Nie Yan chanted out an incantation. With a flash of light, Lil’ Gold materialized on the stage.

Lil’ Gold stood more than three meters tall approaching close to four meters, roughly a head bigger than the Polar Behemoth. He was covered in dense gold scales which pulsed with a bloody crimson glow.

Since high rank pets like Golden Dragons and Polar Behemoths were quite rare, players had very little knowledge about them. All they knew were the stories of legend describing the immense power these existences held. As for exactly how powerful they were, that was still up in the air. The only baseline to go by was the few instances of Lil’ Gold in action, with his appearance during the siege of the Cripps Stronghold being the most recent. There were videos of most of these events floating around online.

Lil’ Gold’s might was frightening. Thinking about it, the Polar Behemoth couldn’t be too far behind. As for who was stronger, no one could say for sure.

Nie Yan was fairly familiar with these high rank pets. After all, they were relatively numerous during his prime in the previous timeline, with many top ranked players owning one.

Nie Yan was well aware behemoths were superior in direct confrontations. However, the physical prowess of dragons shouldn’t be looked down on either, only lagging somewhat behind that of behemoths. Given the massive disparity in growth rates, the Polar Behemoth stood no chance against Lil’ Gold.

“Let’s start,” Nie Yan said in a casual tone. He was currently far stronger than Depraved and others like him, just in terms of raw stats alone.

Nie Yan had close to 7,000 health, while Depraved only had around 3,000. He was Level 72. Depraved was only Level 61. His others stats, such as attack power, defense, cloaking, awareness, and so on were more than 30% higher than those of Depraved! These were his past efforts finally paying off!

No other Thief could match Nie Yan right now!

Nie Yan kept his stats hidden. He would never reveal them publicly. Of course, his health could still be seen by others. It was truly frightening. Any Thief that saw him would lose all confidence in themselves. This was the effect of his equipment and the 10,000-Man Commander title. Depraved and his ilk were in over their heads wanting to challenge him.

The Polar Behemoth let out a deep roar, then charged toward Lil’ Gold.

The match had begun!

Depraved entered stealth and faded into the background.

Eye of Truth!

Nie Yan’s eyes blossomed out with a red light. Scanning around, he spotted a faint silhouette roughly 30 or so meters away from him. He quickly ordered Lil’ Gold to target the area with Dragon Breath, not bothering to take action himself.

Depraved’s mind trembled. He already knew in advance Nie Yan possessed an eye skill, but experiencing it in person was completely different. He felt completely exposed. The intensity of the gaze was palpable. Seeing the raging flames blasting towards him, he quickly fled to safety with Gale Step.

「Boom!」The Dragon Breath blasted the center of the stage, scorching the area black. Embers danced in the air before dissipating into the sky.

The ground which was protected by the protective formations of countless Magisters didn’t receive any damage. However, the nearby players could still feel the frightening might as the air around the arena boiled over. No Thief could survive a direct hit from this dreadful attack!

「Bang!」Lil’ Gold and the Polar Behemoth clashed. Their immense weight and size shook the whole stage. The sound of their blows reverberated through the square. The faces of the crowd paled in fear, and they slowly started backing away.

Only after retreating more than 30 meters did they finally feel somewhat safe.

“Oh fuck! What kind of power is this? It’s terrifying!”

The Polar Behemoth’s paw swiped Lil’ Gold squarely in the chest.

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Lil’ Gold only slightly trembled. Given how he had over 27,000 health, this barely counted as a scratch.

Explosive Counter!

A violent whirlwind erupted from Lil’ Gold as he retaliated by swiping the Polar Behemoth in the shoulder.「Bang!」It was sent skidding several meters backwards before tripping and crashing into the stage floor.

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With only 16,000 health, the Polar Behemoth suffered serious damage.

Everyone was dazed, especially Depraved who had an incredulous expression on his face. He never expected the Polar Behemoth to be suppressed, let alone to this extent! Weren’t behemoths supposed to be stronger than dragons in a direct confrontation?

Since the ancient past, behemoths ruled the land while the skies belonged to the dragons. Generally, flightless dragons were all of the lowest rank. How did a Golden Dragon like Lil’ Gold grow so powerful?

Back at Angel Corps’ headquarters in the Sanguine Stronghold, Soaring Angel who was watching a livestream of the match suddenly sprung up from his seat.

“Why is it like this?” Soaring Angel muttered. Lil’ Gold’s might caught him off guard. He believed the Polar Behemoth held an absolute advantage in the limited space of an arena stage. He really wanted to ask Nie Yan what the hell he fed this Golden Dragon for it to get so strong! He previously believed Nie Yan was only bluffing. Now he realized his mistake!

At this moment, the battle on the stage was still fiercely raging on.

Nie Yan still stood in the same spot as before, not showing any inclination of wanting to take action.

Depraved stealthily approached Nie Yan in an attempt to swing things around, only for him to see scorching hot flames shooting his way. He had no choice but to retreat back.

Even while clashing with the Polar Behemoth, Lil’ Gold still had enough energy left over to deal with Depraved!

The Polar Behemoth was in a miserable state. Every time it staggered to its feet, it would be knocked back down by Lil’ Gold. Crawl back up. Knocked backed down again. This cycle continued several times over. Its body was riddled with claw marks, blood seeping out of the deep wounds. It whimpered out in pain, helpless in the face of Lil’ Gold’s absolute might.

The match was completely lopsided. There was no suspense whatsoever.

Seeing the fight turning south, Depraved became anxious and chanted out an incantation. The Polar Behemoth’s muscles suddenly bulged out and it swelled several times in size. Its pure white fur was tinged with a shade of red, and its eyes became bloodshot. It had entered berserk mode!

The Polar Behemoth started striking back at Lil’ Gold with renewed vigor. At this moment, a scorching meteor suddenly fell from the sky. Meteor Drop! With a loud bang, flames engulfed the entire stage. The Polar Behemoth was knocked to the ground by the hail of fireballs. No matter how hard it struggled, it couldn’t get back up.

The Polar Behemoth couldn’t even compete against Lil’ Gold in a physical confrontation, so there was no need to speak about one of magic. It was useless. Even after going berserk, it was still pummeled into the floor, unable to even lift its head.

The Polar Behemoth’s fur was riddled with scorch marks. As it tried to struggle to its feet, Lil’ Gold blasted a mouthful of scorching hot flames. The powerful Dragon Breath struck the Polar Behemoth in the chest. It let out a miserable howl and was sent flying out of the arena before heavily crashing into the ground. Its health had finally bottomed out, and it transformed into a ray of light.

Silence prevailed in the square. No one expected this outcome. Even if the Polar Behemoth couldn’t beat Lil’ Gold, everyone believed it could at least hold its own. However, it became a punching bag instead, simply incapable of fighting back. Even after it went berserk, nothing changed. All of this culminated into a crushing defeat.

"The boss’ Golden Dragon is too fierce.”

If there were a ranking board for pets, Lil’ Gold would definitely take the number one spot!

After the Polar Behemoth was killed, Depraved lost all will to fight. He hadn’t even been able to approach Nie Yan the whole time due to the Dragon Breath. He dispelled his stealth and materialized back into view. He gazed at the distant Nie Yan who had never once left his spot.

Standing like this, Nie Yan looked like a god overlooking the world. With Lil’ Gold under his control, he was practically unrivalled.

“I admit defeat,” Depraved said in a dispirited tone. He stared at Nie Yan and asked, “Can I have a real match with you? This time without pets. You can treat it as a request. It has nothing to do with the previous challenge.”

“You’re not qualified,” Nie Yan said in an indifferent tone as if he were simply stating a fact.

No one questioned Nie Yan’s words.

Depraved’s eyes flashed with a trace of disappointment. “Then when will I be qualified?”

“When you become a Shadow Dancer,” Nie Yan said. Only Thieves who advanced to Shadow Dancers were worthy of challenging him. He would definitely become a Shadow Dancer before anyone else. He had already mastered the techniques of a Shadow Dancer. What he lacked right now was only levels! As long as his level was high enough, he could easily clear the Shadow Dancer class advancement quest.

“Shadow Dancer...” Depraved muttered. His eyes reignited with spirit, and he clenched his fists. He would become a Shadow Dancer, and then return to challenge Nie Yan!

The term ‘Shadow Dancer’ was still unfamiliar to most players. It appeared to be the class after Great Thief, a peak existence. One could only attempt the advancement quest after reaching Level 100.

After Nie Yan spoke out these words, the term Shadow Dancer instantly became a hot topic among players. Everyone was discussing it with fervor.

Once you became a Shadow Dancer, you could challenge Nirvana Flame. Becoming a Shadow Dancer, this instantly became the goal of all Thieves.