“This shield should be worth over twenty silvers, but I don’t mind selling it for only twenty.”

“T-this... dropped from the Lion King when you killed it?” Bladelight was left shaken after examining the shield’s properties. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how much better the Lion King’s Shield was in comparison to his own. In fact, there really was no comparison; the two weren’t even on the same level.

Nie Yan furrowed his brows. How did Bladelight know he killed the Lion King?

Seeing Nie Yan’s reaction, Bladelight hurriedly explained, “Oh, my apologies. It seems I got a bit too excited. However, you can rest assured that I won’t leak this information.” Then, he returned his gaze to the shield. “This Lion King’s Shield really is worth over twenty silvers. If it were to appear in the marketplace, it definitely wouldn’t sell for less than twenty-five silvers. Unfortunately, I don’t have that kind of money on me right now. Would you be willing to wait for me to scrape up enough funds after returning to the city?”

“Sure. I can wait,” Nie Yan replied, nodding his head.

“Oh! I also have a few pieces of Thief equipment in my personal storage. Several of them are pretty decent, and some of them should hold your interest. Would you be interested in exchanging them in place of money?” Bladelight asked.

“As long as I can use them, I’m fine with it,” Nie Yan replied. He had actually been worrying about being unable to find good Thief equipment, so Bladelight’s suggestion came at the perfect moment.

“Ah, alright then. I’ll contact you after I collect the money. Please don’t sell the shield to anyone before then!” Bladelight felt tense and anxious as he stared the Lion King’s shield in Nie Yan’s hand.

Nie Yan thought for a moment before he replied, “I’ll wait a day. If you’re not able to to raise enough money by then, I can only look elsewhere to sell.” Out of the people he had frequent contact with, only Bai Kaishui (Plain Boiled Water) from Yu Lan’s (Blue Feather) team was a Fighter. However, it was highly unlikely, if not impossible, that Bai Kaishui could afford the twenty silvers he wanted for the shield. Nie Yan felt a little hesitant, putting the shield up in the auction house. He’d much rather keep the fertile waters flowing in his own fields. After all, it was more beneficial to give such equipment to his acquaintances rather than strangers.

“One day is enough!” Bladelight promptly replied.

He was a straightforward person and didn’t haggle over the shield’s price because he understood he had already received a great bargain. Normally, if it was sold to someone else, such a shield wouldn’t sell for any bid less than twenty-five silvers. For it to sell for thirty silvers or higher was a reasonable albeit unlikely possibility as well. Nevertheless, twenty silvers was still a significant sum. Hah... Seems that I’ll have to borrow some money.

Filled with excitement and anticipation, Bladelight activated the Return Scroll so he could raise the funds he needed in the city.

“Oh, there’s one other matter. Is Hei Zhuo (Black Amazing) your friend?” Nie Yan asked. After thinking it over, he still felt it was best to warn Bladelight. The type of people he detested the most were two-faced backstabbers. Hei Zhuo and Bladelight were friends. Yet the former still chose to have an affair with the latter’s girlfriend. This sort of behavior... Nie Yan truly found it condemnable.

“Yes, he is. How did you know?” Bladelight asked, a hint of bewilderment mixed in his tone.

“I’ve heard many unpleasant rumours surrounding what kind of person he is. A little incident happened between him and one of my friends. My friend met him and a woman called Zhi Yan (Beautiful Angelica) at Midnight Charm at Calore, and they got into a scuffle.” Nie Yan glimpsed at Bladelight’s expression. In his previous life, this bar was where Bladelight discovered his girlfriend and Hei Zhuo were committing acts of adultery. Nie Yan didn’t mind exposing Hei Zhuo’s deeds at an earlier date.

Sure enough, after listening to Nie Yan’s words, Bladelight’s complexion slightly paled.

Zhi Yan was his girlfriend whom he met online. Later on, they met each other in real life and had been living together since. If she and Hei Zhuo really were committing indecent acts within the game, it would truly be difficult for him to find out.

Hei Zhuo and Zhi Yan were the most trusted people in his life. He didn’t believe this was true... No, he wasn’t willing to believe it could be true. Yet, deep in his heart, he felt a hint of uncertainty and restlessness.

Could it be what he’s saying is actually...?No... Bladelight shook his head. It’s absolutely impossible.

“If I ever meet Hei Zhuo, it won’t be on friendly terms. Of course, it’ll have nothing to do with you.” Nie Yan was only warning him out of the kindness of his heart. Regardless, he wasn’t the one being cuckolded. “If there comes a day where you plan on leaving Unhindered, come and find me. I’d be happy to have you by my side.” Nie Yan said all that he wanted to say; he turned around and began walking into the distance.

“I’ll never leave Unhindered,” Bladelight coldly replied. He convinced himself Nie Yan was just another one of those people trying to poach members for their guild.

Truthfully, Nie Yan really did have the intention of recruiting him. After all, it would be a great boon for him to successfully pull Bladelight to his side. However, this little setback was of no matter. He had never hoped for immediate results. His goal was already accomplished. A seed of doubt had been planted deep within Bladelight’s heart. Sooner or later, as it slowly germinated, he would one day at last... catch whiff of what was being done behind his back. And at that moment, once he realized his short-sightedness, he’d recall Nie Yan’s invitation; this much was enough.

Nie Yan didn’t bother explaining. He activated Stealth and disappeared from Bladelight’s view.

For a short while, Bladelight stood there in a daze. Eventually, he unfurled the Return Scroll and activated its magic within. A brilliant light flashed through the surroundings, and he was teleported away.

Nie Yan was currently dashing through Violet Dream Hills. At the base of a mountain in the distance, he could see an enormous tree several dozen meters in height. It would take at least seven full grown men to link their arms around this tree, and its immense treetop resembled a roof blocking out the sun. Such a landmark seemed especially lofty when placed within Violet Dream Hills.

Surrounding this tree was a forest of smaller trees and vegetation. The Ogre Devourer he had been searching for was located here. A Level 8 Elite-class monster: if he and it were to go head-to-head, he’d stand absolutely no chance. However, when it came to hunting monsters, he didn’t necessarily need to face this Ogre Devourer in direct combat.

The boss frequently roamed around the vicinity. Therefore there was no set position where it could be found. If one were unlucky or careless, they would end up encountering it by accident. Unlike Gato the Lion King, the Ogre Devourer wasn’t as well-known, and the items it dropped were a bit worse. Add on the fact that its skin was coarse and thick while its health was high, many players would find it very difficult to deal with. Furthermore, it possessed a skill named Petrifying Gaze which had the effect of paralysis. Average players were advised to keep as far away as possible if they encountered this boss.

Nie Yan neared the giant tree as he passed through some thickets. His Cloaking stat wasn’t low. Thus, once he hid in the background, even if he wasn’t in stealth, he wouldn’t be so easily discovered by monsters or players.

The wind was surprisingly strong at the base of the mountain, and it carried the faint scent of blood.

Amid the sounds of leaves rustling in the wind, Nie Yan also heard distant footsteps. He hurriedly hid behind a nearby bush and looked towards the origin of the sound. Whereupon, an obese, two-meter-tall, blue-skinned, two-headed ogre entered his vision.

The Ogre wielded a giant wooden club in its hand. Its movements were clumsy and its two heads were looking around endlessly. Only after a long while did they finally start walking again.

With a single glance of its body, Nie Yan could tell this wasn’t the Ogre Devourer but merely a common Ogre.

Nie Yan didn’t have any interest in killing small fry. He took a detour around the Ogre and continued his search. After exploring the area for what seemed like ages, he finally heard the sound of heavy footsteps coming from the depths of the forest.

He could distinguish these Ogres from the sound of their footsteps. The one approaching him definitely wasn’t ordinary.

Finally... The Ogre Devourer is coming. Nie Yan dashed towards the immense tree at the end of the forest which was roughly eighty meters away. Near the large tree, there were six other smaller trees. They were also thick and sturdy; roughly two grown men were required for their arms to surround a single tree.

He decided on these several trees as the location for his Ogre hunt.

As he arrived near the source of the sound which also happened to be in the direction of the immense tree, he gradually recalled the incident that prompted him to head to this area. Before he reincarnated, after the servers had been open for over two years, a Level 5 Thief single-handedly killed the Level 8 Elite-class monster, Ogre Devourer. Despite the player base having outgrown this boss, such an unprecedented event had still caused quite a stir.