Rebirth of the Thief Who Roamed the World

After an indeterminate amount of time, Nie Yan gradually regained consciousness. The cold wind blew in his face, causing his cheeks to sting.

Where is this place? Am I not dead…?

Nie Yan looked around. The sight that greeted him shook his heart—a vast open plain stretching out as far as the eye could see. Armoured corpses lay scattered on the ground, rusted weapons in their hands. Broken war chariots and various other siege engines lay in ruins. This place was likely an ancient battlefield.

A notification popped up.

You have discovered the Plains of Death, an ancient battlefield.

Plains of Death? Nie Yan searched for information related to this ancient battlefield online. A flood of information appeared before his eyes. During the reign of Tyrant Abak, Lich King Insar had launched six military campaigns to take over the world, not once successful. For the sake of revenge, he started an era-ending war which lasted for over two months. More than 60 of humanity’s legendary figures fell in this war before his undead army was finally defeated.

Lich King Insar had cast a Forbidden Magic with his dying breath, submerging the ancient battlefield into the underworld.

As for details of that military campaign, there were only brief descriptions. Not much was left of that era. Following the defeat of Tyrant Abak, his achievements were wiped from history before ultimately being forgotten.

Humanity was a race that followed blindly he who screamed loudest. They would latch onto that person and shout with him, drowning out any opposing voices with their ignorance.

Nie Yan spotted enormous, hideous Corpse Eaters roaming around the battlefield. They were six meters tall with crooked bodies and sharp spikes growing along their spines. There were also large vultures flying in the sky overhead.

It looked like this was already another world.

Withdrawing his gaze, Nie Yan discovered he had died and revived here with Death and Rebirth. His heart trembled. Where was the Death God’s Edge?

Nie Yan looked down. The Death God’s Edge, Paternoster’s Warhammer, and the chapters from the Book of Order were all scattered on the ground.

Nie Yan hurriedly picked them back up. Thankfully, he only lost a bit of experience.

After recuperating his health and mana, Nie Yan got back on his feet. He discovered five vultures sitting on a branch of a dead tree about 10 meters from him. They were watching him, their eyes following him wherever he went.

Damn! They see me as prey!

Nie Yan inspected one of the vultures with Transcendent Insight. They were ordinary Level 180 monsters.

Normally, Nie Yan could easily take down these vultures. But after being inflicted with the Nightmare Curse, it would be very difficult with his current stats.

Nie Yan pounced toward the vultures. Just as he was about to reach them, they took to the air and left him in the dust.

They had no intention of fighting Nie Yan.

Nie Yan took out the Cavalry Crossbow and fired at the vultures. After taking several hits, they quickly flew to a height where his bolts couldn’t reach them. However, they still circled in the air above him.

Nie Yan dashed off with Gale Step and ran across the battlefield for over 1,000 meters. Looking back up, the vultures were still following him closely.

These vultures could see through stealth!

If Nie Yan couldn’t shake off these vultures, things would be troublesome!

A short while later, two more vultures appeared in the sky. Now there were seven circling above him!

Nie Yan thought over his options. Lil’ Gold’s loyalty was already too low. He would need to slowly feed him over a period of time to get it back up. The only summon he had available right now was Paladin Lafus. However, Lafus’ stats were based on his. With his current stats, Lafus wouldn’t be of much help. Bringing him out would be useless. The shadow clone was still on cooldown, and his Darkwing Dragon was fast asleep.

This was the first time Nie Yan felt so helpless. He had nothing available to him.

“CAWWW! CAWWW!” The vultures cried out in the air, as if they were sending a message.

Nie Yan’s heart trembled. Looking in the distance, some Corpse Eaters were moving to surround him.

Here was trouble!

Nie Yan quickly dashed off and escaped from the Corpse Eaters. Although they were only ordinary Level 180 mobs, he was no match for them in his current state.

With the vultures tailing him, the Corpse Eaters continued chasing after Nie Yan.

The number of Corpse Eaters pursuing Nie Yan was rapidly increasing. The vultures were their eyes in the sky, guiding them and calling out for more Corpse Eaters to join in.

Seeing the horde of Corpse Eaters growing larger behind him, Nie Yan suddenly had an idea. Right! How could I forget about that skill!

Nie Yan glanced at Undead Rite in his skill bar. It had been a long time since he last used it.

These Corpse Eaters were dark attribute creatures. They could be controlled by Undead Rite!

Nie Yan continued fleeing while slightly adjusting his position. Slowly but surely, the 20 or so Corpse Eaters were herded together.

“Perfect!” Nie Yan’s eyes lit up. He took out a scroll from his bag and crushed it. POOF! The scroll disappeared into the air.

As the magic inside the scroll was released, the surrounding temperature plummeted. Ice spikes erupted from the ground in a 30-meter long line behind him. Exploding on contact, they instantly covered the Corpse Eaters in a thick layer of ice, leaving them unable to move.

It was a high rank freeze spell, Cryo Bind!

The Corpse Eaters were frozen stiff, unable to budge.

Nie Yan targeted the Corpse Eater at the front with Undead Rite.

Undead Rite has failed!

Nie Yan tried Undead Rite several more times. Since obtaining this skill, he’d used it a great many times, gradually increasing its rank until it maxed out. By now, its success rate was quite high and he could control up to 10 monsters at once, instead of the original three. The Nightmare Curse might’ve reduced his stats by 80%, but his skills were left untouched!

Undead Rite has failed! Undead Rite has failed! Undead Rite has succeeded!

Yes! Nie Yan finally had the first undead minion under his control.

Nie Yan ordered the Corpse Eater to retreat, then focused on the other frozen stiff Corpse Eaters. Time to get a second one!

About 20 seconds later, the ice locking the Corpse Eaters down started to crack before breaking apart.

The Corpse Eaters hadn’t yet had the time to move, when Nie Yan took out another scroll. Quagmire! The ground beneath their feet turned soft and boggy. Their movements were impaired again!

Nie Yan continued using Undead Rite. 10 seconds later, he took control of a second Corpse Eater.

Nie Yan’s bags were filled to the brim with all kinds of scrolls. He could keep these Corpse Eaters locked down in place indefinitely.

Over the next some minutes, Nie Yan took control of another seven Corpse Eaters for a total of nine. After falling to Nie Yan’s Undead Rite, these Corpse Eaters not only fell under his control, but their strength also increased by roughly 60%. Not to mention they now had a leader who could make them work together as a team, only further enhancing their strength. They started massacring their own.

While having his Corpse Eaters slaughter their own, Nie Yan gazed up at the sky. The vultures still hadn’t dispersed.

A light bulb flashed in his mind. Nie Yan instructed the nine Corpse Eaters to move in on him. With their menacing faces, they clawed at him, until he collapsed to the ground. After which they dispersed. At least, that’s what the vultures saw.

Nie Yan lay motionless on the ground.

The vultures circled above Nie Yan, puzzled. But the temptation of food was too great. They put their suspicions aside and alighted.

The vultures slowly waddled toward Nie Yan. After finding he wasn’t breathing, they pounced on him.

As he felt the vultures pounce on him, Nie Yan activated the scroll in his hand.

Black vines sprouted from the earth, catching the Vultures mid-pounce and tying them down.

Nie Yan used Undead Rite on one Vulture, while he had his Corpse Eaters attack the others.

Undead Rite has succeeded!

Before long, the other vultures were quickly wiped out.

Perfect!

Nie Yan swept his eyes over the surroundings. He was quite satisfied with himself. The corpses of the Corpse Eaters and vultures melted away. Hundreds of rays of light illuminated the sky.

Every ray of light represented a soul. These Corpse Eaters and vultures had consumed not only the corpses of their victims, but also their souls. By killing them, Nie Yan had set all these souls free.

Unexpectedly, Nie Yan found his Holy Spirit Heart was that much closer to completion. He grew incredibly excited. Just a little more, and it would beat in him! It’d been so close to completion for so long, with the last stretch taking forever. He hadn’t even seen the progress bar move at all as of late. But now, no matter how miniscule the increase was, it was there! His heart started beating faster. Would he finally get it!?

Nie Yan sat down and recuperated. He sent the vulture to explore around for more Corpse Eaters.

As Nie Yan was killing another group of Corpse Eaters, he received two messages. Angel Corps’ elite team had been causing trouble for Asskickers United in the City of Sin, seeking out skirmishes. Fortunately, Asskickers United hadn’t suffered any losses. With Bladelight there, he had nothing to worry about. The second piece of news was more worrying. Angud had been spotted in the underground passage by a 1,000-man team from Asskickers United. They’d been wiped out completely, with only a dozen or so players managing to escape with their lives.

What was Angud doing in the underground passage!?

Nie Yan had an ominous premonition. Could it be that Angud was going to the surface? If he was, Asskickers United would be in big trouble!

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Translator: LittleShanks (Follow me on Twitter)
Editor: Sietse