The Berserker leaped high, and using the momentum of his descent, swung his sword down at Nie Yan.
Watching the Berserker’s greatsword whistle toward him, it was already at Nie Yan’s forehead.
Nie Yan sidestepped, brushing past the Berserker.
In Faith, ranged attacks have auto-aim and can only be dodged by rolling, but melee attacks can be evaded with a sidestep.
The key to this sidestep dodge against an oncoming slash is quick reflexes and precise timing—Nie Yan had trained it to perfection in his past life. After dodging the sword fighter, he sprinted toward the lake.
The Berserker’s sword struck empty air; he froze for a moment. That guy moved so fast, even dodging that.
When the Berserker turned his head, he found Nie Yan already far ahead, and he gave chase with his sword.
“Third bro, what’s wrong with you? Can’t even block someone.” The Sword Shield Warrior who charged over from the side complained.
“That rogue moves too fast. I couldn’t stop him.”
The Sword Shield Warrior glanced thoughtfully at the corpse of the Elemental Mage, Violet Flame. Violet Flame was a lonely guy, but his skills were no joke—yet he died at that rogue’s hands. It seemed that rogue was no ordinary.
“Let’s block him together！”
The Sword Shield Warrior and Berserker picked up speed.
Seeing the lake getting closer, only five or six yards away, Nie Yan pulled out a bottle of Low-level Underwater Breathing Potion and downed it.
“He’s trying to escape by diving！”
“Don’t let him get in the water.”
The Sword Shield Warrior and Berserker lunged in perfect sync. Both belonged to the warrior class, and their heavy-leap follow-up attacks were far more ferocious than those of other melee classes.
“Assault！”
"Flame Slash！"
The Sword Shield Warrior charged forward with his sword toward Nie Yan.
The Berserker brought his sword down in a Flame Slash.
They were some distance away from Nie Yan. Nie Yan turned to look at them as the flames and blade strikes rushed toward his face. A strange smile curled at the corner of his mouth. He leaped backward, plunging into Lake Randuo.
Ripples spread across the calm surface of the lake.
The Sword Shield Warrior and the Berserker rushed to the lakeside. Just as the Berserker was about to jump into the water, the Sword Shield Warrior grabbed him： "Forget it. Don't corner a desperate foe. Besides, we don't have any underwater breathing potions." The Sword Shield Warrior recalled Nie Yan's eerie smile just now—that was why he dared not enter the water, afraid that Nie Yan might have some trick waiting beneath the surface, and they'd end up stuck at the bottom.
"Just let it go like that？" The Berserker was frustrated.
"Guess it's just Zi Huo's bad luck. Serves him right for being so arrogant and running off on his own. At least it's a lesson. There are plenty of experts out there."
Several other players from the triumphant group ran up, panting. Most of them were mages, priests, or similar classes—their movement speed wasn't as fast as the warriors', so they'd fallen behind.
"So? Where's that guy?" a mage asked.
"Couldn't catch him. He jumped into the lake," the Sword Shield Warrior shook his head.
That mage glanced at the Sword Shield Warrior and the Berserker in surprise. Zi Yan and Zi Ming were two of the more renowned warriors in the guild. That thief had taken out Zi Huo first, then escaped the siege of both Zi Yan and Zi Ming. Who the hell was that thief？
"What's that thief's name？ Ask Zi Huo—he should have respawned at the cemetery by now," the mage said.
"Zi Huo said his name is Nie Yan," Zi Ming said, etching that name deep into his memory.
“Tell your subordinates to be careful from now on. If they encounter this Nie Yan, report to me immediately.” The mage said with some concern. None of them had gained the upper hand when facing Nie Yan. If ordinary guild members were to run into him, the outcome would be even more predictable.
After jumping into the water, Nie Yan swam underwater. The water of Ran Duo Lake was very clear. Rays of light shone down from the surface, refracted into colorful patterns by the water. The aquatic plants at the bottom swayed with the waves, forming a fantastical and magnificent scene.
Swimming through the aquatic plants at the bottom of the lake, Nie Yan suddenly remembered. There seemed to be a treasure chest in Ran Duo Lake too, but he wasn't quite sure about its exact location; his memory was already quite fuzzy.
It should be around here. That chest contains an auxiliary skill book — Gathering. Although Gathering is not a rare skill book, at the current level it is quite scarce. After players learn the Gathering skill, they can increase their income significantly. Every team needs at least one copy, and every solo player also needs a Gathering skill book. The high market demand coupled with supply imbalance has driven the price of Gathering skill books up considerably.
Finding that treasure chest would be very beneficial. The professional characteristics of thieves allow them to reach many places others cannot, allowing the Gathering skill to be used to greater effect.
The low-level Underwater Breathing Potion only lasts fifteen minutes. If I had known I'd be searching for a chest underwater, I would have bought a few more. Nie Yan felt quite regretful.
Something slowly submerged from the surface in the distance. Under the sunlight, Nie Yan finally saw clearly — it was a level 3 Fishman. It had a fish's body, its limbs constantly paddling, swimming extremely fast, holding a steel trident in its hand.
Nie Yan quickly hid in the aquatic plants.
If it was one-on-one, Nie Yan could easily take down a murloc, but the annoying thing about murlocs is that once attacked, they let out a sharp screech, drawing all the nearby murlocs over.
To be on the safe side, Nie Yan decided not to mess with these troublesome creatures.
A murloc swam by not far from Nie Yan, parted the water plants, and slipped into them.
As the murloc parted the water plants, Nie Yan's gaze pierced through the greenery and noticed something vaguely hidden inside.
Seeing the murloc had moved away, Nie Yan cautiously swam over. This was murloc territory—if discovered, it would be very dangerous.
Nie Yan parted the plants and searched around, finally finding a wooden chest in the water plants—the lowest-grade white chest. He wondered if it was the one from his memory.
Opening the chest, Nie Yan felt inside the wooden box. To his surprise, what he touched wasn't a skill book, but a bead.
Nie Yan checked the item's attributes.
Murloc Water-Repelling Pearl: Special item, attached skill, Underwater Breathing. Underwater Breathing: Once activated, allows breathing underwater for thirty minutes. Skill cooldown: 12 hours.
It was the lowest-grade special item. Not particularly great, but at least it could save Nie Yan a few bottles of low-level underwater breathing potions, and it would come in handy later.
It seemed this area had more than one chest. Thinking about it, with such a large lake area, the main system wouldn't set just one chest. Nie Yan continued searching, weaving through the plants. With the water-repelling pearl, he had much more time to search for chests underwater.
The water plants not far away rustled. Nie Yan's heart jumped, and he quickly hid among the nearby water plants.
A murloc emerged from the water plants and slowly swam through a gap in the plants not far from Nie Yan.
In just a moment, another murloc swam toward Nie Yan's direction.
One after another.
Murlocs were appearing more and more frequently.
Damn, could he have swum into a murloc den? Or was a group of murlocs just passing by?
A murloc was getting closer and closer, and Nie Yan's heart was in his throat. He gripped his dagger tightly. There was no way to hide now; he could only find a chance to escape. But his swimming speed was no match for the murlocs—he didn't know if he could make it.
But there were too many murlocs nearby. If they all surrounded him, Nie Yan would have no way out.
He could only blame his own greed, forgetting the danger while searching for treasure chests.
That murloc swam to about three yards from Nie Yan. As if sensing something, it stopped and raised its steel trident.
Skree skree, the murloc let out some strange cries.
Nie Yan looked in other directions. At least a dozen murlocs were surrounding his hiding spot, their gleaming steel tridents completely sealing off his escape route.
It was over. He couldn't defeat these murlocs. They swam incredibly fast in the water, and once their sharp teeth bit into an opponent, they wouldn't let go until they tore them to death.
Running was absolutely impossible, and fighting head-on was hopeless.
Nie Yan mentally prepared himself for death. He glanced at the murlocs' bodies—they had a red spot on their abdomens, their weak point. Even if he was going down, he would take at least one with him！
Just then, a sharp horn sound came from the distant lakeshore. The rhythm was tense, and the clear sound carried far into the distance.
This was the alarm for a murloc tribe under attack！
The dozen or so murlocs surrounding Nie Yan stopped swimming at once, pricking up their ears. They chattered gibberish among themselves, then unanimously swam rapidly toward the lakeshore.
The dozen or so murlocs swam further away, with hundreds more gathering toward them from all directions, like a school of fish in the water.
The murlocs disappeared from Nie Yan's sight.
Luckily, Nie Yan thought with a start. The chain of cause and effect had an unexpected result, yet it made perfect sense.