Chapter 427 - Emergence of the Molelord
Nie Yan collected the loot Mad Blade dropped on the ground, then dashed past the Bloodlust Blades players with Gale Step before disappearing from sight.
Sun was even more direct, crushing an Unknown Transfer Scroll to immediately escape the battlefield.
The sudden death of Mad Blade left the players from Bloodlust Blades in a state of shock. None of them expected Nie Yan and Sun to succeed in instagibbing him.
One had to understand that Mad Blade was a Great Warrior with more than 4,200 health. On top of that, he had more than 10 Priests constantly healing him from the rear. For him to be killed even under these circumstances beggared disbelief.
Normally a Warrior as powerful as Mad Blade could allow a Thief to wail on him non-stop for half-minute and still have health to spare.
Following the death of Mad Blade, Bloodlust Blades' forces were like a flock of headless chickens. Even though Soaring Angel was commanding everything the whole time, Mad Blade was the intermediary that passed down his orders. With him dying, there was momentarily no leader.
The chain of command in Bloodlust Blades fell into chaos.
Witnessing Nie Yan and Sun successfully assassinating Mad Blade, Asskickers United erupted out in cheer.
"Yeah! The boss avenged Smoke Stub!"
"Don't forget Sun! He was amazing too!"
...
Even though Asskickers United's forces were steadily being pushed back due to the enemy's superiority in numbers, Nie Yan and Sun's accomplishment reinvigorated their fighting spirits and allowed them to hold firm.
The thousand players led by Nie Yan had suffered heavy losses in the battle so far, but they had also killed more than 800 enemy elites.
Back on the main battlefield outside of the Cripps Stronghold, after withstanding the first wave of attacks, Bloodlust Blades solidified their battleline and relied on their remaining two Armoured Catapults to beat Asskickers United's forces into a rather sorry state.
In this sort of open warfare, the Armoured Catapults displayed their full might, launching round after round of shells towards the forces of Asskickers United and sweeping up their players en masse.
With corpses scattered everywhere and more than 6,000 of their players having been wiped out by the bombardment of the Armored Catapults, the situation was looking grim for the forces of Asskickers United. Even so, they didn't appear discouraged in the slightest, still charging towards the enemy with unrivalled ferocity, killing quite a few Bloodlust Blades players in return.
Seeing the Asskickers United players stretching as far as the eye could see, continuously surging forward like an endless tide no matter how many of them were killed, the forces of Bloodlust Blades couldn't help but recoil in fear.
"Shit! These bastards are crazy!"
Bloodlust Blades' battleline was gradually forced on the back foot. But under the formidable might of the Armoured Catapults, Asskickers United had to pay a heavy price for every inch of ground gained.
As the fighting between both sides raged on, a thundering noise shook the battlefield as an army of players from Sapphire Shrine and Holy Empire emerged from the surrounding hilltops.
Nie Yan suddenly received a voice call. He answered to the boisterous laughter of Sleepy Fox.「Sorry for the delay. I'd say this counts as being fashionably late, right? Fa Lan is here too!」
Sapphire Shrine and Holy Empire's forces charged down the hillsides and clashed with the players from Bloodlust Blades. There was fighting taking place everywhere as the battlefield instantly became a lot more chaotic. It was hard to tell who was who.
Asskickers United, Sapphire Shrine, Holy Empire, and the five branch guilds had at least three times the forces of Bloodlust Blades, allowing them to instantly seize the advantage. The scales of victory were starting to tip in the favour of Asskickers United.
The players from Asskickers United were ecstatic over the arrival of reinforcements and started fighting with even more fervor.
"Everyone, our brothers from Sapphire Shrine and Holy Empire have arrived. Let's slaughter Bloodlust Blades together!"
"Wipe out every last one of those bastards!"
A one-sided massacre occurred as Bloodlust Blades was routed.
「Don't be so quick to celebrate, everyone. Remember, Alliance of Mages and Divine Protector's forces will be arriving soon,」Fa Lan warned.
「The more, the merrier! I was starting to worry we'd run out of people to kill!」Nie Yan laughed. Looking at the time, the ritual for summoning the Molelord was probably drawing close to an end.
Fa Lan was taken aback by Nie Yan's confidence. After all, Bloodlust Blades, Alliance of Mages, Divine Protectors, and Angel Corps had gathered a frightening number of elites. On top of this, they had almost 160,000 ordinary players and two Armoured Catapults remaining. Truthfully, the enemy's strength far exceeded their own.
Sleep Fox broke out into a wide grin.「Since you're still in the mood to crack jokes, I can put my heart at ease. You have some sort of trick up your sleeve, don't you?」
Sleepy Fox knew Nie Yan would never do something without being sure of his success.
Hearing Sleepy Fox's words, Fa Lan didn't say anymore.
While they were chatting, another large army of players appeared in the distant plains, stretching as far as the eye could see.
Alliance of Mages and Divine Protectors had also arrived. They had sent roughly 70,000 players, most of whom were fairly high-level. Furthermore, the average quality of their equipment was better than that of any other guilds.
With so many players entering the fray, the scope of the war became even grander.
The main battle was being fought by Asskickers United and Bloodlust Blades in the large plain outside the Cripps Stronghold. Meanwhile, Sapphire Shrine, Holy Empire, and the five branch guilds were dealing with Alliance of Mages and Divine Protectors on the outskirts.
Victorious Return had also dispatched around 70,000 players, all of whom were their long-standing members.
As for Radiant Sacred Flame, they hadn't taken any action yet. Their troops were still on standby outside the battlefield. This was all Nie Yan's plan.
There were players fighting everywhere outside the Cripps Stronghold, from the plains to the surrounding hills, stretching far out into the horizon.
At this moment, in the mountain forest behind the Cripps Stronghold, the ritual for summoning the Molelord was reaching the final and most crucial point. 20 Great Mages were positioned in a peculiar way, with Tang Yao standing at the center. He had the largest mana pool out of all of them at over 6,000 points in addition to the support of the Arcane Fairy, making him the ideal candidate for becoming the Molelord's main source of mana.
Yao Yao, Lustboy, and Sunny South stood in a triangle with their right palm facing upwards as magic energy spiralled above their heads. Floating within the eye of the whirlpool were the three Occult Items, Empress Finas' Fang, Empress Finas' Eye, and Empress Finas' Venom Sac!
The 16 remaining Great Mages stood in a circle roughly a meter apart from each other at the perimeter of the array. With their staffs raised, they recited a long series of cryptic chants.
Drawn below their feet was a giant hexagram. An immense amount of magic energy was swirling in the sky above the array. The hexagram array lit up with a dazzling radiance, resembling a sacrificial ceremony from the ancient past. Space warped and twisted.
A dormant existence located inside another world awoke from a long sumber...
It was an ancient and foreign existence possessing unrivalled might.
The power of the hexagram array tunneled through the void and slowly drew it over.
After the 20 Great Mages chanted for more than an hour, Tang Yao finally recited the last syllable.
Due to Alliance of Mages and Divine Protector's strength, which was allowed to flourish unimpeded in their respective cities, Holy Empire and Sapphire Shrine showed signs of faltering.
「We can't hold on much longer!」Fa Lan cried out anxiously. Nie Yan appeared completely unperturbed while he was at his wits' end. At this rate, Holy Empire and Sapphire Shrine were going to suffer a crushing defeat.
It would be extremely difficult to recover from such a scenario.
「Wait a little longer.」
Nie Yan checked the time again. His lips cracked into a faint smile. It was time for the Molelord to come out.
At this moment, a huge earthquake shook the battlefield. Everyone could feel a peculiar change as the scent of death permeated the air.
This scent originated from a different dimension and brimmed with death and corrosion. Everyone's faces paled at the powerful miasma.
Many players were alarmed and frightened. They gazed at the earth being rent asunder in the distant mountain forest. The leaking miasma left them feeling uneasy as a sense of foreboding washed over them. The stats of every player on the battlefield suddenly dropped significantly.
"What's going on!?"
"I don't know!"
A dark ray of light descended from the sky and struck the mountain forest, causing a giant sinkhole to emerge. A ten-meter sized giant beetle slowly crawled out until its towering figure was in full view. A dark golden carapace dotted in white with a metallic sheen, its body was covered in sharp barbs, including its eight legs. It had a single horn protruding far out from out of its head, resembling a giant beast from antiquity.
It's finally here! Nie Yan coldly smirked. He wanted to see just how Bloodlust Blades, Alliance of Mages, and Divine Protectors were going to deal with a Level 100 Lord!
Molelord, a Level 100 Lord with 2,000,000 health!
Everyone trembled in fear at the emergence of the Molelord!
Fa Lan turned to Nie Yan with a mix of shock and horror in his eyes. "T-t-this is your trump card?" He never expected Nie Yan to summon such a powerful creature. From the start of the war, the Armoured Catapults had played the role of slaughter machines. Their tremendous might caused Asskickers United to suffer heavy losses. However, in front of this Level 100 Lord, they looked like nothing more than children's playthings.
The Molelord was an existence that would turn the tide of this war!