Rebirth of the Thief Who Roamed the World

Nie Yan was simply testing the waters a moment ago, which was why he only used his most basic skills. In fact, he could have bursted Faded down to zero health during the invincibility period of Gale Step. However, that would’ve left him open to the retaliation from the surrounding Mages. Even he didn’t dare to take a bombardment from them head-on, so he opted for a strategic retreat.

Nie Yan had a cautious nature. Whenever he encountered an expert, he would first gain a feel for their skill. He would then attempt to bait out as many of their trump cards as possible to minimize the possibility of them surprising him when he fought them for real.

A Thief who was quick to reveal their cards probably wasn’t an expert. Advanced Skills easily had cooldown timers of up to a week or longer. If a player wasted one, they would be without it for the next several days. If they encountered a truly life-threatening situation during this period, what awaited them would most likely be an extremely tragic end.

Every powerful skill was pivotal and not to be used lightly. Save trump cards for extraordinary circumstances: this was one of the lessons Nie Yan had learned from his 10 years in Conviction.

After his first exchange with this group of players, Nie Yan could tell that none of them were amateurs from how quickly they came to Faded’s rescue. Each of them was a seasoned expert in PvP!

Even though Nie Yan was ahead of these players by years in terms of game experience, he didn’t dare to underestimate them. He would have no problem fighting such players one on one, but there were 13 of them!

With how the skills of the various members mixed and matched with each other, the combat strength they could display wasn’t simple addition!

Nie Yan received a message from Tyrannical at this moment. He had gotten away from the players pursuing him. He was currently on standby in the area, searching for another opportunity to attack.

Just as Nie Yan was preparing to launch another ambush, he felt a cold chill at the back of his neck.

A Thief!

Nie Yan’s high Awareness allowed him to instantly lock onto the opponent’s position. While the pommel of a dagger was smashing towards the back of his head, his figure blurred into motion like a ghostly shadow. He raised his dagger and parried the opponent’s attack.

Nie Yan never expected to be seen through stealth. He quickly followed up by striking towards the Thief’s forehead with a Concussive Blow.

When the Thief was knocked out of stealth, Nie Yan was shocked to see their appearance. No wonder they discovered him!

The Thief’s pupils were rhombus-shaped and emitted a dark blue glow, resembling a dazzling gemstone. This was Sapphire Gaze, a special skill that allowed the player to see through stealth!

Just how long has he been watching me? His teammates are probably arriving soon! Nie Yan never expected to encounter such a mishap. Even the most experienced expert could still make mistakes!

The Thief panicked and raised his dagger in an attempt to parry Nie Yan’s attack.

At this time, four figures appeared on top of a slope. They were Faded, Maple Blazeheart, and the others!

Nie Yan took advantage of this opportunity to retreat. He activated Disappear and vanished from sight.

The Thief used Sapphire Gaze to scan for traces of Nie Yan, but he was nowhere to be found!

Disappear couldn’t be seen through in the initial seconds after activation!

「I can’t see him anymore!」the Thief informed through voice chat. Even Sapphire Gaze couldn’t locate Nie Yan! Just what kind of skill did the Mad Rogue use?

At this moment, the Thief discovered a silhouette almost 20 meters away. Sapphire Gaze was finally working! Nie Yan was incredibly fast. He had already made so much distance in such a short amount of time.

「He’s over there!」The Thief pointed in Nie Yan’s direction.

A glowing ball of light flew up into the sky, illuminating the ground below, and revealed a shadow dashing away.

Maple Blazeheart waved his staff as a beam of light descended from the sky.

Nie Yan quickly tumbled away. Several spells from the other Mages were flying his way, too.

「Bang!」A Holy Smite struck Nie Yan head-on, shaving away over 100 health. His Blackbright Barrier shuddered under the impact and grew dimmer.

Maple Blazeheart kept firing one spell after another at Nie Yan. His cast speed was frighteningly fast, and his timing was extremely precise, aiming every attack at the end of Nie Yan’s rolls. There was no way to guard against it!

The Warriors and Paladins quickly moved in to surround Nie Yan. They evidently came prepared, how else could they already be in position to intercept him?

Nie Yan quickly dodged to the side, avoiding the shower of spells flying at him from behind. However, he still couldn’t avoid all of them.「Bang! Bang! Bang!」

−163

−137

−156

−142

A nearby Priest waved his staff and tagged Nie Yan with a Glimmer Mark, causing a small glowing cursor to appear above his head. It revealed his exact position for some time.

The two Fighters, Berserker, and Paladin converged on Nie Yan, blocking off all paths of escape.

Charge!

Charge!

“Nirvana Flame, forfeit over your dog life!” Faded shouted with a sinister smile. He chopped down at Nie Yan with a Flame Slash, while the Paladin charged forward with a Divine Strike.

In this seemingly perilous situation, Nie Yan’s lips pursed into a sneer. Do you really think this is enough to kill me? Quit dreaming!

Demoralizing Shout!

Faded and another Warrior opened their mouths as a deep roar surged out from their throats like a great tide.

Nie Yan activated Mind Immune just as the powerful sound penetrated his eardrums.

Miss!

Faded and the other Warrior were stunned. Why did Demoralizing Shout have no effect?

Nie Yan took advantage of their momentary stupor to down an Intermediate Health Potion. With a side step, he avoided their attacks and dashed past them.

Faded swung his shield to the side in an attempt to stop Nie Yan, but he was a step too late.

Nie Yan activated Swift Retreat, crushed a Haste Scroll, and simultaneously performed the Dance of Death while dashing away.

「Bang! Bang! Bang!」Several spells struck his retreating figure, causing his Blackbright Barrier to finally shatter into tiny shards before disappearing into the air.

Nie Yan endured the damage as he melted into the surroundings. Faded and the others immediately gave chase by following the Glimmer Mark. However, he kept getting farther and farther away before eventually going out of range.

Faded, Maple Blazeheart, and the others gave up after realizing it was impossible to catch up to Nie Yan, and looked on with sullen expressions at his retreating silhouette.

“Dammit, he’s too fast!” Faded cursed. They were no match for Nie Yan’s speed. The only reason they could corner him just now was purely that their Thief spotted him with Sapphire Gaze, giving them ample time to prepare in advance.

“He’ll be back!” Maple Blazeheart declared. From start to finish, Nie Yan had never used any Advanced Skills. With such great gear, his dazzling fame as the Mad Rogue, and not to mention his status as the guild leader of Asskickers United, it would be foolish to believe he wasn’t in possession of any. The only conclusion he could reach was that Nie Yan had still only been testing them this whole time.

Faded, Maple Blazeheart, and the others tried searching around for Nie Yan. But he had already disappeared into the vast rocky wasteland.

Even after five minutes, they still found no trace of him.

“Mad Rogue, you’re sure quick to turn tail! If you have the guts, come out and fight like a man!” Faded yelled into the surroundings, his voice travelling quite a distance.

A hot-headed fellow might really be baited out by Faded’s insults.

Nie Yan was hidden within the blowing sands. After such a long time, the Glimmer Mark had already disappeared. He snickered when he heard Faded’s shouting. Dumbass! Although he was never one to back down from a challenge, he wasn’t an idiot who would get lured out by such petty insults either.

「Boss, I failed to draw out those two Priests. They regroup too quickly, and that Paladin keeps stopping me,」Tyrannical reported. It had originally been decided that he would lure away some of their players, particularly their Priests, allowing Nie Yan to mount another ambush. However, Faded’s group was on high-alert.

「No problem,」Nie Yan replied. He understood that dealing with such a group of players wouldn’t be easy.

While Faded and the others waited for Nie Yan to reveal himself again, they began hunting a few of the monsters in the surroundings. However, they didn’t dare to aggro too many at once.

Nie Yan and Tyranncial were lurking nearby, searching for the perfect opportunity to attack. Just at this moment, the Arcane Mage Casual ran out of mana and sat down to recover. The 13 players were split into 3 groups not too far from each other.

「Tyrannical, I want you to prepare to launch an ambush on Casual.」

「Okay!」

After a while, Tyrannical got into position while in stealth.

Nie Yan gazed at Faded in the distance who still hadn’t stopped shouting at the air. He wouldn’t be so lucky in this next exchange.

With Flaming Upheaval on cooldown, let’s see what other skills you’ve got!

Nie Yan made a mental note of the positions of the players in the surroundings. He revealed a cold smile as he tightly gripped his dagger. There were 13 enemies in total, not one more, not one less! It was about time to end this battle. What was about to happen next was a festival of death, a feast of slaughter!

Gale Ambush!

Nie Yan eyed Faded like prey as he started accelerating towards him. Gale Ambush increased his movement speed by an additional 200%. He was like a cheetah on the hunt, leaving after-images behind him as he dashed forward.

“Shit, it’s the Mad Rogue! He’s here again!” a Paladin noticed Nie Yan rushing out.

“You finally decided to show yourself again. I’ve been waiting!” Faded arrogantly exclaimed.

Charge!

Indomitable Will!

The Warriors and Paladins drew their swords and rushed forward to surround Nie Yan, while Maple Blazeheart, Casual, and the other Mages fired one spell after another.

“Kill!”