Chapter 396 - Illusion Steps

Lightning Storm was a Rank 2 Elemental Hall Magic with a radius of 75 meters.

Most spells classified as Advanced Magic possessed an immense destructive power and were unparalleled at killing players. Only certain special life saving skills could allow a player to escape from one.

A cryptic chant flowed out of Cold Flame’s mouth as if he were counting down the seconds to the day of reckoning. As soon as the last syllable left his mouth, a cataclysm would descend upon the world!

A sparse 20 seconds remained before Cold Flame completed his incantation. Every second that passed brought Nie Yan’s group one step closer to doom!

“Paladins, stop that Elementalist! Warriors, open up a path!” Nie Yan ordered, his tone grim. He feared the ordinary members of Asskickers United were no match for who they were about to face. 20 seconds simply wasn’t enough time! He swept his gaze over the players on the side of Mad Blade. All class advanced, this will be tough... I guess it’s up to me. He activated stealth, and his silhouette slowly faded into the background.

Charge!

Indomitable Will!

More than 30 Warriors and Paladins rushed out towards Mad Blade and his group with a single purpose in mind. Preventing Cold Flame from casting Lightning Storm!

“All trash!” Starbright snorted. Anyone below Level 50 was nothing more than an ant in the eyes of a class advanced player. He waved his staff and fired out an Arcane Flame Burst.

「Bang!」The Arcane Flame Burst arced in a parabola and smashed into one of the Paladins, blasting him backwards until he crashed into a tree, killing him instantly.

Starbright appeared absolutely domineering with his superior level, gear, and stats.

What a powerful attack!

“Did you already forget about us? As if we’d let you cast Silence so easily!” The three Shamans each placed down a different totem, greatly buffing the stats of Mad Blade and the others.

Chain Lightning!

Three bolts of lightning crackled through the air and struck the Paladins and Warriors from Asskickers United. Thankfully, the Priests in the back provided timely support and prevented them from dying.

Paladin of the Elegy scanned the battlefield before giving out an order in voice chat,「All Mages, take down the Elementalist and Shaman over there!」

The Mages raised their staffs and sent a shower of spells flying towards the Shaman.

Seeing that things weren’t looking good, the Shaman wanted to turn tail and flee, but it was already too late.

Despair filled his eyes as more than 30 spells rained down on him and blasted him into oblivion.

The Elementalist also suffered a similar fate.

Even if they were stronger, they still wouldn’t be able to survive such an intense barrage!

Mad Blade was holding off seven Warriors and Paladins by himself. He let out a deep roar and struck the ground with his sword set ablaze.

Flame Quake!

Fissures spewing scorching flames snaked through the terrain and blasted the Warriors and Paladins back, dealing over 1,000 damage to all of them.

Mad Blade looked around, but he couldn’t find any trace of Nie Yan. An intense feeling of danger arose in his heart.

𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Mad Blade had watched videos of Nie Yan’s past exploits before. His speed was so breathtaking that a certain phrase started spreading on the forums, “When Nirvana Flame draws his dagger, he’ll never miss his target!”

“Priests, cast Illuminate!” Mad Blade ordered.

Dazzling rays of of light shone down on the ground and revealed a silhouette dashing towards Cold Flame at an incredible speed.

Since Cold Flame started his chant, roughly 10 seconds had passed.

There was no time to dally. Regardless of the cost, Nie Yan had to take down Cold Flame first!

“Protect Cold Flame!” Mad Blade shouted. He tried to run to Cold Flame, but all the Warriors and Paladins from Asskickers United clung onto his feet and dragged him down. He had no way of disengaging!

“Nirvana Flame!” Starbright activated Arcane Gaze. His pupils glimmered with a deep violet flame as a dashing silhouette appeared in his vision. “Die!”

He waved his staff and fired an ominous black beam at Nie Yan. Then he fetched a Junior Shadow Bind Scroll from his bag.

「Poof!」He crushed the scroll, sending shadowy hands stretching towards Nie Yan.

Sensing something off, Nie Yan raised his head and spotted Starbright standing close to Cold Flame. This fellow had timed his attacks pretty well!

“Success!” Starbright cried out gleefully. “I guess the Mad Rogue only amounts to this m-” The smug look on his face immediately froze when he saw Nie Yan block his perfectly timed spell combination with Gale Step.

Seeing Nie Yan fast approaching, Starbright quickly pulled back. He counted down the seconds in his mind, waiting for the invincibility of Gale Step to wear off, before waving his staff and casting Repel!

A powerful repelling force swept outwards.

Starbright could at least count on Repel to push Nie Yan back!

A nearby Paladin activated Eyes of the Divine, then charged towards Nie Yan’s silhouette with Indomitable Will.

There were three players barring Nie Yan’s path, Starbright, a Fighter, and a Paladin.

Cold Flame continued to chant. His voice was slightly hoarse and carried an ominous cadence as if he were beckoning forth spirits from the other realm.

Another five seconds had passed. The lightning elements surrounding Cold Flame grew even denser as sparks flickered around him. Paladin of the Elegy was getting increasingly anxious and ordered everyone to retreat.

Paladin of the Elegy glanced behind him with a pained look. Were seven jars of Black Gunpowder really going to disappear just like that?

Dammit! Paladin of the Elegy’s eyes were red. He knew just how important these jars of Black Gunpowder were to Asskickers United. How would he have the face to return to his fellow guildmates and Watchful Snail? After all, it was Guo Huai who had put him in charge of the group tasked with helping Nie Yan.

Paladin of the Elegy placed all of his hopes on Nie Yan. He prayed a miracle would happen!

It wasn’t over til the fat lady sang!

Just as the force wave from Repel was about to hit him, Nie Yan activated Holy Descent from the Medal of the Ten Holy Paladins, making him magic immunity for three seconds and increasing his movement speed by 20%!

Nie Yan wasn’t slowed down in the slightest as he dashed through the force wave. He was actually so fast that he left behind a trail of afterimages. There were only a few seconds left until Lightning Storm was cast. If he were any slower, he would be too late! In this high pressure moment, where he was utilizing all his stats to their fullest, he had an epiphany.

His footwork suddenly blurred as his speed broke past its limits.

“Why didn’t Repel work!?” Starbright cried out in alarm after seeing Repel fail to push Nie Yan back, let alone slow him down.

Divine Strike!

The Paladin came slashing down at Nie Yan with his sword.

“Haha, it landed!” The Paladin had an elated look on his face, only for it to turn into shock when he realized the Nie Yan he had hit was merely an illusion.

The Paladin only felt a breeze brush past his ears. Nie Yan had already long dashed past him.

Nie Yan had recalled Sun’s demonstration of the Illusion Steps countless times in his head. It was only just now that everything suddenly clicked, allowing him to evade the Paladin’s Divine Strike.

Like a phantom, his movements were illusory and unpredictable, making it difficult for enemies to track him.

By the time the Paladin reacted, it was already too late.

Just as Starbright was about to raise his staff, Nie Yan had disappeared from his vision, having long since dashed past him.

So fast!

This was precisely the speed of the Mad Rogue!

The only obstacle left in Nie Yan’s path was the Fighter. Seeing Nie Yan dashing up, the Fighter let out a roar.

Charge!

Intercept!

He charged up to Nie Yan with his sword raised.

The fact that all these players could successfully class advance immediately upon reaching Level 50 meant they ranked among the very top of the player base. An expert had an expert’s pride! How could he stand for an enemy toying with them like this!

Flame Slash! The Fighter’s sword ignited flames as it chopped down on Nie Yan, combining three skills together to unleash incredible might.

Nie Yan could feel the blazing heat of the blade on his skin. Just as the Flame Slash was about to land on his body, he activated Shadow Waltz and blocked the attack. Then he dashed past the Fighter.

Not good! The Fighter trembled. Cold Flame was right behind him still in the middle of chanting Lightning Storm. If Nie Yan was allowed to get close to him, the outcome was obvious!

By the time the Fighter turned around, it was too late.

Nie Yan had dashed past the three players blocking his way without a scratch, closing the gap between him and Cold Flame in mere seconds. The other nearby players had no time to react.

Three seconds, two seconds, one second... When the last syllable was about to exit Cold Flame’s mouth, Nie Yan’s foot came flying at him.

If Nie Yan had used any other skill, it would’ve been too late. Thankfully, his legs had a longer reach than his arms.

「Thud!」Cold Flame was kicked several meters back. However, the spell hadn’t been interrupted, only slightly delayed. He attempted to continue chanting.

The Kicking mastery had a certain chance of disrupting an enemy mid-cast, but most of the time it would only delay them. Cold Flame’s cast of Lightning Storm had been pushed back by three seconds.

However, Nie Yan was already right in front of him. He simply didn’t have the three uninterrupted seconds required to cast the spell!

Nie Yan dashed forth and struck Cold Flame in the forehead with Concussive Blow, stopping the cast of Lightning Storm.

Success! Nie Yan smirked.