Rebirth of the Thief Who Roamed the World

Angel Corps guild headquarters. Soaring Angel was watching a live feed of the battlefield from the comfort of his throne.

「Boss, Nirvana Flame is chasing us!」

「Boss, do we fight?」

... 

This wing of 100 flying mounts was directly under Soaring Angel’s command. Mostly composed of Rank 5 and Rank 6 flying mounts, they looked no different from other wings of Angel Corps’ air force.

They had only one target, Nirvana Flame!

「Keep waiting. Stay calm. Draw him toward the east,」Soaring Angel ordered. Two other wings were moving to intercept Bladelight, Smoke Stub, and the rest.

「Air Assassins Squad #2, ready on standby!」

「Air Assassins Squad #3, ready on standby!」

「Boss! Asskickers United have breached the walls of the Aaroth Stronghold! Their aerial forces are too strong! We can’t stop them!」

「Boss, what do we do?」

「It doesn’t matter. Have our troops withdraw from the Aaroth Stronghold!」Soaring Angel dismissed. His attention was focused solely on the feed from Okoron. Seeing the Darkwing Dragon and the Immortal Phoenix, his heart raced. BA-DUMP! BA-DUMP! Nirvana Flame, I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time! His faced warped into a sneer. He had invested a dozenfold more resources into flying mounts compared to Asskickers United, all for the sake of gaining an advantage in the skies today!

「Air Assassins Squad #1, ready on standby!」

「Alright, go! Bring me Nirvana Flame’s head!」Soaring Angel coldly ordered. He had named this wing Air Assassins for a reason.

A hundred flying mounts soared through the sky. Their riders were all handpicked by Soaring Angel. Though they weren’t necessarily high level, or even all that talented at the game, they shared one common characteristic—they all came from aviation backgrounds and felt only at home high up in the skies. They could maintain a calm mind even at high speeds in the air and were extraordinarily proficient in air combat.

Nie Yan stood atop the Darkwing Dragon’s head. He was quickly closing in on those flying mounts from Angel Corps. Xie Yao was right behind him. He didn’t know why, but an uneasy feeling sprouted from his heart. By all rights, there should be nothing to be afraid of. His Darkwing Dragon was the sole Rank 8 flying mount in the entire Righteous Faction. No matter the danger, nothing could stop him! Still, this uneasy feeling tugged at his heartstrings, playing a dangerous tune. He didn’t know where it came from.

The flying mounts from Angel Corps evenly split into two groups and flew in parallel.

Nie Yan finally understood that uneasy feeling. This group of flying mount riders seemed a little too experienced, almost as if they had trained in aerial combat before. They were completely different from the aerial forces he’d encountered before.

「Xie Yao, be careful. They probably came prepared. If something happens, we retreat immediately!」Nie Yan warned. 

「Alright!」Xie Yao nodded.

When only 50 meters separated the two sides, the two groups of flying mounts up ahead suddenly rolled in the air, performing an astonishing turning maneuver, and pounced toward Nie Yan and Xie Yao.

After playing meek for so long, these guys finally bared their fangs!

“Come at me!” Nie Yan wasn’t intimidated in the slightest. He urged the Darkwing Dragon forward.

At a glance, the flying mounts heading towards him were only Rank 5 and 6. Only Rank 7 flying mounts could deal serious damage to his Darkwing Dragon!

The Darkwing Dragon let out a roar and charged into the enemy ranks, as did Xie Yao’s phoenix.

One flying mount after another dropped from the sky. Some were torn to shreds while others were set ablaze.

The Darkwing Dragon and Immortal Phoenix were unstoppable!

Seeing the Darkwing Dragon and Immortal Phoenix flaunting off their power, Soaring Angel couldn’t help but feel envious. How did Asskickers United get their hands on such rare, high rank pets? Angel Corps also had a few Rank 7 pets, but their growth rates paled in comparison to the likes of the Darkwing Dragon, Immortal Phoenix, Azure Dragon, and Crystalline Winged Dragon. The only comparable pet they had was the Scarlet Flame Dragon.

Angel Corps quickly lost six flying mounts to the Darkwing Dragon and Immortal Phoenix.

Nie Yan knitted his brows. Something was off. Normally, the enemy would have already started fleeing after suffering such a fierce assault. However, these players from Angel Corps still calmly remained in formation.

「Boss, we’ve got Nirvana Flame where we want him. Should we start the plan?」

「Boss, let’s go, or else we’ll have even more losses!」

「No. Keep waiting. Don’t panic. Stay calm.」Soaring Angel stared at the livestream while giving out orders. He understood Nirvana Flame wouldn’t easily retreat when the situation seemed to be in his favour. A little longer, and he would be trapped without a way out.

As the battle progressed, Nie Yan felt more and more uneasy. At this moment, Bladelight, Smoke Stub, and the others sent word that they had been blocked by the players from Angel Corps. A premonition of danger immediately welled up from his heart. He shouted,「Xie Yao, let’s get out of here, now!」

Nie Yan had his Darkwing Dragon turn around and withdraw. Xie Yao had her Immortal Phoenix dive down, evading the encirclement of several flying mounts.

Seeing Nie Yan trying to flee, the players from Angel Corps immediately moved to surround him.

「Boss, Nirvana Flame wants to escape!」

「Go with our original plan! Lock him down!」Soaring Angel said in a cold voice.

At this moment, the flying mounts from Angel Corps split away as five enormous, blood red birds came swooping forward. They looked similar to Thunder Hawks, but they were much larger. Their feathers blazed like raging flames, and on their heads were glowing red crowns, dazzling. Five Rank 7 flying mounts! Nie Yan had never seen them before, nor had he received any reports about them. In fact, he’d never seen this specific kind of flying mount in his past life or this! Angel Corps had hidden them well!

Transcendent Insight!

These flying mounts were called Vermillion Garudas.

Despite tangling with this wing from Angel Corps for so long, Nie Yan and Xie Yao hadn’t noticed the Vermillion Garudas hiding among them at all. One could imagine how much effort Soaring Angel had put into ambushing them.

Just this? Here I thought you had some sort of killer move saved up for me! Nie Yan smirked. He had the Darkwing Dragon charge toward the Vermillion Garudas, knocking three Rank 6 flying mounts aside.

“Don’t let him escape!”

“Stop him!”

“Nirvana Flame, have a taste of my Flame Net!”

A Warrior had his Vermillion Garuda swoop over and fire out a net of flames which covered a 10-meter diameter.

Nie Yan coldly snorted. He had his Darkwing Dragon fly to the side to dodge, only for another Vermillion Garuda to swoop in and also spit out a Flame Net.

The other three Vermillion Garudas were keeping watch nearby, ready to stop the Darkwing Dragon from escaping.

“You think just this will stop me!?” Nie Yan had the Darkwing Dragon swipe out with its claws, only to discover these flame nets were more resilient than he thought.

It would take at least half-a-minute to tear them apart!

The Darkwing Dragon was caught in the flame net. As it struggled to flap its wings, the net only became tighter.

“GROOAAGH!” The Darkwing Dragon trashed about violently, opening up a small tear in the flame net.

Nie Yan slashed at the tear with Zennarde’s Sword, only to see his blade pass right through the flames as if they were ethereal objects.

Another flame net fell over Nie Yan and the Darkwing Dragon.

For the sake of preventing the Darkwing Dragon from escaping, Angel Corps had prepared five flame nets. Truthfully, three would do. But Nie Yan had defied logic and common sense too many times already, so they chose for the save route and prepared an extra two.

Nie Yan discovered that as long as his Darkwing Dragon was bound by the flame net, the Vermillion Garudas were bound too. It seemed there was a connection of sorts.

Seeing Nie Yan in trouble, Xie Yao immediately urged her Immortal Phoenix to his aid.

「Xie Yao, don’t worry about me. Run!」Nie Yan anxiously cried out. Even though he had no idea what Angel Corps was going to use to deal with her phoenix, he knew they would not let it go without a fight.

「B-but!」Xie Yao hesitated. How could she not be worried seeing Nie Yan bound like that?

As the phoenix made a rapid ascent, 40 Rank 5 and 6 flying mounts swooped down from above, casting a large shadow over Xie Yao. It completely blocked her vision.

Something red flashed before her eyes. Xie Yao immediately sensed something wrong. However, there was no way her phoenix could escape the encirclement of so many flying mounts. BAM! A large red silhouette rammed into her phoenix and bit down into its neck.

“SKREEH!” The phoenix cried out in pain. It shook off its attacker and retreated to the side.

Xie Yao finally got a good look at that flash of red. It was a large dragon covered in dark red scales, which burned with hot flames. Her heart trembled. The dragon before her was the mortal enemy of phoenixes, a Scarlet Flame Dragon!

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