Chapter 273 - Declaration

Nie Yan's group of 25 pushed the forces of Radiant Sacred Flame and Victorious Return back into the mouth of the passageway between the cliff walls.

Monochrome, Aloof Shadow, Edgeless, and the others sucked in a cold breath of air as they stared at the vast crowd up ahead stretching as far as the eye could see. Over 100,000 players gathered together, this was truly a breathtaking sight!

Even if Nie Yan's group were as domineering as the Golden Dragon, they would only be throwing their lives away by engaging the enemy head-on. They retreated into a narrow passage instead, where they stood their ground about eight meters from the entrance with weapons at the ready.

The ground of the passage was littered with the corpses of players from Radiant Sacred Flame and Victorious Return. They flooded in in an attempt to take down Nie Yan's group, only to quickly discover their efforts were futile. The frontline consisted of Bladelight, Yi Yan, Aloof Shadow, Monochrome, Edgeless, and a few other Warriors and Paladins; the backline was composed of a line of powerful Mages; and supporting all of them further in the rear were Young Seven, Painted Muslin, Black Heaven, Moon Child, and the other Priests.

A lineup like this was invincible, especially in the narrow confines of the passage! No one should even think about defeating them!

The forces of Radiant Sacred Flame and Victorious Return were massive. However, their forces were stuck in the passageway, unable to advance even the slightest!

Nie Yan overflowed with heroic spirit while the rest of the group were filled with the desire to do battle.

Just the 25 of them were holding off over 100,000 players! What kind of magnificent sight was this!?

Any player from Radiant Sacred Flame and Victorious Return that arrived at this narrow passage would have no choice but to allow themselves to be obediently cut down!

"If any of you punks have any guts, then charge right in! I'll let my blade do the speaking!" Monochrome laughed heartily as he taunted the players from Radiant Sacred Flame and Victorious Return.

"We're right here, what are you waiting for? Suddenly feeling weak in the knees? Spineless? Weren't you all supposed to be unbeatable? Bring out some of the attitude you guys always show after closing off entire maps to other players! I'm telling you lot, I'm from Asskickers United! If you ever bump into any members of my guild in the future, you better play filial like the bunch of grandsons you are!"

Due to Nie Yan's influence, the group acted completely unbridled, showing not a hint of politeness in their speech.

The taunts echoed like thunder throughout the narrow passage allowing almost every player from Radiant Sacred Flame and Victorious Return to hear them.

The players from Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame were fuming with anger. They launched several more assaults at Nie Yan's group, only to be thoroughly beaten back each time. They suffered almost 600 casualties in the process. A force 100,000 strong was being held back by only 25 players from Asskickers United. They couldn't set a single step over the line drawn by Nie Yan. What kind of face did they have left to respond? Would they really be forced into retreat in such a humiliating fashion?

No matter how unbridled they normally were, they couldn't help but feel helpless right now.

What else did they have left to say? They had lost all face! A small group who refused to accept this situation organized around 500 players to launch another frontal assault on Nie Yan's group. However, they were soundly defeated. This 25-player blockade set up by Nie Yan was iron tight, enduring wave after wave of attacks without showing any signs of collapse.

Nie Yan walked up to the front of the group and scanned over the vast crowd of players from Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame. He said, "I am the guild leader of Asskickers United, Nirvana Flame…"

Nie Yan's deep voice rang far through the passage. Hearing the name of the Mad Rogue, these players from Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame immediately settled down and looked over in his direction. Many of them could only see a blurry silhouette standing over the corpses of their fallen comrades.

When Nie Yan's cold gaze swept over the players at the front of the crowd, all of them retreated a step.

At this moment, Nie Yan was like an untouchable god, a lofty aura that held the common people in contempt.

"On behalf of Asskickers United, I speak to you today, members of Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame. Withdraw! Scram back to Calore! If your guild is so determined to duke it out to the bitter end, be prepared to be completely and utterly crushed by Asskickers United!" Nie Yan said in a heavy tone. Asskickers United's formidable strength gave him ample lung power.

Nie Yan's words struck the hearts of every player from Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame. Only Nie Yan could make such a declaration. He would personally lead Asskickers United to wipe their names from the history books!

This was a declaration from all of Asskickers United!

It was filled with unrivalled contempt for Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame.

Over 100,000 players were prevented from entering the valley of Sinful Gorge by a mere 25 players. How could these players from Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame retort?

...

The Calore dungeons were filled with cell blocks. Outside of a few NPCs, many players from Victorious Return were locked up in these cells. These players were all thrown in here by Nie Yan.

Although the environment here wasn't bad at all, these players from Victorious Return were dispirited. They couldn't do anything while stuck imprisoned within these cells. As for just not logging into Conviction, they would end up feeling empty, as if something were missing in their life since the game had become an integral part of their daily routine.

Heaven Breaker was watching the videos sent by his subordinates with a gloomy expression. Listening to Nie Yan's declaration, he stood up in anger and slammed the wall. "Fuck that bastard! Who does he think he is, daring to boast about trampling Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame!? Fuck!"

He was boiling with anger. He pounded the iron bars of the cell with his fists. If he wasn't locked up, he would personally lead a group of people to wipe out Nie Yan!

Fuming with rage, he ordered all the Victorious Return players in Sinful Gorge to wipe out the players of Asskickers United, Holy Empire, and Sapphire Shrine. This was Victorious Return's repressed anger!

Very soon, the around 60,000 players from Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame that managed to enter Sinful Gorge finished wiping out the players of Asskickers United, Holy Empire, and Sapphire Shrine. Only a small number managed to slip past them and escape. However, they also suffered heavy losses as over 30,000 of their players died. Over a third of them were killed by the 1,000 or so members of Asskickers United alone!

Asskickers United's might was truly stunning!

「Boss, what do we do about the people waiting outside Sinful Gorge?」a subordinate asked Heaven Breaker.

「Tell them to withdraw,」Heaven Breaker gloomily replied. After going through this battle, although Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame managed to wipe out Asskickers United, Holy Empire, and Sapphire Shrine's forces, the losses they suffered in return were even larger.

However, Heaven Breaker had no choice but to go through with the battle. Based on the number of Asskickers United, Holy Empire, and Sapphire Shrine players they killed, they would be compensated by Century Financial Group. Century Financial Group had already secretly acquired Bloodlust Blades, Alliance of Mages, and Divine Protectors. Their biggest rivals were Asskickers United, Holy Empire, and Sapphire Shrine. Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame were only stage props used to weaken their opposition. Even though they were well aware they were being exploited by Century Financial Group, Heaven Breaker and Nightbreak Trickster had no choice but to act this way, since the alternative was being swallowed up by Asskickers United, Holy Empire, and Sapphire Shrine! It would be better to go out with a fight!

The conflict in Sinful Gorge settled down, signaling the retreat of Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame. Nie Yan's group of 25 who were holding down a passage were an obstacle the players from Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame would be eternally unable to overcome!

After an entire day of ruckus, Sinful Gorge finally regained its calm.

News of the magnificent display by Nie Yan's group spread like wildfire through Asskickers United, then all of Calore.

The declaration Nie Yan made at the passage in Sinful Gorge shook the hearts of countless players. The once weak and small Asskickers United had undergone an astonishing rise to power! It was even starting a war to unify Calore!

Nie Yan returned to Calore with the members who weren't branded with a red name and received admirative stares from countless players. The 25 figures would forever be cemented into the minds of the players.

Kilnfire Woods, Twilight Forest, and now Sinful Gorge, Asskickers United had turned the tides over and over again, gaining a splendid victory each time.

Each victory brought the glory of Asskickers United up to an even higher level!

Asskickers United once more became the focus of attention for the entire player base. This was a foreordained rise of a major power that would compete for dominance in the game, a holy land for countless experts!

Even if players couldn't join Asskickers United, they would be satisfied by just joining one of the branch guilds: Mages United, Warriors United, Priests United, Paladins United, and Thieves United.

All players came to the same conclusion in their minds: Calore would belong to Asskickers United and them alone!

The guild headquarters exploded with cheers the moment Nie Yan entered. Now upgraded to a Level 4 guild, the courtyard outside the headquarters could hold as much as several thousand players.

"Long live the guild leader! That declaration was awesome!"

"Long live Nirvana Flame! Crush Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame!"

The players of Asskickers United roared with everything they could muster. The excitement from Nie Yan's declaration was still fresh in their memories. With him as their leader, Asskickers United created moment after moment of glory. The 25 that stood their ground in the narrow passage would remain eternally engraved in the memories of every single guild member.

The passionate Asskickers United players brought a hint of a smile to Nie Yan's face. Back when he, Tang Yao, Guo Huai, Zhao Li, and Hao Cheng first got together to establish Asskickers United, could they have possibly imagined seeing something like today? A guild with just several hundred now soared to be one of several tens of thousands—one that assembled the strongest elites in all of Calore!

This was by far the most resounding statement made by Asskickers United to date. It was a declaration of war against two well-established powerhouses!

All of the players in Calore were shocked.

The rise of Asskickers United was impossible to stop. This was the birth of another hegemony!