Rebirth of the Thief Who Roamed the World

Chapter 426 - Instagibbed!

Nie Yan slowly crept forward, paying careful attention not to get detected. Mad Blade probably never imagined Nie Yan would try to ambush him. After all, Thieves almost exclusively targeted casters like Priests or Mages. No Thief in their right mind would sneak right into the heart of the enemy’s forces to assassinate a Warrior. Either that player was a frightening existence capable of disregarding everything, or a hot-headed fool seeking death.

「Sun, what’s your location?」Nie Yan asked.

「389.676.865,」Sun replied after glancing at his minimap.

After checking his own coordinates, Nie Yan looked to his left. Sun was only six meters away. Though they were standing almost shoulder to shoulder, he couldn’t see Sun who was in stealth.

Mad Blade was about 10 or so meters away from them.

With so many enemies nearby, they couldn’t act rashly.

“Boss, Holy Empire and Sapphire Shrine’s forces are only 10 minutes away from arriving here,” a Bloodlust Blades player reported to Mad Blade.

“Ignore those pests. It won’t make a difference no matter how many they send. We’ll deal with Asskickers United first. They’ve been an eyesore for long enough,” Mad Blade said in a disdainful tone.

Eavesdropping on their conversation, Nie Yan sneered. Declaring your victory already? Let’s just see who really comes out on top in the end!

Although Nie Yan as the guild leader of Asskickers United would ocassionally give out orders on the battlefield, he left most of the burden to others. Thieves really weren’t suited for commanding, a role generally taken up by Warriors or Priests. In this instance, Young Seven was the one overseeing the battlefield, while Nie Yan simply provided suggestions. This was why he was free to do as he pleased.

Taking down Mad Blade would be a huge win. But even if Nie Yan by chance failed, he was confident he could escape without any mishap.

Mad Blade was wholly unaware of Nie Yan and Sun’s presence only 10 or so meters away. He busily gave out orders to the players around him. Bloodlust Blades had mobilized another thousand elites, and were starting to overwhelm Asskickers United.

Mad Blade surveyed the battlefield and finally noticed Nie Yan’s absence. Seeing Lil’ Gold still fighting fiercely 500 meters away, he assumed Nie Yan was probably lurking around there. He took several steps forward, then shouted in the voice chat,「Don’t let them catch their breath! Thieves, go around and slaughter their Priests!」

After Mad Blade gave out the order, more than 30 Level 50+ Thieves under the command of two Great Thieves entered stealth and set out for the backliners of Asskickers United.

Mad Blade was unwittingly walking closer towards Sun and Nie Yan, with only five meters separating them. Sun and Nie Yan remained motionless, waiting for the opportunity to strike.

Stationary Thieves were much harder to detect since they received a significant boost to their stealthing capability.

With Nie Yan and Sun’s already high Cloaking stats, if they remained motionless, ordinary players wouldn’t notice them until they were less than two meters away.

Bloodlust Blades players were advancing forward bit by bit. With twice as many elites as Asskickers United, they almost immediately occupied the advantage. As their commander, Mad Blade was also moving at pace with his troops.

Seeing Mad Blade walking closer and closer, Nie Yan’s eyes flashed with a cold light. His dagger was like a deadly viper, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

Nie Yan was fairly calm. After all, this wasn’t his first rodeo.

Sun on the other hand was starting to get restless. This was his first time carrying out such a high risk operation, infiltrating the enemy’s ranks to assassinate their leader. Just thinking about it made his heart race with excitement. He forcefully calmed himself down. For better or worse, after following Nie Yan for so long, a bit of his brazen nature also rubbed off on him.

Sun’s mind flashed with scenes of past events. Nie Yan cutting down Black Amazing in Kiln Fire Woods, as well as his performances in Twilight Wood and Sinful Gorge, were something that Sun had always strived for. It was Nie Yan who had built up Asskickers United’s glory from the ground up. Sun dreamed of the day when his achievements would be just as glorious.

The two Thieves were like cheetahs hiding in ambush, ready to pounce on their prey at any time.

「How long can you last under a barrage of Magic?」Nie Yan asked.

「Six seconds. If I include Gale Step, nine seconds,」Sun replied.

Nie Yan pondered for a moment. Six seconds was enough.

「We have five seconds to build up two to three combo points. Then, on my singal, we’re going to use Finisher Skills to instagib Mad Blade! It’s crucial we land the final hit at the same time. The previous attacks won’t matter since Mad Blade has a dedicated healer, and most Great Priests can respond with a Heal in under two seconds. If a Heal slips in between our attacks, Mad Blade won’t die.」Killing Mad Blade was a tall order. This was pushing the limits of Nie Yan and Sun, requiring two Thieves to work together with flawless coordination. There couldn’t be the slightest lapse in judgement, or they’d fail.

Sun was startled.「I don’t think it’s possible, even if we both use Finisher Skills at the same time. He has really high defense, the armour-type advantage, and more than 4,200 health. He’s way too tanky. How are we going to burst down someone like that?」

「It’s fine, just follow my lead,」Nie Yan assured. As long as he and Sun were on the same page, dealing 4,200 burst damage would be no issue. However, his part was a lot trickier since he would have to activate Apocalyptic Extinction in the instant before he and Sun used their Finisher Skills. This was the only way to bypass Mad Blade’s defense and make sure the Priests couldn’t remove it in time with Dispel. On top of this, he had to do all of this while being perfectly in sync with Sun, lest all their efforts go to waste.

Nie Yan didn’t have the time to explain in further detail.

「Alright, I understand.」Though Sun had his doubts, he had faith in Nie Yan. So, he would try his best to carry out the plan.

「In case we fail, immediately use an Unknown Transfer Scroll,」Nie Yan said. For such a high-difficulty assassination attempt to fail was fairly normal. There was no need to throw their lives away as well.

Mad Blade slowly entered their attack range. Two meters, this was a Thief’s domain!

A few Mages were passing through close to Nie Yan and Sun. One of them happened to brush against Nie Yan’s foot, a faint trace of danger suddenly surfacing in his heart. A Thief!

Before the Mage could cry out, Nie Yan and Sun burst into action. They pounced toward Mad Blade. No matter how good his senses were, there was no way he could react in such a short time, especially against two apex Thieves.

Nie Yan and Sun’s speed was unrivalled.

Extreme Intimidate!

Before Mad Blade could make any movements, Nie Yan targeted him with Extreme Intimidate which prevented him from running away.

Seeing Nie Yan dashing over, Mad Blade raised his greatsword to block, only for the glint of a dagger to emerge behind him.

Smothering Strike!

Sun’s dagger pierced into the back of Mad Blade’s skull.

Nie Yan followed up almost instantly with Concussive Blow, striking Mad Blade in the forehead with his dagger.

The teamwork of Nie Yan and Sun was impeccable.

Sun hadn’t ranked up his Smothering Strike yet, so the stun was prematurely broken after the next attack. But Nie Yan’s Concussive Blow had a two-second stun effect.

Reverse Grip Backstab!

With a slight pivot of his foot, Nie Yan twirled around and plunged his dagger into Mad Blade’s back. This was his first time successfully pulling off Reverse Grip Backstab. But thanks to his previous encounter with that Thief in the Underworld, his execution was extremely smooth, achieving a completion rate of 63% which rewarded him with two combo points.

Sun also unloaded several attack skills to build up his combo points.

−588

−532

−519

...

In only two seconds, Mad Blade’s health fell below 60%.

At this moment, a ray of light fell over Mad Blade, restoring his health back to full.

While the Priests worried about Mad Blade’s health, the nearby Mages targeted Nie Yan and Sun with their spells.

Nie Yan and Sun activated God’s Blessing and Glorious Protection respectively as a shower of spells rained down on them. They braved through the bombardment unimpeded as they continued unleashing attack after attack on Mad Blade.

The moment Mad Blade was about to recover, Sun struck him in the forehead with Concussive Blow, stunning him again.

Normally, Nie Yan and Sun could individually keep a target stun-locked for seven seconds or longer, to say nothing of the two of them working together.

Were there no others around, even the tankiest of Warriors would die long before they came out of Nie Yan and Sun’s stun chain.

「How many combo points?」

「Three.」

Nie Yan checked his own combo counter. He had already built up three points as well.「Alright, on my signal. Ready, set... NOW!」

Just before Nie Yan shouted now, he targeted Mad Blade with Apocalyptic Extinction.

Mad Blade’s defense immediately plummeted. His body also entered an exhausted state. The current him was undoubtedly at his weakest!

The more than 10 Priests in the back kept casting Heal on Mad Blade, keeping him permanently topped off. They believed like this he was in no danger of dying.

However, Mad Blade was suddenly inflicted with several frightening curses. Before any of the Priests could react, Nie Yan slashed out with Phantom Assassination!

As Zennarde’s Sword drew a crimson arc across Mad Blade’s throat, Sun’s Mortal Blow pierced through Mad Blade’s back.

「Bang!」The two attacks landed on Mad Blade in the exact same instant.

−3,532!

−2,287!

Nie Yan and Sun’s simultaneous attacks dealt more than 5,800 total damage while Mad Blade only had a little over 4,200 health. Of course he was instagibbed!

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