Chapter 541 – Debut of the Darkwing Dragon!
Nie Yan naturally wouldn’t be so foolish as to let Asskickers United engage Alliance of Mages in a head-on confrontation. If they really duked it out with each other fair and square, he had little to no idea how many trump cards the enemy had prepared against them. Furthermore, the death penalty of dropping five levels and losing three pieces of equipment was extremely harsh. He had no desire to have his elites take needless losses. After all, they were the pillars of the guild. If they took heavy losses, it would be quite troublesome. That’s why he wanted to mitigate as much damage as possible.
In order to achieve this, Nie Yan could only rely on odd methods, like the string of traps and Thief ambushes.
Plus, all was fair in love and war!
Even if he was cursed at by the entire world, he didn’t care!
Nie Yan had the Thieves under him replace the traps that were set of, differing slightly from the ones from before but with exactly as much killing power! Furthermore, they were placed even closer together than before,, since Alliance of Mages’ forces were getting closer and closer to the castle.
As the forces of Alliance of Mages drew closer to the castle, Nie Yan and company launched a second ambush. Due to the enemy being prepared this time around, they only managed to kill a hundred enemy players. Furthermore, they almost had the tables turned on them by the players from Bloodfiends and Direwolf. Thankfully, they still managed to return safely with Unknown Transfer Scrolls.
Crazy Magic was about to blow his top. Asskickers United was a truly aggravating bunch.
The forces of Alliance of Mages arrived in a clearing roughly 2,000 meters from the castle and set up an encampment.
Crazy Magic didn’t dare to allow his troops to advance any further. He knew the area up ahead was littered with all sorts of traps. If they carelessly trekked forward, they could very well be wiped out before even meeting Asskickers United’s forces!
However, simply staying put wasn’t an option either. Nie Yan might not be in a hurry, but he was under a lot of pressure. If he didn’t end this battle quickly, Asskickers United’s catapaults would be launching an assualt on his main stronghold in Moonlight City.
Crazy Magic still had an ace up his sleeve, and that was their six flying mounts! Some were purchased directly from Angel Corps. Some belonged to Direwolf, and one belonged to Bloodfiends. On the side of Asskickers United, the Netherthunder Eagle was heavily injured, and the Azure Winged Albatross’ strength had yet to be proven in battle. As for the Darkwing Dragon, its owner’s identity was still unknown. Without any ground support, using six flying mounts to deal with Asskickers United’s superior numbers still possed a bit of a challenge. That’s why they couldn’t reveal their trump card right now!
Crazy Magic thought for a moment. If worst came to worst, he would go all out and aim for mutual destruction!
“Fifth Thief Squadron, come up!” Crazy Magic shouted, ready to stake it all. He refused to believe Asskickers United was untouchable!
A group of 10 Thieves came forward. With solemn expressions on their faces, they dashed toward Asskickers United’s forces.
Crazy Magic looked toward the distance. When these Thieves entered within a 1,000-meter radius of the castle, a series of explosions rang out as flames soared to the sky. Before long, he received word that all 10 Thieves had been killed. However, his resolve didn’t waver in the slightest. He shouted, “Sixth Thief Squadron, come up!”
Another 10 Thieves stepped forward. A few might survive a bit longer by noticing some traps far enough in advance. But basically all of them would eventually end up getting caught and killed.
A total of 10 Thief squadrons were wiped out. They had sacrificed flesh and blood to bore a path forward.
Watching Crazy Magic send one squadron after another to their deaths from atop the watchtower, Nie Yan had to admit that he was lacking in this respect. Strictly speaking, he wasn’t a suitable guild leader. He could never be as ruthless as Crazy Magic, sacrificing the lives of his troops to clear a path forward.
Seeing Alliance of Mages slowly making their way forward, Nie Yan’s lips curved into a faint smile. The traps they encountered just now were the ones that triggered passively. He would switch them out for ones that were a bit different.
Nie Yan had Sun, King of the World, and eight others reset the traps. These 10 Thieves were fairly trustworthy. Avoiding the eyes of the ordinary Asskickers United players, they set out to install traps that had to be activated.
One of these traps was Ice Spikes. The Ice Spike Trap was divided into two parts, the main body which contained five scrolls, and the explosive rune. After these five scrolls were set in place, when player passed through them, they would detonate. If a Mage triggered the explosive rune, the Ice Spike Trap would immediately activate, and hundreds of Ice Spikes would come erupting fromt he ground. Warriors with high defense would be relatively safe. However, Mages wouldn’t be so lucky. The sharp Ice Spikes could easily pierce through their cloth robes.
Nie Yan only had three activatable traps. After such a long time, Asskickers United saved them up bit by bit. They were extremely rare. There were two Ice Spike Traps and one Sea of Fire Trap. The latter was obtained by Bladelight and the others while running a dungeon on Specialist, while the former was bought from a secret shop, which refreshed only once every 10 days, for 100,000 gold each.
These three items had been sitting in the treasury all this time. Finally, they would be put to good use.
Sun, King of the World, and the eight others installed the two Ice Spike Traps and Flame Sea Trap. Everything was ready to go.
Nie Yan gave the three explosion runes to Lustboy, Tang Yao, and Xie Yao. “In a bit, when I give the word, trigger the traps!”
Even though the killing power of these traps wasn’t all that high, they could still kill a few hundred players. Like this, Alliance of Mages’ casualties would cross over 1,000. Asskickers United was yet to suffer any real losses, while the enemy would soon have only two thirds of their army remaining. If they still couldn’t win, they might as well disband.
After watching his Thieves sacrifice their lives one after another just to clear the path forward, Crazy Magic’s eyes were already scarlet red.
His orders didn’t extend to the Thieves from Divine Protectors, let alone those from Direwolf and Bloodfiends. All of the Thieves had gone up to clear the path were directly under him! 100 players had died just like that. Each dropped five levels and lost three pieces of equipment. How could his heart not ache!?
However, Crazy Magic believed their sacrifices were not in vain. It was for the victory of Alliance of Mages!
“Brothers, we’ve sacrificed flesh and blood to reach this place. So many of our brethren were killed by the underhanded tactics of our enemy, of that despicable bastard Nirvana Flame! Today, we’ll turn this place into Asskickers United’s grave! Whether you belong to Alliance of Mages, Divine Protectors, or the other organizations employed to fight for our cause, I, Crazy Magic, declare that as long as we win this battle, you’ll be rewarded double! Kill!” Crazy magic shouted.
Whether Nie Yan was despicable or the methods employed were underhanded, no one bothered investigating. The only thing they paid attention to was that they would receive double the rewards. For the sake of inviting these peoples to the Realm of Death, Alliance of Mages had an ample amount of benefits. The rewards offered were already quite generous. If this was doubled… one could imagine how attractive this incentive was.
At this moment, a Wind Serpent, Dragonfly, and Demonic Butterfly emerged in the sky, casting giant shadows over the ground. They were Alliance of Mages’ flying mounts! Crazy Magic shifted his focus to the players from Direwolf and Bloodfiends. After thinking for a moment, they also summoned their flying mounts.
A White Maned Griffon, another Wind Serpent, and a Blaze Hawk. Six flying mounts took the sky.
The players below were all stupefied.
“So many flying mounts!”
“Amazing!”
“Asskickers United is doomed for sure!”
The morale of Alliance of Mages’ forces skyrocketed as they broke out in deafening cheers. Six flying mounts, this was an incredibly powerful force! Would Asskickers United be able to withstand their blitz?
Crazy Magic raised his head to look at the six flying mounts in the sky. His previous dismay was nowhere to be found. Come at me, Asskickers United! It’s time for the final battle! Let’s see what else you have left!
Asskickers United’s forces mobilized for battle. Seeing the six flying mounts hovering in the sky, their expressions paled. They didn’t know what to say. Alliance of Mages had gotten ahold of six flying mounts! They knew how powerful flying mounts were! Tang Yao’s Netherthunder Eagle, for example, was practically unrivalled! However, his Netherthunder Eagle was seriously injured while the other party had six perfectly healthy flying mounts!
Six flying mounts were enough to massacre their 3,000 players!
They had no confidence in beating these flying mounts. Just killing one was already difficult enough, let alone six!
Though Asskickers United’s side still had Natural Fiend’s Azure Winged Albatross, how could one bird possibly hold its own against six other flying mounts!?
Asskickers United’s players started to despair. It seemed like defeat was imminent. They had never considered this possibly before. But now, that reality was before them.
At this moment, a powerful draconic cry rang out through the sky. A giant dragon emerged in the air, its entire body glossy black and radiating a dazzling luster. Its sturdy and powerful wings leisurely flapped up and down, casting a giant shadow over the ground. This dragon was more than three times larger than any ordinary flying mount.
“It’s the Darkwing Dragon!”
The players on both sides let out shrill cries. With a single glance, they identified the giant dragon hovering in the sky as the legendary Darkwing Dragon! It actually belonged to Nirvana Flame! Even though many had guessed this, with some hoping against all odds that it didn’t belong to him, the sight before them left them sorely disappointed.
Nie Yan stood atop the Darkwing Dragon like a deity lording over those below him.
The six flying mounts on the side of Alliance of Mages couldn’t help but tremble after hearing the dragon cry. This was an innate fear that couldn’t be controlled!
There was also a hierarchy among these flying creatures. Dragons undoubtedly stood at the very top. No matter what the era, dragons were always the apex predators. All other species were their prey!