Reincarnation of The Strongest Sword God

1341-1360

Chapter 1341 - Trump Card Appears

"The barrier managed to block Mythic monsters?!"

"Impossible! What kind of barrier is this?!"

"How much strength has Zero Wing kept hidden!?"

Everyone's jaws dropped when they saw the beasts halted.

Every large Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom had a few trump cards. They obviously had something as important as a defensive magic array. However, it was unheard of for a player-owned magic array to stop a Mythic monster attack.

The combined attacks of all five Evil Earth Dragon's claws barely shook the crystal-like barrier. There wasn't a single crack on the barrier. The array's strength rivaled those used in NPC cities.

In God's Domain, even the most ordinary NPC city had a magic array that could stop Tier 4 monsters. Every major NPC city like White River City had a defensive magic array that could even hold off Tier 5 monsters.

This was also the reason that, aside from special circumstances, monster sieges against the NPC cities were almost certain to fail. Monsters could only successfully siege NPC towns.

Why wouldn't they be surprised to see that Stone Forest Town had an array that could rival an NPC city's?

The Zero Wing members breathed a sigh of relief when the magic barrier appeared. If they faced these Evil Beasts head-on, they would die instantly.

"All members, prioritize killing Great Lord rank monsters and below!" Aqua Rose barked out commands through the Guild chat.

When she read the description of the movement-type defensive magic array, she thought it could only block the Great Lords' attacks. She had never thought that it could hold off a Tier 4 Mythic monster.

Due to the presence of the defensive magic array, Zero Wing's members started to regain their confidence. They began to bombard the Evil Beasts before them.

Level 40 players might not normally pose a threat to Level 65 Great Lords, but the three Magic Towers boosted their Basic Attributes by 30%. God's Domain's recent system upgrades also continuously weakened the effects of level suppression. Zero Wing's members still managed to deal several hundred damage to the Level 65 plus Great Lords even with a gap of over 20 Levels. Those with equipment with the Ignore Levels Attribute dealt -1,000 damage on average.

Several hundred damage might not be much to the Great Lords, which had over 60,000,000 HP. The accumulated damage of hundreds, or even thousands, of players attacking at once was frightening. The Great Lords were taking hundreds of thousands of damage every second, greatly exceeding their battle recovery. It was definitely possible to kill all the Evil Beasts attacking Stone Forest Town, given enough time.

There were also the Miniature Ballistas and Tier 2 NPC guards pitching in from the sides.

All these factors combined reduced the Great Lord ranked Evil Beasts' HPs at a rate visible to the naked eye. Evil Beasts below Great Lord rank were even easier to deal with. They could be finished off with a brief burst of concentrated fire.

...

"Damn it! How did Zero Wing get such a powerful defensive magic array!?" Abandoned Wave gnashed his teeth as he looked at the scene. The magic barrier remained completely intact even after numerous attacks from so many Evil Beasts. At this rate, the Evil Beasts he nurtured were simply EXP for Zero Wing. He reluctantly manipulated the dark-gray crystal ball in his hands once again. "You might be able to block normal Tier 4 attacks, but what about Tier 4 destructive Spells?!"

The five Evil Earth Dragons abruptly stopped attacking the magic barrier as the crystal ball glowed. Then they widened their mouths.

The Mana around the Evil Earth Dragons started rampaging as it gathered in front of their mouths.

Five black beams shot out of the Evil Earth Dragons' mouths shortly later.

Tier 4 Spell, Evil Energy Roar!

The blacks beams shook the barrier violently. The other Evil Beasts attacking the barrier backed away from the powerful impact momentarily.

"It blocked the attacks?" Abandoned Wave was shocked by what he saw.

The Evil Energy Roar rivaled the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannon's might. Its AOE was much small, though.

"Hm? No, there are cracks on the barrier."

Once the Evil Energy Roars ended, Abandoned Wave could clearly spot numerous cracks on Stone Forest Town's barrier. But the cracks were being repaired quickly enough to see with the naked eye.

...

"As expected of a Tier 4 Spell. Its might is truly frightening." Shi Feng took a look at the movement-type defensive magic array beside him. The five Evil Energy Roars had depleted its energy by more than half. That was only one wave of attacks.

All defensive magic arrays needed to be supplied energy. The more damage the magic array absorbed, the more energy it consumed.

The magic array's endurance limit was the other important factor affecting the energy depletion rate.

The movement-type defensive magic array he had obtained from the Fallen Ark had a Tier 3 endurance limit. As long as an attack's standard exceeded Tier 3, the energy depleted from such an attack would increase exponentially. Each of the Evil Earth Dragons' normal attacks had already depleted the magic array's energy by a frightening rate of 1%. This 1% was enough to hold off the combined attacks of the 200-plus Great Lords for a considerable amount of time. After the Evil Energy Roars, the magic array's energy had decreased by nearly 70%...

Restoring the magic array's energy cost 5,000 Magic Crystals each time. Currently, he only had around 60,000 crystals on hand, and that was including the 50,000 crystals Phoenix Rain had returned. In addition, firing the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons cost 2,000 Magic Crystals per shot, while the Basic Mana Pulse Cannons cost 1,000 crystals per shot.

He could only restore the magic array's energy a limited number of times.

...

"Sure enough, it isn't invincible! I want to see just how long you last!" Seeing the cracks on the magic barrier, a sinister smile appeared on Abandoned Wave's face. He then controlled the Grand Lords to assault the magic barrier with their most powerful Skills.

Although he did not have a good understanding of Stone Forest Town's magic barrier, he could guess the barrier's limit based on the cracks. Normally, a barrier would only show signs of damage when an attack exceeded its limit. When that happened, the defensive magic array would lose a significant amount of energy.

Once the magic barrier's energy had been depleted, his Evil Beast army would storm Stone Forest Town and slaughter the players in it.

...

As Abandoned Wave controlled his Grand Lords, they rampaged, hurling one high-tiered Skill after another at the barrier before them. The magic array lost energy with each hit. For a moment, it even began to show signs of shattering.

Seeing this, the Zero Wing members on the ramparts grew increasingly nervous.

Once the magic barrier broke, their lives would be on the line.

"Sure enough, using such a method to fight Mythic monsters is a little far-fetched." Shi Feng sighed when he saw the magic array's energy levels fall below 10%. He then contacted Blackie and asked, "Blackie, how are the preparations on your side?"

"We're ready! We're just waiting for your command!" Blackie said, grinning.

"Although it is a little wasteful to use them here, it's about time we show our enemy that they aren't the only ones with Tier 4 forces!" Shi Feng then commanded, "Summon the Divine Beasts! It's about time we refresh their memory!"

Following Shi Feng's command, three massive, golden magic arrays appeared above Zero Wing's Residence, each array enveloping nearly half of the town.

Immediately, three golden Dragons that were over a hundred meters tall emerged from these magic arrays. The Divine Dragons hovered in the sky as they flapped their massive wings. They released deafening roars that echoed throughout Stone Forest Town and its surrounding area as they overlooked all lifeforms like kings. 

Chapter 1342 - Divine Dragon's Power

As the three Divine Dragons appeared, silence descended on the battlefield.

Any who bathed in the Divine Dragons' aura, including both Stone Forest Town's players and the Evil Beasts attacking the magic barrier, looked up at the creatures as if they were staring at Kings.

"Impossible!" This definitely can't be real!"

"Three golden Dragons? How much power has Zero Wing hidden?"

"Zero Wing is too strong! It seems that the dragon summonings during the previous war hadn't just been due to luck after all.

"Sure enough, Zero Wing isn't Star-Moon Kingdom's number one Guild for nothing. Which Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom could possibly be a match for Zero Wing's foundations?"

"Damn it! Why did I leave Stone Forest Town so quickly?! I threw away the chance to watch such an interesting battle!"

Although the players who watched the live-stream couldn't experience the battlefield's atmosphere personally, they were still shocked to see three Divine Dragons hovering over Stone Forest Town.

To current players, Tier 4 Mythic monsters were invincible.

Not many had been optimistic about Zero Wing's chances of protecting Stone Forest Town.

However, now that Zero Wing had summoned three of its own Mythic monsters, it had a fighting chance.

...

"How is this possible?" Singular Burial was momentarily stunned when he saw the three Divine Dragons. He couldn't believe his eyes.

He, too, had been present during the last war.

During that battle, he had assumed that Zero Wing had obtained a Summoning Scroll for the Divine Dragon by chance, only allowing the Guild to summon it once. As a precaution, he and Abandoned Wave had prepared for the possibility that Zero Wing could summon another Divine Dragon.

Yet, Zero Wing had just summoned three of them...

...

Before everyone could react, the three Divine Dragons flapped their wings, creating a strong gale. They then vanished, transforming into streaks of golden light as they reappeared above Stone Forest Town's ramparts.

Spreading their massive jaws, each of the Divine Dragons created a golden magic array.

Divine Dragon's Breath!

Immediately, three golden tornadoes swept across the Evil Beast army. As these tornadoes encountered three of the Evil Earth Dragons, they threw the creatures hundreds of yards away. Any Evil Beast below Lord Rank died instantly.

"This is so awesome! This attack must've killed at least a thousand Evil Beasts!" Blackie, who controlled one of the Divine Dragons, was astonished when he saw the destruction the golden tornado left in its wake. As the tornadoes danced across the battlefield, only death followed. This phenomenon continued for 500 yards.

After watching Alluring Summer control the Divine Dragon during the last siege, he understood that the Mythic monster was very powerful, but he only realized just how powerful the Divine Dragon was after controlling one for himself.

Seeing five Level 65 Great Lords charging towards him, Blackie sent a tail swipe at them.

Peng!

The attack sent the five Great Lords flying over 30 yards away, a damage of over -1,000,000 appearing above each of their heads. Blackie's Divine Dragon then lashed out with its claws, turning over a dozen Elite Evil Beasts into dust.

The Divine Dragon's power was simply devastating.

Alluring Summer and Violet Cloud controlled the other two Divine Dragons. Arriving before two Evil Earth Dragons, the Divine Dragons swiped their massive claws. Reacting quickly, the Evil Earth Dragons responded in kind.

Boom!

The instant the claws collided, the impact pushed the nearby Elite Evil Beasts back. As for the two Evil Earth Dragons, they were forced to take two steps backward. It was clear that the Divine Dragons surpassed them in terms of Strength. Immediately, Alluring Summer and Violet Cloud attacked their respective opponents' abdomens with tail swipes.

The collision threw the Evil Earth Dragons over 40 yards away...

Although Blackie, Alluring Summer, and Violet Cloud couldn't control the Divine Dragons as they did their own bodies, their combat techniques and experience far surpassed the Evil Earth Dragons. In a one-on-one fight, they could easily suppress their opponents.

The Divine Dragons' overwhelming display of power stirred a blood-lust in Stone Forest Town's players.

Every one of the Mythic monsters' actions could destroy the surrounding terrain. Monsters below Lord rank couldn't even approach to the Divine Dragons. Although the Divine Dragons' combat standards were not high, they caused a much larger common than a player-fought battle. If not for the defensive barrier protecting them, no one doubted that the resulting shockwaves would be more than enough to destroy the town...

By summoning the three Divine Dragons, Zero Wing had turned the tide of war.

"Is this our Guild's power? This is too amazing!"

"All hail Boss Blackie! Victory will be ours!"

Every Zero Wing member was ecstatic. They had never realized how powerful their Guild was. Seeing this, the players that had chosen to withdraw from the Guild turned pale.

"Use this opportunity to kill the Great Lord monsters and above! Don't let any of them get away!" Shi Feng commanded.

Although the Divine Dragons were very powerful, each one cost 88 magic array scrolls to summon. The materials required to create the Divine Beast's Descent Magic Array Scrolls were also extremely precious. Each scroll cost over 10 Gold to produce.

However, the production cost was secondary. To produce the Divine Beast's Descent Magic Array Scrolls, on needed a special material called Mana Essence. It only dropped from 50-man or more Team Dungeons. It was a precious item to every large Guild, and creating a set of Divine Beast's Descent Magic Array Scrolls required 88 Mana Essences.

Even though Zero Wing now had a lot of members, it had barely collected enough Mana Essence for three sets.

Zero Wing had invested everything in this war. Hence, it was of utmost importance that they recuperate some of their losses through these Evil Beasts' deaths.

Unfortunately, Evil Beasts did not drop weapons or equipment. They only provided some EXP and materials. The most valuable loot, the Evil Energy Crystal, only dropped from Chieftain rank and above monsters. Compared to the cost of the three sets of Divine Beast's Descent Magic Array Scrolls, these items were barely worth anything.

The only consolation was the Soul Orb, which allowed him to absorb souls from Great Lords and above. He could absorb the souls from any of the Great Lords his Guild team killed. With so many Great Lord ranked monsters in a single location, this was a rare opportunity.

...

"Three Divine Dragons?" Abandoned Wave's mouth twitched as he watched the Divine Dragons slaughter his Evil Beasts. It had taken a log of effort to obtain each of his Great Lord ranked Evil Beasts, yet Zero Wing's members were farming them for EXP. "Good! Very good! I want to see just how many you can kill! Once your magic barrier shatters, Stone Forest Town will meet its doom!"

Abandoned Wave steeled his heart.

Now that he had revealed so many Evil Beasts to the public, the various large Guilds would undoubtedly prepare countermeasures against the creatures. If he failed to destroy Stone Forest Town this time, it would be very difficult to nurture another large army.

Although Zero Wing's prowess exceeded his expectations, the town's weakness was obvious. As long as he shattered the town's defensive barrier, the Evil Beast army would storm the town.

Abandoned Wave commanded his monsters to attack the town's defensive barrier. He even instructed his five Evil Earth Dragons to ignore their divine cousins, intending to trade the dragon's HP for the magic barrier's energy.

Following which, the magic barrier's energy drained. At the same time, Shi Feng replenished that energy. At the rate at which he poured Magic Crystals into the array, he didn't dare use the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons again.

The intense slugfest stupefied every spectator.

While the Evil Beasts assaulted Stone Forest Town's barrier and ignored their enemy's attacks, the latter threw everything it had at the Evil Beasts. Under Zero Wing's fierce assault, the army continued to lose monsters. The initial 500,000 decreased to 400,000, and then to 200,000. Even two of the five Evil Earth Dragons had died...

When the Evil Beast army had less than 100,000 monsters remaining, Stone Forest Town's magic barrier shattered under three remaining Evil Earth Dragons' Evil Energy Roars. 

Chapter 1343 - Town Battle

"It's shattered?"

Abandoned Wave released a sigh of relief when he saw the magic barrier disappear. Stone Forest Town's defenses had truly exceeded his expectations. To destroy the defensive magic array, he had lost over 400,000 Evil Beasts.

Had he expected such losses, he would have waited to attack. At the very least, he would have only moved after readying six or seven Evil Earth Dragons.

...

"Finally! Success!" Singular Burial, who watched the Stone Forest Town battle from Heaven's Burial's main headquarters, wiped sweat from his forehead as he watched the magic barrier shatter.

Had the barrier lasted a few more minutes, the operation may have failed.

Although the Evil Beast army had attacked the barrier madly, their numbers had continued to decrease as the fight drug on. Even the three remaining Evil Earth Dragons had less than one-third of their HPs remaining...

Had the Evil Earth Dragons all died before the barrier broke, the threat of the Evil Beast army would have decreased drastically.

Such a sturdy defensive magic array was simply unheard of. Fortunately, the Evil Beasts attacking the array had high HP and Strength. If it were up to players to take the barrier down, the army would pay a horrific price to deplete the magic array's energy.

After seeing this magic array, Singular Burial's desire for Stone Forest Town grew.

A Guild town's key element was its security. It would only attract interested investors if it had powerful defenses.

No one-time-use magic array scroll could conjure such a powerful defensive magic array. The source was likely a defensive structure or tool.

Based on the images he had received from his subordinates in Stone Forest Town, it was obvious that this defensive magic array had originated from the massive machine atop one of the Magic Towers.

"Letting a Guild like Zero Wing hold on to such a tool is too much of a waste." Singular Burial turned to Broken Flow, the Level 43 Berserker in dark purple armor beside him, and said, "Teleport to Stone Forest Town's private house with your men. I don't care what it takes; steal that tool. If necessary, I'll permit you to expose the Dark Contract."

Zero Wing was Heaven's Burial's greatest competitor in Star-Moon Kingdom. Naturally, Heaven's Burial had planted plenty of spies in the Guild. They had even purchased two private houses in Stone Forest Town as a preventive measure.

This was the perfect moment to put those houses to good use.

With the magic barrier shattered, Zero Wing would try to hold back the Evil Beast invasion. Meanwhile, Heaven's Burial could use the opportunity to strike.

The Evil Beasts might be a threat to other players, but Heaven's Burial had special tools that prevented Evil Beasts and Evil Demons from actively attacking them.

"I can use the Dark Contract?" Excitement flashed in Broken Flow's eyes. He glanced at the movement-type defensive magic array atop the Magic Tower and said, "Guild Leader, destroying that Magic Tower shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"If it's necessary, then fine. But only as a last resort." Singular Burial nodded.

"Understood. Guild Leader, wait for my good news." Broken Flow chuckled before leaving the Guild Leader's office.

...

Meanwhile, every Zero Wing player on the ramparts wore a solemn expression. In the end, they had failed to kill all the Evil Beasts before the magic array had run out of energy.

Although there were less than 100,000 Evil Beasts remaining, the leftover monsters were mainly the stronger ones. Weaker monsters such as the Elite Evil Beasts had long since been wiped out. The weakest remaining were Special Elite rank, while over 70 Great Lords and nearly half of the Grand Lords remained. There were plenty of High Lords left as well.

"Magic array teams, prepare to trap those Grand Lords! Ranged classes, support the NPC guards and prioritize killing the Great Lords! All MTs, distract the Evil Beasts below the Great Lord rank! Do not let any Evil Beasts enter the town or destroy the Miniature Ballistas!" Aqua Rose commanded.

Zero Wing had invested tons of Coins to raise Stone Forest Town to its current state. If they let the Evil Beasts invade and destroy it, the consequences would be unimaginable. If these monsters captured the Guild Residence, in particular, Zero Wing would lose Stone Forest Town.

Following Aqua Rose's commands, Zero Wing's members burst into action.

The numerous magic array teams promptly activated the Nine-star Polar Domain Magic Array Scrolls they had been given, trapping the Grand Lords that rushed into the town. At the same time, the Level 75, Tier 2 NPC guards charged towards the Great Lords.

Meanwhile, due to the Magic Towers' buff, Zero Wing's Level 40-plus MTs were more than capable of blocking the Evil Beasts below the Great Lord rank.

Although the battle was intense, it was not beyond salvation.

Moreover, Zero Wing had the strongest combatants with its three Divine Dragons. These creatures suppressed the Evil Earth Dragons, preventing them from truly entering the town.

...

"Despite having no financial support, Zero Wing sure has hidden a lot of tricks up its sleeves. But it's too late!" Despite watching both sides sustain casualties and Zero Wing having the upper hand, Abandoned Wave was very calm. He raised the dark gray orb in his hand and began to chant an incantation.

In his opinion, this war had been over the moment the magic barrier had shattered.

As Abandoned Wave chanted, a massive, pitch-black, twofold magic array appeared above him.

When Abandoned Wave finished his chant, Evil Demons began to descend from the sky. In total, more than 3,000 Evil Demons had appeared. The weakest among these Evil Demons was a Level 50 Special Elite, with the stronger being Level 61 Great Lords. A total of 19 Great Lords had joined the battle.

These Evil Demons were the result of his merciless hunt of Guild and independent teams.

Although there were very few demons, they radiated an intensely terrifying aura.

These Evil Demons' aura resembled that of high-tiered NPCs. Wisdom and intelligence were evident in their blood-red eyes.

"Why are there are so many Great Lords?" Flame Blood, who stood beside Abandoned Wave, could not help his surprise when the 19 Great Lord ranked Evil Demons dropped to the ground.

Although Flame Blood had guessed that Abandoned Wave had not revealed all the Evil Demons he had nurtured, he hadn't expected the man to hide so many.

Based on his estimates, the man should be lucky to have nurtured seven or eight Great Lords after killing the various Guild elites and experts. After all, it was far more difficult to upgrade an Evil Demon than it was to upgrade an Evil Beast. Correspondingly, an Evil Demon was much stronger than an Evil Beast of the same rank. Against players, in particular, Evil Demons had an overwhelming advantage.

A Chieftain ranked Evil Demon would have no problem slaughtering even an expert player with an active Berserk Skill. There was no need to mention the Lords and Great Lords.

They were practically living nightmares!

"My servants, it is time to devour some souls!" Abandoned Wave sneered as he pointed to the distant Stone Forest Town. "Your target is the town before you! Gorge to your hearts' content!"

He hadn't dared risk his Evil Demons while the magic barrier had been in place; each one was just too precious. They could only be created from the corpses of powerful players. Nurturing them was even more difficult. In addition, they had much lower HP than their Evil Beast counterparts. Even the Great Lord ranked Evil Demons would likely die if they received an attack from the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons.

However, the situation had changed. Without the magic barrier, the Evil Demons could easily hide in the player crowd and infiltrate the town. Due to their small stature and high reaction speed, Zero Wing would not casually target them with its AOE war weapons.

Without this issue, slaughtering the Zero Wing members in Stone Forest Town would be a piece of cake.

Following Abandoned Wave's command, the highly intelligent Evil Demons left afterimages as they dashed towards Stone Forest Town. 

Chapter 1344 - One-star Adventurer's Association

As the large group of Evil Demons descended, they attracted the attention of Stone Forest Town's players.

"Why are there still monsters?"

"There doesn't seem to be a lot of time. Stopping them shouldn't be a problem."

"Why do these monsters feel even more dangerous than the Evil Beasts?"

...

When the Zero Wing members, who were busy fending off the Evil Beast army, noticed another group of monsters approaching the town, they promptly turned to look at the new arrivals. Although fear gripped their hearts for a moment, they relaxed and returned their attention to the the Evil Beasts before them when they realized how small the approaching group was.

However, Aqua Rose's expression darkened when she noticed the approaching Evil Demons. Hurriedly, she commanded, "Miniature Ballistas, prioritize the approaching monsters! Do not let them get close to the town!"

They had seen Evil Demons during the previous siege war as well. Although there had been very few, their combat power had been incredibly frightening. They had also been far more intelligent than ordinary monsters.

There were more of these monsters this time. If these Evil Demons infiltrated Stone Forest Town, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Although the players controlling the Miniature Ballistas did not understand, they followed Aqua Rose's command. Fortunately, these Evil Demons were within range.

Immediately, dozens of arrows flew towards the approaching Evil Demons.

Boom... Boom... Boom...

A series of explosions shook the battlefield.

"What?!" The players controlling the Miniature Ballistas were stupefied by the results of their assault.

The Evil Demons had dodged the dozens of Exploding Arrows they had fired. Although they were firing at near-maximum range, not even elite players could dodge the arrows at that distance. In addition, the Exploding Arrows were AOE attacks.

The Zero Wing members manning the Miniature Ballistas weren't' the only ones stunned. Many of Stone Forest Town's players were also astonished.

...

"A meaningless struggle." Abandoned Wave wasn't surprised in the last.

Even the Special Elite Evil Demons had a higher reaction speed than elite players. Furthermore, these demons' Attributes were much higher than players of the same level. Dodging the small AOE attacks was a piece of cake for these monsters. The Evil Demons would only be at risk against large AOE attacks like those from the Magic Tower.

Moreover, these Evil Demons possessed considerably high intellect. After learning about the town's defensive and offensive capabilities, they spread out as they advanced. Even if the Magic Towers attacked, the damage would be minimal.

...

"They're sending so many Evil Demons at is. The Evil God's Temple sure is determined." Shi Feng was also astonished when he saw the Evil Demons surge towards Stone Forest Town.

Although he did not know much about the Evil God's Temple, he knew that these Evil Demons weren't easy to create. Every Evil Demon required blood and sweat from Evil God players. Whoever was attacking Stone Forest Town must be very determined to send over 3,000 Evil Demons against the town.

"Guild Leader, those Evil Demons are extraordinarily strong. If they enter the town, the situation will take a turn for the worst. Should we have Snow send 20,000 elites from headquarters?" Aqua Rose suggested anxiously as she watched the Evil Demons grow closer to the town.

"Have everyone retreat to the town, and let as many of those Evil Beasts and Evil Demons enter," Shi Feng instructed.

"Let them enter the town?" Aqua Rose's jaws dropped. She had no idea of what Shi Feng was thinking. "Guild Leader, if we let these monsters in, they'll destroy the town. Moreover, the Magic Towers will also have trouble targeting them. We'll be at a massive disadvantage."

"We can't hold them back, so it doesn't matter. We'll see who is truly at a disadvantage," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "Just get it done. Let me deal with the rest."

If the enemy had attacked before the Adventurer's Association had occupied Stone Forest Town, Shi Feng would have even mobilized the entire Guild to keep these monsters out. However, the situation was different now.

In God's Domain, a monster army besieging a town wasn't like that carried out by players. When players sieged a town or city, neutral NPCs would not participate in the war. However, it was a different story against monsters. After all, neutral, human NPCs and monsters were enemies.

A neutral organization like the Adventurer's Association wouldn't occupy a large plot of land in a player town for free.

When monsters attacked the town, the Adventurer's Association would lend a hand to defend it.

Shi Feng hadn't resorted to this option simply because he wanted to keep it secret. Moreover, the town's Popularity would decrease significantly if the Adventurer's Association took action, which was a steep price as Town Popularity was crucial to promoting a town.

Unfortunately, since they couldn't stop the monsters approaching the town, they didn't need to continue to exhaust the Guild's strength.

Although Shi Feng's decision confused Aqua Rose, she had no choice but to organize a retreat into the town. Due to the town's various buildings, the massive Evil Beasts would struggle to maneuver through it. As a result, they would become easier to deal with. Some players even used the buildings as cover.

Unfortunately, although more players survived, they're prowess had decreased as well.

"Has Zero Wing lost its mind? Why are they retreating just because of an extra 3,000-plus monsters?"

"What is Zero Wing thinking? Aren't they afraid that these monsters will destroy the town's buildings?"

...

For a time, the spectating independent players and major powers were dumbfounded.

By letting these monsters invade the town, the town itself would take a lot of damage and it's war weapons would be less effective. For example, if the Magic Tower attacked a target inside the city, not only would it damage the monsters, but it would also damage nearby buildings.

"What quick reactions! But so what if you switch to guerilla tactics? Do you think this will change anything?" Abandoned Wave sneered. "What foolishness! Nobody in Star-Moon Kingdom can stop my Evil Demon army! This will only lead to a quicker death!"

Following which, Zero Wing's members retreated to the town's center, taking out far fewer Evil Beasts as they did so.

If not for the three Divine Dragons pinning down the three Evil Earth Dragons outside of Stone Forest Town, the streets of the town would've been devastated.

Upon entering the town, the Evil Demons dashed through the streets, rushing to the town's core.

"Alright, time for you to take action!"

After seeing the entire Evil Demon army enter Stone Forest Town, Shi Feng smiled. He then clicked to approve the Adventurer's Association's request to help defend the town.
-

System: You have agreed to let the Adventurer's Association assist in defending the town. Calculating the number of monsters inside the town...

System: Current number of monsters - 94,347. Strongest monster detected - Level 70 Grand Lord.

System: Current Adventurer's Association is a 1-star Association. A minimum of 500 NPCs must be dispatched. A maximum of 1,000 NPCs can be dispatched. Every additional NPC adventurer will decrease Stone Forest Town's Popularity by 20 points. Please choose the number of NPC adventurers to mobilize.

-
"Twenty points?" Shi Feng was slightly surprised when he saw the system notification.

It didn't actually cost as much to mobilize these NPC adventurers as he had assumed. In the past, every additional NPC adventurer had cost 100 Town Reputation.

However, after giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng found the situation reasonable. After all, Shadow's towns had fought had been Tier 4, Level 100-plus monsters. Naturally, that Guild had been forced to dispatch more powerful NPC adventurers. As a result, they had cost more.

"Let's mobilize 1,000 NPCs."

Shi Feng then chose to mobilize the maximum number of NPCs. 

Chapter 1345 - Reversal

With the entire Stone Forest Town embroiled in the battle, many streets had already been destroyed.

"Is it finally starting?" The corners of Singular Burial's mouth curled up when he saw the Evil Demons charging at Zero Wing's members. "Slaughter them! Kill every Zero Wing member inside the town!"

Evil Demons were different from Evil Beasts. The players killed by Evil Beasts would suffer only the normal death penalty. However, players killed by Evil Demons were not as fortunate.

When killed by an Evil Demon, not only would players suffer double the death penalty, but their Immortal Souls would also be devoured, preventing them from logging into God's Domain for a certain period. Such an outcome was a nightmare for Guild elites and experts.

Recovering from such a loss would be very difficult.

...

Meanwhile, standing in front of a Magic Tower, Aqua Rose was currently commanding the Dark Gods Legion members and a large number of NPC guards to prevent the Evil Beasts from destroying the Magic Tower behind them.

At this time, a larger group of Evil Demons joined the fray as well.

"Sure enough, their targets are the Magic Towers." When Aqua Rose saw the Evil Demon army charging at her group, she hurriedly commanded, "Everyone, prioritize killing the Evil Demons! Activate your Berserk Skills as soon as the fight begins! Let the Tier 2 NPCs be the main attackers while you all assist from the sides!"

Seeing the Evil Demons entering their attack range one after another, the ranged classes of the Dark Gods Legion promptly went on the offensive.

Tier 1 Spells and Skills rained down on the Evil Demon army. However, aside from the Special Elite ranked Evil Demons, the other high-ranking Evil Demons dodged the attacks easily as if they were expert players. Moreover, they were also able to keep advancing as they avoided the attacks. Only when an attack was unavoidable would they retaliate.

As for the Tier 2 NPC guards, although they held the advantage when going up against Chieftain ranked Evil Demons, the Lord ranked ones easily overwhelmed them. If not for the healers at the rear line, it was only a matter of time before these NPCs got killed.

...

"Such high intellect!"

"Are these things really monsters?"

"How can there be such powerful monsters?! Their combat standards are already on par with expert players!"

The players spectating the battle through the livestream could not help but gasp. They never thought that monsters were capable of achieving such a high combat standard as well. Even the weakest Special Elite ranked Evil Demons had combat standards rivaling the current expert players of God's Domain. Meanwhile, there were actually over 3,000 of such monsters.

"With this, Zero Wing really won't have any hope of a reversal. Even an army of 200,000 elite players would be no match for this army of Evil Demons.

Everyone could not help but shake their heads and sigh as they watched Zero Wing's members continuously retreating.

Currently, Zero Wing's experts were barely holding their own against the Lord ranked Evil Demons. If the players had not activated their Berserk Skills, they would've been killed already.

Not to mention, the Lords weren't the strongest Evil Demons present. There were still High Lord and Great Lord ranked Evil Demons. Against these Evil Demons, even when the Level 65, Tier 2 NPC guards worked together, they still did not have a chance to retaliate. The NPC Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights could not at all keep up with the high-ranking Evil Demons' Attack Speed, receiving blow after blow. If not for them having activated their Lifesaving Skills and Berserk Skills, as well as rapid healing coming from the rear line, these NPCs would've long since met their makers.

Once the duration of their Berserk Skills ended, the battle would also end entirely.

Meanwhile, hidden at a corner a short distance away from the Magic Tower was a party of six cloaked players. Currently, these six players had their eyes focused on the entrance of the Magic Tower.

"Boss Broken, should we take action now? Zero Wing's Magic Tower doesn't seem like it'll be able to hold on for much longer. If they complete the disassembly of the defensive tool and teleport away, we'll have wasted a trip here," a pale and slim Level 37 Assassin asked as he looked at Broken Flow standing beside him.

"No hurry. We have the Tier 3 Space Freeze Magic Scroll. Stopping them from teleporting away will be a piece of cake. Let these monsters whittle down Zero Wing's members further first. We'll then have an easier time snatching the tool later on," Broken Flow replied calmly. "Speaking of which, has your Skill locked on to that item yet?"

"Boss, rest assured, I've already locked on to the item. No matter who picks up that tool, as long as we kill that person, we can get it to drop at a 100% success rate!" the slim Assassin said with confidence.

He was originally a very inconspicuous member of Heaven's Burial. However, he had fortunately learned a special Skill called Plunder. At Tier 0, this Skill only allowed him to steal some money from players' bags. Moreover, it needed him to loot players within five seconds of their death. It had been a very useless Skill.

However, when the Skill reached Tier 1, it had undergone a heaven-defying change.

The Skill now allowed him to lock on to a specific item, and if this item was placed in a player's bag, then after the said player was killed, the targeted item would drop with 100% certainty. Due to this godly Skill, Heaven's Burial directly promoted him into a core member and invested resources into his development.

"Excellent." Broken Flow nodded. "Listen to my commands later on."

During the time Broken Flow was speaking, the Zero Wing members defending the Magic Tower kept retreating towards the defensive structure, the battle becoming increasingly disadvantageous for them.

Numerous Level 50-plus one-horned humanoid Evil Demons could be seen easily dodging the Spells and arrows sent by players. At the same time, a Level 61 Great Lord ranked Evil Demon leaped abruptly into the air, both its claws emitting gray fog that promptly transformed into a massive greatsword as it descended into a crowd of players.

The frightening might exuded by the greatsword made even Aqua Rose feel the threat of death.

"Not good! It's a Tier 3 Skill! Everyone, avoid it!" Aqua Rose reminded hurriedly.

However, Aqua Rose's warning was still a step too late. The players within the attack range of the gray greatsword could only watch as the massive weapon descended towards them.

Just as the greatsword was about to crash into the nearest player, a spear of light suddenly struck this Great Lord ranked Evil Demon.

The instant the spear of light came into contact with the Great Lord, it sent the latter flying 20 yards away, the Evil Demon's HP decreasing by over 1,600,000. Meanwhile, when this Great Lord hit the ground, the spear of light piercing its body suddenly transformed into golden chains that bound the Great Lord, preventing it from budging even an inch.

Immediately after, hundreds of Spells descended accurately on this Great Lord ranked Evil Demon.

In the blink of an eye, the Level 61 Great Lord, which had 22,000,000 HP, turned to dust.

"It died?" Aqua Rose, who was prepared to make a last stand against the Evil Demon army, was momentarily stunned.

She had fought Evil Demons before, during the previous siege war. Although the Evil Demons back then were only at the Lord rank, if not for Anna and Kite's assistance, even a team of experts of the same level would most likely have been annihilated.

Nevertheless, now, a Great Lord ranked Evil Demon was actually killed almost instantly.

At this moment, Aqua Rose wasn't the only person stunned by this situation. Even Singular Burial and Abandoned Wave, who were watching the livestream of the battle, were stupefied, their eyes nearly falling out of their sockets.

Nobody had a clearer understanding than they did of just how powerful a Great Lord ranked Evil Demon was. Yet, such an existence was actually killed instantly, so suppressed that it did not even have the power to retaliate.

Before anyone realized what was going on, a group of NPCs suddenly appeared behind the Evil Demon army. Unlike the town's NPC guards, these NPCs wore all sorts of attire. The classes they possessed were also diverse. The only thing these NPCs had in common with each other was that every one of them sported the Adventurer Emblem. In addition, these NPCs were all Level 70, and even the weakest among them was Tier 2. Among these NPCs, there were even ten Tier 3 NPCs. 

Chapter 1346 - The Horror of Tier 3 NPCs

"NPCs?"

"Why are there so many NPCs here?"

Zero Wing's members, who had been fending off the monster army, grew confused when they saw so many powerful NPCs appearing one after another.

However, compared to the surprise Zero Wing's members felt, the players and various major powers watching this scene through the livestream were even more shocked.

"What?! There are actually Tier 3 classes among these NPCs!"

"Tier 3 NPCs!? How is this possible?! Tier 3 NPCs are already considered overlords in minor NPC cities! Just how did Zero Wing manage to get these ten Tier 3 NPCs to defend Stone Forest Town!?"

...

The players on the forums were momentarily dumbfounded by the appearance of the ten Level 70, Tier 3 NPCs. As for the various major powers, they felt both confused and afraid when they saw this scene.

Ordinary players might not understand how strong Tier 3 NPCs were, but they had a clear appreciation of this.

Although only one tier separated Tier 3 and Tier 2 NPCs, this was a massive gap. Not only was there a huge disparity in Basic Attributes, but there was also a massive difference in combat standards. Even in a situation where both sides had equal Basic Attributes, a Tier 3 NPC could easily beat up a group of Tier 2 NPCs. This difference was the reason Tier 3 NPCs were usually tasked with ruling and safeguarding minor NPC cities.

Yet, now, Stone Forest Town actually had ten Tier 3 NPCs guarding it.

Moreover, NPCs were different from monsters. NPCs were capable of coordinating their movements to display superior combat power, only their coordination was still not as good as players'.

If ten Tier 3 NPCs worked together, not to mention dealing with a Grand Lord of the same level, even thrashing a Mythic monster of the same level would be child's play.

While everyone was shocked by the appearance of these NPCs, a large number of NPCs also turned up at the other two Magic Towers and Zero Wing's Residence. Although these NPC adventurers were not as numerous as the town's NPC guards, even the weakest among them was Level 70, Tier 2. They were far stronger than the majority of Stone Forest Town's Tier 1 NPC guards.

Moreover, every one of these locations was also graced by the presence of Tier 3 NPC adventurers.

If one counted the Tier 3 NPC adventurers, one would discover a total of 30 of them in Stone Forest Town. They were even more numerous than the Great Lord ranked Evil Demons.

"Damn it! Just where did Zero Wing find so many Tier 2 and Tier 3 NPCs from?!" Abandoned Wave felt his heart bleeding out when he saw the NPC adventurers assaulting his Evil Demons.

These NPC adventurers were ridiculously strong.

Their fights with Lord ranked Evil Demons were no different from child's play. Although Lord ranked Evil Demons could overwhelm Tier 2 NPCs in a one-on-one, there were simply too many Tier 2 NPCs. Moreover, the NPCs were skillfully cooperating with each other. As a result, a single Tier 2 party could easily finish off a Lord in just a few moves.

However, this was still not the worst part. When those Tier 3 NPCs faced off against Evil Demons and Evil Beasts below Lord rank, they would almost always eliminate their opponents in a single move. Whenever the NPCs used a Tier 3 Skill, the death of a large group of monsters would follow—the Tier 3 Great Mages were killing monsters below Lord rank as quickly as the Magic Towers were. One could practically hear explosions echoing throughout Stone Forest Town at every passing moment.

As for the Great Lord ranked Evil Demons, which were practically invincible, they were rendered utterly helpless under the coordination of just two or three Tier 3 NPCs. Meanwhile, whenever a Great Lord got pinned down, the other Tier 3 NPCs would use the opportunity to attack it together, bombarding it with Tier 3 Skills and Spells, one after another, and killing it in the blink of an eye.

Seeing the Evil Beast army's and Evil Demon army's numbers plummet, Abandoned Wave immediately commanded all the monsters to give up on attacking the Magic Towers and shift their focus towards Zero Wing's Residence.

Previously, Abandoned Wave had commanded his monsters to attack the Magic Towers merely to kill more Zero Wing members. However, the current situation no longer permitted such an action. If the battle continued, although he could inflict more losses on Zero Wing, the monster army he built up with great difficulty would also suffer annihilation.

Now, the only thing he could do was destroy Zero Wing's Residence. This way, he would've at least achieved his main goal.

In the next moment, the Evil Beasts and Evil Demons inside Stone Forest Town began surging towards Zero Wing's Residence in a frenzy.

"Black Flame, I admit that your Guild's strength and foundations have greatly exceeded my expectations. Unfortunately, you are fated to lose Stone Forest Town in this war." Abandoned Wave smiled faintly when he saw his monster army surrounding Zero Wing's Residence.

His losses this time had indeed exceeded his initial estimates. However, with the destruction of Stone Forest Town, Zero Wing would lose its foundations. Meanwhile, he could still obtain more Evil Beasts and Evil Demons. At most, he would have to spend a little more time doing so.

...

"They really are nuts. Do they plan on attacking the Guild Residence's magic array at all costs?" When Shi Feng saw the monster army focused on assaulting Zero Wing's Residence, he immediately had everyone gather back at the Residence.

At this moment, aside from attacking the Guild Residence's defensive magic array, these Evil Beasts and Evil Demons were doing nothing else. They did not even bother defending against or avoiding the attacks sent at them.

However, Shi Feng also could not help but admit that these monsters' plan was working, as the Guild Residence's defensive magic array was rapidly weakening. Most likely, the magic array would shatter in less than a minute. At that time, these monsters would be able to charge into the Guild Hall and destroy the Guild Flag.

A town siege carried out by monsters was different from that of players. Players needed to obtain the Town Token in order to capture the town. Meanwhile, monsters only needed to destroy the Guild Flag to do so.

As long as the Guild Flag was destroyed, Stone Forest Town would be finished, becoming a town controlled by monsters. If that happened, all players within the town would be forcibly expelled from Stone Forest Town's vicinity. Meanwhile, Shi Feng would also lose his authority over Stone Forest Town, and for the following one month, his Guild would be barred from raiding Stone Forest Town.

However, it would be a different story for other Guilds. Instead of a month, they would only need to wait 15 days before they could start raiding Stone Forest Town.

During this 15-day grace period, most likely, every Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom would attempt to raid Stone Forest Town. After all, as long as they succeeded, they would get a ready-made Intermediate Town.

"Kill! Go ahead and kill as many as you can! I want to see just how many of my monsters you all can kill!" Abandoned Wave laughed involuntarily when he saw the cracks on the Residence's magic barrier.

At this moment, there were still 50,000 Evil Beasts and Evil Demons—more than enough to last until the monsters invaded Zero Wing's Residence and destroyed its Guild Flag.

Meanwhile, Zero Wing's members were desperately trying to stop the monsters' attacks.

Boom!

When a Level 70 Grand Lord bombarded the magic barrier with a Tier 3 Skill, the Guild Residence's defensive magic array finally gave, crumbling upon itself.

"Everyone, move forward and block those monsters! Do not let them set foot in the Guild Hall no matter what!" Aqua Rose shouted urgently.

Zero Wing's members understood the severity of this matter. Immediately, all the MTs charged forward to block the advance of the monsters. At the same time, the magic array teams also activated one magic array after another to trap the approaching monsters. Very quickly, chaos fell upon the entire Guild Residence.

"Idiots. Do you think the entrance is the only way to enter?" Abandoned Wave sneered.

In the next moment, a Lord ranked Evil Demon leaped high in the air and landed at the side of the Guild Hall. It then sent a fierce punch at the wall and opened a huge hole in it. Immediately after, over a dozen small, Chieftain ranked Evil Demons dashed into the breach.

"Not good!" Aqua Rose also noticed this situation from the corners of her eyes. Although they were blocking the larger Evil Beasts, they couldn't stop the nimble and smaller Evil Demons. Not to mention, Zero Wing's Guild Hall was also very large. It was simply impossible to defend all the sides completely.

At this moment, Zero Wing's members also felt a deep sense of powerlessness and despair.

"Hahaha! Everything's over!" Abandoned Wave could not help laughing madly when he saw the Evil Demons surging into the Guild Hall.

There might be a lot of players and NPC guards inside the Guild Hall, but the dozen or so Evil Demons were both agile and skillful. Their target, the Guild Flag, was also prominently displayed inside the Guild Hall. Destroying it would be a piece of cake for them.

However, in the next moment...

Boom... Boom... Boom...

The dozen or so Evil Demons that charged into the Guild Hall actually went flying back out through the same hole they entered from. However, before these dozen or so Chieftain ranked and one Lord ranked Evil Demons could even land, their bodies had already transformed into ashes and disappeared from everyone's sight.

"How?!" Abandoned Wave's eyes nearly fell out of their sockets.

Meanwhile, Zero Wing's members also became slack-jawed at this scene, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

When everyone turned to look at the hole in the wall, they could faintly make out a muscular man in black robes standing before the Guild Flag. With both hands, the man gripped a blood-red greatsword that was stabbed into the ground before him.

Even when just looking at this man from afar, everyone could clearly feel their souls shuddering in fear.

This man was none other than Gilbert, the Hero Shi Feng had summoned! 

Chapter 1347 - Hero Time

Currently, Gilbert stood quietly inside the Guild Hall with both his eyes shut. His three-meter-tall body was unmatched by the other NPCs. As he stood before the Guild Flag, he looked just like a god of war preventing all enemies from approaching the Guild Flag.

Is this the Hero the Guild Leader was talking about? Aqua Rose was somewhat astonished as she looked at Gilbert. What a powerful aura!

Although the Tier 3 NPCs she encountered before were terrifyingly strong, she had not felt suffocating pressure from them.

As for Gilbert, rather than calling him an NPC, he was more like a prehistoric beast.

...

"Damn it! Why does Zero Wing still possess a Tier 3 NPC?!"

Abandoned Wave's expression darkened considerably when he spotted Gilbert standing inside the Guild Hall.

In order to prevent the Tier 3 adventurer NPCs from coming to assist in the defense, he had mobilized all the surviving Grand Lord ranked Evil Beasts in a desperate effort to pin down those NPCs. He had even stationed several Great Lord ranked Evil Demons nearby to find an opportunity to attack. Only with this did he manage to block all 30 Tier 3 NPC adventurers from reaching Zero Wing's Residence.

He never imagined that Zero Wing would still be hiding a trump card even at such a crucial moment, allowing Stone Forest Town to gain a moment of reprieve.

One hit!

He needed his monsters to land only one hit to destroy the Guild Flag!

Once the Guild Flag was destroyed, Stone Forest Town would become a monster town.

"If it were 30 Tier 3 NPCs working together to defend the Guild Flag, I might really need to put in some more effort. However, Black Flame, you are overestimating yourself if you think one Tier 3 NPC is enough to defend the Guild Flag!" Abandoned Wave sneered. He then manipulated the gray orb in his hand and started chanting an incantation.

Suddenly, over a dozen figures hidden in the monster army leaped forward, leaving afterimages trailing behind them.

By the time Zero Wing's members noticed these figures, the latter had already broken through the blockade and appeared in the Guild Residence's surroundings. They then smashed through its walls and dashed straight towards the Guild Hall.

The true identity of these figures were Evil Demons. However, unlike the Evil Demons that attempted to assault the Guild Flag before, this group of Evil Demons was much stronger.

"Not good! There are Great Lord ranked Evil Demons mixed in among them! We need to stop them!" Aqua Rose, who was defending inside the Guild Hall, hurriedly activated the Power of Darkness and used the Tier 1 Spell Shadow Vines.

Suddenly, hundreds of blue vines emerged from around Aqua Rose's feet and slithered rapidly towards the approaching Evil Demons.

"A futile struggle!" Abandoned Wave sneered upon seeing this.

The sixteen Evil Demons were the strongest force he had remaining—eleven High Lords and five Great Lords. Even a party of Tier 3 NPCs would have a hard time facing such a force, not to mention a measly Tier 1 Cursemancer like Aqua Rose.

In the next moment, the Evil Demons could be seen dodging all the oncoming Shadow Vines.

What quick reaction speeds! Aqua Rose was surprised.

She had aimed all her Shadow Vines at the blind spots of these Evil Demons. Yet, as if they had long since sensed her attack, not only did the Evil Demons perfectly avoid being bound, but they had even managed to close the distance between them and the Guild Flag even further.

"Finish it!"

Through the eyes of one of the Evil Demons, Abandoned Wave could see the Guild Flag that was just 30 yards away.

In the next moment, the sixteen Evil Demons charged at the Guild Flag from various directions. With this, even if two or three Tier 3 melee NPCs worked together, they wouldn't be able to stop every one of the Evil Demons.

"Are we going to lose, just like this?" Aqua Rose's eyes were filled with frustration as she looked at the Evil Demons approaching the Guild Flag.

The town they had invested plenty of resources into was going to disappear, just like that...

The sixteen Evil Demons could be seen rapidly closing in on the Guild Flag.

Twenty yards... Fifteen yards...

At this moment, the Evil Demons had even stopped evading the attacks sent at them by the players inside the hall, focused solely on reaching and destroying the Guild Flag.

Just when the Evil Demons were only ten yards away from the Guild Flag, Gilbert, who had his eyes shut all this time, opened them and let loose a deafening roar. Even the people outside the Guild Hall heard his roar very clearly.

In the next moment, the sixteen Evil Demons involuntarily turned towards Gilbert—as if nothing but Gilbert existed in their world at this moment.

The Barbarian class's Tier 3 Legacy Skill Barbaric Roar!

The Skill immediately enveloped a radius of 50 yards. Unlike other Taunt Skills, Barbaric Roar was more of a Domain Skill. All enemies caught within the range of the Domain would find their minds filled with only Gilbert's existence. At the same time, due to the deterrent effect of Gilbert's voice, all enemies within range would have their Movement Speed, Attack Speed, and reaction speed reduced by 50%.

Following the activation of Barbaric Roar, Gilbert pulled out his blood-red greatsword, which he had stabbed into the ground, and lightly swung it at the approaching Evil Demons.

If one was watching from afar, one would think that Gilbert's Attack Speed at this moment was very slow. However, if one paid close attention, they would realize that Gilbert's Attack Speed was not slow at all. Instead, the extreme speed and fluidity of his attack had merely given rise to a misconception.

Although the sixteen Evil Demons tried to block the approaching crimson streak of light, they suddenly found their bodies unable to move. The only thing they could do was watch as the streak of light landed on their bodies.

Tier 3 Legacy Skill Barbaric Blade.

Although the Skill executed an extremely normal slash, it rendered all the surrounding enemies immobile. Meanwhile, pitch-black spatial tears would appear one after another wherever the crimson light passed. The might of the attack was so powerful that it even sliced space itself.

After the greatsword passed through the Evil Demons, all sixteen Evil Demons left behind afterimages as they went flying out of the Guild Hall like cannonballs.

The High Lord ranked Evil Demons lost over one-third of their HPs on the spot. The destructive power of the attack made everyone present gasp.

So strong! The power of this attack should be practically Tier 4 standard! Aqua Rose wore an incredulous look on her face as she stared at Gilbert.

Even Tier 3 NPCs were just barely able to cope with a Great Lord ranked Evil Demon in a one-on-one; at least two of such NPCs were needed to suppress a Great Lord. Yet, now, Gilbert had managed to send five Great Lord ranked Evil Demons flying with a single blow. This was simply unbelievable.

"He stopped them?! How is this possible?! How can there be such a powerful Tier 3 NPC in existence?!" Abandoned Wave nearly fainted when he saw this scene.

He had been watching through the eyes of one of the sixteen Evil Demons, so he had clearly seen the speed and power of Gilbert's attack. Not to mention dodging the attack, even blocking it was utterly impossible. Gilbert was far stronger than the Tier 3 NPCs from before. They were on entirely different levels.

Before Abandoned Wave could react, Gilbert took a step forward. In the next moment, he disappeared from where he stood. Immediately after, he appeared in front of one of the Great Lord ranked Evil Demons. Before anyone realized it, Gilbert had already thrust his greatsword through the Great Lord's body. Meanwhile, only after its body was stabbed did the Evil Demon realized it had been attacked.

Gilbert's strength was simply overwhelming.

As for the other Evil Demons, due to the effects of Barbaric Roar, they couldn't approach the Guild Flag at all without killing Gilbert first.

As time passed, although many more monsters entered the Guild Hall, due to the effects of Barbaric Roar, these monsters had no choice but to fight Gilbert. However, not only was Gilbert himself frighteningly strong, but there was also a Tier 2 NPC Cleric healing him from the side. The monsters failed to pose any threat to Gilbert whatsoever.

In regard to this situation, Shi Feng did not feel particularly surprised.

There naturally was a reason why the various large Guilds had coveted Heroes in the past. Back then, towns and cities under a Hero's protection had rarely fallen to enemy invasion.

Although a Tier 3 Hero could not compete with an Archaic Species of the same rank and tier in terms of Basic Attributes, in terms of combat standards, a Tier 3 Hero was many times superior to the ordinary experts of God's Domain. After taking into account the Legacy Skills they grasped, a Hero was the most suitable kind of NPC to defend a Guild Residence.

Over time, the number of Evil Beasts and Evil Demons could be seen decreasing continuously.

...

"Is this Zero Wing's true strength? This town's defenses are simply too strong! Such a powerful monster army actually failed to capture it! With this, which Guild could possibly threaten Stone Forest Town?"

Everyone was filled with astonishment as they looked at the rapidly thinning monster army.

After this war, most likely, no Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom would dare have designs on Stone Forest Town. At the same time, Stone Forest Town would also enter a new era of prosperity.

...

"We lost?" Abandoned Wave's eyes were filled with mixed feelings as he looked at his servants decreasing precipitately in number.

At this moment, whether it was the Evil Beast army or the Evil Demon army, the top combatants of both had already been annihilated. Right now, even without the presence of NPCs like Gilbert or the Tier 3 adventurers, Zero Wing's remaining members were more than enough to defend the Guild Flag.

"I'll give this win to you, Zero Wing. However, don't get excited too soon. Although I've lost my Evil Beasts and Evil Demons, I can still make more. You all, on the other hand, won't be as fortunate next time." Abandoned Wave knew that he had been thoroughly defeated this time. However, he was confident that with enough time, he could create a monster army that was several times stronger than the current one. Meanwhile, as long as Zero Wing lost Stone Forest Town, it would decline into a second-rate power. "Flame Blood, I'm afraid Heaven's Burial will have to get busy for the upcoming period."

"Rest assured, although Star-Moon City's resources have nearly dried up, there are still plenty of resources available in other cities and kingdoms." Flame Blood smiled and nodded. Although Zero Wing's performance today was indeed shocking, Heaven's Burial remained in the shadows while Zero Wing stood in the light. Heaven's Burial could easily help Abandoned Wave create more Evil Beasts and Evil Demons while Zero Wing could only wait for its impending doom.

The reason for their loss this time was their lack of understanding of Zero Wing as well as their lack of preparation. However, it would be a different story next time.

Following which, Abandoned Wave and Flame Blood turned around and left.

...

Meanwhile, standing inside one of Stone Forest Town's Magic Towers, Shi Feng was quietly observing the image displayed on the massive crystal ball before him.

"I've finally found you. An Evil God Envoy?" Shi Feng muttered, his lips curling upwards as he looked at the image of the bandaged Abandoned Wave. "No. The Evil Energy surrounding him is too thin. An Evil God Envoy has received the blessing of the Evil God. Even if he used a treasure to suppress the Evil Energy, it should not be this thin. Perhaps an Evil God Apostle developed by an Envoy? Forget it. Let's just go and take a look."

Saying so, Shi Feng locked in the coordinates and used Space Movement. Suddenly, he vanished from the top of the Magic Tower. 

Chapter 1348 - Black Flame Appears

With the death of the high-tiered Evil Beasts and Evil Demons, the war in Stone Forest Town gradually entered its final stage.

Previously, Star-Moon Kingdom's various major powers had celebrated this sudden war, but their expressions had turned solemn. Fear of Zero Wing filled their hearts.

An army of 500,000-plus high-level, high-ranked monsters...

Who in Star-Moon Kingdom could possibly stop such a powerful force?

Zero Wing had done just that. Moreover, Zero Wing had displayed horrific strength. Aside from the Tier 3 NPC army, the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons and Miniature Ballistas were more than enough to dishearten the kingdom's major powers. If these weapons were aimed at their Guild towns, the consequences would be dire.

Before this battle, the major powers had only felt a little threatened by Zero Wing's number of experts and high-quality items. However, those aspects couldn't threaten their lifeblood. If worse comes to worst, they would fight a war of attrition, competing with wealth and resources. But things had changed.

Zero Wing had already revealed that it had the power to destroy any large Guild's foundation in Star-Moon Kingdom. A battle of attrition wasn't necessary. Zero Wing could simply cripple their Guilds.

...

"Zero Wing... How much of your strength have you hidden?" Singular Burial felt as if he had aged several years as he stared at the live-stream, especially when the Hero Gilbert had made his appearance in the war's final moments.

Singular Burial admitted that Heaven's Burial's development was quite fast. However, compared to Zero Wing...

The difference between them was like heaven and earth.

Now, the only thing worth celebrating was that Heaven's Burial had gained access into Evernight City before the other Guild. There was also the fact that Abandoned Wave could continue to create monster armies. Only, now that they had revealed the threat of the Evil Beasts and Evil Demons, Abandoned Wave wouldn't be able to continue developing in the Star-Moon City region.

...

Meanwhile, across the street from Zero Wing's Residence in White River City, Ghost Shadow and Daybreak Fog scouted the building from their seats in a restaurant's fifth-floor room. As the two watched Zero Wing's Residence, they wore helpless expressions.

The original plan had involved the Ghost Shadow Legion and the Third Legion working together to assault Zero Wing's Residence, doing whatever it took to destroy the Guild's Stable. However, due to the war over in Stone Forest Town, the Zero Wing members that had been grinding monsters and raiding Dungeons had returned to the Residence. As a result, the building was protected by more than three times the members they had expected...

Hence, they could only watch the building, waiting for these Guild members to leave for Stone Forest Town. However, since the war had started, the number of players in the Residence had increased rather than decrease.

Moreover, now that victory was in sight for Zero Wing, more players had swarmed to the Guild to apply. Among them were plenty of famous adventurer teams that both Ghost Shadow and DAybreak Fog recognized.

...

Meanwhile, in the wilderness outside of Stone Forest Town, Abandoned Wave and Flame Blood quickly made their way towards the Dead Soul Forest atop their Mounts.

"Brother Wave, you're saying that I qualify to join the Evil God's Temple?" Flame Blood asked excitedly, his eyes practically glowing as he looked at Abandoned Wave.

"Of course. Although it is very difficult for players to join the Evil God's Temple, and there are very few lost available, Beast Emperor has declared that players with sufficient strength and a powerful backer will have the opportunity to join. However, the final decision rests in Beast Emperor's hands. He only has a few slots remaining. Fortunately, since you are one of Heaven's Burial's upper echelons, you should have a high chance of getting one of those slots," Abandoned Wave said, nodding. "I refuse to believe that we can't take Zero Wing down if we work together once you become an Evil God Apostle as well."

"Then I'll have to thank you for recommending me, Brother Wave. As long as I become an Evil God Apostle, the Guild Leader won't hesitate to give us his full support. We might even be able to take down the Black Dragon Empire, much less Star-Moon Kingdom," Flame Blood said excitedly.

Before this, he hadn't been particularly interested in becoming an Evil God Apostle and joining the dark forces. After all, the cost to do so was high. Joining the dark forces meant joining humanity's enemy. Henceforth, it wouldn't be so easy to enter an NPC city. He'd also forsake the lifestyle ordinary players enjoyed. Moreover, if the various large Guilds discovered him, they'd hunt him to the ends of God's Domain.

If he died, the consequences would be unimaginably severe as well. If he were caught, the result would be worse. His only option would be to delete his account and start over.

However, after coming into contact with Abandoned Wave and witnessing the power of an Evil God Apostle, he had begun to reconsider his position. It might even help him achieve heights that were previously out of his reach.

Unfortunately, Abandoned Wave had tactfully rejected his previous request to join the Evil God's Temple. He hadn't expected the man to change his mind.

"Relax. I now have a clear grasp of Heaven's Burial's foundations. Moreover, I just received a message from Beast Emperor requesting to meet you, stating that he has sent a subordinate to fetch you," Abandoned Wave said, chuckling.

While Abandoned Wave and Flame Blood chatted, a spatial tear appeared above them. It quickly widened, forming a black hole, and a figure emerged.

"Black Flame!"

"How is he here?!"

Abandoned Wave and Flame Blood starred at the figure. They were extremely familiar with this player as he was their main target.

"I've finally found you. Why are you in such a rush to leave?" Shi Feng asked as he softly landed on the grassy ground. He wore a smile as he pinned Abandoned Wave and Flame Blood with his gaze. Both wore Black Cloaks, so he couldn't get a clear view of their appearances and Levels. However, he could sense their tension. This was especially true for the bandaged Abandoned Wave.

He knew that the previous monster invasion had been the Evil God's Temple's doing, but even after using the Magic Tower, he hadn't been able to locate the person responsible. This time, however, he used the Magic Tower to search for the culprits during the entire battle. Thanks to the magic array that had summoned the Evil Demons, he had gained a general idea of the culprit's location.

Honestly, Shi Feng had been shocked to learn of the Evil God's Temple's appearance in Star-Moon Kingdom. The Evil God's Temple might not be a threat early on, but if it were not exterminated in time, not even two or three Super Guilds would be able to take it down, much less Zero Wing.

Now that he had found a clue leading to the Evil God's Temple, he couldn't ignore it.

"I had never expected the almighty Guild Leader, Black Flame, to grace us with his presence. To what do we owe the pleasure?" Abandoned Wave asked, trying to look like a passerby. At the same time, he sent the Beast Emperor a message, notifying him of Shi Feng's arrival and requesting reinforcements.

Black Flame's strength was known throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. He was the kingdom's bona fide, number one expert.

Although Abandoned Wave was confident of his own strength, he knew that he was far from powerful enough to defeat someone on Black Flame's level. Working with Flame Blood wouldn't change that.

Of course, were his high-tiered Evil Demons still alive, he'd have no reason to fear Black Flame. He'd even be confident of killing the man.

"Are you trying to suggest that you're not connected to the Evil God's Temple with how dense the Evil Energy surrounding you is?" Shi Feng demanded. "Well? Are you going to reveal the temple's headquarters? If not, I can simply drag you to the War God's Temple. I'm sure you don't need me to tell you about the consequences of being captured."

Although the Evil God's Temple's followers had far more power than any ordinary player, they had to pay a corresponding price. One death was enough to drive these followers mad. If the War God's Temple captured them, their life would be hell."

Abandoned Wave's heart sank as he listened to Shi Feng.

He hadn't expected this man to know Evil God's Temple players' true fear.

It's over! It's over! What should I do?! Sweat dripped down Abandoned Wave's forehead as he watched Shi Feng's gradual approach. Neither keeping silent nor exposing the location of the Evil God's Temple's main headquarters was an option. Abandoned Wave had never expected that some minor character he had once looked down on would force him into such a situation.

When Shi Feng was less than 30 yards away from Abandoned Wave, a spatial tear formed before the bandaged player.

Suddenly, someone emerged from the tear. It was none other than the Beast Emperor, Abandoned Wave's leader. 

Chapter 1349 - Black Flame and Beast Emperor

"Beast Emperor!"

Abandoned Wave grew ecstatic as the towering figure appeared before him.

As per usual, Beast Emperor wore a Black Cloak and bandages that covered his entire body. However, Beast Emperor's aura and radiating Evil Energy were much stronger than the last time Abandoned Wave had met the man.

Despite the lack of malice, Abandoned Wave couldn't help but feel an indescribable fear as he stared at Beast Emperor's back. Of course, he was also relieved. Now that Beast Emperor had arrived, he was safe from Shi Feng.

"This is Beast Emperor?" Meanwhile, Flame Blood, who stood beside Abandoned Wave, stared at the man before them with a dumbfounded look.

Although Abandoned Wave had told him that Beast Emperor was strong, Flame Blood hadn't realized just how strong. The man's aura was on par with that of a Great Lord. The instant Beast Emperor had arrived, he had felt his body grow heavy.

This was the first time he met a player that didn't feel like a human, but some kind of terrifying creature.

Beast Emperor's arrival had also halted Shi Feng's steps.

With such dense and powerful Evil Energy surrounding him, is he an Evil God Envoy? The cloaked man shocked Shi Feng.

The instant Beast Emperor had appeared, the evil energy he exuded tainted the surrounding area. If normal players spent too much time in this pollution, they would undoubtedly become Demonkin.

Even Great Lord ranked Evil Beasts and Evil Demons could only pollute an area of 20 to 30 yards, yet Beast Emperor polluted a radius of over 50 yards. With the Evil God's blessing, his Evil Energy was also denser than normal. If Evil Beasts and Evil Demons' Evil Energy were akin to air, then the Beast Emperor's Evil Energy was like liquid.

"Zero Wing's Guild Leader, Black Flame?" Beast Emperor asked Shi Feng in a gravelly voice. "Sure enough, you're as strong as the rumors say. No wonder those old fellows are talking about you. Let me introduce myself. I'm called Beast Emperor. I am also the Apostle that activated the Evil God's Temple in Star-Moon Kingdom. May I know if Guild Leader Black Flame would be so kind as to pardon my two friends? I can assure you that the beasts and demons will not bother Stone Forest Town again."

"If I let them go, those Evil Beasts and Evil Demons will leave Stone Forest Town alone? Is this some kind of humble threat?" Shi Feng asked.

"You can think of it that way," Beast Emperor acknowledged.

In his opinion, God's Domain had fewer threats to offer as time went on. A measly kingdom's number one Guild was not one of them.

Abandoned Wave was one of the Basic Evil God Apostles under him. Abandoned Wave could only control a maximum of 600,000 Evil Beasts, which couldn't be more than 30 levels higher than his own. The strongest Evil Beast he could control was only Tier 4 Lower-rank, and he could only control up to ten at a time. As for Evil Demons, Abandoned Wave could only control a maximum of 5,000, and they could not be more than 20 levels higher than him. The strongest Evil Demon Abandoned Wave could control was only Tier 3 Middle-rank, and his maximum was 20 at a time.

If Abandoned Wave could push Zero Wing to the brink of destruction with a half-baked army, what could an Evil God Envoy such as himself accomplish?

"If I say no?" Shi Feng asked, smiling. He then vanished.

"You're rejecting my goodwill?" Beast Emperor's gaze turned frosty when he heard Shi Feng's reply. Immediately, he searched his surroundings for the enemy player.

As if Abandoned Wave and Flame Blood faced a powerful foe, one focused on their surroundings while the other activated Truth Shield to protect himself.

However, before any of the three could react, Shi Feng appeared beside Abandoned Wave, turning both Abyssal Blade and Killing Ray against the man.

Shi Feng could easily cross 30 yards with a few steps.

By the time Abandoned Wave realized what was happening and attempted to use Vanish, the seemingly slow swords had passed through his body. Only after he had been hit did his body begin to disappear. However, the two attacks had devoured over 35,000 HP, dropping it into the red. He had nearly been thrown over the River Styx.

How are his reactions so fast!? Flame Blood was stupefied.

Shi Feng's slashes were not indefensible. Only, Shi Feng's reaction speed was simply too quick. He had executed the two slashes as if he had moved on instinct.

The instant Abandoned Wave disappeared, Shi Feng retrieved a dark-blue, crystal ball from his bag and shattered it.

"No! You can't do that!" From Stealth, Abandoned Wave practically screamed when he saw the shattered crystal ball.

The crystal ball Shi Feng had shattered was a Mobile Jail specifically designed to capture Dark and Red Players. If a Dark or Red player had less than 10% of their HP, the capture would be successful. Mobile Jails had the same effects as jails in NPC cities.

This wasn't an item that ordinary players could afford.

The War God's Temple sold Mobile Jails that could hold a single player for 50 Gold each. Mobile Jails that could hold up to ten players cost 300 Gold. Even wealthy players wouldn't purchase such an expensive tool without a specific reason.

Although Abandoned Wave had considered using a Skill to resist capture, once the Mobile Jail activated, it would capture any player within 15 yards that fit the requirements and stop them from using Skills or tools. They wouldn't even be able to move. Not even an invulnerable state could save them.

In the blink of an eye, a black hole devoured Abandoned Wave, and he vanished as if he had never existed.

Meanwhile, the crystal ball Shi Feng had shattered had recovered, but instead of dark-blue, the crystal ball was now black.

"Black Flame! You bastard!" Beast Emperor glared at Shi Feng, Evil Energy overflowing from his body. His aura also began to increase. "Release him now! Otherwise, don't even think of leaving this place alive!"

Although he was an Evil God Envoy, someone who enjoyed a high position in the Evil God's Temple, he was only granted five Apostles. Even if one of his Apostles died, he wouldn't get another.

Hence, he was extremely careful when selecting Apostles. After all, players without enough strength and resources weren't likely to be of much help.

Although Abandoned Wave had lost the Blackwater Corporation's support, he had already given Abandoned Wave one of his five Apostle slots. Losing Abandoned Wave was the equivalent of losing 600,000 Evil Beasts and 5,000 Evil Demons.

"Leave here alive?" Shi Feng turned to Beast Emperor. Chuckling, he said, "Are you joking? Or do you think I can't tell that you're just a mirror image?"

"You saw through it?!" Beast Emperor was stunned.

He did not have any Skills that allowed long-distance teleportation, but he could dispatch a mirror image, sending it to command his own army and that of his Apostles. Not only did this Skill guarantee his safety, but it also allowed him to keep his subordinates in check.

Although his mirror image was invulnerable, it couldn't attack, either. The mirror image was only a replica that lasted 30 minutes.

"A doppelganger?" Flame Blood looked at Beast Emperor in confusion.

Both Beast Emperor's aura and Evil Energy far exceeded Abandoned Wave's. At the end of the day, a doppelganger was only a doppelganger. Everyone knew that, although they looked like the real deal, doppelgangers didn't have the aura of the original player.

Yet, no matter how he looked at Beast Emperor, the man should be real.

But what Beast Emperor and Flame Blood didn't know was that Shi Feng had activated Omniscient Eyes. He could see the truth of everything within 100 yards of himself.

The instant Beast Emperor had appeared, Shi Feng had activated Omniscient Eyes to avoid an ambush. After all, if one enemy appeared suddenly, others were likely nearby.

If Beast Emperor really wore a Black Cloak, though, even Omniscient Eyes wouldn't reveal his identity. However, as this Beast Emperor was only a mirror image, the Black Cloak could only hide his appearance. It did nothing to hide the mirror image's data from Omniscient Eyes. Moreover, as the mirror image was invulnerable, it couldn't attack. It was similar to his Divine Steps.

Despite his ruse failing, Beast Emperor showed no signs of panic or worry. On the contrary, he laughed and said, "As expected of the player the Secret Pavilion dubbed the Sword King. Ordinary peak experts are no match for your strength and insight. However, did you think I've spent so much time talking to you just for fun?"

As soon as Beast Emperor had said so, a black figure descended from above.

The figure hovered above Beast Emperor as it gazed down at Shi Feng.
-

[Evil Demon] (Dark Creature, Grand Lord)
Level 70
HP 35,000,000/35,000,000 

Chapter 1350 - Full-powered Assault

As the Evil Demon appeared, the area's atmosphere changed.

Dense Evil Energy polluted the area, and shadows clustered around the Evil Demon. However, the more frightening aspect was the Evil Demon's aura. Even an expert like Flame Blood could not help but shudder, his movements becoming sluggish.

So, this is a Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon? Flame Blood was both shocked and afraid as he stared at the hovering Evil Demon.

His fear wasn't due to the demon's aura. Rather, the Evil Demon before him felt almost human. Its condescending gaze and sneer made it look like a player in an Evil Demon's skin.

Flame Blood had never realized that there was such a massive difference between a Great Lord and a Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon.

To upgrade an Evil Demon to the Great Lord rank, Abandoned Wave had to devour many players' souls. Of course, the demon had to have enough potential to evolve. Otherwise, absorbing souls would only increase its level, not its tier. Every time an Evil Demon was promoted, it would require several times more souls to reach the next rank.

One could just imagine how difficult it was to produce a Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon.

Yet, Beast Emperor intended to use such a creature to lead the way...

If they had had the help of a Grand Lord during their siege against Stone Forest Town, the battle might have ended in their favor.

"Black Flame, I have given you your one chance. Since you've refused, I'll show you what it feels like for a demon to devour your soul." Beast Emperor smirked at Shi Feng. "If an expert like you turns into an Evil Demon, I'm sure it will have a lot of potential."

Peak experts' corpses were very valuable to Evil God's Temple players. Such corpses had a much greater chance of becoming Evil Demons with high growth potential. The Evil Demon created would have a better chance of becoming a high-tiered creature.

As Beast Emperor finished speaking, the Evil Demon above him vanished as it dashed towards Shi Feng with lightning speed.

In the blink of an eye, the Evil Demon arrived before its target, slashing at Shi Feng's head with claws wrapped in dark-gray fog.

However, mid-swing, the Evil Demon abruptly changed its attack trajectory, creating a silver arc that split away from the gray fog and moved towards Shi Feng's neck. Meanwhile, the gray fog retained its form as it continued towards Shi Feng's head.

Rapid Switch?

Shi Feng could not help his surprise. He hadn't expected the Evil Demon to have grasped such a superb technique. Moreover, the transition was so smooth and sudden that even a Void Realm expert like himself had failed to detect warning signs. It was as if the demon's cells had altered from attacking his head to swiping at his neck.

In this crucial moment, one of Shi Feng's blades, which he had employed to counter the fog-shrouded claws, changed directions. While the Abyssal Blade continued to block the descending claws of gray fog, Killing Ray turned to block the Evil Demon's real claws.

Boom! Boom!

As the blades and claws met, the collision scattered dazzling sparks. The ground beneath Shi Feng's feet sunk slightly. The impact then threw Shi Feng, and he landed over 20 yards away. He instantly lost over 10,000 HP...

Is this a Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon's strength? When Shi Feng struck the ground, both of his hands were numb. His blades vibrated, releasing a low hum. Sure enough, its Strength and speed far exceed an ordinary Grand Lord.

If not for his quick reaction and diverting Killing Ray, he would have likely died.

Even so, since he had pulled Killing Ray away from his Parry, he hadn't been able to mitigate the damage completely, causing him to lose one-sixth of his total HP. At this rate, even if he blocked every one of the demon's attacks, he would only last six attacks...

He had only been saved due to his Tier 2 Sword Master class, one of the Ten Great Saint Classes, and his excellent equipment. If a Tier 2 MT of the same level had received that last attack, they'd most likely lose a minimum of 20,000 HP.

"He's not dead?" Beast Emperor was momentarily stunned when he saw Shi Feng stand up with most of his HP intact.

He knew just how powerful a Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon was. Even the current strongest MT in God's Domain would die instantly if they didn't activate a Lifesaving Skill in time.

Upon reaching the Grand Lord rank, Evil Demons' combat standards underwent a qualitative transformation. Players had no hope against these Grand Lords' transition speed. After factoring in the Grand Lord's frightening, destructive power, any player that attempted to solo such a creature would die instantly.

He even blocked that attack? Sure enough, Black Flame's strength has improved significantly yet again. Flame Blood was also surprised to see Shi Feng so lively.

Even against a Great Lord ranked Evil Demon of the same level, an MT would be forced to activate a Lifesaving Skill to survive, not to mention against a Level 70 Grand Lord.

If not for the NPC guards and various magic arrays, Zero Wing would have been easily annihilated during the siege.

Yet, even without any support, Shi Feng blocked the Grand Lord's attack. This was simply inconceivable.

"Sure enough, you are quite impressive. But how many attacks do you think you can block?" Although Shi Feng had surprised Beast Emperor, the situation hadn't changed.

As he said so, the Evil Demon darted forward once more. This time, the gray fog around its claws transformed into a dark gray greatsword. It brandished the weapon at Shi Feng, sending five streaks of gray light towards the Swordsman's blind spots.

Just as the five streaks of gray light were about to devour Shi Feng, golden dragon scales and divine runes began to envelop his body. His aura transformed as well, resembling that of a prehistoric beast. A stream of blue energy flowed from Killing Ray and into Shi Feng's palm. Arcs of blue electricity danced across his body. Suddenly, Shi Feng looked like a God that had descended to the mortal world.

Heavenly Dragon's Power!

Tier 2 Blade Liberation!

This was the first time Shi Feng had used Twofold Berserk after completing his Tier 2 Promotion. Even against the King of Darkness, Shi Feng had only used Heavenly Dragon's Power.

However, against the Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon, Shi Feng did not dare to be careless as even the slightest mistake could end his life.

Following which, Shi Feng lightly swung Killing Ray towards the Evil Demon.

Shadow Blade!

Immediately, one streak of blue light and nine streaks of black light sliced at the Evil Demon.

The instant Shi Feng's Sacred Sword and the Evil Demon's greatsword collided, the ground they stood on shattered from the resulting impact. Even Flame Blood, who stood 30 yards away, nearly lost his footing.

The five streaks of gray light were repelled back, carving several long grooves into the dirt.

After repelling the Evil Demon's attacks, all ten of Shi Feng's attacks landed. The streaks of light easily bit into the Evil Demon's steal-like body, green blood spewing from its wounds as the impact threw the creature over a dozen yards backward.

At the same time, the Evil Demon's HP plummeted.

-161,267!

-323,497!

-160,916!

...

Since Killing Ray dealt double damage against Dark Creatures, the Evil Demon's HP dropped by over 2,000,000 in the blink of an eye. 

Chapter 1351 - Monster-like Player

As the dust settled, it revealed the three-meter-tall Evil Demon half-kneeling on the ground. Cracks broke the dirt for over a dozen yards beneath the demon.

"What?!" Flame Blood's eyes nearly fell from his sockets when he saw the injured Evil Demon.

A Tier 3 NPC would barely be a match for a Great Lord ranked Evil Demon, yet Shi Feng had sent the creature flying...

Beside Flame Blood, Beast Emperor stared at the demon with a solemn expression. He found it inconceivable that Shi Feng could contest and surpass a Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon's Strength.

"You, heal the Evil Demon! I'll have it protect you! Black Flame's Berserk Skill won't last long! Once it ends, he will die!" Beast Emperor roared at Flame Blood. He had lost his previously complacent expression. "We just have to buy enough time for the reinforcements I've sent to arrive!"

Although he thought that it was almost impossible for Shi Feng to kill the demon, he instructed Flame Blood to heal the creature as a precaution. Even if Shi Feng could suppress the Evil Demon, he wouldn't kill it.

He had only ordered the fastest Great Lord ranked Evil Demon to separate from the main contingent to save Abandoned Wave. It would take some time before the rest of his forces arrived.

Once the follow-up forces arrived, Shi Feng would lose any hope of escape or survival.

Flame Blood nodded and immediately went into action. First, he cast Recover on the Evil Demon, healing it for over 2,300 HP every 1.5 seconds. He followed up with a Truth Shield, which could absorb over -11,000 damage.

Although these Spells were almost negligible compared to the Evil Demon's HP, the Truth Shield and Recover would heal the creature's injuries. At the very least, it would be able to fight at peak condition.

Flame Blood began to chant an incantation. As Heaven's Burial's best Cleric, Flame Blood had double-cast right off the bat.

He had chosen to cast the Tier 1 Spell, Life Recovery, and the Tier 0 Spell, Healing Light.

Not only was Flame Blood's chanting very fast, but he was also accurate. He was only slightly less efficient than Violet Cloud. Of course, there was a massive gap between his brain activity and hers.

Shi Feng didn't sit idly by while Flame Blood healed the Evil Demon. Without hesitation, he activated the Tier 2 Taboo Skill, Instant Strike, vanishing and reappearing before the demon in an instant.

Sword's Orbit!

Suddenly, a glittering galaxy formed around Shi Feng's body. Dazzling stars bombarded the Evil Demon, one after another. Both Flame Blood and Beast Emperor were shocked.

Despite the stars appearing slow, in reality, they moved so quickly that they could barely react to the attacks. The stars they saw were simply residual images their brains had created.

Fortunately, the Evil Demon possessed godlike reaction speed. With a physique that surpassed that of ordinary players, it reacted immediately and blocked the incoming attacks with its claws.

However, as Shi Feng had activated Twofold Berserk and Instant Strike, both his Strength and Attack Speed exceeded the Evil Demon's. The Grand Lord couldn't keep up.

The brilliant stars continued to bombard the monster, each collision ripping pained screams from the Evil Demon's throat.

The Evil Demon's agonizing screams echoed across the grassland, causing all who heard it to shudder.

If other players saw this, they'd likely confuse Shi Feng for the monster, while assuming that the Evil Demon was some innocent player.

Each star that penetrated the Evil Demon's Body dealt devastating damage.

-431,571!

-435,197!

-871,054!

...

For a moment, Flame Blood had even forgotten to chant his Spells as he stared at the screaming demon with a dumbfounded expression.

"Is he a monster?"

Flame Blood had intended to mitigate some of Shi Feng's damage with his heals, but after seeing the Swordsman's devastating power, he realized that his efforts would be utterly futile.

Only now did Flame Blood understand why Shi Feng hadn't prioritized killing him, a healer.

It wasn't because Shi Feng didn't want to kill him. Rather, he didn't need to. Since he was negligible, the Swordsman didn't need to waste time on him. After all, Berserk Skills' durations were extremely limited.

The Evil Demon's HP bar continued to plummet. Every hit Shi Feng landed reduced it by 1%; 2% with a critical hit. The demon's HP rapidly decreased from 93%.

90%... 80%... 70%...

By the time Instant Strike's 3-second duration ended, the Evil Demon had only 64% HP remaining.

However, as soon as Instant Strike's effects wore out, Shi Feng's Attack Speed and damage dramatically decreased. Seeing this, Beast Emperor released a sigh of relief.

Had Shi Feng continued dealing such horrific damage, the Evil Demon would have lost all of its 35,000,000 HP and died in less than 20 seconds.

Now that Shi Feng's Attack Speed had decreased, the Evil Demon could finally keep up with the attacks, blocking them. In fact, the demon launched powerful counter attacks with the dark fog it had summoned, forcing Shi Feng to dodge and waste time.

It was only a matter of time before Shi Feng's Berserk Skill ended.

Sure enough, one person's Strength isn't enough, Shi Feng thought as he was forced into a corner. The Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon's superb physique was even more powerful than a Tier 3 player's. Players of the same tier might have some difficulty blocking his slashes, but to the Evil Demon, doing so wasn't difficult in the least.

Reacting quickly, Shi Feng retrieved two Summon Guard Scrolls from his bag.

Although he was strong enough to suppress a Grand Lord for a short time, whether it was an Evil Demon or a normal monster, players had one disadvantage—HP. This was why it was so difficult to solo monsters of the same or a higher tier as players progressed in the game.

When Shi Feng finished chanting, two golden magic arrays appeared beside him.

Kite and Anna emerged from the arrays. Although it hadn't been long since Shi Feng last saw his Personal Guards, the two NPCs had leveled up considerably.

After completing his Tier 2 Promotion Quest and returning to White River City, Shi Feng hadn't immediately resummoned his Personal Guards. Instead, he left them in the Dark Canyon to continue leveling.

Compared to the time flow in God's Domain, time passed five-times faster in the Dark Canyon. Moreover, the canyon's environment was far more suitable for training.

The last time Shi Feng had seen Kite, the NPC was Level 70. Now, Kite had reached Level 74. As for Anna, she was already Level 75. She was undoubtedly the highest-level Personal Guard in the game right now.

The instant these two NPCs appeared, Kite swung his greatsword down. Countless wind blades surrounded the Evil Demon, sealing its movements completely. As for Anna, she waved her staff and chanted an incantation, summoning forth ten Level 75, Lord ranked Rock Guardians and a Great Lord ranked Golden Giant.

Under Anna's control, the Rock Guardians positioned themselves to form a magic array, lowering the Evil Demon's Basic Attributes by 15%. Unless one of the Rock Guardians died, the array would remain active.

Without wasting time, Shi Feng activated Phantom Kill and Nine Dragons Slash. At the moment, his doppelganger's Attributes were even higher than Kite's. Each Abyssal Blade phantom also dealt as much damage as the Lord ranked Rock Guardians.

With his doppelganger and Kite's support, Shi Feng overwhelmed the Evil Demon. Although Kite's and Anna's damage output was no match for Shi Feng's individually, when combined, they dealt even more damage than their master.

Time passed gradually. Although Shi Feng's Berserk Skills were running out, the Evil Demon's HP decreased at a rate visible to the naked eye.

60%... 45%... 30%...

When the Evil Demon's HP fell below 20%, it finally went Berserk as it shrank and its skin turned crimson. Its entire body began to release more gray fog.

Evil Energy Outbreak was a desperate Skill that only Grand Lord ranked demons and above could use. When activated, the Skill would increase the user's Strength, Movement Speed, and Attack Speed by 30% and physique by 15%. However, the Skill was a double-edged sword that would also decrease the user's maximum HP by 30%.

Only 2 seconds remained of Shi Feng's 24-second Twofold Berserk state. His aura had already begun to weaken.

As if it had realized that Shi Feng couldn't hold out much longer, the Evil Demon's lips curled up as it formed a sharp spear with the gray fog surrounding its body. With the slightest movement, the spearhead sliced space itself and created a spatial tear. The Evil Demon then threw the weapon at Shi Feng.

As the spear flew through the air towards Shi Feng, a loud boom shook the area.

Responding quickly, Anna directed the Golden Giant to block the attack. Surprisingly, however, the dark-gray spear passed through the giant without causing any harm.

As the spear was about to find its target, Shi Feng instinctively used Divine Steps, summoning ten invulnerable doppelgangers around the Evil Demon, switching positions with one of these doppelgangers.

Instinctively, Shi Feng turned his blades on the Evil Demon.

Flame Burst!

Divine Providence!

At this time, his Phantom Kill doppelganger activated Flame Burst and attacked the Evil Demon in tandem.

Although the Evil Demon responded very quickly, Shi Feng switched positions with another doppelganger after every slash, not giving the demon a chance to block his attacks.

By the time Shi Feng landed his 15th hit, his sword's scorching flames had devoured the demon's last strand of HP. When the Grand Lord collapsed, it transformed into innumerable light particles like shattered glass and disappeared.

Shi Feng's experience bar rose madly, his level instantly increasing from 53 to 54. He had earned even more EXP from killing the Evil Demon than from soloing an Archaic Species.

It had given him nearly as much EXP as a Level 70 Mythic monster... Shi Feng was astonished. If he could kill a few more of these Evil Demons, his level would skyrocket.

"Hm? This is... an Evil God Crystal?"

As the Evil Demon disappeared, the gray fog condensed to a single point. The gray fog then formed a crimson crystal that hovered quietly in the air, releasing an intensely mighty aura. 

Chapter 1352 - Auction House Design

It died?!

Flame Blood froze when he saw the Evil Demon inside the magic array disappear.

Even a Great Lord ranked Evil Demon of the same level would require a team of hundreds of elite players, led by dozens of experts, to take down. They had learned this lesson during their experiments in the Frozen Scar. In the end, the Great Lord had more than two-thirds of its HP remaining after wiping out the entire elite team.

Yet, Shi Feng killed a Level 70 Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon by himself...

Beast Emperor wore an indescribably grim expression.

Not only had Abandoned Wave been captured, but he had also lost a Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon. It had taken a lot of effort to nurture five Evil Demons. Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons were not easy to produce. It all depended on an Evil Demon's potential. He had killed many peak experts to obtain five Evil Demons capable of reaching the Great Lord rank.

After his momentary rage, the crimson crystal, which had formed after the Evil Demon's death, drew Beast Emperor's attention.

How is this possible?! How could a mere Grand Lord possibly drop an Evil God Crystal?! Shock, excitement, and greed flashed in Beast Emperor's eyes as he stared at the crystal.

It was highly unlikely that players outside of the Evil God's Temple would understand how valuable the item was. However, to Evil God's Temple players, the Evil God Crystal was an absolute treasure. It was even too valuable to trade for a Mythic ranked Evil Demon.

Shi Feng grabbed the Evil God Crystal and shoved it in his bag before Beast Emperor could get a closer look. His eyes became bloodshot with fury as he wanted nothing more than to kill Shi Feng with his own hands. Unfortunately, he was only here as a mirror image. He could not touch Shi Feng.

Beast Emperor quickly calmed himself. Turning to the somewhat feeble Shi Feng, he smiled and praised, "Guild Leader Black Flame, you're truly capable. Even the strongest Evil Demon under my command wouldn't be a match for you. As expected of Star-Moon Kingdom's number one expert."

"What? Trying to persuade me with sweet words after failing with brute force?" Shi Feng sneered as he glanced at Beast Emperor.

Although he suffered a Weakened state, decreasing his Attributes by 70%, he was easily strong enough to kill Flame Blood and drag Abandoned Wave back to the War God's Temple.

He knew that an Evil God Envoy could only create a limited number of Evil God Apostles. Losing even one Apostle would undoubtedly weaken Beast Emperor.

Beast Emperor's expression darkened, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. He was the Evil God's Temple's sole Evil God Envoy. He was fated to become an overlord, establishing the Evil God's Empire in God's Domain, yet a Guild Leader from a measly kingdom stood before him, ridiculing his failure.

If only he were here physically, he would give Shit Feng a taste of despair.

"Black Flame, let's not waste time talking. Why don't we make a trade?" Beast Emperor said after suppressing his rage. "You'll gain at most some Merit Points for handing an Evil God Apostle over to the War God's Temple, but I can offer your Guild resources others dream of and access to Dark Cities. Zero Wing desperately needs these."

The Evil God's Temple was one of God's Domain's strongest dark forces. It had branches throughout numerous kingdoms and empires. He couldn't help Zero Wing gain access to every NPC Dark City, but getting access to a few shouldn't be a problem.

This was also why Heaven's Burial was willing to help Abandoned Wave gather so many Evil Beasts and Evil Demons in such a short time.

"Sure, I might get some measly Merit Points for handing over an Evil God Apostle, but ridding God's Domain of an Apostle is just as good," Shi Feng said, chuckling. Although he was interested in access to multiple Dark Cities, getting rid of an Evil God Apostle that had been persistent in picking fights was a better option. If not for the Adventurer's Association's assistance in Stone Forest Town, Zero Wing might have failed to protect it. Shi Feng would have been forced to accept mutual destruction, using a method to prevent anyone from claiming the town.

Beast Emperor nearly popped a vein when he heard Shi Feng's refusal. Taking a deep breath, he tried again, "How about this? I have an Auction House Design in my possession. I also have a Secret Land Key that can open the Secret Land Door, allowing you to send 1,000 players through at a time. Aside from the resources the secret land has to offer, you can gain far more Magic Crystals there than in the Stoneclaw Mountains. I will also help Zero Wing gain access to five Dark Cities. In return, you just need to hand over the Mobile Jail and the crimson crystal."

The Auction House Design might not be useful for a Basic Town, but it was a different story for Stone Forest Town.

Once a player town had an Auction House, it would lure more players, and the ruling Guild would make a profit from the handling fees.

Of course, the Secret Land Key was obviously quite valuable. If a Guild periodically harvested the resources from the secret land, it wouldn't need to fight other Guilds for resources.

With these items, Zero Wing wouldn't need much time to improve by leaps and bounds. A measly ten or twenty thousand War God's Temple Merit Points couldn't compare to these benefits.

Beast Emperor's offer stunned Shi Feng for a moment.

The Auction House Design was extremely rare in God's Domain. It was any less rare than the Teleportation Magic Array Design. However, while the Teleportation Magic Array Design could be used multiple times, the Auction House Design was a one-time-use item. He had never expected Beast Emperor to offer up such an item.

The Secret Land Key was also extremely valuable. It was only slightly less valuable than mineral veins that produced Magic Crystals.

Shi Feng had to admit that Beast Emperor's offer was incredibly tempting.

Meanwhile, Flame Blood, who overheard the offer, was also dumbfounded. Heaven's Burial dreamed of obtaining both items, especially the Secret Land Key. He would never have dreamed that Beast Emperor would offer such items and access to five Dark Cities in exchange for Abandoned Wave and the crimson crystal. Not even Super Guilds would refuse such an offer.

"How tempting! But I still refuse!" Shi Feng responded, smiling. "I'm not in the habit of breeding troublemakers!"

If an Evil God Apostle had only attacked his town by chance, he might consider letting them go. However, the Apostle in his hands had intentionally picked a fight. Truth be told, even if he released this troublemaking Apostle, he wouldn't be afraid for his future. After all, once Zero Wing reinforced its foundations, its development speed would only continue to increase. Furthermore, an Evil God Apostle required a large amount of resources to create Evil Beasts and Evil Demons. If Star-Moon Kingdom's various large Guilds were cautious, creating more underlings wouldn't be easy.

However, he had no interest in fighting siege wars for no good reason.

Moreover, he still had plenty of things he needed to attend to. He did not have enough time to waste in Star-Moon Kingdom.

Again, Beast Emperor was stunned. However, he demanded in a chilly voice, "Do you really intend to fight me to the bitter end?" 

Chapter 1353 - Crazy Black Flame

Beast Emperor's deep voice echoed throughout the grassy plains. The surrounding temperature dropped.

Flame Blood couldn't help but shudder.

This Beast Emperor was only a mirror image. It didn't have any offensive ability. Beast Emperor wasn't even backed by a superpower. However, no Guild would dare to underestimate his strength. The various superpowers were no exception.

Although Flame Blood didn't know how much power Beast Emperor truly wielded he had learned that Beast Emperor still had two other Evil God Apostles. They had been Apostles much longer than Abandoned Wave and had considerably powerful backers. Unlike Abandoned Wave, the other two Apostles operated in secret in other kingdoms. They weren't like Abandoned Wave, acting boldly in the open in Star-Moon Kingdom. Abandoned Wave's actions were part of the reason he had gathered such a large army of Evil Beasts and Evil Demons so quickly.

After a moment of silence, Shi Feng shook his head and laughed.

"Do you really believe that I'm afraid of your Evil Beasts and Evil Demons?" Shi Feng asked calmly.

He didn't know much about the Evil God's Temple, but he knew that Evil Beasts and Evil Demons weren't easy to produce. Unlike Evil Beasts, Evil Demons couldn't be summoned. Evil Beast's could only travel on foot as well. This was also why Evil God's Temple players paid more attention to Evil Demons.

It was practically impossible for the Evil God's Temple to amass another army of that size with Abandoned Wave's army annihilated and the resources around Star-Moon City mostly exhausted. If it were possible to create Evil Beasts and Evil Demons without limit, Evil God's Temple players would've long since become invincible. Of course, Beast Emperor might summon his own Evil Demons against Stone Forest Town, but with how rare they were, sending an army of demons to capture the town would be a waste.

When Flame Blood heard Shi Feng's reply, he thought he had heard wrong for a moment.

Has Black Flame lost his mind? Flame Blood stared at Shi Feng incredulously. He simply could not figure out what was going through Shi Feng's mind.

Not only had Shi Feng refused a profitable business proposition, but he had also gone out of his way to provoke someone who shouldn't be pushed.

He was a lunatic!

"Good! Very good! I had thought you were an intelligent man, Black Flame, but it would seem that you're just a frog in a well with no idea of how vast heaven and earth are!" Beast Emperor's expression darkened as several veins popped across his forehead. "Since you want war, I'll give it to you!"

Saying so, Beast Emperor disappeared, his voice echoing across the grassy plains for a long time.

He left? Flame Blood was stupefied.

He had assumed that Beast Emperor had been trying to buy time while waiting for his forces to arrive. However, it would seem he had been wrong.

What Flame Blood did not know was that, although Beast Emperor had considered buying time, he had dispelled the thought after Shi Feng had summoned Kite and Anna. After all, of the Evil Demons he had sent to fetch Abandoned Wave and Flame Blood, only three Great Lords remained. If those Great Lords had worked together with the demon that had died, they could suppress Shi Feng and wear him down until he died. Unfortunately, now that the Grand Lord was dead, he knew that he had lost his chance of defeating Shi Feng with the two Personal Guards by his side.

The ten Rock Guardian's magic array alone could suppress his three Great Lord ranked Evil Demons. Shi Feng could even kill Flame Blood before his eyes.

If Zero Wing had sent reinforcements, they might even claim the Great Lords' lives. Hence, there was no reason to linger.

While Flame Blood was dazed, Kite appeared before him, the NPC's greatsword forming a blue arc as it sliced the Cleric's throat. Before Flame Blood had realized what had happened, he died and dropped a piece of equipment.

"Start a war?" Shi Feng could not help but chuckle as he stared at the Beast Emperor's previous location. He then picked up the equipment Flame Blood had dropped before returning to Stone Forest Town.

In reality, Shi Feng looked forward to Beast Emperor's war.

He had already activated Star-Moon Kingdom's Epic ranked Main Storyline Quest and was required to extract the Evil God's Temple from the kingdom. Since Beast Emperor was the Evil God Envoy that had activated the Evil God's Temple in Star-Moon Kingdom, their fight was only a matter of time.

Rather than let the Evil God's Temple quietly develop in Star-Moon Kingdom, it was more beneficial to incite Beast Emperor to increase the temple's activity in the kingdom. This way, he could locate the Evil God's Temple's base of operations faster and complete his quest.

Moreover, it was thanks to Beast Emperor that he had thought of a plan to develop Stone Forest Town while earning a lot of money.

Others might not know where to obtain the Auction House Design, but he recalled a certain location that would guarantee the acquisition.

The neutral map, Mourning Battlefield!

Once the Ancient Orc Empire's capital, the area hid plenty of treasure. This was especially true for the imperial palace's hidden treasury. The treasury contained rare items that the empire had obtained by conquering other nations. The Auction House Design was one of those treasures. Moreover, it wasn't just any ordinary design. It was a Grandmaster's Advanced Auction House Design.

Ouroboros had obtained the design in the past. In the end, the Guild had constructed the most gorgeous Auction House in Star-Moon Kingdom. It had caused quite a commotion. Even after ten years, it had still been the number one Auction House in the kingdom.

Beast Emperor's appearance had also given Shi Feng a massive windfall.

The Evil God Crystal!

Ordinary players might disregard the Evil God Crystal, throwing it away. The item's introduction only stated that it contained a horrific amount of Evil Energy, after all, and those who carried it would be cursed to encounter disaster and misfortune.

While this introduction was correct, it did fail to mention a particular aspect.

The Evil Energy the Evil God Crystal radiated had a corrosive effect on normal players. It had a similar effect to residing in areas polluted with Evil Energy for too long.

However, the Evil Energy within Evil God Crystals was also incredibly pure. It could help Evil Demons or Beasts to evolve. Doing so would also increase the monster's growth potential. This was why Beast Emperor had wanted it so badly.

It had another, more frightening purpose as well; it could become a power core for a city's magic array. Although the Evil God Crystal wasn't as effective as the Titan's Heart, it was still an extremely precious power core.

If used to power a city's magic array, it would upgrade the array to a whole new level. Both the city's defenses and its Mana density would increase significantly.

Various large Guilds had desperately sought after the crystal in the past.

Shi Feng hadn't expected a Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon to drop the item. Normally, only Mythic ranked Evil Demons and above had a small drop-rate.

In the past, the Super Guild ruling the Lionheart Empire had annihilated the Evil God's Temple, which had destroyed nearly half of the empire in the process. It had only obtained tow Evil God Crystals after slaughtering dozens of Mythic ranked and above Evil Demons. In the end, the Guild had used the two crystals to power two of its cities. Both cities had eventually grown to become the number one and number two Guild cities in the empire.

After seeing the Evil God Crystal's wonderful potential, God's Domain's various large Guilds had searched for and hunted down the temple's Evil Demons to obtain Evil God Crystals of their own.

When Shi Feng saw the crystal drop from the Grand Lord, he even wondered if his eyes had played a trick on him. 

Chapter 1354 - Town Changes

In Stone Forest Town, the Evil Beast and Evil Demon army gradually scattered. As a result, the intense battle had become a good opportunity to grind EXP.

It was not very often that one came across Chieftain rank and above monsters. Even when they did, fights between players might ensue.

On average, both the Evil Beasts and Evil Demons provided more EXP than monsters of the same rank and level.

Although more than one-third of the Zero Wing members had died in this siege war, the surviving members' levels had increased significantly. Most of them had leveled up at least once, while some had even gained two levels.

As the siege war ended, Zero Wing had obtained a large number of Level 40-plus elite members...

"This is just too scary! Even those powerful monsters failed to conquer Stone Forest Town!"

"With this, Zero Wing's position in Star-Moon Kingdom is as stable as a mountain. Both the Star Alliance and Heaven's Burial have lost their chance to become the kingdom's number one Guild. If I had known this would happen, I would've joined Zero Wing sooner! I might have been a core member by now!"

"Tch, you think becoming core member in Zero Wing is that easy? I've heard that the first condition to become a core member is to reach the Trial Tower's sixth floor. Although everyone's combat standards have improved significantly since the game's launch, those capable of reaching the sixth floor are still considered experts in first-rate Guilds. On the other hand, you're stuck on the fifth floor. How could you possibly have a chance of becoming a core member?"

"If Zero Wing can protect Stone Forest Town from such a large army of monsters, setting up our headquarters there might not be a bad idea after all. Tomorrow, we'll head to Stone Forest Town and purchase a private house!"

"You want to get a private house with your standards? Don't make me laugh. One of my brothers is an upper echelon in a small Guild. He's told me that several small Guilds have decided to purchase the town's houses. Your adventurer team only has a hundred or so members. Do you think you can compete with small Guilds that have several thousand players?"

...

Stone Forest Town's victory over the Evil Beast and Evil Demon army was a hot topic among many players on the official forums. The strength Zero Wing displayed flabbergasted everyone. After this battle, no one in Star-Moon Kingdom would dare challenge Zero Wing's position.

Many of the previously hesitant independent players changed their minds, determined to join the Guild.

Many of these independent players hadn't considered applying to Zero wing due to the Guild's extremely high recruitment standards. If they joined other first-rate Guilds, they would also receive far more benefits than if they joined Zero Wing. However, now that Zero Wing had proven how much stronger than other first-rate Guilds it was, its high requirements made sense.

...

"Is this Zero Wing's true strength?"

Blue Phoenix, who had remained in White River City, was surprised to see peace returning to Stone Forest Town as she watched the live-stream.

Despite facing an army of 500,000-plus monsters, not only had Zero Wing annihilated their enemy, but it had also only suffered a little over 10,000 casualties.

However, although Blue Phoenix was shocked by the large number of high-tiered NPCs defending Stone Forest Town, Zero Wing's revelation of its Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons and fleet of Miniature Ballistas frightened her.

After all, while NPCs could not be dispatched outside of the town or city they belonged to, it was a different story for the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons and Miniature Ballistas. These war weapons could be employed against cities or to defend strategic locations. Not even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion could compare to Zero Wing's firepower.

Blue Phoenix had been prepared to lend Zero Wing the Gnome Cannons and special ammunition she had brought with her as a back-up, but she was grateful that she hadn't. Both she and Phoenix Rain would've been laughingstocks.

"It seems I need to report this to Big Sis Rain." After giving the matter some thought, Blue Phoenix decided to report this situation immediately.

...

Back in Stone Forest Town, Shi Feng discovered a long line of independent players outside of the Guild Residence after using a Guild Transfer Scroll to return. These players were all considerably high-leveled. Even the weakest among them was Level 38, while some had reached as Level 41. Their equipment was equally impressive, with the most inferior being Secret-Silver rank. With a quick glance, Shi Feng estimated that at least 200 such players waited outside the Residence.

Shi Feng also spotted quite a few Level 20-plus players in line.

"Guild Leader, you're finally back," Aqua Rose said, smiling when she saw Shi Feng emerge from the Residence's Teleportation Hall.

"Has something happened?" Shi Feng asked curiously when he saw Aqua Rose's excited expression.

"After we finished clearing out the monsters close to the Residence, some of the players that bought Stone Forest Town's private houses teleported to the town and offered to cooperate with our Guild. After a quick search, we discovered that most were representatives of well-known adventurer teams from other kingdoms and empires. There were also quite a few adventurer team representatives from Star-Moon Kingdom and merchant players.

"Now that they feel certain of Stone Forest Town's security, they want to cooperate. Those adventurer teams have also stated that they're willing to sell us their rare materials for 70% market price in the future. However, they've requested that Zero Wing build more private houses suitable for adventurer teams. As for the merchant players, they'd like to see us sell a few Shops in town. Of course, they're willing to pay for these structures."

As she spoke, Aqua rose gestured to the various adventurer team representatives and merchant players.

In God's Domain, adventurer teams and merchant players generally didn't invest in smaller Guilds' towns.

There were two reasons for this. First, Guild towns had a lack of player traffic. Second, these independent players were concerned about a town's safety. In Guild wars, there were no guarantees that rival Guilds wouldn't capture or destroy a Guild town.

A few adventurer teams had only decided to purchase Stone Forest Town's private houses because of the tempting benefits the town offered. Several hundred Gold Coins might be astronomical to ordinary players, but it was affordable to the kingdom's top adventurer teams.

However, setting up a main base of operations in a Guild town was a different story.

To adventurer teams with hundreds of players, it was clear that private houses, which could only accommodate a small number of players, were not suitable. Such teams needed the ruling Guild to construct houses that catered to their activities, but Guilds generally refused to construct such massive structures for no good reason.

Moreover, purchasing such a large house would cost more than just a few hundred Gold Coins.

Hence, both sides needed to compromise.

But no adventurer team would risk such an investment until a Guild town was stable.

After this siege war, Stone Forest Town had proven that it was just as secure as an NPC town, allowing players to develop in the area without worry.

Because of this, many well-known adventurer teams and merchant players hurried to Stone Forest Town, afraid that their competition would steal their opportunity.

Not even Aqua Rose could make the decision to allow so many players into Stone Forest Town. She had to wait for Shi Feng to return.

"Guild Leader, would you like to meet with them?" Aqua Rose asked. 

Chapter 1355 - Adventurer House

God's Domain had plenty of adventurer teams.

Aside from a few lone rangers, independent players with similar goals usually formed teams that were exempt from Guild restrictions.

Some of the top adventurer teams in the game were even as strong as some of the game's Guilds.

Take the Midnight Tea Party for example. It explored various dangerous locations in God's Domain, constantly challenging its limits. The adventurer team was little more than a power group of lunatics. When these people gathered, even Super Guilds feared their prowess.

Owl was another well-known adventurer team, just as famous as the Midnight Tea Party. However, Owl had more members than the Midnight Tea Party, and they weren't as addicted to battle. Rather, Owl consisted of players that enjoyed challenging all kinds of quests. In the past, Owl had even completed a few quests that Super Guilds had failed.

Due to these top adventurer teams' fame, the Guild towns and cities they occupied would become instantly popular as countless like-minded players swarmed to these locations.

However, the Midnight Tea Party had been an exception in the past. The adventurer team had never set up a fixed base, and the team member's whereabouts had been a mystery, making the team nearly impossible to locate intentionally.

Meanwhile, when a large number of adventurer teams occupied a Guild Town, the ruling Guild would rake in considerable profit long-term, and these teams would help defend the town if it were attacked.

Other Guilds typically avoided targeting Guild towns and cities that had multiple top adventurer teams. After all, not only would these guilds make an enemy of the defending Guild by attacking the town, but they'd also make enemies of the adventurer teams. It simply wasn't a wise decision.

Adventurer teams setting up in a Guild town always benefited the ruling Guild.

"They sure moved quickly." Shi Feng was slightly confused as he watched the various adventurer team representatives outside of the Residence.

He had assumed that it would take some more time before these teams made a decision.

After all, the battle in Stone Forest Town had just ended, and investing in a Guild Town was an incredibly important decision that would affect the team's development. They needed to consider their options carefully.

"When I first saw them, I had assumed that they were experts some Guild had sent to snatch the Town Token," Aqua Rose said, giggling. "However, after listening to what they had to say, it seems that they were already interested in setting up in Stone Forest Town. Only, they were hesitant due to concerns over the town's safety. After seeing Zero Wing's foundations, they rushed over."

"Tell them that Stone Forest Town still needs repairs, so we won't be selling any adventurer houses just yet. Once we've repaired the town, we'll construct five adventurer houses. When the time comes, the houses will be available in the Candlelight Auction and will go to the highest bidder," Shi Feng decided after giving the matter some thought.

"This..." Aqua Rose was at a loss for words when she stared at Shi Feng's serious expression.

Normally, Guilds hoped to house as many adventurer teams as possible in their towns to increase the town's overall strength. Some large Guilds even sold their adventurer teams for a low price to attract these teams.

Yet, not only had Shi Feng decided to sell a limited number of these adventurer houses, but he also intended to sell them off to the highest bidders. Such a bold decision was likely to chase away these adventurer teams.

"Just convey my decision. A town's development is never dependent on how many adventurer teams it has. As long as they are strong enough, two or three teams will be enough," Shi Feng said.

A town's land was limited, and adventurer houses easily took up enough space for 20 private houses. Rather than increasing the town's security with a few measly adventurer teams, they'd benefit from more independent players visiting the town for rest and relaxation.

"Understood. I'll let them know." Aqua Rose could not help but sigh.

Although she, understood Shi Feng's reasoning, not even powerful adventurer teams were likely to pay a high price to occupy a Guild town. After all, these teams would serve as free guards after investing in the town.

Although Stone Forest Town offered considerable benefits, these benefits meant little to powerful adventurer teams. At most, they'd buy one or two private houses over competing for an adventurer house.

Sure enough, once Aqua Rose informed the various teams of Shi Feng's decision, it caused a commotion among the various players.

This incident immediately hit the kingdom's official forums, dissuading a few well-known adventurer teams from occupying Stone Forest Town.

"They're only selling five adventurer houses?! Do they want us to pay to sever as the town's bodyguards?!"

"Zero Wing is dreaming! There are tons of Guild towns that want us! Only an idiot would compete for those five slots!"

"Zero Wing is too arrogant! Do they think that our only option is to set up in Stone Forest Town!?"

...

Zero Wing's announcement came as a shock to ordinary players. They had never expected such a boastful stance from the Guild. Of course, these players had never considered setting up a base in the town. After all, they could only afford a private house in Stone Forest Town in their dreams, much less an adventurer house.

To Star-Moon Kingdom's various adventurer teams, however, Zero Wing was just trying to scam them.

...

Meanwhile, inside an ancient ruin in the Apocalypse Empire, a 20-man team rested in its temple. Corpses of Level 55-plus monsters littered the ground around them. The weakest of their enemies had been a Chieftain, while the strongest had been a Great Lord, yet this 20-man team had slaughtered them. Moreover, not one member of the team had died.

"Hahaha! Black Flame, you really are an interesting man!" Endless Scars laughed when she heard about Zero Wing's announcement.

"Big Sis Endless?" Cloud Yarn, the Cleric sitting beside her, was confused by Endless Scars's smile.

Cloud Yarn wasn't the only one; the other team members also turned to look at their leader. Even the other members of the team could not help but turn to look at Endless Scars.

Endless Scars had actually laughed. They could count the number of times they've seen her laugh since they had joined the team on their fingers.

"It's nothing. Zero Wing intends to auction off adventurer houses, and they're only selling a handful," Endless Scars explained.

"They're auctioning houses in limited quantities? What powerful adventurer team would be foolish enough to garrison in Stone Forest Town?" Everyone was surprised to hear about Zero Wing's latest announcement.

No matter how excellent Stone Forest Town's conditions were, the Stoneclaw Mountains was a Regional Dungeon with a level cap of 50. Many adventurer teams had already begun to purchase Mounts for their members, and it wouldn't be long before they were over Level 50. There weren't any other high-level and high-resource maps near Stone Forest Town. Powerful adventurer teams' priority was to level up and upgrade their weapons and equipment; everything else was secondary. Even with the town's high Mana density, there was no point to occupying Stone Forest Town.

What sane adventurer team would possibly be willing to pay a huge price to set up a base in the town?

"Foolish, is it?" As Endless Scars read the report about the siege war in Stone Forest Town, her interest in Zero Wing grew.

After all, the Guild had abandoned the opportunity to strengthen its town and used a completely different approach than the other Guilds. Endless Scars found the Guild's actions both confusing and intriguing.

...

While Star-Moon Kingdoms various major powers discussed the matter, Shi Feng, the perpetrator of this commotion, returned to White River City. After leaving the Teleportation Hall, he took an advanced horse carriage to the War God's Temple. 

Chapter 1356 - Abandoned Wave's End

Star-Moon Kingdom, Star-Moon City:

After the battle in Stone Forest Town, many merchant players from neighboring kingdoms and empires gathered in the city. Three out of ten players that arrived in the Teleportation Hall were low leveled merchant players in ordinary equipment. Normally, such a scene could only be found in imperial capitals.

Upon arriving at Star-Moon City, the merchant players teleported to the closest NPC town to Stone Forest Town. The long line at one of the departure teleportation arrays stupefied players.

"Why are all these merchant players heading to Stone Forest Town?! Isn't it just a measly Guild town? Why make such a huge fuss over it?"

"Don't you know? When Zero Wing announced that it would auction adventurer houses, it had also declared that it would sell all kinds of Shops to outsiders. These merchant players are heading to Stone Forest Town to get a better idea of the town's situation. The Shops in NPC cities are too expensive. There's also a lot of competition with the various large Guilds' Shops on top of the high property tax every month. It's simply impossible for ordinary merchant players to afford.

"The Shops in Guild towns, on the other hand, are much cheaper. The monthly property tax is also much lower. Most importantly, Stone Forest Town's player traffic rivals an NPC city's. Due to the Battle Arena, expert players have gathered there, and they generally have plenty of precious resources. Merchant players will be able to buy and sell their items more conveniently if they had a Shop in Stone Forest Town. Everyone knows that Stone Forest Town has near-impeccable security now. Naturally, merchant players are eager to move into Stone Forest Town."

"In that case, wouldn't it be amazing if we developed in Stone Forest Town!?"

...

Independent players quickly started making preparations to shift their base of operations to Stone Forest Town.

Originally, the Candlelight Trading Firm's presence already made Stone Forest Town a good place to develop. Unfortunately, NPC cities sold a much more diverse selection of items than the Candlelight Trading Firm. Now that so many merchant players were planning to invest into Stone Forest Town, with some even coming from other kingdoms and empires, Stone Forest Town would sell a greater variety of items.

Stone Forest Town's variety of merchandise might rival, or even surpass, Star Moon City's.

Unlike Shops in NPC cities, players could construct simple teleportation arrays in Guild town shops. Merchant players could teleport directly to their Shops without passing through Star-Moon City or spending hours traveling by carriage. This encouraged merchant players to sell more products in Stone Forest Town, facilitating the transfer of merchandise.

...

Heaven's Burial's upper echelons had gathered in the Residence's meeting room.

The meeting room was silent as everyone stared at Singular Burial, who wore a solemn expression.

Despite foolishly throwing away the opportunity to invite famous adventurer teams to occupy Stone Forest Town, even more independent players were attracted by the mass of merchant players. Both Stone Forest Town and Zero Wing would develop rapidly. As a result, the gap between Heaven's Burial and Zero Wing would expand.

"Our only hope is to take down the Frost King as soon as possible. Although the rewards won't help us overtake Zero Wing, we can put up a fight," Singular Burial said helplessly.

Not only was Zero Wing undamaged by Abandoned Wave's, but it had helped increase Stone Forest Town's fame. He wouldn't have let Abandoned Wave take action so soon if he'd known this would happen. To make things worse, Abandoned Wave had been captured. With Abandoned Wave finished, there was no Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom capable of stopping Zero Wing from becoming the kingdom's overlord.

"Guild Leader, I just received good news," Daybreak Fog said.

"Good news?" Singular Burial inquired, "What kind of good news could there be at a time like this?"

"Didn't Black Flame kill Flame Blood? Broken Flow had brought his team to resurrect Flame Blood after failing at his task. Although Flame Blood had suffered grievous losses, he got to meet Abandoned Wave's leader, Beast Emperor. Beast Emperor had even secretly added Flame Blood as a friend," Daybreak Fog explained. "Beast Emperor took the initiative to contact Flame Blood, stating that he wishes to have a personal chat with you. Beast Emperor also said that he's willing to help Heaven's Burial annihilate Zero Wing!"

"Abandoned Wave's leader, is it?" Singular Burial smiled. "Alright, tell Flame Blood to send Beast Emperor a reply. Say that I'm willing to have a proper discussion with him."

Daybreak Fog conveyed Singular Burial's response to Flame Blood.

...

Shi Feng alighted from the advanced horse carriage and came face to face with White River City's War God's Temple.

The War God's Temple served as a waypoint for teleporting to the Abyss Battlefield. There were more players entering and leaving the War God's Temple now than the Adventurer's Association. Players would visit the War God's Temple at least once a day.

If the Adventurer's Association was a good place for individual players to earn money, then the War God's Temple was a good place for players to level up and improve their foundational strength.

If the Abyss Battlefield didn't limit players to just one life per day, every player in the game would likely stay cooped up there and refuse to leave.

Although the Abyss Battlefield's monsters didn't drop Coins, they dropped weapons and equipment as well as gave Honor Points. Honor Points could be used to purchase tools, top-tier weapons, and equipment from the War God's Temple.

It was extremely difficult to survive inside the Abyss Battlefield. Moreover, the higher level one reached, the more difficult the monsters would be.

Expert players below Level 50 could stay in the Abyss Battlefield for an entire day as long as they didn't go anywhere too dangerous. Though their income would be lower if they didn't take risks, after a few days of grinding, they could still accumulate enough points to purchase good equipment. The weapons and equipment for sale at the War God's Temple were more suited towards PvP. The items' effects and Basic Attributes would be inferior to the items dropped by Field Bosses and Team Dungeons. Even so, the Abyss Battlefield was still a paradise for solo players.

After Level 50, however, surviving in less dangerous maps would be even more difficult for expert players. Level 50-plus weapons and equipment cost substantially more Honor Points. Eventually, rather than a place for farming items, the Abyss Battlefield become a training ground for expert players and a place for ordinary players to grind for the Double EXP Potion.

When Shi Feng arrived at the War God's Temple's third-floor hall, a Level 150, Tier 3 Great Mage greeted him. "Sir, how may I help you?"

Casting a glance at the NPC, Shi Feng noticed that it was a senior administrator at the War God's Temple named Roland.

"I've captured an Evil God Apostle, so I'm here to claim the bounty."

The first-floor hall of the War God's Temple dealt with all matters relating to the Abyss Battlefield. The second floor was the War God's Temple's quest area, where players could accept quests or turn in their completed quests. Players were awarded Merit Points for completing War God's Temple quests. Similarly, players could spend Merit Points on items here.

Players were allowed to freely enter the War God's Temple's first two floors. The third floor was different. As it was a place that specifically dealt with matters relating to the dark forces, players wouldn't be allowed to set foot onto the third floor if they didn't have any related matters.

"An Evil God Apostle?!" Roland's old face twitched. With a slightly suspicious look on his face, he looked at Shi Feng and said, "Can you allow me to confirm your claim's validity?"

"Sure." Shi Feng took out the Mobile Jail and handed it to Roland.

After Roland received the Mobile Jail, he chanted an incantation and tapped his finger on the crystal ball.

An image appeared above the Mobile Jail. The image displayed Abandoned Wave trapped inside a dark space. Abandoned Wave was continuously hurling attacks at the surrounding space. He radiated Evil Energy, and his eyes were bloodshot. It was obvious that he had already fallen into madness.

"It really is an Evil God Apostle!" Shock flashed in Roland's eyes. The War God's Temple and the Evil God's Temple had a hostile relationship. Meanwhile, Evil God Apostles had received the Evil God's blessing. They were rare in God's Domain. Roland returned the Mobile Jail to Shi Feng and said respectfully, "Esteemed adventurer, please follow me. I'll bring you to meet with the Vice Temple Lord. I believe the Vice Temple Lord will be very happy to meet you." 

Chapter 1357 - War God's Temple's Reward

In the Triumphant Hall on the War God's Temple's fourth floor, Senior Administrator Roland led Shi Feng to one of the hall's Astrology rooms.

The Astrology Room was as dark as night, while the circular ceiling glittered like the night sky. From time to time, shooting stars streaked by. The room's beauty was mesmerizing.

As Shi Feng entered the room, Roland closed the doors from the outside. Instantly, Shi Feng felt an indescribably pleasant sensation run through him. With the fascinating scenery, he couldn't help his desire to remain in this room for the rest of his life.

Why is the Mana density in here so high? Shi Feng was curious about the incredibly dense Mana surrounding him.

This was the first time he had ever set foot in an Astrology room. The War God's Temple's Astrology rooms were forbidden to players. If not for having captured an Evil God Apostle, Roland wouldn't have led him here.

Before entering the room, Shi Feng hadn't sensed any usual Mana density from inside.

Yet, as soon as Roland left and shut the doors, Mana started pouring filled the space. It was three times as dense as Stone Forest Town's Mana, which had the support of three Magic Towers.

If players could duel other experts or practice their Skills and Spells in such an environment, their growth would be astonishing.

"Young adventurer, you've arrived."

A deep voice echoed throughout the entire Astrology Room. Shi Feng could not help but turn to the voice's origin. He spotted an old man in dark-blue mage robes and wielding a staff. The old man manipulated a magic water ball as if he were searching for some kind of new Spell.

This old man was none other than Capra, one of the three Vice Temple Lords in White River City's War God's Temple. He was a Level 180, Tier 3 Great Mage. He could be considered the oldest NPC in White River City; not even Magistrate Weissman was as old.

Capra should be the most knowledgeable NPC in White River City. After all, not only was Capra a Tier 3 Great Mage, but he was also a Magic Array Master[1]. However, due to Sharlyn's occupation of White River City's library, he ranked second.

"I hear that you've captured an Evil God Apostle?"

"Yes, Lord Capra." Shi Feng immediately retrieved the Mobile Jail from his bag.

As soon as he revealed the crystal ball out, it vanished and reappeared in Capra's hand.

"Not bad. This is indeed an Evil God Apostle." Capra nodded lightly.

Suddenly, the Mobile Jail began to crumble. Following which, a cloaked, bandaged figure appeared before the old man.

The moment Abandoned Wave appeared, the Black Cloak and bandages covering him were destroyed, exposing his true appearance.

"Abandoned Wave?" Shi Feng was slightly surprised to see this man. Although his appearance had changed significantly, Shi Feng easily recognized him.

Shi Feng hadn't expected Abandoned Wave to be the Evil God Apostle that attacked Stone Forest Town.

However, after considering the matter, it seemed reasonable. The Blackwater Corporation had given up on Abandoned Wave. With his connection to the Evil God's Temple, becoming an Evil God Apostle was a matter of course if he wanted vengeance against Shi Feng.

"I'm free?" Abandoned Wave was ecstatic when he realized that he had emerged from the Mobile Jail, but after looking around him, his mood plummeted. Not only did Shi Feng, disguised as Black Flame, stand before him, but a Level 180, Tier 3 NPC also stared at him.

Abandoned Wave's first thought was of escape.

Immediately, Abandoned Wave ruffled through his bag space, trying to retrieve a Tier 1, Instantaneous Movement Magic Scroll.

Shi Feng had caught him off guard earlier, so he hadn't had the opportunity to use it.

As long as he could reach the scroll, he could flee.

The instant Abandoned Wave got his hands the Tier 1 Instantaneous Movement Magic Scroll, he glanced at Shi Feng with a sinister smile.

"Black Flame, just you wait! I'll give you a taste of despair the next time we meet!"

Following which, Abandoned Wave unfurled the Magic Scroll and activated it. Abandoned Wave's elated expression returned the instant the scroll activated. It was as if he could already see Shi Feng's tragic ending.

However, after a few seconds, Abandoned Wave realized that he hadn't moved.

And since he had activated the scroll, the Instantaneous Movement Magic Scroll faded from his hands.

"Despair?" Shi Feng could not help but laugh and shake his head when he saw the confusion on Abandoned Wave's face. "Don't you realize that you're in the War God's Temple?"

In God's Domain, all teleportation tools and Skills were useless inside a War God's Temple. Players could only use these items after leaving the building.

This was basic knowledge to God's Domain's players.

Hearing the words "War God's Temple," fear twisted Abandoned Wave's expression.

He was fully aware of the consequences should the War God's Temple capture him. Beast Emperor had warned him about this.

When the War God's Temple captured an Evil God's Temple player, it signified the end for said player. The captured player's only option would be starting a new account. Moreover, they wouldn't be allowed to rejoin the game immediately. They would have to wait one month before they could create the new account. After experiencing the joy God's Domain had to offer, being unable to play for an entire month would be unbearable for players.

Moreover, by the time Abandoned Wave rejoined the game, God's Domain would be a different world with how fast it was developing.

"Black Flame!"

Abandoned Wave practically screamed Shi Feng's name. Although he wanted to say more, Capra had already begun to chant an incantation. In the next moment, dozens of golden chains appeared around Abandoned Wave, piercing his body. He screamed in pain as he started to burn. Eventually, he turned to ash and vanished from the Astrology room.

Abandoned Wave's hatred for him hadn't particularly surprised Shi Feng.

Even a peak expert would struggle to catch up if they were banned from the game for a month and had to start from scratch. The Blackwater Corporation had also given up on Abandoned Wave long ago. With Abandoned Wave's standards, they were not likely to meet again.

Furthermore, Beast Emperor had lost an Evil God Apostle slot.

Following which, a series of system notifications reached Shi Feng's ears.
-

System: Congratulations! You have captured an Evil God Apostle. Rewarding 10,000 War God's Temple Merit Points, Reputation with the War God's Temple increased by 500 points, 100,000,000 EXP, 50 Free Mastery Points, and 5 Legacy Skill Points.

System: Congratulations! You are the first person to have eliminated an Evil God Apostle. Rewarding "War God's Warrior" title.

System: Capra's Favorability has increased by 300 points.

-
What an abundant reward! Shi Feng's excitement grew as he read the notifications. This was especially true when he saw the War God's Warrior title and his increased Favorability with Capra.

He had only heard of the War God's Warrior title in the past. He didn't know much about it.

Although this title wouldn't benefit a player's strength, it elevated players to one rank below the temple's Vice Temple Lords. With this benefit, he could easily purchase items that required extremely high Reputation in the War God's Temple's exchange center. He wouldn't need to complete numerous high-difficulty quests, slowing increasing his Reputation.

However, the title was slightly less valuable than his Favorability with Capra.

Capra was a Magic Array Master.

If he could earn enough Favorability with Capra, he would gain access to all sorts of magic arrays. He might even get to purchase the rumored Advanced Mana Gathering Magic Array, which could double the Mana density in a 500-yard radius.

Not only was this array's effective area vast, but it also increased the Mana density by so much. One could just imagine how much it could benefit a Guild.

Countless players had tried all sorts of methods to gain Favorability with this NPC. Unfortunately, doing so was extremely difficult and would become even more so after every 100-point increment. Very few players had gained 100 points of the elder's Favorability in the past. Only a handful had ever earned 200 points.

Shi Feng had never even heard of any players earning 300 points. 

Chapter 1358 - Lost Magic Array

With such high Favorability and Merit Point rewards, it's no wonder why those Guilds had hunted Evil God's Temple players in the past. Shi Feng couldn't help his growing elation as he looked at his rewards.

Although the 10,000 Merit Points was a lot, without the corresponding Reputation and Favorability, they were useless.

Even after challenging the Twelve Trials, he had only been awarded 6,800 Merit Points. The items he could purchase were extremely limited. With 10,000 Merit Points, he had a greater variety available to him.

Moreover, he could purchase items from Capra.

"Lord Capra, I've heard that you are a Magic Array Master. I have always been very interested in magic arrays. May I know if I can purchase a few from you?" Shi Feng asked.

Purchasing items from Capra required a minimum of 100 Favorability.

Although 300 points were far from the maximum Favorability one could earn with Capra, Shi Feng had never heard of a single player with such high Favorability in the past.

"You are interested in magic arrays?" Capra's elderly eyes shone with an excited light when he heard the words "magic array." He continued, "Of course, you can. Very few youngsters are so studious. Come here. This magic water ball holds all of my records on magic arrays. If you wish to learn one, you can use this. However, the War God's Temple rules still apply. To learn a magic array, you'll need to pay the corresponding Merit Points."

"Learn them from the magic water ball?" Shi Feng was slightly confused, though he nodded and approached the magic water ball.

He had come to purchase magic arrays from Capra in the past as well, but the old man had been in a workshop instead of an Astrology room. All of his magic arrays had been displayed on a bookshelf.

He hadn't expected that he would get to choose an array from a magic water ball.

Magic arrays were not as easy to learn as most players assumed. The process was extremely complex.

Learning a magic array from a book was troublesome and difficult. Learning from a magic water ball was much easier. Players could practice the production steps through the water ball without wasting precious materials. This would greatly help improve one's learning speed.

As Shi Feng tapped on the floating water ball, an exchange list appeared before him.

Amazing! There are so many Advanced Magic Arrays available! Shi Feng's eyes glowed as he read the exchange list.

If one had to point out the most difficult item to obtain in God's Domain, it would definitely be magic arrays.

Magic arrays also provided the most assistance. For example, there were suppression magic arrays, summoning magic arrays, defensive magic arrays, and many more. Unfortunately, obtaining a Basic Magic Array was incredibly challenging for the various large Guilds, not to mention Intermediate and Advanced rank.

Shi Feng now had access to more than thirty Basic Magic Arrays, eight Intermediate Magic Arrays, and three Advanced Magic Arrays.

In the past, Capra had only given Shi Feng one Advanced Magic Array option: the Advanced Mana Gathering Magic Array. Now, however, there were three.

Of course, they were also frighteningly expensive.

Basic Magic Arrays only cost between 500 and 1,500 Merit Points, while Intermediate Magic Arrays cost between 3,000 and 5,000 Merit Points, and the three Advanced Magic Arrays cost between 8,000 to 15,000 Merit Points.

Among the Advanced Magic Arrays, the cheapest was the Advanced Mana Gathering Magic Array. It was worth as much as the Seven Luminaries Ring he had purchased long ago.

These are... Celestial Magic Arrays! Glancing at the three Advanced Magic Arrays, Shi Feng was stunned.

Celestial Magic Arrays weren't like the arrays players commonly stumbled upon. These had survived since ancient times, lost in God's Domain for many years. Every Celestial Magic Array was incredibly powerful, and because they borrowed power from the stars, they didn't consume as much Mana as ordinary magic arrays. Celestial Magic Arrays had been very popular in God's Domina, but for some unknown reason, they had vanished.

Yet, those magic arrays had appeared before Shi Feng.

Shi Feng found it hard to imagine that he could actually purchase Celestial Magic Arrays from Capra. He had only ever heard rumors of such a thing. In his previous life, very few Guilds had possessed Celestial Magic Arrays.
-

[Purgatory Star Magic Array] (Advanced Celestial Magic Array)
Suppress all enemies within a 200-yard radius, weakening their Basic Attributes by 70% if they are Tier 3, 50% if they are Tier 4, and 20% if they are Tier 5.
Required Merit Points: 15,000

[Starlight Gathering Magic Array] (Advanced Celestial Magic Array)
Creates an enclosed space with a 500-yard radius, increasing the Mana density within the enclosed space by 300%.
Required Merit Points: 12,000

-
Although the introductions were brief, Shi Feng read them with bated breath.

The Advanced Mana Gathering Magic Array could only increase the Mana density in a 500-yard radius by 200%, but the Starlight Gathering Magic Array increased the density by 300%. Although there was only a 50% boost to player's performance, it was a qualitative difference.

As for the Purgatory Star Magic Array, even challenging Tier 4 Mythic monsters would become easier with its power. After all, the majority of the Advanced Magic Arrays available in God's Domain could only suppress Tier 4 Mythic monsters by 30%.

For a time, Shi Feng was fraught with indecision.

He had initially planned to purchase the Advanced Mana Gathering Magic array, saving his remaining points for special tools that could aid him in the Mourning Battlefield. However, the Starlight Gathering Magic Array just too tempting.

He had experienced such a powerful array in a Super Guild's main city in the past, and he had to admit that the magic array had been wonderfully effective. When he had practiced his combat techniques inside the magic array, his training efficiency had risen by leaps and bounds. Even the Divine Colosseum's Trial Tower could not compare to that magic array's effects. Only the Holy City of Titan could surpass it. However, to reach locations such as the Holy City, one's status needed to be extremely high, and they needed to pay an exorbitant price. Very few large Guilds could afford such a price.

Forget it! Let's just pick it! Shi Feng gritted his teeth and chose the Starlight Gathering Magic Array.

It was extremely difficult to obtain War God's Temple Merit Points. If he purchased the Advanced Mana Gathering Array, it would be a long time before he gathered enough points to purchase the Starlight Gathering Magic Array. Now that Stone Forest Town had stabilized, and he had begun his city's construction, setting up the Starlight Gathering Array in both locations would further reinforce their popularity.
-

System: The Starlight Gathering Magic Array requires 12,000 Merit Points. You have 3,500 War God's Temple Reputation Points. You may pay 20% of the Merit Point cost in Coins. Do you wish to use Coins?

System: Based on the system's analysis of the current market, each Merit Point is worth 2 Gold Coins. Do you wish to proceed?

-
"Purchase!" Shi Feng agreed to the transaction without hesitation.

Four thousand eight hundred Gold for 2,400 Merit Points wasn't particularly expensive.

Fortunately, the required currency wasn't Magic Crystals. He wouldn't have been able to fork over a single crystal.

Shi Feng wasn't particularly surprised that the cost of Merit Points had increased. In the future, he would likely have to part with an exorbitant amount of Gold Coins in exchange for Merit Points. After all, as players reached higher levels, their income would continue to increase. The game's player population was also increasing. As a result, more Coins would become available in God's Domain. It was only natural for their value to depreciate. Of course, the Main God System constantly worked to lower inflation by reducing the number of Coins in the market.

Suddenly, Capra asked curiously, "Young adventurer, you have chosen a Celestial Magic Array?"

"Yes. I am very interested in learning the magic arrays that have been passed down since ancient times," Shi Feng confirmed, nodding.

Practically every God's Domain player had been interested in Celestial Magic Arrays in the past.

"I won't stop you from purchasing it. However, I need to remind you that Celestial Magic Arrays aren't like your conventional magic arrays. Producing them requires extremely rare materials. They are impossible to mass-produce," Capra reminded.

"Thank you for the information, Lord Capra," Shi Feng responded respectfully.

He had already been aware of the Celestial Magic Arrays' flaws. However, even the Advanced Mana Gathering Magic Array's materials were exceedingly difficult to obtain. Since both arrays' materials were challenging to collect, it was wiser to choose the more powerful array.

Following which, Capra chanted an incantation. Suddenly, a palm-sized water ball separated from its massive counterpart. The ball of water then landed in Shi Feng's hands.

After obtaining the Starlight Gathering Magic Array and leaving the War God's Temple, Shi Feng received a communication request from Aqua Rose.

"What's the rush? Has something happened?" Shi Feng asked when he saw the woman's anxiety.

"Guild Leader, check the official forums! Some time ago, Heaven's Burial signed an agreement with several top adventurer teams and dozens of well-known adventurer teams. These adventurer teams have officially occupied Heaven's Burial's town. News of this has already reached the various large Guilds," Aqua Rose hurriedly reported. 

Chapter 1359 - Pioneering the Ancient Empire

"Top adventurer teams have occupied Heaven's Burial's town?" The report confused Shi Feng.

In God's Domain, adventurer teams fell into various ranks, just like Guilds. When referring to Star-Moon Kingdom's adventurer teams, the well-known teams' overall strength could compare to a first-rate Guild's elite teams. As for the kingdom's top adventurer teams, every one possessed several dozens of experts. Among these expert players, a small portion could rival first-rate Guilds' peak experts. When it came to raiding Team Dungeons, they were even stronger than some large Guilds' main forces.

Normally, these top adventurer teams ventured to dangerous maps that even Guild elite teams avoided. Their leveling speed was no slower than Guild elite players' that occupied high-resource maps.

This was also why these top adventurer teams paid no attention to the benefits most Guild towns offered, so much so that they even ignored invitations from large Guilds.

Based on Aqua Rose's report, however, it seemed that more than one top adventurer team had set up a base in Heaven's Burial's town. Why wouldn't Shi Feng be surprised?

He immediately checked the official forums, getting a detailed idea of the situation.

Heaven's Burial and three top adventurer teams have reached an agreement! These adventurer teams will occupy Red Iron Town and will explore the Frozen Scar alongside the Guild's forces!

Good news! Red Iron Town will soon open the Red Iron Mine to the public! Players will gain access to the mind for a 30% harvesting fee!

These two messages caused an uproar on the Star-Moon Kingdom forums as everyone talked about the town.

"This is going to be awesome! I've heard that the Red Iron Mine is a small-scale Regional Dungeon. Not only do the mine's monsters have higher drop-rates, but you can also harvest all sorts of ores! We'll make a killing! Why is Heaven's Burial being so generous?"

"Three of Star-Moon Kingdom's top adventurer teams and many well-known teams have garrisoned in Red Iron Town! The town's security will likely only be second to Stone Forest Town. And there are so many high-resource maps nearby. There is even a teleportation array very close to the town. Developing in Red Iron Town might not be a bad idea."

"It seems Heaven's Burial has finally gotten serious. This is going to be interesting. I wonder which town will take the position of Star-Moon Kingdom's number-one Guild Town? Stone Forest Town or Red Iron Town?"

"Stone Forest Town is definitely the number one town right now, but it might not stay that way. After all, Heaven's Burial is quite powerful. With the assistance of three top adventurer teams, it won't be long before they explore the Frozen Scar's entire map. Red Iron Town's players will be able to teleport to any of Heaven's Burial's towns from Evernight City. Transportation to and from Red Iron Town will become far more convenient than traveling to and from Stone Forest Town."

"I guess that's true. There really aren't any Level 50-plus high-resource maps near Stone Forest Town, either. It's only suitable to players below Level 50. Considering long-term development, Red Iron Town is the better option. Moreover, with three top adventurer teams based in the town, it'll be easier for adventurer teams to contact each other in the future."

...

The new changes in Red Iron Town tempted many players. While it was important to increase one's individual strength, leveling and upgrading equipment was more so. More players were reaching Level 40, yet despite having met the level requirement to gain a Mount, most were too poor to purchase one and had to continue their travels on foot. Red Iron Town was also attractive due to how easy it would be to earn Coins.

"Heaven's Burial is even willing to part with such a goldmine?" Shi Feng was astonished as he read the forum posts.

It was not easy to open a mine. First, a team needed to defeat the mine's Boss. Otherwise, the monsters inside would continue to respawn quickly. The monsters would also scale to the highest-leveled player that entered the mine. As the Boss respawned periodically, players were also required to defeat it each time they encountered it.

Furthermore, the mine's ore deposits were limited and would only respawn when the Boss did.

When a Guild occupied a mine, they generally only allowed their own people inside.

Yet, Heaven's Burial was generous enough to open the mine to the general public after clearing its monsters and Boss.

Although Iron Ore wasn't particularly valuable, not many towns in God's Domain had access to an ore vein. Hence, the various large Guilds would prioritize towns with the most common ore veins as they offered a plethora of riches.

"Guild Leader, once it secured the adventurer teams' assistance, Heaven's Burial dispatched a 1,000-man elite team to pioneer the Frozen Scar. They also sent their 100-man main force. Even the main force's weakest player is Level 42. They'll clear the map much faster than their previous exploration," Aqua Rose said helplessly. "On the other hand, we just survived a massive war. Although we didn't have many casualties, we had lost many of our experts and main force members. During the final stand at the Guild Residence, in particular, we lost a significant number of our main force members and core members.

"While weapons and equipment aren't a problem, the players who were killed by Evil Demons suffered double the usual penalty. Our main force and core members that had died lost two levels a piece. This has significantly slowed our progress in the Blizzard Fortress and with the Frost King.

"Moreover, the Dark Guilds around White River City are growing bolder. We've had to dispatch our experts to deal with them from time to time.

"Guild Leader, should we recall Snow's forces and prioritize killing the Frost King?"

It had never been wise to underestimate Heaven's Burial's main force. And now that so many top and well-known adventurer teams had joined Heaven's Burial's exploration team, the team's overall strength had increased.

In contrast, Zero Wing had been forced to dispatch its main force and experts to various locations to expand the Guild's influence. As a result, their exploration team's strength had fallen.

If they let Heaven's Burial get the Frost King's first kill, Heaven's Burial's position in Evernight City would become unshakable. Meanwhile, Zero Wing would lose the best opportunity to gain access to Evernight City. If that happened, Stone Forest Town's popularity would plummet by the time mainstream players reached Level 50.

In fact, Red Iron Town had nearly caught up to Stone Forest Town.

"Forget it. We can't recall Snow. If we don't have a team of experts there to defend the Branch Guild in the Black Dragon Empire, the empire's large Guilds will take the opportunity to strike," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. This was why he had refused to ask Gentle Snow for help to protect Stone Forest Town. He then said, "This is a golden opportunity! It's been a while since Zero Wing had a large-scale Guild operation. Aqua, see to the necessary preparations. Round up 1,000 people. Aside from the main force members and core members, do not select any elite players below Level 40. After you've finished, have them gather in Dark Lake Town. We're going to pioneer the Ancient Orc Empire!"

"Guild Leader, you're going to lead the operation?" Aqua Rose's excitement grew as her Guild Leader issued orders.

Normally, the Guild Leader would organize Guild operations as their main purpose was to increase the Guild's prestige and motivation. However, Shi Feng was usually too busy. Normally, he was impossible to find. Hence, Zero Wing's Vice Guild Leaders, such as herself and Gentle Snow, organized these events. Although nobody in the Guild had complained, practically every player that joined Zero Wing knew of Black Flame, and they were all dying to meet him.

The Guild's main force and core members were particularly eager to quest and raid Dungeons with their Guild Leader.

"Mhm. I'll take command this time." Shi Feng nodded. He had initially intended to head to the Frozen Scar, but the environment was simply too harsh. Without sufficient preparation, the Frost King was impossible to raid. Moreover, his current goal was to help his people level up. Naturally, they had to travel to a higher-level map.

"The Guild members will go crazy when they hear this!" Aqua Rose responded, smiling. She immediately disconnected the call and began to address the necessary arrangements. 

Chapter 1360 - Shocking Everyone

White River City, Zero Wing's Residence...

After disconnecting her call with Shi Feng, Aqua Rose published an announcement in the Guild chat.

The Guild Leader will be leading a Guild operation personally. All main force members and core members in Star-Moon Kingdom, gather in White River City immediately. Elite members Level 40 and above may apply to join by contacting me. Priority will be given to those with Guild Mounts.

The instant the announcement published, the Guild chat exploded with comments.

"Vice Guild Leader, this isn't a trick, right?! Boss Black Flame is really going to lead us?!"

"What?! The Guild Leader is leading a Guild op himself?! Are we going after some Guild?! This is awesome! I need to apply!"

"Big Sis Aqua, can't you relax the requirements a little bit? I've just reached Level 40 after many difficulties. I can't afford a Guild Mount right now."

"Hahaha! This is great! I've been saving up and bought a Guild Mount as soon as they were available!"

...

For a time, Zero Wing's members were frenzied. This was especially true for the main force and core members. They were all fully aware of what benefits a Guild Leader-led operation would offer. Not only could they level up incredibly fast, but they'd also get to see the Guild Leader in action up close as they gained combat experience.

Less than a minute after the announcement, Aqua Rose received over a thousand applications. At the same time, plenty of members had were disappointed. After all, despite such a rare opportunity to join a large-scale operation, led by their Guild Leader himself, they didn't qualify to join because they had already spent their GCP and Coins on upgrading their weapons and equipment. They did not have any money to purchase a Guild Mount.

While Aqua Rose selected participants from her elite members, the various Guild experts scattered across Star-Moon Kingdom returned to the Residence in White River City. Very quickly, the overall mood in the Residence lifted considerably as the Guild members' excitement grew.

Meanwhile, the players lined up outside the Residence's entrance hoping to join Zero Wing were stunned as they watched Zero Wing's experts return.

Not only were these experts above Level 40, but they were also ridiculously well-geared, with even the most inferior piece of equipment being Level 40 Fine-Gold rank. Many of these experts even wielded Level 40 Dark-Gold Weapons. Meanwhile, the number of such experts returning continued to increase.

The most incredible sight was the tall, mighty Thunder Wolves traveling next to these experts. After entering the Guild Residence, these experts lined up outside of the Guild Hall, yet despite their quiet stances, they all radiated an indescribably heavy pressure.

"What's Zero Wing planning?"

"Their Guild Mounts are so cool!"

"Why do I get the feeling that I couldn't even defeat one of those Guild Mounts in a fight?"

...

Everyone was utterly stupefied.

Although many players had already reached Level 40, very few had Mounts, yet hundreds of Thunder Wolves stood before them. Players who didn't know any better might assume that this was an NPC army.

Moreover, everyone could see around 50 different types of mounts aside from the Thunder Wolves. Every Mount was Bronze rank or above.

Not everyone had a clear grasp of Zero Wing's power, but after this display, they finally understood why Zero Wing was Star-Moon Kingdom's number one Guild. While other Guilds struggled to get Common Mounts, Zero Wing had already popularized the Thunder Wolf.

Shortly after Zero Wing's 1,000-man legion had gathered, with Aqua Rose in the lead, the legion departed for White River City's Teleportation Hall.

As the 1,000-man legion rode their Mounts across White River City, players unconsciously made way as the legion's imposing momentum swept over them.

When Zero Wing's legion stopped in front of the Teleportation Hall, the adventurer teams and Guild teams visiting from other kingdoms, confused and curious about what was happening.

A thousand Mounted players stood before the Teleportation Hall's entrance. The various Guild teams, who had stopped in White River City on their way to the Twin Towers Kingdom to level, were afraid of leaving the Teleportation hall, concerned that their lives might be at stake if they did.

"Which Guild are these players from?" a burly man with silver hair in the Teleportation Hall asked in shock.

"You don't know? Are you new to God's Domain?" a Level 31, simple-looking Swordsman asked.

"I am new, actually. I've just reached Level 10 today and came to White River City." The silver-haired man nodded.

"No wonder," the Swordsman said as he took a look at the level of the silver-haired man and his companions. Indeed, they were all Level 10 players. "They are all Zero Wing members. Zero Wing is Star-Moon Kingdom's bona fide number one Guild. It's a pity that I'm not strong enough. Otherwise, I'd join Zero Wing as well."

"Zero Wing?" The name was somewhat familiar to this silver-haired.

"Big Brother Tian Ji, isn't Zero Wing the Guild that Hall Master Jiang wanted to work with?" a bald man asked quietly.

"What?! That's the Guild that kind belonged to?!" Tian Ji was stunned. "How is that possible?!"

Before he led the White Tiger Dojo's disciples into God's Domain, he had to establish a firm understanding of the game. After all, they had learned that competent fighters would have an edge in God's Domain. To fighting experts like himself, combat was commonplace. Hence, battles in a virtual world would be trivial.

However, as he encountered the game's virtual combat, he quickly realized that the combat in God's Domain wasn't very different from combat in reality. Although he and his subordinates had an advantage, there were some slight differences between virtual combat and real-life combat. Their advantage was limited.

After playing the game for some time, he also gained a general understanding of various NPC towns' Guilds. Surprisingly, these Guilds were far more impressive than he had assumed. At one point, he had dueled an expert from a small Guild. Even with his skills, the expert had defeated him. The experience had taught him how impressive God's Domain truly was. Of course, he was confident of surpassing these small Guild experts sooner or later. After all, he had only begun playing the game a few days ago.

With the White Tiger Dojo's strength and enough disciples, he was confident that they could establish a Guild and raise it to third-rate status quickly. If they wanted to contest with second-rate Guilds, the dojo would be required to invest a large amount of resources and time.

As for contesting against first-rate Guilds, it was too soon for the dojo to aim so high. After all, first-rate Guilds were backed by major corporations. They also had dozens of years' worth of history in the virtual gaming world and had long since established their own training systems. The White Tiger Dojo had no hope of catching up to first-rate Guilds in a short time unless they annexed second-rate Guilds or purchased shares of a particular first-rate Guild.

Investing in a first-rate Guild would depend on whether or not the Guild was willing to sell shares. After all, these Guilds didn't lack willing investors.

Tian Ji never thought that Shi Feng, some no-name dojo's Head Instructor, directed such a power...

Meanwhile, as Zero Wing's members left White River City through the teleportation arrays, news of the legion's mobilization reached Star-Moon Kingdom's various major powers.

"Why is Zero Wing dispatching such a massive force?"

"With so many experts, has Zero Wing targeted some Guild?!"

"Could Zero Wing be planning to exterminate the Dark Guilds?"

Normally, these major powers ignored a 1,000-man elite team. However, they couldn't ignore such a legion from Zero Wing. After all, every one of those players was an expert.

If Zero Wing had targeted a particular Guild, even a 10,000-man elite army would not be able to stop this legion.

For a time, the various major powers discussed their guesses about Zero Wing's intentions. They also recalled their own members to their respective cities.