned the group of Bloodshadow Warriors. They prowled around Nie Yan for a moment. The moment Nie Yan activated the False Death skill, the Bloodshadow Warriors' aggro towards Nie Yan was completely dispelled.

After activating False Death, Nie Yan was also very nervous. He was surrounded by Bloodshadow Warriors. If they pounced on him and attacked, it would be dangerous. He was ready to use a random teleport scroll to escape at any moment.

Several Bloodshadow Warriors sniffed around Nie Yan, chattering something to each other. The hundreds of Bloodshadow Warriors surrounding Nie Yan gradually dispersed.