Chapter 862 – Encounter in the Skies
When news of Angud’s death reached the ears of the alliance, several million players broke out in cheers. Nothing could block Asskickers United’s path to the top! The Atlanta continent would be theirs!
Like a stone dropped into still water, the entire Righteous Faction was stirring.
All members of the alliances dispatched their troops as previously agreed upon. Holy Empire, Sapphire Shrine, the War God Tribe, Battle Crazed Alliance, and Radiant Sacred Flame divided 700,000 of their players into three different armies, all of them marching towards the Satreen Empire like a raging tide. The five branch guilds sent a force 1,000,000 strong. Asskickers United also dispatched 100,000 players, keeping the remaining 400,000 behind to defend Okoron and the other strongholds and keep the 600,000 Angel Corps players in the Abernathy Great Grasslands in check.
Nie Yan summoned his Darkwing Dragon and hopped on its back. It flapped its wings and took off in the air.
So far, everything was going according to plan. The different armies would soon reach the Satreen Empire.
Nie Yan had various videos coming in, all of which were captured from an aerial view. In valleys and plains, player forces marched forward like a flowing river while catapults slowly advanced among their ranks, stretching out off into the horizon as far as the eye could see. Up in the sky were numerous black dots. They were all flying mounts.
The alliance had over 12,000 flying mounts combined, 90% of which was made out of low rank ones while the rest were Rank 5 or higher. This was already an extremely powerful aerial force, enough to completely cover the skies.
Bladelight and the other Masters also summoned their own flying mounts and took to the sky.
“We’re finally going to war.”
“I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.”
“With a single command, you made millions of people move. That must feel pretty amazing, huh?” Bladelight asked Nie Yan with a smile.
A myriad of emotions stirred in Nie Yan’s heart. He never once thought he’d be in such a position one day. In his past life, he was a target of scorn, forced into a path of no retreat by the Century Financial Group. But in this life, he had obtained the power to stand on equal footing with the likes of Soaring Angel and Cao Xu.
After reaching this point, the knowledge from his past life was already no longer relevant, only coming in handy on special occasions. Now, Nie Yan could only rely on his own ability to solve things step by step, such as the Tyrant Abak Set and Zennarde’s Sword.
Nie Yan was without a doubt already at the top, looking down on everyone from high above like the sun in the sky. The various emotions welling up in his heart wasn’t something people could understand. This was his secret, one he would take to the grave.
Looking in the distance, Nie Yan took in the grand landscape.
Breathing in deeply, a sense of heroism bubbled forth from his heart. “If we liken the entire Atlanta continent to a Chinese chess board, we’ve only crossed the river. The game is only beginning!”
The group of Masters couldn’t help but think back to the start of the game. Nie Yan had recruited them one by one, a nobody contacting them to join a guild without backing. That was how it all started. They never imagined themselves being in this kind of place today.
“Sometimes, I feel like you’re some kind of time traveller. Ever since I first met you, it was like you knew everything in advance.” Bladelight glanced at Nie Yan with a smile.
Nie Yan lightly jolted, his heart skipping a beat as he felt like his secret had been exposed.
Bladelight chuckled. “Of course, time travel doesn’t exist. Nor can we predict the future. I don’t know why, but I feel like I—no, all of us have absolute faith that you’ll lead us in the right direction. Perhaps that’s the main source of our strength.”
Nie Yan chuckled. “Well, I can tell you I’m not 100% confident we’ll win against Angel Corps and the Century Financial Group in this war.”
“Even if we lose, so what!? We’ve already left our mark in the game!” Undying Scoundrel was rather positive.
For all of them, their experiences in Conviction were filled with glory, enough to be remembered for a lifetime. Even in 20 years from now, people in the game would still talk about them enthusiastically.
“Let’s not get so emotional. We haven’t even started fighting yet. This war won’t be won with a single battle. We’ll be fighting them for months, maybe even years. But I’m confident the boss will lead us to victory and unify the entire Righteous Faction!”
Nie Yan glanced at Xie Yao riding atop her white phoenix’ back about 20 meters away. Her beautiful appearance under the glow of the white flames evoked countless memories in his mind.
Time seemed to come to a halt.
No matter what, this war had to be won. The outcome was related to their fate.
Even though Asskickers United wasn’t any weaker than Angel Corps and the Century Financial Group combined, defeating these two great powers would prove quite difficult. And that was without considering the aces hidden up their sleeve!
“I heard both Angel Corps and the Century Financial Group are frantically recruiting more manpower.”
“It doesn’t matter how many more people they pull in. They’ll just be increasing the burden on their payroll. The crucial part is the strength of their core members.”
Listening to his teammates’ conversation, Nie Yan checked on the overall situation. Guo Huai had 200 administrative players forming a brain for the guild. They would be responsible for receiving all the reports coming in from the various fronts as well as passing on information, giving out commands, and so on.
Before long, Nie Yan received word that Holy Empire’s forces had suffered an attack from three of the guilds under the Century Financial Group. They fiercely fought back, with both sides losing over 10,000 players.
This was merely the beginning!
Battles broke out all across the Satreen Empire, but the main battlefield was in the Abernathy Great Grasslands.
As they arrived in Okoron, Nie Yan allowed the troops under him to recuperate. Gazing into the distance atop the walls, he saw Angel Corps’ catapults slowly advancing forward. The 600,000-man army had the city completely surrounded.
In a battle of this scale, no matter how strong he was as an individual, there was no way he could go against the heavens. At best, he could turn things around in a small local area. Pets couldn’t make much of an impact either, their prowess greatly reduced by siege weapons like catapults.
Countless players from Asskickers United stood atop Okoron’s walls. All the defensive structures were also active.
A group of 100 flying mounts flew close by.
They were all Angel Corps forces!
“It’s time for battle!” Nie Yan turned to the players behind him.
Nie Yan had over 20 flying mounts, one rank 8 Darkwing Dragon and three Rank 7 flying mounts, which comprised the Immortal Phoenix[1], Azure Dragon, and Crystal Winged Dragon, while all the rest were Rank 6.
The Darkwing Dragon took the vanguard and charged toward the enemy flying mounts.
…
Skyscraper was a wing captain in Angel Corps’ aerial force. He had over 100 flying mounts under him, of which there were three Rank 6 flying mounts while the rest were all Rank 5. He was in charge of reconnaissance. He led his members into circling the skies over Okoron. They were divided into six squads.
「Squad One reporting, everything here is clear. We haven’t discovered Asskickers United’s flying mounts,」Skyscraper said. As he made a turn, the flying mounts behind him followed suit, forming an arrow in the sky.
「Captain, why do you think Asskickers United’s aerial forces hasn’t appeared yet?」
「I don’t know. Be careful. Asskickers United is different from any enemy we’ve faced before!」
「Captain, we’ve spotted an enemy flying mount!」
「It’s the Darkwing Dragon!」
Skyscraper’s heart trembled. He anxiously shouted,「Everyone, retreat!」
Skyscraper looked around, only to discover that they were already surrounded!
「Captain, what do we do!?」
「Let’s fight them! They only have 20 flying mounts, we have a hundred!」
「Did you get dropped on the head? Those guys are Nirvana Flame’s elite forces! Even if we had twice as many troops, we’d still be no match for them! Just listen to my orders, retreat!」Skyscraper shouted. He took the lead in trying to charge out of the encirclement.
Suddenly, an enormous phoenix cut him off. Standing atop its back, Xie Yao looked like a goddess, so beautiful it was stifling.
The phoenix breathed out a mouthful of flames, the fire shooting forward like a streaking meteor.
Skyscraper suddenly pulled on his Thunder Hawk, causing it to make a rapid descent and evading the flames by just a hair’s breadth. BOOM! The flames struck a Rank 5 flying mount behind him. It let out a shrill cry and plummeted from the sky, still covered in raging flames.
A scorched flesh smell spread out through the air.
Skyscraper’s face paled. That was the phoenix’s True Fire skill! If he had been hit by it, he could only imagine the consequences. He couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat.
「Captain! Nirvana Flame is closing in on us from behind!」
Skyscraper glanced back and discovered the Darkwing Dragon swooping down on them. Its enormous frame covered the entire sky. Its two claws grabbed onto a flying mount and tore it into shreds. In the blink of an eye, another flying mount fell down from the sky.
Several nearby flying mounts attacked the Darkwing Dragon, but it was like they were hitting a steel plate. They couldn’t even leave a mark on its scales.
「Captain, it’s too strong! We can’t get through its defense!」
「Captain, what do we do?」
…
Their voices were shaking with fear. This was the first time they’d encountered this kind of situation.
「You idiots, why aren’t you running!?」Skyscraper cursed.
1. In Chapter 840 Mad Snail said the phoenix was Rank 8, now it’s back to Rank 7…
