Read Reincarnation Of The Strongest Sword God - Chapter 1889 - Change in Trajectory online free - Novel Full
Chapter 1889: Change in Trajectory
Translator:Exodus Tales
Editor:Exodus Tales
At Bright Dawn's invitation, Unyielding Soul's members gasped. They finally realized why a Vice Guild Leader like Bright Dawn would dare to betray Unyielding Soul.
Tight restrictions tied every upper echelon to their Guild. If an upper echelon wished to withdraw from the Guild and retain their game accounts, they only had two choices. The first required automatic expulsion from the Guild, while the second option required the upper echelon to pay a high compensation fee for breaching their contract. For a Vice Guild Leader that had spent more than a decade with Unyielding Soul, the required compensation wouldn't be trivial. It wouldn't have been odd if Bright Dawn had even gone bankrupt after paying the compensation fee.
Yet, not only had Starline Corporation foot the compensation fee, but it had even offered Bright Dawn a high salary. Including Starlink's limitless potential due to the Starline Corporation's backing, it was only natural that the Guild had lured over Bright Dawn.
"Of course, I'm sure that you have no interest in these factors. In that case, I'll tell you about something that will definitely catch your attention. A Fantasy Star! Unyielding Soul will never get its hands on something like it. Why don't you give the option some consideration?" Bright Dawn smiled at Unyielding Heart, who had aged past his vibrant youth.
Everyone's eyes glowed as they listened to Bright Dawn's offer.
Fantasy Stars were a special ore that humanity had discovered during the interstellar era, and they only had one purpose. When worn, these stars would recover and retain a human's youth for a long time. Although Fantasy Stars couldn't extend one's lifespan, if one consumed the Green God Company's products while wearing a Fantasy Star, they could extend their youthful glow for another decade or two even without physical training. In other words, a middle-aged individual, around forty-years-old, that didn't maintain their physical fitness could look like an early-twenty-year-old with the Fantasy Star's help.
The Fantasy Star was an absolute treasure to professional gamers who relied on their youth to make their living. Although one's physical body in the real world wouldn't affect the performance of their virtual body in God's Domain, their mental performance would. People past their prime generally had slower reactions than younger individuals. Even if one trained diligently to maintain their physical form, their age would, more or less, affect their mind. Needless to say, improving one's mental fortitude past one's prime was a daunting challenge.
However, the Fantasy Star couldn't just restore one's youth; it could also maintain mental function, allowing humans to operate at their peak.
Hence, the Fantasy Stars were extremely valuable. Not even the wealthiest individuals could afford one. Moreover, Fantasy Stars were incredibly rare. To purchase one, one needed sufficient status as well as funds.
Meanwhile, the Starline Corporation just so happened to be one of the few Fantasy Star suppliers in the world, which meant that Bright Dawn had likely told the truth.
A Fantasy Star? No wonder why he betrayed his old Guild.After hearing about the Fantasy Star, Shi Feng understood why Bright Dawn had turned traitor. Bright Dawn currently looked to be in his forties, and Vice Guild Leaders from super-first-rate Guilds had no need for money. However, everyone craved youth. Once he acquired a Fantasy Star, Bright Dawn could recover to his peak. With his abundance of combat experience and combat techniques, he could improve himself further with his recovered youth.
When Mu Lingsha heard what Bright Dawn had been offered, she glanced at Unyielding Heart nervously. Not only was Unyielding Heart one of Unyielding Soul's three main pillars, but he was also the Guild's First Vice Guild Leader. If Starlink poached him, it would deal a devastating blow to Unyielding Soul.
"So, you betrayed your brothers in arms for a stupid Fantasy Star?! I was blind to think of you as a friend! From now on, I will have nothing to do with you!" Unyielding Heart growled. He then glared at Lu Xingluo, who had maintained his smile, and said, "Just you wait! Sooner or later, Unyielding Soul will chase you out of the Dark Night Empire and regain its former glory!"
Unyielding Heart's words restored his dispirited Guild members with fighting spirit. They all cheered their First Vice Guild Leader while ridiculing Bright Dawn.
"Regain your former glory?" Bright Dawn could not help but laugh at Unyielding Heart and the other members of Unyielding Soul. "And how will Unyielding Soul do that, exactly? Will it rely on an old fellow like you, Heart? Or the ignorant Miss Mu? Or are you going to rely on Zero Wing, your pitiful partner?
"Open your eyes and take a good look! Unyielding Soul is finished! The only thing holding it together is a group of useless, old bastards! We've already gathered over 50 experts who are capable of manipulating Intermediate Magic Arrays! Unyielding Soul should give up the hope of nurturing a single Traveling Bard!
"No, to be precise, you won't even get into the Sea of Trees!"
After saying so, Bright Dawn raised his hand. In response, some of Starlink's members in the Purple Night Plaza began to make their move, each holding a silver crystal ball.
As these Starlink members completed an incantation, silver magic arrays began to manifest before them, releasing a bright light. A massive barrier then enveloped both Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor's members in the plaza.
"Have fun inside this barrier. It isolates everything within in a different dimension. Although this barrier requires 288 Level 50-plus players to sacrifice five of their levels permanently, the barrier will hold every one of you for eight hours. With that said, we'll be taking our leave now," Bright Dawn said, laughing at Unyielding Heart. He then took a key from his bag and opened a teleportation gate to the Sea of Trees.
Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor's members could only watch as Starlink's members entered the teleportation gate and disappeared from the plaza. No matter how much they attacked the magic barrier, they couldn't damage it in the slightest. To make matters worse, the surrounding NPC soldiers were ignoring the magic barrier.
"Damn it! To think they had planned such a trap!" Unyielding Heart cursed as he attacked the illusory magic barrier with his greatsword. However, it felt as if he attacked nothing but air. The barrier didn't react as his greatsword sliced through it.
Currently, the magic array in the center of Dark Night City's Purple Night Plaza was the only path to the Sea of Trees. Unfortunately, since they were now trapped in this magic barrier, they could open a teleportation gate even if they had the keys to enter the Sea of Trees.
If they were truly stuck in this barrier for eight hours, Unyielding Soul would fall behind Starlink. Starlink's players would likely complete at least one-third of their Class-change Quests by the time they were freed. How were they supposed to catch up in that case?
Meanwhile, Mu Lingsha glared at the barrier before her, clearly livid. Unyielding Soul had gone to great lengths to obtain the First Clear of a Level 50 large-scale Team Dungeon in the Dark Night Empire, allowing the Guild to catch a breather. However, if Starlink monopolized all 20 of the initial Traveling Bard slots, Unyielding Soul would suffer unimaginable consequences.
After attacking for more than two minutes, Unyielding Soul's members gave up. They had no other choice but to wait until the barrier faded. Shi Feng, however, approached the barrier, step by step, his nonchalant expression seeming as if he were admiring the Purple Night Plaza's view. At the same time, he pulled a Magic Scroll from his bag.
"Huh? What is he trying to do? Does he plan to test the barrier as well?"
"It's pointless. Both our Guild's experts and those from Crimson Emperor have tried everything we can think of. What could one person from Zero Wing possibly do?"
The plaza's occupants watched Shi Feng approached the barrier in confusion, including Unyielding Soul and Mu Lingsha. They had already expended a precious Tier 4 Matic Scroll to attack the barrier, but they had accomplished nothing.
Even if Shi Feng did the same, nothing would change.
When Shi Feng arrived before the barrier, he activated the Summon Guard Scroll in his hands.
Immediately, a golden-haired beauty in sacred robes appeared beside Shi Feng.
"Destroy this magic array!"
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1890 – Breaking the Barrier in One Hit
When the watching crowd saw the Level 85 Personal Guard, Anna, they were dumbfounded.
"Destroy it?"
Unyielding Heart and the other Unyielding Soul members felt their anticipation melt away when they saw that Shi Feng had merely summoned his Personal Guard. Meanwhile, Crimson Emperor's upper echelons couldn't help but laugh at the Swordsman.
"Is that kid stupid? What is a Tier 2 NPC going to do in this situation?" a woman in white robes among Crimson Emperor's members said as she shook her head. She had a tall, slender figure and radiated a mature charm.
While Anna was no doubt the highest-leveled Personal Guard she had ever seen, Anna was still only Tier 2. She wasn't much different than the players trapped in the plaza.
Magic arrays couldn't be destroyed simply by someone with a high-level. Otherwise, a Level 200, Tier 1 NPC should be just as capable of destroying a town's defensive magic array as a Level 80, Tier 4 NPC. Unfortunately, that was not the case. In reality, a Level 200, Tier 1 NPC would struggle to damage a defensive magic array, whereas a Level 80, Tier 4 NPC would have no trouble doing so.
This was the power of tiers!
Not only did higher tiers provide quantitative transformations, but they also qualitatively improved one's power.
This was the case for magic arrays as well. The higher-ranked a magic array was, the purer its Mana would be. Depending on the purity of the Mana powering the magic array, the barrier could be as weak as paper or as tough as iron.
Hence, Anna was only superior to Tier 2 players on a quantitative level; there was no difference in the quality of their strength. Since none of the players in the barrier had managed to deal any damage to it, Anna wouldn't be able to, either.
"Vice Guild Leader, Starlink's trap is simply vicious. We have no choice but to sacrifice one of our players. We can have them pass the key to the Guild Leader to prepare another team," a Level 57, Tier 2 Guardian Knight quietly suggested to the white-clad woman.
The white-clad woman was none other than Illusory Words, Crimson Emperor's Second Vice Guild Leader. Illusory Words had also been recognized as one of the Ten Great Clerics by the Secret Pavilion.
"Alright, get it done." Illusory Words nodded.
There was a method to escape the magic barrier before its duration ended, although players wouldn't use this method unless absolutely necessary. That method was death. When players died, they'd automatically resurrect in the nearest graveyards half an hour after their death. While doing so would allow players to escape the barrier, it would cost a level.
However, the current situation did not allow for such concerns. It was better to have one player die and get the key to their Guild Leader within 30 minutes than waste eight hours in the plaza. Their Guild Leader could organize another team to enter the Sea of Trees while the player waited for resurrection.
If they got lucky, they might claim two or three Traveling Bard spots. At the very least, it'd be better than nothing at all.
As Crimson Emperor's members prepared to enact their plan, Anna finished chanting her incantation and writing the series of divine runes. Immediately, a golden magic array formed above the plaza, and a Level 85 Valkyrie with pure-white wings descended before the trapped players.
The Tier 4 Valkyrie's aura was so intense that it felt stifling to the players in the plaza.
"A Tier 4 Valkyrie?" When Illusory Words saw the white-winged Valkyrie hovering in the air, she could not help but turn to Shi Feng's cloaked figure. "Could he be Black Flame?"
A lot happened in God's Domain each day, and a new power or rising expert practically emerged with each sunrise. Not even she, one of Crimson Emperor's Vice Guild Leaders could remember each of these powers and experts, but she had a clear impression of the Tier 4 Valkyrie. After all, the Tier 4 Valkyrie was a considerable threat to any superpower.
With a slight flap of her wings, a storm brewed, and the Valkyrie vanished. By the time she reappeared, she hovered before the illusory barrier. The Valkyrie then thrust her Sacred Thunder Spear at the semi-translucent wall.
Boom!
With a deafening explosion, countless arcs of lightning crashed into the magic barrier.
The barrier began to tremble. Despite the assault of so many players earlier, the barrier hadn't reacted in the slightest, yet just one of the Valkyrie's attacks was enough to shake it.
What power! Illusory Words watched with slight surprise.
The barrier hadn't even reacted when Unyielding Heart had attacked with a Tier 4 Magic Scroll, but now, the Valkyrie's attack had deformed the barrier. One could easily imagine how powerful the Valkyrie's attack was.
However, as the lightning began to fade, the magic barrier stilled. A second later, the barrier recovered to its original state as if it hadn't been attacked at all.
"Even that wasn't enough?" Unyielding Heart's expression soured as the magic barrier recovered.
While it was true that the Valkyrie's attack had been effective, it was clear that the strike had only depleted a small portion of the magic barrier's energy reserves. It would take a considerable amount of time for the Valkyrie to destroy the barrier. Unfortunately, he was somewhat familiar with Shi Feng's Valkyrie; he knew that it could only remain for a short time. Most likely, the Valkyrie would not be able to deplete the magic barrier's energy reserves before her duration ran out.
This left them with only the option of escaping by death. Although he knew it would be meaningless.
Players that could manipulate Intermediate Magic Arrays would have a 20% higher chance of completing their class-change. Even if Unyielding Soul formed another team, locating Tier 1, Intermediate Magician experts would be impossible. Intermediate Magician experts were extremely rare, and he had already gathered every one his Guild had here.
Even if the Guild organized another team to enter the Sea of Trees, if Unyielding Soul's members were 30 minutes late and had a lower success rate, how could they compete with Starlink?
Of course, they could sacrifice the Intermediate Magician experts with him. It would give them a better chance of competing, but that plan left another issue.
Would players resurrect inside the magic barrier after they died?
If players resurrected inside the barrier instead of the nearest graveyard after the 30-minute wait had passed, they'd sacrifice a level for nothing.
Is there no choice but to risk it? Unyielding Heart gritted his teeth as he considered the option.
As Unyielding Heart contemplated, the Valkyrie readied to throw her Sacred Thunder Spear at the magic barrier.
However, the surrounding crowd had already given up hope. Since the previous attack had failed, this one shouldn't fare any better.
However, Shi Feng, who had remained still earlier, suddenly activated Heavenly Dragon's Power, his aura's intensity instantly skyrocketing. He then slashed at the barrier with Killing Ray.
Lightning Slash!
The Valkyrie threw her Sacred Thunder Spear at the same moment.
Two streaks of light, one blue and one gold, collided at a single point on the magic barrier as one.
Boom!
With another explosion, the two streaks of light shot through the barrier. Following which, the crowd heard the sound of cracking glass.
Cracks then began to web themselves across the illusory barrier.
Peng!
A moment later, the blue sky returned above the players' heads.
"How is this possible?"
"The barrier shattered?"
"What did he do?"
Both Unyielding Soul's Unyielding Heart and Crimson Emperor's Illusory Words gave Shi Feng incredulous looks.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1891 – Another Method Dark Night City, Purple Night Plaza
As the barrier disappeared, silence filled the entire plaza, and every player that had been trapped behind the barrier turned to stare at Shi Feng.
"So strong!"
"Didn't the barrier just shake a little after the Valkyrie's attack? How did he straight-up destroy the barrier?"
Whether it was the spectating players outside of the plaza or the two super-first-rate Guilds' members within, all looked at Shi Feng with incredulous expressions. The expert players Starlink had stationed to observe the situation from outside of the plaza stared at the scene with bulging eyes.
They had only formed the Illusory Spatial Barrier after sacrificing 288 players to the magic array, yet Shi Feng had shattered it without much effort
The Illusory Spatial Barrier had been formed with a set of special magic tools the Guild had found in ancient ruins. Starlink had exhausted a lot of time and resources to explore the various ruins, and by the time the Guild had completed the required set to form the magic array, the Guild had suffered over 5,000 casualties, all of which had been elite or expert players.
Once the Illusory Spatial Barrier had been activated, not even a Tier 4 monster should be able to escape. The Tier 4 monster would have no choice but to wait through the barrier's eight-hour duration. Moreover, even if players died inside the barrier, they would resurrect within it instead of in the nearest graveyard.
Yet, Shi Feng had shattered the barrier in one hit…
While everyone was still shocked, Shi Feng sheathed Killing Ray and turned to Unyielding Heart and his companions.
"The magic array has been dealt with. Let's hurry to the Sea of Trees," Shi Feng said as he gestured to the magic array in the heart of the Purple Night Plaza. Calmly, he continued, "It hasn't been long since Starlink's members left. We should be able to catch up if we hurry."
Hearing Shi Feng's reminder, Unyielding Heart and Mu Lingsha quickly snapped out of their daze and gave the swordsman grateful looks. If Shi Feng hadn't shattered the magic barrier, they wouldn't have been able to compete with Starlink. Immediately, Unyielding Heart took a key from his bag and activated the teleportation gate to the Sea of Trees. Mu Lingsha then directed their experts to enter the teleportation gate.
Meanwhile, Illusory Words couldn't pull her gaze from Shi Feng, astonishment filling her eyes.
Strength Combination? When Illusory Words recalled the attack Shi Feng had executed with the Valkyrie, a playful smile graced her lips. It seems that Black Flame is far more capable than I thought. It's no wonder why the Secret Pavilion has such a high evaluation of him.
The Valkyrie's Strength hadn't been quite high enough to shatter the Illusory Spatial Barrier alone. Shi Feng had actually combined his Strength with the Valkyrie's to compensate. Executing the Strength Combination technique with another individual was many times more difficult than using it alone. One's grasp of timing and positioning had to be extremely accurate. It wasn't a casual feat to accomplish.
Yet, Shi Feng had smoothy executed the technique, which even Domain Realm experts found challenging…
Although Shi Feng hadn't combined his full Strength with the Valkyrie's, it had been enough to exceed the magic barrier's limit Thus, the magic barrier had shattered.
"Vice Guild Leader, the magic barrier is gone. Let's hurry as well," a tall, muscular Berserker said.
"Alright. Activate the teleportation gate." Illusory Words nodded. She then directed her selected players into the teleportation gate.
Following which, white light enveloped Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor's members, one after another, as the players teleported to the Sea of Trees.
While Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor's members left for the Sea of Trees, the observing Starlink members hurriedly reported to Lu Xingluo and Bright Dawn.
"What did you say?! Unyielding Soul broke through the Illusory Spatial Barrier?!" When Bright Dawn heard his subordinate's report, his mind instinctively wanted to reject the notion. "That's impossible! Not even Tier 4 monsters can break out of the barrier! I know full well what Unyielding Soul is capable of! They definitely don't have the power to destroy the Illusory Spatial Barrier!"
As Unyielding Soul's ex-Vice Guild Leader, he was fully aware of the Guild's current prowess. He even knew the Guild's trump cards. At best, the Guild could expend five Tier 4 Offensive Magic Scrolls, which wouldn't be enough to destroy the Illusory Spatial Barrier.
"The Illusory Spatial Barrier really shattered, but Unyielding Soul's members didn't do it," the reporting Assassin said.
"Not Unyielding Soul's members? Was it Crimson Emperor?" Bright Dawn's expression darkened. "It seems that I've underestimated Illusory Words…to think that she had such card hidden…."
While the Illusory Spatial Barrier could be broken, doing so required immense power. One would need enough power to destroy a town's defensive magic array in one hit, and players had no chances of encountering such power at this stage of the game.
However, God's Domain had countless opportunities to offer. With how widespread a superpower's influence was, it wasn't impossible to acquire a tool with enough destructive power.
"No…it wasn't Crimson Emperor's members either. Based on our information, one of Zero Wing's members destroyed the barrier," the Assassin said as he sent an image of Shi Feng to Bright Dawn.
"Zero Wing?" Bright Dawn blinked in surprise as he looked at Shi Feng's cloaked figure and the Sacred Sword in the Swordsman's hand.
When Lu Xingluo heard the report, he was surprised as well. He had never thought that Zero Wing actually had a means to destroy the Illusory Spatial Barrier.
"It seems that Zero Wing isn't all talk after all. It's no wonder why Unyielding Soul agreed to share some of its profits with the Guild," Lu Xingluo said, chuckling. "Unfortunately, even if they get into the Sea of Trees, it's too late! Starlink will claim the first 20 slots!"
Not long ago, they had learned that not only could a limited number of players class-change to the Traveling Bard class, but the quest only accepted a limited number of applicants as well. Only 300 slots would be available once every two hours. Each application also cost 60 Gold. Although the price was high, it wasn't much to Starlink.
In the end, they had spent 18,000 Gold to purchase all 300 slots, sending 50-plus Intermediate Magician experts to attempt the quest The Guild then gave the remaining 240 or so slots to weH-equipped Tier 1 experts.
As Lu Xingluo and his companions, who didn't plan on challenging the Class-change Quest, were about to leave to explore the Sea of Trees' city, Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor's members finally made their appearance, arriving in the temple that served as the venue for the Traveling Bard Class-change Quest.
"Damn it! Why does the quest have this restriction, too?!" Unyielding Heart's gave the female Elf clerk a grim expression after receiving her reply.
They had just broken through the barrier with great difficulty, yet they had been told that there were no applicant slots remaining; they'd have to wait another two hours before they could attempt the quest. Unyielding Heart felt as if the system were playing some cruel joke.
Illusory Words wore a similarly ugly expression. She hadn't expected the restriction, either.
Sure enough, there are no more slots available. Shi Feng could not help but sigh as he looked toward Lu Xingluo and his group, who stood a short distance away. Well, I didn't plan for them to take the normal class-change quest, anyway.
Following which, Shi Feng switched his title to Demon Hunter and approached the exchange counter beside the registration counter.
There was more than one way to obtain the Traveling Bard class. The first was the normal method, but the second required purchasing a Trial Emblem and taking part in the original class-change trial the Primordial Elf Kings had left behind.
However, the Trial Emblem wasn't easy to purchase. One needed to be a noble of the Sea of Trees to gain access.
Other players would have to complete a long string of quests to become a noble in this city, but Shi Feng, who had the Demon Hunter title, didn't. Players with the Demon Hunter title were considered World Nobles, so Shi Feng would be viewed as a noble in an NPC city like the Sea of Trees.
"Lord Demon Hunter, how may I be of service?" the NPC Elf asked, smiling brightly. "Here, we can provide a Trial Emblem that will allow you to take part in the trial the Primordial Elf Kings had left behind for us. If you pass this trial, you'll become a valiant Traveling Bard!"
"Mhm. I wish to purchase nine Trial Emblems," Shi Feng answered.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1892 – Complete Legacy "Trial Emblem?"
"How did he just trade with that NPC? Didn't she refuse to trade with us a moment ago?"
When Lu Xingluo and the others heard the female Elf's words, they were stunned.
When they had visited the elven temple, they had spoken with its NPCs. After asking around, they had verified that only 300 players could attempt the class-change quest every two hours.
They had tried to speak with the female Elf at the exchange counter as well, but she had ignored their questions, stating that she'd only deal with people of noble status or higher, yet she treated Shi Feng with such respect. Moreover, she had taken the initiative to introduce Shi Feng to the products she offered…
There's still such a method? Unyielding Heart and his companions watched Shi Feng purchase Trial Emblems with glowing eyes. They had never expected Shi Feng to have such access to the class-change quest.
So, this is Zero Wing's Sword King? Shi Feng's display greatly surprised Illusory Words.
The only Guilds with a Sea of Trees Teleportation Key were Starlink, Unyielding Soul, and Crimson Emperor. Hence, one could say that their Guilds were the most familiar with the Sea of Trees. However, based on Shi Feng's performance thus far, it was obvious that he knew even more about the Sea of Trees than they did. In fact, he even possessed a special status in the Sea of Trees.
As the crowd watched, Shi Feng spent 450 Gold to purchase nine Trial Emblems. He then handed the emblems to the nine Zero Wing members he had brought with him.
Purchasing a Trial Emblem was the same as applying for the Class-change Quest. Only, this method was 10 Gold cheaper. Using the Trial Emblems when attempting the quest also granted two difficulty modes to choose from: Normal Mode and Hard Mode. Normal Mode was no different than the Class-change Quest without the emblem, but if players chose Hard Mode, they'd be sent to a different trial. However, if players chose to challenge Hard Mode, they would be sent to a different trial.
Furthermore, unlike the Normal Mode Quest, which only 20 players could complete each week, Hard Mode didn't have such a limit. As long as one had access to the Trial Emblems and could afford them, they could enable as many players to become Traveling Bards as they wanted. The Hard Mode Quest had been Shi Feng's goal since the very beginning.
Players could only acquire the complete Traveling Bard Legacy the Primordial Elf Kings had left behind, becoming true Traveling Bards, by completing the Hard Mode Class-change Quest. If players only completed the Normal Mode Quest, they would only acquire a portion of the Legacy, becoming a pseudo-Tier 2 player.
However, the Hard Mode Quest was incredibly difficult to clear, even more challenging than normal Tier 2 Promotion Quests. The Hard Mode Quest was the equivalent of the Tier 2 Hell Mode Promotion Quest. Unless one's combat and equipment standards had reached a certain level, challenging the Class-change Quest would only lead to failure. If a player failed the quest, they'd have to wait a while before they could challenge it again.
Hence, every player Aqua Rose had selected for this class-change was an expert capable of reaching the Trial Tower-s seventh floor. In addition, all nine were Intermediate Magicians, and among these nine players, five had been well-known Tier 4 experts in the past. However, since they had merely been independent players, their access to resources had been limited. Even though they had been members of wel卜known adventurer teams, they had lacked the resources to reach Tier 5.
The remaining four had been experts in first-rate Guilds. Even the weakest among them had reached Tier 4 in the past, and the strongest, Happy Wind, had been a Tier 5 Traveling Bard. Naturally, things had changed in this life, and all nine of these players had joined Zero Wing.
With these nine players' combat standards, their chances of completing the Hard Mode Quest should've been quite low, but Aqua Rose had given each of them a Primordial Soul before they had come to the Sea of Trees. With the increased physique the Primordial Soul granted, these nine should have a much higher chance of completing the Hard Mode Quest.
As Shi Feng distributed the Trial Emblems to his players, Unyielding Soul's group approached him.
"Guild Leader Black Flame, can I trouble you to help us purchase some Trial Emblems as well? I will buy them at a 50% markup. Of course, if that is not enough, I can increase the price," Unyielding Heart offered, feeling slightly embarrassed.
Originally, Zero Wing had tried to purchase class-change slots from Unyielding Soul, which, in turn, had increased the competition Unyielding Soul faced. Now, however, Unyielding Soul approached Zero Wing for the same, increasing Zero Wing's competition. This put Unyielding Heart in a bind.
Long Soul and Hunting Blade, who stood beside Unyielding Heart, felt ashamed as they considered their earlier attitude towards Zero Wing.
They had assumed that Zero Wing had taken advantage of their Guild, but now, it seemed that Zero Wing would become Unyielding Soul's benefactor. It was only thanks to Zero Wing that their Guild had overcome the incident in the Purple Night Plaza. Now, they had to rely on Zero Wing once more to gain access to the class-change quest. If not for Zero Wing, they would've had no hope of competing with Starlink…
"Sure enough, you really are Guild Leader Black Flame. Hello, I am Illusory Words of Crimson Emperor. On behalf of Crimson Emperor, I wish to seek your help in purchasing Trial Emblems. I am willing to offer double the original price. May I know if you are willing to lend me your aid?" Illusory Words asked gently as she approached Shi Feng.
Everyone was stunned as they watched the Vice Guild Leaders of two super-first-rate Guilds approach Shi Feng for help. If the public found out about this, they'd be shocked.
"Our Guild Leader is so amazing! Even superpowers are asking him for help!"
"That's only natural! That's Zero Wing's Guild Leader we're talking about!"
"Quick, look at the stupid faces Starlink's members are making!"
The nine Zero Wing members that had obtained the Trial Emblem chatted about their Guild Leader, reverence flashing in their eyes as they looked at Shi Feng.
Before they had joined Zero Wing, even first-rate Guilds had been colossal existences in their eyes, let alone super-first-rate Guilds. Super-first-rate Guilds were the virtual gaming world's overlords, yet two such Guilds wanted their Guild's help. This was simply unbelievable.
"That won't be a problem. Let's forget about the price markup. Instead, I hope that your two Guilds can help with a problem of mine," Shi Feng said, chuckling as he looked at Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words.
"Help?" Both Vice Guild Leaders gave Shi Feng confused looks.
They had brought with them a lot of players to attempt the class-change quest. In total, both had a little over 1,000 players. Even with a 50% price markup, Shi Feng could earn over 25,000 Gold instantly, a huge sum for a first-rate Guild. If Shi Feng charged a slightly higher price, he would even have enough money to build a town.
Yet, Shi Feng only wanted their assistance.
"That's right I need your two Guilds to help me with something. In return, I'll help you buy as many Trial Emblems as you want" Shi Feng nodded. There was no limit on the number of Trial Emblems one could purchase. It was a privilege for the Sea of Trees' nobles, allowing them to skip the queue and granting a small discount when applying for the Class-change Quest. There was nothing special about it.
Moreover, even with the Trial Emblems, neither of these Guilds would become a competitor for Zero Wing. After all, the Hard Mode Quest was Zero Wing's target; it didn't have to worry about any competition.
"May I know what kind of help Guild Leader Black Flame requires?" Illusory Words asked.
Although the Traveling Bard class was valuable, if Shi Feng's request threatened her Guild's foundations, she had to refuse.
"Right, you can't consider your decision properly if I don't tell you the details. To put it simply, I'd like to borrow 200 Tier 2 experts from each of your Guilds. What are your thoughts on this?" Shi Feng explained.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1893 – Age-Old Secret "Borrow Tier 2 experts?"
Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words stared at Shi Feng in confusion, unable to fathom why Shi Feng would need so many experts.
At this stage of the game, Tier 2 experts were still quite rare in God's Domain. Even a first-rate Guild would only have around 30 to 50 Tier 2 players, yet Shi Feng wanted their Guilds to lend him 200 Tier 2 experts each. This was close to half of the Tier 2 experts in their Guilds.
Such a large number of Tier 2 experts would be far too many to raid a Team Dungeon. The largest Team Dungeon at this stage of the game could only accommodate 200 players, yet Shi Feng wanted 400. Furthermore, Zero Wing had its own Tier 2 experts.
"That's right I want to raid a Field Boss, but I currently lack manpower," Shi Feng said, nodding. "Of course, Zero Wing will compensate for any deaths incurred during the expedition. May I know your opinions on this?"
He might earn 30,000 Gold or so if he resold the Trial Emblems to the two Guilds at a markup, but 30,000 Gold was not enough to change Zero Wing's situation. Besides, Zero Wing's financial need wasn't limited to the money required for Silverwing Town's upgrade. The Guild also had to pay back the loan for the airport. In total, Zero Wing needed 500,000 Gold. It was a significant sum, even for a superpower.
Most importantly, Zero Wing wasn't as weH-off as everyone thought.
While it was true that Zero Wing's members were improving their equipment and leveling rapidly thanks to the Guild's expansion into the Ore Empire's southeastern area, there was a saying: 'the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.' Now that Zero Wing had secured a large fraction of the Ore Empire's benefits, the various superpowers watched the Guild closely. The only reason they had not taken any actions was Zero Wing's war weapons and teleportation abilities.
However, now that Blackwater had opened the Ore Capital City's armory, it was only a matter of time before the various superpowers obtained a large number of war weapons or designs for them. If Zero Wing did not take any preventive measures now, the Guild would suffer later on.
Meanwhile, Shi Feng had been nursing a headache over the last few days while trying to figure out a solution to this problem. Fortunately, an opportunity had just presented itself.
He had planned to wait until Zero Wing had 1,000 Tier 2 experts before initiating the next step of his plan, but it seemed that he wouldn't have to wait that long. If he had the help of these two super-first-rate Guilds' Tier 2 experts, he could definitely defeat the Void Serpent, a Level 60 World Boss!
Although World Bosses seemed like ordinary Field Bosses, they possessed a unique Domain that prevented players from using external tools. Players had to rely on their own strength to face these World Bosses. Hence, raiding World Bosses was far more difficult than Field Bosses of the same rank and level.
However, due to the extremely high raid difficulty, every World Boss dropped impressive loot World Bosses also dropped some unique materials. Because of this, God's Domain's countless powers had constantly challenged World Bosses in his previous life. Guilds had still raided Level 70 or 80 World Bosses after players had reached Level 200.
Shi Feng's interest in slaying the Void Serpent wasn't only because of its loot. The Void Serpent also held a secret that Shi Feng wanted.
Only with the Void Serpent's blood could players activate the greatest secret the Witch's Hill had hidden for several centuries—the Otherworld Gate!
The Void Serpent was in a secret, underground temple in the Witch's Hill, and since the map was so large, locating the underground temple was quite difficult The fact that the Witch's Hill was so far from civilization only made the temple even more difficult to find. As a result, the Void Serpent had remained hidden even after mainstream players had reached Level 100 in Shi Feng's past
Players had only learned of the Void Serpent after a party exploring the Witch's Hill had discovered the World Boss. After news of the creature had gone public, Guild teams had rushed to the underground temple to kill the Void Serpent. They then discovered the Witch's Hill's secret.
Although the Otherworld Gate had been activated relatively late in the past, the various powers had still treated it like a priceless treasure. Within the Otherworld Gate, players had discovered an abundance of rare, precious materials, all of which were difficult to acquire in Star-Moon Kingdom. Among the most notable materials was Void Silver.
Void Silver was no less valuable than Mana Stone. Not only could it strengthen weapons and equipment, but it could also increase production success rates for forgers, engineers, enchanters, and alchemists by a large margin.
The Otherworld Gate was also a good place to acquire Level 50-plus top-tier weapons and equipment for independent players. Hence, the Witch's Hill had instantly become Star-Moon Kingdom's focus.
If Shi Feng could activate the Otherworld Gate now, Zero Wing City, which occupied the Witch's Hill, would become the most popular city in Star-Moon Kingdom. Not only could Zero Wing rake in a fortune, but it could also acquire tons of rare materials, allowing the Guild to grow rapidly.
He had wanted to raid the Void Serpent for a while, but unfortunately, Zero Wing lacked the strength to do so. A World Boss was not an easy raid, and he didn't have a quest to take advantage of, drastically weakening the Void Serpent as he had with the Flame Demon King. If he wanted to raid the Void Serpent, he'd need at least 1,000 Tier 2 players.
Meanwhile, after pondering on Shi Feng's suggestion for a short moment, both Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words nodded.
"Alright, I'll agree to your proposal on Unyielding Soul's behalf," Unyielding Heart said. Although he did not know what Shi Feng wanted with so many Tier 2 players, saving over 10,000 Gold by lending the Swordsman 200 experts to raid a Boss was a worthwhile transaction.
"May I know when Guild Leader Black Flame needs our players?" Illusory Words asked.
"Naturally, the sooner, the better," Shi Feng said.
"My side will need some time to gather the necessary manpower. After all, many of our Tier 2 experts are either questing or raiding Dungeons right now. I'll need a little over a day to gather 200 Tier 2 experts, so can we gather in two days?" Illusory Words proposed a time after giving the matter some thought
"That won't be a problem. I need to see to certain preparations, as well," Shi Feng replied, nodding. In truth, even if Illusory Words hadn't suggested it, he'd still need one or two days to prepare. "Since both of you have agreed to the arrangement, let's establish a contract."
Following which, Shi Feng signed a contract with Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words. In exchange for helping the two Guilds purchase 1,000 Trial Emblems in total, each of the Guilds would send 200 Tier 2 experts to help Shi Feng hunt a Boss.
Once the contract had been signed, the two Guilds handed Shi Feng the Coins to purchase the Trial Emblems. When Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words had the emblems in hand, they turned to distribute them to their respective Guild members. These players then activated their Trial Emblems and teleported to the Legacy Grounds.
While the exchange between Shi Feng and the two super-first-rate Guilds seemed cumbersome, they had completed the entire process in less than five minutes. It wasn't enough time to provide Starlink any noticeable advantage. Moreover, to the two super-first-rate Guilds' surprise, they had the option of choosing the quest's difficulty, and Hard Mode didn't have a slot limit.
However, the two Guilds sent the majority of their experts into Normal Mode to increase their chances of success. They only sent a small number of experts to test the Hard Mode Quest
Suddenly, 1,000 players vanished from the lively hall, stunning Lu Xingluo and the other nearby Starlink members.
How is this possible? They ignored the application limit? Lu Xingluo's expression darkened as he watched Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor's members disappear. He then turned to Shi Feng, killing intent flashing in his eyes. Black Flame! You dare to ruin my plans once again?! Do you really think that I won't strike at Zero Wing just because you managed to partner with Unyielding Soul?!
One thousand players!
If these players participated in the Class-change Quest, it would severely affect Starlink's performance.
However, Shi Feng paid no attention to the killing intent Lu Xingluo directed at him. He simply glanced at the man before leaving the temple and heading for the City Hall. They were in the Sea of Trees; if Lu Xingluo and his companions wanted to attack him here, they'd suffer the consequences, not him.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1894 – City of Foreign Races
The Sea of Trees was located in a secret land the Primordial Elf Kings had created. A forest enveloped the city, and unlike Dark Night City, which was populated by tall buildings, this city was crowded with towering trees. Every tree pierced the clouds like a skyscraper. Houses had been built within the gigantic trees, and thick vines connected one tree to the next.
Currently, Shi Feng rode his mount down the spacious roads made of vines. When he looked down, he gazed at a sea of clouds below him.
Since the Sea of Trees hadn't been fully unlocked, most of the people wandering on the streets were NPCs. Aside from the three superpowers' members, who had begun to explore the city, Shi Feng didn't spot a single player.
Sheltered by the Six Great Primordial Elf Kings, the Sea of Trees had a long history. Most of the NPCs living here were Elves, although some were NPC merchants from other races. Human NPCs only made up a small majority of the city's residents.
Meanwhile, the weakest soldiers patrolling the city were Level 180, Tier 1 NPCs. There were well-equipped Tier 2 soldiers, as well. Each patrol squad was led by a Level 200, Tier 3 Knight. However, these soldiers levels and tiers weren't their most eye-catching aspects.
All of these soldiers wore ancient equipment engraved with Advanced Battle Arrays. When the Advanced Battle Array activated, the Tier 2 soldiers could even take down Tier 4 players. The patrol captains' equipment sported Master Battle Arrays. With these patrol captains protecting the city, not even Tier 5 players would last long if they tried to cause trouble.
According to the legends, the Primordial Elf Kings had also left behind Immortal Guardians to protect their Sea of Trees. Although these Immortal Guardians were not Tier 6 existences, they had the combat power to face Gods.
If a Tier 6 player entered the city, the secret land would forcibly suppress them to Tier 5. Hence, on the continent of God's Domain, the Sea of Trees' security was even superior to Blackwing City's. During Shi Feng's previous life, Tier 5 and Tier 6 players had frequently caused trouble in NPC cities, but none had dared to do so in the Sea of Trees.
This was also the reason that the Sea of Trees had become the most well-known NPC city in God's Domain, attracting tons of normal and neutral players. These players didn't have to worry about their safety while inside the city.
After roughly 20 minutes, Shi Feng arrived before the largest, oldest tree in the city. This primordial tree was both the Sea of Trees' City Hall and the city's heart.
There are so many foreign race merchants here already? As Shi Feng approached the city's central district, he noticed many NPC merchants hawking their wares alongside the road.
These merchants all sold rare goods such as Magic Scrolls, potions, materials, tomes, engineering tools, weapons,equipment, etc. The sight was dazzling. The three superpowers' members, who had arrived before him, browsed the goods with sparkling eyes.
They could easily make a fortune by reselling these items, especially the Magic Scrolls, weapons, equipment, and rare materials. Some merchants even offered Tier 2 Magic Scrolls and Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment. Only, the items' prices were far higher than market value.
However, the superpowers' members weren't fools. Rather than purchasing any of these items, they first investigated every NPC merchant's goods. They then proceeded to survey the central district, empty Lands, and establishments, compiling the information to allow their companions in the City Hall to make the best decision when purchasing the city's lands for their Guilds.
When Shi Feng stepped into the City Hall, the merchant players that represented the superpowers had already busied themselves with researching the Lands and Shops, carefully selecting which to purchase. Naturally, the three superpowers had sent these merchant players since they were more adept with business negotiations than the Guilds' upper echelons. Moreover, the merchant subclass allowed them to bargain for discounts and learn more from NPCs.
But despite their expertise, these merchant players had headaches as they selected Lands for their Guilds.
The Sea of Trees' Lands were just so expensive…
Even the ordinary Lands in the city's outer area cost between 7,000 Gold and 15,000 Gold, whereas Lands in the city's inner area cost between 12,000 Gold and 30,000 Gold. The cheapest plot of Land in the central district cost 50,000 Gold, while the more expensive options cost over 100,000.
Even superpowers at this stage of the game couldn't afford to purchase the Sea of Trees' Lands casually, but that wasn't the most important issue. To purchase the central district's Lands, one needed sufficient status and Reputation.
For the moment, they could only purchase the Lands in the city's outer and inner areas, but since there were so many to choose from, they couldn't make a proper decision without further understanding of the city's layout.
"Lord Demon Hunter, how may I be of service today?" a male Elf in a suit and tie asked gracefully as he approached Shi Feng.
"I wish to see some of the city's hotels and restaurants for rent," Shi Feng said.
"Alright, please follow me," the male Elf bowed before leading Shi Feng to a VIP reception room.
As the Elf led Shi Feng to a reception room, the three superpowers' representatives watched him leave the main lobby with astonished expressions.
"What's going on? How did he get an invite to a VIP room? We've already bought two plots of Land and earned quite a few Contribution Points, yet we haven't earned such treatment?"
"Clearly, he's an idiot. He's actually trying to rent hotels and restaurants instead of purchasing Lands. What benefit could he earn by doing so? They won't be profitable in the least"
Many of the merchant players watched enviously as Shi Feng was led to a VIP reception room, but the man's statement had also confused them.
When players gained access to a VIP reception room, they also gained access to better benefits. Aside from refreshments and privacy, players would also be offered Lands, which weren't usually available to the public, for purchase. Moreover, every one of those Lands would be worth their price or more. In contrast, the Lands offered in the lobby varied. Not every plot would be worth its selling price, and whether players made a profit or not would rely on them.
Meanwhile, in the VIP reception room, the Elf administrator quickly prepared a list for Shi Feng.
"Lord Demon Hunter, here are the hotels and restaurants that are available for rent. However, these hotels and restaurants are located in the city's outer and inner areas. You will need 10,000 Contribution Points to rent those in the central district," the Elf administrator explained.
"I understand." Shi Feng nodded. He then lifted the stack of paper to inspect
Naturally, setting up a trading firm in a trade city like the Sea of Trees would generate a lot of profit. Aside from selling products, the Shops could also serve as a warehouse for all kinds of precious materials and items that flowed into the city.
However, unlike ordinary NPC cities, the Sea of Trees was slightly unique since it occupied a secret land. The Sea of Trees was similar to the Holy City of Titan in that players could not remain in the city long-term. Once the sun set, players that hadn't rented a hotel room or purchased a private house would be automatically teleported out of the Sea of Trees. Furthermore, getting into the city wasn't an easy task. Even once the Sea of Trees had been fully unlocked, players would still need to expend a lot of effort to visit the city, especially ordinary and elite players.
Unfortunately, purchasing a private house in the city was out of the question for most players. Not even large Guilds' upper echelons could necessarily afford a private house here. Purchasing a private house in this city was even more expensive than setting up a Shop. Most importantly, players needed a very high status and a ton of Reputation Points to buy one. Even expert players would need to quest in the Sea of Trees for a very long time to fulfill these requirements.
Aside from private houses, players could stay in hotels or Advanced Restaurants. Of course, since Shops had living spaces for players, they could own a Shop as well. Only, Shops accommodated far fewer players than private houses, but how could many players afford Shops just for the living space?
As a result, the only options remaining were hotels and Advanced Restaurants. Needless to say, staying in these establishments was also quite expensive.
Depending on the environment, accommodation fees could range from 50 Silver to 5 Gold per day. Even elite players would feel a sting from these prices. Meanwhile, if players rented the whole hotel or Advanced Restaurant, they would earn 20% of the profits. While the Sea of Trees was in its early stages, this was the best way to earn money. Moreover, renting these establishments cost far less than purchasing them directly.
After reading through the list, Shi Feng quickly set his sights on a few hotels and restaurants that had been particularly popular during his previous life. However, when Shi Feng reached the final page and saw the small restaurant listed, he was stunned.
What?! Even this restaurant is available for rent?!
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1895 – Epic Shop
Shi Feng's eyes widened as he saw the name "Forest Traveler," surprise and ecstasy overcoming him.
In the current Sea of Trees, the Forest Traveler was an unassuming restaurant located in the city's outer area. The restaurant had only two floors; the first was the dining hall, and the second was used for accommodations. The restaurant was ordinary, and nothing about it stood out.
However, when the Sea of Trees' third seal had been lifted in the past, players had discovered the restaurant's unique quality. Since so many players had crowded the Sea of Trees back then, both hotels and restaurants' guest rooms had been full. Naturally, many players instantly targeted the cheap accommodations that small restaurants like the Forest Traveler offered.
Once the third seal had lifted, the Forest Traveler revealed a package that included both room and board, available exclusively for the restaurant's few high-class guest rooms. As the high-class guest rooms could only be rented by purchasing this combo pack, players had no choice but to dine there as well.
The Forest Traveler had become instantly famous after players had tried the provided meal, which granted a special buff called Forest Blessing[l].
The Forest Blessing buff granted players anywhere from 5 to 20 points in Luck for 18 hours. The buff could only be gained once every two days.
Although Luck was somewhat illusory in God's Domain, it had a subtle effect on players. For example, Luck would affect loot from opening treasure chests and killing monsters. It would also affect one's production success rate. Hence, on the market, ornaments that added even three to five points of Luck cost a fortune. Such ornaments would never become obsolete.
In the past, the various large Guilds had desperately stockpiled items that added Luck. A single extra point in Luck could be enough to gain a top-tier item. Since Luck items were so precious to both independent players and Guilds, such items had rarely appeared on the market.
One could easily imagine how attractive a meal that increased Luck would be to independent and Guild players. Even Shi Feng had often visited the Forest Traveler for a meal in the past, especially before he raided a large-scale Team Dungeon. The only downside was the buff's long Cooldown. Even after the Forest Traveler had expanded its Shopfront, players had to deal with a seven- to eight-hour queue to get a seat.
The Forest Traveler had ranked as one of the top 100 Epic Shops in God's Domain in its heyday. The Secret Pavilion managed the ranking system, and a Shop's rank depended on demand for and rarity of its services.
Since the Forest Traveler had revealed itself to him, why wouldn't Shi Feng be surprised and excited?
However, when Shi Feng saw the restaurant's rental price, his eyebrows twitched.
Is this a robbery? Shi Feng couldn't help but wonder.
Normally, the Sea of Trees' hotels and restaurants demanded per week or per month rent, but the Forest Traveler had to be paid by the year. Moreover, renting the restaurant for a single year cost 60,000 Gold…
Even the larger Advanced Restaurants only cost 4,000 Gold per month, yet the Forest Traveler's rent cost 5,000 Gold per month. Moreover, the system demanded a full year upfront. It was half of the funds Shi Feng had on hand right now.
With 60,000 Gold, he could rent over a dozen hotels and restaurants.
Should I set it aside for now and rent it during my next visit? Shi Feng fell into deep thought as he looked at the Forest Traveler's information.
Competition would be at its fiercest during the first month after the Sea of Trees had activated. It was also the best time to secure an advantage. As long as players rented one of the Sea of Trees' establishments, they could continue to renew their lease. Unless players gave up their right to renew the lease, other players wouldn't have an opportunity to claim the establishment
However, if he rented the Forest Traveler now, he wouldn't have much left to rent other restaurants and hotels, but he had no guarantee that the three superpowers wouldn't discover these hotels and restaurants' importance before his next visit. If the superpowers had already realized these establishments' value, he'd have a far more difficult time renting a large number of them later. Fortunately, he didn't have to worry about losing the Forest Traveler since only he knew the restaurant's secret right now. Furthermore, 60,000 Gold was a huge sum to a superpower, as well. None of them would be willing to spend so much Gold for a modest restaurant like the Forest Traveler.
"Lord Demon Hunter, I recommend the hotels and restaurants on the last page. Many customers favor those establishments in particular. I cannot guarantee that these establishments will be available during your next visit," the Elf administrator said, flashing Shi Feng a cunning smile when he noticed the Swordsman stare tentatively at the list's final page.
Shi Feng rolled his eyes at the Elf administrator.
The administrator's comment made one thing clear; he would either have to give up on the Forest Traveler or give up on renting another dozen or so hotels and restaurants. Both options would rob Shi Feng of profits.
"I'm interested in renting this Forest Traveler, but why must it only be rented by the year? Can it not be rented on a monthly basis?" Shi Feng asked as he gestured to the Forest Traveler's information on the list He wanted to see if the system would grant him any other options.
"The Forest Traveler?" The Elf administrator repositioned his glasses as he took a look at the list. Smiling, he explained, "This restaurant has encountered some operational problems and urgently needs funding. That is why the owner had decided to rent the restaurant. We have suggested that the owner accept a monthly rent, but the owner is adamant about his decision.
Due to your status, Lord Demon Hunter, the city is willing to help you negotiate altered conditions with the owner. However, each negotiation will cost a 1,000-Gold fee. May I know if you wish to open negotiations?"
"One thousand Gold per negotiation?" The corners of Shi Feng's mouth twitched.
Shi Feng was no stranger to negotiations. This was the precise reason that the three superpowers had sent their merchant players to purchase the city's Lands, not their upper echelons. The higher-ranked a merchant player was, the more ability they'd have to reduce an item's price. Some merchant players could even negotiate for price cuts by offering NPCs favorable conditions.
However, this was the first time Shi Feng had encountered a 1,000-Gold negotiation fee.
"That's right. As a noble in our city, you have the right to three negotiation attempts. Of course, the city cannot guarantee the negotiations' results," the Elf administrator explained.
"Alright, let's open the negotiations, then." Shi Feng sighed as he took 1,000 Gold from his bag.
After receiving the money, the Elf administrator left the room.
To put it simply, the purpose of these negotiations was to convince the owner to adjust the rental requirements. Whether or not the player gained the upper hand would depend on their luck.
After five minutes, the Elf administrator returned with new rental conditions for the Forest Traveler.
Now, instead of paying a full year of rent for the Forest Traveler, Shi Feng could secure the establishment for 10 months of rent at 54,000 Gold. While this new condition had reduced the total payment and shortened the required lease duration, the average monthly rent had increased considerably. This wasn't a favorable option.
Declining the option, Shi Feng paid 1,000 Gold for another negotiation attempt
The second negotiation's outcome still required annual rent, but it could be paid in installments. Shi Feng would have to pay a 50,000-Gold downpayment However, he'd then have to pay 15,000 within one month.
Seeing this result, Shi Feng regretted leaving Icarus's Heart with Aqua Rose. If he had the godly necklace with him right now, he might have had a better result.
With no other choice, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and paid for the third negotiation attempt.
If the conditions were still too stringent, he would have to give up on the Forest Traveler for now. After all, the Forest Traveler would not generate much income within a short period. Meanwhile, he was extremely tight for money right now. Although the Forest Traveler was tempting, he needed to earn a large sum of Coins quickly.
As the Elf administrator returned for the third time, Shi Feng silently prayed that the new rental conditions were in his favor.
"Congratulations, Lord Demon Hunter. After our third round of negotiations, the Forest Traveler's owner has agreed to adjust
the lease's duration to six months. However, you will have to pay 45,000 Gold. In exchange, you will receive 40% of the Forest Traveler's profits instead of 20% during those six months."
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1896 – 2-star Restaurant
Half a year and 40% of the profits for 45,000 Gold? Shi Feng fell deep in thought after hearing the Elf administrator's final results.
Once the Forest Traveler introduced the meal that granted the Forest Blessing buff, the various major powers would visit before any major operation. However, as the restaurant's business was limited by its size, and its overall income wasn't much more than a large hotel's. Players would only gain the Forest Blessing buff when they ate the food that provided the buff in the restaurant. The food would not grant the buff if consumed elsewhere.
Hence, Shi Feng had considered giving the Forest Traveler up, selecting a dozen or so ordinary restaurants and hotels instead.
However, the Forest Traveler's latest conditions were far better than they had been, especially the 40% profit-sharing. This would grant him twice as much income as normal from the restaurant. With the Forest Traveler's advantage, it could generate enough income to rival a dozen or so establishments.
"Alright, I agree to the owner's conditions," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought.
Although renting a single restaurant for 45,000 Gold was a little extravagant, not only would he get double the profits in return, but he would also have an advantage when gaining the Forest Blessing buff. This would ensure that Zero Wing's members wouldn't have to wait in line for hours to get a seat before raiding an important Team Dungeon. He could simply reserve a table for Zero Wing's exclusive use.
No power had taken control of the Forest Traveler in his previous life; it had been under NPCs full control. As a result, the restaurant's development had been left to the system's discretion. Compared to player-managed hotels and restaurants back then, the Forest Traveler's development speed had been pitiful.
If he managed the Forest Traveler, the restaurant's development speed would increase by a significant margin. After all, with the Forest Blessing buff, the restaurant would not lack popularity or income. If he played his cards right, he could earn a fortune through the restaurant.
Immediately, Shi Feng signed a lease contract with the Elf administrator. In addition to the 45,000 Gold for the Forest Traveler, he spent another 70,000 Gold to rent 23 hotels and restaurants. Although the hotels and restaurants he had rented varied in size, they were all situated in strategic locations throughout the city. They were all near important buildings and special establishments.
Once the city's second seal had been removed, which should happen in the next few days, a large number of players would surge into the Sea of Trees. At that time, his hotels and restaurants would officially begin to make money. The 24 hotels and restaurants he rented should generate even more profit than Silverwing Town's teleportation service.
Silverwing Town's teleportation service would lure players to the town and increase its competitive edge. As a result, the town could only earn a small amount of money from each player with the teleportation service. However, such considerations weren't necessary when operating the Sea of Trees' hotels and restaurants. Even if he only received 20% of the profits from each customer, he should earn at least ten times more per customer than from Silverwing Town's teleportation service.
Once Shi Feng had rented his establishments, he left the VIP reception room.
The three superpowers' merchant players were still carefully selecting Lands for purchase. Over 20 of the available Lands had already been bought, many of which were located in the city's inner area. Shi Feng had to admit that these superpowers' spending power was astonishing. Zero Wing simply couldn't compare.
If these superpowers had known the value of leasing the city's hotels and restaurants, they would've claimed half of the city's establishments by now. They would've monopolized every hotel and restaurant, not including those in the central district, by the time the second seal was removed. They wouldn't leave other powers the opportunity to claim a share of the profits.
However, the value of these establishments had been discovered quite late in the past, and the various major powers had still rented quite a few for themselves.
As Shi Feng returned to the lobby, the superpowers' representatives spared him a glance before returning to their lists.
Now that my business here is done, I should take a proper look at the Forest Traveler. After glancing at the other players, Shi Feng left the City Hall, making his way towards the Forest Traveler. He was not interested in competing with the three superpowers over the city's lands in the slightest.
His lack of reaction wasn't due to a lack of interest in purchasing the city's Lands, but because he didn't qualify to do so. Purchasing a plot of Land and setting up a Shop here would easily cost more than 10,000 Gold. Although these Shops would pay for themselves in the long run, he currently needed his money. He could not afford such long-term investments right now.
After riding his Demonic Flame Tiger for half an hour, Shi Feng arrived before a two-story restaurant near the edge of the city. This area wasn't as lively as the central district as there were only a dozen or so NPCs roaming the street. Meanwhile, the street's few Shops only sold groceries, and the highest-class building was a three-story smithy. Smoke swirled out of the smithy as the sound of metal on metal echoed down the street.
The view here was one-of-a-kind. A sea of clouds enclosed the district, and flying beasts occasionally soared by. Due to the refreshing scenery, many leisure players would settle here long-term.
Sure enough, business here is bleak. When Shi Feng entered the Forest Traveler, he noticed that, aside from the restaurant owner and two staff members, there was nobody inside the restaurant.
The two waitresses were members of foreign races. One was a female Catkin with cat ears and tail, while the other was a female Foxkin with a pair of pointed ears atop her head and a bushy tail. The restaurant owner was a long-haired Elf, but unlike most Elves, the man was burly. He looked like a natura卜bom Shield Warrior or Berserker. Based on the scars gracing the Elf's arms and neck, it was clear that he had once been an adventurer.
"Welcome, Lord Demon Hunter. Thank you for renting our restaurant. I am Joseph, the owner of this establishment," Joseph the Elf said respectfully when he noticed Shi Feng enter the restaurant. "May I know what business you have here?"
When the two Half-beastwomen saw Shi Feng, they nervously lowered their heads. They did not even dare to look Shi Feng in the eye.
Of course, Shi Feng didn't find this strange. Although the Sea of Trees was a trade city that welcomed both humans and members of neutral races, the secret land that contained the Sea of Trees was still within the Dark Night Empire's borders. Meanwhile, humans weren't generally friendly towards other races. Hence, surviving in the Sea of Trees wasn't easy for them. The Half-beastwomen couldn't afford to provoke nobles, in particular. A single mistake could even result in their enslavement.
"I wish to see all of the information available on this restaurant Can I trouble you to prepare it for me?" Shi Feng asked.
Although he had rented the restaurant, he only had partial management rights. This was the case for other NPC-operated establishments, as well. It was impossible for players to acquire full management rights over an NPC establishment. Players could only gain full rights over the establishments and Lands sold at the City Hall.
"Alright, please wait a moment," Joseph said.
A short moment later, Joseph returned with a thick tome. He then set the book before Shi Feng.
Amazing. This restaurant has two Master Cooking Recipes. It's a pity that the required materials are so rare. The Shopfront is also the cheapest variety. It's no wonder why business is so terrible. Shi Feng was surprised as he read the restaurant's information.
Many players in God's Domain had chosen the chef subclass. Not only were chefs capable of creating delicious dishes, but some of those dishes also provided additional effects, such as temporary Attribute increases. Master Dishes, in particular, provided significant Attribute boosts, high enough to rival the effects of Master Potions.
Although players could cook Master Dishes after becoming Master Chefs, producing one of these dishes was actually quite difficult. The first issue was the lack of recipes. Even a Master Chef would struggle when concocting a Master Cooking Recipe. In the past, eight out often Basic Master Chefs lacked a Master Cooking Recipe. The second issue was the lack of materials.
Yet, the Forest Traveler actually possessed two Master Cooking Recipes, which gave it an advantage over larger restaurants. Unlike the Forest Blessing meal, these Master Dishes would still be effective when consumed outside of the restaurant.
Meanwhile, the Attribute increase they provided was even superior to Master Potions. Both dishes would see very high demand. If he could mass-produce the dishes, he could make a fortune.
When Shi Feng inspected the restaurant's Shopfront, he noticed that the Forest Traveler already met most of the conditions for its upgrade to a 2-star Restaurant. All it lacked was sales. However, even NPCs weren't willing to visit the area. How could the restaurant earn an income without any customers?
If the restaurant wanted to attract NPC customers and increase its sales, the easiest way to do so was to upgrade the Shopfront. Only, upgrading the Shopfront would require 1,500 Gold.
The thought of gaining a 2-star Restaurant tempted Shi Feng. Immediately, he chose to upgrade the Shopfront. Suddenly, the system deducted 1,500 Gold from the 3,000-plus he had remaining in his bag.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1897 – Master Dishes
As soon as Shi Feng chose to upgrade the Shopfront, the Forest Traveler started to change.
In less than five seconds, the Forest Traveler transformed from a shabby, two-story restaurant into an exquisite, three-story establishment The restaurant was now far more appealing than the surrounding Shops.
However, the interior had changed far more than the restaurant's exterior. The space inside the restaurant had more than doubled.
Originally, the first floor had only had room for a little over ten tables, but now, it could hold more than 30. The second floor had also become a dining area, and the living area had been moved to the third floor. Currently, however, the interior's design was still modest. Shi Feng would have to spend more Gold to decorate the place.
Next, I have to figure out how to lure customers here to increase the restaurant's business. Shi Feng nodded in satisfaction at the new Forest Traveler.
Although he had to pay for the restaurant's upgrade with his own money, now that the restaurant's quality had improved, he could charge customers more. At the same time, the restaurant's increased size could hold more customers at one time, increasing profits further.
However, Shi Feng was more concerned with the two Master Dishes.
One of the two Master Dishes was Drunken Tiger Meat, while the other was called Frozen Bone Soup. When consumed, the Drunken Tiger Meat increased players' Strength by 10% for six hours. As for the Frozen Bone Soup, it increased players' Intelligence by 10% for six hours. Neither dish had a Cooldown. Hence, even if the buffs were removed by a Skill or death, players could consume another dish to regain the benefits.
To physical and magical class players, a 10% increase in Strength or Intelligence would provide a significant boost to combat power. Moreover, the two dishes effects could stack with similar potions. The only downside was that the Drunken Tiger Meat and Frozen Bone Soup's buffs would vanish upon death. In contrast, many Master Potions would remain in effect. However, there was a positive to these two Master Dishes. If players entered special Dungeons or environments that prevented the use of external tools, they wouldn't lose the dishes' buffs.
Hence, the Drunken Tiger Meat and Frozen Bone Soup would be of significant help during his planned Void Serpent raid.
Since the Forest Traveler was only a 1-star Restaurant, its only chef had been the owner, Joseph. Even if he provided the dishes' required materials, their production speed would be limited. Now, when Shi Feng examined the restaurant's menu, he saw that the Drunken Tiger Meat only needed ten minutes to cook, while the Frozen Bone Soup only required eight minutes.
However, since he had upgraded the restaurant, he could now higher two more chefs. He could double the dishes' production speed if he did. As for the required materials, Zero Wing could collect them in a short time.
Following which, Shi Feng called up the Forest Traveler's system interface. In no time at all, he managed to hire two more chefs and eight more waiters. He then reopened the Forest Traveler for business.
Less than five minutes, the restaurant welcomed its first NPC customer. Although the promotion was as effective as he had hoped, it was tolerable.
In God's Domain, a leased restaurant didn't only earn an income from player customers. It could also earn money from NPCs. Only, the profit-sharing for income from NPC customers was much lower, only one-quarter of that from players. However, while this amount seemed insignificant, NPCs provided daily income. As the restaurant's star-rank and size continued to improve, it would generate more income from NPCs.
Currently, the Forest Traveler was a 1-star Restaurant and could only earn about 3 to 10 Gold from NPCs each day.
However, once it became a 2-star Restaurant, it could earn around 30 to 100 Gold per day from NPCs. Most importantly, the restaurant would gain more Master Cooking Recipes. The restaurant's accommodations would become higher-quality, as well.
Players didn't determine accommodation fees in the Sea of Trees. Rather, the system would set a price based on the hotel or restaurant's size, star-rank, and popularity. The minimum accommodation fee for a 1-star establishment in the city would be 50 Silver, while the maximum was 1 Gold. For 2-star accommodation, the minimum price was 2 Gold, while the maximum was 5 Gold. Hence, accommodation fees in the Sea of Trees ranged from 50 Silver to 5 Gold. Establishments could only rise to 2-star status in the city.
However, 2-star Restaurants and Hotels were very rare in the Sea of Trees. They were all concentrated in the central district, but players would need sufficient status and Contribution Points to rent these establishments. Though, once players crowded the Sea of Trees, those who owned 2-star Hotels and Restaurants would earn a massive income from their establishments.
After Shi Feng dealt with the Forest Traveler, he contacted Melancholic Smile and had her collect the required materials for the Drunken Tiger Meat and Frozen Bone Soup as quickly as possible. Then, using the Abyss Pendant, Shi Feng left an Abyss Marker in his office in the Forest Traveler. With this, he could return to the Sea of Trees even without a key.
Of course, there was an easier method to return; he could upgrade one of his leased establishments to 2-star status. He'd be able to head to a magic store and purchase a special Teleportation Scroll. Although the Teleportation Scroll cost far more than a Return Scroll, each costing 5 Silver Coins, 2-star establishments' player staff could bind the Teleportation Scroll to the building. Players could then use the bound Teleportation Scroll to teleport back to the establishment.
Since the Forest Traveler wasn't yet 2-star rank, it didn't have this function. Hence, Shi Feng had to rely on the Abyss Pendant.
Once Melancholic Smile had gathered the necessary materials, Shi Feng teleported to White River City's Guild Residence to collect them. After retrieving the materials from the Guild Warehouse, he used Abyss Teleport to return to the Forest Traveler. He then had Joseph and the two new chefs begin their work in the kitchen.
While waiting for the chefs to complete the dishes, Shi Feng returned to White River City's Candlelight Trading Firm to produce Advanced Mana Armor Kits and Titan City's standardized Dark-Gold Weapons. He used this opportunity to upgrade the weapons of Zero Wing's members and earn the Forging Proficiency required to become an Intermediate Master Forger.
Previously, he had acquired several hundred sets of materials necessary for forging the standardized Dark-Gold Weapons from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul. Meanwhile, as Cream Cocoa and Melancholic Smile were both busy with the Hell Tank components, these items' production rate had considerably slowed. Even now, there was a huge pile of materials left unused.
In his Special Forging Room, Shi Feng forged weapons without rest, steadily and rapidly filling his experience bar.
As he crafted Dark-Gold Weapons, not only did his Forging Proficiency increase, but he also gained EXP faster than grinding normal monsters. After two days of work, Shi Feng had reached 70.5% of Level 69. He was now less than 30% away from the Level 70 threshold. He was also less than 20,000 Proficiency Points away from becoming an Intermediate Master Forger.
Shi Feng had also forged 300-plus standardized Dark-Gold Weapons and 200-plus Advanced Mana Armor Kits.
Shi Feng used 130 Dark-Gold Weapons to upgrade the Abyssal Blade to Level 55. Although the improvement wasn't earth- shattering this time, its Attack Power had risen from 2,070 to 2,350. All Basic Attributes had also increased by 192 points, rather than the previous 170 points, and the weapon's Attack Speed had risen by 29 instead of 27. This change increased the Attack Power of Shi Feng's sub-arm immensely. However, the Abyssal Blade still couldn't compare to Killing Ray, whose level increased or decreased with its user's.
However, Shi Feng was satisfied with this result. After all, the Abyssal Blade was a top-tier Epic Weapon now. If he evolved it further, it would become as powerful as Fragmented Legendary Weapons.
It's about time. I should go and collect the dishes. After a glance at the time, Shi Feng used Abyss Transfer to return to the Sea of Trees.
As Shi Feng returned to the Forest Traveler, he noticed that the restaurant had considerably more NPC customers. At least, it wasn't as deserted as it had been. There were even six customers dining in the first-floor hall.
A short moment later, Shi Feng collected 300 sets of Drunken Tiger Meat and 500 bowls of Frozen Bone Soup from Joseph. He then teleported back to the Guild Residence in Zero Wing City.
When Cola, Alluring Summer, and their companions noticed Shi Feng's arrival in the Guild Hall's lounge, they ran up to greet him.
"Hehe, Guild Leader, look! I'm Level 60 now!" Cola said as he gleefully revealed his level, proving to Shi Feng that he had worked very hard while grinding monsters.
Every five levels was a minor turning point in God's Domain. Meanwhile, Level 60 happened to be one of those turning points that gave players a small boost to their Attributes.
"Guild Leader, why did you recall us so suddenly?" Alluring Summer asked after rolling her eyes at Cola.
"Mhm. You two, try on these two set equipment," Shi Feng said, nodding. He then took out the Sins of Thunderfire Set and the Scorching Wind Set, which he had acquired from the Flame Demon King, handing them to Alluring Summer and Cola.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1898 – Gathering at Zero Wing City
"Set equipment?"
Both Alluring Summer and Cola looked at the two set equipment Shi Feng had taken out, a little confused.
While they were not trying to brag, their current equipment was among the best available in God's Domain right now. Only Epic Equipment could surpass what they wore.
"Just try it out," Shi Feng said. Although he could see the confusion plaguing the two, he didn't bother to offer any additional explanation.
With no other choice, Alluring Summer and Cola complied, trying on the set equipment.
"This is…a Level 70 set equipment?!" Alluring Summer's eyes widened in shock when she saw the Sins of Thunderfire Set's Attributes.
The Sins of Thunderfire Set was a Level 70 Fine-Gold Set Equipment, though Shi Feng had only given her four of the six- pieces. Even so, the Thunderfire Set's Attributes were far superior to the Level 60 Dark-Gold Equipment she currently wore.
Moreover, the Sins of Thunderfire Set's set effects were simply tyrannical. The two-piece set effect increased casting speed by 20%, cast range by 20%, and magic damage dealt by 20%. As for the four-piece set effect, it increased all Basic Attributes by 15% and granted the use of the Tier 3 Spell, Thunderburst, a dual-element Spell that dealt both flame and lightning damage.
Meanwhile, Cola was incomparably excited after receiving the Scorching Wind Set. Unlike Alluring Summer, he had received a complete, six-piece Level 70 Fine-Gold Set Equipment.
As Shi Feng had already equipped the two sets with Attribute Gemstones and Level Reduction Gemstones, Alluring Summer and Cola could equip the sets right away.
"Amazing! Just equipping this set has pushed my Defense past 35,000 and HP past 100,000!" Cola was stunned when he inspected his updated Attribute Panel. "Not even a Tier 2 Berserker can budge me, now. Not even receiving a Level 60 Mythic monster's attack will be a problem. If Turtledove and Ye Wumian saw this, they'd die with envy!"
Even without any team buffs, he had 100,000 HP. He was basically a humanoid Boss. Reaching 120,000 HP shouldn't even be impossible with team buffs. Currently, Turtledove and Ye Wumian only had 85,000 HP after receiving team buffs, which only the best Tier 2 MTs had at this stage of the game. Not only had his HP soared past his two companions', but he was also a Strength-focused MT. He had only invested a small fraction of his Free Attribute Points in Endurance.
"Alright, it's time to go. We can't keep the other Guilds waiting for too long," Shi Feng said, nodding in satisfaction when he saw Cola and Alluring Summer's Attributes. With this, he was more confident of taking down the Void Serpent.
Following which, Shi Feng led Cola and the others to one of the Four Towers of Elements, the meeting point he had agreed upon with Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor.
The members of both super-first-rate Guilds had already arrived, but to avoid attracting attention, they all wore Black Cloaks.
Despite their efforts, however, the group of 400 players was simply too large to ignore. Furthermore, these players were all Tier 2 experts from major Guilds, so the aura they radiated instilled fear in others. Although these experts had done their best to suppress their auras, the combined energy of 400 experts was stifling.
"Who are those people? I don't mean to brag, but I can be considered an expert player as well, so why do those people feel so dangerous?"
"I caught a glimpse of their equipment a moment ago, and they're all wearing multiple pieces of Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment. I've spent many days grinding to reach Level 54, but even now, I only have one piece of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment, yet they have multiple pieces of Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment…"
"Could they be members from a top adventurer team?"
Curiosity pulled at the passersby when they looked at Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor's members, but the super-first- rate Guild's players simply ignored the surrounding crowd, waiting in the tower's main hall in silence.
"Vice Guild Leader, Zero Wing is quite impressive. It actually developed Zero Wing City to such a prosperous state. I get the feeling that it's even more prosperous than Star-Moon City," a slender youth wielding a wooden staff commented, astonished as he observed the players in the tower.
"Indeed. Zero Wing City's development is surprising. It's no wonder why so many corporations are trying to invest in it The income of Zero Wing City alone could easily sustain a first-rate Guild's daily operation," Illusory Words said, nodding. "I wonder which Mythic Boss Zero Wing plans to raid this time?"
On their way to the tower, they had noticed that Zero Wing City's player population was in no way inferior to that of Star- Moon City. Many of the city's residents were even elite and expert players. Quite a few major trading firms had also set up shop here. However, the most unbelievable part about the city had to be its number of NPC merchants, which sold plenty of rare items.
"According to our investigation on Star-Moon Kingdom, there are only sixteen known Mythic Bosses between Level 50 and Level 60in the kingdom. Since Zero Wing has gathered us in Zero Wing City, I assume that they are targeting the Level 56 Emerald Dryad in the Witch's Hill's forest However, I have heard that the Emerald Dryad is extremely difficult to deal with. There will be several hundred Treants guarding the Dryad, as well, all of which are Level 50 Lords and above. Among them are more than 30 Great Lords and four Grand Lords. Even with the combined strength of our Guild's team and Unyielding Soul's, raiding the Emerald Dryad will be quite challenging. If we include 600 Tier 1 and Tier 2 experts from Zero Wing, our chances of success are…" the slender youth said, shaking his head.
Just dealing with the several hundred Treants would be a major problem, not to mention defeating the Mythic Boss itself.
"Zero Wing should have a plan. Otherwise, they wouldn't have given up such a good opportunity to make money, hiring our Guilds' experts instead," Illusory Words reasoned.
God's Domain had many tools to offer, and with an appropriate tool, challenging a Field Mythic Boss wasn't that difficult One of the most common examples of such tolls was the variety of magic arrays.
While Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor's members wondered how Zero Wing planned to take down the Emerald Dryad, a large group of cloaked players appeared in the tower's entrance. These cloaked players were none other than Zero Wing's members. The group consisted of exactly 600 players. Naturally, such a large team's arrival attracted the attention of the players in the tower.
"How is this possible?" The slender youth beside Illusory Words stared at the approaching Zero Wing members with a flabbergasted expression.
"What's wrong? They're not Zero Wing's members?" Illusory Words asked strangely.
The slender youth was Dawnmaster, one of Crimson Emperor's top ten Elementalists. He also possessed an Identification Skill called Demon Eye, which allowed him to ignore Black Cloaks' concealment.
"No! They are all from Zero Wing, but…those people… They are all Tier 2…" Dawnmaster explained in a trembling voice.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1899 – World Boss
"They're all Tier 2?!" Illusory Words spun towards the approaching Zero Wing members after hearing Dawnmaster's statement. In a low tone, she asked, "There are…600 people here. Are you sure you're not mistaken?"
Although she could tell that the approaching players were powerful experts, she found it a little frightening that all 600 were Tier 2.
All of the various superpowers had an increasingly large number of players that had already completed their Tier 2 Promotion Quests, but even the weaker superpowers were still some time from amassing a 500-man, Tier 2 team, let alone a 600-man team.
The Tier 2 Promotion Quests weren't easy challenges to overcome. The quest had heavy requirements of both technique and equipment standards.
Of course, some players, such as independent players with good equipment and techniques, would challenge the lowest difficulty Promotion Quests. The advantage a Tier 2 class had over a Tier 1 was simply too massive. Not only would players gain a huge boost to their Basic Attributes once they reached Tier 2, but their physique would also improve significantly. With these improvements, players would have a much easier time questing and grinding monsters.
However, players that selected a low-difficulty Promotion Quest would face severe consequences. Their Tier 3 Promotion Quest would be far more difficult than normal.
The majority of independent players chose to acquire their Tier 2 class as soon as possible to secure better resources now, but large Guild experts were a different story. As these experts had their Guild's support, they didn't lack resources. Naturally, to ensure that they had an easier time with their Tier 3 Promotion Quests, these experts would challenge the harder Tier 2 Promotion Quests. They invested a lot of time in improving their levels, equipment, and techniques to complete the higher difficulty Promotion Quests, establishing a sturdy foundation so they could walk a smoother path in the future.
Meanwhile, Zero Wing was a Guild with abundant resources due to its goldmines like Zero Wing City and Silverwing Town. There was no doubt that Zero Wing had prepared its experts to challenge high-difficulty Promotion Quests.
However, just how many members did Zero Wing possess? How many experts had the Guild nurtured?
Comparing Zero Wing to a superpower was akin to comparing a firefly to the moon. The two were on entirely different levels.
Yet, the Guild had just revealed 600 Tier 2 players, already surpassing many superpowers.
"Vice Guild Leader, I wish I were wrong, but players can't fake the Tier 2 Class Insignias. Every one of those players has a Tier 2 Class Insignia equipped…" Dawnmaster said, smiling bitterly.
He had inspected Zero Wing's members multiple times, but the Tier 2 Class Insignia beneath their Black Cloaks was conspicuous to his eyes. There was no way he would mistake those insignias. Moreover, he hadn't told Illusory Words everything; among the 600 Zero Wing members, four were Level 60 and more than 50 were Level 59. He also couldn't identify Shi Feng's level.
The highest-level player in the Dark Night Empire was only Level 58. According to Crimson Emperor's investigation, this fact included the players that habitually hid their levels. Once players reached such a high level, they'd require a massive amount of EXP to level up, and although players could grind more efficiently and gain EXP more quickly once they had reached Tier 2, they'd still need a lot of time to grind to the next level.
Yet, Zero Wing had over 50 Tier 2 players at Level 59. There were even four Level 60 players. If the Guild wished it, it could easily monopolize the top 50 spots on the Dark Night Empire's Ranking List…
One or two levels higher might not mean much to ordinary players, but once players reached Level 50 and gained their Tier 2 class, their natural Attribute growth would increase significantly, exceeding the Free Attribute Points each leve卜up awarded. A gap of two levels could mean a difference of 30 points in one's main Attribute. Taking into account the Free Attribute Points, the gap would become even larger.
If the level gap increased to five levels, the difference in Attributes would be so massive that it would be akin to equipping an additional piece of top-tier equipment This was the frightening aspect of level differences. This was also why many independent players had opted to complete their Tier 2 Promotion Quests as soon as possible, leveling up more quickly.
"Zero Wing has already developed to such an extent?" When Illusory Words thought about Zero Wing openly declaring war against Blackwater in the Ore Empire, she realized the source of Zero Wing's confidence.
It was no wonder why Zero Wing dared to provoke Blackwater with so many Tier 2 experts.
When he saw Zero Wing's members, Unyielding Heart was similarly surprised. Unyielding Soul also had players with high- ranked Identification Skills, after all, but compared to Illusory Words, Unyielding Heart was stupefied by the discovery.
Unyielding Heart had raided the Eclipse Throne alongside Zero Wing's members, so he had known how many Tier 2 players the Guild had. While it was possible that Zero Wing had hidden some of its Tier 2 players, it shouldn't have been able to hide so many.
Despite the short time that had passed since the Eclipse Throne raid, Zero Wing now had at least 600 Tier 2 players. The Guild's development speed was disturbing…
"Since everyone's here, let's set out," Shi Feng said once he stood before Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words. "If we linger, I'm afraid that we'll attract even more attention."
The two Vice Guild Leaders exchanged a glance before nodding to Shi Feng's statement
They had already attracted a lot of attention. If they stayed, they would likely attract the various major powers' notice. Raiding a Field Boss was a dangerous task, especially if it was a Mythic Boss. If God's Domain's other powers discovered their operation, they could be ambushed during the raid.
Immediately, the two merged their respective 200-man teams with Shi Feng's. The team of 1,000 then moved to the tower's teleportation array.
Once Shi Feng had input the coordinates, the entire team vanished. Although some curious players had tried to follow the team, Shi Feng had instructed the NPC soldier to erase the team's destination coordinates before he had left, replacing it with a random location.
Players' figures began to appear, one after another, before a large waterfall within a dense forest. The lake at the base of the waterfall radiated a chilly air, making the new arrivals shiver. These new arrivals were none other than Shi Feng and his companions.
"Isn't this the Frost Jade Waterfall?" Illusory Words, who had memorized the various landmarks in the Witch's Hill, muttered. Turning toward Shi Feng, she asked, "Aren't we raiding the Emerald Dryad in the Million Woodland?"
The Frost Jade Waterfall was nowhere near the Million Woodland. In fact, the two locations were on opposite ends of the map. Although a dense forest surrounded the Frost Jade Waterfall, this area didn't have any monsters or resources. No player would grind in such a deserted location. Needless to say, this area didn't have any Field Bosses.
Unyielding Heart nodded in agreement. Based on Unyielding Soul's research, the Emerald Dryad should be the only Mythic Boss in the Witch's Hill. Moreover, the forest the Emerald Dryad resided in was rich with herbs. If Zero Wing killed the Emerald Dryad, it would significantly lower the danger players faced while exploring the Million Forest, making it easier to harvest rare herbs. Logically, Zero Wing should target the Emerald Dryad.
"No, I'm aiming for a different Boss," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "The Boss is inside this lake. If anyone's Ice Resistance is lower than 20 points, see me for an Ice Resistance Potion."
The lake bed was entirely composed of Frost Jade, and the cold air the jade emitted was extremely powerful. Players would freeze to death in less than 30 seconds without any Ice Resistance, only surviving long-term if they had 20 points or more.
Fortunately, fulfilling that requirement wasn't any trouble to the Tier 2 players present. As experts, they all had some equipment or ornament that granted Magic Resistance, which would also serve as a sort of Universal Resistance. Even without such items, they still had Passive Skills that granted some Magic Resistance. Furthermore, their respective Guilds would have prepared some Ice and Fire Resistance equipment to cater to unexpected situations. Hence, only a small number of players on the team failed to meet the requirement
After Shi Feng distributed Ice Resistance Potions to the 100-plus players who didn't meet the requirement, he instructed the team to jump into the water without offering an explanation.
A small cave hid under the Frost Jade Waterfall, large enough for five people to swim through at the same time. This cave was the entrance to the Void Serpent's underground temple.
After swimming through the cave for around three minutes, the first group discovered an exit.
As players emerged from the tunnel, they arrived in a dark cavern. Ancient murals covered the cavern walls, depicting the history of the Witch's Hill. When these players broke through the water's surface, they were amazed by the scene. They had never expected to find such a place hidden beneath the Frost Jade Waterfall.
Unfortunately, the players who lacked understanding of divine runes failed to comprehend the murals on the walls.
The players who were familiar with divine runes, however, quickly realized that the murals depicted the Otherworld Gate and the method of activating it.
Once the team had finished admiring the murals, they proceeded into another long, dark tunnel. When they left the tunnel, the team arrived in another cavern. This time, the team found a temple within, and unlike the previous cavern, this one was as large as a town and brightly illuminated. Lifting their heads, the team discovered a gigantic, glowing crystal embedded in the cavern's ceiling. This crystal lit the cavern until it was as bright as day.
While everyone admired the glowing crystal, they discovered something that caused their stomachs to churn and a frown to pull at their lips.
Coiled around the crystal was a snake that was over a hundred meters long. The serpent's body was made entirely of translucent crystal. At the moment, the serpent's eyes were shut, and if not for the occasional twitch, the players would have treated it as a part of the shining crystal.
The serpent's head was easily the size of a three-story building, and its eyes alone were easily larger than a human. As they gazed up at the monster, an instinctive fear gripped their hearts.
After a closer look at the serpent's statistics, many of the players felt their knees go weak.
[Void Serpent (Wakanet)] (Realm Lord, Void Creature, Mythic)
Level 60
HP 560,000,000/560,000,000
"A World Boss?!" Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart gasped in shock.
When they saw the Void Serpent's HP bars, they felt an unprecedented pressure bear down as terror overwhelmed them.
There was no definitive indication of whether a Field Boss was a World Boss or not in God's Domain. However, one thing differentiated the two: how many HP bars the Boss possessed.
Normal Grand Lord ranked Field Bosses had around three to five HP bars, while Mythic ranked Field Bosses had five to seven HP bars. Meanwhile, based on the various large Guilds' understanding of World Bosses, such a monster should have eight or more HP bars. While more HP bars didn't necessarily increase a Boss's total HP, depleting each bar would alter the Boss's combat method, increasing the raid's difficulty.
The Void Serpent before them had a total of nine HP bars…
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1900 – Madness
The Void Serpent was curled up and sleeping peacefully on the ceiling, and none of the present players dared to move for fear of awaking the World Boss.
They had never dealt with a World Boss before, so they did not know how wide its perception range was. On the off chance that the Void Serpent discovered them, they would pay for their mistake with their lives.
"Guild Leader Black Flame, you're not planning to fight that Void Serpent…right?" Illusory Words softly asked Shi Feng.
Although she understood that since Shi Feng had brought them here, there was a 99% chance that the Void Serpent was his target, her sanity urged her to confirm her suspicion.
For all she knew, this cavern might have two Bosses, and they were actually here for the other one.
"Mhm, it's this Void Serpent." Shi Feng nodded.
Illusory Words was silent for a long moment. She decided that Shi Feng must be insane.
That was a World Boss they were talking about!
Ordinary Mythic monsters were no match for the Void Serpent, and magical tools were utterly useless against World Bosses. In other words, they had no special means of weakening the Void Serpent. They would have to fight it at its peak. Even with their Berserk Skills, peak MTs wouldn't last more than a few hits. The Void Serpent would likely kill the other classes instantly.
Moreover, the Void Serpent was a Realm Lord. Its Skills, Spells, and physique were far superior to Mythic monsters of the same level. Defeating this monster would be even more difficult than facing the Emerald Dryad and its several hundred guards.
Although their team of 1,000 Tier 2 players met the requirements to raid a Level 60 World Boss, they barely managed it. If they wanted to raid the World Boss effectively, all 1,000 members would have to be Level 60 and wear Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment or better.
Taking a deep breath, Illusory Words looked at Shi Feng and said seriously, "Guild Leader Black Flame, let me say this. The dangers of raiding a World Boss are too great. Crimson Emperor will only help you once. If it looks like we'll team-wipe, Crimson Emperor's members will retreat."
If she allowed 200 of her Guild's Tier 2 experts to lose a level, her Guild would suffer a massive blow. She would not follow Zero Wing in its descent into madness.
Unyielding Heart, however, said nothing. He simply watched the Void Serpent before turning to Zero Wing's members.
"Vice Guild Leader, aren't you going to inform Zero Wing of your limits?" Long Soul whispered. "That's a World Boss we're talking about. Our Guild can't afford to lose so many Tier 2 players."
Lately, the intensity of the struggle between Unyielding Soul and Starlink had grown. As a result, the Guild needed its Tier 2 experts to manage many affairs. Unyielding Soul could not afford to weaken 200 of its Tier 2 experts for no reason. If the raid turned sour, they had to retreat to minimize their losses.
However, Unyielding Heart did not answer Long Soul's question. Instead, he walked up to Shi Feng solemnly.
"Guild Leader Black Flame, Unyielding Soul is willing to fight to the death alongside Zero Wing. In return, please consider selling Unyielding Soul a few pieces of MT equipment once the raid is over," Unyielding Heart said sincerely.
"Heart, are you insane?!" Unyielding Heart's proposal shocked Long Soul.
Illusory Words also turned to the other Vice Guild Leader, confusion flashing in her eyes.
The various superpowers still relied on special tools for a small chance of defeating ordinary Mythic Bosses, yet not only were they about to raid a Mythic World Boss, but they also had to do so without any tools.
Unyielding Heart was one of Unyielding Soul's supporting pillars of strength. He had invested a lot of time and effort into developing his Guild. She couldn't understand why Unyielding Heart would take such a massive risk, especially with Unyielding Soul's current state in the Dark Night Empire.
Does Zero Wing really have a chance of defeating the Void Serpent? Illusory Words could not help but wonder as she swept a glance over Zero Wing's members.
She couldn't see what ability Zero Wing had to face the Void Serpent
Meanwhile, Unyielding Heart ignored Long Soul's attempts to dissuade him. Instead, he remained focused on Shi Feng as he continued, "Of course, we will purchase the equipment at above market price as long as the items are Level 60 Fine-Gold Weapons or Equipment."
The fact that Zero Wing intended to challenge a World Boss had surprised him greatly, but he had witnessed the strength of Zero Wing's main force before. He doubted that the Guild would attempt a challenge it wasn't confident of overcoming.
After all, Zero Wing had dispatched 600 Tier 2 experts for this raid.
Hence, he would gamble on Zero Wing's ability to defeat the Void Serpent
Even the various superpowers only had a small stock of top-tier Level 55 equipment, let alone Level 60 equipment. If he could acquire a few pieces of Level 60 Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment for his MTs, it would definitely be of great help to Unyielding Soul during future Team Dungeon raids. Unyielding Soul had many expert teams, and a single Dark Corrosion Set wasn't nearly enough to satisfy the Guild's needs.
"Alright, I'll see what I can do." Shi Feng replied to Unyielding Heart's sincerity with a serious nod.
Level 60 Fine-Gold Equipment for MTs was nothing to Shi Feng. Selling a few pieces of such equipment in exchange for Unyielding Soul's full support in the following raid was definitely a worthwhile transaction. The difference between the combat power willing Tier 2 experts wielded and that of experts who were prepared to flee at a given moment was like the difference between heaven and earth.
"Thank you," Unyielding Heart said.
Normally, when a Guild employed another Guild's experts to take down a powerful Boss, it wouldn't sell any of the loot.
Such items were crucial to strengthening a Guild's teams and weren't usually available on the market, after all.
"Has Unyielding Heart gone mad? Does he really believe Zero Wing can succeed?" Chaos gripped Dawnmaster's mind as he watched Unyielding Heart thank Shi Feng.
After witnessing the exchange between Unyielding Heart and Shi Feng as they discussed the Void Serpent's loot, he wondered if the monster coiled on the ceiling was truly a World Boss. He also wondered if the two players knew what a World Boss was.
After discussing the agreement with Unyielding Heart, Shi Feng began to split the team into smaller groups and designated tasks to each.
The Void Serpent would transition through a total of nine different combat methods as the raid progressed, and all nine stages would be extremely dangerous. A single mistake could result in a large number of deaths. However, all of these players were experts, and many of them had even reached the Refinement Realm. As long as they were instructed properly, they could avoid any major mistakes. Then, they'd see if the Boss would die before the team was annihilated.
"Since there are no problems, all MTs and magical class players, come here to collect a dish. I'll call up the physical class players after to collect their share," Shi Feng announced after organizing the team.
Following which, under Shi Feng's instructions, everyone received the dishes Shi Feng handed out
What a powerful Master Dish! Illusory Words was stunned when she accepted a bowl of Frozen Bone Soup. She hadn't expected Zero Wing to be capable of securing such a top-tier dish.
She was no stranger to chefs' products. She knew that some dishes could enhance players' combat power. Unfortunately, most of the buffs food and beverages provided were minor, but this Master Dish increased her Intelligence by 10%. The Frozen Bone Soup could already rival a Master Potion. Moreover, the dish's effect would even be effective against a World Boss. This buff reduced the raid difficulty by a considerable margin.
"Cola, start the raid! Everyone else, follow the plan!" Shi Feng commanded once his teammates were ready.
Hearing Shi Feng's command, Cola, who had long since grown restless, grinned fiercely as he charged forward to attract the Void Serpent's attention.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1901 – Terrifying Defense
Inside the crysta卜filled cavern, after Shi Feng gave the command to attack, the first MT party, led by Cola, charged straight at the Void Serpent. The other groups fanned out to set up an encirclement.
As the Void Serpent was gigantic, even if they didn't fully understand the Boss's attack range, it was common sense to stand apart from each other. If they stood too close to each other, they would present the World Boss with a target-rich environment, which would easily result in a team-wipe.
When Cola's party got within 500 yards of the Void Serpent, the Void Serpent suddenly opened its amber eyes. An unprecedented killing intent immediately washed over everyone, causing their hearts to skip a beat. At this moment, it felt as if countless threads bound their bodies, impeding their movements.
"Dirty and pitiful mortals, you dare step into my territory?! I'll have you join the dust that fills this space!"
Following which, the Void Serpent let loose an angry roar.
A silver ripple spread across the entire cavern, with the Void Serpent as the center, the ground cracking as it came in contact with this ripple. In the next moment, a mud wave swept into the surroundings, taking only a brief moment to reach Cola's party.
"Defend!" Cola shouted hurriedly when he saw the approaching four-meter-tall mud wave.
The other five MTs in Cola's party were Level 57 and Level 58 MTs from Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor. With Cola as the core, they quickly fell into a defensive formation. Following which, Cola activated the Tier 2 Skill Guardian Wall, which increased the Defense of himself and players within a 10-yard radius of himself by 30% when blocking frontal attacks.
In the next moment, a wall of light formed by six shields appeared before the healer party positioned behind Cola's party.
Boom!
When the mud wave crashed into the wall of light, the powerful impact sent Cola's MT party stumbling backward, the HP of the six MTs decreasing at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Only after the six MTs had retreated by eight yards did they manage to stabilize their footing. After suffering the Void Serpent's AOE attack, the MTs of Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor had lost at least 50,000 HP each. Each of them had a maximum HP below 80,000. Hence, that one AOE attack had instantly taken more than half of their HPs. This outcome caused everyone in the team to gasp involuntarily.
So, this is a World Boss? Illusory Words, who was part of the healer party standing behind Cola's party, was stunned as she looked at the Void Serpent, which had already lowered itself to the ground.
With just one roar, the Void Serpent had inflicted over -50,000 damage each on the frontline MTs, who could be considered among the best MTs in God's Domain right now. If that AOE attack had been a powerful melee attack instead, the consequences would've been unimaginable.
At this point, she truly wondered how Zero Wing planned to raid the Void Serpent. Did they even have a chance at victory?
However, although Illusory Words doubted Zero Wing's success, that did not affect her healing speed in the slightest. Right after seeing the MTs receiving damage, she started double-casting one Tier 2 Healing Light and one Tier 1 Recover on Cola, fully displaying her abilities as one of the Ten Great Clerics in God's Domain.
Huh? Why is his HP… After Illusory Words finished casting her Healing Spells, she suddenly noticed that Cola still had close to 80% of his HP remaining. Meanwhile, thanks to her healing, his HP instantly recovered to full.
However, before Illusory Words could figure out what was going on, the Void Serpent several hundred yards from the team's frontline launched another attack.
After the Boss let out a hiss, countless Void Spears appeared around it. The Void Spears then shot toward Cola's MT party in a blur, a series of sonic booms echoing throughout the cavern.
"Everyone, stand behind me!" Cola shouted urgently when he noticed the frightening power contained in those Void Spears.
Although the five other MTs had been healed back to 70% or so, if they were to receive this terrible attack without activating their Lifesaving Skills, they were likely to get killed. After hearing Cola's command, the five MTs and six healers promptly lined up behind the Guardian Knight.
In the next moment, the Void Spears crashed into Cola's shield one after another. However, not every Void Spear landed on the shield; some brushed past his body and tore holes into his Black Cloak. Meanwhile, due to the Void Spears' strong destructive power, the Black Cloak's durability zeroed out instantly, the Black Cloak itself disintegrating into nothingness.
The Black Cloak's disappearance exposed the silver suit of armor Cola wore, which shone with the glow unique to Fine-Gold Equipment. Crimson runes could be seen engraved all over the silver armor, and judging from how the runes matched perfectly, it was obvious that the suit of silver armor was Fine-Gold Set Equipment.
Meanwhile, with the Black Cloak gone, Cola's Attributes were also on display for all to see, his maximum HP of 118,600 revealed to everyone. Moreover, as the Black Cloak was no longer present to suppress Cola's aura, the Tier 2 MTs standing behind him suddenly felt a powerful pressure bearing down on their bodies.
How is this possible?! Illusory Words fell into a daze when she saw Cola's HP bar.
Even the strongest MT in Crimson Emperor had only a little over 80,000 HP after including team buffs, yet Cola had close to 120,000 HP.
Moreover, Cola's Defense was also as unbelievably high as his HP was.
Despite not having activated any Lifesaving Skills, Cola had lost less than 40,000 HP after receiving all those Void Spears.
If it were any other Tier 2 MT standing in Cola's place just now, they would've been killed instantly by those Void Spears.
After all, the Void Spears were a completely different attack from the mud wave before. The mud wave had simply been a casual greeting from the Void Serpent. Meanwhile, the Void Spears were the result of a Spell. Those Void Spears should be much more powerful than the mud wave.
At this moment, Illusory Words wasn't the only one surprised by this revelation. The other Tier 2 MTs in Cola's party were similarly stupefied.
As they were also MTs, nobody understood more clearly than they did just how frightening a Tier 2 MT with close to 120,000 HP was.
"What kind of set equipment is he wearing? It's actually capable of forming a protective barrier around his body."
"I've seen every Level 50 Fine-Gold Set Equipment for MTs available in the game, and this is definitely not one of them. He's most likely wearing Level 55 Fine-Gold Set Equipment."
"Zero Wing is amazing. It actually managed to get its hands on this sort of set equipment."
As the other Tier 2 MTs were very close to Cola, they could see that a faint layer of Mana covered Cola's silver armor, forming a protective barrier that mitigated the Void Spears' damage tremendously. This situation was simply unbelievable. They had never seen Fine-Gold Set Equipment like this before.
Is this the reason why Black Flame is confident of defeating the Void Serpent? When Illusory Words looked at Cola's bearlike figure, she more or less understood why Zero Wing dared to challenge a World Boss.
The most important requirement when raiding a Boss was a powerful MT. As long as a team had an MT capable of tanking the Boss, then the raid definitely had a chance of succeeding.
While everyone was still in shock, Cola took the initiative to charge at the Void Serpent. He wanted to get within attacking range of the Void Serpent as quickly as possible.
However, the Void Serpent showed no signs of relenting as it continuously launched Void Spears at Cola from a distance. Meanwhile, the healer party led by Illusory Words kept healing him.
Although each wave of Void Spears dealt close to -40,000 damage to Cola, the healers were still able to keep him alive and healthy without much effort. After all, Cola's massive HP granted Illusory Words and the others a lot of leeway when healing. They could afford to cast powerful Healing Spells, which had long cast times.
After running for a short moment, Cola arrived before the Void Serpent.
"Foolish mortals! All your efforts are futile!" Upon seeing Cola closing in on itself, the Void Serpent sent its tail whipping at the Guardian Knight.
Despite its gigantic size, the Void Serpent's tail moved with lightning speed, so fast that it even tore space. The strong air pressure the tail created impeded the movements of the other Tier 2 MTs, which turned sluggish. They couldn't help Cola block the attack in time.
However, unlike the other MTs in his party, Cola remained completely unaffected by the powerful air pressure, swiftly raising the Titan Guard to block the attack.
Boom!
The ground beneath Cola shattered. The impact was so powerful that even the players standing over a hundred yards away could feel the ground underfoot shaking. When everyone present saw the devastated terrain before the Void Serpent, they stared in stupefaction despite themselves.
The Void Serpent's frightening destructive power woke a sense of hopelessness in everyone.
As the dust settled, everyone quickly noticed a figure standing amid the dirt and rubble. This figure was none other than Cola. Meanwhile, beside Cola's body lay the Void Serpent's tail.
"He managed to block even that?"
When everyone saw that Cola still retained over half of his HP, they could not help gaping in shock.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1902 – Overwhelming DPS
"Crap! Just how high is his Strength Attribute?!"
Hunting Blade, who was currently prepared to close in on the Void Serpent, could not help his surprise when he looked at Cola. He could not bring himself to believe that Cola had actually managed to offset the power of the Void Serpent's tail strike.
Although he was currently equipped in the Dark Corrosion Set, he wouldn't have had the Strength to offset the Void Serpent's attack without activating a Berserk Skill. He would only have been able to receive the attack head-on.
The Void Snake's simple, physical attack had deformed its surroundings to such an extent. Its Strength was so great that the resulting shockwave had sent the five Tier 2 MTs near Cola flying back over a dozen yards. The party of healers, who stood roughly 30 yards away from Cola, also nearly lost their footing.
While offsetting a monster's attack was easy for expert players, the precondition for doing so was for the Strength of both sides to be roughly equal. If a player tried to defend against an attack that carried Strength far superior to their own, they would either go flying or get crushed on the spot
Yet, despite Cola not having activated a Berserk Skill, he had managed to offset the Void Snake's attack. Cola's Strength was simply extraordinary.
Meanwhile, Unyielding Heart, who stood a short distance away from the Void Serpent, was similarly shocked by this outcome.
Although he had known that Cola possessed frightening Attributes since the Eclipse Throne raid, Cola was like a completely different person compared to back then. If Cola went to raid the Eclipse Throne right now, the Dungeon raid would definitely be a piece of cake.
"Heal Cola! Everyone else, move according to the plan once Cola stabilizes his aggro!" Shi Feng instructed through the team chat after seeing Cola arrive before the Void Serpent
Shi Feng did not find Cola's performance surprising even in the slightest. After all, Cola was equipped with not only a Fragmented Legendary Shield but also a six-piece Level 70 Fine-Gold Set Equipment For him to be able to tank a Level 60 World Boss was very normal. Of course, Cola was still far from capable of dealing with the normal Level 80 Flame Demon King; he would be able to tank the Level 80 World Boss all by himself only if he activated a Berserk Skill.
After hearing Shi Feng's reminder, the healer party promptly snapped out of their daze and started healing Cola and the others. In the meantime, the nine 100-man DPS teams slowly closed in on the Void Serpent from all sides.
The Void Serpent was a World Boss known for its single-target offensive capabilities. Only with an extremely powerful MT would players have a chance when raiding it.
After Cola stabilized his aggro on the Void Serpent, the majority of the team started launching attacks at the World Boss.
The melee players struck at the Void Serpent's sides, while the ranged players mercilessly bombarded the Void Serpent's head with Spells and arrows, using their attacks to disrupt the Boss's vision.
With several hundred players attacking the Void Serpent simultaneously, a series of damages rapidly appeared above the Boss's head.
-6,064!
-7,348!
-5,541!
Practically everyone's attacks dealt damage in the thousands, an outcome that rendered many people speechless.
"Why is this Boss's Defense so high?" Unyielding Heart frowned involuntarily upon seeing everyone's damage.
Even he had barely dealt over -10,000 damage after using a Tier 2 Skill. Compared to other Mythic Bosses he had fought against before, the Void Serpent's Defense was significantly superior. As a Tier 2 Berserker, when he fought against an ordinary Mythic Boss, his Tier 2 Skills could easily deal around -30,000 damage.
With their team's overall DPS, they would most likely take a very long time to kill the Void Serpent.
After attacking for five seconds, they had barely managed to chip away a little over 1% of the Void Serpent's HP. However, when the World Boss's battle recovery kicked in, its HP actually reverted to full.
"What?!" Illusory Words could not help but be surprised when she saw this situation, wondering what the Void Serpent had just done to recover so much HP.
While everyone in the team was puzzled by this situation, Shi Feng knew exactly what was going on. This was the effect of the Void Serpent's Self-healing Passive Skill, which doubled its battle recovery. In other words, the Void Serpent regenerated 2% of its HP every five seconds. This Boss also had another Passive Skill, called Void Body, which halved the damage it received and reduced chances of critical hits occurring by 70%.
These two Passive Skills made the Void Serpent extremely difficult to deal with. If a team lacked DPS, it would only be slowly whittled to death.
"Aqua, you guys can start attacking now!" Shi Feng said to Zero Wing's main force members, who had arrived behind the Void Serpent.
"Understood!" Aqua Rose promptly commanded Zero Wing's main force to attack.
At this moment, the advantage in Attributes Zero Wing's main force members possessed revealed itself. Every one of them dealt at least -8,000 damage with their attacks. In the case of Aqua Rose, Flying Shadow, Shadow Sword, and Blackie, their attacks delivered at least -15,000 damage. Occasionally, Aqua Rose would use a powerful water-type Spell and inflict over -20,000 damage on the World Boss.
As for Gentle Snow, Fire Dance, Zhao Yueru, and Alluring Summer, every one of their attacks reaped a minimum of -20,000 from the Boss's HP. Occasionally, they would use a powerful Skill that wreaked around -40,000 damage. Moreover, none of these damages were due to critical hits.
"How are they dealing so much damage?"
"Even when I used a Tier 2 Curse, I only managed to deal around -13,000 damage. How are they dealing over -40,000 damage with normal Tier 2 Spells?"
"Crap! Just what kind of equipment are they using?!"
The members of the two super-first-rate Guilds found this situation unbelievable. They were all experts of super-first-rate Guilds. Quite a few of them were even Refinement Realm experts. Although they were not the strongest in their respective Guilds, they were still in the upper ranks. If placed in a first-rate Guild, they would undoubtedly rank at the very top.
Due to Zero Wing's main force taking action, three distinct tiers immediately formed in the team's DPS counter.
The first tier was occupied by humanoid monsters like Gentle Snow.
The second tier was occupied by Aqua Rose, Shadow Sword, Flying Shadow, Unyielding Heart, Long Soul, Dawnmaster, and other peak experts.
Finally, the third tier would consist of players like themselves.
Moreover, the gaps between each tier were so massive that there was simply no comparison between them.
Meanwhile, due to Zero Wing's main force members joining in on the attack, the Void Serpent's HP finally started decreasing. Even so, the decline was still extremely slow.
99%… 98%… 97%…
After several minutes of battle, the Void Serpent's HP finally fell to 85%, its first HP bar emptied. Suddenly, the Void Serpent let loose an angry roar.
"Irritating ants! Turn to dust!" In the next moment, the Void Serpent incanted, "Children of the void, breath of the wild wind, sword of the sharp blade! Turn into my hands and rend everything apart!"
"Everyone, pay attention to dodging! Do not try to receive the attack, no matter what!" Shi Feng shouted hurriedly when he saw the Void Serpent starting to cast a Spell.
After the Void Serpent spent three seconds chanting, Void Blades suddenly appeared in the sky and rained down on the ground, covering a 200-yard radius around the Boss.
For a time, countless Void Blades bombarded the vicinity of the Void Serpent In addition, the attacks of the Void Blades did not follow any pattern whatsoever.
Tier 4 Domain Skill, Void Storm!
The descending Void Blades forced everyone to focus entirely on evasion. Now, players had to move constantly to dodge the Void Blades. This situation increased the raid difficulty by a large margin.
Moreover, after using Void Storm, the Void Serpent still showed no signs of letting up on its offensive. Suddenly, its body started radiating a silver glow. A moment later, its gigantic body split into two smaller versions of itself—its real body and a doppelganger.
"A Doppelganger Skill?" Illusory Words's complexion darkened immediately.
Among the multitude of Skills Boss monsters could possess, Doppelganger Skills were the most troublesome. Although Doppelganger Skills would reduce the overall Attributes of the Boss, the reduction would not be significant. With how powerful the Void Serpent was, MTs other than Cola still wouldn't be able to tank its doppelganger easily.
Just as the doppelganger was about to strike at a nearby team, a figure suddenly appeared above it.
In the next moment, a blue lightning bolt struck down on the serpent doppelganger's head, the blow forcing a cry from the doppelganger as its body crashed straight into the ground. The impact formed a massive crater with web-like cracks spreading out into the surroundings.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1903 – Combat Power Unleashed
As the team watched the serpent doppelganger smash into the ground, they gaped in shock before turning to Shi Feng and the glowing, blue longsword in his hand.
Although the Void Serpent's doppelganger was not as strong as the main Boss, it rivaled ordinary Mythic monsters, yet Shi Feng had slammed it into the ground with brute force.
The scene was on par with watching an ant topple a lion. It was hard to believe.
Moreover, Shi Feng's attack had dealt over -60,000 damage to the Void Serpent's doppelganger. Seeing this, the Tier 2 Berserkers broke out in a cold sweat.
Before his teammates could recover from their shock of seeing such a formidable performance, Shi Feng brandished the Abyssal Blade and Killing Ray against the doppelganger once again.
Purgatory Pentaslash!
Shadow Blade!
Sword lights glittered around Shi Feng, and the watching players were overwhelmed as they watched his rapid attacks. Damages of over -20,000 appeared above the doppelganger's head, one after another. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng had landed over a dozen attacks on the doppelganger. In terms of DPS, not even Fire Dance and her companions, members of the first tier, were no match for Shi Feng.
"Everyone, focus your fire on the doppelganger!" Shi Feng shouted after launching a series of attacks. "Be careful to dodge the Void Blades! All MTs except Cola, protect the healers! Don't get greedy when attacking, and do not look into the doppelganger's Magic Eyes! Ranged DPS, use your strongest moves on the doppelganger's eyes on my command!"
The serpent doppelganger was a part of the Void Serpent. If they killed the doppelganger, the real Void Serpent would take a corresponding amount of damage. However, if they did not kill the doppelganger within a set time, the doppelganger would automatically disappear and heal the Void Serpent for a considerable amount of HP. They needed to kill the doppelganger immediately, or the Void Serpent would chip away at the team until they were all dead.
Meanwhile, the serpent doppelganger's power wasn't its Strength, but it's Passive Skill, Void Magic Eyes. Players would be briefly paralyzed if they looked directly into the doppelganger's eyes. In addition, the doppelganger could use the Tier 4 Spell, Void Freeze through its gaze. When cast, the Spell would prevent all players within 150 yards of the doppelganger from using any Skills and Spells for 30 seconds.
While players faced both the Void Serpent and its doppelganger, they'd team-wipe if they couldn't use Skills or Spells for so long. Fortunately, there was a simple method of avoiding that outcome; they just had to destroy the doppelganger's eyes.
All of these players were experts, and as Shi Feng gave the command, the team redirected their attacks to the doppelganger.
Every member of the team fully displayed the technique standards of Guild Experts. They easily avoided two or three Void Blades as they flew towards them while maintaining their attacks against the serpent doppelganger. If ordinary experts attempted to challenge this Boss, they'd be at their limit just trying to dodge the Void Blades. They would have no energy for anything else.
With Cola tanking the real Void Serpent and Shi Feng, who had activated Heavenly Dragon's Breath, keeping the serpent doppelganger, which couldn't be aggroed, busy, the rest of the team was free to attack without worry. Whenever the doppelganger was about to cast Void Freeze, Shi Feng instructed the team's ranged players to bombard the monster's eyes. Not only did the serpent doppelganger rapidly lose HP as a result, but the monster was also unable to deal any damage.
So, this is the Sword King's strength? Illusory Words felt her admiration for Shi Feng grow as she watched the man assault the monster, dodge Void Blades, and command the battle effortlessly.
Despite such an intense fight against a Mythic Boss, Shi Feng issued accurate and efficient commands for the team, effectively preventing one crisis after another. This ability was far more impressive than individual strength.
When challenging a Boss, there was a limit to how much an individual could achieve with their own strength. Only a cohesive team could effectively defeat Boss monsters. Hence, leadership in a team was very important. With good leadership, a team could avoid unnecessary losses.
This was also why the various large Guilds and adventurer teams valued players with leadership skills. While an adventurer team's commander didn't need to be the strongest player on the team, they had to be able to command it
Not only was Shi Feng ridiculously powerful as an individual, but he was also capable of commanding a 1,000-man team so precisely…
After about two minutes, the serpent doppelganger, which had 40,000,000 HP, fell, transforming into a gray smoke before flowing back into the Void Serpent As the doppelganger died, the Void Sperent instantly lost 40,000,00 HP, while the team hadn't lost a single player.
After dealing with the doppelganger, the various Guild experts refocused on the Void Serpent.
75%… 60%… 50%…
When the Void Serpent's HP fell to 50%, it only had four HP bars remaining. At the same time, magic arrays began to manifest around the fight, and after a short moment, they merged to form a massive, blue magic array.
Suddenly, translucent creatures began to pull themselves out of the blue array, and in seconds, hundreds and thousands of them joined the battlefield. The weakest of these monsters was a Level 55 Lord, while the stronger creatures were Level 60 Great Lords…
Everyone felt their scalps tingle when they saw the army of translucent creatures. It was as if the Void Serpent had opened a gate to another world, and the world's monsters poured out of the gate.
"Everyone, activate your Berserk Skills and attack the Boss with everything you've got!" Shi Feng gave the blue magic array a serious look.
This Spell was one of the Void Serpent's team-wipe moves, Void's Descent
If players did not reduce the Void Serpent's HP to 30%, the Boss would continue to channel Void's Descent and summon more Void Creatures to the battle. There was no limit to the number of Void Creatures this ability could summon, either.
In the past, the first players to raid the Void Serpent had been very high-leveled, some of which had already reached Tier 3. They had been able to cope with the endless army of Void Creatures easily, as a result.
However, the majority of Shi Feng's team hadn't even reached Level 60, much less reach Tier 3. If they didn't drop the Mythic Boss's HP quickly, they'd definitely team-wipe.
It was at this moment that the players understood that they couldn't afford to hold back against so many Void Creatures.
These players immediately activated their Berserk Skills as instructed, their Basic Attributes skyrocketing. They then tried to maintain their attacks against the Void Serpent while fighting the waves of summoned creatures.
Fortunately, the Void Serpent would not move or attack while it summoned its Void Creatures.
Multiple Void Creatures assaulted every player on the team, and although they were all experts, the fight still crawled to a stalemate. Only Cola, Fire Dance, and the other humanoid monsters were able to cope with the summoned monsters.
Shi Feng didn't hold back, either, as he activated Power of Darkness. He even used Phantom Kill and Nine Dragons Slash, and every Abyssal Blade phantom repelled a Void Creature. With 16 Abyssal Blade phantoms defending him, none of the Void Creatures could get close.
Without having to worry about the surrounding monsters, Shi Feng and his doppelganger were free to launch a frenzied assault against the Void Serpent, each attack dealing more than -50,000 damage. Following suit, Zhao Yueru and Alluring Summer cast one large-scale destruction Spell after another, targeting the World Boss.
48%… 47%… 46%…
Although the Void Serpent's HP continued to fall, the team began to suffer casualties as it faced the endless torrent of Void Creatures.
Normally, players employed zerg tactics when raiding Bosses, but this Boss had turned the tables. The team experienced how frightening a Boss's zerg tactics could be, and every one of its Void Creatures was either a Lord or Great Lord.
Fifty players had died in less than a minute after the Void Serpent had begun to summon Void Creatures.
"Vice Guild Leader, at this rate, we'll team-wipe. Let's hurry and retreat," Dawnmaster, who held off two Great Lords and three Lords, hurriedly suggested. Although they held on, that would change as more Void Creatures joined the battle.
Sure enough, a World Boss is too much for current players. Illusory Words frowned as less than 800 members of the team remained standing. Crimson Emperor had already suffered over 30 casualties, and most of the survivors' HP constantly danced in and out of the danger zone. The team's healers simply couldn't keep up. "Everyone, retreat!"
When they heard Illusory Words' command, Crimson Emperor's experts breathed a sigh of relief. They immediately formed a defensive circle and carved a path out of the battlefield. Once they had distanced themselves from the World Boss, they used Instantaneous Movement Magic Scrolls, fleeing from the cavern.
Now, only Zero Wing's and Unyielding Soul's members remained to face the Void Serpent. Meanwhile, the Boss still had 39% of its HP remaining. Seeing this, Long Soul and Hunting Blade grew nervous, thoughts of urging Unyielding Heart to give the command to retreat surfacing.
However, when Unyielding Heart saw that Shi Feng hold fast, he, too, chose to persist.
Team members continued to fall.
650 people… 600 people… 500 people…
"Break!"
When less than 400 players alive on the team, Shi Feng and his doppelganger used Flame Burst simultaneously. One after another, damages exceeding -400,000 appeared above the Void Serpent's head. By the time Shi Feng and his doppelganger finished their attacks, the Void Serpent's HP fell to 30%. As it did, the Mythic monster stopped channeling its Spell.
The blue magic array vanished, and the summoned Void Creatures disintegrated into ash.
"Foolish mortals, you will know despair!" The Void Serpent lowered its head to look at the players before it, anger apparent in its gaze.
The Void Serpent then spread its jaws and sucked in the Void Creatures' ashes. The translucent Void Serpent then slowly transformed into a creature of flesh and blood, expanding and growing larger. Sharp bones jutted out along its spine, and after a short moment, the Void Serpent transformed into a gigantic, pitch-black beast, exuding turbid gas that filled the cavern.
Roar!
With a roar, the cavern began to tremble, shaking debris from the ceiling.
"This Boss can grow even stronger?" Long Soul felt true despair as he stared at the mountain-sized Void Serpent.
Even Unyielding Heart felt discouraged. Now they the team had used up their Berserk Skills, how could they continue to fight the strengthened Void Serpent?
"It's finally in its complete state?" Shi Feng felt an intense pressure from the Void Serpent. "It seems that we don't need to hold back anymore. Cola, unleash your combat power!"
When Cola heard Shi Feng's order, all of his worry about the World Boss vanished. Now, only excitement and joy drove him. "Leave it to me, Guild Leader!" Cola grinned at the Void Serpent He then charged at the monster without hesitation.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1904 – Wargod of Fire
With a light whip of its tail, the Void Serpent shattered the ground before the temple. Everyone could feel the stone beneath their feet quake.
The Void Serpent's peerless Strength and the turbid black gas instilled a sense of despair, and to make matters worse, the Boss still had over 167,000,000 HP.
"Unyielding Heart! Get it through your head! Our Guild cannot afford to sacrifice 200 Tier 2 players! We need to retreat immediately!" Long Soul growled as he turned on Unyielding Heart.
At this point, the raid's outcome was clear. They had struggled against the Void Serpent when they had still had 1,000 Tier 2 players, but now, not only had the Mythic monster grown stronger, but the team also had less than 400 players remaining. With so few players, finishing this raid was impossible.
Moreover, Unyielding Soul had already lost close to 100 players, a severe blow to the Guild.
This wasn't a Dungeon. If players died, they would lose a full level. Even if the healers resurrected them and reduced their death penalties, the loss would still be painful.
"Everyone, retreat! We cannot continue this crazy farce with Zero Wing!" Hunting Blade, who stood beside the Void Serpent, commanded through the Guild chat. Although Unyielding Heart was one of the Guild's Vice Guild Leaders, he couldn't let the man risk the Guild's future.
However, as Unyielding Soul's members prepared to follow the order, Cola charged at the Void Serpent. The Guardian Knight showed no intentions of working with his companions to stop the World Boss.
"Has he lost his mind? He's actually charging at the Boss?" Hunting Blade could not help but watch Cola in astonishment.
While he acknowledged that Cola's Attributes were frightening, without a Berserk Skill, the Guardian Knight had no hope of stopping the Void Serpent by himself.
When the Void Serpent noticed Cola's approach, it squinted its amber eyes and swept its now-scaly tail at the Guardian Knight as if sweeping away the dust on the ground. From afar, players noticed that space seemed to twist as the tail passed, barely withstanding the Void Serpent's Strength…
"Come!" Rather than shrink back in fear, Cola dashed to meet the attack.
Just before the Void Serpent's tail struck the Guardian Knight, flames emerged from Cola's form. In the blink of an eye, Cola had transformed into a charging bonfire with a six-meter radius, leaving his teammates confused.
But despite the strange development, the Void Serpent had no intentions of slowing its tail attack as it struck the moving bonfire.
Peng!
"It stopped?!"
Since everyone had assumed that the Void Serpent's attack would extinguish the flames, they were shocked by the true outcome of the clash.
The gigantic, scaly tail had actually stopped before the humanoid torch, unable to proceed any further. The stone beneath the raging fire cracked, only stopping over 20 yards away.
After the flames subsided, they revealed a six-meter giant. The giant wore a full set of flaming, crimson armor, the flame's heat boiling the water in the air and turning the ground beneath it into lava. In addition, the giant wielded a flaming one- handed axe and a flaming shield. As the giant's aura washed over the team, they felt an intense pressure bear down on them, but it wasn't just a result of a difference in Attributes; it was a result of a difference in Life Ratings.
Before anyone could react, the flaming, armored giant sent a chop at the Void Serpent's tail. As the axe swung through the air, a sea of fire enveloped everything in a 30-yard cone before the giant. The burning weapon left a deep, scorched wound in the Void Serpent's tail as the Mythic monster cried out in agony. A damage exceeding -80,000 also appeared above the Void Serpent's head, the attack's power astonishing the surrounding players.
The injury enraged the Void Serpent Spreading its maw, the Boss shot a spear of foul, black gas, and the spear flew so fast that not even the Tier 2 experts could keep up with the attack.
Fortunately, the flaming giant reacted quickly, raising its flaming shield in time to stop the attack. The impact forced the giant to stumble four steps back, a damage of over -100,000 appearing above its head. The Void Serpent's destructive power had clearly improved.
However, to everyone's surprise, the giant's HP bar had barely decreased despite so much damage. Upon closer inspection, they would've seen that the flaming giant had maximum HP of 12,000,000. With so much HP, over -100,000 damage was practically negligible.
So, this is the power of the Wargod of Fire? Once he had steadied, Cola couldn't help but take a look at himself. He could feel that his physical control had reached unprecedented levels. In addition, his Basic Attributes were even higher than when he activated a Berserk Skill, especially his HP. Although he was still no match for actual monsters, he was leaps and bounds superior to other players and NPCs.
"Healers, focus on Cola! Everyone else, focus on the Boss!" Shi Feng shouted. Even he was slightly surprised to see Cola single-handedly tank the Void Serpent. He hadn't dreamed that the Wargod of Fire transformation would be so powerful.
Meanwhile, Shi Feng's command shook everyone from their daze.
"Cola? That flaming giant is Cola?" The revelation shocked Long Soul.
"So, this is the trump card Black Flame had prepared?" Unyielding Heart was similarly astounded. At the same time, he envied Zero Wing a little.
With such a powerful MT, Zero Wing would have no problems raiding Level 60, 100-man Team Dungeons in the future. The Guild would also collect Level 60 top-tier weapons and equipment far faster than the various superpowers, securing a massive advantage.
Meanwhile, Cola rendered the Void Serpent powerless thanks to his recent transformation. Although it launched a series of frenzied attacks, Cola stopped every one effortlessly. Moreover, since the Mythic Boss had entered its complete form, it had lost the effects of its Passive Skill, Void Body, and its battle recovery. From now on, all damage the Boss received would be permanent.
However, the berserk Void Serpent wasn't an easy foe. From time to time, it launched AOE breath attacks, and players still had to cope with the Void Blades. The team steadily lost players.
Once the situation had stabilized, Shi Feng focused on his offense. After Phantom Kill's Cooldown ended, he summoned his doppelganger and used Dragon Soul, transforming his doppelganger into a Black Dragon.
Although the doppelganger would lose its weapons and equipment after transforming, the Black Dragon's Life Rating and Strength surpassed Cola's by a large margin. Most importantly, the Black Dragon was a Level 69 monster. Each time the Black Dragon attacked, it devoured a large chunk of the Void Serpent's HP.
24%… 20%… 16%…
When less than 300 players remained alive on the team, the Void Serpent's HP had fallen below 1,000,000. Seeing this, Shi Feng activated Icarus's Heart, which he had reclaimed from Aqua Rose earlier. Using Instant Strike to appear before the Void Serpent, he brandished the Abyssal Blade and Killing Ray.
Purgatory Pentaslash!
Shadow Blade!
One powerful Skill after another struck the Void Serpent, devouring the final strand of HP the World Boss possessed.
With a frustrated cry, the Void Serpent's colossal body collapsed to the ground.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1905 – World-class Loot
Watching the Void Serpent collapse to the ground, the players in the cavern breathed a deep sigh of relief. They had finally defeated the World Boss.
"We did it!"
"I nearly thought we were goners!"
Although all of these players were Tier 2 experts, some slid to the ground, powerless, after the battle had ended.
The team had less than 300 survivors, and everyone was exhausted beyond belief. Their weapons and equipment's durability had been severely depleted, and had the battle gone on for any longer, they would've been at risk of losing the items during the fight. Moreover, the healers were nearly out of Mana. They wouldn't have lasted more than a few minutes.
Many players instantly rose from Level 57 to 58 as the World Boss had died thanks to the abundant EXP the Void Serpent had awarded. The Boss's death had granted so much EXP that even a Level 69 player like Shi Feng watched his experience bar gain a sizable chunk.
However, the survivors' attention was locked on the Void Serpent's loot, rather than the awarded EXP.
After the Void Serpent had died, it had dropped a small mountain of items, including items, materials, and four dazzling treasure chests.
The cavern's Mana passively gathered around the small mountain of items, making it obvious that the loot was quite extraordinary.
Seeing this scene, the staring players couldn't help but gulp.
So, this is a World Boss's loot? Long Soul, who had managed to survive raid, was dumbfounded when he saw the large mound of items.
There were easily over 100 items, maybe even more than 300.
Based on what he could see, more than ten items radiated the signature glow effect of Dark-Gold Equipment. Even more items gave off the light of Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment.
The Void Serpent was a Level 60 World Boss, so the weapons and equipment it dropped were likely all Level 60 items. In the worst-case scenario, some items might be Level 55. These were the best weapons and equipment available in the game right now.
Furthermore, the pile contained several gold, glowing treasure chests. Just looking at all them caused Long Soul's heartbeat to accelerate.
Naturally, Unyielding Heart was similarly excited and envious upon seeing the small mountain. He hadn't expected the Void Serpent to drop so many items. Its loot could likely boost a 100-man team's combat power by a significant margin.
Of course, the Zero Wing members present stared at the loot with brightly glowing eyes. Since they had participated in the raid, they'd have priority when purchasing the items. If they purchased the items now, they wouldn't have to spend as many GCPs than if they waited until the items showed up in the Guild Warehouse.
This loot really is frightening. Even Shi Feng was a little surprised to see so many items. Normally, a World Boss only dropped a little more than 100 items, but it was obvious that the mound contained far more than that. Moreover, the Void Serpent had dropped extremely rare treasure chests.
Following which, Shi Feng began to organize the Boss's loot, and the surviving healers turned to resurrect the dead, reducing the slain players' death penalties.
Shi Feng had only finished with the loot after the healers had returned all of the players to life.
The Void Serpent had dropped a total of 413 items. Among them, 267 were rare and precious materials. None of the rare materials were available on the market, and 17 were even Inferior Legendary rank.
Take the Void Serpent's scales, for example. Void Scales were natural armor kits and far more powerful than Advanced Mana Armor Kits. When equipped, not only would one of these scales reduce incoming damage by 10%, but it would also improve physique by 5% and Basic Attributes by 8%. Unfortunately, players were only able to equip one Void Scale. Even so, just one offered a massive boost. The Void Scales were especially potent on an MT's equipment.
A total of 11 Void Scales had dropped. There were also four Void Fangs among the Inferior Legendary materials. The Void Fang could be used to strengthen weapons. When used, they would grant the weapon the Void Rend effect, increasing damage by 10% and ignoring one tier of Defense.
The last two Inferior Legendary materials were bottles of Void Blood, each containing 100 drops. Not only was Void Blood a key component in activating the Otherworld Gate, but it was also the main material to brew Void Wine. When consumed, Void Wine would permanently increase all Attributes by 20 points and physique by 5%.
Each bottle of Void Wine had sold for at least 600 Gold during Shi Feng's previous life, but even at that price, the various large Guilds had fought to claim them.
The Void Wine Recipe was also among the 146 items the Void Serpent had dropped, although only Master Chefs could brew it.
Of the 146 items, 35 were Level 55 to 60 Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment, including the Mana Heart Set, a Level 60 Fine-Gold Set Equipment for Elementalists and the Earthen Protector Set, a Level 60 Fine-Gold Set Equipment for Shield Warriors. Unfortunately, both sets were incomplete; only four set pieces of each had dropped. The rest of the Fine-Gold items were individual pieces.
As for Dark-Gold rank, 16 Level 55 to 60 Weapons and Equipment had dropped, including the Magic Storm Set, a Level 60 Dark-Gold Set Equipment for magical classes. However, only five pieces had dropped. To complete the set, Shi Feng would need to acquire three more pieces. The rest of the Dark-Gold items were all individual pieces, the most valuable of which was the Magic Serpent Buckler.
Although these Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment were considered top-tier at this stage of the game, they were subpar at best compared to the remaining weapons and equipment the Void Serpent had dropped.
Of the remaining weapons and equipment, three pieces were Epic rank, and one was Fragmented Legendary rank. All of the Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold items combined weren't worth the total value of these four.
The three Epic items that had dropped were the Void Robe, Void Gloves, and Sacred Word Staff. The Void Robe and Void Gloves were part of the Void Magic Set, a bona fide Epic Set Equipment. The two-piece set effect alone increased the wearer's maximum Mana and physique by 20%. The Void Magic Set was definitely the best set equipment for magical classes at this stage of the game. After all, a magical class player's Mana was the equivalent of a second life.
As for the Sacred Word Staff, it was a top-tier staff that allowed players to cast their one-second Spells instantly. It also increased Spell Completion Rate by 4%.
However, these three Epic items were nothing compared to the Fragmented Legendary item.
Even this dropped? Shi Feng was ecstatic when he saw the ring of two carved snakes, one black and one white.
Almost everyone in God's Domain had heard of this ring in the past.
The Fate Ring!
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1906 – Fate Ring
"Guild Leader, what is that ring?" Aqua Rose, who stood nearby, asked in surprise when she saw the Fate Ring in Shi Feng's hand. She could feel the Mana density around her increase drastically.
After Shi Feng had stored the dropped items in his bag, the surrounding Mana density had returned to normal, but the moment he had retrieved the Fate Ring, the Mana density in a 20-yard radius around Shi Feng had skyrocketed.
In God's Domain, items that passively attracted Mana were incredibly rare. Even so, she had seen quite a few. However, this was the first time she had seen an item that could increase its ambient Mana density so intensely despite being inactive.
Looking at it now, it seemed as if the Fate Ring was the main cause for the intense Mana around the mountain of loot.
"The Fate Ring," Shi Feng said. "It can help players develop until they reach the apex of God's Domain."
"Help players develop to the apex?" Aqua Rose was utterly confused.
A top-tier weapon or equipment piece could significantly increase a player's combat power, and it would be a great help to the player's development, but even a Fragmented Legendary item's assistance would be limited.
Yet, Shi Feng claimed that the ring in his hand was capable of helping players reach the game's apex. No matter how she looked at it, he had to be joking.
She had been Twilight Echo's, a first-rate Guild, Honorary Elder. Hence, she knew exactly how difficult it was for a player to reach the virtual gaming world's apex. It wasn't something someone could do by relying on one or two pieces of equipment Furthermore, unlike other virtual reality games, the competition in God's Domain was particularly intense.
However, Shi Feng simply smiled at Aqua Rose's confusion. He did not bother to explain further.
On its own, the Fate Ring didn't have any particular powerful effects. In fact, one might even consider it a weak item. Aside from providing some Basic Attributes, the ring only had one Skill. Moreover, the ring's Basic Attribute bonuses were standard for an ordinary Epic item.
Even if players acquired the Fate Ring, they might be embarrassed to call it a Fragmented Legendary item.
However, when a first-rate Guild had purchased the Fate Ring at an auction during Shi Feng's previous life, its Guild Leader had changed his fate after equipping the ring, eventually becoming one of God's Domain's top powerhouses. Even after ten years, that Guild leader had still been a godly existence.
The achievement had invoked the other large Guilds'jealousy, and the superpower that had sold the ring had been wracked with regret.
This Skill was incomparably powerful. When activated, it granted players an opportunity. However, the impact of the opportunity varied. A small opportunity would most likely lead players to a piece of Mysterious-Iron Equipment that was suited to them, while a larger opportunity could lead players to a Fragmented Legendary item. The Skill had one downside, though; using Fate Guidance had a massive cost.
Each time a player wanted to use Fate Guidance, they had to expend one unit of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Only after paying this price would the Skill guide players to their opportunity.
Seven Luminaries Crystals were an important resource, necessary to construct one's Mind Space. The various large Guilds treated them as peerless treasures. Nobody would sell a unit of Seven Luminaries Crystal unless they had no other choice.
Although the superpower that had acquired the Fate Ring had tested the ring's ability out of curiosity, it had quickly discovered that Fate Guidance was a fraudulent scam!
Moreover, the scam knew no bounds…
Of the 100 attempts the superpower had made, more than 90 had yielded Mysterious-Iron Weapons, Equipment, and tools. The remaining attempts had led the superpower to Secret-Silver items, and only one had led to a Fine-Gold item…
To the various large Guilds, one unit of Seven Luminaries Crystal was worth more than the latest top-tier Dark-Gold Weapon or Equipment piece. Gathering Dark-Gold items was, after all, several times easier than collecting Seven Luminaries Crystals.
No one would trade 100 units of Seven Luminaries Crystals for a pile of junk, so the Fate Ring had switched owners multiple times until it had been claimed by the lucky first-rate Guild.
That lucky Guild hadn't invested a lot of Seven Luminaries Crystals before it had struck gold. Overall, the Guild had only spent several dozen units before securing a large opportunity, which had yielded a Fragmented Legendary item.
If given the opportunity, any power would be more than willing to trade several dozen units of Seven Luminaries Crystals for a Fragmented Legendary item. As a result, the lucky first-rate Guild had proceeded to invest a lot of Seven Luminaries Crystals, but the Guild had quickly discovered that the Fate Ring wasn't as kind as they had assumed.
After investing several hundred units of Seven Luminaries Crystals and getting nothing good in return, the Guild had slowed its investment. Even so, the Guild had occasionally tried its luck. It had only discovered the Fate Ring's secret after hitting a second jackpot and acquiring a Master Magic Array Design; the Fate Ring only guaranteed one major opportunity once every 1,000 uses. However, spending 1,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystals in exchange for one major opportunity was simply too costly.
Meanwhile, God's Domain had more than one Fate Ring. When this lucky first-rate Guild had acquired its second Fate Ring, the ring's value had truly shined. After merging two Fate Rings, Fate Guidance granted a major opportunity once every 500 uses. Unfortunately, claiming the opportunities would become far more difficult, but it was still possible for ordinary expert players. Furthermore, players could acquire a top-tier item by simply spending 500 units of Seven Luminaries Crystals, which was certainly a worthwhile price.
Due to this change, the lucky first-rate Guild's Guild Leader had gradually collected top-tier weapons, equipment, and tools for himself, increasing his strength and eventually becoming one of God's Domain's apex players.
Of course, the heaven-defying items acquired via Fate Guidance were only suitable to help one player reach the apex since each opportunity only yielded items suitable for the player that activated the Skill. If other players used the items, their performance would suffer. Other players couldn't even use certain items, such as those that granted Skills and combat techniques.
In other words, the lucky first-rate Guild had spent a frightening amount of Seven Luminaries Crystals to nurture a single apex powerhouse.
However, Shi Feng had no intentions of replicating that Guild's actions. While nurturing a single apex expert might be worthwhile to Guilds that didn't have any, the same couldn't be said for Zero Wing. In fact, doing so would be a waste of time and resources.
Zero Wing had far more experts than any first-rate Guild, and those experts' potential was far superior to those in first-rate Guilds. It was only a matter of time before the Guild had multiple apex powerhouses. Hence, instead of wasting tons of Seven Luminaries Crystals on nurturing an ordinary expert, it would be much wiser and more efficient to use the Fate Ring to help an expert, who was only a step away from the apex, cross the final hurdle.
It seems I'll have to find an opportunity to secure some Seven Luminaries Crystals, Shi Feng inwardly decided.
Zero Wing already had a lot of Guild members capable of contending with peak experts, but it had very few members that could rival apex experts. Although Shadow Sword, Turtledove, Flying Shadow, and a handful of other members of Zero Wing's main force were capable of contending with superpowers' peak experts by relying on their equipment advantage, as players progressed, this advantage would shrink. If Shadow Sword and the others didn't improve their combat standards, it would only be a matter of time before others surpassed them.
However, if they used Fate Guidance, they could quickly gain the combat power they needed to rival apex experts.
As Shi Feng finished examining the loot, he sold 16 pieces of equipment for MTs and DPS classes, including the Level 60 Dark-Gold Shield, Magic Serpent Buckler. He did not, however, decide to sell the Earthen Protector Set The situation surprised Unyielding Heart.
He had expected Shi Feng to refuse to sell both the Magic Serpent Buckler and the Earthen Protector Set. The fact that Shi Feng had allowed him to purchase the buckler, which was even more valuable than the set equipment, was shocking.
However, what Unyielding Heart did not know was that Zero Wing did not need powerful shields. Even the weakest shield
Zero Wing's three core MTs used was an Epic Shield. A Level 60 Dark-Gold Shield was nothing in comparison. The Earthen Protector Set, though, was different Ye Wumian still wore the Level 50 Magic Light Set, which was weaker than the Earthen Protector Set Hence, this was a perfect opportunity for Ye Wumian to upgrade his equipment.
Aside from weapons and equipment, Shi Feng had decided to sell a few Void Scales to Unyielding Heart.
Upon seeing the Void Scale's Attributes, Long Soul's eyes went bloodshot. If given to an MT, the Void Scale would elevate the player's standards to a whole new level.
In the past, Void Scales had sold for around 5,000 to 7,000 Gold on the market, so Shi Feng sold them to Unyielding Heart for 10,000 Gold each. With so much money, one could afford a low-quality piece of Epic Equipment Although Unyielding Heart could not help but wince at the price, he still agreed to buy three Void Scales.
Meanwhile, Shi Feng's transaction with Unyielding Heart had instantly earned him 42,000 Gold. With this much money, he could rent a few more hotels and restaurants in the Sea of Trees.
After Shi Feng had finished his business with the Vice Guild Leader, he led the team out of the cavern. Since the cavern was isolated from the outside world, players couldn't use Return Scrolls while inside. Even an Instantaneous Movement Magic Scroll would only teleport players to the edge of the cavern. It would not teleport them out of it.
When Illusory Words and her Guild members, who had waited in the first cavern, saw Shi Feng and the others emerge, they were astonished.
"How did so many people get out of there?"
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1907 – Otherworld Gate Activated
Crimson Emperor's survivors were stunned as Shi Feng and his team emerged from behind the waterfall.
They had personally experienced the Void Serpent's strength, and when they had left the cavern, the situation had seemed dismal. Countless Void Creatures had filled the cavern. Even though they had started to carve a path out of the cavern before the situation had taken a turn for the worse, they had lost quite a few people on their way out.
The Void Creatures had only given up the chase once they had left the cavern.
However, no matter how they considered the situation, Shi Feng's group had far more people alive than when they had left. Moreover, some of Crimson Emperor's experts were among the group…
Could they have slain the Void Serpent? An unrealistic thought suddenly popped into Illusory Words's mind. Although she couldn't believe that they had completed the raid, the scene before her removed any doubt There was no other explanation.
A moment later, Illusory Words began to receive messages from the Crimson Emperor members that had just left the waterfall's pool.
Since the world behind the waterfall was isolated from the rest of God's Domain, they hadn't been able to send messages to their Guildmates after they had been revived. Hence, they had contacted Illusory Words the moment they had emerged, reporting the Void Serpent raid's outcome.
Meanwhile, aside from the fact that Zero Wing had slain the Void Serpent, the reports mentioned the Void Serpent's loot and the fact that Zero Wing had sold quite a few items to Unyielding Soul.
So, is that why Unyielding Heart was so adamant about fighting to the end? Illusory Words could not help her bitter smile as she read her subordinates' messages.
Although she did not know which items Unyielding Soul had purchased from Zero Wing, the Void Serpent was a World Boss. How could any of the items be poor quality?
Zero Wing might not have sold the best weapons and equipment to Unyielding Soul, but even the second-rate items would be a massive harvest for the Guild. At the very least, Unyielding Soul could fortify its main force's combat power.
"Vice Guild Leader, why don't we try to purchase some of the Void Serpent's loot from Zero Wing at a high price? We have, more or less, participated in the raid, and we suffered quite a few losses. Zero Wing will likely agree if we ask," Dawnmaster suggested softly.
With how powerful the Void Serpent was, its loot would definitely be extraordinary. It might have even dropped a Level 60 top-tier weapons and equipment Any of those items would be far stronger than the weapons and equipment their Guild's experts currently wore. If they could acquire some for their Guild's main force, they would have a much easier time raiding the various Level 60, 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons in the future.
"Forget it. Asking will likely be useless. After all, we didn't propose such a condition like Unyielding Heart," Illusory Words said, shaking her head. Sighing, she gave Unyielding Heart an envious look, "Unyielding Heart made the right bet this time.'
Although she slightly regretted her earlier decision, this trip hadn't been fruitless.
At the very least, she now knew that Zero Wing was not as simple as everyone assumed.
Following which, Illusory Words approached Shi Feng and congratulated him and Zero Wing on their success against the World Boss. After some brief pleasantries, Illusory Words shifted the conversation toward the Drunken Tiger Meat and Frozen Bone Soup.
"Guild Leader Black Flame, may I know if you still have any Drunken Tiger Meat and Frozen Bone Soup left? If you do, Crimson Emperor is willing to purchase 1,000 of each dish at 5 Gold per serving," Illusory Words offered.
While she had given up on acquiring any of the Void Serpent's loot, the Master Dishes Shi Feng had revealed earlier were a different story. She hadn't seen Master Dishes like those since she had joined God's Domain.
Although they were not as effective as Master Potions, they could stack with potions. In addition, the two Master Dishes could be used to raid World Bosses. This tremendously increased their usefulness. Moreover, they would make Dungeon raids slightly easier.
As Illusory Words finished speaking, Unyielding Heart, who still celebrated his portion of the Void Serpent's loot, snapped out of his daze and realized that he had forgotten about the two Master Dishes.
"Guild Leader Black Flame, if you still have any of those Master Dishes remaining, Unyielding Soul will also purchase 1,000 of each dish at 5 Gold per serving!" Unyielding Heart hurriedly said.
Hearing the two Vice Guild Leaders interest in purchasing the Master Dishes, Shi Feng inwardly celebrated.
Both the Drunken Tiger Meat and the Frozen Bone Soup cost a little over 1 Gold to make. Moreover, both had a 100% production success rate. Selling the dishes to the two super-first-rate Guilds would earn plenty of profits.
"I don't have any more of the Master Dishes on me, but if you two want them, I can get some for you. However, it'll take some time for me to gather the requested amounts. May I know if you two are willing to wait?" Shi Feng asked.
The two dishes required a lot of time to make, and each Guild wanted 1,000 servings of both. The order would take a few days to fulfill.
"That won't be a problem. I can wait as long as I can purchase them. Crimson Emperor will also pay a 5,000 Gold deposit," Illusory Words said, settling the deal once she realized that it was possible.
The two Master Dishes wouldn't become obsolete with time. They would work wonderfully at any point. She had worried that Shi Feng would reject her offer, but now that he had agreed, she decided to form a contract, binding the agreement as a precaution.
With this, she had reaped an additional benefit from her trip here.
Meanwhile, Unyielding Heart chose to do the same, binding the agreement with Shi Feng and paying a 5,000-Gold deposit
Naturally, Shi Feng was more than willing to play along with the two Vice Guild Leaders. After signing the contracts, an additional 10,000 filled Shi Feng's pockets. With this, he had made a total of 52,000 Gold from this single Boss raid. If the various first-rate Guilds knew about this, their envy would drive them mad. After all, current first-rate Guilds were fortunate if they even had 30,000 Gold in liquid funds.
Following which, Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor's members used Return Scrolls and returned to the Dark Night Empire. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had Zero Wing's members return to Zero Wing City to rest. As for Shi Feng, he used the Seven Luminaries Ring to teleport to the Million Forest, which happened to be the Emerald Dryad's territory.
The Million Forest was a dangerous location to almost all players due to the area's large Dryad population. If a player encountered a single Dryad, it would immediately call for reinforcements, and a large number of the creatures would quickly gather. Moreover, this cycle would continue. Once a certain number of Dryads had gathered, it would attract the Emerald Dryad's attention. Hence, very few players were willing to adventure in the Million Forest.
Shi Feng, however, had teleported directly to the heart of the Million Forest. Great Lord ranked Dryads wandered all over the area. If Shi Feng hadn't been Level 69 and used an Isolation Scroll before he had teleported, the Level 55-plus monsters would have discovered him.
This should be the place.
It didn't take Shi Feng long to discover a grass-covered, dilapidated magic array within the forest. The array seemed blurry, and if not for the massive stone pillars around it, he would've had a hard time finding the magic array.
This was the teleportation array that led to the Otherworld Gate.
To revitalize the teleportation array, one needed a full bottle of Void Blood.
Immediately, Shi Feng walked to the center of the teleportation array and retrieved a bottle of Void Blood from his bag. After removing the cap, he emptied the bottle's contents onto the magic array's center.
As Void Blood flowed into the magic array, it seemed to revive, rapidly gathering the ambient Mana. The magic array seemed to absorb Mana from farther away as time passed, and eventually, it drew Mana from throughout the Million Forest, making the area's Dryads tremble with fear.
After three minutes, a towering pillar of crimson light shot forth from the center of the Million Forest, visible from the surrounding maps. The players grinding in the nearby maps couldn't help but turn to look at the light pillar, overwhelmed by their curiosity as they started to move towards it.
Shortly after these players began to travel towards the light pillar, a series of system notifications rang in every players' ears in Star-Moon Kingdom.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1908: Changes to the Witch's Hill
Translator:Exodus Tales
Editor:Exodus Tales
Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: A player has triggered the new expansion pack "Otherworld." The expansion pack will take effect in the Witch's Hill in six hours.
Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: An Otherworld Gate has been activated. A large amount of Otherworld Energy has flowed into the Witch's Hill, driving the area's Mana into chaos. Please take care when roaming through the Witch's Hill.
The sudden system announcement had caught Star-Moon Kingdom's players off guard. However, after a few dazed seconds, every player in the kingdom went into an uproar.
"What's going on? Another new expansion pack?"
"This new expansion pack is amazing! Doesn't this mean that we can head to an Otherworld to level up? According to rumors, it seems that Otherworlds have more abundant resources than the continent of God's Domain."
"I've heard that, too. Not only are Otherworlds rich in resources, but leveling there is also much faster."
"We'll be able to travel to an Otherworld from the Witch's Hill in six hours? In that case, I'm heading there immediately! The large Guilds have already monopolized every high-resource map. Independent players like us can't even earn enough money to afford the latest equipment.
The moment they heard the system announcement, independent players and adventurer teams began to swarm towards the Witch's Hill.
As the number of resource maps in Star-Moon Kingdom dwindled as players reached higher levels, there were fewer opportunities for independent players to earn money. Now that a completely new map, one not owned by any Guild, had appeared, this was a golden opportunity for independent players.
As players reached higher levels, money would become an increasingly larger problem. Although players continued to earn more money each day, they had had higher expenditures. Take weapons and equipment, for example. After Level 50, the drop-rate for top-tier weapons and equipment had decreased drastically. Even ordinary weapons and equipment drop-rates had been affected. This caused the prices for Level 50-plus weapons and equipment to skyrocket. This was also the case for repair fees.
Moreover, as high-level resource maps were so far from NPC cities, teleportation fees had increased. High-level resource maps also had harsh environments, so players had to prepare appropriate weapons, equipment, tools, and potions if they wanted to grind effectively in these areas. And everything cost money.
As God's Domain continued to develop as a game, it provided a wider variety of services for players to enjoy, as well. After a hard day of work, many players sought food, beverages, and all sorts of entertainment. There were also the fees to learn Skills and Spells, and applying for a Promotion quest was expensive.
Now that a new opportunity to make money had arisen, how could anyone miss it?
Naturally, Star-Moon Kingdom's various large Guilds had called their upper echelons for a meeting the moment they had learned of the Otherworld Gate.
"A path to an Otherworld? This is a perfect chance for our Guild! I've heard that the players and Guilds in the Black Dragon Empire have made a fortune due to the path to the Ice Crystal World. We have to monopolize this Otherworld's resources before the other Guilds!"
"But the Witch's Hill is Zero Wing's territory. If we try to set up in the Otherworld, I'm afraid that…"
"What's there to be afraid of? Now that Star-Moon Kingdom has its own Otherworld, the kingdom's Guilds are going to swarm to it. Can Zero Wing hope to stop so many Guilds? Although, you have reminded me of something. Start raising funds right now and figure out a way to build a town in the Witch's Hill."
After the various large Guilds had found out about the Otherworld Gate, they dispatched exploration teams to test the waters. They also gathered resources to construct their own towns in the Witch's Hill. Even a fool could tell that a large number of players would flood the map now that an Otherworld Gate had appeared, and all of those players were potential income sources.
If they could construct a Guild Town in the Witch's Hill, they could definitely make a ton of money.
Less than ten minutes after the system announcement, Aqua Rose, who currently rested in Zero Wing City, was astonished as she received Zero Wing's latest statistics report.
In ten short minutes, Zero Wing City's player population had risen by more than 100,000, earning the city several hundred Gold in entrance fees. Moreover, Aqua Rose had received hundreds of requests to rent Zero Wing City's Shops.
Before today, the various trading firms and merchant players had hesitated about leasing Shops in Zero Wing City due to the high rent. Very few had actually agreed to do so thus far. Without certain guarantees, earning back the cost would be almost impossible, yet several hundred people had just petitioned to lease the buildings.
And this wasn't the most surprising part.
Several dozen real-world corporations and companies had contacted the Guild to purchase virtual storefronts in Zero Wing City. Moreover, these companies and corporations had offered astronomical sums of money, even enough to tempt Aqua Rose.
Despite the fact that Zero Wing was now a very large Guild, it severely lacked Credits. Normally, the Guild only earned Credits by selling weapons and equipment or completing difficult commissions. It usually avoided exchanging Coins and materials for Credits since it was such an unwise move.
Hence, Zero Wing's ability to earn Credits was so weak that it couldn't even rival second-rate Guilds.
The lack of Credits ultimately hampered Zero Wing's development. If the Guild could secure a massive source of Credits, it could nurture more internal members and fortify its foundation.
Following which, Aqua Rose reported the matter to Shi Feng, letting him decide how they should proceed.
"There are so many offers?" Shi Feng could not help his grin when he saw the list of interested buyers and their respective offers. "Tell them that Zero Wing City's virtual storefronts are only available for rent, not for sale. We will hold an auction for these storefronts in Zero Wing City's Candlelight Trading Firm in two days."
The situation didn't particularly surprise him. The moment the Otherworld Gate appeared, Witch's Hill had become Star-Moon Kingdom's focus. A frightening number of players would serge to the city, and it wouldn't be surprising if Zero Wing City's player population shot past the 10,000,000 threshold.
Previously, the Witch's Hill had been considered a backwater area. Although the various corporations and companies had been impressed that Zero Wing City had several million residential players, how long could the city possibly maintain its prosperity?
However, the Otherworld Gate changed things. Even after players reached higher levels, they could continue to level in the Otherworld connected to the Witch's Hill's Otherworld Gate. They would not have to move their base of operations after hitting Level 60 or 70. Even players past Level 100 could level up in the Otherworld. Unfortunately, the Otherworld wouldn't be as vast as the God's Domain continent. To put it simply, so long as the Otherworld Gate existed, the Witch's Hill would remain popular.
Hence, one could easily imagine Zero Wing City's allure toward these corporations and companies.
"We're not selling?" Aqua Rose could not help her growing concern as she said, "I'm afraid they won't agree to such a condition. There are too many uncertainties involved in leasing a virtual storefront. They'll only be able to operate their businesses comfortably if they own the property. Moreover, the various large Guilds will definitely try to establish Guild Towns in the Witch's Hill now that it has an Otherworld Gate. If we don't take advantage of this opportunity now, we'll be in an awkward position later."
"Relax. You'll see the results in two days," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He did not bother to explain further.
What Aqua Rose said was indeed true. The appearance of the Otherworld Gate would lure a lot of large Guilds to establish Guild Towns in the Witch's Hill, and the competition in the map would become intense.
However, the various large Guilds didn't know how difficult it was for a Guild Town to survive long in the Witch's Hill.
Realizing that Shi Feng had made up his mind, Aqua Rose relayed his message to the corporations and companies that had contacted the Guild.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1909 – Witch's Sin "Only for rent? How fraudulent!"
"Does Zero Wing think that it's the only Guild that will have a town in the Witch's Hill?"
"Since Zero Wing doesn't plan to sell, forget it. We'll just wait a few more days. The kingdom's other large Guilds will set up their own Guild Towns in the map, and we'll just purchase storefronts there. Zero Wing will regret its decision!"
When the various corporations and companies received Aqua Rose's reply, some laughed, while others raged. As for the auction Aqua Rose had mentioned, they pushed the matter to the back of their minds. Only a fool would participate.
The situation frustrated Aqua Rose a little. They had just lost a golden opportunity to fund Zero Wing's internal training program.
Fortunately, this wasn't the end of the world for Zero Wing. With Zero Wing's current potential, luring investors to the Guild would be a piece of cake. With the current state of God's Domain, various corporations and companies were even fighting to invest in second-rate Guilds, not to mention Zero Wing.
After Aqua Rose set the matter aside, she focused on recruiting new members for the Guild.
After transferring a large number of Guild members from White River City and Zero Wing City to the Secret Stone Fortress, both cities had lost a lot of manpower. Thus, they needed to replenish their member count.
Moreover, with the Otherworld Gate's activation, some well-known adventurer teams that had hesitated about joining Zero Wing had made up their minds.
Although Zero Wing City was relatively far away from the Million Forest, Zero Wing City's teleport service could reach the forest. Furthermore, even if these adventurer teams didn't want to develop in Star-Moon Kingdom, they could develop in the Ore Empire after joining the Guild. Zero Wing's current resources were now beyond that of a first-rate Guild, after all.
As fewer resource maps were available in the kingdom, living space for the various adventurer teams dwindled. If the various adventurer teams wanted to maintain an adequate development speed, they'd have to copy the top and large-scale adventurer teams. They would have to venture to remote and dangerous maps to level and acquire resources.
However, this wasn't an easy task. Like the Guilds, God's Domain's adventurer teams faced fierce competition. In fact, the intensity of the competition between adventurer teams was no less than the competition between Guilds. Only, the scale was not as large.
Hence, if the well-known adventurer teams, which had already reached a bottleneck in their development, wished to grow their strength, joining a powerful Guild was a wise move.
Because of this, as many as 30 adventurer teams had petitioned to join Zero Wing. The smaller teams only had several hundred members, while the larger ones had thousands. Every adventurer team had accumulated a certain amount of resources and quite a few experts, as well as bountiful experience fighting as a team and raiding Team Dungeons. If Zero Wing could annex these adventurer teams, it would save the Guild a lot of effort when integrating their players in Guild operations.
Elsewhere, Shi Feng spent one Magic Crystal to activate the teleportation array leading to the Otherworld Gate. He was then teleported to a massive, dark cavern. Within the cavern, he found a ruined town.
A gigantic set of doors had been erected inside this ruined town. There was a small gap between the pitch-black, stone doors, and a turbid mist seeped out and filled the cavern.
As Shi Feng encountered the mist, he felt his five senses dull. He had been able to see up to 50 yards away, but now, he could only see a dozen or so yards past his nose. Both his mind and his body felt lethargic.
Sure enough, this Primordial Gas is as powerful as always. Shi Feng revealed a bitter smile after trying to move his body a little. It seems that this gas is still too much for Tier 2 players.
The Witch's Hill's Otherworld had once been a part of the God's Domain continent, severed by the Gods during ancient times. Humans had been weak then, one of the most ordinary races among the many that had lived on the continent
God's Domain had been chaotic then, its environment too harsh for humankind. However, after a catastrophic war between the Gods, the continent of God's Domain had been divided into various sections, thoroughly changing the environment It was no longer as chaotic or violent. As a result, the human race had gradually grown stronger.
But even to this day, certain sections retained their harsh environments. Meanwhile, the turbid gas flowing out of the Otherworld Gate was none other than Primordial Gas.
When Shi Feng had first entered the Otherworld Gate, he had already Tier 3, so the Primordial Gas hadn't significantly affected him. This time, however, he could feel the gas's negative effects. His combat power had just decreased by roughly 30%.
The Primordial Gas affected more than just his reaction speed and senses; even his physique had considerably weakened.
Shi Feng now, more or less, understood why only Tier 2 and higher players were allowed through the Otherworld Gate.
Only a small trace of Primordial Gas leaked out of the Otherworld Gate, yet its effect on a Tier 2 player like him was so powerful. If players entered the Otherworld, filled with Primordial Gas, its effect would be absolutely terrifying.
Not only did the Primordial Gas suppress players, but it also created a perfect environment for monsters to thrive. The Primordial Gas drastically increased monsters' combat power, and once the Otherworld Gate opened fully, the gas would spread throughout the Witch's Hill. The area would become chaotic and violent, which was why only four Guild Towns had survived in Shi Feng's previous life, despite so many Guilds establishing Guild Towns.
The towns hadn't fallen because of the various first-rate Guilds suppressing its weaker counterparts, but because the second- and third-rate Guilds hadn't been able to fend off the monsters that had assaulted their towns at night.
As Shi Feng prepared to enter the ruined town, a wizened, dignified voice reached his ears.
"Young adventurer, are you the one who activated the teleportation array I had left behind?"
When Shi Feng turned around to the origin of this voice, he discovered an old woman in black robes and carrying a wooden staff.
This woman was none other than the Otherworld Gate's guardian. She was also a legendary existence in God's Domain. The Jealous Witch!
Shi Feng had only thought of the Jealous Witch as an incredibly powerful, Tier 5 NPC during his previous life, but after learning about Demigods, Shi Feng concluded that this NPC was one such being. She was only a step short of becoming a Tier 6 God and was one of the strongest NPCs on the continent of God's Domain right now.
"Yes, Esteemed Lady Witch." Shi Feng nodded.
He did not dare to hide information from the Jealous Witch. She was known for being unpredictable. Sometimes, she would help slaughter the dark forces, but other times, she would casually massacre tens of thousands of innocent humans. Her behavior had frustrated God's Domain's human population.
The Jealous Witch maintained her unpredictable behavior towards players. There had been instances in the past when she had exterminated players she had encountered. When those players had died by her hand, their accounts had been so crippled that their only option of maintaining a career in God's Domain had required a new account. After dozens of these incidents, players had learned to fear the Jealous Witch in the Witch's Hill and did their best to avoid her.
Meanwhile, Shi Feng had visited this ruined town despite knowing that the Jealous Witch would be here to pick up an important Epic quest. If he could complete the quest, he could obtain the rumored Advanced Field Magic Array, Void Field. Field Magic Arrays were insanely rare among magic arrays, and if not for the chance to obtain one, he wouldn't have risked meeting the Jealous Witch.
"Excellent! Since you have opened this Origin of Sins, I'll give you a quest. Go and collect 200,000 Magic Crystals for me within seven days. If you fail, you and all of Star-Moon Kingdom will perish," the Jealous Witch announced. "Alright, you can leave now! Remember, you only have seven days!"
With a wave of the Jealous Witch's hand, a bright flash blinded Shi Feng. By the time Shi Feng's vision recovered, he noticed that he had returned to the Million Forest.
System: Congratulations! You have accepted the Inferior Legendary Quest "Witch's Sin."
Quest content: Collect 200,000 Magic Crystals in seven days. Rewards unknown.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1910 – Independent Mode
Before Shi Feng realized what was going on, he was back in the Million Forest. However, when he heard the system notification, the corners of his mouth twitched.
Two hundred thousand Magic Crystals!
An Inferior Legendary Quest!
Not only was the quest more difficult than he remembered, but it also required an absurd number of Magic Crystals.
Whether it was Guilds or individual players, their Magic Crystal expenditure was continuously increasing. Although there were more Magic Crystal sources as players progressed further into the game, the number they could save up decreased.
The current Zero Wing, in particular, was starving for Magic Crystals. Although Silverwing Town's teleportation service had increased the town's Coin income significantly, it devoured Magic Crystals with frightening speed. Right now, the income from Silverwing Town's Battle Arena barely sustained the Teleportation Device's consumption.
Moreover, Shi Feng had to spend 20,000 Magic Crystals every seven days to maintain the miniature world in the Ring of Gospel. Otherwise, the Ring of Gospel would crumble and disappear. In addition, Shi Feng himself would receive a backlash, and his physique would permanently weaken by 30%.
At this point, Zero Wing only had a little over 20,000 Magic Crystals to spare.
If God's Domain's players had already reached Level 100, even a first-rate Guild could afford a 200,000 Magic Crystal price, but at this stage of the game, not even the various superpowers could likely pay.
Seven days, is it? Shi Feng fell deep into thought. While seven days wasn't exactly a long time, it wasn't a very short one, either.
If he sold some Hell Tanks to Unyielding Heart, Phoenix Rain, and Illusory Words, he should be able to gather so many Magic Crystals in time.
However, doing so would rob Zero Wing of its monopoly over the Hell Tanks. Moreover, nobody could guarantee that these Hell Tanks wouldn't fall into the hands of Zero Wing's enemies.
Yet, if he did not sell them, he would have an extremely difficult time collecting 200,000 Magic Crystals in seven days.
It seems I'll have to take down Kama Island right now. No matter how Shi Feng thought about it, the only reliable method he could think of was acquiring Kama Island's Manatite vein; the other options were too risky. Some options even had the potential of disrupting Zero Wing's future development.
Although they had accidentally discovered a Source Fire vein in the Flame Demon's Valley, it's environment was too harsh for players to endure long-term. Aqua Rose and Melancholic Smile hadn't even finished the preparations to send people to the mine. Even if they could send people, they wouldn't be able to send many. After all, Fire Resistance equipment capable of allowing ordinary players to survive in the scorching environment was simply too rare. It was impossible to equip many players adequately.
The Manatite vein on Kama Island was much safer. Players could survive there so long as they had some Darkness Resistance. The problem could easily be dealt with via a Darkness Resistance Potion. Furthermore, the area's low Mana density wouldn't affect the mining players' performance.
Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng pulled the Abyss Pendant from his bag and used Abyss Teleport He planned to rent a few more hotels and restaurants in the Sea of Trees before setting off for Kama Island.
Meanwhile, inside the Evil God's Branch Temple in Ancient Rock City…
Several dozen Great Lord ranked Evil Beasts had been locked in a cave filled with bloodlust. They constantly fought, tearing each other apart, and the surviving Evil Beasts would devour any of their comrades that died.
After fighting several minutes, only half of the several dozen Great Lords remained alive. One of the Evil Beasts, which had just finished cannibalizing another, began to transform, its muscles rapidly expanding. The Evil Energy it radiated grew denser, and after several seconds, the Evil Beast had become nearly 20% larger than the other monsters in the cave.
"This Bloodlust Crystal Dark Soul sent is quite impressive. It can actually increase the evolution success rate to Great Lord rank by 15%." After glancing at the evolving Evil Beast, Beast Emperor turned his attention to the crystal, which emitted its own bloodlust, in his hand with a soft smile.
The partnership between the Evil God's Temple and Dark Soul had been far more effective than he had expected.
He had thought that Dark Soul would be useful for acquiring materials and sacrificial players for Dust Edge at most. He hadn't expected the alliance to acquire such a lively Bloodlust Crystal.
As of late, his Evil Beast army had recovered plenty of its lost combat power. Although Bloodlust Crystals could only help Evil Beasts evolve to the Grand Lord rank, he now had far more Grand Lords under his command, and it would reduce the difficulty of nurturing Mythic Evil Beasts.
As long as he had enough Mythic Evil Beasts, he could destroy Silverwing Town, even without Dark Soul and Blackwater's assistance.
As Beast Emperor rejoiced over his newest Grand Lord ranked Evil Beast, a tall, robust Berserker with a giant axe across his back entered the cave. This was none other than Wind Hunter.
"Boss, we've just received news from Star-Moon Kingdom. For some reason, an Otherworld Gate has appeared in the Witch's Hill. The gate allows passage to an Otherworld. Because of this development, a large number of players have swarmed to Zero Wing City. Some of the Guilds in neighboring kingdoms and empires have also started to make their move," Wind Hunter reported with a grim expression. "Not only will this incident earn Zero Wing a small fortune, but based on our reports, over 20 well-known adventurer teams have also shown signs of merging with the Guild. Should we send Dark Soul to eliminate a few of these teams and teach the public about the consequences of relying on Zero Wing?"
"Well-known adventurer teams are joining Zero Wing?" Beast Emperor revealed a faint smile "There's no need to involve Dark Soul. I recall that Dust Edge has conducted another Evil Dragonification experiment, correct? Take him to Zero Wing City to test out his new toy on the adventurer teams. We'll use this opportunity to warn those teams and ensure that they understand who is strongest in this war!"
"Understood! I'll ensure that these adventurer teams won't dare to set foot in Zero Wing City ever again," Wind Hunter said excitedly.
He had seen the Evil Dragons Dust Edge produced. Although the creatures were incomplete, their combat power was astonishing. He didn't dare to imagine how powerful the complete Evil Dragons would be.
As long as Dust Edge's experiments succeeded, the Evil God's Temple could expand its territory. Moreover, it would be able to do so boldly and without fear.
"Good. Get it done quickly. Don't let the kingdom's army capture you." Beast Emperor nodded.
"Boss, rest assured; by the time the kingdom's army arrives, the adventurer teams will be long dead!" Wind Hunter said, licking his lips in anticipation.
After Wind Hunter left, Beast Emperor proceeded to release a new batch of Great Lord ranked Evil Beasts into the caver, starting another round of slaughter.
Meanwhile, in Star-Moon Kingdom's Zero Wing City…
After spending 50,000 Gold to rent another fifteen hotels and restaurants in the Sea of Trees, Shi Feng used a Guild Transfer Scroll and returned to the Guild Residence in Zero Wing City.
When he arrived, Shi Feng left for the Candlelight Trading Firm to prepare for his trip to Kama Island. However, as he reached the street outside of the Residence, he was stunned by what he saw.
The previously desolate central district was now crowded with players, many of which were members of the various large Guilds. At a glance, Shi Feng could spot over a dozen Tier 2 experts wandering the street. This prosperity could even rival an empire's imperial capital.
As Shi Feng was about to enter the Candlelight Trading Firm, he heard the sound of a system notification.
System: Congratulations! Zero Wing City's player population has reached 8,000,000. Do you wish to activate Independent Mode and allow the War God's Temple to garrison the city?
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1911 – War God's Temple Garrisons in Zero Wing City
The city's development sure is fast. Shi Feng could not help his elation when he heard the system notification.
He had thought that Zero Wing City would need another one or two days to reach a player population of 8,000,000, even with the Otherworld Gate, but only a few afters the gate's activation had been announced, Zero Wing City had hit the mark.
In God's Domain, any Guild City with a player population of 8,000,000 would activate the Independent Mode.
When this so-called Independent Mode activated, the city's NPCs would be liberated, allowing other NPC forces to intervene in the city's affairs. The buildings these NPC forces set up in the Guild City wouldn't be subjected to players' management, which meant that these NPC forces took responsibility for their establishments' security, stationing their own guards.
Although players would lose management rights over a portion of their Guild City after activating Independent Mode, it would increase the city's security and convenience.
The War God's Temple, for example, was one of the strongest NPC forces on the continent of God's Domain. It had a branch in every NPC city. Once a Guild City had a player population of 8,000,000, the War God's Temple could no longer ignore it. Thus, the War God's Temple had decided to garrison in Zero Wing City.
Shi Feng immediately agreed to activate Independent Mode, allowing the various NPC forces to enter Zero Wing City.
After Shi Feng agreed, Zero Wing City's layout appeared before him. The system requested that he select an area for the War God's Temple. The selected area had to be within the city's central district, and there was a strict size requirement. Fortunately, the War God's Temple would foot the construction fees.
Since the War God's Temple had decided to garrison in Zero Wing City, the Guild also acquired ten Bronze ranked War God Emblems.
Players couldn't use the emblems as they were meant for NPC soldiers, and they increased the NPCs' Attributes and physique by 30% when worn.
After Shi Feng dealt with the War God's Temple, a towering building suddenly manifested in Zero Wing City's central district, attracting the attention of nearby players.
"Isn't that the War God's Temple?"
"What's going on? The War God's Temple has garrisoned in Zero Wing City?"
"Amazing! Zero Wing has actually lured in the War God's Temple?"
"This is wonderful! I won't have to head to NPC cities to turn in the temple's quests anymore!"
Everyone was greatly shocked when they saw the towering War God's Temple. Almost every player in the game knew about the War God's Temple. Normally, players would visit the temple when they planned to pick up a quest One reason for this was the items the War God's Temple offered for purchase. Raising their status with the temple was another reason.
Now that the War God's Temple occupied Zero Wing City, it would save players plenty of trouble when trying to pick up or turn in quests related to the temple.
"Commander, look! That's the War God's Temple! Zero Wing really is amazing! With this, Zero Wing City's position in the Star-Moon Kingdom has become even more stable. In addition, Zero Wing City is incredibly popular in the kingdom. With such potential and power, we'll grow a lot stronger if our Unbounded adventurer team joins Zero Wing," a male Swordsman in silver armor exclaimed to the scholarly, middle-aged man beside him.
"Zero Wing's development is indeed frightening. Despite starting without any support or background, it has become Star- Moon Kingdom's number one Guild in such a short time. Now, it has even developed Zero Wing City to such a degree. It's no wonder why the various superpowers have started to pay attention to the Guild," the middle-aged man said, gazing at the War God's Temple in admiration.
As these two men conversed, several experts couldn't help but glance at them as they passed.
These two men were simply too eye-catching.
One of them was a Level 56, Tier 2 Swordsman, while the other was a Level 57, Tier 2 Berserker. They would definitely be considered peak experts in first-rate Guilds. However, to everyone's surprise, neither player wore a Guild Emblem. This meant that there was a high chance that these two were independent players. It was extremely difficult for independent players to grow so powerful at this stage of the game, and the amount of effort they must have put in was far more than the various large Guilds' Tier 2 experts.
"Commander, do you think Zero Wing will refuse our request this time?" the Swordsman asked worriedly.
"I'm not sure," the scholarly middle-aged man said, shaking his head. "But Unbounded is still a well-known adventurer team in the Purple Thorns Kingdom. Not only do we have nearly a thousand members, but we also have several plots of Land in the kingdom's important cities. I don't think Zero Wing will refuse our request."
Before he had arrived in Zero Wing City, he had been fully confident in his adventurer team's chances of joining the Guild, but once he had arrived in the city, he had realized that he had severely underestimated Zero Wing. However, after arriving in Zero Wing City, he realized that he had been severely underestimating the current Zero Wing.
At this point, Zero Wing City was even more prosperous than the Purple Thorns Kingdom's capital. Moreover, as he gazed down the crowded street, most of the players he saw were experts. Tier 2 players were also a common sight…
With how prosperous Zero Wing City was right now, the Guild would have no trouble recruiting expert players. He had also heard that, aside from Unbounded, many well-known adventurer teams had petitioned to join Zero Wing.
Based on his understanding of Zero Wing, the Guild walked the path of the elite. Hence, Zero Wing's recruitment standards would be quite strict. Although Zero Wing was fully capable of recruiting a large number of players and strengthening the Guild to a frightening degree, Zero Wing had refused to do so. Instead, it had invested more resources in a small number of elite and expert players.
That decision had ensured that Zero Wing's elite and expert players were far higher-quality than those in first-rate Guilds. Even some of the ordinary superpowers were no match for Zero Wing in this regard. Meanwhile, with so many weH-known adventurer teams applying to join Zero Wing, the Guild naturally wouldn't accept every adventurer team. The Guild would only recruit the most valuable adventurer teams.
The Swordsman youth's excitement dampened upon hearing his commander's reply.
Even before the commander had announced that their adventurer team would attempt to join Zero Wing, he had possessed a deep understanding of the Guild due to the battle between Zero Wing and Beast Emperor's armies near the Primordial Divine Ruin. While that battle might not have been important to Zero Wing, it had left a deep impression on him, who had only been a Tier 1 Swordsman at the time.
Back then, Black Flame, Zero Wing's Guild Leader, had repelled a Mythic monster with a single attack, shocking the spectating powers. Black Flame's prowess had even caused thousands of Blackwater's experts to freeze in fear.
He had never imagined that a Swordsman could be so strong.
Had he not been a member of the Unbounded adventurer team back then, he might've applied to join Zero Wing. Hence, when he heard that his commander wanted Unbounded to merge with the Guild, he had been overjoyed. When he heard that his commander intended to visit Zero Wing City to negotiate with the Guild's upper echelons, he had been the first to apply to join his leader.
"Don't be so disappointed. Although Unbounded isn't a top adventurer team, it is one of the top 100 adventurer teams in the Purple Thorns Empire. Moreover, our adventurer team has as many as four Tier 2 players, and all four have cleared the Hard Mode Class-change quest. We have more of an advantage than the other teams that only challenged the Normal Mode Quest," the middle-aged man said in consolation. "Alright, we should head to Zero Wing's Residence."
In response, the Swordsman youth nodded.
Meanwhile, two cloaked players a short distance away stared at the men from Unbounded.
"Sickle, those men are two of your targets. Remember to make as much of a commotion as possible. We need to teach Zero Wing and the other adventurer teams a lesson!" Wind Hunter said, sneering as he gestured to Unbounded's players.
Understood!" The robust man named Dark Sickle nodded, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1912 – Evil Dragon Appears
Zero Wing City, Candlelight Trading Firm:
When the system had announced the Otherworld Gate's activation, a large number of Star-Moon Kingdom's independent players had flooded Zero Wing City. This also increased the number of players visiting the city's Candlelight Trading Firm.
Meanwhile, three cloaked players enjoyed a meal and admired the populated street from the second floor of an open-air restaurant opposite of the trading firm.
If one used a high-ranking Identification Skill on these three, they would definitely be surprised. None of these players were human. Among the three, one was a beautiful female Half-elf, one was a female Catkin with cat ears and tail, and one was a male Tigerkin with a powerful, robust body.
All three were members of the Ninth Heaven Guild, with the female Half-elf being Melody, Ninth Heaven's Guild Leader.
"Big Sis Melody, this city is so prosperous, even more so than our Forest City. I can see more than 100 Tier 2 experts from here," the Catkin, Scarlet Heart, said, watching the sea of players downstairs with a shocked expression.
"Indeed. I never thought that a kingdom's Guild City could develop to this extent." Melody was similarly surprised by the number of Tier 2 experts roaming the street below.
Before coming to Star-Moon Kingdom, she had specifically asked Thoughtful Rain about Zero Wing's current state of affairs.
However, she couldn't believe Thoughtful Rain's reply. Thoughtful Rain had mentioned that Zero Wing City's player population had already reached 5,000,000, and experts were a common sight in the city. Moreover, Zero Wing City had many rare items for sale. Based on these descriptions, Zero Wing City sounded no less successful than Forest City. How could that possibly be true?
However, when she had arrived in the city, she discovered that it was far more well-off than Thoughtful Rain had described.
In Zero Wing City, expert players were as common as ordinary players, and plenty of Tier 2 experts wandered the city streets.
Tier 2 experts were very rare, even in Forest City. Even Ninth Heaven, which was almost as powerful as a first-rate Guild, had only nurtured around 30 Tier 2 experts thus far. However, the number of Tier 2 experts on the street outside of the restaurant already outnumbered Ninth Heaven's…
If even Zero Wing City was so popular, she couldn't imagine how strong Zero Wing had already become.
"Guild Leader, although Zero Wing is stronger than we expected, I doubt it can help our Guild. Our current opponent is the legendary Death God Workshop. The Death God Workshop has even provoked Super Guilds before, and none of them could do anything about it, closing an eye to the workshop's transgressions," the Tigerkin named One-arm Rashomon said worriedly. "On the other hand, the Setting Sun Guild is more reliable. Moreover, Guild Leader, your family has a close relationship with Setting Sun's Guild Leader. Whether it is for profit or that relationship, Setting Sun will go all-out to help our Guild. In addition, the Death God Workshop would, more or less, fear of the strength of a recently-promoted super-first- rate Guild like Setting Sun and might give up on targeting us."
"Stop. While Setting Sun might be stronger than Zero Wing, Setting Sun's condition requires Ninth Heaven to become its subordinate. I will never agree to that, even if I have to fight the Death God Workshop to the death!" Melody's voice was frosty.
Her Guild had gone to great lengths to complete the high-ranked quest in the Flame Demon's Valley and acquired a precious treasure. However, an information leak had informed the Death God Workshop of their new acquisition, and the workshop had attacked Ninth Heaven to steal the treasure.
The Death God Workshop was not a Guild. It was an organized adventurer team. Not only were its movements erratic, but the adventurer team also had its fair share of experts. Moreover, as an adventurer team, the Death God Workshop did not have a permanent base of operations. But Ninth Heaven was different. The Guild had already grown considerably large and secured a permanent base of operations. One could easily imagine the outcome of a struggle between the two organizations. The Death God Workshop always had the initiative in battle.
Moreover, the Death God Workshop also had experts that could even contend with Super Guilds' peak experts. The workshop's members had used guerilla tactics against Ninth Heaven's players, and the Guild had been powerless to stop them.
"Big Sis Melody, it's almost time. Rain and Blue should have returned to Zero Wing's Residence by now," Scarlet Heart said as she checked the time.
"Alright, let's go." Taking a look herself, Melody noticed that it was nearly time to meet with Thoughtful Rain. She immediately stood to leave the restaurant.
Meanwhile, Dark Sickle stood on a street corner not far from the Candlelight Trading Firm. He quietly stalked the two Unbounded members. The two members of the adventurer team were utterly unaware of their stalker.
This should be enough people. I should be able to cause quite a commotion. Dark Sickle, who wore a Black Cloak and only had his eyes exposed, licked his lips in anticipation as he observed his surroundings.
The task Wind Hunter had given him was simple. Kill the adventurer team members who had come to join Zero Wing, and kill as many bystanders as possible. This would send a message to every player in Star-Moon Kingdom, teaching them the consequences of joining Zero Wing and proving that they weren't safe even in a Guild City protected by NPC soldiers.
If he succeeded, not only would the various adventurer teams receive the warning, but all players would realize that Zero Wing City was dangerous, and they could lose their lives at any given moment. This would cripple Zero Wing City's popularity.
In the past, he might have feared the NPC soldiers patrolling the city streets, but now that he could transform into an Evil Dragon, not even Level 80, Tier 3 NPCs could pose a threat, much less Level 80, Tier 2 NPC soldiers. All he needed to worry about was the kingdom's army. After all, the NPCs in the kingdom's army were all above Level 100. Killing him would be a piece of cake for them.
However, he had a Tier 3 Instantaneous Movement Magic Scroll on him. If the kingdom's army arrived before he escaped, he could still leave the area.
"Attack!" Wind Hunter, who watched the two Unbounded members from afar, commanded Dark Sickle through their party chat.
Hearing this, Dark Sickle removed a crimson crystal from his bag and shattered it.
As the crimson crystal shattered, energy flowed into Dark Sickle's body. In the next moment, the magic circuits drawn on his skin disintegrated as if some seal had been removed.
Once the magic circuits had disintegrated, Dark Sickle howled as his muscles rapidly expanded, his sudden growth tearing his Black Cloak to shreds. When passersby saw Dark Sickle's growing form, they were dumbfounded.
Before these players could react, Dark Sickle transformed into a ten-meter-tall Evil Dragon.
Roar!
After completing his transformation, Dark Sickle released a deafening roar, echoing throughout the city's central district.
"A Dragon?"
"What's going on? Why has a Dragon suddenly appeared?"
The players on the street panicked when they saw the Evil Dragon. They could feel the threat of death emanating from the creature.
With a flap of his newly-grown wings, Dark Sickle shot into the air above the two Unbounded players.
"Unbounded adventurer team, since you dare attempt to join Zero wing, you will suffer the consequences!" Dark Sickle shouted before swiping at the Swordsman and Berserker with a claw. "Die!"
Both the scholarly Berserker and the Swordsman youth felt powerless against the massive, incoming claw. They had only caught a glimpse of the claw's afterimage, and the power it contained was so great that space around it had become unstable.
However, just as the Dragon claw was about to strike the two players, everyone saw a blue flash before an agonized cry filled the air. The Evil Dragon flew over a dozen yards backward before crashing heavily into the ground, the impact leaving a crater under the creature. This outcome dumbfounded the surrounding players once more.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1913 – Commotion at Zero Wing On the crowded street…
When the two Unbounded members saw the Evil Dragon crash into the ground some distance away, they were dazed for a short moment, failing to process what had just happened.
"What's going on?"
"We didn't die?"
Stubborn Bone, Unbounded's commander, stared at the small crater a little over a dozen yards away from him and the Evil Dragon lying in it with a befuddled expression. A second ago, he had heard the Evil Dragon state its intent to kill him and his companion. When the creature's claw attack had descended on them, he had known their deaths were sealed. The attack had been to fast for either of them to keep up with, much less block or dodge.
Yet, after a bright, blue flash, the mighty Evil Dragon had vanished, crashing into the ground some distance away…
Once his mind began to work again, Stubborn Bone spun towards the origin of the blue flash, discovering a cloaked player wielding a blue longsword who was slowly walking towards the Evil Dragon.
Was it him? Stubborn Bone stared at the cloaked player in disbelief. He found it truly hard to believe that an attack from a one-handed sword could send such a powerful and fast Evil Dragon flying.
"Crap! What's going on? Why is a Dragon in the city?"
"That's not right, look at the marker above the Dragon's head! That's a player's marker! That Dragon is a player!"
"I think I heard the Dragon say that it was going to kill the adventurer teams that try to join Zero Wing. By the looks of it, the Dragon seems to have some kind of grudge with Zero Wing."
"But what happened just now? I only saw the Dragon begin its rampage, and before I realized it, the creature had been thrown."
The players on the street couldn't help but discuss Dark Sickle's sudden attack. The situation confused them. When the various major powers' upper echelons on the street saw the gigantic Evil Dragon, realization dawned on them.
"Isn't that the Evil God's Temple's Evil Dragon?"
"Hahaha! This is interesting! It seems the Evil God's Temple can no longer sit still after watching Zero Wing City's rapid development! I wonder how Zero Wing will deal with this problem? This Evil Dragon is clearly much stronger than the ones over at the Dark Witch's Tower. Even the NPC soldiers should be powerless against it."
"Good! Keep making trouble! Once Zero Wing City's fame is ruined, our Guilds will have a better chance of luring the Witch's Hill's players later!"
The various Guild upper echelons watched Dark Sickle, who stood back up and seemed mostly unharmed, with anticipation. They hoped that Dark Sickle would cause a large enough commotion in the city that they could take advantage of, attracting more players to the Guild Towns they would build in the near future.
"Who are you? You dare to make an enemy of the Evil God's Temple?" As Dark Sickle regained his footing, he glared at the cloaked man wielding the blue longsword, his voice echoing throughout the central district as he spoke.
"Zero Wing's Black Flame!" Shi Feng said, chuckling as he took off his Black Cloak. "Satisfied?"
"You… How?" Dark Sickle's anger vanished when he saw Shi Feng, and he was abruptly alert.
When the spectators saw Shi Feng's appearance, they could not help but gape.
"What?! It's the Sword King?!"
"Lucky! I never thought I would get to meet the legendary Black Flame on my first visit to Zero Wing City!"
"Amazing! I can boast about this when I meet up with my friends later!"
After a moment of silence, the crowd erupted into a round of cheers. Not only was Black Flame's name known by all in Star- Moon Kingdom, but many players also revered him to a fanatical degree. This Swordsman had been responsible for many miracles in the kingdom, and a large portion of players trying to join Zero Wing did so because of his presence in the Guild.
Why wouldn't they be excited now that he had shown up in Zero Wing City?
"Damn it, why is Black Flame here?" When the various Guild upper echelons saw Shi Feng, their expressions darkened.
They knew what kind of strength Black Flame possessed. When the man went all-out, he could even stand toe-to-toe with a Mythic monster for a short time. With Black Flame here, the Evil Dragon would likely fail to cause any trouble in Zero Wing City.
"Black Flame?" Stubborn Bone was dazed once more as Shi Feng walked past him.
"Amazing! As expected of the Sword King! Just the mention of his name is enough to make that Dragon panic!" The Swordsman youth beside Stubborn Bone was ecstatic to see Shi Feng, his eyes practically sparkling. After this turn of events, he was even more resolved to join Zero Wing.
Meanwhile, when Melody's group of three, who had just stepped out of the open-air restaurant opposite of the Candlelight Trading Firm, saw this scene, they could not help but reveal astonished expressions.
"What's going on? Why are these people so excited?" Scarlet Heart muttered strangely.
Although Shi Feng's attack had been stunning, it hadn't been impressive enough to warrant such a crazed reaction from the crowd. After all, the Evil Dragon wasn't even injured. It had merely lost a few tens of thousands of HP. To the Evil Dragon, who had over 30,000,000 HP, the damage was nothing.
"It's probably because of Black Flame's fame in Star-Moon Kingdom," Melody deduced. She, too, was confused by the spectators' reactions.
Although some players were very famous, this was the first time she had seen such an exaggerated reaction over an expert player. In fact, when Shi Feng revealed himself, the Evil Dragon, which had bubbled with rage a moment ago, trembled in fear.
"Are you guys not from Star-Moon Kingdom or the neighboring kingdoms?" a Level 56, Tier 1 Assassin, who had overheard Melody and Scarlet Heart's conversation, asked.
"Mhm. We came from somewhere far away." Melody nodded, confirming the Assassin's assumption.
"So, that's the case. I guess it's normal that you don't understand the situation. Black Flame is our kingdom's publicly acknowledged number one expert. With his strength alone, he caused an army of 10,000 to freeze in fear. There are rumors that he's actually a humanoid monster or NPC. He even soloed and overpowered a Mythic monster in the Ore Empire. Dealing with Great Lord ranked monsters is a piece of cake for him," the Assassin explained with a reverential look.
"Soloing a Mythic monster? And he overpowered it? How?" One-arm Rashomon stated in amazement.
Mythic monsters were still invincible to players at this stage of the game. Even peak Tier 2 MTs had an extremely difficult time surviving against Mythic monsters, not to mention overpowering one.
"So, it's Guild Leader Black Flame! The Evil God's Temple has a grudge against these two. I am simply here to teach them a lesson. This matter does not concern Zero Wing. Once I finish these two off, I'll leave the city. However, if you try to stop me, don't blame me for causing a scene!" Dark Sickle said, grinning once he had calmed down.
His previous fear had simply been due to Black Flame's name. After all, the man was a living legend. He had even slain two Evil Dragon experts at the Dark Witch's Tower. It was only natural for him to be afraid.
However, when he gave the matter a little more thought, he remembered that he was much stronger than the two Evil Dragons Shi Feng had faced. Although he was only at the Tier 3 Archaic Species standard, he had gained a five-level boost after transforming. Hence, he was now a Level 62, Tier 3 Archaic Species. To monsters, an additional five levels was a massive Attribute boost. With such an advantage, he had no reason to fear Black Flamel.
Moreover, with his combat standard, not even a Tier 4 NPC could stop him quickly if he wanted to cause a ruckus in Zero Wing City, much less a Tier 2 player.
"Sure! Give it a try, if you dare!" Shi Feng growled softly.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1914 – Elemental Oppression
When Shi Feng fell silent, the crowd couldn't help but grow nervous.
They hadn't expected Shi Feng to ignore Dark Sickle's threat.
The Evil Dragon was a Level 62, Tier 3 Archaic Species. If Dark Sickle truly intended to cause trouble, they had no doubt that they'd be the first to get dragged into the mess. Even if the city's NPC soldiers arrived to deal with this player, it wouldn't stop Dark Sickle from slaughtering the spectators. Unlike monsters, players couldn't be aggroed. Dark Sickle could simply ignore the NPCs and massacre players as he wished.
With how powerful the Evil Dragon's attacks were, most players would die in one hit; only those with Invulnerability Skills might survive.
They were merely bystanders. It was unreasonable for them to get dragged into this.
When Dark Sickle heard Shi Feng's response, he was stunned. He hadn't expected that.
"Good! You've forced my hand!" Dark Sickle bellowed as he glared at Shi Feng. "Let me see whether or not you are worthy of your title as the Sword King!"
Dark Sickle flapped his wings, his massive body transforming into a gale that swept toward Shi Feng.
The wind storm was so powerful that it blew the surrounding players off their feet. Even the Tier 2 players barely kept their footing.
It took only an instant for Dark Sickle to cross the 20 yards between him and Shi Feng. As he arrived before the Swordsman, he swung his claw at the man. As Stubborn Bone, who stood behind Shi Feng, felt the attack's intense pressure, he felt his body grow heavy.
However, despite the approaching attack, Shi Feng made no attempt to dodge. Instead, his body lit with a golden light as he countered the attack with a swing of Killing Ray.
Boom!
With the sound of an explosion, the marble under Shi Feng's feet cracked. As the powerful storm subsided, and everyone could reopen their eyes, the unbelievable scene before them left them astounded.
Shi Feng's longsword had actually stopped the Evil Dragon's gigantic claw…
"He blocked it?" Everyone was shocked when they saw that Shi Feng had only taken a few steps back after receiving the attack.
Everyone had a very clear understanding of the Evil Dragon's Strength. Moreover, the creature was ridiculously fast. Current players had no hope against this Evil Dragon.
Yet, Shi Feng had stopped its attack.
"So what if you blocked a casual strike? I wonder how long you can keep it up!" Dark Sickle sneered. Although Shi Feng had blocked his attack, he knew that both his Strength and speed were superior to Shi Feng's. Meanwhile, Shi Feng's Berserk Skill had a limited duration, and he hadn't even gotten serious, yet.
Dark Sickle proceeded to brandish his claws, sending countless afterimages flying at Shi Feng.
When the crowd saw the innumerable afterimages, they were momentarily stunned. If they were in Shi Feng's position, they wouldn't have any way to nullify the attack. They had never thought that a player-controlled monster would be so horrifically powerful.
Unlike players, monsters couldn't fully exhibit their combat power, and they couldn't execute rapid chain attacks, which was why players had a chance of defeating them.
But as these players watched the Evil Dragon's attacks, they were overcome with despair, instinctively giving up on any form of resistance.
"Finally getting serious?" Shi Feng wasn't particularly surprised to see the approaching afterimages. Immediately, he unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and brandished both swords.
Purgatory Pentaslash!
Shadow Blade!
One sword light after another flew from Shi Feng's hands and clashed with the claw afterimages, sparks and sounds of explosions filling the air.
The exchanges between Shi Feng and Dark Sickle were so fast that not even the surrounding Tier 2 experts could discern what was happening. They could only hear the booms as a strong wind pushed against them.
"Too strong! Black Flame can actually fight that powerful Evil Dragon to a standstill? Is he really a player?"
An indescribable shock filled the spectators as they watched the showdown between a human and a Dragon.
As for Dark Sickle, the more he fought, the more frightened he became. He clearly had the advantage when it came to Strength and speed, yet Shi Feng's swords always deflected his attacks as the Swordsman employed an impeccable defense and only lost a small amount of HP from each clash. Even after more than ten seconds, Shi Feng hadn't even lost 10% of his HP.
"Big Sis Melody, Black Flame is ridiculously strong! He can actually face-off against a player with the strength of a Tier 3
Archaic Species. If Black Flame is willing to help us, we might be able to resolve the matter with the Death God Workshop,"
She was breathless, yet Shi Feng's breathing remained steady despite such an intense battle.
"Black Flame is quite powerful, but at the end of the day, he's still using a Berserk Skill. He can't keep this up for long. Once his Skill's duration is over, he won't be able to stop the Evil Dragon. We should leave quickly," One-arm Rashomon said worriedly.
"There's no need to be afraid. We're in a Guild City. There are plenty of NPC soldiers nearby. That Evil Dragon can't keep fighting for long, either," Melody said as she turned to look at Zero Wing City's NPC soldiers, who had just arrived.
The first NPC soldiers to arrive were a 20-man patrol squad, and every soldier was a Level 80, Tier 2 NPC. Upon arriving, the NPCs attacked Dark Sickle without hesitation.
As these Tier 2 NPCs received an Attribute boost from the city's core magic array, their Strength could rival Great Lords of the same level.
Due to the NPC soldiers' participation, Shi Feng's situation turned for the better. One of the Tier 2 Cleric NPCs immediately cast Recovery on Shi Feng, granting him an HoT buff. Meanwhile, several MTs carrying shields quickly formed a defensive wall before Shi Feng, severely hindering the Evil Dragon's attacks, while several ranged NPCs bombarded Dark Sickle with attacks, depleting the Evil Dragon's HP by tens of thousands.
Although Dark Sickle still had the upper-hand, it was only a matter of time before his HP was whittled down to nothing.
"Black Flame, I have underestimated you, but you still can't stop me if I target other players!" When Dark Sickle saw the growing NPC crowd around him, he realized that continuing his fight with Shi Feng would be detrimental. He then shifted his gaze to Unbounded's two members, sneering as he said, "I'll show you the price of angering me!"
After saying so, Dark Sickle flapped his wings and dashed towards Stubborn Bone and the Swordsman youth.
Since his Strength and speed were so much greater than Shi Feng and the Tier 2 NPC soldiers', it only took him a second to shake them off and reach the Unbounded duo.
"Elemental Oppression!" Shi Feng shouted.
Suddenly, a beam of light shot up from each of the Four Towers of Elements, located in Zero Wing City's four corners. A colossal magic array enveloped the city from above, freezing space within the city's walls. Every player in the city felt their bodies become indescribably heavy.
As for Dark Sickle, it felt as if his body had been submerged in a pool of water. Now, it took a lot more effort to move his claws, decreasing his Attack Speed by more than 50%.
After activating Elemental Oppression, Shi Feng used Instant Strike to appear before Dark Sickle. He then swung Killing Ray at the Evil Dragon's descending claw.
Peng!
After repelling the attack, Shi Feng thrust the Abyssal Blade towards Dark Sickle. Although the Evil Dragon saw the attack and tried to intercept it with his other claw, he was simply too slow to keep up with Shi Feng's strike.
Suddenly, Dark Sickle felt pain in his chest before his body was thrown backward, the attack's outcome surprising him.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1915 – Might of the Four Towers of Elements "He sent the Dragon flying?"
The crowd stared in shock as Shi Feng threw the Evil Dragon backward by over a dozen yards.
A moment ago, Shi Feng had clearly been at a disadvantage, yet he had just sent this intruder flying. Moreover, he had done so with a normal attack…
Damn it! Why does this city have such a powerful domain magic array?! Dark Sickle glared at the magic barrier above the city with a grim expression.
Due to this magic array, his mobility had been reduced by at least half. Moreover, his Basic Attributes had decreased by as much as 40%. This drop in his performance was the reason that Shi Feng had succeeded in throwing him so far with a simple, normal attack.
"A domain magic array! So, this is Zero Wing City's trump card?"
Although the magic array's powerful suppression only targeted Dark Sickle, the various Guild upper echelons realized what had happened. The previous exchange's unexpected outcome hadn't been a result of Shi Feng's strength. Rather, it had been because the magic array, which had abruptly appeared above the city, had drastically weakened Dark Sickle. The magic array must be particularly powerful since an ordinary array wouldn't be enough to suppress a Tier 3 Archaic Species to this extent.
After Shi Feng repulsed Dark Sickle, the 20 NPC soldiers moved to surround him. They had no problems suppressing Dark Sickle now, dealing over -100,000 damage with each attack.
No matter how much Dark Sickle struggled, he couldn't break free from the NPCs' encirclement. He couldn't even get close to any of the surrounding players, much less kill them.
"How is this possible?" Wind Hunter, who watched from a safe distance, frowned.
He hadn't expected Zero Wing City to possess such powerful defenses. Not only did the city possess a defensive magic array, but it was also a domain magic array.
He had used a precious disguise tool to sneak Dark Sickle into the city, yet his efforts had gone to waste. Now, Dark Sickle couldn't even manage to kill a single ordinary player, much less the two Unbounded members. If this battle continued, Dark Sickle would be the only player to die.
"Boss Wind, more NPCs are gathering to my location. I can't hold on at this rate. If I'm going to cause any damage to Zero Wing City, I'm afraid that I'll have to use that move," Dark Sickle contacted Wind Hunter while defending himself against the NPC soldiers.
His Evil Dragonification was far different from the first attempts. Not only did had it granted him a level boost, but he could also use an Overtier Spell while in his Evil Dragon form.
However, this Overtier Spell was still one of the Evil God's Temple's secrets. He couldn't reveal it to the public unless absolutely necessary.
Yet, he could only deal a significant blow to Zero Wing City if he used this Overtier Spell now. The Tier 3 Instantaneous Movement Magic Scroll he had prepared was his only other option of escape.
After giving the matter some thought, Wind Hunter gnashed his teeth and reluctantly agreed, "Use it! Although this will expose the Evil Dragon's true strength earlier than planned, it is better than leaving the city without accomplishing anything!"
Dust Edge had warned him that the Evil Dragonification process was still incomplete, and as a result, casting its Overtier Spell would require a heavy price. If Dark Sickle used the Overtier Spell now, it might even cancel his Evil Dragonification.
But he couldn't care less right now. If they escaped without accomplishing anything in Zero Wing City, the Evil God's Temple would be a laughingstock, and Zero Wing would become even more famous.
Once he had permission to use the Overtier Spell, Dark Sickle's worries vanished. Now, he was overcome with mad excitement.
"Black Flame, I'll show you the true price of defying me!" Dark Sickle snarled as he glared at Shi Feng, ignoring the surrounding NPCs' attacks. Suddenly, the Evil Energy around his body skyrocketed, and his aura intensified.
Twelve pitch-black magic arrays manifested around Dark Sickle, each opening a hole in space as a flood of Evil Energy poured out and into Dark Sickle's draconic form. A ball of black light them formed before the Evil Dragon, gradually expanding.
Tier 4 Overtier Spell, Evil Energy Burst!
When cast, this Spell would absorb Evil Energy from other planes and deal devastating damage to a 300-yard radius.
With how crowded Zero Wing City's central district currently was, such an AOE would devour several thousand players.
"Crap! That Evil Dragon is trying to use a large-scale destruction Spell! We need to get out of here!" Melody's expression darkened as destructive energy filled Dark Sickle's surroundings.
All of the spectating magical class players could feel the large-scale destruction Spell Dark Sickle was preparing to cast. They immediately turned and tried to flee.
"Running?" Dark Sickle sneered at the fleeing players. "I can collect all the energy I need in two more seconds. Do you think you can run 300 yards that quickly?"
Hearing Dark Sickle's taunt, the fleeing players despaired.
"Damned lunatic!"
"We're only visiting Zero Wing City, yet you're attacking us, too?!"
"Evil God's Temple, just you wait! I won't let you get away with this!"
The spectating players realized that escape was impossible. Aside from the NPCs and players with Invulnerability Skills, all of these players would likely die…
"Hahaha! Excellent! The Evil God's Temple has done a good job this time! I can't wait to see who would dare develop in Zero Wing City after today!"
"The Evil God's Temple is ruthless, attacking Zero Wing City so soon after Zero Wing attacked Ancient Rock City. It seems Zero Wing will have a hard time developing further."
The various Guild upper echelons watching from a distance laughed as Dark Sickle prepared his large-scale destruction Spell.
Not only had the Evil God's Temple managed to sneak an Evil Dragon into Zero Wing City, but the Evil Dragon in question could also cast a large-scale destruction Spell. After this, no player would feel safe visiting Zero Wing City in the future. Meanwhile, this situation would grant their Guilds an opportunity to develop in the Witch's Hill.
"Die!" Dark Sickle bellowed, madness filling his eyes as he glared at Shi Feng, who stood unmoving before the two Unbounded members.
Suddenly, the pitch-black light ball before the Evil Dragon rapidly expanded. Like a black hole that devoured everything, the light ball all in its path with Evil Energy.
"Even Elemental Suppression is useless?" A cold glint flashed in Shi Feng's eyes as he stared at the expanding ball of light. "What about this, then?"
Saying so, Shi Feng activated the Four Towers of Elements' second killing move.
Tier 4 Curse, Elemental Burst!
The Four Towers of Elements were one of God's Domain's peak defensive structures. Even after ten years in the game, the various Super Guilds had continued to protect their cities with the Four Towers of Elements due to their three killing moves.
Elemental Suppression, a domain magic array that drastically weakened enemies' combat powers, both in and outside of the city, was the towers' first move.
The second move was Elemental Burst, a Tier 4 Curse that rivaled a Tier 5 Spell. Even Tier 5 existences would not dare to take this move head-on.
The third move was Elemental Seal, a Spell that even Tier 5 beings were afraid of. Of course, unlike the first two moves, which only required a small number of Magic Crystals, activating Elemental Seal required Mana Stones.
As Shi Feng activated Elemental Burst, a four-colored beam descended from the magic array above Zero Wing City, slamming into Dark Sickle and the black light ball before him. By the time the light faded, only an empty crater, over ten meters deep, remained…
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1916 – Fame Spreads "The Evil Dragon is dead…"
"Impossible! That's a Tier 3 Archaic Species we're talking about!"
The spectating players gaped at the deep crater in the middle of the street, utterly frozen in shock.
They had thought that their deaths were certain a moment ago, but in the next second, the Evil Dragon, which had been about to release a large-scale destruction Spell, had died. It had been so thoroughly destroyed that not even ashes remained.
"So strong! That attack instantly killed the half-HP Dragon! Big Sis Melody, do you think that Zero Wing launched that attack just now?" Scarlet Heart asked, overcome with shock.
Although the Evil Dragon had lost a lot of HP during its fight against the NPC soldiers, it had over 15,000,000 HP just a second ago. However, when the four-colored light pillar had descended, the Evil Dragon hadn't even had time to scream before it had been destroyed.
This was the first time she had witnessed such a devastating attack since joining God's Domain. Not even a Tier 4 large- scale destruction Spell could compare. Such a powerful attack would likely even injure Mythic monsters.
"That's likely. But Zero Wing City's defenses truly are terrifying to annihilate a Tier 3 Archaic Species in one hit. I doubt other Guilds have a chance of competing with Zero Wing in the Witch's Hill now," Melody said as she marveled at the magic barrier enveloping Zero Wing City.
If Ninth Heaven's Guild Town were as powerful as Zero Wing City, it wouldn't have any problems dealing with the Death God Workshop.
When players chose a Guild Town to visit, the most important aspect they took into account was the town's security. Whether it was independent players or merchant players, nobody wanted to die for no reason, wasting all of the effort they spent on leveling.
Not only did Zero Wing City provide such a comfortable living environment, but its defenses were also immensely powerful. If they had the option, players would definitely choose to operate out of this city.
What was that Spell?! Dark Sickle's Magic Resistance should've been boosted after transforming into an Evil Dragon! How could he have died despite still having over half of his HP?! Wind Hunter's expression twisted when he saw the crater, void of the Evil Dragon.
Although Dark Sickle was only a member of the second batch of experiments, the Evil God's Temple had spent a lot of resources on Dark Sickle's Evil Dragonification.
Now that Dark Sickle was dead, those resources were gone.
This outcome wouldn't have been so terrible if Dark Sickle had damaged Zero Wing City, but he hadn't even killed a single player. All Dark Sickle had accomplished was further solidifying the public's confidence in this city, which was the exact opposite of the Evil God's Temple's goal…
The various Guild upper echelons watching from a distance were in a similarly gloomy mood.
Not only had Zero Wing City revealed its powerful domain magic array, but it also had command of such a powerful offensive Spell. If any power had still harbored ideas of causing trouble in this city, they'd likely abandon the idea after today's display.
"I have to report this to the Guild Leader right away."
"Zero Wing City actually has such frightening defensive measures. It seems that we'll need to alter our plans and give up on the idea of harassing the city. We'll have to build a Guild Town in the Witch's Hill as soon as possible if we hope to compete with Zero Wing City."
After this battle, the various Guild upper echelons promptly reported to their respective superiors. They suggested that their Guilds shift their focus to constructing a town in the map as soon as they could and avoid interfering with Zero Wing City's operations.
If even a Tier 3 Archaic Species failed to cause trouble in the city, their Guilds' attempts would be an utter joke.
Meanwhile, Shi Feng, standing some distance away from the new crater, wasn't surprised in the least that Dark Sickle had died so quickly. Immediately, he instructed some of his NPCs to repair the damaged street and disperse the crowd, quickly ending this farce.
The Four Towers of Elements could even threaten a Tier 5 being, much less a Tier 3 Evil Dragon. This was also why he had stationed the Magic King in Silverwing Town instead of Zero Wing City.
Once the lively central district had returned to its former state, Shi Feng called up Zero Wing City's system interface and selected ten Tier 2 NPC soldiers with the most potential. He then armed them with the Bronze War God Emblems.
Although the Bronze War God Emblem's effects would not help these Tier 2 NPC soldiers reach the Tier 3 standard, it pushed them quite close to it. Even if a Level 80 Grand Lord came to cause trouble, a patrol squad with one of these pseudo- Tier 3 NPCs could keep the creature busy until other squads arrived with the Four Towers of Elements' Elemental Suppression.
If possible, Shi Feng preferred to avoid using Elemental Bust. After all, the Tier 4 Curse cost 2,000 Magic Crystals each time it activated. It was a considerable expenditure to Zero Wing.
Meanwhile, news of the commotion in Zero Wing City quickly spread throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. Players bombarded the kingdom's forums with discussions about the event.
Tier 3 Evil Dragon appears in Zero Wing City!
Tier 3 Archaic Species gets instant-killed!
The various discussions on the forums brought Zero Wing City into a new light for the kingdom's players. Some independent players and adventurer teams, who hadn't been particularly interested in the city, decided to shift their base of operations to Zero Wing City.
In God's Domain, NPC cities were the safest locations for player residences. Hence, many players preferred to develop in NPC cities that lacked resources rather than in cities with abundant resources and lacking security. After all, the cost of death was simply too high. They would rather level up at a slower pace than take such a risk.
However, the situation had changed.
Since Zero Wing City could even instant-kill a Tier 3 Archaic Species, it was more than capable of doing the same for current players. If any player dared to cause trouble in the city, they'd suffer a similar fate as the Evil Dragon.
One could say that Zero Wing City was now even safer than an ordinary NPC city. It also provided many benefits and occupied a resource-rich area.
For a time, a large number of players in Star-Moon Kingdom started to migrate to Zero Wing City, awaiting the Otherworld Gate's activation. In less than half an hour, Zero Wing City's player population had reached 10,000,000. Although many more players tried to enter the city, it had reached its maximum capacity. If players wished to enter the city, they would have to wait for others to leave it.
Due to this, more than 100 adventurer teams now petitioned to join Zero Wing. Every one of these adventurer teams contacted Aqua Rose in the hopes that she could facilitate their merger, offering resources and Lands that tempted the Zero Wing Vice Guild Leader.
One adventurer team's resources might not be a match for a large Guild's, but over a hundred teams combined would have a frightening amount Furthermore, many of the teams applying to join Zero Wing were well-known adventurer teams from Star-Moon Kingdom and other countries. Their resources and Lands were things that Zero Wing severely lacked.
Because of this, Aqua Rose was at a loss, unsure of which adventurer teams to accept into the Guild.
Meanwhile, Melody, Scarlet Heart, and One-arm Rashomon waited at the entrance to Zero Wing's Guild Residence. As they gazed at the many adventurer teams lined up to join the Guild, they couldn't help their growing nerves.
"Big Sis Melody, with how powerful Zero Wing is right now, do you think Guild Leader Black Flame will accept our request
with the remuneration we plan to offer?" Scarlet Heart asked nervously as she looked at the Tier 2 experts of the various adventurer teams entering Zero Wing's Residence.
These well-known adventurer teams all had a lot of resources and Land saved up. Even so, they were still willing to hand everything over to Zero Wing in the hopes of merging their entire adventurer team with the Guild. Compared to what these adventurer teams were offering, the remuneration they had prepared in exchange for Zero Wing's help with the Death God Workshop was simply…
"I don't know. We'll only find out once we've started the negotiations," Melody said, shaking her head. She wasn't particularly confident about their chances, either. The only thing they could do was rely on their relationship with Thoughtful Rain.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1917 – Forest City Transaction Zero Wing City, Zero Wing's Residence
A large number of players crowded around the Residence's entrance, applying to join Zero Wing. Many of these players were well-equipped, high-level experts, and quite a few were Tier 2 players.
This scene surprised many passersby.
Tier 2 was currently the symbol of an expert. Even players that had only completed the Normal Mode Promotion Quest were considered experts. After all, the Tier 2 Promotion Quest was not easy to clear. It was impossible without reaching a certain standard.
However, compared to the Tier 2 players outside of the Residence, the adventurer teams in line truly dumbfounded the nearby spectators.
Every adventurer team entering Zero Wing's Residence possessed a certain degree of fame. Moreover, all of the teams' representatives wore excellent equipment, with a few wearing Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment. There were also plenty of Tier 2 experts among these adventurer teams, and unlike the independent Tier 2 experts in line, the weakest among these adventurer team experts had completed the Hard Mode Promotion Quest. They had far more potential than the experts that had only completed the Normal Mode Quest
"With so many adventurer teams seeking to join Zero Wing, Zero Wing's strength will quickly and significantly increase."
"Amazing! I've seen more than 20 adventurer teams entering the Residence thus far! Combined, these adventurer teams have even more overall combat power than third-rate Guilds! Hopefully, Zero Wing doesn't accept too many. Otherwise, independent players like us will have a much slimmer chance of joining the Guild."
The independent players in line were excited and worried as they watched the various adventurer teams following after Zero Wing's representatives.
Now that Zero Wing City had revealed its powerful defenses, countless players wanted to develop in the city. Zero Wing's future was clear. Even if the Guild lost its position in the Ore Empire, it's standing in Star-Moon Kingdom would be unshakable. To the general populace, Zero Wing was even stronger than a first-rate Guild that occupied two or three kingdoms.
A first-rate Guild that occupied two or three kingdoms might have a lot of resources, but its development couldn't be considered stable. There was still a very high chance that other Guilds would steal its resources.
However, that was not the case for Zero Wing. As long as Zero Wing City stood, the Guild's position in the kingdom would remain stable. With how powerful Zero Wing City's defenses were, it was very hard to imagine any power capturing or destroying the city.
Even if a power were capable of doing so, it wouldn't likely be interested in a backwater country like Star-Moon Kingdom. They'd definitely set their sights on better territories.
While the crowd outside of the Residence discussed Zero Wing's future, two women emerged from the Residence. The moment these two women appeared, the crowd outside went into an uproar.
This reaction wasn't due to the women's peerless beauty, but because of the Guild Emblems pinned to their armor. Not only did they wear Mysterious-Iron Guild Emblems, but the emblems also radiated a dark-purple glow.
In Zero Wing, normal members didn't wear glowing Guild Emblems. Players would only get a glowing emblem once they became one of the Guild's elites, their emblem emitting a light-blue glow. The Guild's core members wore Guild Emblems that gave off a light purple glow. Only the players who ranked in the top ten of their class would wear a dark-purple glowing emblem.
Zero Wing's class rankings were determined by one's contribution to the Guild and their combat power. Hence, the rankings were an incredibly reliable method of spotting an expert.
The fact that these two women wore dark-purple glowing Guild Emblems meant that they both had extremely high positions in Zero Wing.
These two women were none other than Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo.
When Melody saw the commotion Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo caused just with their appearance alone, she could not help but marvel at the situation.
She had only become acquainted with Thoughtful Rain after helping the woman in a neutral map. She had recognized Thoughtful Rain's strength and had thought of poaching the woman into Ninth Heaven. However, looking at it now, she found the idea laughable.
"Rain, what did your Guild Leader say?" Melody anxiously asked as the woman approached.
"Big Sis Melody, don't worry. I've already talked to the Guild Leader. He says he is willing to hear you out," Thoughtful Rain said, smiling. "The Guild Leader is waiting for you in his office right now. I'll bring you to him."
"Your Guild Leader is willing to talk?" Melody released a sigh of relief.
Now that she understood how powerful Zero Wing was, she knew that it would be very difficult to secure a meeting with its Guild Leader, especially since her Guild was merely an up-and-coming second-rate Guild.
Before seeking Thoughtful Rain's help, she had sought aid from several first-rate Guilds, but when they had learned that her request was related to the Death God Workshop, they had even refused to meet with her, much less negotiate. Only the Setting Sun Guild had been willing to hear her out.
As the players in line watched, Thoughtful Rain led the Ninth Heaven trio into Zero Wing's Guild Hall.
The Guild Hall bustled with activity. Many of the Guild's experts had returned to the Residence in anticipation for the Otherworld Gate's opening. Currently, over 200 Tier 2 experts loitered around the first-floor hall, stupefying Melody and her companions.
Zero Wing's Tier 2 experts easily outnumbered Ninth Heaven's by many times. Moreover, this was only a portion of the Guild's Tier 2 experts. Even first-rate Guilds paled in comparison to Zero Wing.
After a short moment, the group arrived before the Guild Leader's office on the Guild Hall's top floor.
Currently, several dozen Tier 2 experts sat outside of the office, every one of which was Level 56 or higher. These experts were all from the various adventurer teams applying to join Zero Wing. They would all be top-ranked players in any first-rate Guild, but they sat quietly as if waiting for some kind of judgment. The hallway was deathly silent.
However, Thoughtful Rain ignored these people as she led Melody's group into the Guild Leader's office.
When Melody and the others entered the office, they felt an oppressive sensation overcome their bodies.
This sensation didn't originate from Shi Feng, who sat behind an office desk, but from Cola and the others, who stood near their Guild Leader. When they saw Cola and his companions' levels, Melody's group was speechless.
Including Cola, four of these people had reached Level 60, while the rest were Level 59. Right now, even the highest leveled player in Forest City was only Level 58…
"You're here. Rain has already told me about your situation. Zero Wing can help you with your problem, but in return, Zero Wing wants two Shops in Forest City's central district What are your thoughts on this condition?" Shi Feng said when he saw Melody entering the room.
"Two central district Shops?" Melody breathed a sigh of relief when she heard this. She had been afraid that Shi Feng would try to take advantage of their predicament and rip them off, but he had simply asked for one more Shop than she had initially prepared. "That won't be a problem. However, may I know when Guild Leader Black Flame intends to deal with the matter regarding the Death God Workshop?"
If the situation dragged on for too long, Ninth Heaven's losses would become increasingly severe. Unfortunately, dealing with an organization like the Death God Workshop wasn't easy. Preparations had to be made. If Shi Feng could give her a timeframe, she would have an easier time coordinating with his Guild.
"Once we sign a contract. I'll send Cola's group with you to Forest City to deal with the issue," Shi Feng responded.
"Just them?" One-arm Rashomon's eyes widened in shock when he heard Shi Feng's plan. Turning to Cola and the others, he could not help but feel that Shi Feng was taking them too lightly. Either that, or he had no idea of the Death God Workshop's strength.
The Death God Workshop had several hundred members, and every one of them was an expert. Moreover, the Workshop constantly employed hit-and-run tactics, making its movements unpredictable. Stopping the Death God Workshop with only the several players in Cola's party would be impossible. If the matter had been that simple, Ninth Heaven could've resolved it without help.
"Guild Leader Black Flame, the Death God Workshop is quite powerful, adept at using guerilla warfare against Guilds. Even superpowers have to tolerate their antics. With so few people, I'm afraid that…" Melody tried to warn Shi Feng.
"Relax. Cola's group will be enough. If it isn't, I'll find another way to deal with this problem," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "If you have no other concerns, let's sign the contract."
Melody could not help but sigh at Shi Feng's response, but since he had agreed to help, demanding too much wouldn't benefit her. She could only see how this played out If the problem persisted, Zero Wing would dispatch more experts to deal with the Death God Workshop.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1918 – Fairy Country
Once Shi Feng and Melody had signed their contract, Cola and Fire Dance, whom Shi Feng had tasked with leading a 20- man team, followed Melody's group to Forest City.
When Shi Feng had finished with the situation regarding Ninth Heaven, he selected a few adventurer teams to annex into Zero Wing. These adventurer teams had been relatively powerful during his previous life, although they had yet to reach their full potential. Fortunately, their experts were no weaker than those in large Guilds. They only lacked resources and combat experience.
Among the adventurer teams that had applied, the Purple Thorns Kingdom's Unbounded had truly surprised Shi Feng. Even now, Unbounded ranked among the top 100 adventurer teams in its kingdom. Stubborn Bone, Unbounded's commander, had also been quite famous in the past Not only had he developed Unbounded into a top adventurer team, but he had also become a Tier 4 Berserker himself. Unfortunately, due to a lack of equipment, he had never reached Tier 5.
There was also another Unbounded member who had reached Tier 4-the Archlight Sword Emperor, Seven Light!
Although Seven Light had been slightly weaker than Stubborn Bone, the difference hadn't been related to their technique standards, but due to a lack of proper equipment and weapons.
Meanwhile, due to the fact that Unbounded had two Tier 4 expert members, it had barely qualified as a top adventurer team in the Secret Pavilion's eyes. Even so, the feat was impressive. After all, top adventurer teams that earned the Secret Pavilion's recognition could even rival the best second-rate Guilds, with some of the more powerful teams rivaling first-rate Guilds.
Now that Zero Wing had annexed Unbounded, this had guaranteed that Zero Wing would have two more peak experts in the future.
Moreover, since Unbounded had focused its development in the Purple Thorns Kingdom, the adventurer team had established a foundation in the kingdom. After annexing Unbounded, Zero Wing would have more influence in the kingdom, which would, in turn, make it easier to obtain resources unique to the kingdom.
After Shi Feng finished selecting adventurer teams, he made his way to the Candlelight Trading Firm and started to mass- produce All-rounded Devices. He also instructed Melancholic Smile to arrange the production of Advanced Darkness Resistance Potions in preparation for his expedition to Kama Island.
Meanwhile, in the second-floor hall of Zero Wing's Guild Hall…
When the various adventurer team representatives waiting in the hall saw Aqua Rose, they all could not help but grow nervous.
"After researching your adventurer teams, we have decided that we will only fully welcome the teams on this list For those not listed, Zero Wing will accept a portion of your members," Aqua Rose said as she passed a list to the various adventurer teams present. "Also, every adventurer team that agrees to join will receive 20 internal member slots in Zero Wing. If you agree to these conditions, you may see me to sign a contract, becoming one of our Guild members."
Currently, more than 60 adventurer teams were interested in joining Zero Wing, but the Guild could only afford to recruit a limited number of players. If Zero Wing recruited too many, it would only hinder the Guild's development. Hence, including the adventurer teams Shi Feng had handpicked, Aqua Rose had only decided to allow eleven adventurer teams to join Zero Wing, all of which had relatively strong Tier 2 experts and resources that would be crucial to Zero Wing's development.
After checking the list, some of the adventurer teams celebrated, while others were frustrated.
"Commander, this is great! Our adventurer team can join Zero Wing as a whole!" Seven Light exclaimed after reading the list. After witnessing Shi Feng's fight with the Evil Dragon, his desire to join the Guild had grown.
Despite being at a disadvantage in terms of Strength and speed, Shi Feng had relied on his extraordinary techniques to render the Evil Dragon powerless. He had been utterly mesmerized.
When he thought about how he might be able to seek guidance from Shi Feng after joining the Guild, he couldn't help his excitement.
"Good! For now, I'll go and apply to form a 1,000-man legion with Zero Wing while you head back and prepare our players to migrate to Zero Wing City. From now on, we'll operate out of this city!" Stubborn Bone was just as elated.
Even before applying to join Zero Wing, he had heard that Zero Wing offered amazing benefits to its players. When he had stepped into Zero Wing's Residence, he had learned that the reality was even better than the rumors.
Not only did Zero Wing's members have priority when using the Battle Arena's combat rooms, but they could also rent advanced combat rooms in exchange for GCPs. As long as they had enough GCPs, they could even learn all kinds of combat techniques.
However, what surprised him the most was Zero Wing's Guild Warehouse. There were even Level 55 and 60 Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment available for purchase. Of course, Guild members had to have enough GCPs and sufficient status to buy these items. Only core members were allowed access to top-tier items. Even so, elite members could purchase Level 55 and 60 Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment
Moreover, Zero Wing's members had a variety of methods to earn money. Not only were a ton of high-ranked quests available in the Guild's various Residences, but there were also plenty of Guild Transportation Quests available in Silverwing City. These Guild Transportation Quests awarded far better remuneration than the Transportation Firm's quests for non-Guild members.
With all of these resources, Stubborn Bone even had hope of becoming a peak expert in God's Domain. However, he wanted to get Unbounded's member settled in Zero Wing City first. Then, he would do everything he could to raise his position in the Guild; he could only secure more resources to grow by doing so.
All of the adventurer teams that joined Zero Wing would start as normal members, and commanders were no exception.
Meanwhile, in the Fairy Country, a neutral map far away from Star-Moon kingdom… Under Melody's lead, Cola and the others finally arrived at the Fairy Country's Forest City.
"This place is so prosperous! It seems like there are so many more players here than in Star-Moon City!" Shadow Sword was
a little surprised to see Half-beastmen and Half-elves filling the streets. Fire Dance and the others nodded in agreement.
In their opinion, very few players should choose to play as a neutral race, but Forest City's streets were packed. Moreover, all of these players were very high-leveled, with most having passed Level 55. Many of them had even reached Level 57, which only expert players could do at this stage of the game. In fact, Forest City likely had more Level 57 players than Zero Wing City.
"Forest City is the Fairy Country's capital. One-third of the country's Half-beastmen and Half-elves are here. Although it can't compare to an empire's imperial capital, it's more prosperous than an ordinary kingdom's capital. Fairy Country is a hub for players seeking individual strength. Players come here from various kingdoms and empires. If you gather all these players in a single location, it is only natural that you'd get a frightening number. Moreover, more players continue to flood into the city. This is why so many large Guilds have set their sights on the Fairy Country. Some Guilds have even converted all of their players into neutral races," Melody explained. "There are as many as five first-rate Guilds operating in Forest City, and everyone is competing over the position as the city's overlord."
"Five first-rate Guilds are competing over this city?" Fire Dance was astonished.
During the game's early stages, the competition in Star-Moon Kingdom had been intense, but only three first-rate Guilds had participated. However, five first-rate Guilds fought over this single NPC city.
Of course, Fire Dance recognized Forest City's value.
Not long after Melody introduced Fire Dance and her team to the mesmerizing Forest City, she received a message. As she read it, Melody's expression darkened.
"Has something happened?" Fire Dance asked when she noticed the change.
"I've just received a report stating that the Death God Workshop has taken action yet again. Just some time ago, the Workshop ambushed one of our 1,000-man teams while it raided a Field Boss," Melody said grimly.
"The Death God Workshop?" Hearing Melody's words, a joyful smile lit up Fire Dance's Face as she asked, "Can you take us there now?"
"Now?" Melody was stunned for a moment. "We're pretty far from the ambush site. By the time we arrive, they will be gone. Moreover, the Death God Workshop only dispatched a 100-man team this time, and every member is an expert. With just the 20 of you, I'm afraid that…"
"It's fine. Just lead us there to take a look," Fire Dance gently demanded with a calm smile.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1919 – Battlefield of Monsters
Hearing Fire Dance's confident tone, Melody sent One-arm Rashomon to organize a team.
While she understood that Fire Dance and the others were extraordinarily strong, the Death God Workshop was not a simple opponent Otherwise, Forest City's various first-rate Guilds wouldn't have such a massive headache over the Workshop.
It should be known that the Death God Workshop had ambushed those Guilds' teams many times, but the Workshop's members were quite cunning. Despite doing all they could to retaliate, their efforts had been wasted on a few small fries. They couldn't reach the Death God Workshop's core.
This was also why only the super-first-rate Guild, Setting Sun, of all the Guilds she had reached out to, had been willing to help them. However, the Setting Sun's price was just vicious. Accepting Setting Sun's offer was no different than giving the Guild, which she had gone to great lengths to develop, away. She would never agree to such a thing.
Meanwhile, with how many members the Death God Workshop had mobilized to ambush Ninth Heaven's 1,000-man team, they'd suffer a massive loss if Fire Dance and her companions actually found the Workshop's members. Hence, as a precaution, she had decided to take some of her people along. She couldn't afford to let Fire Dance and the others die so soon after reaching Forest City. It would be hard to explain to Zero Wing.
Due to time constraints, One-arm Rashomon was only able to gather a little over 200 experts from the Guild before Melody led Fire Dance and the team to Wisp Cemetery, a Level 60 to 75 map some distance from Forest City.
Dark clouds covered the sky above Wisp Cemetery throughout the year, and although lush forest occupied the area, it gave off an oppressive and gloomy aura. However, since this was a high-resource map, many Guilds often grinded and collected resources here.
Melody and her group carefully advanced down a forest path as they made their way towards the reported battlefield.
Although not many monsters called Wisp Cemetery home, the Wandering Wisps in the area were incredibly troublesome. Once they spotted living creatures, they'd call upon a small force of Undead Creatures to eliminate the intruders. These little monsters could easily summon hundreds and thousands of Undead Creatures with its call. To make matters worse, not only did the Undead Creatures provide very little EXP, but they also almost never dropped good items. As a result, players grinding in the Wisp Cemetery tried to avoid the Wandering Wisps and Undead Creatures as often as possible.
After traveling through the Wisp Cemetery for about half an hour, Melody's group finally reached the ambush site.
The Death God Workshop had ambushed Ninth Heaven's players at the entrance of an underground tomb. The tomb contained a Level 63 Field Boss, and the Death God Workshop had killed both Ninth Heaven's members and the Field Boss during its ambush. Traces of combat were evident in and outside of the tomb. It was clear that the recent battle had been intense. Players' blood had been scattered across the ground, filling the air with its stench.
"They must've executed the ambush during the Boss-fight. They must've stationed some players outside of the tomb to stop anyone from escaping. Were there any survivors from the 1,000-man team?" Thoughtful Rain turned to ask Melody after observing the bloodstains.
"Not one person managed to escape. The Death God Workshop always operates this way. Whenever the Workshop launches an ambush, it uses a Magic Scroll to seal the area, preventing players from using Instantaneous Movement Scrolls and Return Scrolls," Melody said, gnashing her teeth.
Although the ambushed team wasn't the Guild's main force, it was an elite team led by expert players. Losing the entire team had incurred significant losses. Not only had every player died, but they had also all lost a piece of equipment
The lost weapons and equipment were far more of a problem than the lost levels.
"Big Sis Fire, too much time has passed since the end of the battle. The players from the Workshop have already left the area, and their tracks have faded. I'm afraid that chasing after them is impossible," Flying Shadow said after getting no results from his Tracking Skill.
"Your Tier 1 Tracking Skill isn't enough. Fortunately, I recently learned Mana Perception, a rare Tier 2 Tracking Skill. I can now perceive traces that aren't visible to the naked eye. To put it simply, I can see the Mana fluctuations players leave behind. It's been less than three hours since the battle ended, so the Death God Workshop players are still within my perception range. Not even a Tier 1 Anti-tracking Skill will have any effect against my Skill," Fire Dance said, smiling faintly. "Why else do you think the Guild Leader sent me?"
Hearing Fire Dance's words, Flying Shadow grew a little excited. He had thought this job would be difficult, but it seemed that they'd be able to complete the task quickly with Fire Dance's new Skill.
Fire Dance then proceeded to use Mana Perception, tracking the ambushing players.
If the Death God Workshop members had used a Return Scroll to leave the area, she wouldn't have been able to track them. However, she'd find them as long as they simply walked away.
"These people haven't left using a Return Scroll. After lingering here for some time, they headed north," Fire Dance said as she watched the Mana fluctuations lead into the forest. Hurriedly, she said, "They only left about an hour ago. We still have hope of catching up to them. Let's move out!"
Saying so, Fire Dance took the lead and followed the Mana fluctuations with her teammates close behind.
"She found them?" Melody could not help her growing excitement. Hurriedly, she and the 200-plus experts from her Guild followed after Fire Dance.
She had never thought that Fire Dance was so amazing to locate a trail that was more than an hour old. Ordinary Tracking Skills were impressive enough if they could find 30-minute-old traces. If the target had an Anti-tracking Skill, finding them would be even more difficult.
After following the trail for about half an hour, the group finally arrived before an ancient temple nestled in a thick grove of trees.
At a glance, over 500 players were gathered before the temple's entrance. However, these players were apart of two different groups: a 60-man team, and a 500-man team. All of the 500 wore uniform equipment of relatively high-quality, and they were all Level 56 or above. This was obviously a Guild team.
"Huh? Isn't that East Crow's Troubled Madness?" Melody, who had hidden behind a tree, wondered aloud when she saw a righteous man among the 500-man team. The man wore aqua-blue mage robes and held a staff embedded with three resplendent gemstones. "Why is he here?"
Troubled Madness was a Vice Guild Leader from East Crow, a first-rate Guild. In terms of individual strength, he ranked among the top in his Guild. He was also one of the top-ranking Elementalists in Forest City, and he wasn't any weaker than she was.
East Crow's 500-man team had surrounded the Death God Workshop's 60 members. It was evident that East Crow had located the troublesome players before her group.
"How fortunate. I had never thought that I'd get to meet two of the Death God Workshop's famous commanders, Frost Rain and Chopped Axe, at the same time! You have been challenging to track down! Now, it's time to pay for your past transgressions!" Troubled Madness snarled as he glared at a man and a woman amidst the Death God Workshop's group. The middle-aged man that had a scholarly look was a Level 58, Tier 2 Swordsman, while the tall woman exuding a wild aura was a Level 58, Tier 2 Berserker.
"Frost, what do you think we did to East Crow?" the tall woman asked as she considered the situation. It seemed as if she were trying to remember what she had done to this first-rate Guild.
"I don't remember. We've done a lot of things. There's no way I can remember everything. Since we can't remember, it shouldn't have been important," Frost Rain, the scholarly man, said with a wave of his hand, expressing his lack of concern over such trivial matters.
"A mere Workshop dares to mock East Crow?! We already have you surrounded; none of you should think of leaving this place alive!" Troubled Madness bellowed in rage.
East Crow's other members went into a frenzy, killing intent flooding from them as they charged at the Death God Workshop players.
The Workshop's players had previously killed their Guild Leader in the fields and stole an important Epic Weapon, yet they acted as if the incident meant nothing. Why wouldn't this enrage East Crow's players?
Countless Spells and arrows rained down on the Death God Workshop's members as East Crow's MTs and melee players tightened their circle. All of these Guild players were experts, and their coordination was seamless.
"After so much talk, you still attack us?" Chopped Axe, the tall woman, exclaimed, "I haven't had my fill yet, so let's see how far you East Crow players can go!"
After saying so, Chopped Axe charged into the shrinking wall of players. Frost Rain, however, showed no interest in the battle. He yawned with boredom, further inciting Guild players' fury. The MTs and melee players on the frontline began to employ their specialty moves, meeting Chopped Axe in battle.
Elated, Chopped Axe raised the excessively large axe in her hands and brandished it at the approaching players.
Peng… Peng… Peng…
As the two sides clashed, the Level 56-plus Shield Warriors, Guardian Knights, Berserkers, Swordsmen, and Assassins were sent flying, their HPs plummeting. Not even their healers could keep up with the damage.
In less than 30 seconds, Chopped Axe had carved a hole in East Crow's encirclement Seeing this, the Death God Workshop members surged through the gap and assaulted the Guild's ranged players.
In less than a minute after the battle had begun, only half of East Crow's 500-man team remained alive, yet the Workshop's team had only suffered a few casualties. The Guild players' screams filled the battlefield, and to make matters worse, not a single player lasted more than five moves against Chopped Axe. Even Tier 2 MTs fell after four of her attacks. She was unstoppable on the battlefield…
"Is she a monster?!" Troubled Madness was dazed as he watched the woman's rampant slaughter, his fighting spirit fizzling out
"How boring! You're giving up already?" Chopped Axe clicked her tongue when she noticed the fear in Troubled Madness's eyes, clearly disappointed.
"Alright, Axe, that's enough. We don't have time to play with these people. We need to get into the temple quickly," Frost Rain, who hadn't made a single move, reminded his comrade as he gestured to the temple before him. He completely ignored the 200-plus East Crow members that were still alive.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1920 – Zero Wing VS Death God
As Troubled Madness and the other East Crow members lost their fighting spirit, they started to pull away from the Death God Workshop's team, trying to avoid the axe-wielding Chopped Axe in particular.
Fear overwhelmed the Guild players.
No matter how they looked at it, this one-sided battle felt like a nightmare.
They were all experts from East Crow, a first-rate Guild, but they were nothing more than powerless children before the Workshop's players. If they retold this tale in Forest City, no one would believe them.
As neutral race players, their Tier 2 Promotion Quests were more difficult than human players'. Of course, after completing their Tier 2 promotion, their racial traits were boosted, as well. They were even stronger than ordinary Tier 2 classes.
But despite so many Tier 2 players on their team, they had no hope of resisting Chopped Axe. Moreover, the female Berserker hadn't used a single Skill, relying on her techniques in this battle…
As East Crow's members retreated, Death God Workshop's members lost interest in the fight. They didn't even bother to chase down the Guild players. Instead, they turned and walked toward the temple.
"Vice Guild Leader, what should we do?" a Tier 2 Cleric asked Troubled Madness when he realized that the Workshop's players were ignoring their Guild.
"There's nothing we can do. These people are monsters. Chopped Axe, in particular, has the strength of a 1,000-man legion. We have no chance against her. Most likely, only Setting Sun, which is interested in Forest City, can stop them now," Troubled Madness said as he balled his fists, fear and frustration filling his heart.
Although he was a powerful expert, he could only take on two dozen experts at the same time. Against a 100-man expert team, even he would have to flee. In contrast, Chopped Axe had just rendered a 500 expert team powerless. With such strength, it would take 1,000 experts to defeat the woman.
In other words, Chopped Axe had the strength to single-handedly change the outcome of a battle of several thousand players. be an absolute nightmare in the fields.
Meanwhile, Melody and the other Ninth Heaven members wore grim expressions after watching the battle from their hiding spot in the forest near the temple.
"How can the Death God Workshop have such a powerful expert?" Melody watched Chopped Axe in a daze.
Although the Death God Workshop members her Guild had encountered were impressive, there hadn't been anyone as strong as Chopped Axe among the group.
East Crow's experts were much stronger than independent experts, and while independent players would be considered experts after reaching the early-stage of the Trial Tower's fifth floor, East Crow's experts had reached the fifth floor's late- stage at the very least. And still, those experts were helpless against Chopped Axe.
Although she had brought a little over 200 Guild experts with her, these players' overall strength couldn't compare to Troubled Madness's 500-man team. Moreover, Troubled Madness was just as strong as she was…
"So, they're the Death God Workshop's members?" Fire Dance asked Melody.
"Mhm. They are." Melody nodded.
"It seems this trip wasn't a complete waste of time after all," Fire Dance said as she watched the group of players approach the mysterious temple. She then turned to her Guildmates and announced, "Alright, time to get to work!"
Saying so, Fire Dance emerged from the grove of trees and approached the players from the Death God Workshop.
"We're getting to work?"
Cola and the other Zero Wing members grinned before following after Fire Dance.
"What are you doing?!" Melody's anxiety peaked as she watched Fire Dance and her companions leave their hiding place. "Didn't you just see how powerful those players are? With our current team, we won't even serve as a warm-up. We should return and organize a stronger team."
The Death God Workshop's commanders were its strongest players. She had assumed that while these commanders might be strong, they shouldn't be much stronger than the Workshop's other players, but it seemed that she had been gravely mistaken. Moreover, this Death God Workshop team was lead by two commander-level existences.
When she considered the possibility of the scholarly man, Frost Rain, being as powerful as Chopped Axe, she shuddered. Fighting the two Death God Workshop commanders at the same time would be suicidal.
However, despite Melody's advice, Fire Dance stepped out of the forest's cover as if she hadn't heard Melody at all.
"Guild Leader, what should we do?" Scarlet Heart asked nervously.
"We have no choice; we have to follow them. We are responsible for requesting Zero Wing's help. We can't sit here and do nothing while they fight." Melody sighed as she and her Guild members followed Zero Wing's team.
The temple's entrance was an empty clearing, void of any obstructions. The moment Fire Dance and her team appeared, they attracted the attention of East Crow's members.
"Who are they?"
"Huh? They're human!"
"Why are humans here?"
East Crow's members softly discussed the approaching players. Aside from merchant players, human players were rare in the Fairy Country. Naturally, spotting a group of twenty human players would be odd.
Shortly after Zero Wing's members left the forest, Ninth Heaven's players revealed themselves. Since Ninth Heaven was a local first-rate Guild, East Crow's members recognized the expert players, especially Melody.
For a time, a commotion erupted among East crow's members.
"What is Ninth Heaven's Guild Leader doing here?"
"Did she come to take revenge for the Death God Workshop's recent ambush?"
"That shouldn't be the case, right? Didn't she see the fight just now? Even with our numbers, we were no match. And she only has around 200 experts with her. With so few players, they won't even be a warm-up for Chopped Axe."
"They must've missed it. Why else would they make such a foolish move?"
East Crow's members were shocked as they watched Ninth Heaven's team approach the Death God Workshop members. They could not figure out what Melody was trying to do.
Troubled Madness agreed that Melody must have lost her mind. Even if she hadn't seen the battle, she should at least notice the corpses littering the clearing.
"Oh? Aren't you from Ninth Heaven?" Chopped Axe recognized Melody's group immediately. Smiling, she asked, "What? You want revenge for the trash we killed just now? Feel free to try! I can use this chance to stretch before going into the temple!"
"Guild Leader Melody, don't mind Chopped Axe. She is just joking. Don't' take her seriously," Frost Rain, who stood beside Chopped Axe, said, smiling at Melody. "If Ninth Heaven is willing to hand the item over, the Death God Workshop will stop targeting your members. I hope that you have carefully considered the matter."
"Don't even think about it! I will never hand it over to you!" Melody growled, rage burning in her gaze.
"It seems Guild Leader Melody still doesn't understand us. Since you're here, then, I'll show you the difference between us personally," Frost Rain said. Turning to his team members, he said, "Go. Remove these players, but leave Guild Leader Melody alive!"
Hearing Frost Rain's command, the several dozen Death God Workshop members pounced on Ninth Heaven's members like wild beasts. They treated the 200-plus experts before them like prey awaiting slaughter.
"Everyone, prepare for battle! Do not fight alone!" Melody said, her expression grim as she glared at the 50-plus players charging towards her.
Although these Death God Workshop members were not as monstrous as Chopped Axe, they were extraordinarily powerful.
She knew from watching the previous battle that they were far stronger than ordinary experts.
Just before the Workshop's players reached Ninth Heaven's members, a black-clad figure appeared before one of the Level 57, Tier 2 Guardian Knights leading the charge. This figure then transformed into a shadow as it pierced through the Guardian Knight.
Without time to utter a scream, the Tier 2 Guardian Knight collapsed to the ground, his HP bar drained to nothing.
The Workshop's players slid to a halt after seeing the shocking attack, turning towards the figure.
"Who are you?" the Death God Workshop members demanded as they watched the figure, afraid.
"I am Zero Wing's Fire Dance!" Fire Dance introduced herself as she sheathed Thousand Transformations. Sweeping a glance over the Death God Workshop's members, she calmly stated, "I'm here to bury you!"
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
