“The only thing to arcane magic is those few spells. If you put on a Flameseeker set and practice your skills a bit more, your strength will increase.”

“Speaking of which, there are more than twenty of them. How do you plan to deal with them?” Tang Yao asked. No matter how strong Nie Yan was, he was still just one person.

“That’s the difference between a thief and other classes. A thief doesn’t necessarily have to fight head-on!”

Thieves excel at ambushes.

Hearing Nie Yan’s words, Tang Yao understood somewhat. Nie Yan was planning to launch a surprise attack and defeat them one by one. However, this was also very difficult. If he was caught carelessly, he would basically be dead. Was Nie Yan being too confident?

The hills of Rein Hills were covered with dense forests and jagged rocks, with streams and scattered rocks at the foot of the mountains. The terrain was complex, so no wonder Tang Yao could hide here for so long without being caught.

There were a few vague figures on the opposite hilltop. Nie Yan ran towards them.

Tang Yao was hiding in a cave on the opposite hilltop.

These guys were really persistent. Tang Yao and the others had a conflict with them, and they were willing to waste so much time to kill Tang Yao and the others. They were being too ruthless. The reason why they dared to be so ruthless was that they knew Tang Yao and the others were casual players without a guild to back them up. Even if they were killed, they had nowhere to seek justice. Now they could take away a level from Tang Yao, control their levels, and prevent Tang Yao and the others from becoming more troublesome after their levels increased.

Nie Yan shuttled through the dense forest, only a hundred yards away from the cave where Tang Yao was hiding.

“I’m not far from you. Don’t come out yet,” Nie Yan sent a message to Tang Yao.

“Be careful. They’re quite strong,” Tang Yao knew what Nie Yan wanted to do and couldn’t help but worry.

“Don’t worry, with their level, I can easily kill them,” Nie Yan said. A bag full of health potions, a set of bronze equipment, plus a set of skills, and an Intermediate Combat Bandage that was a heaven-defying skill at the current level, killing one or two was definitely not a problem.

Tang Yao felt that Nie Yan had changed a lot, so much that he almost didn't recognize him. The timid Nie Yan of the past would never have dared to say such a thing.

Nie Yan had become more confident than before, and he gave people a sense of reliability.

While Nie Yan was talking to Tang Yao, there was a rustling sound in the distant forest.

“They’re here,” Nie Yan raised an eyebrow and hid behind a tree.

A five-man team passed through the forest.

Nie Yan looked at their class composition: an elemental mage, a holy mage, a berserker, a shield warrior, and a holy knight. Two ranged and three melee, a relatively standard setup. Their equipment wasn’t great. Not many players at the current level could wear bronze or silver equipment.

The forest was full of overgrown branches, which caused great inconvenience to the five of them. They had to lower their heads and shuttle through the gaps in the forest. The berserker slashed down with his sword, cutting off a branch blocking the way.

“Diang Cang is dead,” the shield warrior said after looking at the team chat.

“How could that be? With Diang Cang’s strength, very few people can beat him,” the holy knight said in surprise. Diang Cang’s strength was recognized among them. With a full set of Flameseeker equipment, his spell damage was at least in the top ten in the entire guild, and Diang Cang’s skills weren’t weak either.

“Diang Cang is still a red name, so his equipment…” The elemental mage looked up at the others and found that his teammates had gloomy faces, so he didn’t dare to continue asking.

“It all dropped,” the shield warrior sighed. Today was a huge loss.

“Who did it?”

“They must have had a lot of people, right?” the elemental mage thought, naturally. The other side must have relied on their numbers to kill Diang Cang. “Which team or guild did it? Let’s wipe them out!”

“The other side was just one thief,” the shield warrior said. He found it unbelievable after hearing the news.

“Didn’t Diang Cang have three people with him?”

“Yes, but all three of them were killed by one thief.”

What was going on!

“What level thief?”

“Level three.”

A level three thief killed Diang Cang and his three companions. The world had gone mad. Everyone found it incredible.

“Are you kidding me?”

“This news was personally confirmed by Diang Cang.”

Then it couldn’t be false. After all, being wiped out in a three-on-one battle wasn’t something Diang Cang would be proud of. If it wasn’t true, he wouldn’t have spread it around.

“What’s the thief’s name?” the elemental mage asked. The level difference between players wasn’t that big right now. Being able to take on two people was already amazing. Winning against three was simply godlike.

“His name is Nie Yan. Holy Empire has issued a kill order, rewarding five silver coins for killing Nie Yan once. Everyone, be extra careful when you encounter this person in the future. Diang Cang said that person has a lot of skills. Teams of three or less shouldn’t provoke him,” the shield warrior said. Although the reward for the kill order was generous, they had to be alive to collect it. Diang Cang had already been defeated, let alone them.

“Five silver coins, that’s a lot of money,” the elemental mage and others exclaimed. Five silver coins was enough for them to buy several sets of bronze equipment.

While everyone was talking, Nie Yan had quietly approached them.

“Holy Empire’s kill order? Interesting. I want to see how you’re going to hunt me down,” Nie Yan smiled disdainfully, trailing behind them, confirming the positions of the five people.

The closest to him was the holy mage, about three yards away, followed by the elemental mage, five yards. The berserker, shield warrior, and holy knight were at the front, clearing the way.

Occasionally, one or two level three Horned Deer would appear nearby, but they were quickly killed by the five. Three strong melee fighters, plus two high-output magic users, their leveling speed was quite fast.

Nie Yan waited for a suitable opportunity, following them unhurriedly.

The holy priest seemed to sense something and looked back.

Nie Yan quickly shrank behind a tree. He didn’t activate Stealth, relying entirely on his personal awareness, avoiding the holy priest’s gaze. The thief’s hidden talent automatically took effect.

Everything was calm. The holy priest didn’t find anything. Strange, was it just my imagination?

“There are monsters ahead, hurry up and catch up,” the elemental mage turned to the holy priest who was lagging behind.

“Oh, I got it,” the holy priest replied, quickening his pace to catch up.

Hearing their conversation, Nie Yan’s mind stirred. The opportunity had come. He entered Stealth and slightly quickened his pace.

“Found a Horned Deer Leader, everyone be careful,” the shield warrior shouted, holding the wooden shield in front of him and advancing slowly.

“Aren’t we looking for that arcane mage?”

“Who knows where that kid ran off to. Anyway, now that we’re here, let’s take down this Horned Deer Leader first!”

The five of them should be more than enough to deal with a Horned Deer Leader.

A huge Horned Deer appeared ahead, about the size of a water buffalo, covered in white spots, with a pair of huge antlers that resembled overgrown coral, hanging all the way down to its knees.

When the Horned Deer Leader moved, the muscles in its forelimbs trembled constantly, full of explosive power.

Seeing the shield warrior approaching, it lowered its antlers, let out a warning growl, and slowly walked over.

Horned Deer Leader: Leader Monster, HP 200/200.

“Everyone ready?” the shield warrior shouted nervously. His wooden shield and the Horned Deer Leader’s antlers were only a few inches apart. He could feel the powerful aura emanating from the Horned Deer Leader’s strong body.

“Ready.”

“We must kill this Horned Deer Leader before Feizha and Xiakou arrive!” the shield warrior said. If the five of them killed this Horned Deer Leader, they would split the equipment evenly. If some other teammates came, they wouldn’t get much.

The berserker and holy knight flanked from both sides, and the holy mage and elemental mage also took their positions.