Chapter 1 The Seeds of Distrust

Nie Yan had already planted the seeds of distrust. If a few more incidents occurred, it was likely that Se Lang Hei Niu wouldn't be able to stay in Angel Corps.

"What kind of person is that Se Lang Hei Niu?" Nie Yan asked Ji Feng in a private chat.

"I can't really say. He has a fiery temper and has offended quite a few people, but he's also quite loyal and has a lot of good brothers in the guild. It might be difficult to frame others, but the chances of successfully framing him are quite high," Ji Feng said.

After hearing Ji Feng talk about things related to Se Lang Hei Niu, Nie Yan had a general understanding of him. Se Lang Hei Niu was a guy without much guile and was quite frank with people. However, his words often caused trouble. Many times, Se Lang Hei Niu's unintentional words could offend people.

"It's a pity he's from Angel Corps, not Asskickers United." Nie Yan smiled. With Se Lang Hei Niu's personality, he would probably find many like-minded people in Asskickers United.

"If we force him out of Angel Corps, Nirvana Flame might be able to recruit him."

"That's a good suggestion," Nie Yan said. Since Se Lang Hei Niu could get into the Angel Corps elite group, his skills must be pretty good.

After Nie Yan finished intercepting the Angel Corps elite group, he prepared to head to Klen Town in the Orc Empire.

After arriving here, Nie Yan received a quest prompt, which was the Song of the Thorns quest.

System: If you want to obtain news about Paternostre, please go to Klen Town. The old orc blacksmith Kulu might know something.

After receiving this system prompt, Nie Yan prepared to go to Klen Town to explore the Song of the Thorns quest. If he could complete it, he would be able to obtain the Heart of the Assassin. Although he didn't know what it was for, Nie Yan realized that both the Heart of the Sage and the Heart of the Assassin would have a very large impact on the future.

Although Nie Yan had already firmly occupied the top spot and no one could defeat him, it was hard to say what the future would hold. Players would definitely obtain stronger equipment. New talents would emerge in every generation. If he wanted to maintain his undefeated myth, he had to constantly improve.

Nie Yan's temporary goals were to collect the Abak Set, collect the eighth character state to unlock the seal on the Zennarde's Sword, and complete the Heart of the Assassin quest. After completing these, no one should be his opponent in the short term.

When Nie Yan headed to Klen Town, Angel Corps had strengthened its defenses, ready to prevent Nie Yan from ambushing them again at any time. This large-scale action not only failed to show the players the power of Angel Corps, but instead made them feel the weakness of Angel Corps even more directly. They couldn't even deal with a thief. But thinking about it, it made sense. Nie Yan couldn't be measured as an ordinary person. He was a terrifying, heaven-defying thief!

Klen Town was a somewhat dilapidated town located in the southern mountains of the Orc Empire. It was difficult for anyone to say its exact location. It was said that even the map didn't clearly mark it.

It was shrouded in mountain mist all year round. If it weren't for the teleportation array connecting it, it would be difficult for ordinary players to find it.

Rows of houses in the town were mostly empty. It was said that most of the residents had already left here and gone to the Orc Empire. Only some old and frail NPCs remained.

Nie Yan searched the town and walked to a blacksmith shop based on the coordinates provided by the system.

An old NPC was hunched over, hammering iron in front of the furnace. Nie Yan cast a detection spell on the NPC, and it was indeed Kulu.

The old blacksmith glanced at Nie Yan and seemed a little nervous. He walked over cautiously.

"Greetings, Great Prophet Nirvana Flame." Kulu bowed respectfully.

"Hello, Mr. Kulu. I came here to ask you about something, about the Paternostre Hammer."

"This, I don't know anything about it." Kulu hesitated and said, his expression a little erratic.

Nie Yan saw that his expression was a bit off and felt that there must be something suspicious about it. As a Great Prophet, he was too friendly to NPCs. With his current status, he could completely decide the life and death of a low-level NPC like Kulu.

"Mr. Kulu, according to the laws of the Satreen Empire, what would be the consequences if you concealed anything from my question?" Nie Yan snorted coldly.

Seeing Nie Yan show an unhappy expression, Kulu was a little apprehensive.

"If I find residents of the town to confirm that you are lying, then you will be taken back to the Orc Empire's prison, and you and your family will become prisoners forever, never to be released," Nie Yan said coldly, his expression serious.

The majesty radiating from Nie Yan made Kulu's legs go weak, and he almost fell to the ground.

"Respected Great Prophet Nirvana Flame, please forgive my ignorance. I do know something about the Paternostre Hammer. Deep in these Beast King Mountains, there live some races. They are some evil Dark Elves. Whenever night falls, they often come to me, take away the ironware I make, and leave me some gold coins. They are too powerful, and I must do as they say. I'm sorry, Respected Great Prophet, please forgive my crimes. The Dark Elves are enemies of the empire. If the empire's guards find out, I will be hanged," Kulu said with a mournful face.

"You were forced to do it. As long as you confess everything, I will forgive your sins and guarantee your safety," Nie Yan said. With his current status, he could easily protect Kulu.

"Respected Great Prophet Nirvana Flame, thank you for your kindness. I once saw the Paternostre Hammer in the Dark Elves' tribe. That divine artifact is enshrined on the altar in the center of the tribe. That Dark Elf tribe has many experts. Some teams went to snatch the Paternostre Hammer, but they all returned in defeat. You alone might encounter danger. Please wait a moment. In about an hour, many warriors will come here. They often go together to explore the Dark Elf tribe."

Nie Yan nodded. He wasn't too worried about danger, but he did need to make adequate preparations before going.

While making bandages, Nie Yan searched the official website for information about the Dark Elf tribe. He wanted to know what the relationship was between the Paternostre Hammer and the Song of the Thorns. This quest seemed a bit confusing.

Many players on the official website had explored the Dark Elf tribe and obtained information. He had a general understanding. The Dark Elf tribe was a descendant of the Nightmares. The Nightmares were a more bloodthirsty and murderous type of Dark Elf race with extremely strong combat power. Their tribe was located deep in the Beast King Mountains, covering a vast area with a dozen small settlements and one large settlement in the middle, with an altar in the center.

Most of the Dark Elves there were level 150-160 and 170-180, and some were elite level. As for the central altar, no players had reached it yet. Since the Orc Empire had issued a quest to seize the Paternostre Hammer, and the Elf tribe had also issued a quest to clean up the Dark Elves, a large number of players would arrive at Klen Town at 9:00 every day to form groups and go to the Dark Elf tribe. Some teams had as many as five or six hundred people, while others had only a dozen or twenty.

The number of Dark Elves was relatively small during that time, making it easier to sneak in.

It was only a dozen minutes until 9:00. Nie Yan thought for a moment that it wouldn't be bad to go with a group. He could just leave the team later.

Wearing a cloak wasn't very convenient. Nie Yan took out a bottle of special potion made for him by Di Diao De Niu - the Advanced Disguise Potion - from his bag.

He took it out and drank it. His appearance quickly changed, turning into the appearance of an ordinary player. His appearance wasn't anything special, the kind that was very common. Even if he came into contact with people, people wouldn't easily remember his appearance.

The Advanced Disguise Potion was much more effective than the ordinary Disguise Potion, and the effect could last for a whole day. With this kind of thing, Nie Yan could basically run amok in the Satreen Empire. Even if he took off his cloak and walked openly on the streets of the Satreen Empire, people probably wouldn't recognize him.

Nie Yan put away the iconic Zennarde's Sword and replaced it with an ordinary dagger.

An hour passed, and the entire Klen Town was still empty. No players had appeared yet. Nie Yan wondered if what the forum and Kulu said was false. He saw beams of white light flashing in the direction of the teleportation array, and players appeared in Klen Town one by one. The number of people was increasing.

The time for the Satreen Empire and the White Elf tribe to issue quests was 8:50. The players accepted the quests and came over, which happened to be around 9:00. They would start forming groups at 9:00, and they would set off after the groups were formed.

In just a moment, more and more people gathered from the direction of the teleportation array, and the square in the center of the town was quickly crowded with people, becoming bustling with noise. Various shouts could be heard.

"Twenty-person team, recruiting a priest above level 110, healing 3800+, we'll leave as soon as we're full!"

"Five-hundred-person super team, recruiting two twenty-person teams, leaving in ten minutes, quickly whisper me."

Nie Yan looked at the levels of these players on the square. They were all above level 100. There were mostly players from the Orc Empire, and there were also many players from the Human Empire. Many of them were looking for a team to join. Some were fixed teams, and they would set off after the personnel were complete.

This scene made Nie Yan feel very familiar and cordial. In his previous life, he often formed such teams to level up, run dungeons, and so on. Sometimes he was a mercenary for others, earning gold coins. But in this life, he rarely teamed up with people. Sometimes he would team up with the elite group of Asskickers United.

Most of the time, Nie Yan leveled up or did quests alone. For a thief, solo leveling was also good. Teaming up wasn't necessarily the best way to level up. But today, it wouldn't hurt to team up and let them take him into the Dark Elf tribe.