Nie Yan ended the voice call. He was completely submerged in this vast green sea, observing the players coming and going.
A few players walked right past Nie Yan, but none noticed where he was.
"Can't find him. That guy's disappeared somewhere."
"Forget it. He's probably already run off." The Berserker named Lei Zi said, a sense of retreat rising in his heart. From the start till now, they had been on the defensive the whole time—lost five men and didn't even get close to Nie Yan. Nie Yan was an extremely dangerous person. If they kept chasing, instead of killing Nie Yan, they'd end up sacrificing themselves. That wouldn't be worth it.
"What about that guy Kite？"
"Got chased into the rock spider cave. I lured a few rock spiders to block the entrance, he probably can't get out."
"That thief's Stealth is almost up! He's got to be nearby!" The shield warrior said reluctantly. Could they really just let Nie Yan slip away like that？
Nie Yan locked his gaze on the Berserker. The Berserker still had 45% health. Since he had been in combat the whole time, the Berserker hadn't had a chance to sit down and recover health; the auto-regen during combat was very slow. With so many people around, he felt more relaxed mentally, but his left hand still quietly grabbed a bottle of instant recovery potion.
Also, the shield warrior wasn't letting them recover health. Being low on health made it easier to lure Nie Yan out.
Even though Nie Yan hadn't appeared, he was still a huge deterrent to them.
There was also a full-health Silence Paladin next to the Berserker, and the two came searching together in this direction.
The distance was getting closer. Neither the Berserker nor the Silence Paladin spotted Nie Yan; they were about to bump into him.
If he got bumped, the stealth effect would also be dispelled.
Nie Yan's eyes targeted the Berserker's throat. He suddenly exploded into action, his dagger swiped toward the Berserker's throat—a vital strike. With a 'pfft,' blood gushed out.
－51。
"Found him！" the Berserker yelled, quickly dodging back and gulping down an instant recovery potion.
Nie Yan wasn't about to let the Berserker get away. His dagger pierced the Berserker's heart, then a clean slash, viciously ripping it open. The health the Berserker had just recovered dropped again.
The Berserker had little health left and was also bleeding.
"Looking for death." Nie Yan was too fast; it took the Silence Paladin a moment to react. His greatsword blazed with light as he charged forward, bringing it down with one strike.
Nie Yan was about to keep chasing the Berserker when the Silence Paladin's blade came straight at him from behind.
Nie Yan didn't have much health left and couldn't take it lightly, so he dodged to the side.
The Silence Paladin stepped between Nie Yan and the Berserker, saving the Berserker.
"He's over there！"
"Over there！"
More than a dozen Blazing Holy Flame players converged on him, a barrage of magic shooting straight at him.
Looks like he'll have to let it go. Nie Yan dashed outward, performed a roll, then got up and sprinted away.
Smack, smack, smack—magic bolts slammed into the trees behind Nie Yan, exploding on impact.
One spell hit Nie Yan. -23.
Like a nimble rabbit, he weaved and dashed through the woods, pulling a twenty-yard gap between himself and the casters behind him. Soon, he'd be out of their magic range.
Meanwhile, the Berserker in what he thought was a safe zone was anything but safe.
"Damn, it's bleeding！" the Berserker cursed in frustration. His basic instant health potion was still on cooldown, so he downed a slow-recovery potion instead, but his health kept ticking down relentlessly.
－5，+3，－5，+3，－5……
The Berserker's struggle was futile. Five seconds later, his health hit zero and he dropped.
Another one taken down by Nie Yan！
The Berserker died a rather unfair death—bled dry, unable to do a thing.
A chill crept up the shield warrior's spine. This thief, Nie Yan, was terrifying—there was simply no way to pin him down！ He picked up the equipment the Berserker had dropped. The Berserker had dropped a Bronze-grade piece—at least it hadn't fallen into Nie Yan's hands.
Up ahead, a Combat Rogue and a Holy Knight blocked Nie Yan's path and charged at him.
Several magic bolts streaked in from behind.
Nie Yan quickly bandaged himself. +20, +20, +20...
Smack, smack, smack—the spells exploded on Nie Yan's body. -23, -22, -20, interrupting his bandage.
Nie Yan looked down at his health bar—seventeen points left. He lowered his head, sucked in his stomach, shifted his steps, and dodged past them. The Holy Knight's greatsword grazed his cheek, and the thief's dagger came within a hair's breadth of his abdomen.
This kind of head-on collision and evasion came down to who had the quicker eyes and faster hands.
Because the time they had to pass each other was only a few seconds.
Obviously, Nie Yan was a step ahead.
Nie Yan broke past the pursuit of the Holy Knight and the combat rogue, sped away, leaving those behind far in the dust, and disappeared into the dense forest.
“Can’t catch him, this guy’s too fast！”
“Damn, he got away again！”
In their encounters with Nie Yan, they had never seemed to gain the upper hand; six of them had already died by his hands！
“Let’s forget about today, we should head back,” said the shield warrior. He didn’t want to fight that freak Nie Yan anymore.
Everyone exchanged glances.
“Alright.”
There was a hint of helplessness in their voices. Nie Yan had already escaped, so what else could they do?
The Blazing Holy Flame players left together, keeping no more than two yards apart in case Nie Yan suddenly popped out from some corner.
“Took down another Berserker. That group is gone,” Nie Yan messaged Tang Yao.
Surrounded by over a dozen people, taking one down and then calmly walking away—what a feat! Just thinking about it made Tang Yao’s blood boil. Too bad he was an Arcane Mage, not a rogue.
“Bro, you gotta look out for me more in the game from now on,” Tang Yao said with a grin. It’s good to have a strong backing, after all.
"No problem." Nie Yan said readily. Time reveals a person's heart; in his previous life, when he was in the deepest trouble and forgotten by all, he finally understood what a brother truly meant. Among brothers, loyalty comes first, so he naturally wouldn't hesitate.
After those Blazing Holy Flame players left, Nie Yan found the Rock Spider Cave on the cliff wall.
The gaping cave entrance was pitch black, leading who knows where. The stone walls were covered with hanging spider silk, like vines, obscuring the entrance.
This was a level 5 map, so not many players came here to level up.
"Rock Spider Cave, this is a good place." Nie Yan muttered, recalling all the information related to Rock Spider Cave from his previous life.
Pushing aside the spider silk, Nie Yan crawled inside. The ground was a bit muddy. As he walked deeper, the cave twisted and turned, the space very narrow.
The rock spiders here were all level 5 monsters. One-on-one, Nie Yan might be able to handle it, but if he ran into two or more rock spiders, he'd only have the chance to flee.
Squeak, squeak — sharp spider screeches came from deep inside the cave, echoing for a long time.
A chill ran through the air, with cold drafts occasionally blowing from the cave's depths.
"Tell me your coordinates." Nie Yan said in the voice chat.
"352.238.235. There are over a dozen rock spiders on the way. Can you make it？ "
"Let's give it a try first." Nie Yan glanced at his current coordinates. He wasn't far from Tang Yao's location, and carefully made his way through the tunnels.
Squeak! A sharp screech sounded right beside his ear as a rock spider leaped out from a narrow passage next to him.
Nie Yan quickly stepped back, and as the rock spider pounced close, he stepped forward and used Stun.
The rock spider fell into a dazed state.
Rock Spider： 108/130.
Nie Yan launched a few attacks, then followed up with Assassinate, Slice, and Vital Strike.
The rock spider kept pouncing toward Nie Yan. The rock spider was two levels higher than Nie Yan, dealing very high damage—each pounce could cause over thirty points of damage.
Nie Yan kept dodging back and jumping while repeatedly swinging his dagger, stabbing it into the rock spider's body, maintaining a kiting combat style. After more than twenty seconds, the rock spider screeched and fell to the ground.
Nie Yan checked his HP. It was down to 22%. Killing rock spiders was still quite risky. However, each rock spider kill granted a large amount of experience, nearly 280 points, which was very generous.
This rock spider didn't drop anything.
Nie Yan sat down to rest and ate some bread. His HP quickly recovered to full, and all his skills were off cooldown.
Nie Yan stood up and continued deeper. There were three rock spiders moving ahead. After observing their positions, he took out a crossbow, walked to the edge of the rock wall, and aimed an arrow at the nearest rock spider.
With a whoosh, the bolt shot forward in a straight line.
-5, -3, -5—three damage numbers floated above the rock spider's head.
That rock spider charged toward where Nie Yan was hiding, squeaking frantically as it lunged at him.
Nie Yan successfully lured this rock spider without alerting the other two. Seeing the spider pounce, he grabbed his dagger and charged forward, striking repeatedly. Damage numbers kept floating above the rock spider's head.
Twenty seconds later, Nie Yan killed the rock spider and picked up its drop—a single copper coin.
After recovering, Nie Yan continued to use his crossbow to lure the next rock spider.
Nie Yan walked forward a bit more, killed a few rock spiders, and finally reached the coordinates Tang Yao mentioned. Up ahead was a fork in the road, an open flat area where at least a dozen rock spiders were moving about.
Nie Yan observed the situation. Getting through safely would be quite difficult. If he shot one of the rock spiders with his crossbow, he worried it might attract more than just that one.
"If it's only two, maybe I can handle them," Nie Yan thought, but it would mean wasting more bandages. He didn't have many bandages left; a mid-grade combat bandage cost twenty copper coins, which most people couldn't afford.