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Chapter 2145 – Attention "The Bottomless Abyss?"
Most of the Zero Wing members that had teleported to Stone Forest Town had failed to react to the system notification, but some of those players, who had a certain understanding of the Ancient Undead Country, were excited to see it.
"Is this real!? We're actually inside a God Mode Regional Dungeon!"
"All hail the Guild Leader!"
"Our Guild is set for life now!"
Although none of the various powers had made any progress in exploring the Bottomless Abyss, what they had learned of the Regional Dungeon gave them high hopes. Moreover, the Bottomless Abyss was the reason that Starlink had been able to suppress both Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor when it had laid claim to a single fortress.
Stone Forest Town's new environment also surprised Zero Wing's members. In the Bottomless Abyss, the town's Mana density was likely even higher than in Zero Wing City. Players would be able to achieve the same results when training their combat standards with half the effort here.
Stone Forest Town had become a sacred ground, ideal for players.
Not only could players level up and upgrade equipment around the town, but they could also train their combat standards and techniques in the town.
Shortly after Zero Wing's members discovered Stone Forest Town's new location, news spread quickly to Star-Moon Kingdom's various major powers.
"How is that possible?!"
"Someone must have made a mistake with this report! That's a God Mode Regional Dungeon we're talking about! How could Zero Wing just transfer Stone Forest Town there!?"
All of the various powers instinctively denied the validity of the news.
Everyone knew that even the various superpowers were powerless in the Bottomless Abyss. Surviving in the Dungeon was nearly impossible, much less raiding it. It simply shouldn't be possible to move a Guild Town to such a lethal location.
However, when these powers began to receive similar reports from other spies within Zero Wing, they couldn't deny the truth. There was no doubt that after today, Zero Wing would become an overlord in God's Domain. Even if it wasn't yet a superpower, it now qualified to contend with the various superpowers in the game.
Meanwhile, in one of White River City's Advanced Restaurants, Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade received confirmation of their suspicions, and they fell silent for some time.
"Zero Wing did it, Uncle Yuan! Are we going to begin the next part of our plan now?" Purple Jade asked excitedly after recovering from her surprise.
Although she had known that Shi Feng hadn't lied to them, she couldn't help the surprise and admiration she felt once he had actually made good on his promise.
"Mhm! Notify our subordinates and tell them to organize the necessary manpower to visit Stone Forest Town! We need to secure the Bottomless Abyss before the other superpowers have time to prepare," Yuan Tiexin nodded. Smiling, he continued, "This time, we'll show the Chamber's advanced members how 'foolish' the Secret Pavilion's decision was!"
The Secret Chamber of Commerce's advanced members had criticized the Pavilion for demoting Starlink to basic membership rank, and the Pavilion had been forced to offer a variety of benefits to quell their anger.
To make matters worse, many superpowers that had heard of the matter had ridiculed the Secret Pavilion for being foolish enough to abandon a fortress in the Ancient Undead Country for Zero Wing.
However, none of that mattered now!
The Secret Pavilion owned a portion of Stone Forest Town's shares. Not only would it earn a large number of Coins from the town, but it could also establish a Guild transfer point within its walls. The Pavilion's members would not have to run all the way to the Ancient Undead Country to reach the Bottomless Abyss. In fact, the Pavilion's members could now grind in the Regional Dungeon without having to leave it. Once they ran out of Stamina, they could simply return to Stone Forest Town and rest. The Pavilion now had more advantages than the other superpowers.
With this relocation, Zero Wing could nullify any progress Starlink had made in the Bottomless Abyss on a whim. Moreover, Zero Wing wouldn't have to resort to drastic measures to do so. As long as the Guild barred Starlink's members from Stone Forest Town, allowing others in, Starlink would fall behind. If the situation persisted, it would even affect Starlink's position in the Dark Night Empire. This was exactly what the superpower had attempted to accomplish by hindering Zero Wing's progress in the neutral maps around Star-Moon Kingdom.
Moreover, Starlink would likely find Zero Wing a difficult pest to crush now. Once the various superpowers discovered Stone Forest Town's relocation, they'd reach out to the smaller Guild in an attempt to secure a partnership. Once that happened, Zero Wing wouldn't be so easy to shake.
However, if Starlink allowed Zero Wing to develop in the Bottomless Abyss freely, the superpower would only lose its advantages in its own empire.
"I doubt anyone had imagined that a small Guild like Zero Wing would put the Dark Night Empire's overlord in such a bind." As Yuan Tiexin remembered when Zero Wing had been small and weak, he couldn't help his rueful sigh.
Zero Wing's developmental history was practically a miracle.
After today, Zero Wing would qualify to stand on the same stage as the various superpowers. It was no longer an ordinary Guild that could so easily be slaughtered.
While the Secret Pavilion prepared to garrison in Stone Forest Town, Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor's headquarters in the Dark Night Empire were in an uproar.
"How did Zero Wing do it?"
Both super-first-rate Guilds' upper echelons were overwhelmed with shock and curiosity when they learned of Stone Forest Town's new location in the Bottomless Abyss. None of them had ever thought that Zero Wing would be so capable.
"Heart, I want you and Lingsha to visit Zero Wing's headquarters in White River City. Tell them that Unyielding Soul would like to deepen our relationship. Isn't Zero Wing trying to break into the Dark Night Empire's market? We can offer them some of our central Shops in the empire if they're willing to let us build a temporary Residence in Stone Forest Town!" Unyielding Soul's Guild Leader, Silent Soul, commanded after giving the matter some thought. "You two have full authority to negotiate those Shop's management and sales!"
When the Guild upper echelons in the meeting room heard Silent Soul's decision, they stared at him with dropped jaws. They hadn't thought that their Guild Leader would willingly grant Unyielding Heart and Mu Lingsha so much authority.
Financial strength was the most important aspect when running a Guild as large as Unyielding Soul. The profits from the Guild's Shops were particularly crucial. Shops were a Guild's lifeblood, and the fact that Silent Soul had given Unyielding Heart and Mu Lingsha control of the Guild's lifeblood meant he had granted them the authority that was only second to his, the Guild Leader.
Unyielding Soul wasn't the only superpower interested in cooperating with Zero Wing. Superpowers throughout God's Domain promptly made their way to Star-Moon Kingdom's White River City as well.
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Chapter 2146 – General Trend
Ancient Undead Country, Psychedelic Forest:
"How can this be?" Utter shock assaulted Bright Dawn as he read the latest report on Zero Wing.
It had only been a few hours since his encounter with Black Flame, yet in that time, the Swordsman had relocated Stone Forest Town into the Bottomless Abyss? No matter how he looked at it, the situation felt like a dream.
Not even Starlink dared to delve too deeply into the Bottomless Abyss, but Black Flame had established a town within the Regional Dungeon in a matter of hours. Starlink had invested an astronomical amount of manpower and resources to secure a fortress in the Ancient Undead Country, but none of its effort could even compare to Black Flame's alone.
Many superpowers had already begun to make their way to White River City to negotiate with Zero Wing due to the Guild's latest success. Needless to say, they all wanted a cut of Stone Forest Town's shares and a temporary Guild Residence within the town.
If Zero Wing agreed and accepted these superpowers' help, Starlink wouldn't be able to continue its assault against the enemy Guild. Moreover, Starlink's development would descend into the pits of hell due to Stone Forest Town's prosperity.
As a result, Lu Xingluo had ordered Bright Dawn to use everything Starlink had to destroy or capture Stone Forest Town before Zero Wing could stabilize its position in the Bottomless Abyss.
"Has something happened, Vice Guild Leader?" the Assassin beside Bright Dawn asked curiously when he saw his commander's sneer.
"Good news! Wonderful news!" Bright Dawn said, laughing.
Black Flame had humiliated him earlier, and he hadn't expected to find a chance to take revenge so soon. Why wouldn't he be excited?
"Good news?" The Assassin gave Bright Dawn an odd look.
"Mhm. The Guild Leader has commanded me to deal with Stone Forest Town. Moreover, I get to mobilize the Guild's full strength!" Bright Dawn explained.
"All of it?" The news shocked the Assassin.
He had already learned about Stone Forest Town's relocation to the Bottomless Abyss since it had sparked a commotion among Starlink's members. Naturally, the news had shocked them all. However, Lu Xingluo's command to mobilize the Guild's full strength against the town was even more unexpected.
The various superpowers had far more influence than ordinary Guilds, and the Guild typically only mobilized a fraction of its strength for any of its operations. Even when Starlink had targeted Unyielding Soul, for example, it had only used a small fraction of its true power.
Yet now, Starlink wanted to turn every weapon in its arsenal against a non-superpower like Zero Wing…
"That's right! Everything!" Bright Dawn nodded as he grinned wickedly. "I had expected to wait a long time before I had a chance to claim vengeance; I hadn't expected that I'd get to move against that bastard so soon. Hopefully, Black Flame doesn't run from me too quickly!"
Dealing with an established town was normally even a headache for superpowers like Starlink.
But if Starlink employed the Guild's full power, taking down a Guild Town would be a piece of cake. Not even Advanced Towns would pose much of a challenge. Furthermore, Stone Forest Town had just completed its transfer; its defenses weren't as strong as usual since hardly any players currently occupied the town.
Although not a lot of players could traverse the Bottomless Abyss's complex terrain at once, destroying or capturing a town didn't require a full army. A sufficient number of peak experts and powerful tools would be enough to complete the task.
"Notify the fortress and have them deliver this list of items! I also want you to summon our old monsters and all of the peak experts in the fortress!" Bright Dawn commanded.
The Assassin's eyes glowed as he began to contact the necessary personnel.
Although Bright Dawn was responsible for handling the Guild's affairs in the Ancient Undead Country, the peak experts and old monsters in the fortress weren't under his control, not to mention the tools within the fortress. Every one of those tools would be a strategic missile on an open battlefield. They simply shouldn't be used unless absolutely necessary.
Meanwhile, a team of 100-plus players used the Undead Forest's trees as cover while they observed Stone Forest Town.
"Boss, you really are impressive! Sparing and following the Purple Shadow adventurer team actually led us to Zero Wing's Stone Forest Town!" a Level 68, blue-clad Assassin congratulated as he watched Purple Shadow's members enter the town.
"Zero Wing has certainly proven capable, transferring a Guild Town here. Not even our Sky Dragon House could accomplish such a feat," a man in crimson armor commented as he stared at the town in admiration.
If Shi Feng were present, he'd likely be shocked to hear the conversation between these two players.
Sky Dragon House was one of the Fire Dragon Empire's three overlords and a veteran Super Guild. It was far stronger than ordinary super-first-rate Guilds. Even the up-and-coming Starlink would have to bow its head before Sky Dragon House. At its peak in Shi Feng's previous life, Sky Dragon House had even been known as one of God's Domain's top- ten Guilds.
The virtual gaming world wasn't the same as it had been in the past. Countless corporations now invested in the industry, and becoming one of God's Domain's top-ten Guilds meant that it stood among the best of the best. Not even ordinary Super Guilds had any hope of comparing to Sky Dragon House; only a transcendental existence like the Secret Pavilion could contend with such a powerhouse.
"What should we do next, Boss?" the blue-clad Assassin asked. "We're not just here to pay a visit, are we?"
"Of course not," the crimson-armored man said, laughing. "Zero Wing is quite impressive to pull off such a move, but the Bottomless Abyss isn't fit for the likes of such a small Guild. Moreover, Zero Wing hasn't learned that the nail that sticks out gets hammered down. Rather than let other powers get their hands on Stone Forest Town, we should claim it."
"I was hoping you'd say that!" the blue-clad Assassin said as he licked his lips, anticipation and killing intent flashing in his eyes.
As far as he was concerned, treasure only belonged to those with the strength to keep it. Zero Wing, meanwhile, didn't qualify to lay claim to such a precious place like Stone Forest Town.
"But we should wait for a little while longer," the crimson-armored man decided.
"Wait? Why?" the Assassin asked, confused.
"Right now, we aren't the only ones here," the crimson-armored man said, smiling as he gestured to a team hiding on a nearby plateau.
"Players from Pride Empire!" The Assassin in blue frowned when he noticed the other players.
Pride Empire was another of the Fire Dragon Empire's overlords, and it wasn't any weaker than the Sky Dragon House. Finding its Guild members here wasn't good news for them.
"They're likely thinking the same thing that we are. If we make the first move, they'll try to take advantage of the situation," the crimson-armored man said.
"But we can't just wait here, Boss. Plenty of superpowers have set their sights on Stone Forest Town. If we don't move quickly, securing the town will become more of a challenge," the Assassin complained.
Before the man in crimson armor could reply, he received a message.
"Sure enough, they've discovered us," the crimson-armored man reported, chuckling as he read the message.
"Moreover, they're taking the initiative to ask for our help in securing Stone Forest Town."
"What? They actually want to cooperate?" The Assassin was surprised to hear it.
The Sky Dragon House and Pride Empire were rivals. Although their two Guilds had very few public confrontations, they constantly fought in secret.
"This could work, too. Rather than waste each other's time, we might as well work together to claim the town before more competitors show up," the crimson-armored man said after giving the matter some thought. "Tell everyone to get ready."
"Understood!" Although the blue-clad Assassin didn't like the idea of working with his Guild's rival, he had no choice but to obey his commander's orders.
Under the crimson-armored man's command, the team from Sky Dragon House snuck toward Stone Forest Town while the Pride Empire's members did the same.
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Chapter 2147 – Stone Forest Town Promoted
When the Purple Shadow team followed Shi Feng into Stone Forest Town and saw the large number of Level 70-plus monsters wandering outside of its walls, they were flabbergasted. Experts like Late Autumn and Colorful Fruit were especially stunned since they knew far more than the adventurer team's ordinary members. They recognized how amazing it was to establish a Guild Town in the Bottomless Abyss.
With this advantage, Zero Wing would likely become the leading force in the God Mode Regional Dungeon.
As they entered the town, the Mana density within surprised them further. It was simply unprecedented. Moreover, Stone Forest Town's Mana wasn't nearly as chaotic as it was in the rest of the Bottomless Abyss. Not only did the Mana soothe their spirits, but it also made them feel far more agile. They felt that they could easily exhibit even greater combat power than outside of the Regional Dungeon.
If they could train their combat techniques, Skills, and Spells here, their efforts would yield far better results than normal.
Weapons and equipment might be very important, but these external factors weren't nearly as integral to expert players as internal strength.
"Commander, the Mana in this town has sharpened my senses by at least 10%! If we could train here, out adventurer team's overall strength could reach a whole new level in less than a month!" Colorful Fruit exclaimed.
Generally, high Mana density only allowed players to clear their minds and remain calm under pressure, but once it was dense enough, it could sharpen players' senses as well, although not by much. The fact that Stone Forest Town's Mana was so dense that players' five senses were 10% more acute than normal was astonishing.
Naturally, sharpened senses would be a massive help to players. Not only would players be able to detect their flaws more easily, but players would also be able to notice more than they usually did. To put it simply, players could improve their combat standards far more quickly if they had more acute senses while training.
A10% difference was on par with the difference players experienced when they rose from Tier 1 to Tier 2.
"I know," Late Autumn replied, smiling bitterly at Colorful Fruit. "This place is wonderful, but it also belongs to Zero Wing. A town can only hold so many people, and Zero Wing will prioritize its own members. After all, strength is necessary in God's Domain. Outsiders will have to pay a high price if they want to train here. With our adventurer team's current strength, I'm afraid that…"
Late Autumn quickly realized this town's value. Of all the towns and cities he had seen before, Stone Forest Town was undoubtedly the best place for training. If his adventurer team could train here long-term, he was confident that Purple Shadow would become the Dark Night Empire's number one adventurer team.
However, enjoying such benefits without paying a steep price would be impossible for non-Guild members like them. They were only allowed in Stone Forest Town now because they had accepted Shi Feng's commission. Late Autumn doubted that he had the qualifications or connections necessary to negotiate garrisoning his adventurer team in Stone Forest Town long-term.
Colorful Fruit, more or less, understood what her commander was trying to say.
They had only met wdth Shi Feng by chance, and the Swordsman was the only reason that their adventurer team had avoided annihilation. They'd be delusional to think that they could train in a paradise like Stone Forest Town.
"Stone Forest Town's relocation has just completed, so many of the town's facilities are temporarily unavailable. For now, it's only a resting area for players. Once the town's facilities have been readjusted, you're welcome to return at any time," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He had a pretty good idea of what Purple Shadow's members had been thinking when he saw their crestfallen expressions.
"You don't have to do that for us, Guild Leader Black Flame. Our adventurer team hasn't done anything to help Zero Wing, after all. I'm sure your Guild members will complain if you let us occupy Zero Wing's resources for nothing," Late Autumn hurriedly rejected the offer.
Late Autumn recognized that Shi Feng's offer came with good intentions, but that was precisely the reason that he couldn't accept it.
"I think you've misunderstood. I intended to open Stone Forest Town to the public since the beginning. As long as you're not Zero Wing's enemy, you'll be welcome in the town. Naturally, you will be allowed to train here as long as you become members of Zero Wing's Battle Arena," Shi Feng explained.
If he reserved Stone Forest Town for Zero Wing's members, he'd certainly see desirable results.
However, doing so would be shallow.
First, Level 100 wasn't the maximum level in God's Domain, and second, the town's growth was far more important than monopolizing its benefits.
"Are you serious, Guild Leader Black Flame?" Colorful Fruit could not help but ask.
None of the various major powers would share such a paradise with outsiders, but based on Shi Feng's claim, he even planned to cater to ordinary players in the town. This was simply madness.
"Of course. Why would I joke about something like that?" Shi Feng asked, chuckling.
Shi Feng's response rendered Purple Shadow's members speechless. He acted as if such a crucial matter were insignificant…
Late Autumn couldn't help his budding admiration for both Shi Feng and Zero Wing as a whole. Not even the various superpowers would likely be so this generous.
While Purple Shadow's members rested in Stone Forest Town, Zero Wing's members began to flood in. Yuan Tiexin and his entourage arrived shortly after.
Due to the agreement with Shi Feng, the Secret Pavilion established a temporary Residence in Stone Forest Town, allowing the Pavilion's members to teleport to the town freely. However, it was only temporary. After multiple system updates, the Main God System had placed many restrictions on temporary Residences. One of these restrictions limited the number of players that could teleport to the temporary Residence each day. Permanent Residences, on the other hand, didn't have such a limit.
Hence, before the Secret Pavilion's members flooded into Stone Forest Town and reached the daily transfer limit, Yuan Tiexin led a 100-man expert team, which the Secret Pavilion had prepared earlier, to the town.
"Uncle Yuan, we've just received a message from the Guild Leader. It seems Starlink has made its move. Sky Dragon House and Pride Empire are here as well, and more superpowers are quickly approaching. By the looks of it, they all plan to capture Stone Forest Town before Zero Wing can stabilize its position," Purple Jade reported, frowning as she read the message.
Clearly, Starlink was serious about taking the town this time and had armed its forces with the items it had stored in its fortress in the Ancient Undead Country. To make matters worse, two Super Guilds and a handful of superpowers had designs on the town as well. This was bad news for both Zero Wing and the Secret Pavilion.
"It seems that none of them can just sit by and watch," Yuan Tiexin chuckled as he caressed his beard.
"That's enough, Old Yuan. The Guild Leader didn't send you here for a casual chat. Zero Wing can't protect Stone Forest Town with how valuable it has become. We'll have to contribute the most to its defense. Notify Black Flame and inform him that we'll have to renegotiate Stone Forest Town's shares," a white-haired old man reprimanded Yuan.
"I understand, but I believe it's too soon to discuss that with Zero Wing. We should wait and let Zero Wing realize its predicament. Then, I'll have an advantage in the negotiations," Yuan Tiexin said, sighing as he gazed at the distant Zero Wing Residence.
Although he didn't want to take advantage of the Guild, this was the cruel reality of God's Domain. Without sufficient strength, one would lose any valuable treasure they obtained to a stronger force.
The fact that Shi Feng had accomplished this feat was impressive, but Zero Wing had no place in the struggle that would follow.
Not long after the Secret Pavilion's members arrived in Stone Forest Town, Shi Feng reached the first underground floor, and the most important location, in Zero Wing's Residence.
Walking down a dark hall and seeing Zero Wing's flag flutter in its center, Shi Feng retrieved the Gold Town Promotion Order and merged it with the massive magic array on the ground.
System: Gold Town Promotion Order detected. Do you wish to promote Stone Forest Town into a Basic City?
"Promote!" Shi Feng selected the option without hesitation.
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Chapter 2148 – Another Uproar
Inside Zero Wing's Residence in Stone Forest Town…
After Shi Feng chose to promote Stone Forest Town, two gigantic magic arrays suddenly appeared, one in the air and the other on the ground, enveloping the entirety of the town. The players inside Stone Forest Town could not help but grow nervous at the sight.
"What's going on?" Yuan Tiexin looked in confusion at the magic array above him. Although he did not have a great understanding of magic arrays, the one above him was no doubt the largest he had ever seen. Moreover, the Mana flowing around it was actually visible. The intensity of its aura also greatly surpassed that of Mythic monsters.
While everyone was panicking over this sudden development, a system notification suddenly entered the ears of every player inside Stone Forest Town.
System: Stone Forest Town has been promoted to a Basic City. You will be teleported out of Stone Forest Town in 30 seconds.
Everyone in Stone Forest Town immediately fell into a daze upon receiving the system notification, wondering whether or not they had heard wrong.
"How?"
"Stone Forest Town actually got promoted into a city?"
No one could believe this was true. The Secret Pavilion's members, in particular, were dumbfounded by this situation.
"Impossible! To become a city, a town needs not only sufficient defensive structures and an astronomical amount of Popularity but also a large number of permanent residents! Stone Forest Town just transferred to this place, so how could it possibly get promoted to a Basic City?!" the white-haired old man from the Secret Pavilion yelled in denial.
Everyone else from the Secret Pavilion very much agreed with this old man's words. After all, only a handful of people in the Secret Pavilion was more knowledgeable than this old man about the promotion of a Guild Town.
Moreover, this old man was also one of the publicly acknowledged top five Master Town Architects in God's Domain, Easy Wind.
A Master Town Architect was, basically, a Master Architect. Although the architect subclass did not seem that amazing and was far from comparable to the forger and alchemist subclasses in terms of popularity, as players progressed in God's Domain, the various major powers gained a greater understanding of the purpose of Master Architects. As a result, they also started placing greater importance on the architect subclass.
This was because the development of Guild Towns often required Advanced Constructions. Moreover, the planning of a town was also extremely important. If carried out properly, it could accelerate a Guild Town's development substantially. Meanwhile, the Guild Towns built using Easy Wind's designs developed 30% faster than Guild Towns that used the default designs. Moreover, Easy Wind had even designed an Advanced Construction before.
Due to Easy Wind's ability and accomplishments, his position in the Secret Pavilion was superior to even Yuan Tiexin's, who was constantly conducting negotiations and leading expeditions for the Guild. When it came to discussing the development of Guild Towns, Easy Wind held more authority than even the Secret Pavilion's Vice Guild Leaders.
In fact, the main reason why the Secret Pavilion had dispatched Easy Wind to Stone Forest Town was to help the town develop much more efficiently and become a Guild City a little sooner.
Now, however, it was obvious that Easy Wind had just wasted a trip in visiting Stone Forest Town.
Before everyone could react to the system notification, they were already outside Stone Forest Town. Meanwhile, after snapping out of their daze, Zero Wing's members promptly burst out in enthusiastic acclamation.
"The second city!"
"Our Guild has a second city!"
"Even Super Guilds don't have a Guild City established in a neutral map right now!"
At this point, God's Domain still didn't have that many Guild Cities. Moreover, practically all of these Guild Cities were owned by top-ranking superpowers.
Now, however, Zero Wing actually possessed two Guild Cities!
More importantly, Zero Wing's second city was established in the Bottomless Abyss, a God Mode Regional Dungeon. Zero Wing could earn a fortune just by collecting entry fees in Stone Forest Town. After all, a Guild City had much more space than a Guild Town. Let alone accommodating 1,000,000 players, even accommodating 5,000,000 players wouldn't be a problem.
Previously, everyone from Zero Wing was still worried about whether Stone Forest Town could accommodate all the Guild members who wished to grind in the Bottomless Abyss. Now, however, that no longer seemed to be a problem.
Meanwhile, outside the forest, some distance away from Stone Forest Town…
The members of Sky Dragon House and Pride Empire automatically halted their advance when they saw the two gigantic magic arrays enveloping Stone Forest Town and a large number of players suddenly materializing outside the town.
"Old Sheng, any information on your side? So many people actually got teleported out of the town. Is Stone Forest Town off limits to players?" a tall, middle-aged man with short hair from Pride Empire's team asked as he looked at the crimson-armored man standing beside him.
"How would I know? Not to mention, since when is Pride Empire's information network slower than Sky Dragon House's?" the crimson-armored man replied, rolling his eyes at the short-haired man dressed in exquisite mage robes.
If the upper echelons of the Fire Dragon Empire's various large Guilds were here, they would most likely be stupefied. After all, Pride Empire's Ghost Mage, Zhan Baiya, and Sky Dragon House's Meteor Hammer, Sheng Wuji, were actually working together. If news of this matter spread, it would definitely shock the entire Fire Dragon Empire.
Ghost Mage and Falling Meteor were both capable generals of their respective Guilds. Their positions were not the slightest bit inferior to Vice Guild Leaders in their respective Guilds. They were also monstrous existences in terms of strength.
If these two monsters cooperated, even superpowers would have to be extremely careful of them.
Meanwhile, shortly after their exchange, both of them received a message at the same time. After they read their respective messages, both of them had a very startled expression on their faces.
What kind of background does Zero Wing possess? It actually managed to promote Stone Forest Town into a Basic City! Zhan Baiya could not help but gaze at the distant Stone Forest Town in puzzlement.
According to the information that Pride Empire acquired, Stone Forest Town had definitely been promoted into a Basic City.
Pride Empire had a Guild City of its own, so it knew just how difficult promoting a Guild Town to a Guild City was.
Pride Empire had mobilized all its resources in order to attain its Guild City.
Yet, now, Zero Wing had actually succeeded in promoting Stone Forest Town into a Guild City!
"Old Zhan, what does your side plan to do?" Sheng Wuji asked after he finished reading his own message.
"They gave me only four words," Zhan Baiya replied. "No matter the cost!"
"Mine said roughly the same thing too," Sheng Wuji said, a bitter smile on his face. "However, a Basic City is different from an Advanced Town. The difficulty of capturing Stone Forest Town is many times greater than before."
Only powers that owned a Guild City would understand just how formidable it was. It was not only a gigantic ATM but also an impenetrable fortress. Just the city's built-in defensive magic array was already enough to render current players utterly powerless, not to mention the large number of high-tiered NPC soldiers inside the city.
Fortunately, promoting a town did not grant a protection period. A newly promoted city could be snatched away as soon as its promotion process ended.
"Since that is the case, let's start moving, fast. Otherwise, once the Secret Pavilion's members arrive, we'll have a much more difficult time capturing the newly promoted Stone Forest City!" Zhan Baiya suggested after hearing that Sky Dragon House harbored the same intentions as Pride Empire.
"Alright. News of Stone Forest Town's promotion should've spread already. Delaying any longer will give those several superpowers time to get here," Sheng Wuji said, nodding as he shifted his gaze to the Zero Wing members crowded outside Stone Forest Town. He then turned back to look at his team and said, "Everyone, split up and move in parties! We have to end the battle as quickly as possible!"
At this point, Zero Wing was no longer their main enemy but the superpowers that were currently en route. What they needed to do now was take care of Zero Wing expeditiously before those superpowers arrived.
After obeying Sheng Wuji's order, Sky Dragon House's and Pride Emperor's members immediately charged toward Stone Forest Town.
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Chapter 2149 – Divide?
"Uncle Yuan, this is bad. Stone Forest has just become a city; its foundations have yet to be stabilized. Now is the perfect time to attack it. Those superpowers that held off before are now going all out in sending manpower to this place. With just the few of us here, I'm afraid we'll have a difficult time protecting Stone Forest," Purple Jade said, a serious expression on her face as she read the latest report from the Guild.
Previously, although various superpowers were tempted into action by Stone Forest Town, they had dispatched only a small portion of their strength to capture it. However, due to Stone Forest Town's promotion, Starlink wasn't the only superpower going all out anymore. Other superpowers now intended to pull out all the stops for seizing Stone Forest Town.
Even one superpower going all out would be enough to give the Secret Pavilion a headache, all the more a group of superpowers doing so.
It might be fine if the upcoming battle took place in the outside world; however, they were inside the Bottomless Abyss. Dispatching ordinary experts here would be utterly meaningless. They would just become liabilities. Only experts at the Refinement Realm standard or above could provide useful combat power. However, the total number of Refinement Realm experts the various superpowers had easily surpassed that of the Secret Pavilion.
"This Black Flame! Why didn't he inform us of this promotion beforehand?! We are in a tight spot now!" At this moment, Yuan Tiexin was also suffering a huge headache over this matter.
Prior to Stone Forest's promotion, the town provided Zero Wing with a significant number of advantages in the Bottomless Abyss, but it did not put the Guild in an absolutely advantageous position. After all, a town could accommodate only a very limited number of players.
However, with Stone Forest Town's promotion, Zero Wing now essentially held full control over the entire Bottomless Abyss. How could this situation not make the various superpowers desperate and force them to go all out to capture Stone Forest Town?
With this, even the Secret Pavilion would not be absolutely certain of defending Stone Forest Town.
"Uncle Yuan, the scouts we dispatched into the periphery have discovered Sky Dragon House's and Pride Empire's members. They're moving in our direction and will arrive in less than five minutes," Purple Jade said anxiously as she read her subordinate's report.
"They've finally appeared? Do you know who's leading them?" Yuan Tiexin was not particularly surprised by this revelation. After all, the Secret Pavilion had long known about the presence of these two Super Guilds in the Bottomless Abyss. Otherwise, the Secret Pavilion wouldn't have sent a team to Stone Forest Town as soon as teleportation to the town became available.
They're Sheng Wuji and Zhan Baiya. By the looks of it, the two of them are working together," Purple Jade said, her complexion darkening.
Sheng Wuji and Zhan Baiya were well-known monster-level experts in God's Domain. Moreover, the teams they led were only second to their respective Guilds' main forces. Even the team that the Secret Pavilion sent to Stone Forest Town would have trouble dealing with just one of these teams, let alone both at the same time.
"Why is it them?" Yuan Tiexin's face sank when he heard the names of these two people. "We don't have a choice. Jade, relay this matter to the Guild Leader immediately and have him send over as many players as possible. Also, go and stop those two. I'll meet with Black Flame to notify him about the severity of the matter. Hopefully, he'll make the correct decision quickly."
The situation was now out of the Secret Pavilion's control. The only way left to defend Stone Forest Town was to get Shi Feng to hand over more of Stone Forest Town's shares and use these additional shares to recruit other superpowers into their alliance. Otherwise, only death awaited them.
"I'll head over immediately!" Purple Jade nodded. She then led the Secret Pavilion's team to stop Sheng Wuji and Zhan Baiya.
Meanwhile, under Sheng Wuji and Zhan Baiya's command, Sky Dragon House's and Pride Empire's members were like fierce tigers that had just been released from their cages. Unlike the combat methods usually employed by players fighting in teams, Sky Dragon House's and Pride Empire's members split into six-man parties, which moved independently of each other as they traversed the Undead Forest. They did not try to focus their strength on a single point to break through Zero Wing's defenses.
From an outsider's perspective, this method of combat would look very silly, as it allowed others to exploit it very easily. However, those who were aware of these two teams' history would understand that these teams were not executing such a combat method out of foolishness at all. Instead, their doing so was due to their absolute confidence in their strength.
Moreover, when traveling through a forest, players could move much more quickly in small parties instead of large teams. This was especially true for the players Sheng Wuji and Zhan Baiya led. They were akin to lively monkeys as they traversed the Undead Forest, moving very swiftly and leaving no traces behind.
When these two teams got within 500 yards of the city and were about to exit into the clearing that surrounded it, Purple Jade's 100-man team halted their advance.
"Little missy, although you are the Secret Pavilion's prodigy, do you really think you can stop both our teams with just these few people?" Sheng Wuji, who currently perched atop a tree, asked as he looked down at Purple Jade. He did not hurry to take action. Instead, he quietly observed the young woman standing in the clearing before him.
"I have constantly been hearing that the Secret Pavilion has produced an amazing genius recently. After getting a look myself, you really are extraordinary. You're already a peak expert at such a young age. Unfortunately, I'm afraid you're still not enough to stop the both of us," Zhan Baiya said as he walked out of the forest.
Although Sheng Wuji and Zhan Baiya had spoken in very amicable tones, the auras they radiated were incomparably frightening. Even the many Refinement Realm experts standing behind Purple Jade felt the threat of death when bathed in this aura.
In addition, the Secret Pavilion's members could also sense many other bone-chilling killing intents being directed at them from the forest. Every one of these killing intents was enough to make their bodies shudder. They felt that if they let their guard down for even a moment, they would definitely die a tragic death here.
At this moment, the Secret Pavilion's members were also certain that, if not for them representing the Secret Pavilion, Sheng Wuji's and Zhan Baiya's teams would've long since taken action.
So, these are the Heavenly Demon Team and Horned Dragon Team led by Ghost Mage and Meteor Hammer? Purple Jade automatically grew vigilant as she observed the numerous parties hidden within the forest.
Just the peak experts she could sense before her right now already numbered as many as fifteen. Moreover, unlike herself, these peak experts had already been in the Void Realm for a long time and had much more combat experience than she did. Not only were they much more experienced at fighting against experts that had equal or superior combat standards, but their control over their five senses was also far superior to her own.
Not to mention, every member of Sheng Wuji's and Zhan Baiya's teams boasted top-tier equipment. Even the weakest piece of equipment on them was Level 65 Fine-Gold rank, with many of them fully geared in Level 65 Dark-Gold Equipment. There were even ten-odd experts with Epic items. As for Sheng Wuji and Zhan Baiya, each of them sported four Epic items, with the rest being Level 65 Dark-Gold Equipment.
If these two teams were working together, even superpowers would receive a rough beating if they did not take the two teams seriously. Not to mention, both these teams had powerful Super Guilds as backing. They did not have to fear any repercussions for their actions the way independent players did.
After calming herself, Purple Jade smiled and said, "This is a misunderstanding. I am here only to receive you two. I have no intention of fighting."
"It seems the Secret Pavilion understands the current situation," Sheng Wuji laughed. "Say it, then. How do you plan on dividing Stone Forest Town's shares?"
"I'll state it clearly first. Pride Empire wants 30%," Zhan Baiya declared.
"Since Old Zhan has said so, then Sky Dragon House will settle for 30%, as well. As the Secret Pavilion is the first to occupy Stone Forest Town, it'll get 40%. I believe the Secret Pavilion won't have any complaints about this, right?" Sheng Wuji said.
"This…" The words of these two people immediately rendered Purple Jade speechless. Their combined demand was actually for 60% of Stone Forest Town's shares.
Had these two people belonged to any other superpower, they definitely wouldn't speak so boldly to the Secret Pavilion. However, the Super Guilds these two represented were extremely strong and not afraid of any power in God's Domain.
In fact, if she were not representing the Secret Pavilion but some other superpower instead, these two people would not have demanded just 60%.
"If your Secret Pavilion has any opinions about this matter, speak up. However, you are not allowed to touch this bottom line!" Sheng Wuji said sternly when he saw Purple Jade hesitating to speak.
Although Zhan Baiya did not make any additional comments, his attitude made it clear that he shared the same sentiments as Sheng Wuji.
As these two people were waiting for Purple Jade's reply, a man suddenly appeared from another corner of the forest. This man wore a quaint, old cloak and had two exquisite longswords hanging at his waist. He gave the impression of a down-and-out Swordsman that was just passing by.
"Since you two want Stone Forest Town's shares, aren't you going to ask Zero Wing whether this is fine or not?"
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Chapter 2150 – Lacking Qualifications
"Who are you?" Sheng Wuji's gaze turned chilly as he looked askance at Shi Feng.
As soon as Sheng Wuji spoke, the Sky Dragon House members hiding within the forest directed their gaze toward Shi Feng. The cold killing intent they radiated could scare peak experts. Even monster-level experts would most likely grow wary upon sensing such an intense killing intent.
What happened next, however, stunned both Sky Dragon House's and Pride Empire's members.
Despite having such an intense killing intent directed at himself, Shi Feng remained at ease as he strolled toward Sheng Wuji, his demeanor making it seem as if the intense killing intent did not exist at all.
"Black Flame!" Shi Feng replied curtly.
"So, you're the Sword King." Upon hearing Shi Feng's answer, Sheng Wuji immediately looked at Shi Feng squarely.
If the person Sheng Wuji was dealing with were merely the Guild Leader of a first-rate Guild, he wouldn't have bothered taking a second glance at the other party. After all, in terms of strength or status, he was on another level altogether compared to a first-rate Guild's Guild Leader. However, Shi Feng was different. Shi Feng was a bona fide apex expert, someone of equal strength.
The only reason why Sheng Wuji had treated Purple Jade amicably before was the fact that she was the Secret Pavilion's representative. The Secret Pavilion was a transcendental power in the virtual gaming world, and it very rarely participated in the struggle between the various superpowers. It mainly moved for money and information gathering.
However, the Secret Pavilion was not weak by any means. After all, it was impossible for a power to transcend without sufficient strength.
In reality, even Sky Dragon House feared the Secret Pavilion greatly and would normally avoid coming into conflict with it. Sky Dragon House had decided to offend the Secret Pavilion only because too much was at stake this time.
"Guild Leader Black Flame, since you've arrived as well, let's just speak frankly with each other," Sheng Wuji said, chuckling. "The current Stone Forest is no longer something you can afford to hold. Even the Secret Pavilion can't do so. After all, there are simply too many superpowers eyeing this place. If you wish to hold the city, your only choice is to work with us. We've already stated the amount of shares we want. Each of our Guilds wants 30%. As for the remaining 40%, you can decide how you want to split it with the Secret Pavilion. Our Guilds won't mind whatever decision you make."
"That's right. This is our bottom line. If negotiations fail, then we'll simply switch to another method to negotiate," Zhan Baiya said, nodding. He then turned to look at Purple Jade and continued, "However, I'm afraid the end result then will be undesirable to the Secret Pavilion."
Although Zhan Baiya also valued experts like Shi Feng highly, in front of the various superpowers, Shi Feng alone would be helpless to change anything. In Zhan Baiya's calculations, Shi Feng didn't have any authority in their negotiations at all. The one actually in control of Stone Forest Town should be the Secret Pavilion. Meanwhile, Shi Feng's appearance here was only a negotiating tactic for the Secret Pavilion to gain more benefits.
"Guild Leader Black Flame, both Sky Dragon House and Pride Empire are Super Guilds with extraordinary strength. Both of them are far stronger than even the current Starlink. Now that the two of them are working together, if it really comes down to a fight, what with the interference of other superpowers, the outcome will not be pleasing," Purple Jade said. She naturally understood what Zhan Baiya was trying to say. Moreover, as a core member of the Secret Pavilion, she understood very clearly just how frightening these two Super Guilds were. However, Shi Feng didn't know this, so she needed to explain things to him. Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.
However, as soon as Purple Jade finished speaking, Shi Feng turned his gaze toward Zhan Baiya.
"Bottom line?" Shi Feng chuckled. "Isn't this something meant to be surpassed? Also, you want to take Stone Forest Town's shares? I'm afraid you're still not qualified to do so."
The atmosphere in the area immediately hit rock bottom.
As for Purple Jade, she nearly fainted from anger when she heard Shi Feng's words.
Her intention had been to let Shi Feng understand how powerful the Guilds backing Sheng Wuji and Zhan Baiya were and have him appease these two people first. That way, they would still have hopes of negotiating for better terms afterward. Now, however…
"Not qualified? Since that is the case, everyone, let's show Guild Leader Black Flame whether our Pride Empire is actually qualified or not!" Zhan Baiya growled as he waved his hand.
Immediately, the Heavenly Demon Team members hidden in the forest sprang into action. Over 20 Level 66-plus melee experts instantly surrounded and attacked Shi Feng. The coordination between these melee experts was excellent. They evenly split their attacks into four stages, with every member taking on a specific role in the assault; some focused on executing defensive maneuvers, and some focused on offense. As veterans of the battlefield, their assault was void of any flaws that could be taken advantage of. Even Domain Realm monsters would have a headache dealing with such a coordinated attack.
"It seems he is still too young. He must think that nobody can stop him, now that he has reached the Domain Realm." Sheng Wuji sent Shi Feng a look of pity when he saw the coordinated assault of Pride Empire's experts.
It was very rare for someone to reach the Domain Realm at Shi Feng's age. Hence, those that did manage to accomplish such a feat would generally feel that they were invincible existences and would not put anybody in their eyes.
Unfortunately, Shi Feng's opponent this time was the Heavenly Demon Team, a team that constantly fought monster- level experts. It was entirely different from the expert teams of other superpowers, which possessed only extraordinary combat power but not experience fighting monster-level experts.
The Heavenly Demon Team's members understood very clearly not only the combat methods of Domain Realm experts but also how to counter such combat methods.
Moreover, the leaders of the 20-plus melee players attacking Shi Feng right now were two peak experts that were just one step away from reaching the Domain Realm. Either of them was more than capable of fighting Domain Realm experts to a standstill for quite some time. If they coordinated with each other and received aid from other teammates, they were fully capable of taking down a Domain Realm expert.
Hence, whenever the Heavenly Demon Team succeeded in surrounding a Domain Realm expert, the fight generally ended with the Domain Realm expert's defeat.
If a monster-level expert from the older generation came across the Heavenly Demon Team, they would generally pay attention to their positioning. They definitely wouldn't allow the Heavenly Demon Team to surround them. However, Shi Feng was far too young. Furthermore, he was someone that came from a minor power that had no background whatsoever, so it was normal for him to be ignorant of the Heavenly Demon Team. Otherwise, he definitely wouldn't have committed such a low-level mistake.
Meanwhile, when Purple Jade saw that Shi Feng was surrounded, her complexion darkened immediately. She was well aware of just how powerful the Heavenly Demon Team was and the team's many exploits. Hence, she knew that Shi Feng was now in an extremely precarious situation. She immediately unsheathed her sword, intending to reinforce him.
However, before she could even take a step forward, she suddenly felt a chilling gaze directed at herself and the threat of imminent death. Her body froze up on instinct.
"Little missy, I advise you not to take action. This matter is between Zero Wing and Pride Empire. If you make a move, then I'll have no choice but to take action as well," Sheng Wuji warned slowly.
Upon hearing this, Purple Jade had no choice but to abandon her thoughts of helping Shi Feng.
Judging by Sheng Wuji's phrasing, she deduced that there was still ground for recovery. This fight was being regarded as only a small friction between Zero Wing and Pride Empire. If she were to intervene, however, the fight would take on a whole different meaning: the Secret Pavilion would be standing in direct opposition to both Sky Dragon House and Pride Empire. Then, there would no longer be any room for negotiations.
When Purple Jade resumed her previous stance, Sheng Wuji nodded in approval before returning his gaze to Shi Feng. He was eager to see just how far Shi Feng had progressed in the Domain Realm.
At their standard, strength could no longer be determined using common sense. Even if Shi Feng was killed multiple times today and lost a significant amount of progress, he could still climb back up to prominence one day. After all, opportunities that ordinary experts found hard to attain could be easily secured by experts of their standard. In fact, Domain Realm experts could almost certainly secure any opportunities they came across. Their levels and equipment standard wouldn't pose a hindrance to them. This was also the reason why the various superpowers abhorred dealing with Domain Realm experts.
In the next moment, two peak experts and six Flowing Water Realm experts from the Heavenly Demon Team launched a pincer attack on Shi Feng. The two peak experts focused only on offense while the six Flowing Water Realm experts divided their roles between offense and defense. As for the other melee players, they focused on preventing the Swordsman from escaping the encirclement; they were all ready to trade blow for blow with him.
When dealing with a peak expert that abandoned defense and focused solely on offense, even Domain Realm experts would have to tread carefully. Normally, the best way for Domain Realm experts to cope with such suicidal peak experts was to temporarily go on the defensive and wait for an opportunity to deal a fatal blow. Now, however, Shi Feng had to deal with not only two Void Realm experts and three Flowing Water Realm experts, all of whom were attacking him, hell-bent on mutual destruction, but also three Flowing Water Realm experts defending these five suicidal experts.
However, contrary to everyone's expectations, even when the greatswords of the two peak experts were about to land on Shi Feng's body, the Swordsman still showed no signs of wanting to dodge the attacks at all. Instead, he brandished his two swords and greeted the incoming attacks in battle.
Two bright flashes entered everyone's eyes, followed by two loud metallic clangs. In the next moment, both peak experts abruptly went flying over a dozen yards. Their bodies crashed heavily into the ground, their HP bars decreasing by a sizable chunk. The arms of both peak experts also trembled violently as they stiffened up.
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Chapter 2151 – Slaying the Heavenly Demon Team
The instant the two peak experts went flying, everyone in the Heavenly Demon Team was stunned. The six Flowing Water experts supporting the two peak experts even forgot to attack Shi Feng. They simply stared at the man before them in utter disbelief.
If the two players Shi Feng had just sent flying were any other peak expert, the six would, at most, be a little surprised. However, they knew exactly how powerful those two peak experts were.
The two peak experts' combat standards aside, their weapons and equipment alone were already considered the best among the best in the current God's Domain. Not only were both peak experts fully geared in Level 65 Dark-Gold Equipment, but both of them also wielded Epic Weapons.
Moreover, both peak experts were Berserkers. In a competition of Strength, they could clash directly even with their Guild's Domain Realm experts, who boasted three or four Epic Weapons and Equipment.
Despite all that, Shi Feng not only sent both of these peak experts flying but even caused their arms to stiffen up.
How is his Strength so high? Zhan Baiya was also stunned as he stared at Shi Feng.
The two peak experts that went flying could exhibit Strength rivaling Great Lords of the same level. They could even hold their own against Strength-based Great Lords in a frontal confrontation.
However, Shi Feng effortlessly nullified the combination attack of the two peak experts—and sent both of them flying. Only Grand Lords of the same level could accomplish such a feat.
A monster-level expert with the Strength of a Grand Lord of the same level?
After Zhan Baiya thought up to this point, his complexion turned incomparably grim.
Before the Heavenly Demon Team members could react to the unexpected development, Shi Feng took a step forward, the two swords in his hands suddenly transforming into dazzling streaks of lights. In the next moment, a beautiful lotus of light bloomed around him.
Sword's Transmigration!
Twelve sword lights instantly cut through the six Flowing Water Realm experts standing idly around Shi Feng. Although these six experts had sensed the attacks, the twelve sword lights were simply far too fast for them to react to. Moreover, the sword lights were accurately aimed at their defensive blind spots. In the end, they could only watch as the sword lights pierced through their bodies.
A moment later, all six Flowing Water Realm experts collapsed at Shi Feng's feet. The entire process had been so quick that the rear line healers didn't even get a chance to start casting their Healing Spells.
"So strong! With this kind of speed and Strength, even that old thing from our Guild might be inferior to him," Sheng Wuji exclaimed in astonishment.
When Sky Dragon House's members heard Sheng Wuji's comment, they could not help but stare at Shi Feng in shock and horror.
Sheng Wuji was one of Sky Dragon House's main pillars. There were only three people in the entire Guild that Sheng Wuji would refer to as an "old thing"—and they were existences that even their Guild Leader had to treat with the utmost respect.
As for the equipment these three people wore, all sorts of guesses were bandied about in the Guild. However, the consensus was that each of these three people had at least seven pieces of Epic Equipment on them. No doubt, they stood at the apex of God's Domain in terms of equipment standards.
Now, however, Sheng Wuji actually said that Shi Feng surpassed one of these three people in Basic Attributes. How could such a thing be possible?
Nevertheless, these words had come out of Sheng Wuji's mouth directly, so the Horned Dragon Team's members had no choice but to accept them. After all, Sheng Wuji was one of Sky Dragon House's monster-level experts. His insight and knowledge far surpassed their own. Since he said so, then there was a 90% chance that it was true.
Only, they simply could not figure out how a small Guild like Zero Wing managed to equip Shi Feng to such an extent.
Players needed to have compatibility with their weapons and equipment in order to wield them properly; Epic Weapons and Equipment were no exception to this. Players could strengthen their Basic Attributes by using weapons and equipment that were of a higher quality but had low compatibility. However, by doing so, they would not only fail to increase their combat power but even decrease it instead.
From Shi Feng's performance, it was evident that he was using weapons and equipment that were compatible with him. However, obtaining seven or more pieces of Epic Equipment that had high compatibility was extremely difficult.
The first reason was the rarity of Epic items.
The second reason was the high repetition rate of certain equipment parts. At this stage of the game, first-rate Guilds might have 20 or 30 Epic items, but the majority of these were for the head, top, and legs. Items for other parts of the body, such as capes, belts, and pauldrons, were in the minority. Some first-rate Guilds might not even have Epic Equipment for these parts.
Hence, players faced extreme difficulty obtaining seven or more pieces of Epic Equipment that were compatible with them. Members of Super Guilds were no exception.
Meanwhile, after Shi Feng killed the six Flowing Water Realm experts from the Heavenly Demon Team, Zhan Baiya no longer dared to take the situation lightly. He immediately took out a bottle of purple-gold potion. The potion's bottle was made out of Mana Stone, and the potion exuded dense Mana that was palpable even from several dozen yards away.
Four other players from the Heavenly Demon Team also took out the same potion and drank it.
The instant the five players drank the potion, a purple-gold divine rune suddenly appeared on their heads. The aura their bodies radiated also skyrocketed in intensity.
"What? The Heavenly Demon Team actually prepared five Divine Protection Potions?" The corners of Sheng Wuji's mouth twitched slightly when he saw the potion the five players consumed.
The Divine Protection Potion could be obtained only from the Fire Dragon Empire's ancient ruins. The value of each bottle rivaled that of an Epic item, and even the Horned Dragon Team he led had only two bottles prepared.
Players who consumed the Divine Protection Potion would temporarily receive a God's blessing, which improved their Life Ratings by a significant margin.
Of course, the potion was only effective for players at Tier 3 or below. Normally, when Tier 2 players consumed the potion, they would gain Basic Attributes close to the Tier 3 standard.
Now that five players from the Heavenly Demon Team had consumed the Divine Protection Potion, the team essentially gained five semi-Tier 3 players.
It should be known that the difference between tiers was massive in God's Domain. Although the five players from the Heavenly Demon Team could only be considered semi-Tier 3 players right now, the combat power they could exhibit would still surpass anything Tier 2 players could hope to achieve.
Not to mention, of the five players that consumed the Divine Protection Potion, four were peak experts, and one was a monster-level expert.
In the next moment, the five players started fighting it out with Shi Feng, the attacks of both sides wreaking great destruction on their surroundings. From afar, the fight between these six players looked more like a battle between monsters than one between players.
Right now, any one of the five players from the Heavenly Demon Team had the combat power to defeat monster-level experts. They were akin to strategic missiles in a field battle, able to slay a 1,000-man team of ordinary experts all by themselves. They were frightening existences that were basically unstoppable.
Due to the high standards of the battle, the Heavenly Demon Team's other members couldn't interfere in the battle at all, left to watch from the sidelines.
At this moment, however, Shi Feng was equally terrifying.
Despite facing the joint assault of these five players, Shi Feng was actually only at a slight disadvantage.
"Everyone, hold out a little longer! This place is the Bottomless Abyss! The Stamina consumption here is several times higher than in the outside world! He won't last very long if he keeps on moving at such a pace!" Zhan Baiya said, sneering as he watched Shi Feng fervently dodging their attacks. "Once his Stamina runs out, he'll die!"
Currently, Shi Feng's defense was practically perfect. He consistently deflected all of their attacks, making them feel as if they were pointlessly striking the air. As a result, each attack barely did him any damage.
However, Shi Feng had been fighting against them at full capacity all this time. His five senses and mental state were constantly being pushed to their very limits. Doing so would place a tremendous burden on his Stamina and Concentration. What with the greatly increased Stamina and Concentration consumption in the Bottomless Abyss, the Swordsman wouldn't be able to last very long in this battle.
In contrast, the five of them received a qualitative improvement to their Life Ratings after consuming the Divine Protection Potion. Naturally, their Stamina and Concentration had received improvements as well. Not to mention, they were expending far less Stamina and Concentration than Shi Feng. It was only a matter of time before they whittled him to death.
"Is that so?" Looking at the smug expression on Zhan Baiya's face, Shi Feng leaped back, pulling away from the Heavenly Demon Team.
"You want to run? It won't be that easy!" When Shi Feng retreated, Zhan Baiya immediately commanded, "Activate the Void Magic Array! Do not let him escape, no matter what!"
In the next moment, two dozen or so members from the Heavenly Demon Team each took out a Magic Array Scroll from their bags. They then activated the scrolls, trapping Shi Feng inside a magic barrier.
"Black Flame is finished now. The Void Magic Array not only prevents players from escaping but also suppresses their Basic Attributes by roughly 20%." Sheng Wuji sighed involuntarily when he saw the Void Magic Array being deployed. "However, I'm afraid only a few people in God's Domain are capable of forcing the Heavenly Demon Team to go to such lengths. Black Flame can be proud of this battle."
The Homed Dragon Team's members also expressed their agreement with Sheng Wuji's words. The Heavenly Demon Team was Pride Empire's trump card team, only second to the Guild's main force. The team had killed plenty of monster-level experts before. However, the experts that had managed to force the Heavenly Demon Team to go all out could be counted on the fingers of one hand.
If news of this matter were to spread in the Fire Dragon Empire, it would definitely cause a sensation in the entire empire.
As soon as Sheng Wuji finished speaking, Shi Feng suddenly stopped moving. He simply watched quietly as Zhan Baiya's group of five charged at him.
"Giving up now that you know you can't get away?" Zhan Baiya laughed when he saw that Shi Feng had stopped moving.
"Noisy!" Sending a glance at Zhan Baiya, Shi Feng activated Deep Sea Meditation and charged forward.
Suddenly, Shi Feng's aura transformed. As if he had become a completely different person from before, his aura now was so violent that even the Refinement Realm experts spectating from the sidelines felt their breath stifled. Moreover, they also felt pressured due to a difference in Life Rating. Before Shi Feng's Life Rating, even the Life Ratings of Zhan Baiya's group of five seemed insignificant.
"How is this possible?"
When Zhan Baiya felt Shi Feng's aura, his gut actually warned him that he was no match for Shi Feng. However, just as Zhan Baiya was considering retreating, Shi Feng suddenly appeared before him.
Tier 2 Taboo Skill, Instant Strike!
Sword's Transmigration!
More than twenty sword lights flew from Shi Feng's swords, so fast that they were imperceptible by the naked eye. When the sword lights vanished, Zhan Baiya's group of five started collapsing to the ground, one after another.
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Chapter 2152 – Inhuman Combat Power
The entire area sank into utter silence at Zhan Baiya's death.
The nearby Heavenly Demon Team members fell into a daze on the spot. Even the rear line healers, who had been casting Healing Spells continuously, froze as they stared at Zhan Baiya's corpse.
As for Sheng Wuji, Purple Jade, and the other onlookers, their eyes nearly fell out of their sockets when they saw this scene.
"Crap! Is he really a player?" At this moment, even Sheng Wuji could not help but curse out loud. He simply could not wrap his head around this outcome.
Zhan Baiya was the commander of the Heavenly Demon Team and was nicknamed Ghost Mage. Spells would gain life in his hands. The way he connected and coordinated his Spells was something even Domain Realm experts found difficult. Not to mention, he had also consumed the Divine Protection Potion for this battle.
Yet, Shi Feng had still managed to kill Zhan Baiya in one hit. Moreover, he had struck so quickly that the latter didn't even have time to use any of his Lifesaving Skills.
"What did he do?" Purple Jade googled reflexively in utter disbelief as she looked at Shi Feng, who was standing proudly on the battlefield.
From start to end, the only thing she was certain of was that Shi Feng had suddenly appeared before Zhan Baiya's group, followed by a dazzling flash crossing the distance between the two sides. Afterward, Zhan Baiya's group of five collapsed to the ground. Everything else that happened in between had escaped her five senses.
It should be known that she had already reached the Void Realm. She could exert her five senses to their very limits and clearly perceive her surroundings. Even if an action was too fast for the naked eye, said action couldn't escape all of her senses. Even the old monsters of the Secret Pavilion couldn't accomplish such a feat.
Nevertheless, she had actually failed to perceive Shi Feng's actions.
Meanwhile, back on the battlefield, after Shi Feng killed Zhan Baiya's group of five, he calmly shifted his gaze to the rest of the Heavenly Demon Team and asked, "Do you still want to continue?"
Although Shi Feng did not speak very loudly, his voice carried, loud and clear, on the silent battlefield.
Upon hearing Shi Feng's words, the Heavenly Demon Team members suddenly felt as if they had just received a death sentence, and all fell into despair. Even the two remaining peak experts of the team, who were originally preparing to take action, involuntarily lowered their heads. They avoided eye contact with Shi Feng, lest he misunderstand and take it for a challenge.
After all, if even a Domain Realm expert like Zhan Baiya was killed so effortlessly, what could the rest of them possibly do against Shi Feng?
Choosing to continue the fight now would only result in additional losses for the Heavenly Demon Team.
Immediately, the magic barrier enveloping Shi Feng crumbled and disintegrated into countless particles of light.
This scene stunned Yuan Tiexin, who had just arrived at the site of the battle, his mind unable to figure out what was going on.
Previously, after Yuan Tiexin had explained the situation to Shi Feng, Zero Wing's Guild Leader had rushed toward the location of Sky Dragon House's and Pride Empire's teams without hesitation. As Shi Feng's speed was absurdly fast, Yuan Tiexin soon got left behind.
While running toward the battlefield, Yuan Tiexin saw the magic barrier appear and immediately knew that the situation had gone south. Shi Feng must've butted heads with the members of the two Super Guilds. Otherwise, a high- level magic barrier wouldn't have been used in such a place.
However, only a few seconds after the magic barrier went up, it actually started disintegrating.
Even Yuan Tiexin, with his bountiful experience, could not figure out what had just happened.
However, when Yuan Tiexin saw Zhan Baiya's corpse lying on the ground and the looks of despair on the Heavenly Demon Team members' faces, he became thoroughly stupefied.
Who was Zhan Baiya? What was the Heavenly Demon Team?
These were things that he, as an Elder of the Secret Pavilion, knew very clearly.
Every member of the Heavenly Demon Team was an expert among experts. They had fought in countless battles and also attained innumerable achievements for Pride Empire. They were all incomparably arrogant people and would be more than willing to fight to the death when faced with a powerful foe. They definitely would not shrink back even the slightest bit.
Now, however, no matter how Yuan Tiexin looked at the Heavenly Demon Team's members, he could not find any trace of fighting spirit on their faces, their eyes brimming with only fear as they looked at Shi Feng.
"Elder Yuan, the Secret Pavilion is truly amazing. To think you would have such a trump card hidden. You have my sincere admiration," Sheng Wuji said as he approached Yuan Tiexin. With some reluctance, he continued, "The Horned Dragon Team will be giving up on the struggle for Stone Forest Town this time. However, understand that it is only the Horned Dragon Team that is giving up. That doesn't mean that Sky Dragon House is giving up as well."
When Yuan Tiexin heard Sheng Wuji's words, his expression remained impassive. Inwardly, however, his heart was pounding madly.
At this moment, he could not help but wish he could shout out loud and ask what Shi Feng had done.
Why would the almighty Homed Dragon Team choose to yield without even putting up a fight?
Before Yuan Tiexin could sort out his emotions, Sheng Wuji had already led his team away from the Undead Forest. Sheng Wuji did not dare to stay here for even a moment longer and risk his team's annihilation.
Only after confirming that the Horned Dragon Team and Heavenly Demon Team had left the battlefield did Yuan Tiexin ask Purple Jade about what had happened. Without missing a detail, Purple Jade told Yuan Tiexin everything she saw.
"So, that's the case. If it were up to me, I would most likely have made the same decision as Sheng Wuji." Yuan Tiexin revealed a bitter smile as he looked at the direction Sheng Wuji and the others had taken.
The word "shocking" was no longer enough to describe the fact that Shi Feng had instantly killed Zhan Baiya, who had consumed the Divine Protection Potion.
Although the Heavenly Demon Team's and Horned Dragon Team's members were prideful, they were not idiots.
If there were even a strand of hope, they would've definitely chosen to fight to the bitter end.
However, against absolute power, the numbers they had here were utterly meaningless. Rather than pointlessly getting themselves killed, it was much better if they gave up quickly and conserved their strength.
Thinking up to this point, Yuan Tiexin could not help but turn an incredulous gaze toward Shi Feng. He simply could not bring himself to believe that Shi Feng actually possessed this kind of strength. Shi Feng was far stronger than he was during the Auction Arena. His growth was ridiculous.
However, what Yuan Tiexin did not know was that, in reality, Shi Feng wasn't in a good state at all. Although his current Basic Attributes were indeed superior to when he had participated in the Auction Arena, the overall improvement in his combat power was extremely limited.
The only reason why he was able to exhibit such great power just now was his combining a Taboo Skill with a combat technique.
As for Deep Sea Meditation, although the Secret Law allowed players to tap their latent potential, it took a massive toll on the user's Stamina and Concentration. Using the Secret Law in a place like the Bottomless Abyss only served to amplify its flaws.
Similarly, combining Sword's Transmigration and Instant Strike also placed an enormous demand on his Stamina and Concentration. When he used all of these things together, his Stamina and Concentration had drained away like there was no tomorrow. He had expended more than half of his total Stamina and Concentration to kill Zhan Baiya's group of five; he wouldn't have been able to use the move a second time. Had the Heavenly Demon Team and Horned Dragon Team chosen to continue fighting, he would have had no choice but to run away.
Meanwhile, on the Horned Dragon Team's side…
The members of the team currently wore ashen expressions on their faces, their hearts filled with frustration.
"Commander, are we really leaving just like that? The Guild Leader instructed us to secure Stone Forest Town no matter the cost, and even if it isn't possible for us to secure it, we definitely can't let other powers have it," a Level 67 Ranger asked worriedly as he looked at Sheng Wuji.
Their Guild Leader's orders were absolute. If they returned completely unharmed now, they would definitely incur their Guild Leader's ire.
"What are you worried about? The struggle for Stone Forest Town has just begun. Even if we secured the town now, we'd still have to face the full-bore assault of numerous superpowers," Sheng Wuji replied, chuckling. "Against that kind of attack, even if our Sky Dragon House worked with Pride Empire, we might not necessarily be able to defend the town successfully. Do you think Black Flame and the Secret Pavilion can accomplish this on their own?
The struggle for Stone Forest Town can be considered to have truly begun only when the experts of the various superpowers are all assembled. Our teams are here merely on reconnaissance.
"If the Secret Pavilion and Black Flame had worked with us, it would've definitely been possible to defend Stone Forest Town. Unfortunately, they chose to go down a dead end!"
Now that Stone Forest Town had been promoted to a Basic City, the number of superpowers vying for it had grown to a point where even the Sky Dragon House found capturing it worrisome. This was also why Sky Dragon House had decided to partner with Pride Empire. Shi Feng was simply immature if he thought he could defend Stone Forest Town with only the Secret Pavilion's help.
Meanwhile, shortly after Sheng Wuji's team left the Undead Forest, the opaque magic barrier around Stone Forest Town finally disappeared. A new city then appeared before everyone's eyes.
Stone Forest Town was now officially Stone Forest City!
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Chapter 2153 – Stone Forest City
The appearance of Stone Forest City immediately caused an uproar among the players present in the Undead Forest.
Stone Forest Town had occupied only a small portion of the area covered by the magic barrier enveloping the center of the Undead Forest. However, Stone Forest City actually occupied nearly half of that area.
Although the wall surrounding Stone Forest City was the default, six-meter-tall wall, it was engraved with divine runes that prevented players from vaulting over it. Unless players breached the wall, they had no choice but to enter the city through the main gate. The defensive capabilities of Stone Forest City were undoubtedly much greater than when it was still a town.
Moreover, after getting promoted to a city, the constructions inside Stone Forest had undergone significant transformations—especially Zero Wing's Residence. Now, the Guild Hall sitting inside the Residence had transformed into a 60-meter-tall building. It looked like a massive mountain and was visible even from several thousand yards away.
After Zero Wing's Guild Hall, the structure that had undergone the most changes was the Zero Wing Auction House.
The Zero Wing Auction House was an Advanced Construction. After Stone Forest Town became Stone Forest City, the Auction House became a 12-story-tall building that occupied a significant portion of the city's main street. The Auction House was already larger than the Auction Houses of ordinary NPC cities.
Moreover, aside from the Auction House, the other constructions in the city also received significant improvements.
"Isn't Stone Forest City a little too luxurious?!" Purple Jade could not believe her eyes as she took in the towering buildings filling Stone Forest City.
As a core member of the Secret Pavilion, she had seen quite a few Guild Cities. She had even personally conducted an investigation into several of them.
However, she could say with absolute certainty that Stone Forest City was visibly better than every one of the Guild Cities she had visited. In fact, Stone Forest City looked much more splendorous than even the current Zero Wing City. It looked nothing like a recently promoted city at all.
At this moment, Purple Jade wasn't the only person surprised by Stone Forest City's appearance. Even Easy Wind was stunned.
The development of a Guild City was a gradual process. All the information the Secret Pavilion had gathered supported this contention. However, Stone Forest City wasn't following the rules at all.
"Although I don't know what is going on here, the fact that Stone Forest City has already developed to such an extent means that we'll have a much greater hope of defending it." After Yuan Tiexin took a look at the various constructions filling the city, he promptly commanded his subordinates, "Notify the main headquarters immediately and have them transfer reinforcements through the temporary Residence. We need to get Stone Forest City's defenses fully operational before the various superpowers arrive."
In God's Domain, the more prosperous a Guild City was, the more NPC soldiers it could employ. Meanwhile, the constructions within a city played a huge role in determining its prosperity.
With how prosperous Stone Forest City was, it should have a much greater advantage than other newly promoted Guild Cities when it came to recruiting NPC soldiers. There was a huge difference between Tier 1 and Tier 2 NPCs. Tier 2 NPCs, in particular, would have their combat standards affected by a city's prosperity. The more prosperous the Guild City they worked for was, the better their combat standards would become.
Take one of the few earliest Guild Cities that had appeared in God's Domain for example. At this point, the Tier 2 NPCs employed by these cities already had combat standards at the late stage of the Trial Tower's fifth floor. Including the advantage in Basic Attributes that NPCs had over players and their high levels, they could kill Tier 2 experts as if they were toying with ants.
The current Stone Forest City might not be comparable to those old Guild Cities, but the Tier 2 NPC soldiers it hired should be capable of exhibiting combat standards at the fifth floor's early stage or middle stage.
If Stone Forest City could employ a large number of such Tier 2 NPC soldiers, these soldiers would be a frightening force.
This was also the reason why the various superpowers were so desperate to capture Stone Forest City now.
A Guild City was at its weakest just after completing its promotion. If they allowed Stone Forest City to reach its peak state, the cost of capturing the city would become several dozens of times higher.
However, despite Yuan Tiexin and the others vocally expressing their curiosity about Stone Forest City's prosperous state, Shi Feng did not give them an explanation. He simply chuckled and entered the city via the main gate.
If he had promoted Stone Forest Town to a Basic City through the normal method, it would indeed have ended up like any other newly promoted Guild City. At most, the new Stone Forest City would occupy a larger area and have a taller wall. The constructions inside the city would remain mostly the same as before.
However, Stone Forest Town was promoted using a Gold Town Promotion Order. Hence, after the town's promotion, the constructions inside it would be upgraded as well. This could be said to be the hidden benefit of upgrading a town using a promotion order.
Meanwhile, after the crowd outside entered Stone Forest City, everyone received another surprise. Zero Wing's members, in particular, revealed ecstatic expressions on their faces.
At the moment, Stone Forest City's Magic Towers were clearly still inactive, yet the city's Mana density was absurdly high—at least twice as high as Stone Forest Town's when all three of its Magic Towers were activated.
It should be known that Stone Forest Town was already treated as a sacred training ground by players, as it was capable of improving players' five senses by 10%.
Stone Forest City's current Mana density, however, was capable of improving players' five senses by at least 15%.
Although it was only a 5% increase, it could increase a player's training efficiency by at least 20%. After all, the greater a player's five senses were, the more useful their five senses would be in helping them improve their combat standards. Meanwhile, it was incredibly difficult for players to improve their five senses the further up they went.
"If ordinary players could train here, they might even become fifth-floor experts within a month." Purple Jade's breathing quickened when she experienced the atmosphere inside Stone Forest City.
Ordinary players might not know how much time and effort it took to become a Trial Tower fifth-floor expert, but the Secret Pavilion did. The Secret Pavilion had specifically carried out a detailed analysis of the topic.
Normally, a relatively talented player would take two or three months to reach the Trial Tower's fifth floor from an ordinary player's standard. Needless to say, the average ordinary player would take even longer to accomplish this feat.
However, Purple Jade could say with absolute certainty that, so long as an ordinary player was willing to put in the effort, they could definitely reach the Trial Tower's fifth floor within a month in Stone Forest City.
The reason why superpowers were able to be known as such was not only their humongous capital but also their excellent training systems. They had specialized research teams tasked with studying and formulating methods of improving the strength of players and creating experts rapidly.
The various superpowers expended an unimaginable amount of time and resources in order to improve the strength of their members quickly. However, most of their investments ended up in disappointment. Moreover, the training methods they did manage to create could be enjoyed by only a small number of players.
Stone Forest City, on the other hand, was a natural training ground. Not only did it yield amazing training effects, but it could also accommodate an astronomical number of players.
When Purple Jade imagined a Guild filled entirely with expert players, her scalp tingled. Most likely, even current Super Guilds would shudder at this thought.
However, during the time the Secret Pavilion's and Zero Wing's members were enthusing over the benefits Stone Forest City offered, a huge commotion suddenly erupted in the forest a short distance from the city. The noise was so loud that it echoed throughout the Undead Forest.
In the next moment, three gigantic, flaming elephants walked out of the forest, each one up to 100 meters tall. Their flaming bodies also caused the space around them to blur.
[Flaming War Elephant] (Elemental Creature, Mythic) Level 85
HP 450,000,000/450,000,000
Aside from these three Flaming War Elephants, several thousand players also emerged from the forest. Every one of these players was Level 66 or above, and they all wore Starlink's Guild Emblem. Meanwhile, leading these players was none other than Bright Dawn, one of Starlink's Vice Guild Leaders.
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Chapter 2154 – You Really Shouldn't Have Come Here
The three Flaming War Elephants loomed like mountains outside of Stone Forest City. Even the Undead Forest's monsters trembled at the sight. Both players and monsters could feel the War Elephant's auras from several hundred yards away, recognizing that these creatures were even stronger than ordinary Mythic monsters.
"How did they get here so quickly?" Yuan Tiexin watched Starlink's army from Stone Forest City's walls in confusion.
Although Starlink had mobilized a massive army, it should've needed several more hours to reach Stone Forest Town, according to the Secret Pavilion's information network.
While several hours might not be enough time for the Secret Pavilion to set up an impenetrable defense, it should've been enough time to get Stone Forest City's defensive measures online. It also would've given the city time to recruit plenty of NPC soldiers.
With those defensive measures in place, capturing Stone Forest City would've been considerably difficult. The city could've dragged the fight with Starlink out while it waited for more reinforcements.
Unfortunately, not only had Starlink's forces arrived a lot sooner than expected, but the Guild had also brought three Mythic monsters with it…
All three Flaming War Elephants were covered in glowing divine runes. They had obviously been enhanced by some kind of power, and it was clear they weren't ordinary summoned creatures.
However, the Flaming War Elephants weren't the only problem right now.
Hundreds of magical class experts escorted the summoned monsters. These experts had gathered and pooled their Mana into several dozen, dazzling Energy Stones.
As these magical class experts filled the Energy Stones with their Mana, magic arrays began to manifest around the stones, devouring the ambient Mana from up to 1,000 yards away…
To an ordinary Guild expert, it would only seem as if Starlink were preparing to cast a powerful Spell, perhaps a Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spell.
However, Yuan Tiexin was no ordinary expert, and he knew that wasn't a run-of-the-mill Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spell. Rather, it was the Tier 4 Curse ranked Ancient Spell, Elemental Destruction.
As far as he knew, Starlink regarded the Spell like a family heirloom!
The Guild could use the Energy Stones to collect its players' Mana, feeding the Ancient Spell. The Energy Stones could be used indefinitely. When cast, Elemental Destruction's power would depend on the number of Energy Stones used. The Ancient Spell required a minimum of 12 Energy Stones, and every additional 12 stones would qualitatively transform the Spell.
With 12 Energy Stones, Elemental Destruction would have the power of an ordinary Tier 4 Spell. If the casters used 24 Energy Stones, the Spell would display the power of a Tier 4 Curse. Of course, the stronger the Ancient Spell became, the more it would require of its casters, and the Cooldown would become longer.
The last time Starlink had used the Energy Stones, it had destroyed a heavily fortified town under the dark forces' control. The Guild had only used 17 Energy Stones in that attack.
Now, however, Starlink's magical class experts concentrated their Mana into 29 Energy Stones. When they released the Spell, Elemental Destruction would undoubtedly have the power of a Tier 4 Curse. The Ancient Spell's destructive power would only be slightly weaker than a Tier 5 Spell, more than enough to destroy a Basic City's defensive magic array, which could only block ordinary Tier 4 attacks.
At this stage of the game, a city's most impressive defensive measure was its magic barrier, which players were still helpless against. Not even a full-day's assault from an army of 100,000 players could shatter a city's defensive magic array. They wouldn't even put a dent in its energy reserves.
However, if the defensive magic array shattered, the city's remaining defenses would only be slightly stronger than a town's …
Starlink's army had also used an Epic ranked Defensive Orb to protect its members. Although an Epic Defense Orb's magic barrier was no match for a city's defensive magic array, it could withstand a few Tier 4 attacks. Unless Stone Forest City's defending forces could deplete the Defense Orb's Mana, they wouldn't be able to harm Starlink's players.
Meanwhile, as the Homed Dragon Team departed from the Undead Forest, it noticed the colossal magic array that hovered near the cavern's ceiling. Despite standing several thousand yards away, the team's members could feel its domineering aura.
"Amazing! So, this is Starlink's rumored Elemental Destruction Spell?" Sheng Wuji watched the Mana fluctuations above grow stronger in shock. "They must have originally prepared this to capture another Undead Fortress. It seems Starlink is really desperate to deal with Stone Forest City."
Sky Dragon House had some understanding of the Elemental Destruction Spell since it had obtained a few Energy Stones of its own. However, as the Guild hadn't yet reached the minimum requirement to use the Ancient Spell.
Although the Energy Stones could be used indefinitely, the stones' Cooldown would be relative to the strength of the Spell they powered. If one used 12 Energy Stones to cast Elemental Destruction, the stone's Cooldown would be 10 days long. By Sheng Wuji's reasoning, using 29 Energy Stones to cast Elemental Destruction would result in a 20-day Cooldown at the very least.
As God's Domain rapidly developed, a 20-day time span was incredibly precious. If Starlink had used its Energy Stones to capture another fortress in the Ancient Undead Country, rather than using them against Stone Forest City, it could've earned astronomical profits from the fortress during that 20-day wait.
But since the superpower was in a hurry, Starlink had chosen to use the 29 Energy Stones to destroy Stone Forest City's defensive magic array.
In reality, the Guild could have relied on the three Mythic ranked Flaming War Elephants to shatter Stone Forest City's magic barrier in a short time. The only reason Starlink would use Elemental Destruction here, despite the exorbitant cost, was that it must want to end the battle as quickly as possible.
"I suppose you didn't expect that we'd meet again so soon, Guild Leader Black Flame," Bright Dawn said, looking down on Shi Feng, who stood on Stone Forest City's wall, with a smug grin from atop a Flaming War Elephant. "You gave me two choices earlier. Now, I'll do the same for you! Either get lost or die! Choose!"
During their earlier encounter, he had been afraid of Shi Feng, but now, the tides had turned.
With three Level 85 Mythic monsters and a Tier 4 Curse ranked Elemental Destruction at his command, he could even defeat a group of monster-level experts, much less Shi Feng.
"Boss, why are you wasting your words on him? Let's just force him to hand over his treasures and an extra piece of Epic Equipment! Otherwise, he'll have no hope of leaving this place alive!"
"That's right! How can we let him off the hook so easily after such a long trip?"
Bright Dawn's confidants expressed their opinions on the matter. They all wanted to tear Shi Feng to shreds to satisfy their resentment for the Swordsman.
Of course, the conditions they'd stated were a bluff. They were merely toying with Shi Feng. Even if he handed over his treasure and Epic Equipment, they couldn't afford to let him escape with his life. Their Guild Leader, Lu Xingluo, had personally ordered this man's death!
Yuan Tiexin and the others were livid when they heard the clamor Starlink's experts were making. Although they wanted to teach these fools a lesson, facing off against three Mythic monsters and several thousand experts with so few on their side wouldn't be wise. They could only buy as much time as possible or be forced to watch as Starlink destroyed Stone Forest City.
You barely survived our last meeting. You really shouldn't have come," Shi Feng calmly replied, giving Bright Dawn a condescending look.
"Black Flame!" Bright Dawn bellowed, his eyes glowing with a chilling light. Immediately, he commanded, "Ready Elemental Destruction and destroy Stone Forest City! I want him to—_
Before Bright Dawn could finish his statement, however, Shi Feng revealed the Tier 4 Magic Scroll he had obtained from the Lord of Fire, empowering it with an Elemental Source. He activated the scroll without hesitation.
Suddenly, a humongous magic array appeared above Starlink's force, gathering Mana far faster than Starlink's Elemental Destruction. The Mana fluctuations even destabilized space around it.
Before anyone could react, a streak of blue-purple lightning descended.
Boom!
The lightning bolt easily pierced through the magic barrier protecting Starlink's army and struck the players below. Every player within the lightning bolt's range vaporized instantly. The attack also tore space as it passed.
After the lightning bolt dissipated, silence dominated the battlefield. The three Flaming War Elephants, who had been in range of the attack, were heavily injured, and despite standing apart from each other, the lightning bolt had eliminated more than 90% of Starlink's army.
For a moment, time seemed to freeze in the Undead Forest. Both the Homed Dragon Team members, who watched from a safe distance, and the players within Stone Forest City, were dazed.
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Chapter 2155 – Suppressing Starlink
As the dust settled, it revealed a crater extending over 400 yards across. Thousands of weapons and equipment filled the newly-formed pit. Moreover, even the most inferior item in the crater was Level 65 Fine-Gold rank. Even superpowers would be tempted into action by so many top-tier items in one place.
However, not a single watching player harbored any thoughts of greed as they gazed upon the battlefield. Rather, horror dominated their hearts.
A single attack had slain several thousand experts in the blink of an eye. Moreover, they weren't ordinary experts. Most of those players were Refinement Realm experts, peak experts in first-rate Guilds, yet they had died without offering any resistance…
How is this possible?! Yuan Tiexin, who observed the battlefield from Stone Forest City's walls, could hardly believe this outcome.
Starlink had used an Epic ranked Defense Orb, an item that was even more valuable than Zero Wing's movement-type defensive magic array and capable of enduring Tier 4 attacks. It could even withstand an assault from Magic Towers.
This Defense Orb was the reason that Bright Dawn had dared to move within 1,000 yards of Stone Forest City.
The Defense Orb's only flaw was its troublesome refueling process. Players would have to wait a long time before they could sacrifice more Magic Crystals to restore the Defense Orb's energy after a use.
Even so, Starlink had relied on this Defense Orb to crush Unyielding Soul's army and foiled the Guild's plans to capture one of the Ancient Undead Country's fortresses.
And yet, Shi Feng had shattered the Defense Orb's magic barrier in an instant. The barrier hadn't even given the lightning bolt pause. Once the barrier had shattered, the lightning bolt had continued, killing thousands of Starlink's experts and injuring three Mythic monsters…
Just how much strength has Black Flame hidden? Sheng Wuji, who watched from a safe position, gaped at the Swordsman's figure though a Magic Mirror.
Shi Feng's success in slaying the Heavenly Demon Team had already been frightening, but it paled in comparison to the power he had just revealed.
Had Shi Feng used this move earlier, neither the Horned Dragon Team nor the Heavenly Demon Team would've walked out of the Undead Forest alive. He would've turned them all to ash.
Shortly after Shi Feng's attack, Bright Dawn, who had been a pile of ash, began to reform in his previous position on the back of the Flaming War Elephant. When he saw the destruction before him, shock and rage flashed in his eyes.
"Black! Flame! I want you dead!" Bright Dawn screamed, his eyes becoming bloodshot.
As one of Starlink's Vice Guild Leaders, the Guild had given him an Ancient Resurrection Scroll, which would grant him a second life without the usual death penalties. Unfortunately, the Ancient Resurrection Scroll was incomparably precious, so obtaining another was practically impossible.
However, the scroll wasn't the most expensive loss.
The deaths of several thousand experts were far more important!
These experts weren't some random nobodies in the Guild. The Guild had handpicked and trained them all, and even the weakest of them was capable of reaching the Trial Tower's seventh floor.
Furthermore, Lu Xingluo had granted Bright Dawn the right to mobilize a large number of the Guild's Refinement Realm experts to ensure Stone Forest City's capture. Refinement Realm experts! All of these players were the Guild's lifeblood.
Yet, Shi Feng had killed over 200 of these experts with just one move…
Since joining God's Domain, Starlink had never suffered such a severe loss, yet not only had the Guild lost so many experts, but it had also happened under Bright Dawn's supervision!
Bright Dawn immediately commanded the three Flaming War Elephants to attack. With a furious roar, the three Mythic monsters charged towards Stone Forest City's defensive magic array. Starlink's surviving members also responded, bombarding the city with every trump card they had.
For a time, the Undead Forest became a world of Spells and explosions.
Although the three Flaming War Elephants were heavily injured, they were still Mythic monsters. Every one of their attacks devoured a significant portion of the magic barrier's energy reserves. Meanwhile, Starlink's members, who could exhibit Tier 3 strength, attacked the city with everything they had. With nearly a thousand players attacking as one, they caused quite a bit of damage to the defensive magic array, as well.
After one round of attacks, Stone Forest City's defensive magic array began to shudder violently.
Seeing this, the players in the city began to retaliate. They attacked with either their own Spells and arrows or with Miniature Ballistas and Defense Turrets. One of the city's Magic Towers also activated, bombarding Starlink's members.
However, the Guild's survivors were all experts, and aside from the Magic Tower's attacks, they dodged most of the incoming strikes with relative ease. Furthermore, they took advantage of the longer intervals between each Magic Tower attack, and only one Magic Tower was active at the moment.
Unfortunately, the city's NPC soldiers could only attack from a distance, using Spells and other long-range attacks. Not many of these NPCs were able to exhibit their full strength due to the three Mythic monsters outside. Sending these NPC soldiers outside of the city would be no different than sacrificing their lives for nothing.
Only Shi Feng, the Secret Pavilion's peak experts, and the Pavilion's dozen or so Tier 3 summoned creatures were strong enough to stand a chance on the other side of Stone Forest City's walls. Although this wasn't a large-scale battle, ordinary experts and Refinement Realm experts would be nothing more than cannon fodder on the frontlines.
"Die! Die! Black Flame! Die!"
Bright Dawn downed a Berserk Potion and activated his Berserk Skill without hesitation. He and his surviving subordinates then charged at Shi Feng. The three old monsters that had followed Bright Dawn to the Undead Forest joined the charge, as well, and Shi Feng recognized them all. They were Sword Demon, Wind Demon, and Heart Demon of the Four Shadow Demons.
When these three Domain Realm experts worked together, they could even defeat the Heavenly Demon Team and Horned Dragon Team. After consuming Berserk Potions and activating their Berserk Skills, their Basic Attributes rose to the Tier 4 standard. For a short time, these old monsters could even solo Mythic monsters of the same level.
Against Bright Dawn and three of the Four Shadow Demons' coordinated assault, Shi Feng, who had activated Heavenly Dragon's Power, was at a disadvantage, continuously losing HP.
Of course, this fight wasn't a walk in the park for Shi Feng's opponents, either. After activating Heavenly Dragon's Power, Shi Feng's Strength rose to a tyrannical level. With his ability to counter his opponent's attacks, he steadily chip away at his enemy's HPs. Furthermore, Heavenly Dragon's Power gave Shi Feng superb Defense, and although he lost HP, he didn't lose it quickly.
As time passed, the battle grew more intense. Most players had switched to Magic Scrolls and support tools, rather than relying on their own Skills and Spells to amplify their damage output.
When Heart Demon saw Shi Feng's HP fall to 50%, he retrieved a crystal and used it in tandem with a Spell. Suddenly, his Tier 2 Spell had Tier 3 power. Including Basic Attributes that rivaled Mythic monsters', not even such creatures could stop his enhanced attack.
Suddenly, over 30 magic spears flew at Shi Feng from different directions, each with Tier 4 power. Every one of these spears was under Heart Demon's control, and they agilely flew toward their target like fish through water.
Not one to be outdone, Sword Demon activated his most powerful Skill, Slash of Light, and his greatsword lit with a brilliant glow. He swung the weapon toward Shi Feng's back, sealing off the other Swordsman's path of retreat.
"Come!" Shi Feng shouted. Even he felt the threat of death, and since he had already used up his Lifesaving Skills, he had no choice but to activate Blade Liberation. As his Basic Attributes skyrocketed, he countered the approaching magic spears and glowing greatsword with a swing of his blade.
Lightning Slash!
A blue glow enveloped Shi Feng's surroundings as a black line followed. Immediately, all 30-plus magic spears and the Slash of Light shattered, yet the blue light didn't stop after nullifying the attacks, rapidly reaching for Sword Demon and Heart Demon. In the end, neither old monster evaded the incoming attack, dying instantly as their HPs hit zero.
Every expert on the battlefield was stunned.
With his strength alone, Shi Feng had fought four of Starlink's great experts. Three of these four players were even monster-level experts, existences that could even give the various superpowers massive headaches. In the end, however, not only had Shi Feng proven to be their match, but he had also instant-killed two of them!
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Chapter 2156 – Silence
Bright Dawn and Wind Demon, who had stood a little behind Sword Demon and Heart Demon, almost instinctively slid to a halt and jumped back the moment they saw their two allies fall, not daring to step any closer to Shi Feng. After increasing the distance between them and this terrifying Swordsman, they stared at Shi Feng, who currently radiated the aura of a ferocious, wild beast.
Could he actually be an old monster in disguise? Wind Demon stared at the man in question in shock.
Sword Demon and Heart Demon had undoubted wielded Basic Attributes at the Tier 4 standard, yet even after combining their Attributes and combat standards, they hadn't even survived one of Shi Feng's attacks.
Wind Demon could no longer fathom Shi Feng's Strength.
However, what truly shocked Wind Demon was the Swordsman's temperament. Shi Feng behaved nothing like a man of his age. Previously, if he and Bright Dawn hadn't stood behind their comrades, they wouldn't have had the time to react to Shi Feng's transformed aura and activate their Lifesaving Skills. Shi Feng would've killed them all with that last attack.
Shi Feng had directed Sword Demon and Heart Demon right where he wanted them, in the midst of activating a Skill when Shi Feng had attacked.
When players activated a Skill in God's Domain, they had to wait for a brief moment before they could activate another. The stronger the Skill was, the longer they'd have to wait.
Shi Feng had clearly taken into account this interval and waited for the perfect moment to strike. He fought like an Assassin, waiting for the perfect moment to land a fatal blow before revealing himself.
Although Sword Demon and Heart Demon had sensed the change to Shi Feng's aura, they had been in the midst of activating a Skill and unable to react to their enemy's perfect timing.
Strength!
Technique!
Temperament!
Shi Feng was flawless in all three aspects. Normally, younger fighters, like Shi Feng, were eager to reveal all of their strength, wanting the world's admiration. However, that was not the case with Shi Feng. Like a veteran fighter with decades of experience, Shi Feng didn't reveal his cards until the very last moment. Moreover, he played every card perfectly.
Wind Demon wasn't the only one with such thoughts. Even Yuan Tiexin, who watched from afar, was astonished.
Since Yuan Tiexin had met Shi Feng, the Swordsman had revealed one trump card after another. Even with the experience he had accumulated over his many years, Yuan Tiexin couldn't predict Shi Feng's limits. On the contrary, the more he watched the young man, the cloudier Shi Feng became. He wasn't anything like youngsters, such as Purple Jade, who fought with all of their cards on the table.
Meanwhile, now that Sword Demon and Heart Demon, the strongest melee and ranged fighter among the three Shadow Demons present, were dead, Wind Demon and Bright Dawn had no way of keeping Shi Feng in check. If they continued this battle, it would only be a matter of time before they, too, met their demise.
Once Wind Demon and Bright Dawn died, Starlink would lose the last experts that could command its forces in the Undead Forest. The Secret Pavilion and Zero Wing would then have control of the battlefield.
"Black Flame! I admit that you're good! I truly didn't expect you to be so strong," Bright Dawn said, sneering at Shi Feng, who prepared to launch another attack. "However, you still can't save Stone Forest City from destruction today!"
"Dawn, you couldn't possibly be thinking…" When Wind Demon heard Bright Dawn's threat, a look of horror overtook his features.
Before setting off on this expedition, they had prepared for Stone Forest City's capture and destruction. Only, destroying the city was supposed to be a last resort. Not only would they lose Stone Forest City, but they'd also have to pay a high price to destroy the city. They were supposed to avoid this option unless they had no other choice.
The moment they resorted to this method, no one would leave the Undead Forest alive.
Before Wind Demon could do anything to stop Bright Dawn, the Undead Knight pulled a pitch-black seed from his bag. Although the seed was only the size of his thumb, it released a bloodcurdling aura that was even stronger than that of the Mythic ranked Flaming War Elephants.
Even ordinary Tier 2 players would fall to their knees from the pressure, unable to move, if they stood within 10 yards of this black seed. Moreover, the seed released a dense cloud of dark energy. Even the Bottomless Abyss's dark energy paled in comparison.
Yuan Tiexin and the other peak experts had a bad feeling the moment Bright Dawn revealed this black seed.
At their standards, they could push their five senses to their very limits, and their sixth sense was just as sharp. This was why experts like them could avoid dangerous situations when exploring God's Domain. Meanwhile, their instincts screamed a warning when they saw the black seed, insisting that they flee.
As Yuan Tiexin and his comrades thought of stopping the Undead Knight, who was clearly mad, Bright Dawn threw the seed to the ground.
As soon as the black seed hit the soil, it began to devour dark energy from its surroundings, quickly growing into a towering tree that bore a single, gigantic, black fruit.
As the fruit fell to the ground, it cracked open and released an aura of death and destruction. Even the three Flaming War Elephants, which had been attacking Stone Forest City's magic barrier, froze in fear. Players over a thousand yards away felt their bodies become heavy as the intense pressure washed over them.
Even space seemed to freeze.
A goat-headed Demon with a snake tail then emerged from the split fruit. It bore three horns that were enveloped in emerald fire and wore a full set of pitch-black armor.
To be precise, this armored creature wasn't just any Demon, but a Great Demon, far more powerful than its ordinary counterparts!
[Molfins (Marquis)] (Demonic Creature, Great Demon)
Level 87
HP 640,000,000/640,000,000
"Black Flame! Aren't you such a skilled fighter?! Now, you can have your fill of combat!" Bright Dawn laughed maniacally as he watched the Great Demon spawn from the Dark Seed.
The Dark Seed was the final trump card Starlink had prepared to protect its fortress in the Ancient Undead Country, but rather than 'protect' it, this demon would ensure mutual destruction.
This Dark Seed would summon a Great Demon, but not just an ordinary Great Demon. It summoned a Great Demon noble, which was even more terrifying.
However, players couldn't control this Great Demon. Once it had been summoned, this Great Demon would slaughter every player in sight. It would also call forth a Demon Gate, calling forth a Demonic army to the continent of God's Domain.
Hence, the Dark Seed was akin to a Seed of Destruction.
Bright Dawn hadn't originally planned to use the Dark Seed, but Shi Feng had foiled his plans yet again, and he had suffered a painful defeat in Starlink's name. After such a tremendous loss, he couldn't care less about what would happen if he used the Dark Seed. No matter what, Bright Dawn wanted Shi Feng to watch the city he had built meet its destruction and throw Zero Wing into hell.
When Yuan Tiexin saw the Great Demon Molfins, his expression became indescribably grim.
Unlike ordinary monsters, Demonic Creatures were segregated by their Bloodlines. Demons' ranks depended on the purity of their Bloodlines, and the purer a Demon's Bloodline was, the higher its noble rank would be. Similarly, purer Bloodlines meant stronger Demons.
Based on the information the Secret Pavilion had gathered, a Viscount Demon could rival an Archaic Species of the same level. However, Molfins was a Marquis, two ranks higher than a Viscount. Yuan Tiexin had no idea how powerful this Great Demon truly was.
"A Dark Seed?" Shi Feng could not help but shake his head at Bright Dawn, who had clearly gone mad. "Vice Guild Leader Bright Dawn, I told you that you shouldn't have come here. Since you refuse to listen to my advice, you'll stay here indefinitely!"
Shi Feng then pulled out the Bible of Darkness and activated Divine Providence before shifting his gaze toward Molfins, who hovered in the air. He then began to chant an incantation.
Demon Ruler!
Suddenly, pitch-black chains appeared out of thin air and bound the Great Demon. Panicking, Molfins struggled against the chains, but Shi Feng wielded the official copy of the Bible of Darkness. Not even a Great Demon could resist its power.
After struggling for a moment, Molfins's eyes dulled as he lost his will. The Great Demon Marquis then flapped his leathery wings twice and descended toward Shi Feng, positioning himself behind the Swordsman out of respect.
When they saw this, everyone on the battlefield fell silent.
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Chapter 2157 – Great Demon's Might
"Impossible!" When Bright Dawn saw Molfins respectfully standing behind Shi Feng like a servant, shock and confusion quickly replaced his crazed expression.
The Great Demon Molfins was a disaster one summoned through the Dark Seed.
In God's Domain, anything that was considered a 'disaster' was capable of devastating an entire country. As a Tier 4 Marquis, Molfins was practically invincible among opponents of the same tier; some Tier 4 NPCs would even be forced to flee from the Great Demon.
Yet, such a terrifying existence accepted a player's control, just like that…
Bright Dawn wasn't alone; everyone watching was in utter shock over the Great Demon's subservience.
In one second, everyone had given in to their hopelessness and despair over the Undead Knight's final move, but in the next, Shi Feng had shown them how laughable that move truly was.
"What did he do?" As Wind Demon stared at Molfins, obediently standing behind Shi Feng, he felt his entire world flip upside-down.
Not even Bright Dawn, the Dark Seed's user, cloud control Molfins once the Great Demon had been summoned, yet Shi Feng accomplished the feat so easily. No matter how Wind Demon looked at this situation, it definitely felt like a dream.
However, Molfins proved to the crowd that this was no dream. It was, in fact, a despair-inducing nightmare!
Under Shi Feng's command, Molfins charged at the three Flaming War Elephants.
The several hundred yards between the Demonic Marquis and its prey were practically nonexistent to Molfins, and he appeared before one of the Mythic monsters in the blink of an eye.
Roar!
The Flaming War Elephant responded to the Great Demon with an enraged roar, instinctively raising a front foot to flatten the creature.
Although the Flaming War Elephant was heavily injured, its Basic Attributes were far higher than ordinary Mythic monsters as a Tier 4 summoned creature. Hence, even though its injuries limited its combat power, its stomp carried Tier 4 Strength.
The four-meter-tall Molfins looked like an ant in comparison to the War Elephant's gigantic foot, but despite the size difference, Molfins continued to hover in place, simply raising a hand to greet the descending foot.
Boom!
The explosion echoed throughout the Undead Forest, its resulting shockwave throwing the surrounding Tier 2 players off their feet.
None of these players would forget what followed for the rest of their lives. Molfins had actually stopped the Flaming War Elephant's mountain-sized foot. What was even more unbelievable was the fact that the Great Demon had accomplished the feat by using a single finger.
No matter how much the Flaming War Elephant pushed, it was no stronger than a powerless infant.
With a light push, Molfins forced the Mythic monster to stumble several steps backward.
The difference between their Strengths was obvious. Molfins and the Flaming War Elephant were on entirely different levels.
"Crap! How powerful is that Demon!?" Yuan Tiexin could not help but curse as he watched the scene play out.
As an organization that mainly focused on information gathering, the Secret Pavilion had gathered far more data on God's Domain than any other power. Naturally, the Pavilion hadn't failed to study Demonic Creatures.
According to the Secret Pavilion's research, Demons weren't so powerful simply due to their extraordinary Basic Attributes, but because of the many Skills and Spells in their possession and their particularly high combat standards.
Although Yuan Tiexin knew that a Marquis ranked Great Demon was extremely powerful, he hadn't thought that Molfins would be this powerful!
That one exchange had made it clear that Molfin's Strength was leaps and bounds above the Flaming War Elephants'. Even without Skills, Spells, or combat techniques, the Great Demon could easily slay the Tier 4 summoned creature.
However, Yuan Tiexin didn't know that Shi Feng controlled the Demonic Marquis with the Bible of Darkness. Due to Demon Ruler's effects, Molfins's current Basic Attributes were far higher than when he had initially been summoned. Originally, Molfins, at most, was slightly stronger than the Flaming War Elephants. The difference between the monsters only grew to such extremes after including the Demon Ruler's effects.
However, Molfins had also lost his free will and intellect as a result, which significantly reduced his combat standards. Overall, Molfins's current combat power was slightly weaker than when the Great Demon had his free will. Of course, that was only true when Molfins against players. Against monsters, Molfins' current strength was more than enough.
While the watching players were stunned by the Great Demon's overwhelming performance, Bright Dawn fell to his despair.
The Dark Seed had been Starlink's final trump card, reserved to defend its fortress in the Ancient Undead Country.
But not only had that trump card failed Bright Dawn, but Shi Feng had also claimed its power for himself. How was he supposed to continue this fight?
Although Bright Dawn still had three Flaming War Elephants on his side, they were utterly meaningless before Molfins. With a simple attack, Molfins had inflicted over -5,000,000 damage to the Flaming War Elephant. The Great Demon could likely finish off the summoned creature's 450,000,000 HP in less than two minutes. In total, Molfins could end all three War Elephants in less than six minutes.
In its current state, Starlink's army had no hope of destroying Stone Forest City's defensive magic array in such little time.
The moment the three Flaming War Elephants died, Starlink's army would be powerless against the city's magic barrier, becoming living targets for the city's players.
Retreat!
The word echoed in Bright Dawn's mind.
The Undead Knight immediately gave the command before he turned and fled. He had no desire to stay and continue this battle.
However, Shi Feng's reaction was faster than Bright Dawn had expected. The Swordsman appeared in the Undead Knight's path the moment Bright Dawn turned away from the fight. As Shi Feng slowly walked up to Bright Dawn, he smiled and asked, "Now you want to leave?"
"Just you wait, Black Flame! You may have stopped Starlink's assault, but you won't stop the various superpowers once they arrive! Even if you can control that Demon, its time is limited here. Once the summoning's duration ends, you'll have to stand by and watch as your city is destroyed," Bright Dawn snarled with a mad glint in his eyes.
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that," Shi Feng said as he executed Sword's Transmigration.
With his Twofold Berserk still active, Bright Dawn was no match for Shi Feng's speed and Strength. Before Starlink's commander could respond, his body split in two, and he lost the last remnants of his HP.
The moment Bright Dawn died, Starlink's army lost its commander. Stone Forest Town's defenders then had the advantage. The Great Demon Molfins slew all three Flaming War Elephants in less than five minutes and proceeded to hunt down Starlink's fleeing members, slaughtering them like a flock of helpless sheep.
The watching players only snapped out of their daze after the battle had ended. Sheng Wuji, in particular, was shocked beyond words as he watched from a distance.
Starlink had dispatched several thousand experts and three Mythic monsters to capture Stone Forest City. Even a superpower would have to take such a force seriously. However, this army had been obliterated, and it hadn't even broken Stone Forest City's defensive magic array before its defeat…
Meanwhile, news of the battle's unexpected results spread to the various superpowers like wildfire. For a time, the outcome shook God's Domain to its core.
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Chapter 2158 – Shocking Battle
Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City:
Tall buildings and large crowds filled the city's business district. The scene was even more prosperous than most kingdoms' capital cities in God's Domain.
Currently, a man and a woman wearing Crimson Emperor's Guild Emblem ventured down the street. The man had a handsome, majestic appearance, while the woman looked beautiful and intelligent. Both players had already reached Level 68, and if they hadn't concealed their levels with their Black Cloaks, they would've been the center of attention wherever they went.
"Zero Wing is truly amazing. It has actually nurtured White River City into such a powerhouse. Even if Zero Wing loses Stone Forest City, it'll still have a good chance of becoming an overlord in God's Domain," Illusory Words commented as she observed the players wandering about the business district.
After Zero Wing had taken control of White River City's Auction House, White River City's popularity and growth had skyrocketed. The city practically changed with each passing day as players surged through its gates. While most of the NPC cities with player-controlled Auction Houses had significantly improved as well, White River City's growth was far more pronounced.
White River City's impressive development wasn't due to an influx of new players, but the arrival of well-known adventurer teams, merchant players, and high-ranked Lifestyle players.
Since new players hadn't spent much time in God's Domain yet, they lacked both individual and financial strength.
They wouldn't be able to contribute much to a city or its ruling Guild. However, the same wasn't true of adventurer team members, merchant players, and Lifestyle players with relatively high standards.
Expert players could become usable combat power the moment they joined a Guild, and merchant players could increase a city's economic prowess. As for Lifestyle players, they would bring with them merchandise that supported the city's combat players, which, in turn, would increase the development speed of the city's players. New players could neither compete with the benefits veteran players brought to a city, nor could they increase the ruling Guild's profits.
Crimson Emperor controlled two NPC Auction Houses, both of which were located in kingdoms' capital cities. The Guild had invested plenty of resources in these two cities' development since the Auction Arena had ended, but both paled in comparison to White River City. Now, only an empire's imperial capital could surpass White River City's development speed.
"Become one of God's Domain's overlords?" The majestic man, Crimson Gate, lightly snorted at Illusory Words' comment. "Illusory, you think too highly of Zero Wing. Do you think it is that easy to become an overlord? Not only would one need sufficient experts and legacies, but they'd also require enough financial strength. Even if Zero Wing holds Stone Forest City, its future of becoming an overlord isn't guaranteed. Besides, there's no way Zero Wing will keep Stone Forest City. Although, the Guild still has some hope. As long as Zero Wing acknowledges its place and behaves accordingly, it may retain some of the city's profits."
"Acknowledges its place, huh?" Illusory Words did not try to rebuke Crimson Gate's words. As she glanced at the various other superpowers' members on the street, she shook her head and sighed. "I'm afraid that even if Zero Wing concedes Stone Forest City, it'll only retain negligible profits."
Too much was at stake in Stone Forest City, and many superpowers were keeping a close eye on the city. Even the superpowers that had planned to ally with Zero Wing had changed their minds, now intending to force the Guild to relinquish the city's shares. This was even true of Crimson Emperor.
To claim a share of the profits, the various superpowers had dispatched representatives to negotiate with Zero Wing. According to Crimson Emperor's investigation, more than ten superpowers had already gathered in White River City.
This situation had already become a living nightmare.
Even the most valuable empires in God's Domain had no more than seven or eight competing superpowers, but now, more than 10 superpowers had gathered to fight for Stone Forest City.
They were still waiting for the various superpowers' armies to gather around Stone Forest City, which was the only reason they hadn't entered Zero Wing's Residence yet.
"Zero Wing's opinion on the outcome doesn't matter. It no longer has any say. Not even the Secret Pavilion can change this." Sneering, Crimson Gate continued, "If Zero Wing refuses our offer, it will only find destruction in its future. Not even Stone Forest City will survive."
As one of the few transcendental powers in the virtual gaming world, the Secret Pavilion was quite powerful. Not even ordinary Super Guilds dared to provoke it.
However, after all was said and done, the Secret Pavilion didn't have a monopoly over the virtual gaming world, which was especially true after God's Domain's launch.
Not even a ferocious tiger could defeat a pack of wolves. The Secret Pavilion definitely understood this. When the time arrived, the Pavilion would abandon Zero Wing.
While Crimson Gate and Illusory Words conversed and patiently waited for the various superpowers' armies to surround Stone Forest City, a commotion broke out among the superpowers' representatives, who loitered around the business district.
"What's wrong with them?" Crimson Gate watched the representatives with an odd look as their expressions changed drastically. "Are the armies already in place?"
"No!" Illusory Words abruptly exclaimed as she finished reading a message she had just received. With a complex look, she turned to Crimson Gate and said, "I've just received news that Zero Wing has fended off Starlink's assault on Stone Forest City."
"Starlink's been defeated?" Crimson Gate asked, surprised by the news. Starlink was one of the up-and-coming superpowers in the virtual gaming world. Aside from its slightly undeveloped legacy, the Guild was even stronger than Crimson Emperor overall. "It seems Zero Wing is stronger than expected to stop Starlink's all-out attack. It's no wonder why those people seem shocked."
"No, thafs not all …According to our insider information, the army Starlink sent to Stone Forest City has been…annihilated!" Illusory Words informed her companion with a grim expression.
"Annihilated? Impossible!" Crimson Gate said incredulously. "Someone must have made a mistake with the report! Let me have a look!"
As someone who had been fighting Starlink for quite some time, he knew how powerful the Guild was. If Starlink went all-out, it would even defeat Crimson Emperor.
If Zero Wing had merely stopped Starlink's assault, Crimson Gate would, at most, be surprised. That victory would still be somewhat believable. After all, not only did Zero Wing have the defender's advantage, but it also had the Secret Pavilion's support.
However, claiming that Zero Wing had annihilated Starlink's army was simply nonsense!
Even though Starlink had sent a hastily organized army, two or three thousand of the Guild's experts should be quite formidable. If Crimson Emperor had been in Zero Wing's place, it would've been fortunate to slay half of Starlink's forces if it used everything in its arsenal. Starlink hadn't sent ordinary experts, after all, and if those players focused on their retreat, chasing them down and killing them would be extremely difficult.
Hence, Starlink's annihilation must be a joke!
However, the man's arrogant expression froze as he finished reading the message his companion had received.
One man had scared the Heavenly Demon Team and Horned Dragon Team into a retreat!
One man had suppressed four great experts from Starlink!
One man had controlled a Great Demon Marquis, slaughtering Starlink's army!
Everyone that had received the news, including Crimson Gate and the various superpowers' upper echelons, was speechless.
Could Shi Feng even be considered human at this point?
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Chapter 2159 – Death's Reward
The various superpowers' representatives in White River City fell silent for a time, their expressions twisting, after receiving news of Shi Feng's battle.
"Black Flame is truly a monster. He's not even here, and he's still capable of influencing the situation in White River City," Illusory Words said, smiling bitterly as she looked around. She was surprised to learn that one person was so powerful.
"I admit that he is amazing, but the various superpowers are far more afraid of that Great Demon Marquis than they are of Black Flame himself," Crimson Gate said after recollecting himself. As he watched Shi Feng's figure in the battle video, he sneered and continued, "But at the end of the day, he's only using some special tool to control that Great Demon. He can't control it forever. Once Black Flame loses control of that monster, how does he plan to deal with the various superpowers?"
In God's Domain, the stronger a monster was, the harder it would be to control. A player's control of such a being wouldn't last long, either.
Controlling a Great Demon Marquis for several hours would be heaven-defying.
However, how much could Zero Wing and the Secret Pavilion possibly fortify Stone Forest City in just several hours?
Developing Guild Towns and Cities was a gradual process. Not even a dozen hours would be long enough to alter Stone Forest Town's defenses significantly. Normally, a Guild City would need several days before it could become fully operational, and the various superpowers' armies didn't need that long to surround the city.
Shi Feng might be able to contend with one superpower by himself, but what about the rest of them?
In Crimson Gate's opinion, all Zero Wing had achieved by defeating Starlink was gaining some more time. This wouldn't change the end result.
"Indeed. Although Zero Wing appears to have the initiative, that's only an illusion." Illusory Words nodded in agreement. "However, I'm sure that the Guild understands that. Zero Wing needs a partner more than anything else right now. If we try to negotiate with Zero Wing now, we should be able to secure a fortune."
"I'm afraid you are mistaken, Illusory. Zero Wing is too arrogant to negotiate with us right now. It has, after all, just defeated Starlink. However, as time passes and the Great Demon's duration reaches a close, I'm sure Zero Wing will grow nervous and desperate for partners to reinforce Stone Forest City's defenses," Crimson Gate said, chuckling. "We just need to wait for the opportune moment to approach the Guild. Once the Guild is desperate enough, it'll accept any of our demands."
Even though Shi Feng's performance had been impressive, he was still a pest before so many superpowers. He had only bought his Guild a little more time.
Crimson Gate wasn't the only one to bide his time. The other superpowers' representatives waited quietly, as well. It seemed as if they were all waiting to watch Zero Wing make a fool of itself.
Meanwhile, Yuan Tiexin, who had just received a report regarding the various superpowers' actions, could not help but frown.
Sure enough, these superpowers aren't so easily fooled. None of them are taking action. Gritting his teeth, Yuan Tiexin turned to look at Shi Feng and hurriedly asked, "Guild Leader Black Flame, do you really plan to wait?"
The battle with Starlink had ended more than an hour ago, but none of the various superpowers moving toward Stone Forest City had attempted to make contact with Zero Wing or the Secret Pavilion.
Although Yuan Tiexin was confident of the Secret Pavilion's strength, he knew that a tiger had no hope of beating a wolf pack. If they did not secure enough help to defend Stone Forest City, they'd likely struggle to get past the next hurdle.
Yet, despite Zero Wing's growing disadvantage, Zero Wing hadn't attempted to recruit allies over the last two hours. Yuan Tiexin had no idea what the Swordsman was thinking.
Once the Great Demon Molfins disappeared, they'd be fish on the chopping block.
"Of course not," Shi Feng answered.
"That is reassuring. The Secret Pavilion has spies in the various superpowers. It shouldn't be difficult to discover their intentions. When do you plan to make your move, Guild Leader Black Flame?" Yuan Tiexin asked, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief.
He had worried that Shi Feng would hold onto Stone Forest City's shares, refusing to sell them for any price. If that were the case, both Zero Wing and the Secret Pavilion would face the worst-case scenario.
However, if Shi Feng could rope in two or three more allies, their situation would be easier to handle. At the very least, they'd be able to defend Stone Forest City. The only problem would be assigning shares.
But Shi Feng shifted his gaze to the Great Demon beside him and calmly stated, "We should be able to move once he dies."
When Shi Feng finished his statement, the atmosphere around them froze. Yuan Tiexin couldn't help but glare at the man.
This isn't the time for joking, Black Flame!"
Yuan Tiexin was nearly speechless as he glowered at Shi Feng. The Great Demon Molfins was the only reason the various superpowers were afraid of Zero Wing right now. Once Molfins died, Zero Wing would lose its advantage from defeating Starlink. The Guild might even be in a worse position for wasting the various superpowers' time.
Yet, this Swordsman had just told him that they were just waiting to watch Molfins die? Had anyone else made such a statement, Yuan Tiexin would likely have flown into a rage and beat them to a pulp.
"I'm not joking," Shi Feng said, chuckling at the bubbling elder before him.
The Dark Seed was on par with a natural disaster in God's Domain. It was a powerful enough tool to ruin kingdoms and devastate empires. Any power in the past that had obtained a Dark Seed had reserved the item as a final trump card, ensuring that it would defeat its enemies, even if it had to endure mutual destruction.
However, there was one thing that current players did not know about the Dark Seed. Although the Dark Seed was a disastrous item, it was also a golden opportunity.
Once the Demon summoned with the Dark Seed died, it was guaranteed to drop the Dark Tower Design!
Constructing the Dark Tower was quite simple. In fact, it was more of a summoning than blueprints. Although the Dark Tower was not a Peak Construction, it was as close as possible. Not even the Four Towers of Elements were as powerful.
The moment Shi Feng fell silent, Molfins cried out in anguish as silver fire began to devour its body, leaving nothing but ashes.
Molfins's death stunned the Zero Wing and Secret Pavilion members watching. They all stared, as horrified as if they had just received the death penalty.
Once Molfins was gone, a golden-rimmed tome appeared on the ground in its place. The dark energy the tome exuded was no weaker than the Dark Seed's. The closest players felt incredibly uncomfortable as the dark energy touched them. The words 'Dark Tower Design' graced the tome's cover.
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Chapter 2160: Dark Tower
Translator:Exodus Tales
Editor:Exodus Tales
What a powerful book. Its aura is strong enough to make my heart skip a beat.Purple Jade was astounded as she stared at the Dark Tower Design that had appeared in the Great Demon Molfins's place.
Normally, God's Domain's items didn't possess an aura, but those that did were extraordinary.
As one of the Secret Pavilion's core members, Purple Jade had seen many items that exuded auras. That being said, she could count the number of items she had encountered that could make her heart skip a beat on one hand.
Moreover, those items were generally tools left behind by some Ancient God. Until today, she had never seen a book with such a powerful aura.
"I'm afraid this will push the various superpowers into making their move," Yuan Tiexin commented with a grim expression after watching Molfins disappear. Unlike Purple Jade, he was in no mood to pay attention to the tome the Great Demon had dropped.
The Great Demon Molfins had been Stone Forest City's protection charm, deterring any power from attacking. None of Zero Wing's enemies were confident of defeating a monster that was practically invincible among Tier 4 beings. It didn't even matter if the various superpowers mobilized every member.
However, without Molfins, the various superpowers would no longer fear attacking the city. Not even three summoned Mythic monsters would give the various superpowers pause.
Now that Molfins was gone, the superpowers' spies within the Secret Pavilion and Zero Wing would rush to their Guilds to report the matter. It wouldn't be long before the superpowers' armies gathered around Stone Forest City, and the Secret Pavilion and Zero Wing hadn't acquired any more allies yet…
If only three to five superpowers were targeting the city, they might be fine. The Secret Pavilion would have a chance of defending the city, although the battle would be a tough one. Unfortunately, more than ten superpowers were marching toward the city, and some of them were almost as powerful as the Pavilion. This was no longer a fight the Secret Pavilion and Zero Wing could win by themselves.
Furthermore, the Secret Pavilion had only transferred an additional 5,000 experts to Stone Forest City within the last two hours.
Stone Forest City was located within the Bottomless Abyss, and due to the Regional Dungeon's harsh environment, ordinary experts would be little more than cannon fodder in a battle here. Only stronger experts would be of any use. However, the Secret Pavilion had assigned these experts various locations throughout God's Domain to maximize their use, and every one of them was busy with their own important tasks. Gathering these experts to one place in such a short time would be impossible.
Although this was also the case for the various superpowers attacking Stone Forest City, when more than ten superpowers banded together, their expert force would be astonishing.
As Yuan Tiexin had guessed, the enemy superpowers received news of Molfins's death less than 30 seconds after the Great Demon had turned to ash.
"Good! Good! Good! Black Flame, let's see if you can back up that arrogance now!" Bright Dawn, who had resurrected in Starlink's fortress, revealed a maniacal grin when he received the news.
Starlink's army had been annihilated in the initial battle for Stone Forest City. As the army's commander, escaping persecution for his failure would be quite difficult. Although Starlink wouldn't kick him out of the Guild due to his individual strength, his days as a Vice Guild Leader were likely numbered.
The fact that he'd now get to watch Zero Wing lose Stone Forest City soothed his frustrated heart.
Based on the latest report, 12 superpowers were marching their armies toward Stone Forest City. The two strongest forces among them were the Sky Dragon House and Pride Empire. The rest were on par with Crimson Emperor. In total, the 12 superpowers had dispatched around 50,000 experts for this battle.
Every one of these 50,000 players was an expert among experts. In a first-rate Guild, they'd all be members of the Guild's trump card legions.
Furthermore, quite a few of them were Refinement Realm experts. Not even Starlink's forces in the Ancient Undead Country would stand a chance against this army, not to mention Stone Forest City.
Meanwhile, the various superpowers' representatives in White River City's business district were stunned when they heard of Molfins's death.
"What's wrong with Zero Wing? It hasn't contacted a single superpower since the Great Demon fell. Has Black Flame lost his mind?" Illusory Words commented incredulously after reading the latest report.
If Zero Wing had allied with another three or four superpowers, the matter would be settled. Although the Guild would lose a significant portion of Stone Forest City's shares, it would still keep a cut of the city's profits. Zero Wing had already proven its strength to the various superpowers, and they wouldn't push too far in their negotiations.
However, Zero Wing still refused to reach out to a single superpower, which had led to the tentative alliance between the slighted Guilds. Now, Zero Wing had no hope of retaining any power within Stone Forest City.
"It seems Black Flame's ego has grown out of proportion after his victory over Starlink," Crimson Gate said indignantly. "He shouldn't blame us for being merciless since he wants to keep the city for himself!"
Crimson Gate had assumed Zero Wing would rush to sign contracts with the various superpowers before losing the Great Demon Molfins. He had planned to leave the Guild hanging for a while before presenting the price for Crimson Emperor's assistance.
Unfortunately, his patience had been in vain.
Since Zero Wing had refused to act, Crimson Emperor was left with no choice but to participate in the struggle for Stone Forest City.
Twelve superpowers were marching toward the city, and after including the Secret Pavilion, Crimson Emperor wouldn't gain a large percentage of the city's shares…
Every superpower upper echelon in White River City shared Crimson Gate's sentiments. They were all furious over Zero Wing's behavior, almost inclined to contact their Guilds' armies and order their forces to head to Stone Forest City at full speed.
In contrast, when Yuan Tiexin received the report on the superpowers' movements, he paled to a sickly white.
Even with Zero Wing's members, there were only a little over 100,000 players in Stone Forest City, but most of Zero Wing's members present were ordinary experts and elite players. Compared to the various superpowers' joint army of 50,000 experts, the difference between the two sides' strength was massive.
Yet, despite their impending doom, Shi Feng leisurely drew a magic array on the ground. He did nothing to recruit NPC soldiers or summon some of Silverwing Town's experts…
"Uncle Yuan, what should we do? The Guild Leader is mobilizing every expert he can and has even abandoned some of the Guild's operations to ensure our experts can get here as quickly as possible. However, even with those experts, I'm afraid that we're still no match for our enemies' combat power…" Purple Jade said, frowning as she informed her superior of the latest report.
The Secret Pavilion had a little over 6,000 experts in Stone Forest City thus far, which was nothing in comparison to the superpowers' joint forces. To make matters worse, the Secret Pavilion's forces weren't as high-quality as their enemies'…
"We have no choice but to fight," Yuan Tiexin said as he shook his head.
At that moment, Shi Feng finally made the final stroke, completing his magic array.
The array activated immediately, and another magic array, as large as Stone Forest City itself, appeared above the city. It glowed with a silver light, and the violent Mana it contained made the experts in the city uneasy.
As this array completed, pitch-black darkness, like a moonless night, swallowed the Undead Forest.
After five seconds, a steadily growing spatial tear appeared above the city. After another three seconds, the tear transformed into a colossal black hole.
The black hole swallowed all light, and no player could see anything within. However, they could feel an intense aura emerge from the phenomenon. As if time and space had frozen, every player in the city stared in shocked silence as a 100-meter, five-story tower dropped into the city's center…
"What is that? How can dark energy be so dense?!" Yuan Tiexin was astonished, unable to tear his eyes away from the tower that now graced Stone Forest City.
Even he struggled to move while under the influence of the tower's aura. He'd be lucky to exhibit 10% of his combat power; in such a state, even an ordinary expert could defeat him.
"Its name is the Dark Tower!" Shi Feng announced with a satisfied smile. "Of course, you can refer to it by its other name.
"The Tower of Death!"
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Chapter 2161 – Suppressing with a Snap
Shi Feng was quite excited to have successfully summoned the Dark Tower. He had only ever heard of the tower in the past; he had never actually seen or experienced one.
The Dark Seed was extremely rare in God's Domain, even rarer than Fragmented Legendary items. Hence, Shi Feng had been quite surprised when Bright Dawn had revealed the item.
To summon a Dark Tower, players first needed to defeat the Demon summoned with a Dark Seed. However, killing that particular Demon was easier said than done.
Players had often relied on NPCs to suppress and defeat these summoned Demons during Shi Feng's previous life. Killing one without such help was extremely difficult.
Although the NPCs' participation wouldn't interfere with the Dark Tower Design's drop-rate, NPCs wouldn't allow the construction to exist. They'd confiscate the Dark Tower Design the moment it appeared; players wouldn't have a chance to get their hands on the item.
Because of this, Shi Feng could count the number of powers that had successfully summoned a Dark Tower on one hand. Moreover, outsiders weren't allowed within a tower or city that contained a Dark Tower. Only allied or subordinate Guilds would be granted entry.
Shi Feng had merely been a second-rate Guild's Guild Leader in his past. Even ordinary superpowers had been unreachable, not to mention top-ranked superpowers. They had simply lived in different worlds.
Hence, Shi Feng had never expected to summon a Dark Tower now.
"We don't have much time left, Guild Leader Black Flame. The allied superpowers' 50,000-man army will arrive in less than half an hour," Yuan Tiexin reminded the younger man when he saw Shi Feng's relaxed expression.
From his point of view, Shi Feng didn't seem to understand the danger they were in right now.
The Dark Tower might be powerful, but one or two defensive structures wouldn't be enough to stop the enemy they were about to face.
They're all here?" Shi Feng's smile brightened at the news. "In that case, let's go meet them."
"Meet them?" Yuan Tiexin was flabbergasted. Hurriedly, he asked, "Isn't that too dangerous? Even with Stone Forest City's support, stopping them will be difficult. If we lose our terrain advantage, we'll be fish on the chopping block. With how much they have to gain, they won't hold back."
"Let's see them try," Shi Feng said, laughing.
"This…" Shi Feng's very existence baffled Yuan Tiexin. He couldn't tell whether the Swordsman was incredibly confident or just foolish.
"It's fine. I don't mind going by myself," Shi Feng suggested once he noticed Yuan Tiexin's hesitation.
"That won't do! The Secret Pavilion is one of Stone Forest City's shareholders. Since you're going, Guild Leader Black Flame, how can I just stand by and watch? Besides, if the Secret Pavilion makes an appearance, these superpowers might hold back out of fear, maintaining some pretense," Yuan Tiexin said, shaking his head as he prepared to risk his life alongside Shi Feng.
He didn't think that meeting the various superpowers was altogether a bad idea. They hadn't reached Stone Forest City just yet, so they might have an opportunity to ally with a few of these invading superpowers. However, if they waited until the armies arrived and solidified their alliance, the Secret Pavilion and Zero Wing would lose any hope of holding the city.
Following which, Shi Feng and Yuan Tiexin left Stone Forest City and made their way toward the various superpowers' armies, which had just entered the Undead Forest.
Both of these individuals were well-known in the virtual gaming world at this point. Even if the various superpowers' members weren't familiar with Zero Wing, they had heard of Black Flame.
"Why are they here?"
"By the looks of it, they've come to negotiate."
You're probably right. After all, we have 50,000 top-tier experts on our side. How could a recently promoted Guild City possibly stop us?"
The various superpowers' forces were surprised to see Shi Feng and Yuan Tiexin approach, discussing the matter amongst themselves.
"What is Black Flame trying to do? He actually wants to negotiate now?" Illusory Words was astonished to see the two famous players emerge from between the trees.
If they wanted to negotiate, they should've done so before the various superpowers' armies had gathered. Now that these superpowers had combined their forces, convincing any of them to switch sides would be practically impossible. After all, they now had the initiative.
"You actually have to ask?" Crimson Gate replied with a sneer. "He must've realized how terrifying this army is and realized that he isn't strong enough to stop us. He's probably here to try to recruit three or four superpowers. If he succeeds, he might be able to hold onto a fraction of Stone Forest City."
Every superpower present shared the same thought. They couldn't think of any other reason that Shi Feng would make such a risky move.
If they killed Shi Feng here, they'd deal a severe mental blow to Zero Wing as a whole. Doing so would also increase their members' morale, making it easier to capture Stone Forest City.
"Why are you here, Black Flame?"
"If you're here to negotiate, I'd advise you to turn around. Of course, we'll let you leave safely if you obediently hand over Stone Forest City. Ultimately, we only want the city, not your pitiful lives."
"That's right! Give us Stone Forest City, and we'll let you leave with your lives!"
The superpowers' upper echelons mocked Shi Feng and Yuan Tiexin with playful, confident attitudes. Naturally, the idea that they'd let Zero Wing's members escape if Shi Feng handed the city over was nothing more than a joke. Every player in God's Domain had already heard of Zero Wing's provocation. If they did not make an example of the offending Guild, how could they protect their reputations?
"Hand over Stone Forest City?" Shi Feng could not help but laugh. "Aren't you quite full of yourselves?"
Every player fell silent when they heard Shi Feng's comment. Even Yuan Tiexin stared at the Swordsman, dumbfounded as he felt his stress peak.
They weren't here to negotiate an alliance?
What was going on?
He even began to wonder if Shi Feng understood their current predicament.
They stood before an army of 50,000 players, all of which were experts among experts. If they worked together, killing a monster-level expert would be child's play.
Yuan Tiexin's scalp tingled just from being the center of these experts' attention. He didn't even dare imagine what would happen if they started a fight with these players.
Illusory Words, who stood among the joint army, was just as flabbergasted.
She had seen many courageous people before, but this was the first time she had encountered anyone as bold as Shi Feng. He had just openly provoked 12 superpowers with a simple comment. Only death awaited him now.
"Is this guy stupid?"
"Does he really believe he's invincible? He's only defeated Starlink. He better not run once the battle truly begins!"
As the superpowers' fury grew, Shi Feng snapped his fingers.
In response, Stone Forest Town's Dark Tower used its dark energy to manifest a vast Darkness Domain that enveloped the Undead Forest. All players within the Domain, both friend and foe, felt an immense weight drag at their bodies, losing more than half of their combat power…
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Chapter 2162 – No Different from Ants
Everyone panicked as the abrupt pressure swept through the Undead Forest.
"What's going on?"
"Why have my Attributes decreased? It's so hard to move!"
"What did he do?"
After noticing the change, everyone focused on Shi Feng in fear and confusion.
Even a fool would realize that Shi Feng was responsible, but more than 50,000 players had gathered, easily occupying an area of several thousand yards. Not even a Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spell could encompass such a large area.
However, not only did a faint layer of dark gas collect around them, but it also covered the entire Undead Forest.
Ordinary Domain Skills only reduced players' Basic Attributes by a small fraction, but this Domain's suppression was extreme. Their movements were so sluggish that they were even less mobile than they had been at Tier 1…
The various superpowers' upper echelons watched the man responsible with grim expressions.
If only their Basic Attributes had been suppressed, they may have been able to adapt. However, it was an entirely different story if this Domain suppressed their physiques as well.
Experts were so powerful due to their quick reactions and extraordinary comprehension, which gave them far greater control over their virtual bodies than ordinary players. However, now that their bodies had reverted to their original, mortal state, they had lost their advantages.
In other words, they were only as strong as ordinary players while inside this Domain…
The ability is just as effective as the rumors made it out to be. When Shi Feng sensed the changes to his own body, he could not help his rueful sigh.
As an Advanced Construction, the Dark Tower had two abilities.
One of these abilities was Darkness Domain!
The Darkness Domain did not differentiate between friend and foe, affecting every creature within its range, covering a 100,000-yard radius.
Violent dark energy filled the Domain. Not only would this dark energy affect creatures' Basic Attributes, but it would also impact their reaction speeds, neural response times, and five senses. While bathed in this dark energy, expert players would lose all of their advantages over ordinary players. It was just as effective as a death sentence.
This was also why players in the past had referred to the Dark Tower as the Tower of Death.
Yuan Tiexin's eyes nearly fell from their sockets. He was even more astounded than the invading superpowers' members. He had been following Shi Feng around all this time, so he understood what the man had done perfectly.
What is this construction? How is it so powerful? Yuan Tiexin could not help but turn, his gaze settling on the Dark Tower in the distance.
Although he had recognized that the Dark Tower was extraordinary, he hadn't realized how truly horrifying it could be!
The Dark Tower could actually level the playing field between expert and ordinary players. Ordinary players might not realize how amazing that was, but to the various superpowers, it was devastating.
A large part of the reason for the superpowers' great strength was the number of quality of their experts, which far surpassed ordinary players. If one removed experts from the equation, then the various superpowers were simply wealthier and larger than their ordinary counterparts.
The Dark Tower's ability would even allow an ordinary power to face off against a superpower. Although superpowers had more members than ordinary powers, they had to manage far more territory, and as a result, they could only station a limited number of players to each area under their control. There was also the fact that every location had limited resources; even if a superpower wanted to, they couldn't afford to send all of their members to a single location. Doing so would negatively affect their development. Because of this, there really wouldn't be a major difference between superpowers and ordinary powers when it came to numbers.
"Do you still want to continue?" Shi Feng asked, casually sweeping his gaze over the players before him with neither joy nor sadness. It was as if this expert army was little more than grass on the roadside. They weren't enough to warrant a reaction.
Before the Dark Tower, experts at Tier 3 and below were equal. The tower would even heavily suppress Tier 4 experts, significantly reducing the difference between them and ordinary players. This was why the Dark Tower was only second to Peak Constructions.
The tower would've qualified as a Peak Construction if it recognizes friend from foe. Moreover, it would've been one of the most powerful defensive structures in the game.
As Shi Feng's gaze rested on each of them, fear began to overwhelm the superpowers' members.
The ability to transform 50,000 expert players into ordinary mortals was simply unheard-of.
However, the various upper echelons quickly stepped forward to salvage the situation.
"Do you think we only planned to rely on our expert players, Black Flame?"
"That's right! You might have suppressed our experts, but we have more than players to besiege Stone Forest City!"
If Starlink could employ three Mythic monsters and a Dark Seed, why wouldn't superpowers of their caliber be able to do anything less?
Even if their expert players had lost their strength, their Guilds' could still launch a terrifying assault if they worked together.
However, these threats were empty. In truth, they lost any intention of attacking the city. Even if they used everything in their arsenals to attack Stone Forest Town, they'd pay a high price to capture the city without the ability to rely on their experts. None of them could afford this outcome.
"It seems that it won't be long before another superpower rises in God's Domain," Illusory Words said, smiling bitterly at Shi Feng's serene expression.
Recognizing that none of these superpowers had any desire to take action, it was clear that capturing Stone Forest City was no longer possible. They were merely trying to salvage what little pride they had left, hoping to gain a little profit off of Zero Wing through intimidation.
Now that Zero Wing would hold Stone Forest City, it was guaranteed to become a superpower very soon.
Crimson Emperor had strived over several decades to become a super-first-rate Guild. Zero Wing, however, was on the cusp of becoming one after just a couple of months, and that success was purely due to Shi Feng…
"To think Stone Forest Town has such an ability. It's no wonder why he dared to approach us." Even Crimson Gate looked upon Shi Feng with envy and admiration. He had lost any desire to refute Illusory Words. After all, she only spoke the truth.
The conditions to become a superpower were not as harsh as those required of a super-first-rate Guild. As long as a superpower had enough financial strength and experts, it could rise as a superpower. As for a complete legacy, that wasn't very important.
Now, as long as Zero Wing offered a portion of Stone Forest City's benefits, the various superpowers would withdraw, and the Guild would retain the city's shares. Naturally, the city would generate astounding profits with the benefits it could offer, and based on the strength and potential Zero Wing had displayed, it would attract many powerful corporations interested in investing in a Guild. Zero Wing would easily fulfill the financial requirement to become a superpower.
Of course, it could amass enough experts with money.
However, as Crimson Gate fell silent, Shi Feng took the stage once more.
"Since you still refuse to leave, you can remain here forever!" Shi Feng said as he revealed a Seven Luminaries Crystal, activating the Dark Tower's second ability.
Demon God's Phantom!
The Seven Luminaries Crystal immediately turned to dust, and a gigantic magic array formed beneath Shi Feng's feet. The array released an endless stream of dark energy that enveloped Shi Feng.
After a short moment, a 10-meter-tall giant emerged from the black smoke. It wore pitch-black armor, and two icy- blue flames flickered through the gap in the giant's helmet. The giant's horrific aura bathed its surroundings in death and cold.
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Chapter 2163 – Ancient God's Descent
Although the Demon God Shi Feng had transformed into was only 10 meters tall, a far cry from the size of Grand Lord and Mythic ranked monsters, everyone gasped when they saw his new form.
The aura Shi Feng radiated was far too powerful. If an ordinary Mythic monster's aura was seawater, Shi Feng's was steel.
Most of the experts in the superpowers' army couldn't even move when Shi Feng's aura washed over them. To them, the Swordsman felt like an Ancient God that had just stepped onto the mortal plane. They were afraid and awestruck. None of them even dared to consider resisting this man.
"How is this possible?"
As the various superpowers' upper echelons took in Shi Feng's new form, who loomed like the incarnation of an Ancient God, they felt more than just the unprecedented pressure; they also felt their Life Ratings suppressed. Not even Archaic Species ranked monsters radiated such an intense pressure. These upper echelons felt as if the person before them wasn't a player at all, but a true God.
Tier 4?! Just how many cards has he hidden?! Yuan Tiexin was utterly flabbergasted when he saw Shi Feng's new form. For a moment, he even wondered if he were dreaming.
Although the Darkness Domain Shi Feng had activated was horrific, it was insignificant compared to this ability.
After all was said and done, might was right in God's Domain.
Take the Great Demon Molfins, for example. The various superpowers hadn't even dared to set foot in the Undead Forest due to the Great Demon's presence, yet even after they had been swallowed by the Darkness Domain, they had remained adamant of taking a cut of Stone Forest City.
However, now that Shi Feng had transformed into a Tier 4 being, he posed an even greater threat to these superpowers than the Great Demon Molfins.
By this stage of the game, expert players had realized how frightening the tier system was. Even at the same level, a one-tier difference resulted in a massive combat power boost, not to mention a two-tier difference The gap between their combat powers now was like the difference between heaven and earth.
Moreover, the more familiar an expert player was with their Tier 2 body, the more acutely they understood the power of tiers. This was no longer a matter of Basic Attributes, but the extraordinary boost to players' physique. Even if two players had the same Basic Attributes and combat standards, a Tier 2 player could easily defeat a Tier 1 player.
Naturally, the higher the tier, the greater the tier's physique boost would be.
Right now, Shi Feng was a bona fide Tier 4 player. His physique had reached an unimaginable level. Even if his Basic Attributes were no higher than the rest of these players, he could likely slay a Domain Realm expert as if he were slaughtering helpless sheep. Furthermore, Shi Feng had the Basic Attributes of a Tier 4 player…
To ordinary players, Shi Feng's transformation might not seem like much. The various superpowers had already slain many Tier 4 Mythic monsters by now. How hard would it be to kill a Tier 4 player?
However, these superpowers' members knew better; a Mythic monster was cute compared to a Tier 4 player.
Unlike monsters, players could use the full potential of their strength. Some players could even surpass their limits in combat. Players also possessed a large number of Skills, and most importantly, they knew how to fight other players. They wouldn't give their opponents time to prepare, nullifying attacks as soon as they had the chance.
"Tier 4! How does Zero Wing have such a foundation?" Crimson Gate's eyes nearly fell from their sockets as he stared at Shi Feng from afar.
A one-tier difference resulted in such a massive combat power gap. Now that Shi Feng had a two-tier advantage, he was basically invincible. He could kill Tier 2 players as easily as stepping on ants.
"You win this time, Black Flame! We'll retreat!"
The superpowers' upper echelons realized that they had no hope of capturing Stone Forest City after seeing Shi Feng's transformation. Retreat was their only option left.
"I gave you a chance to leave, yet you refused. Why would I let you walk away now?" Shi Feng asked as he took a step forward, his massive body instantly appearing 30 yards away. He then dashed for the joint army.
"Don't push your luck, Black Flame! Although we aren't a match for you, we are also capable of dispatching Tier 4 Mythic combatants! If we focus on assaulting Stone Forest City, neither of us will benefit!"
"That's right! Moreover, do you really want our Guilds as your enemies?"
Shi Feng's bloodlust enraged the various superpowers' upper echelons.
They were overlords in God's Domain. Although Shi Feng's Tier 4 combat power was daunting, it was only a matter of time before they gained their own Tier 4 players. Shi Feng could only retain his arrogance for a short time.
They were already expressing a lot of respect for Zero Wing with their willingness to withdraw.
Yet, Shi Feng had no sense of propriety and wanted to kill them!
"So what if I do?" Shi Feng said, sneering as he increased his speed.
He would've feared the various superpowers' wrath if he hadn't acquired the Dark Tower for Stone Forest City. It was true that as time passed, these superpowers would find more treasures and grow stronger.
However, with the Dark Tower's protection, no power could threaten Shi Feng's city before players reached Level 100, and God's Domain's rare resources were limited. The competition for these resources would only become increasingly intense. It was only a matter of time before Zero Wing had to face these superpowers. Since the various superpowers would become his Guild's enemies sooner or later, he might as well kill some of their members now, weakening his enemies and strengthening his Guild!
"Black Flame! You're courting death!"
The superpowers' upper echelons immediate retrieved the fruits of their respective Guild's labor, revealing one Mythic combatant after another. These Tier 4 Mythic combatants were either summoned creatures or came in the form of tools like the Combat Puppets.
In moments, 15 Mythic combatants had joined the battlefield.
A force of this magnitude would be enough to intimidate any superpower. One could easily capture a Guild Town with just five or six of these Mythic combatants, yet now, these superpowers had worked together to amass a force of 15 of them. Even destroying a superpower's nurtured Basic City wouldn't pose much of a problem with such a force.
Of the 15 Mythic combatants, six moved to surround Shi Feng, while the remaining nine charged toward Stone Forest City.
The Zero Wing and Secret Pavilion members in the city paled as they watched these beings run toward them.
Three Mythic monsters had been enough to shake Stone Forest City's defensive magic array, but now, nine creatures with similar combat power were heading their way…
"Black Flame, you will pay for your foolishness!"
The various superpowers' upper echelons sneered as they controlled their Mythic monsters to charge at Stone Forest City at full speed.
"Are you so sure about that?" Shi Feng asked, swinging his sword at the nine Mythic combatants before they could split up to attack independently.
Shadow Blade!
Nine shadowy blades collided with the Mythic combatants, effortlessly slicing through them, before the beings flew through the air and slammed into the ground some distance away.
"How is this possible?"
The superpowers' members gaped in shock.
Those were Mythic combatants they were talking about, and Shi Feng had defeated nine of them so easily. Despite how much they wanted the scene to be an illusion, they had no choice but to acknowledge the truth before them.
After resolving the threat against Stone Forest City, Shi Feng turned and swung his sword at the six remaining Mythic combatants.
Sword's Transmigration!
This time, two of the six Mythic combatants, which had been thrown, sustained severe injuries, and their combat powers plummeted…
Although the exchange had been brief, everyone understood that the 15 Mythic combatants were no match for Shi Feng. They couldn't even get past the Swordsman, much less destroy Stone Forest City!
They had sorely underestimated Shi Feng's combat power!
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Chapter 2164 – Devil
Every player was overwhelmed with shock and horror after watching Shi Feng toy with 15 Mythic combatants like they were infants.
Although they had known that a Tier 4 player would be more powerful than a Mythic monster, they hadn't expected Shi Feng to be this strong.
Logically, a Tier 4 player's combat power should only be slightly greater than a Mythic monster's. Once they reached the Tier 4 standard, monsters' combat power rose to a new level. Including monsters' natural Attribute advantage, Tier 4 players of the same level should have a hard time facing three or four Mythic monsters at the same time.
However, Shi Feng had suppressed 15 Mythic combatants with little-to-no effort. It was simply unbelievable!
Of course, Shi Feng wasn't particularly surprised. Activating Demon God's Phantom cost a Seven Luminaries Crystal. Moreover, its user could only activate the Skill once a day, and it only lasted four short hours. During that time, the Skill would forcibly elevate the target player by two tiers to a maximum of Tier 4 Peak-rank. The Skill also upgraded a player's Life Rating to Ancien Fiend at maximum.
Because of Shi Feng's normal tier and Life Rating, Demon God's Phantom could only elevate him to Tier 4 Upper-rank, which was still far from the Skill's maximum. Normally, only Tier 3 players could exhibit the Skill's full potential.
Even so, a Tier 4 Upper-rank player's combat power was more than enough to take out 15 Mythic combatants.
God's Domain hadn't launched that long ago, and players hadn't yet reached Tier 3, so they had no idea what happened at that Tier and beyond.
Tier 4 players had still been considered peak experts even a decade after God's Domain's launch. Ordinary second-rate Guilds hadn't even had any Tier 4 players in their ranks, and in first-rate Guilds, Tier 4 players had been upper echelons, tasked with safeguarding the Guild's neutral towns.
Once players reached Tier 4, their combat power would undergo a qualitative transformation with each minor threshold they crossed. It was like the difference between ordinary monsters and Ancient Fiends.
Although these superpowers had summoned quite a few Tier 4 combatants, all 15 of them were at the Lower-rank.
They weren't even Tier 4 Intermediate-rank. How were they supposed to defeat a Tier 4 Upper-rank player?
Purely comparing combat power, Shi Feng was only slightly weaker than Molfins when the Great Demon had been at his peak. Hence, killing 15 Tier 4 Lower-rank combatants wasn't an issue for Shi Feng in this state.
Because of the Skill's limited duration, Shi Feng had no plans to drag out this fight. He immediately and violently attacked one of the summoned Mythic monsters. With the huge difference between their combat power, the Mythic monster was utterly powerless against Shi Feng, and every one of the Swordsman's attacks obliterated a visible chunk of the monster's HP.
The Mythic monster's HP fell by 20% after a few seconds. At this rate, Shi Feng would finish it off in less than a minute.
"Zero Wing's rise is guaranteed now." Illusory Words sighed ruefully as she watched the Mythic monster rapidly lose HP from a safe distance.
Fifteen Mythic combatants!
Facing such a force would be a disaster to any superpower, yet they couldn't even pose a threat to Shi Feng.
Now, it was clear that capturing Stone Forest City was impossible for any superpower.
With the city under its control, Zero Wing would have no issues acquiring resources or funds for its development.
If Crimson Emperor hadn't been so greedy and negotiated with Zero Wing before Molfins's death, it might not have secured Stone Forest City's shares, but it could have secured some discounts and Shops within the city. Unfortunate the Guild would have to leave empty-handed.
In contrast, the powers that had formed a close relationship with Zero Wing were truly blessed, especially Unyielding Soul. With Stone Forest City's help, Unyielding Soul could stand on the same stage as Starlink in the Dark Night Empire in the future.
"Retreat! Everyone, retreat immediately!"
With one of the Mythic monsters so close to death, the superpowers' upper echelons hastily commanded a retreat. If not even their Mythic combatants stood a chance against that monstrous Swordsman, their players wouldn't fare any better.
Shi Feng was still occupied with the 15 Mythic combatants. If they waited until these beings died, they would lose their chance to escape.
As soon as the upper echelons issued the command, the army of 50,000 experts spread out and ran for the Undead Forest's exit.
"They're finally retreating." Yuan Tiexin released a sigh of relief as he watched the invading players flee.
Although he understood that these superpowers had lost any hope of capturing Stone Forest City the moment Shi Feng had proven capable of single-handedly suppressing 15 Mythic combatants, he couldn't help his shock at watching the 50,000 peak experts run for their lives.
"Don't think you can get away so easily!" Noticing the fleeing players, Shi Feng threw the Mythic combatants around him with a powerful blow before charging at the escaping army.
Mythic combatants might be powerful, but even they would need quite some time to destroy Stone Forest City's defensive magic arrays. Moreover, these Mythic combatants had been summoned with Consumable items. They were as good as lost. Even if he killed them, the invading superpowers wouldn't suffer any more than they already had. Furthermore, these Mythic beings wouldn't drop any items when they died.
But an army of players was a different story. Even within their superpowers, these players were experts among experts. The offending superpowers would suffer dearly if these experts died.
Since the various superpowers had banded together to attack Stone Forest City once already, there was no guarantee that they wouldn't do it again. Naturally, he needed to teach them a painful lesson to ensure they wouldn't cause trouble in the future.
"Black Flame! Do you really want to become our enemy?!"
The superpowers' upper echelons panicked as they watched Shi Feng dash toward them. They began to reveal one card after another, activating suppression and defensive magic arrays to slow Shi Feng down. Some even used Tier 4 Offensive Magic Scrolls against the incoming Swordsman.
"So what if I do?" Shi Feng replied with a sneer, showing no intention of stopping.
Whether it was magic arrays or Tier 4 Offensive Spells, all were useless against Shi Feng. Current players simply couldn't hope to contend with a Tier 4 Upper-rank existence.
Shi Feng brandished his swords, countering the magic arrays and incoming Spells with a few hits. They then proceeded toward the fleeing mass of players, ruthlessly massacring everyone in his path.
Even at their peak, these expert players were no match for Shi Feng, but suppressed by the Dark Tower, they were utterly powerless.
"Lunatic!"
"How is that a lunatic?! He's practically the Devil incarnate!"
"He'll definitely regret this!"
The superpowers' experts were horrified as they watched Shi Feng slaughter their allies. They couldn't believe that this player actually dared to attack so many superpowers at the same time.
Not even the Secret Pavilion would be so bold…
On the other hand, Zero Wing's members in Stone Forest City felt their excitement and joy reach a tipping point. Reverence for their Guild Leader overwhelmed them, and their pride as members of Zero Wing reached new heights.
"All hail the Guild Leader!"
"Our Guild Leader is invincible!"
One man suppressed 15 Mythic combatants!
One man made 50,000 experts flee for their lives!
Who else in God's Domain could possibly accomplish such a spectacular feat?
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Chapter 2165 – Tide Changes
Dark Night Empire, Dark Night City:
Vendors' cries filled the business district. Practically every item for sale was of exquisite quality. Many of the vendors sold Level 60-plus Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment, Tier 2 Skill Books, and powerful Master Potions. Players who were visiting the city for the first time were mesmerized by all of the precious items for sale.
"Dark Night City is amazing, Big Brother Ape! So many treasures are available for sale! A lot of vendors are even selling a wide variety of super-rare Tier 2 Skill Books! We'll be lucky to find any of these books in Ghost Rock City!" A Level 55 female Elementalist named Flashy Leaf expressed her surprise and joy as she gazed at the various stalls hawking the tomes for magical classes.
In God's Domain, magical classes were easier to control than melee classes. The Spells they wielded affected a large portion of their combat power. In comparison, melee classes didn't depend as much on their Skills.
That is only natural. This is the Dark Night Empire's imperial capital, and a large number of experts visit the city. Naturally, this city has more resources than our city. With enough Coins and Magic Crystals, you can even buy Level 65 Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment. There is simply no comparison between Dark Night City and an ordinary NPC city," Sweeping Ape, a Level 62 male Guardian Knight with a silver shield, replied, chuckling.
You can even buy Level 65 Dark-Gold Weapons here?" Flashy Leaf muttered in shock.
Although many players had already surpassed Level 60, monster's drop-rates was significantly lower after Level 50 due to God's Domain's settings. As a result, weapons and equipment above Level 50 were extremely rare, especially Secret- Silver rank and above. Now, such high-quality equipment was a status symbol for expert and wealthy players.
Most ordinary players would be limited to Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Equipment after Level 50. Take Flashy Leaf, for example. She had only secured a full set of Level 55 Secret-Silver Equipment due to her low level, and it had still cost her a lot of money to collect the whole set.
She couldn't even imagine using Level 65 Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment.
"Of course. However, you'll need a strong relationship with a large Guild to get access to those items," Sweeping Ape replied. Proudly, he continued, "Our Eagle Eye adventurer team is a well-known adventurer team in Dark Night City, and we have a connection to a few first- and second-rate Guilds. Now that you're a member of our adventurer team, Leaf, you can get your hands on one or two of these items if you save up enough Coins and Magic Crystals. Moreover, you can tell any Guild players you have trouble with in the fields that you're from Eagle Eye, and even first-rate Guild players will step back out of respect."
Suddenly, a commotion erupted on the street. Players moved aside, opening a spacious path as mounted players dashed through. Nobody dared to step in this group's path. They all acted as if they were watching a royal procession.
"These people dare to ride their Mounts here?" Flashy Leaf was astonished as she watched these players dash down the street atop their Mounts.
On the way here, Sweeping Ape had constantly reminded her that players were forbidden from using their Mounts in Dark Night City, and just as he had said, she hadn't seen a single mounted player within the city walls thus far.
However, such a large group thundered through the business district on their Mounts now…
"They are an exception," Sweeping Ape said, fear lacing his words as he watched the mounted group continue down the street.
"Why?" Flashy Leaf asked.
"They're Starlink's members, this city's overlord. Not even super-first-rate Guilds like Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul are a match for Starlink," Sweeping Awe said in awe. "Although, even Starlink's members normally walk in the city. This is the first time I've seen so many people on their Mounts."
"Starlink? Is the Guild really that powerful?" Flashy Leaf couldn't help the sliver of jealousy as she stared at the fading backs of Starlink's members.
Other players new to Dark Night City felt the same as they watched Starlink's members pass. Some even played with the thought of joining the Guild.
"Starlink is that powerful. The Guild is king in Dark Night City!" Sweeping Ape confirmed.
However, a masked, Level 65 Ranger flashed the Guardian Knight a disdainful look when he saw Sweeping Ape's glowing excitement.
"King? Maybe it had been in the past," the Level 65 Ranger said, chuckling. "Those players are in such a hurry because Zero Wing has successfully defended Stone Forest City. Starlink's status in the Ancient Undead Country has been threatened. I doubt it will be long before Stone Forest City replaces Starlink's fortress as the most popular spot in the neutral map."
"Replace Starlink? How is that…possi—" Sweeping Ape instinctively tried to rebuke the masked Ranger and mock the man for his ignorance, but when he saw the black tiger logo on the Ranger's cape, he snapped his jaws shut. The Evil Tiger adventurer team?
The Dark Night Empire had countless adventurer teams, which rose and fell at a moment's notice. The Evil Tiger adventurer team, however, had survived in the Dark Night Empire since God's Domain's launch. It was also the empire's publicly acknowledged third-ranked adventurer team. Even first-rate Guilds' Guild Leaders treated its members with respect. The Evil Tiger adventurer team was leagues above the Eagle Eye adventurer team.
You'll find out if it's possible or not soon enough, but I'd advise that you begin to prepare. Major changes are coming to the Dark Night Empire," the masked Ranger said as he glanced at Sweeping Ape and Flashy Leaf. He turned away from the two and continued on his way.
"Big Brother Ape, is he telling the truth?" Flashy Leaf asked, noticing how Sweeping Ape watched the masked Ranger with awe.
"Evil Tiger is a peak adventurer team. There are rumors that quite a few super-first-rate Guilds have extended olive branches to the team. Many of Evil Tiger's members are also acquainted with players from super-first-rate Guilds, so its information network is far better than ours. I suspect he was telling the truth," Sweeping Ape said as he watched the masked Ranger's departing figure.
"Zero Wing? What kind of Guild is that, Big Brother Ape? If it's actually capable of making Starlink so afraid, could it be a super-first-rate Guild as well?" Flashy Leaf asked curiously.
She was completely ignorant of the virtual gaming world. She had only joined this world out of curiosity since God's Domain had become so popular. The moment she had joined God's Domain, she had realized that there was no going back.
"This…" Uncertainly, Sweeping Ape said, "I recall that Zero Wing is a new Guild, strong enough to rival first-rate Guilds." "A new Guild? Does that mean we have a chance of joining it?!" Flashy Leaf asked.
"Maybe…" Sweeping Ape turned to Flashy Leaf, speechless.
He had gone to great lengths to recruit Flashy Leaf for the Eagle Eye adventurer team, and now, she was interested in joining Zero Wing!
While Dark Night City's players discussed the prior commotion and latest news, the various large Guilds' Residences in the empire had fallen into utter chaos.
Not long ago, they had learned that Zero Wing had defeated the various superpowers' joint army, slaying more than 10,000 expert players and solidifying its position in Stone Forest City!
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Chapter 2166 – War's Conclusion
Star-Moon Kingdom, Star-Moon City:
One team after another appeared in the Teleportation Hall, all comprised of Level 65 or above experts. Even the weakest piece of equipment on these experts was Level 60 Secret-Silver rank. However, these players didn't linger in Star-Moon City's Teleportation Hall, quickly moving to other platforms and teleporting to the kingdom's other cities.
With careful observation, one would recognize these players as adventurer team members. Many were even from well- known adventurer teams.
Other players in the Teleportation Hall were stupefied. They didn't understand why so many adventurer teams from other kingdoms and empires were visiting Star-Moon Kingdom.
While Star-Moon City's players wondered about the odd flood of adventurer team players, a Level 67 man sat in a top- floor VIP room in one of the Teleportation Hall's Advanced Restaurants. Quietly, he took this all in, envy and sorrow in his gaze.
If the city's players saw this man, they'd likely be taken aback.
He was none other than Galaxy Past, the Star Alliance's Guild Leader. By this point, the Star Alliance had become Star- Moon City's king.
"After this battle's conclusion, it's likely impossible for anyone to pressure Zero Wing within Star-Moon Kingdom," Galaxy Past enviously lamented as he watched the numerous teams teleport in and out of the Teleportation Hall.
Shi Feng had recently defeated the various superpowers' joint army, and news of his victory had yet to reach Star- Moon Kingdom's general populace. However, as one of the Secret Pavilion's subordinate first-rate Guilds, the Star Alliance had heard of the outcome almost as soon as the battle had ended.
He certainly hadn't expected this outcome.
He truly hadn't thought that Zero Wing would be capable of standing against such a force.
Zero Wing's Stone Forest City was akin to a diamond mine. The troublesome Guild would never have to worry about needing funds again. With the city's income, Zero Wing could easily support its current level of development, which meant it had resolved its sole weakness within Star-Moon Kingdom. From now on, even the various superpowers would find it exceedingly difficult to pressure the Guild in its own kingdom. Moreover, doing so wouldn't gain them much. At this point, he'd be hard-pressed to find a superpower that was willing to make such a trade.
First-rate Guilds like the Star Alliance dreamed of achieving such power, but now, a new Guild, one that had only established after God's Domain's launch, had been the one to realize this dream.
No one could've imagined that Zero Wing would've struck back as soon as Starlink had tried to hinder the Guild's development in Star-Moon Kingdom and successfully deal such a fierce blow. Starlink's fortress in the Ancient Undead Country was basically crippled…
"Even if that is the case, Guild Leader, Zero Wing will have more problems to deal with now. Honestly, Starlink hadn't taken Zero Wing seriously, but now, with Stone Forest City in its way, Starlink will view the Zero Wing as a sworn enemy. Moreover, Zero Wing has provoked more than a handful of superpowers this time. I doubt the Guild will find moving forward to be more difficult than expected," Purple Jade said.
Galaxy Past did not try to refute Purple Jade's logic.
In his opinion, Zero Wing's retaliation against Starlink's bullying had been splendidly carried out. Even before Zero Wing had taken action, the two Guilds had shed all pretenses. Increasing their hatred for each other wouldn't change things overmuch. However, the fact that Zero Wing had slaughtered the superpowers' joint forces would come back to bite it.
Those superpowers might be helpless against Stone Forest City and Zero Wing, but the Undead Forest was a small fraction of the Bottomless Abyss. The God Mode Regional Dungeon had other areas, and exploring those areas would require particularly powerful experts.
The various superpowers had both stronger and more experts than Zero Wing. Once Zero Wing's members left the forest, they'd find miserable deaths waiting for them.
While the various powers in the kingdom discussed Zero Wing's victory, adventurer teams crowded the entrance to the Guild's Residence in White River City. Just entering and leaving the Residence had become a struggle for Zero Wing's members.
Aqua Rose, who was responsible for the Guild's recruitment, was stunned. She had watched many expert players apply for membership before, but she had never seen this many apply at once.
A rough estimate calculated more than 10,000 expert applicants…
Moreover, quite a few of these experts were at the Half-step Refinement Realm, and some were even Refinement Realm experts. The Guild hadn't experienced such a thing before.
Half-step Refinement Realm experts generally served as core team leaders in first-rate Guilds. Most Refinement Realm experts were immediately promoted, becoming an upper echelon within the first-rate Guild.
Even Aqua Rose was only a Refinement Realm expert.
However, despite knowing that they would, at most, start out as an elite member, so many Refinement Realm experts were adamant about joining Zero Wing…
"What kind of magic did you use, Guild Leader?" Aqua Rose excitedly asked after contacting Shi Feng. "More than 300 well-known and 20 top adventurer teams have applied to join the Guild. After a rough estimate, more than 200 Halfstep Refinement Realm experts and 15 Refinement Realm experts have applied, as well…"
Zero Wing didn't even have 15 Refinement Realm experts in total. Even so, the Guild had far more than its first-rate competition. By accepting these 15 or so Refinement Realm experts into the fold, Zero Wing could double its total count.
If it succeeded in doing so, no ordinary first-rate Guild would have a chance against Zero Wing. Only the few top- ranked first-rate Guilds would be able to rival the Guild.
"Over 200 Half-step and 15 Refinement Realm experts? It seems the battle's outcome has been quite effective," Shi Feng said, smiling. He wasn't particularly surprised by the situation.
His latest battle held extraordinary significance. Although, defeating the superpowers' joint forces wasn't the victory that lured all of these adventurer teams to Zero Wing; rather, they were attracted by his success in holding Stone Forest City.
As long as Stone Forest City stood, Zero Wing would have a steady supply of resources and Coins. This also made Zero Wing a far tougher opponent for the various superpowers. Moreover, to become a superpower, one needed a foundation of money and resources.
Now that Zero Wing had that foundation, it was almost guaranteed to become a superpower in the future, and the Guild had already proven capable of fending off the various superpowers. After hearing the news of these victories, it was only natural that a large number of experts would rush to join the Guild and ride Zero Wing's coattails.
"Some top adventurer teams have also requested an alliance, committing to fight our enemies in the Bottomless Abyss." With a little hesitation, Aqua Rose continued, "However, they want Adventurer Residences in Stone Forest City in exchange."
Top adventurer teams possessed a lot of experts, and some were even led by Refinement Realm experts. There were also some that even superpowers feared.
Meanwhile, Zero Wing had provoked quite a few superpowers this time, and because of that, it was fated to encounter many trials and tribulations within the Regional Dungeon. If the Guild had to face these superpowers alone, it would likely struggle to establish itself in the Bottomless Abyss's other locations. It might even be trapped in the Undead Forest, which was only a fraction of the Dungeon and had very limited resources.
"If they want Adventurer Residences for free, they can forget it," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "Of course, if they're willing to pay, it's a different story. Each Adventurer Residence will cost 50,000 Gold or Magic Crystals of equal value."
Adventurer Residences were similar to Guilds' temporary Residences. The team's members would be able to teleport in and out of Stone Forest City freely, but Adventurer Residences were a special type of building that could only be constructed in Guild Cities. Moreover, the ruling power could only construct a limited number. A Basic City could only support ten Adventurer Residences at a time.
"Fifth thousand Gold?" The amount Shi Feng demanded startled Aqua Rose. "Are you sure?"
One could afford a relatively good plot of Land in an imperial capital with so much Gold. Charging so much for an Adventurer Residence in a Guild City was absurd. No adventurer team would likely agree to that price.
"That's right; 50,000 Gold. If they're not interested, we won't force the issue," Shi Feng firmly declared.
"I understand. I'll notify them of our price." Knowing Shi Feng had made up his mind, Aqua Rose could only nod and agree. She could only hope that more opportunities to secure outside help appeared in the future.
After disconnecting the call, Shi Feng made his way to Stone Forest City's City Lord's Mansion to open the city's doors to the public.
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Chapter 2167 – Stone Forest City's Opening
Unlike Zero Wing City, which had been a city upon its conception, Stone Forest City's City Lord's Mansion wasn't a castle. It was merely a house atop a spacious compound. Thick, stone walls lined the compound, and the only entrance was through a set of sturdy, iron gates. Two Tier 2 NPC soldier parties stood guard.
When Shi Feng arrived, the NPCs opened the gates for him and respectfully welcomed him to the mansion.
Sure enough, this City Lord's Mansion is far more secure. Shi Feng could not help his rueful sigh when he saw the water barrier beyond the gates.
The Isolation Barrier!
Not even Zero Wing City had this mechanic.
The difference between a Guild Town and a Guild City was massive in God's Domain. The method to capture each was also different. To capture a Guild town, one simply needed to claim the Town Token from the ruling Guild's Residence, but to capture a Guild City, players needed to secure the City Lord's Mansion.
While the difference between the two might not seem large, it was like the difference between heaven and earth.
The first reason for this gap was the difference in their magic arrays. A Guild had to set up the defensive magic array around its Residence itself, and Advanced Defensive Magic Arrays were particularly difficult to acquire. However, a City Lord's Mansion came equipped with its own defensive magic array, and it was even stronger than the magic barrier that protected the city. Only, it stored far less Mana, so it couldn't last as long as the city's defensive magic array.
The second reason was that no Guild Residence, regardless of how powerful it was, could affect a city's performance, but the City Lord's Mansion would.
The City Lord's Mansion acted as the city's heart. The stronger it became, the stronger the city would be.
However, upgrading a City Lord's Mansion wasn't easy. Doing so required a lot of money and super-rare resources.
This was why Guild Cities' development in God's Domain was generally quite slow. Guild Towns, in comparison, only needed Popularity, money, and players.
Normally, Guild Cities that had grown from Advanced Towns were much stronger than directly built Guild Cities. Needless to say, a Guild City promoted with a Gold Town Promotion Order would be even stronger.
The Isolation Barrier before Shi Feng was the best proof of this.
Shadow's Guild Cities in the past had only acquired an Isolation Barrier once they had become Intermediate Cities, yet Stone Forest City had gained one the moment it had become a Basic City.
Unlike defensive magic arrays, Isolation Barriers couldn't block incoming attacks, but they weren't any less important. An Isolation Barrier was capable of stopping unseen attacks and isolating the City Lord's Mansion from the outside world.
If players entered the mansion without explicit permission, they wouldn't be able to contact others outside of the compound's walls.
This ability had allowed Guilds in the past to hold meetings within the City Lord's Mansion without having to worry about information reaching their enemies too quickly.
Now that Stone Forest City's City Lord's Mansion had an Isolation Barrier as well, Zero Wing could use this place to discuss confidential matters. The Guild wouldn't need to take the numerous precautions it usually did when preparing for an important operation, and it could afford to consider even riskier plans.
Shi Feng entered the City Lord's Mansion, greeted by a garden filled with plants and flourishing flowers. Birdsong and floral fragrance filled the air. The garden had an easy-to-capture vibe, a stark contrast to Zero Wing City's heavily fortified City Lord's Mansion.
But Shi Feng remained unperturbed.
After all was said and done, Stone Forest City had only recently become a city. It would still take a lot of time, money, and resources to develop this City Lord's Mansion to rival that of Zero Wing City. This was also why the various superpowers had tried to capture Stone Forest City so soon after its promotion.
The City Lord's Mansion was still undeveloped and at its weakest.
Once Zero Wing fully developed the mansion, not even Tier 5 players could infiltrate it.
Although he had defeated the various superpowers and defended Stone Forest City this time, repelling future attacks wasn't guaranteed. He needed to upgrade the city as soon as possible.
Initially, the Secret Pavilion had suggested they wait for two or three days before opening Stone Forest City to the public. By then, most of the city's defenses would be operational. However, the Secret Pavilion wasn't aware that Shi Feng couldn't afford to wait that long.
Silverwing Town, Stone Forest City, and Zero Wing's development desperately needed Coins and resources, but due to the ongoing war with Starlink, Zero Wing severely lacked both.
Even though Shi Feng had acquired quite a few top-tier weapons and equipment pieces from the various superpowers, it was a pitiful amount compared to what the Guild needed, and selling the items would simply be foolish.
Hence, to ensure Zero Wing's future, he had to open Stone Forest City to the public as soon as possible.
Shi Feng soon arrived at the three-story house within the compound. An elderly butler, the City Lord's Mansion's manager, waited for him. Although the old man was only Level 10, he was invulnerable; no player could damage him.
"City Lord, how may I be of service?" the butler asked as he greeted Shi Feng with a smile.
"I wish to remove the seal on Stone Forest City," Shi Feng answered.
After its promotion, Stone Forest City had been sealed. Without the owner's permission, players would have to destroy the city's defensive magic array and walls to get into the city. If he wanted to attract visitors, he'd have to remove the seal.
"I will see to it immediately, but once the seal has been lifted, how much would my lord like to charge as an entry fee?" the butler asked. "With Stone Forest City's current scale, the lowest entry fee available to you is 40 Copper Coins."
"The lowest is 40 Copper?" Shi Feng could not help but chuckle. "What about the highest?"
He had gone to great lengths to relocate Stone Forest Town to the Bottomless Abyss. He had even upgraded it into a city. Naturally, he couldn't charge the lowest entry fee.
"Currently, you can collect up to 3 Silver per person. If you wish to raise the entry fee further, you will first have to upgrade the city," the butler explained.
"In that case, set it to 3 Silver," Shi Feng decided without hesitation.
Players couldn't set a city's entry fee to any amount they desired in God's Domain. There were lower and upper limits, and the city's geographical surroundings and development determined these limits. When Zero Wing City had first established, the lower limit had only been 30 Copper, yet Stone Forest City's was 40 Copper.
To attract more players to Zero Wing City, Shi Feng had initially set the entry fee to the minimum, gradually raising it as more players arrived. Now, players had to pay 80 Copper to enter Zero Wing City.
However, Stone Forest City's situation was different. It rested on the Bottomless Abyss's first underground floor, and it was almost guaranteed that only a small number of players would visit. Unfortunately, that meant that he couldn't choose the lowest entry fee available. He wouldn't make any money if he did. Furthermore, Stone Forest City was the only rest area in the God Mode Regional Dungeon, and unlike Zero Wing City, this city was essential for the players that wanted to grind in the area.
"Understood. I'll get it done immediately." The butler bowed before leaving.
In less than five minutes, a Regional System Announcement alerted all players in the Undead Forest that Stone Forest City was officially open.
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Chapter 2168 – Not Like a Superpower, But Superior
Once the seal on Stone Forest City had lifted, Shi Feng began to draft a construction plan for the city.
Although Stone Forest Town had already contained a lot of buildings, it had grown several times after its promotion. As a result, Stone Forest City looked empty and could, at most, only accommodate 1,000,000 players.
This was the downside to a promoted city. A built city, on the other hand, didn't have this problem.
Although Stone Forest Town had more than enough buildings to accommodate visiting players, its visitors wouldn't be limited to experts as mainstream players reached higher levels and improved their equipment. Eventually, even ordinary players would be able to grind in the Bottomless Abyss's first floor with ease.
It was necessary to plan the city's constructions ahead of time to ensure that players had what they needed to live and rest in Stone Forest City. Not only would careful planning increase the value of the city's Shops and private housing, but it was also of the utmost importance for the city's development.
While Shi Feng planned the city's layout in the City Lord's Mansion, the powers from the kingdoms and empires near the Ancient Undead Forest received news of Stone Forest City's grand opening.
For a time, these powers were in an uproar.
"Zero Wing is actually opening such a precious city to the public?! Has the Guild gone mad?!"
"How generous!"
"That's a God Mode Regional Dungeon we're talking about! I can't believe Zero Wing is letting just anyone into the city! Just what is Zero Wing thinking?"
The many powers that had watched the battle for Stone Forest City knew how significant the city was. Whoever owned Stone Forest City would have a massive advantage when exploring the Bottomless Abyss.
However, Zero Wing so willingly gave up this advantage, granting the public access to such a valuable city…
Even the various superpowers were stunned by Zero Wing's decision.
They had known that the Guild would open Stone Forest City to the public sooner or later. Reaching the Bottomless Abyss's first floor wasn't particularly difficult, and even experts from first-rate Guilds and peak adventurer teams would be strong enough to grind in the area after another ten days or so.
Once they were, Stone Forest City wouldn't be nearly as much of an advantage. Even if Zero Wing wanted to avoid doing so, it would have to open the city to the public to earn a little money. The city's potential income would be far more important to the Guild than limiting access to its members and allies.
However, the various superpowers hadn't dreamed that Zero Wing would open Stone Forest City's gates so soon. Essentially, doing so now was throwing away any advantage the city could provide.
"A God Mode Regional Dungeon? This is a perfect opportunity to strengthen our adventurer team!"
"Zero Wing is truly amazing. It's giving up such a massive advantage. Not even superpowers would dare to make such a sacrifice. Since no one's explored the Bottomless Abyss yet, we can advance our Guild's development if we can claim some of its treasures for ourselves."
The various kingdoms and empires' powers sprung into action the moment they heard of Stone Forest City's opening. They all dispatched expert teams to the city.
The various superpowers occupied most of God's Domain's high-resource maps, and that should've been the case for the Bottomless Abyss as well. Superpowers had far better weapons and equipment for their members than ordinary powers, and by the time the ordinary powers were able to explore the Regional Dungeon, the various superpowers would've likely combed through the Dungeon.
Now that Stone Forest City was open to the public, however, ordinary powers could share the starting line with the various superpowers in the competition for the Bottomless Abyss's resources. Although the superpowers still had a massive advantage in terms of combat power and equipment standards, it was the fairest condition that ordinary players could hope for.
If these ordinary powers got lucky in the Bottomless Abyss, they might be able to elevate their development to a new level. The Regional Dungeon was the current frontline in God's Domain, and needless to say, the loot within would be among the best available at this stage of the game.
Because of this news, Zero Wing's Residence in White River City had become more crowded than ever before. Players joined the growing crowd outside of the Residence's entrance almost as fast as the seconds ticked by. They filled the several streets around the Residence, stupefying players who visited the city for the first time.
Meanwhile, Unyielding Heart and Mu Lingsha, who had finally made it into the Residence, couldn't stifle their rueful sighs as they observed the current atmosphere within.
Although powers seeking refuge or alliances visited the various superpowers' Residences as well, their traffic was nothing compared to the number of representatives currently in Zero Wing's Residence.
They had already counted more than 100 representatives thus far, including upper echelons from first- and second- rate Guilds.
First- and second-rate Guilds might be insignificant to the various superpowers, but that was only true when two or three of these Guilds gathered. If dozens of first- and second-rate Guilds banded together, not even a Super Guild could afford to underestimate them.
Unyielding Heart and Mu Lingsha even felt as if their positions had been reversed. It felt as if Zero Wing were the superpower here, and Unyielding Soul was simply an ordinary power seeking refuge…
Almost every first- and second-rate Guild upper echelon in the Residence felt the same.
They had all assumed that they stood on equal footing with Zero Wing and that the Guild wasn't yet a superpower, even if it were stronger than a first-rate Guild.
But looking at it now, they realized how naive the thought was.
Although Zero Wing might not have the strength of a superpower, it possessed a foundation that no superpower could match. Despite its lower status, it was, in fact, more powerful.
Bottomless Abyss, Stone Forest City:
After working in the City Lord's Mansion for nearly two hours, Shi Feng received a call from Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow.
"Guild Leader, over 100 powers have visited our Residence in the Black Dragon Empire to discuss potential cooperation. Five of them are first-rate Guilds, and 17 are second-rate Guilds. Should we agree to their offers?" Gentle Snow asked.
"We're seeing roughly the same situation in White River City, Guild Leader, although two superpowers have also visited. One of them is Unyielding Soul. Both superpowers are requesting garrison rights in Stone Forest City, and they've offered considerable benefits in exchange," Aqua Rose said, unable to contain her excitement.
If Zero Wing accepted the benefits these Guilds offered, the Guild would undergo a qualitative transformation. Although it couldn't match a superpower's reach, it wasn't far off.
"So many powers have visited?" Even Shi Feng was a little surprised to hear the two Vice Guild Leaders' reports.
Although he had recognized how tempting Stone Forest City would be to the various powers, he hadn't expected it to attack so many.
"What should we do, Guild Leader?" Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow asked, staring at Shi Feng as they desperately waited for his answer.
Too many powers had approached the Guild for partnerships for them to handle. Even if Stone Forest City was a Basic City, it couldn't accommodate so many Guilds. It would be fortunate if the city house a total of five Guilds right now.
"Since so many powers have approached us, it would be a waste to turn them away." After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng grinned and said, "The various superpowers have their own Chamber of Commerce. In that case, Zero Wing will establish its own. We'll call it the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce. If these powers want a partnership, they'll have to join our Chamber first. Then, we'll cooperate as members of a Chamber of Commerce typically do."
Zero Wing had certainly benefited from its membership with the Secret Chamber of Commerce, but after getting kicked out once already, Shi Feng knew that Zero Wing needed a Chamber of its own.
Zero Wing hadn't had been able to fulfill the conditions of creating a Chamber of Commerce previously, but now that the ability to do so presented itself, he couldn't miss this opportunity.
"What if they demand to garrison in the city?" Aqua Rose had already spoken with quite a few major powers' representatives, so she knew that they aimed to secure a Residence in the city for their Guilds. Unfortunately, simply joining the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce wouldn't fulfill that wish, in which case, these powers might refuse to join.
"We'll follow the Secret Chamber of Commerce's example then. They will only gain the right to garrison in Stone Forest City if they join the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce as advanced members. Normal members, on the other hand, will enjoy a 20% discount on the city's entry fees," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "The more they contribute, the more they will gain. I'm sure they won't have any complaints."
Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow's eyes glowed with elation and realization upon hearing Shi Feng's decision.
This was undoubtedly a solid solution. If this plan succeeded, Zero Wing's sales channels would reach unprecedented heights. Not even ordinary superpowers would be a match for it. Even without Stone Forest City's profits, the Guild would be able to develop smoothly by relying on the income from the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce.
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Chapter 2169 – Gathering of Guilds
Shi Feng's decision inspired Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow, sparking countless ideas as restless excitement filled their hearts.
"Guild Leader, although I think it's a good idea to take advantage of a competition between these Guilds for the garrison slots, I'm afraid that some of the smaller Guilds will give up altogether knowing that they won't have any chance of winning. Most of the Guilds that have approached us with partnership proposals are small Guilds, and although they aren't powerful individually, their combined strength is even greater than that of the larger Guilds who are interested in an alliance," Aqua Rose said, quickly pointing out the problem with Shi Feng's suggestion. She was far more astute than Shi Feng when it came to management and business.
"That's right. These smaller Guilds don't share the same thought process as their larger counterparts. They aren't considering their future development, prioritizing immediate benefits over all else," Gentle Snow said as she nodded in agreement. "We might find it challenging to lure them into the Chamber if we only offer a 20% discount. The small Guilds don't have many experts, to begin with, and they can only afford to send a small number of players to explore the Bottomless Abyss. The benefits of joining the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce aren't greater than the cost. They will definitely reject our offer."
Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow's reasoning was sound. Although Shi Feng had only suggested the idea a moment ago, both women had already found flaws in his plan. His other subordinates, such as Blackie and Liang Jing, simply couldn't compete with these two.
"You're both correct. A discount on the city's entry fee won't likely be enough to convince these small Guilds, but this city isn't like others. This is Stone Forest City. Even if they wanted to, they'd find the offer difficult to refuse," Shi Feng said, smiling confidently.
Listening to his Vice Guild Leaders' suggestions, Shi Feng recognized how both had developed their respective Guilds into pseudo-super-first-rate Guilds in the past.
To grow stronger, a Guild needed more than just powerful experts; it also needed skilled managers with a sharp sense for business. If Shi Feng hadn't relied on philosophies that were beyond the current time and knowledge of God's Domain's future, not even he would've been a match for Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow's business sense.
"This…"
Both women gave their Guild Leader skeptical looks.
"These Guilds want to negotiate a partnership deal, correct? In that case, we'll sit down with them in Stone Forest City's Candlelight Trading Firm," Shi Feng declared, chuckling.
"Alright. We'll lead them there now, then."
Although these women were confused over Shi Feng's decision, they were familiar with his typical antics. Since he had come up with the idea, he must have considered certain factors. Moreover, Stone Forest City was key to Zero Wing's development. As the Guild's upper echelons, they had to visit the city and gain a proper understanding of what it had to offer.
Disconnecting their call with Shi Feng, the women contacted the various Guilds' representatives and informed them that the negotiations would take place in Stone Forest City.
"What is Zero Wing trying to do? They could negotiate with us directly, but they want us to head to Stone Forest City for the discussion? Isn't this just a waste of time?!" a Level 68 female Elementalist in exquisite, light-red robes snarled as she watched Aqua Rose in the distance.
Over 200 Guild representatives occupied the spacious hall, but aside from Unyielding Heart and Mu Lingsha, none of them dared to look this furious woman in the eye. They lowered their heads and avoided her gaze, afraid of attracting her ire.
This woman was Sixteenth Cloud, the Second Vice Guild Leader of the recently-promoted superpower, Shining Tiger. She had also earned the nickname 'Flame Empress.' She had once been a peerless genius, nurtured by a Super Guild like the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion's Phoenix Rain, but she had left the Super Guild abruptly and joined Shining Tiger, performing many impressive feats for the new superpower.
Although Shining Tiger was not as powerful as Starlink, it ranked near the top among recently-promoted superpowers. The Guild currently controlled four kingdoms and had built a solid foundation in the Glory Empire. It was even stronger than Unyielding Soul.
"We are here to gain an understanding of Zero Wing and see for ourselves if the Guild is as impressive as the White Tiger Dojo claims, Vice Guild Leader. So please, endure this for now." The middle-aged man, a Level 68 Assassin, beside Sixteenth Cloud tried to calm the woman, acting like her butler. It was obvious that he was used to the woman's hot temper.
Unyielding Heart, who sat across the subservient Assassin, kept his guard up against the man.
This middle-aged man had an even greater backstory than Sixteenth Cloud. His name was Sorrowful Silence, and he had risen to fame even earlier than Unyielding Heart had. Moreover, Sorrowful Silence was a bona fide monster. The man specialized in eliminating high-profile targets. Since God's Domain's launch, he had been responsible for the deaths of more than six superpower upper echelons. These assassinations had foiled many of the superpowers' plans.
How strange. Shining Tiger has clearly focused on its development in the Glory Empire. So, why is it here to discuss a partnership with Zero Wing? Initially, Unyielding Heart had been a little surprised to find Sixteenth Cloud and Sorrowful Silence in Zero Wing's Residence. Is Zero Wing already allied with Shining Tiger in secret?
Although Shining Tiger had only recently become a superpower and had begun its development in God's Domain much later than Starlink had, it hadn't developed any slower than Starlink. Shining Tiger even had the support of the Radiant Corporation, an international corporation. Like Blackwater, the Radiant Corporation specialized in the fighting and security industries. Hence, Radiant had no lack of expert players and an advantage over its competition.
If the Radiant Corporation hadn't waited so long to join God's Domain, Shining Tiger would've likely risen to rival Starlink and Blackwater by now.
While Unyielding Heart wondered about the other Guild's presence here, Sixteenth Cloud returned to her seat, no longer making a fuss.
"I know! I was just saying," Sixteenth Cloud grumbled.
She didn't have a great opinion of Zero Wing, which had neither a background nor any supporters. Since she had originally been a member of a Super Guild, she was very familiar with how powerful superpowers were. Although Zero Wing had made a name for itself by defeating the superpowers' joint army, that didn't prove anything. Zero Wing had simply accomplished the feat by relying on some fortuitous opportunity.
Such opportunities appeared randomly and were available to everyone. Throughout the virtual gaming world's long history, many Guilds like Zero Wing had risen to great heights due to fortuitous opportunities, but very few had eventually become super-first-rate Guilds or Super Guilds.
In Sixteenth Cloud's opinion, Zero Wing was little more than a lottery winner. It was nothing compared to families with wealthy histories.
If the White Tiger Dojo hadn't boasted of Zero Wing's amazing skills when nurturing experts, her Guild wouldn't have sent her here, much less decided to approach Zero Wing for a partnership.
Not long after Sixteenth Cloud's tantrum came to an end, the various representatives calmed as they followed Aqua Rose toward White River City's Teleportation Hall.
At the same time, Gentle Snow led her visitors toward the city from the distant Black Dragon Empire.
Suddenly, several hundred powers' representatives gathered in Dark Night City, causing a commotion that spread throughout the Dark Night Empire.
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Chapter 2170 – Off the Charts
"Amazing! Why have so many Guilds gathered in Dark Night City?"
"They must be here for the same reason as those adventurer teams that showed up earlier, to discuss an alliance with Zero Wing."
"Zero Wing sure is impressive. If it allies with so many Guilds, not even Starlink could afford to target Zero Wing rashly."
"That's not all. Do you see those people wearing Shining Tiger's Guild Emblem? The Guild recently became a superpower. I've heard that it isn't any weaker than Starlink and far stronger than the declining Unyielding Soul. If Zero Wing partners with Shining Tiger, Starlink will find the Guild to be a far more difficult target."
"If that happens and Zero Wing really intends to develop in the Dark Night Empire, we're going to see a massive war erupt."
Players from the empire's various powers chatted amongst themselves when they noticed Sixteenth Cloud and the other Guild representatives in Dark Night City's Teleportation Hall. Many of them could already imagine the battle between the Dark Night Empire's countless Guilds.
Players like them wanted nothing more than that outcome.
Heroes only emerged when there was trouble. No player or power dared to act up in the empire while Starlink was in control, and most conflicts were limited to small skirmishes. Starlink would jump to quash any larger fights, and because of this, expert players struggled to make a name for themselves within the Dark Night Empire.
Of course, everyone paid more attention to Shining Tiger's presence than the potential turbulence.
If Shining Tiger and Zero Wing agreed to an alliance, Zero Wing would have the capital to develop in the Dark Night Empire. Partnering with Dark Night City's other Guilds wouldn't help the Guild much in this matter, and no one even bothered to take into account the Secret Pavilion or Unyielding Soul.
Unyielding Soul had constantly fought Starlink in the empire, so whether or not it allied with Zero Wing, its situation wouldn't change. Furthermore, Unyielding Soul had already begun to decline.
As a famous, transcendental power, the Secret Pavilion wouldn't involve itself in the struggle between God's Domain's various powers. It focused solely on its business and finances. The potential profits that were at stake were the only reason that the Secret Pavilion had sided with Zero Wing in the battle for Stone Forest City.
However, Shining Tiger was a different story. Shining Tiger was a foreign superpower to the Dark Night Empire, and if it were dragged into the empire's struggles, the resulting power shift would be significant.
"So, this is Starlink's main headquarters? These players' average standards are quite high. They're almost a match for those in the Glory Empire. I see now how Starlink has developed so quickly," Sixteenth Cloud commented as she briefly evaluated the players in the Teleportation Hall. "If Zero Wing intends to battle Starlink to the bitter end, we'll have to reevaluate our interest in an alliance."
Overall, the Glory Empire was stronger than the Dark Night Empire, and although the former didn't have a God Mode Regional Dungeon nearby, it had quite a few Asura Mode Regional Dungeons. These Dungeons were more than enough for Shining Tiger's needs. The Guild wasn't hard-pressed to secure the Bottomless Abyss's resources.
If the Guild Elders hadn't expressed their slight interest in the Bottomless Abyss and White Tiger Dojo hadn't made such a strong recommendation, Shining Tiger wouldn't have been interested in Zero Wing in the least.
"Indeed. These players are certainly high-quality. Obtaining fresh blood should be quite easy for Starlink. Including its possession of that item, its development speed should be astounding," Sorrowful Silence said as he nodded in agreement. "However, since we are here, we should pay Stone Forest City a visit."
Superpowers typically avoided provoking each other. Even if they had to do so, they weighed the potential benefits and costs before acting. Naturally, Shining Tiger wouldn't agree to challenge Starlink just for a particular grinding spot that it didn't even need.
"Of course. We will need a proper explanation for the Guild Elders, after all." Sixteenth Cloud nodded.
As Dark Night City's players watched, Sixteenth Cloud and the other Guild representatives teleported to an NPC town nearest to the Ancient Undead Country. Following Aqua Rose, the group crossed one neutral map after another. As their escort, Zero Wing's main force dealt with any monsters in their way.
The main force members' performance surprised the various representatives.
Once they had entered the Ancient Undead Country, Zero Wing's main force had eliminated the Level 60-plus Great Lords they had encountered as easily as if they were chopping vegetables. Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow's performances were particularly eye-catching. Each of the women single-handedly took on several Level 65 Great Lords at once, maintaining their upper hand in the battles. Only Level 65 Grand Lords had proven strong enough to make Gentle Snow struggle…
The various Guild representatives were utterly astonished by these players' Basic Attributes.
"Aren't Gentle Snow's Basic Attributes a little too high? Not even our Guild's Chief Berserker is quite as strong," Sixteenth Cloud commented as she watched the woman in question tank a Level 65 Grand Lord by herself.
Although Berserkers were famed for their Strength, this was the first time Sixteenth Cloud had seen a Berserker that could solo-tank a Grand Lord.
"Her Basic Attributes aren't her only powerful quality. I doubt I'd even be a match for her in a frontal confrontation,"
Sorrowful Silence said solemnly.
"Is she that strong?" Sixteenth Cloud gave her companion a skeptical look.
Others might not know how powerful Sorrowful Silence was, but she was very familiar with the middle-aged man's strength. Even though Sorrowful Silence was an Assassin, he had a Peak Legacy, the Blood Warrior hidden class. His Strength was no lower than normal Berserkers of the same level, and his Agility was far above what normal Assassins possessed. He certainly wasn't a weakling in PvP.
Sorrowful Silence was even more of a threat on a lawless battlefield. Unlike in official competitions, Domain Realm experts could display their full potential on a battlefield without rules.
Sixteenth Cloud had watched Zero Wing's performance in White River City's Auction Arena, and while she could admit that Gentle Snow was strong, that had been an official competition. In a field battle, it would be a different story.
"I wish I were wrong, but she is truly that powerful," Sorrowful Silence answered with a bitter smile.
He was very confident in his estimation of others' combat power. This ability allowed him to slay one superpower's expert after another. However, Gentle Snow felt like an extreme threat. He had also failed to mention the fact that she wasn't the only one to feel like that.
Zhao Yueru and Violet Cloud, who stood beside Gentle Snow, felt just as dangerous, although they didn't seem as deadly as their Vice Guild Leader.
While the various Guild representatives gained a better understanding of Zero Wing's main force, the group arrived in Stone Forest City.
The moment they crossed the threshold to the city, they were shocked by its Mana density.
"How can this place have such dense Mana?" Sixteenth Cloud, an Elementalist, was shocked as she sensed the unbelievably dense Mana around her.
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Chapter 2171 – Sorrowful Silence's Shock
Stone Forest City's Mana density didn't only stun the various Guild representatives, but Aqua Rose, Gentle Snow, and Zero Wing's main force members were shocked as well.
They were no strangers to high Mana density environments. In fact, they were accustomed to them.
However, the Mana in Stone Forest City was even denser than in the Holy City of Titan, and it didn't feel like the usual Mana they encountered. This Mana had a violent energy, although it didn't make them feel agitated. On the contrary, they felt warm and close to their environment.
This closeness gave them a newfound perception of their surroundings. This was a sensation they had never experienced before. It was as if they had just arrived at an entirely new world.
Logically, Mana shouldn't be able to cause such a sensation, even if it was particularly dense. They had all seen and experienced Mana so dense that it appeared as a fog, but it had never made them feel like this.
In truth, the sensation Aqua Rose and her party experienced wasn't related to the city's Mana in the least. Rather, it was a hidden effect of the Dark Tower.
While this sensation felt foreign to Aqua Rose and Zero Wing's members, it wasn't all that odd to Sixteenth Cloud and Sorrowful Silence. These two were particularly familiar with the strange feeling, which horrified them.
This close sensation everyone felt was quite similar to the sensation one experienced when they reached the Void Realm. Although what they felt now wasn't as intense as actually reaching the Void Realm, there was roughly a 10% resemblance.
Even among the various superpowers, Void Realm experts were treated as upper echelons-level individuals. They were a Guild's mainstays.
And within Stone Forest City, players could actually experience the sensation of being a Void Realm expert. Although the city's atmosphere could only replicate a small fraction of the sensation, it would be a massive help to expert players, particularly Refinement Realm experts.
If Refinement Realm experts could examine and experience this sensation, they'd have as much as a 30% chance of reaching the Void Realm in the future.
Most of the various large Guilds' experts would scoff at this 30% chance, but the superpowers' Refinement Realm experts would willingly bankrupt themselves for such a boost.
It's no wonder why so many superpowers fought to claim Stone Forest City. I had never dreamed that this city would offer such a benefit." Realization dawned on Sixteenth Cloud as she bathed in the city's Mana.
Once an expert reached the Refinement Realm, they were almost guaranteed to reach the Flowing Water Realm.
Players only needed to be able to observe their enemies' every action and predict their next move to enter the Flowing Water Realm, and normally, players would fulfill these requirements once they had accumulated enough combat experience. To put it simply, one merely needed to work hard to reach the Flowing Water Realm.
However, climbing from the Flowing Water Realm into the Void Realm was a different story. This was a qualitative leap. Reaching the Void Realm was akin to switching one's focus from one target to several hundred. The achievement was beyond simply observing one's opponent. Players needed to view situations from a different perspective entirely.
Although the various superpowers had plenty of Refinement Realm and Flowing Water Realm experts, very few among these experts were capable of reaching the Void Realm, even within Super Guilds. The chances of rising from the Flowing Water Realm to the Void Realm was less than 10%
However, if the various superpowers had Stone Forest City's environment, they could certainly nurture a few more peak experts.
A single peak expert could command and safeguard an entire section of their Guild's territory. With a few more peak experts, superpowers would have an easier time managing their members and territories. Moreover, these peak experts played an important role when acquiring powerful treasure. Monster-level experts were incredibly rare, after all, and most superpowers didn't even have a handful of such experts under their command. In comparison, God's Domain had a plethora of precious treasures and dangerous locations to explore.
Vice Guild Leader, we must do whatever we can to secure a temporary Residence in Stone Forest City!" Sorrowful Silence resolutely declared.
"I know; relax." Sixteenth Cloud nodded, a vibrant light replacing the dull look in her eyes. Now, she couldn't bring herself to look down on Stone Forest City in the slightest.
Shining Tiger wasn't like the various super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds. Since it had only recently established itself, it had poached many of its experts from other Guilds. However, poaching peak experts was incredibly difficult since they were integral members of their superpowers. As a result, Shining Tiger had a lot of Refinement and Flowing Water Realm experts, but it severely lacked Void Realm experts. If the Guild wanted more Void Realm experts, it would have to nurture them on its own.
Unfortunately, doing so was a major challenge. Despite investing tons of resources, Shining Tiger had only nurtured two peak experts thus far. Who knew how long it would take for the Guild to nurture more?
However, if Shining Tiger could use Stone Forest City's environment, it could ease the burden of nurturing peak experts. The Guild could then expand its territory.
Even Unyielding Heart's eyes burned with passion. He was overwhelmed with a desire to obtain a temporary Residence in Stone Forest City.
Unyielding Soul and Starlink had roughly the same number of Refinement and Flowing Water Realm experts. Unyielding Soul simply didn't have as many peak and monster-level experts as its rival. If Unyielding Soul could resolve that problem, it might become strong enough to continue its competition with Starlink.
Furthermore, Stone Forest City was located within the Bottomless Abyss. With the resources Unyielding Soul could obtain from the Regional Dungeon, the Guild could certainly continue duking it out with Starlink.
Before anyone had realized it, the crowd had arrived before the city's Candlelight Trading Firm.
Although Stone Forest City's Candlelight Trading Firm was no match for the Shop in Zero Wing City, it was still a 10- story building that was as large as a sports arena. It could easily accommodate tens of thousands of customers at a time, easily outmatching White River City's Candlelight Trading Firm. Unfortunately, this Shop had yet to open its doors to the public, still in the midst of its renovation. When Stone Forest Town had been upgraded to a Basic City, the Shop had been promoted as well, and it was in dire need of a reorganization.
As the Guild representatives entered the Shop, they were stunned by the items that were already on display in the first-floor hall.
"Level 60 to Level 80, eight-piece Dark-Gold Set Equipment?! How is this possible?!" Sorrowful Silence cried out when he saw the equipment on display in one of the glass counters.
All of the various Guild representatives were dumbfounded, their mouths hanging open as they stared at the set equipment in shocked silence.
Aside from Epic Equipment, the best available in the game right now was Level 65 Dark-Gold rank, but due to such equipment's rarity, one could count the number of experts in full sets of Level 65 Dark-Gold Equipment using the fingers on one hand, including those in the various superpowers' main forces. Fully geared in Level 65 Dark-Gold Equipment, players would have no problems diving into Level 70,100-man Team Dungeons.
And yet, a complete Level 60 to 80 Dark-Gold Set Equipment glittered before them. Moreover, it was an eight-piece set. Why wouldn't they be shocked?
Eight-piece Dark-Gold Set Equipment was only inferior to Epic Equipment of the same level!
However, that wasn't even the most important aspect. What truly shocked these Guild representatives was the set equipment's level.
If players could wear this Dark-Gold Set Equipment by the time they reached Level 70, they would breeze through Level 70,100-man Team Dungeons. Moreover, this set equipment was plate armor and wasn't restricted to a specific class. Even an MT could equip this set!
If their Guilds could get their hands on this set equipment, they'd have a massive advantage over their competition when raiding level appropriate Team Dungeons.
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Chapter 2172 – Complete Legacy
The appearance of the Crystal Light Set stupefied everyone present. Some of the Guild representatives shuddered slightly upon seeing it.
While the various powers were still vying for Level 65 Dark-Gold Set Equipment, Zero Wing had already obtained an entire set of Level 60 to Level 80, eight-piece Dark-Gold Set Equipment!
With such a frightening advantage, everyone could imagine how much of a lead Zero Wing would have when it came to raiding Team Dungeons. In fact, before Level 80, Zero Wing would be able to steadily secure its position as the overlord of the Bottomless Abyss.
Moreover, this still wasn't the most horrifying part.
It might be fine if Zero Wing only had one Crystal Light Set, but there were currently three Crystal Light Sets in all on display inside the first-floor hall. This meant that Zero Wing could obtain more Crystal Light Sets.
The impact of one person equipped in Dark-Gold Set Equipment and that of an entire team equipped with it were as different as heaven and earth.
No matter how powerful an individual player was, there was a limit to how much they could contribute inside a Team Dungeon. However, if every player in the team was equipped with such equipment, the team's overall performance would skyrocket.
After all, the main impediment most powers faced in raiding a Team Dungeon was their inadequate equipment standards. This was especially true for the various superpowers. So long as the superpowers' teams met the required equipment standards, raiding Team Dungeons would be a piece of cake for them.
"It's no wonder Zero Wing dares to provoke Starlink. It seems Zero Wing isn't all bark, after all." Sixteenth Cloud's eyes glowed brightly as she looked at the Crystal Light Sets on display.
If Shining Tiger could secure a temporary Residence in Stone Forest City, in addition to the Crystal Light Set, she believed that it wouldn't be long before Shining Tiger developed into the number two power of the Glory Empire, second only to King's Return.
After everyone was done admiring the Crystal Light Sets, Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow led the crowd to the Shop's top- floor reception room, where Shi Feng had been waiting for quite some time now.
Currently, Shi Feng wore a suit of pitch-black armor paired with a dark-gray cape. When the various Guild representatives saw Shi Feng's figure through the opened doors, they found that he gave off a very plain and approachable feeling, without even the slightest tinge of strength. He also did not act haughty the way overlords of kingdoms generally did.
However, the instant everyone set foot inside the room, they immediately realized that they were mistaken in their assumptions of Shi Feng—terribly mistaken.
Sorrowful Silence even gasped involuntarily when he stepped into the room.
Monster!
This word simultaneously appeared in everyone's mind.
The various Guild representatives reacted this way because the moment they stepped into the room, a horrifying pressure had assaulted their bodies. Moreover, this pressure didn't originate just from a difference in Basic Attributes but also a massive difference in Life Ratings. At this moment, everyone's gut instincts were blaring their imminent death. It was as if the person sitting before them wasn't a player at all, but a living Demon King instead.
Didn't they say that Black Flame is only a Domain Realm expert? How is he so powerful? Sixteenth Cloud's complexion turned indescribably grim as she looked at Shi Feng, who currently sat in the room's seat of honor.
She had been nurtured by a Super Guild, so she had seen many monster-level experts before. Although her current self had yet to reach the Domain Realm, she was very confident of putting up a fight against an actual Domain Realm expert.
However, when she stood before Shi Feng, she actually felt helpless.
When she imagined getting attacked by an expert like Shi Feng out in the fields, her scalp immediately turned numb.
"Welcome to Stone Forest City. Let me introduce myself. I am Zero Wing's Guild Leader, Black Flame," Shi Feng said. When he saw the various Guild representatives' darkened expressions, particularly Sixteenth Cloud's and Sorrowful Silence's grim expressions, he felt very satisfied with himself.
In reality, he wasn't as powerful as everyone thought. The reason why everyone was having such a misconception about him was simply the side effects caused by Demon God's Phantom. After Demon God's Phantom's duration ended, he would continue exuding Divine Might for the next 12 hours. When monsters were subjected to this Divine Might, they would instinctively run away from him. In return, however, his body would be suppressed to a mortal state, his combat power reduced drastically.
Of course, unless players fought him, they would not be able to tell that he was actually incredibly weak right now.
They would only be frightened by the Divine Might he exuded.
Meanwhile, after Shi Feng introduced himself, everyone present, particularly Shining Tiger's Sixteenth Cloud and Sorrowful Silence, no longer dared look down on Zero Wing even in the slightest.
The current Zero Wing might lack peak experts and capital, but its growth potential was extremely frightening. Not to mention, there was even an expert like Shi Feng protecting it.
If Shi Feng devoted himself to ambushing the upper echelons of superpowers, the superpowers would most likely be helpless to stop him. To the various superpowers, even losing hundreds of Refinement Realm experts would be considered a recoverable loss. However, if their peak experts and monster-level experts were killed, they would suffer irreparable damage.
After all, the various superpowers relied on these experts to secure treasures. The loss of even one of these experts could cause a superpower heartache. This was also the reason why superpowers feared monster-level experts so much.
Monster-level experts might have difficulty defeating other monster-level experts, but they would have no problems defeating peak experts on their own.
Now, however, Shi Feng was an even more frightening existence!
This was because even monster-level experts were potential prey to Shi Feng.
Previously, Shining Tiger had collected plenty of information on Shi Feng. The Guild concluded that although he was very strong, his chances of success when hunting ordinary monster-level experts were just slightly higher than other monster-level experts'.
After personally meeting Shi Feng, however, both Sixteenth Cloud and Sorrowful Silence understood that the Swordsman was much more frightening than the reports made him out to be.
Just Shi Feng's presence alone forced Sixteenth Cloud and Sorrowful Silence to treat Zero Wing seriously.
"Hello, Guild Leader Black Flame. I am Sixteenth Cloud, Shining Tiger's Second Vice Guild Leader." Sixteenth Cloud took the initiative to stand out and introduce herself. "I am here representing Shining Tiger to negotiate a partnership with Zero Wing. Our demands are not very high. We just want one temporary Residence in Stone Forest City. As for Coins and resources, we are willing to pay so long as the price is reasonable. We can even provide Zero Wing with a complete Refinement Realm Legacy."
The various first-rate Guild representatives present could not help but gasp at Sixteenth Cloud's words. Even Unyielding Heart, who had taken a seat in a corner of the room, twitched slightly, never having thought that Shining Tiger would be willing to pay such a price.
Current small Guilds were most likely ignorant of what a Refinement Realm Legacy was. They might even misconstrue it for a Legacy for a hidden class. However, it was something true large Guilds, particularly first-rate Guilds, dreamed of obtaining.
This was also where the foundations of super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds lay, something that was extremely difficult to acquire even with money. Only major corporations had the power and influence to obtain it. In the case of small corporations and companies, they should not even think of laying their hands on a Refinement Realm Legacy. They could only rely on their own Guilds' research.
Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow, who were now standing behind Shi Feng, also gasped when they heard Sixteenth Cloud's offer.
Previously, the fact that Unyielding Soul had volunteered to share a portion of its Realms of Refinement training resources with Zero Wing was already plenty amazing. In fact, Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow had felt ecstatic over the matter. Now, however, Shining Tiger was even more amazing. It was actually offering to provide Zero Wing with a complete Refinement Realm Legacy. In other words, Shining Tiger was willing to give Zero Wing the training data necessary to turn ordinary experts into Refinement Realm experts. Now, the Zero Wing experts who did not get a chance to experience the Secret Pavilion's or Unyielding Soul's training system would no longer have to train themselves blindly. They, too, would get to undergo systematic training. With this, their chances of becoming Refinement Realm experts would increase substantially.
Of course, there were many methods for players to reach the Refinement Realm, some simple and others difficult. However, regardless of the efficiency of the training data Shining Tiger provided, the amount of help the data would provide Zero Wing was something that could not be measured with money.
"It seems that one of the temporary Residence slots is going to end up with Shining Tiger."
"Sure enough, superpowers really are amazing. How are we supposed to continue competing like this?"
When the various first-rate Guilds' representatives heard the conditions Sixteenth Cloud offered, a little despair sprouted in their hearts. They were fully aware that Stone Forest City had a very limited number of temporary Residence slots. Meanwhile, to the current Zero Wing, nothing would be more attractive than a complete Refinement Realm Legacy.
In comparison, the Shops and treasures their Guilds could offer were most likely insignificant in Zero Wing's eyes.
Vice Guild Leader Cloud, your offer is indeed very tempting," Shi Feng said. He, too, was very surprised by Sixteenth Cloud's offer. In the next moment, however, he shook his head and added, "Still, that isn't what Zero Wing wants."
"What do you want, then?" Sixteenth Cloud asked as she stared at Shi Feng incredulously.
A complete Refinement Realm Legacy was a priceless treasure to any first-rate Guild. Some first-rate Guilds would even do everything they could to get their hands on one because only by obtaining a Refinement Realm Legacy would they have the means to become a super-first-rate Guild. Without it, a first-rate Guild had no business talking about becoming a super-first-rate Guild.
Now, however, Zero Wing was actually rejecting this legacy.
She simply couldn't figure out what could be more important to Zero Wing than a Refinement Realm Legacy.
"I don't want much. I just want you to join Zero Wing's newly established Candlelight Chamber of Commerce!" Shi Feng replied calmly.
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Chapter 2173: Candlelight Chamber of Commerce
Translator: Exodus Tales
Editor: Exodus Tales
"Join the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce?"
Upon hearing Shi Feng's words, everyone present stared at him in astonishment, never having thought that the requirement would be so simple.
They all knew very clearly what a Chamber of Commerce in the virtual gaming world represented. It was an organization where members shared sales connections with each other for mutual benefit. However, whether one could actually benefit from this method of cooperation would still depend on the members' capabilities.
If one sold excellent merchandise, they would naturally be able to make more money. Average merchandise, on the other hand, would soon be overshadowed by the other members' merchandise, resulting in a drastic decrease in one's own sales and profits. A Chamber of Commerce was a double-edged sword.
Generally, there were more cons than pros for a small Guild to join a Chamber of Commerce. The reason for this was because small Guilds lacked resources and invested very little into nurturing Lifestyle players. Hence, the quality of merchandise they could offer to customers went without saying. There was simply no way for small Guilds to compete with large Guilds. For a small Guild, joining a Chamber of Commerce was akin to opening the doors for large Guilds to earn money in their territory.
However, if it meant being able to obtain a temporary Residence slot in Stone Forest City, then joining the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce definitely had merit.
After all, with sufficient strength, a small Guild could not only earn a large amount of rare resources but also nurture its experts in Stone Forest City.
"Guild Leader Black Flame, are you saying that, so long as we join the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce, we'll receive a temporary Residence in Stone Forest City?" Sixteenth Cloud pressed Shi Feng for confirmation.
She wasn't particularly surprised that Zero Wing would attempt to establish a Chamber of Commerce. After all, there were so many Guilds currently seeking a partnership with Zero Wing. If Zero Wing could pool the strength of these Guilds together, then even superpowers would grow fearful. If Zero Wing wished to continue competing with Starlink, then establishing a Chamber of Commerce was, indeed, the best decision to make.
A complete Refinement Realm Legacy might allow a Guild to nurture many Refinement Realm experts, but accomplishing this required a lot of time, which just so happened to be the resource that up-and-coming Guilds like Zero Wing lacked the most.
Hence, rather than aim for an uncertain future, it was much better for Zero Wing to further enhance its current strength.
"That's not entirely correct," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "To be precise, only advanced members of the Chamber will receive a temporary Residence slot in Stone Forest City. As for how you can become an advanced member, that will depend on the amount of contributions you make."
"So, that's the case." Realization immediately dawned upon Sixteenth Cloud. Inwardly, she cursed at Shi Feng for being a sly old fox.
Originally, only a few Guilds should be able to partner with Zero Wing. Now, however, every Guild present would do so. Moreover, these Guilds would all desperately contest for the limited temporary Residence slots, which would allow Zero Wing to obtain the maximum amount of benefits possible.
Meanwhile, when the various Guild representatives heard Shi Feng's condition, they understood the implications right away. Zero Wing was trying to have them compete for the limited temporary Residence slots and labor for it, indirectly making them Zero Wing's subordinates.
"Guild Leader Black Flame, I'm afraid this arrangement is very unfair for small Guilds like us. Compared to the strength and resources large Guilds possess, what small Guilds have is insignificant. In the end, these Residence slots will still land in the hands of large Guilds. If that's the case, small Guilds like ours might as well give up on competing right off the bat since we already know we won't win. Moreover, we will even end up working for Zero Wing for free."
"That's right. Small Guilds like ours can't compete against large Guilds at all. With your arrangement, how are we even supposed to compete? We might as well head back home now."
For a while, a few representatives of small Guilds stepped forward and voiced their disagreement. These representatives even tried to get the representatives of other small Guilds to leave the venue with them.
Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow frowned upon seeing this scene.
Although they had expected that these small Guilds would react this way, they hadn't anticipated such an organized refusal.
As for the representatives of large Guilds, they were gleefully watching this scene play out. After all, the fewer competitors they had, the better. In fact, they hoped that every other Guild present would stand up and quit the venue.
"Zero Wing's ambitions are quite large. Unfortunately, it lacks the ability to control these small Guilds," Sorrowful Silence commented as he watched the representatives of small Guilds prepare to leave the room en masse. "At the end of the day, Zero Wing's foundations are still too shallow. If it were a superpower making this offer, these small Guilds would've most likely agreed without hesitation."
At this moment, aside from Sorrowful Silence, Unyielding Heart also felt this way.
Zero Wing simply had too few territories under its control right now. The number of territories and sales connections it possessed couldn't even compete with that of veteran first-rate Guilds. A weak Chamber of Commerce like Candlelight just didn't hold any attraction for the various small Guilds. On the contrary, membership in the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce would let Zero Wing bleed them dry.
However, just when the representatives of the various small Guilds were about to leave the room, a calm voice penetrated everyone's minds.
"What you're saying is correct, but let me say this first: so long as you become a member of the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce, you'll enjoy a 20% discount on Stone Forest City's entry fee. Moreover, you'll get to purchase items that the Candlelight Trading Firm does not sell to the public," Shi Feng said, smiling calmly as he looked at the small Guilds' representatives.
As soon as Shi Feng was done speaking, the departing representatives fell into a daze, their breathing becoming slightly heavy.
"Items not sold to the public? Does this include the Crystal Light Set displayed on the first floor?" a small Guild's representative could not help asking Shi Feng.
The discount on Stone Forest City's entry fee might be very tempting, but a 20% discount was basically negligible to the various powers. However, Candlelight's merchandise was a different story. After all, they had seen the three Crystal Light Sets displayed in the first-floor hall. Those could tempt even superpowers into action.
"That's right. Including the Crystal Light Set," Shi Feng affirmed, nodding.
The moment he nodded his head, the entire reception room fell deathly silent. Even Sixteenth Cloud and Sorrowful Silence, who were originally planning to watch Zero Wing make a fool of itself, reflexively widened their eyes as they stared at its Guild Leader.
That was Level 60 to Level 80, eight-piece Dark-Gold Set Equipment they were talking about!
They had believed that Zero Wing was merely flaunting its strength before the various Guilds present by putting the Crystal Light Set on display. Now, however, Shi Feng was telling them that they could actually buy those Crystal Light Sets. How could this not excite them?
As for the various small Guilds' representatives, their minds momentarily froze. They simply could not understand what Shi Feng was thinking, to be willing to sell such precious set equipment.
However, after a moment of silence, everyone inside the room stopped wondering why Shi Feng pulled such an insane move. Instead, the various small Guilds' representatives promptly returned to their seats and expressed their willingness to join the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce, afraid that he would regret his decision if they waited any longer.
What no one present knew was that Shi Feng had never intended the Crystal Light Sets to be exclusive to Zero Wing; he had always planned to sell them as merchandise.
This was because, as players continued leveling up, the Crystal Light Set would quickly fall obsolete, uncompetitive with Epic items. Hence, he naturally had to sell the set while it was still valuable, converting it into Coins and resources for Zero Wing's development.
The various small Guilds present eagerly applied to join the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce, their eagerness surpassing even that of the large Guilds present.
"Zero Wing is really ruthless, actually offering to give away set equipment like the Crystal Light Set just to attract these small Guilds." Sorrowful Silence marveled at Shi Feng's generosity. In Zero Wing's shoes, Shining Tiger would never choose to sell the Crystal Light Set to others.
"No pain, no gain. While it might seem as if Zero Wing gave up a huge advantage by selling the Crystal Light Set, Zero Wing obtained the strength and sales connections of more than a hundred Guilds in return," Sixteenth Cloud said when she saw the eagerness of the Guild representatives around her. "Meanwhile, now that Zero Wing has gained such strength and connections, the various superpowers will have to think twice before targeting Zero Wing in the future."
At this point, Sixteenth Cloud could already foresee the appearance of another powerhouse in God's Domain!
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Chapter 2174: Frightening Stone Forest City
Translator:Exodus Tales
Editor:Exodus Tales
Within the magnificent reception room, Shi Feng began to sign contracts with the various Guild representatives.
Any Guild that joined the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce would qualify to participate in the auction for the Crystal Light Sets, which would take place once every three days. Candlelight would offer three to five sets in each auction session, and the Guilds would only be allowed to win a single bid. In addition, the Candlelight Trading Firm would offer other precious items, such as Exotic Stamina Potions, Stamina Gemstones, Advanced Mana Armor Kits, rare Master Potions, and more. Each member of the Chamber could even earn the rights to purchase Miniature Ballistas, depending on their contributions to the Chamber.
With this revelation, every Guild representative was ecstatic, especially those from the various small Guilds. At this point, obtaining a temporary Residence in Stone Forest City didn't matter much compared to the items Zero Wing was willing to sell.
After three short hours, the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce had nearly 200 members, and Zero Wing had secured a massive alliance. Among these Guilds, Shining Tiger and Unyielding Soul had instantly become advanced members; both Guilds had presented an offer that Shi Feng couldn't refuse.
Not only had Shining Tiger offered to open two kingdoms' markets to the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce, but it had also agreed to give Zero Wing the complete Refinement Realm Legacy and a large stock of special materials. In addition, Shining Tiger had promised to fight alongside Zero Wing to protect Stone Forest City.
Although Unyielding Soul had only given the Chamber access to a single kingdom's market and a portion of the Dark Night Empire's, it had offered to provide some of the training data it had gained from its Flowing Water Realm experts. Furthermore, it had agreed to supply training facilities and energy resources, in addition to 10 unlimited training slots for Refinement Realm experts in its training system, which would allow these players to earn the experience necessary to reach the Flowing Water Realm quickly.
The unlimited training slots Unyielding Soul had offered weren't like those from the Secret Pavilion. Zero Wing's members would be free to fight any Refinement Realm or Flowing Water Realm expert they desired, and they could do so without limit. On the other hand, Zero Wing's members had to earn points in the Secret Pavilion's training system, which they would have to spend to train against their desired experts.
Of course, the Secret Pavilion had chosen this approach because of the high cost of doing otherwise.
Not only was High-level Energy extremely rare, but it was also quite versatile, useful in many aspects. As a result, it was strictly regulated. Even international corporations could only acquire limited amounts of High-level Energy, and simulating expert players required a lot of it. The more powerful an expert was, the more energy a system would need to mimic them. Even the Secret Pavilion could only afford for a select few talented members to use the system.
If Unyielding Soul hadn't been so desperate to secure a temporary Residence in Stone Forest City, it would never have offered 10 unlimited training slots to Zero Wing.
Of course, Unyielding Soul could only afford this offer because Zero Wing had too few experts that could actually use their training slots, especially when challenging Flowing Water and Void Realm experts. Zero Wing wasn't even a match for ordinary superpowers in this regard.
Although Shi Feng knew that Unyielding Soul was taking advantage of him, he didn't mind. Many of Zero Wing's experts, including Aqua Rose, Gentle Snow, Fire Dance, Violet Cloud, Shadow Sword, Flying Shadow, Alluring Summer, and Cola, were stuck in the Refinement Realm. However, their failure to progress wasn't due to a lack of talent, but a lack of combat experience. They weren't like Shi Feng, who had accumulated an abundance of combat experience in God's Domain. If Shi Feng hadn't retained his memories from his previous life, he would never have been able to jump from the Refinement Realm to the Flowing Water Realm so smoothly.
If Aqua Rose and her companions trained with Unyielding Soul's system, Shi Feng was confident that it wouldn't be long before they became Flowing Water Realm experts. Then, they'd be able to help Zero Wing far more than ever before.
Overall, the 10 unlimited training slots Unyielding Soul had offered were even more valuable than Shining Tiger's complete Refinement Realm Legacy.
However, Unyielding Soul and Shining Tiger's offers weren't the greatest harvest Zero Wing had obtained. The partnership with so many small Guilds was worth far more. With these small Guilds in the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce, Candlelight had gained access to the markets in 12 kingdoms and three empires. Although these small Guilds couldn't offer quite as much access as Unyielding Soul and Shining Tiger, it was more than enough for the Candlelight Trading Firm for now.
Zero Wing even surpassed ordinary superpowers in terms of sales connections after this deal. The various superpowers would have to think twice before trying to assault Zero Wing's financial prowess now.
Starlink's economic hindrance had only been so successful due to Zero Wing's limited range of influence. As a result, Zero Wing's Shops had been easy targets. However, now that Zero Wing could reach across over a dozen kingdoms and empires, not even superpowers could hamper its financial development.
Moreover, Zero Wing would have a much easier time collecting materials now. With a single word, the Guild could acquire a stockpile of whatever material it needed, as long as it wasn't a super-rare material. This would be a great help to the Candlelight Trading Firm.
Once Shi Feng had signed all of the contracts with these Guilds' representatives, he left the rest to Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow. He then returned his focus to managing Stone Forest City's construction and recruiting NPC soldiers.
Although Stone Forest City had been open for less than a day, more than 1,000,000 players had surged into the city. If not for the Bottomless Abyss's harsh environment and the difficulty of traversing the Dungeon, the city's player population would likely have been more than five times that.
However, the 1,000,000-plus visitors had earned Shi Feng a fortune.
It's no wonder why the Guilds that had established cities in the Bottomless Abyss had developed so quickly in the past.Shi Feng was astonished when he saw the income Stone Forest City had generated thus far.
By charging each player 4 Silver per entry, Stone Forest City had netted 51,204 Gold in entry fees alone. There was also the income from the Battle Arena and Auction House to take into account. Even though players couldn't yet shop at the Candlelight Trading Firm, the city would earn more than 100,000 Gold per day. Not even top-ranked first-rate Guilds saw so much profit in a day.
This was only the beginning. As more players visited Stone Forest City, Zero Wing could earn more than 200,000 Gold every day from the city, even after deducting the Secret Pavilion's shares…
Ordinary superpowers would count their blessings if they had 200,000 Gold in liquid funds, but Stone Forest City had the potential to earn far more than that in the future. Any ordinary superpower that wanted to target Zero Wing in a war of attrition would only regret the decision.
Naturally, the Guild's debts, such as that for Silverwing Town's airport, were no longer a problem.
The sudden influx of so much money gave Shi Feng the freedom to consider plans he hadn't been able to attempt due to a lack of funds. For example, he could finally retaliate against Starlink on the Dark Night Empire's market, while also developing the Lost Town and Silverwing Town.
Usually, insufficient player populations and popularity were the greatest problems a Guild faced when developing its towns, but neither was an issue for Zero Wing. Rather, Zero Wing struggled with needing enough funding to develop its towns.
Shi Feng used the money Stone Forest City had earned so far to construct Shops, hotels, restaurants, bars, smithies, and private housing within the city. Recruiting NPC soldiers wasn't an issue, either, and he was able to gear them all in sets of Fine-Gold Equipment. Now, even a random Tier 2 NPC soldier in the city could slay a Tier 2 expert. Even peak experts would have to think twice before committing a crime in Stone Forest City.
Shi Feng didn't bother to gear his NPCs in Dark-Gold Equipment due to the whopping 1,500 Gold cost. He could only afford to give 10 Tier 2 NPCs with the highest Growth Potential Dark-Gold ranked items. In a one-on-one fight, even monster-level experts would have to flee from these NPCs. If three or four of these Tier 2 NPCs surrounded an offending monster-level expert, that expert would be doomed.
While Shi Feng focused on Stone Forest City's development, news of the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce spread to God's Domain's various powers, causing a commotion throughout the game.
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Chapter 2175 – Times Have Changed
Black Dragon Empire, Black Dragon City:
Many players explored the city's prosperous central district. A 60-meter-tall Guild Hall, one of the most iconic buildings within the district, sat in its core. This was the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion's status symbol in the Black Dragon Empire.
More than 10,000 players came and went from the Guild Hall, many there to apply for the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion's recruitment test. Even the weakest of these players was Level 64 and wore a full set of Level 60 Secret-Silver Equipment. Level 65 experts had even shown up, fully geared in Level 65 Secret-Silver Equipment.
When such experts normally applied to first-rate Guilds, they were accepted and promoted to core member immediately, but in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, even these players would be lucky to join the Guild. Even if they were accepted, they'd become, at most, elite members.
However, unlike the lively scene outside the Guild Hall, a deathly silence enveloped the Guild Leader's office on the top floor.
"Damn it! Zero Wing has its own Chamber of Commerce now! Not even Starlink will be able to affect its financial foundation!" Nine Dragons Emperor, who was now Level 68, paled as he read the latest report.
His competition with Phoenix Rain for the Great Pavilion Master position was almost at its climax, and he certainly hadn't expected something like this to happen.
He had still hoped to use Zero Wing against Phoenix Rain. After all, she wouldn't sit by and do nothing if her pet Guild was in danger. She would send a portion of her strength to support Zero Wing. However, not only had Zero Wing grown stronger, but Phoenix Rain would significantly benefit from this as well.
Nine Dragons Emperor knew that she was one of the Candlelight Trading Firm's shareholders.
Now that Zero Wing had a Chamber of Commerce with more than 100 Guilds, albeit small ones, it had even more sales connections than ordinary superpowers. With how many Master Lifestyle players the firm had as well, it was easy to imagine how much profit Candlelight would generate in the future.
"Pavilion Master, our sides are currently fervently collecting funds to build Shipyards and buy Lands on Dragonheart Island. If Phoenix Rain's side receives a cut of Candlelight's profits, I'm afraid we'll be in a precarious position," Martial Dragon said solemnly.
"I know that. I truly hadn't expected an ant like Zero Wing to develop to this extent." Nine Dragons Emperor frowned again at the report regarding Zero Wing, overwhelmed with regret. Had he known that Zero Wing could become so powerful, he would've done everything in his power to crush the Guild in its infancy.
Those small Guilds have just signed a contract with the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce; they haven't actually begun to work with Zero Wing yet. Why don't we take a forceful approach and show these small Guilds the consequences of allying with Zero Wing?" Martial Dragon suggested, a cold light glinting in his eyes as he clenched a fist.
"It's too late for that. Even if we kill these small Guilds' main forces, they'll send their main force members to the Bottomless Abyss to level. Not even Starlink's influence can reach the Regional Dungeon, much less ours. And killing their normal and elite members won't harm these Guilds in the least," Nine Dragons Emperor said, shaking his head.
Unlike like Guilds, small Guilds didn't offer their members many guarantees, especially their normal and elite members. Small Guilds barely paid these members any mind, only providing a few Guild benefits. These Guilds didn't even offer significant compensation if its members died.
As long as a small Guild could ensure its main force and core members' survival, it could continue its existence. Of course, the opposite was also true. Due to this reason, the challenge these small Guilds presented depended on the situation.
Now that Zero Wing could offer these Guilds' main forces and core members a safe haven, eliminating them would be quite difficult for the Heavenly Dragon Pavilions.
A battle of finances was the only reliable way the Pavilion could deal with these small Guilds now, but doing so would be expensive, and the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion couldn't afford the expenditure right now.
"There really isn't anything we can do about this?" Martial Dragon asked.
"There is only so much profit to go around in God's Domain. Now that they've established such a powerful Chamber of Commerce, the others won't be able to remain idle. Moreover, Starlink won't stand for this. This matter will certainly affect Starlink's development in the Dark Night Empire," Nine Dragons Emperor said, sneering. "Starlink has always been so arrogant and unwilling to negotiate an alliance. Martial, quietly visit Dark Night City and negotiate our terms with Lu Xingluo. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. I'm sure Starlink will fund us now."
Starlink was well-known for its wealth in God's Domain. At the moment, Nine Dragons Emperor's chances of defeating Phoenix Rain were only 40%, but if he had Starlink's help, he was certain his chances of becoming the next Great Pavilion Master would double.
"You're truly awe-inspiring, Pavilion Master. With this, we'll be able to turn the tables. If Phoenix Rain and Black Flame knew what we were planning, they'd likely go mad," Martial Dragon said, smiling. "I'll head to Dark Night City right away."
Following which, Martial Dragon left the office and made his way toward Dark Night City.
Meanwhile, Shi Feng had finally completed his tasks in Stone Forest City. All he needed to do now was to leave the city in Melancholic Smile's hands and wait for the influx of players.
He didn't remain idle after dealing with the city's construction. He made his way to one of the Candlelight Trading Firm's forging rooms and started to forge Crystal Light Sets and Advanced Mana Armor Kits.
Zero Wing and the various Guilds needed both the Crystal Light Sets and Advanced Mana Armor Kits desperately, but the Set Equipment was too difficult to mass-produce. Only Shi Feng was able to forge the sets at a reliable cost. If he tasked Cream Cocoa and the other Basic Master Forgers to produce the set, he wouldn't even recoup his production costs, much less make a profit.
Shi Feng spent more than four days in the forging room and forged 26 Crystal Light Sets and over 1,300 Advanced Mana Amor Kits. Not only had he earned a ton of Forging Proficiency during the past few days, but he had also gained enough EXP to hit Level 77.
Meanwhile, Stone Forest City's player population had skyrocketed, crossing the 3,000,000 threshold already. After deducting the city's operational costs, Zero Wing had made over 100,000 Gold in pure profit from Stone Forest City alone. Stone Forest City's income surpassed that of Zero Wing City and Silverwing Town by multiple times. Not only could Zero Wing afford to pay off all of its debt, but it could also set aside a fortune in savings.
However, what had Shi Feng truly ecstatic was the leveling speed of his Guild's core members.
Maybe it was because the Bottomless Abyss was a God Mode Regional Dungeon, but over the past four days, most of Zero Wing's core members had reached Level 68. Some had even risen to Level 70. Even superpowers' peak experts were just reaching this level by now.
The core members' combat standards had rapidly improved as well, thanks to the complete Refinement Realm Legacy Shining Tiger had provided. Although Fierce Snake was the only one of them to reach the Refinement Realm thus far, more than a dozen core members had reached the Half-step Refinement Realm. Their development speed was simply marvelous.
While Shi Feng instructed Zero Wing's internal members in the Guild's real-world headquarters, Liang Jing approached him with an anxious expression.
"Head Instructor Shi, the Big Dipper Dojo has contacted us to inform us that it will cease all cooperation with our Workshop and will no longer supply talented recruits. It has also instructed its members to leave Zero Wing…"
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Chapter 2176 – Meeting
They're ending our cooperation?" The news blindsided Shi Feng. "What happened? Are you sure you're not mistaken?"
Although Zero Wing had grown quite strong and countless players applied to join the Guild each day, it still had very few internal members.
It took a long time to research all of the applicants' backgrounds through God's Domain, and no one could tell whether or not an applicant was a spy from another Guild.
Most players in God's Domain also had jobs in the real world. They couldn't fully devote themselves to the game and treated it as a way to earn some additional income.
This was why Zero Wing lacked internal members, despite how many experts joined the Guild in God's Domain.
Now that Zero Wing had nearly a million members in God's Domain, it needed enough internal members to manage these players. Hence, the Guild had been doing its best to recruit internal members.
Zero Wing had two main sources for internal members; the Big Dipper Dojo, and Zero Wing's other main headquarters. Among the two, the Big Dipper Dojo was the most important.
God's Domain was a virtual reality game that mimicked reality to a frightening degree. The state of one's body in the real world would affect their body in God's Domain to a certain extent. Most of the Big Dipper Dojo's members had excellent physical fitness, and since they were already used to combat, they had a natural advantage in God's Domain.
In contrast, the internal members recruited through the main headquarters weren't as high-quality. Most of these internal members had to be trained from scratch. They needed far more time to become combat-ready in the game, something which Zero Wing didn't have much of.
However, not only had the Big Dipper Dojo informed Zero Wing that it would no longer cooperate with the Workshop, but it was also withdrawing its members. This would severely hamper the Guild's operations. Many of Zero Wing's managers were Big Dipper Dojo members.
Shi Feng couldn't understand what would have prompted this sudden change of heart. His relationship with the Bid Dipper Group had always been good. In fact, they were mutually beneficial partners, with the Dojo providing talented fighters and Zero Wing training the Dojo's members. No matter how Shi Feng thought about it, the Big Dipper Group had no reason to dismiss their partnership.
"I have confirmed the news already. The Big Dipper Group's Board of Directors made this decision themselves. Not even Chairman Xiao has the power to change it," Liang Jing said with a grim expression. "Moreover, the Big Dipper Dojo isn't the only one. The several other dojos and training centers in the city that we had been negotiating with have declined any partnership as well."
The others have abandoned us, too?" Shi Feng was astonished.
Because of Zero Wing's rapid development, the Guild urgently needed internal members for its management. Relying on the Big Dipper Dojo's members simply wasn't enough. Hence, Shi Feng had instructed Liang Jing to negotiate with the city's other dojos and training centers.
Now, however, not only had the Big Dipper Dojo abandoned Zero Wing, but the other dojos and training centers had as well. No matter how he looked at it, this couldn't be normal.
"Chairman Xiao recently contacted me, informing me that he has some important matters to discuss. He hopes that you will take some time to listen to what he has to say," Liang Jing reported awkwardly. After giving the matter some thought, she asked hesitantly, "Should I reject him?"
"It's fine. I want to meet with Chairman Xiao." Shi Feng understood why Liang Jing felt so awkward. Her prior home had just betrayed Zero Wing, and anyone in her position would feel uncomfortable. It wouldn't even be strange if he suspected that she had been untrustworthy.
However, throughout his time working with Liang Jing, Shi Feng knew that she was more than just a capable manager; she was also consistently professional. Even Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow trusted her enough to give her important work.
"I'll make the arrangements right away," Liang Jing replied. When she realized that Shi Feng didn't treat her any differently than he normally did, she mentally released a held breath. She then contacted Xiao Yu to notify him of Shi Feng's decision.
Liang Jing and Xiao Yu quickly decided on the time and place for their meeting. They would discuss matters in the Redstone Restaurant, the most luxurious eatery in the city.
Shi Feng was a little surprised to hear that he'd sit down with Chairman Xiao there.
Although he wasn't particularly familiar with Fenglin City, the first-tier city that housed Zero Wing's main headquarters, he had heard of Redstone Restaurant. Rumors had it that the restaurant had a powerful background. Not only was its food incredibly delicious, but it also provided more for the human body than A-rank Nutrient Fluid. Of course, the food was also more expensive than A-rank Nutrient Fluid. Even so, countless professional fighters dreamed of dining in the Redstone Restaurant.
Naturally, Shi Feng had wanted to visit the restaurant in his previous life as well, but unfortunately, Redstone didn't cater to outsiders. Simply being able to afford the meals wasn't enough. Individuals would only be allowed to dine in its halls after becoming a member.
Shadow had become a titan in Jin Hai City in the past, holding a frightening amount of assets. It had far surpassed the current Big Dipper Group. Even so, Shadow had never become a member of the Redstone Restaurant.
Yet now, Xiao Yu had invited Shi Feng to meet there…
Shi Feng arrived with Liang Jing at his side at 6 p.m…
Contrary to most assumptions, the Redstone Restaurant wasn't particularly large, only nine stories. It also wasn't in the city's business district, but in the outer district. The interior, however, had an antique flair and impressive elegance. As he stepped inside, Shi Feng felt as if he had entered paradise as an indescribable pleasant feeling washed over him.
"Hello, sir. May I know the room number of your reservation?" a tall beauty in a blue dress asked, smiling as she approached Shi Feng and Liang Jing.
Although this woman was only a receptionist, Shi Feng could tell with a glance that she was excellently fit and likely a skilled martial artist.
The woman's movements were simple, without any excess motion as she approached.
It was no exaggeration to claim that an ordinary, provincial-level professional fighter would be a match for this receptionist. In the Big Dipper Dojo, she would've been one of the best fighters and lavished with attention during her training.
Yet, this woman was only a receptionist in the Redstone Restaurant…
"Room 908," Shi Feng answered after recovering from his moment of surprise.
"Room 908? Please, follow me," the female receptionist answered, astonishment flashing in her eyes when she heard Shi Feng's answer. She immediately adopted a more respectful attitude toward Shi Feng.
A short moment later, Shi Feng arrived in a large, lavish room. He felt a gaze lock onto him the moment he stepped through the doorway as a powerful aura washed over him. However, this aura felt nothing like that of a professional fighter. Rather, it felt like that of an assassin with immense experience in life-or-death combat.
What a powerful person! When Shi Feng had reached the Domain Realm, his mental abilities had reached new heights as well. His five senses had sharpened beyond an ordinary person's, so he was able to identify the source of the piercing gaze and powerful aura.
The man was thin, middle-aged, and wearing a black suit. He didn't look anything like a professional fighter or martial artist. He looked more like a butler as he currently stood next to an indifferent youth.
Xiao Yu sat across from the youth with a nervous expression. Shi Feng faintly noticed a few droplets of sweat crawling down his forehead. At the moment, the man looked like a greenhorn in the industry, not the veteran businessman he truly was.
"Head Instructor Shi, you've finally arrived." When Xiao Yu saw Shi Feng entering the room, he felt as if he had been granted amnesty, and he stood and quickly welcomed Shi Feng.
Instead of bothering with idle chit-chat, Shi Feng shifted his gaze to the youth and asked, "And this is?"
"Let me introduce you. This is Young Master Han Yifeng, the Five States Corporation's successor," Xiao Yu said solemnly. "Head Instructor Shi, to be honest, I invited you here at Young Master Han's request."
When she heard the introduction, Liang Jing turned to stare at the indifferent youth from behind Shi Feng.
The Five States Corporation was one of the most powerful companies in the country. It dabbled in a variety of industries, including energy, combat, food, and entertainment. The corporation could easily squash the Big Dipper Group with a single finger.
You're Zero Wing's representative?" Han Yifeng asked as he observed Shi Feng, his face void of human emotion.
You could say that." Shi Feng nodded as he watched Han Yifeng in return.
From what Shi Feng could sense, this youth didn't possess the typical arrogance of a wealthy family's heir. Han Yifeng felt transcendent as if the youth were a God, overlooking all beings in his domain.
He also sensed a peerless strength radiating off of Han Yifeng. The boy was among the most physically fit Shi Feng had ever met.
"If you can represent Zero Wing, I'm satisfied," Han Yifeng said. "Your Guild is quite impressive to make Lu Xingluo suffer so grievously. I am prepared to establish a Guild in God's Domain, and I want the entirety of your Guild to join it. I'll ensure that Zero Wing doesn't miss out on any benefits, and you will enjoy far more wealth and better status than you have now. You'll also have access to more resources than you can imagine."
"And what happens if I say no?" Shi Feng asked humbly.
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