Reincarnation of The Strongest Sword God

1801-1820

Chapter 1801 - Sturdy Team

As they watched the Troll Hero fly 20 yards across the arena and slam into the ground, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul members watching from a distance were stunned.

"She sent it flying?!"

"That's a Mythic Boss we're talking about! Just how much Strength does she have?!"

"Is she really a Guardian Knight?"

For a time, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul members fell into a heated discussion. None of them could believe their eyes. Unyielding Heart was particularly shocked.

Not even Unyielding Soul had an MT with such astonishing Strength.

Finally, Unyielding Heart, more or less, understood where Zero Wing found the confidence to raid the Hell Mode Eclipse Throne.

MTs played a crucial role in Dungeon raids. Oftentimes, a failed Dungeon raid wasn't a result of a lack of DPS; rather, the team's MTs weren't able to survive against the Bosses long enough. However, as long as a team had an MT that could tank the Boss, even if the first raid attempt failed, the team would use the next few attempts to probe the Boss for weaknesses and would eventually defeat its.

The reason that the various superpowers didn't dare to touch a Level 50 super-large-scale Team Dungeon at this stage of the game was the lack of capable MTs.

How did her strength improve by so much? Phoenix Rain was wrought with confusion as she watched Turtledove.

When she had met Turtledove last, the female Guardian Knight had already been very powerful, easily tanking a Grand Lord by herself. However, after not seeing Turtledove for some time, the female Guardian Knight had grown to become capable of throwing a Mythic Boss. The speed at which Turtledove grew stronger was simply terrifying.

Even after this shocking revelation, however, Zero Wing's members were still unsurprised.

They knew that Turtledove had upgraded her Steel Crown to Epic rank. Meanwhile, the Steel Crown's Additional Skill, Steel Impact, had also improved. Now, instead of increasing her Strength by 300% and speed by 100%, the Skill increased her Strength by 400% and speed by 150%. With such a boost, it was only natural for her to send a Level 56 Mythic Boss flying.

After the Troll Hero's clash with Turtledove, it's HP fell by over 150,000. Turtledove had secured the Troll Hero's aggro. With an angry roar, the Boss's muscles bulged, and it stomped on the ground before transforming into a blur as it charged at the female Guardian Knight.

Fortunately, since the Troll Hero's axes were still stuck in the ground behind Turtledove, it didn't pose much of a threat. In fact, Turtledove did not even bother to avoid the charge. Instead, she thrust the point of her shield into the ground and prepared to receive the Troll Hero's charge head-on.

Tier 2 Skill, Backfolding!

Backfolding was a Tier 2 Skill Turtledove had recently acquired from the Primordial Divine Ruin. It was a super-rare Skill that could reflect an incoming attack from the front.

Boom!

When the Troll Hero crashed into Turtledove's shield, its massive frame stumbled three steps backward, a damage of over -500,000 appearing above its head.

"Good! Ranged players, attack!" Shi Feng commanded one he saw that Turtledove had solidified her aggro.

Spells and arrows bombarded the Troll Hero, and damages of over -10,000 appeared above the target's head, one after another. Occasionally, damages exceeding -40,000 also floated above the Boss's head. These damages originated from Zhao Yueru, who wielded Frostflame's Wrath. Her attacks were particularly prominent among the bombardment.

Her ice- and fire-type Spells were clearly stronger than the other Tier 2 Elementalists' Spells on the team.

"What a high damage! Zero Wing actually has such a powerful Elementalist?" Unyielding Soul's magical-class players were stupefied by Zhao Yueru's performance.

They were bona fide Tier 2 players and wore the best equipment available at this stage of the game. The fact that they were able to deal over -10,000 damage to a Mythic Boss was already impressive and would attract the awe of many expert layers. However, Zhao Yueru's attacks had utterly changed their views on the world.

Not only did Zhao Yueru's attacks consistently deal over -40,000 damage, but some of her attacks also dealt twice that without a critical hit. Her DPS alone could rival the total DPS of five of them...

Unyielding Soul's magical-class players couldn't figure out what was happening. Despite the fact that they were all Tier 2 players, the difference between them was massive!

What these players didn't know was that Frostflame's Wrath improved its wielders' ice- and fire-type Spells by one tier. Now that Zhao Yueru was Tier 2, her Tier 2 Spells had been upgraded to Tier 3.

Not even Shi Feng was confident of beating out Zhao Yueru's DPS.

When the team saw the Flame Witch's damage, they became far more confident of defeating the Troll Hero.

Under the unceasing magical bombardment, the Troll Hero rapidly lost HP. However, after five seconds, something happened that stupefied the team.

The Boss instantly healed all of the damage the team's ranged players had caused...

"What's going on? Why did it fully recover its HP?"

"Didn't we take more than 1% of its HP in the last five seconds?"

These players were dumbfounded as they stared at the unharmed Troll Hero. They couldn't understand how the Boss had recovered all of its lost HP.

"A Passive Skill?"

Unyielding Heart and Phoenix Rain quickly reached the conclusion that this disconcerting issue had been caused by one of the Boss's Skills. There was no other way to explain how the Boss had recovered more than 1% of its HP in the last five seconds.

This turn of events extinguished the little confidence everyone had gained from Zhao Yueru's performance.

"This Boss's combat method is very simple. If the Boss takes about one second to charge up when it lifts both axes into the air, it'll execute an AOE attack. You'll be safe from this AOE attack as long as you remain more than 15 yards away from the Boss. If it charges up for only half a second, it'll execute a straight-line attack. In that case, you'll be safe if you maintain a distance of more than 25 yards from the Boss. So, pay attention to dodging! When you're attacking, you'll have a higher chance at hitting the Boss if you execute two-part attacks," Shi Feng commanded through the team chat. "If everyone's ready, then melee players, join the assault!"

He's learned the Boss's attack method already? Unyielding Heart could not help his surprise as he watched Shi Feng calmly issue commands.

Normally, a raid team would need two or three minutes to figure out a Boss monster's attack pattern. Depending on the attack pattern's complexity, a raid team may even need over ten minutes to figure it out.

Yet, despite fighting for a few short seconds, Shi Feng had already figured out this Boss's attack method...

Hearing Shi Feng's orders, the team sprung into action.

As Shi Feng had stated, although the difference between a 1-second and 0.5-second charging time was subtle, the team's expert players easily recognized the difference. Hence, practically no one died when the Boss used its two AOE SKills. Moreover, when everyone assaulted the Boss according to Shi Feng's requirements, their hit rate was extremely high. As a result, the Troll Hero's HP steadily decreased.

Once the melee players included their DPS, the Boss lost HP even faster.

Because of this, these players had a newfound admiration for Shi Feng's leadership.

If a team had such a capable commander, the team's overall combat power would no doubt rise by a small margin. While the improvement might not be significant, this small difference could become a deciding factor in whether or not a team could clear a Dungeon.

After another five seconds, the team managed to shave off a little over 2% of the Troll Hero's HP. However, when the Troll Hero's Self-regeneration took effect, it instantly recovered 2% of its total HP, healing most of the damage.

It was evident that the team was in for a long battle of attrition.

Not even this is enough to beat it? Phoenix Rain thought, frowning. With the team's current DPS, it was possible to whittle the Boss down and kill it eventually, but at the current rate that the healers were burning through their Mana, they wouldn't last until the battle ended.

Unyielding Heart had come to the same realization.

It might be fine if they were raiding a 50-man Team Dungeon, but in super-large-scale Team Dungeons, players were prohibited from using magic arrays to suppress the Boss. Players had to rely on their own strength to defeat the Dungeon Bosses. This was also why the various superpowers couldn't raid super-large-scale Team Dungeons yet.

At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the Troll Hero annihilated the team...

Sure enough, it is too much to ask for current players to defeat this thing. Shi Feng could not help but reveal a bitter smile as he watched the Troll Hero's HP bar. He then took out the Ring of Gospel from his bag and injected 7,000 Magic Crystals.

World Projection!

Ring of Brilliance!

Chapter 1802 - Set Equipment of Astronomical Value

The moment World Projection activated, the Troll Hero paused. Meanwhile, due to Ring of Brilliance's effect, everyone on the team felt a pleasant sensation course through their bodies, their Basic Attributes and physique instantly improving by 10%.

"What's this? A magic array?"

"Didn't they say that magic arrays are prohibited inside super-large-scale Team Dungeons?"

When these players noticed the Troll Hero's Attributes decrease, they couldn't help but turn to Shi Feng in astonishment.

How is this possible?! The Boss's Basic Attributes fell by 20%?! Shock filled Unyielding Heart's gaze when he noticed the change. Turning to Shi Feng, he thought, Is this the real reason that he is so confident in challenging a super-large-scale Team Dungeon?

Unlike Grand Lords, Mythic monsters had more resistance against magic array suppression and negative status effects. If one tried to suppress a Mythic monster in the fields with an Intermediate Magic Array, they would be very fortunate if the magic array suppressed the Mythic monster's Attributes by 10%, much less 20%.

Although a 20% decrease in Basic Attributes did not seem like much, it decreased the raid's difficulty by at least 30%. This also reduced the equipment standard requirements for MTs and the DPS requirement for damage dealers.

Sure enough, he came prepared. When Phoenix Rain sensed the ambient Mana density and the increase to her Basic Attributes, she shot Shi Feng a glance. Although she had assumed that Shi Feng had prepared more trump cards than those they had seen thus far, she couldn't help but feel a little surprised once she actually saw them.

With this development, the Troll Hero was at a disadvantage. Now, Turtledove was able to stop all of the Troll Hero's frenzied attacks all by herself. The Boss also recovered far less HP via its battle recovery.

As a result, the Troll Hero's HP, which had barely moved thus far, began to fall at a steady pace.

99%... 96%... 92%...

When Turtledove's Berserk Skill ended, Shi Feng had the other Tier 2 MTs activate their Berserk Skills to tank the Troll Hero. Unlike Turtledove, though, the other MTs struggled to hold the Boss by themselves. Hence, Shi Feng had two Tier 2 MTs tank the Troll Hero at the same time, with Cola and Ye Wumian offering support from the sides.

Time passed quickly.

After five minutes since the battle had begun, the Troll Hero received a small boost to its Strength and speed. Fortunately, the improvement was tolerable for the Tier 2 MTs.

Before 20 minutes had passed, the Troll Hero's HP fell below the 1% threshold.

Seeing this, Shi Feng activated Divine Providence before activating Lightning Slash to land the killing blow. The Troll Hero then collapsed and transformed into particles of light, disappearing.

When the Boss faded away, a small mountain of items took its place. The loot's brilliant glow made the players from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul drool.

The Boss of a super-large-scale Team Dungeon actually drops so many items? With a rough glance at the pile of items, Unyielding Heart determined that more than 50 items had dropped. That was more than double what dropped from a Level 50 large-scale Team Dungeon's Boss.

The number of items before her surprised Phoenix Rain as well.

Shi Feng, however, didn't share their reaction. Although a super-large-scale Team Dungeon and a large-scale Team Dungeon dropped roughly the same quality of items, the former tended to drop far more loot than the latter.

Following which, Shi Feng collected the items while the ream took a break.

The intense battle against the Troll Hero had lasted nearly 20 minutes. At this point, the healers had expended a considerable portion of their Mana. The fighters also needed a moment to relax.

"Guild Leader, how's the loot?" Blackie, who rested on the ground nearby, asked Shi Feng.

"Not bad. We got a total of 63 items. Three are Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapons, one of which is a greatsword that adds Fire Resistance. Aside from that, we also got eight pieces of Level 55 Dark-Gold Equipment, three of which add Fire Resistance. Of the three pieces of Dark-Gold Equipment that add Fire Resistance, one is the Dark Corrosion Boots, a set piece for a Level 55 plate armor set, and another one is the Sundial Armguard, a set piece for a Level 55 cloth armor set. There are also seven pieces of Level 55 Fine-Gold Equipment, five of which add Fire Resistance. As for the other items, they're mainly Magic Scrolls, potions, Mana Stones, and raw materials," Shi Feng said as he shared the equipment statistics in the team chat for everyone to see.

"Crap! Level 55 Dark-Gold Set Equipment!"

Everyone's eyes glowed when they saw the statistics Shi Feng had shared. Both the Dark Corrosion Set and the Sundial Set were six-piece, Level 55 to Level 60 Dark-Gold Set Equipment. These two sets were easily the strongest set equipment they had seen thus far. If one equipped one of these sets, only players in full Epic Equipment could surpass them.

Shi Feng simply smiled in response to everyone's exclamations. The Dark Corrosion Set and Sundial Set were some of the best sets available to players between Level 55 and Level 60. Not only did they provide superb Fire Resistance, but they also had effects that significantly enhanced fire-type damage. The full Sundial Set, in particular, would increase all Basic Attributes by 220 points and physique by 15%. The set provided a significant improvement in all aspects. No ordinary Dark- Gold Set Equipment could compare.

When they saw the Dark Corrosion Set and Sundial Set, Unyielding Heart and Phoenix Rain's eyes turned slightly bloodshot. They hadn't considered that the Eclipse Throne could drop such valuable Dark-Gold Set Equipment. If an MT equipped the Dark Corrosion Set, that MT could easily tank Bosses in fiery environments. Tanking Level 50 Mythic Bosses would also become much easier.

"Guild Leader Black Flame, if you can collect a complete Dark Corrosion Set, Unyielding Soul will purchase it for 15,000 Gold!" Unyielding Heart declared.

The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion is willing to offer 17,000 Gold!" Phoenix Rain said

Then, Unyielding Soul offers 18,000 Gold!" Unyielding Heart hurriedly countered Phoenix Rain's offer.

Seeing Unyielding Heart and Phoenix Rain competing over the Dark Corrosion Set, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul members present were stunned. Even Zero Wing's members had similar reactions. They never thought that the VIPs of two super-first-rate Guilds would fight so fervently over the Dark Corrosion Set.

"I'm sorry. While I can understand your interest in purchasing the set, but the Dark Corrosion Set is very important to Zero Wing, so I have no intention of selling it for now," Shi Feng refused the offer immediately. "Of course, if Zero Wing obtains a second Dark Corrosion Set, I will be willing to sell it. However, the minimum bid I'll accept per set is 24,000 Gold. Of course, you can also offer rare materials or Magic Crystals."

Shi Feng's team members gasped when they heard his price.

It was too expensive!

One could purchase a very good plot of Land in an imperial capital's Central District for 24,000 Gold. It was even possible to construct a town with that kind of money, yet Shi Feng wanted 24,000 Gold for a single Dark-Gold Set Equipment.

"Guild Leader Black Flame, I believe you are aware that equipment has an effective time period. Although the Dark Corrosion Set is a Level 55 to Level 60 Dark-Gold Set Equipment, its value will decrease as time passes," Unyielding Heart said. "If you gather a complete set within seven days, I am willing to spend 24,000 Gold to purchase it. However, if you offer the complete set after a fortnight or a month, I'm afraid that the Dark Corrosion Set will no longer be worth that price."

Phoenix Rain nodded in agreement with Unyielding Heart's words. As their levels and equipment improved, Bosses that they hadn't been able to tackle would become easier to defeat. It was only a matter of time before they would acquire something similar to the Dark Corrosion Set. They were only willing to buy the Dark Corrosion Set now to jumpstart their plans, but as their time advantage shrunk, the set equipment's value would decrease as well.

"Rest assured. Zero Wing should have no problems securing a second Dark Corrosion Set within seven days. If we fail to collect a second set, I will put the first up for sale," Shi Feng said.

Although the Dark Corrosion Set was precious, its drop-rate in the Hell Mode Eclipse Throne was relatively high. He also had the Icarus's Heart. Super-large-scale Team Dungeons reset once a week, and after another seven days, Zero Wing would have far more Tier 2 experts. While Zero Wing wasn't guaranteed to acquire two Dark Corrosion Sets after two Dungeon raids, securing one shouldn't be an issue.

After some negotiations, Shi Feng decided to hold an auction for the Dark Corrosion Set in ten days. The set's final owner would depend on who offered the highest price, Phoenix Rain or Unyielding Heart.

Once Shi Feng had organized the loot, he turned his gaze to the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest in the gigantic iron cage above.

When the Troll Hero had died, it had also dropped a pitch-black key. This key, without a doubt, was related to the massive cage.

Shi Feng then activated Gale Domain and flew towards the hanging cage.

Chapter 1803 - Greatsword Saint

The iron cage above the arena was as large as a house. Although the cage was covered in rust, the divine runes on the iron railings were visible.

Due to these divine runes, some kind of invisible energy constantly circulated the cage.

When Shi Feng landed on top of the iron cage, he discovered that he was unable to use any Skills or Spells. His body also felt heavy, his movements becoming sluggish.

What powerful suppression. Shi Feng felt the strange energy suppress his mind as he stood on the cage, becoming a little dizzy. If a Tier 1 player stood in his place, they'd likely pass out.

When Shi Feng tried to reach the cage's lock, a powerful force shoved him away. He transformed into a blur as he crashed into the arena below.

"What's going on?"

"Didn't he already get a key?"

Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart were a little surprised when Shi Feng's figure slammed into the ground.

From their position, they had only seen Shi Feng fly like a cannonball the moment he had reached the cage's lock. They had never seen anything like it.

Once Shi Feng stood, he shook his head, still dizzy. He then fell into deep thought as he stared at the iron cage.

That one blow had dealt -60,000 damage. If a cloth armor or plate armor class with low HP had taken the blow, they would've died instantly.

"Guild Leader, is the key unable to open the cage?" Aqua Rose asked curiously as she looked at Shi Feng, whose HP had fallen to a critical level.

"No. We must be missing something," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. He realized that they needed more than just the key. "I think the rest of the Bosses should have what we need."

He hadn't heard anyone mention a gigantic cage above the Troll Hero during his previous life, so he had no idea of what he needed to open it. However, since this was clearly a reward for the first team that challenged the Hell Mode Eclipse Throne, the following Bosses should carry what he needed.

After Shi Feng rested for a while, he led the team onward.

The Eclipse Throne's castle was massive, and the Troll Hero was only the castle's gatekeeper. Under Shi Feng's command, the team slaughtered the patrolling monsters inside the castle. After nearly two hours, the team arrived at a garden. Along the way, the team had killed a large number of monsters. Overall, these monsters dropped a total of five pieces of Level 55 Fine-Gold Equipment and one Level 55 Dark-Gold Equipment piece. Since none of them provided Fire Resistance, Shi Feng decided to hold an internal auction for the Zero Wing members on the team. This made the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul members jealous.

Even now, they did not have a single piece of Level 55 Fine-Gold Equipment, much less Level 55 Dark-Gold Equipment.

"Guild Leader, there's a Boss ahead!" Fire Dance, who scouted for the team, reported through the team chat.

Hearing Fire Dance's report, everyone went on high alert and ventured through the garden carefully. After about another minute, the team found a courtyard that could very well be described with the word 'paradise.'

Surrounded by greenery and gorgeous flowers, a giant wolf lay slumbering beneath a large tree. The wolf was six-meters long and covered in crimson fur.

[Corrosive Wolf King] (Demonic Beast, Mythic)

Level 57

HP 400,000,000/400,000,000 "This Boss's aura is so strong!"

"The corrosive gas this Boss is giving off is really dense, too. I can already feel my Stamina decreasing faster than before, despite standing so far away."

The team members watched the Corrosive Wolf King with solemn expressions.

If the Corrosive Wolf King were similar to the Troll Hero, they would not have to worry. However, Bosses like the Corrosive Wolf King, which could cause constant damage or inflict debuffs, were the most troublesome. These Bosses would place an immense burden on the team's healers. If the healers couldn't keep up with the constant damage, it would only be a matter of time before the Boss annihilated the team.

"All MTs, form groups of three and stand in these specified locations! Melee DPS, split up into groups as well and stand beside the MTs! Healers and ranged DPS will run after the Boss throughout the raid! If there are no problems, let's begin!" Shi Feng simply used the standard procedures for a Boss raid and had his team move out.

This left Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart speechless. Although they wanted to express their opinions about Shi Feng's instructions, they held back and followed his orders when they recalled the Swordsman's ability to adapt.

As soon as the raid began, Shi Feng activated Ring of Brilliance. This time, though, he did not activate World Projection. Ring of Brilliance only cost 2,000 Magic Crystals, whereas World Projection cost 5,000 Magic Crystals. Meanwhile, the biggest problem with the Corrosive Wolf King was the low Mana environment, which weakened the effects of Skills and Spells. There was no actual need to suppress the Boss's Attributes.

Following which, under Shi Feng's orders, the team shaved off the Corrosive Wolf King's HP. Whenever too much corrosive gas contaminated the MT group that tanked the Boss, Shi Feng ordered another MT group to take its place. By replacing the MTs responsible for tanking the Boss, the contaminated MTs had enough time to recover.

As for the healing aspect of the raid, Shi Feng wasn't worried thanks to Violet Cloud's Holy Prayer and his Life Domain. By alternated these two AOE heals, the team's healers were able to conserve their Mana.

In the end, it took less than half an hour to defeat the almighty Corrosive Wolf King. When the Corrosive Wolf King had died, it had also dropped a pile of items, including the head and leg parts for the Dark Corrosion Set.

The team then proceeded toward the third Boss, the Corrosive Dryad. As with the last Boss, Shi Feng used the standard raid procedures, splitting the MTs into groups to deal with the Corrosive Dryad's numerous tendrils. Meanwhile, the melee players would open up a path for the ranged DPS to bombard the Dryad with fire-type Skills and Spells. During this raid, Zhao Yueru, with her Frostflame's Wrath, shone brightly. Like the Corrosive Wolf King, it took less than 30 minutes for the Corrosive Dryad to fall.

Meanwhile, the Corrosive Dryad dropped five pieces of Level 55 Dark-Gold Equipment and eight pieces of Level 55 Fine- Gold Equipment, all of which added Fire Resistance. Among the five pieces of Dark-Gold Equipment, two were set pieces for the Dark Corrosion Set, specifically the armguards and belt.

By the time the team defeated the Corrosive Dryad, including the two other Bosses and mobs they killed, everyone on the team had gained roughly 20% more EXP. Their leveling speed in the Dungeon was much faster than grinding elsewhere.

This left the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul's members speechless. They currently raided a Level 50, super- large-scale Team Dungeon's Hell Mode, yet not only hadn't they died and lost EXP, but their experience bars had also increased faster than grinding monsters outside of the Dungeon. If they were to retell this tale, nobody would believe them.

What surprised these super-first-rate Guilds' members the most was the fact that they had only used the standard raid procedures to defeat every Boss they had encountered. Despite facing Mythic monsters, they had managed to defeat these Bosses, one after another, without so much as suffering a single casualty...

Since when were standard raid tactics so effective in super-large-scale Team Dungeons?

The Bosses they had raided thus far were much easier compared to the Bosses in large-scale Team Dungeons.

However, unlike their companions, Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart realized what was happening.

Their team hadn't defeated these powerful Mythic Bosses so easily because the standard raid procedures were so effective in this Dungeon, but because Zero Wing's MTs, healers, and DPS were astoundingly powerful. There was also Shi Feng's heaven-defying Ring of Gospel, which could weaken the Bosses and enhance their entire team. Without these factors, all of these Boss fights would've been incredibly difficult or ended in a team-wipe.

The Eclipse Throne had a total of four Bosses. Now that they had killed three, only the Final Boss remained. Both Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart felt as if they were in a dream.

Following which, under Shi Feng's command, the team soon reached the throne room housing the Final Boss. The throne room was also on the castle's top floor.

When the team reached the throne room, they encountered a young man lying before the room's tightly shut doors. The young man wore golden armor and carried a greatsword that radiated a holy light on his back.

If one inspected this young man, they would discover that he was a Level 60 Mythic NPC.

When Shi Feng saw this NPC youth's name, he was stunned.

Why is he here? Shock filled Shi Feng's eyes as he gazed down at the Mythic NPC.

At this stage of the game, most likely no player, other than himself, knew about this NPC, but during his previous life, every God's Domain player would recognize the youth. This man had been reputed as the Greatsword Saint, known by players as the strongest entity below Tier 6.

However, the main reason for this NPC's fame was the weapon he wielded. It was also the easiest weapon to find among the Ten Great Legendary Weapons.

The Glorious Will!

Chapter 1804 - Epic Team Quest

Shi Feng had never thought that he would actually come across the Greatsword Saint Edward in the Eclipse Throne.

From what he remembered, the Greatsword Saint was stationed at the Ruined Mountain Range in the continent of God's Domain.

Although the Glorious Will was the easiest of the Ten Great Legendary Weapons to come by, even after ten years, no player had managed to acquire the real Glorious Will.

There had been a player that managed to acquire a Replica of the Glorious Will, who had been titled the Glorious Sword Saint.

Rumors had it that the Glorious Sword Saint had acquired the Replica from a quest. Other rumors claimed that the Replica came from the loot of a powerful Field Boss. There were also some that stated it was a commission made by a Famed Smith.

Although the Glorious Sword Saint had eventually revealed that the Glorious Will Replica came from a quest given out by Greatsword Saint Edward, nobody believed him. The reason for this was that many players had tried increasing their Favorability with Greatsword Saint Edward after the revelation. However, no matter how high their Favorability reached, the NPC did not offer them the same quest. Hence, everyone concluded that the Glorious Sword Saint had lied to conceal the origin of his weapon.

Could that person's weapon have come from here? Shi Feng thought as he looked at the Greatsword Saint Edward lying quietly against the doors to the throne room.

When he raided the Hell Mode Eclipse Throne in his previous life, he had never come across Edward. Now that the NPC appeared in the Dungeon in this life, Shi Feng could not help but suspect that the quest the Glorious Sword Saint had mentioned back then was related to the Edward before him right now.

This discovery thrilled Shi Feng.

The Glorious Will was one of the Ten Great Legendary Weapons in God's Domain. Even its Replica was something that countless players dreamed of obtaining. Otherwise, the owner of the Glorious Will Replica wouldn't have become the Glorious Sword Saint in the past.

"Guild Leader, should we approach this NPC?" Aqua Rose asked.

"Of course," Shi Feng replied, nodding before walking up to the NPC.

When Shi Feng got within 20 yards of Edward, the resting NPC abruptly opened his eyes.

"Adventurers, this isn't a place any of you should come to. Armas has stolen the Sun Crown. His strength exceeds your imagination. You all had best turn back now," Edward said, somewhat exhausted.

Upon hearing Edward's words, Shi Feng immediately connected the dots and concluded that the quest to acquire the Glorious Will Replica came from this Edward.

"Lord Edward, we are not afraid of danger. If there is anything we can help you with, please say so," Shi Feng declared.

"Since you are determined, so be it. Brave adventurers, Armas has only recently stolen the Sun Crown. He has yet to absorb its power completely. I hope that you can help me reclaim the Sun Crown," Edward said after giving the matter some thought

System: Do you wish to accept the Epic Team Quest "Sun Crown"?

Quest content: Help Edward reclaim the Sun Crown that Armas stole. Rewards unknown.

Shi Feng accepted the quest without hesitation.

Everyone else in the team gaped in shock when they read the notification. They had never thought that they could receive an Epic Team Quest in such a place.

This situation made Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart envy Zero Wing even more.

This Epic Team Quest was essentially a Dungeon-raiding quest Successfully raiding the Dungeon meant the completion of this quest It was basically a bonus reward to Zero Wing.

"Brave adventurers, follow me. It is time for this Evil Lich to receive his due!" Edward said as he stood up. He then pushed apart the tightly shut steel doors and stepped into the throne room.

"Everyone, follow the NPC!" Shi Feng commanded.

Everyone trailed Edward into the throne room.

Upon entering the throne room, everyone felt as if they had gone outdoors at nighttime. The ceiling of the throne room resembled the starry sky at night At the far end of the throne room, seated high up on the throne was a two-meter-tall skeleton dressed in midnight robes, wearing a fiery crown on its skull and holding a golden staff. This skeleton was none other than the Lich Armas. Currently, Armas was gazing down at Shi Feng and the others as if he was the King of the Underworld.

Meanwhile, standing on one side of Armas's throne was a suit of pitch-black armor that was missing its head, and on the other side was a six-meter-tall beast that had the body of a scorpion.

...

[Armas] (Lich, Mythic)

Level 60

HP 500,000,000/500,000,000 [Headless Knight] (Undead, Mythic)

Level 59

HP 360,000,000/360,000,000 [Scorpion-Snake King] (Demonic Beast, Mythic)

Level 59

HP 420,000,000/420,000,000

...

The statistics of these monsters had everyone gasping. The confidence built up from their success thus far promptly disappeared.

"Is this a joke?"

"Three Mythic monsters?! The system is too shameless!"

"So, this is Hell Mode?"

"No, that can't be right! Even Hell Mode shouldn't be this difficult! This must be due to the Team Quest!"

Everyone's hearts stopped as they stared in despair at the three Mythic monsters at the far end of the throne room.

It already took everything they had to fight one Mythic monster. Fighting three Mythic monsters at the same time was beyond a 200-man team of Tier 2 players.

Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart currently wore somber expressions as they looked at the three Mythic monsters. They felt that the system was playing a big joke on them.

"Guild Leader Black Flame, this quest is a little outside of our capabilities. Why don't we abandon this quest? With our team's current strength, it is simply impossible to go up against three Mythic monsters simultaneously," Phoenix Rain suggested.

Unyielding Heart nodded his head in agreement.

This was no longer a feasible challenge for current players. At the very least, their entire 200-man team needed to be fully equipped in Level 55 or even Level 60 Dark-Gold Equipment, with the main members of the team having multiple pieces of Epic Weapons and Equipment. Only then could they cope with three Mythic monsters at once.

At this moment, Shi Feng had a gloomy expression.

He had never imagined that the Epic Team Quest would be so vicious. If there were only two Mythic monsters, he still had the means to deal with them. However, with his current team, challenging three Mythic monsters simultaneously was asking too much.

Must I give up? When Shi Feng thought about how much he had gone through to obtain this quest, reluctance filled his heart. No, if even my current team can't complete this quest, how could the Glorious Sword Saint's team possibly have completed it?

As the first team to conquer the Hell Mode Eclipse Throne, the Glorious Sword Saint's team might be slightly superior to Shi Feng's current team in terms of equipment standards, but there was definitely a limit to the difference. Not to mention, he had the Ring of Gospel to improve his team's Basic Attributes and suppress the Mythic monsters'.

At this moment, the sound of a system notification suddenly entered everyone's ears.

System: You have accepted the Epic Team Quest "Sun Crown." Please select your challenge difficulty.

System: There are three difficulties available: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Depending on the difficulty selected, the final reward will also be adjusted. Please choose carefully. The difficulty cannot be changed once selected!

Chapter 1805 - Skyrocketing Combat Power

"There are three different difficulties?" Shi Feng, more or less, understood how the Glorious Sword Saint had completed this quest in the past after seeing the system notification.

Bronze rank was no doubt the easiest. It was also very likely that the Glorious Sword Saint had chosen this difficulty to complete the Epic Team Quest.

However, the only problem right now was that the system did not clearly state the difficulties' standards.

If players had to fight all three Mythic monsters at once, which difficulty was it?

If Bronze difficulty had that requirement, then even Shi Feng had to admit defeat. When he had raided the Hell Mode Eclipse Throne during his previous life, Armas had been the only Boss at the end of the Dungeon. The Lich hadn't had any subordinates at his side. With his current team, it was simply impossible to take on Armas and his two subordinates simultaneously.

If, however, the challenge before him was Gold rank, then he could attempt Bronze or Silver.

"This difficulty selection really is troublesome. The system actually refuses to provide any information about our options. It's impossible to make a good decision." Phoenix Rain frowned as she watched Armas and his two subordinates.

Without any information as a benchmark, they would waste all of the effort they had put into this Dungeon raid thus far on the off chance that they made the wrong selection.

"Brave adventurers, Armas and his subordinates are very strong. If you can't hold on after the battle begins in a moment, you can gather around me. Although I haven't fully recovered my power yet, I can unfold a Domain around me. The Domain will, more or less, weaken their power," Edward suddenly said.

Power hasn't fully recovered yet? Unfold a Domain? Shi Feng could not help but turn to look at Edward upon hearing the NPC's words. So, that's the case!

"Guild Leader, did you figure something out?" Aqua Rose asked curiously when she saw Shi Feng's smile.

"I now understand this quest's difficulty standards," Shi Feng said as he gestured to Edward. "The challenge difficulty doesn't refer to the three Bosses. It refers to the support Edward can provide. The more difficult the challenge, the more limited Edward's help will be."

Hearing Shi Feng's words, realization dawned on the team. They all felt that Shi Feng's guess was likely the right one. However, a gloomy atmosphere descended on the team again. Even if Edward could help, his assistance had a limit

Moreover, after all was said and done, they still had to face three Mythic monsters simultaneously...

After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng decided to choose the Silver rank difficulty. He felt that his team's overall combat power was higher than the Glorious Sword Saint's raid team in the past. If the Glorious Sword Saint had been able to clear the Bronze challenge, then his team should have a high chance of clearing the Silver challenge.

Although the Gold challenge's rewards might be abundant, Shi Feng didn't think it was worth the risk. Since the system notification had clearly stated that one could not change their difficulty selection once they had made their choice, it was likely that they'd only have one opportunity to challenge this quest. If they failed the quest, they'd walk away with nothing.

Hence, Shi Feng decided on the Silver challenge.

System: You have chosen to challenge the Silver difficulty.

System: It is detected that you are challenging the "Sun Crown" quest for the first time. Difficulty selection may be altered to Normal Mode or Hero Mode. For Normal Mode, the Bosses' Attributes will be weakened by 20%. Based on your performance in the battle, the reward will range between Bronze rank and Silver rank. For Hero Mode, the Bosses'

Attributes will be weakened by 10%. Based on your performance in the battle, the reward given will range between Silver rank and Gold rank. This privilege is only available on the first challenge. You may also forsake this opportunity and choose the standard difficulties. Please choose wisely.

"Privilege for the first challenge?" Shi Feng could not help his grin. He now realized how the Glorious Sword Saint had completed the quest Following which, Shi Feng chose Hero Mode.

If all three Mythic monsters' Basic Attributes fell by 20%, it would undoubtedly be of great help to the team. It was no wonder why the Glorious Sword Saint's raid team had defeated all three Mythic Bosses. Although Hero Mode only weakened the Bosses by 10%, he should be able to reduce the Mythic Bosses' Basic Attributes by nearly 30% with the Ring of Gospel's suppression. With Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian's strength, plus the other Tier 2 MTs, they should be able to keep all three Bosses in check.

Hero Mode? Unyielding Heart was speechless when he saw Shi Feng's selection. Is he insane?

Phoenix Rain was similarly surprised. Shi Feng's initial decision to choose the Silver challenge was understandable since they had so little information to work with, and regardless of their choice, they still had to face three Mythic Bosses at once. However, now that they had concrete numbers, Shi Feng had chosen Hero Mode. This decision was confusing.

While she understood that with Shi Feng's Ring of Gospel, it was possible to suppress the three Bosses further, but the biggest problem wasn't whether or not the team's MTs could tank the Bosses. It was whether or not the team had enough DPS.

Moreover, since they had to fight three Mythic Bosses simultaneously, the pressure on the team's healers would be unprecedented. When the raid began, the healers' Mana expenditure would be massive. If their healers ran out of Mana in the middle of the raid, they'd definitely team-wipe.

They had to reduce the Bosses' maximum HP as much as possible to ensure a greater chance of success. Although there was only a 10% difference between Normal Mode and Hero Mode, the three Bosses had a combined 1,280,000,000 HP. A 10% difference meant that their team had to deal with an additional 128,000,000 HP. Moreover, there was the matter of battle recovery. This would undoubtedly extend the raid's duration by a significant amount of time, which would increase the risk of the team's healers running out of Mana mid-battle.

Meanwhile, after Shi Feng had selected the fight's difficulty, the three Mythic Bosses lost 10% of their Attributes.

"Good! Cola, Turtledove, Ye Wumian, each of you will tank one of the Bosses! The other MTs will support them! Prioritize the Scorpion-Snake King!" Shi Feng said. He then took out the Bible of Darkness and summoned a Tier 3 Demon. "Everyone, release the limiter on your weapons altogether!"

For the raid, he had armed every participating Zero Wing member with Tier 2 and Tier 3 Mana Weapons, especially the Tier 2 Mana Weapons. Of the 85 Zero Wing members he had with him this time, he had armed each with at least three Tier 2 Mana Weapons. Initially, he had only planned to use the Mana Weapons when the team lacked firepower.

Now that they were required to go up against three Mythic Bosses simultaneously, he couldn't afford to be stingy with the Mana Weapons.

Hearing Shi Feng's words, Zero Wing's members, who had felt a little gloomy, revealed excited expressions.

Thus far, only the MTs had been allowed to liberate their Mana Weapons' power; the rest of them hadn't been allowed.

Now that Shi Feng had given them permission, they could use their Mana Weapons' Skill whenever they wanted to exhibit immense power.

"What's going on with Zero Wing's members?" The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul members were confused to see Zero Wing's members brim with confidence and fighting spirit.

However, after Shi Feng used World Projection and Ring of Brilliance, and Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian had stabilized their aggro, the scenes that followed thoroughly dumbfounded Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul members...

After Edward activated his Domain, the Domain reducing the three Bosses' reaction speed by 30% and Attack Power by 20%. This greatly reduced the pressure Cola and the others faced.

After the Scorpion-Snake King and Headless Knight lost nearly 30% of their Attributes, the two Bosses were a joke. Even the team's regular Tier 2 MTs could tank the two Bosses' fierce assaults on their own, let alone Turtledove and Ye Wumian. This allowed the DPS to attack the two Bosses freely.

The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul's Tier 2 experts were fortunate if their attacks dealt more than -10,000 damage, yet Zero Wing's experts dealt over -30,000 damage with each attack. The latter's magical class experts even landed multiple attacks that dealt over -50,000 damage. The damage Zero Wing's members dealt was simply ridiculous!

Moreover, a Tier 3 Demon bombarded the Bosses in a frenzy, rapidly devouring their HP. This stupefied the players from the two super-first-rate Guilds. They had never thought that Zero Wing could summon a Demon that was as strong as an ordinary Grand Lord of the same level.

After the team defeated the first two Mythic Bosses and focused on Armas, the raid became considerably more difficult Armas was a Lich that could use spells of all of the four major elements. Each of his Spells could instant-kill a non-plate armor class. Hence, even though Armas's Attributes had been suppressed, he was extremely difficult to deal with.

Fortunately, Shi Feng had his Forbidden Domain to stop the occasional large-scale destruction Spell the Lich cast. On the rare occasions when Forbidden Domain was on Cooldown, the other players disrupted the Lich's spellcasting with powerful Skills and Spells, significantly reducing the threat Armas posed.

When Armas's HP fell to 30%, however, the Lich began to double-speed-cast, catching everyone offguard. As a result, over a dozen players died in the blink of an eye.

The rest of the players were startled.

How is this possible? The Boss actually knows howto double-speed-cast? Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart were just as stunned.

Double-speed-casting was a technique that many expert players found extremely difficult to accomplish, but once they could execute the technique, they'd undergo a qualitative transformation. Players would be able to enhance their offensive and defensive capabilities.

"Everyone, activate your Berserk Skills! With the exception of MTs, I want everyone to keep moving around! Do not let the Boss lock on to you!" Shi Feng hurriedly commanded after seeing Armas going berserk.

Hearing Shi Feng's command, the team went into action. Everyone activated their Berserk Skills and ran in random patterns, making it difficult for Armas to target them with his Spells. As a result, the Lich could only target the relatively immobile MTs. This allowed the team to reduce the risk of casualties.

"The Boss doesn't have much HP left! Attack with everything you've got!" Shi Feng said before activating Lightning Slash.

Gentle Snow also used her Tier 2 Skill Bladestorm, while Zhao Yueru used Frostflame Space and attacked the Boss alongside her doppelgangers. As for Aqua Rose, she used her Domain Skill, Aqua Precinct.

Everyone on the team used their strongest Skills and Spells available.

Even the weakest attacks inflicted over -50,000 damage, while the stronger ones dealt over -100,000 damage. Armas's HP plummeted as a result

20%... 10%... 5%...

"Die!"

When Armas's HP fell below 1%, Shi Feng, who had Power of Darkness activated, used Divine Providence and Flame Burst. Miniature suns bombarded Armas, one after another, devouring the Boss's remaining HP.

Boom!

As the team watched, Armas's skeletal body crumbled to the ground. The surviving members then heard a series of system notifications.

Chapter 1806 - Eclipse Throne First Clear

"The Boss is dead?"

"We did it! We won!"

Everyone cried out with joy when they saw Armas's skeletal figure on the ground.

Although Armas had killed over 60 of their 200-man team, they still defeated the Final Boss of the Eclipse Throne in the end. Not even the various superpowers dared to challenge this Dungeon!

Zero Wing's members were similarly ecstatic. Although they had trusted Shi Feng's decision, they couldn't help their excitement after actually watching Armas fall. After all, they had achieved a feat that not even God's Domain's current superpowers were capable of.

Everyone was particularly excited to see their names appear on the Dungeon's Glory List, which had appeared in the center of the throne room in the form of a stone monument after Armas's death. With this, their names would be permanently recorded and put on display for players that would clear the Hell Mode Eclipse Throne in the future.

Even Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief. It had not been easy to defeat Armas and his two subordinates. He couldn't use many of his tools in a super-large-scale Team Dungeon; the team had to rely on their weapons and equipment to take out the three Mythic Bosses.

System: Congratulations! You have obtained the First Clear of the Hell Mode Eclipse Throne. Rewarding Guild Popularity +20, Humanity Reputation +20, all loot doubled.

System: Do you wish to release a congratulatory announcement to the public? If you do not make a decision within 30 seconds, the announcement will be made by default.

After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng chose not to inform the public of their success.

While announcing Zero Wing's success of clearing the Hell Mode Eclipse Throne would garner a lot of fame to the Guild, it would also attract more enemies. Furthermore, Zero Wing had stood out quite a bit lately thanks to Silverwing Town, earning a few superpowers' envy.

If the various superpowers knew that Zero Wing also had the strength to raid a super-large-scale Team Dungeon, even if it had the help of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul, they would definitely relate this success to Silverwing Town.

At that time, the various superpowers would likely do everything they could to capture the town.

Although Silverwing Town's development was coming along quite nicely right now, its defensive capabilities weren't strong enough yet More time was needed to fortify the town properly.

"Phoenix Pavilion Master, Vice Guild Leader Heart, I hope that you will keep this matter a secret for the time being. I don't want too many people to know about what happened here," Shi Feng said as he looked at Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart.

"That won't be a problem. The people I've brought today are my trusted subordinates. None of them will speak a word about today's raid," Unyielding Heart said, nodding.

"There aren't any problems on my side, either," Phoenix Rain said, smiling.

Publicizing their success today would only be a detriment. After all, they still had important business with Shi Feng. If the various superpowers learned of the Dark Corrosion Set, an intense struggle over the set would definitely ensue.

Hence, both Unyielding Heart and Phoenix Rain welcomed the fact that Shi Feng wanted to keep today's achievement confidential.

Shortly after Shi Feng decided against the congratulatory announcement, Armas's golden throne abruptly shattered. A small mountain of items took its place, radiating a glow that illuminated the throne room.

At a glance, there were easily over 100 items in that pile.

The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul members stared at the loot with bulging eyes.

"Adventurers, thank you for your help in giving Armas the punishment he deserves," Edward said sincerely as he walked up to Shi Feng. Edward held the golden crown that previously graced Armas's skull. "Although Armas has died, his power has not vanished completely. Half of his power has gathered in one of his eyes, while the other half is stored in the sealed cage above the arena. If you wield his eye, you should be able to acquire his remaining power. Hopefully, it will be of some help."

After Edward had said so, a magic array appeared beneath his feet. The Greatsword Saint then transformed into a streak of light and left the throne room.

System: Congratulations! You have completed the Epic Team Quest, "Sun Crown." Total deaths - 63. Time spent - 47 minutes, 28 seconds. Awarding Grade A evaluation, +30% EXP, four Legacy Skill Points, and one Armas's Eye.

"Grade A?" When Shi Feng read the system notification, he was satisfied with the outcome, seeing as they had challenged Hero Mode. He then plucked Armas's Eye from the ground and inspected it.

...

[Armas's Eye] (Necklace, Epic Rank Item)

An Eye of Time formed of nearly half of the Great Lich Armas's power. The Eye of Time can view both the past and the future.

Level 50 - Level 100

Equipment Requirement: Intelligence 1,200, Vitality 800 Intelligence +57, Vitality +54, Endurance +44 (Level 50)

Casting speed increased by 15%;

All Spell effectiveness increased by 15%;

Cast range +2;

Spell Completion Rate increased by 1%.

Additional Skill 1-

Eye of Future: When activated, allows the user to maintain an hour of simulated combat.

Cooldown: 10 hours Additional Skill 2-

Eye of Past: Tracks the target's movement and location for three hours.

Cooldown: 6 hours

What heaven-defying Skills! Shi Feng was astonished after reading Armas's Eye's Attribute Panel.

Armas's Eye's Basic Attributes were average at best, but the two Skills were incredible. Eye of Future, in particular, was simply heaven-defying.

With the Eye of Future, players could participate in a system-simulated battle before the actual fight If this Skill were used to raid Bosses, players could test various strategies without sacrificing team members.

If used in a PvP battle, although the Main God System wouldn't be able to replicate enemy players' movements perfectly, it could mimic players with an 80% to 90% accuracy. If players could practice against their simulated opponents before the actual battle, they would be more confident during the actual battle.

Most importantly, Eye of Future could reveal an enemy's true strength. Meanwhile, the simulated player would remain wholly ignorant of their trump cards' exposure.

The only downside was that Eye of Future had a very long Cooldown. Even so, it was amazing.

After Shi Feng finished marveling over Armas's Eye, he examined the rest of the loot.

A total of 131 items had dropped from the throne. Over half were rare materials, Magic Crystals, and Mana Stones. Only 23 items were weapons and equipment.

Among the weapons and equipment dropped, the best was the Epic Weapon, Nether Scepter, a top-tier staff for Summoners. The staff enhanced summoned creatures using Nether Spirit, which increased their Basic Attributes by 25%. The staff could also summon a squad of Nether Guards, consisting of one captain and nine soldiers. The captain was a High Lord, while the nine soldiers were Lords.

Shi Feng had also obtained the chest piece for the Dark Corrosion Set, the last piece he needed to complete the Dark-Gold Set Equipment. Including the set effects, the Dark Corrosion Set granted a total of 180 points of Fire Resistance. With such high Fire Resistance, players would have no trouble against a fire-type Boss. Moreover, the set offered higher Basic Attribute bonuses than ordinary Dark-Gold Set Equipment of the same level.

Shi Feng had Cola equip the Dark Corrosion Set without hesitation. Upon equipping the set, Cola's Basic Attributes skyrocketed. His HP also reached 87,000.

"With this Fire Resistance, a Tier 1 players' fire-type attacks will likely have no effect on me," Cola said, astonished when he saw his Fire Resistance. He now had more than 200 points.

Wearing the red and black metallic armor, Cola looked like a war god that had just stepped off a battlefield of fire. Heat wafted off of him in waves. Seeing this, Unyielding Heart and Phoenix Rain raised their evaluation of the Dark Corrosion Set.

Shi Feng didn't leave the Team Dungeon immediately after he tidied up the loot. Instead, he led the team back to the castle's arena.

Now that Armas was dead, as Edward had said, he could retrieve the other half of Armas's power, which was inside the locked steel cage.

When Shi Feng thought about the Glorious Will Replica, his heart pounded with elation.

Chapter 1807 - Glorious Will's Replica

Once more, Shi Feng stood before the rusted cage in the bloodlust-saturated arena.

The mysterious power that previously protected the cage was now gone. This allowed Shi Feng to approach the cage and unlock it with the key he had acquired from the Troll Hero.

Click.

After opening the cage, the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest appeared before Shi Feng in full. Curiosity overwhelmed the other players in the arena after seeing Shi Feng unlock the cage. They were all eager to learn what the treasure chest contained.

After all, this Magic Crystal Treasure Chest was the Epic Team Quest's true reward.

Please let the Glorious Will Replica be inside! Shi Feng inwardly prayed as he carefully opened the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest.

Although the Glorious Sword Saint had claimed that he had acquired the Replica from a quest, he hadn't stated which quest. It was possible that he hadn't obtained the Replica from this Team Dungeon. Hence, Shi Feng wasn't certain that he would find the Glorious Will Replica in this Magic Crystal Treasure Chest.

As the loading bar slowly filled, Shi Feng grew increasingly nervous.

After the 20-second activation progress completed, the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest's lid slowly lifted on its own. Golden light then illuminated the entire arena. The arena's ambient Mana even grew slightly denser.

"What's going on?! Opening the treasure chest can actually increase the arena's Mana density?!"

"This treasure chest is amazing! Could it be a Legendary Treasure Chest?!"

"How is that even possible? Why would the system award players with a Legendary Treasure Chest just for completing an Epic Team Quest? At the very least, you'd have to complete a Legendary Quest to get something like that."

"I guess that's true. Even so, that chest definitely has an Epic item."

"That's right! I had never thought that it was possible to acquire such a huge harvest by raiding a super-large-scale Team Dungeon. We got so many more items than we could from a large-scale Team Dungeon. Zero Wing struck gold this time. With all of the weapons and equipment it earned from this raid, its main force will definitely become a lot stronger. Zero Wing will have a much easier time raiding super-large-scale Team Dungeons in the future."

...

As the light from the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest started to dim, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul members chatted among themselves.

They could already see Zero Wing growing even stronger in the future. Even if the Guild had a numbers problem right now and would not be able to raid other super-large-scale Team Dungeons for some time, the Guild should have no problems raiding large-scale Team Dungeons in kingdoms and empires with all of the loot it had acquired from the Eclipse Throne.

"Cycling, once we return, notify the Guild's upper echelons and tell them that I'm holding an emergency meeting," Unyielding Heart whispered to the male Cleric beside him.

"Vice Guild Leader, you couldn't possibly be thinking of...inviting them, right?" Cycling Light asked in surprise. "Isn't that a little too risky? Aside from the other Vice Guild Leaders, I'm afraid the Guild Leader won't agree to it."

"Zero Wing might be an outsider, but you've witnessed the Guild's strength personally. Zero Wing's main force is no weaker than a super-first-rate Guild's. I believe that with this strength, the Guild Leader will be very happy to get Zero Wing's assistance," Unyielding Heart said, smiling. "We truly have to thank Lingsha for this. If she hadn't sent us to help Zero Wing, we'd likely remain ignorant of Zero Wing's strength."

"Indeed. We really have to thank Miss Lingsha." Cycling Light nodded. "Miss Lingsha likely discovered Zero Wing's strength a while ago, so she asked us to do everything we could to help the Guild."

He hadn't understood why Mu Lingsha had wanted them to help Zero Wing, but now, he had to admire her excellent insight. It was no wonder why Unyielding Soul's Board of Directors had voted to make Mu Lingsha the Guild's current Honorary Elder.

When Mu Lingsha was first conferred the position, the decision had displeased many of the Guild's upper echelons and Elders. After all, Mu Lingsha was simply too young. She also wasn't very familiar with God's Domain, and she wasn't particularly famous in the virtual gaming world. It simply wasn't fair that she should have so much authority in the Guild.

Looking at it now, however, Cycling Light thought that Mu Lingsha definitely deserved the position.

Standing nearby, Blue Phoenix glanced at Unyielding Heart and Cycling Light.

"Big Sis Rain, it seems Unyielding Heart has become very interested in Zero Wing," Blue Phoenix said quietly.

"That's normal. The power Zero Wing displayed truly exceeded everyone's expectations. Zero Wing's strength is nothing like what a first-rate Guild should have," Phoenix Rain said, chuckling. "Nine Dragons Emperor is still trying to find a way to eliminate Zero Wing. I'm really curious to see what kind of expression he'll make once he learns that Unyielding Soul wants to deepen its relationship with his rival."

The struggle for the position of Great Pavilion Master had grown more intense lately, and thanks to the wonderful misunderstanding that Zero Wing was one of her subordinates, she had gained the upper-hand in the competition for the position. Although she had tried multiple times to refute the misunderstanding, she no longer felt that it was a bad thing to let the misunderstanding continue.

The stronger Zero Wing became, the greater her chance would be of becoming the next Great Pavilion Master.

However, she was surprised when she considered how fast Zero Wing developed. When she had first encountered Zero Wing, it had been just another small Guild in the kingdom. Now, however, even a veteran super-first-rate Guild like Unyielding Soul considered Zero Wing important This development speed was a little scary.

Meanwhile, when the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest opened fully within the iron cage, Shi Feng was stunned by what he saw.

He had to admit that a Gold Magic Crystal Treasure Chest was indeed amazing. The items inside were far more impressive than the contents of an Epic Treasure Chest Although this Gold Magic Crystal Treasure Chest didn't have as many items as the one he had found in the Lost Town, the items' quality was just as high.

There were a total of five items inside the treasure chest

The first was an Epic Consumable called Frost Hell. It was a Domain tool that could be used to alter the weather. However, it could only be used five times.

The second item was a Warrior Summoning Order. When used, it would gather a group of powerful NPCs. Players could then choose a Personal Guard from among these NPCs, the weakest of which would be Secret-Silver rank. If one were lucky, one of the NPCs could be Fine-Gold rank. The Warrior Summoning Order was easily worth tens of thousands of Gold.

The third item was an Advanced Smithy Design. As an Advanced Construction, the Advanced Smithy possessed abilities that a Basic Smithy definitely did not. For example, the Advanced Smithy had the ability to invite NPC Master Forgers to run it Meanwhile, players could periodically commission the invited Master Forger to produce weapons and equipment for them. Although the cost was extremely high, players could obtain a highly-compatible weapon or equipment piece.

The fourth item was the Tier 4 Continuous-use Magic Scroll, Vulcan's Sigh. The Magic Scroll was slightly special due to its multiple uses, though players would have to spend Magic Crystals to replenish the scroll's Mana. Typically, a Continuous-use Magic Scroll could be used four to six times. It was easily worth more than a piece of ordinary Epic Equipment.

The final item was a cool, dazzling golden greatsword. It was the most valuable item among the five inside the treasure chest and the item Shi Feng had hoped to find the most.

The Replica of the Glorious Will!

Chapter 1808 - Sword of Violence

The Glorious Will was a golden greatsword radiating a golden glow. A bundle of golden flames encased within its hilt emanated a sacred aura. The weapon's cool design would easily captivate its wielder.

As Shi Feng inspected the greatsword in his hands, everyone else in the arena had their attention drawn to the weapon. "What's that sword? It's so amazing! It's actually giving off such a powerful aura despite being in an inactive state!"

"Why does that sword look somewhat familiar?"

"Huh? That looks like the greatsword the NPC from before had!"

"That sword looks so cool! I wonder, what is its rank?"

"I'm guessing it should be an Epic Weapon at the very least. There's no way a Dark-Gold Weapon would feel this powerful.'

Everyone discussed quietly among themselves as they looked at the Glorious Will Shi Feng had retrieved from the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest Many Swordsmen and Berserkers, the only two classes capable of using two-handed weapons like greatswords, in the team stared at the greatsword greedily, their eyes turning bloodshot

Sure enough, it really is amazing! Shi Feng was astonished as he checked the Glorious Will's Attributes.

[Glorious Will (Replica)] (Two-handed Sword, Epic Rank)

Level 50 - Level 100

Equipment Requirement: Strength 2,000

Attributes adjust according to user's level.

Attack Power +2,320 (Level 50)

Strength +285, Endurance +240, Agility +265 Attack Speed +10 Attacks have:

20% chance to transform into a Sword of Light and penetrate through all defenses;

30% chance to trigger Scorching Radiance, increasing Strength by 40% and damage by 210%.

When equipped:

Increases Strength by 30% and Agility by 10%;

Attack range +2;

All weapon-related Skills +2 Levels;

Ignore Levels +15;

All item level requirements reduced by 5 Levels.

Additional Passive SkiH-

Radiance Domain: Increases the wielder's Movement Speed, Attack Speed, and reaction speed based on the number of creatures within a 50-yard radius. Each additional creature provides a 1% boost, up to a maximum of 30%.

Additional Active Skill 1-

Will of Light Grants the Will of Light onto the weapon, increasing Strength by 150% and inflicting 400% damage to a 5*25-yard area in front. Can be used up to five times. Each use has a one-minute Cooldown.

Additional Active Skill 2-

Myth of Light: Temporarily increases user's tier by one (up to a maximum of Tier 4) to deal one devastating attack in a 50- yard cone.

Cooldown: 20 minutes Additional Active Skill 3-

Light Speed: Allows the user to transform into light and instantly travel a maximum distance of 150 yards. Afterward, increases Movement Speed by 50% for 15 seconds. During this duration, user can also control and attack with 16 Swords of Light formed using the Power of Light Each Sword of Light can attack only once. Each Sword of Light has 80% of the user's Attributes.

Cooldown: 5 minutes

This is a replica forged by Lich Armas using the power of the Sun Crown. Due to insufficient power, Armas failed to complete the replica. Currently, this replica is still in an incomplete state. Gather 100,000 Magic Crystals and 100 Sun Essences to complete the replica. (The replica has currently absorbed 0 Magic Crystal and 0 Sun Essence.)

Looking at the Glorious Will in his hands, Shi Feng felt that the weapon was basically a sword of violence. It possessed paramount Strength. Ordinary Epic Weapons simply could not compare to it Moreover, this greatsword was even useful for chasing fleeing or swiftly moving targets. The Skill Light Speed, in particular, allowed its wielder to cross a distance of 150 yards instantly. With the ability to traverse such a distance in a heartbeat, players would be able to execute many feats.

This greatsword was perfect for Berserkers and Swordsmen lacking in survivability when grinding in the fields.

In the past, thanks to Glorious Will, the Glorious Sword Saint had managed to escape many fatal situations. Moreover, despite the current Glorious Will already being very powerful, it was still incomplete. In its completed state, the weapon's lifesaving capabilities would be much better. This was also the reason why the Glorious Sword Saint had become one of the most difficult Sword Saints to kill in God's Domain in the past. Even when going up against Tier 6 God-ranked experts, the Glorious Sword Saint had been able to attack and flee as he wished.

However, the upgrade conditions sure are stringent. It actually needs 100,000 Magic Crystals and 100 Sun Essences. Shi Feng frowned at the upgrade requirements.

Even for the current Zero Wing, 100,000 Magic Crystals was a considerable amount. Not to mention, in order to defeat the Bosses in the Eclipse Throne, he had already spent tens of thousands of Magic Crystals. Right now, he had only a little over 20,000 Magic Crystals left.

As for Sun Essence, it was even more valuable than Magic Crystals. Right now, one Sun Essence was worth around 50 Gold on the market It was so valuable because it served as the power source of many mechanical tools. For example, practically all engines used by Mysterious-Iron ranked ships needed Sun Essence. Even so, each engine required only 10 or so Sun Essences.

Meanwhile, a Mysterious-Iron ship was currently more valuable than even Epic Equipment. Nonetheless, the Glorious Will actually required ten times the number of Sun Essences needed to run a Mysterious-Iron ship.

Sun Essence was extremely rare. It could only be acquired from special Regional Dungeons and maps, although, most of the time, players got it through quests or exchanges with NPCs. However, these quests were tough, and the items needed to trade for Sun Essence were likewise very valuable and difficult to obtain.

It seems I have no choice but to gather Sun Essences. Shi Feng sighed as he looked at Glorious Will. He then stored the weapon in his bag, not intending to share its statistics with the team.

This was a replica of Glorious Will, one of the Ten Great Legendary Weapons of God's Domain. Moreover, although it was currently only an Epic Weapon, it had the potential to reach Fragmented Legendary rank. If information of this weapon leaked, it would definitely cause a huge commotion. Hence, the fewer players that knew about the weapon, the better. This was just like Gentle Snow's Seven Luminaries Battle Armor, Zhao Yueru's Frostflame's Wrath, and Fire Dance's Thousand Transformations_items that needed to be kept a secret.

Currently, less than seven people in Zero Wing knew what these items were. Hence, even until now, their details had yet to leak to the public. Nobody aside from these people knew that the number of Fragmented Legendary items and items capable of being upgraded to the Fragmented Legendary rank in Zero Wing's hands was close to ten.

If this matter became public, every superpower in the game would instantly target Zero Wing.

When everyone saw Shi Feng exiting the cage, they were all sensible and refrained from asking about the contents of the treasure chest Zero Wing's members, in particular, understood that if he wished to share information about the loot with them, he would naturally do so. If he didn't, however, he absolutely would not tell them.

"Snow, learn this Skill Book. I'll also leave this weapon for you to use," Shi Feng said after walking up to Gentle Snow. He then passed the super-rare Skill Titan's Hand, which he acquired previously, and the Glorious Will replica to Gentle Snow.

Currently, in Zero Wing, aside from himself, the only other person who possessed over 2,000 points in Strength was Gentle Snow, who had claimed one of Star-Moon Kingdom's Five Great Legacies. Even Fire Dance's Strength was still a little far from 2,000 points. Moreover, Fire Dance was an Assassin and, thus, incapable of using two-handed weapons. As for the other players in Zero Wing, while some Berserkers might be close to attaining 2,000 Strength, their techniques were far from equal to Gentle Snow's. Besides, Gentle Snow was the Vice Guild Leader managing Zero Wing's Branch in the Black Dragon Empire. She would need greater power to have others submit to her commands.

As for Titan's Hand, it was a useful Skill that would boost Gentle Snow's combat power. Titan's Hand allowed Berserkers to temporarily wield two two-handed weapons simultaneously. Although only one weapon's Basic Attributes would apply, the Skills and effects of the inactive weapon could still be used like normal.

"For me?" Gentle Snow was slightly confused as she received the Titan's Hand Skill Book and Glorious Will. However, after she inspected the items, she was dumbfounded, especially when she saw the Attributes of Glorious Will. "Guild Leader, this..."

"You are the only person in the entire Guild who has enough Strength to use this weapon. Nobody else can use it Letting it sit inside the Guild Warehouse would be a huge waste," Shi Feng said.

"I understand. I'll make sure to put it to good use." As an expert sword-user, Gentle Snow could not help but be excited as she held Glorious Will.

After trading Glorious Will to Gentle Snow, Shi Feng had everyone exit the Team Dungeon.

The team disappeared from the arena and appeared outside the Eclipse Throne's entrance in the blink of an eye.

"Guild Leader Black Flame, we'll be leaving first, then. Once you collect another Dark Corrosion Set, you must remember to contact us," Unyielding Heart said.

"Of course. Once I have the second set, I'll contact both of you immediately." Shi Feng nodded. He was also very eager to sell the Dark Corrosion Set. After all, this was a huge money-making opportunity.

However, right when the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul members were activating their Return Scrolls, a magic array suddenly appeared in the sky. In the next moment, the activation process of everyone's Return Scrolls was forcibly halted.

"You've made us wait for quite some time now. Do you think you can leave this place so easily?"

Just as everyone was trying to find the caster of the magic array, a cold laugh suddenly entered their ears. Then, a large group of players, easily numbering over a thousand, suddenly jumped down from the trees of the wetlands before them. A short moment later, a Level 55 middle-aged man holding an ancient black-horn bow walked out of this group.

"Black Shark?" Unyielding Heart's complexion darkened when he saw this middle-aged man.

Chapter 1809 - Wrong Opponent

The sudden appearance of over a thousand players put Shi Feng and the others on high alert.

The thousand-plus players that had just emerged from the marshy jungle were by no means ordinary players. The lowest- leveled player among them was Level 53, and the weakest piece of equipment they wore was Level 50 Secret-Silver rank. Quite a few of these players even had Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment At this stage of the game, this was an equipment standard could only be found in expert teams.

"Vice Guild Leader, this is bad. They used a Darkness Seal. We won't be able to use our Return Scrolls for the next two hours," Cycling Light commented worriedly as he eyed the middle-aged man carrying the ancient, pitch-black bow.

Compared to the thousand-plus players that had emerged from the forest, Cycling Light deemed this middle-aged man to be most concerning.

This was because this middle-aged man was Black Shark, the commander of the Dark Hunters adventurer team. Black Shark had fought Unyielding Soul's members many times before. Not only did the Ranger possess superb combat standards, but he also had the ability to transform into a monster. Not even Unyielding Heart, Unyielding Soul's Guild Leader was capable of defeating Black Shark.

In addition, the Dark Hunters adventurer team also had quite a few monstrous existences. According to Unyielding Soul's investigations, Dark Hunters should possess around 300 troublesome experts.

With a glance at the thousand-plus players surrounding their team, Unyielding Heart could see that the Dark Hunters had come prepared. Including the fact that they were caught in a Darkness Seal, they'd have to fight if they wanted to leave this place. Immediately, he warned Shi Feng through the team chat, "Guild Leader Black Flame, these people are from the Dark Hunters, a dark adventurer team with many powerful players. Some are even capable of transforming into monsters and drastically increasing their combat power. Even if they are at Tier 1, they have enough strength to face ordinary Tier 2 players."

Although their side currently had 200 Tier 2 players, they shouldn't take on the Dark Hunters carelessly.

After the Dark Hunters' Tier 1 players transformed into monsters, although they couldn't compare to Tier 2 players in Basic Attributes, they could employ certain unorthodox combat methods. If one weren't careful with these players, they could easily take a hit. Furthermore, the Dark Hunters had a decent number of Tier 2 players.

Normally, this ambush wouldn't have been much of an issue, but their team had just finished a demanding battle and had used their Berserk Skills already. Fighting a force of transformed Tier 2 players in such a state would be troublesome.

"They're the Dark Hunters?" Phoenix Rain gave Black Shark a second look after hearing Unyielding Heart's introduction.

Although she did not know exactly how powerful the Dark Hunters adventurer team was, she knew that the adventurer team was one of the reasons for the Starline Corporation's rapid rise in God's Domain based on the few reports she had received. The corporation used the Dark Hunters as a trump card to destroy and assassinate its opponents. Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul had also suffered significant thanks to the adventurer team.

Although the Dark Hunters seemed to have the numerical advantage, their 200-man team wasn't to be trifled with. Their team was the combination of three powerful Guilds' main force members. An adventurer team like the Dark Hunters couldn't do much to them.

While both sides cautiously eyed each other, a sweet, melodious voice rang out from the jungle.

"What a lively scene! How could you possibly leave Shadow Claw out of the fun?"

A moment later, a woman in beautiful, dark-blue mage robes slowly stepped out from the forest, leading a group of weH- equipped experts. Like the Dark Hunters, this group had well over a thousand members.

"Why is she here?" Unyielding Heart frowned when he saw the woman in dark-blue.

Others might be unfamiliar with this beauty, but he knew her well.

This woman was named Veiled Spirit, the leader of the dark forces plaguing the Copper Eagle Kingdom, which neighbored the Dark Night Empire. She was also the commander of Shadow Claw, a dark adventurer team.

He knew of this woman because Veiled Spirit had personally destroyed Unyielding Soul's subordinate first-rate Guild, which used to rule over the Copper Eagle Kingdom.

As one of Unyielding Soul's subordinated Guilds, Unyielding Soul had dispatched many experts to assist the first-rate Guild. In the end, however, Unyielding Soul failed to change the first-rate Guild's fate. On the contrary, Veiled Spirit's Shadow Claw adventurer team had slaughtered the dozen or so peak experts Unyielding Soul had sent and the legion of several thousand players that had accompanied them...

"Spirit, your timing sure is impeccable," Black Shark said as he eyed the approaching woman.

"Three powerful Guilds' main forces have gathered here. How could Shadow Claw possibly miss such a rare opportunity?" Veiled Spirit said, chuckling.

"Fine. I'll leave the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion's members to you. I'll take Zero Wing and Unyielding Soul's members," Black Shark said.

"Is that alright? That's the main force of two large Guilds we're talking about," Veiled Spirit asked, flashing Black Shark a confused look.

Although their two adventurer teams greatly outnumbered their opponents, their opponents had quite a few players wearing Tier 2 Class Insignias. The enemy team should have some Tier 2 players who weren't wearing their insignias as well. Such a team should not be easy to defeat.

"Relax. None of them should even think of escaping!" Black Shark said confidently as he licked his lips.

During his previous investigations, he had learned that the three Guilds had come together to raid a Dungeon, so he had come prepared.

In fact, his original plans had never taken Shadow Claw's participation into account. He had been fully intent on devouring all three Guilds. Now that Shadow Claw had arrived, he'd have an easier time taking down Zero Wing and Unyielding Soul's forces, although he would have to share some of the profits due to the alliance's rules.

"Fine, then. I'll take a little loss this time," Veiled Spirit said, nodding after she saw Black Shark's confidence.

Although she wasn't all too willing to let Black Shark monopolize the items of Zero Wing and Unyielding Soul's members, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion's Phoenix Rain and other experts weren't exactly easy opponents.

After Black Shark and Veiled Spirit reached an agreement, the Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw's members began to tighten their circle around Shi Feng and his companions.

"Guild Leader Black Flame, dealing with both dark adventurer teams will be very difficult. You could say that Unyielding Soul and these adventurer teams are old rivals. I'll have my men open a path in a moment. Use the opportunity to get out of the encirclement," Unyielding Heart hurriedly said as he watched the approaching Dark Players.

As far as he was concerned, this ambush was definitely related to Unyielding Soul. The Guild was, after all, waging an all-out war with the Starline Corporation. Expert assassination attempts were expected.

"You want to escape?" Black Shark smiled when he noticed Unyielding Heart prepare to break past his people. "Do you think the Dark Hunters would ambush you without preparing?

"Move out!"

As soon as Black Shark said so, over 300 Dark Hunters transformed into monsters. Meanwhile, another 100-plus Dark Hunters took ancient scrolls from their bags and began to chant an incantation.

A layer of dark fog blocked out the sun, forming a massive barrier that trapped everyone inside.

Dark Precinct!

In the next moment, the 300-plus transformed players inside the barrier doubled in size, and their Attributes skyrocketed. Their HPs, in particular, had tripled. These players no longer looked human. They had completely transformed into monsters.

"Today, none of you shall escape! You will all die here!" Black Shark, who had also transformed, said, laughing.

Seeing the 300-plus, three-meter-tall transformed players and sensing their frightening auras, Unyielding Heart and Phoenix Rain's expressions darkened.

They could sense that the transformed players' Basic Attributes had increased by at least 50%, likely due to the magic barrier. Even the transformed Tier 1 players had higher Attributes than theirs. The difference between their Basic Attributes and the 20-plus transformed Tier 2 players was even worse.

Not even Unyielding Soul was confident of charging ahead.

Veiled Spirit, who stood beside Black Shark, was also slightly surprised. She hadn't expected Black Shark to have such a trump card. It was no wonder why the man was confident that his adventurer team could take on three Guilds' main forces by himself.

"Is that so?" Shi Feng said as he glanced at the Dark Precinct that had formed around him. He then took out Frost Hell, the Epic Consumable he had just acquired from the Dungeon, and continued, "It's a pity that you've picked the wrong opponent."

After saying so, Shi Feng activated Frost Hell. Suddenly, the world around him turned snowy-white as the temperature plummeted. The wetlands ahead visibly froze, and the Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw's members felt an intense pressure weigh on them. Not only did their movement become sluggish, but their Stamina also began to fall so sharply that others could clearly sense the change. Even their Attributes rapidly decreased...

Chapter 1810 - Taboo Potion

Why is this Domain Skill so powerful? Black Shark was astounded as he watched his Attributes fall.

Not only had his Basic Attributes decreased by 20%, but his Movement Speed and reaction speed had also decreased considerably. Most importantly, the Dark Precinct he had used failed to suppress this Domain Skill.

Dark Precinct was far more powerful than a Domain Skill because the magic array formed a separate world within itself. No Domain Skill could compare.

Yet, Dark Precinct had failed to suppress the effects of Shi Feng's Domain Skill, and the Domain Skill had reduced their Attributes by as much as 20%.

However, Black Shark didn't know that Frost Hell was slightly unique. While it was considered a Domain Skill, it was also a Weather Spell that could change an area's weather. Moreover, Frost Hell was a Tier 4 Domain Skill, so it was still effective despite Dark Precinct.

Thanks to Frost Hell, the Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw's strength had decreased significantly. Although Dark Precinct still gave the 300-plus transformed players more strength than normal, overall, the two dark adventurer teams no longer posed as much of a threat to the three Guilds' main force members.

Unyielding Heart and Phoenix Rain breathed sighs of relief because of this turn of events.

They had come here to help Zero Wing raid a Team Dungeon. They hadn't brought any powerful tools essential for team battles, such as Domain Magic Scrolls, with them.

Fortunately, Shi Feng had the foresight to carry a Domain Magic Scroll. Otherwise, this upcoming battle would've been disastrous.

"Black Shark! Do you still want to fight?! Your trump card has been suppressed! Both of our sides are roughly equal in combat power. Nobody can say for certain who will win this battle," Unyielding Heart stated, hoping to scare Black Shark into backing off.

"I'll admit that I underestimated you, but do you really think that I only prepared one trump card?" Black Shark said, sneering. "I had planned to save this for a more suitable stage, but I'll let you have the first taste."

In the next moment, several normal Dark Hunters pulled dark-blue potions from their bags, consuming them. These Dark Hunters then roared with excitement.

Their skin began to turn dark-blue as tough scales grew all over their bodies. Tails sprouted from these players rears. These players now looked like Dragonoids, not humans.

Looking at these Dragonoids, the members of Zero Wing, Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, and Unyielding Soul were stupefied. They couldn't believe their eyes.

"What is going on? These people..." Phoenix Rain was shocked as she stared at the players with tails.

Even as one of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion's Pavilion Masters, this was the first time she had seen anything like this.

The Dragonoid players radiated violent auras that felt like some wild beast. Aside from the increased Attributes, Phoenix Rain could sense that these players now had higher Life Ratings than hers.

She could explain the Dark Hunters' ability to transform into monsters as a result of a class unique to Dark Players. After all, Dark Players had their own unique development path, but she had never heard of a potion that could transform a player into a Dragonoid.

"Everyone, charge! You may claim any item that you get from your kills!" Black Shark shouted as he readied his longbow.

Hearing Black Shark's command, the Dark Hunters revealed crazed expressions. Without hesitation, they split up and charged at Zero Wing and Unyielding Soul's members. Unwilling to fall behind, Veiled Spirit took out a Tier 3 Buff Scroll and activated it, increasing her team members' Basic Attributes, raising them to their original values, although her people's mobility was still affected. After receiving the buff, Shadow Claw's members charged at the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion members.

Less than 200 yards had separated the combatants. Ignoring Frost Hell's influence, all of the ranged players began to exchange blows.

For a time, Spells and arrows filled the space between the two sides, causing a series of explosions.

Although the three Guilds' attacks contained more raw power, they were still vastly outnumbered.

Ordinary players' ranged attacks were relatively easy to dodge, but none of these players were ordinary. Even dodging their ranged attacks was quite difficult

Moreover, the Dark Hunters' Defense had increased significantly after transforming into Dragonoids. Even when they received a Tier 2 Spell, they only took around -8,000 damage. In contrast, the Tier 1 Dragonoids' Spells dealt nearly -6,000 damage to the three Guilds' members. Their damage was only slightly lower than Tier 2 players'. Meanwhile, due to the disparity in numbers, the Guild players lost more HP during the exchange.

The Basic Dragonoid Potion? Shi Feng was astonished after seeing the Dragonoids' combat power. Why do the Dark Hunters have this kind of Taboo Potion? Could they have someone capable of brewing it already?

At first, he hadn't been certain that the potion the Dark Hunters had used was the Basic Dragonoid Potion, but after seeing their Defense and Attack Power, he was sure that they had used that exact potion.

The Basic Dragonoid Potion was capable of turning humans into Dragonoids, and the purer the potion was, the closer one would become to a true Dragonoid after consuming it. It was an extremely rare potion.

Basic Dragonoid Potions did not provide much in terms of Basic Attributes. They generally only provided a 10% to 15% increase. However, the potion provided a significant boost to reaction speed, kinetic vision, Defense, and Attack Power.

As for Intermediate Dragonoid Potions, not only would the potion increase its user's size, but it also provided considerable improvement in terms of Basic Attributes. An Intermediate Dragonoid Potion generally provided a 25% to 30% increase.

However, at the end of the day, humans were still human. A human's body couldn't endure the violent power of a Dragonoid. Any human that consumed a Dragonoid Potion, whether they were an NPC or a player, was guaranteed to die after half an hour. Hence, Dragonoid Potions were considered Taboo Potions.

However, since players were immortal, they'd only lose half a level of EXP after they died from drinking a Basic Dragonoid Potion, not an entire level. Hence, many crazy players loved the potion.

Shi Feng had never dreamed that the Dark Hunters would have so many Basic Dragonoid Potions. Moreover, he hadn't expected them to use it without hesitation.

With the increased Defense and Attack Power provided, three to five Tier 1 Dragonoids working together would be more than enough to defeat a Tier 2 expert It was also very difficult to kill Dragonoid players quickly. To make matters worse, there were the 300-plus monster players that were capable of unorthodox attack methods.

After a brief clash between the enemy ranged players, Zero Wing and Unyielding Soul's members felt their disadvantage, and several of their members had already died. In contrast, the Dark Hunters had only lost a dozen or so members.

Moreover, every one of these members was only a Tier 1 player. The adventurer team's two dozen or so Tier 2 players were still alive and kicking.

"Good! Prioritize the healers and magical classes! Do not let them break through the encirclement!" Black Shark instructed when he saw his melee members close in on the enemy ranks.

After saying so, Black Shark knocked his bow and released nine arrows simultaneously. All nine arrows targeted one of Zero Wing's Shield Warriors, and each had the power of a peak Tier 2 attack. Moreover, Black Shark had accurately aimed for the Shield Warrior's blind spots. Even if the Shield Warrior tried to block the arrows with his shield, he would be monetarily paralyzed. The several Dragonoid players before him would then take advantage of the gap, and the Shield Warrior would fall.

Just before the arrows struck, a white light flashed before him. Like a barrier of light, the flash struck down the nine arrows, and several Tier 1 Dragonoid players lost all of their HP instantly.

"How is this possible?!" Black Shark's expression darkened when he saw his Tier 1 members die.

He knew just how much HP and Defense a Tier 1 Dragonoid possessed. Not even he could kill a Tier 1 Dragonoid player with one hit, yet several of them had died in the blink of an eye...

Before Black Shark could react, another golden flash blinded him. In the next moment, a lithe figure wielding two greatswords appeared before him. One of those greatswords was dark-blue and radiated a freezing chill, while the other greatsword was a radiant gold and had a cool appearance. Rotating behind this figure were 16 Swords of Light

This figure was none other than Gentle Snow, who had just learned Titan's Hand and equipped Glorious Will.

"Disappear!"

Swinging Glorious Will, Gentle Snow sent 16 Swords of Light flying at Black Shark.

Chapter 1811 - Overpowered Equipment

"So fast!"

The members of Dark Hunters couldn't help their surprise as they watched Gentle Snow attack Black Shark.

Gentle Snow was simply too fast. Not only had she broken through their defensive lines without much effort, but she had also reached their commander in the blink of an eye. Her 16 Swords of Light also targeted Black Shark's blind spots. Defending against so many attacks at once was impossible for a Ranger.

You want to kill me? Black Shark sneered at the 16 Swords of Light.

Before the Swords of Light struck the Ranger, Black Shark swung his longbow horizontally, forming a barrier of wind around him. The wind pushed all 16 Swords of Light away, and they harmlessly brushed past Black Shark. The Ranger did not receive a single point of damage.

Tier 2 Skill, Wind Armor!

Although Gentle Snow hadn't harmed Black Shark with her two greatswords this time, he couldn't attack while under Wind Armor's protection.

When Wind Armor was about to disappear, Black Shark activated Backward Jump. He fired five arrows, which formed a magic array and shot towards Gentle Snow like a comet, while he soared backward through the air.

Tier 2 Skill, Starburst!

This was the Ranger class's most powerful Tier 2 Skill. The Skill combined the power of five arrows, and the attack was even strong enough to force a Great Lord of the same level stumbling backward.

Despite the approaching attack, however, Gentle Snow didn't bother to dodge. Instead, she countered the attack with a swing of Glorious Will.

Will of Light!

Buffed by Will of Light, Glorious Will released a golden brilliance as it transformed into a streak of light and clashed with Black Shark's Starburst.

Boom!

Gentle Snow's counterattack sliced Starburst in half on the spot, stupefying the other players present.

From afar, it had looked like a beam of light slicing apart another beam of light. It was spectacular. A heartbeat later, an intense shockwave slammed into the surrounding players.

After cutting down Starburst, Glorious Will continued to slice the area in front of its wielder. The six Tier 1 Dragonoids caught in Gentle Snow's 5*25-yard AOE died instantly.

"How is that possible? Hasn't she used that attack already?"

"Could it be a bug?"

Some players, who had a good memory, noticed that the Skill Gentle Snow had just used was the same one that she had used to protect Zero Wing's Shield Warrior and kill several Tier 1 Dragonoids earlier. Normally, such a powerful Skill should have a very long Cooldown, but even if it had a short Cooldown, there was no way that she could use it after just a few seconds.

But before anyone could figure out what had happened, Gentle Snow swung Glorious Will at Black Shark yet again.

Like before, Glorious Will released a golden light that extended towards Black Shark. Black Shark had just landed, and he had no way to dodge the attack.

Seeing the approaching sword light, Black Shark could not help but frown. Immediately, he pulled his ancient longbow's bowstring. This time, however, he did not nock any arrows. He simply pulled an empty string.

However, a horrific amount of Mana gathered around the empty bow, forming an arrow of light. He then released the bowstring and sent the light arrow flying at the incoming sword light

Unlike before, Gentle Snow's attack didn't stop Black Shark's arrow. On the contrary, the light arrow shattered the sword light as it continued towards Gentle Snow.

"Die!" Black Shark sneered as he watched the arrow come within 10 yards of his target.

This arrow of light wasn't a result of a Ranger Skill. It was actually one of his bow's Skills, Space Shattering Arrow. Not only could it enhance his attack by one tier, but it could also severely injure a Grand Lord of the same level.

Suddenly, the light arrow split into over 30 miniature copies.

Even Gentle Snow felt powerless for a moment as she watched the tiny arrows rain down. Meanwhile, the nearby Dark Hunters revealed victorious expressions.

They were all very familiar with their commander's move. Each one of those miniature arrows carried 100% of Black Shark's Strength. Even if just a few arrows found their mark, Gentle Snow would lose a significant amount of HP.

However, something unexpected happened suddenly. Once again, Gentle Snow raised Glorious Will high, and it released the same golden glow it had twice before...

Glancing at the 30-plus arrows flying towards her, Gentle Snow swung down Glorious Will.

Once again, a golden beam of light shot forth from the greatsword, instantly devouring every light arrow and continuing toward Black Shark. Responding quickly, Black Shark leaped out of the golden beam's way in the nick of time. When the Ranger stood back up, he could not help but stare at Gentle Snow in utter shock.

Who is she? When Black Shark looked at Gentle Snow now, he did so without his previously complacent expression.

He was a Ranger, a class that focused on ranged attacks, yet despite facing a Berserker like Gentle Snow, he was at a disadvantage...

This was simply unbelievable.

Even Veiled Spirit, who commanded her allies in battle, wore a somber expression as she looked at Gentle Snow.

She was quite familiar with Black Shark's strength. Even when Black Shark had fought Unyielding Heart, Unyielding Soul's number one Berserker, he had suppressed the man easily as long as he didn't allow the Berserker within melee range, yet a different Berserker had suppressed him in a ranged battle.

During the brief moment while Gentle Snow had both Black Shark and Veiled Spirit distracted, a series of screams rose from the Dark Hunters' army. To be precise, they came from the MTs that had transformed into Dragonoids.

Despite having transformed into Dragonoids, a single female Assassin was slaughtering the Tier 1 MTs. Moreover, the female Assassin was only using Tier 1 Skills to kill the full-HP MTs.

Elsewhere, a female Elementalist hurled one Spell after another, the ice- and fire-type Spells instant-killing any player who was not an MT. When three Tier 2 players tried to stop this Elementalist, she split into three clones. Each copy easily suppressed the three Tier 2 players that assaulted her, and in the end, she killed all three in fewer than five moves.

This startled the nearby Dark Hunters.

A short distance away, a Guardian Knight rampaged among the Dark Hunters' frontline. With a single charging attack, the Guardian Knight sent more than ten players flying. Even when the player took Tier 2 attacks directly, the Guardian Knight only lost a little over 2,000 HP. The Guardian Knight's Defense was even higher than the Dragonoid players'.

So many of Zero Wing's members displayed ridiculously high combat power. Just one of these Zero Wing members could contend with two or three Tier 2 Dark Hunters.

Because of these Zero Wing players, the Dark Hunters, which had the upper-hand initially, suffered constant casualties.

So strong! Cycling Light, who currently fought a Tier 2 player, was stunned when he saw Fire Dance and her companions fight from the corner of his eye.

"Shark! We can't let this continue! Even if we win, we'll likely suffer severe losses! We should wait for the other adventurer teams to arrive and take action together," Veiled Spirit messaged Black Shark through a private chat. "Several other adventurer teams have heard about our ambush. I doubt it will be long before they arrive."

While it was true that they had been hired to annihilate Zero Wing, they had stated one precondition for taking this job; they couldn't afford too heavy of a loss. Otherwise, the rewards weren't worth the cost.

"Alright! Let's retreat!" Black Shark said, gritting his teeth as he agreed to the temporary withdraw. Although he was reluctant to run from his fight with Gentle Snow, the situation right now in the three Guilds' favor. Moreover, the Basic Dragonoid Potion his allies had consumed lasted half an hour. That was more than enough time for the other adventurer teams to arrive and assist them in a second assault.

Following which, Black Shark ordered his army to pull back.

"You want to leave?" Realizing that Black Shark was trying to widen the distance between them, Gentle Snow used Will of Light once more.

Damn it! How many times can she use that Skill?! Black Shark felt as if he were going a little mad when he saw the approaching beam of light. Despite the fact that Gentle Snow was only a Refinement Realm expert, she had suppressed him thoroughly in a ranged battle with her powerful Skills and Basic Attributes.

There was too little distance between them, and Black Shark had no time to dodge the incoming attack. As a result, he was forced to use a Lifesaving Skill to protect himself.

After using his Lifesaving Skill, however, Black Shark noticed Gentle Snow radiate a rainbow glow. In the next moment, a powerful pressure weighed him down, reducing his speed. Now, he had lost the advantage in speed he should normally have.

Before Black Shark noticed, three sacred spears flew towards him. Black Shark desperately tried to block the attack with his bow.

However, the moment one of the sacred spears encountered his ancient bow, Black Shark felt as if he had been hit by a truck. Unable to resist the powerful force, Black Shark stumbled backward, his HP instantly falling by over 3,000...

While Black Shark dealt with the three sacred spears, Gentle Snow, who was less than 15 yards away, executed Will of Light, whose Cooldown just so happen to have ended.

Will of Light!

This time, Black Shark had no spare energy to stop the approaching beam of light. The attack devoured him, and his body transformed into particles of light as he vanished from the battlefield...

Chapter 1812 - Light's Power

"Commander?!"

The commander got killed..."

"Is she a monster?"

Seeing Black Shark's body disappear, the members of the Dark Hunters adventurer team were stunned. A few members had even forgotten to attack and took direct hits from Zero Wing and Unyielding Soul's players.

How could the commander lose? Lonely Lamp could not bring himself to believe what he had just seen.

Black Shark's strength had imprinted itself on Lonely Lamp and the other Dark Hunters' minds long ago.

Not only were Black Shark's combat techniques astounding, but he also wore the best equipment available at this stage of the game. Even if he faced Super Guilds' old monsters, he could enter and leave the battlefield freely.

If a group of Tier 2 players had ganged up and killed Black Shark, Lonely Lamp could believe that his commander had died, but a single player had faced and killed Black Shark. Moreover, that player wasn't a monster-level expert that had enjoyed many years of fame in the virtual gaming world. How could he possibly accept this fact as true?

How is she so strong? Unyielding Heart, who looked at Gentle Snow standing proudly in the distance, was at a loss for words when he saw what had happened. Both surprise and admiration filled his heart.

He was no stranger to the name 'Gentle Snow.' After all, she had once been a Guild Leader herself. Although her Guild had been disbanded due to the Blackwater Corporation's intervention, it was an inescapable fact that Gentle Snow was a very talented player.

After Ouroboros had disbanded, Unyielding Soul had attempted to recruit Gentle Snow, and it hadn't been the only superpower to reach out to her. According to Unyielding Heart's knowledge, at least three superpowers had tried to recruit the Snow Goddess.

In the end, however, Gentle Snow had chosen to join Zero Wing, which had been an unknown Guild at the time. This decision disappointed the various superpowers.

During the earlier Dungeon raid, Unyielding Heart's opinions about Gentle Snow had been reaffirmed. The woman was indeed extremely talented and would no doubt become a famous expert in God's Domain in the future. Right now, however, Gentle Snow's combat standard was still too rough. She relied entirely on her advantage in Basic Attributes to contend with the various superpowers peak experts.

Unyielding Heart had never imagined that just by switching to a new weapon, Gentle Snow would be able to display combat power on par with experts like himself. By relying on that horrific Skill of hers, her victory over Black Shark, who was very famous among the Dark Night Empire's dark forces, had been overwhelming.

Unyielding Heart could not help but pity Black Shark. He also understood why Black Shark had lost. If he had to challenge Gentle Snow, he'd likely suffer a similar fate.

It was simply absurd that Gentle Snow could use a Skill with such high burst damage repeatedly within such a short time. This was no longer an attack that could be mitigated with techniques. Not even an Assassin, the class with the most Lifesaving Skills, would get away from Gentle Snow unscathed, much less a Ranger like Black Shark.

If Black Shark had to blame someone for his death, he could only blame himself for launching his ambush with such poor timing. He had actually attacked on the day Zero Wing raided the Eclipse Throne. Moreover, the ambush had taken place after Zero Wing had cleared the super-large-scale Team Dungeon. Thanks to the Dungeon's loot, Zero Wing's members had improved their weapons and equipment considerably.

What immense power. Just what is that weapon? Phoenix Rain was a little astonished as she looked at the Glorious Will Gentle Snow wielded.

Although she knew that any weapon from the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest would be extraordinary, she had never thought the weapon would be this powerful. Glorious Will had elevated Gentle Snow's combat power to a whole new level. This was especially true for her PvP capabilities.

Moreover, Cola's performance on the battlefield was also eye-catching.

Equipped with the Dark Corrosion Set, Cola's entire body radiated a scorching aura. While in battle, this aura became even more intense. Any player that came close to the Guardian Knight would felt a stinging pain, losing their focus in the fight. Without enough Fire Resistance, players even took damage from this burning aura.

Even against multiple Tier 2 melee experts, Cola easily sent them all stumbling backward with a single charging assault When struck by a Tier 2 fire-type Spell, Cola would only receive around -2,000 damage. As for Tier 1 Spells, they did less than -1,000 damage. To Cola, who had over 85,000 HP, this was barely a scratch.

By himself, Cola had torn a hole through the Dark Hunters' defensive net. The Dark Corrosion Set performed better than she had imagined.

After a brief moment of silence on the battlefield, the Dark Hunters adventurer team snapped out of their daze, but unexpectedly, the Dark Hunters didn't turn and flee. Instead, they stared at Gentle Snow with greedy eyes.

"That woman's combat standard is subpar at best The fact that she can kill the commander must mean that she has excellent equipment!"

"Her greatsword looks so cool! It's definitely not some ordinary weapon!"

"She just finished a tough fight with the commander. She must've exhausted her Skills. If we kill her now, we can claim her equipment for our own!"

Desire dominated the Dark Hunters as they watched Gentle Snow, who currently stood alone within her enemy's ranks.

"Have these people lost their minds? They're actually eying Gentle Snow at a time like this?" Blue Phoenix was confused when she saw the Dark Hunters' greed.

She simply could not understand what was going through these players' minds. The Dark Hunters had lost their momentum, yet rather than trying to escape, these players wanted to waste precious time to surround and kill Gentle Snow...

"Kill her! Avenge the commander!"

"Right! Kill her for the commander!"

With a shout, 80 or so Dark Hunters near Gentle Snow charged at the female Berserker.

They had been in the process of retreating, and to kill Black Shark, Gentle Snow had reached their rear line by herself. She didn't have a single companion nearby. This was their opportunity to take her out and plunder her items.

Moreover, they were all experts. They could tell that Gentle Snow had only defeated their commander because of the frightening Skill she possessed. In their experience, such a powerful Skill wasn't from a Skill Book. There was an 80% chance that the Skill belonged to the weapons or equipment she used.

Many of the Dark Hunters had already consumed the Basic Dragonoid Potion. They were going to die sooner or later. If they could kill Gentle Snow and get a piece of top-tier equipment before they died, their death would be worth it.

Most importantly, there was a very high chance that they would succeed.

"Not good! Guild Leader Black Flame, we need to save her!" Unyielding Heart shouted as he watched the Dark Hunters surround the Snow Goddess.

However, as soon as Unyielding Heart finished his statement, Gentle Snow charged straight toward the 80-plus Dark Hunters approaching her. Five of these Dark Hunters were Tier 2 experts. Even Black Shark would be hard-pressed to survive if surrounded by such a force.

Yet, Gentle Snow showed no intention of running away. Instead, she simply raised Glorious Will. A moment later, the weapon began to cast a dazzling glow.

"She's going to use that move again! Everyone, pay attention to dodging!" Lonely Lamp, who was part of the crowd charging at Gentle Snow, shouted.

As experts, the Dark Hunters reacted very quickly. They had also long since estimated Will of Light's AOE and maintained a suitable distance from each other.

Meanwhile, seeing the Dark Hunters spread out, Gentle Snow could not help but smile, confusing her opponents.

However, before anyone could figure out what was going on, Gentle Snow brandished Glorious Will.

However, unlike before, Gentle Snow did not swing her greatsword downward. Instead, she thrust it into the ground before her. A dazzling beam of light then pierced the dusky sky and descended on Gentle Snow.

In the next moment, a magic array appeared beneath the approaching 80-plus Dark Hunters. The Dark Hunters caught within the magic array felt an intense pressure weigh them down as their movements became sluggish. They all felt the threat of death loom over them.

"No! This isn't the same move! It's another Skill!"

The Dark Hunters quickly realized that something was amiss, but it was too late to change their fate.

"Disappear from this place! Myth of Light!"

Before anyone could react, Gentle Snow tightened her grip around Glorious Will and pulled the weapon from the ground in an upward slash.

The sword light cut through the earth, shattering it. As the sword light moved forward, it rapidly expanded and devoured everything it touched. By the time the sword light disappeared, the fading light had revealed a 6-meter-deep crater that stretched out in a 50-yard cone before Gentle Snow. Ownerless weapons and equipment littered the crater...

Chapter 1813 - Magic Soldier's Descent

Such power! Shi Feng was a little astonished when he saw the crater Myth of Light had created. The Skill's destructive power was even superior to Flame Domain's. Flame Domain only caused massive amounts of damage; it couldn't change the terrain like Myth of Light had.

While the ability to affect the surrounding terrain might not seem much, it had a lot of uses in specific situations. This ability was particularly useful during a siege battle. Myth of Light could decimate defensive structures. It was far more powerful than an ordinary war weapon since its ability to alter the terrain would damage targeted defensive structures' Defense and defensive magic array, making them more vulnerable to attacks.

In the past, such items had been strategic resources for the various large Guilds.

A weapon like Glorious Will was no longer a weapon to be used against other players, but against towns and cities.

Moreover, despite causing so much destruction, the current Glorious Will wasn't complete. When they gathered enough Magic Crystals and Sun Essences to upgrade it, the power of Myth of Light would increase further.

Shi Feng wasn't the only person surprised by Myth of Light's destructive power. Even Unyielding Heart and Phoenix Rain, who stood nearby, were stunned. The Dark Hunters that had intended to charge at Gentle Snow were frozen with shock.

"What is that Skill? How is it so powerful?"

Although they had seen quite a few high-tiered Spells that could change the terrain, none of those Spells had caused as much destruction as Myth of Light had. The 6-meter-deep crater's walls had even turned into molten lava. The Skill's power was astonishing.

After watching over 80 of their allies burn to ash, the remaining Dark Hunters hesitated, a little afraid.

At least they could attempt to dodge Gentle Snow's Will of Light, but against such a super-large AOE, their deaths were guaranteed unless they had an Invulnerability Skill. They had no hope of dodging the attack.

The Dark Hunters quietly reexamined Gentle Snow. Although their greed hadn't faded, fear was now the prevalent emotion in their hearts. Furthermore, the crater Myth of Light had formed prevented them from charging at Gentle Snow. The crater had also split their path of retreat in two. Now, all these players could think of was escape.

No one knew whether or not Gentle Snow could use Myth of Light again, as she had with Will of Light.

These players weren't fools. While they weren't afraid of death, they wouldn't die for nothing.

If they died a natural death while under the effects of the Basic Dragonoid Potion, not only wouldn't they lose any weapons or equipment, but they'd also only lose 50% EXP. However, if they were killed, they'd lose a weapon or equipment piece and a full level.

How does Zero Wing have such a powerful player? Veiled Spirit, who was in the midst of retreating, could not help her shocked when she saw the Dark Hunters' fear.

According to the information Shadow Claw had gathered, while Zero Wing was very powerful, it definitely wasn't this strong. Gentle Snow, in particular, was like a completely different person from what the reports had described. The female Berserker had single-handedly killed over a hundred Dark Hunters.

The Dark Hunters were not your average joe. They were experts that had been handpicked and recruited from among the various Dark Players. Moreover, they had received a lot of specialized training after joining the adventurer team. In addition, as Dark Players, they were adept at fighting other players. In PvP, they were much stronger than ordinary expert players of the same combat standard.

Yet, Gentle Snow had single-handedly killed off one-tenth of the Dark Hunters. This outcome was truly scary.

"Commander, the other adventurer teams' commanders have messaged us, stating that they're almost here. Two are very close and will reach us in around two to three minutes. They are hoping we can stall Zero Wing for a little while longer," a Level 55 female Cleric wearing exquisite, blue robes and wielded a silver staff suddenly reported.

"Two or three minutes?" Veiled Spirit fell into deep thought upon hearing this. A brief moment later, she responded, "Notify the Dark Hunters and tell them that reinforcements will arrive soon. Tell them to do everything they can to stall for time."

When trying to assassinate a Guild's upper echelons, the first attempt was the most important as these upper echelons wouldn't have prepared for an ambush. If the first attempt failed, subsequent attempts were even less likely to succeed.

Now that Black Shark had prohibited Zero Wing, Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, and Unyielding Soul's teleportation abilities and physically prevented these upper echelons from leaving the Dark Precinct, this was the perfect opportunity to kill these three Guild's upper echelons. They likely wouldn't find another such opportunity.

As long as the dozen or so adventurer teams that belonged to Dark Soul gathered, the three Guilds' experts would die here, even if they were more powerful.

"But, commander, Zero Wing's people are too powerful. They are even slaughtering the Dark Hunters' Dragonoid players.

I'm afraid that the Dark Hunters will be annihilated before reinforcements arrive. If that happens, we'll be next," the female Cleric said worriedly as she watched the Dark Hunters' member count continue to decrease. "Moreover, the Dark Hunters should realize what fate awaits them if they stay and fight. They'll never agree to the proposal."

Although they were all members of Dark Soul, the organization's adventurer teams were also rivals. None of them would willingly sacrifice themselves for another.

Veiled Spirit understood that her demand was outrageous and would undoubtedly get rejected. After pondering for another moment, she commanded, "I understand. Notify the Iron Blade Team; tell them that they don't need to hold back any longer. Have them help the Dark Hunters pin down Zero Wing."

"Let the Iron Blade Team take action? Commander, isn't it a little early to expose this trump card?" the female Cleric asked in astonishment.

Every adventurer team in Dark Soul had their own secrets. The Dark Hunters' Basic Dragonoid Potion was one example. If the Dark Hunters hadn't used the potion in this battle, Shadow Claw would've remained ignorant of its existence.

Although Shadow Claw did not possess an item like the Basic Dragonoid Potion, it had its own trump card.

"It's fine. Holding Zero Wing's members back is more important right now," Veiled Spirit said as she waved off her subordinate's concern.

If they did not stop Zero Wing now, their dream of obtaining Zero Wing's weapons and equipment would shatter. She could recognize that Zero Wing's upper echelons used far better weapons and equipment than what the adventurer teams' commanders, like her and Black Shark, used. If Shadow Claw could get its hands on these items, it would have a chance of completing some of the quests that it had been forced to set aside for some time.

"Understood!" the female Cleric replied. She immediately notified the Iron Blade Team, whose members currently fought the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, of the changed orders. At the same time, she had the retreating Dark Hunters stall for time.

Fortunately, the Dark Hunters did not oppose Shadow Claw's request. They realized that, even if they started to flee now, Zero Wing's members would claim many of their lives. Rather than dying pointlessly, they might as well fight it out and hopefully buy enough time for reinforcements to arrive.

For a time, the Dark Hunters engaged in a running battle with Zero Wing and Unyielding Soul's members, using hit-and-run tactics. They avoided any prolonged fights as much as possible, significantly reducing their casualty rate.

On the other side of the battlefield, a 100-man team from Shadow Claw split away from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion's members and encroached on Zero Wing's battlefield. Ten of these 100 players were Tier 2, while the rest were Tier 1 players. This team was a relatively powerful expert team.

However, this small detachment from Shadow Claw paled in comparison to Zero Wing's members, who were all Tier 2 players.

Yet, these Shadow Claw members did not hesitate to face Zero Wing's members in a frontal clash. They showed no signs of fighting a running battle like the Dark Hunters. In fact, these Shadow Claw members charged straight at Shadow Sword's vanguard unit.

"Interesting. They want to pick a fight?" Shadow Sword raised his brows in surprise when he noticed the approaching 100- man team. He selected a dozen or so players and moved to meet this new enemy.

When less than 50 yards separated both sides, the Shadow Claw members grinned playfully. Each of them then took a Magic Array Scroll from their bags and unfurled the scroll without hesitation.

Suddenly, ten magic arrays appeared on the battlefield, each maintained by nine Tier 1 players and one Tier 2 player.

A moment later, the Tier 1 players standing in each of the ten magic arrays went pale, their Basic Attributes plummeting. In contrast, the Tier 2 players saw their auras' intensity rapidly increase. They also began to grow larger. In the blink of an eye, the ten Tier 2 players had become five-meter-tall giants. They were covered in pitch-black armor, which had been enchanted with magic runes.

"It's time for you people from Zero Wing to learn of the Shadow Claw's greatness! Magic Soldier's Descent!" the Berserker leading the Iron Blade Team said, laughing as he looked at Shadow Sword and the small team the enemy Berserker led before swinging down the battle axe in his hands.

Reacting quickly, Shadow Sword activated Whirlwind Slash before the gigantic axe could reach him.

Clang!

With the sound of metal on metal, Shadow Sword was thrown over 20 yards away, and he wasn't the only one. The other enlarged players had also sent the dozen or so Zero Wing experts that had accompanied Shadow Sword flying, instantly dealing over -5,000 damage. The players that had taken a direct hit, however, had instantly lost over half of their HPs...

This scene stupefied the three Guilds' members.

Not only were Zero Wing's experts no match for these giants in a head-on collision despite both sides being Tier 2 players, but they had also lost over 5,000 HP. These colossal players had even more Strength than a Great Lord of the same level.

Magic Soldier's Descent? When he noticed them, Shi Feng flashed the ten armored giants a surprised look.

Magic Soldier's Descent was a Taboo Magic Array that sacrificed multiple players' Attributes to enhance one of their comrades. Even the Basic Magic Soldier's Descent could strengthen a player to the Tier 3 standard. However, the target had to be a Tier 2 player.

Due to the ten giants, the remaining Dark Hunters regained some confidence as they began to launch attacks alongside the giants.

Unyielding Heart and Phoenix Rain watched the ten gigantic players with somber expressions. Even an MT as powerful as Cola could only tank one of these giants. The only other player in Zero Wing that could do so was Gentle Snow.

After a brief clash, Zero Wing's members began to retreat

Just before the giants shattered the formation of Zero Wing's vanguard, splitting it in two, a figure appeared before one of the massive enemy players. It was none other than Shi Feng.

Shi Feng swung Killing Ray at the giant before him.

Lightning Slash!

Seeing the massive lightning bolt approaching him, the armored giant, who had the physique of a Tier 3 player, reacted very quickly and raised his battle axe to block the attack.

Boom!

The impact shoved the armored giant back by over 20 yards, the armored giant taking over -7,000 damage...

Chapter 1814 - Appearance of the Black Dragon

When the five-meter-tall armored giant got pushed back by over 20 yards, the entire battlefield suddenly fell silent. Even the nine other armored giants fighting some distance away shifted their gaze to their repulsed companion.

"Guild Leader?!"

When Zero Wing's members saw Shi Feng appearing on the frontlines, they all became very excited.

Although Shi Feng had already displayed superb combat power in the Team Dungeon, fighting in a battle against other players was another story. While inside a Dungeon, the contribution an individual player could make was very limited. If one were to say that players only needed combat standards at the Trial Tower's fifth floor to raid a particular Dungeon, then the maximum combat power that players could exhibit in a Dungeon was the sixth-floor standard.

In that case, the combat standard that peak experts, who had reached the Trial Tower's seventh floor and beyond, could exhibit would be no different from that of sixth-floor experts. They would not be able to display any additional strength in a Dungeon despite their advantage in actual combat standards.

However, a field battle against players was a different story. Depending on one's opponent, there was almost no limit to the combat standards one could exhibit.

"What great Strength!" Veiled Spirit, who was commanding the battle from afar, was startled when she saw the armored giant being pushed back. "So, he is Black Flame?"

She knew very clearly what kind of Strength the armored giants possessed.

The armored giants had not only Tier 3 physiques but also extraordinary Strength and Defense. They could easily suppress a Grand Lord of the same level.

The Magic Soldier's Descent was made using a production scroll Shadow Claw had obtained from an ancient ruin. However, as the materials needed to make the magic array were extremely precious and difficult to acquire, Shadow Claw had only managed to make ten of the magic arrays thus far.

Originally, she had intended to keep the magic array as a trump card for when the Starlight Corporation launched an all-out war against Unyielding Soul. She had never thought that a lone player could push back one of the armored giants by such a long distance.

However, after a brief moment of surprise, Veiled Spirit and the other members of Shadow Claw regained their calm.

While it was indeed surprising that Shi Feng had dealt over -7,000 damage to the armored giant despite the attack being blocked, the armored giant currently had 320,000 HP. They didn't even need a healer to handle this minuscule damage; the armored giant's battle recovery alone would suffice. What with the occasional heals sent by the rear line healers, it was simply impossible for Shi Feng to kill the armored giant all by himself.

Just then, the fallen armored giant stood back up and charged at Shi Feng with its great axe raised. Despite the armored giant's massive frame, its Movement Speed was actually superior to even a Tier 2 player's.

The armored giant took only an instant to cross 20 yards and launch an attack on Shi Feng.

"You simply relied on a Skill to push me back. Now, it's time for you to realize the power of the Magic Soldier!" the armored giant shouted.

In the next moment, the black smoke circulating around the armored giant's battle axe turned into a gigantic lion exuding a frightening aura. The lion then pounced, slamming its paws down on Shi Feng.

Tier 3 Skill, Magic Lion's Stomp!

At this distance and with the lion's Attack Speed, Shi Feng couldn't dodge the lion's blow.

Not daring to be careless, Shi Feng met the attack with both his swords.

Purgatory Pentaslash!

In the next moment, Shi Feng's two swords met at a single point and slashed at the descending battle axe.

Boom!

Immediately, dazzling sparks scattered into the surroundings. The ground beneath Shi Feng's feet cracked and sank under the immense pressure.

After the clash, Shi Feng had actually sunk half a meter into the ground with a small crater around him. Meanwhile, a damage exceeding -5,000 also appeared above his head. The difference in Strength between the two sides was obvious at a glance.

Zero Wing's members turned somber at this situation.

Meanwhile, Unyielding Heart and Phoenix Rain, who were currently fighting their own battles, were also astonished by this outcome. They had never thought that the armored giants would be that strong.

An ordinary expert might not be able to discern the technique Shi Feng had used, but they could tell what he had done just now.

The general name of the technique was Strength Combination. It was an extremely difficult technique to grasp and was even more difficult to execute in high-speed combat. Even the slightest mistake in the technique's execution could have the opposite effect. Meanwhile, although Strength Combination didn't directly double the Strength of one's attack, good execution of the technique would still yield a 70% increase in Strength or more. Yet, despite having used this technique, Shi

Feng's Strength had still lost to the armored giant's by such a large margin. The armored giant's Strength was definitely superior to a Grand Lord's of the same level.

Its Strength is at the peak of Tier 3? Shi Feng thought to himself as he eyed the Magic Soldier before him. Currently, both his hands were numb.

He was currently a Level 67, Tier 2 Sword Master. After executing Strength Combination, his Strength should easily rival that of a Level 55 Grand Lord. Yet, even with such Strength, he was still inferior to the Magic Soldier before him. While part of the reason for this disparity was the difference in Skills used, a large part of the reason was the difference in Attributes. If the Magic Soldier's Strength wasn't at the peak of Level 55, Tier 3, Shi Feng wouldn't have suffered so much damage in just one attack.

Moreover, the combat standard of the Magic Soldier before him was actually at the Flowing Water Realm. The Magic Soldier had a very accurate grasp of his location. Otherwise, with Shi Feng's speed, there was no way that attack could've cornered him and prevented him from dodging.

"As expected of the leader of a Guild. You really are strong," the armored giant said as he eyed Shi Feng. The armored giant then turned to a nearby armored giant and said, "Ape, come over and help me. I want to see how long our dear Guild Leader here will be able to last against two of us."

"Sure thing!" The armored giant wielding a greatsword nodded.

The battle axe-wielding armored giant launched a frenzied assault on Shi Feng. Relying on his high HP and Defense, the armored giant completely abandoned all forms of defense and simply focused on trading blows with Shi Feng. The armored giant named Copper Ape dashed over from over a hundred yards away.

"Do not let that giant get close to the Guild Leader! MTs, stop him!" Aqua Rose hurriedly instructed.

One armored giant was already more than enough to push Shi Feng to his limits. If another armored giant joined the battle, the consequences would be unimaginable.

However, the Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw members gave Zero Wing's members no opportunity to assist Shi Feng. They all persistently pinned down Zero Wing's members. Cola, Turtledove, Ye Wumian, and Fire Dance, players capable of holding their own against the armored giants, were similarly tied up in battle and couldn't move away from their positions for the moment.

In the end, Zero Wing's members could only watch as the greatsword-wielding armored giant closed in on Shi Feng.

Upon seeing that the armored giant named Copper Ape was about to reach him, Shi Feng could not help but sigh. Due to the recent Dungeon raid, he had already used all his Berserk Skills, which were still on Cooldown. If he could use a Berserk Skill, even if his Strength couldn't rival the armored giant's, he could rely on his techniques to suppress his opponent. Now, however, the disparity in Strength was simply too great

I originally wanted to keep this a secret, but it seems there's no other choice now. Following which, Shi Feng used Phantom Kill.

Immediately after summoning his doppelganger, Shi Feng sent it charging at Copper Ape.

"You want to stop me with a measly doppelganger?" Copper Ape sneered. He then swung his greatsword horizontally.

His attack carried the Strength, Attack Speed, and reaction speed of a Tier 3 player. Even a Tier 2 player would have great difficulty dodging his attack, not to mention a doppelganger controlled by a player.

However, as Copper Ape's greatsword neared Shi Feng's doppelganger, a powerful Mana torrent suddenly surged towards the doppelganger. When the greatsword got within three yards of the doppelganger, its advance halted abruptly, and no matter how much more strength Copper Ape put into his arms, he couldn't push his weapon even an extra centimeter forward.

A moment later, Shi Feng's doppelganger gave a loud war cry. Its entire body then disintegrated and transformed into a bundle of pitch-black flames. The surging Mana gathered madly in the pitch-black flames, causing the flames to flare up.

In the next moment, a pitch-black claw covered in scales suddenly emerged from the gigantic bundle of flames. When the claw touched the ground, the ground immediately shattered and sank. Once the flames subsided, a five-meter-tall Dragon covered in pitch-black scales appeared in everyone's vision.

Roar!

Immediately after appearing, the Black Dragon let loose a powerful roar that echoed throughout the wetland forest, the horrific aura it released stifling the breath of every player on the battlefield.

"A Dragon?"

Chapter 1815 - Black Dragon's Might

The Black Dragon's sudden appearance forced a gasp from the players on the battlefield.

Although the Black Dragon was a lot smaller than an actual Dragon, its aura was terrifying. Everyone could feel the massive difference between their Life Ratings and the Black Dragon's, a difference they had never felt from any creature they had encountered thus far in God's Domain.

Although most of the players present had likely never come across a real Dragon, the various kingdoms and empires' libraries contained detailed records on Dragons.

Dragons had wiped out many kingdoms and empires throughout God's Domain's long history. When a Dragon appeared in an area, the area would instantly become a forbidden land for humans.

Yet, a living Black Dragon stood before them. Moreover, when players tried to use an Identification Skill on the Black Dragon, the result confirmed that it was indeed a Dragon. Why wouldn't these players be shocked and afraid?

[Black Dragon] (Dragon, High Lord)

Level 67

HP 24,000,000/24,000,000

"Wait! This Dragon is only a High Lord!"

"That's right! Although the Dragon is high-leveled, it's only in the upper standards of Tier 2. It isn't even a Great Lord."

"That spooked me. I really thought that someone had summoned a powerful Dragon. It turns out it's only a High Lord. Even our party can easily kill it."

The Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw members who had trembled slightly with fear quickly realized that although the Black Dragon was a real Dragon, it wasn't like the Dragons in the records they had read. According to historical records, real Dragons were Tier 4 Mythic creatures at the very minimum.

If such a Dragon actually appeared before them, they'd likely run for their lives. None of them would've dared to linger.

But since this was only a High Lord, the adventurer teams' members discarded their worry. They had slain countless High Lords, including High Lord ranked Archaic Species.

"And here I thought you had summoned some kind of amazing monster, but it's just an immature Dragon!" Copper Ape said, revealing a confident grin as he swung his greatsword at the Black Dragon. "Scram!"

The black smoke around the greatsword formed a crescent as it sliced towards the Black Dragon.

Tier 3 Skill, Explosive Slash!

The crescent energy beam tore through space itself as it moved. From afar, it looked as if the crescent beam had just cut through a sheet of black paper. The attack's immense aura was even stifling to nearby players.

Just before the crescent beam devoured the Black Dragon, the creature extended a scaled claw to meet the attack. Pitch- black flames then emerged and enveloped the massive claw.

When the crescent beam crashed into the flaming claw, it seemed as if the beam had slammed into an adamantine wall. Not only had the attack abruptly halted, but the Black Dragon's claw also remained unharmed and stationary. Following which, the Black Dragon lightly pinched the crescent beam...

Peng!

Suddenly, the crescent beam shattered and dissipated as if it had never existed.

"That... That is impossible!" Shock filled Copper Ape's gaze as he watched his target nullify his Explosive Slash.

He had just executed a Tier 3 Skill. With his current Strength and physique, he could easily suppress a Great Lord of the same level, much less a High Lord.

He had believed that, in the worst-case scenario, his attack would shake the Black Dragon slightly.

Yet... the High Lord ranked Black Dragon before him had forced his attack to a stop. Moreover, the Black Dragon had shattered his Tier 3 Skill.

How could such a thing be possible?

"What's up with that Black Dragon? How did it receive that kind of attack without taking any damage?" Veiled Spirit, who watched from afar, stared with wide eyes.

"So, this is a Dragon's power?" Unyielding Heart and Phoenix Rain were similarly thunderstruck when they saw the Black Dragon shatter the energy beam with a pinch.

They could be considered quite knowledgeable about Dragons, but even they were surprised. Now, they fully understood why Dragons were destruction incarnate.

Sure enough, a Dragon's Strength is really amazing! As Shi Feng controlled his doppelganger, he could feel an inexhaustible power course through his entire body. He then turned to the Magic Soldier before him and said, "Your Strength should be at the peak of Tier 3. Unfortunately, you're not a high enough level. Otherwise, you would've posed a threat. Since you've finished your attack, it's my turn."

A Dragon was invincible among creatures of the same tier.

Even though the Black Dragon was only a High Lord, it was still a Level 67 High Lord. In addition, the Black Dragon's Life Rating was incredibly high. It gained a massive amount of Attributes with each levd-up. Meanwhile, the player before him was only Level 55. With 12 additional levels, even a player's strength would undergo a qualitative transformation, not to mention a Dragon.

The Level 67 High Lord ranked Black Dragon was already more powerful than a Level 55 Great Lord ranked Black Dragon, and since Dragons were invincible among the same tier, how could a Tier 3 Magic Soldier possibly be a match for such a creature?

Furthermore, the Magic Soldier was an ancient weapon only meant to deal with high-tiered monsters. Before a true Dragon, a Magic Soldier was garbage.

When Shi Feng finished speaking, he controlled the Black Dragon to open its maw and inhale a mouthful of air. A gigantic magic array then formed before the creature, gathering a massive amount of Mana.

A moment later, the Black Dragon released a deafening roar.

Dragon Breath!

Immediately, pitch-black flames devoured Copper Ape, extending up to 200 yards away from the Black Dragon. In the blink of an eye, a huge portion of the battlefield transformed into a fiery hell. Agonized screams echoed across the field as streaks of white light rose from the fiery hell.

A single breath attack had burned over a hundred players to ash...

Once the flames dissipated, a huge divide tore the ground, forming a far more frightening hole than the one Glorious Will's Myth of Light had created.

Even Shi Feng, who was responsible for the attack, was surprised by the power of the Black Dragon's Dragon Breath.

While the Magic Soldier before him was still alive, the armored giant had less than 100,000 HP remaining. The Magic Soldier's tough, black armor sported visible cracks.

The battlefield had become deathly silent after witnessing the Black Dragon's horrific power.

When Copper Ape gazed at the monster before him, fear filled his eyes.

However, before Copper Ape could respond, Shi Feng controlled the Black Dragon to pounce on and attack the gigantic player with a claw swipe. When the Black Dragon's claw slammed into Copper Ape's helmet, the player fell on his side, shattering the armor piece. Copper Ape instantly lost over 30,000 HP. Flames then erupted on the Black Dragon's other claw before the monster thrust it into the Magic Soldier's armored chest. The flaming claw penetrated the armor like a hot knife through butter, and Copper Ape screamed in pain as the Black Dragon's blazing claw thrust into him.

Flames devoured Copper Ape's entire body, his remaining 44,000 HP plummeting.

In the blink of an eye, Copper Ape's HP vanished, his body transforming into fire before it vanished. When the flames eventually subsided, only a deep crater remained...

Chapter 1816 - Level Suppression

The Black Dragon had turned the armored giant that was undefeatable just a moment ago into a pile of ashes. This scene caused the Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw members to fall into a daze. Many seconds later, they still couldn't wrap their minds around the fact that a Magic Soldier got killed.

In contrast, Zero Wing's members were ecstatic.

"Amazing!"

"All hail the Guild Leader!"

The powerful Black Dragon rekindled the Zero Wing members' hope of victory. With the Black Dragon's strength, the remaining nine armored giants would be no problem. As for the other Dark players, these people had been at a disadvantage previously. If not for the armored giants' interference, both the members of Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw would've long since been crushed already.

So, this is the trump card Black Flame has been hiding all this time? Unyielding Heart could not help his shock at the defeat of one of the armored giants. He had never thought that Zero Wing actually possessed such a powerful foundation. The Guild was revealing one trump card after another—each one more amazing than the former.

Although the Black Dragon summoned was only a High Lord, the strength it displayed was far superior to an ordinary High Lord's of the same level.

"How is this possible?" A somber expression appeared on Veiled Spirit's face the moment she saw Copper Ape die.

Had the Black Dragon spent a lot of time to defeat Copper Ape, she could have accepted this defeat. However, the battle had been so decisive that she simply couldn't.

Copper Ape's combat power as a Magic Soldier was at the peak of Tier 3, yet he had been overwhelmed, unable to retaliate. For a moment, Veiled Spirit even doubted the authenticity of the Magic Soldier she was looking at.

"Commander, what should we do now?" the female Cleric standing beside Veiled Spirit asked hurriedly when she saw the Black Dragon charging toward the other Magic Soldiers.

"Everyone, listen up! This Black Dragon is a summoned creature! As long as we kill its summoner, the Black Dragon will automatically disappear! Everyone, gather up and prioritize killing Black Flame!" Veiled Spirit commanded hurriedly.

In God's Domain, most summoned creatures shared a common weakness, which was their summoner.

Now that the Black Dragon was proven to be an unstoppable existence, their only hope of getting rid of the menace was to kill Black Flame, its summoner. So long as they killed Black Flame, they would regain the upper hand in the battlefield.

After hearing Veiled Spirit's words, the Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw members reacted quickly, staring fiercely at Shi Feng.

Previously, they had been too shocked by the Black Dragon's prowess and had forgotten about the fatal flaw of summoned creatures. However, now that they had snapped out of their daze, they promptly charged at Shi Feng one after another. Meanwhile, three of the remaining nine Magic Soldiers moved to surround the Black Dragon to prevent it from helping Shi Feng.

"Kill him! He's alone!"

"As long as he dies, victory will be ours!"

Suddenly, over a hundred players swarmed toward Shi Feng, killing intent radiating from their eyes.

"That's right! As long as we kill you, this Black Dragon will disappear!" Iron Blade, the leader of the Iron Blade Team as well as the battle-axe-wielding armored giant that was fighting Shi Feng earlier, shouted as he glared at Shi Feng, who stood less than 15 yards away. He raised his battle axe into the air, then abruptly swung it down onto the ground before him. "Die!"

Boom!

In the next moment, twelve earthen spears jutted out from the ground around Shi Feng and stabbed at the Swordsman, each earthen spear carrying the full Strength of the Magic Soldier.

Meanwhile, Iron Blade raised his greataxe and leaped into the air. He then slashed downward with his greataxe as he descended toward Shi Feng, his actions thoroughly sealing all of Shi Feng's escape routes.

However, Shi Feng showed no intention of retreating. Instead, he activated Defensive Blade and swung his two swords to meet the approaching battle axe in battle.

Boom!

After Shi Feng nullified the earthen spears and expended his Defensive Blade's block count completely, his swords came into contact with Iron Blade's battle axe. The Swordsman's feet immediately sank deep into the ground.

When everyone saw the outcome of the clash, however, they were thoroughly stupefied.

Shi Feng had received less than -2,000 damage from the clash. To any player on the battlefield right now, this amount of damage was practically negligible. After all, they all had several tens of thousands of HP.

What's going on? Why is his Strength so much more than before? Iron Blade stared at Shi Feng in confusion. He could not understand why Shi Feng had lost so little HP during their clash this time.

Sure enough, it still isn't possible to match a Magic Soldier even with the Attribute bonus provided by Heavenly Dragon's Breath. Shi Feng could not help but reveal a bitter smile when he looked at his vibrating swords.

When he summoned the Black Dragon, Dragon's Domination had taken effect

For every Dragon present within a 1,000-yard radius, Dragon's Domination increased all of his Basic Attributes by 500 points each. By performing Strength Combination in this buffed state, he had managed to drastically reduce the damage he took from Iron Blade this time. However, when going up against a Tier 3 Magic Soldier, he could execute Strength Combination only for defensive purposes; using the technique offensively was impossible.

Strength Combination was a very sophisticated technique. Even the slightest mistake could lead to failure. Meanwhile, the Tier 3 Magic Soldier possessed a Tier 3 physique. What with Iron Blade being a Flowing Water Realm expert, the Berserker could deal with an offensive Strength Combination very easily. Trying to use the technique in an attack would only do Shi Feng more harm than good. Not to mention, his Defense and HP were significantly lower than Iron Blade's. Facing off against Iron Blade in a direct clash would only bring on an earlier death.

"I want to see just how many times you can block my attacks!" Iron Blade also understood Shi Feng's present state. Right now, all he needed to do was one thing: maneuver his attacks through the Swordsman's defenses. Strength Combination was an extremely complex technique. Trying to use it in a high-speed battle only made the technique even more difficult to execute. The moment Shi Feng slipped up, he would die.

"I am indeed unable to block your attacks that many times. However, you can't possibly be thinking that this is a one-on-one duel, right?" Shi Feng said as he looked at Iron Blade's battle axe approaching him once again. He used Divine Steps and switched positions with the farthest doppelganger, then retrieved a scroll from his bag and activated it.

A moment later, a golden-haired beauty wearing long, silver robes and holding a crystalline staff appeared before Shi Feng.

Due to the presence of this woman, the density of the ambient Mana increased slightly. Meanwhile, the woman herself gave off a pressure that instilled fear in those enveloped in it.

This new arrival was none other than Anna, Shi Feng's Personal Guard.

As Personal Guards also took up a slot when entering a Team Dungeon, Shi Feng couldn't summon Anna to his raid team of 200 players while raiding the Eclipse Throne, which was a 200-man Team Dungeon. More importantly, if Personal Guards participated in a Team Dungeon raid, a successful clear would not count as a First Clear. Hence, Shi Feng had not bothered bringing Anna and Kite out even though both of them would have been powerful helpers. However, now that he was out of the Dungeon, such restrictions no longer applied.

At this point, Anna was already a Level 85, Tier 2 NPC. Aside from her Basic Attributes, the powerful pressure she exerted on the players present was due to level suppression.

"Get rid of them!" Shi Feng commanded, pointing at the Magic Soldier before him.

"As you wish!" Anna nodded and started chanting an incantation.

Reacting to the situation, Iron Blade immediately swung his battle axe at Anna. In response, Anna lightly tapped the butt of her staff on the ground. A golden barrier spread out from her staff, pushing Iron Blade over twenty yards away. By the time Iron Blade shattered this barrier, Anna had already summoned a Level 85 Golden Giant and ten Level 85 Rock Guardians. She then proceeded to buff their Attributes.

With just one punch, the Level 85 Golden Giant sent the Level 55 Magic Soldier stumbling backward by several steps. The disparity in Strength resulting from the difference in levels was massive.

The enemy players charging toward Shi Feng gasped involuntarily at this scene.

Meanwhile, the ten Level 85 Rock Guardians stood guard around Shi Feng, their posture daunting the approaching Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw members, who halted their charge.

Although the level suppression system had been tuned down over several system updates, it had not weakened to the point of negligibility. After the difference exceeded fifteen levels, the effects of level suppression would become significant. Meanwhile, there was currently a gap of 30 levels between the Dark players and the Rock Guardians.

"Do you think you all can come and go as you please?" Shi Feng sneered as he glanced at the members of the two dark adventurer teams that were previously charging at him. "All of you should just stay here forever!"

He then had the ten Rock Guardians attack the backtracking players.

Faced with a bunch of Level 50-plus, Tier 1 Dragonoid players, the Level 85 Rock Guardians were able to send a couple flying with every punch. Due to the level suppression, the players' Defense had weakened considerably. Even Tier 1 Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights couldn't withstand the blows of the Rock Guardians and were sent flying with a punch.

Meanwhile, after fighting for some time, the Black Dragon Shi Feng controlled finally killed one of the three Magic Soldiers pinning it down. Now, the Black Dragon thoroughly suppressed the two remaining Magic Soldiers, each of its normal attacks taking away over 20,000 HP from the Magic Soldiers and over 50,000 if it used a Skill.

At the moment, the Magic Soldiers and the other players belonging to the two dark adventurer teams were getting massacred.

"Commander, we've lost nearly half of our members already. Are we still going to continue fighting?" the female Cleric standing beside Veiled Spirit asked.

From Black Shark's death until now, only a little over a minute had passed, yet they had already lost so many of their members. By the time reinforcements arrived, their entire adventurer team would be annihilated.

After pondering for a brief moment, Veiled Spirit gritted her teeth before reluctantly shouting, "Retreat! Have everyone pull away from the battlefield as quickly as possible!"

The report they'd received regarding Zero Wing was outrageously inaccurate. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to charge into the Starlight Corporation's Guild Hall and choke the members of the corporation's intelligence unit to death. Zero Wing's current performance was completely different from what was reported, so much so that she suspected the report was actually about an entirely different Guild.

Chapter 1817 - Eclipse Gate Shaken

The Golden Giant and Rock Guardians' sudden participation turned the situation around, giving the three Guilds an overwhelming advantage. After hearing Veiled Spirit's command to retreat, both the Shadow Claw and Dark Hunters' members scattered and fled the battlefield.

However, Shi Feng had no intention of letting the two adventurer teams get away, and he ordered his team to give chase and kill as many enemy players as possible.

If not for the fact that their team fully consisted of the three Guilds' Tier 2 players, Zero Wing would've definitely suffered a severe loss from this ambush.

The Guilds had also gotten lucky that the two adventurer teams that had ambushed them weren't capable of using their trump cards to their full potential. If the Dark Hunters had also brought 200 Tier 2 players, and they all consumed the Basic Dragon Potion, they would've been extremely difficult to deal with.

If Zero Wing's members fought Tier 2 Dragonoid players, in Shi Feng's opinion, only Gentle Snow, Fire Dance, Cola, Violet Cloud, Zhao Yueru, and Aqua Rose would be guaranteed to win a one-on-one fight. Everyone else would have a 50% chance at best.

Shadow Claw's Magic Soldiers shouldn't be underestimated, either.

Unless one amassed a large number of Magic Soldiers, they wouldn't be able to exhibit their abilities in full.

Ten Magic Soldiers simply weren't enough to display their true power. Magic Soldiers would only be able to activate the magic arrays on their armor when a hundred stood together. If those magic arrays activated, the 100 Magic Soldiers could even trample over twenty Tier 4 Mythic monsters of the same level.

At one point in the past, 100 Magic Soldiers had joined a battlefield of Tier 2 players. The Magic Soldiers had been killing machines, allowing a first-rate Guild to fend off a sieging superpower and defend its town successfully.

When players fought each other in God's Domain, it was practically impossible for one side to push the other to the brink of extinction in a single battle. After all, the world of God's Domain was not reality. Players could resurrect after dying. Hence, players generally had to undergo a long fight, whittling their opponent's strength down until their opponent could no longer resist.

Although it was impossible to exterminate the adventurer teams, now that the two adventurer teams had scattered and run, Shi Feng needed to do everything in his power to weaken the adventurer teams. This way, it would take the two adventurer teams a lot more time to recover.

However, after the removal of Dark Precinct, it became extremely difficult to catch up with the escaping Dark Players. To make matters worse, the marshy forest's layout was extremely complex. As a result, the fleeing Dark Players escaped the three Guilds' pursuit very quickly. Only the Guilds' Rangers and Assassins could continue the chase. The other classes had to watch on, powerless, as their targets disappeared.

In less than a minute, the two dark adventurer teams' members had thoroughly disappeared into the dense forest.

"Commander, the other adventurer teams' commanders say that they'll arrive soon, and they're asking about the battle's situation," the female Cleric following Veiled Spirit reported. "How should we respond to them?"

"What's the situation?" Veiled Spirit frowned, fury on her face as she continued, "Tell them that they can fight all they want! Shadow Claw will take no part in this!"

The female Cleric was speechless. However, she more or less understood her commander's mood. Shadow Claw had suffered severe losses in this battle. This was the first time their adventure team had suffered so drastically. Moreover, the information the Starline Corporation had given to them had been painfully inaccurate. It was only natural for Veiled Spirit to be furious.

The female Cleric immediately conveyed Veiled Spirit's reply, word for word, to the commanders of the various approaching adventurer teams.

"Commander, it seems Shadow Claw's commander is somewhat angry, saying thatShadow Claw is pulling out of this hunt, and that we can go ahead and continue the fight if we want. The Dark Hunters have also left the area. Should we continue forward?"

"This is interesting. It seems both Shadow Claw and Dark Hunters have suffered quite a loss at the hands of Zero Wing. Since that is the case, let us return."

When the other approaching adventurer teams received Veiled Spirit's reply, they all gave up on the thought of encircling Zero Wing.

Both Shadow Claw and Dark Hunters were top-ranking adventurer teams in Dark Soul. If even these two adventurer teams had suffered a major loss after attacking Zero Wing, then their adventurer teams would definitely fail. Naturally, there was no longer a need to assault Zero Wing.

Meanwhile, before the forest surrounding the Eclipse Throne...

"Guild Leader, they are simply too fast. They're like monkeys. We lost track of them as soon as they entered the forest," Blackie said, stomping his foot in frustration and anger when he could no longer see the two dark adventurer teams. "This really is awful. I barely managed to kill twenty people."

Hearing Blackie's words, Unyielding Soul and Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion's members shot the Cursemancer scornful looks.

Every one of their opponents had been an expert, not an ordinary player. They had been fortunate to kill three to five players in this battle. Defeating an expert and actually killing one were two different things. Normally, one would be hard-pressed to stop an expert's escape. Some experts even had lifesaving tools to help them flee dangerous situations.

If the two adventurer teams heard Blackie's words, they'd cough blood in anger.

"Alright the battle's over. Everyone, loot the battlefield quickly. It's best if we don't linger," Shi Feng said through the team chat.

He knew a little about the Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw, both of which belonged to the Dark Alliance known as Dark Soul.

The adventurer teams capable of joining Dark Soul were all top adventurer teams. During its peak, Dark Soul had included over 40 adventurer teams. The alliance had been stronger than any one of the Six Great Dark Guilds in God's Domain in the past.

Although Dark Soul had yet to reach its peak, it should have around ten or so adventurer teams at the very least. Since two of Dark Soul's adventurer teams had appeared here, he could not rule out the possibility that the alliance's other adventurer teams would as well. His team was already exhausted. There were fewer than 140 players still alive. Trying to fight several more dark adventurer teams now would result in greater losses.

Unyielding Heart and Phoenix Rain nodded in agreement. They then instructed their subordinates to clean up the battlefield swiftly and leave the area.

Shortly after Shi Feng's team left the area, several dozen players emerged the dense forest. However, these players were from the various dark adventurer teams. Rather, they were independent players that had come to the jungle to grind Energy Essence.

"Zero Wing is too amazing! That was the first time I've seen such an amazing battle!"

"Indeed. Despite only having a 200-man team, Zero Wing repelled an army of over 2,000 experts. This result is simply absurd."

"Rumors really can't be believed. Zero Wing is way stronger than the rumors make it out to be. Some of my friends have been urging me to join a first-rate Guild, but looking at it now, it seems that Zero Wing would be a better choice."

"Hahaha! I recorded the entire battle! Once I return, I'm going to boast the heck out of this at the bar!"

These independent players' eyes glowed with excitement as they looked at the direction Shi Feng and the others disappeared to.

While they did not know the identities of the two adventurer teams that attacked Zero Wing's team, they knew that those players had been experts based on their combat standards.

Yet, despite these 2,000-plus experts revealing one trump card after another, Zero Wing's victory had been decisive.

Naturally, the independent players had no intentions of keeping the battle a secret. Immediately, they posted the videos they had recorded on the official forums, allowing every player in the Eclipse Gate to view them.

"What's going on? Two superpowers are fighting near the Eclipse Throne?"

"Wait, isn't that Zero Wing? Did some superpower try to ambush their team?"

"Zero Wing's Gentle Snow is so strong! She killed nearly a hundred people in one hit!"

When the public saw the independent players' video, their blood boiled with excitement. The standard of the battle between Zero Wing and the two dark adventurer teams was unprecedented. The battle had completely shattered their understanding of Guild wars. Other kingdoms' independent players, in particular, gained newfound recognition of Zero Wing. They had never thought that Star-Moon Kingdom's ruling Guild would be so powerful. News of this battle also reached the various major powers' intelligence members. These intelligence members relayed the information to their respective upper echelons immediately.

Chapter 1818 - Comparable to a First-rate Guild?

Dark Night Empire, Lightshadow City:

A lofty tower sat in the middle of the city, and hovering above this tower was a gigantic, dark-purple crystal. The crystal created a magic barrier that enveloped the city, and the crystal could be seen clearly by the large number of players walking throughout the streets. There were also a large number of NPCs and Dark Creatures, such as Demons, Abyssal Demonkin, Vampires. The multi-racial population in Lightshadow City far surpassed that of kingdoms' Dark Cities.

Many neutral race NPCs hawked their wares along the city streets, a sight that was even rare in other empires' Dark Cities.

Lightshadow City was no less prosperous than Dark Night City, the Dark Night Empire's capital. Moreover, Lightshadow City had a wider variety of races.

Meanwhile, a luxurious, five-story-tall mansion stood in the city's lively Central District. A large number of players came and went from the mansion, and all of them were either extravagantly dressed merchant players or Level 54-plus experts.

When the players in line outside of the mansion saw these merchant and expert players, they couldn't help but feel a little envious.

"These players' levels and equipment are amazing! They're even better than the experts in first-rate Guilds!"

"That's only natural. Although Dark Soul is an alliance, not a Guild, it periodically raids Team Dungeons. The alliance also frequently plunders the various large Guilds' elite teams and main forces. Of course, its members have excellent weapons and equipment Moreover, despite such banditry, the various large Guilds are utterly powerless to do anything about it. For example, one first-rate Guild went all-out to deal with Dark Soul, but in the end, the alliance had annihilated its army, and the Guild was eventually forced to disband."

"That's right! It was due to that success that Dark Soul is holding a mass-recruitment. When I heard about it, I dropped what I was doing and came here. It would be great if I could join the alliance."

"If we get to join Dark Soul, we'll be able to move through the Dark Night Empire and the several neighboring kingdoms unhindered. Even the various Dark Guilds will have to treat us with respect In addition, if we join one of the top five adventurer teams after joining Dark Soul, such as Shadow Claw, the Copper Eagle Kingdom's number one dark adventurer team, or Dark Hunters, which has recently become famous in the Dark Night Empire, we'll be set for life."

"I hope I can get into one of the top five adventurer teams, too. It's a pity that the requirements are extremely high. At the very least, you'll need to reach the Trial Tower's sixth floor or reach the fifth floor's late stage and have a specialty."

The several thousand Dark Players outside of the mansion quietly discussed their desire to join Dark Soul.

In the Dark Night Empire and its several neighboring kingdoms, Dark Soul enjoyed a status rivaling that of super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds. Moreover, unlike most Dark Guilds and dark adventurer teams, Dark Soul wasn't afraid of a confrontation with the various large Guilds. It even dared to challenge two super-first-rate Guilds simultaneously.

To Dark Players, who were always forced into hiding, this was a freedom they hungered for.

Now that Dark Soul was recruiting members, independent Dark Players like themselves couldn't miss this opportunity.

Meanwhile, inside an office on the mansion's top-most floor, a young man stood by the office's window. As the young man observed the independent players outside of the mansion, a grin spread across his face.

This man was none other than Tiger Breaker, Dark Soul's Alliance Master.

"Alliance Master, since we announced the recruitment, over 2,000 players have passed our test already. In addition, over 30 well-known adventurer teams have applied to join us. With these new recruits, once we receive the resources the Starline Corporation promised, we'll be able to nurture two or three well-equipped expert legions quickly," a Level 55 male Elementalist wielding a withered wooden staff reported.

"Good! Pathless, you've done well this time! As long as the other adventurer teams deal with Zero Wing, we won't have any problems acquiring the promised resources," Tiger Breaker said, smiling.

"Alliance Master, you can rest assured. I've heard that Black Shark and the others have discovered the whereabouts of Zero Wing's upper echelons. The Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw have already left to set up the ambush. I believe Zero Wing will suffer severely. Once we receive the confirmation, the Starline Corporation will definitely be satisfied with our performance and pay us a portion of the agreed resources upfront," the Level 55 Elementalist named Pathless said, smiling.

Once the Starline Corporation delivered the promised resources, Dark Soul would become the Dark Night Empire's dark overlord. Once it achieved that goal, Dark Soul could then secure its sovereignty over all of God's Domain's dark forces.

While Tiger Breaker and Pathless conversed, Pathless received a message. After reading it, however, his complexion paled.

"Has something happened?" Tiger Breaker asked curiously when he noticed Pathless's gloomy expression.

"I just received a message stating that... the adventurer teams that went to Star-Moon Kingdom to deal with Zero Wing are preparing to return..." Pathless said.

"Return? They've dealt with Zero Wing already?" Tiger Breaker could not help his surprise. "No, that's not right. Zero Wing is a large Guild, comparable to a first-rate Guild. It is impossible to deal with it so quickly! What happened?"

"Zero Wing...has dealt a heavy blow to the Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw. Both adventurer teams have lost over half of their people. According to Veiled Spirit, the information Starline provided was horrendously inaccurate. The Zero Wing they encountered was an entirely different Guild than what the reports had mentioned. Due to this unexpected development, the various adventurer teams' commanders have decided to return to Lightshadow City and discuss the matter further," Pathless said quietly.

"How is that possible? That's Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw we're talking about. They simply left to deal with Zero Wing's main force. How could they possibly lose? They even lost over half of their teams..." Tiger Breaker stared at Pathless in shock. "Also, what does Veiled Spirit mean that Zero Wing is a different Guild?"

"Alliance Master, these are the battle videos some of the players had recorded. Why don't you take a look?" The situation confused Pathless as well. Following which, he forwarded the videos he had received from his subordinate to Tiger Breaker.

"Battle videos?" Tiger Breaker began to examine the videos after he received them.

The first video showed the 2,000-plus members from the Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw adventurer teams using trump cards that even surprised Tiger Breaker. Another video showed a female Berserker killing Black Shark in a matter of seconds. Said female Berserker had also killed nearly a hundred players with one attack. The final video showed Shi Feng summoning a Black Dragon and killing a Magic Soldier in just a few seconds. The Swordsman had also summoned his Personal Guard, rampaging and slaughtering the two dark adventurer teams and forcing them into a disadvantageous position.

"This is Starline's so-called 'comparable to a first-rate Guild?'" Tiger Breaker's face flushed with anger as he watched the videos. "Are Starline's intelligence members sleeping on the job?! How is this comparable to a first-rate Guild?! A first-rate Guild's main force can wipe out two of Dark Soul's top-ranking adventurer teams?! Pathless, contact Lu Xingluo and tell him that if he wants to get rid of Zero Wing, he'll have to triple the pay we agreed on! Otherwise, this transaction is over!"

"Understood. I'll contact him right away." Pathless was just as furious after watching the videos. He felt that the Starline Corporation had toyed with Dark Soul.

Chapter 1819 - Advanced Smithy

Dark Night Empire, Dark Night City:

The city's Central District bustled with activity and traffic. Players also crowded the Shops along the streets. Players from other cities and kingdoms constantly visited these Shops to purchase items.

The Dark Night Empire's businesses were far more popular than those in the neighboring kingdoms. In those kingdom's capitals, Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment was rare on the market, but in Dark Night City, such equipment was common. Some Shops even sold Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment Only, the prices for those items were absurdly high, way above market value.

Due to Dark Night City's prosperity, many players from neighboring kingdoms brought their treasures here to sell. This made the city a hub for precious treasure. The various large Guilds operating in the neighboring kingdoms had even stationed some players in Dark Night City long-term to search for purchase opportunities. Kingdoms' capitals simply couldn't compare to the Dark Night City's liveliness.

Meanwhile, a towering Guild Hall loomed in the center of the city's Central District. The Guild Residence occupied an area large enough to house a stadium that could accommodate tens of thousands of people. Not only would one need a high enough status to purchase such a large plot of Land, but they'd also need a frightening number of Coins. The Land's base price was 50,000 Gold, and it was one of the few spacious Lands available in Dark Night City's Central District.

"This Guild Residence is so luxurious! The owner has even built a five-story restaurant in it!"

"This is ridiculous. I've heard it costs quite a lot to build a restaurant in a Guild Residence. Such a massive restaurant should cost at least 10,000 Gold to build."

"Ten thousand Gold? Aren't you looking down on Starlink a little too much? The Starline Corporation established the Guild. Including the building's various accessories, Starlink has spent a total of 20,000 Gold to build this restaurant The Guild also built training rooms with magic array enhancements. I've heard that the Mana density inside these training rooms is much higher than that of the outside world. You'll be far more efficient when training in those rooms. It's a pity that only Starlink's members can enjoy this benefit"

"Then, why don't we just join Starlink?"

"A newcomer like you? Join Starlink? Starlink is one of the top three Guilds of the Dark Night Empire. It's no weaker than super-first-rate Guilds like Crimson Emperor or Unyielding Soul. Although Starlink is mass-recruiting right now, it is still out of reach for a newbie like you."

...

While the players near Starlink's Residence discussed the Guild, a team of 100 players atop leopards turned onto the street. The 100-man team wore exquisite uniforms and radiated majestic auras. Many experts watched the team of players enter Starlink's Residence in awe, dreaming of joining that team in the future.

The 100-man team was Starlink's main force, and not long ago, the main force had defeated a Level 50, 100-man Team Dungeon's fourth Boss. Now, the team only needed to defeat the Final Boss to complete the 100-man Team Dungeon. This raid progression could already rival that of the Dark Night Empire's two super-first-rate Guilds.

Meanwhile, three people stood in the Guild Leader's office in Starlink's Guild Hall. These three watched the Guild's main force, which had just returned from a Dungeon raid, from a window.

"Guild Leader, we have now caught up with Unyielding Soul's raid progress. Now, it is only a matter of time before we surpass Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor," a Level 55, Tier 2 male Shield Warrior carrying a silver cross-shield across his back said, laughing as he turned to Lu Xingluo, who wore a set of black robes.

Due to Starlink acquiring a share of the Secret Pavilion's Magic Crystal vein, the Guild acquired a large number of Magic Crystals every day. This allowed the Guild to sustain the magic arrays powering the Guild's training rooms. With this, the Guild's experts could continuously train and improve rapidly.

Once the Guild had accumulated enough Tier 2 players, it was only a matter of time before they obtained the First Clear of the Level 50, 100-man Team Dungeon they were raiding.

Now that their Guild didn't have to worry about Magic Crystals, they were able to nurture Guild experts much faster. In one or two months, Starlink might even surpass Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul's expert count, becoming the Dark Night Empire's number one Guild.

"Not bad. The struggle for the Thorn Fortress is about to start. For a while, divert all of the Magic Crystals we obtain to nurturing as many Tier 2 players as possible. I want to see how Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul intend to compete with Starlink when we obtain the management rights to Thorn Fortress," Lu Xingluo said, smiling.

"Understood. Guild Leader, rest assured; I'll make sure that we have more Tier 2 experts than Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul by the time the struggle begins," the Shield Warrior promised.

As Lu Xingluo was about to discuss their plans for the struggle over Thorn Fortress, he received a message notification.

"A message from Dark Soul?" Lu Xingluo muttered when he noticed the sender's identity. By the time he finished reading the message, his expression had darkened, "Have the people from Dark Soul gone mad? They're actually tripling their price to deal with a small Guild like Zero Wing?!"

"Guild Leader, we just received a message as well. It seems that Dark Soul's members have ambushed Zero Wing's main force. However, Dark Soul's members suffered a disastrous defeat and lost over half of its numbers. I suspect that this has something to do with their new demands," Dawn Web, a Level 55, Tier 2 female Elementalist and the third person in the room, explained.

"You're saying that Dark Soul tried to ambush Zero Wing, but the Guild turned the tables on them?" For a moment, Lu Xingluo thought he had heard wrong. "How is that possible?"

"It's true. Some people have posted the battle videos on the Eclipse Gate's official forums. Almost everyone in the Eclipse Gate is talking about it," Dawn Web said as she forwarded a few battle videos to Lu Xingluo.

"So, that is the case." Lu Xingluo could not help his frown as he watched the recordings. "No wonder why a measly bug dares to oppose me."

"Guild Leader, are we still going to take care of Zero Wing?" Dawn Web asked.

"Of course!" Lu Xingluo said determinedly. "But before we do, we have to secure the Thorn Fortress. Send a reply to Dark Soul; tell them that they can forget about tripling the price. I'm not going to triple their pay just because they got scratched. However, I am willing to tweak the conditions of our agreement. As long as they annihilate Zero Wing, I'll give them an additional 5% of Thorn Fortress's shares.

"Also, tell Tiger Breaker that Zero Wing doesn't have any backers. Since Zero Wing is so strong, it must have a massive secret If he doesn't want that secret, he better not regret his choices once Starlink claims it!"

He was very familiar with the Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw's strength in Dark Soul. They were merely the fourth and fifth ranked adventurer teams in the alliance. Dark Soul was only defeated due to misinformation, yet Tiger Breaker wanted to use this opportunity to hike up the price.

"Understood." Dawn Web nodded before contacting Dark Soul's representative.

While Lu Xingluo discussed Zero Wing, the various superpowers had discovered the battle in the Eclipse Gate. The outcome further increased Zero Wing's fame among the various superpowers. At the same time, the Guild had attracted a lot of attention. For a Guild of Zero Wing's caliber, it was simply absurd to have so many Tier 2 players. The Guild was definitely hiding something major.

For a time, the various superpowers reevaluated their opinions of Zero Wing. Rather than an ant, Zero Wing had become a fat piece of meat.

"Relay my commands! Order our subordinates to investigate the secret to Zero Wing's success!"

After watching the battle between Zero Wing and Dark Soul, many superpowers' upper echelons issued the same command.

...

Meanwhile, Shi Feng had already rested and paid Silverwing Town a visit.

"Guild Leader, I have brought the 50 Advanced Architects you asked for," Melancholic Smile said as she approached Shi Feng, who surveyed an empty plot of Land.

The 50 Advanced Architects following Melancholic Smile could not help their growing nerves as they looked at Shi Feng. They were confused about why their Guild Leader had gathered them all here. With so many Advanced Architects, one could construct an entire Basic Town.

"Good. I've gathered you all here today to build the construction on this design," Shi Feng said. He then retrieved a stack of old parchment from his bag. This stack was none other than the Advanced Smithy Design.

Chapter 1820 - Upgrading Silverwing Town

"An Advanced Smithy?" Melancholic Smile could not help her surprise when she saw the description of the design Shi Feng took out.

At this point in time, she was quite knowledgeable about Advanced Constructions.

Every Advanced Construction had functions that far surpassed their Basic counterparts. Moreover, they had their own specialties. However, designs for Advanced Constructions were extremely difficult to acquire.

Although Melancholic Smile was initially excited at the identity of the design, seeing the materials and space needed to construct the Advanced Smithy dampened her mood quickly.

The Advanced Smithy required not only 2,000 pieces of extremely valuable Mana Ore but also 1,000 Advanced Magic Cores and 500 Earthfire Crystals.

The Mana Ore required wasn't too much of a problem, as Zero Wing had collected quite an amount during this period. As for the Advanced Magic Core, it was a rare material that could be obtained only from the Bosses of Level 50 and above Team Dungeons. However, the drop-rate wasn't 100%, so it was extremely valuable.

On the market, one Advanced Magic Core sold for five Gold. A thousand Advanced Magic Cores would mean 5,000 Gold.

As for the Earthfire Crystal, it was even more valuable, as it could be acquired only in the fields, particularly mountainous regions with fiery environments. It was one of the main materials needed to produce high-ranking Fire Resistance equipment Although the market value of Earthfire Crystal was roughly five Gold, due to its rarity and the demand, it was almost impossible to find large quantities of Earthfire Crystal for sale.

Currently, Zero Wing had only a little over 600 Earthfire Crystals stockpiled. Spending 500 crystals in one go would deplete the Guild's inventory.

Aside from the three aforementioned materials, the Advanced Smithy also needed 10,000 Magic Crystals to construct.

The total cost of its construction came to roughly 30,000 Gold.

Currently, Zero Wing was developing rapidly and needed to spend money on various fronts. If not for Zero Wing City, the Guild wouldn't have been able to keep up with its expenditures. Hence, spending 30,000 Gold's worth of rare materials to construct an Advanced Smithy truly wasn't a wise course of action.

However, before Melancholic Smile could try to dissuade Shi Feng, he had already distributed the tasks to the Advanced Architects. He even had the necessary materials prepared already. All the 50 Advanced Architects needed to do was build the structure.

Although Zero Wing's main force had suffered some casualties and lost 20-odd pieces of equipment in the battle with the two dark adventurer teams, the spoils of war they gained were far more valuable.

The members of Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw were experts among experts. They were all geared in excellent equipment that was only slightly inferior to Zero Wing's.

However, while the quality of the equipment Zero Wing looted was indeed slightly inferior to the equipment it lost, the quantity easily made up for the poorer quality.

In total, Zero Wing had gained over 400 pieces of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment and 60-plus pieces of Level 50 Fine- Gold Equipment.

After deducting the compensations and rewards given out, Zero Wing had still netted more than 10,000 Gold from that single battle. However, even if one had 10,000 Gold, they would be hard-pressed to acquire so many pieces of up-to-date top-tier equipment.

Although the profits from this battle were not enough to cover the construction cost of the Advanced Smithy, the Advanced Smithy served a great purpose.

As an Advanced Construction, it could elevate the prosperity and Popularity of a town by a significant margin.

At this point, Silverwing Town already possessed sufficient Basic Constructions and security to get upgraded into an Intermediate Town. Now, it just had to accumulate sufficient Popularity and prosperity.

However, constructing the Advanced Smithy wasn't an easy task. Aside from Advanced Architects, it needed one player capable of drawing Advanced Magic Arrays because the Advanced Smithy required the inscription of many magic arrays.

For the following period, Shi Feng could be seen busily inscribing magic arrays onto the constructed walls and floors of the Advanced Smithy.

Someone looking at Silverwing Town from some distance away would notice that a section of the town's outer area had suddenly been cordoned off and something big was under construction there. This situation immediately attracted the attention of many resting players.

Nowadays, Silverwing Town had already become the most popular town in the Ore Empire. Many Guild players seeking to grind in the Ore Empire or raid the Teleportation War Fortresses chose to rest in Silverwing Town. Even though the war fortresses in question were very far away from Silverwing Town, players still chose Silverwing Town over other Guild Towns in the Ore Empire.

One reason for this was the EXP buff that players could accumulate by resting in Silverwing Town, which would help greatly in leveling up. Another reason was the Battle Arena in the town.

However, contrary to expectations, the high Mana environment of Silverwing Town wasn't the reason why its Battle Arena was popular. Instead, the main reason for its popularity was the fact that the town was now a hub for players originating from various kingdoms and empires. Due to this situation, experts from different countries could spar with each other. Being able to spar with a large number of different experts of the same combat standard was a tremendous benefit for experts seeking to improve themselves.

Now that Silverwing Town had already become the number one town in the Ore Empire, if not for the limited space, its player population could easily exceed 1,500,000.

"Damn! Silverwing Town is already crowded enough, yet Zero Wing is actually wasting such a large, empty space on another building."

"That's right! With the number of buildings in the town continuously increasing, the number of players the town can accommodate will keep declining. I'm not even sure if I can squeeze my way into the town tomorrow."

The players resting in a nearby bar could not help but frown when they saw the stadium-sized structure under construction.

There were simply too many players trying to enter Silverwing Town right now. To make sure Silverwing Town operated normally, Zero Wing had made it so that players who weren't Zero Wing members could stay in Silverwing Town for only ten hours a day. If players refused to leave the town once their allocated time was up, the NPC soldiers would either forcibly remove them from the town or outright kill them.

Yet, despite this restriction, Silverwing Town was still packed all day round. At this point, Zero Wing had limited the number of players allowed inside the town at one time to just 800,000. If latecomers wished to enter the town, they would have to wait for someone to exit it Hence, as more buildings rose in the empty spaces in town, the number of players allowed in would be reduced.

Time passed quickly. When Shi Feng finished inscribing the last magic array, eight hours had already elapsed. The 50 Advanced Architects had taken only four hours to construct the physical structure of the Advanced Smithy.

It's finally done. Shi Feng sighed ruefully as he looked at the completed Advanced Smithy. Although the smithy had only three floors in total, it was over twenty meters in height.

The Advanced Smithy before him was definitely a cut above Basic Smithies, which were only four meters in height. This was something that could be seen from the building's external appearance alone. However, the inside of the building was even more amazing.

As Shi Feng had personally inscribed every magic array, he had a general idea of the magic arrays' abilities.

The Advanced Smithy could not only repair and produce custom-made weapons and equipment but also break down weapons and equipment and return to players some materials used to make those items. Players could then use the reclaimed materials for new weapons and equipment. Although the recovery rate wasn't very high, it was still better than selling obsolete items to NPCs.

If he revealed this ability, countless players would definitely swarm to the Advanced Smithy to break down their obsolete weapons and equipment. Meanwhile, Zero Wing could charge a small fee for the service.

Good! Let's get it running now! Shi Feng then called up the Advanced Smithy's system interface and chose to open the building to the public.

In the next moment, the magic curtain surrounding the construction site disappeared, exposing the massive building to the public.

At the same time, the sound of a system notification entered Shi Feng's ears.

System: Silverwing Town's Popularity and security have fulfilled the requirements of an Intermediate Town. Do you wish to upgrade Silverwing Town?

Wonderful! Just as I expected!

Shi Feng could not help feeling joyful when he heard the system notification. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time now. He immediately chose to upgrade Silverwing Town.