Chapter 1 The Black Elf Tribe

This dark elf tribe was quite prosperous. The streets were filled with patrolling dark elf guards, each team numbering over a hundred. They were fully armed, wielding various weapons. There were mages, thieves, warriors, and more, with clearly defined professions.

Nie Yan's gaze swept across the faces of these dark elves. Their appearance was somewhat similar to ordinary white elves, but they didn't have the white elves' fair skin. Their greyish-black skin was dull and lifeless, and their leather armor was emblazoned with a black moon symbol.

In the history of the faith, dark elves were a group of betrayers. They abandoned the faith of the Moon Goddess and became servants of demons. In the war for the Tree of Life, the dark elves were driven out, their numbers sharply reduced. Some fled underground, while others were left behind on the Atlantean continent, constantly hunted down by the white elf tribes.

Nie Yan silently evaded these patrolling dark elves, weaving through the low, dilapidated houses.

In the distance, a plaza came into view. A tall figure was pacing back and forth, likely a Boss-level creature.

It was far away, and Nie Yan had difficulty making out its appearance. The fellow was five or six yards tall, and he could vaguely see a pair of wings on its back constantly flapping. The ground trembled intermittently as it moved.

Nie Yan's heart skipped a beat. A demon!

Thanks to the efforts of various NPCs in the Greenland Empire and the Saturn Empire, demons were now rarely seen on the Atlantean continent.

There were many types of demons. High-level demons were existences that could rival archangels. They possessed extremely high intelligence. If a high-level demon appeared, the entire Atlantean continent would be thrown into panic. Even legendary-level NPCs would find it difficult to contend with high-level demons. That demon over there, however, should be a low-level servant.

*Let's go take a look first,* Nie Yan thought, his figure flitting past. He reached the edge of the plaza, about a hundred yards from the demon. He finally saw the demon's appearance clearly.

The demon before him had blood-red skin, the surface of which was covered in a thin layer of flame. Its face was狰狞 kěbù (hideous and terrifying), and a pair of huge fleshy wings slowly flapped behind it. Its arms hung down like a monkey's, and it occasionally took a few steps, sometimes lifting its feet off the ground and floating in the air. In its right hand, it held a giant sword, burning with green flames.

Seeming to sense something, the demon looked around.

Nie Yan suppressed his breathing, using the buildings in the plaza as cover, and slowly approached, casting an Identify spell on the demon.

Demon Ravager: Demonized Lord, Level 120.

It was a Demonized Lord!

Nie Yan's heart slowly sank. The current players might not truly understand how strong a Demonized Lord was, but he understood it very well. The areas where Demonized Lords were active were generally forbidden zones for players.

Even if Tang Yao, Xie Yao, and the others were all called over to form a large team of a thousand people, they might not be able to defeat a level 130 Demonized Lord. With Brilliant Swordlight's defense, he might still have some strength to spare against a mutated level 130 Lord, but against a Demonized Lord, he would only be courting death.

Although he was far away, Nie Yan could still clearly feel the scorching heat radiating from the Demon Ravager. A powerful, chilling aura rushed towards him. Demons were spreaders of fear and plague.

Nie Yan noticed that the Demon Ravager was constantly pacing around the edge of a high platform in the center of the plaza. Judging by the shape, it should be an altar.

That should be where the treasure was hidden.

"Tianyan, what's the situation?" Sanjie Buliu asked with concern, seeing that Nie Yan hadn't responded for a long time.

Nie Yan shook his head with a wry smile and said, "We can basically give up."

"Why?" The team members were all a little puzzled by Nie Yan's words. They had spent an entire month to finally get here. Why were they going back before they even found the treasure?

"Next to the altar we're looking for, there's a level 130 Demonized Lord. Do you still have the confidence to retrieve the treasure?"

Hearing Nie Yan's words, everyone was stunned for a moment. They had heard of Demonized Lords before, but they had never seen one. They were said to be extremely powerful, but they didn't know exactly how strong. To them, a level 130 Lord was already an unattainable existence, let alone a Demonized Lord.

"How strong is a Demonized Lord?"

"Even if there were dozens of ordinary Lords, they would still have to run away when they encountered a Demonized Lord of the same level," Nie Yan said. He could only give a rough estimate. He had never killed a Demonized Lord before. In his previous life, he would generally avoid these guys. If he didn't run fast enough, he would be instantly killed.

He had heard that the Triumph Empire had sent a team of over five hundred top elites above level 100. They had wiped out five times before finally killing a level 60 Demonized Lord. They had obtained a level 60 divine weapon, which was stronger than a level 100 legendary item. At the time, it was considered a sensational news story.

A level 130 Demonized Lord could even take down a fortress.

"Is there no other way? Can we lure it away?" Su Youwei asked in the team chat.

"If anyone can survive for five minutes without getting killed while being chased by a level 130 Demon Lord, I'll become their disciple," Nie Yan said in the team chat.

"Can't you do it either?" Su Youwei asked doubtfully. Ever since Nie Yan had soloed a level 180 elite, she had developed a feeling that Nie Yan was omnipotent.

"No. Even if I can hold on for five minutes, can you guarantee that you can open the altar within five minutes? Even if we get the thing, I estimate that we'll definitely be chased by the Demonized Lord. If we get killed, it'll still take it back," Nie Yan said. He estimated that he could survive for three or four minutes without being killed while being chased by a level 130 Demonized Lord, which was already his limit. The players' footprints hadn't yet reached this plaza. If they found out that there was a Demonized Lord in the center of the dark elf tribe, they would probably quickly classify this place as a forbidden zone.

They weren't very clear about the location of the treasure and the steps required to open it. If they didn't open the treasure after five minutes, then Nie Yan would have died in vain. Moreover, they hadn't investigated the situation on the altar. Generally, Demonized Lords possessed extremely high intelligence. If they lured it away once, the Demonized Lord would be on guard the next time, and it would be difficult to lure it away using the same method again.

Everyone fell silent, a deep sense of frustration pervading their hearts. The Demonized Lord was like a lingering shadow.

Nie Yan retreated, walked out of the dark elf tribe, and met with Su Youwei, Sanjie Buliu, and the others.

"Let's think of a way later. We'll contact each other when we come up with a solution," Nie Yan said. This encounter with the level 130 Demonized Lord made him deeply realize that his strength was still far from enough. Since there were so many powerful creatures in *Faith*, it proved that there was still a lot of room for players' levels and strength to improve.

Sanjie Buliu, Su Youwei, and the others remained silent. With Nie Yan's joining, they thought they had a chance to open the treasure, but in the end, it was all for nothing. They really couldn't think of any way to take down a level 130 Demonized Lord.

"Forget it, if it doesn't work this time, we'll come back next time," Sanjie Buliu said with a hearty laugh. He was able to take things in stride.

Nie Yan smiled and patted Sanjie Buliu on the shoulder. He quite admired Sanjie Buliu as a person.

"What are your plans next?" Su Youwei asked, seeing that Nie Yan seemed to want to leave. "Are you interested in leveling up together?"

"I still have to do a quest," Nie Yan said, tactfully declining Su Youwei's invitation.

Everyone sighed with emotion. They and Nie Yan were not on the same level after all, and they understood that this was just a pipe dream. Nie Yan was destined to become a legend, while they were just some of the most ordinary players.

Just as everyone was preparing to disband, a team of players numbering over a thousand was coming towards them from the direction of the jungle. At the front were thirty or forty shield warriors wearing full sets of metal armor. There were all kinds of professions behind them, and the formation was very orderly.

Nie Yan's gaze focused on this group of players. His eyesight was still quite good. After sweeping his gaze across these people, he knew the level of their equipment. In the Greenland Empire, probably only the Niu Ren Tribe could put together such a team.

"It's Angel Corps," Sanjie Buliu said softly.

"They're probably here to explore."

*It's Angel Corps. No wonder,* Nie Yan thought. These people all looked very unfamiliar. Lie Yan and the others weren't here.

Seeing Nie Yan, Sanjie Buliu, and the others, more than a dozen people immediately ran towards them.

[System Announcement: Angel Corps is clearing the area. Unrelated players, please leave.]

"Let's go," Sanjie Buliu said in the team chat. He seemed very cautious. Angel Corps was a large and powerful guild, and they couldn't afford to provoke them.

Su Youwei frowned slightly. She didn't have a good impression of the people from Angel Corps, but she also understood that it was best not to cause trouble at this time.

Nie Yan followed behind Sanjie Buliu and the others. It wasn't his style to quietly leave like this when he encountered the people from Angel Corps, but thinking about it, Sanjie Buliu and the others were unrelated after all. He would leave with them first, and then come back later.

The dozen or so warriors quickly surrounded them, trapping Nie Yan, Sanjie Buliu, and the others inside.

"Oh, it's Youwei. I didn't expect to run into you here." Among the many Angel Corps warriors, a shield warrior's gaze locked onto Su Youwei in the center of the crowd. That guy was around thirty years old and looked a bit sleazy.

Nie Yan cast a Super Identify spell on the guy. His name was Dabai Sha (Great White Shark). He had a bit of an impression. There seemed to be such a person in Angel Corps, one of the top five shield warriors.

"Do you know him?" Nie Yan glanced at Su Youwei next to him and asked.

"A scumbag. We used to team up together," Su Youwei said with a look of disgust.