Chapter 1 The Arrival

Nie Yan asked Tang Yao to go to Teso Yi Town to buy at least 200 gold coins worth of fragmentation magic bombs, just in case. Although it was a bit wasteful, it was unavoidable. At this moment, a group of players entered from outside the headquarters of the Niuren Tribe guild. They were all wearing the most ordinary decorative clothing, led by Shui Se Yantou, with several familiar figures beside him: Leng Feng Jue Jian, Mu En, and the Lord of Reincarnation. A large group of about two hundred people, basically all the elite backbones of the Kuye Studio, had arrived.

Unlike the arrogance they displayed the first time they came to the Niuren Tribe, the people from Kuye Studio now looked a bit down on their luck.

Shui Se Yantou walked towards Nie Yan.

"Why are you in such a mess?" Nie Yan asked. The current Shui Se Yantou was a bit different from how he used to be. He had lost his equipment, but there was a bit more freedom and confidence between his brows.

"The Tuoba family decided to have Kuye Studio join the Triumphant Empire, so we withdrew from Kuye Studio. The equipment was taken back by Kuye Studio. These brothers all came out with me," Shui Se Yantou said with a wry smile.

Tuoba Shi also walked up. He was very surprised when he saw Shui Se's appearance.

"What happened?" Tuoba Shi asked in confusion, still unaware of what had happened.

Shui Se Yantou explained the whole story.

When Tuoba Shi heard that the Tuoba family was cooperating with the Triumphant Empire, and that Tuoba Hongye had demanded compensation from Shui Se Yantou after he withdrew from the studio, he was furious and said angrily, "They've gone too far. I'll ask them about it." Shui Se Yantou had worked so hard for the Tuoba family over the years, earning them so much money, yet Tuoba Hongye actually made Shui Se Yantou leave with nothing. He had gone too far.

Shui Se Yantou dissuaded him, "Forget it, I've already withdrawn from Kuye Studio anyway." Within the Tuoba family, the only one who got along with Shui Se Yantou was Tuoba Shi. Shui Se Yantou turned to Nie Yan and smiled, "All of us here have lost our equipment. The Niuren Tribe wouldn't refuse to take us in, would you?"

"How could we? There's plenty of equipment in the guild warehouse for you to choose from. Regaining your freedom is actually a blessing in disguise. Money can be earned again. These brothers from Kuye Studio are all skilled. What's there to be afraid of? The Niuren Tribe is your strong backing. We will never mistreat our own brothers," Nie Yan said solemnly. Shui Se Yantou and the others withdrawing from Kuye Studio proved that their hearts were already with the Niuren Tribe. How could he not accept them?

"Thanks, brother!" Shui Se Yantou said with a touch of emotion. Everything was understood without words.

"Tuoba, tell me about your family's situation," Nie Yan said. Tuoba Shi didn't seem to like the current family head, Tuoba Hongye, so he asked.

Tuoba Shi thought for a moment and said, "The Tuoba family is actually divided into several factions, each holding some shares. Tuoba Hongye is one faction, controlling about 26% of the shares. Tuoba Fengyuan is another faction, controlling about 22% of the shares. The two factions are constantly fighting to the death. In addition, the vast majority of the shares are scattered among various family members. For example, I hold about 15% of the shares, and others generally don't exceed 10%. Currently, Tuoba Hongye temporarily holds the power because most of the family members who own shares are from his faction. I belong to the neutral side." Tuoba Shi only gave a rough overview. The situation within such a large family couldn't be explained in just a few words.

Nie Yan nodded. No wonder Tuoba Shi could maintain such a detached position, free from family disputes, often wandering outside, killing monsters and leveling up. Otherwise, how could he be so leisurely?

"So this matter has nothing to do with me. You can't blame me," Tuoba Shi said with a smile, still acting as if he was uninvolved, except for feeling unfair for Shui Se Yantou.

Nie Yan looked at Tuoba Shi. Was Tuoba Shi really the kind of person who didn't think about making progress? Probably not. His laziness was probably just a temporary expedient. Holding 15% of the shares, leaning towards one side would be a fatal blow to the other side. But with only 15% of the shares, it certainly wouldn't be enough to compete for family control. But if he stood by and watched, neither side would dare to offend him. Instead, they would offer various generous conditions to win him over. This was Tuoba Shi's wisdom.

Nie Yan wasn't clear about the situation within the Tuoba family, but based on his understanding of Tuoba Shi, he intuitively felt that the final victor might not be Tuoba Hongye or Tuoba Fengyuan. Tuoba Shi was silently accumulating strength!

It seemed that the Tuoba family's affairs still needed further investigation before a judgment could be made. The Tuoba family's cooperation with Cao Xu's Century Consortium would be a great threat to Nie Yan. He had to find a way to remove this nail in the coffin.

Cao Xu's Century Consortium, five super guilds including the Triumphant Empire, and the Tuoba family - these forces twisted together were truly a daunting behemoth.

Kuye Studio was dismantled, and Shui Se Yantou led a large group of people to join the Niuren Tribe. These people were all elites from Kuye Studio! As long as their equipment was restored, their strength could return to its original level, which would be of great benefit to the Niuren Tribe's overall strength.

"Settle down in the Niuren Tribe. If you need anything, just ask," Nie Yan said to Shui Se Yantou and the others. After joining the guild, Shui Se Yantou and the others could still work as professional players.

Shui Se Yantou nodded and said confidently, "Give me ten days, and I can restore these brothers' equipment to its original level!"

After re-adding Shui Se Yantou and the others to the Niuren Tribe, Nie Yan asked Guo Huai and the others to arrange things, prioritizing Shui Se Yantou and the others with the best equipment in the Niuren Tribe guild warehouse. With equipment, they could go to dungeons to get even better equipment.

"We have a guild event, so we'll take our leave first. Contact us if you need anything," Nie Yan said to Shui Se Yantou and the others. Before Shui Se Yantou and the others' equipment was upgraded, they couldn't participate in guild events, which was a shame.

Shui Se Yantou nodded. What he needed to do now was to upgrade the equipment of his members. Otherwise, without equipment, they would be unable to move an inch, let alone participate in the Niuren Tribe's guild events.

After saying goodbye to Shui Se Yantou, Leng Feng Jue Jian, and the others, Nie Yan led his team towards the Eternal City.

In the distant Eternal City, although Nie Yan and the others had cleared the mechanical puppets on the streets of the Eternal City time and time again, the mechanical puppets here had respawned, densely packed everywhere.

This group of six hundred players entered the Eternal City and began to grind monsters in an orderly manner.

Radiant Sword Light and a group of warriors stood in front, attracting the mechanical puppets. The attack magic behind them drew arcs in the sky, whistling towards the front, constantly exploding on the mechanical puppets. Damage numbers floated up from the heads of these mechanical puppets.

These magic-type professional players could deal about fifty or sixty points of damage to the mechanical puppets. But under such intense bombardment, the monster-grinding progress was still very fast.

The corpses of mechanical puppets were scattered all over the ground.

Nie Yan's target wasn't these ordinary mechanical puppets, but the inner city of the Eternal City!

"If anyone dies, quickly run back with your corpse. The graveyard is on the south side of the Eternal City, about six or seven thousand yards away. It'll take about ten minutes to run back. Remember the coordinates, and don't get lost while running," Nie Yan said to the players below.

The players below responded in unison.

Everyone here was on the same side, so there was no need to worry about losing equipment, but the experience penalty after dying was still very heavy. Fortunately, with so many people cooperating and supporting each other, dealing with monsters below the elite level, as long as there were no major mistakes, these members shouldn't suffer any casualties.

Nie Yan led the players through the winding streets. This was a shortcut to the inner city of the Eternal City. If they went through the main gate in the normal way, it would take at least five or six hours. But going around here would only take up to twenty minutes.

Tang Yao sprayed out a series of spells and asked, "Where are we going?" He had a poor sense of direction and was getting dizzy.

"Of course, it's the inner city of the Eternal City. There might be lord-level monsters, so everyone should be mentally prepared and pay attention to cooperation," Nie Yan said. If they weren't careful when encountering lord-level monsters, they could still be wiped out.

At this moment, a few rogues who were exploring the way ahead reported back that eight elites had appeared ahead.

Nie Yan went to the front of the team and looked forward. Ahead was a relatively open small square, with eight tall mechanical puppets moving around. They were five yards tall, covered in azure metal armor, and wandered around with heavy steps.

Nie Yan slowly crept up and cast a Super Identification.

Energy Puppet: Level 40 Elite, HP 12000/12000.

It was an energy machine, a relatively high-level unit among mechanical units, with considerable combat power. Moreover, Nie Yan remembered that the energy puppets in the Eternal City had a stun effect, which could cause all units around them to fall into a state of dizziness, making them extremely powerful.

"Dao Guang, you're responsible for the three on the right. Yi Yan, you're responsible for the two on the left. The other warriors assist them..." Nie Yan issued a series of instructions. The thirty twenty-man teams began to enter the square. The mages scattered in all directions, spreading out, and then found their respective suitable attack angles. The warriors vaguely surrounded the energy puppets. As soon as Nie Yan gave an order, they would charge up.

Under Nie Yan's coordination, the teams entered their designated locations one by one.

Even Radiant Sword Light, Daidou Dage Qi Zai, and a group of veteran players had to admire Nie Yan's clear thinking.

This was the first time these members had participated in a guild event, so the scene was still a bit chaotic, but after all, they were elites among players and had a strong ability to adapt. They were already doing very well. After they had worked together for a while and participated in a few more guild events, they would definitely become more tacit.