Chapter 264 – Jack the Ripper
The Golden Dragon let out a deep roar and breathed out a wide cone of fire, wreaking havoc on the surrounding players. The unlucky souls in front of the dragon perished immediately.
A single Dragon Breath cleared out a large swath of players.
Spells rained down from the sky like a dazzling display of fireworks. But they were merely hitting in the single digits while the Golden Dragon had well over 500,000 health. Killing this Level 40 Demonified Lord truly wouldn’t be an easy feat.
The players were divided into several camps with each monitoring over the movements of the others closely.
Not just Victorious Return, Radiant Sacred Flame, Sapphire Shrine, and Holy Empire, but many other guilds were attracted by the emergence of the Golden Dragon as well, including the likes of Splendid Temple, Unhindered, and Dark Hero.
Several tens of thousands of players from other guilds had gathered in Sinful Gorge. There was no way to distinguish who belonged to which side.
It was a chaotic scene.
Holy Empire, Sapphire Shrine, Radiant Sacred Flame, and Victorious Return grew cautious when the other guilds arrived. Although these newcomers were all second-tier guilds, their strength couldn’t be underestimated. For fear of inadvertently making enemies out of everyone, the four major guilds began exercising some restraint. If not for this, they would’ve continued their all-out brawl until either side was completely wiped out.
All the guilds were after the loot that dropped from the Golden Dragon!
The Golden Dragon’s Horn was especially coveted!
Many players were well-aware that they were too weak to compete in this playing field, but they still arrived nonetheless to scrounge whatever they could get. Who knows? They might even snatch away the drops by some miraculous stroke of luck.
Nie Yan employed the Silk Spinner Ring to ascend to the top of a large tree, where he quickly spotted the players from Holy Empire and Sapphire Shrine occupying a corner of the battlefield in the northeast from the higher vantage point. Sleepy Fox was together with several others Warriors at the forefront while the Mages behind them released a constant stream of spells at the Golden Dragon.
Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame’s forces were all the way in the southwest. At the center of map was a large crowd of players from other guilds. Even if the two sides wanted to fight, they had no way of reaching each other.
Under the intense barrage of spells from the Mages of all the guilds, the Golden Dragon’s health fell to around 40%.
“How many brothers have died to the Golden Dragon in the last 10 minutes?” Sleepy Fox asked, turning his head to Undying Battle Fervour beside him.
“Over 600,” Battle Fervour replied.
Sleepy Fox felt his blood run cold. These casualties were far too terrifying.
The Golden Dragon was simply too domineering. Holy Empire’s forces had gone out of their way to attract as little attention as possible, yet they still lost so many people.
Even though every guild was trying their best to avoid being targeted, playing a dangerous game of hot potato with the Golden Dragon’s aggro, none of them escaped suffering losses. If all of them stopped attacking or the damage fell below a certain threshold, however, its health would start quickly regenerating. So everyone kept attacking; otherwise, their previous efforts would go to waste.
As for how these guilds were dragged into the fray, nobody knew.
The Golden Dragon’s Horn was simply too alluring to pass up. This item was something everybody wanted. A whole crowd of Warriors and Thieves had gathered around the Golden Dragon. When it died, they would immediately jump into action to seize the loot.
Furthermore, many small battles broke out across the battlefield. The players of the four large guilds had skirmished countless times, while the smaller guilds got into scuffles with each other as well.
「How long have you guys been fighting for?」Nie Yan asked Sleepy Fox.
「Around two hours ago, not long after the Golden Dragon was discovered. We’ve clashed with Radiant Sacred Flame and Victorious Return five times so far, with everyone suffering heavy losses. When the second-tier guilds arrived, all sides decided to call a temporary truce where we’d settle our grudges after killing the Golden Dragon. We’ve been cooperating for close to half an hour now,」Sleepy Fox replied. So long as he obtained the Golden Dragon’s Horn, he would be satisfied. It was an item all players drooled over.
Nie Yan looked over to the forces of Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame. He spotted a few familiar faces such as Tangerine and Skinny Dog. However, many of Victorious Return’s elites were missing from this battle since they were locked up in Calore’s jail cellars. As he shifted his attention to Radiant Sacred Flame’s side, someone caught his eye—Nightbreak Trickster!
Although they had never personally met, Nie Yan could recognize Nightbreak Trickster’s appearance thanks to a video Sleepy Fox had shared of him.
Nightbreak Trickster wore azure robes covered with all kinds of mysterious runes. He gave off a strange feeling.
Nie Yan recognized the robes as they belonged to the Extorter Set, one of the best Level 30 Mage sets. While squatting atop the tree branch, the corner of his lips curved into a devious smile. Just how would the players of Radiant Sacred Flame react if their guild leader was cut down right in front of them?
Nie Yan wasn’t sure how skilled Nightbreak Trickster was as a player, but he could ascertain one thing: any person capable of leading a large guild wouldn’t be weak!
In the previous timeline, Nightbreak Trickster was very enigmatic figure. He never revealed his name on any leaderboards, and he was rumoured to be a very formidable Magister. But no one knew for sure because he was so reclusive and rarely ever took action himself.
With so many Radiant Sacred Flame players nearby, Nie Yan didn’t dare to claim with absolute confidence that he could assassinate Nightbreak Trickster. Such a task would prove incredibly difficult, especially since his target this time was very skilled.
However, that didn’t deter Nie Yan in the slightest. He inherently liked to take risks, so he was itching to give it a shot.
Nie Yan shifted his attention back to the center of the battlefield. The Golden Dragon was undoubtedly a formidable foe, laying waste to everything at close range while incinerating players with Dragon Breath from afar.
An idea popped into Nie Yan’s mind. He would take advantage of the Golden Dragon!
Since all the Mages were dealing pitifully low damage individually, Nie Yan would be able to instantly attract the Golden Dragon’s aggro if he hit it in the double or even triple digits!
Nie Yan’s lips curved into a faint smile. He now had a course of action!
Just as he was about to execute his plan, Nie Yan spotted around 60 figures from Radiant Sacred Flame’s side entering stealth while moving in the direction of Holy Empire’s forces!
These Thieves were planning to ambush Sleepy Fox!
Radiant Sacred Flame had provided these Thieves ample cover, so Sleepy Fox had no knowledge of what just occurred.
A player targeted by so many Thieves would surely die!
While Nie Yan was thinking of a way to kill Nightbreak Trickster, so that he could deal a heavy blow to the spirits of Radiant Sacred Flame’s players, Nightbreak Trickster had aimed his sights on Sleepy Fox who was fighting at the forefront.
If Sleepy Fox died, Holy Empire’s morale would plummet!
「Sleepy Fox, watch out. Radiant Sacred Flame dispatched Thieves to ambush you!」Nie Yan jumped down from the tree. As soon as he touched the ground, he shot out like an arrow toward the direction of Holy Empire’s forces.
Nie Yan’s speed was extremely astonishing, especially on this rugged terrain.
Holy Empire had just finished their preparations for snatching away the Golden Dragon’s drops from the other guilds, and Sleepy Fox was occupied with directing the Mages in the backline when he received Nie Yan’s warning.
Sleepy Fox’s heart trembled. “Priests, cast Illuminate!”
Dazzling orbs of light shot up into the air one after the other, casting a flood of radiance over the battlefield which revealed several dozen approaching silhouettes sticking close to the Golden Dragon for cover.
The Golden Dragon’s aggro was focused solely on the Mages in the distance, spewing out a constant stream of flames which wiped out player after player, so it didn’t take notice of the Thieves dashing past its body.
Just at this moment, the Golden Dragon slammed down on the ground and struck a Thief who happened to nearby.
−723!
Of the 60 Thieves in the group, only this unlucky fellow was crushed to death. The others safely passed the Golden Dragon and pounced toward Sleepy Fox.
The route Nightbreak Trickster had these Thieves take was extremely crafty. They closed in on their target without a hitch, resembling sharp daggers with only a single aim.
When the Priests lit up the surroundings with Illuminate, the Thieves had already arrived.
Even though Sleepy Fox wished to engage the enemy, he understood the impact his death would have on the players of Holy Empire. Not allowing his emotions to affect his judgement, he retreated.
“Battle Fervour1, Violent Waves2, protect me!” Sleepy Fox shouted. Both Battle Fervour and Violent Waves ran up and attempted to hold the enemy off.
But there were too few players guarding Sleepy Fox. How could they possibly hold off the assault of nearly 60 Thieves?
Over a dozen Thieves pounced on Violent Waves and Battle Fervour. Faced with so many enemies, they could only do their best to defend.
A silhouette dashed past the action and arrived where Sleepy Fox retreated. The dagger in its hand struck out at his forehead, pierced through the air like a lightning bolt!
What a fast attack! Sleepy Fox raised his greatsword to block.
「Klang!」The two blades clashed.
Fortunately, Sleepy Fox was also a heaven defying figure. Even though his role as guild leader left him always busy, his skills hadn’t declined in the slightest.
Only now did Sleepy Fox get a good look of his opponent: a man in his thirties with a horizontal scar extending across his nose. He radiated an aura of desolation, leaving a profound impression on anyone who saw him.
This was the number one Thief in Radiant Sacred Flame, Jack the Ripper!!
He was a military veteran who became a professional player. After joining Radiant Sacred Flame, he quickly became their top Thief. His skills were absolutely at the peak!
Sleepy Fox never expected to encounter him like this!
Jack the Ripper locked Sleepy Fox down, leaving him unable to flee while a swarm of Thieves approached. No matter how good he was at defending, he would still die just the same.
「Bang! Bang! Bang!」The Holy Empire Mages in the rear blasted away several of the Thieves gunning for Sleepy Fox.
However, even more Thieves rushed forward to take their place.
Shockwave!
Sleepy Fox swept his greatsword in a wide arc, unleashing a wave of force that sent over a dozen Thieves flying back. Just as he turned to flee, a cold light flashed and he was struck in the back of the head!
1. Undying Battle Fervour is the Chief Fighter in Holy Empire. He’s introduced in chapter 220.
2. Violent Waves Rampant Surge is introduced at the end of chapter 93. He’s a top Fighter of Holy Empire.