Chapter 473 - The One Called Shadow Killer!
The group of Thieves were waiting for Nie Yan to engage the boss to act. Little did they know that they were walking on a knife’s edge. Nie Yan had long since detected them.
「Keep a close watch on Nirvana Flame! Don’t get too close. We don’t know what his perception range is. Maintain a distance of at least 20 meters!」Dark Wing said.
「No worries, Dark Wing. We’ve got this!」
Dark Wing took out a Soul Bind Scroll from his bag. It could restrict an enemy’s movements by preventing them from leaving the combat zone and using any teleportation items or skills. Both caster and target were under the same effect. Only when one of them died would the spell end.
The Sound Bind Scroll’s effects were similar to that of a Shadow Priest’s Shackles of Strife. However, the latter was somewhat lacking compared to the former.
Soul Bind Scrolls were still fairly rare at this stage of the game. Only the Level 70 map, Spirit Travelling Palace, had a 1 in 20,000 chance of dropping them. The drop rates were even more abysmal in other maps. Probably only a few scrolls existed in Conviction right now.
Dark Wing, after mindlessly grinding mobs for so long, had only obtained a single Soul Bind Scroll. Nevertheless, he wouldn’t hesitate in the slightest to use it on Nie Yan.
Nirvana Flame, let’s see you try to run… Dark Wing coldly eyed Nie Yan’s back. Only the four Demonsmiths and Golden Dragon left him feeling somewhat apprehensive. He would have to wait for the perfect opportunity to mount a sneak attack.
At this moment, Nie Yan suddenly entered stealth and disappeared from sight.
「Where did Nirvana Flame go?」Dark Wing asked in surprise.
「No idea. He disappeared. Maybe he’s scouting up ahead?」
「Yeah, probably...」Dark Wing relaxed a bit. However, he couldn’t get rid of an uneasy premonition tugging at the back of his mind.
Nie Yan stealthily circled behind the Thieves and observed them from behind a statue.
Eye of Truth!
Nie Yan’s eyes blossomed out with a red light. Scanning around, numerous silhouettes emerged around the demon statues in the vicinity. One, two, three...
Nie Yan confirmed the position of 20 Thieves. As for whether there were any others hiding in the darkness, he wasn’t sure. Discovering this many was already quite the feat.
Nie Yan crept up behind one of the Thieves and struck them in the back of the head with Smothering Strike, then finished them off with Cutthroat.
「It’s Nirvana Flame!」
「He’s behind us!」
The Thieves were all caught completely off guard. Not even in their wildest dreams did they expect Nie Yan would be the one doing the ambushing instead.
Lil’ Gold roared out and blasted three stealthed Thieves with a scorching hot Dragon Breath, instantly transforming them into rays of light. They didn’t even get the chance to scream.
「Crap! He found us!」Dark Wing cried out. He simply couldn’t understand how Nie Yan had discovered them when they made sure to stay far away. However, this wasn’t the time to ponder. The four Demonsmiths were already moving towards them.
「Dark Wing, what do we do?」
「Run!」
At this moment, two Demonsmiths came flanking at Dark Wing from different directions while brandishing their enormous hammers.
“You want to kill me? It won’t be that easy!” Dark Wing evaded the attacks with Gale Step. He had only made it a few steps before another hammer came smashing down on him.「Bang!」He was struck in the chest and sent flying away.
With a thud, Dark Wing crashed into the ground. He only had a sliver of health remaining. Before he could get back up, he was swallowed up by scorching hot flames and transformed into a ray of light. He didn’t even get a chance to use his Soul Bind Scroll.
「Dark Wing!」
「No! Boss!」
The Thieves glanced at each other in dismay. None of them expected that their skilled captain would die so pitifully.
Dark Wing’s reaction to the attack was pretty good. The Gale Step was timed almost flawlessly. However, he was still overestimating himself, thinking he could take Nie Yan’s life.
「Bang!」One of the Demonsmiths struck a Thief with his hammer and sent him flying.「Bang! Bang! Bang!」Thieves were sent flying, one after the other.
The Thieves from Alliance of Mages and Divine Protectors were scrambling away like frightened mice.
Nie Yan took out a Twisting Vines Scroll. After chanting an incantation, thick green vines erupted from the ground and ensnared more than 10 Thieves, leaving them unable to move in the slightest. Lil’ Gold chanted out in dragon tongue and summoned a giant meteor.「Boom!」An inferno erupted out and engulfed the Thieves.
“Sending these trash after me? Crazy Magic and Divine Flame are really looking down on me,” Nie Yan sneered. Even the Thieves he hadn’t discovered were fleeing. Of the close to 40 Thieves Alliance of Mages and Divine Protectors dispatched, he had already killed more than 20. The remaining ones were scattering in every direction.
Only now did these Thieves realize how laughable it was to think they could take down Nie Yan with their numbers and coordination.
Observing from a distance, Blazing and Sky Felled sucked in a breath of cold air.
「Blazing, are you really sure we want to fight Nirvana Flame?」Sky Felled asked. He was starting to get cold feet. He couldn’t help but think they were courting death by trying to go after Nie Yan. The group from Alliance of Mages and Divine Protectors, which was more than four times their size, lost more than two thirds of their players in an instant. It was a one-sided massacre!
「I’ll message the guild leader. Let’s wait for his command,」Blazing replied. He was also cowed by Nie Yan’s display of strength.
「Just send the video of what happened to the guild leader,」Sky Felled said. He felt the guild leader would understand the situation after watching the video. Their group was absolutely no match for Nirvana Flame.
「Yeah.」Blazing nodded. He received an update shortly after.「The guild leader said we’re abandoning the operation, but two people have to stay behind to continue monitoring Nirvana Flame!」
Hearing this, the other seven Thieves breathed a sigh of relief. They were really in over their heads thinking they could assassinate Nirvana Flame!
Apart from Sky Felled and Blazing, the other six Thieves headed back out of Golden City. The two of them were to stay behind and watch how Nie Yan would finish this battle. They stayed more than 50 meters away, not daring to get any closer.
Seeing several Thieves about to escape, Nie Yan took out a Web Scroll in an attempt to stop them.
As he started chanting out the incarnation, an intense magic energy pulsed through the air. The shadows in the surroundings shot up from the ground like tentacles and wrapped around him.
It was Shadow Bind!
Nie Yan’s heart trembled. The incarnation was caught in the back of his throat. He attempted to evade with Gale Step, only to discover he couldn’t move.
He was locked down!
At this moment, a silhouette pounced out of the darkness toward Nie Yan. The dagger in their hand flickered with a cold light.
Nie Yan made out their appearance from the corner of his eyes. It was Shadow Killer!
A thought flashed across Nie Yan’s mind. With how weak those 40 Thieves were, Alliance of Mages and Divine Protectors probably never had any hopes of them killing him. Their higher ups weren’t that stupid. The only explanation was that these Thieves were merely a distraction, simply fodder being sent to their deaths. Shadow Killer was their true trump card!
Shadow Killer was as fast as lightning.
Now this was an assassin!
One hit, one kill.
The shadows binding Nie Yan were like thick ropes. No matter how much he struggled, he couldn’t break free, nor could he use any skill.
Shadow Killer instantly closed the gap. He raised his dagger and stabbed toward the back of Nie Yan’s head.
Smothering Strike!
All of this happened in a flash. Nie Yan couldn’t move and most of his skills were greyed out. Shadow Killer’s appearance was too sudden. He had no time to think. A chilling aura rapidly closed in on him from behind.
Shadow Killer had perfectly linked his skills together, without the slightest pause. He knew when dealing with an expert like Nie Yan, you couldn’t even give him half a second to react. He only strived for one goal. To be fast, faster, and still faster! So fast no one could react to him!
“Die, Nirvana Flame!” Shadow Killer’s pupils contracted to tiny slits, brimming with killing intent.
He wanted to kill Nie Yan!
Shadow Killer had simulated battles with Nie Yan countless times in his mind, memorizing his skills, habits, and combat style. He made ample preparations, all for the sake of this single moment. He eliminated any possible variables, and strived to carry out his assassination to perfection.
He was an assassin. Regardless of the method, as long as he killed his target, he would be the victor!
Today Nie Yan’s undefeated legend would be put to an end by the one called Shadow Killer!
This one strike would be remembered for a long time to come, engraved in the minds of countless people as a defining moment in Conviction!