Chapter 1 Tightly Wound Nerves

The hearts of everyone in the Niuren (Amazing People) Tribe were pounding. Nie Yan was escorting black gunpowder with two thousand players. This was an incredibly important task, and they had to be extremely careful, leaving no room for error. Guo Huai’s intelligence network was operating at full capacity, and they would immediately report any movements from their rival guilds.

The Kalenna Temple and the Holy Roman Empire were keeping a close eye on Triumph Empire. From time to time, members of the Kalenna Temple or the Holy Roman Empire would appear near Triumph Empire’s fortress, leading to several clashes.

With Po Tian’s personality, he would never willingly be manipulated. He would occasionally send a small group of players out of the city to attack the people of the Kalenna Temple and the Holy Roman Empire.

With the Kalenna Temple and the Holy Roman Empire watching so closely, Triumph Empire simply couldn’t spare any manpower to intercept the Niuren Tribe’s black gunpowder convoy.

Guo Huai had the Niuren Tribe fully prepared. If the black gunpowder convoy came under attack, they would immediately summon their brothers to rescue Nie Yan. Of course, it would be best if they could get through unscathed.

*With two thousand people, there shouldn’t be any problems,* Guo Huai thought.

At this moment, six Shamans, all level 50 or higher and equipped with excellent gear, appeared in a hilly area. They moved through the forest; they were all First Advancement Shaman Priests.

Shamans were the most mysterious and troublesome class in the Orc Empire.

The primary class of the Human Empire was Mages, and the primary class of the Undead Empire was Necromancers. In the Orc Empire, it was undoubtedly these Shamans.

Shamans were divided into two types: Witch Doctor Shamans and Elemental Shamans. Learning Witch Doctor Shaman meant choosing healing, while learning Elemental Shaman meant possessing powerful elemental forces. The lightning symbols embroidered on the collars of these Shamans indicated their chosen path: Elemental Shaman! Elemental Shamans were skilled in elemental magic, but their healing abilities were relatively weak.

In addition to the power of healing and elemental forces, Shamans often learned more mysterious spells, such as totem magic and shadow magic. Elemental Shamans who had trained in the Priest Temple were usually very fierce. There were often unexpected spells in the Priest Temple.

Dozens of level 50 pythons gathered ahead. With a wave of an Elemental Shaman’s staff, a totem pole appeared on the ground next to him. It was about a yard tall and hung with two gray banners that fluttered in the wind. Powerful currents of electricity flowed over them.

After purchasing totem banners from the NPC store, Shaman Priests could imbue them with totem magic and plant them in the ground to achieve a powerful buffing effect, increasing the stats of all nearby teammates.

Several heavy syllables were uttered from the mouths of these Elemental Shamans. With a wave of their staffs, streaks of lightning shot out. These streaks of lightning struck a python, jumped to the next, and then jumped again.

Each streak of lightning jumped at least several times, and every python was hit by the electricity.

This was the Elemental Shaman's Chain Lightning. It wasn't a group attack spell, but it was better than one, capable of continuously attacking more than ten units.

After being hit by six Chain Lightnings in a row, all the pythons fell to the ground, their entire bodies scorched.

“I wonder how Leader Qing An and the others are doing in Carol City,” a slender Elemental Shaman said. His name was Yong Zhou, and he ranked third among all the Shamans in Angel Corps. This group of Elemental Shamans had all successfully completed their advancement together. There were six of them in total.

There were only six of them, so it was very easy to bypass the eyes of the Niuren Tribe in such a large map.

"Leader Qing An and the others are in Carol City, which is perfect for drawing the Niuren Tribe's attention. I really don't understand why Angel Corps is picking a fight with the Niuren Tribe when we're so far away and there's no conflict of interest,” Xue Lang said, somewhat puzzled. He was always very concerned about the guild's affairs.

"Leader Angel must have his own reasons. But the Niuren Tribe’s growth is indeed a bit too fast. Wasn't Zhan Dao Shixue (Warblade Bloodthirst) forced into a corner?” Yong Zhou said. These were things that those below them had no right to know.

"This operation involves members from Zhan Dao Shixue, the Mage Alliance, and Sacred Guardians. They're all top players, so everyone be careful. This time, we can only succeed, not fail!" Xue Lang said solemnly. This concerned the reputation of Angel Corps.

"We understand all of this."

"How long until the Niuren Tribe’s people arrive?"

"About ten more minutes."

"Everyone, prepare to begin! Maybe some Niuren Tribe Thieves will come. Let's find a hidden spot!"

The six Elemental Shamans found a flat area in the dense forest and stood in a hexagonal formation. They began chanting incantations, and streams of light formed on the ground, transforming into a magnificent hexagram array. The surrounding magical elements trembled violently, and gusts of wind howled past.

In the center of the hexagram array, a black portal appeared. After a while, the surrounding magical elements stabilized. One player after another emerged from the black portal.

The first to emerge from the portal was none other than the leader of Zhan Dao Shixue, Shixue Kuangdao (Bloodthirst Madblade). He wore a set of Dark Gold-grade Black Silver Armor, which reflected a dark luster in the sunlight.

One player after another walked out, all of them human players, and all of them had completed their advancement. They were all elite experts from Zhan Dao Shixue, the Mage Alliance, and Sacred Guardians, totaling fifty-three people. Including the six Elemental Shamans, there were a total of fifty-nine advanced class players.

The Mage Alliance and Sacred Guardians had been steadily developing, and the number of players they had who had completed their class advancement far exceeded that of the Niuren Tribe. This was only a portion of them. Currently, the entire Niuren Tribe only had a little over ten players who had completed their class advancement.

After a while, the dark portal trembled and vanished into the air. The six Elemental Shamans began to sit on the ground to recover their health and mana.

Shixue Kuangdao had a solemn expression on his face. He looked at an Elemental Mage next to him and said, "Count the number of people. Did everyone come?"

The Elemental Mage took a look and said, "Fifty-nine people in total, divided into three small teams. Twelve from our guild, twenty-five from the Mage Alliance, and sixteen from the Sacred Guardians. Everyone's here."

"Boss, we received news from below that most of the top players from the Niuren Tribe are doing advancement quests. There aren't many experts coming, including Nie Yan. Maybe five or six at most," a Holy Word Priest said.

"I want to thank the brothers from the Mage Alliance and Sacred Guardians for coming to help with this operation," Shixue Kuangdao said to the players from the Mage Alliance and Sacred Guardians beside him.

"You're too kind, Leader Kuangdao."

"Yeah, the Niuren Tribe is too arrogant. We couldn't stand them for a long time. Our boss told us to listen to Leader Kuangdao. If Leader Kuangdao needs anything, just say it."

The players from the Mage Alliance and Sacred Guardians echoed in agreement.

"I won't stand on ceremony with everyone. There are almost two thousand Niuren Tribe players coming this way, escorting a batch of black gunpowder. Our mission today is to slaughter this group of people. Kill as many as we can, but we must destroy the black gunpowder. The Niuren Tribe will definitely send people to support them. We only have fifteen minutes. After fifteen minutes, no matter how the battle goes, we'll retreat immediately!" Shixue Kuangdao said, looking around. These players had top-notch awareness and equipment. Even without his command, they could do a great job.

"They have more people, so we'll try to coordinate and bombard them with group attack magic. It's just a small matter. Back then, the six of us directly subdued a guild of five thousand people," an Elemental Mage said proudly.

"Today's operation is just the beginning. In the future, there will be many more places where we'll need everyone's help. In a few days, we'll start attacking the Niuren Tribe's fortress and gradually devour it. Let's see how they can gain a foothold in Carol City!" Shixue Kuangdao said viciously. Zhan Dao Shixue had been under a lot of pressure recently, and their numbers had drastically decreased. Since the Niuren Tribe had declared that they would never rest until one of them was dead, they had no choice but to take a gamble. As for the Kalenna Temple and the Holy Roman Empire, he could contact Triumph Empire and Holy Light Flame to at least offset some of the pressure.

Under Shixue Kuangdao's arrangements, this group of players split into three groups and ambushed themselves in the nearby jungle.

Nie Yan led the Niuren Tribe players through a hilly area, looking around. The terrain here was complex, with dense jungles stretching up and down, and lush foliage, making it ideal for hiding.

Traveling through the plains earlier had been relatively safe. Once they entered the forest, the risk factor increased sharply.

Nie Yan was very worried about the black gunpowder being transported behind them. If it was hit by fire magic, the consequences would be severe. Therefore, he had arranged for most of the Warriors and Paladins to be near the black gunpowder. He and a few stronger players were also nearby, ready to respond to any unexpected situations.

"Paladins, use protective magic on the black gunpowder! Nothing can happen to this black gunpowder!" Nie Yan turned to the Paladins and said. This black gunpowder was too important for the Niuren Tribe.

"Leader Nie Yan, should we send some Thieves ahead to scout the way?" Knight's Elegy asked. It would be safer that way.

"Send two hundred Thieves to do a carpet search! If you encounter any suspicious people, persuade them to leave. If they refuse to leave, you can use force!" Nie Yan said. The Niuren Tribe also had to show the momentum of being the number one guild in Carol City.

In the previous timeline, Triumph Empire ran rampant in Carol City, and some players complained about them, but they were still as strong as ever. As long as a guild was strong enough, they didn't have to worry about anyone joining. It was inevitable to offend some players when doing things.

After Nie Yan gave the order, Knight's Elegy carried it out, selecting more than two hundred Thieves who were good at searching and stealth. One by one, the Thieves entered the jungle and disappeared from their sight, cloaked in stealth.