Chapter 1 The First Step

The thief player walked out of the city gate and passed not far from Nie Yan, heading towards the outside of the city.

Watching the thief gradually walk away, Nie Yan cast a Disguise skill. The features on his face rapidly adjusted. His nose was flatter than before, his face had more pockmarks, and his cheeks were rough and uneven. He looked extremely similar to the thief from the League of Mages, with only some subtle differences.

Disguise had its flaws. If he encountered a player who was very familiar with the person he was impersonating, there was a certain chance he would be recognized.

He planned to use Disguise to slip in first. As for what methods Wang Zhetian and the others would use to enter, Nie Yan didn't know. However, these kinds of things shouldn't be able to stump them. If all else failed, they could sneak in when there were fewer people at the city gate.

After disguising himself as that player, Nie Yan put on a black cloak, which could conceal his equipment.

With everything prepared, Nie Yan slowly revealed himself and walked towards the city gate.

People were coming and going at the city gate. These people just glanced at Nie Yan and then went about their business. No one came up to greet him.

It seemed that the thief wasn't very popular, but this was exactly what Nie Yan wanted. It was best if no one paid him any attention.

Nie Yan walked past some players and heard them talking about the Niu Ren Tribe. He stopped and listened.

"The Niu Ren Tribe is attacking. Which guild do you think will win, the Niu Ren Tribe or the League of Mages?"

"I think we have a better chance. We and Sacred Guardians have a total of seven or eight hundred thousand troops. The Niu Ren Tribe only has about two or three hundred thousand, plus Moonshine City is our territory," an elemental mage said. He was a loyal supporter of the League of Mages.

"I think we're very likely to lose. Back then, the Niu Ren Tribe was still very weak. How many people did Zhan Dao Shixue, the League of Mages, Sacred Guardians, and Angel Corp have in the Battle of Cripps Fortress? All of them were elites. We even had catapults. The Niu Ren Tribe had nothing. Everyone said Zhan Dao Shixue would win. What was the final result? And then there was the battle of the Death Realm. We had more than three thousand people, and how much money did we spend, hiring so many experts, but in the end, we only killed more than three hundred members of the Niu Ren Tribe. I think we would have done better than those guys. I really don't know what the higher-ups in the League of Mages are thinking," another warrior said. He was somewhat dissatisfied with the League of Mages' leadership.

"Shh, don't say these things here. Let's hurry up and go."

This group of players left together.

Nie Yan brushed past one player from the League of Mages after another, looking inside. The bustling street was right in front of him, with shops on both sides, more crowded than Cripps Fortress. It seemed that Kuangfa was quite skilled at revitalizing the economy.

He was in!

What would Kuangfa think if he knew that he was inside Aegypton Fortress?

Nie Yan couldn't help but think to himself when suddenly, a shout came from behind him.

"Pockface, wait up."

Hearing this voice, Nie Yan's heart skipped a beat.

"Pockface, didn't you go out with the group just now? Why are you back again?" a burly warrior walked up and asked.

Seeing the warrior's surprised expression, Nie Yan calmly said, "I came back to buy something. I forgot to buy something."

After speaking, Nie Yan ignored the warrior and walked straight towards the fortress.

The warrior looked at Nie Yan's back, murmuring in confusion, "This Pockface guy is acting strange today. If I called him Pockface usually, he would fight me to the death. And he's so cold, like a stranger. What's wrong with him?"

He was about to call out to Nie Yan when he looked up and Nie Yan was gone.

"What the hell? Did I just see things?" The warrior looked around, but there was no sign of Nie Yan.

He came back to his senses and thought, never mind, I'll ask Pockface next time we meet. He turned and walked out of the city gate.

He and Nie Yan only had a brief encounter, and he didn't look closely, so he didn't recognize Nie Yan.

Nie Yan hid in the shadows of a corner. Seeing the warrior walk away, he was relieved. He wasn't very confident in the effect of the Disguise skill. Fortunately, he wasn't recognized, otherwise, this assassination mission would have failed.

Arriving at a small alley, Nie Yan used Stealth and walked towards the center of Aegypton Fortress. He had to find the League of Mages' guild headquarters inside Aegypton Fortress first!

Aegypton Fortress was prosperous with a hint of decline. Some shops had posted transfer notices, and the prices were relatively low. Many shop owners were very worried about the future of Aegypton Fortress. If the Niu Ren Tribe attacked, their shops would probably be destroyed by the flames of war. This sense of insecurity made them eager to sell their shops. The more eager they were to sell, the harder it was to sell. Few people dared to buy shops at this time. The money they invested might be lost. They had to wait a few days to see what happened before buying.

After about ten minutes, a magnificent building came into Nie Yan's view.

This was definitely the most eye-catching building in Aegypton Fortress, like a magnificent temple. The surrounding pillars were more than twenty yards high. Various sculptures stood on both sides. The corridors were filled with flower beds, planted with various plants, and the flowers were blooming. A red carpet stretched into the distance.

Nie Yan couldn't help but sigh. The League of Mages was really willing to spend money. Building such a building would cost at least a million gold coins. The Niu Ren Tribe didn't have such a display.

Many guilds felt that the guild headquarters was their facade, so they built it as luxuriously as possible. Nie Yan's idea was different. Instead of spending money on the guild headquarters, it was better to reinforce the city walls. Therefore, the Niu Ren Tribe's guild headquarters was extremely simple and low-key.

Nie Yan received confirmation from Guo Huai that Kuangfa and Holy Flame were in this guild headquarters, meeting with Ying Sha and others.

He wandered around the guild headquarters for more than twenty minutes, familiarizing himself with the surrounding roads and gaining a general understanding of the situation outside the League of Mages' guild headquarters.

"Brother Nie Yan, I'm in," Sun said. He used the Crawler Ring to enter along the top of the city gate.

Before long, Nie Yan received news that Wang Zhetian, Yi Chui Dingqing, and others had also entered. Some used special skills on special items to enter, and some sneaked in when there were fewer people near the city gate. It took them a little longer, but the process was still smooth.

"Everyone, gather at the League of Mages' guild headquarters and keep in touch!" Nie Yan said, looking up at the top of the League of Mages' guild headquarters. The walls of this building were made of white stone and had three floors. A window on the second floor was not closed.

Nie Yan put on the Crawler Ring and used the skill on the Crawler Ring, sticking to the white wall and climbing up nimbly.

No one would have thought that someone would dare to sneak into the enemy guild's fortress. It was an unbelievable thing. Therefore, the defense of Aegypton Fortress was tight on the outside and loose on the inside. The outer city walls were full of sentries, and the defense inside the fortress was relatively lax.

Nie Yan smoothly climbed to the second floor, jumped in through the window, and landed lightly.

Inside the window was a long corridor that stretched into the distance. On both sides of the corridor, a bronze statue of a warrior was erected every five yards, like guards stationed there. The walls were covered with classical murals.

Not knowing where the central conference hall was, Nie Yan entered Stealth and walked along the corridor.

The quiet corridor had few people walking around, and occasionally there were one or two voices talking.

After walking about a hundred or two yards, it seemed like there were people active at the end of the road.

Nie Yan was startled. Footsteps were coming from the distance, getting closer and closer. Someone was walking this way. He quickly hid behind a statue and held his breath.

A player wearing dark gold armor appeared at the corner of the corridor and walked towards this side.

Seeing that person's face, Nie Yan raised an eyebrow. He didn't expect to meet an old acquaintance here. This person was the former guild leader of the Zhan Dao Shixue guild, Shi Xue Kuangdao!

Could it be that after the Zhan Dao Shixue guild disbanded, Shi Xue Kuangdao took his people and joined the League of Mages?

Nie Yan guessed that it was possible. Although Shi Xue Kuangdao was not wearing the League of Mages guild badge at this time, once the war started, these old opponents of the Niu Ren Tribe would definitely stand on the opposite side of the Niu Ren Tribe without hesitation. Nie Yan added some status skills that increased the effect of Stealth. If he fought Shi Xue Kuangdao at this time, his sneaking in would be exposed!

Shi Xue Kuangdao felt a sense of unease in his heart. According to his combat intuition, this was a sign of encountering a thief. He glanced around, and the unease quickly disappeared. He smiled wryly, thinking that he was probably being too sensitive, seeing ghosts in the bushes. This was Aegypton Fortress, the headquarters of the League of Mages. Why would anyone come here to die!

Shi Xue Kuangdao walked straight ahead until he disappeared around the corner of the corridor.

Nie Yan watched Shi Xue Kuangdao's back disappear before walking out from behind the statue. When he and Shi Xue Kuangdao were closest, they were less than three yards apart, but Shi Xue Kuangdao didn't notice anything and walked away.

Nie Yan pondered. I'm afraid that not only Zhan Dao Shixue, but also a large part of the forces that were forced to disband by the Niu Ren Tribe, such as the disbanded guilds of the Triumph Empire and Zongheng Tianxia, have joined the League of Mages. The strength of the League of Mages cannot be underestimated!

After passing Shi Xue Kuangdao, Nie Yan continued along the corridor, passed through two halls, and entered the area where the main hall was located.

Several figures were sitting on chairs in front of the hall, chatting about something. Nie Yan's eyes instantly focused, locking onto two of them. It was Kuangfa and Ying Sha!

He had finally met these two guys. Nie Yan's fingers inadvertently stroked the blade of the Zeennaard Sword in his left hand. This was his subconscious action before he wanted to kill someone.

The hunting game was about to begin!

~~ Today is the Qidian Writers' Annual Meeting. I arrived in Nanning, Guangxi, and met many great gods, Sanshao, Tomato, and the humorous Old Cat. I'm a little depressed that Snail didn't save the manuscript beforehand.