Chapter 526 – Setting Up the Date of the War
Nie Yan and Xie Yao stepped into Christine’s Potion Shop. At the same time, Crazy Magic turned around and gazed in their direction.
Crazy Magic was accompanied by a dozen players, all of whom were elites in Alliance of Mages.
Nie Yan and Crazy Magic met eyes. The atmosphere inside the shop instantly grew tense as the smell of gunpowder filled the air.
Sensing something off, the unaffiliated patrons hastily retreated off to the side.
“Isn’t that Nirvana Flame?”
“I think so. That other guy is Crazy Magic, the guild leader of Alliance of Mages.”
“I heard Alliance of Mages and Asskickers United have been butting heads a lot recently.”
“Yeah. They’re sworn enemies. I wonder what’s going to happen. Didn’t they only just fight each other?”
The players whispered amongst themselves. Alliance of Mages and Asskickers United, neither were existences that could be provoked by the likes of them.
At this moment, an elderly NPC in luxurious gray robes rushed out to the front. He was slim with white hair and beard and had a dignified air about him.
The players were puzzled. Why did he come out?
This old man was Christine. He was the owner of this potion shop. All the potions used by the NPCs of the Hilton Stronghold were supplied by him, making him a relatively well known character within the Stronghold. He also held the lofty title of Earl. Most players never got the opportunity to meet him, since he rarely showed himself in the store. And even fewer had the opportunity to buy potions from him, since he only sold to players with a high status. Only a lucky few could buy rare and precious potions from him.
In the past, several players had continuously bothered Christine in an attempt to do business with him. One of them had even attained the title of Baron. In a fit of rage, Christine called the guards and had them all locked up in the dungeon for almost a week. A lesson was learned that day. From then on, players inwardly vowed to never provoke Christine.
Meeting Christine wasn’t easy. This opportunity definitely couldn’t be missed. Of the players present, several who had some status tidied up their clothes and prepared to meet him. Perhaps they could obtain a few potions. However, Christine paid them no heed as he headed straight for Nie Yan.
“It’s an honour to meet you, Grand Scholar, no, Saint Nirvana Flame!” Christine respectfully greeted.
Christine dropped a bomb with his words. Everyone was staring at Nie Yan in shock, including Crazy Magic who felt like tremors were going off in his heart.
Grand Scholar, Saint, just what kind of titles were these?
None of them had ever heard of either of these two titles before, but they immediately understood they were of an incredibly high rank. The system of hierarchy in Conviction was ironclad. If even an earl like Christine was so respectful to Nie Yan, one could imagine what kind of existence he was in the Hilton Stronghold.
Crazy Magic clenched his fists as he felt a suffocating pressure on his chest. He had guessed that Nie Yan’s status in the Hilton Stronghold was extremely high previously in the administrative hall. Although he was also the leader of a top guild in the Viridian Empire, the difference between the two of them was too great.
No other guild leader could be like Nie Yan and truly become the very backbone of their guild. It was precisely Nie Yan’s existence that created the undefeated legend of Asskickers United.
In the previous ambush, did Asskickers United really lose? Alliance of Mages and Divine Protectors had suffered just over four times the casualties to take out only 1,200 players from Asskickers United. This kind of result could hardly be called a victory.
“Hello, Earl Christine.” Nie Yan nodded.
Nie Yan’s indifferent attitude once more shocked the players present. He actually spoke to a high rank NPC in such a manner? How daring!
Christine said a few words, then stood a few meters by Nie Yan’s side. His bearing was very humble.
Nie Yan gazed at Crazy Magic.
Everyone was nervously waiting to see what Nie Yan was going to say. They knew whatever he said would surely blow up on the forums.
“Let’s have our final battle in Karul’s Realm of Death. Crazy Magic, do you dare to accept?” Nie Yan coldly gazed at Crazy Magic. This was a provocation.
Everyone sucked in a breath of cold air. Karul’s Realm of Death wasn’t unfamiliar to these players thanks to an information page on the official website. In the Hilton Stronghold was a wandering Mage capable of using space magic to create a mysterious parallel world. When players needed a special way to settle a life-or-death dispute, they could search for him.
The Realm of Death had its own special rules. Players would be teleported to a certain point on the map. They would have to contend against the harsh environment as well as their enemies. If you died inside the realm, you would lose five levels and drop three pieces of equipment, then be teleported out. If it was a group battle between 1,000 or more players, the map would have 10 points. One side had to first capture every point and then occupy all of them for an hour to achieve victory. As such, battle would break out near these points. In this type of war one’s leadership, ability, adaptability, and understanding of the surroundings all played crucial roles.
Losing five levels and three pieces of equipment was an extremely frightening prospect for most players. Unless it was a life-or-death feud, no one would be willing to go to such a place.
Everyone was staring at Crazy Magic. They were all wondering if he would accept.
Hearing Nie Yan’s words, Crazy Magic’s heart trembled. If he accepted Nie Yan’s challenge, in a 1,000 vs 1,000 battle, Alliance of Mages had no chance of winning. Asskickers United’s players were simply too powerful. Alliance of Mages had far too few experts to be a match for Asskickers United. On the other hand, if he got cold feet and refused with so many people watching, he would become a laughingstock once this video was published online.
“What are your terms…?” Crazy Magic asked, pretending to be calm. At the same time, he was livestreaming what was happening to Cao Xu. Crazy Magic was a smart man. The Century Financial Group was their backer. For now, he could only push this problems to them.
City of the Lost. This was a small city in the Satreen Empire. In a cathedral in the center of the city, Cao Xu was pensively watching Crazy Magic’s livestream. Because he saw their immense growth potential, he previously wanted to acquire Asskickers United. They turned him down. Since he failed to acquire them, if they were allowed to continue to grow, they would one day pose a great threat to him. He used Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame to deal with them, from petty tricks to full blown wars. However, he never expected that they would only grow stronger with each battle before finally taking control of all of Calore, leaving him with no choice but to abandon his investments there.
Asskickers United’s astonishing growth also drove the sudden expansion of the Dragonsoar Financial Group and World Bloc in the virtual reality industry. These two powers were gaining a larger and larger foothold, pushing the Century Financial Group out. The dissolution of Bloodthirst Blades and the investment of the Dragonsoar Financial Group into the virtual reality industry had already caused the Century Financial Group’s market share to drop by 1%. If Asskickers United continued to grow stronger and swallowed up Alliance of Mages and Divine Protectors too, he could hardly imagine the consequences.
Conviction’s popularity was ever increasing. This was a fat slab of meat that no one was willing to give up on. Naturally, Cao Xu wasn’t willing to cede his share to others either. His feud with Asskickers United had reached the boiling point. One of them had to go down!
Hearing Nie Yan’s provocation through the video, the hand Cao Xu was holding his cup with paused for a little. He took a deep breath. Nie Yan’s move was ruthless. By bringing the battle to the Realm of Death where both sides had to have equal numbers, Alliance of Mages was simply not Asskickers United’s opponent. It would practically be a one-sided slaughter. But if Crazy Magic refused, and word spread out, Alliance of Mages wouldn’t even have the face to show themselves ever again.
Hearing Crazy Magic’s words, Nie Yan inwardly sneered. Under these circumstances, Alliance of Mages definitely wouldn’t dare to accept because the Realm of Death had a rule where both sides had to have equal numbers. I want to bully you, what can you do about it?
“Asskickers United and Alliance of Mages will put forward 3,000 players each to fight in the Realm of Death. Asskickers United won’t request any outside help. If Alliance of Mages feel their strength is inadequate, they can request the help of others. As for what we’re betting on, excluding their main stronghold, the victor gets to annex five strongholds of their choosing from the other side. How about it? You scrub, do you dare to accept?” Nie Yan asked. His tone was rude and filled with provocation.
The dozen players accompanying Crazy Magic were so infuriated they wanted to go up and give Nie Yan a taste of their mind.
Crazy Magic was still hesitating. If Alliance of Mages accepted, the consequences were unimaginable. He was still waiting for Cao Xu’s reply.
Everyone was staring at Crazy Magic, waiting for his answer.
“I think Alliance of Mages is afraid.”
“I think so too. With equal numbers on both sides, Alliance of Mages is definitely no match for Asskickers United. If I was Crazy Magic, I’d obediently admit defeat.”
The onlookers quietly discussed among one another.
“Boss, we’re waiting for your word. If you agree, even though we know defeat is inevitable, we brothers will still fight it out with them. If you back down, we’ll no longer have the face to stay in Alliance of Mages. We might as well resign,” a Priest said. He was Alliance of Mages’ number one Priest, Carefree Maple Sky. He was definitely an important voice in the guild.
“He’s right, Boss! We can die fighting, but we won’t suffer disgrace!” another player chimed in. They were the elites of Alliance of Mages. They had their own pride.
Cao Xu still hadn’t responded. Crazy Magic found it hard to breathe under the pressure. If he agreed without the Century Financial Group’s go ahead, they would almost certainly lose. If he didn’t agree, the whole guild might collapse considering how much sway Carefree Maple Sky and the others had.
It was a lose-lose situation. Crazy Magic clenched his staff.