Chapter 723 - Utterly Alone and Abandoned

Stepping out of the game capsule, Nie Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

His heart was still racing from all the tension. Tomorrow, when he logged back on, the guild headquarters would be officially moved to Okoron.

Qin Han’s army was reduced to less than 2,000,000 skeletons. The biggest obstacle left was Necromancer Vorderman and the bone dragon. Nie Yan didn’t know if the Royal Griffon Corps were up to the task. If those two were killed, everything would be settled.

As for the actual players on the side of the Monet Financial Group—900,000 of them in total—Nie Yan had a way to slowly whittle them away until there was no one left. By the time their forces reached Okoron, the system would’ve considered the siege at the Cripps Stronghold concluded, allowing all fallen players to revive.

Nie Yan had just finished breakfast, when his phone started ringing. It was Guo Huai.

「So!? Did you transfer the guild headquarters over in time!?」Guo Huai anxiously asked.

「Of course. When we get back online tomorrow, the guild headquarters will be in Okoron.」

「Phew... That’s a relief. When you get back online, quickly deal with Necromancer Vorderman. He’s severely injured. Don’t let this opportunity slip by.」

「Alright, I won’t forget.」Nie Yan nodded.「Is there anything else?」

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

「Just like you planned, the matter with Eternal Sin is settled. Qin Han ordered Penumbra Empire to attack Asskickers United’s strongholds in the south. However, Eternal Sin is delaying his troops. I bet Qin Han is pulling his hair out right now.」Guo Huai chuckled.

「Eternal Sin, that man really is crafty. Even if he openly disobeys Qin Han’s orders, he won’t take any losses. He’s avoided entering a conflict with us too. If we win, Penumbra Empire is already working for us. If we lose, Qin Han will still have to rely on him in the end,」Nie Yan said. He saw straight through Eternal Sin’s thoughts.

「Well, we aren’t taking any losses, so it doesn’t matter. Since Eternal Sin is thinking this way, I bet the other guilds under the Monet Financial Group are the same. For a person like Qin Han, even if he binds all these guilds together with money, he simply doesn’t have what it takes to be a leader. All he knows how to do is throw money at his problems. He was bound to be abandoned sooner or later,」Guo Huai said. In this respect, the Monet Financial Group and Asskickers United were polar opposites.

After Nie Yan finished talking with Guo Huai, he accompanied Xie Yao along Huahai. They also took the opportunity to pop into World Bloc’s offices. When his mother finally met her future daughter-in-law, she was extremely happy. No matter which aspect, there was nothing to nitpick. Xie Yao far exceeded her expectations.

As for the Xie Family, ever since Mo Yuntian approached Nie Yan during the dinner party, they didn’t dare to so much as let out a fart, tacitly approving of Nie Yan and Xie Yao’s relationship.

Nie Yan was in high spirits. Where in the previous timeline he had nothing, this time around he had everything he yearned for. When evening arrived, he and Xie Yao entered back into the game.

As soon as the servers opened, the tense battle resumed as though nothing had happened.

Qin Han commanded his skeleton army to surround Yallop’s group. Just as they were about to be completely surrounded, 3,000 Royal Griffons appeared over the horizon. They were rapidly approaching.

Seeing this scene, the players of Asskickers United boiled over with excitement.

“The boss is back!”

“He brought the Royal Griffon Corps with him!”

2,000 of the Royal Griffons went to support Yallop’s group, diving down on the skeleton army outside the Cripps Stronghold. A barrage of magic swept through wherever the griffons passed. BANG! BANG! BANG! The skeletons were wiped out in droves.

Warriors and Paladins clad in imperial armour landed on the ground and charged into battle, sweeping through everything in their path. The skeleton army was gradually beaten back.

The skeletons were no match for the elite soldiers of the Viridian Empire.

The skeleton army was in chaos. Seeing the tides of battle being turned, Qin Han started to despair. His only hope was that Necromancer Vorderman could resist the assault of the Royal Griffon Corps.

The bone dragon carried Necromancer Vorderman into the air. 1,000 Royal Griffons immediately surrounded it and launched a fierce assault.

The bone dragon and griffons tangled in the air. In the blink of an eye, three griffons let out mournful cries and plummeted from the skies. However, even more griffons pouched forward to fill their place. BANG! BANG! BANG!A dense barrage of spells bombarded the bone dragon.

A chaotic battle broke out in the air.

Nie Yan circled the outskirts of the battle on his Darkwing Dragon, maintaining a distance of no less than 200 meters. He could clearly see the bone dragon and Necromancer Vorderman on its back. The bone dragon’s body was covered with claw and scorch marks from the previous battle with Karsi. Necromancer Vorderman was weakly leaning on its head. He had also received grievous injuries.

It was just like Guo Huai described. There was no time to lose. This was perhaps his only opportunity to kill the bone dragon and Necromancer Vorderman!

Among these 1,000 aerial troops, there were 100 Masters. The damage they dealt to the bone dragon was considerable.

After a while, Bladelight, Tang Yao, and the others also summoned their flying mounts and took to the skies.

「What’s the situation?」Bladelight asked.

「Not sure yet. I don’t know if we can finish Vorderman off,」Nie Yan said. Even in his weakened state, Necromancer Vorderman was still a legendary Mage. He was no small matter.

Right now, they could only do their best to whittle him down.

Left and right griffons fell down from the sky, both flying mounts and riders killed. More than 50 members of the Royal Griffon Corps had already died at the hands of the bone dragon.

About an hour later, Nie Yan received a piece of good news. The skeleton army was defeated, completely wiped out by Asskickers United, the Royal Griffon Corps, and Okoron’s NPC troops.

One had to know, this was an army of 6,000,000 skeletons!

This was simply a miracle for the players of Asskickers United, especially considering they were on the verge of defeat at one point.

Like this, only Necromancer Vorderman and the bone dragon remained.

The 2,000 members of the Royal Griffon Corps who had just wiped out the skeletons rushed over to aid in killing Necromancer Vorderman and the bone dragon.

Necromancer Vorderman and the bone dragon were completely surrounded. It was impossible to escape unless the entire Royal Griffon Corps was annihilated!

This battle greatly affected the hearts of all the players. Between Necromancer Vorderman and the Royal Griffon Corps, only one side could come out alive. This would decide the future path of the Viridian Empire. If Necromancer Vorderman survived, the continent would be shrouded by a cloud of darkness.

Qin Han stood unsteadily on the hilltop. He stared down at the endless sea of white below. The cackling sound he’d grown so comfortable with was no more. They were bones now, just bones. His vision spun. Emotions fought a chaotic battle within him. He was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

「Matchless, are the troops ready yet? I want Asskickers United annihlated!」Qin Han said coldly in voice chat. This chat group was composed of Matchless Divine Sword, Eternal Sin, Holy Flame, and the guild leaders of the other larger guilds under the Monet Financial Group. There were 16 guild leaders altogether.

However, Qin Han’s question was followed by a long silence.

「Matchless, Eternal Sin, Holy Flame, what the hell are you guys doing? Are you ready or not!? Answer me!」Qin Han shouted in a rage.

Still no one answered.

A while later, Matchless Divine Sword replied,「Boss, let’s just forget it. We’re no match for Asskickers United.」

「What do you mean by that? Who says we’re no match for them? As long as the Cripps Stronghold falls, the remaining strongholds are ours for the taking!」

「Necromancer Vorderman is already pretty much dead. Asskickers United still has so many NPC troops on their side. It’s impossible to take down the Cripps Stronghold,」Eternal Sin said in a frank tone.

No one refuted Eternal Sin’s words. Everyone tacitly agreed with him. Qin Han had bound them together with money. They were only here for the benefits. Knowing that the path ahead was a dead end, why would they stick with Qin Han to the bitter end?

Even though Qin Han had shares in their guilds and had the authority to mobilize their troops, they had at least several dozen methods to protect themselves, such as disbanding the guild and reforming it under a new name. They had long since thought of a plan. So, they weren’t afraid of disobeying his orders.

Qin Han suddenly discovered he’d lost control over these people. If one or two disobeyed his commands, he still had a method to deal with them. However, since they all colluded together against him, what could he do all by himself? He was simply a leader in name.

「You bastards... You were so eager to take my Monet Financial Group’s money. But now now when the going gets tough... Don’t think you can get away from this unscathed!」Qin Han growled.

「Now you’re going a bit too far. When you were building your skeleton army, we offered up at least 900,000 of our people. Everything you asked us to do, we carried it out without question. But if we do what you ask of us now, we won’t just lose a little, we’ll lose everything. Who in their right mind would throw their life away like that!?」a guild leader said.

His words received everyone’s approval.

「Are you really planning to burn all bridges with us like this? We’ve done almost everything for you. You can’t expect us to sacrifice our entire guilds for you, right? That just doesn’t make sense,」Eternal Sin said.

「Matchless, Holy Flame, you two think the same? Is that right?」Qin Han coldly asked.

A long silence followed before the reply finally came.

「Yes, we’re with Eternal Sin on this one.」

「I see... good, good, good! Consider it my fault for trusting a bunch of backstabbing bastards like you. In the future, don’t even think about receiving a single cent from the Monet Financial Group! Also, you better watch your backs and sleep with one eye open,」Qin Han said sinisterly before leaving the group chat.

After hearing Qin Han’s words, Matchless Divine Sword, Eternal Sin, and Holy Flame felt their blood run cold. They understood Qin Han’s character. However, they were also experienced with the ways of the world. They wouldn’t be so easily frightened.

Qin Han had found himself utterly alone and abandoned. The alliance he had brought together with money completely collapsed. After hearing this news, the players from Asskickers United were elated. They originally thought they would have another long and bitter battle ahead of them. They didn’t expect the enemy to fall apart from within.

Afterwards, Penumbra Empire acknowledged their allegiance to Asskickers United, followed shortly after by Divine Protectors, God Executioner Sword, and many other guilds. They all pleaded for peace.

The only enemy left was Necromancer Vorderman!