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Chapter 2543 – Determining Fate with Words Stone Forest City, Zero Wing's Residence:
As Shi Feng parted the doors to the Guild Hall's top-floor reception room, he felt two sharp auras locking onto him, which kept track of his every move. The two who radiated these auras definitely had Domain Realm combat standards.
When Shi Feng glanced into the room, he spotted three people.
The two people that accompanied Gentle Snow were a man and a woman, both of whom radiated such dense darkness energy that it took on tangible form. Even players who normally couldn't sense darkness energy could see a layer of black fog around the two players.
The woman looked like she was in her early thirties and was a rare Dark Knight class. She was also a member of the rarer Dark Wolfkin race. Her aura was only slightly weaker than Gentle Snow's who wore a piece of Fragmented Legendary Equipment.
The elderly man beside her garbed himself in pitch-black robes and held a black staff. He had long, pointed ears and tainted the room's Mana with an icy, dark aura. Ordinary Tier 2 magical class experts would find the Mana here difficult to manipulate.
A Fallen Half-elf? A hint of surprise flashed in Shi Feng's eyes.
Mana loved the Elven race, and they were born with an extraordinary affinity for manipulating it. However, God's Domain had a group of Elves that had fallen to darkness in pursuit of Mana's limits. They were known as Fallen Elves, and all natural Elves relentlessly hunted them down. Fallen Elves were unusual in God's Domain, and players that successfully converted to the Fallen Half-elf race were even rarer.
Of course, any superpower would target a Fallen Half-elf for recruitment. Fallen Half-elves had an even stronger affinity for Mana than ordinary Half-elves, and their affinity for and control over the Power of Darkness was especially impressive. They could practically rival pure Elves.
Elves might not compare to Dragons, but they were one of the top races in God.s Domain, with far greater growth potential than human players. By becoming a Fallen Half-elf, one would have the growth potential to rival true Elves, and after Tier 3, each subsequent tier would grant a Fallen Half-elf a qualitative boost to their strength. Furthermore, any player that converted into a Fallen Half-elf proved they had very high combat standards. As long as they received enough resources, they were almost guaranteed to reach Tier 5.
With the race's natural talents, no one would be able to take down a Tier 5 Fallen Half-elf player outside of Tier 6 God- ranked experts.
As far as Shi Feng could remember, players only had a chance of completing the trial to become a Fallen Half-elf after they had unlocked their Mana Bodies' full potential, yet this elderly guest of his hadn't and had still successfully converted…
"Allow me to introduce you, Guild Leader. These experts from two of the Dark World's top three Guilds. They've come to discuss the issue of Demon's Heart with Zero Wing," Gentle Snow announced as Shi Feng entered the room.
The Dark World was incredibly vast, roughly as large as three ordinary empires. The Otherworld was even larger than the Fire Dragon Empire, one of God's Domain's Four Great Empires.
Three Guild ruled over the Dark World: Dark Rhapsody, Deity Society, and World Domination. They had all received support from major corporations during the game's early stages and had secretly poached quite a few experts from the various super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds. Since then, these three Guilds had been steadily developing their strength in the Dark World, and now, each could rival a Super Guild.
Zero Wing's two current guests were representatives from Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society.
"Seeing that you've come without warning, I'm assuming you're in quite a rush. Please, just speak your mind," Shi Feng addressed the two players before him.
He had a rough understanding of Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society. Although they hadn't been powerful enough to rank as two of the Six Great Dark Guilds in the past, they had still been strong enough to rival Super Guilds. When the main continent and the Dark World had connected, the two Guilds had each annihilated a superpower, using the victories as stepping stones to secure a foothold on the main continent. These two Guilds' strength could not be underestimated.
"You are just as straightforward as the rumors say, Guild Leader Black Flame," the female Dark Knight said, smiling. "This trip hasn't been an easy one, so let's be forthright. Elder Gold and I are here on behalf of our respective Guilds, and we hope to sign a contract with Zero Wing."
"A contract? Regarding what?" Shi Feng asked.
"I'm afraid you still don't realize how terrifying Demon's Heart can be, Guild Leader Black Flame, particularly its Vice Guild Leader, Flaming Light. He holds the key to activate the passage between the Dark World and the main continent. After the humiliation the Guild suffered at your hands, he's almost guaranteed to use it in the Cold Spring Forest. All of the Dark World's players will swarm the area, and Stone Forest City isn't likely to survive the coming storm," the Fallen Half-elf, whom the female Dark Knight had referred to as Elder Gold, said. "However, our Guilds don't wish to serve as Flaming Light's hired thugs, and as such, we have come to negotiate with Zero Wing."
"That's right. The contract we have in mind is very simple. If the passage to the Dark World opens in Cold Spring Forest, our Guilds will not take any action against Zero Wing or Stone Forest City," the female Dark Knight continued, chuckling. "I'm sure this will alleviate a considerable amount of pressure your Guild and city will face. How you depend on the rest of the Dark World's denizens will depend on you, Guild Leader Black Flame."
"And what do you want in return?" Shi Feng asked.
The two Dark Guilds' proposal didn't surprise Shi Feng in the slightest. Demon's Heart might have some influence in the Dark World, but it was nothing compared to the Otherworld's top three Guilds.
It was now obvious that Demon's Heart intended to use the Dark World as its spearhead, and some of the Dark World's players weren't happy about playing that role. They would have to expend their resources to fight the main continent's powers, yet only Demon's Heart would gain an advantage. Hence, Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society had come in search of a partnership with Zero Wing, which owned a Guild City in Cold Spring Forest.
"It is nothing significant. We merely wish to discuss the allocation of Cold Spring Forest's resources, Guild Leader Black Flame," Elder Gold said. "Both of our Guilds are large organizations, and we require an extraordinary amount of resources. In exchange for our neutrality, we'd like half of Cold Spring Forest's resource areas. We will not interfere in any matters in the other half. Naturally, we would like Zero Wing to agree to the same. Call it a non-interference pact."
Gentle Snow couldn't help but frown from beside Shi Feng.
At first glance, the conditions Elder Gold had stated were generous. Cold Spring Forest was an abundant resource map, after all, and not even Zero Wing could monopolize it. However, if Zero Wing signed this contract, the Guild wouldn't have to battle the rest of the Dark World's powers and players for the remaining half of the map. This would undoubtedly intensify the competition. In contrast, Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society could avoid a fight with Zero Wing, their largest competitor in the Cold Spring Forest.
"I see," Shi Feng said, nodding.
"This proposal will benefit each of our three Guilds. May I know your thoughts on this, Guild Leader Black Flame?" the Dark Knight asked.
"Since your two Guilds are so sincere, how about this? Zero Wing will concede 70% of Cold Spring Forest's resource spots. In exchange, your Guilds will offer us some other resources. We don't want much; 500,000 Darkness Crystals will do. What do you think?" Shi Feng countered with a smile.
"Guild Leader?!" Gentle Snow exclaimed, turning to Shi Feng with wide, shocked eyes.
Competing with the Dark World's various powers over half of the Cold Spring Forest's resources would already be an immense challenge. If they only had 30% to fight over, the Dark World's powers would immediately declare an all-out war against their Guild…
Shi Feng's counteroffer even confused the female Dark Knight and Elder Gold, not to mention Gentle Snow.
They had considered the possibility that their offer would be rejected before they had visited Zero Wing's residence or that Zero Wing would try to minimize the amount of resources it would share with their Guilds. They had discussed various countermeasures for these possibilities. In fact, they had planned for several days of negotiation with the Guild.
However, they had never dreamed that Zero Wing would offer even more of Cold Spring Forest's resources. What, exactly, was this man thinking?
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Chapter 2544 – Crazy Black Flame?
The female Dark Knight and Elder Gold were both dazed for a long moment after hearing Shi Feng's counteroffer, and they even wondered if he were joking with them.
With their original offer, in which Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society claimed 50% of Cold Spring Forest's resource areas, the rest of the Dark World's powers would have to battle Zero Wing for the remaining half. Even if the Dark World's various powers tried to avoid it, they would come into conflict with Zero Wing. With so many players vying for such limited resources, a blood fight was inevitable.
Unfortunately, the Dark World's powers couldn't afford to search for other Level 100 neutral maps for their development. At least, it wasn't something they could afford before the Dark World's players had expanded their influence on the main continent.
This was precisely why the various superpowers were so afraid of Demon's Heart's Flaming Light.
And yet, Shi Feng had just offered another 20% of Cold Spring Forest's resources. It was insane and suicidal.
His counteroffer might seem wise to ordinary people, as doing so would allow Zero Wing to tighten its defensive line and secure better control over its resource areas, but Dark Players would have no choice but to fight for those resources spots. None of the Otherworld's players would dare go against Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society. If the two Guilds controlled more of the Cold Spring Forest, even more Dark Players would have to fight Zero Wing for resources. Zero Wing's very survival in the map would be in question, not to mention obtaining resources in Cold Spring Forest.
Has he given up on Stone Forest City? It was the only possibility the female Dark Knight could think of.
Zero Wing wasn't about to face one or two superpowers, but an entire Otherworld. Moreover, it was an Otherworld with even more players than the Fire Dragon Empire, and not a single power could stand against such a force.
Realizing this, Shi Feng must've decided to abandon Cold Spring Forest's resources in exchange for the Dark World's precious Darkness Crystals. It was a worthwhile transaction, but no normal person would accept such an exchange. Developing a Guild City required a massive amount of time and resources. Not just anyone could afford to abandon an entire Guild City without a second thought.
"Are you serious, Guild Leader Black Flame?" Elder Gold asked. He could not think of a single reason to refuse Shi Feng's offer. Although 500,000 Darkness Crystals were valuable, they were insignificant compared to 70% of Cold Spring Forest's resource areas.
Of course. If you don't believe me, I'll sign the contract right now," Shi Feng replied, chuckling.
"Excellent! I agree to your offer on behalf of Deity Society!" Elder Gold exclaimed, excitement glowing in his eyes. Only a fool would refuse.
Throughout Cold Spring Forest, only Zero Wing could pose a threat to Deity Society. The other powers were not worth mentioning. If Zero Wing were willing to part with an additional 20% of the map's resource spots, Deity Society wouldn't have to worry about managing more territory.
"What about Dark Rhapsody?" Shi Feng asked as he turned toward the female Dark Knight.
"On behalf of my Guild, I have no issues with this arrangement, either," the Dark Knight answered without hesitation. Although she didn't know what this Swordsman was thinking, her superiors would strangle her once she returned if she refused.
Once Elder Gold and the female Dark Knight had agreed, the three players signed the contract stipulating that Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society would occupy 70% of Cold Spring Forest's resource areas, while Zero Wing would occupy the remainder. None of the three Guilds would interfere in each other's matters, and the two Dark Guilds would provide a total of 500,000 Darkness Crystals.
With the negotiations complete, Elder Gold and the female Dark Knight promptly returned to the Dark World to notify their Guilds of the good news. They immediately began to prepare the 500,000 Darkness Crystals Shi Feng had demanded, as well. Once the portal connecting the Dark World to the main continent opened in Cold Spring Forest, Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society would hand the crystals over to Zero Wing.
When the news hit Dark Rhapsody's and Deity Society's main headquarters, the two Guilds' upper echelons were astonished.
"I had never expected Zero Wing to be so daring. It seems it's quite confident of safeguarding its 30% of the map."
"But, how can that be? Zero Wing must realize that it cannot stop the Dark World's advance; it must be aiming for the next best option."
"I suspect the Guild's decisive nature is the reason it has achieved the success it enjoys today. Don't forget; Zero Wing's enemies aren't limited to those in the Dark World. Demon's Heart is still lurking, and Zero Wing must think this agreement will help it stand against the Dark Guild."
Heated discussions erupted among the two Guilds' upper echelons over their new contracts with Zero Wing. None of them had expected this outcome, but regardless, it was good news for both of their Guilds.
While Dark Rhapsody's and Deity Society's spoke of the matter, news quickly reached Demon's Heart.
"Black Flame is quite bold, Elder Heart. It seems he intends to give up Cold Spring Forest's resources and focus his forces on protecting Stone Forest City," a Level 108, Tier 3 Demon Viscount Shield Warrior commented, grinning at Furious Heart.
Shi Feng had so arrogantly strutted through Demon City, and now, because of Flaming Light's single move, his Guild was forced to part with 70% of its resource areas in Cold Spring Forest. It was a joyous outcome for Demon's Heart.
"Hmph. Did he think he'd get off scot-free after provoking Demon's Heart?" Furious Heart said, snorting. "If he thinks he can protect Stone Forest City by handing over 70% of Cold Spring Forest's resource spots, he should think again. He simply doesn't know how futile his actions are. Vice Guild Leader Light has already reached an agreement with several superpowers. When the time comes, Demon's Heart and the various superpowers will attack Stone Forest City from both within and without. We'll tear the city asunder and ensure that Zero Wing never again has a place in Cold Spring Forest!"
Demon's Heart's other Elders excitedly expressed their agreement.
Zero Wing might assume its only opponents were from the Dark World, but in truth, the Guild would have to face several superpowers, as well.
Under their combined assault, Zero Wing would be as powerless as an ant. It had no chance of survival.
Stone Forest City, Zero Wing's Residence:
While many superpowers gossiped about the agreement between Zero Wing, Dark Rhapsody, and Deity Society, Gentle Snow, confused, followed Shi Feng to the Guild Warehouse on the Residence's first underground floor.
"Guild Leader, offering an additional 20% isn't worth just 500,000 Darkness Crystals. Cold Spring Forest's Cold Spring Water is a huge help to Tier 2 players' development. It is the reason so many of our Tier 2 experts can work in Level 100 neutral maps. Giving away so much of Cold Spring Forest will drastically reduce our Tier 2 members' development speed," Gentle Snow complained. She felt that Shi Feng had gone too far this time.
Even God's Domain's various superpowers fought like crazy over Cold Spring Water, and due to its rarity, the competition was incredibly intense. Fortunately, with Stone Forest City, Zero Wing had an absolute advantage in the competition for Cold Spring Water from Cold Spring Forest, and thus, no powers dared to cause trouble for the Guild.
This item allowed Zero Wing's Tier 2 members to level rapidly and reach Level 105 far sooner than others. Once they reached that level and equipped Level 105 top-tier equipment, these Tier 2 members could challenge their Tier 3 Promotion Quests, clearing them with relatively high success rates. As a result, Zero Wing continuously nurtured more Tier 3 players.
If they gave away 70% of Cold Spring Forest's resource areas and had to compete with the Dark World's players over the remainder, Zero Wing would likely have to abandon Cold Spring Forest entirely.
Meanwhile, Darkness Crystals were an Attributed Magic Crystal, and while they were valuable, that was only true for Dark Players due to the darkness energy they contained. Darkness energy wasn't helpful to regular players in the least. In fact, to regular players, 500,000 Darkness Crystals weren't even worth 500,000 Magic Crystals.
"I understand, but Cold Spring Forest is massive. Zero Wing isn't even large enough to exploit 20% of the map's resource areas, much less 50%. Rather than holding useless territory, shouldn't we exchange it for something of value?" Shi Feng asked, chuckling.
"But, those Dark World players…"
Gentle Snow understood what Shi Feng was trying to say. At this point, only Tier 3 players could freely roam Level 100 neutral maps for long periods. Tier 2 players couldn't last for very long in such areas. Zero Wing's current forces simply weren't enough to occupy all of Cold Spring Forest's resource areas. Selling the additional spots was a wise decision, but if they considered the Dark World's powers and players, it'd be a completely different story.
"The Dark World's players are a problem, but only if they actually pose a threat to Zero Wing in Cold Spring Forest!" Shi Feng said, chuckling.
"Guild Leader, we're talking about the Dark World. I spoke with our guests earlier, and those two informed me that the Dark World is as large as three of the main continent's ordinary empires. The Otherworld has even more players than the Fire Dragon Empire. We'll be facing a minimum of 20,000 Tier 3 experts…" Gentle Snow continued, flashing Shi Feng a bitter smile.
"And what if we have two or three thousand fully-armed, Tier 3 NPCs?" Shi Feng asked, smiling.
"Are you talking about the Knight Division?" Gentle Snow, more or less, realized where Shi Feng was going with this. "We still don't have the funds to upgrade them…"
"Who said that?" Shi Feng quipped. He then opened his Epic Spatial Bag and emptied its contents inside the Guild Warehouse.
Within a few dozen seconds, materials filled the expansive warehouse, and every one was rare. Gentle Snow hadn't even seen many of these materials before. As the items tumbled out of Shi Feng's bag, the Mana density in the warehouse rose significantly…
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Chapter 2545 – Astonishing Wealth
Gentle Snow stared at the materials Shi Feng had revealed in a daze.
As a Vice Guild Leader, she had done extensive research on God's Domain's materials, yet she didn't even recognize half of the items Shi Feng had dumped in the warehouse. Even those she recognized were considered precious on the market, and normally, they were impossible to purchase, even for absurdly high prices.
And yet, their Guild Warehouse was now packed full of such materials…
The warehouses in Zero Wing's Residences were easily as large as four basketball courts, but despite its size, Shi Feng had filled it with incredibly valuable materials. They could rake in unimaginable profits if they sold them all.
"Guild Leader, did you acquire all of these materials from the western continent?" Gentle Snow asked. She was aware of his visit to the west, but since the Guild had still needed management personnel, she had decided to stay behind.
However, Shi Feng hadn't spent long in the west, and even though he had left with millions of Magic Crystals, returning with such a bounty shouldn't be possible in such a short time.
Rare materials were considered rare for a reason. There wasn't exactly a large supply of them on the market. To acquire as many materials as Shi Feng had, one would have to sweep through multiple kingdoms and empires' Auction Houses. Moreover, once the various powers discovered that someone was purchasing certain rare materials in bulk, prices would skyrocket. To avoid that outcome, most purchased materials in small quantities over a long time.
"Mhm. We spent quite a long time collecting these materials," Shi Feng said, nodding. Smiling, he continued, "How about it? Do you think dealing with those Dark World players will still be a problem?"
He had known about Demon's Heart's trump card for a long time. Before his visit to the western continent, he never would've casually attacked the Dark Guild. He didn't want to become the entire world's enemy, after all.
But times had changed, and he was now extremely wealthy.
Magic Crystals were worth far more on the western continent than they were in the east. Hence, he had gotten a bigger bang for his buck. He estimated that the materials he had purchased for 3 million Magic Crystals in the west should fetch around 10 million Gold in the east.
At this stage of the game, not even superpowers could collect 10 million Gold. At best, they might have 1 or 2 million to spare.
"You are really vicious, Guild Leader. I can't believe you got your hands on so many materials unique to the western continent. The various superpowers would go mad if they found out about this," Gentle Snow said, excitement welling within her as Shi Feng nodded victoriously.
In God's Domain, money was power!
Whether one was trying to construct a Guild City or provide their Guild members more benefits, all required money. Hence, a rich Guild could develop rapidly. Unfortunately, not only was God's Domain's Coin production limited, but players also had to cover many daily expenses. Even now, as players reached Tier 3, Coins hadn't depreciated much, and there were even faint signs of them becoming more valuable.
Now that Zero Wing had such a fortune, fully arming its Knight Division and forming a true NPC army was entirely possible.
"I do have an important use for these materials, however. We can only sell half. I'll leave that to you. Make sure to find absolutely trustworthy people to do the job. If this news leaks, we'll have a hard time demanding high prices," Shi Feng warned her.
"I understand. I ensure that every one of these items sells at an ideal price, and I'll make sure that none of the various superpowers learn of our wealth," Gentle Snow promised with a bright smile. She couldn't help but look forward to seeing the various superpowers' expressions when they saw Zero Wing's upgraded Knight Division.
Since Stone Forest City's relocation to Cold Spring Forest, many superpowers had been eyeing the city. As they gained more Tier 3 players, Zero Wing's control in the map had weakened, and due to the recent conflict with Demon's Heart, quite a few powers have started to cause trouble. At this rate, the various powers might assume they could fight Zero Wing for Cold Spring Forest's resource areas before the portal to the Dark World even activated.
"I'll leave everything to you, then," Shi Feng said, nodding.
Following which, Shi Feng stealthily made his way to Stone Forest City's Candlelight Trading Firm.
While one of his goals in visiting the western continent had been to earn a ton of money and materials, his main goal had been for the Tree of Life.
The Tree of Life was only a tool, not a weapon, yet all powers sought the treasure. This was because the Tree of Life could produce a variety of rare items, not unlike an infinite treasure trove.
Even Super Guilds would go crazy to obtain a Tree of Life main branch since they could produce Fruits of Life, a Legendary material that could resurrect the dead. A single fruit could even grant creatures new life.
Most players might not care about the ability to resurrect the dead, but countless dreamed of the ability to grant living creatures new life.
Granting new life' meant upgrading a creature's Growth Potential and Life Rating, which could be done to players, monsters, and NPCs. Moreover, there was almost no limit to the number of Fruits of Life an individual could consume, although each subsequent fruit would prove less effective. This ability was why Fruits of Life were the best cultivation fruit in God's Domain.
The main branch Shi Feng had obtained had survived since before the Great Destruction. One could only imagine how valuable it was.
Stone Forest City, Candlelight Trading Firm:
Due to how attractive Stone Forest City was to Tier 3 players and the fact that the Candlelight Trading Firm sold all sorts of Master Potions, the Shop had become a hub for the various adventurer teams. In fact, any adventurer team wishing to develop in Stone Forest City first became an Advanced Member in Candlelight.
Plenty of Lifestyle players visited the trading firm, as well.
To keep up with the huge demand, Candlelight had split a portion of its basic orders with independent Lifestyle players, while allowing Candlelight's members to focus on producing the more important products.
Not only did this increase the trading firm's operation scale, but it also increased productivity. At the same time, it also allowed independent players a chance to earn Proficiency Points while practicing their crafts. The independent Lifestyle players that worked for Candlelight could also earn Contribution Points and exchange them for a plethora of recipes and materials. They could even spend points to rent Special Workshops and Basic Meditation Rooms.
Due to such lucrative benefits, many independent Lifestyle players with high standards had decided to develop in Stone Forest City.
When Shi Feng entered the Candlelight Trading Firm, he found that the first-floor hall was practically full of adventurer team players and Lifestyle players. The trading firm was no less popular than Auction Houses in NPC cities.
Shi Feng quickly made his way to one of the firm's Basic Meditation Rooms, making many Lifestyle players, who were waiting to rent a Special Workshop or Basic Meditation room, jealous.
"Who is that guy?! They're just letting him enter a Mediation Room without waiting in line?!"
"I don't know, but he must be someone important. I've heard that only Candlelight's core members and independent players with a Gold Membership can enter Mediation Rooms as they wish."
"I wonder when I'll be able to become a Gold Member."
"Gold? You should thank your lucky stars if you even become a Silver Member. You know that even Master Lifestyle players only become Bronze Members."
All Lifestyle players dreamed of using Basic Meditation Rooms due to their excellent training environments, but even the various superpowers' Lifestyle players had few opportunities to use them. The only reason that independent players like them had a chance to use a Basic Meditation Room was Candelight's booming popularity. If they could use the rooms whenever they wanted, they wouldn't have any trouble improving their skills.
Of course, Shi Feng ignored these independent players' jealousy. He merely entered the Basic Meditation Room and retrieved the Tree of Life's main branch he had collected from the Guild Warehouse.
Mana was the core of all in God's Domain.
Players would obtain better results in both combat training and producing items in higher Mana density environments. Thus, to increase his chances of restoring the main branch, he had deliberately shut himself in a Basic Meditation Room.
With the main branch in hand, Shi Feng carefully pulled a brightly glowing crystal from his bag. The instant it touched the air, it illuminated the room, and he felt the crystal radiate warmth.
This crystal was none other than the Star of Light, a Legendary material he had obtained from the Demon God's Temptation.
This should be enough Mana. I just hope it can live. Shi Feng nervously gulped as he merged the Star of Light and Tree of Life's main branch.
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Chapter 2546 – Divine Artifact?
When Shi Feng merged the Star of Light with the withered branch, the Mana inside the Basic Meditation Room started gathering rapidly around the branch.
In less than three seconds, a layer of white mist had formed around the withered branch. Moreover, this still wasn't the end of it. Afterward, the Mana mist started condensing into drops of Liquid Mana on the branch and the area around it. Subsequently, the Liquid Mana flowed toward and into the branch's broken end.
And with each drop of Liquid Mana that entered the withered branch, the branch quivered, giving off ripples of energy, as if some kind of creature was awakening.
It seems the results are quite good. Shi Feng grew elated when he sensed the ripples of energy from the withered branch.
Previously, when he saw that the Withered Rate of the branch had reached 94%, he had somewhat despaired of reviving the branch already.
Fortunately, there was no failure when trying to revive a Tree of Life's branch. One merely needed to provide it with a continuous supply of high-density Mana and life energy. So long as that condition was met in sufficient quantity, the branch would grow into another Tree of Life.
The only problem was that the quantity and density of Mana and life energy required would vary depending on a branch's Withered Rate. Meanwhile, the materials capable of supplementing the Mana and life energy that a 94% Withered main branch required were incredibly rare.
Fortunately, Shi Feng had been lucky on his trip to the western continent this time and secured himself a Star of Light. Without it, he really wouldn't have any hope of resuscitating the withered branch he had.
Following which, time passed by rapidly. Before he knew it, eight hours had passed already. During this period, the withered branch had continuously condensed and absorbed Liquid Mana. Combined with the Star of Light's essence, the branch was now brimming with life energy. In fact, it had even started leafing.
As green leaves kept sprouting on the branch, the life energy it radiated grew denser. Now, the entire room was brimming with life.
It just awoke, yet the life energy it's giving off is already so dense? What is the rank of this Tree of Life? Shi Feng was a little surprised when he sensed the life energy filling the room. If players rest in this room, their recovery rate will most likely more than double.
In God's Domain, even after players reached Tier 3, they still wouldn't be immune to the corrosive energies in Level 100-plus maps; they would merely be more resistant to these energies. After the corruption reached a certain point, they would still have to return to cities to rest. Otherwise, they would collapse from hunger or exhaustion or simply outright die.
This was also the reason behind Stone Forest City's rapid development.
However, even if players returned to a city to rest, they would still take a very long time to recover to their peak. While wealthy players also had the option of consuming Mana-rich food and beverages to accelerate their recovery, these only improved the recovery rate by a few dozen percent.
If players rested inside this room, however, their recovery rate would increase by at least 100%. This was simply incredible.
After all, expert players of God's Domain consumed food and beverages that accelerated their recovery rate on a regular basis, to have more time grinding and exploring. Those of Guild upper echelons would even take ancient potions to increase their recovery rate, which was extremely expensive. The cheaper ones cost around 20 or 30 Gold per bottle, while expensive ones cost over 100 Gold!
Ancient potions were all Consumables whose effects lasted only four to six hours. However, combining the effects of ancient potions and food that boosted recovery rate could just barely double players' recovery rate.
Now, however, a Tree of Life's branch that had just been revived could grant this effect merely by being present inside a room. If news of this spread, the various powers of God's Domain would definitely go crazy with envy.
After all, an ancient potion granted its effects to only one person. The Tree of Life's branch, however, could aid all the players resting inside the room it was in.
Setting all else aside, this branch alone would already give Zero Wing's main force members a huge lead over the various superpowers' experts when it came to leveling up and improving their strength.
Meanwhile, as Shi Feng was reeling in astonishment from the passive effects the Tree of Life's main branch displayed, the branch in question suddenly released an emerald glow. It then transformed into a sapling.
The instant the sapling took shape, Shi Feng felt an indescribably heavy pressure on him. The sapling had actually sucked the Basic Meditation Room dry of Mana. If not for Shi Feng having fully unlocked his Mana Body, the sapling's action would've most likely killed him.
Unable to hold back his curiosity, Shi Feng promptly called out the sapling's Attribute Panel.
Crap! It's actually a Divine Artifact?! Shi Feng was stunned when he saw the statistics displayed before him.
[Ancient Tree of Life's Sapling] (Fragmented Divine Artifact Rank)
A sapling brimming with life energy. The sapling also contains a trace of the world's aura before the Great Destruction. This sapling is capable of producing 17 drops of Water of Life daily, 3 Nuclei of Life every three days, and one Fruit of Life every seven days. This sapling can survive only in places with high Mana density.
Capable of growth. (Requires a large amount of dense and pure energy to grow. Current Growth Rate 0%.)
Previously, he had merely speculated that the branch he obtained was a Divine Artifact because it had existed since ancient times, and the environment in ancient times was many times better than the environment in the current God's Domain.
However, he never thought that the main branch would actually turn out to be a Divine Artifact!
Although it was a fragmented one, it was still a bona fide Divine Artifact! It wasn't some powerful Legendary item labeled as a Divine Artifact.
Divine Artifacts could bring entire races to prosperity. They were existences that even Ancient Gods would fight tooth and nail for. Even the almighty War God's Temple had only two Divine Artifacts in its warehouse.
If news of this sapling got out, let alone players, even the NPC powers of God's Domain would most likely take action— particularly the dark powers, which would definitely destroy Stone Forest City. In fact, they wouldn't mind drowning an entire empire in flames to get their hands on this sapling.
Hence, while Shi Feng was indeed ecstatic to see that the sapling turned out to be a Fragmented Divine Artifact, his emotions were complicated as he looked at the sapling.
Moreover, resuscitating a Tree of Life's branch wasn't the most difficult part about growing a Tree of Life. After all, so long as players found the right materials to supply the branch with Mana and life energy, they would be able to revive it. Even if players didn't get the right materials on their first attempt, they could simply try and try again and eventually succeed.
The truly challenging part of growing a Tree of Life was keeping it alive.
The Tree of Life had extremely stringent living conditions. If players failed to meet these conditions, let alone getting the Tree of Life to develop, it wouldn't be strange if the tree died. Then, players would have to find more materials to resuscitate it.
One of the main conditions to keep a Tree of Life alive was to plant it in a location with sufficiently dense Mana.
Originally, Shi Feng had thought he could rely on Stone Forest City's environment to grow his Tree of Life. After all, even if he managed to revive his branch, it would only become a sapling. The amount of Mana a sapling required wasn't as much as what a mature Tree of Life needed. In fact, with Stone Forest City's Mana environment, he was confident he could grow even a Legendary ranked sapling.
However, for the Fragmented Divine Artifact ranked sapling before him, he discovered that even one of the city's Basic Meditation Rooms couldn't supply the sapling's Mana requirements.
It seems that if I don't upgrade Stone Forest City, I can't even touch this Tree of Life. Shi Feng revealed a bitter smile as he looked at the sapling hovering before him. He then contacted Gentle Snow and asked, "Snow, how are things coming along on your side?"
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Chapter 2547 – Foundations Ready, Reconstructing Stone Forest City
"I already had my men make the necessary preparations. However, quite a few superpowers are selling the western continent's materials right now, so we'll have to wait awhile to get a better price," Gentle Snow answered upon hearing Shi Feng's question.
Although the western continent's rare materials were very precious on the eastern continent, there were still some superpowers that sold them. To get a better price for the materials Shi Feng brought back and to avoid significant price fluctuations, they had to not only split the materials across numerous kingdoms and empires but also consider the timing and sell only the materials that were unavailable or in low supply. Only by doing so would they be able to get the best price for their materials. For the current Zero Wing, though, handling these matters wasn't a problem at all.
"Stop waiting. Sell whatever you can right now," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought.
"So soon?" Gentle Snow was a little confused by Shi Feng's decision.
The price they could get from selling the materials quickly would be considerably different from what they would get if they sold the materials gradually. After all, not everybody had a use for the western continent's rare materials. If they sold these materials in bulk, they would saturate the market very quickly, which would reduce their profits.
"Mhm. I'm in urgent need of money right now," Shi Feng said, nodding.
If possible, he would prefer not to act precipitately, either. However, plans were always subject to change. He never thought that the Tree of Life's branch he obtained would really turn out to be a Divine Artifact, albeit a fragmented one.
The density of the Mana that a Fragmented Divine Artifact ranked Tree of Life's Sapling required was something even the Basic Meditation Room, the place with the highest ambient Mana in Stone Forest City, was incapable of supplying.
A Tree of Life's Sapling was different from other items. Once it formed, it could not be stored inside a bag for however long players wanted. Instead, it would live for just two or three days. If players failed to provide it with an adequate living environment, then it would wilt and revert into a branch.
Moreover, ordinary bags couldn't store a Tree of Life's Sapling, as the sapling was a non-bag space item. Fortunately, Shi Feng had the Epic Spatial Bag, which was capable of storing non-bag space items. Otherwise, he would have no choice but to leave the sapling to die inside the Basic Meditation Room.
Meanwhile, in God's Domain, there were only three methods to increase the Mana density of a city.
The first method was to build constructions that raised the density of Mana. However, aside from the Mana Tower, players had to find the designs for other similar constructions on their own. Moreover, designs for constructions capable of raising a city's Mana density by a significant margin were incomparably valuable, easily surpassing Fragmented Legendary items in value. Any power that obtained such a design would definitely choose to use it themselves instead of selling or trading it away.
Zero Wing did not possess such a design at the moment, so this route was not viable.
The second method was just as difficult to fulfill as the first method, and that was to install a better power source in the city's core magic array, which would raise the Mana density inside the city.
The third method was the one most used in the past, and that was to raise the rank of the city.
When a city's rank increased, the standard of its core magic array would improve, as well. As a result, the city's Mana density would increase significantly. The promotion of a Guild City required a sufficiently large player population and painstaking work. It wasn't something that could be achieved swiftly. However, it was also the easiest way to raise the Mana density of a city.
Currently, in terms of prosperity and security standards, Stone Forest City already met the requirements of an Intermediate City. Its Popularity was now the only thing holding back the city's promotion. Normally, the city would take a lot more time to accumulate the required Popularity. However, there was a shortcut to raising a city's Popularity: erecting Advanced Constructions.
Building an Advanced Construction in a Guild City would instantly grant the city a large amount of City Popularity. In Stone Forest City's current state, the addition of just one Advanced Construction would be sufficient to elevate the city to the Intermediate City standard. At that time, not only the city's size but also the Mana density inside the city would increase by a large margin.
However, Shi Feng currently did not possess an Advanced Construction Design. All he had was the design for the Freedom Hotel, a Peak Construction. Although a Peak Construction would grant much more Popularity than an Advanced Construction would upon completion, its construction cost was also a lot higher. Building a Peak Construction required not only extremely rare materials but also a lot of Coins. Not to mention, the construction cost would differ, depending on the size of the Peak Construction.
As far as Shi Feng knew, the material costs aside, even the cheapest Peak Construction cost 1 million Gold.
Fortunately, all the materials necessary to construct the Freedom Hotel were already on hand. The only thing he lacked was funds.
Currently, Zero Wing had less than 150,000 Gold to spare. That was nowhere near the amount necessary. The only reliable way that Shi Feng could think of to earn a large sum within two or three days was selling the western continent's materials.
"I understand. I'll try to sell all the materials the various kingdoms and empires lack as soon as possible. If it's still not enough, I can also sell materials that are already available on the market," Gentle Snow said, nodding when she saw the serious look on Shi Feng's face.
"I'll leave it to you, then," Shi Feng said before disconnecting the call. He then left the Candlelight Trading Firm and personally conducted the preparation work necessary to construct the Freedom Hotel.
As one of the few Peak Constructions available in God's Domain, the Freedom Hotel was not easy to build. It required not only a large number of Master Architects but also a large number of Master Magicians. Without the technical expertise of a Master Magician, one shouldn't even think of constructing the Freedom Hotel.
This was also the reason why Shi Feng had not been in a hurry to construct the Freedom Hotel even after obtaining its design.
Meanwhile, as Shi Feng was gathering the necessary workforce to construct the Freedom Hotel, the various superpowers' members, who were keeping an eye on Zero Wing's every action, were stupefied by this situation.
"What's Black Flame trying to do? The Dark World's invasion is about to start, yet instead of making preparations for battle, he's having a bunch of architects run around the city?"
"Maybe he is going to construct additional defensive structures to reassure Stone Forest City's players? I heard that this incident more than halved Stone Forest City's profits. Once the Dark World's players invade, instead of generating profits, Stone Forest City might end up a money pit instead."
"If Black Flame knew something like this would happen, why did he provoke Demon's Heart in the first place? Does he think a few defensive structures will be enough to stop the Dark World's players? Let alone Zero Wing's Guild City, even a Guild City operated by five superpowers wouldn't be able to stop all of the Dark World's players."
The various superpowers secretly ridiculed Shi Feng when they saw him running around the city busily. The Dark World's invasion was imminent, yet Shi Feng was actually doing something as futile as constructing a few additional defensive structures instead of trying to recruit superpowers to help him repulse this invasion.
In this situation, Zero Wing's members also could not help panicking.
Previously, they had been very confident in Stone Forest City's defenses. After all, no power had ever managed to break through the city's defenses thus far. Now, however, their opponent was not a single power but an entire Otherworld instead. No one knew whether Stone Forest City could hold its ground against such a force.
Meanwhile, over in the Black Dragon Empire, Gentle Snow wore an ecstatic expression on her face as she oversaw the sales of materials.
System: The Demonheart Flower (1 stack) you placed at the Auction House has been sold. After deducting the procedural fees, 20 Gold 27 Silver have been deposited into your bag space.
System: The Magically Refined Iron (1 stack) you placed at the Auction House has been sold. After deducting the procedural fees, 55 Gold 21 Silver have been deposited into your bag space.
System: The Crimson Timber you placed at the Auction House has been sold. After deducting the procedural fees, 89 Gold 76 Silver have been deposited into your bag space.
It had only been half an hour since she gave the sell order to her subordinates, and the materials they put up for auction were already being hotly contested. She had expected to gain only 400,000 Gold from the first batch of materials they had prepared to sell. Now, despite having sold less than half of the first batch, they had already made over 350,000 Gold. The demand for the materials far surpassed her projections.
What Gentle Snow did not know was that, while superpowers were indeed selling the western continent's materials, these superpowers were selling only a small portion of their stockpile; they had kept the majority for their own use. Meanwhile, these small amounts of materials might be useful for the individual player or adventurer team, but they were hardly of any use to a large Guild, which would rather ignore them than waste time bidding over scraps.
However, Gentle Snow was selling materials necessary for producing Master Potions and Level 100-plus weapons and equipment—and in impressive amounts. For the various large Guilds that were desperately trying to explore Level 100 neutral maps, these materials were a godsend.
Hence, for a time, the various large Guilds were crazily competing against each other over the materials Gentle Snow and her subordinates sold. And in less than half a day, they had sold half of their stockpile of materials, netting more than 4 million Gold—nearly double their expected profits.
This outcome astonished even Shi Feng.
It's no wonder those first-rate powers that were capable of intercontinental travel eventually developed into superpowers! This is simply a jackpot! Shi Feng sighed ruefully when he received the 4.11 million Gold from Gentle Snow's subordinate.
In Shi Feng's opinion, even selling the materials for four or five times their original price would already have been plenty exaggerated. After all, ordinary players couldn't afford the materials he brought back. Only the various major powers would have the means to purchase them. Now, however, he had earned more than ten times the original cost of these materials. If he could make a few more business trips like this, he would most likely have enough money to drown an entire superpower to death.
However, while Shi Feng was indeed surprised by this outcome, he did not stop working. After making sure the area he stood on was sealed off from the public, he took out a thick, ancient tome from his bag. This tome was none other than the Freedom Hotel Design.
System: You now possess all the necessary construction materials and land to construct the Freedom Hotel. Do you wish to start its construction?
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Chapter 2548 – Freedom Hotel's Surprise Appearance
Upon receiving the system notification, Shi Feng took a deep breath and chose to construct the Freedom Hotel. Immediately afterward, he received another system notification.
System: Please choose the size of the Freedom Hotel you wish to build. A small one will cost 1,200,000 Gold, a medium one will cost 1,500,000 Gold, and a large one will cost 2,000,000 Gold.
Sure enough, it really is expensive. Shi Feng was flabbergasted when he saw the prices listed. Although he had known that Peak Constructions cost a ton to build, he still found it difficult to accept after seeing the prices with his own eyes.
With 1.2 million Gold, one could easily construct two or three Guild Cities. It was an astronomical amount of money, even for superpowers, enough to let a first-rate Guild achieve rapid development. Now, however, this sum was necessary just to construct a Small Freedom Hotel.
It was no exaggeration to say that Peak Constructions were things that only the various superpowers could afford. Other powers would only be able to use the design as a decoration; constructing the real thing would be beyond their means.
After seeing these prices, Shi Feng chose to construct a Large Freedom Hotel without hesitation.
Originally, he had planned to construct only a Small Freedom Hotel for the sole purpose of upgrading Stone Forest City into an Intermediate City. However, since he had gained a much larger harvest than he initially expected from selling the western continent's rare materials, he naturally had no need to be stingy with his Coins. After all, the difference between a Small Freedom Hotel and a Large Freedom Hotel was massive.
Although both Small and Large Freedom Hotels possessed the same functions, a Small Freedom Hotel had only eight floors. In comparison, a Large Freedom Hotel had a total of 32 floors.
Starting out with a Small Freedom Hotel and gradually upgrading it into a Large Freedom Hotel would also be many times more expensive than constructing a Large Freedom Hotel directly. Hence, in a situation where funds were plentiful, most powers would choose to construct a Large Freedom Hotel from the get-go.
As soon as Shi Feng chose to construct a Large Freedom Hotel, 2 million Gold disappeared from his bag space, the Coins transforming into a streak of golden light that flowed into the Freedom Hotel Design in his hands. In the next moment, construction magic arrays started appearing on the tome's numerous pages. Every one of these designs was extremely complex, and even the simplest one was an Advanced Magic Array. If someone below the Master Magician standard were to look at these magic arrays, they would most likely have a huge headache.
Fortunately, most of these magic arrays could be retrieved from the design and engraved on the finished construction directly. Otherwise, if Shi Feng had to do all the magic arrays required for the Freedom Hotel from scratch, he definitely wouldn't be able to manage, short of reaching the Grandmaster Magician standard.
"Alright, everyone, start working!" Shi Feng said after seeing the magic arrays appear on the design.
In the next moment, over a hundred architects sprang into action while holding a copy of the Freedom Hotel Design. Some architects started refining materials, while some started fragmenting materials. The construction of the Freedom Hotel progressed smoothly under Shi Feng's direction. As for Shi Feng himself, he frantically engraved magic arrays on the finished portions of the Freedom Hotel.
At the same time as Shi Feng was constructing the Freedom Hotel, inside a high-class restaurant in a border town of the Ten Saints Empire…
Currently, not only was the restaurant fully booked, but several dozen Tier 3 peak experts also stood guard around it, the imposing aura these players exuded deterring passersby from approaching the restaurant.
Several people were seated inside the restaurant's top-floor room. If the upper echelons of the Ten Saints Empire's various superpowers were to see these people, they would definitely receive a fright.
This was because every player inside this room was a bigshot in God's Domain. They were existences capable of shaking up entire kingdoms and empires with their decisions. Among those present, the person with the highest status would have to be Cold Shadow, a Vice Guild Leader of Mythology.
Vice Guild Leader Light, how are the preparations on your side coming along? I heard that the Dark World's Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society have signed a noninterference agreement with Zero Wing," a Level 108, white-clad, elderly man sporting Pantheon's Guild Emblem asked as he looked at the indifferent and handsome youth seated beside him.
"Our preparations are nearly complete. The Dark World's side just needs a little more time. Elder South, please rest assured. Those two Guilds might have great influence over the Dark World, but the number of experts they command are nothing when compared to the expert population of the entire Dark World. In addition, we have reached an agreement with World Domination, which will help us add fuel to the fire. At that time, so long as no power assists Zero Wing, Stone Forest City will fall quickly," the handsome youth named Flaming Light replied with a chuckle.
"You can also rest assured on this point, Vice Guild Leader Light. Starlink has already sent greetings to the various powers operating around Stone Forest City. They definitely will not assist Zero Wing in fending off the Dark World's experts," Lu Xingluo said, smiling.
Originally, Lu Xingluo had been racking his brain over how to deal with Zero Wing, which was growing stronger by the day. However, Shi Feng had actually dared offend a hot potato like Demon's Heart. Since that was the case, Lu Xingluo naturally wouldn't mind sending Zero Wing on its way.
An entire world filled with Dark Players!
Even Lu Xingluo himself did not have the confidence to go up against such a force, yet Shi Feng had actually taken the initiative to challenge this force. Zero Wing's Guild Leader simply did not know the meaning of death.
So long as Zero Wing lost the goldmine known as Stone Forest City, with Starlink's financial strength, stomping Zero Wing to death would be a piece of cake.
"When the time comes, I'll have to rely on everyone present. As for the distribution of Stone Forest City's shares that comes afterward, Demon's Heart will take no part in it. Moreover, I believe the Dark World's top three Guilds also won't dare interfere in this matter. Everyone present will be free to decide what to do with Stone Forest City. I only hope that we can put a swift end to this affair. If Zero Wing focuses fully on defense, I'm afraid even our side will have trouble taking down Stone Forest City," Flaming Light said.
"You don't have to worry about this point," Cold Shadow said suddenly. "I have already promised Stone Forest City's various adventurer teams that I will purchase their materials at a high price and also let them exchange for a limited number of Combat Runes. I believe Stone Forest City's adventurer teams will no longer sell their materials to Zero Wing. Without the materials of these adventurer teams, Zero Wing won't be able to sustain its daily operations. Once the Dark World's portal opens, Zero Wing won't even be able to gather materials on its own. In that case, Zero Wing will implode in a matter of days."
Upon hearing Cold Shadow's words, everyone present could not help but gasp in shock at her ruthlessness.
Combat Runes were items unique to the western continent and were something the eastern continent's various powers had been dreaming of obtaining, in order to raise the combat power of their members by a large margin. If an entire team were equipped with Combat Runes, it would have a much easier time raiding Team Dungeons and Field Bosses.
Due to the effectiveness of the Combat Runes, the eastern continent's various superpowers were sparing no expense to purchase them, with some going as far as using Magic Crystals for payment. Adventurer teams didn't even get a chance to purchase these Combat Runes.
Now that Cold Shadow was offering to let Stone Forest City's adventurer teams exchange for some Combat Runes, those adventurer teams would definitely accept her offer without hesitation. With this, Zero Wing would truly have to fend off the Dark World's invasion by itself.
Due to this matter, the members of Stone Forest City's adventurer teams were currently holding secret discussions. At the same time, they were also gathering materials to exchange for Mythology's Combat Runes. They were not selling any of the materials they harvested from Cold Spring Forest to Zero Wing at all.
"Zero Wing really knows how to hold its breath. Our adventurer teams have clearly stopped supplying it with materials, yet instead of raising its purchasing price, it is actually constructing something new. Does Zero Wing really think it can survive the Dark World's invasion with just a few additional defensive structures?"
"Maybe Zero Wing is trying to make a quick buck before it falls. After all, so long as the Dark World's portal opens, everything will be over."
As the adventurer team players looked at the magic array enveloping the Freedom Hotel, which was under construction, they could not help speculating about it among themselves.
So what if Zero Wing's Black Flame was strong? It was useless even if he had the strength to go up against a superpower single-handedly. After all, before an entire world's players, even Super Guilds would be powerless.
Meanwhile, as Stone Forest City's players were quietly discussing among themselves, the magic array concealing the Freedom Hotel suddenly shattered. With the magic array's disappearance, a 32-story building on Stone Forest City's main street came into view. At 150 meters tall, it overlooked the entire city.
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Chapter 2549 – Promotion to Intermediate City "What a huge building!"
"What's going on? Can a Basic City have such a tall construction?"
Players on the main street were stunned when the Freedom Hotel was suddenly revealed.
Previously, the tallest building in Stone Forest City had only been 100 meters tall, but not only did the Freedom Hotel reach another 50 meters above that, but it also occupied a shockingly large area. It easily covered the area of a large- scale sports stadium. Such incredible buildings were even rare in NPC cities, let alone Guild Cities.
The Freedom Hotel's sheer size stunned everyone who saw it.
While nearby players discussed this new construction, the Zero Wing members responsible for building the Freedom Hotel were astonished by their own creation. They had known that they had been building an extraordinary superstructure, but they hadn't understood how amazing it truly was until after the Freedom Hotel's completion.
Outsiders had no idea how impressive the hotel really was, but they, who had built it, were perfectly aware.
The Freedom Hotel was like another world. It was bigger on the inside than it appeared, and the Mana density within was frighteningly high. The Freedom Hotel's Mana was around two or three times denser than in the outside world. Not even Candlelight's Basic Meditation Rooms could compare.
Moreover, that had been before the Freedom Hotel had been complete…
There was a major difference between complete and incomplete structures in God's Domain. A construction in the game functioned like one massive magic array. It wouldn't be complete until the final magic array had been engraved, unable to function. The building would only exhibit its full potential once that task had been accomplished.
In other words, the Mana density Zero Wing's members had felt inside the Freedom Hotel had been a result of the rare materials they had used. It hadn't been amplified by any magic arrays…
That wasn't the only thing that amazed Zero Wing's architects. None of them had realized the complete building would stand 150 meters tall.
Stone Forest City was surrounded by the Cold Spring Forest, and during their meeting on the 27th floor, they had been mesmerized by the view. If they had an opportunity to stay a night on the Freedom Hotel's top floor, they'd jump at the chance, regardless of the price.
Players would also rapidly earn the Double EXP buff while in the hotel due to the high Mana density. Staying in the hotel would substantially boost their leveling speed. After all, every player grinding in Level 100 neutral maps had to return to a city to rest sooner or later, and if players could earn the Double EXP buff while resting, their leveling speed would be greatly affected.
While Zero Wing's architects were in awe of the Freedom Hotel's future prospects, Shi Feng looked at the Peak Construction and sighed ruefully.
He had only witnessed superpowers' Freedom Hotels during his previous life, yet now, Zero Wing had one of its own.
Peak Constructions weren't just rare in God's Domain; their powerful abilities were the true reason that drove countless powers crazy.
Before Shi Feng could call up the hotel's system interface and inspect it properly, however, he heard the sounds of a series of system notifications.
System: The Large Freedom Hotel is complete. All players involved in the construction receive Level 1 and 8,000 Free Lifestyle Proficiency Points.
System: The Large Freedom Hotel is complete. Stone Forest City's Popularity increased by 100,000 points, City Prosperity Level 1, and Stone Forest City's Popularity Accumulation Speed increased by 10%.
System: Congratulations! Stone Forest City is the first Guild City to own a Peak Construction! Rewarding "Freedom City" title. This title will encourage more NPCs to visit Stone Forest City.
System: Stone Forest City has met the qualifications for its promotion into an Intermediate City. Do you wish to promote it to an Intermediate City?
By the time the system notifications ended, Shi Feng had risen from Level 111 to Level 112, saving several days of grinding. The abundant rewards even surprised him.
I got the Freedom City title, just like that? Shi Feng stared at the system notifications, at a loss for words.
Obtaining titles in God's Domain was relatively easy, but the same couldn't be said for towns and cities. Every power with a Guild City dreamed of obtaining the Freedom City title, in particular.
Not only would more human NPCs visit a city with the title, but other races' NPCs would also make their way to the city, especially NPC merchants and soldiers. The title would allow Stone Forest City to recruit more human NPC soldiers and those of other races.
Of all the races in God's Domain, humans weren't particularly talented. They neither had impressive physiques and an affinity for the earth as Giants did, nor did they have the magical gifts or keen senses of the Elves and Ores, respectively. To put it simply, humans didn't have any outstanding advantages. Their Legacies and relentless research were the only reasons that humans were able to occupy a significant portion of the main continent. There was also the fact that there were more humans than other races.
In terms of combat power, human NPCs were far inferior to Giants, Elves, and Ores.
Shi Feng didn't give the matter much thought, however. The Freedom City title might be a major boon, but it wouldn't be immediately effective. More importantly, Stone Forest City was ready for its promotion.
An Intermediate City!
Current powers might not yet realize how important an Intermediate City was. They only saw it as a larger city, able to accommodate more players. At best, it could rival NPC cities.
However, the various powers weren't aware that Guild Cities were not like their NPC counterparts. The two didn't even fall into the same category.
Basic Guild Cities only had the shape of a city, but they'd become true cities once they reached Intermediate rank.
This was why Shi Feng had wanted to upgrade his city before transferring it to a Level 100 neutral map. The city's defensive system would only truly activate once it became an Intermediate City, and only then would a Guild City have the foundation to survive in such a high-level area.
Naturally, Shi Feng didn't hesitate to promote Stone Forest City.
System: Stone Forest City is located in Cold Spring Forest, a Level 100 Neutral Map. Promoting it into an Intermediate City will cost 500,000 Gold and 100,000 Magic Crystals. Do you wish to proceed?
"Promote!" Shi Feng confirmed.
The Gold and Magic Crystals instantly vanished from Shi Feng's bag, and a gigantic magic barrier enveloped Stone Forest City before all players were teleported outside of its walls.
"What's going on? Why was I suddenly teleported outside?"
"What's happening to Stone Forest City?"
The players looked up at the magic barrier around the city in stunned confusion. They had no idea what was happening.
After a moment, however, some Guild players' expressions shifted to shock.
"Is Zero Wing relocating Stone Forest City again?"
"No, I've seen some Guild Towns' promotions before. This magic barrier looks similar. I think Zero Wing is promoting the city."
"What?! Are you serious?! Stone Forest City is being promoted!?"
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Chapter 2550 – Stone Forest City?
"Stone Forest City's being promoted!?"
When they heard someone mention Stone Forest City's promotion, the crowd, which had been forcefully teleported out of the city, fell silent as everyone stared at the magic barrier in astonishment.
Guild Towns' promotions had already become a common sight, but not a single Guild had upgraded its City to Intermediate Rank. The promotion requirements were just too high, and fulfilling them required a long time.
And yet, when the various superpowers only had a few Basic Guild Cities under their control, and none were in Level 100 neutral maps, Zero Wing was promoting Stone Forest City…
"Stone Forest City has actually met the promotion requirements? Zero Wing really lucked out. With an Intermediate City's defenses, even the Dark World's players will have a hard time taking it down."
You're not seeing the big picture. Stone Forest City has merely become an Intermediate City; it isn't a Main City. How much stronger could its defenses have possibly become? Not even an Advanced NPC City is guaranteed to hold its ground against all the players in an Otherworld, much less an Intermediate Guild City."
"That's right. As long as those players capture Stone Forest City, Zero Wing will regret promoting its city even more."
Although everyone was surprised by Stone Forest City's promotion to Intermediate rank, they didn't think it was good news for Zero Wing. The Dark World still posed a threat.
The news quickly reached the various superpowers' upper echelons, they fell into heated discussions about the situation.
Ten Saints Empire, Crimson Emperor's Residence, upper echelon's lounge:
"And here I thought Zero Wing would do something outstanding. So, its trump card turns out to be an Intermediate City," a fierce man in the lounge disdainfully commented as he read the latest report on Stone Forest City. He had already reached Level 108 and radiated a lethal aura. The man turned his gaze on the woman in white resting nearby and continued, "Illusory, it seems your gamble won't pay off. Does Zero Wing truly think an Intermediate City can stop the Dark World's forces and various superpowers' joint assault? The Grand Elders aren't pleased with you after your strong objections to partnering with Demon's Heart. If Zero Wing can't even survive in Cold Spring Forest, not only will you lose your position as Vice Guild Leader, but they might also stick you with the reserves forever."
"I merely offered a suggestion. Wasn't the Guild Leader responsible for the final decision?" Illusory Words shot back, rolling her eyes. Earnestly, she continued, "I still can't shake the feeling that Zero Wing won't go down so easily. This is just like the shock I felt when Black Flame and his team actually broke into Demon City. Besides, even if Crimson Emperor doesn't participate in the assault, we have nothing to lose, right?"
"We might not lose anything, but Dark Players will rule God's Domain in the future. Demon's Heart's development speed is astounding. Based on our reports, Demon's Heart has secretly allied with several powers that are just as strong as Super Guilds. If we form a beneficial relationship with Demon's Heart, developing in Level 100 neutral maps will be much easier in the future," the fierce man prudently countered. "If we participate in Demon's Heart's plan, Crimson Emperor can befriend the Dark Guild and secure a share of Stone Forest City's benefits. The Grand Elders are likely cursing you for the suggestion right about now. This should've been a chance for Crimson Emperor to profit, but that chance is gone. They'll definitely make you pay for it."
"Don't blame me for this. There's no harm in being careful. The Guild Leader likely agreed to my suggestion, thinking the same. God's Domain is too unstable right now, and the atmosphere among the various superpowers is growing tenser. Once the Dark World connects to the main continent, we'll reach a tipping point. I wouldn't even be surprised if we see superpowers fall," Illusory Words said, smiling bitterly.
Initially, she hadn't wanted to dissuade her Guild from allying with Demon's Heart and attacking Zero Wing with the other superpowers. She actually agreed that Zero Wing was doomed this time.
However, when she recalled Shi Feng's performance in Demon City and his mythical display in the Dark Den, she hadn't been able to keep silent against partnering with Demon's Heart. Others might think her suggestion had been ludicrous, but only those who had personally experienced the shock of watching Shi Feng single-handedly stop a Tier 5 Demon King's attack would understand how frighteningly powerful the Swordsman was.
You'll have to explain yourself to the Grand Elders. They just instructed me to visit Stone Forest City with our main force. If Zero Wing's position is lacking, we'll cooperate with the other superpowers," the fierce man said, shrugging helplessly.
"They're acting already?" Illusory Words was a little surprised. "Is Demon's Heart on the move?"
They had only received news of Stone Forest City's promotion a few minutes ago, yet the Guild's Grand Elders had already decided to abandon Zero Wing if the situation turned south. Not even the Guild Leader had opposed the decision.
The Guild Leader and Grand Elders must have received some shocking news about Demon's Heart to drive them to act. They never would've changed their minds so quickly, otherwise.
"I suspect that's the case," the fierce man said before standing up. He then asked, "Do you want to come with us?"
"Yes!" Illusory Words nodded. "If I don't, the Grand Elders will likely view my suggestion as even less reliable."
Following which, the fierce man and Illusory Words made their way toward Stone Forest City with Crimson Emperor's main force members.
Two hours after players had been forced out of Stone Forest City, the barrier around it began to crack. Within seconds, it shattered and vanished, revealing a completely new Guild City.
When the players resting in the nearby forest saw the new city, they were utterly dumbfounded.
Stone Forest City's walls had undergone a heaven-defying transformation. Originally, the city walls had only been around a dozen meters tall, but now, they were more than 30 meters. The walls had also been rebuilt with completely different materials. It looked like an iron beast had curled itself around the city. Moreover, magic runes covered the entire length of the walls, giving them a strangely heavy feeling.
The city's buildings had also changed significantly. Not only were all of the city's constructions much larger than before, but they also radiated an indescribable pressure. Even from over a thousand meters away, players felt as if something or someone had locked onto their auras.
Even more shocking was the Mana Stone Forest City radiated!
Players had already been amazed by the Mana density in Stone Forest City. It was no exaggeration to claim that no other Guild City in God's Domain was its match in this regard, but now, Stone Forest City's Mana density had reached newfound highs. There was even a faint white mist enveloping everything within the city's walls…
"Crap! Is that really Stone Forest City!?"
"Did Zero Wing replace Stone Forest City with some other city?"
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Chapter 2551 – Intermediate City's Effects
The crowd began to converse as they stared at the transformed Stone Forest City. However, Zero Wing's members were more shocked than anyone.
The moment the seal on the city had lifted, Zero Wing's members had been allowed back in. As they entered the city, they were mesmerized.
Aside from the city's Mana density, which players could feel from outside of it, these players were stunned by the city's new infrastructure. Not only did the buildings look completely different, but quite a few were now Shops, run by nonhuman NPCs. These Shops sold special Magic Scrolls, potions, food, and drinks that were usually very scarce on the market.
Most importantly, Stone Forest City now had NPC trading firms' Shops.
These new Shops might look like the ones ordinary NPCs owned, but NPC trading firms often issued quests for players. Once players had earned enough Reputation Points with a particular NPC trading firm, they could receive special, high-ranked quests that offered bountiful rewards, and if they were lucky, they could even obtain high-quality weapons and equipment by completing these quests.
These NPC trading firms were one of the main reasons that even now, independent and Guild players frequently visited NPC cities.
Now that Stone Forest City had some of these trading firms' Shops as well, they could continue to earn Reputation Points and pick up quests, saving them the trouble of returning to an NPC city.
"What did you do, Guild Leader? Is this really Stone Forest City?" Gentle Snow asked, her heart pounding as she gazed around the main street. Stone Forest City now had just as many high-rise buildings and Advanced Shops as White River City.
Truthfully, she would've assumed that she had entered a major NPC city, if not for the eye-catching Freedom Hotel.
The biggest difference between NPC and Guild Cities was the presence of these NPC trading Firms. They were responsible for nearly half of the quests available in NPC cities.
These quests granted abundant EXP, but they also offered high monetary rewards. Even for expert players, these quests were a main source of income.
This was why players were still tied to NPC cities. If they ignored these quests, they'd lose half of their income, and that would make it difficult for ordinary players to survive in God's Domain. The chances of acquiring rare materials and equipment in Level 100 maps were incredibly low, after all. At this point, ordinary players only grinded for EXP in Level 100 maps; they didn't rely on these areas as a stable source of income.
Now that Stone Forest City was home to so many NPC trading firms' Advanced Shops, the resident players wouldn't have to return to an NPC city to pick up or turn in the trading firms' quests. They could simply do so in Stone Forest City.
This additional feature would only be a minor convenience for ordinary players, but for the various powers, this would allow them to shake off the shackles that bound them to NPC cities. If other powers had this feature in their Guild Cities, they would be able to thrive independently, even without the help of NPC cities. They could develop wherever they wished.
"Of course, this is Stone Forest City. Once a Guild City reaches Intermediate rank, it gains the ability to survive independently in the fields," Shi Feng said, smiling at Gentle Snow's ecstatic expression.
There might only be one rank between a Basic City and an Intermediate City, but it was like the difference between heaven and earth. This was why he had been so eager to upgrade Stone Forest City to Intermediate rank. As an Intermediate City, Stone Forest City could thrive perfectly well, even if Zero Wing lost Star-Moon Kingdom.
At this stage of the game, the competition in NPC cities had grown intense, and they were no longer under player control. As a result, managing NPC cities had become incredibly troublesome, and there was a risk of other powers taking over.
In contrast, players had full control over Guild Cities. If other powers wanted to take one over, they'd have to capture it.
However, Shi Feng considered the Freedom Hotel's completion as far more important than Stone Forest City's promotion. The hotel would be the key that would lead a Guild City to prosperity!
Not only was the Freedom Hotel's Mana incredibly dense, but players could also set up teleportation arrays within. Unlike NPC cities, there were no Return Scrolls for Guild Cities, and gaining them was a major challenge.
Freedom Hotels, however, could meet that challenge.
Any of the Freedom Hotel's guests could purchase Return Scrolls and teleport to it at any time and from anywhere. This feature was immensely convenient for players that didn't have a Residence or house within the city.
Aside from the convenience it offered combat players, the Freedom Hotel would be significantly helpful to Lifestyle players. Not only would players accumulate the Double EXP buff when resting in the hotel, but they would also earn the Double Lifestyle Proficiency buff. Unfortunately, they couldn't accumulate the Proficiency buff quite as fast as the Double EXP, but it was a precious bonus to Lifestyle players. Tools and potions that increased one's Lifestyle Proficiency acquisition rate were still insanely expensive on the market, far out of ordinary players' budgets.
"Guild Leader, our members are in place. Should we open Stone Forest City now?" Gentle Snow reported once she had calmed down.
To cope with the Dark World's invasion, they had dispatched a large fraction of the Guild's manpower to Stone Forest City. Even though the city was now much larger, they could still manage it without issues.
Moreover, Gentle Snow was eager to show the city off to the public.
Once Stone Forest City reopened, independent experts would likely have a hard time sitting still. They might even decide to join Zero Wing after discovering the city's changes. Zero Wing was now the only Guild to break free from NPC kingdoms and empires, and with the city's help, the Guild's members could level up far faster than other players.
"Let's wait. We can open the city once I'm done with the Freedom Hotel," Shi Feng said.
"The Freedom Hotel?" Gentle Snow was a little confused. The hotel had already been constructed. What more needed to be done?
Shi Feng didn't explain, however, and instructed her to refine Stone Forest City's management and entrance fee collection. He then headed to the nearby Freedom Hotel.
Once he stood in the hotel's inner courtyard, which he had built personally, Shi Feng retrieved the Ancient Tree of Life's Sapling from his bag.
The Mana density here should be the highest within the city. If not even this is enough, I'll be out of options.
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Chapter 2552 – Fragmented Divine Artifact's Effects
As Shi Feng exposed the Tree of Life's Sapling to the air in the quiet courtyard, the Mana in the area rampaged, frantically gathering around the sapling.
After a moment, Shi Feng felt a pulse of life from the sapling, and its aura grew powerful enough to be visible. The surrounding plants began to grow with astonishing speed as the green energy reached them.
Success! Shi Feng released a held breath as he watched the sapling's reaction.
If this courtyard's Mana hadn't been dense enough to accommodate the sapling, he would've had no choice but to give up on it and try to nurture the young tree after promoting Stone Forest City into a Main City. However, upgrading a Guild City to that rank was incredibly difficult. Not only did the ruling Guild need to be powerful enough, but it would also need a lot of time to develop its city.
Carefully, Shi Feng planted the sapling in the center of the courtyard.
He had designed the courtyard and specifically reserved a plot of land in its center for the Tree of Life. To be precise, he had designed a small island in the center of a lake within the courtyard. Not only had he engraved a Mana Gathering Magic Array into the lake bed, but he had also embedded plenty of Mana Stones into the soil. As a result, the lakewater brimmed with Mana. Overall, the lake alone had a daily upkeep of nearly 200 Mana Stones. The various superpowers of his past had considered this the standard configuration for growing a Tree of Life.
The necessary Mana Stones required to maintain the Tree of Life alone would've been more than enough to give current first-rate Guilds a heart attack. Ordinary powers simply couldn't afford to play with Trees of Life. Fortunately he had the Philosopher's Hand.
After Shi Feng planted the sapling, the air in the courtyard seemed to vibrate.
The tranquil, cool atmosphere became scorchingly hot for a time. It even got to Shi Feng.
After about three seconds, the sapling shot up into a large, emerald tree. Its trunk was so thick that it would require three fully grown men to just barely be able to wrap their arms around it.
The instant the tree reached maturity, dense life aura spread throughout the inner courtyard, tinting everything with a faint shade of green. The high temperature also began to fall to a pleasant warmth. Shi Feng felt as if he were standing in the middle of a field on a warm, sunny day.
Is this an effect of a Fragmented Divine Artifact? Shi Feng wondered, astonished, as he felt the transformations to the inner courtyard.
Just planting the Tree of Life had filled the courtyard with life energy, and it was incredibly dense. Bathing in the aura, Shi Feng could sense the foreign energy within him rapidly disappear, and his mind felt unusually refreshed.
This sensation wasn't like the calm indifference players experienced when around highly dense Mana. Rather, Shi Feng's mind felt pure and rejuvenated. It was as if all of his thoughts had been given clear, distinct paths, and he knew exactly what to do.
If players could practice combat techniques here, they would have a much easier time learning them. Players needed a clear understanding of the techniques to practice and better-execute them, after all.
It's a pity that I can't let just anyone enter this courtyard. Shi Feng gave the Tree of Life a bitter smile.
The Tree of Life had already taken root, and any player could discover the tree's identity with an ordinary Identification Skill. If news got out that Stone Forest City housed a Fragmented Divine Artifact ranked Tree of Life, not even NPC powers would leave Zero Wing in peace, much less players. Everyone would do everything in their power to steal it.
Even so, Shi Feng was very satisfied with this outcome. The Tree of Life's bonus effects weren't his goal, but the items it would produce.
He urgently needed both the Water of Life and the Nuclei of Life. The tree would also produce the Fruits of Life, which were godly tools for NPCs and players' development.
Now, he just needed to wait for the Tree of Life to produce these items.
With the matter of the Tree of Life resolved, Shi Feng contacted Gentle Snow to ask, "Snow, how are the arrangements on your side coming along?"
"Everyone's in position. After our discussion, we've set the entrance fee to 20 Silver. Any player capable of exploring Level 100 neutral maps is an expert, so they should be able to afford that price," Gentle Snow said.
Even at 10 Silver per person, Stone Forest City's player population had maxed out. Now that Stone Forest City was an Intermediate City, not only had the Mana density within its walls increased, but NPC trading firms' Shops were also available.
Hence, Gentle Snow and her subordinates had agreed that even if they doubled the entrance fee, Stone Forest City's player population might still skyrocket. The quests the NPC trading firms offered provided a significant portion of players' income, which was why so many experts insisted on keeping their base of operations in NPC cities.
"Twenty Silver? You guys are vicious." Shi Feng was a little surprised to hear the new entrance fee. Moreover, based on the woman's expression, she must still consider the price a little low. Revealing a bitter smile, Shi Feng continued, "That seems fair, but we are trying to develop Zero Wing as quickly as possible, and to do that, we'll need to attract as many experts to the city as we can. Normally, expert players have their own private teams, which include players of low standards. If those players cannot survive in Stone Forest City, their expert friends will go elsewhere."
Stone Forest City was much larger than it had been, and it would even have plenty of room to spare if 7 or 8 million players visited. They no longer had to limit access to experts to develop the city. The more players within the city, the more prosperous it would become. In turn, more NPCs would visit, particularly those of other races.
Furthermore, money was no longer a problem for the Guild now that Zero Wing was capable of intercontinental travel. Rather than focus on money, they should try to grow Zero Wing's strength. Zero Wing wasn't nurturing as many Tier 3 players as it had been, and if they wished to attract more within a short time, they'd have to recruit more expert players.
"In that case, should we stick with 10 Silver?" Gentle Snow asked. After listening, she agreed with Shi Feng's reasoning.
Most of the city's previous visitors had been experts from the various Guilds and members of powerful adventurer teams. Independent experts only made up a small minority of Stone Forest City's player population. However, she hadn't paid much attention to the matter since Stone Forest City had only been able to accommodate so many players.
Now that mainstream players had reached Level 100, it would be unwise to increase the city's entrance fee too much as they needed to recruit more players into Zero Wing and nurture more Tier 3 experts.
"No. Lower it to the minimum 5 Silver," Shi Feng decided.
"F-Five?" Gentle Snow stuttered, stunned.
Stone Forest City was now an Intermediate City. Maintaining the original entrance fee would already be a major concession. She didn't even want to imagine what would become of the city if they lowered the entrance fee to 5 Silver.
"Mhm, just set it to 5 Silver," Shi Feng said, nodding. "It's about time we make some changes in Zero Wing."
Shi Feng then instructed Gentle Snow to open the city to the public after adjusting the entrance fee.
Meanwhile, the numerous independent and Guild players outside of the city were growing impatient. They all shared their guesses about Stone Forest City's abrupt promotion.
"Is Zero Wing really going to make us wait outside for an entire day?"
"I doubt it. There's too many of us out here. The entrance fees alone will be more than enough to make any power jealous. How could Zero Wing possibly pass on so much money?"
"Huh? Look! Stone Forest City is open!"
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Chapter 2553 – Shocking Stone Forest City
In Cold Spring Forest's inner area, a 100-man team of superbly-equipped, Level 107-plus experts ate up the ground as it followed the forested path toward Stone Forest City.
The weakest of the team's Mounts was Secret-Silver rank, and as the team boldly flew down the small path, all players in their way stepped aside, none daring to hinder the team's advance. Even the various major powers' members moved aside.
Players didn't just move out of the expert team's way because of their imposing auras, but because of the Guild Emblem these players wore. It was Crimson Emperor's Emblem, and not even God's Domain's major powers could afford to offend the Guild.
"Remember what the Grand Elders told you, Illusory. You are not to act unnecessarily once we're in Stone Forest City," the fierce man riding a Six-clawed War Bear and leading Crimson Emperor's main force warned Illusory Words, who had been silent during their entire journey.
Although he didn't know what made her think Zero Wing could stop Demon's Heart's assault, the Guild's word was law. If Illusory Words leaked any information to Zero Wing, and the various powers or Demon's Heart discovered it, she would put their Guild in a very awkward position.
"I at least have that much common sense. I'm only going to take a look. You don't need to worry," Illusory Words said, chuckling.
Personally, she didn't think Zero Wing stood much of a chance against the various superpowers and Demon's Heart.
She only thought the Guild wouldn't go down so easily. She simply wanted to visit Stone Forest City to verify her assumption.
When the two fell silent, a tall, beautiful female Swordsman with short hair rode forward and matched paces with Illusory Words' Mount. Unlike the other experts on the team, she wasn't wearing Crimson Emperor's Guild Emblem.
"Are you sure it's alright to take us with you, Vice Guild Leader Illusory?" the short-haired woman asked.Please visit on our NovelFull
If Shi Feng were present, he'd be quite surprised. This short-haired Swordsman was none other than Graceful Monarch from the Dark Den's Extreme Light Shelter.
"Relax. We're just going to take a look. We're not conducting some secret operation. Now that the Extreme Light Shelter and Crimson Emperor are allies, it's only a matter of time before you'll start developing on the main continent. It's best that you view the situation with your own eyes. Cold Spring Forest will likely become one of the main battlegrounds between regular players like us and Dark Players, and there are quite a few superpowers in Stone Forest City right now. Such a grand occasion doesn't happen every day," Illusory Words said, smiling.
"I can rest easy, then," Graceful Monarch said, nodding and breathing a sigh of relief.
By now, she understood how insignificant the Dark Den was in God's Domain, and after witnessing Crimson Emperor's Residence, she realized what it meant to be a true superpower. Purple Rakshasa's description of superpowers had been an understatement.
Before the various superpowers, the Extreme Light Shelter was nothing. It didn't even come close to rivaling first-rate powers.
She was already quite fortunate that Crimson Emperor had wanted to ally with the Extreme Light Shelter.
"Monarch, I told you that Big Sis Illusory is a very nice person. It's all thanks to her that I improved so quickly. Since she's agreed to bring you and your team along on this trip, you'll definitely grow a lot stronger. The other Shelters' experts might not even be a problem for you once you return to the Dark Den," Purple Rakshasa whispered, smiling as Graceful Monarch nervously fidgeted even after Illusory Words' reassurance.
"Our visit to the main continent has certainly been full of surprises. I had never thought the Guild Blue Frost belongs to would be so powerful. Not only did Zero Wing slay Troubled Times, but it has also forced Demon's Heart to use its trump card," Graceful Monarch whispered back. She didn't know exactly how formidable Zero Wing was, but the fact that the Guild had accomplished such feats meant that Shelter One wouldn't have to worry about its future.
"Zero Wing is indeed amazing, but it is only a pseudo-superpower right now. It still doesn't compare to Crimson Emperor. Since the Extreme Light Shelter and Crimson Emperor have entered a partnership, you won't have to worry about the shelter's development," Purple Rakshasa said. She knew what her companion was thinking. Chuckling, she continued, "Zero Wing is about to face every player in a major Otherworld. Even if it isn't annihilated, those players will at least partially cripple the Guild. Shelter One's development will likely become a problem."
With the threat of destruction looming over Stone Forest City, Zero Wing wouldn't likely be able to help Shelter One in the future. In contrast, the Extreme Light Shelter had Crimson Emperor's help. Becoming one of the Dark Den's top three Shelters should be entirely possible.
While Graceful Monarch and Purple Rakshasa continued their conversation in whispered tones, the team left the forest that surrounded Stone Forest City.
"Stone Forest City lies ahead. Be careful once you enter the city. Many superpowers have hidden their forces within. If you accidentally offend one of them, we'll have trouble to deal with," Illusory Words warned the two from the Dark Den.
Zero Wing's main headquarters is ahead of us? Curiosity flashed in Graceful Monarch's eyes. I'll finally get a look at how strong the Guild behind Blue Frost is!
She still hadn't forgotten the image of Shi Feng stopping the Demon King's Hand in the Dark Den, and it piqued her
Not long after Illusory Words' warning, the silhouette of a gigantic city came into view. It was just as splendorous as the major NPC cities in the Ten Saints Empire. The Mana density radiating from Stone Forest City was especially noticeable. The team felt as if they were gazing at a mountain of Magic Crystals, rather than a simple Guild City…
So, this is Zero Wing's Guild City? Graceful Monarch was momentarily stupefied when she saw the city that brimmed with Mana ahead.
She had seen plenty of major NPC cities in the Ten Saints Empire. Although these major NPC cities were spectacular and mighty, they paled in comparison to Stone Forest City, and the Extreme Light Shelter was no more than a grass hut in comparison.
Even Illusory Words gaped at the scene.
This wasn't her first visit to Stone Forest City. She had actually traveled to the city multiple times before, but she had no explanation for the view before her.
Not only had Stone Forest City become as large and grand as major NPC cities, but it also emitted waves of dense Mana, which players could even feel from several thousand yards away. How was this the Stone Forest City she knew? This was practically a Holy City hidden in Cold Spring Forest!
Illusory Words also spotted a massive line of players waiting outside of Stone Forest City's main entrance. At a glance, there were easily several hundred thousand players waiting to enter the city, and as time passed, the number grew. She even spotted quite a few players selling their spots in line…
Moreover, Illusory Words noticed plenty of NPCs in line, even those from other races. Stone Forest City now looked more like a well-established, major NPC city, not a Guild City.
The fierce man beside her glanced Illusory Words' way and asked, "Did you lead us to the wrong place, Illusory?"
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Chapter 2554 – Zero Wing's Trump Card?
With the fierce man's question hanging in the air, the rest of Crimson Emperor's members turned to Illusory Words.
The 'Stone Forest City' before them was simply too impressive. It was hard to imagine this was merely an Intermediate City.
They had been busy within the Ten Saints Empire, so they had only heard about Stone Forest City. This was their first visit. Only Illusory Words, who preferred to wander throughout God's Domain, had ever seen the city before.
These are the coordinates. This should be Stone Forest City," Illusory Words said, giving the fierce man a bitter smile. The sign above the gate clearly states this is the city we're looking for. This shouldn't be a mistake."
In truth, even after seeing the sigh, she felt as if she had arrived at the wrong place. This looked nothing like the Stone Forest City she had visited in the past. It almost looked like a major NPC city. Furthermore, there was too much Mana wafting from the city. Not even the Holy City of Titan had such dense Mana. Stone Forest City looked nothing like a player-owned city.
Crimson Emperor's members snapped out of their daze and examined the city before them. Just as Illusory Words had said, this was undoubtedly Stone Forest City.
Crimson Emperor's members weren't the only players shocked by Stone Forest City's new appearance. Some of the various major powers' experts that had come to investigate the upgraded city were just as astonished by what they found. No one had ever thought a Guild City would change so drastically when it grew from a Basic City to Intermediate rank.
"Black Flame really is amazing. With so much Mana in the city, players will still choose to rest here, even with the Dark World's imminent invasion. With the entry fees alone, Zero Wing won't have any financial worries for a while," Galaxy Past, the Star Alliance's Guild Leader, enviously commented as he gazed in awe at the splendorous city before him.
Once upon a time in Star-Moon Kingdom, the Star Alliance had stood toe-to-toe with Zero Wing. However, while the Star Alliance had been nursing headaches over its daily income, Zero Wing was swimming in money…
Nowadays, the various Guilds' main source of income was the entrance fees they collected in their Guild Towns and Cities, but as more towns and cities rose up in neutral maps, the competition between them grew intense. To maintain an edge over their competition, most Guild Towns and Cities had reduced their entrance fees to a painful low.
Stone Forest City, on the other hand, wouldn't have such worries. As the sole Guild City in a Level 100 neutral map, it had no competition whatsoever. It could set whatever entrance fee it wished, and plenty of players would still visit the city.
"That's for sure. Zero Wing will make a killing. You've just arrived, so you might not realize how insane the Guild is, but Zero Wing is only charging 5 Silver per person to enter the city. I've heard that it's the lowest price you can set for an Intermediate City. Other Guild Cities in neutral maps charge at least 2 Silver per person, but they're nothing compared to Stone Forest City. Many of my friends are planning to shift their base of operations to Stone Forest City, and I'm sure they're not alone in that idea. I suspect we'll see the number of players trying to get in increase by at least tenfold," an independent Tier 3 Shield Warrior in front of Galaxy Past in line said, nodding in agreement.
"Five Silver?" Flourishing Willow, the Tier 3 female Ranger behind Galaxy Past, stared at the Shield Warrior with wide, shocked eyes, doubting his claim.
First-rate Guilds like the Star Alliance had no choice but to reduce their entrance fees due to how much competition they faced, but Stone Forest City was unique. Even if it cost 20 Silver to enter the city, a ton of players would still use it as their bases, let alone 10 Silver. God's Domain had far too many players and innumerable experts. Stone Forest City wasn't nearly large enough to accommodate so many players.
With a Guild City's limited capacity and the fact that Zero Wing wouldn't have to worry about customers, increasing the entrance fee was the wisest decision, yet Zero Wing had done the opposite. Flourishing Willow simply couldn't believe it.
Even Crimson Emperor's members, who had just found a place in line, were astonished when they learned about the city's cheap entrance fee.
Charging anything less than 20 Silver would be an insult to such a sacred resting ground as Stone Forest City in their opinions. They had even been prepared to pay 30 Silver per person to enter the city. Not only would the city's incredibly dense Mana help players rapidly recover from exhaustion, but players would also see astounding results if they trained within the city. Thirty Silver was more than worth such benefits for experts like them.
So, what was the point of lowering the entrance fee to 5 Silver?
"So, this is Black Flame's trump card. It certainly is a wise move," the fierce man from Crimson Emperor muttered, overhearing the Star Alliance's conversations.
Had Zero Wing set Stone Forest City's entrance fee at 20 or 30 Silver per person, there wouldn't be as many players interested in living in the city. Although the city would eventually become overcrowded, it would take some time. Not all players could afford such a high price, after all.
In contrast, even ordinary Level 100-plus players could afford 5 Silver, and they made up the majority of God's Domain's player base. With such a low entrance fee, the city's player population would reach its limit in two or three days. Even at 5 Silver per person, the city would generate amazing profits.
"This is going to give Demon's Heart's Flaming Light a huge headache. Zero Wing can easily earn over a million Gold in the next two or three days. Including the profits it earns from the businesses within the city, the Guild will earn a minimum of two million Gold before three days pass. With so much money, Zero Wing can easily survive the Dark World's assault for a very long time," Illusory Words said, smiling.
Even after seeing the city's glorious transformation, she hadn't thought highly of Zero Wing's chances, but after this discovery, she recognized that the Guild had exceeded her expectations. Now, Demon's Heart would have a much harder time threatening Zero Wing.
"Zero Wing has indeed made a smart move. Unfortunately, it is too late," the fierce man said, shaking his head.
"What do you mean?" Illusory Words asked strangely.
"I didn't tell you this earlier, but the Grand Elders have secured detailed information regarding Demon's Heart's movements. The Dark World's portal will activate tomorrow at the latest, and the Dark World's various powers and independent experts will surge into Cold Spring Forest," the fierce man said in a whisper to Illusory Words. "Zero Wing simply doesn't have enough time to collect the wealth it requires."
Stone Forest City was quite attractive, especially to ordinary players, but it would take time for ordinary players to learn of the city's perks. Moreover, ordinary players didn't travel via teleportation like experts. They generally moved between countries by Airship, which was much cheaper. To make matters worse, there weren't any air routes to Stone Forest City, so players would have to make the rest of the trip on their Mounts. Unlike Crimson Emperor's experts, ordinary Level 100 players generally had Common Mounts.
Factoring in other aspects, such as the spread of information, the war between Zero Wing and the Dark World's forces would've begun long before ordinary players started to visit the city from the various kingdoms and empires.
While the new Stone Forest City astonished the various powers, Shi Feng had secretly teleported back to White River City to upgrade his Knight Division.
While expert players served as a Guild's foundation in God's Domain, a Guild needed a strong Knight Division if it wished to set roots down in Level 100-plus neutral maps.
Since Shi Feng had previously lacked the necessary funds, he had refrained from upgrading his Knight Division.
However, money was no longer a problem. With the profits from selling the western continent's materials and Stone Forest City's entrance fees, he now had a total of five million Gold sitting in his bag. Holding on to all this money would be a huge waste, especially now that Stone Forest City was the first Intermediate City in a Level 100 neutral map. He could definitely recruit plenty of Knights with high Growth Potential.
4-
Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City's Adventurer's Association:
News of Stone Forest City's upgrade had already reached the masses, and practically every player in the Adventurer's Association was discussing the matter when Shi Feng arrived. Many independent players expressed their eager intentions to develop near the city, particularly those with their own fixed parties or teams.
Nodding in satisfaction, Shi Feng climbed the stairs to the Adventurer's Association's second floor and entered one of the VIP rooms.
"Lord Bronze Legatee, how may I be of service?" Senior Administrator Lorrain asked, smiling as she walked up to him.
"I wish to see the current recruitment status and promotion list for my Knight Division," Shi Feng informed her with a grin.
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Chapter 2555 – All New Knight Division
Lorrain nodded to Shi Feng's request and promptly left to retrieve the relevant information. After a short moment, the Senior Administrator returned with a thick book, placing it on the table before him.
"There's so many?" Shi Feng asked, glancing down at the tome.
Lorrain had only given him a sheet of paper during his last visit when he had requested to see his Knight Division's recruitment status, yet now, she had an entire book for him…
Normally, if there were fewer than 30,000 applicants, players would only be given a sheet of paper. They'd receive another sheet for every 10,000 applicants beyond that and would only receive a complete book once more than 100,000 NPCs applied for their Knight Division.
Shi Feng had already recruited NPCs from many NPC cities, and could reasonably assume he had accepted or rejected most interested NPCs. Hence, he shouldn't see too many more new applications. Receiving another 50,000 would be a miracle, and yet, more than 100,000 new NPCs had applied…
"Initially, Lord Bronze Legatee, you hadn't received many applicants. However, due to the large number of other races visiting Stone Forest City, the number of interested individuals has considerably increased," Lorrain explained.
The Freedom City title's benefits have taken effect so soon?" The explanation stunned Shi Feng.
He had thought he'd have to wait a few more days before the title took effect. He had just promoted Stone Forest City and assumed the system would make him wait. However, it seemed that he had somewhat underestimated the new title.
"A total of 112,672 people have applied to serve as your Knights. Among them, 83,241 are human, 27,412 are Orcish, 1,836 are Elven, and 183 are Giants. This book has the records of all of these applicants' information," Lorrain continued, ignoring Shi Feng's muttering.
"Nearly 30,000 NPCs from other races? If the superpowers of the past found out about this, wouldn't they go mad?" Shi Feng could not help his growing excitement.
Recruiting NPCs from other races for their Knight Divisions was incredibly difficult for players. The other races had smaller populations than humans. Normally, the various superpowers would be overjoyed if even several thousand non-human NPCs applied to serve as Knights.
And yet, Shi Feng had nearly 30,000 of these applicants, certainly a frightening number. Not even a 2-star Lord might receive so many throughout a full year.
Most importantly, Elves and Giants had applied in considerably large numbers. The situation had completely exceeded his expectations.
In God's Domain, the Orcish population was only second to the humans. Ores typically made up the majority of nonhuman NPC applicants.
Of course, that didn't discount Ore Knight's strength. On the contrary, Ore NPCs were quite powerful. They were natural-born warriors with sharp senses and robust frames that were far superior to humans. Excluding Heroes, human fighters were no match for Ore fighters of the same level and tier.
The human race's superior research and creativity were the reason that Ores weren't a match for humans and forced to live far from the main continent's fertile lands.
However, if one could assemble the Ores scattered across the continent and form a melee unit, the force would be absolutely unstoppable in battle.
Shaking off his shock, Shi Feng immediately inspected the recruitment list.
When he had arrived, he had only planned to recruit new Knights with high Growth Potential to replace some of his weaker NPCs, but now, he had many more changes to make to his Knight Division.
Time flew by, and without taking a break, Shi Feng had spent over 20 hours browsing the recruitment list. He was more focused on the list than he was during Boss fights.
Thankfully, I brought plenty of Coins with me. Otherwise, I wouldn't even have enough to pay the dismissal fees. Shi Feng revealed a bitter smile as he finished reading the list.
If things had gone according to his original plan, he would've only been able to replace a small fraction of his Knight Division's members, but now that he could recruit non-human NPCs, which would be bound to him for life, things had changed…
Once he recruited non-human NPCs, he couldn't dismiss or replace them. Hence, he had to be extremely careful when choosing non-human Knights.
Fortunately, non-human NPCs were much cheaper to recruit and maintain than human NPCs. They were generally 30% cheaper. All things considered, it wasn't a bad transaction.
Moreover, non-human NPCs tended to be quite talented. In fact, more than half of the non-human NPCs in God's Domain were Bronze Knight standard or above, which was one of the reasons that the various powers of the past had preferred non-human NPCs.
Of the 27,412 Ores that had applied to join Shi Feng's Knight Division, 15,123 were Tier 2 Bronze Knights. The ratio was unheard-of among human NPCs. However, it was quite normal with Ores.
Many Tier 3 Ores had also sent in applications, and they all had considerably high potential. Even the weakest among them was at the Mysterious-Iron standard, while 45 were at the Secret-Silver standard, and one Fine-Gold standard Ore had applied.
The Elven and Giant applicants were just as shocking.
Elves were natural-born mages, with higher Growth Potential than most races. Even the weakest Elf that applied was Bronze rank, while as many as 43 were Secret-Silver rank, and two were Fine-Gold rank. Moreover, every Elf applicant was Tier 3…
Although Giants made up the majority of applicants, with only 183,13 were Tier 3 Secret-Silver Knights, and 1 was a Tier 3 Fine-Gold Knight.
More than 100 Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold ranked non-human NPCs had applied to Shi Feng's Knight Division, many times more than those among the 80,000-plus human applicants.
"Lord Bronze Legatee, have you made your decision?" Lorrain asked when Shi Feng closed the book.
"Mhm. I want all Knights with Secret-Silver potential and above. I also want these Mysterious-Iron Knights with high Growth Potential and the remaining Tier 3 Knights," Shi Feng replied, nodding.
Normally, an NPC Knight needed at least Mysterious-Iron Growth Potential before they could be promoted to Tier 3. Even in the later stages of God's Domain, Tier 3 NPCs would be considered a powerful force. After all, very few players could reach Tier 4. Even if they did, a group of Tier 3 NPCs, backed by a city's magic array, wouldn't be an easy opponent. If enough Tier 3 NPCs formed a battle array, they could slay Tier 4 players.
This was why, even after reaching Tier 4, players could only afford to act conceited in the fields.
Very well. There are 152 applicants with Secret-Silver Potential or above. Including the rest, there are a total of 326 Tier 3 Knights. Calculating the recruitment fee of the 1,872 Tier 3 Mysterious-Iron Knights with high potential and some of your current Knights' dismissal fees, your bill comes to 554,600 Gold," Lorrain explained after taking a moment to tally his total.
"Please, include the promotion fees for the 437 members of my Knight Division," Shi Feng said. Giving the matter some thought, he continued, "I also want to outfit my Tier 3 Knights with Epic Equipment. How much will that come to?"
"That will raise the price considerably. If we include the 437 people that will be promoted to Tier 3, you will need an additional 5,640,000 Gold to arm all of your Tier 3 Knights with Epic Equipment. With the prior fees, your total comes to 6,198,970 Gold," Lorrain responded, giving Shi Feng a skeptical look.
"Hm…" After giving the matter some more thought, Shi Feng said, "Reduce the number slightly, then. I'll take 1,150 sets."
That won't be a problem. Your total will be 5,158,970 Gold. Once we process the payment, the merchandise will be delivered within three hours. The new Knights will arrive at your City Lord's Mansion within one hour," Lorrain calmly stated.
Shi Feng then nearly emptied his bag of Coins, and in the blink of an eye, he was once again a pauper…
"Nurturing a Knight Division really is expensive. It's no wonder why all of the superpowers that had Knight Divisions were poor," Shi Feng muttered, bitterly smiling at the less than 3,000 Gold in his bag.
While Shi Feng upgraded his Knight Division, in a remote canyon in the distant Cold Spring Forest…
A group of black-clad magical class players chanted an incantation along the edge of a gigantic magic array. The array covered a 200-yard radius, and in its center stood an indifferent, handsome youth with a night-black crystal in his left hand, while writing a series of divine runes with his right. With each line of completed runes, a shard broke off of the crystal and disintegrated.
When the crystal was nearly gone, the youth completed the final line of divine runes.
Suddenly, the sky above the magic array split, and a colossal door dropped from the spatial tear. The door was over a hundred meters tall and covered in ancient runes, radiating a mighty aura that made everyone nearby shudder.
Once the door landed, it began to part down the middle.
"Excellent! It's complete!" Flaming Light exclaimed as the door began to open. He then glanced at the middle-aged man standing nearby and said, "Heart, notify the various powers and tell them that the door is open! Whether they cherish this opportunity or not is up to them!"
"Understood!" Furious Heart respectfully responded, crossing the threshold with his team.
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Chapter 2556 – Crazy Freedom Hotel Cold Spring Forest, Stone Forest City:
As news regarding Stone Forest City spread to more independent players, the number of small adventurer teams visiting the city continued to increase. Less than a day after the city's reopening, it had become somewhat crowded, and even more players had lined up to enter the city.
A 6-man party of cloaked players, all radiating darkness energy, stood among the long line, and none of the nearby players even dared to take half a step closer to them.
"Those players' killing intent is so strong! Not even Dark Players, who constantly slaughter others in the fields, have such intense hostility! Who are those people?"
"Their killing intent isn't the only thing that's intense. Look at their equipment. They might've concealed the glow effect, but all of their items are engraved with magic runes. Their equipment should be Fine-Gold rank or higher. Level 105 Fine-Gold Equipment! Not even the various superpowers' main force members necessarily have such top-tier items."
Although the independent players nearby were afraid of the 6-man party, they couldn't help but envy the party's equipment.
Ever since mainstream players had reached Level 100, demand for Level 100-plus Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment had skyrocketed, but supply remained incredibly low. Thus, these items' prices had substantially increased.
Not even ordinary expert players could afford Level 100-plus Fine-Gold Weapons or Equipment. Even the various superpowers' main force members would throw a party if they acquired just one such weapon or equipment piece.
However, the weakest piece the 6-man party wore was Level 105 Fine-Gold Rank, and all of their equipment bore magic runes. To ordinary players, the equipment was divine.
Despite noticing the surrounding players' envious looks, the members of the 6-man party didn't respond.
"I guess the main continent's ordinary experts don't amount to much. Not only do they have such poor weapons and equipment, but they don't even know about magic enhancement. Once the army has gathered, the Dark World will likely claim this area as new territory in the blink of an eye," a gray-clad, Tier 3 Cursemancer with a military haircut disdainfully dismissed as he glanced at the independent experts around him.
You shouldn't say such things, Old Flash. After all, the environment in this area is no match for what we have in the Dark World. These players only have to worry about monsters in the fields, while we are always on the lookout for monster and player ambushes. It's only natural that our world's players have developed so much faster," a middle-aged, bearded man with simple features chided, chuckling. "Besides, ordinary experts are just that. The various major powers' experts are much stronger. Otherwise, our two Guilds wouldn't have signed a non-interference pact with Zero Wing."
"I guess, but I still don't get why our Guilds wanted to partner with Zero Wing in the first place. You must've seen how powerful that army was on our way here. How could Zero Wing possibly stop that kind of force? We shouldn't have a reason to pay Zero Wing 500,000 Darkness Crystals," the Cursemancer named Magic Flash grumbled.
Five hundred thousand Darkness Crystals was no small price, even to their Guilds. They certainly weren't worth a noninterference agreement from Zero Wing in their fight for resources in Cold Spring Forest. The only thing Zero Wing could do when facing the Dark World's countless players was hold inside the city.
"I don't know, but the higher-ups have their own reasons. We just need to complete the task they've assigned us," the middle-aged man said, shaking his head. In all honesty, the situation confused him, too.
The number of Dark World players preparing to invade Cold Spring Forest was no laughing matter. Several million players had already joined the invading army, and more were on their way. News of the open pathway had just begun to spread, and it would take time for the information to reach the far corners of the Dark World.
Based on their Guilds' estimates, the army should easily include tens of millions of players, possibly over 100 million. Not even the neighboring kingdoms and empires stood a chance against such a force, much less Zero Wing. The Dark World's army would definitely cause a massive commotion when it arrived on the main continent.
While Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society's members conversed, they crossed Stone Forest City's gates.
"The Mana here sure is dense. If Dark Rhapsody's Guild Cities had this much Mana, we'd easily become the number one Guild in the Dark World," Magic Flash noticed, envious when he felt the mesmerizing Mana in the air.
"It is certainly astonishing. It's no wonder why so many superpowers want this city," the bearded middle-aged man replied.
"What a pity. If Demon's Heart hadn't opened the Dark World's portal in Cold Spring Forest, Zero Wing might have become a massive threat to the various superpowers," Magic Flash said, glancing around at the crowd of players and NPC merchants. Seeing so many people, he, more or less, understood why his superiors had decided to ally with Zero Wing.
Stone Forest City was no less prosperous than major NPC cities. With a Guild City like this under its control, Zero Wing would have no worries about its development. Since Cold Spring Forest was a Level 100 neutral map, every player here had a certain degree of strength. Including the conveniences the city offered, not only could Zero Wing continue to recruit and nurture more expert players, but its members' average levels would gradually surpass the various superpowers', as well. Zero Wing definitely had the potential to become a titan in God's Domain.
"Maybe, but we shouldn't dwell on it. We should hurry and contact Zero Wing. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can return. If we wait and miss the invasion, it'll become more difficult to establish ourselves in Cold Spring Forest later," the middle-aged man cautioned.
"I've already contacted the Guild. They said we should head toward the tallest building on the main street. Once we're there, someone will take us to meet their Guild Leader," Magic Flash said.
"You mean that building?" the middle-aged man asked, pointing to the Freedom Hotel in the center of the city. Astonished, he continued, "I'm impressed that Zero Wing managed to erect such a tall building. The tallest building either of our Guilds has constructed is only a little over 50 meters tall, but that thing is at least 150."
"So what if it's tall? Someone is still going to take it from them," Magic Flash growled, sneering.
The middle-aged man didn't try to refute Magic Flash's assumption. Such a tall building would only be useful for visual impact. Zero Wing would've been far better off spending its money to strengthen its members, in his opinion. Strength meant everything in God's Domain.
The cloaked players then made their way toward the hotel.
They didn't take long to reach it, and when they did, they noticed a long line of players both inside and outside of the Freedom Hotel. Many of the players in line were Tier 3 experts, and some of their auras even made Magic Flash and his companions shudder with fear. There were dozens of those experts, too.
Even more surprising, every one of those experts obediently stood in line before the Freedom Hotel's front desk…
The scene stupefied Magic Flash and his party.
Normally, such experts could act as vice commanders, even commanders, of their Guilds' legions. Players of their caliber warranted respect, regardless of where they were, yet they waited in line with a bunch of ordinary players. What was happening here?
Moreover, Magic Flash's party was confused by the fact that every one of those experts, including the peak experts, seemed excited and grateful to receive one of the Freedom Hotel's room tokens from the front desk….
Suddenly, Gentle Snow approached the cloaked party, asking, "Are you representatives from Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society?"
"That's right; we are," the middle-aged man confirmed, nodding as he spotted the Zero Wing Emblem Gentle Snow wore. He was more than a little surprised when he sensed Gentle Snow's powerful aura.
"In that case, please, follow me. Our Guild Leader is waiting in the reception room upstairs," Gentle Snow said after verifying the party's identity. She then led the party to the elevator that would take them to the appropriate floor.
Many of the experts waiting for their room tokens were jealous as they watched Magic Flash's party follow Gentle Snow.
"Crap! Who are those people? They actually get to use the elevator that'll take them to the 80th floor and beyond!"
"They must be Zero Wing's allies. If I remember correctly, only the hotel's Silver Members get to stay on those floors. You need more than just Coins and Magic Crystals to become a Silver Member, too. You also need to earn a large number of Membership Points. I've heard that not even top adventurer teams' commanders were granted Silver Memberships."
"Zero Wing is too stingy. It actually wants us to earn points just to stay in this hotel. I wonder when I'll earn enough to become a Silver Member."
"It's not all that unusual. There are only a limited number of rooms available, after all, and I've heard that the advanced rooms on the 80th floor and above are amazing. Not only is the recovery speed there 30% higher than in normal rooms, but each room also has its own training room. Players can practice simple combat techniques by themselves in those training rooms."
"Seriously?! You can actually practice your combat skills in the advanced rooms?! This won't do! I need to become a Silver Member as soon as possible!"
The players waiting in the Freedom Hotel's lobby were indescribably jealous as they watched Magic Flash's party enter the elevator. Their reactions confused the Dark Players.
A short moment later, the group arrived on the Freedom Hotel's top floor.
The instant Magic Flash and the others set foot on the Freedom Hotel's top floor, their minds felt serene. To be precise, they felt mentally refreshed as if their thoughts had found their own unique paths. They could now conceptualize ideas without confusion.
"So, this is Zero Wing?"
Magic Flash and the others couldn't help but gasp when they felt the change.
They had already been astonished by the Freedom Hotel's Mana, but compared to this environment, the lobby was nothing. If they could train on this floor, they'd see results dozens of times faster. They might even be able to break into the Void Realm.
"Our Guild Leader is inside. Please, go in," Gentle Snow said, not surprised in the slightest to see the six players' astonished expressions. She simply smiled as she opened the reception room's doors.
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Chapter 2557 – Astonishing Foundations
Gentle Snow's request yanked Magic Flash and the others from their reverie, and they walked into the VIP reception room with awkward expressions.
As they entered the room, however, they were, once again, left speechless.
The refreshed sensation they had enjoyed in the hall had been amazing, but it was amplified several times the moment they set foot in the reception room. The strange energy in the room was clearly denser than in the hall.
If they could train inside this reception room for a few days, their combat standards would reach the next level.
Even the various powers would treat a room like this like a sacred training ground, barring entry to anyone other than core members, and yet, Zero Wing used it as a reception room…
Extravagance!
This was too extravagant!
A male Swordsman reclined on one of the sofas in the reception room, wearing a simple set of equipment and a Black Cloak across his back. Opposite of the Swordsman was a woman who had barely reached Level 100. The woman radiated no aura whatsoever and looked even weaker than ordinary players. However, the Advanced Master Forger's Insignia the woman wore was extraordinarily eye-catching.
The woman was none other than Melancholic Smile, who had been busy managing the Candlelight Trading Firm. After long hours of crafting and frantic research, she had successfully become an Advanced Master Forger, as well.
"Guild Leader, this is our current limit. The forging techniques involved are simply too delicate and complex. Crafting a successful product in a short time is impossible, I'm afraid," Melancholic Smile disappointedly insisted as she placed several pieces of equipment on the table between her and Shi Feng.
The moment she did, Magic Flash and the others' eyes widened in shock. Not only were the several equipment pieces part of the same set, but they also carried the glow of Fine-Gold Equipment.
In other words, the equipment placed on the table was a Fine-Gold Set Equipment! Moreover, it was a Level 100-plus Fine-Gold Set Equipment!
Even Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society had only found a few sets, yet Zero Wing could craft it, and based on Melancholic Smile's comment, that was a failed product!
Meanwhile, as Magic Flash's party entered the reception room, Shi Feng's gaze shifted to his guests.
"You must be Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society's representatives. Please, have a seat," Shi Feng said. When he noticed that Magic Flash's group couldn't pull their eyes from the failed items on the table, he chuckled and said, "It seems you are very interested in this Dark Demon Set."
After returning to Stone Forest City, he had immediately instructed Gentle Snow to pass the Dark Demon Set Forging Design to Melancholic Smile for research and production. He had enough responsibilities at the moment and didn't have the time to forge the set equipment himself.
In contrast, Melancholic Smile could and did devote her free time to forging. Hence, she improved her skills a lot faster than Shi Feng could. She had even become an Advanced Master Forger before he had.
The Candlelight Trading Firm also had Cream Cocoa, who focused all of her time on forging since she didn't have any management duties as Melancholic Smile did. She improved even faster than Melancholic Smile and had become the first Advanced Master Forger in Candlelight. Now, the trading firm had two.
Unfortunately, the Dark Demon Set proved far more difficult to produce than Shi Feng had expected, and even after working together, Cream Cocoa and Melancholic Smile had barely managed to craft one Fine-Gold set. Moreover, their production success rate wasn't particularly high. Even after involving all sorts of tools and rare materials, they had only managed to raise their success rate to 50%.
"I apologize for our earlier rude behavior," the bearded middle-aged man from Deity Society hurriedly apologized. "It's just that Level 100-plus Fine-Gold Set Equipment is a truly rare sight. I had never imagined that Zero Wing was capable of crafting such equipment. It surprised me, but rest assured; we won't reveal this secret to anyone."
"It's fine. This doesn't need to be a secret. Since Dark Rhapsody, Deity Society, and Zero Wing are allies, you don't need to behave like outsiders. If you are interested, I can sell you a few sets," Shi Feng nonchalantly offered.
Zero Wing's possession of the Dark Demon Set Forging Design had already been exposed. Only, news of it hadn't reached the eastern continent. Hence, there was no need to keep it a secret. Moreover, Shi Feng intended to store these Fine-Gold ranked Dark Demon Sets in the Guild Warehouse, making them available for purchase later. Once he did, there would be no containing the information. Besides, the sooner the public learned about the Dark Demon Set, the better. That way, Zero Wing could use the set to attract more experts to join the Guild.
"Are you serious, Guild Leader Black Flame?" Magic Flash could not help but ask.
That was a Level 100-plus Fine-Gold Set Equipment they were talking about!
If he could get his hands on such a set, his combat power would increase by at least 30%. He might even catch up to peak experts of the same level.
"Of course," Shi Feng said, smiling when he saw the passionate light in Magic Flash's gaze. "However, it won't be cheap, and I won't sell them for Coins."
He did not mind selling the Fine-Gold ranked Dark Demon Set. This was only a failed product, after all, and at this point, most superpowers had at least a few sets of Fine-Gold Set Equipment. Selling some to Zero Wing's partners wouldn't harm his Guild in any way.
"What do you want for the set, then?" Magic Flash eagerly asked.
"Darkness Crystals," Shi Feng said. "My price isn't very high. What do you think of 15,000 crystals?"
The various powers still thought only Dark Players needed Darkness Crystals, but they didn't realize that as God's Domain's Lifestyle players continued to develop, Attributed Magic Crystals would become more valuable.
Weapons and equipment crafted with Attributed Magic Crystals would gain additional properties related to the crystals. Such changes wouldn't be visible in the item's Attribute Panel, but in the hands of Tier 3 players and above, they'd perform considerably better, especially for players with fully unlocked Mana Bodies.
Fortunately, Darkness Crystals were relatively easy to acquire in the Dark World. Hence, Shi Feng had decided to collect some before the various powers realized their value.
"Fifteen thousand crystals per set?!" Magic Flash was shocked. "Isn't that a little too much, Guild Leader Black Flame…"
Level 100-plus Fine-Gold Set Equipment was indeed very rare and some of the best equipment available in God's Domain right now, but Darkness Crystals were similarly rare and valuable. In fact, they were worth even more than Magic Crystals to Dark Players.
"Guild Leader Black Flame, is what you say really true?" the bearded middle-aged man suddenly interrupted.
"Hah… Why would I lie? I want 15,000 Darkness Crystals per set. If you wish to buy them, you may do so whenever you wish," Shi Feng said. He could not help but feel a little exasperated at the middle-aged man's question.
Before Magic Flash could refuse the offer, the middle-aged man from Deity Society continued.
"Deity Society will buy them! We'll buy as many sets as you're willing to sell us!" the older man declared, determined.
"Have you gone insane, Old Forest?" Magic Flash was astonished.
What a joke!
The Dark Demon Set was just a Level 100-plus Fine-Gold Set Equipment. Fifteen thousand Darkness Crystals would be the maximum anyone would pay for such a set, yet his companion jumped at the chance to buy them. Magic Flash couldn't think of any sane reason why he'd act like this.
Wait! Something's not right!
Magic Flash realized something felt off when he saw the bearded man's nonchalant reaction. He immediately activated his Identification Skill and turned to the Dark Demon Set on the table.
Both Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society had sent players with Advanced Identification Skills to lead their respective groups as insurance. While Magic Flash led Dark Rhapsody's team, Deity Society's leader for this party was Old Forest.
There had to be a problem for Old Forest to act like this.
"Don't bother with an appraisal, Old Flash. The Fine-Gold Set Equipment on the table isn't some Level 105 set. It's a top-tier Fine-Gold Set Equipment that players can use until Level 120. No one had ever found anything like it in the Dark World," Old Forest whispered as Magic Flash used his own Advanced Identification Skill.
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Chapter 2558 – Wildly Arrogant Zero Wing
Upon hearing Old Forest's words, Magic Flash gasped.
"Fine-Gold Set Equipment that can be used up to Level 120?"
Currently, the best-known Fine-Gold Set Equipment in the Dark World could be used only up to Level 105. Even Dark Rhapsody's peak experts sported only Level 105 Dark-Gold Equipment, which was the equivalent of Level 110 Fine-Gold Equipment, hardly comparable to Level 110 Fine-Gold Set Equipment.
Level 120 Fine-Gold Set Equipment was simply unimaginable.
"That's right. Aside from Level 100-plus Epic Equipment, there's no better equipment than this in the entire Dark World," Old Forest said, nodding as he tried to suppress the excitement in his heart.
If the price was indeed 15,000 Darkness Crystals for Level 120 Fine-Gold Set Equipment, then it was definitely acceptable.
This was especially true when the Dark World's various powers were frantically raiding Level 100 Team Dungeons. Due to the abysmally low drop-rate for Level 100-plus weapons and equipment, these powers were not making any significant progress with their Dungeon raids. This, in turn, led to a stagnation in their development.
If he could secure a batch of Dark Demon Sets for Divine Society, then his Guild would have a massive advantage over the other Guilds. With this advantage, they could easily earn back the cost of the Dark Demon Sets.
As soon as Old Forest finished speaking, excitement also shone in Magic Flash's eyes. Magic Flash immediately said, "Guild Leader Black Flame, Dark Rhapsody will also buy everything you have! Darkness Crystals definitely aren't a problem!"
If he could get his hands on multiple Dark Demon Sets, then the plate armor classes of the Guild's main force would be in for a wonderful time. They wouldn't have to worry about finding equipment before reaching Level 125. Moreover, the main force would also have a much easier time raiding Level 100 Team Dungeons. In fact, Dark Rhapsody might even become the first Guild in the Dark World to clear a 100-man, Level 100 Team Dungeon.
The Dark Demon Set's production is much more difficult than you think. I don't have many sets available. Even now, we have managed to produce only four sets," Shi Feng said, chuckling at the longing expressions of the two people before him.
Shi Feng wished he could produce as many Dark Demon Sets as he wanted. However, the Dark Demon Set was actually Level 110 to Level 120 Dark-Gold Set Equipment. The materials needed to produce it were extremely rare, which severely limited its production volume. Moreover, even when making the failed version of the Dark Demon Set, the production success rate was only 50%.
"Only four sets?"
Magic Flash and Old Forest felt a little disappointed when they heard Shi Feng's words. However, after giving the matter some thought, they found it reasonable. After all, this was Level 120 Fine-Gold Set Equipment they were talking about. If it were so easy to produce, Zero Wing would be invincible.
"Of course, it isn't exactly impossible if your two Guilds wish to purchase them in large quantities," Shi Feng said, smiling when he saw the disappointment on the two men's faces.
Upon hearing Shi Feng's words, Old Forest immediately understood what Shi Feng was insinuating. Without hesitation, he replied, "Guild Leader Black Flame, please state your conditions. So long as they are within my authority, I can definitely agree to them on behalf of Deity Society."
Just being able to purchase a few Dark Demon Sets at 15,000 Darkness Crystals per set could already be considered a miracle—all the more so for purchasing a large batch of the sets. With a sufficiently large number of the sets, a Guild could raise the overall strength of its main force by a large margin. Zero Wing was naturally under no obligation to give away such a wonderful opportunity to their two Guilds.
"It is the same for my side as well," Magic Flash said. If he missed out on such a windfall, his Guild Leader and the Elders of the Guild would beat him to death when he returned. On the other hand, if he succeeded in this negotiation, then he would make a huge contribution to the Guild.
"Although the production of the Dark Demon Set is difficult, manufacturing several sets a day is still feasible. Zero Wing is willing to supply these sets to your two Guilds long-term," Shi Feng said. "However, I hope that your two Guilds can help Zero Wing's Candlelight Trading Firm establish itself in the Dark World's major NPC cities and guarantee the safety of its operation."
Silence momentarily fell over the entire room after Shi Feng finished speaking, as both Magic Flash and Old Forest looked at him in astonishment. They never thought that Zero Wing's Guild Leader had such enormous ambitions.
The Dark World was equivalent to roughly three ordinary empires on the main continent. The Otherworld's player population was larger than even that of the Fire Dragon Empire, one of the Four Great Empires of God's Domain.
As the Dark World had been sealed all this time, it had almost no contact with the main continent whatsoever. Hence, the Dark World's various powers thoroughly monopolized the Otherworld's NPC cities. Moreover, the NPC cities found in the Dark World were different from those found on the main continent in that players held partial authority over them, which made taking over the Dark World's NPC cities incredibly difficult for outside powers.
Meanwhile, the opening of the Dark World's portal now presented both the Dark World's powers and the main continent's powers with a huge business opportunity. Needless to say, the main continent's various superpowers would definitely contest over this opportunity and would naturally be willing to offer unimaginable prices.
"Guild Leader Black Flame, I'm afraid I don't have the authority to decide on such a matter," Old Forest stated honestly. "Moreover, this matter involves a lot of interests. Even if Zero Wing is offering up the Dark Demon Set, I do not believe my superiors will agree to your condition."
As for Magic Flash, he inwardly rolled his eyes at Shi Feng's demand.
The Dark Demon Set might be capable of further elevating the strength of their Guilds' main forces, but its value was nothing compared to the wealth of three empires' worth of players. This was also one of the reasons why the various superpowers were avoiding hostilities with Dark Guilds, as doing so would mean losing a massive business opportunity.
At this moment, let alone team leaders like Magic Flash and Old Forest, even the other four members of the party disdained Shi Feng. Shi Feng was actually trying to secure such a huge business opportunity by offering just a few sets of Fine-Gold Set Equipment. Did he take them for fools?
Moreover, Zero Wing was already having problems keeping its position in Cold Spring Forest, yet Shi Feng actually wanted to enter the Dark World's various NPC cities. This was a complete and utter joke.
"Don't be in such a rush to reject my offer. I understand that this involves a lot of benefits. I know even the Dark Demon Set is insufficient to persuade your two Guilds," Shi Feng said, chuckling at the duo's reactions. "However, what if I can make it so that the people of your two Guilds can freely move between the Dark World and Cold Spring Forest, while everyone else from the Dark World cannot?"
"Guild Leader Black Flame, what do you mean?" Old Forest asked, unable to grasp Shi Feng's meaning.
"Guild Leader Black Flame, you should know that the portal connecting the Dark World and the main continent has already been opened. The Dark World's players can come and go as they wish. This is something even Flaming Light, the holder of the portal's key, cannot stop. What can Zero Wing possibly do?" Magic Light said, laughing.
"I don't know whether Flaming Light can stop those players or not, but from now onward, Zero Wing is taking ownership of the Dark World's portal in Cold Spring Forest!" Shi Feng said, smiling. He paid no attention to the ridicule Magic Flash and the others were displaying.
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Chapter 2559 – Heading Toward the Dark World?
Magic Flash and his companions stared at Shi Feng in stunned silence.
How arrogant!
This Swordsman was wildly arrogant!
Not even the main continent's Super Guilds would dare spout such nonsense!
They were talking about all of the players in an entire Otherworld, and not just any ordinary Otherworld, but one subjected to cruel competition. Residents of the Dark World had to be extremely careful. Not only could a single mistake cost them their lives, but someone else could also benefit from their hard work.
Hence, the Dark World had almost no ordinary players. Most would delete their accounts and try to start over in another world after spending just a few days in the Otherworld. The players that chose to remain were either experts or particularly skilled at survival.
When tens of millions of these players swarmed Cold Spring Forest, not even five superpowers working together could stop them all, much less a single superpower. Even if the various superpowers on the main continent banded together, they'd pay an unimaginable price to defeat the Dark World's denizens. Their losses might be severe enough to cause their eventual collapse.
Shi Feng, however, had just declared that Zero Wing could take control of the Dark World's portal.
For a moment, Magic Flash and his party wondered if this Swordsman had lost his mind. Did the man assume that he owned God's Domain?
"Guild Leader Black Flame, I don't mean to doubt you, but this matter does involve too many interests. I do not have the authority to agree to such a deal," Old Forest insisted. After taking in a deep breath, he continued, "Only my Guild Leader can preside over this matter. The most I can do is inform him of your offer. I cannot say whether or not he'll agree."
"That's right. Why don't we return and discuss this with our Guild Leaders for now? Later, we'll return with the results of those discussions," Magic Flash suggested, nodding in agreement. Inwardly, however, he had already decided that Shi Feng was a lunatic.
While the Dark Demon Set might be valuable, obtaining Fine-Gold Set Equipment wouldn't be an issue once their Guilds began to negotiate alliances with the various superpowers. The only downside was that the various superpowers couldn't provide Fine-Gold Set Equipment that players could use until Level 120. However, it would be more than enough to raid Team Dungeons and grind for levels.
Even as a Lifestyle player, Melancholic Smile could tell that Magic Flash and Old Forest were making perfunctory promises, let alone Shi Feng, whose five senses had already reached their limits.
"I understand. With so many interests involved, reaching a swift decision will be very difficult for your two Guilds. Zero Wing isn't in a rush, so I have no problems waiting for you to relay the situation to your Guild Leaders," Shi Feng calmly agreed.
"Please, rest assured, Guild Leader Black Flame. We'll inform our Guild Leaders upon our return," Old Forest said, nodding.
Following which, Magic Frost and Old Forest each handed Shi Feng their promised 250,000 Darkness Crystals before leaving the Freedom Hotel and making their way back to the Dark World.
Once they left, Gentle Snow frowned.
"Guild Leader, now that the Dark World's portal has opened, should we restrict our Guild members' range of activity?" Gentle Snow asked.
She hadn't expected the portal to open so quickly. Fortunately, Zero Wing had reached an agreement with Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society regarding the Darkness Crystals' delivery as soon as it did. Otherwise, Zero Wing wouldn't have known when the portal opened and would've lost its opportunity to prepare for battle.
"That won't be necessary. Since the Dark World's portal is open, we should visit this Otherworld. Contact Fire's team and the Hell Legion and inform them to gather," Shi Feng said, chuckling.
"Are we really going there?" Shi Feng's decision surprised her.
When Shi Feng had declared his intentions to Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society's representatives, she hadn't thought it was nonsense in the least. As long as Zero Wing had enough time, it was entirely possible. Not only did the Guild now have the Freedom Hotel, but the Guild as a whole also earned a daily net profit of more than 100,000 Gold.
Moreover, Zero Wing's Coin and Magic Crystal income would continue to increase as Stone Forest City's player population did. With the Freedom Hotel to attract players, more expert players would flood into the city, as well. With so many advantages, growing until it ruled Cold Spring Forest with an iron fist was entirely possible.
Now, however…
Including the Hell Legion, Zero Wing only had a little over 500 Tier 3 experts under its command. Even if they included the 600 or so Tier 3 Knights, they weren't powerful enough to challenge the Dark World in its entirety.
"Mhm. We're heading there now. If we don't hurry, it'll be too late," Shi Feng stated, determination lacing his tone.
"Alright… I'll notify Fire and the others," Gentle Snow answered. Although she didn't understand what Shi Feng intended, they shouldn't have any problems surviving.
"Melancholic, how is the construction of the Crimson Dragon Flying Ships coming along?" Shi Feng asked, turning to the Candlelight's manager.
"Excluding the one in your possession, we have a total of five Crimson Dragon Flying Ships ready," Melancholic Smile proudly informed him.
Although more players now had Flying Mounts of their own, five Flying Ships were more than enough for Zero Wing to rule the skies. Not one of God's Domain's other powers could threaten the Guild in the air.
"Good. Get them ready," Shi Feng said, nodding.
While Gentle Snow and Melancholic Smile saw to their preparations, Magic Flash and his team flew back to the Dark World's portal atop their Darkness Bats.
Upon their return to their home Otherworld, they noticed the swarm of Dark Players and tents filling the gravel plain a thousand yards ahead. There were easily millions of Dark Players in the camp.
Every one of these Dark Players practically vibrated with darkness energy and bloodlust, and even the lowest-leveled among them was Level 105. Quite a few were also Tier 3 experts.
"We haven't been gone that long, yet so many more have already gathered?" Magic Flash exclaimed, watching the massive crowd below. From what he could tell, at least four or five million players had set up in the camp. In comparison, the several tens of thousands of players Dark Rhapsody had dispatched were nothing.
When Magic Flash thought back to Shi Feng's arrogant claim, he couldn't help but view the man as even more of a fool.
However, Magic Flash and Old Forest continued to carry out their duties and inform their higher-ups of Shi Feng's proposal.
Within a conference tent containing hundreds of players…
"Black Flame is insane. Now that the Dark World's portal has opened, he'll have a hard time just protecting himself, yet he has designs on our Otherworld?" When Blue Rainbow, the female Dark Knight from Dark Rhapsody, heard Magic Flash and Old Forest's report, she could not help but laugh.
"It's probably because he hasn't seen the gathered army yet. Once he does, like the various superpowers from earlier, he'll likely abandon the naive thought," Deity Society's Elder Gold replied, similarly smiling.
A few superpowers, who had been informed of the portal's opening, had sent representatives to the Dark World not long ago. They had wanted to negotiate business deals with the Otherworld's various powers, but when they saw the number of Dark Players waiting for the impending invasion, every one the representatives had dropped their proposals.
Those superpowers' representatives had realized that the moment the gathered Dark Players burst through the open portal, even the neighboring kingdoms and empires would be at risk, let alone Cold Spring Forest.
In truth, even the Dark World's top three Guilds had been surprised by how many players had joined the invading army. They had only estimated that around 20,000 experts would show up, yet more than 30,000 Tier 3 experts had already joined the camp. At this rate, they wouldn't have any problems gathering 40 or 50 thousand Tier 3 experts by the time the invasion began.
While Blue Rainbow and Elder Gold spoke in hushed whispers, the various representatives in the tent fell silent.
"It seems everyone is of the same opinion. In that case, there's no point in continuing this discussion. We can still afford to ignore Stone Forest City, but since the Dark World has mustered such a powerful army, we cannot let the main continent's superpowers take our share of the city," a cold, robust man resting in one of the three main seats within the tent spoke up. Standing, he continued, "Let us officially advance into Cold Spring Forest! It's time we show the main continent's powers the strength of our Dark World!"
As the robust man finished speaking, the various representatives ordered their subordinates to march on Cold Spring Forest.
The several million players in the plain began to stomp toward the gigantic door before them, shocking the scouts the main continent's superpowers had sent. These scouts immediately contacted their superiors to inform them of the shocking scene.
Meanwhile, in an advanced room on the Freedom Hotel's 29th floor…
"So, in the end, they're still invading?" Yuan Tiexin shook his head and sighed when he read his subordinate's message.
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Chapter 2560 – Darkness Invades, Zero Wing Arrives
Shortly after Yuan Tiexin read his subordinate's message, the door to the quiet room opened. A group of players walked in behind a male Half-elf covered in azure sparks.
As the Half-elf entered the room, all of the fire-type Mana began to gather around him as if summoned. As a result, the room's temperature steadily rose.
"Shine? What are you doing here?" Yuan Tiexin was surprised to see the male Half-elf, Scorching Shire.
There weren't many people in the Secret Pavilion that knew the name Scorching Shine, and those who did were generally members of the Guild's older generations. While Scorching Shine's current appearance made him look as if he were in his thirties, he was actually over fifty. The man had withdrawn from the Secret Pavilion's frontlines many years ago and was only active behind the scenes.
Before Scorching Shine had withdrawn, he had been considered one of the Pavilion's absolute monsters. He could even contend with the commander of Mythology's strongest trump card legion. He no longer busied himself with Guild affairs, however, preferring to focus on his own improvement. Not even Yuan Tiexin, who had a close relationship with Scorching Shrine, could begin to imagine how powerful the man had become.
However, Scorching Shrine's individual strength wasn't the reason he was so well-known in the Secret Pavilion. Rather, it was the Scorched Legion under his command!
The Scorched Legion was one of the Secret Pavilion's trump card legions, and Scorching Shrine had personally nurtured every one of its experts. Although the Legion only had 200 members, they were all geniuses Scorching Shrine had hand-picked from the Pavilion's new recruits.
Initially, the man had set his sights on Purple Jade, as well. Unfortunately, she preferred one-handed swords, and Scorching Shrine's knowledge of the combat style was limited. In the end, she hadn't joined his Scorched Legion.
The Scorched Legion was still considered a hidden force, secretly fighting on God's Domain's frontlines. It existed solely for exploring new maps and almost never meddled in Guild affairs. Now, however, Scorching Shine and his legion had come to Stone Forest City, which left Yuan Tiexin a little confused.
"We received the command from Vice Guild Leader Dawn. Now that the Dark World's portal has opened, she specifically sent me to negotiate with the various superpowers targeting the city," Scorching Shine softly explained.
"Vice Guild Leader Dawn sent you to take charge of the situation?" Hearing the news, Yuan Tiexin breathed a sigh of relief. "This is good. With you here, I'm sure those superpowers will show restraint. In that case, Zero Wing might have a chance of fending off their combined assault."
Yuan Tiexin had been worried that Dawn Jade had given up on Stone Forest City, but now that the Scorched Legion had arrived, the city had gained an additional layer of defense.
The Scorched Legion was no weaker than Netherworld Empire's Hell Legion. In fact, in large-scale combat, the Scorched Legion would easily outperform the Hell Legion since none of its members were human.
Aside from Half-elves, which were particularly skilled with magic, the legion had Half-ore members, who were formidable melee fighters. Their combat power was leagues greater than human players' of the same level and tier.
Of course, the Secret Pavilion had paid a huge price to ensure that the Scorched Legion's members reached Tier 3 as quickly as possible.
"Don't get excited just yet. Stone Forest City's recent promotion has made the various superpowers even more desperate to obtain it. Even with my legion here, we can't guarantee that Zero Wing will keep the right to rule Stone Forest City. However, if Zero Wing is willing to hand over some of the city's shares, I'm sure keeping the city under its control won't be a problem," Scorching Shine calmly stated. "Let's not waste any more time. The Dark World's players are already marching on Cold Spring Forest. We need to prepare quickly. I'm not familiar with Black Flame, so you'll have to contact him."
"That won't be a problem. I'll inform Zero Wing right away," Yuan Tiexin agreed, nodding. He then contacted his connections in Zero Wing.
The various superpowers' combined force wasn't the most worrisome; rather, the Dark World's forces warranted more concern. Not even the Secret Pavilion had expected the Dark World to be so powerful.
The Otherworld's invading army had more than five million experts, and more than 30,000 of them were Tier 3 experts. The army also had more than 50 Flying Mounts, and to make matters worse, these numbers only grew as time passed.
If this army were allowed to flood into Cold Spring Forest, the consequences would be dire.
Shortly after Yuan Tiexin contacted Zero Wing, however, he froze in shock.
"Old Yuan, has something happened with Zero Wing?" Scorching Shine asked, his curiosity piqued when he noticed his old comrade's stunned expression.
"Not long ago, Black Flame led a team to the Dark World's portal. He plans to negotiate with the Dark World's players," Yuan Tiexin grimly explained.
"Negotiate with the Dark World's players?" The news dazed Scorching Shrine, as well. He then looked at Yuan Tiexin and asked, "Are you sure Black Flame's brain is working properly?"
What a joke!
With the portal to the Dark World open, the Otherworld's players were like a pack of starving wolves that had just spotted fresh meat. They'd pounce on anyone they encountered, not wait for negotiations. This was precisely the reason that the various superpowers had ordered their members to stay at least 10,000 yards away from the portal, afraid that they'd lose their subordinates to these ravenous wolves.
Shi Feng, however, was doing the exact opposite. Instead of strengthening Stone Forest City's defenses, he had taken the initiative to contact the Dark World's players personally. He was heading straight for the portal, basically offering himself up, gift-wrapped, to the Dark World's army.
Even the various superpowers were stunned when they learned of Shi Feng's plan from their spies in Zero Wing. What was going on?
Was Zero Wing about to surrender?
Inside another advanced room within the Freedom Hotel…
"Illusory, it seems Zero Wing will fall, even without the various superpowers' interference," the fierce man from Crimson Emperor said as he read a report from his subordinate. Shaking his head, he continued, "We won't even have to wait two or three days for this war to conclude. Everything will likely end today."
"This is insane. We're talking about an entire Otherworld of experts. Why would he pull such a crazy stunt?" Illusory Words couldn't believe her eyes when she read the report.
When Shi Feng had tried to challenge an entire city with only several hundred players, she had seen a possibility for him to succeed, but trying to repel all of the players from an Otherworld was a fool's dream. This was no longer a force an individual power could hope to overcome.
While Illusory Words and many others were puzzled by Shi Feng's most recent ploy, Furious Heart, who had been busy persuading the Dark World's players to act, received the news.
"Interesting! It seems Black Flame really loves a fight! He must think this battle will be just like the one in Demon City," Furious Heart laughed as he read the report. "Hopefully, he doesn't turn and flee after witnessing the Dark World's army. I wouldn't want this to be too boring."
Elated, Furious Heart shifted his gaze to the invading army that marched through the portal into Cold Spring Forest.
In the face of this army of several million Dark Players, even a kingdom would fall, much less Zero Wing!
Following which, Furious Heart tossed aside the report and led his team through the portal.
When the Dark World's players arrived in Cold Spring Forest, a commotion broke out among the army.
"So, this is the main continent?"
"Crap! There are so many rare ores and herbs nearby!
"This place is ours for the taking!"
The Dark Players couldn't help their growing excitement as they drank in the beautiful scenery in Cold Spring Forest. They wanted nothing more than to claim the surrounding resource areas right away.
Even the upper echelons from the Otherworld's various powers looked around them with a passionate flame burning in their eyes. They had to admit that Cold Spring Forest was a much higher-quality than the Dark World's Level 100 maps. As long as they could collect these resources, neither their individual development nor their Guilds' would be a problem.
Before the Dark World's residents could celebrate, however, they heard a loud roaring from the distance, a deep rumble that echoed throughout the valley the portal occupied.
Everyone turned toward the origin of the sound.
The Dark Players then spotted five colossal figures flying toward them. As the roaring grew louder, they could begin to distinguish the flying giants' details.
"Are those Flying Ships?"
With a closer look and realizing what the monstrosities were, everyone was stunned.
Those five Flying Ships were too massive. The largest Flying Mounts they had seen would be insignificant beside the steel giants. As the five flew in formation, they practically blotted out the sky.
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Chapter 2561 – Zero Wing's Foundations, Madness Time "Why are so many Flying Ships here?"
"Did we trigger some kind of event, and NPCs have come to deal with us?"
The sudden appearance of the five Flying Ships stunned the Dark Players emerging from the gigantic door. They all began to talk about the incoming ships, anxious.
Flying Ships were no longer a foreign concept to God's Domain's players, but their familiarity was precisely the reason that the Dark Players were afraid of how powerful the machines were.
Flying Ships were powerful war weapons and absolute kings in the skies!
One of those ships could effortlessly squash humans like ants. Current players, who sorely lacked aerial combat power, saw Flying Ships as unstoppable and destructive tools.
With five Flying Ships approaching, why wouldn't these Dark Players worry?
"Wait, something's not right! There are players aboard the Flying Ships!" a Tier 3 Ranger, gifted with sharp vision, shouted as he pointed to the Crimson Dragon Flying Ships hovering above them.
Nearly everyone's eyes narrowed as they tried to get a better look at the ships, and just as the Tier 3 Ranger had announced, players stood on each of the Flying Ships' decks. While they were still too far off to get a clear view of the players, the green diamond markers were undoubtedly above the blurry figures' heads.
"Who are those people? They actually have Flying Ships!"
"Could it be a Super Guild?"
Their curiosity piqued, the Dark Players wondered who piloted the incoming vessels.
Flying Ships were still far out of reach for the Dark World's residents. They barely had any Flying Mounts, after all, and yet, five player-owned Flying Ships were flying toward them right now…
Even the upper echelons from the Otherworld's various major powers were stunned.
"Five Flying Ships?! Who are these people!?"
"What are they trying to accomplish?"
One or two Flying Ships might not be a major problem, but five was a little too much. None of them wanted to face such a force in battle. If it did come down to a fight, the outcome wouldn't be in their favor, even if they eventually won.
While the Dark World's powers discussed the situation in hushed tones, the five ships descended, stopping roughly 100 yards above ground. A figure then jumped from one of the ship's decks, landing in the center of the Dark Players' army. The players on the ground unconsciously stepped back, quickly clearing the way for the figure to land unhindered.
As the figure landed, the various powers' upper echelons stared with wide, shocked eyes, particularly Magic Flash and Old Forest, who had just returned from their trip to Stone Forest City. The individual who had jumped from one of the Flying Ships was none other than Zero Wing's Guild Leader, Black Flame.
"It's him?!"
"Impossible!"
When Magic Flash and Old Forest saw Shi Feng's familiar face, they couldn't believe their eyes.
Any power capable of owning five Flying Ships had to be a superpower with heaven-defying strength in their opinions, and yet, the reality was that Zero wing, a Guild at risk of obliteration, was responsible for this display. How could they possibly believe this?
Sure enough, it is Zero Wing, Blue Rainbow thought, standing behind Magic Flash. Unlike the two representatives, she didn't seem all that surprised to see Shi Feng. Is this why he is so confident?
The Dark World's general populace considered Flying Ships to be out of players' reach, but when Dark Rhapsody had investigated Zero Wing's background, it had discovered that the Guild owned multiple ships. This was why Shi Feng had failed to surprise her.
Of course, she wasn't entirely unfazed. She was a little shocked to discover that Zero Wing had as many as five Fling Ships. It was a few more than her Guild's reports had stated.
When Furious Heart saw this, his lips formed a tight frown. Intense rage and fear flashed in his eyes as he watched Shi Feng.
How is this possible!? How does Zero Wing have so many Flying Ships!? Furious Heart's eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the steel giants in the air.
His Guild had already been concerned when they received the report mentioning three Flying Ships in Zero Wing's possession. Now that he knew the Guild had two more than that, Stone Forest City would be much more difficult to deal with.
As the Dark World's major powers recognized Shi Feng and were astonished over his Guild's foundations, an indifferent, robust man emerged from the crowd.
The instant he stepped forward, he attracted all of the major powers' attention, and everyone watched him with respectful gazes.
This robust man was Dawn Dominance, World Domination's Guild Leader. He was a legend in the Dark World. Not only had he single-handedly developed World Domination to become one of the Otherworld's top three Guilds, but he was also one of the Dark World's top-ranked experts.
Dawn Dominance was precisely why Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society were so afraid of the up-and-coming World Domination. He had even been chosen to preside over the earlier war conference.
"You must be Zero Wing's Guild Leader, Black Flame," Dawn Dominance addressed Shi Feng. "I am Dawn Dominance, World Domination's Guild Leader. You could say that I'm one of the leaders for the Dark World's invasion into Cold Spring Forest. May I know the reason for your sudden visit, Guild Leader Black Flame?"
"You're correct. I am Black Flame, and I've come to inform your Dark World players of something," Shi Feng said, nodding.
"If you wish to persuade us to abandon our conquest of this map, forget about it. The matter was decided the moment the portal opened," Dawn Dominance said. "Cold Spring Forest's resources are important to both of us, of which you are well aware, Guild Leader Black Flame. Of course, we also do not wish to antagonize Zero Wing intentionally, but we can only rely on our own strength to get what we need. I hope you understand, Guild Leader Black Flame."
As Dawn Dominance finished speaking, the countless Dark Players in earshot nodded in agreement.
Why should only the main continent's players benefit from Cold Spring Forest's resources?
If one wished to acquire leveling resources, they could do so with their own power.
Does Black Flame really think he can scare away so many Dark Players with just five Flying Ships! How naive! Furious Heart laughed softly as he watched Shi Feng's distant figure.
Five Flying Ships was an amazingly powerful force, but if Shi Feng thought he could stop several million experts from the Dark World with just this, he was a fool.
Moreover, the Dark World's invasion army had over 50 Flying Mounts. Challenging those Flying Ships was entirely possible. Besides, the various powers present all had their own trump cards, which they could unleash on the steel giants.
As Furious Heart's laughter died, however, Shi Feng glanced around at the chuckling Dark Players and shook his head.
"Guild Leader Dawn, I believe you've misunderstood something. I never had any intention of negotiation with any of you. I am only here to tell you one thing!" Shi Feng said. "From this moment on, this Teleportation Gate is under Zero Wing's control!"
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Chapter 2562 – Challenging the Dark World?
Silence fell as Shi Feng finished his declaration. Magic Flash and Old Forest stared at the Swordsman with their mouths ajar. They hadn't actually thought he'd been serious.
This was insane!
They had assumed Shi Feng had been joking back in the Freedom Hotel, and yet, the man had just repeated his intentions straight to the Dark World's various powers and independent players…
After a moment, every Dark Player broke out in riotous laughter.
"Did this guy come all this way just to tell us a joke?"
"He actually thinks Zero Wing will manage this Teleportation Gate from now on. Does he really think he can claim ownership by declaring it?"
"Who does this guy think he is?"
For a time, the countless Dark Players expressed their anger and ridicule. Their prior fear and awe had evaporated like fog on a hot day. They wondered how hard Shi Feng had hit his head to provoke the Dark World in its entirety so boldly.
What is Black Flame trying to do? Did he give himself a concussion and lose his mind? Doesn't he realize that he basically just declared war on everyone in the Dark World? Blue Rainbow frowned at Shi Feng, who still seemed quite calm.
When they had heard Magic Flash and Old Forest's report, they had considered Shi Feng's intentions a joke. Now, however, Shi Feng had publicly announced Zero Wing's plan to take control of the Teleportation Gate. If this was a joke, it wasn't funny.
As far as she was concerned, this Swordsman either overestimated himself or was on a path of self-destruction.
Not even multiple cooperating Super Guilds would dare spout such nonsense before the Dark World's army, much less a single superpower. Anyone that took control of the Teleportation Gate would reign over the Dark World.
This was beyond foolish!
He's dead! He's definitely dead now! Furious Heart laughed maniacally as he watched Shi Feng.
Thanks to Shi Feng's announcement, the Dark World's various powers and independent experts would stop at nothing to obliterate Zero Wing, even if Demon's Heart didn't pull any strings. They likely wouldn't let the matter rest until they had removed any trace of Zero Wing from Cold Spring Forest. If they didn't, the main continent's players would look down on them, which was something the Dark World's denizens and powers wouldn't allow.
Once the Dark World's collective laughter died down, each of these Dark Players turned lethal gazes on Shi Feng, killing intent radiating from them in waves. Some Tier 3 experts even unsheathed their weapons, preparing to teach this arrogant Swordsman a lesson.
"What a pity, Guild Leader Black Flame. I had hoped you were smart enough to know when to advance and when to retreat, but it would seem that Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society had thought too highly of you," Dawn Dominance said, shaking his head. He then turned to leave, with no intention of continuing his conversation with Shi Feng.
A unit of five Flying Ships might be impressive, but it wasn't intimidating enough to force the Dark World's invading army to back down. While war weapons had frightening power and deadly potential, their attack rates were very low. When there wasn't much of a difference between two sides' combat power, an additional five Flying Ships would prove miraculously effective, but if one side had an overwhelming combat power advantage, the ships couldn't turn the tide of battle.
At Tier 3, expert players were more than agile enough to evade Flying Ships' attacks as long as there was enough distance between them. Furthermore, the invading army had more than 50 Flying Mounts, just as much aerial combat power as Zero Wing.
When Dawn Dominance left, the surrounding Tier 3 experts smirked and moved to surround Shi Feng.
Nearly 1,000 Tier 3 experts pointed their weapons at the Swordsman, their combined killing intent so powerful that the air around them grew cold and cloudy.
The Tier 2 Dark Players that had come to Cold Spring Forest to join the fun couldn't contain their excitement as they watched.
Not even superpowers had so many Tier 3 experts, yet the Dark World's army had so many more.
When less than 50 yards separated these Dark experts and Shi Feng, figures began to drop from the hovering Flying Ships, one after another.
In the blink of an eye, nearly 500 Tier 3 experts took their places around Shi Feng, and every one of them radiated a more intense aura than the Dark World's Tier 3 experts.
"This…"
Seeing reinforcements arrive, the encroaching Dark Players came to a halt. The various major powers' spectating upper echelons were similarly astonished. They had never dreamed that Zero Wing could muster such strength.
Now that 500 Tier 3 experts had joined the fray, the Dark World's top three Guilds would be no match for Zero Wing's force, even if they worked together. Including the Flying Ships still looming above them, engaging in battle now would only invite Zero Wing to slaughter those top three Guilds.
"It's no wonder why you dared to spout such nonsense. Zero Wing is actually quite formidable." Dawn Dominance had stopped, turning to glance at the Tier 3 experts around Shi Feng, but he shook his head and continued, "However, I'm afraid that still won't be enough to defeat the Dark World."
As he finished speaking, more Tier 3 Dark Players swarmed around Shi Feng. In less than 30 seconds, a group of over 6,000 Tier 3 Dark Players had joined the encirclement. Even Blue Frost and his Zero Wing companions from Shelter One, all of whom had participated in numerous battles, couldn't help but frown.
"Blue, what do you think the Guild Leader is trying to do? We're not really going to fight against all those people, are we?" Best Reincarnation, the leader of Shelter One's Second Party, nervously asked.
He had watched and fought in multiple wars involving tens of thousands of players, but compared to the Dark World's army, those forces weren't worth mentioning. Not even an army of tens of thousands would be a warm-up for these 6,000-plus Tier 3 experts. If this force entered the Dark Den, they could sweep through the Otherworld without any trouble. Even if every Shelter banded together, they wouldn't survive.
Meanwhile, Zero Wing had fewer than 500 Tier 3 experts present, and even with monsters like Fire Dance and Hell Rush, their chances of victory were unknown.
"I don't know, but even if we lose this battle, it'll be helpful in the future. Not just anyone gets an opportunity to face such a powerful force," Blue Frost replied with a bitter smile. He had to admit that while Shi Feng's behavior was insane, his blood boiled with excitement.
After all, who, at this stage of the game, would dare challenge such a formidable army?
Even the main continent's various superpowers were afraid of the Dark World's invading army, but not Zero Wing. If they lost, they'd lose with their pride intact.
This was also a super-rare opportunity to clash with a large number of Tier 3 experts, and the experience would definitely bolster their future development.
As soon as Blue Frost finished his reply, however, Shi Feng stepped forward from Zero Wing's defensive circle and faced the Dark World's several thousand Tier 3 experts directly.
"It seems you still don't understand," Shi Feng said, shaking his head at the Tier 3 Dark Players around him. Calmly, he continued, "Since the very beginning, I told you that I've only come to inform you. I'm not here to negotiate. Since you wish to test my patience, I regret to inform you that you've picked a fight with the wrong person!"
Shi Feng then pulled a token from his bag and started to chant an incantation. It was simple, only consisting of a dozen or so syllables, and would even be easy for a player new to God's Domain to chant.
Before the Dark Players could mock Shi Feng for his ignorant foolishness, several magic arrays quickly manifested behind the Swordsman. In less than a second, they transformed into a Spatial Gate, and once the gate was complete, NPCs in exquisite, uniform equipment marched into Cold Spring Forest like a well-trained army.
Every one of these NPCs had at least reached Level 120 and Tier 3. Many of them even hailed from other races, and in the blink of an eye, more than a thousand NPCs had joined the battlefield…
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Chapter 2563 – Suppressing Everyone, Crazy Zero Wing
When more than a thousand Tier 3 NPCs appeared behind Shi Feng, the Dark Players, Zero Wing's members, and the Hell Legion were stunned.
In the various NPC kingdoms and empires, Tier 3 NPCs were considered powerhouses. They could even serve as Magistrates in minor cities.
And yet, Shi Feng had just summoned over a thousand of these NPCs, including non-human NPCs. It was unbelievable!
We already have so many? When Gentle Snow saw Shi Feng's Knight Division, surprise colored her features.
She had known for a while that Shi Feng had invested a ton of Coins in developing the Guild's Knight Division, but she had assumed they'd need a long time to amass and nurture so many Tier 3 NPCs.
During Shi Feng's visit to the western continent, she had felt they'd be lucky enough to gain an additional two or three hundred Tier 3 Knights, but contrary to her expectations, they had several times that.
With this many Tier 3 Knights, not even taking out an army of more than 10,000 Tier 3 players would be a problem, much less defeating the 6,000 Tier 3 Dark Players before them.
The reason was very simple. Not only were NPCs' Basic Attributes far higher than players of the same level and tier, but they also commanded a large number of Skills and Spells. Their Skill and Spell Completion Rates also triumphed over players. Moreover, as God's Domain underwent more system updates, NPCs' intellect and combat standards would improve. At Tier 3, NPCs could already, more or less, rival Refinement Realm experts, with some surpassing them.
This was why even Tier 3 players would receive a one-sided beating if they challenged Tier 3 NPCs.
Of course, the biggest difference between the two was NPCs' equipment standards!
Acquiring Level 100-plus Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment was currently incredibly difficult for players, but even the weakest of God's Domain's Tier 3 NPCs, at least those not bound to players, wore full sets of Dark-Gold Equipment.
Most of Zero Wing's Tier 3 Knights, on the other hand, wore Epic Equipment. Even Tier 3 Void Realm experts would have to flee from these Knights, let alone Tier 3 Refinement Realm experts.
The surrounding 6,000-plus Tier 3 Dark Players unconsciously began to retreat. The major powers' upper echelons watched on with grim expressions, astonished.
None of them had ever thought Zero Wing's strength would be this frightening!
When they had learned, throughout their investigations, that Zero Wing had nearly 600 Tier 3 Knights, the prospect of dealing with the Guild had given them huge headaches. If they wanted to capture Stone Forest City, they knew they'd have to work with the main continent's various superpowers.
But not only had they just learned that Zero Wing had five Crimson Dragon Flying Ships, but it also had more than twice the reported Tier 3 Knights. Just how were they supposed to fight such a force?
Is this why he hadn't hesitated to give away 70% of Cold Spring Forest's resource spots? Realization dawned on Blue Rainbow as she watched Shi Feng.
She had thought the man was insane for giving up so much of Cold Spring Forest and increasing the competition between his Guild and the Dark World's various powers, but looking at it now, it seemed she had been sorely mistaken.
With so much combat power, no power or player in the Dark World would dare compete with Zero Wing for the remaining 30% of Cold Spring Forest. On the contrary, Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society would have a much harder time controlling their 70%. Most of the two Guilds' influence lay in the Dark World, and outside of it, they had barely any at all.
If the Dark World's players were too afraid to take a bite out of Zero Wing's resource spots, it would only be natural that they'd contest with Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society's territory instead.
"Damn it! How is this possible?!" Furious Heart felt as if he were going mad as he gazed at the thousand-plus Tier 3 NPCs behind Shi Feng. He couldn't fathom how Zero Wing had gotten its hand on so many, and every one wore excellent equipment, too.
Against such a force, not even an army of more than 10,000 Tier 3 experts would have an advantage. Moreover, the Tier 3 experts that had joined the invading army belonged to the various Guilds and adventurer teams. Commanding them like a proper army would prove very difficult. No one wanted to serve as cannon fodder and die a pointless death.
If the invading army had had an absolute advantage, overwhelming Zero Wing's experts with their numbers would've been easy, but now that there was such a radical difference between the two sides' strength, the various Guilds and adventurer teams' Tier 3 experts wouldn't be so keen to take action.
The 1,000-plus NPCs waiting for orders petrified the Dark World's players. They simply stared at Shi Feng and his NPCs in silence, stupefying Blue Frost's group.
Even the Hell Legion's members were astonished.
Before coming here, they had accepted their impending deaths. They had been massively outnumbered, after all. Even if they were more powerful individually, they wouldn't be able to kill enough players with their limited Stamina and Concentration. However, none of them had imagined that the situation would develop as it had. The army of several million, which had boldly marched into Cold Spring Forest, had come to a grinding halt, and none of the Dark World's players dared to step forward. Everyone stood frozen in front of the Teleportation Gate.
After the silence had dragged on for a while, Dawn Dominance emerged from the crowd, presenting himself before Shi Feng once more.
This time, however, the man didn't look down on Shi Feng. Rather, he appeared cautious.
"Guild Leader Black Flame, you truly are amazing! It's no wonder how you established Stone Forest City in Cold Spring Forest," Dawn Dominance said, applauding Shi Feng in admiration. "Since everyone here has recognized your display of strength, on behalf of the Dark World's various Guilds and adventurer teams, I will declare that we will not participate in Zero Wing's struggle against the various superpowers. Do you find this arrangement agreeable, Guild Leader Black Flame?"
While Dawn Dominance spoke, the various Guilds and adventurer teams' upper echelons nodded in agreement.
If Zero Wing had proven as weak as they had expected, they wouldn't have had a problem, but now that they saw how mighty the Guild was, they wouldn't fight it. Even if they worked with the main continent's various superpowers, capturing Stone Forest City was impossible. They'd only incur unnecessary losses if they faced Zero Wing in battle.
"Dawn Dominance! How can you do this?!" Furious Heart bellowed, enraged, when he heard Dawn Dominance surrender to Zero Wing.
To goad the Dark World's various powers into attacking Zero Wing, Demon's Heart had offered World Domination a plethora of benefits. However, now that the situation had turned south, Dawn Dominance had decided to give up.
With World Domination leading the Dark World's surrender, the Otherworld's other powers wouldn't target Zero Wing, either.
Before Furious Heart could continue to curse at Dawn Dominance, however, Shi Feng shook his head.
"Guild Leader Dawn, how many times must I repeat myself before you get it through your head? I am only here to notify you that Zero Wing will be managing the Dark World's Teleportation Gate from now on, and in the future, my Guild will collect a fee from anyone that wishes to use it. Have I been specific enough now?" Shi Feng asked the other Guild Leader. "I don't care if you wish to work with those superpowers against Stone Forest City or not."
Dawn Dominance, who had intended to say more, was speechless. Even Furious Heart, who had been angrily cursing in the distance, gaped at Shi Feng.
Is this guy insane? Dawn Dominance has already declared that none of us would target Stone Forest City, yet he insists on managing the Teleportation Gate. Does he really want to make the entire Dark World his enemy? When Magic Flash heard Shi Feng's response, he, too, was at a loss for words.
This was the best outcome Zero Wing could hope for, but rather than settling, Shi Feng insisted on owning the Dark World's Teleportation Gate. He was a madman!
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Chapter 2564 – Crazy? Knight Division Take Action!
Does he really plan to start a war with the entire Dark World? Even Furious Heart, who wanted nothing more than Zero Wing and Shi Feng's annihilation, was confused by the Swordsman's actions. He even wondered if he had misheard the man.
Instead of settling for a peaceful outcome, Shi Feng continued to insist that he'd wrestle for control over the Dark World's Teleportation Gate. Even if they banded together, the various superpowers wouldn't dare threaten such a thing. In fact, they hadn't even harbored the thought.
The Teleportation Gate was basically the Otherworld players' lifeline, and if a foreign power took control of the gate, all of the Dark World's residents would be subjected to that power's whims. These Dark Players simply wouldn't allow such an outcome. They'd fight anyone who threatened to control the Teleportation Gate to the death.
This was why neither Demon's Heart nor the various superpowers had considered doing so. If they tried, not only would they fail, but they'd also throw their lives away in the attempt to control the Teleportation Gate.
And yet, Shi Feng didn't just consider it an option; he fully intended to succeed…
As Shi Feng finished speaking, the Dark Players around him erupted in an uproar.
"Is Black Flame insane? He's trying to take control of our world's lifeline!"
"We're already giving up so much by surrendering in the fight for Stone Forest City, yet Black Flame wants a mile after we've given him an inch! Does he really doubt that we'll attack Zero Wing?"
The fear the Dark World's various major powers and independent players had felt a moment ago vanished. Now, only fury flashed in their eyes. They all wanted nothing more than to show Shi Feng the consequences for his ignorance.
The Dark World players began to close in on Zero Wing's Guild Leader, their Tier 3 experts, who had decided to avoid a fight moments ago, were now more than eager to teach the Swordsman a lesson.
Seven thousand… Nine thousand… Ten thousand…
In less than a minute, more than 20,000 Tier 3 experts had surrounded Shi Feng. Every one of them glared, radiating rage and killing intent.
The Guild Leader's not serious, right?" Evening Lotus worriedly asked from beside Blue Frost as she watched more Tier 3 experts gather around them.
With the combined strength of Zero Wing's Tier 3 Knights, Tier 3 experts, and the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, they could, at most, take on 10,000 Tier 3 experts at a time. Any more, and their risk of dying increased substantially. If they had to face all of the Dark World's Tier 3 experts, they'd be finished. Here, they didn't have the protection of Stone Forest City.
Moreover, NPCs were far more troublesome to resurrect than players. Generally, the various powers only used their NPCsw as a deterrent and avoided sending them into battle unless absolutely necessary.
"Are you serious, Guild Leader Black Flame?" Dawn Dominance asked after taking a deep breath, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. While he could ignore the struggle for Stone Forest City, he couldn't ignore Shi Feng's declaration to control the Teleportation Gate as it involved his Guild's continued development.
"Of course!" Shi Feng confidently replied.
He hadn't actually considered taking control of the Dark World's Teleportation Gate before today, but times had changed. He had developed his Knight Division far faster than expected, and it was now far stronger than it appeared.
Shi Feng wouldn't have been able to do anything about the situation if the Teleportation Gate had opened anywhere else. Since it had opened in Cold Spring Forest, where his Knight Division was based, however, he'd be a fool not to take advantage of it.
Due to the Dark World's nature, regular powers and players had an incredibly difficult time establishing themselves in the Otherworld. Not even the various Super Guilds were guaranteed success.
Yet, as luck would have it, the Dark World offered an extraordinary amount of attributed resources, and because of this, the various superpowers of his past had done everything in their power to ally with the Dark World's various powers. However, even after paying astronomical sums, those superpowers had only acquired a small number of attributed resources to use in crafting weapons and equipment.
If he were to let this opportunity slip through his fingers, he wouldn't likely find another.
"Good! It seems you've steeled yourself to make the Dark World your enemy, Guild Leader Black Flame!" Dawn Dominance said and smiled. "Since that is the case, show us what profound move you'll use to stop us!"
Dawn Dominance's head had begun to ache over surrendering his share of Stone Forest City's benefits. A few thousand Tier 3 experts were certainly no match for Zero Wing's current combat power. He'd need the Dark World's entire strength.
Normally, however, persuading his homeworld's major powers and independent powers to dedicate themselves to what was essentially a suicide mission would be impossible. Fortunately, Shi Feng had just given him the opening to succeed with an extremely persuasive bargaining chip—the Dark World's very future!
This would be more than enough of a reason for the Dark World's masses to combine their strength. Even if Shi Feng's group fell back to Stone Forest City, they wouldn't be able to stop the Otherworld's forces.
"Why are you still wasting time with him, Guild Leader Dawn?!"
"That's right! He only has a little over a thousand Tier 3 NPCs! Even if we die and lose a level, we can recover quickly and rejoin the fight! On the other hand, those NPCs will be gone for good once they're dead! Let's see if Black Flame keeps acting so arrogantly once we've gotten rid of his NPCs!"
The various powers' experts and independent players riled themselves up and charged at Shi Feng's group the moment Dawn Dominance finished speaking.
Over 20,000 Tier 3 experts and several hundred thousand Tier 2 players advanced, their footfalls shaking the entire valley.
Despite their bountiful combat experience, the Hell Legion's members grew nervous, watching the incoming force with grim expressions. This battle would be more terrifying than any they had participated in.
The Dark World's various powers didn't even prepare any of their trump cards. Relying solely on their numbers, the invading army could intimidate even God's Domain's various superpowers.
Moreover, some of the Dark Players used Tier 3 Defensive Magic Scrolls to cope with potential Tier 4 attacks. This greatly limited how effective the Flying Ships could be in this fight.
"Hahaha! Die! So what if you have over a thousand Tier 3 NPCs and five Flying Ships? None of them can reach their full potential in such a vast plain!" Furious Heart excitedly shouted as he watched the Dark Players swarm toward Shi Feng.
Every Dark Player participating in the army was an expert. They had long since familiarized themselves with large- scale combat and knew how to minimize the damage enemy AOE attacks could deal.
Furthermore, unlike in a siege, Zero Wing's forces didn't have a defensive magic array to hide behind. Once the two armies engaged, war weapons like the Crimson Dragon Flying Ships and large-scale destruction Spells would be nearly useless.
However, Shi Feng didn't mobilize his Flying Ships or instruct his Tier 3 magical class NPCs to cast large-scale destruction Spells as everyone had expected. He simply watched the Dark Players approach in silence.
"Have they forgotten how to attack, scared silly?"
"They must not have expected an actual fight, but it's too late for regret now!"
The Dark Players were confused when Zero Wing's forces remained motionless, but that didn't stop them in closing the distance.
One hundred yards… Fifty yards… Thirty yards…
"Fools!" When less than 30 yards separated Shi Feng's forces from the Dark Players, he swung a hand forward and shouted, "Attack!"
Suddenly, over 100 tall, brawny Ores geared with Epic Weapons and Equipment exploded forth, reaching the enemy's frontline in the blink of an eye. They brandished their swords and axes, cutting down the enemy Tier 3 MTs with speed and accuracy.
Skillfully responding to the Ore Knight's assault, the Tier 3 MTs raised their shields, effectively blocking the attacks. After a moment, however, every Dark Player was stupefied.
The instant the Ores' weapons slammed into the Tier 3 MTs' shields, every player that took a hit flew backward as if a giant boulder had slammed into them…
From afar, it had looked like the Dark World's army had crashed into an immovable wall. Not only had the army's advance ended in a grinding halt, but bodies flew above the rest of the force, as well.
Before these players fell to the ground, however, countless magic arrays appeared above, bombarding them with another series of attacks. The casters exhibited astounding control with their Spells, and the Spells themselves were unbelievably powerful. Every attack had as much power as Level 110 Mythic monsters.
Despite their Defensive Spells' protection, the targeted players lost every last HP in no time at all. Over a thousand Tier 3 players and several Tier 3 players had died in less than a second, leaving nothing but empty space among the tide of Dark Players. The Dark World's denizens hadn't even had a chance to retaliate…
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Chapter 2565 – Frightening Knight Division, True Despair?
Less than 10 seconds after the battle had begun, the Dark Players' confidence shattered.
The MTs on the frontline were bona fide Tier 3 players, and many of them were well-known experts in the Dark World. They had so much HP and Defense that they could stand there, unfazed, as other Tier 3 experts whaled on them.
And yet, these same Tier 3 MTs were dying too quickly for the rear line's healers to restore their HPs. They had lost their lives without any chance to retaliate…
For a moment, everyone watching wondered if those MTs had deliberately worn Bronze Equipment into battle.
Their opponents were only Level 120-plus, Tier 3 NPCs, and many of the Dark World's players had fought NPC cities' Tier 3 soldiers before. Although Tier 3 NPCs might have higher Basic Attributes and combat standards, the difference shouldn't be this massive.
Even Zero Wing's players were stunned.
The Tier 3 Knights had slain over a thousand Tier 3 players and several thousand Tier 2 players with a single round of attacks. Such a force would even give Super Guilds a painful headache, and putting an end to the battle would take quite a while. However, those Tier 2 and 3 Dark Players were little more than infants before the Tier 3 Knights. The two sides' combat power was on entirely different levels.
Only Shi Feng remained unperturbed.
His Tier 3 Knights only seemed to be 10 or so levels higher than the enemy's Tier 3 players on the surface. Logically, there shouldn't be such a huge gap between the two forces' strength, even if the Tier 3 Knights were fully armed with Epic Weapons and Equipment.
However, God's Domain's current players didn't know that there were significant differences among NPCs' combat power, even at Tier 3. One of the most obvious was the liberation of their Mana Bodies.
Unlike players, NPCs did not need to invest a large amount of time to unlock their Mana Bodies' potential after reaching Tier 3. Instead, they relied on their talent and Growth Potential. As long as Tier 3 NPCs had the required talent and Growth Potential, they could unlock their Mana Bodies immediately. Conversely, some failed to accomplish the feat throughout their lifetimes.
The applicants Shi Feng had accepted into his Knight Division were considered elites among NPCs. Their innate talent and Growth Potential were far superior to the soldiers in NPC cities. Hence, as soon as they reached Tier 3, they had unlocked their Mana Bodies' full potential. They hadn't needed to experiment as players did.
But what about God's Domain's current players? Most hadn't even started the process of unlocking their Mana Bodies, let alone unlocked them fully. They were ten years too early if they thought they could stand against Shi Feng's Knight Division.
Moreover, Shi Feng had employed plenty of Ores, Elves, and Giants. Their combat power was even greater than human NPCs of the same tier and level. For example, a Mysterious-Iron ranked Ore warrior could rival a Secret-Silver ranked human warrior.
Of the non-human members of Shi Feng's Knight Division, even the weakest had Mysterious-Iron Growth Potential…
Not even Tier 3 peak experts in full, top-tier equipment would last more than a few seconds against these NPCs, much less ordinary Tier 3 experts.
Before the Dark World's players could snap out of their daze, Zero Wing's Knights swept through them again. Like harvesting wheat, the Knights needed no more than three moves to slay the Dark Players, reaping their lives in the blink of an eye.
None had time for elegant or astonishing combat techniques on this battlefield. Only pure strength and terror reigned!
The first unit, consisting of more than 50,000 players, had been annihilated in less than two minutes, and over 6,000 of them had been Tier 3 experts. In contrast, Zero Wing hadn't lost a single Knight. In fact, they had hardly taken any damage…
Silence descended on the battlefield. The Dark Players that had eagerly charged into combat had begun to back away, one step after another.
"How is this possible?" Furious Heart, who had been preparing to join the fray, gasped when he saw the field of corpses.
He had assumed the Dark World's overwhelming victory had been assured; he had never expected the battle to end like this.
They were talking about more than 6,000 Tier 3 experts!
The horrific force could easily destroy a Guild City, yet before Zero Wing's Knight Division, those experts had been as weak as Common monsters.
"How do they have so much more combat power?"
Blue Rainbow and Elder Gold, who watched from afar, were just as shocked after watching the Knights obliterate the first wave of players.
They had thought Shi Feng's confidence had been a joke. They had never dreamed that his Guild was actually this strong.
When Zero Wing had refrained from using its Flying Ships, they had seen the decision as foolish. Looking at it now, however, that was not the case. Zero Wing had merely decided against using the ships because it didn't need them.
How could these 1,000-plus NPCs even be Tier 3 beings? They seemed more like Tier 4 Mythic monsters, and ones with incredibly high combat standards.
If the Dark World wanted to defeat such a frightening force, it would have to rely on its foundations. Otherwise, it didn't matter how many players they sent at those Tier 3 NPCs. All would perish.
How are these Tier 3 NPCs so strong? Dawn Dominance frowned after watching several thousand Tier 3 experts die. Gritting his teeth, he snarled, "Everyone, now is not the time to hold back! All Guilds and adventurer teams, use your trump cards and crush those NPCs! If we keep holding back, Zero Wing will take the Teleportation Gate!"
The various Guilds and adventurer teams' upper echelons immediately took action.
Zero Wing's Knight Division might be scary, but their members were no pushovers. Like Zero Wing, they had trump cards that could boost their combat power far above what they currently wielded.
One after another, the Guilds and adventurer teams activated their trump cards.
Tier 4 Summoning Scrolls!
Advanced Magic Barriers!
Tier 3 Personal Guards!
In less than a minute, more than 50 Tier 4 summoned creatures and 4,000 Tier 3 Personal Guards appeared on the battlefield, their combined aura making everyone in the vicinity shudder. The various superpowers' members watching the battle from a safe distance were especially flabbergasted.
The Dark World's Guilds and adventurer teams had just revealed their strength in its fullest.
Amazing! Truly amazing! No individual power can hope to stand against the Dark World! Furious Heart's heart pounded as he watched.
He had been shocked to see Zero Wing field over 1,000 Tier 3 NPCs, but that was nothing before the Dark World's full power.
"Excellent! Everyone, attack!" Dawn Dominance proudly ordered. "Annihilate Zero Wing and avenge our fallen brothers!"
As soon as they heard the command, the various Guilds and adventurer teams sent their Tier 3 NPCs and Tier 4 summoned creatures into battle. Not even they had thought their combined strength would be so terrifying.
Zero Wing's players began to panic a little. Now, the tides had turned.
But just as the Dark World's residents expected to see Shi Feng fall into despair, the person in question gazed upon the approaching NPC force and summoned creatures with an extraordinary calm before retrieving a small ring from his bag.
"Miniature World!"
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Chapter 2566 – Mouths Ajar
Seeing Shi Feng step forward and chant an incantation, Blue Rainbow and Elder Gold were stunned.
"He still wants to fight?" Confusion changed Blue Rainbow's expression when Shi Feng showed no intention of retreating.
The difference between their combat power was clear for all to see. The Dark World's invading army was far too strong for any individual power to stop.
Based on Shi Feng's behavior, however, he intended to stay in this fight. Blue Rainbow struggled to understand.
During its investigations, Dark Rhapsody had obtained quite a bit of detailed information on Zero Wing from the main continent's superpowers and knew the Guild had a plethora of astounding trump cards. The Ring of Gospel, a Domain treasure, was one of them. When activated on a large battlefield, it had proven miraculously effective. Not only did the Ring of Gospel have large AOE Skills, but they were also considerably powerful.
However, the ring's effects on this battlefield would be very limited. Zero Wing currently faced Tier 3 Personal Guards and Tier 4 summoned creatures, after all. They had incredible resistance to suppression effects.
Moreover, more than 50 Tier 4 summoned creatures had joined the fight. Even if the Ring of Gospel could suppress them, a measly 1,000-plus Tier 3 NPCs wouldn't be enough to stop them. The invading army also had over 3,000 Tier 3 Personal Guards to support it.
Even Graceful Monarch and Purple Rakshasa, who watched from a hidden location, were confused.
"What is Black Flame trying to do?"
"Is he going for broke?"
They had only come to get a glimpse of the Dark World's strength. They had never dreamed that they'd witness a large-scale war between Zero Wing and the Otherworld.
They had been unprecedentedly shocked after seeing Zero Wing's combat power. No one had expected the Guild to have the strength to stand up to a force that included every expert from an entire Otherworld. Moreover, Zero Wing had even successfully deterred the Dark World's experts. The Guild's strength was unbelievable.
When they recalled the relatively amicable relationship between their Extreme Light Shelter and Shelter One, they breathed a sigh of relief. If Zero Wing wanted to, its Knight Division alone was more than capable of flattening the entire Dark Den.
On the other hand, Zero Wing's current opponents were bona fide Tier 3 NPCs and Tier 4 Mythic monsters. With such a large difference between the two sides' combat power and numbers, retreating to Stone Forest City was the wisest move Zero Wing could make. Every one of those Tier 3 Knights was apart of Zero Wing's foundations, and if they were slain, Zero Wing would be crippled.
Zero Wing had already proven its strength. Once news of this battle spread, the various superpowers that wanted to capture Stone Forest City would back down. The Dark World's players and powers wouldn't underestimate Zero Wing again. In fact, they might even avoid offending the Guild's members in Cold Spring Forest.
While Graceful Monarch and Purple Rakshasa were fraught with confusion, something suddenly changed above the valley.
A phantom world gradually descended, growing as it grew closer to the valley floor. In less than three seconds, not only had the phantom world grown large enough to cover the battlefield, but it also enveloped the spectating players, including Graceful Monarch and Purple Rakshasa, in the distance.
The instant they felt the phantom world's power, both Graceful Moon and Purple Rakshasa felt out of tune with the world around them. It felt like they had become enemies with their surroundings. Not only had their physiques started to weaken, but they also lost a significant portion of their Basic Attributes.
The phantom world's power also seemed to affect the Tier 3 Personal Guards and Tier 4 summoned creatures. They had slowed considerably, and their auras even seemed significantly weaker.
"What did he do?" Blue Rainbow gaped, shocked when she realized how much the Tier 3 NPCs and Tier 4 monsters had been suppressed.
She had experienced Domains' effects before, which tended to be much weaker than magic barriers. The stronger the target was, the less the Domain would suppress it, yet Shi Feng's domain had destroyed everything she thought she knew about the mechanic.
Normally, not even Intermediate Magic Arrays could suppress Tier 4 monsters to this extent, but within Shi Feng's Domain, their auras had weakened considerably. This Domain could practically rival Advanced Magic Barriers, and it was so massive that it covered the entire valley. She had never heard of such a powerful Domain.
Before anyone could react, however, Shi Feng began another incantation.
"Ring of Brilliance!"
When he finished his chant, a light rippled across the battlefield, stunning every Dark Player in the area.
"Crap! This is cheating!" Magic Flash cursed aloud, glaring at Zero Wing's Knight Division.
The intensity of those Knights' auras had skyrocketed, and the combined energy made them feel as if they were truly a legion of Tier 4 monsters. The Knights' mental states had also visibly improved. They looked nothing like they had a few moments ago.
The sudden development caused an uproar among the various Guilds and adventurer teams' upper echelons, who commanded the Tier 3 Personal Guards and Tier 4 summoned creatures, and they halted their advance, exchanging looks. A deathly silence had fallen over the Dark World's invading army, and the passion and killing intent they had radiated was nowhere to be seen.
"Do you wish to continue this fight?" Shi Feng calmly asked after sweeping his gaze over the Dark Players before him. This time, not one Dark Player dared to speak up. They simply stared back with angry, reluctant looks.
Fight?
More like suicide!
Determined, they had revealed every trump card they had previously hidden, and yet, thanks to the Ring of Gospel's two Skills, they hadn't even shortened the gap between their strength and Zero Wing's. Rather, it had only grown…
Since no one responded to his question, Shi Feng turned to Dawn Dominance, who still succumbed to his shock.
"Guild Leader Dawn, since you can speak on behalf of the Dark World, may I know if you wish to continue this battle?" Shi Feng asked, smiling at the robust man.
Dawn Dominance's countenance turned ashen when he heard the question, and he was at a complete loss for words.
If he chose to fight, he'd be sacrificing himself and his Guild to oblivion. He had dispatched every Tier 3 Personal Guard World Domination owned for the sake of driving the other Guilds and adventurer teams into action. If just one of those NPCs died, his Guild would suffer a huge blow. If they all died, World Domination wouldn't survive.
However, nothing would remain of World Domination's hard-won prestige in the Dark World if he admitted defeat…
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Chapter 2567 – Suppressing an Army of Millions
Upon hearing the question Shi Feng directed at Dawn Dominance, silence fell over the battlefield as the various powers' upper echelons turned to look at World Domination's Guild Leader, who served as the Dark World's representative.
Zero Wing's strength had far exceeded their expectations. The Guild possessed not only an incredibly strong Knight Division but also a Domain treasure capable of significantly suppressing even Tier 4 creatures. The combination of the two cards meant no power could threaten Zero Wing's Knight Legion at this stage of the game.
For a time, silence reigned over the Dark World's army of several millions because of Shi Feng's words. This situation stupefied Magic Flash and the others, who were spectating the battle from afar.
Arrogance?
Ignorance?
When Magic Flash and the others thought back to the opinions they had of Shi Feng, they realized how ridiculous those were. At the same time, they celebrated inwardly.
This was because they finally saw for themselves what a true monster was today.
Previously, in their opinion, single-handedly going up against thousands of enemies simultaneously could already be considered a legendary feat. In fact, 99% of the people who claimed to be capable of such a feat were undoubtedly spouting nonsense. As expert players, Magic Flash and his companions knew just how difficult it was to go up against thousands of enemies simultaneously, especially in a large-scale Guild War. The enemy side would definitely have numerous expert players amidst their forces. Trying to fight against thousands in such a situation ramped up the difficulty.
Now, however, not only did this legendary feat happen right before their very eyes, but the scale of this feat had even been magnified by one thousand!
Shi Feng had single-handedly suppressed an army of millions!
Due to just this one scene, they could say with certainty that the name of Black Flame would shake the entire Dark World in the future.
"Is he really human?" Purple Rakshasa's heart pounded rapidly as she took in the army of millions remaining motionless before Shi Feng. At this moment, she earnestly doubted Shi Feng was human.
He had intimidated several million expert players and several thousand Tier 3 NPCs!
Although Shi Feng's previous performance at the Extreme Light Shelter had already been plenty shocking, that feat was nothing compared to this.
Even standing a great distance away, she had still shuddered upon sighting the army of millions. Shi Feng, however, had single-handedly silenced these several million experts. The power and influence he wielded were simply inhuman.
"It seems Shelter One no longer has to worry about its development from now on," Graceful Monarch said, a bitter smile forming on her face as she gazed at Blue Frost, one of her rivals in the Dark Den.
Originally, Graceful Monarch thought that, with Crimson Emperor's help, the Extreme Light Shelter could surpass Shelter One in the Dark Den. In light of the turn of events, however, that was categorically impossible.
Zero Wing was a Guild capable of suppressing an entire world's players to the point where they didn't even dare to breathe. Once news of this feat reached the Dark Den, the experts that revered strength would definitely do everything they could to join Shelter One and Zero Wing. Moreover, Shi Feng had previously displayed extraordinary individual strength in the Dark Den. With these two factors combined, Shelter One would surely become a sacred land for Dark Den's experts.
After the silence on the battlefield persisted for some time, Dawn Dominance walked up to Shi Feng with an incomparably gloomy expression; the pride and fighting spirit he had before were nowhere to be seen now.
"Guild Leader Black Flame, this move of yours is indeed amazing. I'm afraid nobody ever thought that Zero Wing might actually possess so much hidden strength," Dawn Dominance said after taking a deep breath. "However, it is wise not to bum one's bridges. I admit that the Domain Skills you used are very powerful. However, these Domain Skills will only remain active so long as their user is alive. Once the user dies, the effects of the Domain Skills will disappear. The Dark World's army might not be a match for your army, but we have plenty of people. We have more than enough manpower to spare to kill you, the user of the Domain Skills.
"Of course, I also have to admit that we will suffer plenty of losses before we succeed. However, the final outcome is similarly one that you will not wish to see, Guild Leader Black Flame. Instead of suffering mutual destruction, why don't we each take a step back?
"Our request is very simple. So long as Zero Wing stops having designs on the Teleportation Gate, everything else is negotiable."
Upon hearing Dawn Dominance's suggestion, realization immediately dawned upon the Dark Players present.
"Guild Leader Dawn really is the best. How could we have forgotten such a thing?"
Due to the immense shock they felt before, one simple thing actually slipped their minds.
In God's Domain, magic arrays and Domain Skills required a user to sustain them. Domain tools were no exception. If they killed the player using the tool, then the tool would naturally lose effect.
Meanwhile, once the dark army no longer suffered under the effects of Miniature World' taking care of Zero Wing would be a piece of cake.
However, Dawn Dominance was also correct in that they would have to pay a huge price to annihilate Zero Wing if they continued fighting, and this was not something they wished to see.
The best solution now was for both sides to each take a step back.
"What if I refuse?" Shi Feng asked, smiling.
At Shi Feng's words, silence filled the battlefield once more.
"Lunatic! He's definitely a lunatic!"
"The Dark World has already taken a step back, yet he's still insisting on controlling the Teleportation Gate?! Is he really not afraid of losing everything?!"
The spectating experts of the various superpowers found Shi Feng's intransigence insane. Previously, the Dark World's offer to give up on participating in the superpowers' fight for Stone Forest City was already plenty shocking. Now, the Dark World was even willing to take another step back and provide Zero Wing with other benefits in exchange for Zero Wing giving up its designs on the Teleportation Gate. In the eyes of the main continent's various superpowers, this was an unbelievable opportunity—something any power would wish to obtain—yet Shi Feng had still rejected it without hesitation.
They had no doubt that this was the Dark World's bottom line. There would be no more concessions after this. If Shi Feng continued insisting on taking control of the Teleportation Gate, then Zero Wing really would enter an irreconcilable feud with the Dark World.
"Guild Leader Black Flame, do you really intend to drag Zero Wing into a fight to the death?" Dawn Dominance demanded as he tried to suppress the anger in his heart as much as possible. "You'll regret it if that happens!"
Zero Wing's strength thoroughly exceeded Dawn Dominance's expectations. If both sides continued fighting, the only outcome would be mutual destruction—an outcome he was not willing to see. After all, World Domination still needed to develop on the main continent. Without sufficient strength, its efforts would be futile. However, he never imagined that Shi Feng would actually be so stubborn as to refuse to take a step back even when given an excellent opportunity to do so.
"Guild Leader Dawn, there's no need to continue showing Black Flame any respect! Since he doesn't know how to appreciate goodwill, I say that we just teach him a lesson! At worst, we'll have a slower time developing on the main continent!"
"That's right! Since he doesn't want the goodwill we're showing him, let's just annihilate Zero Wing and be done with this! Let's see what he can do then!"
The Dark Players present similarly grew enraged at Shi Feng's response. They had already offered a huge concession to Zero Wing, a condition that even Super Guilds wouldn't dream of obtaining, yet Shi Feng had still chosen to reject it.
This rekindled the various powers' thoughts of annihilating Zero Wing.
"A fight to the death?" Shaking his head, Shi Feng said, "Guild Leader Dawn, you're overexaggerating things. In my eyes, it is, at most, negligible losses."
"Good! Since you wish to remain stubborn, you have only yourself to blame, Guild Leader Black Flame! Brothers, no need to hold back anymore!" Dawn Dominance snarled as he glared at Shi Feng in anger.
Negligible losses?
Such arrogance!
Shi Feng was simply too arrogant!
However, just as the Dark World's army was about to advance once more, Shi Feng made his move.
Unsheathing Killing Ray, Shi Feng executed a forward slash.
Lightning Slash!
A blue lightning bolt promptly streaked through the area before Shi Feng. A bystander would also see a pitch-black spatial tear following closely behind the lightning bolt. Without Dawn Dominance noticing, both the lightning bolt and spatial tear brushed past his body.
When the lightning bolt disappeared, the dozen or so Tier 3 experts in its path instantly lost all their HPs. An eighteen- meter-tall, Level 115 Mythic monster standing a short distance behind Dawn Dominance was also sent flying and crashing into a bunch of Dark Players.
For a time, deathly silence filled the battlefield.
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Chapter 2568 – Dark World Defeated, Zero Wing Flourishes
After a short period of stunned silence, a gabble of confusion erupted as everyone present stared at Shi Feng in disbelief.
"What happened?"
"How did he send a Tier 4 summoned creature flying?"
"What did he do?"
Everyone present had seen Shi Feng's actions very clearly. In fact, they even felt that Shi Feng had moved very slowly.
However, nobody could wrap their heads around what had actually happened. All they had seen was Shi Feng executing a forward slash at the empty space before him and releasing a streak of blue light from his sword. And by the time they snapped out of their daze, the Tier 4 summoned creature that stood over 60 yards away from the Swordsman was already in the air.
"He sent a Level 115, Tier 4 summoned creature flying with a single hit?" Blue Rainbow wore a somber and confused look on her face as she gazed at Shi Feng. "Just how high are his Basic Attributes?"
From previous investigations, she knew that Shi Feng possessed ridiculously high Basic Attributes. Even Rebellious Thunder, who was a Demon Count and wielded the Magic Weapon Cruel Darkness, had only a slight edge on Shi Feng in this regard. Moreover, that was when Shi Feng was in his normal state.
In other words, even back then, Shi Feng's Strength Attribute should already rival that of Mythic monsters of the same level.
Now, however, Shi Feng had actually sent a Level 115 Mythic monster flying with his attack. Something was wrong with this situation.
After all, blocking an attack from a Mythic monster and sending a Mythic monster flying were two entirely different concepts!
Unless there was an enormous gap in Strength, it was impossible for one to send their opponents flying, yet not only did Shi Feng send a Mythic monster flying, but it was even a Level 115 Mythic monster. The current Strength he displayed was starkly different from what the reports mentioned.
How is this possible?" Furious Heart, who was spectating from afar, was similarly stunned by this situation. He had personally witnessed Shi Feng's Strength before. However, despite so little time having passed since their last meeting, Shi Feng could now actually send a Level 115 Mythic monster flying with his attacks.
For a moment, Furious Heart suspected that the Main God System was playing a prank on him.
With such frightening Strength, let alone Tier 3 NPCs, even Tier 4 NPCs would struggle to deal with Shi Feng. Needless to say, it would be a fool's dream to hope that a bunch of Tier 4 Mythic monsters would defeat him. Monsters generally had very low combat standards. In a situation where the difference in Basic Attributes was negligible, they would be no different from Common monsters in front of even ordinary expert players, let alone a Domain Realm expert like Shi Feng. If all 50-plus Tier 4 summoned creatures attacked the Swordsman, they would still have an incredibly difficult time inflicting damage on him.
Not to mention, Shi Feng still had a legion of Tier 3 Knights behind him.
"How did he get so strong?" Hell Rush, who stood among Zero Wing's forces, was similarly astounded as he looked at Shi Feng.
Ever since Netherworld Empire had partnered with Zero Wing, Hell Rush had been following beside Shi Feng almost every day. Hence, he had a very good understanding of Shi Feng's strength.
Moreover, Shi Feng had spent much less time grinding than Hell Rush. In fact, Hell Rush had rarely ever seen Shi Feng going out to grind for levels as the man was tied down by all sorts of Guild affairs.
In contrast, Hell Rush had been frantically grinding every day. And thanks to Stone Forest City's help, not only was he close to reaching Level 110 already, but he had even replaced two pieces of his equipment thus far. He had also achieved considerable progress in unlocking his Mana Body. Personally, he deemed that the gap in combat power between himself and Shi Feng should've shrunk by quite a bit.
However, contrary to Hell Rush's belief, not only had the gap in combat power not shrunk, but it had actually grown instead.
As for Dawn Dominance, who originally planned to ridicule Shi Feng for his arrogance and ignorance, he was stunned by this unexpected development as well. When he saw the Tier 4 summoned creature sprawled on the ground, his mind froze momentarily.
Dawn Dominance had known that Shi Feng possessed Basic Attributes rivaling those of Mythic monsters and that the man was considered a peerless monster in God's Domain. The Swordsman definitely wasn't an existence that ordinary experts could hope to contend with—even a group of Tier 3 peak experts wouldn't be his match.
However, what was up with the current situation?
How was Shi Feng just a peerless monster?
He was much stronger than even Zero Wing's nigh-invincible Tier 3 Knights!
In fact, killing several hundred of Zero Wing's Tier 3 Knights would be much easier than killing Shi Feng!
At this moment, only Shi Feng himself remained unfazed by the latest development.
In God's Domain, weapons played the biggest role in determining a player's combat power. The Abyssal Blade's recent promotion into a Fragmented Legendary Weapon had boosted Shi Feng's Strength beyond that of Level 115 Mythic monsters. With the Ring of Gospel's assistance, which weakened the dark army's Tier 4 summoned creatures and improved his own Basic Attributes by a significant margin, it was only natural that he could send a Level 115 Mythic monster flying.
"Guild Leader Dawn, do you still wish to continue?" Shi Feng asked the motionless man before him.
This time, Shi Feng did not speak that loudly. However, the Dark Players found his voice unusually ear-piercing and vexing. This was already Shi Feng's second time asking them this question. It was as if he was ridiculing them for their previous mockery of him, and they could not help but wish they could charge forward and kill Shi Feng right now.
Humiliation!
This was absolute humiliation!
Nevertheless, despite feeling greatly humiliated, none of the Dark Players present dared to speak up. Instead, they all stared at Dawn Dominance in silence.
Meanwhile, after Shi Feng repeated his question, an indescribably gloomy expression appeared on Dawn Dominance's face.
"Black Flame!" Dawn Dominance gnashed his teeth as he glared at Shi Feng. However, aside from calling out Shi Feng's name, he couldn't think of anything else to say.
In this situation, the upper echelons of the Dark World's various powers sympathized with Dawn Dominance despite themselves.
Previously, Dawn Dominance's bid to increase World Domination's influence in the Dark World through this war had exasperated the various powers present. This was especially true for Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society.
Currently, however, both Blue Rainbow and Elder Gold only felt pity for Dawn Dominance.
After all, Shi Feng was truly too vicious!
By deliberately repeating his question, not only did Shi Feng thoroughly humiliate Dawn Dominance, but Dawn Dominance also had no choice but to stomach this humiliation in silence.
"Guild Leader Dawn, if you wish to continue fighting, I won't object. Only, the outcome will not be within my control," Shi Feng said and shrugged as he looked at Dawn Dominance's enraged expression, indicating that he had no qualms whatsoever.
Upon hearing Shi Feng's words, the upper echelons of the Dark World's various Guilds and adventurer teams immediately grew nervous, and they all sent meaningful looks at Dawn Dominance.
The Zero Wing members and various superpowers' spectating experts present gaped in shock at this sight.
The Dark World that had once stricken fear into the main continent's various superpowers was now timorous after a few words from Shi Feng. If they were to retell today's tale, nobody would believe them. However, it had happened right before their very eyes.
Of course, the various superpowers' experts could sympathize with the Dark World's players.
The current battle involved the foundations of both sides. If the dark army perished, then the Dark World's various powers would lose all the fruits of their efforts, with nothing to show for it. This definitely wasn't an outcome they could accept.
"Guild Leader Black Flame, I admit that you are very powerful! The Dark World will give up on this Teleportation Gate! However, don't think you can feel pleased for long! You won't be able to defend this Teleportation Gate forever!" Dawn Dominance said after taking in a deep breath.
As soon as Dawn Dominance finished speaking, he turned around and walked back to the Teleportation Gate. He had no intention of staying in Cold Spring Forest for even a moment longer.
Upon seeing this, the members of the Dark World's powers promptly withdrew to the Dark World as well. None of them chose to remain in Cold Spring Forest. Only a few independent players decided to stay behind and take a look at the situation.
"Zero Wing won, just like that?"
Purple Rakshasa was stunned when she saw the Dark World's various powers retreating. For a moment, she felt as if she was dreaming.
Against an entire world's experts, Zero Wing had actually emerged victorious!
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Chapter 2569 – Gathering for Nothing?
Cold Spring Forest, Stone Forest City:
As news of the Dark World's Teleportation Gate's opening had already spread across the entire Cold Spring Forest, the tension in Stone Forest City had increased, and many of the city's resident players had decided to leave and develop somewhere else. This development left the once bustling city quiet.
Stone Forest City's previously crowded main street now had less than half the players it originally did. Moreover, it was only because of the newly established Freedom Hotel that this many players chose to remain in the city. However, the majority of these players were actually experts belonging to the various major powers. Very few were independent players.
At this time, a group of cloaked players entered the Freedom Hotel's first-floor lobby, the appearance of these players triggering loud discussions among the other players there.
The reason for the strong reaction was the Secret Pavilion's experts guiding this group of nearly 100 cloaked players. Standing at the head of the Secret Pavilion's experts were the well-known Yuan Tiexin and a male Half-elf who looked to be in his forties.
"Amazing! Who are those people? They're actually being guided by an Elder of the Secret Pavilion!"
"Those people must be bigshots of superpowers. I recall that the Secret Pavilion is a shareholder of Stone Forest City. Now that the Dark World's players have entered Cold Spring Forest, Stone Forest City faces a very bleak future. Those cloaked people might be reinforcements the Secret Pavilion recruited."
"Reinforcements? What's the point of calling in reinforcements? That's an entire world we're talking about. That's not something any individual superpower can go up against. Even multiple superpowers working together won't be able to stop the Dark World's invasion."
The various major powers' experts in the lobby were eaten up with curiosity as they discussed the identities of the cloaked experts.
Nowadays, Stone Forest City was already a holy land for players who wanted to develop themselves. After all, the city boasted not only an incredibly high Mana density but also the Freedom Hotel, which greatly amplified the rate at which players accumulated the Double EXP buff. It was even rumored that the Freedom Hotel's top-floor rooms could accelerate the removal of foreign energy from one's body and increase the efficiency of one's training in combat techniques.
In the current era, where combat techniques had become more commonly available in God's Domain, the Freedom Hotel's functions held a fatal temptation to expert players. If a power could develop their expert players using the Freedom Hotel's functions over long periods, the development speed of said power would reach unimaginable heights.
Since the Secret Pavilion was one of Stone Forest City's shareholders, the Guild naturally wouldn't give up on the city without a fight.
Only, now that the Dark World's Teleportation Gate was open, the various major powers' experts found it inconceivable that any power could stop the Dark World's players.
"Please wait a moment. I'll go rent an advanced reception room," Yuan Tiexin said to the cloaked players behind him.
He went up to the front desk and presented a gold card to the receptionist there. And upon seeing the card, the various major powers' upper echelons were green with envy.
The Freedom Hotel's Gold Membership Card!
Due to the Freedom Hotel's amazing functions, the various major powers all sought membership in the Freedom Hotel, the higher, the better. However, doing so was incredibly difficult. Even now, those major powers had managed to gain only a Bronze Membership. If they wished to elevate their membership status to Silver, they would need to accumulate a large number of Contribution Points in the Freedom Hotel, which could be acquired only by selling rare materials and doing quests. Moreover, each player could sell only a limited amount of materials per day.
Meanwhile, a Gold Membership allowed players to rent the rooms on the Freedom Hotel's top floor.
While Yuan Tiexin was handling the rental procedures, the cloaked players standing behind him studied the Freedom Hotel's interior.
"So, this is Zero Wing's Freedom Hotel? This place really is amazing!" said a cloaked, male youth radiating dense darkness energy. He sighed ruefully when he sensed the density of the Mana inside the hotel and the Mana's effects. "It's no wonder Zero Wing dared to offend our Guild before."
"So what if Zero Wing dared to offend us? In the end, Zero Wing still lost to Vice Guild Leader Light," a Level 109 Elementalist standing beside the male youth and similarly radiating darkness energy said disdainfully.
This time, the Secret Pavilion had not only taken the initiative to invite the various superpowers that Demon's Heart had secretly partnered up with but also extended an invitation to Demon's Heart. One could easily imagine the direness of Zero Wing's current situation.
Unfortunately, even if the Secret Pavilion stepped forward this time, it couldn't do much to change the outcome of this war, as the various superpowers present were hell-bent on obtaining Stone Forest City.
As the two experts from Demon's Heart quietly conversed with each other, Illusory Words, who similarly stood among the cloaked players, wore a frown on her face.
"Illusory, it seems the chances of Zero Wing surviving are slim. So many superpowers have actually gathered to obtain Stone Forest City. I doubt even the Secret Pavilion expected such a development," the fierce man standing beside Illusory Words said, sighing.
The Secret Pavilion had invited all the superpowers targeting Stone Forest City to the negotiations. Crimson Emperor had estimated that six or seven superpowers, at most, had their eye on Stone Forest City. However, the actual number turned out to be more than ten. Even Battle Wolves, which had an irreconcilable feud with Demon's Heart, had decided to join in the fray.
If these superpowers banded together, they would have a minimum of 4,000 Tier 3 experts with very high combat standards. If they worked together with the Dark World's forces and attacked Stone Forest City from both the inside and outside, Stone Forest City wouldn't stand a chance.
Of course, the fierce man could also understand why the various superpowers were willing to go to such lengths to obtain Stone Forest City. After all, the advantages the city brought were simply amazing. This was especially true for the Freedom Hotel. No superpower would pass up the Freedom Hotel's benefits.
Moreover, Zero Wing had even taken the initiative to meet the Dark World's army at the Teleportation Gate. That was simply suicide. Now, even if all of the Five Great Super Guilds banded together, they still wouldn't be able to save Zero Wing.
At this moment, let alone Illusory Words and the fierce man from Crimson Emperor, even Yuan Tiexin, who had invited the various superpowers secretly targeting Stone Forest City, was surprised by this situation.
He never thought that there would be more than ten superpowers targeting Stone Forest City this time. Aside from Demon's Heart and Starlink, which bore deep hatred for Zero Wing, the superpowers included the Ten Saints Empire's Demon Palace, the Shadow World's Shadowless Empire, and the Super Guilds Battle Wolves and Pantheon. Not to mention, Mythology, one of the Five Great Super Guilds, which wasn't present among the superpowers he invited, was sure to be taking action in secret against Stone Forest City as well.
If all these superpowers worked together, they could shake the entire eastern continent, what more a measly Stone Forest City. For a moment, Yuan Tiexin could not help but doubt if the negotiations this time would truly yield any results.
Hahaha! Zero Wing is doomed now! Troubled Times, who had come with Flaming Light, could not help but grow ecstatic as he took in the various superpowers' representatives around him. With so many superpowers gathered here, even a Super Guild won't be able to stop the upcoming assault!
Previously, when Shi Feng had publicly executed Troubled Times in Demon City, not only did Troubled Times's strength diminish greatly, but his reputation in the Dark Den had also fallen into ruin.
Originally, Troubled Times thought that he wouldn't have an opportunity to get revenge on Zero Wing. However, his chance had come so quickly.
"Everyone, the reception room is ready. Please follow me," Yuan Tiexin said to the cloaked group behind him.
However, just as Yuan Tiexin was about to lead the group to the Freedom Hotel's top-floor reception room, a figure suddenly appeared before him. The other players present in the lobby gaped in shock at the development.
The players the Secret Pavilion invited might be hiding their identities, but they had not done anything to conceal their auras—and their auras made it clear that every one of these people was a peak expert or above. Anyone that dared to stand in their path had to be tired of living.
However, someone actually dared to do so. Moreover, this person was a woman wearing Zero Wing's Emblem, and her level was only a pitiful 100.
"Miss Melancholic, do you have business with us?" Yuan Tiexin asked in confusion. He had recognized this woman immediately.
This woman was none other than Melancholic Smile, the manager of Zero Wing's Candlelight Trading Firm as well as one of the Freedom Hotel's managers.
Yuan Tiexin had not intentionally tried to conceal the fact that he had invited the various superpowers for negotiations. And in his opinion, Zero Wing should have no reason whatsoever to stop him from doing so. After all, the Secret Pavilion was one of Stone Forest City's shareholders, and negotiating with the various superpowers could reduce the number of enemies Zero Wing would have to face.
Now, however, Melancholic Smile had suddenly appeared before their group.
"It's nothing important," Melancholic Smile said, shaking her head. "I'm just following the Guild Leader's instructions to relay a message to these people."
"Relay a message? Is he taking the initiative to hand over Stone Forest City's shares now that he knows he can't win?" Troubled Times asked, laughing in ridicule.
Upon hearing Troubled Times' words, the various superpowers' experts present also started laughing.
With things having reached this point already, wasn't it a little too late for regrets?
"Our Guild Leader has stated that if you wish to develop in Stone Forest City with peace in mind, then Zero Wing will welcome you with open arms. However, if you wish to meddle in Stone Forest City's affairs, you'd best return to wherever you came from instead of asking for trouble!" Melancholic Smile declared calmly as she swept her gaze across the players before her.
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Chapter 2570 – On the Verge of War, Crazy Zero Wing
At first, the players in the lobby had paid close attention to the mysterious group Yuan Tiexin had invited, and Melancholic Smile hadn't tried to keep her voice down. Hence, after her declaration, silence had fallen in the hotel lobby as everyone stared at her in astonishment.
"What's going on?"
"Those people must be bigshots from the various superpowers, yet she dares to speak to them like that?"
"Amazing! Truly amazing! Even now, Zero Wing still behaves so haughtily! Since the day I joined God's Domain, I've never seen such a suicidal Guild!"
None of these players were fools, and even though they hid themselves under Black Cloaks, the individuals Yuan Teixin had invited were clearly from the various superpowers. Moreover, they should be the superpowers' top-ranked experts based on their auras.
Now that the Dark World's Teleportation Gate was active, it would only be a matter of time before Dark Players flooded into Cold Spring Forest. The entire Level 100 neutral map was in danger, as was Stone Forest City.
Yet, even in such a dire predicament, Zero Wing continued to maintain its arrogance before the various superpowers. This was just insane!
"Miss Melancholic, what are you…" Yuan Tiexin was flabbergasted.
He couldn't believe what was happening!
If he hadn't been certain that Melancholic Smile wasn't some spy and an actual core member in Zero Wing, who had worked her way up the ranks, he would've suspected otherwise. Her announcement was practically a dare to the various superpowers and would undoubtedly lead to Zero Wing's elimination from Cold Spring Forest.
"What are Zero Wing's intentions, Old Yuan?" Scorching Shine asked from beside Yuan Teixin with a frosty look.
He had already surmised that the chances of their plan succeeding were very low. Stone Forest City's Freedom Hotel was too tempting to give up, after all. However, it was also the reason that the Secret Pavilion didn't want other superpowers to stick their fingers in the city.
Unfortunately, Melancholic Smile's statement had as good as ruined their plan.
No one would be surprised if the various superpowers shed all pretenses with Zero Wing immediately, let alone negotiate.
For a moment, Yuan Tiexin was speechless.
Cold Spring Forest was a lost cause at this point. Even the various superpowers would have a hard time developing in the area, much less Zero Wing. There was simply no way Zero Wing could retain absolute control over Stone Forest City. It'd be a miracle if the Guild even kept a portion of the city.
Yuan Tiexin had worked with Shi Feng many times before, so he knew the Swordsman was open to persuasion, not coercion. If he insisted that Shi Feng gave away a significant portion of the city's shares, their discussion would end on a sour note. Knowing this, he hadn't bothered to contact Shi Feng before his negotiation with the various superpowers. He would only try to convince Shi Feng once the negotiations had reached a satisfying conclusion. With things as they were now, Zero Wing would have to sacrifice some of Stone Forest City's shares if it wished to survive. Maintaining full control was impossible.
But Yuan Tiexin had never considered that Shi Feng would be ruthless enough to send Melancholic Smile to disrespect the various superpowers so blatantly. He had definitely gone insane this time!
"Hahaha! Interesting! Zero Wing is truly fascinating! Even now, it displays such confidence! It's no wonder why it dares to offend so many superpowers! It seems my visit to Stone Forest City wasn't a waste!" an elderly, crimson-eyed man wearing the Shadowless Empire's Emblem and holding a scarlet staff said, laughing.
"Old Lu, do you think Zero Wing is just putting on a brave face?" Evil Qilin, who wore Demon Palace's Emblem and carried a war axe that radiated strange energy, asked, sneering at the crimson-browed elder. "Zero Wing is digging its own grave by provoking us!"
"I think you still have a grudge over losing to Black Flame, Qilin!" the crimson-eyed elder shot back, chuckling at the glare Evil Qilin directed his way.
Instead of rising to the crimson-eyed elder's teasing, Evil Qilin simply smiled as he said, "The situation on Dragonheart Island is one thing, but we're in Cold Spring Forest. Moreover, this won't be some small team battle in the fields. We're talking about a conflict with an entire Otherworld. Zero Wing hasn't tried to win us over, but has sent some nobody to spit in our faces. If that isn't stupidity, what is?"
Demon Palace's other members nodded in agreement.
Due to Zero Wing, Demon Palace's reputation on Dragonheart Island had suffered, but this situation was completely different.
More than 10 superpowers had gathered in Stone Forest City. Even without including the Dark World's players, there were more than enough hostile players to end Zero Wing's reign.
Instead of negotiating for peace, Zero Wing has sent someone to slap the gathered superpowers in the face. The Guild must be giving up!
After a brief moment of silence, Troubled Times' smile grew into a grin. He then walked up to Melancholic Smile without any hesitation.
"Lady from Zero Wing, we're here precisely to cause trouble. What are you going to do about it?" Troubled Times asked, raising his voice deliberately to ensure that every player in the lobby heard him.
Hearing Troubled Times' threat, an uproar shook the lobby.
"What?! Are the various superpowers really going to fight Zero Wing?"
"Zero Wing asked for it. We may be in Stone Forest City, but do you think the various superpowers would let such intentional disrespect slide?"
"Zero Wing truly is doomed now. Now, not only does it have to deal with the Dark World's invasion, but it will also have to face the various superpowers' wrath. The experts that recently joined Zero Wing must deeply regret their decisions."
The various major powers' members started chatting amongst themselves as they watched the tense conversation play out. They could hardly believe Zero Wing's behavior. None of them had expected the Guild to shed all pretenses before the various superpowers' representatives.
While everyone expected Melancholic Smile to panic, however, she smiled brightly at Troubled Times and replied, "If that's the case, Zero Wing will have no choice but to erase you from Cold Spring Forest!"
Again, the lobby fell deathly silent…
Melancholic Smile's response even stunned Troubled Times. He couldn't understand why she was so bold. Wasn't she supposed to grovel at his feet and beg for mercy?
"It seems your instincts were wrong this time, Illusory. That girl is just as insane as her Guild Leader. She's only pushing Zero Wing further down the path of no return…" the fierce man from Crimson Emperor said, admiring Melancholic Smile's bravery.
Every one of the various superpowers' representatives wanted to declare war on Zero Wing that moment. They hadn't found a good excuse to attack Stone Forest City yet, but Zero Wing had just given them the reason they had been searching for.
The fierce man looked over, expecting to see Illusory Words bitter after misjudging Zero Wing, but he saw that she maintained a neutral expression, focused on a message she had just received. After a moment, she looked up and took a deep breath before informing her companion, "My instincts might have been wrong, but her statement isn't!"
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Chapter 2571 – Astonished Once More, Hotel in an Uproar "What do you mean?"
Illusory Words' statement confused her fierce comrade from Crimson Emperor. What did she mean by her instincts had been wrong, but Melancholic Smile wasn't?
The current situation was clear for all to see, and Illusory Words had acknowledged that she had misjudged Zero Wing. How could Melancholic Smile's statement possibly be correct?
Zero Wing was struggling to survive. Chasing the various superpowers out of Cold Spring Forest from such a position was a joke.
To be precise, my instincts were only partially correct," Illusory Words explained, chuckling at the fierce man's confused look. "It's best if you take a look for yourself. I just received this message from Graceful Monarch."
"Graceful Monarch? Has something unexpected happened at the Teleportation Gate?" Curious, the fierce man opened the message Illusory Words had forwarded.
Graceful Monarch and Purple Rakshasa had wanted to see the Dark World's Teleportation Gate themselves and get a clear grasp of the invading army's strength. Zero Wing had also dispatched quite a few players to the gate, and by allowing the two Dark Den players to spectate, they'd find out exactly what Zero Wing intended.
In his opinion, Zero Wing was wasting its time in trying to negotiate with the Dark World's various powers, especially once they'd seen the benefits Cold Spring Forest and Stone Forest City had to offer. Regardless of what the Guild tried to offer, the outcome wouldn't change.
Retaining a small fraction of the city's shares was the best Zero Wing could hope for. It shouldn't dream of holding more power than that. The Dark World's invading army had more than 30,000 Tier 3 experts. No individual power would have the strength to stand up against that.
While the fierce man carefully read Graceful Monarch's message, more players had begun to gather in the Freedom Hotel. A large number of independent experts had come to hear what Melancholic Smile had to say.
"Did she get the wrong message? Dropping all pretense with the various superpowers would only bring Zero Wing more harm. Stone Forest City might not even last three days at this rate, much less a week," Galaxy Past, who had just arrived in the Freedom Hotel's lobby, gaped in shock when he heard about Melancholic Smile's interaction with the superpowers' representatives.
Every player in the city was paying attention to the current situation Zero Wing and Cold Spring Forest Faced.
Although word of the various superpowers moving against Stone Forest City had long since reached the masses, Galaxy Past still had a hard time believing that Zero Wing would take the initiative to offend the various superpowers.
He, too, knew that Zero Wing would never bend to coercion, only persuasion. He also knew that the Guild was insane and acted no differently than a gambling addict. Although Zero Wing's crazy bets had been astonishingly successful thus far, its current opponent was on a completely different level than those it had faced before. If Zero Wing moved against the various superpowers now, it would be caught in a dead-end.
Zero Wing was no longer the Guild it had been. It had nearly as many resources and as much territory as the various superpowers. If the Guild could stabilize its hold in Stone Forest City and continue to develop in peace, it would only be a matter of time before it became another of God's Domain's superpowers.
While Galaxy Past found Melancholic Smile's actions perplexing, Demon's Heart's members began to laugh. Troubled Times' laughter, in particular, rang throughout the lobby. He looked at Melancholic Smile as if she were a fool.
Truthfully, not even he had expected this development.
He had believed this woman would've tried to explain away her statement as a misunderstanding; he had never dreamed that she'd pit herself against the various superpowers directly, removing any room for negotiation.
Now that Melancholic Smile had offended the various superpowers, their reputations would suffer if they didn't respond appropriately.
"Lady from Zero Wing, you certainly are bold. Would you truly kick us out of Cold Spring Forest if we choose to ignore Zero Wing's threat? Do you assume we won't eliminate you just because Zero Wing is the only established Guild in Cold Spring Forest?" Troubled Times asked, sneering at Melancholic Smile.
With things as they were, he didn't mind adding fuel to the fire, ensuring that any trace of Zero Wing would be removed from Cold Spring Forest.
It's still going to come down to a fight in the end? Yuan Tiexin could not help his bitter smile at Melancholic Smile's fearlessness.
Personally, Yuan Tiexin admired Zero Wing's future and Shi Feng's strength. Moreover, the Secret Pavilion had gained quite a bit from its partnership with this Guild. Hence, he wished to help Zero Wing in any way he could.
However, it seemed his recent efforts were for naught.
Just as Yuan Tiexin was about to give up and try to find another way to deal with the gathered superpowers, a voice called out from a group of cloaked players, echoing throughout the hotel lobby.
"Excuse me, Miss Melancholic, but unlike the other superpowers, Battle Wolves is only here in hopes of allying with Zero Wing. I'd like to avoid a misunderstanding."
Everyone in the lobby spun to look at the speaker.
Several players broke away from the group and removed their Black Cloaks to reveal their true appearances. A middle- aged man led the small party. It was none other than Sirius, one of the Battle Wolves' Four Great Wolf Kings.
"Crap! Battle Wolves has come, too?"
"Sure enough, those cloaked players all have powerful backgrounds, but what is Sirius trying to do? He really doesn't plan to target Stone Forest City?"
"Zero Wing is so lucky. Or maybe the Guild has a secret relationship with Battle Wolves, so they've decided to give up on this struggle?"
Sirius's interruption stunned the players in the lobby. No one had thought that Battle Wolves, a Super Guild, would forsake the contest for Stone Forest City.
Battle Wolves, huh?
Even Yuan Tiexin was slightly surprised by Sirius's admission, yet he could understand the reason behind it.
Battle Wolves and Demon's Heart had an irreconcilable feud. Since Demon's Heart was moving against Zero Wing, it was only natural that Battle Wolves would interfere. Stepping forward to side with Zero Wing was well within reason.
On the other hand, Troubled Times and his Demon's Heart companions were particularly surprised to hear Sirius's Declaration. 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend,' after all.
As Troubled Times and the others assumed the minor interlude had concluded, another player spoke up from among the crowd.
"Greetings, Miss Melancholic. Crimson Emperor is here to negotiate with Zero Wing, as well. That is our only intention. Those who have spoken out against your Guild only represent certain powers. They have no bearing on Crimson Emperor's will," Illusory Words announced as she stepped forward.
For a moment, everyone in the lobby fell silent.
"What's going on? Crimson Emperor stands by Zero Wing's side, too?"
Not only had Battle Wolves declared its intentions to ally with Zero Wing, but Crimson Emperor had, as well. Everyone's eyes nearly fell out of their sockets.
"Has Crimson Emperor gone mad?" Troubled Times stared at Illusory Words and her entourage in confusion.
While he could understand Battle Wolves' decision, he couldn't even fathom what drove Crimson Emperor.
Crimson Emperor was neither a friend of Zero Wing's nor Demon's Heart's enemy, yet it was showing strong support for the former. The situation was baffling.
Of course, while the two Guilds allying themselves with Zero Wing was unexpected, it wouldn't affect the overall situation.
Before anyone could overcome their surprise, however, several more players spoke up from among the cloaked group.
"Shadowless Empire also wishes to form a partnership. We have only come here with this group due to Old Yuan's invitation. Young lady from Zero Wing, please, do not misinterpret our intentions," the crimson-eyed elder from Shadowless Empire declared, stepping away from the group.
You really are a sleaze, Old Lu. You make it sound as if Demon Palace has some other reason for being here," Evil Qilin said, similarly removing himself from the group as he rolled his eyes at the crimson-eyed elder.
After the representatives from Shadowless Empire and Demon Palace declared their desire for peace, the other representatives, aside from those from Demon's Heart and Starlink, did the same, insisting to Melancholic Smile that they were only there to seek an alliance with her Guild, nothing else.
The various major powers' members and independent players in the Freedom Hotel's lobby were dumbfounded as they watched the scene play out.
"What's going on?"
"What has Zero Wing done?"
Even Yuan Tiexin and Troubled Times watched with their jaws hanging open. They had no idea what was happening, either.
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Chapter 2572 – Stone Forest City Shaken, Darkness Disappears
The situation even confused Melancholic Smile, to say nothing of Yuan Tiexin and Troubled Times.
Only a moment ago, these superpowers' representatives had been silent, but based on their imposing auras, they had harbored no intentions of allying with Zero Wing.
Now, they now displayed a completely different attitude…
Before Troubled Times could say anything to these representatives, a hand shot out and stopped him. His mouth clicked shut as he glanced at Flaming Light in confusion.
"We're leaving!" Flaming Light snapped after one last glance at Melancholic Smile. He turned and left the Freedom Hotel without another word. He made no attempts to win back the various superpowers.
"Are we just going to let Zero Wing off the hook, Vice Guild Leader?" Troubled Times whispered to Flaming Light.
They had gone to great lengths to gather so many superpowers. Combined with the Dark World's forces, Stone Forest City, even at Intermediate rank, was a fish on the cutting board.
Most of the superpowers they had gathered may have abandoned the plan to attack Stone Forest City, but they could still cause enough trouble to cost Zero Wing a fortune and accelerate the city's downfall with Starlink, Demon's Heart, and the adventurer teams Mythology controlled, even if they couldn't deal a severe blow.
"Fool! Do you think those superpowers would suddenly change their minds without a reason?!" Flaming Light growled as he glared at Troubled Times.
"Have they unearthed some sort of unexpected information?" Troubled Times wondered, realization dawning on him.
"Those superpowers are all sly foxes. No ordinary news could make them change sides so drastically. Something big must've happened with the Dark World," Flaming Light hissed.
"Something's happened to the Dark World? How is that possible?" Troubled Times could not help his skepticism.
The Dark World was home to powerful lunatics, where the strong preyed upon the weak.
If the Dark World's players wanted to enter Cold Spring Forest, there was no power strong enough to stop them, not even Flaming Light, who was responsible for opening the Teleportation Gate.
"I'm not sure yet. I could be overthinking things," Flaming Light said, shaking his head. In reality, he found the deduction hard to believe. "We need to send someone to investigate immediately."
"I'll contact Elder Heart right away!" Troubled Times said, nodding.
Even after Flaming Light and his entourage left the Freedom Hotel, the lobby was still silent as the various major powers' members and independent players remained speechless.
Everything had changed too suddenly.
A second ago, the various superpowers had been ready to draw their weapons and declare war on Zero Wing, but in the next moment, they voiced their intentions to ally with the Guild…
The crowd even wondered if those cloaked players were truly upper echelons from the various superpowers or not!
"What's going on here, Old Yuan? Why are these superpowers behaving like this?" Scorching Shine asked, unable to hold back his curiosity any longer.
"This…" At this moment, Yuan Tiexin was just as confused. He, too, wished to know what had just changed.
Yuan Tiexin struggled to find an answer for Scorched Shine's question when he noticed that he had received a message from Purple Jade some time ago.
Could Zero Wing have done something? Realization dawned on Yuan Tiexin when he saw the message.
When he had heard that Zero Wing had rashly sent a force to the Dark World's Teleportation Gate, he had sent Purple Jade to investigate the situation. Since she had messaged him, he found it likely that Zero Wing had done something at the gate, which had, in turn, caused this unexpected development. The other superpowers' representatives must also have received news, which had changed their minds.
Even if Zero Wing has done something, this outcome shouldn't be possible! Yuan Tiexin felt that something was amiss, and he immediately opened Purple Jade's message.
By the time he finished reading her report, he was astounded.
"Old Yuan, what's happened? Did you get disconnected?" Scorching Shine asked when he saw his old comrade's slack expression.
Not even Scorching Shine's question shook Yuan Tiexin from his daze. He only opened his mouth after some time and stuttered, "T-They won! Zero Wing actually…won!"
"Zero Wing won? What did it win?" Scorching Shine prodded.
"Zero Wing won the Dark World!" After taking in a deep breath, Yuan Tiexin clearly explained, "Zero Wing just won the Dark World at the Teleportation Gate."
"Won the Dark World?" Yuan Tiexin's abnormal behavior baffled Scorching Shine. The man was, after all, utterly incoherent.
Did he have Alzheimer's?
For a moment, Scorching Shine thought it might be time to suggest to his Guild Leader that Yuan Tiexin take a vacation.
"Brother Shine, I apologize. I got too excited," Yuan Tiexin apologized when he realized that Scorching Shine was looking at him like a mental patient. Chuckling, he explained, "A few minutes ago, Zero Wing led a legion of Tier 3 NPCs and repelled the Dark World's invading army. Dawn Dominance, World Domination's Guild Leader and the Dark World's representative, has publicly announced their retreat. Zero Wing has taken full control of the Dark World's Teleportation Gate!"
"Zero Wing has defeated the Dark World's invading army? Are you toying with me, Old Yuan?" Scorching Shine questioned, giving Yuan Tiexin a disdainful look.
Since Yuan Tiexin hadn't controlled his voice, everyone in the lobby had heard him clearly. A commotion erupted, and the various major powers' experts and independent players stated at Yuan Tiexin as if he were a blubbering fool.
No individual power in God's Domain was capable of standing against the Dark World's invading army.
Although Zero Wing had a large number of Tier 3 NPCs under its command, that only amounted to 600. Trying to stop more than 30,000 Tier 3 players with a measly 600 Tier 3 NPCs was a joke. Even if they included every Tier 3 player in Zero Wing, the Guild should have no hope of stopping the Dark World's invading army.
Furthermore, the various powers that called the Dark World home had extraordinary powers. If they all revealed just one of their many trump cards, they could easily annihilate every player in Cold Spring Forest ten times over. With such strength, how could Zero Wing possibly defeat this invading army?
"I knew you wouldn't believe me. Here, take a look. This is the battle video Jade recorded," Yuan Tiexin said, shaking his head helplessly.
Yuan Tiexin found the situation just as unbelievable, but with the facts before him, he had no choice but to recognize it as truth.
Scorching Shine then watched the video Yuan Tiexin sent him.
Silence!
Shock!
"This… How is this possible?!" Scorching Shine couldn't believe his eyes!
They were talking about several million expert players!
He also saw several dozen Tier 4 summoned creatures and several thousand Tier 3 Personal Guards!
Yet, even with such power, the Dark World's invading army had suffered defeat…
Shortly after the video ended, a group of players entered the Freedom Hotel's lobby in a hurry, clearly excited.
"Big news, everyone! Great news! Zero Wing's just repelled the Dark World's invading army and has taken control of the Dark World's Teleportation Gate!"
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Chapter 2573 – Popular Stone Forest City
When the group that had just burst into the Freedom Hotel excitedly announced Zero Wing's victory of the Dark World's invading army, the players in the lobby, who had been skeptical about Yuan Tiexin's stunned announcement, were flabbergasted.
"What?! It's actually true!?"
"How could Zero Wing have possibly won?! We're talking about an entire world of experts!"
The fact that the Secret Pavilion held some of Stone Forest City's shares was no longer a secret. Thus, there had been a chance that Yuan Tiexin had been lying to boost Zero Wing's reputation.
The players that had just arrived, however, were a different story. Every member of the group was an independent player, and a few of them were well-known among the adventurer teams unrelated to Zero Wing in the city. Because of this, they were considered quite credible.
Most importantly, they had just explained the sudden change in the various superpowers' attitudes regarding Zero Wing.
Even with many players still doubting the news, assuming it was either a lie or outrageously exaggerated, there was no doubt that the Guild in question had done something to change the superpowers' minds. That fact alone was enough to shock everyone in the lobby only moments before they were overcome with joy.
Without the various superpowers' interference and with Stone Forest City's defenses and terrain advantage, even the Dark World's players would need a long time before they could capture the city. Meanwhile, resident players like themselves could safely and far faster than those based outside of Stone Forest City.
"Thankfully, we weren't too rash, but I really doubt that Zero Wing's foundations are this formidable. Demon's Heart's Flaming Light must be going mad with regret right about now," the fierce man from Crimson Emperor said with a bitter smile.
The main reason that the various superpowers were so afraid of Demon's Heart was the key in Flaming Light's possession, which allowed him to open the Dark World's Teleportation gate in any location he desired. If not for this trump card, Demon's Heart wouldn't have developed so smoothly in the Ten Saints Empire.
Flaming Light had intended to use this trump card to salvage Demon's Heart's reputation and deter the Ten Saints Empire's various superpowers, but now, both his threat and plans had gone to the dogs.
In fact, Flaming Light's trump card had unexpectedly benefitted Zero Wing, increasing both the Guild's fame and fortune!
It was only a matter of time before word of the Dark World's defeat spread across the main continent, and as it did, everyone would learn about Zero Wing. Not even the various superpowers were capable of accomplishing such a feat, yet Zero Wing had succeeded. Although the Guild had relied on a large number of Tier 3 NPCs to do so, those NPCs were considered a part of Zero Wing's strength.
In addition, with the Dark World's Teleportation Gate under Zero Wing's control, even ordinary players knew this victory would usher in an era of power for the Guild. No one would be surprised if it instantly became a superpower in its own right.
And the one who granted Zero Wing this opportunity was none other than Demon's Heart's Flaming Light…
"That's right. Without the Dark World's assistance, Demon's Heart will have a very hard time expanding in the Ten Saints Empire," Illusory Words agreed, nodding.
Demon's Heart had gone out for wool and come home shorn.
The Dark World's Teleportation Gate should've triggered unprecedented change on the main continent. However, Zero Wing now controlled the gate, and the Guild had made it clear that it intended to collect a fee from every player that wanted to use the Teleportation Gate. This would significantly decrease the number of visiting Dark World players and, in turn, reduce the number of Demon's Heart's potential allies.
Unless the Dark Guild wanted to face the Ten Saints Empire's various superpowers, it would have to keep a low profile for a considerable amount of time.
"You've done a great job this time, Illusory. Since the Grand Elders had nearly made such a catastrophic mistake, the Guild Leader has reclaimed a lot of authority in the Guild. The Guild Leader sent a message ago requesting that you represent Crimson Emperor in the negotiations with Zero Wing. It would also be best if you could rent a few of the Freedom Hotel's rooms long-term. Don't worry about the required money and materials," the fierce man congratulated his comrade.
"The Guild Leader's requests are certainly troublesome. Now that Zero Wing has defeated the Dark World, a ton of powers will try to rent a large number of the hotel rooms…" Illusory Words grumbled, offering a half-hearted smile.
With Cold Spring Forest now free of the Dark World's threat, Stone Forest City was, once again, a sacred leveling ground. It would soon become a holy city for the eastern continent's various powers and independent players, and when it did, even entering the city would become a challenge, let alone renting one of the Freedom Hotel's rooms…
Shortly after the various superpowers' meeting in the first-floor lobby had concluded, news of the Dark World's defeat spread throughout the continent. As they learned of the event, many powers began to regret their decision to abandon Stone Forest City the moment things had turned south.
"Crap! How is this even possible!?"
"Zero Wing is so awesome. Even an entire Otherworld of players is helpless against that Guild. Who could possibly stand against it?"
"Stone Forest City? It seems like a good place to develop."
When the various kingdoms and empires' powers and independent experts learned about Zero Wing's victory, many of them considered moving their bases of operations to Stone Forest City.
Aside from the fact that Stone Forest City occupied a Level 100 neutral map, the fact that the Dark World's invading army hadn't been able to shake Zero Wing's foundations made the city incredibly valuable. None of the city's residents would have to worry about suddenly losing their bases or another power taking over, which would render all of their investments useless. This concern was precisely the reason that many players developed in NPC cities, rather than in Guild Cities.
Now that Zero Wing had affirmed its strength, Stone Forest City's stability wasn't a concern. At the very least, it would be a long while before any power could bring harm to the city. This time period would be more than enough for players to earn back what they had invested in the city.
For a time, players from various kingdoms and empires swarmed toward Stone Forest City. The abrupt population boom was easily ten times larger than the initial wave of players that visited the city once it had reached Intermediate rank. Moreover, an astounding number of players had begun to apply to the Guild. Zero Wing had already received more than two million applicants among its various branches, with many of these experts capable of reaching the Trial Tower's fifth floor and beyond.
Gentle Snow, Aqua Rose, and Zero Wing's other management personnel were stupefied.
No matter how well they had managed Zero Wing in the past, few new experts had applied to join, yet after a single battle, everything had changed.
"Guild Leader, Stone Forest City's player population has exceeded 8 million, and I believe even more players are on their way. Should we slightly raise the city's entrance fee?" Aqua Rose asked, still blissful after reading the latest statistics report.
Their war with the Dark World had ended less than half a day ago, yet Stone Forest City's player population had risen from less than 2 million to over 8 million. The number of players visiting the city had completely exceeded her expectations.
No, let's forget about increasing the entrance fee. We still need a large number of independent players to settle down in Stone Forest City. However, we can increase the Freedom Hotel's prices. Don't normal rooms cost 30 Silver per day? Raise it to 1 Gold. Bronze Members will get a 10% discount, Silver Members will get 20%, and Gold Members will get 30%," Shi Feng decided, chuckling.
Nothing in this world came for free. Since the various powers wanted their experts to develop as quickly as possible, he wouldn't be courteous. He was incredibly poor right now, after all. To arm his Knight Division, he had spent almost all of the money he had.
"I understand." The pricing astonished Aqua Rose a little. Not even ordinary experts could afford a daily expense of 1 Gold. "Ah, right. Guild Leader, Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society have contacted me and wish to discuss the offer you made them. They're asking when you'll be free to speak on the matter."
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Chapter 2574 – Ancient God's Tower
Stone Forest City, Freedom Hotel's top-floor reception room:
Blue Rainbow from Dark Rhapsody and Elder Gold from Deity Society sat on a sofa, an awkward silence between them, in a spacious, luxurious reception room. Magic Flash and Old Forest sat beside them, just as dazed.
This was simply too humiliating!
They had thought that their previous meeting with Shi Feng would've been their last, and they would never have to see each other again. They had seen Shi Feng's hope of a stronger partnership between their Guilds as nothing more than wishful thinking.
However, less than two days after that meeting, they had sought the Swordsman out again.
Meanwhile, Shi Feng had transformed his brazen declaration into reality, taking control of the Dark World's Teleportation Gate and the Otherworld's lifeline. If any of the Dark World's powers or players wanted to continue and accelerate their development, they'd have to travel to Cold Spring Forest.
However, Zero Wing's teleportation fees were just fraudulent. The Guild actually charged one Darkness Crystal or similarly Attributed Magic Crystal per person…
Attributed Magic Crystals were even rarer than ordinary Magic Crystals, and Dark Players needed Darkness Crystals for their growth. In fact, they needed a lot of them. There weren't even enough Darkness Crystals to go around for the Dark World's various powers and independent players, yet Zero Wing was cruel enough to charge Darkness Crystals as its teleportation fee.
Worse yet, they couldn't defeat Zero Wing…
To secure its hold on the Teleportation Gate, Zero Wing had established a permanent magic barrier around it, in addition to stationing two Crimson Dragon Flying Ships, eight Combat Puppets, 600 Tier 3 Knights, and 2,000 Tier 2 Knights to guard the gate. The defenses Zero Wing had set up around the Teleportation Gate were maddening.
Sending an army of 20,000 Tier 3 experts would be futile against such high security, much less sneaking through…
The only option the Dark World's powers and players had left was to hand over the required fee obediently.
After Blue Rainbow and the others waited for a while, the reception room's doors opened abruptly, and Zero Wing's Guild Leader, Black Flame, walked in. He was the monster that had single-handedly deterred the Dark World's army of several million players.
However, Shi Feng seemed like a completely different person at the moment.
When he had stood before the Dark World's Teleportation Gate, he had radiated an incredible aura that frightened everyone in his presence, but now, they couldn't even detect the hint of an aura as if he were just an ordinary player. Similar to Blue Rainbow and the others' first meeting with this Swordsman, he seemed harmless.
Rather than contempt, however, they only looked at Shi Feng with fear in their eyes.
They hadn't paid much attention to him during their last meeting, but now that they did, they couldn't even consider Shi Feng as human. He felt more like a plant, nearly non-existent.
As Blue Rainbow and Elder Gold began to stand to greet him, Shi Feng gestured for them to remain seated, dispensing with the formalities. He then smiled and asked, "I've heard that you've conveyed my proposal to your respective Guild Leaders? How do your Guilds wish to cooperate with Zero Wing?"
Magic Flash and Old Forest inwardly rolled their eyes at Shi Feng's question. His actions had practically engraved his words on their Guild Leaders' bones, and they'd remember them for the rest of their lives.
"Guild Leader Black Flame, your proposal has delighted our Guild Leaders, and they have stated that as long as Zero Wing will waive the teleportation fees for our Guild members, we will help the Candlelight Trading Firm establish itself in the Dark World's major NPC cities. What do you think?" Blue Rainbow asked.
Although their two Guilds were reluctant to accept Shi Feng's conditions, they had no choice with the situation weighing against them. If they declined, both of their Guilds' positions would become more disadvantageous as time passed.
"Waive the teleportation fee?" After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng said, "That's fine, but I'd like to set up a branch Shop in every NPC city in the Dark World. Of course, Zero Wing will cover the necessary expenditures. Your two Guilds only need to resolve the issue of Land."
"Guild Leader Black Flame, you are asking for the impossible. The Dark World is even larger than the main continent's ancient empires. While our Guilds are two of the top three in the Dark World, we only control a small portion of the Otherworld. We simply don't have the manpower and resources to ensure that Candlelight can operate in every NPC city," Elder Gold said, shaking his head with an unhappy smile.
Dark Rhapsody, Deity Society, and World Domination had a lot of influence on the surface, but the same couldn't be said for their control on the Dark World.
In the Dark World, players had partial control of the various NPC cities. As long as a power controlled one of these cities, they wouldn't have to worry about needing funds or resources, and without these concerns, they didn't have to worry about offending the Otherworld's top three Guilds.
To put it simply, helping Candlelight secure branches in the Dark World's major NPC cities was a colossal challenge.
Both Guilds would have to pull a lot of strings to fulfill their end of the bargain. Unfortunately, helping the trading firm set up Shops in every NPC city would be a dream. Even if World Domination cooperated, the feat wouldn't be feasible.
There is something else we need to inform you about, Guild Leader Black Flame," Blue Rainbow said. "Due to your actions at the Teleportation Gate, the Dark World's various major powers loath Zero Wing. As a result, our Guilds are risking much by allying with your Guild. Moreover, Demon's Heart has traveled across the Dark World, secretly persuading the various powers to join its alliance. By the looks of it, they plan to challenge the Ancient God's Tower in the Dark World."
"This Ancient God's Tower is extraordinary, surviving since the Dark World's creation. There are rumors that it's connected to thousands of Otherworlds. Nobody had been able to clear the tower's trials yet, but as players grow stronger, the various powers will be able to activate a portion of it, if not all. If that happens, the various powers will reach the main continent, even without the Teleportation Gate. Only, they will have to do so by passing through another Otherworld."
Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow, who stood behind Shi Feng, frowned at the news. If what the female Dark Knight said was true, wouldn't that mean the effort they had put into capturing the Teleportation Gate would go to waste?
"The Ancient God's Tower?" Shi Feng had some recollection of this name.
The Ancient God's Tower was connected to thousands of Otherworlds. It was also one of the reasons that the Dark World was considered a special Otherworld in God's Domain. However, since no power had taken control of the Dark World's Teleportation Gate in his past, none of the Dark World's powers had bothered to challenge the tower's trials. Activating the Ancient God's Tower was insanely difficult, after all.
Of course, while current players had no hope of fully activating the Ancient God's Tower, activating some of it should be possible.
"That's right. The Dark World's various powers have already turned their focus to the Ancient God's Tower, and Demon's Heart has quite a bit of resources and information relating to it. I'm afraid it won't be long before the various powers band together to challenge the tower," Blue Rainbow said, nodding.
One Darkness Crystal per person was no trivial cost. No one would pay such a high fee unless necessary.
"What if I can help you secure the Ancient God's Tower within a short time?" Shi Feng asked.
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