Nie Yan called up his father to hear how everything was going over on his side. World Bloc’s businesses were growing smoothly. The money they earned was constantly being invested into the market. They already controlled more than a dozen smaller companies, becoming a de facto financial group. Furthermore, the number of shares they owned in the Century Financial Group was also rapidly increasing.

World Bloc maintained a steady momentum. At this rate, they would eventually stand shoulder to shoulder with the likes of the Glory Financial Group and Dragonsoar Financial Group. One day, they might even have the power to challenge the Century Financial Group.

「Has the Century Financial Group made any new movements?」Nie Yan asked.

「Not really. Their profits are down a little in the last quarter. They’re currently accumulating funds. They’ve probably noticed we’ve been buying up their shares. I’m guessing they’ll be making a move soon,」Father Nie said. In spite of how formidable the Century Financial Group was, he didn’t appear the least bit anxious. In fact, he sounded eager.

Father Nie was in high spirits. Nie Yan didn’t want to rain on his parade. At present, World Bloc, the Glory Financial Group, and the Dragonsoar Financial Group all had their interests deeply entwined. Plus, with the backing of Heavenly Kings, there was no need to fear the Century Financial Group.

World Bloc was flourishing. As for what sort of heights it would reach in the future, Nie Yan couldn’t help but look forward in anticipation.

Nie Yan met up with Bayonet who had completed his mission. He asked some questions to confirm nothing had leaked out. Hearing their secret would go to the grave with them, he finally relaxed. He also learned that Liu Guocheng exploded in anger after Liu Tianshi’s death. He utilized all his political and business influence to retaliate against the Monet Financial Group, who naturally wouldn’t sit idly by. The two sides broke out in a fierce clash.

Nie Yan was speechless. It had only been a day, but the situation had already devolved so much! These guys moved quick!

At confrontations of this level, the one who made the first move seized the advantage while the other would be forced onto the defensive.

Their conflict already had nothing to do with Nie Yan anymore. His current enemies were only the Century Financial Group and Angel Corps. He hadn’t discovered much of anything regarding Soaring Angel’s background. It was somewhat of a mystery. So, he had Bayonet investigate it.

When evening came, Nie Yan and Xie Yao entered the game. The expedition team members were sitting on the ground. After everyone was online and ready, they stood up.

「Boss, are we going to start fighting the Lava Titan again right away?」

「Yes! Get ready! We’re starting in 10 minutes!」Nie Yan ordered.

「Understood!」

10 minutes later, the players finished their preparations and got into battle formation. Nie Yan and Sun dashed off toward the Lava Titan who was roaming around in the forest in the distance. The trees it passed by all ignited into flames.

Nie Yan arrived about 100 meters away from the Lava Titan. He took out his Cavalry Crossbow and pulled the trigger. Whoosh whoosh whoosh! Five bolts whizzed through the air.

Put put put! After being struck, the Lava Titan let out a deep roar. It turned around and locked onto Nie Yan. A powerful pressure descended on Nie Yan, rendering him immobile.

At this moment, 300 meters away, Sun activated a skill and suddenly switched positions with Nie Yan.

The Lava Titan stared at Sun in confusion, then at Nie Yan far off in the distance. It started chasing after Nie Yan.

Nie Yan turned tail and ran. The Lava Titan followed in close pursuit.

Nie Yan led the Lava Titan to where they’d fought it before. Bladelight and Lofty Shadow immediately went up and started securing its aggro.

Nie Yan retreated to the side, while the Mages in the back started firing their magic.

Just like before, the Lava Titan’s health was gradually shaved away. About half an hour later, the Lava Titan’s eyes suddenly glowed bright red.

Lava Roar!

The Mages all used their teleportation skills and retreated 500 meters away. Bladelight, Lofty Shadow, and all the other frontliners used their mind resistance skills.

Immediately after, the Lava Titan used Lava Breaker. A tidal wave of lava swept over everything in a 500-meter radius.

Bladelight and the others all used skills like Bulwark of the War God to protect themselves.

After the lava had receded, the Mages teleported back and resumed attacking the Lava Titan.

Time quickly passed. When the Lava Titan’s health fell below 30%, it entered a berserk state. Its two fists ignited in raging flames as it rained down a flurry of punches. Bladelight and Lofty Shadow were knocked off their feet.

At this moment, Nie Yan and the other Thieves dashed up and activated various skills to attract the Lava Titan’s attention.

The Lava Titan went on a rampage. It killed one Thief after another.

Nie Yan let loose with a flurry of attacks, quickly racking up a high combo. He drew the Lava Titan’s aggro as he darted around the forest clearing.

The Thieves bought Bladelight and Lofty Shadow enough time to recover back to mint condition.

Team members were dying left and right. However, they were sacrificing their lives to keep the Lava Titan locked down.

Roughly 10 minutes later, the Lava Titan’s health fell to 10%. It broke through the front line in its rage and started attacking the Mages. Xie Yao and the others kited it to the best of their ability, relying mostly on their blink skills.

Even though the battle looked extremely chaotic with corpses scattered all over the ground, the Mages were keeping everything under control.

Xie Yao and the Magisters dealt more than fives times the damage of the other Mages. So, it was fairly easy for them to draw the Lava Titan’s aggro. It furiously pursued them all over the clearing. However, their blinks weren’t to be trifled with. They were on par with the movement speed of Shadow Dancers.

Even though the Lava Titan had killed quite a few people, it wasn’t to the extent of a wipe yet.

At this moment, in the northeast corner of the battlefield, a silhouette came blinking over. Seeing the new arrival, Nie Yan’s face lit up with joy. Tang Yao!

The Lava Titan was chasing Undying Scoundrel. Just as it was about to catch up to him, an endless stream of magic bombarded its back like a gatling gun. A long string of 6,000s immediately floated up above its head. Tang Yao’s firing rate was on par with modern military weapons.

The Lava Titan was just about to smash Undying Scoundrel into a pulp, when its fist froze in mid-air. It hesitated for a moment before turning its attention to Tang Yao. “GRAAAAOGH! It turned away from Undying Scoundrel and charged toward Tang Yao.

Tang Yao kept blinking away while unloading an endless barrage of magic on the Lava Titan.

Another five minutes later, under the hard work of the Mages, the Lava Titan let out a mournful groan before collapsing into a pile of molten rock.

After sacrificing nearly half their force, Asskickers United’s expedition team finally killed the Lava Titan.

“Whew, that was tough.” Undying Scoundrel breathed a sigh of relief. The Lava Titan gave a lot of experience. More than 100 team members directly leveled up while everyone else had their experience bar fill up by at least 60%. This was enough to cover their previous losses.

Nie Yan looked around. The ground was littered with corpses.「Revive the fallen! Those who can’t be revived, hurry up and run back to your corpses.」

The Lava Titan was truly a monster. Their group represented the pinnacle of Conviction’s playerbase, but they still struggled so much against it. Thankfully, it was only a regular Lord. They couldn’t even imagine how frightening a Level 200 Variant Lord or Demonified Lord would be. According to normal calculations, a Level 200 Lord was about as strong as a Level 120 Demonified Lord.

Nie Yan looked over at the Lava Titan’s corpse. It had dropped three items. He walked over to collect the loot.

「Boss, what did it drop?」The expedition team members were all curious. This was the loot from a Level 200 Lord! It couldn’t be lacking!

Nie Yan shared the three drops with the others. They were all Mage Items. One was a Level 200 Sub Legendary-grade Elementalist Robe, and another was a Level 200 Legendary-grade Elementalist staff. Even if these two items were socketed with level requirement reduction gems, it would still be a while before anyone could equip them.

Finally, the last item was a sparkling silver-white necklace. It was a part of the Grimmar Set!

Requirements: 1,500 Intelligence, 200 Strength, and 200 Agility

Description: This sealed necklace still possesses tremendous magical power. Gather all the pieces of the Grimmar Set to unseal it: Grimmar Soulstaff, Necklace of Grimmar, Ring of Grimmar, and Robes of Grimmar.

Properties: 1,102-1,203 Defense, Will +50, Focus +50, Magic Damage +120%, All Spells Ranks +3, Chanting Time -30%

Elemental Domain: After using this skill, gain free control over the elements within a 500-meter radius. Guide the elements to either boost allies’ magic damage by 200%, or to seal enemies from casting magic. Last for 10 minutes. Cooldown: 1 day.

Note: The owner of this item must receive Countess Alicia’s approval to bring out its full power. Otherwise, the properties will be reduced by 80%.

The Grimmar Set was extremely powerful, on par with Nie Yan’s Tyrant Abak Set. If they could gather it, Asskickers United would have a godly Mage!

Nie Yan thought of Countess Alicia. She had awakened when he last saw her. He wondered if she had been released from her binds after the defeat of the Lava Titan.