27 Three Smelly Cobblers

"Hurry up, Xue Yu, Suyue!" Nie Fan yelled anxiously into the party chat. Any slower and he would become a corpse!

Nonetheless, the goblins around him broke in an uproar just then, and Nie Fan understood immediately that his friends had already started.

A white bubble of light was seen in the air, shooting straight forward over a dozen yards before landing on one Blazing Goblin Warrior with a pop. The creature roared in ridge, and led its lesser Blazing Goblin brethren and charged towards the ambusher.

In the distance, a white figure was gone in a flash.

It was Lin Suyue.

Soon, however, they surrounded her, and in another white flash, she fell into the dirt.

[System: Your party member Waning Moonshade has died.]

Right when Lin Suyue fell, another figure was rushing at the Goblin Firewalker from a spot where the goblins were fewer. Lin Suyue's diversion had drawn off a major horde of goblins, creating the best opening for Xue Yu.

Sacred Lunar Shield!

With a loud cry, Xue Yu casted Sacred Lunar Shield and kept it in front of him, knocking away one of the Blazing Goblins. 

He looked around. He couldn't tell which of those goblins was Nie Fan, but he had only one objective: charge towards the Goblin Firewalker.

And yet, it seemed to be an impossible mission!

Even so, there were a dozen of Blazing Goblins and Blazing Goblin Warriors, and he could never break past them!

'No, I mustn't fail!'

Xue Yu leapt, with a Blazing Goblin Warrior's giant axe brushing past right beside him.

So close!

Nevertheless, Xue Yu no longer cared about all that. He darted forward with every last bit of strength he had until he was just eight yards away from the Goblin Firewalker.

Nie Fan turned towards the source of disturbance to find Xue Yu hurrying at his direction as best he could. Even so, he would never make it since there were simply too many goblins in the vicinity and they were basically one stalwart wall of meat.

As such, Nie Fan kept his focus on the Goblin Firewalker. Lin Suyue's earlier diversion had already drawn its attention, making it turn away and no longer paying him any heed. Xue Yu's appearance even left it in an unending rage, and it began to drag along its massive axe and walked towards where Xue Yu was.

Meanwhile, Xue Yu did not make it. A horde of goblins had promptly surrounded him, and he turned into a streak of white light in just a few blows.

[System: Your party member Falling Maple Leaves has died.]

Nie Fan glanced at the Goblin Firewalker after receiving the system notification. It had its back to him just six yards away, while he himself had moved just two yards off the Ring of Fate in the confusion just now.

The chance would be gone in an instant. Any slower and there wouldn't be any opening!

Nie Fan promptly reached out with his right hand into the bubble, and caught the Ring of Fate smoothly.

And in the very instant he touched the Ring of Fate, it abruptly shone in blinding radiance just like the sun, vibrant and dazzling.

In an instant, every creature's attention was stirred and drawn to that light, including the Goblin Firewalker nearby.

Then, the light from the Ring of Fate quickly darkened, and it was now covered in a layer of silver in contrast to its once colorless form. Uneven patterns also appeared alongside a flowing halation, emanating an extraordinary color that captured the soul.

Seizing the moment before every goblin reacted, Nie Fan threw the Ring of Fate into his bag while transforming his form into a cheetah's, and then sprinted away.

The Goblin Firewalker burst into an unstoppable rage when it noticed that someone had actually taken away the Ring of Fate. It bellowed violently, brandishing its axe as it gave chase.

In fact, the axe itself had turned into a raging flame and cut down at Nie Fan.

Watching as the giant flame axe of the Goblin Firewalker was almost reaching him, Nie Fan completely forgot about his present form and lunged ahead in a barrel roll. It was lucky that the diversion just now had drawn the goblins to the west to other zones, and no Blazing Goblins were at his front to stop him.

With a massive bang, the Goblin Firewalker's giant flame axe struck the ground, spluttering fist-sized fires while veins of cracks appeared over the earth.

Although he had clearly slipped away, two balls of flame still managed to hit Nie Fan and shredded almost a hundred HP off him.

It was such a terrific attack. Nie Fan was left in utter astonishment, but he also casted Phantom in the instant when the attack kicked up fiery sparks.

A blurred shadow appeared to Nie Fan's rear.

Meanwhile, the Goblin Firewalker's flame attack had actually petrified the Blazing Goblins nearby. Muddleheaded, they simply forgot to pursue Nie Fan right then.

At the same time, the Goblin Firewalker brushed away the flames to find a cheetah's shadow. Believing that it was Nie Fan, it roared as it smashed down on it with its giant axe, causing another rumble with its violent blow. Even so, it did not hit a thing—Nie Fan had already fled a dozen yards away.

Even so, the Goblin Firewalker did not give up and maintained its pursuit while flailing its massive axe.

Soon, however, Nie Fan has leapt away, evading several scattered Blazing Goblins and Blazing Goblin Warriors and swiftly vanished into the plains, the Goblin Firewalker's roars ever present behind him.

To avoid any chance of the Goblin Firewalker catching up, Nie Fan wildly sprinted for another few more minutes, and only relaxed when he made sure that no monsters were still trying to chase him. It was only then that he realized that his back was drenched in cold sweat.

That was the first time he was caught in such danger, but it proved to be more a scare than an actual threat—indeed, he felt that it was all worth it once he remembered that the Ring of Fate was in his bag.

He checked his friend list to find that both Xue Yu and Suyue's names were still in gray, and they would only be able to play after five hours if they did not revive right away. It was thanks to their help this time, or Nie Fan would never have gotten the Ring of Fate.

His father had braved every danger before claiming the Ring of Fate for himself. While Nie Fan was not as superior as his father in skill, the aid from his two friends allowed him to get the ring without much danger.

The old saying is true: Three smelly cobblers could defeat one Zhuge Liang!

Xue Yu and Suyue's chat tools were on, and they could converse normally even if they couldn't play.

"Return to Tajit after reviving!" Nie Fan said into the party chat. They were done here, and it was time they went back to Tajit Village for a little rest.

"Did you get the ring?" Xue Yu asked anxiously when he saw Nie Fan's message.

That ring must have been a very important object for Nie Fan, but Xue Yu was a little let down by his own performance. He definitely would have been able to rush ahead a little more, but he missed that chance because he hesitated. As such, he would blame himself to death if Nie Fan failed.

"Got it." Nie Fan grinned. "Thanks to you two."

"As long as you got it." Xue Yu breathed an inward sigh of relief.

Lin Suyue was pleased when Nie Fan told them he got the ring as well, although she also wondered about the stats of that item given how much Nie Fan valued it.

"Let's gather in front of Tajit Village at six pm tomorrow." Nie Fan said as he dashed towards the village right now. He beamed in satisfaction as he looked at the Ring of Fate which lay silently at a corner inside his bag.

His ability would rise by a whole notch with it!