Rebirth of the Thief Who Roamed the World

Everyone in Sinful Gorge cried out in alarm. Hundreds of players from various guilds scrambled toward the Golden Dragon’s corpse in an attempt to snatch away the drops. All hell broke loose as not a single guild was willing to give up on the most important drop, the Golden Dragon Horn!

Which lucky player would get their hands on this coveted item?

Several fleet-footed Thieves were merely feet away, only to be flanked by a group of charging Warriors.

Another group of Warriors rushed past them and made a grab for the drops.

Within the chaos, no one could differentiate between ally or foe. Not that it mattered. Everyone wanted the loot for themselves anyway!

Roaring Flames!

A Mage finished chanting as a large blazing cloud condensed in the sky. A torrent of fireballs rained down over the battlefield, wiping out a huge swath of players in a 20 meter radius around the Golden Dragon’s corpse. Their bodies transformed into motes of light as they were sent back to the graveyard.

Everyone looked toward the center, spotting a golden horn shimmering among the glow of the flames. Enthralled, they almost missed the pieces of equipment nearby.

A Demonified Lord was guaranteed to drop at least Sub Legendary-grade equipment. Even Legendary-grade equipment wouldn’t be a rare sight.

Such equipment was undoubtedly of immense allure. But anyone who wanted to obtain them would have to stake their lives!

No one dared to approach while the flames raged wildly, lest they wished to throw their lives away!

The loot was so close, yet so far away.

It would be a while before the winner and the losers were determined.

Over on the other side of the battlefield, Nightbreak Trickster was momentarily distracted by the death of the Golden Dragon. But in that brief period of absent-mindedness, Nie Yan took action and closed in on him from behind with Dance of Death.

Nightbreak Trickster’s heart shook when he felt the unmistakable tingle of a dagger mere inches from his neck. He cast Repel and clad himself in a suit of Ice Armour.

Nie Yan ducked to the side, evading the repelling force wave.

Ice Wall!

While a thick slab of ice rose up from the ground between him and Nie Yan, Nightbreak Trickster relied on his quick speed to retreat into the distance.

Nie Yan agilely leapt over the wall and dashed toward Nightbreak Trickster.

With Eyes of the Divine activated, the nearby Paladins moved to surround Nie Yan.

At the same time, Nightbreak Trickster waved his staff and prepared to fire an Ice Rupture at the rapidly approaching Nie Yan, only for his figure to flash before vanishing into thin air at the very last moment.

Target lost.

The instant his cast was interrupted, Nightbreak Trickster’s pupils constricted as he felt a cold chill run down his spine.

Nie Yan’s speed was unmatched. Regardless of how godly they were, without any crowd control magic like Repel at hand, any Mage that allowed a Thief like him to get this close would be resigned to death.

Nightbreak Trickster wanted to run, but it was too late. Nie Yan reappeared behind him like a phantom and struck him in the back of the head with Smothering Strike, then followed up with Cut Throat.

Blood sprayed into the air.

A large portion of Nie Yan’s damage was absorbed by the Ice Armour. He would have to break it first if he wanted to kill Nightbreak Trickster.

Spells like Ice Armour weren’t all that powerful under normal circumstances. But because Nightbreak Trickster’s Magic Ignition increased the effectiveness of all Elementalist Magic by 300%, its defensive capabilities rose dramatically, making him as durable as the tankiest of Warriors.

“Quick! Save the boss!”

The nearby Priests and Paladins all cast their heals on Nightbreak Trickster as a curtain of gentle light descended on him.

Backstab! Eviscerate! Nie Yan’s sharp attacks stabbed into Nightbreak Trickster’s back, whereupon the Ice Armour finally shattered.

At this time, the Warriors and Paladins charged up to Nie Yan while a shower of spells whizzed toward him

「Bang! Bang! Bang!」He clenched his jaw through the intense barrage that depleted his health to only 20%, and drank an Intermediate Health Potion.

Assassinate!

Nie Yan plunged Splitting Edge deep into Nightbreak Trickster. Afterwards, he activated its innate skill—Blast! A powerful explosion of energy erupted forth, sending his opponent flying away like a ragdoll.

The Priests had no time to react!

Nightbreak Trickster landed on the ground with a thud, a single piece of of equipment dropping from his corpse. But before Nie Yan could collect his spoils, a shower of magic rained down on him while the Warriors and Paladins moved in to surround him, leaving him with no choice but to retreat.

Nie Yan activated Shadow Waltz and disappeared from sight.

Several Warriors were about to charge forward, when they felt a slight breeze brush past them. Not a single player from Radiant Sacred Flame could prevent Nie Yan’s escape. They were only left with the corpse of their guild leader, whom they slowly gathered around with disheartened expressions.

Seeing this scene, the guild leaders spectating in the distance were frozen in shock. Nightbreak Trickster died, just like that? Even after putting on such a domineering display of power, he was still cut down like a dog in the end!

When they recalled Nie Yan’s cruel smile atop the tree branch, each of them felt the blood in their veins run cold.

They searched for signs of Nie Yan, only to discover he had fled the scene long ago. While he was stealthed, he was akin to an invisible guillotine ready to drop down at a moment’s notice, instilling a sense of soul-piercing dread in whoever crossed his path.

News of Nightbreak Trickster’s death rang heavy in the hearts of the players of Radiant Sacred Flame spread across the battlefield, while Nie Yan’s legend still stood tall. It appeared the might of Asskickers United was unshakable! Even their guild leader wasn’t a match for the Mad Rogue! This was a huge blow to their morale.

At this moment, a group of players plowed through the forces of Radiant Sacred Flame and Victorious Return to reach the center of Sinful Gorge.

“Boss, we’re here!”

The players from Asskickers United finally arrived. All of them were branded with deep crimson names, frightening the various guilds in Sinful Gorge. No one dared to bar their path.

Undying Scoundrel, Summer Bug, Edgeless, Monochrome, and so on, many of these famous players were among the group. Even more shocking was that they all had blood-red names! Who knew how many kills were required to reach such a state? The very sight made everyone swallow their breath.

As soon as they showed up, they engaged the players of Victorious Return. It was a one-sided slaughter!

The surrounding guilds couldn’t help but shudder in fear. The players from Asskickers United were simply too ferocious!

“How many players did we lose?” Nie Yan asked Undying Scoundrel.

“Around 600, but their deaths weren’t in vain. We’ve taken out tens of thousands of players from Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame, so far!”

Nie Yan looked over at his forces. Not a single player from Asskickers United wasn’t branded with the PKer status. Even the Priests had red names. From this, it was clear they had killed no small number of players.

Nie Yan gazed over at the Golden Dragon’s corpse.

The scramble for the drops was still going strong as not a single drop was successfully looted so far. The perimeter of dead bodies surrounding the Golden Dragon’s corpse was growing ever higher, even while the game was continuously despawning them. Anyone that got too close would be instantly obliterated by a dense bombardment of spells.

The situation sunk into a deadlock

With more than a dozen guilds present, no side could obtain the Golden Dragon Horn or any of the other drops without being stopped by the others.

“No one has picked up the Golden Dragon Horn yet. What do we do? Five items dropped, the Golden Dragon Horn and four pieces of equipment that are at least Sub Legendary-grade! How about we clear the place out, then go for the loot after?” Sleepy Fox asked. Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame were beaten into a full retreat, so they had lost their main competitors. With only three of the major guilds still in play, if they were to combine their forces to carry out a full sweep, none of the second-rate guilds could hope to resist them. However, there were simply too many. Together these guilds could still put up a good fight.

“The cost of carrying out a full sweep is too high. It’s not worth it. We’ll be making enemies out of over a dozen guilds!” Nie Yan replied. The combined strength of Asskickers United, Holy Empire, and Sapphire Shrine hadn’t yet reached a point where they could annihilate all the other guilds in Calore.

“Then what do we do?” Sleepy Fox asked, gazing helplessly at the drops from the Golden Dragon. They were so close, but yet so far. This was extremely depressing.

“If we get the loot, I want the Golden Dragon Horn. The rest can be divided up evenly between you guys. But if there’s any Legendary equipment, it’ll go to the highest bidder. How does that sound?” Nie Yan proposed. It wasn’t like he didn’t have any methods. If he activated Adjudicator of God, he could easily snatch up the loot without a scratch. Even though it would be a slight waste, ten days was nothing compared to the Golden Dragon Horn and Sub Legendary or possibly even Legendary-grade equipment.

The Golden Dragon Horn itself was equivalent to a Legendary-grade item. Although he didn’t know the stats of the summon, it absolutely wouldn’t be weak! As for the other items, it was hard to say. However, anything Sub Legendary-grade wouldn’t be too terrible.

“You have a plan?” Fa Lan asked in surprise. With so many guilds covetously eyeing the drops, it would be extremely difficult not to earn the ire of everyone if they took everything for themselves.

“I do, actually.”

“If you have a way for us to obtain all the loot, I’m willing to agree to these terms,” Sleepy Fox replied. At least something was better than nothing.

“I as well,” Fa Lan echoed. This was a very easy choice to make. All the spoils would generally go to whoever obtained them. Nie Yan willing to share them was a show of consideration to their alliance. As for the Golden Dragon Horn belonging to him, neither of them raised any objections.

It would be too outrageous if Nie Yan swallowed up everything himself. After all, Asskickers United hadn’t partcipated in the battle against the Golden Dragon. Holy Empire and Sapphire Shrine had put in most of the work and suffered considerable losses. If they weren’t given fair compensation, no matter what excuse was provided, a crack would inevitably form in their alliance.

At times, a small sacrifice had to be made to obtain a larger profit!