Chapter 36 – Sleepy Fox

With the Gold-grade armour having found an owner, Splendid Star hastily returned to his guild ranks.

Sleepy Fox felt extremely vexed. If Swift Slash hadn't abruptly rooted him in place, that Gold-grade armour would have belonged to him!

Some felt elated and others felt upset, but no one could surpass the joy Splendid Star currently felt because he had become the biggest winner this time around. He glanced over and observed Nie Yan. Earlier, the timing of this Thief's trip—albeit a basic movement—was simply perfect. No matter the timing or position, he was not even a single iota off. The perfection of his timing and positioning definitely wasn't by coincidence; it was intentional!

Moreover, Nie Yan was closer to him at that time. Reasonably enough, if Nie Yan had attempted to trip him instead, he'd have no way to evade. However, Nie Yan still purposefully chose Swift Slash. If it weren't for this, the Gold-grade armour would have never fallen into his hands!

"Ah… I didn't manage to get anything." Nie Yan shrugged his shoulders and spoke in an indifferent manner, then turned around to leave.

"You want to leave after all that!? Don't think you're going to be let off that easily!" Swift Slash coldly snorted. If it weren't for Nie Yan, the equipment would have definitely belonged to him!

In the same moment he spoke, several dozen Dark Massacre members in the area coldly shouted and began converging around Nie Yan, blocking his exit in a semi-circle.

"What…? You people want to detain me here?" Nie Yan's replied with an unperturbed smile. However, his mind was still deeply scheming. It would be somewhat difficult if he wanted to break out of Swift Slash's encirclement with his power alone. Moreover, if Swift Slash wanted to come to blows, Nie Yan felt he wasn't a good person to provoke either.

"He's my friend. Swift Slash, if you want to cause him problems, first ask yourself if our Splendid Temple members will approve or not!" Splendid Star interrupted, seemingly determined to oppose Swift Slash as he stood shoulder to shoulder with Nie Yan. While behind him, the Splendid Temple members—after hearing their leader voice out his opinion—stepped up as well.

It was only because of him that Nie Yan ended up provoking Swift Slash. So naturally, he wouldn't stay himself from the matter at hand.

"Splendid Star, are you certain you want to contend against me!?" Swift Slash coldly threatened.

"Correct, our Splendid Temple isn't afraid of your Dark Massacre guild. Brothers, tell me if I'm correct?" Splendid Star turned back and asked his guild members.

"CORRECT!" The people from Splendid Temple roared in unison.

"If you Dark Massacre people have the guts, then come up and fight! This old man will happily accompany you!"

"You ball-less sons of bitches! Don't tell me you're suddenly afraid!?"

The people from Splendid Temple began shouting obscenities with both sides entering a shouting match afterwards. With swords drawn and bows bent, either side began forming their respective ranks. The atmosphere smelled of fresh gunpower. A fight was going to break out at any moment. Splendid Temple had over seven hundred players remaining while Dark Massacre had nearly a thousand. From the look of things, each side had taken heavy losses from the Guardian of Order. Thus, in terms of numbers, Splendid Temple was at a disadvantage.

Nie Yan glanced at Splendid Star by his side. This guy was the exact same in Nie Yan's past life—he valued loyalty quite a bit. It appeared Nie Yan didn't make a mistake in helping Splendid Star today. However, if they were going to face off against Dark Massacre, Nie Yan had to bear the brunt. It seemed the upcoming battle was going to be considerably dangerous and fierce. If he died, the loss in level and experience were of lesser importance. What was most important was the Chapter of Courage—an item he absolutely didn't want being dropped!

"It appears I have no business being here." Sleepy Fox laughed, bringing his companions off to the side. If a large spectacle were about to begin then why not have it play out a little quicker? Either way, the matter was unrelated to him, so he could not get involved with it. As for the Gold-grade armour, there was nothing he could do since he wasn't able to get his hands on it.

Among the Holy Empire members, a certain Paladin wearing bright silver armour walked to the front and leaned over beside Sleepy Fox's ear. "Boss, that Thief is the expert I mentioned before!" the Paladin said as he pointed his finger towards Nie Yan. Astonishingly, he was the Paladin Nie Yan had crossed paths with before, Flying Stone.

"Eh?" Sleepy Fox exclaimed in surprise. He then observed Nie Yan from the distance. It appeared this Nie Yan was still quite young; however, his skills were fairly good. From his actions earlier, he resembled a leopard as he went to trip Swift Slash. "He's only Level 3… Don't tell me his team was so strong they were able to clear Fallen Shaman Camp at that level?"

"Boss, what are we gonna do?" Stone asked. After all, they were still somewhat acquainted with Nie Yan. Moreover, at this moment, he sincerely believed that they should help Nie Yan.

"Let me think it over." Sleepy Fox pondered for a long time. For Nie Yan, was it worth it to make an enemy out of Dark Massacre solely for his sake?

After a brief moment, he had his answer.

Since the beginning, Sleepy Fox had never attached importance to a small fry guild such as Dark Massacre.

"Hey, Brother Nie Yan! In a few days, our Holy Empire guild is planning to run Agmota Muddy Wetlands. I wonder if you're interested in joining?" Sleepy Fox loudly called out.

Sleepy Fox's abrupt interruption immediately caught everyone's attention. Even Swift Slash and Splendid Star simultaneously cast their gaze over in Sleepy Fox's direction.

Splendid Temple and Dark Massacre were currently in a deadlock. Thus, the intentions of the Holy Empire guild were especially important to take note of, because whoever Holy Empire decided to help would directly influence the outcome of the battle.

How does Sleepy Fox recognise me? Nie Yan shot a glance at Sleepy Fox and saw Stone standing by his side. Ah… So, it was like this.

"The Agmota Muddy Wetlands, huh? Sure, I can think it over. However, if you want me to clear a dungeon with you, I have one condition. I get the first pick on any Thief equipment I have use for," Nie Yan replied.

At this moment every player—be they Dark Massacre, Splendid Temple, or even Holy Empire—focused their gaze on Nie Yan. They discovered he was no more than an average player who hadn't even joined a guild yet. However, why would the guild leader of Holy Empire, Sleepy Fox, invite him on a dungeon run?

Even more outrageous was the fact Nie Yan didn't immediately accept. He even made excessive demands. Getting first priority on all Thief equipment, who the hell does he think he is!?

Holy Empire was a famous guild among the player base. With fifty-six thousand Honour points, it was an existence which far overshadowed the likes of Splendid Temple and Dark Massacre.

In the eyes of players, guild prestige was the index for whether a guild was strong and powerful. Every cleared instance as well as completing quests for the first time guaranteed some Honour points. Naturally, the Honour points received increased with instance difficulty. Therefore, the higher the guild prestige, the more likely it was to find strong experts within the top rankings of the guild. Another benefit was the ability to attract elite players to the guild.

At any rate, the guild leader of Holy Empire, Sleepy Fox, could be regarded as a celebrity.

Moreover, this celebrity surprisingly invited an obscure no-name player like Nie Yan to run a dungeon with him. This was truly a strange and unforeseen turn of events.

Many players looked at Nie Yan with differing expressions. However, what they all shared in common was the extreme jealousy and envy in their heart. After all, most players would be extremely honoured and elated to have been personally invited to a dungeon run by the guild leader of Holy Empire himself.

A lone Tempest Thief moved closer to Sleepy Fox's side and berated, "Leader, that guy's way too outrageous! The moment he opened his mouth he requested first-pick on all Thief drops. Who the hell does he think he is!?" He then shot a cold glance at Nie Yan. If Nie Yan were to enter their team, wouldn't that mean all the Thief equipment would go to him? What would there be left remaining for himself then?

"Like I said before. Nie Yan is an expert! Trying to invite him definitely won't be easy," Stone instantly refuted back.

After hearing Nie Yan's demands, Sleepy Fox laughed. "He's truly got quite an ego. Previously, I still didn't believe he was an expert. However, this time, around, I could be considered more or less convinced. Since he dared to be so arrogant with his requests, it must mean he has a little skill."

Stone nodded his head and took a glance at the Tempest Thief to his side.

Since the guild leader voiced his opinion, that Thief could only turn his head off to the side dejectedly.

"Brother Nie Yan, if you're willing to agree, then naturally all Thief drops will go to you first," Sleepy Fox straightforwardly replied.

Sleepy Fox unexpectedly agreed to Nie Yan's excessive demands? Everyone present stared with widened eyes. This was too unbelievable. The expression of all the surrounding players turned strange as they gazed at Nie Yan. Just who was this person if he was capable of making Sleepy Fox concede so much just in order to befriend him?