Reincarnation of The Strongest Sword God

1521-1540

Chapter 1521 - Materials of Astronomical Value

It's finally finished.

Shi Feng could not help his elation when he saw the system notification.

In God's Domain, the income from a Guild town was limited to its Shops and establishments. While the money from these sources might sustain a small Guild, it was nowhere near enough to cover a large Guild's operation costs. Furthermore, Guilds were required to pay exorbitant system management fees every month.

The monthly management fee for a Basic Town was 5,000 Gold. For an Intermediate Town, it was 15,000 Gold, and for an Advanced Town, it was 50,000 Gold.

If a Guild couldn't afford the fee, the system would temporarily freeze the Guild's authority over the town. If the Guild couldn't pay the fees within three months, they'd lose the town. The system would then hold an auction and sell the tow to the highest bidder.

Aside from the monthly management fees, the Guild was responsible for hiring the various NPCs that operated the town.

Hence, when the various large Guilds considered constructing a town, they had to consider whether or not they could afford to run it.

A Guild city's expenditures were even higher. The monthly management fee alone could bankrupt an ordinary large Guild several times over. A Basic City already cost 200,000 Gold per month. No ordinary large Guild could gather that much in two or three months, not to mention one, unless it abandoned the Guild's development and pooled all of its money for the city's development.

Naturally, a Guild city also had more income sources. Aside from the Shops and establishments, a Guild was allowed to collect tolls from players entering the city. Guild towns didn't offer this function.

As long as a Guild city attracted a sufficient number of players, the income from the tolls could easily surpass the Shops and establishments' by several folds. Hence, site selection was extremely important when building a city. If the Guild chose poorly, the city would lose the Guild more money than it could earn.

Following which, Shi Feng contacted Melancholic Smile and had her collect the materials to construct the Magic Workshop while he intended to visit Witch's Hill.

"Guild Leader, the various large Guilds are currently fighting over the materials you've asked for. They're selling for very high prices. Some of the materials only drop from special 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons. It will likely take some time to collect all of these items," Melancholic Smile said. She was astonished when she read the list of materials Shi Feng had sent. "I'm afraid Mana Ore is going to be particularly difficult to acquire."

Shi Feng had only asked for 500 Crimson Fire Rocks, 500 Frost Stones, 500 logs of Purple Lightning Wood, 5,000 ingots of Mana Ore, and 100 Advanced Magic Cores, all of which were extremely rare and valuable.

Mana Ore was particularly rare since it dropped randomly when mining with an incredibly low drop-rate. It was also useful in many aspects, such as construction, furnishing, forging, alchemy, and engineering. Although Zero Wing frequently purchased Mana Ore, it only had a stock of a little over 1,300 ingots.

As for the Advanced Magic Core, it only dropped from the Final Bosses in 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons. Although the Guild had consistently raided Hell Mode Team Dungeons, it had only collected a little over a dozen cores.

With the amount of money it would cost to purchase the materials Shi Feng had requested, they could buy golden Lands in multiple NPC cities...

"Are a lot of Guilds collecting Mana Ore right now?" Shi Feng asked curiously. "If it's too difficult to acquire in Star-Moon Kingdom, try Black Dragon Empire or other kingdoms."

Although Mana Ore was very rare, Guilds weren't the only ones capable of acquiring the ingots. Many independent players spent their time mining ores in the fields, and a few were bound to get lucky, obtaining a few ingots. With how many independent players there were in the kingdom, it should not be very difficult to collect 1,000 pieces. Among the materials he listed, the Mana Ore should be the easiest to obtain.

The list he had given Melancholic Smile hadn't even included the Seven Luminaries Crystals. Had he added that to the list, Melancholic Smile would've fainted from shock.

Rather than a building, it seemed like he intended to construct a display of pure gold.

"Guild Leader, the ore is very difficult to acquire. Searching other kingdoms and empires won't change that. The various large Guilds have already purchased every ingot on the market, and any new Mana Ore will be highly contested over..." Melancholic Smile said, smiling bitterly.

"Why?" Shi Feng asked curiously.

As far as Shi Feng could remember, while Mana Ore had been rare and in high demand, Guilds hadn't necessarily fought over it. Even in the past, Mana Ore hadn't been cheap, each ingot selling for 30 to 40 Silver.

"It's due to the Orc Empire's sudden rise. The Orcs have affected several kingdoms and two empires already, and these countries have dispatched their armies to hold the Orcs back. As a result, an exchange system activated on the frontlines. So far, many items are available for purchase, including the Common Mounts, which most Guilds have been searching desperately for. There are even Bronze Mounts available.

"To purchase these Mounts, players have to complete all sorts of large-scale quests and earn Contribution Points. However, these large-scale quests are extremely difficult. They either required players to reinforce or capture towns. Meanwhile, not only are there a lot of Orcs, but their combat standards are also quite high. In addition, when the Orcs show up, a strange mist covers the area, driving players' Mana into chaos and decreasing their combat power. Players are only able to stabilize their Mana with Mana Charms, a consumable tool that's crafted with Mana Ore.

"Aside from that, a lot of ancient ruins have appeared because of the fog. The monsters in these ancient ruins have very high drop-rates. There have been rumors that claim that these ruins contain siege tools from ancient times.

"Hence, the kingdoms and empires' major powers are frantically collecting Mana Ore in hopes of raiding these ruins and acquiring Guild Mounts as quickly as possible. This, in turn, has resulted in the Mana Ore shortage on the market. The ore's price has also increased by several times..."

Melancholic Smile's explanation surprised Shi Feng.

Although he had known that the Orc Empire's rise would change the game, he hadn't expected the situation to develop like this.

"I understand. In any case, try to collect as many of these materials as possible. I'll figure out a way to deal with the Mana Ore problem," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought.

The Magic Workshop was of the utmost importance to Zero Wing. The sooner he constructed it, the sooner he could improve the Guild's overall strength by a large margin. Moreover, it would help Guild members' survivability.

Currently, Zero Wing's combat power relied on its peak experts and siege weapons.

Without these factors, Zero Wing wasn't even on par with a first-rate Guild, much less super-first-rate Guilds or Super Guilds.

If he could construct the Magic Workshop, however, he could shorten this gap and attract more powerful players to join Zero Wing.

He had to collect these materials.

Following which, Shi Feng disconnected the call and made his way to Witch's Hill. He intended to deal with the Guild city before worrying about the Mana Ore issue. After all, once Zero Wing had its own city, the Guild would transform yet again.

Chapter 1522 - Initial Appearance of City

After reaching White River City's Teleportation Hall, Shi Feng teleported to Bewildering Forest Town.

In seconds, Shi Feng arrived in another, crowded Teleportation Hall.

Not only was the hall crowded, but he also noticed that all of these players were above Level 40. Many wore Guild Emblems on their chests and grim expressions on their faces.

The rest of the players had already formed teams of over 20 players. Shi Feng only spotted a few solo players throughout the hall.

Why are so many people here? Shi Feng watched the players around him curiously.

Bewildering Forest Town was one of the more remote towns in Star-Moon Kingdom. Moreover, most of the leveling maps around it were below Level 30. Although it was the closest NPC town to the Witch's Hill, even with a Mount, it would take players over seven hours to reach the map. Furthermore, Witch's Hill wasn't the most resource-rich map in this level range, and Star-Moon Kingdom's largest forest separated Bewildering Forest Town and Witch's Hill.

The Maze Forest!

The monsters in the Maze Forest were between Level 40 and Level 50. Although the entire forest was not particularly dangerous, its inner sanctum was a maze. Players who weren't familiar with the terrain could easily lose their way. The only thing that even made grinding in the Maze Forest worthwhile was the Dawn Flower.

The Dawn Flower was a rare material for brewing wine and the Disorienting Potion. Currently, however, neither of these items were useful to players. Logically, there should not be that many high-leveled players in Bewildering Forest Town.

"Starting a 1,000-man expedition to an Orc Fortress! Players who are interested in the raid can register with me!"

"Selling cheap Mana Charms! Interested players can come find me!"

...

As soon as Shi Feng left the Teleportation Hall, he was greeted by the sight of quite a few expedition teams recruiting members. In addition, merchant players stood by the busy street, hawking their wares. Of the numerous times Shi Feng had visited the town during his previous life, he had never once seen the town this lively.

The Orcs have already reached this area?

Shi Feng was surprised as he watched the various players recruiting for 1,000-man team expeditions.

The Orc Empire was southwest of Star-Moon Kingdom, but although Bewildering Forest Town was the closest town in the kingdom to the Orc Empire, it didn't border the empire.

Moreover, these players weren't mobilizing 100-man teams, but 1,000-man teams. It was rare in God's Domain, much less Star-Moon Kingdom. Normally, players would only form such large teams when venturing into dangerous Regional Dungeons.

As Shi Feng turned away from the crowd, intending to head to a bar to collect some intel, he heard the sound of a regional announcement.

...

Bewildering Forest Town Region System Announcement: An army of Orcs has broken through the defensive line of Star-Moon Kingdom's Third Army and is currently making its way to Bewildering Forest Town. Bewildering Forest Town will enter a defensive state and garrison quests will activate in Bewildering Forest Town. The Orc army's estimated time of arrival is 10 Hours. Please make prepare.

...

"Crap! Aren't the Orcs moving too quickly? They're already heading our way?"

"Hahaha! This is wonderful! I'll be able to earn even more CPs!"

Upon hearing the system announcement, a commotion broke out among the players in town. Some were excited for the event, while others were surprised. However, the one thing these players had in common was their anticipation of the Orc army's arrival. They were clearly interested in participating in the town's defense.

It wasn't long before the teams that had been recruiting for an expedition changed their goal to the town's defense.

Members of the various large Guilds and adventurer teams immediately contacted their superiors, notifying them of the sudden development.

"Boss, Orcs are going to attack Bewildering Forest Town!"

"Guild Leader, the Orc Empire you asked me to keep an eye on has broken through the defensive lines and will attack Bewildering Forest Town in ten hours."

...

For a time, players from the various large Guilds and well-known adventurer teams in Star-Moon Kingdom hurried towards Bewildering Forest Town. It was clear that these Guilds and adventurer teams had long since prepared for this as their members flooded the town.

Meanwhile, Shi Feng found a seat on the second floor of an open-air bar, and just as he was about to browse Star-Moon Kingdom's forums for information, Aqua Rose contacted him.

"Guild Leader, the Orc army has started its invasion of Star-Moon Kingdom's Bewildering Forest Town. I just received the news, but it seems that many Guilds have already dispatched their armies to the town. Should we do so as well? I've heard that if the town is successfully defended, participating players will receive an abundance of CPs, and participating Guilds can increase their Influence in Star-Moon Kingdom."

"Increase a Guild's Influence in Star-Moon Kingdom?" When Shi Feng heard Aqua Rose's report, he realized why the various large Guilds seemed so prepared and passionate about defending this town.

In God's Domain, kingdoms and empires wouldn't remain the same forever. As time passed, some would disappear, while others would rise to prominence. Guilds even had the opportunity to take control of some countries. This was how the various superpowers had established their own massive kingdoms and empires during Shi Feng's previous life.

Players couldn't simply establish kingdoms and empires by constructing numerous towns and cities. They had to take control of an NPC kingdom or empire.

The oceanic kingdom, Sea's End, was a perfect example, in which players could take control of its NPC cities. Although players wouldn't have as much control of the cities as they would of a Guild town, it was enough.

On God's Domain's continent, Guilds that wanted to take control of NPC cities, kingdoms, or empires needed Guild Influence.

Of course, Influence wasn't the only thing Guilds needed to take control of NPC cities and countries. There were other requirements as well. At this stage of the game, it wasn't possible; players were simply too weak, unable to take on God's Domain's NPCs.

However, it was important for a Guild to accumulate Guild Influence as early as possible.

"Aqua, see to the necessary arrangements immediately. Since the Star-Moon Kingdom's large Guilds are participating in the event, Zero Wing can't be absent," Shi Feng instructed after giving the matter some thought.

Although he had several methods to increase Zero Wing's Guild Influence in Star-Moon Kingdom, it was not a bad idea to take advantage of this opportunity. It could save him a lot of time in the future.

"Guild Leader, should we call in Gentle Snow's team as well?" Aqua Rose asked.

"No need. Let them finish their promotions first." Shi Feng had high hopes for Gentle Snow's and Zhao Yueru's Tier 2 promotions. After all, both wielded Fragmented Legendary items and hidden classes. Once the two completed their Tier 2 promotion, their combat power would be extraordinary.

Following which, Shi Feng disconnected the call and departed from Bewildering Forest Town. After finding a secluded location, he summoned the Demonic Flame Tiger and made his way to Witch's Hill.

With he still had ten hours before the Orc army arrived, it was more than enough time to deal with the Guild City and return to command the Guild's army in battle.

With the Demonic Flame Tiger, Shi Feng completed his journey to Witch's Hill, which normally required over seven hours of travel time on a Common Mount, in less than four hours.

As Shi Feng reached the massive waterfall near Witch's Hill, the sight of a towering city rose before him.

Unlike Stone Forest Town, soaring, magically strengthened stone walls surrounded the city. Although it wasn't visible to the naked eye, a magic barrier also enveloped the city. Although players could enter a town from any side, players could only enter the city through its main entrance.

"The construction looks quite nice." Even from afar, Shi Feng was satisfied with how his city turned out.

His new city was much larger than the Basic Cities, which were upgraded from Advanced Towns, that he had seen in the past.

After the brief pause, Shi Feng made his way towards the city.

Chapter 1523 - Power Source Improves

When Shi Feng stopped before the city's main entrance, an imposing pair of tightly shut gates greeted him. Pitch-black runes had been carved into the gates, forming multiple magic barriers that protected them. The magic barriers here were much stronger than the barrier his movement-type defensive magic array created as it could even withstand Tier 4 attacks.

As for the magic barrier around the city the entire city, although it was not as powerful as the one on the gates, it wouldn't have any issue blocking Tier 3 attacks. This city was a perfect Guild fortress.

It was definitely worth spending all those Coins to build this thing. Shi Feng could not help his rueful sigh as he observed his surroundings.

The city occupied a mountain peak, so the mountain's scenery remained unobstructed. In addition, an impressive waterfall fell by the hillside. Occasionally, Shi Feng saw birds of various kinds fly past the mountain and below the city. He felt as if he had just arrived in paradise.

Setting aside Witch's Hill's unique circumstances, this grand scenery would attract many Lifestyle and entertainment players.

During his previous life, Shadow hadn't even had a Guild town at this stage of the game, yet his Zero Wing already had its own Basic City. Not even Super Guilds had achieved this feat. Currently, only Sea's End's major powers controlled cities.

Unlike Sea's End's major powers, however, he had complete control of his city. The city's development path wouldn't limit his options.

Meanwhile, when Shi Feng arrived, a dozen or so NPC guards came down from their posts along the city walls to open the gates.

"Esteemed City Lord, we have completed your city's construction. If there are no issues, we may begin the transfer procedures," a middle-aged man with a cross-shaped scar on his face respectfully reported as he came forward to greet Shi Feng. The man wore a luxurious suit of armor with a white cape draped over his back. He also carried a longsword embedded with several pieces of Seven Luminaries Crystal at his waist.

Although the man didn't radiate an aura, he was a Level 180, Tier 3 Knight Captain. In a minor NPC city, he could even serve as the Magistrate. At this stage of the game, he could kill any ordinary player in a single move.

"I'm fine with that. However, before we begin, I'd like to visit the city's Core Magic Array," Shi Feng said, nodding.

He had previously obtained an Evil God Crystal after killing a Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon under the Beast Emperor's command.

To a Guild City, the item's value was astronomical.

The Evil God Crystal could be used as a power source for a city. Although it couldn't compare to a Titan Core, the power source was very difficult to come by. It was definitely much stronger than the freebie power source that was included in a city's construction.

"Esteemed City Lord, please follow me," the Knight Captain Yarod said as he led the way for Shi Feng, the dozen or so Knights previously guarding the gate following close behind.

As Shi Feng walked through the city, he could easily tell it was many times larger than Stone Forest Town. Not even an Advanced Town could compare to its grandeur. Despite the city's Basic rank, it should easily accommodate over 300,000 permanent residential players. Moreover, this was assuming that he built the city's Basic infrastructure. If he used Advanced buildings, he could double the city's capacity, at which point the city wouldn't even feel cramped with over a million players. In contrast, players would likely walk shoulder to shoulder in an Advanced Town with a one million player population.

However, it was due to the city's large size that it required a lot more resources to develop.

Take the street Shi Feng was currently on, for example. Although the NPCs had already built quite a few essential buildings, Shi Feng passed large plots of empty land. He'd have to spend a lot more to fill these gaps.

Based on Shi Feng's initial estimates, the initial resources to construct the necessary infrastructure would be enough to drive any first-rate Guild mad, not to mention constructing buildings like the Battle Arena.

The buildings in cities were allowed to have far more floors than those in towns. The Battle Arena in Stone Forest Town, for example, could only have eight floors. In a Basic City, however, a Battle Arena could have up to 16 floors. Though, players had to have enough money to build them.

Under Yorad's lead, Shi Feng quickly reached the third underground floor of the City Lord's Mansion.

"Esteemed City Lord, this is the city's main control room. Here, you may control the magic arrays all over the city," Yorad explained as he gestured to the mammoth ball of water floating in the center of the hall.

Numerous golden runes decorated the wide hall's walls, while the water ball in the center felt like an inhaling whale as it absorbed the Mana from outside of the city, transferring the Mana to the city's various areas. Meanwhile, a black crystal floated within the core of the magic water ball.

This black crystal was the power source the system granted when players constructed their own cities. This crystal was the city's lifeblood, created by dozens of high-tiered Wizards. It was a better power source than those that formed naturally or those the Gods had created.

Without hesitation, Shi Feng went up to the magic water ball and replaced the black crystal with the Evil God Crystal.

The moment he placed the Evil God Crystal in the magic water ball, the Mana in the hall rampaged.

The hovering water ball began to grow. As it did, the Mana density in the hall increased.

The Knight Captain and his entourage were afraid.

Fortunately, after a few minutes, the hall's Mana calmed. Everyone was dumbfounded as they stared at the evolved water ball.

The previously mammoth water ball had tripled in size, and the hall's Mana density had at least doubled.

As I expected, a Basic City can only use 60% of the Evil God Crystal's power. Shi Feng was somewhat disappointed when he saw the Evil God Crystal's utilization rate the system had displayed.

In God's Domain, a strong power source didn't necessarily mean that players could improve a city indefinitely. Every city had its limits. It seemed that a Basic City could only use 60% of the total energy an Evil God Crystal provided.

If he wanted to increase the efficiency, he'd have to upgrade the city to Intermediate or Advanced rank. He might even need to upgrade it to the standard of a kingdom's capital city to use the Evil God Crystal's full power.

However, 60% was enough to improve the city's defenses by a tier and increase its Mana density by 40%. Although the city's current Mana density couldn't compare to Stone Forest Town's, it would rise beyond the town's once he constructed the Magic and Mana Towers.

"Esteemed City Lord, you really know how to surprise a man. You actually got your hands on such a high-ranked power source. Your city is guaranteed to become famous in Star-Moon Kingdom," Yarod said in admiration.

In Star-Moon Kingdom, one could count the number of cities with such a high-ranked power source on one hand. Only the kingdom's capital was more powerful.

After Yarod finished speaking, the sound of a system notification reached Shi Feng's ears.

...

System: You have earned a reward. Please name your city within one hour, or the reward will be discarded.

System: You have 59 minutes, 59 seconds remaining.

"Thank you for your praise, Knight Captain. I am very satisfied with this city. Let's complete the transfer procedures right away," Shi Feng said.

Chapter 1524 - Zero Wing City

Once Shi Feng agreed to start the transfer procedures, the Knight Captain revealed a dazzling, silver token and passed it to Shi Feng.

The token itself looked wasn't ornate, but the moment the Knight Captain revealed the item, the hall's Mana began to gather around it, forming a magic barrier around the token. The magic barrier would prevent undesignated players from touching it.

"Esteemed City Lord, here is your City Lord's Token. Once you carve the city's name on the token and we finish the registration, the city can officially open to the public," Knight Captain Yarod explained as he admired the item in Shi Feng's hand.

The token's owner would have absolute control over the city. Not even City Magistrates has so much authority.

City Magistrates were merely representatives the kingdom tasked to manage its cities. Throughout Star-Moon Kingdom, only a handful of people controlled their cities and were acknowledged as Lords in the kingdom. These NPCs' statuses were so high that even the King had to treat them respectfully.

This wasn't the first time Shi Feng had obtained a City Lord's Token. As it rested in his palm, he taped on the magic array around the token.

Immediately, a system window appeared before him, asking him for the city's name.

Since this is Zero Wing's first city, let's call it Zero Wing City! Shi Feng thought as he filled in the name box.

By using the Guild's name for the city, not only would the public know who the city belonged to, but it would also advertise the Guild. This was another benefit of constructing a city from scratch. If a Guild obtained their city by upgrading a town, the new city would retain its old name.

Hence, first-rate Guilds and stronger had usually tried to construct their cities from scratch as proof of their prowess.

After Shi Feng finished naming Zero Wing City, Yarod began the registration process.

"Congratulations, Esteemed City Lord. You have now become the first heaven's blessed to own your own city in Star-Moon Kingdom. The city will now enter a 21-day protection period. During this time, you may hire city guards to protect the city from harassment. You will also be responsible for a 200,000 Gold tax each month," Yarod explained. "Do you wish to hire guards now?"

"Do you have a list for me to choose from?" Shi Feng asked.

A city's defense wasn't like that of a town. The system would only allow players to hire up to Tier 2 NPCs in a town. After all, Tier 3 NPCs could serve as small cities' Magistrates.

Although he could hire Tier 3 NPC guards in a Basic City, he could only hire five. Moreover, Tier 3 NPCs had different strengths and specialties. To ease the burden of the city's defense, it was necessary to choose the Tier 3 NPC guards carefully.

"Alright. Here is a list of the Tier 3 guards we can currently provide. Unfortunately, since there are so many Tier 1 and Tier 2 guards to choose from, I am unable to provide a precise list. If you would like a more detailed list of your options, you may hire these guards from the Adventurer's Association," Yarod explained as he handed Shi Feng a list.

The list showed the general prices for the Tier 1 and Tier 2 NPC guards as well as a brief introduction of the various Tier 3 NPC guards available for hire.

Hiring ten Level 150 elite guards for 21 days would cost 100 Gold, 300 Gold for ten Level 150, Tier 1 guards, and 700 Gold for ten Level 150, Tier 2 guards. Each of the Tier 3 guards had different prices.

There were a total of 37 Tier 3 guards available, and they cost anywhere between 800 and 1,400 Gold for 21 days. The cost of hiring one of these NPCs could already rival that of two squads of Tier 2 guards.

Even for Zero Wing, the expenditure wasn't easy to shrug off, yet Shi Feng had no choice.

He hadn't constructed Zero Wing City near any NPC towns or cities, so it could easily come under monster attack. This was especially true at night. For Zero Wing City, which didn't have its defensive constructs yet, powerful guards were a must.

Furthermore, Shi Feng hadn't expected the rise of the Orc Empire, which had already turned its sights to Bewildering Forest Town. The Maze Forest was the only thing standing between the town and Witch's hill. On the off chance that the Orc army decided to attack Zero Wing City, Tier 1 and Tier 2 NPC guards wouldn't be able to fend off the attack. Only Tier 3 NPCs had enough of an advantage over the Orcs.

Following which, Shi Feng chose to hire five Tier 3 guards: one healer, two MTs, and two magical classes. Among them, the magical classes were the most expensive, each costing 1,300 Gold. Each of these magical-class NPCs had two Tier 3 large-scale destruction Spells and a Tier 3 Curse in their arsenal.

"I've decided to hire these five. In addition, I wish to hire 800 elite guards, 150 Tier 1 guards, and 50 Tier 2 guards," Shi Feng said, returning the list to Yarod after making his decision.

If Aqua Rose or Gentle Snow were present, they would have a heart attack over hiring so many guards.

The cost of hiring NPC guards was much higher than NPC soldiers, yet Shi Feng still chose to hire 1,000 NPC guards at once...

But Shi Feng knew the necessity of the decision. Cities were much larger than towns, and without enough NPCs, a city would be impossible to defend, and public security wouldn't be maintained.

Moreover, as the city's environment was more beneficial than a town's, it didn't cost as much to hire NPC guards. If he hired this many guards in a town, it would drop Zero Wing's finances into the red.

This was an advantage that the system provided when players constructed their own city from scratch.

"Alright. The total cost for the guards you've chosen is 21,000 Gold. Once you've made the payment, the Adventurer's Association will send them to the city," Yarod said.

Without hesitation, Shi Feng handed 21,000 Gold to the Knight Captain.

Fortunately, he had recently posted plenty of rare materials he had obtained from Cold Wind City in Zero Wing's Auction House. While he had been on Thunder Island, most of the materials had sold, and after deducting his base cost, he had made a profit of 33,527 Gold.

This was why he dared to hire so many Tier 1 and Tier 2 guards despite Zero Wing's current financial situation.

Moreover, that was only the profit from the first shipment. After time passed, Cold Wind City's players would stockpile a ton of materials again. If he purchased and resold those materials, he would earn another 30,000 Gold. This money-making speed even surpassed that of Stone Forest Town and the Candlelight Trading Firm.

When Cold Wind City opened a path to the other NPC cities in the Ice Crystal World in the future, he'd make even more profit. It wasn't unlike owning his own goldmine.

After Yarod confirmed the payment, he bowed respectfully to Shi Feng before leaving with the other Knights.

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

...

System: Congratulations! You are the first player in Star-Moon Kingdom to own a city. Rewarding 300 Star-Moon Kingdom Reputation and "Lord of Star-Moon Kingdom" title.

System: Congratulations! Zero Wing City has become the first player-city in Star-Moon Kingdom. Rewarding 10,000 City Popularity and one Advanced Restaurant Design.

System: Congratulations! Zero Wing City has become the first city to upgrade its power source. Rewarding 10,000 City Popularity and one City Conscription Order.

Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming Star-Moon Kingdom's first Guild to construct a city. Rewarding 10,000 Guild Popularity and 50 Guild Influence.

Chapter 1525 - Uproar

The regional announcement repeated for several times, the mechanical voice of the system echoing in the minds of Star-Moon Kingdom's players continuously. For a moment, whether they were players currently resting in towns and cities or players out grinding in the fields, they all fell into a daze when they heard this announcement.

"What's going on?"

"Constructed a city?"

"How is this possible?! The various large Guilds are still working on getting their towns upgraded to the Intermediate rank. Even Super Guilds have just begun trying to upgrade their towns to the Advanced rank. How could there be a Guild city already?"

"Did Zero Wing manage to upgrade Stone Forest Town into a city?"

"All hail Zero Wing!"

"That might really be possible. After all, the player population in Stone Forest Town right now is really insane. The population there is not one bit lower than an NPC city's."

"This is impossible! I'm standing inside Stone Forest Town right now, and nothing about the town has changed whatsoever!"

...

Practically everyone on Star-Moon Kingdom's official forums was discussing Zero Wing and the city it built right now.

Although the players of God's Domain currently did not have any concrete information about Guild cities, they could generally guess how amazing a Guild city would be just by looking at the various Guild towns currently in the game. Setting aside the various other functions a Guild city would possess, just the amount of land it occupied would definitely exceed that of a town by a large margin, which would, in turn, allow it to accommodate more players.

However, compared to the fact that Zero Wing was now in possession of a Guild city, everyone was much more interested in finding out about the city itself, particularly its location.

Currently, mainstream players were starting to outgrow Stone Forest Town. If Zero Wing had built its city at a high-level resource map and replicated the facilities it had in Stone Forest Town in its new city, players would both be able to complete high-level quests without traveling long distances and easily improve their combat standards inside the city, killing two birds with one stone.

"Zero Wing has a Guild city now? This is a good opportunity for our adventurer team."

"A new city? I wonder where it's located. If its location is good, it might not be a bad idea to buy a Shop there and settle down."

...

In the eyes of most independent players, Zero Wing's new city was merely a potential rest area. To the various adventurer teams and merchant players, however, the city was a huge opportunity for them.

Currently, both the private houses and Shops of Stone Forest Town were becoming increasingly valuable. Many wealthy adventurer teams and merchant players were already regretting their decision not to purchase one for themselves before.

At the same time, the various large Guilds of Star-Moon Kingdom also became busy, holding internal meetings to restructure their future development plans in the kingdom.

Zero Wing's acquisition of a Guild city might be good news for ordinary players, but there was nothing good about it for large Guilds like theirs.

In God's Domain, maintaining and protecting a Guild town entailed a lot of manpower. Hence, whenever a Guild was thinking of conquering a new Guild town, said Guild would have to expand and recruit new members. Naturally, a Guild city would need even more players to maintain and protect a city. Meanwhile, once Zero Wing began increasing its member count, it would also require more resource maps for these new members to develop in.

Yet, as players reached higher levels, the resource maps available in Star-Moon Kingdom also grew increasingly scarcer. As a result, competition between Guilds also intensified.

In the future, there would definitely come a time when their Guilds would have to compete against Zero Wing. Hence, they naturally had to plan for such situations in advance.

For a time, due to this system announcement, Zero Wing once again became the focus of the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. Players within the kingdom were practically talking about Zero Wing nonstop.

...

Meanwhile, just as Shi Feng was about to make arrangements for Zero Wing City's further development, he suddenly started receiving mails and calls one after another.

"Guild Leader, what did you do? How did we get a new city?"

Gentle Snow was filled with both curiosity and excitement when she found out about the new Guild city, and she could not help but send multiple messages asking Shi Feng about the matter.

Before this, she was just about to start challenging her Tier 2 promotion. However, she put it off temporarily when she received a report on this sudden development. She knew very clearly that Zero Wing currently had only two towns under its control. One of them was Stone Forest Town in Star-Moon Kingdom, while the other was Hidden Mist Town in the Black Dragon Empire. Aside from these two, Zero Wing did not own any other towns.

Yet, now, the Guild had suddenly gained a brand-new Guild city.

"Old pal, your Guild really knows how to hide its strength. Well? When are you free to sit down for a chat?" Yuan Tiexin had also sent Shi Feng a message. Judging by his tone, he seemed to be very interested in Zero Wing's Guild city.

In fact, the Secret Pavilion wasn't the only Guild that sent Shi Feng a message. Even Phoenix Rain had sent a congratulatory message as well as expressed her surprise at finding out about this news.

"Guild Leader, you've finally picked up. Right now, our Residence at Stone Forest Town is being swarmed by adventurer teams and merchant players. They all wish to partner with Zero Wing. In addition, several companies also want to meet with you to discuss investment opportunities," Aqua Rose said with a bitter smile on her face.

Although Aqua Rose had known about the new city, Melancholic Smile was the one tasked with managing all matters relating to the city. Hence, Aqua Rose had not tried prying too deeply into those matters. After all, the amount of money required to construct a city would no doubt be astronomical. In her opinion, it would definitely take some time before they would accumulate enough funds to complete the city's construction. Thus, she had never imagined that the city would be completed so soon.

This sudden development had caught her completely off guard. Right now, even people from her family were frantically contacting her and asking about the Guild city. Her family hoped to be able to purchase a virtual store once the city was officially opened to the public. This situation put her at a loss on what to do, as it was not in her place to make decisions on such important matters.

"Set those matters aside for now. First, have Candlelight's architects stop what they're doing and have them prepare the materials on the list I'll be sending to you in a moment. Once they have everything ready, bring them to Zero Wing City. While you're at it, bring some elite members with you as well, to deal with the management work of the city." Shi Feng could guess the situation on Aqua Rose's side right now. After all, he was mostly facing the same. However, he had just completed the handover procedures for Zero Wing City. Right now, their priority was to have the necessary infrastructure set up in Zero Wing City. Otherwise, they would simply be inviting ridicule should they open up an empty city to the public.

"Very well, I'll get to it right away." Aqua Rose nodded. She could not help looking forward to seeing the newly constructed Zero Wing City.

After Shi Feng finished assigning tasks to Aqua Rose, he quickly made his way to the Guild Residence in Zero Wing City.

Compared to the Guild Residence in Stone Forest Town, the Residence here was much more luxurious. Located in the central district of the city, it took up one-fifth of the available land there—something possible only in a Guild city. In NPC cities, a Guild Residence could occupy only a small area. Normally, one would be fortunate to be able to fit ten or twenty thousand players inside the Residence. As for the Residence in Zero Wing City, even if 50,000 players were present inside the Residence at the same time, there would still be plenty of space to spare.

Following which, Shi Feng took out the Guild Residence Teleportation Magic Array he had prepared beforehand and set it up inside the Guild Hall.

If the Guild Residence did not possess a teleportation array, Guild members would not be able to teleport directly to the city. This was also the reason why Aqua Rose did not simply teleport to the city to meet up with Shi Feng. Currently, although everyone in the Guild had already found out about Zero Wing's new city, they could not visit it. They could only wait until Shi Feng was done setting up the teleportation array.

Once Shi Feng set up the teleportation array, he made a slight adjustment to its permissions—allowing only Guild members with a certain level of authority to teleport to the city—to avoid unnecessary trouble that would disrupt the city's construction speed.

After he settled the matters that required immediate attention, he sat down in his office to catch his breath. While resting, he opened up his bag and took a look at the Advanced Restaurant Design and City Conscription Order he received from the system.

He had heard about these two items in his previous life. However, he had never personally seen either of them before. He had never thought that he would actually receive these two items just by constructing Zero Wing City. These were truly an unexpected harvest.

Chapter 1526 - Strengthening Players

It's no wonder these things can help a Guild improve quickly. They actually possess such effects.

Shi Feng was astonished as he inspected the Advanced Restaurant Design and City Conscription Order in his bag.

The City Popularity the system awarded was already quite beneficial to the city's development, as it would lure many more NPCs to the city. However, when compared to the two items in his bag, the amount of City Popularity he had gotten paled into insignificance.

Similar to the Advanced Auction House, the Advanced Restaurant was an extremely rare Advanced Construction in God's Domain. The Guilds that managed to obtain it in his previous life numbered extremely few. There had been one instance where a top adventurer team had put up an Advanced Restaurant Design for auction. In the end, the design had sold at a price that could cause even first-rate Guilds to despair—two Fragmented Legendary items.

Even after ten years had passed in God's Domain, Fragmented Legendary items were still extremely hard to come by in God's Domain. Back then, most first-rate Guilds would have only two or three Fragmented Legendary items in the entire Guild, and none of them were willing to exchange any. After all, everyone back then was already fully aware of just how valuable a Fragmented Legendary item was.

Yet, in the end, a superpower had still bought the design for two Fragmented Legendary items.

Back then, many people had felt that the transaction was not worthwhile, and Shi Feng was no exception. After all, a restaurant would, at most, function as an attraction to lure players to a city. Meanwhile, the clientele would be spending only Coins or Magic Crystals at the restaurant. To the wealthy superpowers, Fragmented Legendary items held far greater importance compared to Coins and Magic Crystals. Nevertheless, the various superpowers back then had still gladly competed over the Advanced Restaurant Design.

Now that Shi Feng saw what functions the Advanced Restaurant possessed, however, he immediately realized why the various superpowers had been eager to buy the design back then.

Not only was the Advanced Restaurant much more spectacular than a Basic Restaurant in terms of size and appearance, but it also had various modes of transactions available. In addition, players could even hire Master and Grandmaster Chef NPCs for the restaurant.

In God's Domain, no matter which subclass a Lifestyle player possessed, they would have great difficulty reaching even the Master rank, not to mention the Grandmaster rank.

Meanwhile, any Lifestyle player that managed to reach the Master or Grandmaster rank in their subclass would be capable of taking on a role that exceeded one's imaginations. This was especially true for those that managed to become Grandmaster Lifestyle players; they would become existences that could single-handedly affect an entire Guild's strength.

Take a Grandmaster Chef for example. Aside from being able to cook up unimaginably delicious food and beverages, a Grandmaster Chef was also capable of producing special cuisines that could permanently improve a player's Attributes or even physique. There was a limit to how many times a player could improve through consuming such cuisines, but, even so, the capability was already plenty amazing. After all, aside from upgrading to better weapons and equipment, players had almost no other method to improve their Attributes and physique significantly.

However, a Grandmaster Chef was capable of continuously strengthening players by producing various special cuisines. Although there was a limit to how much one could improve through consuming special cuisines, according to the rumors, when a player reached that limit, the additional Attributes and physique they obtained could rival even that of a Fragmented Legendary item.

Of course, the requirements to construct the Advanced Restaurant were also very high. At the very minimum, the Advanced Restaurant had to be built in a Basic City. Aside from that, the architects building the Advanced Restaurant needed to be of sufficiently high standards, as they had to inscribe various kinds of runes. Finally, the Advanced Restaurant called for many different types of rare materials in its construction, including 1,000 pieces of Mana Ore. By Shi Feng's estimates, the total construction cost would be around 10,000 Gold.

As for the City Conscription Order, it was also a very valuable item. When used, it allowed a city to recruit a powerful NPC soldier with high Growth Potential. Meanwhile, the better-developed a city was, the greater the City Conscription Order's effects would become.

In the past, there was one Guild that actually managed to recruit a Tier 4 Great Wizard through a City Conscription Order, when it was normally extremely rare for a city to manage to get even a Tier 2 NPC soldier. As for Tier 3 NPCs and above, it was practically impossible to recruit one without external aid such as the Hero's Chapter and the City Conscription Order. Not to mention, a Tier 4 Great Wizard was much more powerful than other classes when it came to defending a city.

It should be appropriate to use this thing once Zero Wing City is set up properly and the total population stays at 1.5 million long-term. Shi Feng grew a little excited as he looked at the City Conscription Order. If he really managed to recruit a Tier 4 NPC to protect the city, it would truly be perfect.

...

Meanwhile, over at Stone Forest Town, Aqua Rose was rapidly gathering elite members and architects. When Aqua Rose announced that she would be bringing some players to garrison the Guild's new city, the entire Guild had gone into an uproar.

"Vice Guild Leader, I want to apply!"

"Crap! It's actually true! Our Guild really does possess a city!"

"Fortunately, I joined Zero Wing early on. Had I waited to do so only after the Guild obtained a city, the requirements to join the Guild would definitely have been much higher."

"I know, right? Previously, a friend of mine was debating on whether he should join Zero Wing or King's Return. In the end, he chose to develop himself in King's Return. If he finds out that Zero Wing already has a city, something not even Super Guilds like King's Return possess, he will definitely die from regret."

When Zero Wing's members heard Aqua Rose's announcement, they immediately started applying to join the new city's daily maintenance workforce in a frenzy. In reality, though, they were trying to use this opportunity to take a look at the new city as well as find out where it was located.

In less than ten minutes, Aqua Rose managed to gather 3,000 elite members and 200 architects.

"I've already provided you all with the permission to transfer to the new city. After you arrive there, start the daily maintenance work and manage the NPCs that are coming into the city. If you can't manage some of the incoming NPCs, notify the nearest NPC guard. If none of you have any problems, you may transfer over right away," Aqua Rose said after talking about the tasks everyone would be doing once they arrived at the new city.

Whether one constructed a new town or city, the first thing they needed to do was deal with the influx of NPCs. After all, players were not allowed to stop NPCs from entering Guild towns and cities. Only in the event where players had managed to catch an NPC in the commission of a crime or could identify them to be wanted criminals could they expel said NPC from their town or city. Meanwhile, there would also be plenty of NPCs belonging to the dark forces mixed among the ordinary NPCs entering the city.

If the Guild could properly manage the security of the city, the city's Popularity would rise at a faster rate. Conversely, if it failed to maintain the security of the city, the city's Popularity would decrease. Hence, maintaining the security of the city during the city's early stages required a large number of players. Only after stabilizing the city's security could the Guild open the city to players.

After Aqua Rose was done speaking, the players she gathered inside the Guild Hall began purchasing the Guild Transfer Scroll for Zero Wing City before promptly disappearing from the hall. This scene inspired strong envy in the other Guild members present inside the Guild Hall. Although it was said to be city maintenance work, it was similarly a quest. If players could capture a Dark NPC inside the city, they would receive plenty of EXP and GCPs. Doing this quest was much more profitable than grinding monsters out in the fields.

...

Elsewhere, when the upper echelons of the various major powers of Star-Moon Kingdom learned of the movements of Zero Wing's members, their expressions turned indescribably grim.

"Immediately have people look for Zero Wing's City! Find out where it's located no matter what!"

To the various major powers of Star-Moon Kingdom, the whereabouts of Zero Wing's new city was critical. If its location was somewhere close to them, they would have no choice but to shift their focus of development. At the same time, there were also some Guilds that began having designs on Zero Wing's new city.

For a time, the various major powers all began dispatching a large number of people to locate Zero Wing's new city.

...

Meanwhile, inside the Guild Residence in Zero Wing City, numerous flashes appeared inside the Guild Hall as a large group of players teleported into the city.

"Zero Wing City?"

"This place is our Guild's city?"

When everyone exited the Guild Hall, they were momentarily dumbfounded by what they saw.

Although they knew that the new city would definitely be much better than Stone Forest Town, they never thought the city would be such a spectacular sight. The difference between Zero Wing City and Stone Forest Town was like the difference between heaven and earth.

Chapter 1527 - Guild's New Benefits

"This place is our Guild's new city?"

"The Mana density here is amazing! Although it's still no match for Stone Forest Town's, with this place being so large, at least the city won't be as crowded as Stone Forest Town."

"Wait, something's not right! Look around! There doesn't seem to be any Magic Towers here! The Mana present here should be something the city naturally gathered by itself!"

"What?! A city is actually so much stronger than a town?! If Magic Towers are constructed inside the city, won't the Mana density here become much higher than even Stone Forest Town's?!"

After Zero Wing's members exited the Guild Hall and observed their surroundings, they quickly noticed a marked difference between a Guild town and a Guild city. This was especially true in the case of Mana density.

Everyone was already sure that Zero Wing City would become overcrowded with players.

Just how much resources did the Guild Leader invest in building this city? Aqua Rose was indescribably shocked when she looked at the city around her.

Although she knew that a Guild city would be much better than a Guild town, she had never thought the disparity would be to such a degree.

With the high Mana density in the city, the city would attract not only a large number of expert players to visit but also Lifestyle players. In the future, there would be no need to worry about Zero Wing being unable to recruit capable experts and Lifestyle players.

After a moment of shock and awe, Aqua Rose had the elite members she brought begin accepting the city's patrol quests. As for herself, she took the 200 architects to meet up with Shi Feng at an empty plot of land in the city.

"Guild Leader, I've brought all the available architects in the Candlelight Trading Firm over already," Aqua Rose reported quietly as she looked at Shi Feng, who was currently surveying the terrain of the city.

"They're all here?" Shi Feng muttered to himself as he sent a glance at the architects standing some distance behind Aqua Rose. Nodding in approval, he continued, "Advanced Architects, come forward."

Immediately, 40-odd players stepped forward nervously. Among them, nearly 30 were male and over a dozen were female. Although the levels of these players ranged between 24 to 35 only, if placed in a first-rate Guild, any one of these players would definitely receive VIP treatment.

In the Candlelight Trading Firm, however, they were merely normal members. After all, the Candlelight Trading Firm already had Master Lifestyle players at the helm. Compared to them, Advanced Lifestyle players were insignificant existences.

Meanwhile, when these Advanced Architects looked at Shi Feng, who had disguised himself using the Demon Mask, their eyes were filled with reverence and excitement. After all, the man before them was none other than Black Flame, the Guild Leader of Zero Wing. At the same time, he was also the number one expert of Star-Moon Kingdom.

They might have the qualifications to act proudly in front of the Guild Leaders of any other Guild. After all, those Guild Leaders were definitely no match for themselves in terms of subclass development. However, it was a different story for their own Guild Leader. Even in terms of subclass development, their Guild Leader was an existence they had no choice but to look up to.

The reason for this was their knowing that their Guild Leader had already become a Master Forger some time ago. Now, one could say that he was the bona fide number one forger in Star-Moon Kingdom.

"Excellent. From now on, you all will be tasked with constructing Zero Wing City's Advanced Constructions. If any among you isn't an inner member, you can come to me to sign the contract to become one. If any of you does not wish to become an inner member, you may return to the group behind." Shi Feng was considerably surprised at the number of Advanced Architects present. He had not expected that after not seeing Melancholic Smile for some time, the woman had actually recruited many more Advanced Architects.

Moreover, among the Advanced Architects present, he managed to spot three familiar figures.

One of them was a middle-aged man named Happy Mo, who looked to be in his 40s. He wore a monocle and radiated an indescribably calm feeling. The second person was a muscular youth named Boiled Fish, who carried a scimitar on his back. As for the last one, she was a short-haired beauty named Wind Chimes.

In the past, all three of these players were very famous architects in Star-Moon Kingdom. To be precise, they were part of the top ten architects in Star-Moon Kingdom. Only, these three players all belonged to first-rate Guilds.

Shi Feng had never imagined that these three people had actually joined Zero Wing this time.

Among the three, Happy Mo was the strongest. In the past, he had constantly pushed his limits in order to become a Grandmaster. Unfortunately, the rank of Grandmaster was not easily attained. At the very least, the amount of help a first-rate Guild could provide towards reaching this rank was minimal. Happy Mo had never managed to become a Grandmaster Architect.

After everyone heard Shi Feng's words, most of the Advanced Architects that had joined the Candlelight Trading Firm recently chose to sign the contract right away. Only Happy Mo, Boiled Fish, and Wind Chimes remained hesitant, exchanging glances with each other. After a moment, as if having come to an agreement, they nervously turned to look at Shi Feng.

"Guild Leader, if we become inner members, can we use our GCPs to exchange for a private house inside the Guild city?" Happy Mo, who was the eldest among the three, stepped forward and asked carefully.

Although Shi Feng looked younger than himself, the feeling the man gave off was akin to that of a prehistoric beast. While standing in such close proximity, Happy Mo found himself growing breathless. In the past, when he heard others mentioning such a reaction, he had simply taken their words as jokes. Only after personally experiencing this feeling did he realize that those words were no joke.

At this moment, he felt as if he would be doomed forever if he made even the slightest mistake.

Upon hearing Happy Mo's question, everyone nearby could not help but perk up their ears. They never thought that Happy Mo would be so courageous as to propose such a demand to the Guild Leader.

"Are you all interested in the private houses of Zero Wing City?" Shi Feng asked as he looked at Happy Mo's group of three.

"Mhm. The environment here is quite good. I feel that if it is here, my research would be more successful," Happy Mo stated.

Boiled Fish and Wind Chimes nodded their heads in agreement. Initially, the three of them had considered living in Stone Forest Town. However, after taking a look at Zero Wing City, they felt that this place was much better. Even if the Mana density in the city was not comparable to Stone Forest Town's right now, they had a feeling that Zero Wing City would very quickly surpass Stone Forest Town as time passed.

"That's not a bad suggestion. Since you've already raised it, I'll use this opportunity to talk about the new benefits Zero Wing and Candlelight will be offering. From now on, members may use their GCPs to exchange for private houses in the Guild's towns and cities. However, there is a restriction, which is that only elite members of Zero Wing and official members of Candlelight are qualified for this exchange. As for the pricing, you can ask Melancholic about it in a while," Shi Feng said.

In reality, the matter Happy Mo had raised was a problem commonly seen in the past. After all, whether it was a Guild town or city, the amount of land available was limited. Generally, Guilds would try to attract as many visitors to their towns or cities as possible. At the same time, in order to maximize the town's or city's income, they would construct only a small number of private houses, opting to build hotels and other facilities instead. Hence, private houses could not simply be bought just because one had the funds to do so. This was especially true for popular towns and cities.

However, in order to attract and recruit independent experts and capable Lifestyle players, Guilds would still build some private houses to use as bait, making them available for exchange using GCPs only.

When Shi Feng mentioned about this new benefit, cheers immediately erupted from the crowd before him.

"What?! The Guild Leader is so generous!"

"All hail the Guild Leader!"

"Hahaha! With this, I will also have an opportunity to own a private house in Zero Wing City! When I get one, my friends will definitely die of envy!"

Currently, the various large Guilds were all trying to earn as much money as possible from their Guild towns to further develop themselves. Hence, they would only construct a few private houses for show. It was simply impossible for Guilds to offer these private houses as a Guild benefit. As for the private houses in popular Guild towns, even Guild upper echelons might not be able to get their hands on one.

Yet, now, Lifestyle players like themselves actually had the opportunity to exchange for private houses in Star-Moon Kingdom's number one town and number one city. They felt as if they were dreaming right now. Although they also knew that the price would not be low, at the very least, they had a chance—a much greater chance of obtaining one than if they were an outsider.

If news of this matter were to spread, it would no doubt cause a commotion in the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. Even the neighboring kingdoms and empires might be affected.

Shi Feng faked a cough to silence the excited crowd before him. He then said, "Alright, now that that's dealt with, once you sign the contracts, you all will start researching this item together," and took out a thick book from his bag.

This book was none other than the Four Towers of Elements Design, which he had obtained from the Fallen Ark.

Chapter 1528 - Hidden Promotion Condition

When Shi Feng revealed the thick tome, the architects' eyes glowed.

"This is...an Advanced Construction Design!"

Ordinary players might not understand what kind of design Shi Feng had shown them, but these weren't ordinary players; they stood at the apex of Star-Moon Kingdom's architects.

An ordinary construction design only consisted of several sheets of paper. Meanwhile, designs with enough pages to become books were Advanced Construction Designs. The thicker the book was, the more difficult the design would be to construct. Unlike the buildings in the real world, God's Domain's Advanced Constructions required Secret Runes and Magic Arrays. If these were imperfect in the slightest way and couldn't connect, they wouldn't function and would have to be redrawn.

Fortunately, the entire pattern wouldn't need to be redrawn if mistakes occurred with some runes or arrays. Players simply needed to rework the failed symbols and sacrifice a few extra materials. However, since the necessary materials were precious, the Guild would feel a slight sting in its pockets if an architect failed too many times.

Meanwhile, what truly excited these architects was the fact that every Advanced Construction Design had a unique set of Secret Runes for players to learn. Learning these Secret Runes would help them when they designed their own in the future. They would then have an easier time climbing to the Master rank.

"Guild Leader, while we can complete the foundation of the Four Towers of Elements, I'm afraid the magic arrays for the core part are too complex. They are at least Advanced Magic Arrays. We aren't capable of drawing them right now..." After taking a look through the Elemental Towers' design, Happy Mo discovered the design's most challenging aspect.

Although they frequently researched magic arrays, they were only capable of completing Basic Magic Arrays at the moment. They were still some time from being able to draw Intermediate Magic Arrays. Meanwhile, the Four Towers of Elements' core required Advanced Magic Arrays, which were used to harvest energy within the Seven Luminaries Crystals.

Architects of their rank weren't yet capable of achieving this feat.

"Your task is to build the towers' foundations. I'll draw the magic arrays for the cores. You just need to deal with the Secret Runes and Magic Circuits," Shi Feng explained.

"You'll draw them, Guild Leader?" The Lifestyle players were stunned when they heard Shi Feng's plan. They stared at the man as if he were a monster.

Not only was Shi Feng a Master Forger, but he could also draw Advanced Magic Arrays. How were they supposed to compare to someone like this?

What these players didn't realize was that players had to learn to draw magic arrays to develop their subclasses. In the past, players had only discovered this fact after reaching Level 100. Regardless of the subclass, players would encounter magic arrays as they increased their Lifestyle ranks. Only, the difficulty varied depending on the subclass.

For example, forgers, alchemists, and engineers needed to be able to draw Intermediate Magic Arrays at the very minimum if they wanted to reach the Master rank. The requirement was even higher to become a Grandmaster. When crafting a higher-quality item, the production process would require more Mana. Without a magic array to help guide the Mana to the item, the production process would fail.

Because of this, the various large Guilds fought over the rare Magic Array Designs, particularly the high-ranked ones. This was also why powerful Lifestyle players preferred to join powerful Guilds. As an individual, not only was it difficult to obtain high-quality materials in large quantities, but it was also extremely difficult to collect a large variety of Magic Array Designs. Such a task required sufficient strength and a large number of players.

This was the reason that the various kingdoms and empires restricted the circulation of Magic Array Designs.

Aside from the Four Towers of Elements Design, Shi Feng had also revealed the Advanced Restaurant Design and instructed the Advanced Architects to research it together. With this, they could improve their Secret Rune standards far more quickly and complete the Four Towers of Elements with more precision.

Seeing this, the other architects present could not help their envy. Now, they were even more eager to reach Advanced rank. After all, there was a massive difference between the amount of GCPs they could obtain from constructing an Advanced Construction and a Basic Construction.

Moreover, Shi Feng had stated that as long as they qualified and had enough GCPs, they could purchase a private house in Zero Wing City.

Following which, every architect went into action.

While the Advanced Architects focused on the Four Towers of Elements, the other architects focused on the hotels, bars, private houses, Shops, the Battle Arena, and other Basic Constructions.

...

Elsewhere, Shi Feng published the news of Zero Wing City on Star-Moon Kingdom's official forums. After all, the city wouldn't remain a secret for long, and with how massive Zero Wing had become, the Guild certainly had quite a few spies among its ranks. Rather than letting only the other Guilds in on the secret, it was more beneficial to announce it to the kingdom, increasing the city and Guild's fame.

When the information went public, a sensation swept through the kingdom.

The spectacular view from the city alone was mesmerizing, not to mention its functions.

However, players were more excited about the city's Mana density.

"The city's Mana density is so high even without any Magic Towers?"

"With this, Zero Wing will definitely rise in God's Domain. Once Zero Wing finishes constructing Magic Towers, the city's Mana density will be even higher than in Stone Forest Town."

"But why is Zero Wing City constructed in Witch's Hill? Although the average levels of the area's maps are quite high, their resources are average at best. They chose a far better location for Stone Forest Town."

"Zero Wing might have other reasons. Just look at Witch's Hill. It has the high-level resource map, Shadow Forest, and the hell Mode Regional Dungeon, Mournful Ruins. When players reach Level 60, Witch's Hill will be a prime leveling spot."

"I wonder when Zero Wing will open its city to the public?"

"That's right! When is Zero Wing going to open the city?!"

"It would be great if our adventurer team can garrison in Zero Wing City. Hopefully, the private houses won't be too expensive."

Although Shi Feng had only released a small amount of information, it was enough to stir players' interest.

When the various large Guilds saw Shi Feng's post, some celebrated, while others wept. Those who celebrated were the Guilds whom the city couldn't threaten right now. After all, God's Domain's mainstream players were still some distance from Level 40. It would still be some time before mainstream players would head to Level 50-70 areas like Witch's Hill to develop.

Once players reached Level 50, Zero Wing City would become a disaster.

"Gather more manpower immediately! We need to earn as many Contribution Points as possible during Bewildering Forest Town's defense!"

For a time, the various large Guilds assembled and dispatched their forces to Bewildering Forest Town.

If their Guilds wished to develop quickly, they had to deal with their lack of Mounts as quickly as possible. Bewildering Forest Town's defense was the best opportunity to do so.

As a result, more players flooded to the already-crowded town. Among the new arrivals, the lowest level was Level 40, while the majority were Level 42 and 43.

As one large Guild after another arrived with its forces in Bewildering Forest Town, many of the independent players, who were there to earn some Contribution Points, were amazed.

Expert players, which were normally difficult to encounter, swarmed the town. Their equipment was simply blinding. Normally, players in full Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment attracted a lot of attention, but now, these players were a dime a dozen. In fact, they barely attracted any attention.

Many of the players who had come to Bewildering Forest Town wore full sets of Level 45 Dark-Gold Equipment, but some even wielded weapons and equipment that radiated the Epic rank glow effect.

Among the various large Guilds that had arrived, one Guild stood out. Upon this Guild's arrival, the other Guilds in the Teleportation Hall opened a path for its members. Not only were these Guild members' levels quite high, but the other Guilds' upper echelons also drooled over their equipment. In addition, every one of these players sat comfortably atop their Mounts, with the majority riding pitch-black warhorses. These players also wore a black cape draped over their shoulders. As they moved, they looked like a well-trained army.

The several dozen players leading this group even rode Bronze rank and above Mounts. Compared to these players, the other Guilds' members looked like hoodlums.

"What Guild is that? It's so amazing!"

"Have you never been to a neutral map outside of Star-Moon Kingdom? You don't know about Heaven's Burial?"

"Heaven's Burial?! How is this possible?! I remember that Heaven's Burial suffered a devastating defeat when it tried to compete with Zero Wing for the position of number one Guild. How does it have so many high-level members? They even have Mounts!"

"You must've never been to a neutral map before, then. After Zero Wing defeated the Guild, Heaven's Burial shifted its focus. Now, it thrives in neutral maps. Have you heard of Bonewind Town?"

"I've heard of it. I think it's one of the three Orc Towns players captured after the Orc Empire's rise."

"Let me tell you, then. Heaven's Burial is the Guild that captured Bonewind Town. Because of that, a large corporation decided to invest in the Guild. Heaven's Burial used those investments to recruit a large number of experts and well-known Workshops from other kingdoms and empires. Now, the Guild's strength has reached a new level. If Heaven's Burial clashed with Zero Wing in the fields now, it might have a chance of victory."

As the crowd discussed Heaven's Burial, another series of flashes illuminated Bewildering Forest Town's Teleportation Hall. Unlike Heaven's Burial's members, however, none of these players rode Mounts. But despite standing there quietly, the crowd couldn't help but turn towards them.

"Look! Zero Wing's members are here!"

Chapter 1529 - War between Countries

As Zero Wing's members teleported into Bewildering Forest Town, their arrival caused a commotion that swept through the town.

"Zero Wing's members have arrived?"

"What a powerful aura! As expected from Star-Moon Kingdom's number one Guild!"

"What?! Black Flame is here, too?!"

...

As Bewildering Forest Town's players watched Zero Wing's team approach the town's ramparts, they unconsciously moved aside, opening a path for these experts.

"Guild Leader, Zero Wing's members are so high-leveled! They're all Level 45 and above!" The Star Alliance's Flourishing Willow couldn't help but gape at Zero Wing's team. "Wait, look! There are Level 50 players among them! Aqua Rose and the other dozen or so core members are actually over Level 50!"

Flourishing Willow was a top-tier expert in the Star Alliance, and she had been leveling quickly in a neutral map, reaching Level 47. Based on her calculations, she could rank among Star-Moon Kingdom's top 20 players, and that included the players who hid their levels.

However, she had never imagined that the Zero Wing had would have several dozen players that had higher levels than hers. Among them, over a dozen players were above Level 50...

"Level 50?" Galaxy Past, who stood beside Flourishing Willow, turned to look at Shi Feng and his team. This news was truly surprising. "What about Black Flame's level?"

He did not doubt Flourishing Willow's words in the slightest. Although Zero Wing's members wore Black Cloaks and hid their levels, Flourishing Willow had learned a super-rare Identification Skill that could see through a Black Cloak's concealment.

Level 50 was a significant threshold for players. Not only would weapons and equipment's quality spike, but players could also challenge their Tier 2 Promotion Quests.

There was no doubt that Zero Wing's members had already begun to challenge these quests. Given enough time, they could even start raiding Level 50, 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons and super-large-scale Team Dungeons. It was what all the various large Guilds focused on right now. It was relevant to their Guilds' development due to the various special construction designs and Construction Upgrade Orders that dropped from these Dungeons.

"I can't see it..." Flourishing Willow said, shaking her head. "I don't know why, but when I try to inspect him with my Skill, all I get is an 'Unknown.' Black Flame must have a high-rank concealment tool on him. At most, my Skill can see through ordinary concealment tools."

"As expected of the individual even the Secret Pavilion takes care around, but at least we know a portion of Zero Wing's strength."

Galaxy Past could not help his rueful sigh. He truly found it hard to imagine that in just a few short months, Black Flame and Zero Wing would transform from unknown existences into Star-Moon Kingdom's current giant. He shot Heaven's Burial's members a glance as they took their positions on another section of the town's ramparts.

Galaxy Past had to admit that Star-Moon Kingdom was an ominous area. Not only had it given birth to an existence like Zero Wing, but it had also been the birthplace of Heaven's Burial. For a while now, Heaven's Burial had enjoyed great success in the Orc Empire's neutral maps. Now that it had the financial support of a large corporation, its overall strength even exceeded first-rate Guilds' like the Star Alliance.

With Zero Wing and Heaven's Burial fighting over Star-Moon Kingdom, Galaxy Past had been forced to give up on his endeavors in the kingdom, shifting his focus to different kingdoms. If the Star Alliance had continued to compete with these two Guilds, it might not even retain its status as a first-rate Guild by the end of the year.

...

Meanwhile, on Heaven's Burial's side of the rampart...

"Guild Leader Singular, is that the Zero Wing you mentioned earlier?" a muscular man with a blood-red cape and a whitebone scimitar on his back asked as he watched Shi Feng and the others.

"Mhm." Singular Burial nodded.

"It's no wonder why Zero Wing can thrive in Star-Moon Kingdom. It has so many Level 45-plus players. Their team can practically rival a super-first-rate Guild's main force," the muscular man said, smiling. "Guild Leader Singular, why don't we use this opportunity to annihilate their group?"

If Star-Moon Kingdom's players heard this muscular man's question, he'd be labeled a fool.

However, when Heaven's Burial's members heard the man's words, their response was matter-of-fact.

"Young Master Lei, please don't act so rashly. The city's defense is our current goal. We'll have plenty of opportunities to take care of Zero Wing in the future," Singular Burial hurriedly stated. "Zero Wing won't be able to continue prancing around for much longer."

The muscular man before him was none other than Lei Jingyang, the heir of the corporation backing Heaven's Burial. He was also the virtual gaming world's famous Young Master Lei. Lei Jingyang had established the Thunder Workshop, one of the top Workshops in the virtual gaming world. Super-first-rate and Super Guilds even commissioned the Thunder Workshop's help on occasion.

Although the Thunder Workshop only had several hundred members, every member was an expert Lei Jingyang had personally poached from various organizations. The Thunder Workshop had also performed miracles in multiple virtual reality games and stood against Super Guilds. At one point, numerous super-first-rate and Super Guilds had even entertained the idea of taking out the Workshop.

However, Lei Jingyang's identity was extraordinary. Considering that and how powerful the Thunder Workshop was, these superpowers eventually dismissed this notion.

Once Lei Jingyang had joined God's Domain, he had become unstoppable. With the support of his corporation, he quickly increased his Workshop's member count to several thousand and achieved plenty of feats in the Fire Dragon Empire, one of the Four Great Empires in God's Domain.

Naturally, Lei Jingyang earned his arrogance, even when facing Zero Wing.

Singular Burial was absolutely certain that if he didn't stop Lei Jingyang now, Bewildering Forest Town would become a bloodbath later.

"Alright. But if Zero Wing gets too close, don't blame me for killing a few of them," Lei Jingyang said, fighting spirit flashing in his eyes as he scanned Shi Feng's group.

Singular Burial was speechless when he saw Lei Lingyang's excitement. He knew that this man wasn't specifically targeting Zero Wing. He simply wanted to fight its experts. His attitude was well-known in the virtual gaming world. In fact, Lei Jingyang had even challenged a Super Guild's Guild Leader in the past.

...

Meanwhile, as Shi Feng led Zero Wing's members to one of the massive ramparts around Bewildering Forest Town, he noticed Heaven's Burial, a little surprised by what he saw.

"Guild Leader, is there something peculiar over there?" Fire Dance asked when she noticed Shi Feng staring at Lei Jingyang's group.

"It's nothing. I just realized how deep Heaven's Burial's roots are," Shi Feng said, chuckling. After one last look at Lei Jingyang, he stopped caring about Heaven's Burial's group entirely.

He knew something about Lei Jingyang. In the past, the man had been known as the Tempest Wargod in God's Domain. Backed by the corporation behind him, Thor's Hammer, the Guild he established in God's Domain, had gained public recognition as a super-first-rate Guild just three years after its creation. Shi Feng had never expected to find this man among Heaven's Burial's people.

...

Just as everyone quietly observed the various major powers in Bewildering Forest Town, the sky above and around the town abruptly darkened. Suddenly, thousands of Orcs began to march out of the forest a short distance away from the town. For a moment, the combined bloodlust the Orcs radiated caused the players standing on the town's ramparts to shudder involuntarily. Moreover, these Orcs were all above Level 40, with the highest at Level 65. There was no lack of Grand Lord ranked Orcs amidst the army, either.

"What is this?" The scene stupefied every player watching.

In this moment, the players on the ramparts finally understood what war truly meant. Even Zero Wing's members, who had taken part in multiple siege wars, could not help their shock.

The siege wars they had experienced were a joke compared to the force they were about to face. In the face of this Orc army, even 500,000 Evil Beasts would be child's play.

Unlike the Evil Beast army, these Orcs moved in well-organized rows. Even from afar, one could see the clear division between the Orcs' frontliners, healers, and ranged attackers. More importantly, the Orcs dragged siege weapons, such as Catapults and Battering Rams, with them. At a glance, there were easily over a hundred Catapults lining up at the edge of the forest.

Such a force even surprised Aqua Rose and Zero Wing's other main force members, who had experienced hundreds of fierce battles.

This was nothing like the monster siege they had imagined.

Before the defending players could wrap their minds around the situation, sounds of warhorns rang out from the forest. Immediately, the Orcs began to surge from the forest's edge fervently. Every one of them had gained a status buff...

Chapter 1530 - Despairing Gap

"Why are there so many monsters?"

"Is this really a monster siege? Why does it feel more like a war between NPCs?"

"Quick, look! The NPC soldiers' levels have dropped!"

Everyone felt their scalps tingle as they watched the tsunami of Orcs surge out of the forest. Before they realized it, the Level 100-plus NPC soldiers defending Bewildering Forest Town had fallen to Level 70. Even the guard captains fell to Level 75.

Seeing this, everyone felt a chill grip their hearts.

Level 70-plus NPCs would only have a small advantage over the Level 60-plus Orcs. Trying to defend the town with just a little over 2,000 NPCs would be a dream.

As a result, the various large Guilds' original plan to rely on the NPCs shattered.

"Guild Leader, there are too many Orcs. It's impossible to stop them with Bewildering Forest Town's current defenses. Should we retreat?" Flourishing Willow's expression darkened after she inspected the Orc army with her Identification Skill.

The weakest of these Orcs was a Level 40 Special Elite. There were also a large number of Great Lord ranked Orc Warriors and Grand Lord ranked Orc Captains. Most importantly, this army was marching towards the town from three different directions, and Level 65 Mythic ranked Orc Generals led the siege on each side.

This level of combat power simply could not be stopped by a weakened town's defenses. The only defensive structures the town had were Arrow Towers, which were far weaker than Catapults. In such a situation, trying to stop several million Orcs with 300,000-plus elite players was a joke.

"Let's wait and see. If victory is impossible, we'll retreat." Even Galaxy Past felt the building pressure.

He had assumed that this battle would devolve into a struggle for Boss kills, but just defending the town against the low-ranking Orcs would be a miracle, much less trying to compete for the Mythic Bosses. Whoever tried to fight the Bosses while surrounded by so many Orcs would be begging for death.

The other Guilds also adopted a wait-and-see attitude.

Suddenly, over a hundred, massive fireballs began to rain down on Bewildering Forest Town.

"Crap! Dodge the attacks!" the various Guilds' upper echelons shouted, their expressions darkening when they saw the fireballs.

The fireballs had come from the distant Catapults. If players were struck by the Catapults' attacks, there would only be one outcome—death!

Although players tried to move out of the attack's trajectory, over 300,000 players had gathered in Bewildering Forest Town. The town was so cramped that even normal movement was difficult. As a result, these players could only watch as the massive fireballs descended.

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

A series of explosions echoed throughout Bewildering Forest Town.

Before the fireballs struck the town, the town's defensive magic array stopped and scattered the attack. However, as a result of the explosions, the barrier shook violently and began to crack. Fortunately, due to its supply of Mana, it recovered quickly.

Everyone in the town breathed a sigh of relief. Had the 100-plus fireballs landed, the consequences would've been unimaginable.

However, as the magic barrier dealt with the fireballs, the Orcs and their Battering Rams reached the edge of the barrier outside of the town's ramparts. They attacked. As a considerably fortified town, magic runes strengthened the town's ramparts, and these walls could take more punishment than the magic barrier. However, the Orcs' Battering Rams specialized in breaking down walls and gates.

Sure enough, the Battering Rams' magical pikes pierced the magic barrier and struck the wall around the town, leaving multiple marks.

"Everyone, focus on the Orc's Battering Rams! Do not let them break through the town's magic arrays and walls!" the various upper echelons shouted.

Reacting immediately, players launched their attacks from atop the town's walls, raining down countless arrows and Spells on the Orcs below. However, as if some barrier protected the Battering Rams and reduced incoming damage, the attacks only dealt several hundred damage. Very few players dealt over -1,000 damage.

This amount of damage barely affected the Special Elite ranked Orcs, who had several hundred thousand HP, much less the Chieftain, Lord, and Great Lord ranked Orcs, whose HPs were in the millions.

Even when the players launched large-scale destruction Spells and AOEs, the effects weren't ideal. At most, these attacks removed some of the Special Elites. The Chieftains and above were still alive and kicking even after the bombardment. As a result, the magic barrier's energy reserves steadily decreased.

Although the Orcs' attacks were within the range of the defensive magic array's endurance, the large number of Orc attacks quickly depleted the magic barrier's energy reserves. Furthermore, the Battering Rams' relentless attacks had already begun to crack the town's walls.

In contrast, the defending players had only eliminated a small fraction of the army despite their constant assault. The Orc army still covered the plains around the town as far as the eye could see. The Catapults constant bombardment also illuminated the night sky above Bewildering Forest Town.

...

"Young Master Lei, at this rate, it is only a matter of time before the Orcs break through the town's defensive magic array and ramparts. Once the Orcs enter the town, the town's teleportation arrays will shut down. I suggest that we retreat," Singular Burial said, frowning as he watched the Orcs below the ramparts. "It is impossible for current players to complete this defensive quest."

Just the Orc Warriors and Captains before them were discouraging, let alone the Mythic ranked Orc Generals who were slowing approaching.

Aside from their numbers, the Orcs had a buff that reduced all incoming damage. Even if several thousand players attacked a single Great Lord together, they would need a considerable amount of time to defeat it.

"Alright, let's retreat."

When Lei Jingyang noticed that the various large Guilds had begun to flee, he shook his head helplessly. He might be a battle maniac, but he was no fool. He could tell that the Main God System had never had any intention of letting players succeed in this defensive battle. Otherwise, the system wouldn't have weakened the Level 100-plus NPC soldiers. Continuing this fight would be futile.

...

"Guild Leader, Heaven's Burial has begun to retreat," Flourishing Willow reported.

"It seems that this war is lost. Let's leave as well," Galaxy Past said. As Galaxy Past gave the command to retreat, however, something caught his attention. "Hm?"

Surprisingly, even after the various large Guilds had begun to flee, Zero Wing's members continued their zealous assault against the attacking Orcs and Battering Rams. The team's clearing speed was far superior to the other large Guilds as every member dealt over -1,000 damage. Some of Zero Wing's players even dealt several thousand damage with each attack.

"They're staying?" Galaxy Past watched Zero Wing's members in confusion.

Currently, less than 100,000 players remained in Bewildering Forest Town. Moreover, more players fled with each passing second, yet Zero Wing's members had chosen not to retreat and continued to attack even though the town's defensive magic array and walls could shatter at any minute.

...

"Zero Wing still acts so tough even now?" Lei Jingyang, who currently stood below the town's walls, revealed a contemptuous sneer as he watched Shi Feng, who remained on the ramparts. "Just for the sake of keeping up appearances as the number one Guild, he's ordered his Guild members to throw away their lives. It seems that Zero Wing isn't as impressive as they say."

In his opinion, Zero Wing was merely trying to maintain its reputation as Star-Moon Kingdom's number one Guild, being the last Guild to leave the battle.

"Do they really think they can perform some miracle with just 1,000 players? Young Master Lei, let's leave." Singular Burial laughed as he moved towards the town's Teleportation Hall.

Following which, one Guild after another left the town. In minutes, only Zero Wing remained.

...

"Guild Leader, the other Guilds have left," Aqua Rose reported as she inspected Bewildering Forest Town's situation. Only Zero Wing's members occupied the town.

"Good. Let's begin." Shi Feng then turned to Cola beside him, and said, "Cola, Turtledove, Ye Wumian, you three will be the lead MTs. We're targeting the Orc Warlord!"

Although he did not have any experience dealing with Orcs' sieges, he had watched several videos of such in the past. The fact that the Orcs had dispatched this massive of a force to deal with Bewildering Forest Town didn't surprise him in the least. In fact, he had expected it. After all, this was a war between countries. It wouldn't be unexpected if the battle dragged on for several days.

However, there was a method to end this war swiftly: slay the enemy commander. This method might be difficult for other Guilds, as even approaching the enemy commander was nearly impossible, but it wouldn't be difficult for him.

Following which, Shi Feng activated Spatial Gate, aiming for the Orc army's temporary base of operations at the army's rear.

Chapter 1531 - Kingdom Upheaval

After the various large Guilds and adventurer teams had retreated from Bewildering Forest Town, players heatedly discussed the Orc siege on Star-Moon Kingdom's official forums.

The uploaded recordings of the siege war shocked everyone in the kingdom.

Although the various large Guilds frequently clashed, with some even waging large-scale wars against each other, there was simply no comparing those battles with the Orc army's assault. The difference between them was like the difference between heaven and earth. The recordings were enough to showcase the Orc army's intense bloodlust.

"With so many Orcs in that army, it seems Bewildering Forest Town is doomed. I wonder if the Orcs will continue on and attack another location?"

"I doubt that. This should be some kind of system event. If the Orc army goes on to capture other towns in Star-Moon Kingdom and weakens those NPCs, Star-Moon Kingdom is doomed."

"You can't say that for sure. As soon as the Empire's Rise expansion pack took effect, the Orc Empire invaded and took over a portion of the several neighboring kingdoms and empires' land as well."

"I guess so. If that is the case, the neighboring towns are in trouble. What Guild could possibly hold off so many Orcs? I've heard that every Guild in Bewildering Forest Town has retreated. Not even a 300,000-plus elite army can stop the Orcs now."

"No, that's not entirely true. I've heard that Zero Wing is still fighting in Bewildering Forest Town right now."

"Zero Wing? Don't get your hopes up. Zero Wing's only sent a 1,000 players to the town. They're simply trying to put on an act. There aren't even enough of them to serve as a snack for the Orcs. Who knows? They might have retreated by now."

"No. Based on what I've just heard from Zero Wing's members, the team is still there. Moreover, the players Zero Wing dispatched are members of its main force."

"Maybe they're trying to grind EXP? After all, there are plenty of Orcs there. A single large-scale destruction Spell could easily damage over a hundred Orcs. Also, among those Orcs, even the weakest is a Level 40 Special Elite. From what I've heard, they seem to give a lot of EXP. The only problem is the buff they have that reduces the majority of the damage they receive."

Some players were excited about the Orc siege, while others were anxious. On the one hand, the Orc invasion meant more opportunities to earn Contribution Points. However, to the players operating around the towns close to Bewildering Forest Town, the town's fall meant that their towns could be the next target. If their towns fell to the Orcs, then all of the effort they've put into building the town's foundations would go to waste. This was especially true for Guilds that occupied these towns.

...

"Zero Wing's members are still there?" Singular Burial, who had returned to Star-Moon City, revealed a confused expression when he heard the report from his subordinate.

In his opinion, Zero Wing had been putting on an act. After all, the Orc siege simply wasn't something current players could defend against.

"Guild Leader Singular, just ignore Zero Wing. Although we didn't gain many Guild Honor Points or Guild Influence, it doesn't significantly affect our plans. Our main priority now is the recently discovered Ancient Rock City. Once we take down the Orc Empire's Ancient Rock City, Heaven's Burial will dominate the several neighboring kingdoms, let alone Star-Moon Kingdom," Lei Jingyang said, laughing. "Didn't you mention that Flame Blood's team is ready? When will we take action?"

"Flame Blood's side is ready, but we don't have enough Guild Honor Points. With the amount we have, we can only hire 5,000 mercenaries. Had we successfully defended Bewildering Forest Town, we might've been able to hire 8,000 mercenaries. It would've been enough to guarantee our success in capturing Ancient Rock City," Singular Burial said, sighing.

Due to the Orc Empire's rise, the empire had taken over neutral maps in its neighboring kingdom. Moreover, several ancient towns and cities, which had belonged to the Orc Empire in the past, had reemerged, including Ancient Rock City.

All of the Orc Empire's towns and cities could be captured. Although players couldn't gain complete control[1] of these towns and cities after capturing them, they could modify and develop them.

Moreover, due to the Orc Empire, the various large Guilds and independent players were all grinding for Guild Honor Points and Contribution Points so that they could purchase Mounts and other rare items. Meanwhile, Ancient Rock City's location in the Orc Empire's inner region was a good place to grind for these points. The city was also near several ancient ruins.

If they could capture the city, players from the neighboring kingdoms would flock to the city and use it as a temporary base. With the potential wealth and resources Ancient Rock City could generate, Heaven's Burial could become the number one Guild in the neighboring kingdoms.

In comparison, Star-Moon Kingdom's Zero Wing City would be a joke.

"That should be enough. We can't give Beast Emperor 20% of the profits for nothing. That old fellow should put some effort into the siege as well," Lei Jingyang said.

In reality, Lei Jingyang disliked Beast Emperor. The old man only knew how to move around like a sneaky rat.

However, Lei Jingyang had to admit that Beast Emperor commanded incredibly formidable combat power. He had also secretly taken control of several large Guilds. He even had the support of several major corporations. Recently, he had gained the support of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion's Nine Dragon Emperor as well.

Although their goals in God's Domain didn't necessarily align, they wouldn't clash, either.

"Alright, then. I'll notify Flame Blood. But I've heard that Beast Emperor's situation has reached a critical point. He might not necessarily come to help." Singular Burial nodded.

Although he had allied himself with Beast Emperor, they focused on their own matters. Had Beast Emperor given him full support, he wouldn't have had so much trouble gathering Contribution Points in the first place.

...

Back in Bewildering Forest Town, Zero Wing's members surged through the spacial tear Shi Feng had created by activating Spatial Gate. In seconds, they appeared before the entrance of a temporary camp in the middle of a forest.

"Guild Leader, this..."

When Aqua Rose emerged from the Spatial Gate, she noticed that the Orcs inside the massive camp were Level 60-plus. In addition, they were all Chieftain rank or above. At a glance, she counted well over 1,000 Orcs. Four Grand Lord ranked Orc Captains guarded the camp's entrance.

Meanwhile, a massive Orc in pitch-black armor with a saber at his waist sat in the large tent in the center of the camp. When Zero Wing's members saw the Orc's statistics, their minds blanked.

...

[Orc Warlord] (Humanoid Creature, Mythic)
Level 66
HP 400,000,000/400,000,000

...

Aside from the Orc Warlord's 400,000,000 HP, it had a total of five HP bars. This meant that the Orc Warlord's combat standards could rival that of a fifth-floor Trial Tower expert.

Rather than a preemptive strike, they were throwing themselves into death's embrace.

The Orcs in the base camp quickly noticed the arrival of Zero Wing's members. They roared and sounded their warhorns, notifying the distant Orc Army that they had been ambushed and needed reinforcements.

The four Orc Captains guarding the base camp unsheathed their weapons and attacked alongside the other Orcs.

Meanwhile, the Orc Warlord slowly made its way towards Shi Feng and his companions, gazing at the players as if they were pests.

"Cola, you three get ready to tank the monsters! Everyone, defensive formations!" The welcoming party didn't particularly surprise Shi Feng. This was the Orc army's main headquarters. It was only natural that it was well fortified. If it were so easy to ambush and destroy, the country-level wars wouldn't have lasted several days.

Fortunately, the Orc Empire's invasion wasn't the same as a war between NPC countries. The Orc Empire did not have players' help, so they could launch ambush tactics without worrying about enemy players.

Hearing Shi Feng's command, the MT trio gritted their teeth and pulled the approaching monsters' aggro.

Very quickly, Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian each took on an Orc Captain, while Solitary Nine and Dark Madness took on the last Orc Captain.

However, since the MTs also had to dodge attacks from the lower-ranked Orcs, they struggled to dodge the Orc Captains' attacks. Unlike the Savage Orcs on Thunder Island, these Orcs were skilled and organized as they split into groups of front-liners, ranged attackers, and healers.

The Orcs also had an overwhelming advantage in terms of total damage output. Although Zero Wing's members could deal over -10,000 damage with each attack, every Orc here had millions of HP. The Orc healers in the rear could also heal their allies for tens of thousands of HP with each Healing Spell.

"Guild Leader! The Orc Warlord is coming!" Cola anxiously announced as he watched the Mythic Boss approach. For a moment, he wondered if they had bit off more than they could chew this time.

Hearing Cola's announcement, everyone on the team promptly turned to look at the Orc Warlord. Immediately, they felt a stifling sensation as a heavy pressure weighed down on them.

Chapter 1532 - Might of a Tier 4 Existence

As the Orc Warlord moved closer to the team, everyone felt the pressure increase. It felt as if an invisible domain had enveloped the area.

Suddenly, Zero Wing's players felt as if something had wrapped around them, binding them and making their movements sluggish.

This Orc Warlord is capable of using a Domain?! The sudden development surprised Shi Feng.

Domain Skills were Tier 4 existences' signature moves. They were extremely effective in group battles. Normally, Tier 4 monsters rarely possessed a Domain Skill, but monsters that did were players' nightmares.

The gap in Attributes between players and monsters was already vast. If players' Attributes were suppressed even further, they would be massacred.

Although the Orc Warlord's Domain Skill was not particularly strong, and it only decreased their Movement and Attack Speeds by around 30%, in a battle that permitted no mistakes, the slightest reduction to their combat power could result in a fatality.

Sure enough, Cola and the other MTs began to lose HP far more quickly after the Orc Warlord activated its Domain. The attacks that they had no issue blocking and dodging became impossible to deal with. In the end, they were only able to maintain their HP around the 50% threshold.

The other melee players faced a similar situation, their HPs decreasing so quickly that the healers couldn't keep up. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before players began to die.

"Violet, use Holy Prayer! Everyone, gather the Orcs! Ranged players, focus on the Orcs that split away from the group! Don't let them fight on separate fronts!" Shi Feng commanded.

The Orcs' HPs were already significantly higher than theirs. With the monsters' superior healing, the team would be overwhelmed if they tried to fight the Orcs separately.

Violet Cloud immediately released the Tier 2 Spell, Holy Prayer, which she had prepared ahead of time.

A brilliant radiance tore through the dusky sky and shone down on Zero Wing's members. The Spell instantly healed all allies within a 50-yard radius of Violet Cloud for over 3,000 HP per second. At the same time, all allies within range received the Holy Protection buff, removing all debuffs and decreasing incoming damage by 20%. Meanwhile, Holy Prayer had a 1-minute duration and 20-minute Cooldown.

When this Spell descended on the team, these players were immediately freed from the Orc Warlord's Domain Skill. Not only did it become easier to deal with the Orcs' attacks, but their HPs also recovered at a visible rate.

"What a powerful Healing Spell!" Aqua Rose exclaimed in surprise when she saw the team steadily gain the upper hand over the Orcs.

While a 20% damage reduction might not seem like much, the buff was strikingly effective for the melee players tanking on the frontline. Moreover, as the pressure on the healers lifted, they could focus on healing the MTs. The other melee players lost their fear of insufficient healing as they herded the Orcs into a single group.

"Guild Leader, we've gathered most of them!" Fire Dance shouted after pushing the last few Great Lords into the group.

"Good!" When Shi Feng saw that his allies had cornered the majority of the Orcs at the base camp's entrance, he used the Aura of Time's Forbidden Domain.

Suddenly, black mist covered 500 yards around Shi Feng, enveloping every Orc in the base camp. In turn, the Orcs could no longer use Skills or Spells.

"Everyone, attack with everything you've got!" Shi Feng shouted.

Although the Forbidden Domain was not as useful against monsters as it was against players, Zero Wing's team could use large-scale destruction Spells to their maximum potential as long as it stopped the Orcs from healing.

However, as everyone prepared to cast their large-scale destruction Spells and AOEs, the Orc Warlord in the camp released a furious bellow. It then unsheathed the saber from its waist and swung the weapon in a downward arc.

Before anyone could react, an arc of energy shot forward, extending up to 200 yards and gouging the ground. Any player in the beam's path died instantly.

"It's too strong!" Zero Wing's players gasped.

There was no way to fight the Orc Warlord!

Not only was the Orc Warlord frighteningly powerful, but it was also far faster than these players could react.

"So fast!"

When Cola saw two of his fellow MTs and a large number of melee players die to the Orc Warlord's attack, he was shocked. If that attack had hit him, he had no doubt that he would've suffered a similar fate. He would've likely only survived if he had activated his Lifesaving Skill and blocked the attack with his shield in time. However, the Orc Warlord's Attack Speed was too high. It took everything he had just to keep up with the Mythic Boss's saber with his eyes.

After the Orc Warlord's ranged attack, it dashed towards the base camp's entrance, leaving behind an afterimage.

"Guild Leader, the Orc Warlord is coming!" Aqua Rose reported anxiously. She was still in the middle of casting a large-scale destruction Spell and couldn't react to the Mythic Boss's charge.

If the Orc Warlord ran amuck in the middle of their team, it would do as much damage as releasing a tiger into a flock of sheep.

Although Cola and the other MTs wanted to stop the Orc Warlord, they had plenty of trouble dealing with the Orcs before them. If they allowed these Orcs to get past their blockade, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Sure enough, Forbidden Domain is barely effective against a Mythic monster. Shi Feng revealed a bitter smile as he watched the frenzied Orc Warlord.

Following which, Shi Feng took a Magic Scroll from his bag.

The moment he did so, the surrounding Mana changed. As if the Magic Scroll were a black hole, it sucked in the area's Mana. Sensing the change, the Orc Warlord, who had been charging into the group at the entrance, revealed a frightened expression as it turned and fled.

"You want to escape?" Shi Feng smiled when the Orc Warlord turned on its heel. "I've been waiting for this moment for a long time now."

Unlike the Skills and Spells players could learn or the Skills that came with weapons and equipment, those stored in Magic Scrolls could be activated by unfurling the paper and reciting a few basic incantations. There was no need for lengthy activation times.

Shortly after Shi Feng unfurled the Tier 4 Magic Scroll, the ground started to tremble.

Gray jets of air tore through the ground and rose up in the heart of the Orc base camp. Any Orc that came into contact with these jets instantly turned to stone. They could not dodge the rising attacks even if they tried.

Although the Orc Warlord had a godlike reaction speed, one of the jets still grazed the Mythic Boss. Instantly, it was paralyzed as it gradually transformed into a stone statue. At the same time, its HP began to fall rapidly.

Against Earthen Breath, the Chieftain ranked Orcs were nothing more than ants. Two seconds after their petrification, their bodies shattered into dust. The Lord ranked Orcs only managed to last five seconds before following their weaker companions into oblivion.

By the time Earthen Breath's 10-second duration ended, all Chieftain, Lord, and High Lord ranked Orcs in the base camp were dead. Although the Great Lords had survived, they had less than half of their HPs remaining. The Grand Lord ranked Orc Captains had only lost 20% of their HPs, but they were heavily injured. Not only had their combat power drastically decreased, but their Defense had also fallen.

As for the Orc Warlord, like the Orc Captains, it had only lost around 5% of its HP, but it was in a miserable state, and its combat power had significantly weakened.

Zero Wing's members were dumbfounded.

Shi Feng's aim with Earthen Breath had been impressively accurate. The Spell's AOE stopped just short of five yards from Cola and the other MTs, who blocked the base camp's entrance.

With just a single Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spell, he had turned the tide of battle. Only now did they understand why Shi Feng dared to assault the Orc army's base camp.

After Earthen Breath ended, less than 30 Orcs remained. Among them, over 20 were injured Great Lords with less than half of their HP remaining. With their 1,000-man team and without the other Orcs harassment, they could easily deal with the surviving Grand Lords and Great Lords.

"Use this opportunity to clear out the Orc Warriors! Cola, distract the Orc Warlord! Solitary, help take care of Cola's Orc Captain!" Shi Feng commanded as he spent 5,000 Magic Crystals to activate the Ring of Gospel's World Projection.

When World Projection activated, it dispelled the Orc Warlord's Domain Skill, and suppressed all enemies within a 3,000-yard radius, reducing their physiques by 30% and Basic Attributes by 20%.

This was not Thunder Island. Due to the island's restrictions, he hadn't been able to use the variety of tools in his possession.

Moreover, he was afraid of the Orc Warlord. If he had encountered it normally, he would've put as much distance between himself and the monster as possible, but after the contest on Thunder Island, he had gained a few cards that could give him a chance against the Mythic Orc.

Chapter 1533 - Supreme Attribute

When World Projection took effect, the injured Orcs were weakened once more.

The Great Lord and Grand Lord ranked Orcs promptly lost 20% of their Basic Attributes, while the Orc Warlord lost 10%. Although it was only a 10% decrease, the Orc Warlord had a maximum HP of 400,000,000. A loss of 40,000,000 HP alleviated a significant portion of the pressure the team faced.

Moreover, the Orcs did not merely lose HP. Their Strength and Agility had decreased as well.

With the Orcs' injuries, Solitary Nine and Dark Madness, who were still Tier 1 players, could easily take on an Orc Captain by themselves. Although the team's other MTs had lower attributes and weaker techniques than Solitary Nine and Dark Madness, they could still deal with the surviving Orc Warriors. When they blocked attacks, they only lost around 4,000 HP. To the MTs, who had over 45,000 HP on average, this amount of damage wasn't a threat.

As everyone thought that victory was within their reach, a blinding light illuminated the area.

Cola, who had been charging towards the Orc Warlord, flew backward over 20 yards, crashing into the ground. His HP fell rapidly, only stopping when it was close to the 50% threshold. At the same time, a damage of over -30,000 appeared above his head, stupefying his companions.

"Isn't this Mythic Orc a little too strong?!" Blackie exclaimed.

Despite its injuries and World Projection's suppression, the Orc Warlord could still destroy half of Cola's HP in a single attack. If the Orc Warlord were at its peak, wouldn't it kill the expert MT in one hit?

Before anyone could react, the Orc Warlord appeared before Cola and swung down its massive saber, giving the Guardian Knight no time to catch his breath.

"Don't think I'm that easy to get rid of!" Cola, who had just stood back up, shifted his shield before him and activated Protection Blessing.

Boom!

Cola was struck once again. This time, however, he was only forced back several steps and managed to stabilize his stance. His HP only fell by a little over 17,000

Seeing the MT still standing, the Orc Warlord swung its saber a second time. Just before the weapon struck Cola, however, a pale, golden glow enveloped the Guardian Knight. This was none other than Violet Cloud's Tier 2 Healing Spell, Advanced Heal. Instantly, Cola received over 24,000 HP, providing enough to endure another blow.

"Guild Leader, we can't continue the raid like this! The Orc Warlord's damage and speed are too high. Even if Cola activates his Lifesaving Skill, he won't be able to hold on for very long," Aqua Rose expressed her concern as she watched Cola, whose life hung on by a thread.

The Orc Warlord could already deal over -17,000 damage with a normal attack. When it used a Skill, it would devour nearly 40,000 of Cola's HP. If not for Protection Blessing, Cola would've died.

Even Lifeless Thorn and the other Asura members, who had raided a Mythic Boss before, paled when they saw the Orc Warlord's frightening damage.

They had been excited to take on another Mythic Boss, but after meeting this one, they were reminded of how powerful such monsters were. Their victory over the Titan Warrior had been a miracle.

Moreover, the Orc Warlord was different from the Titan Warrior. The Titan Warrior had been a Mechanical Lifeform, so its reactions had been slower. In return, though, its Defense and Magic Resistance had been extraordinary. On the other hand, the Orc Warlord was a creature of flesh and blood. Although it did not have a specific strength like the Titan Warrior, it didn't have any apparent weaknesses.

A Mythic Boss with no weaknesses was not a foe for current players. It might be possible to defeat one with an army of tens of thousands, but it was beyond a 1,000-man team.

The Titan Guard's effects are really impressive. In contrast, Shi Feng nodded in satisfaction as he watched Cola's HP rise and fall. Immediately, he took out the Bible of Darkness and summoned a Tier 3 Demon.

He wouldn't have dared to provoke a Mythic Boss on Thunder Island, but he had plenty of tools he could use here.

He was fully aware of how terrifying the Orc Warlord was. He had simply sent Cola to intercept the Boss alone to see how far the Guardian Knight could go with the Titan Guard. The results had exceeded his expectations. If any other Tier 2 MT stood in Cola's place, one of the Orc Warlord's normal attacks would likely kill them instantly. Even if they survived, they wouldn't have much HP left.

In the next moment, a Level 75, Tier 3 Red Demon emerged from the gates before Shi Feng. Due to Demon Ruler's buff, the Red Demon's maximum HP rose to 27,000,000.

"Cola, coordinate with the Red Demon to distract the Orc Warlord! Everyone else, clear out the other Orcs!" Shi Feng commanded.

With the Red Demon splitting the Orc Warlord's damage, the pressure Cola faced decreased significantly. The healers also had an easier time keeping Cola's MT above a safe threshold. The rest of the team, in response to Shi Feng's command, kept their guard up as they bombarded the rest of the Orcs.

Although the Orc Warriors were Great Lords, their injuries and the suppression dropped their overall combat power to below a Grand Lord's of the same level. Even a team of Zero Wing's elite members could deal with them now.

In less than ten minutes, all surviving Orc Warriors died, and the four Orc Captains were little more than flickering candlelight in the wind. It was only a matter of time before they fell as well.

However, when the Orc Captains were nearly dead, the sound of a warhorn echoed throughout the forest.

"What?! There are reinforcements?!" Blackie's expression darkened when he noticed a small Orc army emerge from the nearby forest.

Although there weren't as many incoming Orcs as there were in the army sieging Bewildering Forest Town, there were several thousand. A Level 65 Orc General lead the small force...

...

[Orc General] (Humanoid Creature, Mythic)
Level 65
HP 330,000,000/330,000,000

...

"Is this a joke...?"

"We're doomed... How is there another Mythic Boss?"

Everyone was speechless when they saw the approaching Orc General. The Orc Warlord was enough of a problem, yet now they had to deal with a Mythic ranked Orc General. They had lost any hope of victory now.

"Guild Leader, let's retreat. If the Orc reinforcements reach us, I'm afraid that we won't be able to escape," Aqua Rose urgently suggested.

"No. Their timing is perfect. Magic array team, on my mark!" Shi Feng stated as he shook his head. He had expected these reinforcements. Rather, it'd be strange if the Orcs didn't send reinforcements after realizing that the base camp was under attack. Only, he hadn't expected the reinforcements to arrive so quickly. "Everyone, gather around the Orc Warlord!"

Although Zero Wing's members didn't know what Shi Feng planned, they followed his command.

As the Orc reinforcements approached, the team grew nervous. They couldn't understand what Shi Feng intended. Their Guild Leader couldn't possibly have another Tier 4 large-scale destruction Magic Scroll, right?

When the Orc General was less than 50 yards away and raised its greatsword for an attack...

"Activate the magic array!" Shi Feng shouted.

Immediately, nine magical class players at the edge of the base camp unfurled the Magic Array Scrolls in their hands. These Magic Array Scrolls, which he had produced before returning to Bewildering Forest Town, would activate the Nine-star Polar Domain. However, unlike the Nine-star Polar Domain Magic Arrays he normally created, he had crafted this one with one of the four Elemental Sources he had obtained from the two Elemental Treasure Boxes from Sunset Forest.

Of the four Elemental Sources, he had used the only one that included one of the Three Supreme Attributes.

The Source of Illusion!

In God's Domain, the Three Supreme Attributes were superior to every other Attribute available. Elemental Weapons that had been crafted with an Elemental Source containing one of these Attributes would offer incredibly powerful Skills. On the market, such Elemental Weapons generally sold for twice the amount of a normal Elemental Weapon.

Hence, this Nine-star Polar Domain was stronger than the last one, which he had crafted with the Source of True Frost.

It would've been rather wasteful to use this Nine-star Polar Domain on a single Orc Warlord. Now that the Orc General had joined the fray, he could use this enhanced array to take out the Orc General as well.

As the nine magical class players activated the Nine-star Polar Domain, space within the base camp twisted and turned. Multiple, stacked magic arrays appeared above them. As these magic arrays appeared, a tremendous amount of Mana began to gather in the base camp. The Mana was so dense that it began to condense into liquid droplets.

As if space and time had frozen, no one in the camp could move. Even the peerless Mythic Orcs were petrified.

When the magic arrays completed, an illusory barrier spread out from the camp's center and encased the area.

Amazing! Truly amazing! So, this is what happens when you strengthen a magic array with one of the Three Supreme Elements.

Chapter 1534 - Fall of Mythics

As the Nine-star Polar Domain enveloped the Orc base camp, it split the approaching reinforcements into two groups. In the end, only the Orc General and a few Orc Warriors had entered the camp, whereas the majority of the reinforcing army was stuck outside of the illusory barrier.

No matter how much the Orc army outside attacked the barrier, their attacks dissipated into nothingness upon encountering it. Despite thousands of Orcs attacking the barrier simultaneously, it didn't even tremble.

This was the Source of Illusion's true power. Tier 3 attacks and below were utterly useless against the enhanced Nine-star Polar Domain. They wouldn't even deplete the magic array's energy reserves in the slightest. Only Tier 4 attacks could deal any damage, and even then, their damage would be limited and well within the array's tolerance range.

As for the Orcs inside the base camp, their movements had slowed quite a bit as if they had just stepped into a muddy swamp. When the Orc Warlord tried to attack Cola, in particular, everyone could now see its movements clearly.

Cola, who looked miserable, raised his shield to defend himself.

Peng!

After receiving the attack, Cola only needed to retreat by six steps before stabilizing his body. Despite not having any of his Lifesaving Skills active, he only lost a little over 16,000 HP.

"Impossible! What kind of magic array is this?!"

"What a strong magic array!"

Cola's teammates were stupefied when they saw him block one of the Orc Warlord's attacks without a Lifesaving Skill.

The Orc Warlord had long since recovered from its injured state, and Cola had only survived without a Lifesaving Skill thanks to the Red Demon sharing a portion of the Mythic Boss's damage. Once the Nine-star Polar Domain had suppressed the Orcs, however, Cola took less damage than when he had activated Protection Blessing even when he took the full brunt of the Boss's attacks.

This was the first time they had even heard of a magic array suppressing a Mythic monster to such a degree.

"Turtledove and Ye Wumian, keep the Orc General busy! The other MTs, help them deal with the Orc Captains!" Shi Feng commanded as he watched the rapidly approaching Orc General. "Everyone else, prioritize the Orc Captains before dealing with the Orc General and Warlord!"

With the Source of Illusion's strengthening, the Nine-star Polar Domain was even more powerful than a Master Magic Array.

Currently, the Nine-star Polar Domain suppressed both Mythic Orc's Basic Attributes by 50%. That was 10% more than the Nine-star Polar Domain fortified with the Source of True Frost. Not even ordinary Master Magic Arrays were capable of such a feat. With World Projection working alongside the array, the two Mythic Orcs only had 40% of their original Attributes. At this standard, they were just slightly stronger than a Grand Lord of the same level. Tier 2 MTs like Turtledove and Ye Wumian shouldn't have any issues tanking one of the two Bosses.

As for the Grand Lord ranked Orc Captains, their combat power fell below that of a Great Lord of the same level when subjected to the twofold suppression. They were just slightly stronger than High Lords of the same level. Tier 1 MTs were more than capable of tanking them.

"Guild Leader, where did you get this magic array?! It's marvelously effective!" Aqua Rose could not help but exclaim when she saw Turtledove and Ye Wumian block the Orc General's attacks without much trouble.

Normally, the various large Guilds took the long way around when they found a Mythic monster. Unless they use siege weapons and sacrificed a large number of players, they had no hope of defeating a Mythic monster at this stage of the game.

Yet, their 1,000-man team was holding its ground against two Mythic Orcs simultaneously...

"Do you remember the two Elemental Treasure Boxes we got from Sunset Forest? Those Treasure Boxes contained Elemental Sources. Not only can these Elemental Sources be used to refine weapons and equipment, but they can also serve as a power source for magic arrays, enhancing the final product. I used one of those Elemental Sources to strengthen the Nine-star Polar Domain Magic Array," Shi Feng explained truthfully. "But keep this matter to yourself; we don't want this secret getting out."

The Elemental Sources' uses were still a secret to God's Domain's players. They were also extremely rare. By telling Aqua Rose, he could have her take note of them and avoid mistakenly discarding any she came across, assuming they were useless.

"So, that's the case. After this battle, I'll collect as many Elemental Sources as possible. This way, we can challenge several of the unshakeable Mythic Bosses we've come found thus far." Aqua Rose's eyes sparkled with excitement.

Mythic Bosses had appeared in several of Star-Moon Kingdom's high-resource maps, and none of the Guilds had dared to challenge them thus far. As fate would have it, these Mythic Bosses happened to be guarding ancient ruins' entrances. Now that they had Elemental Sources, they had a way to enter the ruins.

Hearing Aqua Rose's response, nervous sweat beaded on Shi Feng's forehead.

Elemental Sources were no less rare than Epic items. Not even Mythic monsters dropped them. He had only obtained two Elemental Treasure Boxes due to securing the First Clear of a Grade 1 Historical Site. Even if they obtained the First Clear for a lower-ranked Historical Site, they were unlikely to obtain another.

Moreover, they needed more than just an Elemental Source to face Mythic bosses; the Ring of Gospel's World Projection was also necessary. However, each cost 5,000 Magic Crystals. This method of raiding Mythic Field Bosses was far too extravagant.

Time passed quickly. With the support of the Nine-star Polar Domain, Zero Wing's members only needed a moment to clear out everything except for the Orc General and Warlord. After dealing with the low-ranked Orcs, the players' experience bars rose significantly. In contrast, however, their loot was pitiful. Only the Grand Lords and above had dropped a few items, but no one paid much attention to them.

After all, they were far more interested to see what the two Mythic Orcs would drop.

But at the end of the day, the two Orc Bosses were still Mythic ranked monsters. Even with so much suppression, they were still a burden on the team.

When the Orc General's HP fell to 70%, it abruptly raised its greatsword. Countless motes of fire began to gather around the weapon.

"Crap! Everyone, don't stand in front of the Orc General!" Shi Feng shouted.

Unfortunately, his warning came too late. Before his teammates had the chance to move out of the way, the Orc General swung its greatsword forward. Scorching fire then rained down from above.

Tier 4 Skill, Infernal Prison!

Any player the flames struck instantly turned into a smoldering pile of ash. Not even the Tier 1 MTs, who had activated their Lifesaving Skills, had survived the attack.

In a single move, the Orc General had killed over a hundred players.

Immediately after the Orc General's attack, the Orc Warlord, who only had 50% of its HP remaining, followed up by thrusting its saber into the ground. In response, blades of light randomly shot up from the dirt 50 yards around the Boss. Due to the random attack pattern, many players failed to defend themselves in time. Anyone the blades of light hit died instantly. In the blink of an eye, another 200-plus players had fallen...

"Everyone, be careful of the Bosses' attacks! Do not try to take them head-on!" Shi Feng warned his companions.

Despite the Attribute suppression, a Mythic monsters' Skills were incredibly lethal to players. Fortunately, the two Mythic Orcs were physical melee types, not magical classes. Otherwise, they could easily annihilate the Zero Wing team with one or two Tier 4 Spells regardless of the suppression.

Due to Shi Feng's warning, everyone kept a closer eye on the Mythic Orcs' movements. If the Bosses' movements changed in the slightest, they'd immediately distance themselves from the monsters. Even so, the Mythic Orcs' massive AOEs continued to claim lives.

45%... 40%... 30%...

686 players... 632 players... 574 players...

When both Bosses' HP fell to 20%, they entered a Berserk state. Seeing this, Shi Feng and the others activated their Berserk Skills.

As the Mythic Orcs' HPs fell, their attacks became more frenzied. Despite activating their Berserk Skills, the team still suffered casualties. Even the Red Demon rapidly lost HP.

"Come on! Only have 5% more!" Shi Feng's heart grew cold when he saw how many players remained standing.

The Orc Warlord still had 5% of its HP, while the Orc General had 8%. However, they only had 300 members of the team remaining. Their DPS was growing weaker. As for his Personal Guards, Shi Feng wanted to avoid summoning them unless absolutely necessary. As the two Mythic Bosses continued to throw out all kinds of AOE Skills, not even his Personal Guards' survival was guaranteed. If they died, Shi Feng would have to go to great lengths to resurrect them.

When the Orc Warlord's HP fell to 3% and the Orc General's fell to 5%, the 200 remaining players desperately activated one Tier 1 and Tier 2 Magic Scroll after another.

However, at the rate they dealt damage, there was no doubt that these Orc Bosses would have the last laugh.

It seems that I have no other choice! Realizing the hopelessness of the situation, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and reluctantly pulled a Magic Scroll from his bag. This was the last of the two Tier 4 Magic Scrolls the Rock King had dropped.

While Earthen Breath was a large-scale destruction Spell, the Shadows of Purgatory he currently held was a Tier 4 Domain Skill. Although it only had a short, 30-second duration, it would be miraculously effective in a large-scale battle.

But Shi Feng couldn't care less as he unfurled the scroll and activated it. At the same time, he sacrificed 200 units of Life Force and activated Divine Providence.

When Shadows of Purgatory activated, darkness fell over the Orc base camp. Over a dozen shadowy tendrils rose from the ground, striking at the two Mythic Orcs. The Mythic Orcs had long since entered a full Berserk state, their skin having turned crimson. Their Defenses had also reached a frightening level. Even a casual attack from one of these Orcs could send Cola, who had activated his Berserk Skill, flying over a dozen yards away.

Yet, when these Mythic Bosses attacked the shadowy tendrils, it seemed as if their weapons struck an indestructible wall. Not only could the shadowy tendrils repel the Orcs' attacks, but they could also pierce the Bosses' armor, thrusting into their bodies as the tendrils dealt hundreds of thousands of damage.

Although the Mythic Orcs had focused on defending themselves after Shi Feng activated Shadows of Purgatory, of the dozen or so shadowy tendrils Shi Feng controlled, he always landed one or two direct hits during each attack cycle.

As the two Orcs defended themselves, the residual energy in their attacks surged towards the surrounding players. It took everything Zero Wing's members had to defend against these residual attacks; they had nothing left to launch attacks of their own. If they dropped their guard in the slightest, they'd die instantly.

3%... 2%... 1%...

"Die!" Shi Feng abandoned all defense as he activated Void Shield and launched an all-out assault against the Mythic Orcs. He also changed the shadowy tendrils' attack patterns constantly.

Every time Shi Feng attacked one of the two Mythic Orcs, over half of the shadowy tendrils darted past the Orcs' defenses and landed a hit. When the team's member count fell below 100, Shi Feng finally claimed the last strand of the Mythic Orcs' HPs.

Chapter 1535 - Kingdom Alarmed

"Success!"

"We won!"

The surviving team members cheered joyously as the Orc Warlord and Orc General froze and collapsed.

It had an intense battle.

Although the Mythic Orcs hadn't had much HP remaining, they would've likely fallen to the Bosses' attacks if Shi Feng hadn't used another Tier 4 Magic Scroll near the end of the battle. The melee players hadn't even been able to approach the Orcs to attack near the end of the battle, and the Orcs rapid attacks blocked most, if not all, of the ranged players' attacks.

They're finally dead. Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he had activated Void Shield to cover his lack of defense in the end, the Mythic Orcs' attacks were too powerful. They had only needed a few short seconds to deplete the Void Shield's energy by more than half. Had he not activated Void Shield, the two Mythic Orcs would've diced him into mincemeat before he had a chance to strike.

Meanwhile, the surviving players' experience barse rose rapidly after the Orc Warlord and Ord General fell. Even Shi Feng, who was a Level 60 player, watched his experience bar increase.

36%... 50%... 80%...

In the blink of an eye, he rose from Level 60 to Level 61. Eventually, his experience bar settled at 7% of Level 61. The rest of the survivors watched their experience bars increase by a larger margin. On average, every survivor leveled up at least twice. The players below Level 50 rose leveled up three times. The insane amount of EXP the two Mythic Bosses' deaths had awarded stupefied Zero Wing's players.

The two Orcs had also dropped a large pile of loot. At a glance, they had easily dropped over 100 items. Although it was not a jackpot, it was a bountiful harvest for killing two Level 50-plus Mythic monsters.

As everyone shifted their attention towards the loot, the sound of a system notification reached their ears.

...

Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for killing the Orc Warlord and stopping the Orc army's invasion on Bewildering Forest Town! Rewarding 30,000 Guild Popularity, 100 Guild Influence in Star-Moon Kingdom, and 50,000 Guild Honor Points.

...

The system announcement repeated three times, echoing in every player's ears in Star-Moon Kingdom.

"What?!"

"Didn't they say that the Orc army in Bewildering Forest Town was unstoppable? How did Zero Wing defeat it?"

"This is impossible! I just came back from Bewildering Forest Town. There were millions of Orcs assaulting the town. The army even had siege weapons and Mythic Bosses. Zero Wing must have cheated somehow!"

...

A commotion erupted over the system announcement; no one could believe it was true.

They had all witnessed the hellish scene in Bewildering Forest Town. Even if they gathered every elite player in Star-Moon Kingdom, they might fail to defend the town, let along Zero Wing's small team. The Orc army wasn't a force current players had hope of stopping, yet Zero Wing had succeeded. The system announcement had to be a joke.

...

"What's going on? What has Zero Wing been doing?" Galaxy Past, who rested in Star-Moon City, was dazed when he saw the announcement.

Nobody had a clearer understanding of the situation in Bewildering Forest Town than him. By the time he had left, Bewildering Forest Town had held on by a thread. The walls and magic array protecting the town had been about to collapse, yet shortly after the Star Alliance had withdrawn, Zero Wing had defeated the Orc army.

That was an army of several million Orcs they were talking about!

Even slaughtering several million defenseless pigs would take more time than it took for Zero Wing defeat the army. Furthermore, the Orc army had been led by three Mythic ranked Orc Generals. Even if these three Mythic Orcs stood still and did nothing, Zero Wing's 1,000-man team would need a very long time to kill them.

"I've already sent some people to investigate the matter, Guild Leader, but based on our reports, it doesn't seem that anyone saw what happened in Bewildering Forest Town. We only know that Zero Wing's team remained in the town. Meanwhile, we still can't reach any of our spies. By the looks of it, they must have died. We'll need to wait for them to resurrect before we can learn more about the situation," Flourishing Willow reported, a confused look on her face.

She could not figure out what Zero Wing's 1,000 players had done. Not only had they held off an assault of several million Orcs, but they had also slain the Orc Warlord commanding the army.

They felt as if the system were playing a trick on them.

...

Meanwhile, inside Heaven's Burial's Residence, Singular Burial, who had been preparing to set out for the Orc Empire, fell silent when he heard the system announcement.

"Could the town have hidden a secret weapon?" A complex expression surfaced on Singular Burial's face as he read the system announcement. "We should've waited longer if that were the case."

Regret and envy overwhelmed Singular Burial.

Just the 50,000 Guild Honor Points could make him drool, not to mention the Guild Influence.

Despite mingling in the Orc Empire for so long, Heaven's Burial had only accumulated a little over 30,000 Guild Popularity, 10,000 of which had been obtained after capturing an Orc town. As for Guild Honor Points, which were required to hire NPC mercenaries, the Guild had only earned a little over 20,000.

Guild Honor Points weren't like the Contribution Points players could earn by killing Orcs and completing quests related to the Orc Empire. Generally, a Guild could only earn these points when members completed quests the kingdom commissioned. Moreover, each quest usually only rewarded one to three points. To make matters worse, there was a limited number of such quests each day, and they needed to factor in the competition from other large Guilds. If not for Heaven's Burial's success with capturing an Orc town, it wouldn't have accumulated over 20,000 Guild Honor Points.

Yet, by defending Bewildering Forest Town, Zero Wing had earned 50,000 GHPs...

With so many GHPs, he could take down Ancient Rock City even without Beast Emperor's help. Now, however, Zero Wing had stolen the opportunity.

"Zero Wing sure is lucky. They've even encountered such an opportunity," Lei Jingyang said, sneering. "But one cannot become an overlord in God's Domain by relying on luck. Guild Leader Singular, let's hurry and take action. Once we capture Ancient Rock City, Heaven's Burial will dominate the several neighboring kingdoms."

Although Lei Jingyang envied Zero Wing's fortune, he was confident that Zero Wing couldn't make up for the difference between their sides' strengths with luck.

"Alright. We'll stop waiting for Beast Emperor's reply and capture Ancient Rock City." Singular Burial nodded as he also felt a sense of urgency after the sudden development.

If Zero Wing wanted to, it could hire 15,000 NPC mercenaries with its 50,000 GHPs to help raid an Orc city. Although Zero Wing didn't have Evil Beasts or Demons, it had far more powerful siege weapons than Heaven's Burial. Zero Wing definitely had a chance of capturing an Orc city.

Before Zero Wing set its sights on the Orc Empire, they needed to secure Ancient Rock City. Even if Zero Wing targeted an Orc city, it'd have a difficult time capturing it.

Among the numerous cities in the Orc empire, Ancient Rock City was the easiest to raid. The other cities couldn't be taken down with just ten or twenty thousand NPC mercenaries and a few siege weapons.

...

While Star-Moon Kingdom's large Guilds discussed the matter, Shi Feng stood in the middle of the Orc base camp outside of Bewildering forest Town, shifting through the Mythic Bosses' loot. Meanwhile, the surviving healers resurrected the players that had died during the battle.

Due to the Orc Warlord's death, chaos descended upon the Orc army, and the Orcs fled in all directions. The Orc reinforcements were nowhere to be seen. As a result, Zero Wing's members had a chance to catch their breath and rest.

While the dead resurrected, Shi Feng, who organized the pile of loot, picked up a tattered, pitch-black piece of armor.

The instant his hand touched the piece of armor, a stinging pain shot through his fingers. Even with his incredibly high Magic Resistance, his HP had fallen by 10,000 instantly.

What is this thing?

Shi Feng pulled his hand away from the broken armor and looked at it curiously. An ominous, crimson aura began to devour his hand.

Although his HP had stopped falling once he stopped touching the armor, he had gained a debuff that weakened him for one minute. This was inconceivable...

He had touched the armor for a mere moment, yet he was in such a state. Had he held the armor for too long, he might have lost his life.

Chapter 1536 - Legendary Set Equipment

The players standing close to Shi Feng noticed the sudden drop to their commander's HP.

"Guild Leader, is something wrong?" Violet Cloud asked curiously as she watched his HP bar.

The battle was already over, and there were no enemies around them, yet Shi Feng had suddenly lost a large chunk of his HP. It would be difficult not to notice something so strange.

"It's nothing. I just took some damage from an item," Shi Feng said as he waved off her concern with a hand.

Ordinary layers might be in danger if they suddenly lost 10,000 HP, but it wasn't a problem for him.

The issue was the Disintegrated debuff.

Not only did the debuff place him in a Weakened state, reducing his Basic Attributes by 50%, but it also made him feel somewhat weary. It felt as if the debuff sapped away his Concentration.

"Damage from an item?"

Violet Cloud and the others' curiosity grew. This was the first time they had heard of a dropped item hurting a player. They turned their attention towards the piece of broken armor on the ground.

Even after examining it for sometime, they didn't see anything unusual. The piece of broken armor didn't radiate any frightening Mana or pressure.

Shi Feng chuckled at their response.

God's Domain had many strange, mysterious items. Not every item could be judged by the Mana or pressure it radiated. In fact, some items appeared harmless, yet were actually fatal to players.

Shi Feng had no doubt that this piece of pitch-black armor was one such item. Despite storing a frightening amount of power, it showed none of it on the surface.

Leaving the item where it was, Shi Feng lightly tapped a finger on the armor to open its Attribute Panel.

Even with the slightest touch, Shi Feng lost another 10,000 HP. This time, however, as he had only touched the piece of armor for a fraction of a second, only a small bit of crimson aura wrapped around his finger. Fortunately, the Disintegrated debuff only lasted ten seconds.

"Impossible!"

"What kind of item is that?!"

Everyone gaped when Shi Feng lost another 10,000 HP after poking the black armor. They couldn't bring themselves to believe that God's Domain had such a deadly item.

"Unknown?" Shi Feng frowned.

Normally, players could, more or less, inspect an item's introductory text even if they hadn't picked it up yet. However, all he got from the armor's Attribute Panel was the word 'Unknown.' This meant that players would have to pick up the item and appraise it to check its Attribute Panel.

Unfortunately, picking up the piece of black armor and storing it in his bag was too dangerous. He had already lost so much HP after his brief contact with the item. If he held onto the piece of armor for too long, he'd likely die before he could store it in his bag.

"What a troublesome item." Shi Feng sighed. Immediately, he activated the Aura of Earth's Absolute Domain, making himself immune to all damage for 10 seconds. Following which, he snatched the piece of armor and stuffed it into his Spatial Bag, completing the process with lightning speed.

Although Absolute Domain prevented him from taking damage, it did nothing to stop the crimson aura from contaminating his body.

By the time Shi Feng stored the piece of pitch-black armor, the crimson aura had tainted his entire body.

...

System: You have obtained the Disintegration Armor. The Madness Aura is contaminating your body, reducing your Basic Attributes by 50% and Weakening your mind. The Disintegration Armor can only be stored in your bag space, will drop upon death, and cannot be traded.

...

This is...the rumored Disintegration Armor? Shi Feng stared at the pitch-black armor inside his bag in shock. For a moment, he completely forgot about the weariness the armor had caused him.

The Disintegration Armor was one piece of the Disintegration Set, a famous Legendary Set Equipment in God's Domain. Like the Disintegration Axe, the set had been created by the Orc Empire's Founding Emperor.

Due to the Disintegration Axe and Disintegration Set, the Orc Empire had wielded unparalleled power. They were why the Orcs had rained chaos over God's Domain's continent.

However, both the Disintegration Axe and the Set had been destroyed with the Founding Emperor's death. Moreover, unlike the Disintegration Axe, whose fragment had been left in the Orc Palace's treasury, the Disintegration Set had gone missing after its destruction. There were no clues about the set equipment's whereabouts.

Shi Feng had never expected to obtain a piece of the Disintegration Set here.

A Legendary Set Equipment!

Even after ten years in God's Domain, Shi Feng had never heard of an expert wearing a Legendary Set Equipment. Even one Legendary item was incredibly powerful; it would be inconceivable for a player to collect a full Legendary Set Equipment. A Tier 5 player with such a set could likely slay a God.

According to legend, the Orc Empire's Founding Emperor had once killed an Ancient God despite not being a Tier 6 God. He had been able to do so thanks to the Disintegration Axe and Set.

Because of this, the Disintegration Set had been known as one of God's Domain's Nine Great Legendary Sets.

Shi Feng had never thought that he'd be fortunate enough to find one of the set pieces today. It was even the most important chest piece.

Following which, Shi Feng activated the Omniscient Eyes to inspect the Disintegration Armor.

The instant he clicked to inspect the armor, the system revealed a 30-second loading bar. The Disintegration Armor's appraisal time was much longer than a normal Epic item. This outcome reassured Shi Feng that the Disintegration Armor in his bag was a piece of the rumored Disintegration Set.

Time passed quickly. While Shi Feng appraised the Disintegration Armor, his team members watch him with surprise and curiosity. They all wanted to know what kind of item the Orc Warlord had dropped. The instant Shi Feng had stored the pitch-black chest piece, his Attributes had fallen tremendously. If an ordinary expert had suffered such a massive decrease, they'd be crippled.

Once the appraisal completed, the Disintegration Armor's Attribute Panel appeared before Shi Feng.

...

[Destroyed Disintegration Armor]
One piece of the Legendary Set Equipment the Orc Empire's Founding Emperor had crafted. The wearer of this armor will gain even greater strength than that of Titans. They will also fall into an endless cycle of madness. However, the Disintegration Armor had been damaged beyond repair during the great war, and now leaks the Disintegration Power within. The Disintegration Power will taint any player that carries this item.

...

What?! It's broken beyond repair?! Shi Feng was speechless.

He had thought he had gotten lucky and obtained a piece of Fragmented Legendary Equipment. If that were the case, he could gradually restore the item to Legendary rank. He hadn't expected the item to be beyond repair. Not only couldn't he use the Disintegration Armor, but he couldn't repair it, either. It was no more than a broken piece of scrap metal.

But before Shi Feng closed the Attribute Panel, a series of system notifications bombarded his ears.

...

System: Congratulations! You have obtained the Legendary Quest "Recast the Disintegration Armor."
Quest content: Due to the spreading Disintegration Power, Orcs have begun to mutate. To prevent the spreading Disintegration Power, you need to recast the Disintegration Armor. Rewards unknown.

System: Due to the Disintegration Armor's Disintegration Power spreading, you will attract all mutated Orcs' attention.

System: You have become targeted for mutated Orcs. Please take care during exploration.

System Announcement: A player has triggered the new expansion pack, "Orc's Rebellion." System update required. The estimated duration is 5 hours. Please prepare to log out.

...

"What's going on?"

"Guild Leader, did you do this?"

In response to the notifications, Zero Wing's members turned towards Shi Feng, assuming he had caused the release of this new expansion pack.

Chapter 1537 - Bountiful Loot

Looking at the system notifications, Shi Feng fell into deep thought.

Although he knew that it wouldn't be so easy to obtain the Disintegration Set, which had once been used by one of God's Domain's legendary figures, he hadn't expected it to be this difficult.

Repairing the armor was one thing, but it was a different story if he had to recast it. That was no different than asking him to forge a new Disintegration Armor, a Legendary Set Equipment.

Moreover, as long as he carried the Disintegration Armor on him, mutated Orcs would randomly attack out in the fields. This would doubtlessly slow his progress.

Most importantly, he was stuck in a perpetual Disintegrated state, his Basic Attributes severely weakened. It also drained his Concentration. If he did not find a solution quickly, it would severely impact his leveling and questing efficiency.

It seems that I'll have to pay Seliora a visit. Shi Feng sighed helplessly.

Seliora was the only Grandmaster Forger he was familiar with. As for Master Forgers, they weren't capable of recasting an item of the Disintegration Armor's caliber. After all, the Disintegration Set was top-tier even among Legendary Set Equipment.

As Shi Feng got his team members to settle down, preparing to log off and rest, he noticed an additional Skill in his Skill Window.

I actually received a Unique Skill as a reward? Shi Feng could not help his surprise as he opened his Skill Window.

Without realizing it, he had gained a Unique Skill called Disintegration Field, a Domain Skill that could only be used when affected by the Disintegrated debuff.

...

[Disintegration Field]
Disintegrates all Skills and Spells within a 50-yard radius (Skills and Spells at Tier 2 and below will be nullified, while Skills and Spells above Tier 2 will be weakened by 50%). All entities within range of the Disintegration Field will sustain a 30% reduction to Basic Attributes, physique, and Stamina in addition to a 300% increase to their Stamina and Concentration consumption rates. No Cooldown.

...

So, there is still a benefit to all of this. Shi Feng was astonished as he read the Disintegration Field's description.

Generally, only Tier 4 Domain Skills and above lacked limitations such as Cooldown and Duration.

In terms of suppression, Disintegration Field was even more effective than World Projection. All players in range would have to endure a drastic increase to their Stamina and Concentration. Moreover, unlike World Projection, he didn't have to play 5,000 Magic Crystals to activate this new Skill. The only real downside to Disintegration Field was that unlike World Projection, it did not differentiate between friend and foe. Everyone within range would be affected. Even so, it was quite impressive.

At the very least, he wouldn't have to fear group battles when he activated Disintegration Field.

Unlike Basic Attributes, it was not easy to increase Hidden Attributes like Stamina and Concentration. These Attributes generally only underwent qualitative transformations when players upgraded their tiers. Without Stamina and Concentration, players wouldn't be able to fight, even if they had full HP. They would be sheep for the slaughter.

Following which, Shi Feng collected the remaining loot the Orc Warlord and Ord General had dropped.

Among the 100-plus items dropped, most of the items were subpar. Aside from the Disintegration Armor, the best item dropped was merely an Epic ranked cloth armor hat named Eye of Disaster. It was a top-tier item for magical class players. When equipped, not only did the Eye of Disaster increased the wearer's Spellcasting range by 20%, but it also increased Spell Completion Rates by 2%.

Shi Feng didn't assign the eye of Disaster to anyone specific on the team. Instead, he added it to the Guild's Core Warehouse, setting it up for internal auction starting with a 50,000 GCP starting bid. Currently, one GCP in Zero Wing was worth 32 Copper Coins. Hence, the Eye of Disaster's starting bid was only 1,600 Gold, which was quite cheap.

There were also around two dozen pieces of Level 50 and 55 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Equipment. Among them, eight were Dark-Gold rank. All of these items were top-tier weapons and pieces of equipment, which even the various large Guilds would fight over. Normally, Level 50-plus Dark-Gold items only dropped from level-appropriate, large-scale Team Dungeon, and they had an extremely low drop-rate.

Aside from equipment, there were over a dozen Epic ranked materials of various kinds. Seventeen Magic Scrolls had also dropped. Although none were Tier 4, there were two Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls and three Tier 3 large-scale destruction Magic Scrolls.

But compared to these items, Shi Feng most valued the Mana Enhancing Potion Recipe, and Advanced Alchemy Recipe.

Different from the Mana Potions and Mana Recovery Potions found on the market, the Mana Enhancing Potion neither increased players' maximum Mana nor helped players recover their Mana. Instead, it improved Spells' effects by 100% for 20 seconds. It was a berserk-type potion that had a 10-minute Cooldown.

Berserk-type potions were impossible to find on the market. Guilds that produced them generally kept them for their own use. After all, not all players had the opportunity to learn a Berserk Skill.

With the Mana Enhancing Potion, a Guild's elite teams would have a much easier time raiding Dungeons. The potion was particularly useful to healers. For 20 seconds, healers could double their healing capacity, greatly improving a team's survivability.

If the Mana Enhancing Potion could be mass-produced, it would definitely provide a significant boost to Zero Wing's elite members for a short time.

After Shi Feng finished organizing the loot, he took a look at the time and noticed that he had less than a minute before the system update began. He called up the system interface and chose to log out of God's Domain.

...

Elsewhere, players in the several kingdoms and two empires next to the Orc Empire were in an uproar. Everyone had their own guesses about what would happen once the new expansion pack took effect. Meanwhile, the various large Guilds hurriedly prepared to welcome the new expansion pack.

Every expansion pack was an opportunity. If taken advantage of properly, a Guild could enjoy a burst of development.

...

Inside a high-class restaurant in White River City...

"Send someone to investigate the power that triggered the new expansion pack immediately. The Hundred Flowers Palace must not miss out on this opportunity," Cleansed Rue, the Hundred Flowers Palace's Guild Leader, issued the command as soon as she saw the system announcement.

The Orc Empire had become the focal point for many large Guilds. Previously, Heaven's Burial had gotten the jump on the rest of the Guilds by capturing the easiest Orc town in the Orc Empire, and the benefits it had reaped thus far had left the rest of them drooling.

Now that someone had triggered a new expansion pack relating to the Orc Empire, this was the perfect opportunity for first-rate Guilds like the Hundred Flowers Palace to break the current status quo.

The Hundred Flowers Palace wasn't the only Guild to react in such a way. The Star Alliance, Heaven's Burial, and other large Guilds had launched their own investigation. Even the super-first-rate Guild, Crimson Emperor, which temporarily operated in Star-Moon Kingdom, had ordered an investigation to learn which power was responsible for the announcement.

The players that triggered expansion packs usually had a certain advantage over other players. If they could partner with these players, they could share this advantage when the new expansion pack took effect.

...

"Elder Yuan, have you learned anything?" Galaxy Past asked as he watched Yuan Tiexin on the screen.

When it came to information, nobody had more than the Secret Pavilion. The Secret Pavilion had its eyes and ears in almost every corner of God's Domain. When an expansion pack warranted an offline system update, it always dispatched its people to learn as much as it could.

"I do have a little information. You should be able to guess which Guild is responsible for this expansion pack," Yuan Tiexin said as he caressed his beard.

"Could it really be Zero Wing?" Galaxy Past asked, astonished.

Not only had Zero Wing defended Bewildering Forest Town and acquired a large number of Guild Honor Points, but it had also triggered the new expansion pack. Zero Wing simply wasn't giving the other Guilds any chances.

In response, Yuan Tiexin nodded before disconnecting the call.

"Uncle Yuan, there's no stopping Zero Wing's rise now. First, they helped Phoenix Rain secure third place in Thunder Island's contest. Then, they built a city in Star-Moon Kingdom. Now, they've even triggered a new expansion pack relating to the Orc Empire. As time passes, Nine Dragons Emperor will have an even more difficult time dealing with Zero Wing," Purple Jade said, smiling as she looked through the information the Secret Pavilion had gathered on Zero Wing.

"You're right! The Guild Leader has already contacted me, instructing us to negotiate with Zero Wing for a partnership. Didn't you intend to challenge Martial Dragon eventually? You can use this opportunity to spar with Zero Wing's experts and get some practice," Yuan Tiexin said, sighing ruefully.

Before he knew it, Zero Wing had grown from an upstart Guild into an existence that even the Secret Pavilion had to take seriously.

Chapter 1538 - Zero Wing in the Spotlight

As God's Domain's system update began, players were forcefully logged out of the game.

When the system update began, night had already arrived in God's Domain. This meant that it was currently daytime in the real world. Hence, the system update did not particularly affect the working class players. On the contrary, they were excited.

Meanwhile, inside one of the White Tiger Dojo's secret training rooms, the lid of a virtual gaming cabin abruptly opened. A man with a stalwart body then climbed out of the cabin. As he left his cabin, he was greeted by the sight of a white-clad, middle-aged man on a sofa before him. Despite the lack of movement, the middle-aged man projected a natural dignity and power.

This middle-aged man was none other than Jiang Tianyuan, one of the White Tiger Dojo's Branch Hall Masters.

"Hall Master, why are you here?" the stalwart man asked curiously when he saw Jiang Tianyuan.

"For some, unknown reason, the main branch is placing more focus on God's Domain, hoping that the various branch dojos will produce results. Tian Ji, you've played God's Domain for a considerable amount of time now. Tell me about your situation in the game," Jiang Tianyuan calmly demanded as he sipped his tea.

"Currently, I'm developing smoothly in the Purple Thorns Kingdom. I've already established a Guild and annexed several others. We've also taken ownership of over ten Shops in NPC cities that have player populations exceeding 500,000," Tian Ji replied. "Only, my Guild's foundation is shakey. With our current number of experts, we have no way to contend with the various large Guilds. I will need more time before we can do so."

"Haven't you hired first-rate Guild experts to train our apprentices? Are those experts not enough?" Jiang Tianyuan couldn't help his frown as he listened to this report.

"Although we have the help of a first-rate Guild, the first batch of apprentices only began their training a short time ago. Very few have reached the Trial Tower's fifth floor thus far. Moreover, with the difference in levels, none of the apprentices can contribute to the Guild's overall combat power yet," Fang Tianji said, smiling bitterly.

He had sorely underestimated God's Domain. God's Domain was clearly different from past virtual reality games. Not only was the game extremely realistic, but the complexity of its techniques and combination moves were beyond his expectations. They weren't easy to grasp within a short time. Otherwise, the large Guilds with hundreds of thousands of members wouldn't have so few experts.

Although the White Tiger Dojo's apprentices had solid foundations, that was all. These foundations merely provided a better starting point than ordinary players and gave the apprentices a higher chance of becoming experts. Only the truly talented apprentices could improve quickly and reach the Trial Tower's fifth floor.

However, since they had joined the game so late, they were far behind the mainstream players in levels. Even though the Main God System had made some adjustments, allowing new players to level slightly faster, and they had the help of high-level players, it would be a considerable amount of time before they caught up.

"How about this? Visit the Big Dipper Dojo personally and attempt to persuade them again. We can renegotiate on the conditions," Jiang Tianyuan said after giving the matter some thought.

Initially, Jiang Tianyuan had asked for Zero Wing's help as a passing thought. He hadn't really viewed the matter as important. However, he hadn't expected Zero Wing to be so capable in God's Domain.

"Understood. I'll see to it right away." Fang Tianji nodded.

When Fang Tianji had joined God's Domain, he hadn't known much about the game's internal situation. He had only realized how impressive Zero Wing truly was after fighting in the game for some time. At the very least, the current first-rate Guilds had no chance against Zero Wing. The Guild even had the sacred training ground for experts: Stone Forest Town.

The first-rate Guild they had allied with frequently brought them to Stone Forest Town, and Fang Tianji had to admit that the Battle Arena was amazing. If ordinary players trained there, they would develop far faster than training in the Divine Colosseum's Trial tower.

Following which, Fang Tianji made his way to the Big Dipper Dojo.

...

Meanwhile, in the Greenwater Villa, Shi Feng used his free time to guide the Guild's internal members as they worked on their combat techniques.

Due to Zero Wing's growing fame, more people fought to become internal members. Despite the Guild's strict requirements, they were now nurturing over 300 internal members. Even the massive Greenwater Villa felt a little cramped due to so many people living and training in it.

"Guild Leader, the weakest of our new recruits can now reach the Trial Tower's fourth floor, and quite a few have already reached the fifth floor. Among the various internal members, You Ziping is improving the fastest. It's no wonder why you had such a high opinion of him. He has already reached the fifth floor's late stage. I doubt that it'll be long before he reaches the sixth floor," Blackie reported as he watched You Ziping and the others, who were currently training in the main hall. "It's a pity that we can only recruit a small number of internal members right now. If we can recruit a few more, we could build an army of experts very quickly."

Zero Wing shone like the midday sun in Star-Moon Kingdom. If they could sustain 1,000 internal members, they could quickly train a 1,000-man expert team. Even without relying on the Guild's main force, they could easily raid Team Dungeons. They could also establish another Branch Guild.

First-rate Guilds maintained their status for so long due to the high number and sufficient strength of the experts they nurtured. After joining God's Domain, these first-rate Guilds could afford to develop in multiple countries at once, competing for resources in multiple locations. In contrast, Zero Wing wasn't strong enough to do so yet.

"I'm afraid we'll have to wait for matters on Gentle Snow's side to settle down first. However, unless those companies find another interested party, it shouldn't be long before the negotiations conclude. After all, it is costly to maintain a training ground of that size." Shi Feng's head ached over this issue. He had never thought that he'd have to endure such a day. Rather than a Guild limiting their training ground's development, their training ground limited Zero Wing's development...

As Shi Feng discussed the new training ground with Blackie, Liang Jing contacted him.

"Head Instructor Shi, a man named Yuan Tiexin is looking for you. Should I have him wait in the reception room?" Liang Jing asked.

"Yuan Tiexin?" Shi Feng was a little confused. "I understand. Have him wait in Reception Room One for me. I'll head there now."

"Alright." Liang Jing nodded. She then led Yuan Tiexin and his entourage to Reception Room One.

...

In the Big Dipper Dojo's lobby, the arrival of Yuan Tiexin's group had caused a small commotion. However, this commotion wasn't due to the crowd recognizing Yuan Tiexin, but because of his two bodyguards.

Both bodyguards wore black suits with a silver shield logo embossed on the left breast. This was none other than the Guardian Group's logo, a world-class bodyguard company.

Moreover, both were 3-star bodyguards. Normally, it should be impossible to find such high-rank bodyguards in Jin Hai City as not even the city's most powerful corporations qualified to hire them, yet these two had come here.

...

"Big Bro Tianji, don't tell me you're really here to speak with that Shi Feng? The last time I came here, his behavior had been incredibly arrogant. He showed the White Tiger Dojo no respect. Is a partnership with him really necessary for a game?"

He truly could not understand why Jiang Tianyuan repeatedly sought cooperation from a Gaming Guild. The White Tiger Dojo was one of the country's top dojos. They could easily convince any Gaming Guild to cooperate with a word, yet Fang Tianji, one of the dojo's instructors, had paid a personal visit to negotiate with Zero Wing. It was inconceivable.

"Enough! The Hall Master and I have our reasons." Fang Tianji's displeasure grew as he listened to Xie Qiwen. By chance, he noticed Yuan Tiexin's group enter a reception room, and shock gripped his heart. "Huh? That is...the Secret Pavilion's Yuan Tiexin? Why is he here?"

After joining God's Domain, he had investigated the game's major powers thoroughly. Naturally, he had memorized the faces of people like Yuan Tiexin, an upper echelon of a transcendental power like the Secret Pavilion. Since the man hadn't changed his appearance in the game, Fang Tianji easily recognized Yuan Tiexin with a glance.

Chapter 1539 - Super-first-rate Guild

"The Secret Pavilion?"

Overhearing Fang Tianji's mumbles and seeing the reverential look he gave Yuan Tiexin's group, Xie Qiwen couldn't help his growing curiosity.

Fang Tianji was the youngest instructor in the White Tiger Dojo and Jiang Tianyuan's personal disciple. Fang Tianji had the potential of becoming a Branch Hall Master. The man was an expert and had already participated in numerous international competitions.

Moreover, both Jiang Tianyuan and the White Tiger Dojo's Main Hall Master valued Fang Tianji, which gave his words considerable weight in the dojo.

Yet, now, someone like Fang Tianji was actually revered Yuan Tiexin's group.

"It's not surprising that you don't recognize them. Let's wait outside for now," Fang Tianji instructed, not bothering to give an explanation to Xie Qiwen.

He was no longer a noob that knew nothing about God's Domain. He now had a clear understanding of how deep God's Domain's waters were. He also knew how much potential the game had. Aside from the time acceleration function, which allowed players to enjoy longer lifespans, the game's ability to replace many of the sports, sources of entertainment, and work in the real world displayed its frightening potential value.

Hence, the various industry giants around the world were investing in God's Domain, one after another. They all hoped to secure some advantage and resources before the eventual birth of the new era.

The Secret Pavilion was a transcendental existence in the virtual gaming world and had the backing of multiple international corporations. The White Tiger Dojo simply couldn't compare.

"We're waiting outside?" For a moment, Xie Qiwen thought he had heard wrong. They had traveled so far to visit the Big Dipper Dojo, yet not only didn't this dojo provide the proper, grand reception, but Fang Tianji even suggested that they wait, allowing the new arrivals to conduct their business before their group. Xie Qiwen even wondered if the man before him was really the Fang Tianji he knew.

However, since the man had decided, he had no choice but to wait in the lobby with Fang Tianji.

...

Meanwhile, in Reception Room One, Shi Feng arrived a short moment after Yuan Tiexin made himself comfortable.

"Uncle Yuan, I'm sorry for the wait," Shi Feng said as he greeted Yuan Tiexin and his entourage. "May I know the reason for your sudden visit?"

After not seeing each other for some time, Shi Feng could clearly sense a significant change in both Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade's auras. Yuan Tiexin, in particular, felt as if his youth had been restored.

However, the change didn't particularly surprise Shi Feng. Throughout the various adventures and battles in God's Domain, one's brain would work continuously. This, in turn, kept the body's cells active. In addition, a Guild upper echelon like Yuan Tiexin had the privilege of a steady supply of S-rank Nutrient Fluid, keeping his body young and strong. This would become public knowledge in the future.

Although it was impossible to achieve eternal life through this method, it was possible to extend one's life. After the Mind Space System's introduction, in particular, God's Domain's effect on a human lifespan would become more apparent. This was also the main reason that the various industry giants were investing in God's Domain.

"You haven't changed at all. Can't I visit purely to congratulate Zero Wing?" Yuan Tiexin could not help but laugh at Shi Feng's straightforward attitude.

"Congratulate Zero Wing?" Shi Feng repeated skeptically. He did not believe Yuan Tiexin in the least.

The Secret Pavilion was a massive Guild. An upper echelon like Yuan Tiexin should have a long list of tasks every day. How could he possibly have enough time to come all the way here for a chat?

"Alright, I'll just get straight to the point. Our Guild Leader has expressed great interest in Zero Wing and is willing to invest in your Guild. We only want 50% of Zero Wing's shares. In return, we'll guarantee that Zero Wing will become a super-first-rate Guild very quickly," Yuan Tiexin said.

"Fifty percent?" Shi Feng frowned.

He hadn't expected the Secret Pavilion to have such a large appetite, but he had to admit that the offer was tempting. If the Secret Pavilion made such an offer to a first-rate Guild, it would likely jump at the chance. Every first-rate Guild in the virtual gaming world dreamed of becoming a super-first-rate Guild.

Although only one rank separated the two, the difference was like that between heaven and earth.

"I haven't finished. Aside from receiving capital from the Secret Pavilion, Zero Wing will receive 2% of the Secret Pavilion's shares. This way, Zero Wing will not have to concern itself about the right to speak with the Secret Pavilion. As for Guild Leader Black Flame, he will become one of the Secret Pavilion's Elders," Yuan Tiexin said, chuckling as he saw through Shi Feng's hesitation.

"The Guild Leader is willing to offer 2% of the Guild's shares?" Purple Jade was stunned.

Although she had accompanied Yuan Tiexin to negotiate with several first-rate Guilds, they had never offered such generous terms. With 2% of the Secret Pavilion's shares, one would be a major shareholder.

The Secret Pavilion was a colossal existence. It even had the financial support of multiple international corporations.

"Please allow me to refuse." Shi Feng shook his head and rejected the offer without hesitation.

Both Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade were dumbfounded.

"Our Guild Leader has only offered Zero Wing a portion of the Guild's shares thus far. Will you not consider the offer? Or report this to your Guild Leader?" Yuan Tiexin pleaded sincerely.

Although Zero Wing displayed great process in its development, the competition in God's Domain was just beginning.

As time passed, the various corporations that had invested in the game would begin to shine. Based on the Secret Pavilion's information, several unknown Guilds and first-rate Guilds have begun to show frightening progress. Meanwhile, these Guilds had just as many and just as powerful experts as Zero Wing. Moreover, unlike Zero Wing, these Guilds had the support of major corporations. Their development speed would only grow.

"There is no need. Our Guild Leader has already made his decision," Shi Feng said as he shook his head.

If Zero Wing had the support of the Secret Pavilion, it could become a giant in the virtual gaming world in a short time. However, Shi Feng firmly believed that Zero Wing could do so without the Secret Pavilion's help; it would just take a little more time.

"I understand." Yuan Tiexin sighed. He felt that Zero Wing was a little overconfident. Becoming a giant in the virtual gaming world wasn't easy. He then said, "Since that is the case, we won't force the matter. I'll move on to the next matter, then. The Secret Pavilion is interested in one of the Orc Empire's cities and would like Zero Wing's help. Once the task is complete, we will provide ten black cards and two plots of high-potential Land in the Apocalypse Empire's main cities. We'll also provide some information, which could determine Zero Wing's survival."

"Information that relates to Zero Wing's survival?" Shi Feng could not help his growing curiosity.

"I am not trying to scare you. Whether you believe it or not is entirely up to you. Are you interested in this exchange?" Yuan Tiexin asked with a smile. "If Zero Wing agrees, it may have enough time to prepare, avoiding too many losses."

In reality, Yuan Tiexin had been shocked when he had received this news. He had never thought that things would've developed to such severity.

"Allow me to refuse." Shi Feng said again, shaking his head. "Although I don't have a particularly clear understanding of the Orc Empire's situation, I know that capturing its cities is very difficult. Since you have asked for Zero Wing's help, you must be aiming for our Guild Honor Points. Ten black cards and two plots of Land are not enough."

"How much do you want, then?" Shi Feng's greed astonished Purple Jade.

Shi Feng smiled in response, raising two fingers as he said, "I want 20% of the Orc city's profits. This is Zero Wing's bottom line."

Chapter 1540 - Evil God's Temple Activated

"Twenty percent?" A tight frown formed on Yuan Tiexin's face. "Your asking price is too high. Do you know how difficult it is to raid an Orc city? That isn't something that can be done just by having some NPC mercenaries."

The defense of any city in the Orc Empire could make a first-rate Guild despair.

Setting aside the defensive magic arrays protecting the cities, just the number of Orcs garrisoning each city exceeded a million easily. The Orc cities also possessed various defensive structures. Although each city had only three Mythic Orcs protecting it, it had thousands of Grand Lord ranked Orcs.

The amount of manpower and resources required to capture a city was simply impossible for a first-rate Guild to fulfill.

"My asking price is not high. Moreover, I feel that Zero Wing is worth this price. If you insist on your price, I can only dispatch 10,000 NPC mercenaries to aid you. However, I will not send anyone from our Guild," Shi Feng explained.

The price the Secret Pavilion offered would indeed be very tempting to a first-rate Guild.

After all, having ten black cards would enable a Guild to let their expert members gain more combat experience against other expert players, which would greatly help in improving said expert members' combat standards. As proof, Shadow Sword and the other core members of Zero Wing had reached the Refinement Realm just from training at the Secret Pavilion's simulation training system for some time.

Meanwhile, high-potential Lands in the Apocalypse Empire's major cities were things that could not be bought even if one offered tens of thousands of Gold. Not to mention, the Secret Pavilion was actually offering two such plots of Land. As long as one opened a Shop on these Lands and managed them well, they could rake in a significant amount of income.

Unfortunately, although both things were very tempting, to the current Zero Wing, the effort it would have to expend did not match up with the gains it would be receiving.

Although Shi Feng did not have a clear understanding regarding the cities in the Orc Empire, he knew a lot regarding the cost of capturing the cities of foreign races.

In God's Domain, players faced a long and arduous battle of attrition if they wished to capture a city belonging to a foreign race. Many lives would have to be sacrificed—especially when it came to breaking the defensive magic array of the city. With the current standards of players, fully depleting the energy of a city's defensive magic array would take several days of constant bombardment. Only Tier 5 attacks and above would be capable of weakening a city's defensive magic array by a significant amount.

It had taken a lot of effort to stabilize Zero Wing's development. He naturally could not casually expend a large amount of the Guild's combat power for the Secret Pavilion without appropriate compensation.

"You'll only dispatch NPC mercenaries?" Yuan Tiexin pondered in silence. Their main goal in this transaction, to begin with, was to gain Zero Wing's GHPs to exchange for NPC mercenaries. If they had enough mercenaries, they could distract the Mythic Orcs and Grand Lords inside the city. As for Zero Wing's members, the Secret Pavilion had never once thought about using them. "Alright. However, 10,000 mercenaries are too few. We'll need at least 15,000."

"That won't be a problem." Shi Feng nodded.

He currently possessed 50,000 GHPs. Hiring 15,000 mercenaries would cost him only 45,000 points.

To Zero Wing, GHPs were of little use right now. After all, the Guild had to invest a significant portion of its income into the development of Zero Wing City. The Guild had neither the time nor the money to capture another town or city.

Currently, its most important goal was to find a way to make a large amount of Coins and Magic Crystals.

Both sides signed a contract with each other. After which, Yuan Tiexin handed ten black cards to Shi Feng. As for the two plots of Land, Shi Feng chose to have both plots located in the Apocalypse Empire's Moon Bay City.

Although the Apocalypse Empire shared an extensive portion of its borders with the sea, the cities located close to the sea numbered only four. Moon Bay City was the closest of the four to Ocean Viewing Town. In the future, if need be, he could also use the Lands in Moon Bay City as a temporary warehouse.

"This here is the information I mentioned before. It is best if you all start making preparations soon. When the time comes, not only will the several kingdoms neighboring the Orc Empire be affected, but even the Black Dragon Empire will receive heavy damage. Originally, I had planned on having Jade spar with your Guild's experts a little, but now that the contents of our transaction have changed, we have to return and make the corresponding changes," Yuan Tiexin said as he passed an envelope to Shi Feng. He then let out a sigh before leaving together with Purple Jade and his bodyguards.

"Affecting several kingdoms?" Shi Feng could not help but tear open the envelope curiously. After fishing out the paper inside and reading its contents, he immediately sneered and said, "Nine Dragons Emperor really is daring! Is he not afraid of digging his own grave as well?"

The message was short and to the point. It merely stated that Nine Dragons Emperor had assisted Beast Emperor in holding a sacrificial ceremony and had already activated the Evil God's Temple in the Black Dragon Empire—which was simply a disaster to the majority of the players in the empire.

The Evil God's Temple located in an empire was entirely different from one located in a kingdom. Its activation not only gave Beast Emperor a huge boost in status, but he would also be able to use the Sacrificial Altar, which was available only in the Evil God's Temple in empires, allowing the Evil Beasts and Evil Demons under his control to fight against each other. Meanwhile, the victors in the Sacrificial Altar would devour the losers and have their Growth Potentials improved. With this, Beast Emperor would be able to produce powerful Evil Beasts and Evil Demons much more easily.

Given enough time, Beast Emperor would even be capable of destroying an entire empire.

This was also the reason why the activation of the Evil God's Temple had nearly led to the destruction of an empire in the past.

Currently, Beast Emperor was already operating in the Black Dragon Empire and the surrounding kingdoms, continuously killing players and expanding his strength.

According to the Secret Pavilion's investigations, the reason why Nine Dragons Emperor had decided to work with Beast Emperor was so that he could use Beast Emperor's strength to annihilate Zero Wing. By doing so, he would be able to deprive Phoenix Rain of a powerful supporter in the competition for Thunder Island.

"Do you think you can annihilate Zero Wing so easily?" Shi Feng smiled. He then tore the letter into pieces.

If it were in the past, the activation of the Evil God's Empire in the Black Dragon Empire would indeed have posed a significant threat to him. Now, however, the situation had changed with the completion of Zero Wing City's construction.

Whether it was in terms of offense or defense, a city greatly surpassed a town.

The only problem now was Magic Crystals.

The defenses of both towns and cities required a large amount of Magic Crystals to fully display their true potential.

It seems there's a need to quickly secure that Manatite vein. Shi Feng planned silently. However, the current strength of the Guild is still not enough to secure the vein. We'll need more Tier 2 players before we can do so. I'll have to think of a way to help more people get through their Tier 2 promotions.

Karna Island, where the Manatite vein was located, was very dangerous for Tier 1 players. Only Tier 2 players could possibly serve as combat power there. However, passing the promotion for Tier 2 was easier said than done. Currently, although many players in Zero Wing's main force had already reached Level 50, their chances of clearing the Hard Mode Promotion Quest remained dismal. Not only would they need better weapons and equipment, but they also had to improve their combat standards.

"Head Instructor, representatives from the White Tiger Dojo have come to negotiate cooperation with you again. Should I invite them in now?" Liang Jing asked as she entered the reception room.

"Again?" Shi Feng frowned as he thought about the White Tiger Dojo's commission. "They really are bothersome."

"Head Instructor, the White Tiger Dojo has come looking for you multiple times already. If you don't meet with them now, I'm afraid this would be..." Liang Jing hurriedly tried persuading Shi Feng when she saw that he intended to reject the White Tiger Dojo's representatives out of hand.

At this point, she was at a total loss as to Shi Feng's behavior. If it were Chairman Xiao, he would've already gone out to greet the White Tiger Dojo's representatives instead of letting the other party ask to meet him. In contrast, not only did Shi Feng show no interest whatsoever in meeting with the representatives, but he was even planning on shooing them away.

The White Tiger Dojo was one of the top dojos in the country. It simply wasn't an existence the Big Dipper Dojo could compare to. If the former wished, it could easily crush the Big Dipper Dojo.

However, the more unbelievable matter was how the White Tiger Dojo was behaving. Despite receiving numerous refusals, it was still desperately sending representatives over to meet with Shi Feng. Most likely, if she told this matter to someone else, nobody would believe a word she spoke.

"Alright, then. Let them come in." Shi Feng nodded helplessly at Liang Jing's pleading.

"I'll bring them over now," Liang Jing said, breathing out a sigh of relief at Shi Feng's words. If she were to send the White Tiger Dojo away again, Chairman Xiao would definitely have a stroke.