Pantheon’s guild headquarters. Godking was trembling in fear, not daring to raise his head. Angud was fuming with rage after making a trip to the far northwest of the Demon Tribe and failing to catch even a glimpse of Nie Yan’s shadow.

“Find me his exact location by tomorrow, or... You know the consequences.” Angud glared at Godking.

Godking felt bitterness in his heart. His intelligence network hadn’t found a trace of Nirvana Flame for a long time already. Given how big the Demon Tribe was, it was like trying to find a needle in a mountain of hay! Even if they found him, he could teleport away like before. But Godking had no way of going against Angud’s orders. If they failed to locate Nirvana Flame, a true calamity would befall him. Once Angud was angered, all of Pantheon would be done for.

“L-lord Angud, Nirvana Flame is as slippery as a louch. I-I really have no way of finding him…” Just as these words left Godking’s mouth, he felt a powerful force wrap around his neck and lift him off the ground. He was completely helpless before this power. On the verge of suffocating, he hurriedly screamed out, “B-but I have a way of making him come to you!”

Godking felt the grip on his neck released. He collapsed on the ground and gasped for air.

Angud shot Godking a glance. “You better pray your plan will satisfy me.”

Godking explained with a haggard face, “It’s impossible for us to locate a single Thief in a place as vast as the Demon Tribe. Not to mention Nirvana Flame belongs to the Righteous Faction and can return to the surface at any time. Even if we find him, you know how hard it is to catch him. We can only make him come to us. He’s the leader of a large guild in the Viridian Empire with hundreds of thousands of subordinates below him. If you start slaughtering his followers en masse, he’ll have no choice but to reveal himself before you. He’ll serve you the Death God’s Edge on a silver platter.”

Angud sunk into silence for a minute before staring at Godking. “If I discover you’re lying to me…”

“I-I wouldn’t dare, Lord Angud! Here’s all the data I’ve collected on that guild. One more thing, I’d like to advise you not to attack their strongholds. They’re in possession of extremely advanced artillery.”

Angud accepted the documents Godking provided. Even though Angud and Phantom Princess Ina were both Level 180 Demonified Lords, they were nothing alike. While Ina was an incarnation of destruction with only a singular goal in mind, Angud had his own intelligence. He wouldn’t mindlessly slaughter his way forward and end up foolishly killed. He was a much greater adversary than Phantom Princess Ina.

“Looks like I’ll be making a trip to the surface. I wonder how much has changed since I was last there,” Angud muttered before departing.

Watching Angud disappear, Godking’s flattering smile was replaced by a cold and gloomy sneer. “Merely an NPC. You’ve still become my tool in the end.” He predicted Angud would give Asskickers United quite the headache

....

Time ticked away. Nie Yan familiarized himself with his weakened state. After six hours, all his skills were back off cooldown.

Looking in the distance, the dark passageway looked like the maw of an enormous beast.

Nie Yan steeled his resolve and entered deeper into the tomb.

After walking in the darkness for who knew how long, Nie Yan entered a chamber with a pond in the center.

Intuition told him something was hidden at the bottom of the pond.

Nie Yan walked to the edge of the pond and looked down. All he saw was an endless abyss.

Nie Yan wondered what dangers lurked inside.

Thinking his options over, Nie Yan summoned the shadow clone. Better be safe than sorry.

SPLASH! The shadow clone leaped into the pond, water splashing into the air.

Nie Yan watched the shadow clone disappear into the dark depths. Suddenly, his connection with it was lost. He couldn’t sense its location at all. The pond was still as tranquil as ever, not the slightest disturbance in sight.

Nie Yan had no idea where the shadow clone went. However, he could confirm it was still alive. If it died, a system message would notify him.

The pound was full of mystery as well as danger.

Hesitating, Nie Yan decided to dive in and look himself. No risk, no reward!

Since he had come all the way here, why would he turn back now?

SPLASH! Nie Yan dove into the water, activating an underwater breathing skill.

Nie Yan shivered. The icy cold water of the pond was making his body feel somewhat rigid and numb. Even his resistances were affected by the Nightmare Curse. This bit of cold was already too much. He hurriedly drank an Ice Resistance Potion and felt somewhat better.

The pond seemed like a bottomless abyss. The deeper he dove, the lower the temperature fell.

After several minutes, Nie Yan had no idea how deep he was, but the water pressure felt suffocating.

Nie Yan happened to spot something glowing at the bottom of the pond. He started swimming towards it.

This has to be at least 60 meters below the surface, right? Nie Yan muttered in his mind. He suddenly sensed something off, like something was approaching him. He was being watched!

A notification popped up.

Shit!

A feeling of crisis welled up from the bottom of his heart. Nie Yan tried swimming back to the surface, only to feel something clutch onto his leg and drag him deeper down. Just as he was about to kick it away, he discovered his other leg was grabbed too.

No matter how much Nie Yan struggled, he couldn’t break free. The bottom of the pond was coming closer and closer.

An incorporeal force grabbed his throat, leaving Nie Yan unable to breathe. He felt the strength draining from his body.

Nie Yan had no idea who his opponent even was. He lost complete control of his body as he was slowly pulled toward the pond-bed.

His underwater breathing was dispelled. In a few seconds, he would undoubtedly die!

Nie Yan felt the light at the bottom of the pond getting closer and closer.

Sensing his consciousness slipping away, Nie Yan struggled to swim toward the light.

In the midst of his struggle, Nie Yan felt his hand come into contact with something. He immediately tightened his grip. However, it was already too late. His vision went black.

Dammit. I guess this it, Nie Yan thought before passing out.