Chapter 13 An Amazing Lineup

Thirteen top-tier classes. This lineup was quite astounding.

Nie Yan thought of the Lava Giants in the Molten Forest. That Lava Giant had slain so many, a sight still fresh in his mind. When Asskickers United had even more top-tier players, they could probably start farming Lava Giants.

After a short preparation, they summoned their respective flying mounts and departed.

Thirteen flying mounts streaked across the sky.

Nie Yan glanced at the flying mounts of his teammates. As top-tier players, they would be embarrassed without a high-ranked mount to match their status. So recently, they had all acquired some excellent flying mounts.

Nie Yan’s flying mount was a Rank 7 Darkwing Dragon, the highest amongst them. Next were two Rank 6 flying mounts that had only recently hatched: Xie Yao's Phoenix and Water Color Rose's Blue Dragon.

The Phoenix was slightly smaller than the Darkwing Dragon. Its entire body was enveloped in blazing white flames, leaving a trail of heat in its wake. Xie Yao had previously mentioned that she had hatched the Phoenix during her class advancement quest, imbuing it with holy properties. So this Phoenix could be considered a mutated species.

Water Color Rose’s Blue Dragon was covered in crystalline blue scales that refracted rays of blue light in the sun.

Besides these two flying mounts, the rest were Rank 5, including Royal Gryphons and Wyverns.

Top-tier players were already strong in combat. They would always find ways to acquire high-ranked flying mounts.

"I have a dragon egg in my personal storage. If anyone is interested, you can take it and hatch it." Nie Yan shared the dragon egg's stats. Hatching it required completing a difficult quest that he estimated only top-tier players could accomplish. That's why he only mentioned it now.

The others looked at the dragon egg's stats.

"It seems more suitable for a Warrior."

"Blade Light, do you want it?" Undying Scoundrel asked.

Brilliant Blade Light glanced at it and shook his head. "I previously obtained a quest clue. The reward is a Rank 6 flying mount, so I'll pass on the dragon egg. Give it to someone else."

Among the Warriors, Brilliant Blade Light didn't want it, and Water Color Rose already had one, so that only left Lei Su.

"Give it to Lei Su," Nie Yan said.

The others had no objections to Nie Yan's allocation plan.

"Really? For me?" Lei Su asked, stunned. He was still considered a newbie in Asskickers United.

"I've set the extraction rights for the dragon egg to you. You can go to the storage and take it when you return to the city," Nie Yan said. Although Lei Su hadn't been in the guild for long, he already regarded him as one of their own.

"Thank you," Lei Su said gratefully. He felt a sense of trust from Nie Yan and the others.

Thirteen flying mounts flew across the sky, especially the leading Darkwing Dragon, Phoenix, and Blue Dragon, which were undoubtedly eye-catching. The players leveling below looked up at the sky, watching Nie Yan and the others' flying mounts soar overhead before finally disappearing into the horizon.

Soon, all the major powers knew of Nie Yan's movements, but they dared not do anything to him. They didn't have anyone who could match him. Sending more people would just be throwing their lives away.

"Everyone, search separately. If you find the Ape King, contact us in the team chat," Nie Yan said in the team chat.

"Okay."

The thirteen flying mounts flew in different directions. They surveyed the ground below, searching for the Ape King's tracks. The plains below were vast and open, making it easier to spot targets.

"I found the Ape King," Black Hell said in the team chat. "But it seems someone got there before us."

"What are the coordinates?"

"3829.2385.2880."

"Okay, we're heading over there immediately."

The others quickly converged on the location Black Hell mentioned, gradually descending in altitude.

Nie Yan looked ahead. In the distance on the plains, a giant ape came into view.

That giant ape was the Ape King the NPCs of Abernathy had spoken of. It was enormous, like a small hill. At least a thousand players were gathered around it, besieging it.

Seeing a thousand-player team in Abernathy, Nie Yan was a little surprised. The Abernathy Great Plains was a border region outside of anyone's control, relatively desolate. Yet, there were so many players here.

Because they were so far away, Nie Yan couldn't make out their faces. He could only see three figures holding the line in front of the Ape King, while it constantly swung its iron fists, smashing them down below.

*Boom boom boom.* The loud sounds could even be heard from Nie Yan's location.

The Ape King continuously attacked the three figures around it, but they dodged and jumped around, so the Ape King couldn't kill them.

"These guys seem to have decent skills," Black Hell said. He usually remained silent, only occasionally speaking, but no one ever ignored his presence. Ever since Nie Yan fulfilled his promise and Asskickers United had destroyed Dark Wanderer, he had stayed in Asskickers United. Black Hell was very mysterious to the players below, but his position in Asskickers United was quite high.

"Where did these people come from? In theory, ordinary players can't deal any damage to the Ape King. Isn't this group wasting their time surrounding it?" Undying Scoundrel asked, puzzled.

"It's hard to say. There are all sorts of special items. I've seen things like the Breakthrough Scroll. After buffing all the players in the team, everyone has a chance to ignore defense and deal critical damage for a certain amount of time. It's especially effective against high-ranked Lords," Entrusting Dreams said.

"Entrusting is right. If a team is determined to deal with a Lord, as long as the leader has enough wisdom, they can always find a way," Brilliant Blade Light said. He often led teams to kill bosses, so he had a deep understanding of this.

"Let's go down and take a look," Nie Yan said.

The others' flying mounts slowly descended, landing a thousand yards away from the players. Landing too close might cause a dispute. The others might think Nie Yan and the others were there to steal their kill.

The thirteen of them walked together towards the distant high ground. The battle there had already reached a fever pitch.

The Ape King roared madly, but it seemed to be trapped by something. It couldn't break free from a ten-yard radius. Around the Ape King, sixteen Archmages were raising the staves in their hands, chanting incantations. They stood in a very unique position, forming a mysterious formation. Two Warriors and a Paladin were blocking the Ape King's path, constantly swinging their swords at it.

"Damn, this guy's skin is really thick. It's only dropped 12% after all this time. When will we be able to kill it!" The Paladin cursed in frustration, swinging his sword and landing a Divine Sanction on the Ape King's waist, dealing over 700 damage.

Streams of magic streaked across the sky, landing on the Ape King, causing damage in the range of fifty to sixty points. Although the damage wasn't high, the damage output was still considerable because there were at least seven or eight hundred Mages attacking at the same time.

"Luckily, we added the Sanction Array. Otherwise, all one thousand six hundred of us would have been slaughtered. This guy has such high defense," a Shield Warrior roared, leaping high into the air and slamming a Shield Bash into the Ape King, causing it to stagger backward.

This group attacked the Ape King rhythmically, with decent skill. They were focused on dealing with the Ape King when a player suddenly said in the team chat, "Guild Leader You Nian, there are about a dozen people heading towards us from the northeast, about a thousand yards away."

"Who are they?" A female Paladin, who was commanding the battle among the players, asked. She wore silver-white light armor, and her black hair was tied back neatly, making her look refreshing and capable. She had a tall and curvy figure. It turned out that the leader of this group was a beauty.

"It's Nirvana Flame from Asskickers United!" a player said in the team chat, because he had just seen the Darkwing Dragon.

"It's him?" Yue You Nian frowned slightly. This wasn't good news. If someone else came, they could just brush them off, but if it was Nirvana Flame, it wouldn't be that easy.

This group belonged to the Dark Hymn guild, and Yue You Nian was the guild leader. Dark Hymn was just a small guild with about two thousand members. Yue You Nian and thirty other core members belonged to the Dark Hymn Studio, which was a small studio that was somewhat well-known domestically.

"Nirvana Flame was just appointed as the lord of the Abernathy Great Plains. If we want to stay here, we can't offend him," the Paladin, who was holding the line in front of the Ape King, said. He was around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with a sturdy build, wearing silver-gray heavy armor. He was called Canon, the vice-chairman of Dark Hymn.

Yue You Nian weighed the matter in her mind for a moment. She had to admit that Canon was right. They really couldn't offend Nie Yan. If they fell out with Nie Yan, they might not be able to stay in the Abernathy Great Plains.

"Even though Nirvana Flame was just appointed as the lord of the Abernathy Great Plains, there are so many NPC tribes here, as well as at least twenty other guilds of varying sizes. It probably won't be easy for him to rule the entire Abernathy Great Plains. Let's not be the first to stick our heads out," Yue You Nian said.

"What if Nirvana Flame tries to steal our kill later? Are we just going to hand over the Ape King?" A tall Warrior beside the Ape King asked.

"If Nirvana Flame really wants to steal our kill, there's nothing we can do. But based on Nirvana Flame's style, he probably won't directly steal our kill, leaving himself open to criticism," Yue You Nian said, a sly smile appearing on her fair face.