The conference hall in a.s.skickers United’s guild headquarters. 10 Mages stood around the transfer gate, patiently waiting for word from Nie Yan.
Guo Huai restlessly paced back and forth. Ever since Nie Yan came up with that crazy idea of his over a week ago, he was filled with stress. Simply catching a Level 200 Variant Lord, he’d said it so casually. But how could it be easy to capture!?
Under the combined efforts of the Engineers, Blacksmiths, Enchanters, and Tinkerers, they had finally created a cage. It had given Guo Huai some semblance of confidence. However, after Nie Yan started enacting the plan, he couldn’t help but let doubt get the better of him. Would this really work? He didn’t want to get his hopes up.
Everyone in the conference hall were loyal members of a.s.skickers United. They could be fully trusted. Everyone stared at the transfer gate.
“Do you think the boss will succeed?”
“Who knows? That’s a Level 200 Variant Lord.”
Most of the people remained skeptical. After all, Nie Yan’s objective was simply too ambitious.
Finally, the transfer gate lit up with a dazzling light. Everyone s.h.i.+elded their eyes.
“The boss did it! He captured the Violet Eye Dragon!”
“Don’t dally! Complete the transfer!”
The Mages quickly started chanting. A moment later, a different-looking cage appeared before their eyes. Within was a ma.s.sive dragon. They couldn’t help but back away in fear.
Even though the Violet Eye Dragon was locked down by the cage, it was still radiating its draconic aura which beared down on them intensely. For many this was the first time seeing such a high level Variant Lord.
The Violet Eye Dragon fiercely gazed at everyone in the hall. But it couldn’t move. And with its throat locked down, it couldn’t cast any magic either. All it needed was an extra inch of s.p.a.ce, and it could easily wipe out all these ants in here.
Unlike the Mages, Guo Huai and the other Level 0 players were far worse off. They all retreated a great distance back. Only then did they feel the pressure lessen. They were gasping heavily. Raising their heads to stare at the Violet Eye Dragon, their hearts were filled with an indescribable emotion.
“How did the boss manage to catch this thing?”
“I heard he used some kind of knockout potion.”
“For real? I didn’t know we even had such powerful potions. It can actually knock out a Level 200 Variant Lord.”
“I’m not sure either.”
None of them knew exactly how Nie Yan had done it. All they knew for certain was that he had done it, the living proof right in front of their eyes.
“I wonder how long it’ll take to tame this Violet Eye Dragon.”
“If we invite the Viridian Empire"s best Beast Tamers, I’m guessing it will take at least half a year.”
The Mages were in excited discussion. Even though taming the Violet Eye Dragon was extremely difficult, most of them ignored this matter. Their focus was on what would happen afterwards. If a Level 200 Variant Lord were to step onto the battlefield, it would absolutely become the enemy’s worst nightmare!
Guo Huai was the first to calm down. It appeared there really was nothing Nie Yan couldn’t do. He could even capture a Level 200 Variant Lord! Guo Huai was truly impressed.
After confirming the Violet Eye Dragon had been successfully teleported back to the guild headquarters, Nie Yan returned to Okoron with Instant Transmission. Undying Scoundrel, Summer Bug, and the others also hurried back.
Guo Huai waited for Nie Yan in the conference hall.
“Where are we going to place this guy?” Nie Yan turned to Guo Huai. “We can’t let anyone find out.”
“I understand.” Guo Huai rubbed his chin. “Let’s just keep it in here.”
Nie Yan looked around and frowned. “This place is too small.”
“Too small?” Guo Huai was stunned. This conference hall was already so large. How could it be too small?
“It works for one Violet Eye Dragon, two or three too I suppose. But it’s too small to hold all seven. We need a bigger s.p.a.ce,” Nie Yan explained.
“W-wait, you’re planning to capture seven?” Guo Huai blurted out in shock. “Uh… Hmm… give me a moment. I’ll find a more suitable place.” Since the caged Violet Eye Dragon was a top secret, they had to take extra precautions to make sure nothing leaked out.
“Have the artisans build more cages,” Nie Yan said. He wouldn’t give the other six Violet Eye Dragons the chance to get away!
“I already pa.s.sed down the order, but what about finding a Beast Tamer? Since we caught the Violet Eye Dragon, it would be a waste if we didn’t tame it,” Guo Huai said. Taming it was a whole ‘nother matter, perhaps even more headache inducing than capturing it.
Nie Yan stared at the Violet Eye Dragon. He had already thought about taming it, which would be no simple task. “I’ll get Beast Tamer Collinson to come over.”
“Collinson? You mean the high rank Beast Tamer in the pet shop?” Guo Huai asked.
“That’s the one.” Nie Yan nodded.
“That’s a high rank NPC. Can you really call him over?” Guo Huai asked. NPCs weren"t so easily ordered around.
Nie Yan chuckled. “Don’t forget I’m a Great Prophet, and my status in the Temple of Light is equivalent to that of a Cardinal. I can call upon the army of Calore. Summoning one NPC is nothing in comparison.”
Guo Huai nodded in realization. Nie Yan’s t.i.tles were something else. With his status, calling over Beast Tamer Collinson really wouldn’t be a problem.
“Find a place to store it and get preparations underway for the next six. I"m making a run to Calore,” Nie Yan said. He turned around to leave.
“Wait a second,” Guo Huai called out.
“What?” Nie Yan turned around.
“I received an interesting piece of information, but I haven"t had a chance to confirm it yet. Apparently, there’s a secret NPC at the back of the pet shop, sometimes; he rarely appears. His Beast Tamer rank is higher than Collinson. He’s a Grandmaster. If Collinson takes half a year or even longer to tame the Violet Eye Dragon, it might be better to call over that NPC instead,” Guo Huai said. One of his subordinates had told him about this NPC not too long ago.
“I understand. I’ll go over and take a look,” Nie Yan said. If that NPC really did exist, he would call them over.
Nie Yan teleported to Calore, Instant Transmission proving once again to be an incredibly valuable skill, and headed for the pet shop.
As Nie Yan walked, he examined the progress of the war. Angel Corps had launched several more attacks on Okoron, only to be repelled every time. However, they had succeeded in razing down 10 of the surrounding strongholds in the Abernathy Great Gra.s.slands. a.s.skickers United’s players tenaciously fought back, and had pushed back Angel Corps’ main force to the edge of the territory.
In the Satreen Empire, the fighting was still as chaotic as ever. With the aid of Fallen Angel, a.s.skickers United held a slight advantage. Though, the advantage of fighting on their home turf gave Angel Corps a large edge. a.s.skickers United could only eke out small gains. What worried Nie Yan the most was that a.s.skickers United’s aerial troops had suffered heavy losses in two large-scale battles. All the resources Angel Corps had invested into their flying mounts was finally showing results.
So far, a.s.skickers United had lost a fair bit more than 8,000 flying mounts while Angel Corps lost only 7,000. Unfortunately, Angel Corps had far more flying mounts than a.s.skickers United. It was an uphill battle they were losing for now.
It was a pity that the Darkwing Dragon was still recovering. Xie Yao’s Immortal Phoenix had yet to fully mature to the full strength of a Rank 8 flying mount as well. Plus, its Rebirth skill was still on cooldown. They couldn’t afford to take any risks right now. Looking at the Spectre Dragon’s current state, Nie Yan was extremely satisfied with its growth. It could break through to Rank 7 at any moment.
a.s.skickers United required more Rank 7 and Rank 8 flying mounts. In the face of a high rank flying mount, all Angel Corps’ low level flying mounts were nothing more than cannon fodder.
Nie Yan had Bladelight and the others focus on capturing stronger flying mounts. If they needed help, he could rush to their side. He looked back over the stats of the Spectre Dragon, the pet shop only a few streets away.
...
Angel Corps guild headquarters. Soaring Angel had just returned from the Phoenix Den. Looking at one of the reports, he knitted his brows. What was Nirvana Flame doing in the Fate River? So many people in such an insignificant map, they were most likely planning something big.
The Thieves he had dispatched to monitor any movements in Calore had discovered Nie Yan and Silvery Night’s movements. However, they had no idea Nie Yan had just captured a Violet Eye Dragon. If Soaring Angel knew, he definitely wouldn’t be able to sit still.
Soaring Angel rubbed his chin and pa.s.sed down an order. “Have the Thieves dispatch a squad to the Fate River and investigate. If they encounter players from a.s.skickers Untied, tell them to back away and immediately report to me.”
Soaring Angel caressed the longbow in his hand. During this time, he had been thinking of ways of dealing with Nie Yan. Right now, he had a completely new understanding of the Demon Hunter cla.s.s. If he could confirm Nie Yan’s position, he’d like to test himself against Nie Yan again. It had been a long time since their last clash. He wondered if the Mad Rogue’s reputation still held.
Before long, a team of 20 Thieves from Angel Corps set out.
Nie Yan had no idea Angel Corps had already noticed his movements in the Fate River. The artisans were hard at work building another cage for the sake of capturing the next Violet Eye Dragon.
After pa.s.sing through the bustling streets, Nie Yan entered the pet shop.
“Great Prophet, how may I help you today?” Beast Tamer Collinson asked, giving a deep bow.