Chapter 1 The Gray Forest

The gray forest was where level 90 Thorn Lizards roamed. Groups of these creatures passed by from time to time. Their bodies were covered in thick, hard armor and filled with thorns. Their defenses were strong, and they even had a talent for reflecting melee damage, making them very difficult to deal with. However, their health was relatively low compared to other level 90 monsters.

Nie Yan climbed a large tree and looked into the distance. He saw Thorn Lizards passing through the forest. He raised the Headless Horseman Doro's Crossbow in his hand and aimed into the distance. After confirming his target, he pulled the trigger. Five arrows shot out swiftly, passing through the gaps between the trees. *Thud, thud, thud*, the five arrows accurately hit a Thorn Lizard.

Damage numbers floated above the Thorn Lizard's body.

After being attacked, the Thorn Lizard looked up and gazed around, locking its eyes on Nie Yan. It let out a sharp screech. Immediately, dozens of Thorn Lizards tracked towards Nie Yan's location as a group.

Nie Yan jumped down from the tree and dashed into the distance, occasionally shooting at nearby Thorn Lizards with the Headless Horseman Doro's Crossbow in his hand.

More and more Thorn Lizards surrounded Nie Yan.

Nie Yan shook out a Death Ripple Scroll. Waves of Death Ripple spread outwards, sweeping across all the Thorn Lizards. Damage numbers of over a thousand floated above their heads.

After using a Death Ripple Scroll, Nie Yan flew through the forest. After a while, when the Death Ripple Scroll cooled down, he used another one, and waves of Death Ripple spread and expanded.

After a few minutes, Nie Yan used another Death Ripple Scroll. He heard the sound of the ground shaking from behind. One after another, the Thorn Lizards fell to the ground. After a few Death Ripple Scrolls, most of the Thorn Lizards had fallen.

Nie Yan stealthily moved to the back and killed all the remaining Thorn Lizards with low health, then picked up the equipment and items on the ground.

The process of leveling up was dull and monotonous. Nie Yan's leveling speed was already very fast. In his previous life, he often squatted in one place to grind monsters for two or three months, only to level up once or twice. He basically returned to the city every two or three weeks to sell the things he had collected.

If you want to become an expert, you must be able to withstand loneliness.

Nie Yan continued to go deeper into the forest, refreshing monsters on the Thorn Lizard's territory again and again.

The City of Elements, Kavodien, was a city on a mountainside. Buildings stood tall on the mountainside, and colorful magic halos surrounded the sky, full of magical colors. The City of Elements was now extremely chaotic. There were more than twenty level four or higher guilds, large and small. These guilds were quite strong and it was difficult to tell who would win. Since there was no strong leader to clear out all the forces, the Mages Alliance, Sacred Guardians, Sword of Divine Punishment, and other guilds had all set up branches here, wanting to lay the groundwork for taking the City of Elements in the future. Niu Ren Tribe had also set up an office here.

There were still very few Niu Ren Tribe players stationed in the City of Elements, but the economic penetration of the City of Elements was quite good. Niu Ren Tribe had more than a dozen shops in the City of Elements, including five branches of the Starry Night Pharmacy, accounting for 70% of the market share here. In addition, a large number of production profession players had been recruited.

A team of five players appeared in the teleportation array of the City of Elements, Kavodien, and then teleported to a small town in the southwest of the City of Elements, Kavodien, called Keynes. Their team included an arcane mage, a warrior, a thief, a holy knight, and a priest, which could be considered a standard five-person team.

"Fei Mao, the executive guild leader asked us to go to the southeast of this town to find a wandering scroll merchant. I don't think this is very reliable. The executive guild leader said that it is a hidden NPC, and the time it appears is uncertain. He asked us to level up nearby, and maybe we will encounter it. Don't you think it's strange?" An arcane mage called Po Xiao asked the warrior next to him.

"Maybe the executive guild leader got some news from somewhere. Let's look for it first," said a warrior named Pang Xiong Mao.

"Should we take off the guild badge?" Po Xiao asked.

"The major guilds of the City of Elements are gathered here. It might be a little troublesome for us to wear the guild badge. Let's take it off. The executive guild leader told us that this matter must be kept secret," Pang Xiong Mao pondered for a moment and said.

The five of them took off their guild badges one after another.

These five people were all players from Niu Ren Tribe. Pang Xiong Mao had the highest level, level sixty-three. The others were around level sixty, which could only be considered second-tier players in Niu Ren Tribe, but they were considered top experts among all players.

The group of people walked through a plain. After arriving at the place, they searched for the hidden NPC that Guo Huai had told them about while grinding monsters to level up.

The task that Guo Huai had given them had to be completed. The thief in the team was constantly searching the map.

For two consecutive days, they searched nearby, but the hidden NPC had not been found.

"What should we do? Where is the hidden NPC?" Po Xiao said a little depressed.

"I don't know either," Pang Xiong Mao said a little helplessly. Whether this hidden NPC existed was a mystery. It was really depressing to bump around like headless flies. "I asked the executive guild leader. The executive guild leader is sure that the NPC is nearby. Let's look for it again."

At this moment, the thief in the distance sent a message that he had found the NPC.

Pang Xiong Mao and Po Xiao looked happy and quickly rushed towards the direction where the thief was.

System: The Eternal Guild is clearing the area. All nearby players are kindly requested to leave, otherwise, you will be responsible for the consequences.

Pang Xiong Mao was stunned when he saw this system prompt, and said, "This Eternal Guild is so arrogant." Niu Ren Tribe could be regarded as one of the best in Carroll City, but when clearing the area, they would never be so arrogant. They would generally choose to persuade other players to leave in a very gentle way, and would not use such a blunt and domineering tone. They would only use force when it was absolutely necessary.

"This Eternal Guild is the number one guild in the City of Elements, with about fifty to sixty thousand people, and three alliance guilds. Their strength is quite strong," Po Xiao said. Before he came to the City of Elements, he had browsed the forum of the City of Elements.

Pang Xiong Mao was dismissive of the Eternal Guild. No matter how strong they were, could they be stronger than Niu Ren Tribe? However, when he was out and about, he didn't dare to cause trouble. He would complete the task assigned by the executive guild leader first.

"Let's go find that NPC and then leave here," Pang Xiong Mao said, glancing into the distance. A group of more than ten players were talking about something and walking towards them. They looked a little unfriendly.

There were gradually more and more players from the Eternal Guild nearby. There were probably two to three thousand people within a few thousand yards, clearing the area everywhere. Batch after batch of miners came here.

"I'm under attack here. There are so many of them, they won't let me get close to that NPC!" the thief said anxiously in the team chat.

Hearing his words, Pang Xiong Mao frowned: "What's going on?"

"These bastards, damn it, they took the lead in triggering that NPC."

System: Teammate San Dao has died.

After a while, San Dao resurrected in the graveyard.

"What happened?" Pang Xiong Mao asked, San Dao hung up too suddenly.

"It's the Eternal Guild. I was the first to find that NPC. They thought it was an NPC that issued hidden missions, and they wouldn't let me get close. A few mages wanted to kill me with magic, but I dodged it. I didn't expect that there were at least five or six thieves nearby who surrounded me and killed me," San Dao clenched his fists and said. This kind of thing where people killed and cleared the area in the wild was not uncommon, but it still made people angry when they encountered it personally.

Po Xiao looked at Pang Xiong Mao next to him and asked, "What should we do? The NPC has been robbed."

"Let's go, let's report this to the guild leader first," Pang Xiong Mao said after a moment of silence. He was also indignant in his heart. If it were normal, he would definitely kill a few Eternal Guild bastards, but since he still had a task on him, he had to endure it first.

Po Xiao nodded. When they were about to use the return scroll, a group of people walked over to them, and they had to interrupt it. Being interrupted while using the return scroll meant losing the opportunity and being easily beaten passively.

There were more than ten people on the other side, led by a warrior wearing a level sixty-five dark gold suit.

Eternal Guild's Number One Warrior, Huo Tian Zhi Yi!

In the City of Elements, Huo Tian Zhi Yi could be regarded as a big shot. Needless to say, his strength was at least in the top three among all the warriors in the City of Elements.

When Pang Xiong Mao and Po Xiao saw Huo Tian Zhi Yi's equipment, they showed a vigilant look. The group of people on the other side was very strong and not easy to deal with.

"Which guild are you from?" Huo Tian Zhi Yi glanced at Pang Xiong Mao and the others. These people had good equipment. He had done a lot of things like killing people and stealing goods. There were Eternal Guild people everywhere nearby, and it was impossible for them to run. He secretly made up his mind that as long as the people on the other side were not from the alliance guild, he would eat them.

Seeing the Eternal Guild people surrounding them, Pang Xiong Mao and Po Xiao looked at each other. It seemed that today's matter could not be resolved peacefully, and they were both ready to defend.

"They don't have guild badges, they shouldn't be from any guild."

"Boss Huo Tian, their equipment is good." Several team members next to him said with a smile.

"Kill them," Huo Tian Zhi Yi said indifferently. He was really not afraid of anyone in the City of Elements, even if they were from a guild, he would kill them without hesitation, let alone casual players without a guild!

"There are too many of them, I'll cover you, run quickly!" Pang Xiong Mao shouted in the team chat, waving the greatsword in his hand to meet the several Eternal Guild players who rushed up.