- Next Chapter Chapter 720 - Marquis Shi Feng fell silent at Blackie’s question. He had never expected the Flower of Seven Sins to take action so quickly. Not only had the organization made its move several days earlier than estimated, but their targets had also not been Zero Wing’s main force or upper echelons. The loss of EXP from the Dark Gods Legion’s annihilation was a small matter. However, it would not be easy to recover the lost equipment. “Blackie, tell Aqua and the others that they are already being targeted immediately and try to stay within city limits as much as possible. Have them focus on improving their techniques in the Divine Colosseum. We’ll deal with the Flower of Seven Sins once I return,” Shi Feng said after giving it some thought. The best decision right now would be to have Aqua Rose and the others avoid the executioner’s blade. With so many Refinement Experts, Aqua Rose and the others would have no chance of victory in their current state. “Right, also have Melancholic gather some materials for me. I’ll need them once I return.” In God’s Domain, with players’ current strength, it was impossible to commit murder in the cities or Stone Forest Town and get away with it. Although the Flower of Seven Sins was powerful, they would throw away their lives and suffer in jail for a time if they killed another player within a city. The Flower of Seven Sins would most likely avoid such a raw deal. If they wanted to deal with the Flower of Seven Sins, their best option was to wait for his return and set up a trap for the organization’s assassins. Only then would they have a chance of victory. Anything else would just add bodies to the growing mound of corpses. “I understand.” Blackie nodded solemnly. Although he was frustrated, this was all he could do right now. After the call ended, Shi Feng busied himself, refilling the gaming cabin’s Nutrient Solution. He needed to give it his all and complete this Epic Quest of his as soon as possible. Now that he was halfway through the quest, he could not turn back to seek for help. The penalty for failing an Epic Quest was no laughing matter. I’m taking too much time to kill the Ghouls. I need to work faster. After Shi Feng logged into the game, he opened the imperial capital’s map and searched for the location with the highest density of monsters. Although the area around the Palace is crowded, it’s not the most populated area. Generally, the Trade Area has the most NPCs. After deciding on a destination, Shi Feng activated Wind Rider, leading his two Tier 3 Demons as he charged towards the Thunder Beast Empire’s Commercial District. --- At the same time, something was happening in Star-Moon Kingdom. The news about the near annihilation of Zero Wing’s Dark Gods Legion had already appeared on Star-Moon Kingdom’s forums, and many players chatted about this latest drama. “Aren’t there a ton of experts in Zero Wing’s Dark Gods Legion? How did they get wiped out?” “I heard they were done in by a group of independent players.” “I used to think that Zero Wing was very powerful. It seems that they only amount to this much.” “Indeed. Others keep saying how powerful Zero Wing is and how the Guild has so many experts. In the end, a group of independent players slaughtered them. As expected, everything was just a bunch of rumors.” ... As news about Zero Wing’s defeat spread, the Guild’s reputation began to sink. As a result, many players who had intended to join Zero Wing began to hesitate. Meanwhile, in Stone Forest Town, many Guilds had begun to move covertly when they heard this news. They were all preparing to deal with Zero Wing. --- “Hahaha! Open Source Corporation is truly formidable! They managed to annihilate Zero Wing’s Dark Gods Legion so quickly. This should be a major blow to the Guild.” Galaxy Past could not help but laugh when he received the news. “Purple, do you know who did it?” “The Flower of Seven Sins!” Purple Eye said with a serious expression. As an expert who had been nurtured by a Super Guild, Purple Eye knew quite a bit about the terror of the Flower of Seven Sins. Although she was quite happy that the Flower of Seven Sins targeted Zero Wing, she could not help her fear upon seeing the organization’s frightening power. On the off chance that a major power hired the organization to target the Star Alliance, they would not laugh. “It’s no wonder they wiped out the Dark Gods Legion. It seems that OSC really went all-out this time.” Galaxy Past similarly shivered when he heard the name of the Flower of Seven Sins, his joy vanishing. “Since the Flower of Seven Sins has begun to strike, we won’t have anything to worry about. Notify Red Feather and the others. Both inside and outside of the Stoneclaw Mountains, tell them to kill every Zero Wing member they meet!” Previously, the Star Alliance had been afraid of an ambush by Zero Wing’s top fighters. Hence, the Guild had dispatched mostly elite members to the Stoneclaw Mountains, with only a few experts to tag along. Now that they had the support of the Flower of Seven Sins, however, things had changed. In terms of top combatants, the Flower of Seven Sins possessed an overwhelming advantage. Now, rather than fear Zero Wing’s experts, their experts could strike. That way, the Flower of Seven Sins could obliterate all of them in one-go, burning Zero Wing’s prestige to the ground. “I’ll get it done.” Purple Eye left to put the plan into action. --- As the Star Alliance’s experts began to move, Zero Wing, which had dominated the Stoneclaw Mountains, was suddenly at a disadvantage in the Regional Dungeon, its members having to take precautions. “Vice-Leader Aqua, many Guild members have begun complaining about our inaction. If you keep having us train in the Divine Colosseum and ignore the situation in the Stoneclaw Mountains, I’m afraid that morale will start to fall.” “Vice-Leader, why don’t you let us deal with those bastards from the Star Alliance? The Dark Gods Legion will put fear into their hearts, and the Alliance won’t dare set foot in the Stoneclaw Mountains ever again.” Many of Zero Wing’s core members were annoyed with the Star Alliance’s actions, eager to participate in the battles in the Stoneclaw Mountains. “Rejected. I understand your sentiments, and I feel the same, but we will only fall into the Star Alliance’s trap by doing so. Guild Leader has already ordered us to put everything aside until his return,” Aqua Rose said, shaking her head. “As for the Stoneclaw Mountains, everyone should just go elsewhere to level up for now.” Previously, roughly a dozen of the Guild members had attacked without authorization in the hopes of teaching the Star Alliance a lesson. In the end, they died before they had even arrived at the transfer gate to the Stoneclaw Mountains. The dozen or so main force members had been defenseless. Moreover, the enemy even had fighters at the time. Launching a counterattack right now would be the equivalent of gifting their equipment to their enemies. For now, they could only give up on the resources in the Stoneclaw Mountains. --- Meanwhile, inside the Ruins of the Imperial Capital... After luring and killing monsters in the Trade Area for more than a day, Shi Feng finally managed to kill 5,000 Ghouls, reaching Level 38 and becoming a Marquis of the Thunder Beast Empire. However, Shi Feng was more excited about the Mastery Books he had obtained. Although the drop-rate in the Trade Area was much lower, the 5,000 Ghouls Shi Feng killed had yielded him a total of 31 Bronze Mastery Books. After killing 5,000 Ghouls, Shi Feng had killed practically every Ghoul in the Trade Area. The Ghouls in the imperial capital were different from the monsters in the outside world. They did not respawn after they died, so there would be one Ghoul less with each kill. Hence, no one else would ever grind here for Mastery Books again. With so many Mastery Books, I wonder just how many Mastery Points I’ll obtain? Hopefully, my luck won’t be too bad. Shi Feng then took out a Mastery Book from his bag and clicked to use it. - Prev Chapter - Next Chapter Chapter 721 - Promotion to Sword King After Shi Feng clicked “Use,” the Mastery Book transformed into a silver light and vanished. A half-transparent prize wheel then appeared before him. A Bronze Mastery Book offered a player anywhere from 5 to 25 Free Mastery Points. A player’s Luck Attribute had no effect whatsoever on this type of prize wheel. The needle of the prize wheel would only stop spinning when the player shouted “stop.” However, the prize wheel was not divided into equal sections. The higher the number of Free Mastery Points a section provided, the smaller its area was on the wheel. For example, the 5-point section occupied 25% of the wheel. It was easy to land on. Meanwhile, the 25-point section occupied less than 1% of the wheel... As for relying on one’s eyesight for a better outcome, it was simply impossible. The naked eye could not keep up with the spinning needle. There was no way to determine when one should stop the needle. After Shi Feng yelled “stop,” the needle slowed. The needle stopped at the 6-point section. Sure enough, it won’t be easy to land on a high-point section. Fortunately, I have 35 Mastery Books with me. I should gain enough points to become an Advanced Sword Master. Shi Feng could not help but laugh bitterly as he looked at the number he had obtained. He needed 200 Mastery Points to reach the Intermediate Sword Master standard, and 300 points to reach the Advanced Sword Master Standard. Currently, he had 177 Mastery points. With the addition of the six points he had just obtained, he would have 183 points in total. Even if he got five points from every Bronze Mastery Book, he would gain at least 170 Mastery Points. He wouldn’t have any issues gaining the promotion to an Advanced Sword Master. His damage with the one-handed sword would increase by 50%. His strength would also rise significantly. Following which, Shi Feng began plowing through the Mastery Books. Mastery +5! Mastery +7! Mastery +5! Mastery +9! ... Not a single roll he made exceeded ten points. The Bronze Mastery Books the Ghouls had dropped were extraordinarily fraudulent. However, after using 14 Bronze Mastery Books, Shi Feng managed to increase his One-handed Sword Mastery to 300 points. I still have 20 books left, and I’m just 150 points away from 450 Mastery Points. Let’s try for Sword King. Shi Feng had intended to leave a few Mastery Books for Fire Dance and the others. However, if he could upgrade his One-handed Sword Mastery to Basic Sword King, the lethality of his attacks would be no laughing matter. If he went up against a top-tier MT, he would need roughly seven basic attacks as an Advanced Sword Master to end the battle. If he became a Basic Sword King, he would only need five hits. This was not including Skills. In other words, if he upgraded his One-handed Sword Mastery to the Basic Sword King standard, it would be the equivalent of permanently activating a minor Berserk Skill with an indefinite duration. In PvP battles, this improvement could allow him to challenge opponents of a higher Tier. Currently, Shi Feng was only at the Flowing Water Realm. The equipment of top-tier experts in God’s Domain continuously improved. On the other hand, his equipment had long since reached the peak. It would be extremely difficult to improve his equipment for a while. Hence, his advantage of Attributes decreased as time went on. In a battle of basic attacks, Shi Feng estimated himself to be only slightly stronger than a Void Realm expert wearing top-tier equipment and at his Level. If he wanted to kill a Void Realm expert, it would take him a relatively long time. Against so many experts from the Flower of Seven Sins in a group battle, the longer the Void Realm expert pinned him down, the greater the danger he would be in. However, if he could become a Basic Sword King, killing a Void Realm expert would become much easier. Hence, it was imperative for Shi Feng to become a Basic Sword King. Shi Feng then continued using the Bronze Mastery Books. One book... Two books... Three books... One Bronze Mastery Book after another vanished from Shi Feng’s hands. Mastery +6! Mastery +8! Mastery +5! Mastery +9! ... “Eight more points!” Shi Feng looked at the indicator displayed beside his One-handed Sword Mastery. Picking up the last Mastery Book, he clicked “Use.” As the needle began spinning, Shi Feng inhaled deeply before shouting, “Stop!” If he could not obtain eight points, then he needed to go elsewhere to search for more Ghouls. The Trade Area housed the highest Ghoul population. Other places had fewer Ghouls. If he wished to obtain another Mastery Book, he would have to kill at least a hundred Ghouls. He would have to waste another two or three hours. Immediately, the needle began to slow, passing through the double-digit sections and the 5-point section. The needle continued through the 6-point section. In the end, the needle gradually came to a halt at the 9-point section. System: You have obtained 9 Free Mastery Points. Without hesitation, Shi Feng placed all nine points into his One-handed Sword Mastery, boosting the Mastery to 451 points. System: Congratulations! Your One-handed Sword Mastery has reached 451 points. For becoming the first player to upgrade your One-handed Sword Mastery to the Basic Sword King, you will be rewarded with the title of Swordsmanship Master. Shi Feng examined the Swordsmanship Master title. [Swordsmanship Master] When using sword-type weapons, Attack Speed increased by 20%. When attacked by sword-type weapons, Evasion +20. (You may only use one title at a time. Effects will not stack with other titles.) Increase Attack Speed by 20%?! Such a powerful title! Shi Feng was shocked. In God’s Domain, very few weapons and equipment increased a player’s Attack Speed. Every item that did was precious. This was the first time Shi Feng had seen a title capable of increasing a player’s Attack Speed by 20%. In the past, the highest amount he had heard of was 15%. I had been unsure about going up against that Void Realm expert from the Flower of Seven Sins. Now that I have my One-handed Sword Mastery at the Basic Sword King level and the Swordsmanship Master title, I should be able to end the battle quickly. Shi Feng could not suppress his grin as he looked at the Swordsmanship Master title. Shi Feng wished he could return to White River City immediately. However, he was only halfway done with his quest. It’s about time I pay the Palace a visit. Shi Feng immediately switched his title to Thunder Beast Marquis. He then activated Wind Rider and flew towards the Palace. With his rank as a Marquis, none of the Thunder Beast Guards on either side of the Palace’s main gate moved to stop Shi Feng. The Grand Lords simply allowed Shi Feng to enter the Palace. However, the Guards instantly killed the Tier 3 Demon Shi Feng had summoned. It frustrated Shi Feng slightly. As soon as he passed through the Palace gates, Shi Feng was greeted by the sight of numerous mechanical guards patrolling the spacious hall. [Thunder Beast Patrol] (Great Lord) Level 200 HP ? ? ? ? ? ?/ ? ? ? ? ? ? Although these Thunder Beast Patrols were not as strong as the Thunder Beast Guards, they were far more of them. Each squad had 20 Thunder Beast Patrols. Against such a force, even a Level 200 Tier 4 player would have to tuck tail and run. If I had really tried to barge my way in, this would have been my grave. As Shi Feng watched the Thunder Beast Patrols, he recalled the rumors of so many Tier 4 players dying here. These Thunder Beast Patrols merely glanced at Shi Feng before continuing with their duties. Shi Feng moved through the Palace unhindered. Due to the Thunder Beast Patrols, not a single monster was present in the Palace. Shi Feng easily reached the Palace’s heart—the Thunder Beast Courtyard. The map indicated that the Thunder Beast Courtyard was where Thunder Emperor Kaiser lived. Hence, Shi Feng had made his way there. Such intense Mana. The density here is almost triple that of the outside world. Before Shi Feng even entered the Thunder Beast Courtyard, he could feel his mind clearing. This was a phenomenon that would only occur when the Mana reached a certain density. It seems that I was right to come here. - Prev Chapter - Next Chapter Chapter 722 - Demigod A curse that could plague the imperial capital would require an immense amount of Mana to sustain. Hence, places with high Mana density had a higher likelihood of holding the curse’s source. Shi Feng entered the Thunder Beast Courtyard. At this point, the once splendid courtyard had become a dilapidated ruin. Meanwhile, a fivefold magic array enveloped something in the courtyard’s center. Shi Feng could faintly see a bottomless pit in the center of the courtyard. This pit released a continuous stream of Mana. However, unlike the Mana Shi Feng usually saw, this felt violent and cold. Just looking at sent chills down his back. Shi Feng could not imagine what would happen if someone stayed near this Mana for too long... If not for the fivefold magic array before him suppressing the Mana, Shi Feng did not doubt for a second that this Mana would surge and flood the imperial capital in the blink of an eye. Could Emperor Kaiser have attempted to open the Endless Abyss? Shi Feng suddenly recalled the Endless Abyss when he felt this cold, violent Mana. The Endless Abyss had a vile environment, yet its Mana density was astounding. With the combination of these two aspects, it birthed many horrifying monsters. There were some monsters that even Gods feared. Hence, the Gods had sealed the Endless Abyss. These frightening monsters wanted to claim God’s Domain as their own. Hence, the war between the human race and the Endless Abyss had never ceased. Rumors had it that Emperor Kaiser had reached the pinnacle of Tier 5 and was only a thread away from becoming a Tier 6 God. Shi Feng could empathize with Emperor Kaiser. Although there was only a difference of one Tier between Tier 5 and Tier 6, the power gap was like the difference between heaven and earth. One side was doomed to be devoured by the river of time, while the other was free of any bindings. To an emperor, nothing was more tempting than eternal life. Hence, there was nothing surprising about Emperor Kaiser trying to open a path to the Endless Abyss in search of a breakthrough. As Shi Feng approached the bottomless abyss and was about to take a closer look at it, a chilling aura bound him, preventing him from moving. “Who are you? Why have you come here?” A cold voice dripping with power echoed from the bottomless pit. The voice was void of any emotion. “I am an adventurer. A Great Mage called Carrian Walker sent me here to lift the curse on the imperial capital, saving the suffering people within the city,” Shi Feng said slowly and truthfully, showing no resistance towards the person questioning him. “Carrian Walker?” the voice said with a hint of surprise. “I never imagined that little fellow would escape the capital with his life. He really is impressive. “If I had not been swayed by my own feelings and my wish to improve myself, such a terrible disaster would never have occurred.” “Could you be the Thunder Emperor Kaiser?” Shi Feng could not help his shock when he heard the disembodied words. “Thunder Emperor Kaiser... I wonder how many years it has been since I last heard that name? That’s right; I am Kaiser.” However, Kaiser sighed and said, “It is unfortunate, but you have wasted your time by coming here. It is impossible to lift the curse on the city. You are simply too weak right now, and you cannot help me seal this abyss.” “May I know how to seal it?” Shi Feng probed, refusing to give up. If he gave up on the quest, only death awaited him. “To seal this abyss, someone needs to suppress the Mana temporarily. That way, I can form a new magic array to close off the Endless Abyss.” Although Shi Feng knew that he was not nearly strong enough, he gritted his teeth and asked, “May I know how powerful I need to be to suppress this Mana temporarily?” “You must be a Demigod!” Kaiser said straightforwardly. When Shi Feng heard the word “Demigod,” he was confused. In God’s Domain, Tier 5 classes were considered Saints, whereas Tier 6 classes were considered Gods. What was a Demigod? This was the first time Shi Feng had heard this term in God’s Domain. It should be known that even if players at the very peak of Tier 5 or Tier 5 NPCs that could rival Tier 6 Gods, nobody had ever been referred to as a Demigod. “You are too weak, so it is expected that you do not know about Demigods.” As if he understood Shi Feng’s doubts, Kaiser began explaining, “The difficulty of crossing the threshold of Tier 5 and becoming a Tier 6 God is much greater than you imagine. Not only must you undergo a transition in your life orders, but you must also possess the Immortal Brilliance. A Demigod has only reached Tier 6 in their life order but does not possess a Brilliant Will. Hence, they are limited as Demigods.” “Transition? Brilliant Will? Is this the requirement to become a Tier 6 class?” This was the first time Shi Feng had heard details about becoming a Tier 6 classes. Although he had played God’s Domain for over a decade, he had never reached Tier 5. He had no authority to speak on Tier 6. Moreover, all information regarding Tier 6 classes were top secret. A second-rate Guild had no access. However, once Shi Feng understood what a Demigod was, despair filled his heart. Not only must he be a Tier 5 class, but his life order must also be at Tier 6. There was no such player in God’s Domain right now. As for the NPCs, one could probably count them on one hand. He could not simply meet with one because he wanted to, not to mention getting their help. “Are there no other methods?” Shi Feng asked anxiously. After a short pause, Kaiser replied, “None. Unless you have the Seven Treasures, you will need the strength of a Demigod to suppress this Mana. However, the Seven Treasures have been lost for hundreds of years. Locating them would be far more difficult than finding a Demigod.” Shi Feng knew of the Seven Treasures. In fact, he had a quest to search for them. He even had the Golden Stigmata to assist him in locating the Seven Treasures. However, he had yet to find even one of the Seven Treasures. “Either the strength of a Demigod or a tool that can suppress the Mana?” Shi Feng wracked his mind for any relevant information. When considering NPCs that might be Demigods, Shi Feng could think of a few candidates. One of which was Faust, whom he had met in Star River Valley. Faust had once managed to seal a Tier 5 Great Demon King. He had also survived an exchange with a God. He was a mythical character who had lived for over 300 years. Another candidate would be the City Lord of Blackwing City. Even kingdoms and empires feared the City Lord. He was not an ordinary Tier 5 NPC. There was also Hell’s Gatekeeper, Christie. That NPC guarded the most dangerous God Mode Regional Dungeon throughout God’s Domain. The Final Boss of the God Mode Regional Dungeon was a Tier 6 God. One could just imagine how powerful Christie was. The NPC was not a simple Tier 5 class either. However, none of these NPCs were easy to contact... Aside from these human NPCs, Shi Feng had also encountered several monsters with the strength of a Demigod. The Fallen Angel Serena. Fallen Angels’ life order was very high. They were only inferior to Gods. At Tier 5, they should be as powerful as a Demigod. “Right! How could I forget?! Demons are on the same level as Fallen Angels!” Shi Feng suddenly remembered the Bible of Darkness. He possessed the original version of the summoning book. Even though it was only a fragment, it could still summon a Tier 5 Great Demon King. A Great Demon King was much stronger than a Tier 5 human. The only problem was that he wasn’t strong enough to summon a Great Demon King. Maybe Kaiser could... - Prev Chapter - Next Chapter Chapter 723 - Power of the Bible of Darkness The Bible of Darkness was a treasure created by the Lord of Destruction. It possessed the power to rule over all Demons, allowing one to become the Lord of Demons. Since ancient times, Abyssal Demons were one of the top races in the Endless Abyss and were one of the human races’ greatest enemies. Even Tier 6 Demons wandered in the Endless Abyss, not to mention Tier 5 Demons. Through the power of spacetime, the Bible of Darkness could summon a Demon from the Endless Abyss. However, the Bible of Darkness had already been destroyed, so it could not exert its true power. Summoning a Tier 5 Great Demon King was its limit. “Your Imperial Majesty, may I know if this will be of some help?” Shi Feng took out the thick, heavy Bible of Darkness. The dense Power of Darkness that radiated off the Bible was more than enough to instill fear. NPCs that were not quest-related could not steal items from players. Hence, Shi Feng was not worried about Kaiser snatching the Bible of Darkness. Although NPCs could not steal a player’s items, they could use them. However, Shi Feng was not sure if Kaiser could use the Bible of Darkness as he was now. “The Bible of Darkness?!” Kaiser recognized the thick book immediately, shock appearing on his face. “I had never expected a little guy like you to have such a treasure. It’s unfortunate that the Bible has been destroyed and cannot exert its true power. Otherwise, with this book’s original strength, it could seal the passage to the Endless Abyss easily.” Shi Feng was stunned. The passage to the Endless Abyss could not be opened and closed as one wished. Otherwise, the War God Temple would not have tried so hard to search for the Seven Treasures to suppress the passage between the two worlds. However, listening to Kaiser, the Bible of Darkness actually possessed the power to open and close the passage. In other words, the completed form of the Bible of Darkness was as powerful as the Seven Treasures. “Although the Bible of Darkness has been damaged, it could be of some help,” Kaiser said. In the next moment, the Bible of Darkness flew out of Shi Feng’s hand and fell into the bottomless pit. “Little guy, back away.” At Kaiser’s warning, Shi Feng did not dare remain where he stood. Immediately, he turned and ran out of the Thunder Beast Courtyard. The pressure exuded by a Demigod-level existence was no laughing matter. Previously, Kaiser had used his aura to bind and render Shi Feng immobile. If a Demigod like Kaiser flicked his finger, Shi Feng would likely turn to dust. After Shi Feng fled the Thunder Beast Courtyard, the Mana density begin to rise rapidly. In the next moment, a massive pair of gates made of bone appeared above the courtyard. Compared to the Demon Gates that appeared when Shi Feng summoned Tier 3 Demons, this Demon Gate was colossal. The Demon Gate loomed like a mountain, and the pressure it radiated warped the courtyard’s atmosphere. This is the Demon Gate a Demigod can summon? Shi Feng finally realized how terrifyingly powerful the Bible of Darkness was after seeing the towering Demon Gate. It was no wonder why so many NPCs in God’s Domain were so keen to obtain it. The power he could currently exert with the Bible was just the tip of the iceberg. If the wielder could summon an army of Demons during battle, who could stand against them? It was uncertain whether a Tier 5 player could even defeat a Tier 5 Great Demon King, not to mention a group of them. Moreover, said player would also have to face the summoner, who was also a Tier 5 class. This alone allowed the Bible’s wielder to defeat Tier 5 classes. If the Bible were complete, even at Tier 5, one could challenge Tier 6 God-ranked players and Tier 6 Gods. As the gates slowly opened, a one-horned Demon that was over 30 meters tall emerged. The Demon’s body was pitch-black, and it wielded a sword covered in emerald fire. Shi Feng felt his breath catch in his throat as the Demon’s dark eyes swept over him. Shi Feng tried to appraise this one-horned Demon’s statistics. However, all he found was “Unknown.” Since the Demon’s information was hidden from normal observation, he would have to move closer to use Omniscient Eyes. “Despicable human! You have the gall to summon me, the Great Demon King Andos?! Prepare to die!” Andros bellowed, glaring at the bottomless pit. The fire devouring his massive sword suddenly blossomed into a raging inferno. One swing was all it would take to destroy the Thunder Beast Courtyard. So powerful! This is definitely the most powerful Tier 5 monster I have ever seen! Shi Feng was shocked as he watched the Great Demon King. Despite standing so far away from the Demon King, its aura left him unable to move. This strength was so close to that of a true God. Of course, it was also possible that Serena, the Tier 5 Fallen Angel he had encountered before, had not displayed her true strength. Just as the emerald fire was about to descend, countless blue chains suddenly shot out of the bottomless pit, binding Andros and his emerald fire. “Andros, don’t try to resist. I have the Bible of Darkness. Even if you are as strong as I am, under the power of the Bible, you cannot strike against me,” the Thunder Emperor threatened the Demon in a low growl. Andros moaned painfully. “You Demons are born with a higher life order than humans. However, there are also constraints on your power. If you submit now, I can allow you to retain your will. Otherwise, I will turn you into a puppet.” “I... submit.” In the end, the Great Demon King Andros agreed reluctantly. Demons originated from the Bible of Darkness. They were born without the ability to resist the Bible. Although the Bible had been damaged, it contained enough power to compel a Great Demon King. Currently, only Tier 6 Demon Gods had the power to resist the Bible’s restrictions. “Suppress the Mana from the Abyss for me,” Kaiser ordered, not wasting any time with nonsense. Having no other choice, Andros controlled his endless emerald fire to seal the bottomless pit. Suddenly, the Mana from the Abyss was contained. The Thunder Emperor Kaiser then flew out of the pit. Shi Feng could finally see the true Thunder Emperor Kaiser. The emperor wore a suit of golden armor with a set of white robes. Electric arcs were faintly visible as they surrounded Kaiser. Two Sacred Swords hung from the emperor’s waist, one red and one blue. His smooth golden hair and young face left one speechless. Female players would consider this man to be a god of male beauty. [Kaiser (Thunder Emperor)] (Human, Sword Saint) Level ? ? ? HP ? ? ? ? ? ?/ ? ? ? ? ? ? After Kaiser emerged from the pit, he unsheathed his two Sacred Swords. As the blades left their scabbards, the surrounding space froze. It was as if the connections between the space around the swords and the outside world had been severed. What are those weapons?! They can freeze the world around them?! Shi Feng’s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets when he saw those Sacred Swords. Could one of them be one of the five fragments I am looking for? Just as Shi Feng fantasized about the weapons, Kaiser used the twin swords to draw divine runes in the air before him. Divine runes of the highest quality formed, line after line. A short moment later, the emperor had drawn over a hundred lines of runes. The Spell Kaiser was casting was far more complex than any Tier 5 Spell Shi Feng had seen before. “Seal! God Banishing Domain!” With a shout, Kaiser brandished his two swords. A golden, sixfold magic array appeared above the Palace. This magic array wrapped around the Palace, sucking in the Mana of the Abyss like a hungry beast. This was the first time in his life Shi Feng had seen anything so magnificent. - Prev Chapter - Next Chapter Chapter 724 - Sacred Sword Killing Ray The God Banishing Domain very quickly spread beyond the Palace. As mist began to gather above the Thunder Beast Courtyard, the foggy imperial capital gradually clearing. After a dozen or so minutes, the mist covering the Thunder Beast Imperial Capital had disappeared. As the fog faded, the power of the curse that plagued the imperial capital began to weaken. The Ghouls and Suffering Souls wandering about the streets had started to die. Meanwhile, the humans, who had been petrified for hundreds of years now, recovered from their stone-like state. System: Epic Quest “Empire’s Past” completed. Quest reward: 50,000,000 EXP. To ordinary players, 50,000,000 EXP might be a lot, but to Shi Feng, who needed double the EXP to level up, he needed several hundreds of millions of EXP to reach the next level. Hence, the effect 50,000,000 EXP had was limited. “I’ve finally finished this quest.” Shi Feng sighed in relief when he heard the system notification. All he had left was collecting his reward from Carrian Walker. Epic Quests not only offered bountiful rewards, but they also had severe penalties for failing. Although Shi Feng did not know how the Petrification Curse would affect him, in the event that he failed the Epic Quest, there was no escaping the loss of some Levels and Attributes. After Kaiser finished sealing the passage to the Endless Abyss, he sent the Great Demon King Andros back as well. Meanwhile, Kaiser stood quietly alone beside the bottomless pit. “Adventurer, here is your Bible of Darkness.” In the blink of an eye, Kaiser appeared before Shi Feng and passed the Bible of Darkness back to him carefully. “Thank you for helping me. Without your help, the curse would still have its grip on the capital’s citizens. I don’t have much to give you as thanks, so here; I will give you this sword that I had used during my younger days.” Saying so, Kaiser took out an immaculate long sword and handed it to Shi Feng. Initially, Shi Feng had dreamed of receiving one of the Sacred Swords that hung from Kaiser’s waist. This was the first time Shi Feng had ever seen a weapon that could freeze the space around it. However, the longsword the Thunder Emperor offered him was also extraordinary. The hilt was snow-white, while the blade was an emerald green. Divine, golden runes were etched on the emerald blade. Overall, the sword looked as if it were made of clear gemstone. One could also see blue arcs of electricity appear around the sword. When Shi Feng placed his hand around the hilt, a cold sensation seeped into him from the sword. Suddenly, he felt his mind clear. When he moved the sword, he could feel space flow away from the blade. With a gentle swing, the emerald longsword transformed into a streak of lightning, moving instantly from one side to the other. Isn’t this sword a little too impressive?! Shi Feng stared at the emerald longsword in disbelief. He could feel a higher compatibility rate with this sword than what he had with the Abyssal Blade. His speed with the sword, however, was what shocked him the most. Even when he achieved maximum speed with the Abyssal Blade, the Magic Weapon was still significantly slower than this sword. It was as if this sword could enhance his speed. “I happened to come across this Sacred Sword while exploring an ancient ruin. The sword’s name is Killing Ray. I ask that you cherish it,” Kaiser said. The Thunder Emperor could not help but reminisce about his youth when he looked at the emerald longsword. His Thunder Emperor title was largely due to this Sacred Sword, Killing Ray. When Shi Feng heard of the sword’s name, he immediately grew ecstatic. Killing Ray was one of the thirty-six Famed Swords in God’s Domain, and it was one of the fragments of Solomon’s Sword that he was searching for. Killing Ray was different from the Abyssal Blade. The Abyssal Blade was a Magic Weapon, but Killing Ray was not. No matter how often he used it, he would never have to fear a curse or Backlash. Immediately, Shi Feng called up the Attribute Panel for the Sacred Sword, Killing Ray. [Killing Ray] (One-handed Sword, Sacred Sword, Epic Rank) Level 30 - Level 120 Equipment Requirement: Strength 700 Attributes adjust to user’s level. Attack Power +760 (Level 30) Strength +70, Agility +64, Endurance +55 Strength increased by 10%. Agility increased by 10%. Attack Speed +20 Attack Speed increased by 10%. Ignore 20% of the target’s Defense. All Sword Skills +2 Levels Ignore Levels +20 All item level requirements reduced by 5 Levels. Attacks have a 40% chance to trigger Lightning, setting the initial Attack Speed as 50% of total Attack Speed and increasing damage by 240%. Additional Skill 1- Summon Lightning: Summons lightning to deal 400% lightning damage to enemies within a range of 15 yards and inflict the Numb effect for 5 seconds. Afterward, attack range increased by 20 yards for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Skill 2- Thunder God’s Descent: Become immune to all Control Skills, Movement Speed and Attack Speed increased by 150%, damage increased by 50%, and all damage received decreased by 50% for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 1 hour This Sacred Sword had been forged by the Godsmith Arnold using a fragment from a mysterious sword. Killing Ray is one of the thirty-six Famed Swords of God’s Domain, ranking 20th. It was once used by the Thunder Emperor Kaiser. This weapon allows the user to move with the speed of lightning. When fighting darkness-type creatures, damage increases by 100%. Can be evolved. Cannot be destroyed. Such powerful Attributes! Shi Feng was stunned speechless as he examined Killing Ray’s Attributes. No wonder it ranks 20th among the thirty-six Famed Swords. Sure enough, it is even stronger than the Abyssal Blade. Regarding Attack Power or Basic Attributes, Killing Ray was much stronger than the Epic Weapon Petrified Thorn he had previously obtained. However, the Sacred Sword’s Attributes were not its most amazing aspect, nor was it the fact that it could not be destroyed and thus, did not possess a Durability limit or require repairs, nor the 100% damage increase towards darkness-type creatures. To players who loved to PvP, its speed was the Killing Ray’s most impressive feature. The Passive Skill Lightning allowed one’s initial Attack Speed to start at 50% rather than zero. This meant that while attacking, players would not take as long to accelerate to a maximum speed. A player’s sword draw would be much faster than normal. Following which, Shi Feng immediately traded the Purgatory’s Shadow for Killing Ray. To Shi Feng, the requirement of 700 Strength was nothing considerable. He had fully inlaid Tier 3 Strength-type Gemstones into his equipment. His Strength Attribute had long since exceeded the 700-point threshold. Instantly, Shi Feng’s overall Attributes increased by a sizable chunk. Shi Feng was currently Level 38. Hence, the Level of Killing Ray adjusted to match his level. The Level 30 Killing Ray had offered 760 Attack Power. Now, that jumped to 1,002. This allowed Shi Feng’s Basic Attack Power to rise by several hundred points. Before equipping Killing Ray, with Shi Feng’s One-handed Sword Mastery at the Basic Sword King standard, he would have needed five normal attacks to defeat an MT of the same Level. Now, he would only need four hits. If he triggered consecutive critical hits, he could end the battle in two hits. So much Strength! Shi Feng could not suppress his shock after wrapping his hand around Killing Ray’s hilt. With this Strength, he was even more peerless. With the Magic Weapon, Abyssal Blade, in one hand, and the Sacred Sword, Killing Ray, in the other... Shi Feng felt like he could even rival a Strength-type Chieftain of the same Level. He also had a Passive Skill like Lightning. Even against a Void Realm expert, unless said expert was also astonishingly fast, Shi Feng was confident of ending the battle in just a few moves. - Prev Chapter - Next Chapter Chapter 725 - Intermediate Magic Array After completing the Epic Quest and obtaining the Sacred Sword, Killing Ray, Shi Feng returned through the transfer passage to the Dragon’s Maw’s lowest underground floor. After leaving the special map, Shi Feng used the Activatable Skill of the Aura of Space, Space Movement, to appear before Carrian Walker. Upon returning to Carrian Walker and the other NPCs, Shi Feng noticed that these NPCs had grown significantly older. Although the petrification had allowed them to live for hundreds of years, once the curse lifted, time had begun to erode their bodies, causing them to age rapidly. At the end of the day, they were mortals, not Gods. They could never break free from the shackles of time. If Shi Feng had not hurried back so quickly, Carrian Walker and the others would have passed away. “Young adventurer, thank you. I can already feel the curse in my body vanishing. With this, we can leave this world without regret.” Carrian Walker looked at Shi Feng and bowed deeply. He then took out a golden book and passed it on to Shi Feng, saying, “This is our Thunder Beast Empire’s prided magic array, the Nine-star Polar Domain. Hopefully, it will be of help to you someday.” Shi Feng accepted the immensely heavy Magic Array Illustration, excitement appearing on his face. Magic Array Illustrations were extremely rare in God’s Domain. The various kingdoms and empires were extremely secretive about magic arrays, each conducting their own research in the field. Naturally, any results were kept secret. Normally, when ordinary people used magic arrays, they relied on Magic Scrolls. The same was true for players. Meanwhile, these Magic Scrolls that were created from Magic Array Illustrations. There were various types of magic arrays such as enhancement, suppression, and binding. Regardless of the type of magic array, they were all exceedingly rare. Normally, players could only obtain Magic Array Scrolls through quests or Treasure Chests. Although the Stoneclaw Mountains had introduced players to the Barrier Crystal Balls, they were not very convenient. They took a long time to activate. Moreover, the Barrier Crystal Balls were not nearly as strong as the Magic Scrolls. Their capabilities were also limited. They were unlike Magic Scrolls, which could be activated swiftly with little to no restriction. Hence, Magic Array Illustrations were rare and precious. If players wanted to research their own magic arrays, they would require a massive amount of time, energy, and resources. It was already exceedingly difficult for an ordinary large Guild to obtain a Magic Array Illustration, not to mention researching one from scratch. Now that he had obtained a Magic Array Illustration, how could Shi Feng contain his excitement? With the Magic Array Illustration, Zero Wing could produce Magic Array Scrolls without limit at the cost of a few materials. Shi Feng could not help but click on the Magic Array illustration in his hand, eager to see what kind of magic array he had obtained. “Why is it an Intermediate Magic Array?!” Shi Feng was shocked when he saw its statistics. Magic arrays were also organized into several ranks: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, Master, Grandmaster, Craftsman. Currently, the majority of the magic arrays players encountered were Basic Magic Arrays. However, even Basic Magic Arrays could be immensely helpful in various ways, such as suppressing monsters that were of Grand Lord rank or below. Magic arrays above Basic rank were extremely rare. This was because Intermediate Magic Arrays were capable of suppressing monsters of Mythic rank and below. The Final Bosses of the current 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons were merely Grand Lords. With an Intermediate Magic Array, players could easily suppress such a Boss, reducing the Dungeon’s difficulty tremendously. However, what excited Shi Feng the most was that the Intermediate Magic Array Carrian Walker had given him was a top-tier suppression-type magic array. [Nine-star Polar Domain] (Intermediate Magic Array) Suppress all enemies within an area of 100*100 yards. Requires nine people to cast. Only usable by magical classes. Required materials: 3 Magic Crystals, 1 Intermediate Scroll, 9 Starlight Stones, and 1 bottle of Elemental Water. Such a wide-area magic array requires only nine magic classes to cast? Moreover, there aren’t any specific classes required. It’s no wonder why Carrian Walker said that it is the Thunder Beast Empire’s prided magic array. After Shi Feng carefully looked through the illustration, he finally understood just how beautiful of a reward this quest had given him. The Mastery Books and Killing Ray he had obtained were already impressive. Yet, this Nine-star Polar Domain was far more astonishing. It was more valuable than an Epic item. It was common knowledge that a limited number of players could enter a Dungeon at a single time. If a team used a magic array to suppress a Boss, the players maintaining the array would not be able to attack or defend. The more people a magic array required, the greater the effect it would have on the team’s combat power. Hence, the fewer people required, the better. Generally, magic arrays that could suppress Bosses required more than ten people to maintain. For example, the Demon Suppressing Barrier Blue Frost and the others had used against the Great Lord Noya required twelve people. Even so, it was considered a very powerful magic array. Yet, the Nine-star Polar Domain only required nine people. Moreover, the Nine-star Polar Domain’s class requirement was not too specific, requiring only nine magical classes to cast. On the other hand, the Demon Suppressing Array specifically required twelve Elementalists. The difference between these two requirements might seem small, but for those who had researched magic arrays before, they would know that the more advanced a magic array was, the more people it would require to maintain and the more specific it would be with its class requirement. It was extremely difficult to reduce the requirement by even one person, not to mention reducing the restriction on classes. That was twice as difficult. Only after the Thunder Beast Empire had gathered all of its talents had it managed to construct such a streamlined and practical Intermediate Magic Array. It would most likely be impossible for any other empire to produce such a magic array. Looking at this magic array now, Shi Feng could not help but think of the Thunder Emperor Kaiser. Without any help, the emperor had created a sixfold magic array. This showed that Kaiser’s magic array research had reached a profound realm. At the very least, he should be a Grandmaster. In God’s Domain, he was as rare as a phoenix’s feather. I had thought of using the Barrier Crystal Balls to set a trap, but with this Nine-star Polar Domain, they’ll have no chance of escaping. Shi Feng smiled at the illustration in his hands. Although the Nine-star Polar Domain was an Intermediate Magic Array, the materials required to produce it were not especially rare. For starters, Zero Wing had no lack of Magic Crystals. Meanwhile, Starlight Stones were stones containing Star Power. Although they were somewhat rare, there were many places where one could harvest them. The rarest material required to make the Nine-star Polar Domain was the Elemental Water. Elemental Water could automatically absorb large amounts of Mana. When used to produce Magic Scrolls, it could reduce the Mana that the magic array required. It was very valuable. Aside from being used to produce Magic Scrolls, Elemental Water was also used in alchemy and forging. It was an item with a wide variety of uses. However, even in large-scale Team Dungeons, the drop-rate for Elemental Water was very low. The various large Guilds treated Elemental Water like a strategic item and would not sell any unless necessary. Of course, if Shi Feng were willing to spend a little more money, he could obtain a significant amount. After Shi Feng stored the Nine-star Polar Domain Magic Array Illustration, he bid Carrian Walker and the others farewell and used a Return Scroll to teleport back to White River City. - Prev Chapter - Next Chapter Chapter 726 - Guild War Ever since Stone Forest Town had fallen under Zero Wing’s control, the town developed faster by the day. Due to the Stoneclaw Mountains, Stone Forest Town had already become a haunt for elite players. Various facilities constantly emerged within the town, the town undergoing endless changes and improvements. At this point, the town had six smithies. There were over 20 hotels. Even though more players had gathered than before, there were no longer the long queues there had been when the town had first fallen into Zero Wing’s clutches. They no longer needed to wait several hours to repair equipment. However, ever since Zero Wing had given up on developing the Stoneclaw Mountains itself and shifted its focus towards conquering Team Dungeons and leveling up elsewhere, Stone Forest Town’s atmosphere had grown extraordinarily intense. It felt as if a war would break out between the Guilds at any time. Although Zero Wing had given up on developing the Stoneclaw Mountains, the number of Guilds replenishing their supplies in Stone Forest Town had never diminished. On the contrary, more Guilds arrived each day. This allowed Zero Wing’s income of Magic Crystals to remain steady. The various large Guilds were extremely envious, and they all hungered to replace Zero Wing as Stone Forest Town’s manager. --- Inside the Secret Pavilion’s Guild Residence: “Uncle Yuan, you called us here so suddenly; did something major happened?” a young man asked. This youth wore silver scale armor and carried a heavy greatsword on his back. His expression was indifferent, and he wore his red hair in a spiky style. The youth radiated a suffocating bloodthirst that prevented anyone from approaching him casually. Moreover, this youth’s Level was very high. He was a Level 34 Berserker. He could rank at the very top of Star-Moon Kingdom’s Ranking List. Aside from this youth, there were also quite a few young men and women waiting in the Guild Hall. These men and women also had very high Levels, with the lowest among them being Level 33. The weakest piece of equipment they wore was Level 30 Fine-Gold rank. Even in first-rate Guilds, such high-leveled and well-equipped individuals were extremely rare. However, almost one hundred of such players stood in the Secret Pavilion’s Guild Hall. “Of course, something good has happened. Cold Autumn, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten why the Guild Leader told you to come here?” Yuan Tiexin, who had already reached Level 35 and currently wore a set of long, black robes, said, chuckling. Every major power would nurture their own experts. Meanwhile, Cold Autumn was the most outstanding individual among the new generation of the Secret Pavilion. He was also a genius, recognized by many of the Guild’s Elders and Founding Members. “Huh? Has the Flower of Seven Sins finally started to take action?” Cold Autumn asked excitedly. To let them, the Guild’s new generation, learn the strength of the Flower of Seven Sins, their Guild Leader had sent them on a trip to Stone Forest Town. This would show them of the difference between their power and the organization’s. At the very least, they would not remain ignorant like frogs at the bottom of a well. Although the Secret Pavilion was a powerful force in the virtual gaming world, compared to the incomparably mysterious Flower of Seven Sins, the Pavilion was almost nothing. After all, the Flower of Seven Sins was an organization that struck fear even in the hearts of Super Guilds. “However, I’ve heard that after sustaining several attacks from the Flower of Seven Sins, Zero Wing’s members have become more cautious and have kept a low profile. Both the Guild’s main force and the Dark God’s Legion either held themselves up in the Divine Colosseum or went out to complete quests after disguising themselves. They have stopped forming teams to level up in the fields. Even the Flower of Seven Sins could not find an opportunity to attack. How could the organization have found a chance to make a move now? Could they be planning to trade their lives, ignoring their safety to kill their targets?” Cold Autumn asked, wondering aloud. They had seen a few battles between Zero Wing and the Flower of Seven Sins’ assassins. However, Zero Wing’s members had been defenseless. Before the organization’s assassins could exert their full strength, the players from Zero Wing had died. However, Cold Autumn had to admit that there were some powerful experts among Zero Wing. In the last secret battle between the two organizations, Zero Wing had ten members on their side. On the other hand, the Flower of Seven Sins had sent a party of six to ambush Zero Wing. During that battle, the Assassin named Fire Dance had performed magnificently. She had fought the assassins’ party leader to a standstill. In the end, she had activated a Berserk Skill, killing one of the assassins and escaping with her life. However, at the end of that battle, Zero Wing had suffered nine deaths, while one from the Flower of Seven Sins had died. Even so, this had been an amazing outcome as, during the previous exchanges between the two, Zero Wing had always suffered complete while the Flower of Seven Sins came out unharmed. These battles were not due to Zero Wing having weak members. Rather, it was because the Flower of Seven Sins was simply too strong. Cold Autumn had pondered his capabilities in such a situation. At best, he was confident in fighting toe-to-toe with an ordinary member from the Flower of Seven Sins. If neither side had the class advantage, his chances of emerging victorious would be roughly 50%. As for facing a party leader, the difference in strength was too vast. He would not even have the chance to survive or flee. This time, the Flower of Seven Sins had dispatched less than 50 members. Meanwhile, those capable of becoming a party leader in the organization would be, at least, a Flowing Water Realm expert. Cold Autumn himself was merely a Half-step Refinement Realm expert. Without much of a difference in terms of Basic Attributes, he had zero chances of winning against a Flowing Water Realm expert. Not to mention, his equipment was inferior to the Flower of Seven Sins’ party leaders. Not only could their equipment rank at the very top of God’s Domain, but the party leaders had also learned many rare Skills. Every one of them possessed powerful Berserk Skills and were all inhumanely strong. Hence, Cold Autumn admired Fire Dance. The fact that Fire Dance could contend with a party leader and had even killed a party member before escaping showed that she was far stronger than he was. However, part of the reason that Fire Dance could achieve this feat was due to her Attributes surpassing the Flower of Seven Sins’ party leader. She even had a Berserk Skill with a lengthy duration of ten minutes. Without these advantages, she, too, would have shared the same fate as her team members. “It’s not the Flower of Seven Sins. It is the Star Alliance,” Yuan Tiexin said, shaking his head. “Hasn’t the Star Alliance been focusing on developing the Stoneclaw Mountains? Why would they suddenly want to conquer Stone Forest Town?” Cold Autumn did not believe that any power in God’s Domain was capable of occupying Stone Forest Town. Against current players, Level 150 NPC guards only needed one hit to finish the fight. Plenty of high-tiered NPC guards also protected the town. “You’ll understand once you see the official forums,” Yuan Tiexin said. Cold Autumn immediately opened Star-Moon Kingdom’s forums. Sure enough, at the very top of the front page, massive letters attracted attention to a specific post. Moreover, the post had been created by none other than the Star Alliance’s Guild Leader, Galaxy Past. The Star Alliance officially issues a challenge to Zero Wing. We will wait in the Stoneclaw Mountains. Do you dare accept? If Zero Wing does not have the courage to accept this challenge, you can hide in Stone Forest Town for the rest of your lives. Although the post had just been issued, the Star Alliance’s many members had constantly upvoted it. They had also disparaged Zero Wing in the comments. “Isn’t Zero Wing supposed to be impressive? Do you guys dare accept our challenge?” “Black Flame, aren’t you Star-Moon Kingdom’s number one expert?! If you’re strong enough, stop hiding and fight me! Let’s show the world how I beat you up into a pulp!” “Sure enough, Zero Wing’s members are all cowards. The only thing they know how to do is to hide in the Safe Zone.” ... “So, this is the case.” Cold Autumn immediately understood what was going on. “It seems that the Star Alliance is not doing too well right now, either.” “Without the supplies that Stone Forest Town offers, even with funding, the Star Alliance’s development in the Stoneclaw Mountains has lagged behind the other Guilds. Naturally, the Guild cannot allow this to continue. Now that the Flower of Seven Sins is dealing with Zero Wing’s experts, it is the perfect chance for the Alliance to deal a massive blow to the Guild. If the Alliance succeeds, once Stone Forest Town’s protection period has ended, it will be a lot easier for the Alliance to take over,” Yuan Tiexin explained. “Hence, I have called you all here to prepare.” “I understand. I’ll have everyone get ready. Hopefully, Zero Wing won’t try to dodge this battle.” Cold Autumn felt that Zero Wing’s Guild Leader, Black Flame, was not so foolish as to get taken in by such a pitiful provocation. However, it was a different matter when it came to the Guild. If Zero Wing wanted to retain its reputation, it would have no choice but to accept the Star Alliance’s challenge. - Prev Chapter - Next Chapter Chapter 727 - War! War! War! White River City, Zero Wing’s Guild Residence: Due to the Star Alliance’s sudden provocation, Zero Wing was in disarray. Previously, the Guild’s lack of response towards the Dark Gods Legion’s annihilation had caused many members within the Guild to feel dejected. If not for Aqua Rose holding everyone back, many members would’ve rushed to the Stoneclaw Mountains to seek revenge. Now that the Star Alliance had launched such a challenge as well, how could they contain their anger? As it was difficult to locate a small number of independent players, they could have ignored the previous assault. However, it was a different story with the Star Alliance. Their enemy had even prepared a battlefield! Even if the Star Alliance was a first-rate Guild and had set up a trap, they needed to show everyone that Zero Wing was not a Guild to provoke. At worst, they’d just have to die once. “Vice-Leader Aqua, everyone in the Guild is ready to fight! If you give the word, we’ll leave immediately and annihilate the Star Alliance!” many core members stepped forward and declared. Zero Wing was no longer the weak upstart Guild it had been before. Now, it was White River City’s overlord. The Guild already had over 100,000 members. They even had close to 20,000 elite members. Although the others were not elites, they were not far from it, either. They could definitely put up a fight against the Star Alliance. “You guys are taking this situation too lightly. Since the Star Alliance has dared to provoke us openly, they are confident in defeating us. Moreover, the Star Alliance is not our only enemy,” Aqua Rose said, shaking her head. After seeing that forum post, it would be a lie if she said she wasn’t enraged. If she were an ordinary Guild member, she would have torn apart the Star Alliance’s members on the battlefield by now. However, she was not an ordinary member of the Guild, so she could not do so. She had to consider the Guild as a whole. As long as it was not one of the Guild’s important figures, even if they died tens of times, it would not impact the Guild. However, if every elite member died even once, the Guild would be wounded. If that happened, the best case scenario would be the Guild’s development slowing down and losing its previous advantages. In a more severe case, the Guild’s development would stagnate, and from then on, the Guild would no longer be able to contest for supremacy over God’s Domain. All of their time and efforts would be for naught. Such a situation had occurred many times throughout the virtual gaming world’s history. The Guilds involved had long since been forgotten. Hence, a Guild had to be extremely cautious with each step it advanced. Passion was not enough for a Guild to become an overlord in God’s Domain. Otherwise, there would not be so few first-rate Guilds. Yet, if Zero Wing, the overlord of White River City, did not respond to the Star Alliance’s provocation properly, then any prestige the Guild had gained would vanish like smoke. Who would join such a guild in the future? “The Star Alliance has stooped low this time. They are actually using such a despicable tactic,” Fire Dance said, frowning. “However, if we accept their challenge, the Flower of Seven Sins will assist them from the sidelines, targeting our Guild’s experts. The other Guilds might even try to take advantage of the situation and strike as well. The Star Alliance will devour us.” “Fire, you’ve fought a party leader from the Flower of Seven Sins before. Do our main force and the Dark Gods Legion really stand no chance against them?” Aqua Rose asked as she gave Fire Dance a concerned look. “The Flower of Seven Sins have equipment that is in no way inferior to our main force’s. Only those of us wearing Tier 1 Set Equipment are slightly stronger than them. However, they are experts who have the experience of many years of trials and tribulations. Even the organization’s most ordinary member is only slightly weaker than I am in terms of combat techniques. The majority of their members are a lot stronger than me. If not for my weapons and equipment, as well as Magic Scrolls and the Power of Darkness, I wouldn’t have lasted against that party leader for long. When I faced that party leader, his defense was impeccable. He was able to see through all of my attacks easily and prepare. It felt as if I were fighting our Guild Leader.” Hearing Fire Dance’s experience, everyone sucked in a breath of cold air, their previous passion vanishing completely. Everyone finally understood just how frightening the Flower of Seven Sins was. Fire Dance’s combat techniques ranked third within Zero Wing, and only Shi Feng could win against her with absolute certainty. Yet, just an ordinary member from the Flower of Seven Sins possessed combat techniques that were nearly equal to Fire Dance’s. Meanwhile, there were as many as 50 assassins. Fighting them would be like facing 50 Fire Dances. Moreover, among these 50 people, there were monsters that could rival Black Flame. Obtaining victory would be impossible. A monster like Black Flame could play an unimaginably massive role in a war against tens of thousands of players. Meanwhile, they had to take down at least six such monsters... In truth, when Black Flame had seen the list of assassins, even he had been surprised. “Vice-Leader Aqua, what are we supposed to do?” Blackie had begun to panic a little. “Neither fighting nor hiding is an option.” “I can’t make that decision. Let’s contact our Guild Leader first.” In truth, Aqua Rose had an idea: send a portion of the Guild’s members into battle while leaving behind the Guild’s core strength. That way, even if they suffered defeat at the Star Alliance’s hands, they would retain the Guild’s core combat power. They would still be able to contend for supremacy over God’s Domain. However, only Black Flame could make that final decision. Everyone nodded in agreement. When Aqua Rose mentioned their Guild Leader, a sense of reverence and confidence blossomed in everyone’s hearts. So long as their Guild Leader gave the command, even if they had to fight to the very last man and repeatedly die until they were Level 0, they would do so willingly. At most, they would just start all over again with their Guild Leader. Suddenly, the conference hall doors swung open. A familiar figure appeared before Aqua Rose and the others. “Guild Leader! “Guild Leader, you’re back!” ... Immediately, everyone in the conference hall stood up. “Sit. I already know what’s going on.” Shi Feng could not help his happy smile when he saw everyone in the room. They had all done very well by holding themselves back, giving the Flower of Seven Sins little to no chance to attack. Now, it was time for their Guild Leader to take the stage. “Blackie, what’s the status on my previous request?” Shi Feng asked. “We bought everything we could get our hands on. Melancholic has even gone to other kingdoms and empires to purchase them. We should have enough for our needs,” Blackie said confidently. “Good. Collect these materials for me. Don’t worry about the price. As long as it doesn’t exceed twice the original price, buy everything,” Shi Feng said, nodding. He then handed a list of materials required to manufacture the Nine-star Polar Domain to Blackie. Turning to look at Aqua Rose, he said, “Since the Star Alliance wants a war, then war is what we’ll give them! Aqua, pick 10,000 elite members from the Guild and have them prepare to head to the Stoneclaw Mountains! “All members of the main force and the Dark Gods Legion should also head out and replenish their supplies. “Everyone, let’s destroy the Star Alliance!” When Shi Feng finished speaking, his Guild members were dumbfounded. None of them had imagined that Shi Feng would be so decisive. In the blink of an eye, however, pride rose in everyone’s hearts. Their Guild Leader was way too cool! Today, even if they suffered total annihilation, they would show that Zero Wing was not easily bullied! - Prev Chapter - Next Chapter Chapter 728 - The Popular Stoneclaw Mountains After Shi Feng finished delegating tasks, he headed to one of the Special Forging Rooms in the Candlelight Trading Firm. The Star Alliance had gone all out this time. Naturally, the Guild would dispatch a large number of its elite members. Based on the information Aqua Rose had obtained, the Star Alliance had dispatched more than 80,000 elite members. The Alliance had sent more than four times what Zero Wing possessed. Moreover, that was not the end of it. Aside from the Star Alliance, the other large Guilds had secretly dispatched a large number of players to help the Star Alliance. Over 120,000 elites had gathered. In a head-on clash, Zero Wing had zero chances of victory. The Star Alliance also had the help of the Flower of Seven Sins’ experts. As long as the Flower of Seven Sins pinned down or killed Zero Wing’s experts, they would have no hope of escaping the slaughter. Although Gentle Snow had said she would help, even if they included the power of Ouroboros, they still far from enough to secure a victory. “Guild Leader, here are all the materials that you requested,” Melancholic Smile said as she entered the forging room. She proceeded to stack materials on the stone table. Melancholic Smile understood the Star Alliance’s strength. Zero Wing had no chance against this opponent. Yet, during such a crucial period, Shi Feng shut himself away in this forging room, producing items. She was confused. --- Time passed, little by little. The Star-Moon Kingdom had gone into an uproar. The Star Alliance, a first-rate Guild, was going to face-off against Zero Wing in the Stoneclaw Mountains. How could anyone not be excited? Everyone was eager to see who would emerge victorious. On one side, the Star Alliance was a first-rate Guild with a powerful background and countless members. Meanwhile, although Zero Wing did not have as many members, it had an army of experts. The Guild even had a monstrous character like Black Flame. --- In the Stoneclaw Mountains’ outer region: Ever since the Star Alliance had declared war on Zero Wing, a large area in the outer region had been cleared out to act as the upcoming battle’s battlefield. The Star Alliance quietly waited for Zero Wing to arrive. “Guild Leader Galaxy, as we predicted, Zero Wing has begun to gather their members. It seems they plan to fight to the bitter end,” Twilight Echo’s Guild Leader, Glorious Echo, said, laughing. “Guild Leader Echo, rest assured, we won’t disappoint Miss Willow. As long as Zero Wing shows their faces, we will show them complete and utter annihilation. As for Zero Wing’s experts, however, I will leave them for you,” Galaxy Past said, similarly laughing. “You can rest assured. The Flower of Seven Sins’ reputation is not undeserved. As long as they make a move, even Zero Wing’s Black Flame will surrender his life,” Glorious Echo said, patting his chest confidently. Previously, Glorious Echo had only heard about the Flower of Seven Sins. This time, he had witnessed the organization’s power personally. No first-rate Guild stood a chance against that power. Glorious Echo had rewatched the battle video of the Flower of Seven Sins facing the Dark Gods Legion more than half a dozen times so far. In terms of equipment, the Dark Gods Legion could rank at the top of God’s Domain. Even Twilight Echo’s strongest legion could not compare to the Dark Gods Legion. However, what had shocked Glorious Echo the most was the Legion’s Berserk Skill. All 300 members of the Legion possessed a Berserk Skill. After activating their Berserk Skill, even the weakest member possessed the strength to overwhelm a fifth-floor expert with top-tier equipment. Neither Twilight Echo nor the Star Alliance possessed more than 100 experts who had broken past the Trial Tower’s fourth floor. Even a veteran Guild like Twilight Echo only had around a dozen more of such experts than the Star Alliance. Meanwhile, these experts were considered the highest combat power first-rate Guilds like theirs possessed. As for second-rate Guilds, even having 30 of these experts would be impressive. Yet, the Dark Gods Legion had 300. After watching the Dark Gods Legion, Glorious Echo finally realized why Black Flame had been so confident and had been able to look down at Twilight Echo, going so far as to pick a fight with Open Source Corporation. Even so, the Flower of Seven Sins’ 50 players had wiped out the Dark God’s Legion’s 300. Despite the numerical advantage, the Dark Gods Legion had been nearly annihilated, while the Flower of Seven Sins had not suffered even a single death. The difference was massive. “I’ll have to thank you for that, then.” Galaxy Past laughed. In truth, even without the Flower of Seven Sins, Galaxy Past was confident in defeating Zero Wing. The Star Alliance and Overwhelming Smile had secretly joined forces, and Overwhelming Smile had sent a large group of experts to support the Star Alliance. Among the experts, there were a few that could even threaten Galaxy Past. The captain of these experts, War Wolf, was even someone that Galaxy Past wisely feared. Aside from Overwhelming Smile, the Star Alliance had also formed a secret agreement with the other large Guilds, and these large Guilds had sent plenty of experts to support the Alliance as well. Based on Zero Wing’s latest statistics, the Guild had over 200 members who had pushed past the Trial Tower’s fourth floor. There was not a single Guild within Star-Moon Kingdom capable of coming close to this number. However, after including the experts that other Guilds had sent, Galaxy Past counted more than 1,000 fifth-floor experts on their side. Purely in terms of numbers, they had already exceeded Zero Wing by at least five times. Zero Wing had no chance of winning this war. Yet, unless they no longer cared for their reputation, Zero Wing could not back down. Otherwise, Zero Wing would become a laughing stock. They would lose any prestige they had earned. Moreover, Zero Wing would not be as lucky as it had been during the war for Stone Forest Town. Galaxy Past had chosen the Stoneclaw Mountains for the battle precisely because he was afraid that Zero Wing would somehow come up with another powerful monster. However, there was no monster in the Stoneclaw Mountains’ outer region that the Star Alliance could not handle. --- In one of the Stoneclaw Mountains’ stone pillar forests, the members of Overwhelming Smile cleared out the monsters. Standing at the lead was a Level 34 Shield Warrior who wielded a massive, deep-blue shield. This Shield Warrior currently took on two Half-orc Lords. Yet, despite receiving attacks from the two Lords simultaneously, this Shield Warrior remained steady like an iron wall. No matter how hard the two Half-orc Lords struggled, they could not break past this Warrior’s shield. “Boss Wolf, Zero Wing is really finished this time. Not only must it face the Star Alliance, but they also have to face us. As long as we crush Zero Wing, White River City will belong to Overwhelming Smile.” Soaring Snake, who bombarded a Half-orc Lord, could not help his excitement about their army’s strength. “Overwhelming Smile and the Star Alliance are just working to get what each of us wants. Moreover, Zero Wing is not our main objective. Instead, we need to hinder Ouroboros. You are not allowed to get revenge on Zero Wing on impulse,” the pale-faced War Wolf said. Glancing at Soaring Snake, he continued, “Moreover, it is too early to determine the outcome of this battle. Don’t forget how Dark Star perished under Black Flame’s hands. It is better to avoid trouble whenever possible.” “Boss Wolf, Big Sis Youlan has already reminded me. Why would I dare act impulsively and ignore the bigger picture?” Soaring Snake said, laughing. --- While the various large Guilds prepared for war, Shi Feng had finished crafting the items in the Candlelight Trading Firm’s Special Forging Room. “Aqua, have the main force and the Dark Gods Legion gather at the Residence in Stone Forest Town.” - Prev Chapter - Next Chapter Chapter 729 - Rules of War Stone Forest Town: Under Shi Feng’s command, Zero Wing’s main force and the Dark Gods Legion quickly gathered in Stone Forest Town’s Guild Residence. “I heard that the Star Alliance has gathered a lot of experts. I will finally have the chance to stretch my muscles,” a Berserker, Shadow Sword, said as he caressed his Tier 1 Weapon, Tempest’s Breath, his fighting spirit burning in his eyes. Standing beside Shadow Sword, Cola, Ye Wumian, Rampant Blade, Flying Shadow, Minor Wind, Turtledove, and the other members of Zero Wing’s main force nodded in agreement. Ever since the Flower of Seven Sins had targeted Zero Wing’s main force, Shi Feng had ordered them to stay inside the city and train in the Divine Colosseum. Although their EXP bars had barely moved over these past few days, their combat techniques had improved significantly. Everyone’s Skill Completion Rates, in particular, had improved by leaps and bounds with the help of the Hundred Berry Wine. Previously, only Fire Dance, Violet Cloud, and Aqua Rose could maintain their Skill Completion Rates at 85% and above. Now, however, they could do so as well. Although their techniques were still weaker than Fire Dance and the other two women, with their top-tier equipment and Tier 3 Gemstones, the Flower of Seven Sins’ assassins should not mistake them for easy targets. After a short wait in the Guild Hall, Shi Feng appeared in the Residence’s Hall after using a Guild Transfer Scroll. The Zero Wing members immediately saluted out of respect. “Aqua, have you finished organizing the magical class teams?” Shi Feng asked as he turned to Aqua Rose. He had obtained plenty of information regarding the Star Alliance from Gentle Snow. With just 10,000 elite members, they had no chance against an army of more than 100,000 elite players. If they wished to challenge such a large army, they would have to rely on the Nine-star Polar Domain. Meanwhile, it was safest for the players maintaining the Intermediate Magic Array to have as much Mana as possible. Hence, Shi Feng had asked Aqua Rose to choose magical class players who had focused their Free Attribute Points on Intelligence. “Everything has been arranged. Following your instructions, I have formed twenty groups of nine players. Every player has been supplied with plenty of Isolation Scrolls and Invisibility Potions,” Aqua Rose reported. “Alright. Give these to them. Each person will only get one scroll, no more.” Shi Feng revealed the newly-produced Nine-star Polar Domain Magic Scrolls. If one entered combat, one would lose the effects of both the Isolation Scrolls and the Invisibility Potions. However, they were very useful to an ambush. Suddenly, Melancholic Smile burst into the Guild Hall. Panting, she said, “Guild Leader, I’ve brought what you’ve requested.” “Good. Distribute them to the main force and the Dark Gods Legion. Each person will get 10 Advanced Frost Grenades and 100 Intermediate Frost Grenades. Additionally, members of the main force will get two Glare Bombs. Lastly, elite members participating in the war will each get 10 Intermediate Frost Grenades,” Shi Feng instructed. The Glare Bomb was very easy for engineers to manufacture, and it did not share the same Cooldown as the Frost Grenades. Furthermore, like the Frost Grenade, the Glare Bomb was an invaluable tool for war. Unfortunately, Shi Feng had only found a single design. Even with the Starstreak Trading Firm’s Intermediate Engineer producing them constantly, he had only managed to craft around 200 bombs, barely enough to supply the main force. Although Shi Feng’s words had been leisurely, his subordinates were shocked. They had used the Frost Grenade before. It was one of the Guild’s strategic items that they kept in reserve. However, though they knew that the item sold only in Blackwing City, none of them knew exactly where they could buy them. Currently, Shi Feng had only revealed the location to Aqua Rose and Melancholic Smile. [Intermediate Frost Grenade] Effective against monsters (and players) below Level 70. Deals 800 frost damage to a radius of 12 yards, freezing targets for 5 seconds, then reducing Movement Speed by 60% for a duration of 12 seconds. Price: 10 Silvers [Advanced Frost Grenade] Effective against monsters (and players) below Level 120. Deals 2,000 frost damage to a radius of 15 yards, freezing targets for 5 seconds, then reducing Movement Speed by 60% for a duration of 12 seconds. Price: 70 Silvers Although these tools would only be half as effective against players, it would still leave an impact. Only, these items were incredibly expensive. Yet, for this battle, Shi Feng had prepared so many. The Guild had spent 6,800 Gold on the main force and the Dark Gods Legion. After including the allocation for 10,000 elite members, the Guild spent a total of 16,800 Gold... Even the Star Alliance, which received financial support form Open Source Corporation, could never spend that many Coins in a single breath. The Alliance would never willingly part with such a sum of money. Yet, Shi Feng did not hesitate at all. Even to Zero Wing, 16,800 Gold was not pocket change. This was the money that Zero Wing had amassed after many difficulties. However, Shi Feng did not particularly mind the expenditure. He had not only requested Melancholic Smile to purchase the Frost Grenades. He had requested something even more powerful as well. That item was more expensive than all the Frost Grenades they had purchased combined. To others, it might not be easy to deal with an army of more than 100,000 elite players. To Shi Feng, who had Coins to spend, it was not difficult at all. Even top-tier players would be limited under the iron hoof of an elite army. To increase their chances of overcoming the Star Alliance, Shi Feng needed to increase the Guild’s overall strength. The best method to do so was to arm every elite member with Intermediate Frost Grenades. Shi Feng had played God’s Domain for more than ten years now. He had lost count of the number of Guild Wars he had participated in. Hence, he was extremely familiar with how Guild Wars worked. To secure victory in a Guild War, relying on elite and expert players was far from enough to emerge victorious. In God’s Domain’s battles, magical tools were crucial as well. Take the Twin Snake Ring, which had once been famous throughout the continent, for example. It was a kind of strategic weapon that, even in the hands of an ordinary player, could send hundreds of thousands of elite and expert players running with their tails tucked between their legs. It was a weapon that could cause the various kingdoms and empires to tremble in fear. In the end, after the various kingdoms and empires had paid an unimaginable price, they manage to destroy the Twin Snake Ring. Thus, in the past, the various large Guilds had invested money desperately to research these items. Only, current players had yet to realize just how powerful magical tools could be. Hence, they felt that they could rely on numbers and experts to secure victory in battle. Even though the Frost Grenades’ effects were halved against players, they were more than enough to give the Star Alliance’s elites a run for their money. If used properly, the Frost Grenades could even teach the Star Alliance an important lesson. Battles in God’s Domain could not necessarily be won with a larger army. One could also drown their opponents to death with money. After everyone from Zero Wing was equipped with the necessary supplies, under Shi Feng’s lead, they boldly made their way towards the Stoneclaw Mountains. --- “Quick, look! They are from Zero Wing!” “Wow! They’re really going to fight! They must’ve lost their minds!” “What do they intend to do with so few people? Are they trying to get themselves killed?” Many independent players watched Zero Wing’s army, which consisted of just slightly more than 10,000 players, with disdain. It should be known that the Star Alliance had more than 100,000 elite players on their side. --- “What is Black Flame trying to do? Why did he send so few people?” Waiting at the Stoneclaw Mountains’ Dungeon entrance, Gentle Snow frowned when she saw Zero Wing’s army approach. “Could he have given up?” - Prev Chapter - Next Chapter Chapter 730 - Sword Drawn Outside of the Stoneclaw Mountains’ transfer gate, Ouroboros’s elite army waited for their allies. A battle involving hundreds of thousands of players was different from battles involving only hundreds or thousands of players. There were not many locations that could house a battle of that scale. It was even less likely to find a proper area inside of a Dungeon. Before the war began, one had to organize their troops first. Charging into battle recklessly would only lead to one’s doom. Hence, Gentle Snow held Ouroboros back from entering the Stoneclaw Mountains. Instead, she chose to wait for Zero Wing’s arrival. Ouroboros was a first-rate Guild. Although the Guild had lost quite a few of its elites due to infighting, it still possessed the background of a first-rate Guild. Moreover, due to its Guild Residence in Stone Forest Town, Ouroboros developed far faster than their competitors. At this point, God’s Domain had already evolved from the era of Coins to the era of Magic Crystals. With sufficient Magic Crystals, a first-rate Guild with a strong background could quickly nurture elite players. Ouroboros already had more than 60,000 elite members. They had only slightly fewer than when they had conquered Stone Forest Town with Zero Wing. However, if one wanted to compare the quality of their elite members, Zero Wing was still slightly superior to Ouroboros. Shi Feng had always been an advocate of quality over quantity. Otherwise, Zero Wing would have had 40,000 or 50,000 elite members rather than 20,000. “Guild Leader Black Flame, what do you have planned for the war with the Star Alliance?” Gentle Snow asked as she turned to Shi Feng. Initially, Gentle Snow had thought Shi Feng would bring all of his Guild members above Level 30 with him into this war. She had never imagined that he would only dispatch 10,000 elite members. If so, she had no choice but to alter her original plan. There were over 100,000 players on the Star Alliance’s side. Based on the latest reports she had received, they had more than 150,000 elites. Had Zero Wing brought all of its Level 30 and above members, after including Ouroboros’s elite members, they would have had more than 100,000 players as well. In truth, many of Zero Wing’s ordinary members would be considered elites in other Guilds. However, Zero Wing was very strict with its elite members. Not only must one hit the mark in terms of both Level and combat techniques, but they must also be capable of defeating an Elite monster of the same level. Hence, even until now, the Guild did not have many elite members. If Zero Wing dispatched 40,000 members, the army’s overall combat power would most likely be higher than an army of 40,000 elite members from other Guilds. Hence, even if they faced the Star Alliance’s army of 150,000 elites, their army of 100,000 players would still have a chance of victory. Yet, Shi Feng had not done so. “Zero Wing will draw the enemy’s fire while Ouroboros will engage in a pincer attack from the sides,” Shi Feng said very simply. By the time the Star Alliance had issued the challenge, Shi Feng had already formulated a plan to deal with the enemy Guild. Although the Stoneclaw Mountains were vast, the Dungeon was covered in dense forests and mountainous regions. The area had few flatlands, and they were also small in size. There was nowhere large enough for a battle of hundreds of thousands. It would be a miracle if a single battle zone could fit several thousand players. Hence, Shi Feng had only chosen to dispatch 10,000 elite members. Had he dispatched any more, they would not have had enough Nine-star Polar Domain magic arrays to go about. “You really don’t need any of our members?” Gentle Snow placed great importance on this Guild War. Ouroboros was already in the same boat as Zero Wing. If Zero Wing suffered defeat, Ouroboros would suffer in the Stoneclaw Mountains as well. The Star Alliance and their allies would make sure of it. They needed to defeat the Star Alliance no matter what. If they removed the Star Alliance from the picture, the other Guilds would hesitate before moving against them. Of course, Gentle Snow had not forgotten about the issue with the Flower of Seven Sins. However, the Flower of Seven Sins’ assassins would only target Zero Wing’s experts. They would not participate in the battle between elite members. Hence, they would not necessarily affect the war’s outcome. As long as they crushed the Star Alliance’s elite army quickly, the Star Alliance would struggle to return to prominence. “No need. I have already prepared. When the time comes, you just have to remember your desire to eliminate the Star Alliance,” Shi Feng said, his lips curling into a confident smile. Following which, after both Guilds finished preparing, they entered the Stoneclaw Mountains. “Main force, follow me! The Dark Gods Legion will act as the spearhead and penetrate the Star Alliance’s core! Everyone else, as we discussed, split up into ten legions and advance slowly!” Shi Feng shouted his orders after entering the Stoneclaw Mountains. Shi Feng’s decisions had confused Aqua Rose and the others. In such a massive battle, he wanted all of Zero Wing’s experts to gather in a single location. They would be throwing away an expert’s advantages on a battlefield. On such a large battlefield, their enemies would scatter. By concentrating all of their experts into a single point, although their combat power was astounding, they would only be able to claim a limited number of lives. They wouldn’t be nearly as efficient on the battlefield as they could be. “Alright, enough daydreaming! Move!” Shi Feng commanded. Naturally, he understood everyone’s concerns. However, he did not have time to explain his plan. Although this formation would not benefit the Guild on the battlefield, it would not give the Flower of Seven Sins a good opportunity to strike. Moreover, they could reduce the number of casualties from the elite legions. The Flower of Seven Sins was an assassin organization. They had only been hired to do one thing in this battlefield–kill Zero Wing’s experts. Shi Feng had confirmed this with the Secret Pavilion. As long as there were no experts in the elite legions, the Flower of Seven Sins would not bother helping the Star Alliance by killing Zero Wing’s elite members. However, if an expert appeared in the midst of the elite legions, even if the assassins were reluctant, they would have no choice but to clear out the elite members blocking their path. This would deal a fatal blow. Shi Feng was a Flowing Water Realm expert, so he understood how beneficial such narrow terrain was to experts in the Realms of Refinement. He also knew how effective such experts were in a battle involving thousands of players. Hence, Zero Wing’s experts needed to cluster. That was his first reason. His second reason was to drive the assassins to a single location. That way, he would not have to waste time searching for them. He could set a trap to catch them at once. Under Shi Feng’s command, everyone immediately began to move. Shi Feng directly led the 100 main force members in a charge towards the tallest peak in the Stoneclaw Mountains’ outer region. That area was a favored location for a large scale battle. From there, he could see the overall situation and direct his army. Ouroboros had also circled to the edge of the Stoneclaw Mountains. --- Meanwhile, on top of a hill in the Stoneclaw Mountains’ outer region... “Guild Leader Galaxy, Zero Wing has entered the Stoneclaw Mountains. However, Zero Wing has only brought 10,000 elite members. It seems that the Star Alliance will not get to see much action. If you don’t move quickly, the other Guilds might decimate Zero Wing before you get to see any action,” Glorious Echo warned the other Guild Leader cheekily. He could not help but laugh when he received the report on Zero Wing’s arrival. “You might not even get a share of the equipment they drop.” Hearing this, Galaxy Past shook his head and laughed, saying, “In the end, it seems that Black Flame is not brave enough to make a last stand. He has actually dispatched so few people. Purple, issue my commands. Have Red Feather lead 30,000 elite troops into battle immediately. We can’t let the other Guilds steal the bounty.” “Understood!” Purple Eye contacted Red Feather. - Prev Chapter - Next Chapter Chapter 731 - Flurry After the large Guilds received the reports that Zero Wing had dispatched 10,000 elite members to the Stoneclaw Mountains, they began to mobilize their troops. Although the various large Guilds had only dispatched a small number of elites and experts, there were over a dozen large Guilds aiding the Star Alliance. In fact, the total number of elites and experts the various large Guilds had sent was only slightly lower than the Star Alliance’s army. Overall, they had more than 70,000 players. If the various Guilds went all-out, they could gather more elite players than the Star Alliance and Ouroboros combined. “Ten thousand elites won’t even be enough to fill the gaps between our teeth!” “Sure enough, Zero Wing is only here to make an appearance. They don’t have the courage to face us all-out. We’re currently the closest to the Dungeon’s entrance, so Zero Wing’s equipment will be ours for the taking!” In Star-Moon Kingdom, Zero Wing was famous for having top-tier equipment. Despite being Level 31 or 32, the elite members of ordinary Guilds generally wore Level 25 Mysterious-Iron and Secret-Silver Equipment, and very few had Level 30 Mysterious-Iron Equipment. As for Level 25 Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment, only an extremely small number of elite players had the privilege of owning any. Meanwhile, Level 30 Secret-Silver Equipment was considered a luxury. As for Level 30 Fine-Gold items, they were considered top-tier equipment, and only a Guild’s core members were fortunate enough to wear such equipment. After all, Fine-Gold Equipment only had a slightly higher drop-rate in large-scale Team Dungeons. However, teams that could raid Level 30 large-scale Hard Mode Team Dungeons were rare. Even first-rate Guilds only had several hundred teams capable of raiding such Dungeons. Hence, Level 30 Fine-Gold Equipment was incredibly rare. However, what about Zero Wing’s elite members? The most inferior equipment they wore was Level 25 Secret-Silver Equipment. Many among them even had one or two pieces of Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment, and some even had Level 30 Secret-Silver Equipment. There was no need to mention Zero Wing’s core members and main force members. The harvest they could gain from killing two or three Zero Wing elite members would be like killing a Level 30 or above Chieftain. However, how rare and difficult was it to deal with Chieftain ranked monsters? Even with a team of 20 elite players, sacrifices were necessary to kill a Level 30-plus Chieftain. There was even the risk of a team-wipe. However, it was a different story if their opponents were elite players. Field Chieftains would grow stronger depending on the number of players raiding them. Elite players would not, making them much easier to deal with. As the various large Guilds quietly approached the Dungeon’s entrance, many players who were tasked to defend strategic locations began to complain. “Say, why is our luck so bad? What’s the point of having us stay in this godforsaken place? The others will probably annihilate Zero Wing before they get anywhere near us. While everyone else gets to take a bite out of the pie, we won’t even get a taste of the crumbs.” “I know, right? The higher-ups have even said that we get to keep half of the spoils we get from the enemies we kill. Last time, we only got to keep a quarter of the spoils. Even now, I still haven’t obtained any Level 30 Fine-Gold Equipment. Those bastards that went ahead lucked out this time.” “If I had known something like this would happen, I wouldn’t have volunteered to defend this area. I could have been killing a few of Zero Wing’s members and upgrading my gear.” ... The 2,000-man elite legion standing on top of a mountain whined as they enviously watched the fires of battle some distance away, nearly drooling. Meanwhile, under Shi Feng’s lead, Zero Wing’s main force arrived at the foot of this mountain undetected with the help of Isolation Scrolls and Invisibility Potions. With f these two items, even a Ranger’s Eagle Eyes would not detect them. It was very easy for the group to circle the army of the various large Guilds. “Guild Leader, I’ve investigated the situation using Eagle Eyes. There should be around 2,000 players on top of the mountain. Among them, over 20 have excellent equipment. They should be experts,” Minor Wind reported in the team chat. “Twenty-plus experts?” Shi Feng could not help but laugh. “These people are taking this mountaintop too lightly. Fire, lead your group; get rid of their healers first. Everyone else, focus on your positions. Herd them together as much as possible before using AOE Skills.” Shi Feng did not take the 2,000 elite players seriously at all. The equipment worn by Zero Wing’s main force was considered among the best throughout God’s Domain. They had at least double the Attributes of their enemies. Even the Dark Gods Legion could defeat 2,000 elite players easily. The only ones who might actually pose a threat would be the twenty-plus experts. Currently, those that could be considered experts were players who had, at least, reached the Trial Tower’s fifth floor. Unfortunately, even the weakest members of Zero Wing’s main force were sixth-floor experts. Hence, Shi Feng did not have a shred of doubt that his team would slaughter the army of 2,000 elite players. The Rangers, who observed the situation on the mountain, did not detect Shi Feng and the others’ approach. “Guild Leader, we’re in position.” Fire Dance, who stood a short distance away from the enemy’s healer team, said quietly through the team chat. Flying Shadow and eight other Assassins accompanied Fire Dance. “Guild Leader, we’ve arrived at the enemy’s magical class team,” Cola reported quietly. Shi Feng stood a short distance away from the twenty-plus experts. Through a combination of Void Steps and the effects of the Invisibility Potion, even a Ranger or Druid with sharp senses would not detect Shi Feng. “Kill them!” Shi Feng growled. Immediately, everyone burst into action. Fire Dance activated the Additional Skill of the Tier 1 Set Equipment for Assassins, Flurry, increasing her Movement Speed and Attack Speed by 50% for 20 seconds. She then executed Ambush and thrust her flaming shortsword into the back of a Level 32 Cleric. -15,267! The Cleric, who had close to 7,000 HP, died instantly. Magical classes were very fragile. Not only did they possess very little Defense, but they also lacked Passive Skills that reduced damage. Against Fire Dance, who boasted both high Attack Power and critical rates, magical classes could not withstand even a single blow. Even without a critical hit, Fire Dance could still kill a Cleric with more than 7,000 HP with a single move. With the sudden death of a Cleric, the remaining healers were dumbfounded. The healers were typically safe in the heart of the legion. It was nearly impossible for an enemy to reach them undetected, yet their enemy had done just that. However, the most frightening aspect about Fire Dance was her damage. She killed a Cleric with nearly 7,000 HP instantly, just like that... After Fire Dance killed off the Level 32 Cleric, she immediately executed Backstab, her shortsword sinking into a nearby Oracle. -11,485! Landing another critical hit, Fire Dance instantly killed the Oracle with over 6,000 HP. At the same time, Flying Shadow and the others began their own killing sprees. In an instant, the healer team with over 200 members lost over ten players. “We’re being ambushed!” a player suddenly shouted. However, as soon as this player announced the attack, he heard screams. The fires of war illuminated the area. Activating Charge, Shadow Sword arrived before a Level 32 Elementalist. Before this Elementalist could use Blink, the Berserker forced him into a Fainted state. Shadow Sword then followed up with a Whirlwind Slash, a damage of over -4,500 points appearing above the heads of all enemies within eight yards; some even received critical damage of over -9,000 points. Even Level 30-plus expert magical class players would rarely have more than 8,000 HP. In the blink of an eye, Shadow Sword killed off three players, while four held on by a thread of HP. However, Shadow Sword had also triggered the Bluefire Double-edged Sword’s Passive Skill, Bluefire Dance, with his previous attack. Swinging his sword violently, Shadow Sword sent a cone of blue fire ahead of him, dealing more than -7,600 damage and killing another eight players. Zero Wing’s main force had only begun their assault, yet, in the blink of an eye, close to 300 elite players fell. To Zero Wing’s main force, these elite players were even less of a challenge than ordinary Elite monsters. “Leader, we’re being ambushed!” some quick-witted players hurriedly called for help from their team leader. However, when these players shifted their gazes towards their team leader, they were all dumbfounded. Countless divine, golden swords rained down on their leader and the other experts, damages of over -5,500 points appearing above their heads. Those who received critical hits received more than -10,000 damage with each shining blade. In the blink of an eye, half of the twenty-plus experts died while everyone else was sealed within the Skywheel Sword’s effective area. - Prev Chapter - Next Chapter Chapter 732 - Unstoppable Sword “Black Flame?!” The dozen or so experts turned to look at Shi Feng, who had suddenly appeared, their eyes widening in shock. The various Guilds’ upper echelons had long since engraved Black Flame’s name in their minds. Hence, they were extremely familiar with his appearance. He wore entirely black armor, including the cloak draped over his shoulders; even his eyes resembled the night sky. Two exquisite swords, one made of emerald and the other shining black, hung from his waist. Black Flame just stood there, but it felt as if he had become the focus of this battlefield. Their instincts screamed a warning. “Everyone, be careful! Do not engage him in close combat!” Endless Plains, a Level 33 Ranger who led this elite legion, hurriedly warned his comrades. “Use ranged attacks!” In response, the surviving experts nodded, serious expressions appearing on their faces. Black Flame’s reputation was simply too monstrous. He even had the One-hit Asura title. Even God’s Domain’s top-tier experts could only last a few moves against him. A few of Black Flame’s battle videos had even been regarded as a teaching scripture for Swordsmen. Black Flame’s grasp of timing and Skill usage completely surpassed other expert Swordsmen by several levels. Although none of them had ever believed they could win against Black Flame in a one-on-one fight, they had never imagined that, after meeting Black Flame in person, the man would be this frightening. Despite being a Swordsman, Black Flame had approached them undetected by relying on an Isolation Scroll and an Invisibility Potion. His sneak attack was so fast that they had not had time to react. Moreover, not only did Black Flame’s attack catch them, but that single attack had devoured close to half their numbers. Even the high Defense and HP Guardian Knights and Shield Warriors had lost close to 4,000 HP. To make matters worse, that was only a Control-type Skill. Logically, such Skills usually dealt low damage. Yet, the Skill had stolen one-third of the Guardian Knights and Shield Warriors’ HPs. If Black Flame had used a high-damage Skill, the consequences would have been unimaginable. “Thousand Hunts and I will hold him back. Look for chances to attack him. Don’t worry about hitting us,” a Level 34 Shield Warrior named World Defender said as he lifted his barbed, diamond-shaped shield and dashed forward. Sternly, he said, “Thousand, if Black Flame moves, activate all Defensive Skills immediately! Don’t hold anything back!” “I understand,” the Guardian Knight named Thousand Hunts nodded as he stepped to the forefront of his team. They absolutely could not afford to be careless against Black Flame. He understood that, if they did not start the fight with everything they had, it was likely that this Swordsman would claim their lives instantly. “Good luck.” The other team members dashed towards the sword domain’s edge. To them, World Defender’s and Thousand Hunts’s strength felt reassuring. These two were well-known experts in the virtual gaming world. Although they could not compare to hidden experts like War Wolf, they could still rank near the top among MTs in Star-Moon Kingdom. Previously, they had only received so much damage because Black Flame had caught them by surprise with his ambush. Now that these two were going all-out, even Star-Moon Kingdom’s top experts would not find it easy to break through their defense. “It seems like you guys have done your homework,” Shi Feng stated as he glanced at the twelve remaining experts. Among these people, he was familiar with quite a few of these experts. Endless Plains from the second-rate Guild, Wildfire. World Defender from the second-rate Guild, Arrogance. Thousand Hunts from the second-rate Guild, Secluded Fantasy. ... In the past, he had looked up to these experts. He had never dreamed that he would face-off against them. He had not expected the shift in their positions, either. In the past, even if he had gone all-out and pushed his senses to their limits, he would barely be able to contend with any of these experts, yet now, these experts had to work together and fight with everything they had just to have any chance of survival against him. Although these people worked together for the first time, they fell into a defensive formation seamlessly despite the previous sneak attack. They calmly considered and executed the best strategy to deal with him. The extent of their combat experience was obvious. This was precisely what Fire Dance and the others lacked the most. Although Shi Feng had charged at his enemy after using Skywheel Sword, Endless Plains had fired a storm of arrows the moment he set foot into the sword domain. Not only were the Ranger’s attacks extremely fast, but they limited Shi Feng’s range of movement, forcing him to confront the two oncoming MTs. “Black Flame, show me just how good you are!” the tall and robust World Defender stood proudly before Shi Feng as he activated a series of Lifesaving Skills in quick succession. [Bloodthirsty Rage] (Tier 1 Skill) Recovers 3% HP every second for 10 seconds. [Shield Wall] (Tier 1 Skill) Decreases all damage by 60% for 18 seconds. [Last Stand] (Tier 1 Skill) Increases maximum HP by 30% for 30 seconds. Suddenly, World Defender’s HP rose from close to 12,000 to nearly 15,600. He also recovered to more than 10,000 HP. Standing a short distance away, Thousand Hunts similarly activated his Lifesaving Skills. He also used a Tier 1 Holy Shield Protection, which could absorb over 2,000 points of damage, on himself. When the shield broke, it would heal the player for over 1,000 HP. Following which, Thousand Hunts activated Justice Roar. Enemies, players or monsters, affected by the Skill would have to attack him. If they didn’t, he would receive a boost to his speed and damage. Feeling the effects of Thousand Hunts’s Justice Roar, Shi Feng could not ignore the Guardian Knight. Dashing up to Thousand Hunts, the Abyssal Blade transformed into numerous black streaks of light that descended on the Guardian Knight’s body. So fast! Thousand Hunts was shocked. He had never imagined that Shi Feng’s Attack Speed would be so fast; he could not even see the afterimages of Shi Feng’s attacks. Fortunately, he wielded a shield. Compared to players without shields, he had an easier time defending against attacks. As long as he moved the shield slightly, he could block close to half of his body, making it very difficult to strike him. Thousand Hunts moved his shield quickly, blocking the Abyssal Blade. However, Shi Feng did not bother changing the Abyssal Blade’s trajectory. Instead, he continued swinging the Magic Weapon at Thousand Hunts. Illusory Shadow! The Abyssal Blade passed through the Guardian Knight’s shield, the six black streaks of light penetrating the Holy Shield Protection before biting into Thousand Hunts. -1,274. -2,604. -1,295. -2,582. -3,829. -1,285. Six consecutive damages appeared above Thousand Hunts’s head, his HP, which had been over 9,000, plummeted to zero... How could this be possible?! Thousand Hunts could not believe what he was seeing. Despite Protection Blessing, reducing the damage he received by 60%, Black Flame had killed him without breaking a sweat. The other experts were similarly dumbfounded. A Guardian Knight with more than 9,000 HP remaining and Protection Blessing had died instantly... Just how high is his Attack Power? World Defender no longer dared to waste time with attacks. Instead, he used Charge at the Swordsman. Turning, Shi Feng used Silent Steps, appearing behind World Defender and brandishing Killing Ray. His witnesses only saw a flash of emerald. Thundering Flash! Like a roaring dragon, three blue streaks of lightning instantly devoured World Defender. -2,746. -7,087. -4,424. World Defender’s HP, which had been over 10,000, vanished instantly, his body falling slowly to the ground... - Prev Chapter - Next Chapter Chapter 733 - Unstoppable “How could this be?!” Shock shook Endless Plains’s heart when he saw World Defender and Thousand Hunts’s lifeless bodies on the ground. He could no longer maintain his previous calm. Both of these MTs had activated all of their Lifesaving Skills, yet each of them had only lasted one move against Black Flame. They lost their lives before they could work with anyone else on the team to deal with Black Flame. “Is he really a player...?” They could not help but remember Black Flame’s title of One-hit Asura. However, everyone finally understood something; against Black Flame’s attacks, the only thing they could do was dodge. “That’s two.” World Defender’s quick death had not particularly surprised Shi Feng. After all, not only had his One-handed Sword Mastery reached the Basic Sword King standard, but the Aura of Fire also increased his damage by another 50%. Even an MT with all of their Lifesaving Skills active would be paper in front of his swords. Shi Feng then shifted his gaze towards the nearest Assassin. Wind Blade! Suddenly, Shi Feng left behind an afterimage as he appeared before the Level 33 Assassin, his Killing Ray slicing through the air. “Don’t think that I’m that easy to kill!” The Assassin abruptly retreated as Shi Feng appeared before him and tried to activate Vanish. When activate, Vanish would provide him with nearly of invulnerability. Within this second, all attacks against him would be useless. However, Killing Ray’s Lightning effect triggered. The instant Shi Feng swung Killing Ray, he gained a 50% boost to his Attack Speed. Like a flash of light, Killing Ray danced across the Assassin’s body. -13,548. It was another instant-kill. As if that had been a cue, the rest of the team bombarded Shi Feng with attacks. Numerous arrows and Spells flew at Shi Feng. Sidestepping, Shi Feng jumped into the air, avoiding the oncoming attacks. Following which, he turned and retrieved the Blazing Meteor. With a flick of his wrist, a meteor suddenly flew from Shi Feng’s hand. Flame God’s Fury! [Flame God’s Fury] Deals physical and flame damage to enemies within a 40*3 yard area. Deals 900% damage to the initial target, and damage reduces by 10% with each consecutive enemy hit to a minimum of 500% damage. Xiu! An Elementalist, a Cursemancer, and a Summoner, who were in the midst of Spell-casting, could not avoid the attack in time; the crimson flames devoured them in an instant. The remaining experts were shocked. They had never imagined that Black Flame would also possess such powerful long-range attack capabilities. As soon as Shi Feng landed, over a dozen Frost Arrows descended on him. Endless Plains had grasped the timing of his attack. Not only had he predicted Shi Feng’s landing position, but his arrows also blocked off Shi Feng’s path of retreat. He had aimed several other arrows at Shi Feng’s vital points. Dang... Dang... Dang... Before five Frost Arrows could strike Shi Feng, they pinged against the Swordsman’s emerald blade. The remaining Frost Arrows simply brushed past Shi Feng’s body, dealing no damage whatsoever. “F*ck my life.” Endless Plains stared, stunned. Despite his perfect angle of attack and timing, it seemed as if his arrows had actually tried to avoid Black Flame. After dealing with the attacks, Shi Feng released a low shout. Dragon Breath! He fired a white beam from his mouth. Endless Plains threw his body to the side, hoping to avoid the incoming beam. However, as if this white beam had predicted the Ranger’s actions, the beam plowed into the Ranger. Shi Feng achieved another instant-kill. Even after death, Endless Plains was confused. No matter how he thought about it, why would he have jumped into the Dragon Breath’s path? However, Violet Cloud, who happily massacred the elite legion, was not the slightest bit surprised when she saw this scene. Shi Feng had already reached the Flowing Water Realm of the Realms of Refinement. He could easily predict a player’s movements by observing their body. Hence, after seeing Endless Plains’s intention, he had adjusted Dragon Breath’s trajectory before firing the Skill. Although nearly 20 yards stood between them, Endless Plains had yet to set foot into the Realms of Refinement. He lacked sufficient physical control. In such high-speed battles, he could not respond quickly enough to evade the Dragon Breath. Violet Cloud sighed. This was the watershed[1] of top-tier experts. Although the difference seemed insignificant, its impact on the battle’s outcome would be astounding. Extremely few ordinary players in God’s Domain could exert their virtual bodies to their very limits. On the other hand, thanks to their refined control over their own bodies, expert players could sometimes push their virtual bodies to their limits. Naturally, if both sides possessed equal Levels and Attributes, expert players were far more powerful. However, even top-tier experts would find it extremely difficult to adjust their movement in such a superhuman, high-speed battle. It was like a sprinter’s difficulty to stop after running at full speed. In a battle this fast, one could just stop without effort. However, experts who had reached the Realms of Refinement were capable of exactly that. Although it did not appear impressive, having the ability to accelerate and stop suddenly meant that a player could change their attack trajectories abruptly, confusing the enemy. Violet Cloud had already reached the Half-step Refinement Realm. However, even now, she could not break through that final barrier. Hence, Violet Cloud observed Shi Feng’s battle carefully while fighting her own, hoping to gain some insight. “This...” the elite players who had intended to help were stupefied. In just two seconds, Shi Feng had killed seven of their experts; none of them had been able to withstand even one of his attacks. If even experts had no defense against him, what could elite players like themselves hope to accomplish? Those who had intended to rush over and assist lost all their courage instantly. Screams echoed from all across the mountaintop. Even for elite players, it was extremely difficult to exert their bodies to their limits. Not to mention, the members of Zero Wing’s main force all had very high Attributes. Their limits were much higher than elite players. This was no longer a battle. This was a massacre. Weaving through the crowd, Fire Dance moved faster than any of these elites players could follow. And as she moved, Fire Dance plunged the Truefire Blades into every player she passed, taking their lives with just a few hits. After just a brief moment, corpses littered the field. Dashing into the crowd, Shadow Sword brandished his Bluefire Double-edged Sword madly. He sent the several Shield Warriors, who had charged at him, flying. The Berserker then followed up with a Flame Flash, blue fire devouring these Shield Warriors instantly. He used Whirlwind Slash to finish them off. Standing on a natural rise, Minor Wind launched a continuous stream of powerful arrows with his Windchaser. The power within a single arrow was enough to push back a Berserker, a class known for its Strength. Even though many elite players tried to approach the Ranger, against the dozens of arrows, these elite players became no more than lifeless pincushions. Aqua Rose, Blackie, and the other magical classes released one AOE Spell after another, killing dozens of players with every attack. In just a few minutes, the 2000-strong elite legion had less than 1,000 players remaining. In contrast, Zero Wing’s main force had not suffered a single casualty yet. “Why are they so strong?” “Are they really human?” “I don’t want to fight anymore! I want to go home!” This situation was nothing like the videos they had watched of experts exchanging moves. Now that they witnessed a true battle between experts, they finally understood just how huge of a gap there was between themselves and expert players. Suddenly, fear swept across the battlefield. The elite legion’s members refused to continue fighting as they fled in all directions. --- While Zero Wing’s main force fought, the situation in the Stoneclaw Mountains grew increasingly intense. Both sides’ armies had finally begun fighting a short distance away from the foot of the mountain. “How dare you face us with just 10,000 players! Everyone, charge! Kill them all!” Red Feather sneered as he glared at Zero Wing’s elite members. TL Notes: [1]watershed - an event or period marking a turning point in a situation, e.g., “these works were a watershed in the history of music” - Prev Chapter - Next Chapter Chapter 734 - Silent Battlefield In the Stoneclaw Mountains’ outer region, Zero Wing’s ten 1,000-man elite teams finally faced the legions from the Star Alliance and other enemy Guilds. However, Zero Wing’s elite legions were at a disadvantage. Their opponent outnumbered them by more than ten times. “It seems Zero Wing really wants to die here. Despite so few players, they still split themselves so sparsely. We mustn’t let the other Guilds get a head start on us.” Red Feather also ordered his army of 30,000 elites to split into multiple legions to surround Zero Wing, afraid that they would lose Zero Wing’s elite members to the various large Guilds. The other Guilds had sent more than 70,000 elites in total. The army was more than enough to deal with Zero Wing’s 10,000 elite players. --- Just as Red Feather led the Star Alliance’s army to Zero Wing’s position, the other Guilds began to clash with their enemy. However, Zero Wing’s elite members had slightly superior equipment. Moreover, the battlefield was only so large; only so many ranged players could attack at once. Hence, when it came to ranged firepower, Zero Wing had a slight advantage. After several exchanges, Zero Wing’s foe had already suffered over a hundred casualties. On the other hand, Zero Wing had only lost a dozen or so members. Other than the difference in damage, Zero Wing’s elite members were far more adept at dodging attacks. In addition, their HPs and healing prowess were much higher. Zero Wing’s ranged players only needed three to four hits to kill an enemy elite. However, if the various Guild’s elites wished to finish off one of Zero Wing’s, they needed to land roughly six attacks. Yet, against Zero Wing, the Guilds’ elites could only dodge three or four out of ten attacks. On the other hand, Zero Wing’s elites could dodge at least five attacks. The difference in equipment, Attributes, and combat techniques, though small, was clear for all to see. In the end, this minor difference impacted the results significantly. “Damn it! All MTs, advance! Ranged players, cover them! Healers, follow!” “Assassins, circle and deal with their healers!” “Don’t be afraid! We outnumber Zero Wing! When we reach them, victory will be ours!” ... The upper echelons quickly issued the orders to charge ahead when they noticed Zero Wing’s strategy of attack and retreat. Immediately, a collection of Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights emerged from the Guilds’ elite army, every one activating their Lifesaving Skills as they charged madly at Zero Wing’s members. The healers supplied these MTs with endless streams of recovery spells from a safe distance. However, no matter how hard these Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights tried to dodge, no matter how much healing they received, or how they lifted their shields as they forged ahead, they died helplessly as Zero Wing’s hundreds of ranged players blotted out the sky with a rain of Fireballs, Frost Arrows, and normal arrows. If one watched from afar, they would see row after row of Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights tumble to the ground. “How is Zero Wing’s firepower so powerful?!” Only 40 yards stretched between the two armies. Yet, to shorten the gap by 20 yards, the various Guilds had lost over 300 melee players. Even the upper echelons flinched at this spectacle’s brutality. They had never imagined that Zero Wing’s ranged attacks would be so powerful. Before they could even reach Zero Wing’s elites, their legion, which began with more than 4,000 players, had lost close to 500 members. Originally, the various large Guilds had thought that this would be an easy battle. After all, they had a massive numerical advantage. However, after seeing Zero Wing’s combat method, they realized one thing. Indeed, they did have the advantage in numbers, but unfortunately, the Stoneclaw Mountains’ terrain prevented them from using that advantage. However, the various large Guilds couldn’t care less anymore. They all gritted their teeth as they charged forward. If they did not get rid of Zero Wing’s elite army today, they would never recover. Moreover, the Shield Warriors, Guardian Knights, Berserkers, Swordsmen, and Assassins of the various Guilds were close enough that they could use their skills effectively. If they did not fight now, then when? “Kill them!” “We’ll earn everything back once we plunder Zero Wing’s equipment!” ... Suddenly, the Guilds’ melee classes advanced, an intense bloodthirst shining in their eyes. However, just as the various melee players activated their Skills, each Zero Wing elite retrieved an Intermediate Frost Grenade, pelting their approaching enemy. Peng... Peng... Peng... Suddenly, hundreds of Intermediate Frost Grenades bombarded the advancing crowd, transforming the vibrant forest into a world of ice, snow, and death. As for the melee elites from the various large Guilds, they froze into ice sculptures. When a gentle breeze blew past, every one of these elite ice sculptures shattered, decorating the battlefield with equipment. Even though there were some Assassins and Swordsmen that had reacted quickly enough and activated their Lifesaving Skills in time, their Lifesaving Skills could only deflect a limited number of attacks. These Skills’ durations were also extremely short. However, the bombardment of the hundreds of Frost Grenades lasted for nearly six seconds. In the end, these players still fell under the rain of Frost Grenades. Each Intermediate Frost Grenade could deal roughly 400 damage to players and had an effective radius of 12 yards. One hundred Frost Grenades would deal roughly 40,000 damage. At this stage of the game, no player in existence had more than 40,000 HP. Furthermore, Zero Wing had not thrown only 100 grenades. “This...” The various Guilds’ commanders were shocked, speechless. Their remaining elite players also paused, every one of them wearing dazed expressions. “Nice!” “Awesome!” “You guys thought you were impressive, huh?! Now you understand Zero Wing’s power!” When Zero Wing’s members saw how nearly all of the enemy melee players had fallen, pride and joy suddenly welled in their hearts. They also felt endless reverence towards their Guild Leader, Black Flame. They, too, had thought that their defeat was inevitable. However, this scene had cleared their minds of any doubt. In the blink of an eye, they had wiped out thousands of their enemies. These several hundred Intermediate Frost Grenades were far more powerful than even a large-scale destruction Spell. If they could fight here, in the Stoneclaw Mountains’ narrow valley, they would not even fear twice this many opponents. The various battles that raged elsewhere met similar situations. The large Guilds’ elite legions suffered tremendous losses under the Intermediate Frost Grenade bombardment. Their death toll already exceeded 10,000, whereas Zero Wing had only lost around 100 members so far. The large Guilds were forced to reassess the combat power of Zero Wing’s elite army. --- Meanwhile, at the highest peak in the Stoneclaw Mountains’ outer region, roughly ten minutes after the battle had begun, the elite legion of 2,000 players had lost over 80% of its members. The few survivors had scattered and escaped. Just as Fire Dance and the others were about to give chase, Shi Feng stopped them. “Alright, that’s enough. Ignore them. We don’t need to waste our time hunting them down. We have more important things to do,” Shi Feng said in the team chat. His main goal was to occupy this strategic location with good view over the battlefield, not to kill these elite players. Moreover, even if they allowed these several hundred elite players to escape, it would not impact the war’s outcome. “Guild Leader, what are we going to do next?” Aqua Rose asked curiously. The other team members were just as eager to learn their next step. Shi Feng had led them through the Star Alliance’s encirclement and occupied this highland. What, exactly, was his goal? “We’re going to wait for them here,” Shi Feng said, laughing. “However, we can’t idle, either. Aqua and Blackie, follow me. Fire, your group will clear the battlefield. Everyone else, pay attention to your surroundings. Be wary of any ambushes from the Star Alliance.” Aqua Rose and Blackie nodded sharply. They followed Shi Feng and climbed to an even higher overlook. Fire Dance then arranged her team to guard their surroundings. - Prev Chapter - Next Chapter Chapter 735 - Instrument of War The news of the various large Guilds inside the Stoneclaw Mountains suffering heavy damage spread like wildfire. Players throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom were paying very close attention to this Guild war. Hence, the moment this news appeared on the official forums, it instantly exploded, shocking many players throughout the entire kingdom. The uploaded battle videos of the war staggered them even further. Hundreds of Intermediate Frost Grenades exploded continuously, filling the land with ice flowers and dyeing the land in snow-white color. Several thousand elite players were suddenly nothing more than lifeless ice sculptures doomed to shatter and scatter with the wind. Just seeing this scene alone could give one the shivers. What elite players? What zerg tactics? Under the bombardment of the Frost Grenades, everything was insignificant. Without using any words, Zero Wing had proven to everyone that its strength was no trifling matter. Even when going up against over 100,000 elite players, Zero Wing was not afraid. With just the sacrifice of a dozen or so players, Zero Wing had managed to slaughter thousands of elite players. “Zero Wing is simply too powerful! They are actually able to obtain so many AOE attack tools!” “The effects of this item are so good, so it should be very rare and expensive, right?” “That’s an engineering tool! I’ve bought engineering tools before, so I know how insanely expensive those things are! Since that item they used is practically an instrument of war, it’s definitely much more expensive! Despite that, Zero Wing is actually able to casually toss out so many as if they were just toys! Zero Wing is simply too rich!” ... Many players on the official forums began a heated discussion over Zero Wing’s financial strength. Although everyone was unclear about the exact price of the Intermediate Frost Grenades, they could still estimate the price range of the Frost Grenade based on its effects. After making a rough estimate, they then calculated the number of Frost Grenades Zero Wing had used. Suddenly, everyone was shocked. Just the first wave of Frost Grenades Zero Wing had thrown in one battlefield cost dozens of Gold. Since there was a total of ten battlefields, that meant Zero Wing had spent several hundred Gold just on the first wave of Frost Grenades. In God’s Domain, the liquid funds of many Guilds did not even amount to several hundred Gold, yet Zero Wing had just casually tossed out that sum, using up an entire Guild’s liquid funds in the blink of an eye. Zero Wing was no longer fighting using players. The Guild was practically drowning its enemies with money. However, no one could criticize the effects of this strategy. Based on initial estimates, the number of deaths the various Guilds had suffered already exceeded 10,000. After looking at this scene, one could not help but admit that this money was well spent. If Zero Wing were to rely on its Guild members to claim that number of kills, the total cost of the equipment lost and compensation given out would indeed be a lot more. Due to Zero Wing’s frightening performance, the Guild’s prestige, which had been on a constant decline before, suddenly began rising rapidly. Many players, who had initially belittled its chances in this war, also started anticipating the final outcome. Meanwhile, the ones that this sudden turn of events affected the most emotionally would be none other than the Guilds that were watching from the sidelines. At this moment, they were all inwardly celebrating the fact that they had not rushed to join the Star Alliance’s coalition. The outcome of this war, which was initially against Zero Wing’s favor, had suddenly taken a big turn. For the Guilds directly participating in this war, should the Star Alliance come out victorious, they would definitely benefit greatly from the Stoneclaw Mountains in the future. However, should Zero Wing win, then Zero Wing would surely banish from Stone Forest Town every Guild that had aggressed. These Guilds would then have a much harder time developing themselves at the Stoneclaw Mountains. --- “So this is his trump card. It’s no wonder he insisted on being the spearhead and attracting enemy fire to himself.” Gentle Snow could not help but smile after looking at the video showing the situation on the battlefield. “It seems that I have really underestimated him.” Black Flame had deliberately dispatched only 10,000 members, giving his enemies the impression that Zero Wing was vulnerable. He had then brought out the Frost Grenades and taken his enemies by surprise. Although the Star Alliance’s side had lost over 10,000 players, the impact on the overall situation of this war was negligible. However, it had still awakened the belief that Zero Wing might emerge victorious in this war. --- This counterattack of Zero Wing had also struck anxiety in the Star Alliance. “Guild Leader, what should we do now? If Zero Wing possesses such an instrument of war, we will only be going to our deaths if we charge forward, yet we are no match for Zero Wing in a ranged battle. We also can’t utilize our numbers advantage,” Red Feather said. When Red Feather received news of this situation, he immediately reported it to Galaxy Past. Due to Zero Wing’s counterattack, the various large Guilds no longer dared to close in, only fighting at range. However, such ranged battles were extremely time-consuming—and extremely disadvantageous for the Star Alliance’s coalition. When their members died, they would have to travel over ten hours to return to the battlefield in the Stoneclaw Mountains. However, when Zero Wing’s members died, they only needed an hour or so to rejoin the war. Regarding reinforcements, Zero Wing was overwhelmingly superior to the Star Alliance. A war of attrition was unfavorable to the coalition. “They should not have too many of such tools. We have the numerical advantage. Continue sending people forward, but lower the number of people charging at a single time. It would be best if we can have people attacking Zero Wing from all sides. I want to see just how much money Zero Wing has to spend.” Galaxy Past was aware of the severity of the situation this time. Hence, he decisively made such a costly decision. “I understand.” When Red Feather heard this, he immediately realized the limitations of the Frost Grenade. The Frost Grenade was not a Skill with indefinite use. Moreover, the grenade should not be cheap. With their numbers, they could simply use a small fraction to bait Zero Wing to use the Frost Grenades. Once Zero Wing depleted its supply, its elite army would merely be sheep for the slaughter. As long as they defeated Zero Wing and obtained Stone Forest Town, all the losses they suffered now would be negligible. After the various large Guilds received the directions from the Star Alliance, they also began attacking Zero Wing’s elite legions from multiple locations as well as using the lives of their members to draw out Zero Wing’s Frost Grenades. Time passed slowly. The battle between both sides grew increasingly intense and increasingly concentrated. Although the effect of the Frost Grenades was indeed striking, the results now were much more subdued, compared to the first time Zero Wing used the instruments of war. After facing several charging attempts from the Star Alliance, Zero Wing exhausted its supply of Frost Grenades. However, the Star Alliance suffered only 40,000-plus casualties. In terms of their number of elite members, the Star Alliance was still superior to both Zero Wing and Ouroboros combined. Without the Frost Grenades, Zero Wing’s casualties also began rapidly rising. “Hahaha! Zero Wing has already run out of AOE attack tools! Brothers, it’s time to let Zero Wing know how amazing the Star Alliance is!” “Brothers, charge!” Suddenly, the Star Alliance and the various large Guilds initiated an all-out charge. Many expert players, who could exert massive destructive power, accompanied the assault teams. These experts could kill an elite Zero Wing player in just a few hits. However, nobody was capable of stopping these experts. --- “Guild Leader, if this continues, our people won’t be able to last long. Why don’t I lead a team to go and clear out some of the Star Alliance’s teams?” Fire Dance took the initiative to ask. She could no longer stand watching this one-sided battle. The Star Alliance’s experts had already begun moving and were casually killing their companions. Meanwhile, they, the experts of Zero Wing, could only stand and watch from the sidelines. This inaction made them feel greatly troubled. Standing at the peak of the mountain, Shi Feng shook his head, saying, “Your duty is to guard this place, not to kill elites.” Since Stamina was a limiting factor in God’s Domain, even an expert like himself would still slowly drown to death in the flood of players. Hence, exchanging the Stamina of experts for the lives of the enemy’s elite members was unjustifiable. It would be a different story if they had a large number of expert players. However, Zero Wing had far fewer experts than their opponents. “But...” Fire Dance truly could not understand why Shi Feng wanted them to guard this location. “Relax. When going up against elite players, we naturally have to use a method for dealing with elite players.” Shi Feng laughed. He then spoke through the team chat, saying, “Aqua, are you guys ready on your side yet? If you don’t take action soon, Fire is going to start growing anxious.” Before he had come to the Stoneclaw Mountains, he had already thought of a way to cope with the Star Alliance’s army. He had never once thought of relying on just the Frost Grenades to win this war. His real trump card was another item he had asked Melancholic Smile to purchase. Basic Mana Pulse Cannon! He had spent a full 20,000 Gold to purchase this thing. However, in order to use this item, they had to fix it to the ground and could not move it. Moreover, its assembly and disassembly were extremely troublesome processes. It was also very easily destroyed. Generally, it was an instrument of war used to defend towns and cities. Despite it being only a Basic Mana Pulse Cannon, the power contained in a single shot could rival even a Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spell. The cannon had a shooting range of 15,000 yards, and it was a tool often seen in wars that occurred during the later stages of God’s Domain. “Guild Leader, it’s ready. We’re just waiting for your orders now,” Aqua Rose replied through the team chat, smiling. - Prev Chapter - Next Chapter Chapter 736 - Battlefield Dominator “Now that Zero Wing has used up their Frost Grenades, they no longer have anything to depend upon. Although the Dark Gods Legion is slaughtering the elite legions of the Star Alliance, the Alliance has already sent over 500 experts to hold back the Legion. “Once the duration of the Dark Gods Legion’s Berserk Skills ends, Zero Wing’s Dark Gods Legion will be finished as well. “Even if the 100 experts of Zero Wing’s main force were to take action now, the assassins of the Flower of Seven Sins will block them. This battle should be nearing its end now. “Autumn, have the others get ready. We’re heading over to the highland Black Flame has occupied right away. “Now that the outcome of this war is about to be determined, it should be about time for the Flower of Seven Sins to make its move.” Yuan Tiexin, who stood observing from an elevated position, could not help but shake his head. In the end, going up against the major forces of God’s Domain was simply impossible for an upstart Guild with no background. However, even if Zero Wing was defeated, the fact that the Guild was able to survive up to this point was already a matter to be proud of. “Uncle Yuan, isn’t there still Ouroboros’s elite army of 60,000?” Cold Autumn had previously read the report on Ouroboros. The army led by the Snow Goddess Gentle Snow was not something to discount. Moreover, there were also several noteworthy experts on Ouroboros’s side. Currently, the difference in the number of elites between both sides was no longer as large as when the war began. It was still too early to establish the outcome of this war. “If the Star Alliance and Overwhelming Smile did not possess that trump card, the outcome of this war would indeed be undetermined,” Yuan Tiexin said, smiling as he shook his head. “The Star Alliance’s trump card?” Cold Autumn looked at Yuan Tiexin very curiously. A war involving over a hundred thousand elite players was not something that could be decided with just any ordinary trump card. However, judging from how assured Yuan Tiexin was, the trump card was precisely that powerful. “I have also only heard this piece of information from the Guild Leader. Just the other day, the Star Alliance and Overwhelming Smile both spent an extremely massive sum to purchase two Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls from a Super Guild,” Yuan Tiexin said. Enviously, he added, “Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls are exceedingly rare in God’s Domain. They can be of great help in capturing towns or when used in Guild Wars. Even the Secret Pavilion has only managed to gather a few pieces after going through many difficulties. Every piece is a treasure that cannot be bought even with thousands of Gold Coins. “A place with narrow terrain like this is indeed unsuitable for large-scale battles. However, it is the best environment for a Tier 3 creature to exert its advantages. A Tier 3 creature can serve as the best shield and sword in this war. With the assistance of a large group of elite players, a Tier 3 creature can easily annihilate an army of several thousand elite players. What more with two Tier 3 creatures? Without sufficient experts to pin down them down, these monsters will slaughter elite players. Zero Wing and Ouroboros will stand no chance against these monsters.” When Cold Autumn and the others heard this, they shivered involuntarily. The power that two Great Lords controlled by players could exert was simply unimaginable. With the current strength of players, coping with these monsters was impossible. They could only rely on zerg tactics to kill the Great Lords. However, the number of sacrifices required to do so would be horrific. To Zero Wing and Ouroboros with their smaller fighting force, this trump card of the Star Alliance would be a fatal one. --- Meanwhile, on the battlefield of Ouroboros and the Star Alliance, as both sides were almost evenly matched, the number of casualties on both sides was nearly equal. “Since Zero Wing is almost finished, Purple, give Ouroboros the final blow,” Galaxy Past, who was commanding the battle, whispered to Purple Eye. They had brought two Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls to this war. One was in Purple Eye’s hands, while the other was in Overwhelming Smile’s War Wolf’s hands. Galaxy Past was not in control of the Tier 3 Summoning Scroll in Overwhelming Smile’s possession. However, seeing as Zero Wing had already become sheep for the slaughter, he did not wish the Star Alliance to continue losing more elite members. “I understand,” Purple Eye, who was fighting at the frontlines, replied, her lips curling up into a smile. She then excitedly retrieved the Tier 3 Summoning Scroll in her bag. Unfurling the scroll, she shouted lowly, “I summon thee, Mountain Giant!” Suddenly, in the heart of the intense battlefield, a massive magic array appeared in midair. In the next moment, a Mountain Giant with a body made entirely of rocks fell from the aquamarine magic array. The Mountain Giant was over 50 meters tall, and all players before its colossal body were no different from ants. [Mountain Giant] (Elemental Being, Great Lord) Level 54 HP 20,000,000/20,000,000 Purple Eye was currently Level 34. Meanwhile, creatures summoned using Summoning Scrolls would be 20 Levels higher than their summoners. Hence, the Mountain Giant summoned was Level 54. At the same time, its control also fell to Purple Eye. As the number one Elementalist in the Star Alliance, Purple Eye’s standard in terms of techniques was slightly above even Galaxy Past’s. The instant the Mountain Giant appeared, Purple Eye promptly controlled it to slaughter hundreds of Ouroboros’s elite members. Immediately after, the Mountain Giant abruptly stomped on the ground, and the ground within 120 yards of the Great Lord’s feet trembled. In the next moment, at the rear line of Ouroboros’s legion, a rock spike with a radius of 20 yards shot up from the ground, instantly annihilating dozens of Ouroboros’s healers and striking panic in the remaining healers. Previously, the battle between both sides remained at a stalemate. With the appearance of the Mountain Giant, however, it immediately became a one-sided struggle. When Ouroboros’s attacks landed on the Mountain Giant, none of them dealt more than 100 damage due to the Level and Tier suppression. Even after adding up the efforts of several hundred players, the total was merely in the tens of thousands. To the Mountain Giant, who had 20,000,000 HP, this amount of damage was not worth mentioning. Just its battle recovery alone could maintain it at full HP. The Mountain Giant was essentially a strength-type Great Lord. With a single blow, it could instantly kill a full HP Level 30 elite MT. Moreover, as all of the Mountain Giant’s attacks were AOE attacks, when it came to a crowded battlefield, a single blow from it could kill anywhere from a few to more than a dozen players. The Mountain Giant completely dominated this entire battlefield with overwhelming force. In less than five minutes, one of Ouroboros’s 3,000-man elite legions was wiped out. This scene shocked the other elite legions into a constant retreat. Shortly after the appearance of the Mountain Giant, a Level 54 Great Lord ranked three-headed hound appeared on Overwhelming Smile’s side of the battlefield. [Cerberus] (Dark Creature, Great Lord) Level 54 HP 17,500,000/17,500,000 Although the Cerberus did not possess as much HP as the Mountain Giant, it was significantly superior to the Mountain Giant in terms of magic damage. Its Movement Speed and Attack Speed were also much faster. When it came to killing elite players on the battlefield, it was even more proficient than the Mountain Giant. After two Level 54 Great Lords joined the battlefield, Ouroboros’s members immediately fell into a panic. The two Great Lords both possessed quite a number of AOE Attack Skills. In a battle of thousands, they could easily reap the lives of hundreds of elite players every passing moment. Ouroboros could not offer any resistance whatsoever. “Snow, what should we do now?” Zhao Yueru felt her scalp tingling and her body shivering when she looked at the two Great Lords. If they could not deal with these two Great Lords, Ouroboros would have no chance of victory at all. “We don’t have any other choice. Let’s use our final card. Although it can’t stop these two Great Lords, it will be able to trap them for a short time. This should give us enough time to escape their pursuit,” Gentle Snow said, gritting her teeth. She inwardly felt great frustration. She had never imagined that they would lose this war just like this. Faced with two Great Lords, choosing a direct confrontation would only increase their losses. As for waiting until the summoning duration of the two Great Lords ran out, by the time that happened, everyone from Ouroboros would most likely be dead already. Just as the two Great Lords were pushing forward relentlessly, a beam of alternating black and white lights flashed down from a distant mountaintop, directly piercing the advancing Mountain Giant. A black-and-white pillar of light then appeared, devouring an area of 200 yards around the Mountain Giant. When the light pillar dissipated, not even a blade of grass lingered within the 200-yard radius. Only a large crater and a half-kneeling Mountain Giant remained. - Prev Chapter - Next Chapter Chapter 737 - Absolute Power The appearance and disappearance of the black-and-white pillar of light stunned everyone. The power of this sudden attack was simply devastating. The shocking scene etched itself deep into everyone’s minds. It was difficult to forget even if one wanted to. “Just what was that thing?” At this moment, looking at the half-kneeling Mountain Giant, the shock Gentle Snow felt was indescribable with words. It would have been fine if the pillar of light had just killed every player within a radius of 200 yards. However, not only had the devastating attack dealt over 4,000,000 damage to the Level 54 Great Lord, but it had also placed the Mountain Giant in a Heavily Injured state, immobilizing it. Although the Mountain Giant could still fight, its controller, Purple Eye, had already died within the pillar of light. Normally, summoned creatures could only move within a certain range from their summoners; they could not leave this area. Meanwhile, if the summoner died, the summoned creature would also vanish. One could say that this dependence on the summoner was the weakness of a Tier 3 Summoning Scroll. Initially, Gentle Snow had also considered killing the player controlling the Great Lord. However, it was simply impossible for them to circle around the Great Lord and break through the numerous elite players protecting the summoner. Hence, they could only retreat in defeat. But with this devastating power, not to mention killing the controller, even killing the Great Lord would not be a problem. Compared to the shock Gentle Snow and the other members of Ouroboros were feeling, the members of the Star Alliance were utterly dumbfounded. If just a single attack could kill over a thousand players, wouldn’t it be only a moment’s effort to finish off tens of thousands of players? Just how were they supposed to go up against this power? Setting aside the fact that the attack covered a radius of 200 yards, the speed of that attack was simply not one that players could dodge. One could say that the instant the black-and-white beam of light appeared, everyone within its range of attack only had death awaiting them. Suddenly, everyone could not help but turn to look at the origin of that beam of light. “Black Flame!!!” Galaxy Past’s eyes immediately turned crimson with rage, his expression becoming exceedingly ugly. Galaxy Past had known the location of Zero Wing’s main force ever since Shi Feng launched his attack on the elite legion stationed on the mountain. The only reason he had not sent anyone after them was because he intended to have the Flower of Seven Sins finish the job. He had never imagined that Shi Feng would have such a card as well. In just a single attack, Shi Feng had exterminated one of his trump cards. The Star Alliance had paid an unimaginable price to obtain that Tier 3 Summoning Scroll. Moreover, this price did not take the form of Coins. Instead, it was the Magic Crystals that the Star Alliance had amassed with much difficulty during this period. Yet, now, before the Mountain Giant could even begin to display its strength, Shi Feng had already wiped it out of existence. At this moment, Galaxy Past wished he could rip out Shi Feng’s heart with his very own hands. “Kill! Kill them all! That kind of attack should only be usable once! Victory still belongs to us!” Galaxy Past immediately notified everyone as he began attacking the members of Ouroboros in a frenzy. Due to Galaxy Past’s reminder, everyone from the Star Alliance quickly regained their senses. Launching such a heaven-defying attack even once was already plenty amazing. The possibility of Zero Wing pulling off another such attack should be extremely low. Currently, although one of their two Great Lords had been defeated, they still had one left. The advantage their side possessed had yet to disappear. Zero Wing and Ouroboros were still on the losing side. “Aqua, how long till the next shot?” Shi Feng could not help but ask as he saw the Star Alliance going into action once more. The requirements to use the Mana Pulse Cannon were extremely stringent. It had its limitations. Firstly, the cannon could not be used inside Dungeons. Otherwise, dealing with Dungeon Bosses would be a piece of cake. A few shots would be all it would take to clear the Dungeon. Secondly, the cannon had a relatively long Cooldown time after firing before it could fire again. Normally, this Cooldown was roughly three to four minutes long. Thirdly, it was extremely costly to fire the cannon, with each shot costing 1,000 Magic Crystals. Even ordinary large Guilds were unlikely to obtain 1,000 Magic Crystals in a day. Yet, the Basic Mana Pulse Cannon only needed an instant to waste it all. In terms of Coins, the cannon cost over 200 Gold to fire each time. To first-rate Guilds, 200 Gold was not a small amount, not to mention 1,000 Magic Crystals. Even if first-rate Guilds possessed a Basic Mana Pulse Cannon, they would not be willing to use it unless absolutely necessary. “There’s still another 30 seconds,” Aqua Rose, who was controlling the Mana Pulse Cannon, immediately replied after taking a look at the Cooldown time. Previously, she had felt slightly confused when Shi Feng had asked her and Blackie to follow him. However, after Shi Feng took out the Basic Mana Pulse Cannon, she was left dumbfounded for a long time. She never imagined there would be such a horrifying weapon even in God’s Domain. Of course, one also needed considerable financial strength to use this horrific weapon. First and foremost, the Basic Mana Pulse Cannon’s selling price of 20,000 Gold was enough to deter the majority of the Guilds in God’s Domain from buying it. The next part was the fuel of 1,000 Magic Crystals. If Zero Wing had not occupied Stone Forest Town and could not collect a large amount of Magic Crystals from the various large Guilds every day, using the Mana Pulse Cannon would really have been too expensive. However, she also could not help but admit that this money was well spent. Just a single shot had directly stunned everyone in the Stoneclaw Mountains. However, compared to the cannon’s actual effects, its impact on morale was much more amazing. In a war, if one side’s momentum were suppressed by the other, this would greatly affect the spirits of both sides, regardless of whether it was the stronger side or the weaker side. “Alright. The next target will be that Cerberus. Make sure you don’t let the summoner get away,” Shi Feng commanded. He then messaged Gentle Snow, having her lure the Cerberus as close as possible to the Basic Mana Pulse Cannon. The Basic Mana Pulse Cannon only had a shooting range of 15,000 yards. Beyond this range, the cannon was no threat. After receiving Shi Feng’s message, Gentle Snow immediately began directing Ouroboros’s army with renewed vigor, to move closer to Shi Feng’s location. Seeing the members of Ouroboros escaping, the players on the Star Alliance’s side naturally gave chase. The duration of a summoned creature was limited. Obviously, they needed to achieve the greatest results during this time limit. Thirty seconds quickly passed. “You’re next!” Aqua Rose aimed at the approaching Cerberus and fired the Mana Pulse Cannon once more. Xiu! The black-and-white beam of light shot directly at the three-headed hound. Despite the distance of several thousand yards, the energy pulse of the Mana Pulse Cannon took only an instant to hit a spot close to the Cerberus. When the black-and-white pillar of light appeared in the Stoneclaw Mountains once more, every player at the outer area of the Dungeon was able to see it clearly. War Wolf had noticed the energy pulse the moment it appeared. However, he instantly knew that it was too late to avoid it. The only thing he could do was activate every Lifesaving Skill he possessed. However, the energy pulse, which had the might of a Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spell, was not something a measly Tier 1 player could defend against. Even for Shi Feng, his only option when going up against this attack would be to activate Space Movement to escape. The Aura of Earth’s Absolute Defense might not even be able to defend against this move, as invulnerability in God’s Domain was not absolute. If an attack surpassed the limit a Skill could endure, it would likewise break through the Skill. After the black-and-white light pillar dissipated, as expected, War Wolf had fallen to the energy pulse. The Cerberus had disappeared as well together with War Wolf. At the same time, over a thousand Overwhelming Smile members had also been turned into ash, leaving behind only a crater filled with equipment. - Prev Chapter - Next Chapter Chapter 738 - Seven Sins Take Action The reappearance of the black and white light pillar and the new wave of devastation that came with it stunned just about everyone in the Stoneclaw Mountains had once more stunned everyone in the Stoneclaw Mountains. For a moment, they had forgotten to fight as they turned to watch pillar of light. In the face of this horrific power, the prowess of tens of thousands of players was a joke. Complete annihilation could happen at any minute. Although the energy pulse had killed was only over a thousand players, a deep fear of the weapon had seeped into their bones. Nobody wanted to be on the receiving end of that attack, disintegrating into dust. Suddenly, everyone, players from the Star Alliance and various Guilds alike, feared Zero Wing. They were deeply afraid that Zero Wing would launch another such attack. After the energy pulse first appeared, they consoled themselves that it was impossible to use such an attack twice. However, that consolation vanished after the second energy pulse. Players would lose one Level when they died. However, losing a Level in the 30s would require several days to recover. At the thought of losing their lives to a single attack, the Star Alliance and its allies began to move cautiously. The various troops reined in their bloodlust. After all, if they attracted too much attention, Armageddon could come knocking on their doors next. In contrast, Ouroboros and Zero Wing’s morale flourished, the members of both Guilds passionately launching their counterattacks. One side held back with caution, while the other side forged on with guns blazing. The battle’s outcome was obvious. “Damn it! Just where did Black Flame get that thing?!” Galaxy Past scowled. That energy pulse attack was simply too much of a threat to the Star Alliance. If they did not deal with it quickly, they would certainly lose this war. Losing this war would be a fatal blow to the Guild. The loss of EXP and equipment was a secondary concern. Most importantly, the Star Alliance’s prestige as a first-rate Guild would vanish. Not only had the Star Alliance challenged an upstart Guild like Zero Wing, but it even lost miserably. In the future, how was the Alliance supposed to compete with Ouroboros in Star-Moon City? Meanwhile, if Zero Wing won this war, not only would it gain more prestige, but the Guild would also see a flood of players trying to join, which, in turn, would allow the Guild’s strength to grow. Just how was the Star Alliance supposed to capture Stone Forest Town? “Red Feather, lead the main army and annihilate Black Flame! We cannot allow him to fire that thing again!” After considering his options, Galaxy Past did not believe that they could allow Zero Wing to occupy that mountain any longer. With the mountain’s vantage point, Zero Wing could fire that energy pulse anywhere on the battlefield they wanted. If they could evict Zero Wing quickly, then the threat of mass destruction would lessen. Hence, it was imperative that they remove Zero Wing from the mountain. As for Zero Wing’s elite army, it was no longer important. “Rest assured, Guild Leader. I’ll lead a unit to annihilate Black Flame.” Red Feather understood the importance of his task. Moreover, this was the perfect chance to avenge the humiliation he had previously suffered. He had only sent his subordinates to deal with Black Flame during the battle in White River City, yet, in the end, not one of the six subordinates he sent had returned alive. This time, he intended to deal with Star-Moon Kingdom’s number one expert personally. “Brother Glorious, I’ll have to trouble you to inform the Flower of Seven Sins. Hopefully, they can act as soon as possible. This way, we’ll be able to end this battle a little sooner, rather than continuing to waste resources.” As insurance, Galaxy Past still decided to deploy the Flower of Seven Sins. Exemplary Willow had intended to force Black Flame to taste despair. Hence, she had ordered them to wipe out Zero Wing’s elites before hunting Black Flame and Zero Wing’s upper echelons. However, that plan was no longer viable. That energy pulse was simply too much of a threat. Meanwhile, Zero Wing’s main force had occupied a location that was easy to hold but difficult to attack. With the combat power of Zero Wing’s main force, although Red Feather led many elite members, they could not exert their maximum power. No one was certain that they could chase Black Flame and his team off that mountain. If the battle dragged on and Zero Wing was allowed to fire that energy pulse a few more times, it could turn the tide of this war. Hence, for safety’s sake, it would be more efficient for the Flower of Seven Sins’ assassins to take action. If the Flower of Seven Sins could take down Zero Wing’s upper echelons quickly, they could deal a massive blow to both Zero Wing and Ouroboros. The Star Alliance could regain its lost momentum in full. It would be much easier to annihilate the remaining elite members of the two Guilds. “I’ll notify them right away,” Glorious Echo replied. He, too, realized the severity of the situation. His previous carefree expression had vanished. The war that had clearly been in their favor had suddenly taken a 180-degree turn. If they idled, this war would lose all meaning, even if they killed Zero Wing’s upper echelons. Exemplary Willow wanted an overwhelming victory in addition to Black Flame’s despair. If he told Exemplary Willow that they had won a Pyrrhic victory[1], the woman might even skin him alive. --- “Finally want us to join the fray?” a silver-robed man asked. This middle-aged man carried a black spear on his back and chuckled when he received Glorious Echo’s call. “Yes. I hope you can finish the job as soon as possible.” Glorious Echo nodded. “Relax. As long as we make a move, Black Flame’s time in this world will be limited,” the silver-robed man laughed. He then disconnected the call and looked to the others, saying, “Let’s begin. Don’t forget your targets. You are only allowed to attack someone else after your target is dead.” Although they were all extremely powerful, top-tier experts, when dealing with this silver-robed man, they could not help but shiver as they nodded their heads respectfully. The Flower of Seven Sins was an organization where strength meant everything. The silver-robed man was stronger than every one of them. Hence, he had full command of this operation. --- Just as the Flower of Seven Sins’ assassins made their way towards Shi Feng’s peak, the Secret Pavilion’s members, who had watched from afar, began to move. “I had not expected Zero Wing to obtain such a strategic tool. It’s no wonder why it grew from an upstart Guild to its present power. If not for the Flower of Seven Sins, Zero Wing might really win this war.” Yuan Tiexin shuddered when he recalled the prior devastation. If Zero Wing could obtain several more tools, who could possibly stand up to it in the future? However, this event had reminded him of one thing. Wars in God’s Domain were not won just by relying on elite and expert players. Such strategic tools were similarly very important. --- While the Star Alliance mobilized a unit, approaching Shi Feng’s position, Shi Feng used this time to fire the Mana Pulse Cannon a few more times, annihilating thousands of the Star Alliance’s members. The Star Alliance’s expert team, which faced the Dark Gods Legion, also received a shot. The energy pulse had instantly disintegrated close to half of the expert team, alleviating the pressure on the Dark Gods Legion. This situation had nearly caused the upper echelons of the Star Alliance and the various other Guilds to faint. “Guild Leader, as expected, they’re approaching. Should we have the nearby elite legion head our way and assist us? That way, we’ll have an easier time holding this area,” Fire Dance asked Shi Feng as she watched the elite army gather at the foot of the mountain. With only Zero Wing’s main force, it would be extremely difficult to secure this location. “No need. Having more people will only hinder us.” Shi Feng waved his hand. He then took out the Bible of Darkness and the Tier 3 Magic Amplification Scroll from his bag, smiling faintly. TL Notes: [1]Pyrrhic victory: a victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it is tantamount to defeat. Someone who wins a Pyrrhic victory has also taken a heavy toll that negates any true sense of achievement. - Prev Chapter - Next Chapter Chapter 739 - 100 versus 20,000 The Star Alliance had dispatched an army of 20,000 elite players to surround Shi Feng’s mountaintop. Even if Shi Feng and the others were more powerful, they would never escape an army of 20,000 elite players and numerous experts. “Everyone, split up as much as possible and attack in groups! Be careful of Zero Wing’s AOE Spells!” Red Feather commanded. The Star Alliance had investigated Zero Wing’s main force members extensively. Blackie’s Stars of Light and Shi Feng’s Firestorm were the army’s biggest threats. These two Spells had displayed their frightening, destructive power many times in the past. If they charged as one, they would be no more than target practice. “Even without the Flower of Seven Sins, 20,000 elite players are more than enough to drown Black Flame’s group of 100,” Cold Autumn, who watched from a nearby mountaintop, could not help but sigh at the sea of players as they climbed the mountain. Players’ Stamina in God’s Domain was not unlimited. It might have been fine if Zero Wing fought ordinary players, but not only was every member of the 20,000-man army an elite, but the army also contained plenty of experts. This battle would not end quickly. If Zero Wing faced only Common monsters, it might have a chance at victory. After all, Common monsters did not require much from players. There was no need to push oneself to the limit to fight such opponents. In a normal battle, players could fight for a very long time. However, it was a different story in a high-speed battle where it was necessary to remain at one’s peak. This would have a high demand of one’s Stamina and Concentration. This was like running a marathon. A runner might have the Stamina to jog ten kilometers, but not at full speed. It’d be a miracle if an experienced runner could run a full kilometer at full speed. It was the same concept with maintaining one’s peak during combat. If they, the younger generation of the Secret Pavilion, were the ones to fight in this battle, let alone 20,000 players, even 10,000 players would be more than enough to drown them to death. They could only retreat if they wanted to survive. Choosing to fight would simply lead to their grave. The fact that the Star Alliance had dispatched 20,000 elites to entrap Black Flame and his team showed just how afraid the Alliance was of the Swordsman. Ordinary top-tier experts would not warrant such treatment. --- Meanwhile, as the war raged, the official forums exploded with comments. “Zero Wing is too amazing! They’re actually going up against 20,000 people with a team of 100! “I wonder who will win? I wish I could watch this battle in person.” “I’m guessing that Zero Wing will wipe. We’re talking about 20,000 Guild elite members.” “Indeed. That’s 20,000 elite players, not 20,000 Common monsters. If Zero Wing comes out victorious, they will be a legend in God’s Domain.” “I wonder how many people Zero Wing’s 100 members will kill?” ... This battle would determine the supremacy over the Stoneclaw Mountains. Hence, the players throughout Star-Moon Kingdom paid very close attention to it. Moreover, one did not often see a Guild War of this scale. Aside from the forum discussions, players also broadcasted live streams of the war on the official forums. For this war, the Star Alliance did not bother with chasing away outsiders. Instead, the Guild allowed other players to watch. They wanted everyone to know how powerful the Star Alliance was. Only, the Star Alliance had begun to regret that decision. --- “Advance! Show everyone the consequences for opposing the Star Alliance!” Red Feather shouted. Suddenly, the army of 20,000 elite players ascended the mountain, leaving no gaps for Zero Wing to escape through. They intended to wipe out Black Flame and his team. When the Star Alliance’s army was halfway up the mountain, a black figure suddenly appeared in midair. Whenever the figure flapped its pitch-black wings, it generated powerful winds. “Why is a Demon here?” Everyone from the Star Alliance turned to look at the figure. [Battle Demon] (Demon)[1] Level 55 HP 11,000,000/11,000,000 While everyone was caught in a daze, the Battle Demon lifted its twin blood-red war axes and swooped down into the crowd. Swinging its weapons, the Battle Demon created a storm that sent all players within a radius of 15 yards flying into the air, the countless wind blades ending their lives. Once the violent storm ended, hundreds of pieces of equipment fell from the sky. Everyone involuntarily shuddered. With players’ current standard, none of them had any hope against a Level 55 Tier 3 creature. “No! This is Zero Wing’s Demon! All melee players, scatter! Ranged players, distance yourselves from the Demon and use Barrier Magic Arrays to trap it!” Red Feather immediately commanded. Although the Demon’s sudden appearance had surprised him, he remained relatively calm. Although Barrier Magic Arrays were rare, a first-rate Guild like the Star Alliance had quite a few in reserve. They might not be able to kill the Tier 3 Demon, but they could confine it for a while. However, Shi Feng had no intentions of giving the Star Alliance the opportunity to trap the Demon. The Demons he summoned with the Bible of Darkness were different from the creatures summoned with Summoning Scrolls. The Demons could be controlled from a very long distance. Hence, Shi Feng directed the Battle Demon to fly into the air and attack other locations. Despite the constant attacks from the Star Alliance’s players, due to the Level and Tier suppression, their damage was practically negligible. In such a way, the Battle Demon repeatedly struck and fled. Every time the players with the Barrier Scrolls reached the battle, the Demon was out of reach. For a time, the Star Alliance’s army plunged into chaos. Red Feather’s eyes were bloodshot with fury as he roared deafeningly, watching this madness repeat again and again. It was already difficult enough to deal with a Tier 3 Demon. Now, the Demon ran about randomly, wrecking havoc wherever it went. To the Star Alliance, this Demon was a nightmare. They were sheep to the slaughter. A casual assault could kill several hundred players. If this continued, it was only a matter of time before the Demon annihilated their army of 20,000 elite players. --- “Guild Leader, you really are amazing. You can actually summon such a powerful Tier 3 Demon. With this, the Star Alliance will suffer,” Blackie rejoiced as he watched the Battle Demon massacre the Star Alliance’s elites. Previously, the two Great Lords the Star Alliance and Overwhelming Smile had summoned had dealt quite the blow. Just when he thought that this war had been over, Shi Feng revealed the Basic Mana Pulse Cannon. With just two shots, they had dealt with the two Great Lords, forcing the Star Alliance to send out an army of players. Now, Shi Feng had summoned a Tier 3 Demon. In such a narrow mountain path, a Tier 3 Demon was far more effective than several thousand elite players. --- “Ignore that Demon! Charge up the mountain! If we kill the summoner, that Demon will disappear!” Galaxy Past, who commanded the battle against Ouroboros in the distance, suddenly shouted in the Guild chat. Regardless of how powerful a summoned creature was, its summoner was always its weakness. Rather than wasting time with the Tier 3 Demon, it was more effective to attack its summoner. Zero Wing itself had taught them this lesson. Sure enough, after Galaxy Past’s reminder, the Star Alliances’ elites calmed themselves and pushed up the mountain, leaving only the barrier team behind to deal with the Tier 3 Demon. --- “Guild Leader, they’re coming. Should I fire?” Blackie asked as he watched the elite army charge at them like a swarm of ants. He desperately wanted to use Stars of Light to show the Star Alliance who they were dealing with. Before replying, Shi Feng glanced at a 50-man team that climbed the mountain path swiftly. With a serious expression, he said, “Save it for now. We can deal with the Star Alliance after we deal with the Flower of Seven Sins.” TL Notes: [1] Demon: Demon refers to both the race and the rank name for Tier 3, though in this case, it is referring to Tier 3. Or both...? x.x - Prev Chapter