Reincarnation of The Strongest Sword God

1941-1960

Chapter 1941 - Abyss Descends

Within Kama Island's shriveled forest, Miracle's members advanced on the valley near the island's center.

"Vice Guild Leader, I found Black Flame's tracks. By the looks of it, he has traveled past here before. It's very likely that he is ahead of us in the valley. Although the terrain here is complex, it is also a dead-end. As long as we surround the valley's exit, he won't get away!" the gray-clad Assassin said, grinning at the tracks on the ground before gesturing to the valley ahead.

Miracle had already sealed o什 the island with magic arrays, so players couldn't use Return Scrolls or Instantaneous Movement Magic Scrolls to flee. In other words, the only way to leave Kama Island was on foot.

While Shi Feng would have the ability to employ guerilla tactics from within the valley's complex terrain, he had also sealed off his own path of retreat.

It might not have been a disadvantage if Shi Feng were merely facing several thousand players, but what awaited him was an army of 30,000. Such a large force was more than enough to search every inch of the valley. Shi Feng wouldn't have room for guerilla warfare. As long as he revealed himself, he'd be surrounded and killed.

"Good! Since Black Flame is so eager to die, we'll grant his wish! Leave 50 Tier 2 players to guard the exit! Everyone else, search the valley! Leave no stone unturned!" Thousand Miles barked as he watched the dark, distant valley. "Remember, start recording the moment you spot him! I want everyone to know what happens when you make an enemy of Miracle! I will also reward a piece of Epic Equipment to anyone who kills Black Flame!"

Miracle had suffered significant losses in the battle on Savage God Island, and although they had achieved their goal, securing the Savage God's Legacy, the various large Guilds had learned of the Water Ghost Legion's miserable defeat and the loss of dozens of ships. This had wounded Miracle's prestige among the Guilds.

Now that Shi Feng was trying to cause trouble for his Guild, Thousand Miles was more than willing to slay the man, using the opportunity to restore some of the Guild's lost reputation.

When Miracle's members heard Thousand Miles's orders, they bubbled with excitement.

Although a lot of Epic Weapons and Equipment had been found in God's Domain thus far, even the various superpowers considered such items a luxury. Aside from the various superpowers' upper echelons and peak experts, Guild players had no chance of wielding an Epic ranked item.

Now that they had the opportunity to obtain a piece of Epic Equipment by killing Shi Feng, why wouldn't they be excited?

Under Thousand Miles's command, Miracle's members swiftly entered the valley and searched through the island like a finetoothed comb. Everyone hoped that Shi Feng would appear before them.

Shortly after Miracle's members began their search, a powerful storm brewed above them. Countless spatial tears ripped apart the dusky sky. Seeing this, Miracle's members slowed to a halt, watching the scene above them.

As they all wondered what was happening, the numerous spatial tears merged into one, massive black hole, nearly half as large as Kama Island. Darkness Energy then poured out, making the space around the black hole muddy and violent.

"A spatial passage?"

Thousand Miles, who was quite knowledgeable about God's Domain, found the black hole similar to spatial passages he had seen before. Only, the one above Kama Island was on a much larger scale.

As Thousand Miles wondered about the spatial passage that had appeared above the island, deafening roaring drifted out of the pathway.

A winged monster, covered in pitch-black scales, then pulled itself from the spatial passage. The moment this scaled monster appeared, Miracle's members felt the threat of death looming over them.

When some of the players used their Identification Skills on the scaled monster, they could not help but gasp. This monster was actually a Level 160 Lord!

"How is this possible?!"

"Why has such a powerful monster appeared?!"

These players' thoughts became chaotic when they learned the scaled monster's identity.

A Lord ranked monster might not be a tough opponent since it was only the equivalent of a Tier 2 player, but a Level 160 monster was basically invincible to current players.

While the army was stunned by the sudden development, another scaled monster emerged from the black hole. Not only was the second monster much larger than the first, but its aura was also leaps and bounds more powerful. To make matters worse, more scaled monsters followed, swarming out of the spatial passage.

One." Two... Three...

By the time these monsters covered half of the sky above Kama Island, Miracle's members had gone from panicked to full-on despair.

One Level 160 Lord was enough to wipe out their 30,000-man army, much less an entire force of such monsters.

"Retreat! Everyone retreat immediately!" Thousand Miles shouted as he snapped out of his daze.

Unfortunately, by the time Thousand Miles had issued the command, the scaled monsters had descended on the players in the valley. They gave Miracle's members no chance for escape.

Not only did the Level 160 Lords attack with unrivaled Strength, but their speed was just as overwhelming. In the blink of an eye, several hundred Miracle members had transformed into streaks of light and vanished from the island.

Several thousand players had died by the time Miracle's army had fled the valley, and plenty of Tier 2 experts had been among the slain...

While Miracle's members ran for their lives, Thousand Miles noticed a figure at the top of the mountain. He was very familiar with this figure; it was none other than Shi Feng.

Like an uninvolved passerby, Shi Feng casually admired the massacre below.

Damn it! It must be him! He must be responsible for opening that spatial passage! There's no way these monsters' arrival was a coincidence! Confusion and fury overwhelmed Thousand Miles as he watched Shi Feng. He actually summoned these monsters just to prevent Miracle from stealing the Manatite vein, to prevent anyone from obtaining it? Insane! He is definitely insane!

Chapter 1942 - So What If I Am?

A flood of monsters still surged out of the spatial passage above Kama Island. Moreover, as the swarm grew, stronger monsters emerged from the black hole. At first, only Lords had come forth, but then, Great Lords and Grand Lords had begun to arrive. Now, even Mythic monsters appeared from the passage.

Like hungry wolves spotting fresh meat, these monsters descended on the fleeing Miracle members the moment they emerged.

Level 160 Lords were enough to instant-kill Miracle's members, not to mention the higher-leveled Great Lord, Grand Lord, and Mythic ranked monsters. Although Miracle's members had scattered and run the moment they received Thousand Miles's command, the flying monsters were too fast to outrun.

In the seconds after Miracle had initiated its retreat, over 3,000 members had transformed into streaks of light and vanished.

"Vice Guild Leader, these monsters are even chasing the members that have left the valley! They have no regional restrictions! With how fast the monster force is growing, I'm afraid that they'll annihilate us before we reach the shore!"

Silent March said, watching the monster-filled sky with a grim expression.

An endless number of monsters flew out of the black hole above, and even though their forces had split up, the monsters wouldn't need long to eliminate them all. If the 30,000 players had only consisted of elite members, Miracle's losses wouldn't have been so severe, significantly harming the Guild's operations, if they all died, but over 400 of these players were Tier 2 experts. If these players were slain as well...

"We can't break through? It seems that we have no choice but to use the Magic Breaker Scroll to remove the seal on the island!" Thousand Miles gritted his teeth as he watched his guildmates die, one after another. "March, instruct our elite members to do everything they can to attract the monsters' attention! Once I remove the seal, have our Guild experts use Return Scrolls to get out of here as soon as possible!"

Very few Magic Scrolls in God's Domain were capable of removing regional seals. Even a super-first-rate Guild like Miracle had only managed to obtain six thus far. Normally, these scrolls were reserved as lifesaving tools to prevent other superpowers from ambushing their key forces.

Since he was one of Miracle's Vice Guild Leaders, he had been allocated one of these scrolls. If he used it now, he'd have to wait a long time before he'd receive another.

However, he couldn't hold anything back with so many of his Guild's Tier 2 experts at risk.

Understood!" Silent March nodded.

Following which, Thousand Miles took an ancient, golden Magic Scroll from his bag and began to activate it.

In response, a golden light pillar flew from the unfurled scroll and pierced the invisible magic barrier that enveloped Kama Island. The magic barrier shattered, and players on the island could once again use Teleportation Spells and tools.

As the magic seal faded, Miracle's members breathed sighs of relief. With the barrier gone, they would not have to rely on their own feet to escape the island. Once they found a safe location, they could use a Return Scroll and leave this nightmare.

However, just as Miracle's many experts activated their Return Scrolls to flee this godforsaken island, the scrolls' loading bars were interrupted.

"What's going on? Why can't I teleport?"

"No! We're still under the magic seal's effects!"

"But didn't we remove the barrier?"

The development left Miracle's fleeing experts confused. Even Thousand Miles, who had just used the Magic Breaker Scroll, was bewildered.

"Vice Guild Leader, look at Black Flame! I think he just used a magic seal!" a Ranger with sharp eyesight announced as he pointed to the mountain and Shi Feng.

Hearing this, Thousand Miles spun towards Shi Feng. Multiple magic arrays hovered around the Swordsman, all of which manifested to seal off Kama Island.

"Black Flame! You're courting death!" Thousand Miles's gaze was frosty as he glared at Shi Feng, his enraged bellow echoing throughout the valley.

Every Miracle member in the valley stared at Shi Feng with hatred and killing intent. They had already used their only Magic Breaker Scroll, so only death awaited them if another magic seal enclosed the island!

"Courting death?" Seeing Thousand Miles's wrathful expression, Shi Feng couldn't help but laugh as he replied, "So what if I am?"

In truth, Shi Feng hadn't wanted to open an Abyss Passage on Kama Island. Once it opened, it would affect the region, and with the exception of himself, the Ancient Abyssal Book's owner, the abyssal monsters would hunt down every player within range. Activating the Abyssal Passage had greatly affected his plans for the Manatite vein.

Although Shi Feng had expected information on the Manatite vein to leak and had prepared certain countermeasures, he hadn't expected it to happen so soon.

Moreover, Miracle had intended to take the vein for itself, rather than negotiate. He couldn't afford to be courteous with the enemy Guild. He would teach Miracle the price for trying to steal Zero Wing's Manatite vein.

"Black Flame! Do you truly think Miracle will let you off the hook for this?!" Thousand Miles threatened as he watched the sealing magic array complete. "Your entire Guild will face Miracle's wrath, not just you!"

"Guild Leader Black Flame, many of Miracle's experts are on Kama Island. Our Guild Leader isn't exaggerating. If you complete the seal on Kama Island, Miracle will do everything it can to destroy Zero Wing!" Silent March attempted to persuade Shi Feng. "Since you have developed Zero Wing to its current power, you should understand the various superpowers' strength. You should know how powerful our Guild is. Do you really want to make an enemy of Miracle?'

Zero Wing had already become a noteworthy force in God's Domain, but to a top-ranked, super-first-rate Guild like Miracle,

it was still a trivial opponent. The only reason Miracle had not turned against Zero Wing thus far, despite the Guild's multiple transgressions, was that it had much better things to do with its time and resources.

However, if Miracle concentrated its strength against Zero Wing, removing the Guild from God's Domain wouldn't be difficult.

"You people really are interesting. You clearly came looking for trouble, yet you're making Zero Wing look like the bad guy here, claiming that our Guild is trying to make an enemy of ours? Miracle's members sure are skilled with one-sided plays!" Shi Feng laughed. "I'll repeat myself once again. So what if I am?"

Chapter 1943 - Zero Wing's Wrath

"Black Flame, you're going too far!" Thousand Miles shouted hurriedly when he realized that Shi Feng showed no intentions of canceling the magic array. "We no longer have the power to take the Manatite vein! We have even lost several thousand elites! If you complete the barrier around Kama Island, you might be able to use these monsters to kill us, but only once! However, Zero Wing will have to face Miracle's full wrath in return!"

"Wrath?" Shi Feng could not help but laugh at Thousand Miles. "I don't know how terrifying Miracle's wrath is, but you should have a taste of Zero Wing's, first!"

Shi Feng's voice echoed throughout the valley, and Miracle's members felt a chill crawl down their spines from the indifference and killing intent histone contained.

They had never thought that Shi Feng was so ruthless!

He actually ignored his Guild's safety to ensure their deaths!

"Insane! He must be insane! He wants to drag us down with him!"

"How can a Guild Leader like this exist in God's Domain?!"

Miracle's members were bewildered as they stared at Shi Feng.

The various large Guilds' Guild Leaders would do almost anything they could to ensure their Guild's survival in God's Domain. They often set aside their personal feelings for the bigger picture. Shi Feng, on the other hand, didn't seem to care about Zero Wing's survival in the least, acting entirely on his emotions.

However, Shi Feng hadn't lied. While they weren't sure how Miracle would retaliate, they were certain that they'd face Zero Wing's wrath right now.

"Good! Very good! Since you want to duke it out, show me what you're capable of!" Thousand Miles shouted, his eyes turning bloodshot. "Everyone, heed my command! Attack Black Flame with everything you've got! The magic seal has a long activation time! If we can interrupt his channeling, he can't seal off the island! I will personally gift anyone who kills Black Flame a piece of Epic Equipment!"

"The Vice Guild Leader is right! Our deaths are not certain yet! As long as we can interrupt Black Flame, we still have hope of surviving! If we kill Black Flame, we'll even get a piece of Epic Equipment!"

"Right! This battle's outcome isn't set in stone! We still have a fighting chance!"

"Kill Black Flame!"

Hearing Thousand Miles's orders, Miracle's members knew that their only hope of survival hinged on striking Shi Feng with everything they had. Otherwise, none of them should think of leaving Kama Island alive. Fortunately, the magic seal needed two minutes to complete. They weren't completely out of luck.

As their morale recovered, Miracle's members charged toward Shi Feng while ignoring the abyssal monsters around them. The only thing on their minds was Shi Feng's death.

Like wild beasts that had awakened from their slumber, the auras of the remaining 20,000-plus players flared as they bared their teeth at their adversary.

"Retaliating even in the face of death?" Shi Feng sneered at the approaching mob."

He stood just below the spatial passage, and as Miracle's members approached, they would encounter more abyssal monsters. With current players' strength, charging at these monsters was suicidal.

But Miracle's players were in a frenzy. They disregarded all costs while charging at Shi Feng, and even when their comrades fell beside them, they didn't pull their gazes from their target.

"Everyone, keep it up! Black Flame is still channeling the magic array and can't move! If even one of us reaches him, victory will be ours!" Silent March cried, rallying his troops.

While a magic seal was powerful, it had an obvious flaw: the player activating it had to remain in a safe place. If the caster moved in the slightest, the channeling process would be interrupted and would fail.

Although there were indeed a lot of abyssal monsters between them and Shi Feng, Miracle's players on Kama Island greatly outnumbered the monsters. Although the price of distracting the abyssal monsters was considerably high, it was possible, and it would allow a few players to slip by, reaching their target.

Sure enough, seven players managed to break through the abyssal monsters' encirclement after a short moment, arriving within 60 yards of Zero Wing's Guild Leader.

"Even if I can't move, I can still use my Skills and Spells!" Seeing the approaching enemies, Shi Feng promptly activated Chilling Field.

The moment Chilling Field activated, the seven Miracle members immediately felt a chill envelop their flesh. Both their Movement Speed and Attack Speed significantly decreased.

Before the Miracle members could move within 40 yards of Shi Feng, icicles exploded from the ground, striking the seven players as damages in the tens of thousands appeared above their heads...

The Mana on Kama Island was extremely thin, which limited the combat power players could exert, and with Chilling Field's Movement Speed reduction, dodging the icicles' attacks became impossible for the seven Miracle players. In the blink of an eye, the attacks killed two players. Only the five Refinement Realm experts managed to avoid death.

However, while the five Refinement Realm experts had dodged the first wave of Shi Feng's attacks, the Swordsman was far from finished. As a constant stream of attacks bombarded them, the Refinement Realm experts were forced to halt their advance, focusing on defense. Unfortunately, they still took hits from time to time, continuing to lose HP. In the end, all five died before they could move within 20 yards of their target.

Although Refinement Realm experts were frightening existences in first-rate Guilds, their evasive and defensive maneuvers were unrefined before Shi Feng.

"Die!"

Following which, Shi Feng struck one group of Miracle's members after another, mercilessly slaying every player that came within his attack range. None of them could get within 10 yards of Shi Feng. Seeing this, Miracle's surviving members were dumbfounded.

While Silent Marce came within 50 yards of the Swordsman, she stopped her advanced and took out a single-target, Tier 4 Offensive Magic Scroll.

Numerous spiraling wind-blades then formed around Shi Feng. Under Silent March's control, these wind blades bombarded the immobile Guild Leader.

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

Explosions rang out in succession, the resulting shockwaves throwing dust and dirt into the air.

He's finally dead? Silent March could not help but breathe out a sigh of relief as she watched the dust cloud surround Shi Feng's location.

She had used a large number of guildmates as bait to get within 50 yards of the Swordsman and find an opportunity to use the Magic Scroll without her opponent noticing.

But once the dust settled, it revealed Shi Feng's unharmed figure. Golden divine runes circled his body, isolating him from the outside world. These runes were the result of the Seven Luminaries Ring's Absolute Defense.

However, rather than the runic barrier, everyone's attention was on the pitch-black magic arrays around Shi Feng. The arrays had completed and sealed off Kama Island.

Chapter 1944 - Slaying Thousand Miles

"You!"

Thousand Miles's paled when he saw the fully-formed magic arrays.

Magic Scrolls like the Magic Breaker Scroll was the only way to remove the magic seal once it was complete and before it's duration ended.

"It's over! We're doomed!"

When the rest of Miracle's army saw the magic barrier slowly spread out from above them, they were distraught.

Thousands of abyssal monsters had already emerged from the spatial passage. They had thought it would be possible to reach the island's shores before their annihilation when there had only been several hundred, but that hope was gone.

Several hundred more Miracle members had died while the army had succumbed to their despair. Players only snapped out of their daze, fleeing like madmen, when the fallen players' weapons and equipment hit the ground. Although they knew that they had no hope of surviving this, they prayed for a miracle to save them.

"Vice Guild Leader, what should we do?" Silent March asked anxiously as she watched Miracle's Tier 2 experts fall, one after another.

"We're out of options now that the magic seal is complete. Have our experts bring up the rear. We're retreating," Thousand Miles said, shaking his head. Now that the magic seal had taken shape, not even he had a countermeasure.

Fortunately, he was one of Miracle's Vice Guild Leaders, and his Guild had allocated him plenty of lifesaving tools. Unfortunately, he'd only be able to save a small number of players with the tools he had on hand.

"But..." Silent March felt her heart bleed as she watched the abyssal monsters slaughter their Guild's experts in the valley. Miracle had brought more than 7,000 experts to Kama Island!

This was the first time their Guild had suffered such a severe loss since joining God's Domain.

"Enough! If you don't hurry, I can't guarantee our safe escape!" Thousand Miles snapped gravely.

He, too, was reluctant to make the decision. He was, after all, responsible for this offensive operation. He wanted nothing more than to kill Shi Feng, but he understood that with Shi Feng's strength and the abyssal monsters' interference, slaying the Swordsman was impossible.

All he could do was leave this godforsaken island as quickly as possible.

"Understood." Silent March nodded.

As Silent March began her retreat, several hundred experts formed a tight circle around her, guiding Silent March and several upper echelons out of the valley.

"Black Flame, just you wait! It won't be long before I pay this back tenfold!" Thousand Miles bellowed as he glared at Shi Feng, already thinking of ways to deal with Zero Wing.

After ensuring that his Guild's upper echelons had gathered around him, Thousand Miles retrieved a dark-purple globe from his bag. Countless divine runes had been engraved on this crystal globe, the globe itself giving off waves of pressure.

This globe was one of the treasures Miracle had obtained from an ancient ruin_the Wind God's Orb!

The Wind God's Orb was a Consumable that temporarily granted players the power of the Wind God. With the Wind God's power, players could fly freely through the sky for five minutes. Moreover, players' flight speed would be so incredible that not even flying ships could keep up with them. Whether one was using the Wind God's Orb for escape or pursuit, the orb was a very useful tool. Unfortunately, it could only be used ten times. Once all ten uses had been expended, the Wind God's Orb would turn into dust

Although the magic seal on Kama Island prevented teleportation, it did not prohibit players from flying. As long as they had the power of the Wind God, they could easily shake off the abyssal monsters' pursuit Moreover, five minutes of flying would be more than enough to escape Kama Island. Once they were off of the island, fleeing from the abyssal monsters would be a piece of cake.

After taking out the Wind God's Orb, Thousand Miles began to chant an incantation, granting him and the others the Wind God's power. With Thousand Miles as the center, a gigantic, dark-purple magic array formed on the ground，hungrily absorbing and devouring the surrounding Mana. At the same time, a powerful storm enveloped Thousand Miles and the others, preventing other players from approaching the group.

"The Wind God's Orb?" Shi Feng muttered. He could not help but feel a little astonished when he saw the dark-purple globe in Thousand Miles's hands. "Miracle really is quite generous to have given him such a precious item, but you must be dreaming if you think you can escape with that."

Shi Feng then activated Gale Domain, transforming into a blur as he flew toward Thousand Miles.

The Wind God's Orb had been extremely famous in God's Domain, a masterpiece crafted by an ancient civilization. As long as there were no magic arrays that prevented flight in an area, even Tier 5 players wouldn't stop a player endowed with the Wind God's power. Only Tier 6 players would have the ability.

Hence, the Wind God's Orb had been publicly acknowledged as one of the top ten treasures for pursuit and escape in God's Domain in the past.

However, the Wind God's Orb had an obvious flaw; it required a lengthy channeling time. Each endowment required roughly 15 seconds.

Although Shi Feng was currently around 800 yards away from Thousand Miles, he could cross the distance in less than ten seconds with the effects of Gale Domain.

Of course, Miracle's members noticed Shi Feng's movement.

"Black Flame!" Thousand Miles's rage burned even brighter when he saw Shi Feng's approach. "Escort team, block him with everything you've got! I'll kill him myself in a moment!"

He had called off the assault on Shi Feng simply because he found the task troublesome. He had decided to ignore the man and let the hateful bastard live for a few more days. However, Shi Feng ignored his benevolence and now targeted his life.

"Vice Guild Leader, rest assured, we'll make sure he doesn't leave your sight! We'll show this brat just how ignorant he is!" a silver-armored, middle-aged man confidently declared as he watched Shi Feng's approaching figure.

After saying so, the middle-aged man, who led the escort team, and the team's 200-plus members vigilantly awaited Shi Feng's arrival.

Once the flying Swordsman was within 100 yards, the escort team activated their Berserk Skills. A few members even activated a magic array, trapping Shi Feng within a magic barrier.

"Shatter!" When Shi Feng was less than 60 yards away from Thousand Miles, he activated Power of Darkness and swung down Killing Ray.

Lightning Slash!

A blue lightning bolt tore through the sturdy magic barrier, and by the time Miracle's players noticed it, the bolt had pierced through Thousand Miles's body, devouring all of his HP...

Chapter 1945 - Miracle Defeated

How is this possible? Silent March stared at Thousand Miles's empty HP bar with wide eyes, shocked.

That attack had been too fast and sudden!

The escort team had clearly trapped Shi Feng in a magic barrier that even a Grand Lord would need some time to struggle free from, yet Shi Feng had broken free and killed Thousand Miles with the same, single attack...

Any player capable of rising to the position of Vice Guild Leader in a superpower had more than just strong management abilities but also had enough individual strength to convince others to follow them obediently.

Although Thousand Miles had been focused on activating the Wind God's Orb, landing a ranged attack should've been impossible, but Shi Feng had taken advantage of the moment Thousand Miles had lowered his guard due to the magic barrier, claiming the man's life.

God's Domain had many Spells and Skills that quickly took effect, and by the time these abilities activated, even experts would be hard-pressed to dodge them Normally, players had to predict the attack's trajectory, taking preemptive measures to dodge or block the attack.

However, Shi Feng's execution had been so fast that she hadn't even noticed his movements when he activated the Skill. Needless to say, it would have been impossible for Thousand Miles, who had been distracted, to notice the attack.

The other members around the Vice Guild Leader's corpse were just as stunned. They stared at the body with incredulous looks.

Thousand Miles was one of their Guild's Vice Guild Leaders. Not only was he extraordinarily powerful as an individual, but the Guild had also given him plenty of treasures. Even Super Guilds would have a difficult time killing Thousand Miles. In fact, regardless of the several thousand abyssal monsters on Kama Island, they had never considered that the monsters might kill Thousand Miles, yet their Vice Guild Leader was dead.

Moreover, Thousand Miles hadn't died at the hands of a superpower. He hadn't even died while surrounded by enemies, overwhelmed and outnumbered. Instead, a Guild Leader from a Guild that had only recently become famous had claimed his life.

If news of this spread, it would cause a sensation throughout God's Domain.

"Black Flame!" The escort team's leader turned ashen as he shot Shi Feng a glare. "From today on, neither you nor Zero Wing will have a place in God's Domain! Not even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion can protect you!"

Had someone from another superpower killed Thousand Miles, it would not have had much of an impact on Miracle's reputation. At most, the public would think that the offending superpower had grown stronger. However, the fact that a minor power like Zero Wing was responsible for the Vice Guild Leader's death was humiliating. If word of this got out, Miracle would become a laughingstock among the various superpowers. Others might even assume that Miracle had grown weaker, doubting its qualifications as a super-first-rate Guild.

If Miracle did not annihilate Zero Wing after such an insult, it would have no hope of mingling in God's Domain in the future. "That's my business!" Shi Feng said while slashing the Abyssal Blade at the escort team.

Lightning Edge!

Countless arcs of lightning streaked toward the dazed escort members.

Although a portion of the escort members had reacted to the attack quickly and dodged Lightning Edge's trajectory, the attack killed more than 70% of the team.

"I'll kill you!" The escort leader, Nameless Hacker, gnashed his teeth in rage as he watched his teammates die.

Nameless Hacker and the other survivors charged at Shi Feng, killing intent flashing in their eyes. They would slay this Swordsman even if they had to sacrifice their own lives.

"I'll support you!" Silent March was just as resolved to kill Shi Feng. After activating her Berserk Skill, she began to chant an offensive Spell, aiming for the Guild Leader.

Although Nameless Hacker was not a match for Miracle Dragon, he was a peak expert at the Void Realm. If he had 20-plus melee Refinement Realm experts supporting him, not even a Domain Realm expert would dare to take him on. Furthermore, he had the support of a magical class expert, Silent March. She could make up for the melee players' flaws by launching attacks at Shi Feng's blind spots, which the melee players could not reach.

"Die!"

As Nameless Hacker reached Shi Feng, he raised his greatsword and executed a downward slash. The greatsword transformed into a rainbow that descended on Shi Feng. As the rainbow passed, even space began to crack.

At the same time, the other escort members circled to Shi Feng's sides and executed their strongest Skills. As they attacked, they paid no attention to defense. They were fully intent on trading blow for blow with Shi Feng.

Once Silent March saw Nameless Hacker use his ultimate move, she followed by releasing her channeled Spell, the Tier 2 Curse, Death Coffin. With Shi Feng in the center, Death Energy filled a 30-yard radius, constantly corroding the players' lives. Silent March planned to use the escort team to buy time for Death Energy to detonate, killing the team and Shi Feng.

Meanwhile, Nameless Hacker and his comrades paid no head to Silent March's Spell. Now that Thousand Miles was dead, they had no way to escape Kama Island before the abyssal monsters killed them, in any case. They were more than willing to sacrifice themselves if it meant Shi Feng's death.

In response to his opponents' suicidal attacks, Shi Feng used Dragon Breath and Nine Dragons Slash. He had no intention of dodging the attacks. His Basic Attributes were far beyond Nameless Hacker and Miracle's members. He could simply stop the attacks with brute force.

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

The moment Dragon Breath collided with the descending rainbow, a massive explosion shook the valley. Dragon Breath shattered the rainbow and blew Nameless Hacker away. Abyssal Blade's phantoms, meanwhile, put a stop to the melee Refinement Realm experts' assault.

Before the Death Energy Silent March had summoned could detonate, Shi Feng used Instant Strike to appear before her and swung Killing Ray at the female Necromancer. Although Silent March tried to block the attack with her staff, she was too late. Killing Ray shattered the magic barrier protecting Silent March and cut straight through her neck, instantly obliterating her HP.

"So fast!"

The escort team members were stunned.

First, Thousand Miles had fallen. Now, even Silent March had died before the rear line healers could do anything about it...

Shi Feng's Attack Power and Attack Speed were terrifying!

Without Silent March's assistance, Nameless Hacker and the others were utterly helpless against Shi Feng. Even though they still had their healers' support, Shi Feng killed one after another. With the abyssal monsters' interference, the entire escort team had been eliminated in less than 20 seconds.

Seeing this, Miracle's surviving experts, who had been rushing over to help, turned and fled, losing any motivation to attack Shi Feng.

Unfortunately, the flying abyssal monsters gave Miracle's members no opportunities to escape Kama Island. In less than 10 minutes, all of the 30,000-plus players Miracle had dispatched to the island were dead. None left the island alive...

Chapter 1946 - Impossible Outcome

After Miracle's forces on Kama Island were annihilated, the abyssal monsters circling above began to scatter to the surrounding areas.

And Shi Feng couldn't be any happier to see it.

Although this turn of events would be a problem for players developing in the Sea of Death, it would benefit him. The abyssal monsters' presence would deter anyone from approaching Kama Island.

However, the Abyss Passage he opened above the island was small, unlike the medium passage in the Twin Towers Kingdom. As a result, its influence would be very limited.

In the continent of God's Domain, abyssal monsters couldn't roam freely since they were foreign to this world. Hence, the world's power constantly suppressed them. The farther they ventured from the Abyss Passage, the stronger this suppression would become. With the power of a small Abyss Passage, the passage's range of influence was very limited.

Moreover, he could only use this method to deter players once.

Each Ancient Abyssal Book could be used to open only two Abyss Passages: a medium passage and a small passage. King's Return's Hell Fiend had already opened the medium passage to deal with Immortal Light in the Twin Towers Kingdom, and now that Shi Feng had used the remaining small passage, he'd have to make sufficient sacrifices if he wanted to use the book to open another.

To open another passage, he would need to sacrifice 50,000 players for a small passage, 300,000 players for a medium passage, or 1,000,000 players for a large passage. Capturing so many players to sacrifice would be an immensely difficult task.

He might be fine if his actions went undiscovered, but once other players found proof of his wrongdoing, the consequences would be horrendous.

After watching the abyssal monsters venture away from Kama Island, Shi Feng began to loot the battlefield.

Meanwhile, in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion's temporary Residence on Thunder Island...

"Big Sis Rain, I've notified every fleet in the Sea of Death. Since we cannot command those under Nine Dragons Emperor, we only have three fleets heading towards Kama Island. They should arrive in half an hour at the earliest," Blue Phoenix reported.

They had begun to gather their forces the moment they had heard of Miracle's interest in visiting Kama Island. However, the island was located in an extremely dangerous sea zone, and the various superpowers on Thunder Island didn't usually operate in that area. As a result, their fleets had been some distance from Kama Island when the situation had occurred, and even the closest ships would need some time before they'd arrive.

"Half an hour? Hopefully, they'll make it in time." Phoenix Rain nodded.

While half an hour wasn't very long, it wasn't very soon, either. If Zero Wing acted rashly, annihilating the Guild's forces would be child's play for Miracle's 30,000-strong army. However, if Zero Wing's members split up and hid, they might last for another half an hour.

"Just what is Zero Wing trying to do? Despite knowing that Miracle has dispatched an army of 30,000 to Kama Island, Zero Wing is insistent on clashing with Miracle." Blue Phoenix was exasperated over Shi Feng's decision. She had the feeling that Zero Wing must've fought so many first-rate Guilds that it was treating Miracle like one of those old enemies.

Zero Wing only had 500 members on Kama Island. Even if these members were all a part of Zero Wing's main force, they wouldn't even serve as a warm-up for Miracle's army. After all, they were talking about 30,000 elite and expert players. Moreover, all of those players were from a veteran super-first-rate Guild, not a first-rate Guild.

As Phoenix Rain and Blue Phoenix discussed the situation, the doors to the Guild Leader's office swung open, and two people walked in.

The moment these two people entered the office, Blue Phoenix's expression darkened.

"Rain, long time no see." Nine Dragons Emperor greeted Phoenix Rain with a smile after entering the room. "It seems you have secured quite a harvest in the Sea of Death. You've already replaced quite a few pieces of your equipment."

"Nine Dragons Emperor, why are you here?" Phoenix Rain responded dryly.

Nine Dragons Emperor was closely tied to the ambush she had suffered on Savage God Island. If not for her lack of evidence, she would've long since reported him to the Great Pavilion Master. Just the sin of setting her up would instantly get Nine Dragons Emperor banished from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion.

Unfortunately, Nine Dragons Emperor was too clever to leave evidence. No matter how hard she searched, she couldn't find any proof.

"This is the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion's Guild Residence. Is there some reason that a Pavilion Master, such as myself, cannot be here?" Nine Dragons Emperor returned Phoenix Rain's question nonchalantly.

"Although this is the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion's Residence, this place is under my management. I believe you of all people understand how the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion operates. Neither Pavilion is allowed to interfere with each other's work. Or do you need me to remind you of the rules?" Phoenix Rain asked coldly.

"Fine, I won't waste words with you. I am here on official business. The Great Pavilion Master has issued an order. Since this is such a crucial moment, you're not allowed to interfere with Miracle!" Nine Dragons Emperor said, chuckling. "If you still don't get it, I'll explain the order in greater detail. The Great Pavilion Master had stated that you are not to interfere with the situation on Kama Island, and you must recall all of the ships you have sent. Have I made myself clear?"

"All matters on Thunder Island are under Big Sis Rain's management. Why would the Great Pavilion Master give such a command?" Blue Phoenix refused to believe a word Nine Dragons Emperor said.

"I knew you all would ask that. Here is the Great Pavilion Master's order. He had intended to inform you directly via call, but fearing that you would disobey, he sent me here to carry his orders out," Nine Dragons Emperor said as he playfully displayed the system message Ku Rong had sent him.

How could this be?! Phoenix Rain frowned when she saw the message.

"Our Guild is in a precarious situation, and Zero Wing has made too many enemies. All of the various superpowers have expressed their opinions on the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. After lengthy consideration, the Great Pavilion Master has decided not to interfere in the matter between Miracle and Zero Wing to avoid exposing the Pavilion to even greater danger. If you refuse to follow orders, then all responsibilities on Thunder Island will be transferred to me!" Nine Dragons Emperor said, smiling. "Even if you sent reinforcements, it would be futile. Thousand Miles is leading the operation personally. Zero Wing has no chance of survival."

He was very pleased with Miracle's actions.

Whether Phoenix Rain helped Zero Wing or not, Zero Wing would suffer severely, and Phoenix Rain would lose a powerful helper. Fortunately, this increased his chances in the next contest for Thunder Island. The naval power Zero Wing had displayed near Savage God Island had been too frightening, forcing him to take the Guild seriously.

But there was no need for that now. Now that Miracle had crippled Zero Wing, the latter would no longer pose a threat in the upcoming contest. Moreover, with Zero Wing's main force crippled and Ku Rong's current attitude toward the Guild, he could take advantage of the situation to deal with Zero Wing's Branch Guild in the Black Dragon Empire.

"Big Sis Rain, what should we do?" Blue Phoenix asked anxiously.

Phoenix Rain considered the matter, her expression ugly. She hadn't expected Ku Rong to interfere.

"Rain, you best decide quickly. I don't have that much patience. If you can't, I'll make the decision for you," Nine Dragons Emperor threatened. The twisted expression on Phoenix Rain's face delighted him greatly.

"You!" Phoenix Rain frowned.

However, before she could say more, she received a message. It had been sent by the spy she had planted in Miracle.

How is this possible?! Phoenix Rain was stunned as she read the message's contents. She simply could not believe what she read.

"Rain, are you trying to disobey orders?" Nine Dragons Emperor demanded after Phoenix Rain's long silence. Inwardly, though, he grinned ear-to-ear. As long as Phoenix Rain refused to obey Ku Rong's orders, he would take control of Thunder Island. It would save him a lot of effort with his future plans.

"Sure! Of course, we'll follow orders!" Phoenix Rain smiled as she glanced at Nine Dragons Emperor. "Blue, notify the fleets to return immediately."

"Return?" Blue Phoenix was confused. "Are we really doing this?"

Nine Dragons Emperor stared at Phoenix Rain in shock. He had never expected her to be so decisive.

"Of course. The battle on Kama Island is already over," Phoenix Rain said. "Including Thousand Miles and Miracle's other upper echelons, the 30,000-man army has been eliminated. There's no longer a need to visit the island."

Chapter 1947 - Bountiful Harvest

Miracle's been annihilated?! Nine Dragons Emperor was dumbfounded when he heard Phoenix Rain's announcement. How can this be?!

Miracle wasn't an ordinary super-first-rate Guild. Aside from its weaker legacy, it was stronger than some Super Guilds overall. Furthermore, Thousand Miles had led the operation personally.

If another superpower had to face Miracle's 30,000-man army, the battle would be bitter even if the superpower thoroughly prepared, much less annihilate Miracle's forces.

Annihilating Miracle's army would be far more difficult than simply defeating it

If Miracle's 30,000 players decided to scatter and flee, no power should be able to eliminate them all even if the army were badly outnumbered. How could Zero Wing possibly achieve such a feat?

"Big Sis Rain, are you sure? Even if Zero Wing managed to obliterate Miracle's army, Thousand Miles shouldn't have died. As one of Miracle's Vice Guild Leaders, he should have plenty of lifesaving tools on him. Killing him should be much harder than annihilating Miracle's army. How could he possibly die?" Not even Blue Phoenix could believe the report.

As a member of a superpower herself, she knew just how serious the various superpowers protected their upper echelons, especially their Vice Guild Leaders. Even before God's Domain, the various superpowers' Guild Leaders and Vice Guild Leaders had faced assassination in other virtual reality games. This wasn't new to them.

However, as the various superpowers adapted to God's Domain, they provided even better protection for their upper echelons.

Take the ambush Phoenix Rain had faced on Savage God Island, for example. While Miracle might have had the ability to slay the main force members under Phoenix Rain, it hadn't been able to kill her. Had Phoenix Rain's subordinates faced annihilation, Phoenix Rain would've used the lifesaving tools the Guild had given her to flee the island. Of course, losing her main force members would've affected her plans.

When Nine Dragons Emperor heard Blue Phoenix's question, he could not help but nod in agreement. He decided that the news must be fake.

It would've already been impressive if Zero Wing's small team of 500 escaped Miracle's forces, but no matter how strong those players were, annihilating Miracle's army should've been impossible, not to mention slaying Thousand Miles.

"I wondered the same thing, but I've just verified the information. Miracle has issued a Red Annihilation Order on Zero Wing. It's the highest-ranking Annihilation Order available in Miracle. Issuing this order means that there are no options for reconciliation between Miracle and the order's target, and only one of them will be allowed to live," Phoenix Rain said. "Why would the Guild issue a Red Annihilation Order if Zero Wing didn't annihilate its army?"

"That is a lie, right? Miracle's army had more than 400 Tier 2 experts. Such a severe loss will certainly affect Miracle's future plans." Blue Phoenix still couldn't believe the news, but faced with the facts, she had no choice but to accept it as truth.

Miracle had issued the Red Annihilation Order in the past but only when the Guild had expected a decisive battle with another superpower. No matter how she looked at it, now that Miracle had used the order on Zero Wing, it must have suffered a humiliating loss against the smaller Guild.

"Nine Dragons Emperor, what a pity. It seems that my ally is quite reliable and no longer requires my help. If you have nothing else, I must ask you to leave! Unlike you, I don't have much free time! I still have to take care of many matters on Thunder Island!" Phoenix Rain smugly dismissed Nine Dragons Emperor.

"You..." Veins bulged on Nine Dragons Emperor's forehead. After taking a moment to calm down, he sneered and said, "Phoenix Rain, don't get excited so soon. Zero Wing might have gotten lucky and defeated Miracle, but you know better than I just how frightening Miracle is. Zero Wing has ignorantly pushed itself onto the path of annihilation! It won't be long before Zero Wing is thoroughly removed from God's Domain!"

After Nine Dragons Emperor finished, he turned and left the office in a huff.

Seeing Nine Dragons Emperor's frustrated expression, Phoenix Rain felt refreshed. However, she knew that Zero Wing had gotten itself into more trouble than ever before.

Phoenix Rain wasn't the only one to learn of Miracle's extermination. All of the various superpowers received reports on the battle on Kama Island.

"Hahaha! Zero Wing really is impressive to cause so much damage to Miracle. Even Thousand Miles was slain! The Guild has dragged Miracle's reputation through the mud. Let's see if Miracle still dares to call itself number-one among super-first-rate Guilds!"

"I had never thought that Miracle would suffer such an upset one day. If Miracle doesn't deal with this matter properly, it will become a laughingstock in the Sea of Death."

"Zero Wing is quite powerful. With such capabilities, it should easily rank among the top five of up-and-coming Guilds."

The news of Miracle's slaughter surprised all of the various superpowers, although they also pitied Zero Wing. With how much potential Zero Wing had displayed thus far, it was guaranteed to become a super-first-rate Guild if given enough time. However, now that Zero Wing had provoked Miracle, the Guild had no future to speak of.

Had Miracle's defeat been minor, it would have, at most, sent some Guild experts to harass Zero Wing. As a superpower, Miracle had a lot on its plate, after all. It couldn't utilize its full strength to deal with some small Guild.

However, this situation was different. Not only had Zero Wing slaughtered Miracle's 30,000-strong army, but it had also killed Thousand Miles, one of the Guild's key figures. This was a great embarrassment for Miracle. If the super-first-rate Guild didn't obliterate Zero Wing and restore its reputation, even as a superpower, it wouldn't survive long in God's Domain.

Meanwhile, Zero Wing, which hadn't been particularly famous in God's Domain outside of Star-Moon Kingdom, had become a household name. Even the kingdoms and empires far from Star-Moon Kingdom now knew the name 'Zero Wing.'

Meanwhile, back on Kama Island-

After working tirelessly for more than two hours, Shi Feng finally collected the items Miracle's members had dropped.

Miracle had dispatched over 30,000 players to Kama Island, and over 7,000 of them were experts. The Guild had also sent more than 400 Tier 2 players. One could easily imagine how powerful the dropped items were.

However, Shi Feng did not store everything in his bag, which only had a limited amount of space. Hence, he only stored the best items, ignoring the common weapons and equipment.

Even so, he still claimed more than 7,000 items, including over 500 Level 50 Fine Gold Weapons and Equipment, and over 100 Level 50 Dark-Gold items...

When exploring a corner of the valley, Shi Feng noticed a crimson crystal globe on the ground. Within the globe burned a golden flame, and as if the flame had a life of its own, it transformed into a small, flaming Dragon as Shi Feng approached.

Fire Spirit! Shi Feng gasped when he saw the item.

Chapter 1948 - Special Epic Tool

Snapping out of his daze, Shi Feng stepped forward and picked up the crystal globe.

Although he had seen this crystal globe at an auction during his previous life, he found it hard to believe that the item before him was the same one. He had to verify his suspicion.

Sure enough, it really is a Fire Spirit! Miracle is amazing! It actually got its hands on this. Shi Feng could not help his elation as he inspected the crimson globe.

Current players should be wholly ignorant of the Fire Spirit. Even if they managed to find one, they wouldn't know the Fire Spirit's true value.

Based on the Fire Spirit's Attribute Panel, it was a weak Epic tool that could only cast one Spell, the Tier 2 Spell, Fire Spirit. When cast, the Spell would summon a Tier 2 Fire Spirit of the same level. In other words, obtaining the Epic tool only granted players one additional Summoning Skill. While a Tier 2 Fire Spirit might be of some help to Tier 1 players, it was hardly of any use to Tier 2 players and above.

Moreover, each Fire Spirit summon cost five Magic Crystals. Although the summoned Fire Spirit did not have a duration, to Tier 2 players, five Magic Crystals per summon was very expensive. Moreover, the summoned Tier 2 Fire Spirit wasn't even stronger than the summoners. Rather than wasting five Magic Crystals to summon a meatshield, it was cheaper to party with an MT.

Because of this, the various large Guilds paid no attention to the Fire Spirit, despite being an Epic tool.

However, Fire Spirit had one Passive Skill called Devour Mysterious Flame, which allowed the Fire Spirit to absorb Mysterious Flames, growing stronger. Unfortunately, no Guild dared to use this Passive Skill.

Mysterious Flames were incomparably precious in God's Domain, helping Lifestyle players increase their production success rates. Losing a Tier 1 Mysterious Flame might not be so painful, but only a fool would sacrifice Mysterious Flames at Tier 2 and above to strengthen an Epic tool. Tier 2 Mysterious Flames were, after all, just as valuable as ordinary Epic items.

Sacrificing a Tier 2 Mysterious Flame to upgrade the Fire Spirit was simply unprofitable. No one knew what the Fire Spirit would do after devouring the flame, and on the off chance that it received a minor Basic Attribute boost, the sacrifice would be an utter waste.

Hence, the powers that obtained a Fire Spirit generally considered it useless. Even worse, the Fire Spirit would drop upon death. If one accidentally died after expending a Mysterious Flame to upgrade the Fire Spirit, they'd die a second time from regret.

However, players hadn't yet discovered the Fire Spirit's frightening growth rate after devouring a Mysterious Flame, especially a high-tiered flame. Not only would feeding the Fire Spirit Mysterious Flames increase its tier, but its Life Rating would also improve.

One Guild in the past had become incredibly famous due to the Fire Spirit. The Guild had been Thunder Family, a first-rate Guild. A super-first-rate Guild had backed Thunder Family into a corner, and all of its territories, save the Guild's main city, had been taken.

Everyone had thought that the Thunder Family was finished, but the Guild had summoned a Fire Spirit. The highest-tiered Fire Spirit in God's Domain had only been Tier 3 back then. However, the Thunder Family had summoned a Tier 4 Fire Spirit. Moreover, it was an Archaic Species ranked Fire Spirit.

Fire Spirits might not be as durable as ordinary monsters of the same rank and level, but as pampered children of fire, they had plenty of Tier 4 Curses. A Tier 4 Archaic Species was already a challenge to take down, not to mention one with multiple Tier 4 Curses. One could easily imagine what the influence the Thunder Family's Tier 4 Fire Spirit would have on a large- scale battle. In the end, Thunder Family had won the final battle at its main city.

Afterward, the various major powers had paid more attention to the Epic tools known as Fire Spirits. Although Thunder Family had remained a first-rate Guilds even after ten years in God's Domain, no superpower underestimated it. The Guild had eventually nurtured its Fire Spirit to Tier 5, and its Life Rating had risen to Fallen Angel. It had become almost invincible among opponents of the same tier, and even Tier 6, God-ranked players had fled from one-on-one battles with the Tier 5 Fire Spirit Including its many Tier 5 Curses, the Fire Spirit had become a terrifying adversary.

One could say that obtaining a Fire Spirit was the equivalent of obtaining a capable Tier 5 helper. It was unimaginably valuable.

However, nurturing a Fire spirit wasn't easy. Thunder Family had practically bankrupted itself to nurture its Fire Spirit to Tier 5. Even superpowers had a hard time getting their hands on Tier 3 and 4 Mysterious Flames, and unless one obtained them in secret, countless problems would plague the player.

Even so, the Fire Spirit was worth the cost.

The Fire Spirit tool had another amazing aspect, as well. After devouring enough Mysterious Flames, the tool's rank would increase. Once it became a Fragmented Legendary item, it would gain an additional Skill called Flame Refinement. The Skill could grant a maximum often players the Fire Spirit's flames. Naturally, the strength of these flames would depend on the Fire Spirit's strength. The stronger the Fire Spirit was, the stronger the flames would be.

In the past, various superpowers and first-rate Guilds would frequently rent these flames from Thunder Family, which, in turn, allowed the Guild to make a fortune.

Although Aqua and Snow failed to find any clues leading to Tier 2 and Tier 3 Mysterious Flames, they did obtain quite a few Tier 1 Mysterious Flames. I can use them to feed the Fire Spirit. Shi Feng was quite satisfied as he gazed at the crimson globe in his hand.

Tier 1 Mysterious Flames might not upgrade the Flame Spirit by much, but if it devoured enough of them, it would undergo a qualitative transformation.

After Shi Feng finished organizing the loot, he returned to the cave that contained the Manatite vein. He then set up an Abyssal Barrier and a teleportation point outside of the cave. In the future, Zero Wing's members would be able to teleport directly there without worrying about the abyssal monsters.

From now on, the Manatite vein belonged exclusively to Zero Wing. The Guild wouldn't have to worry about competition from other superpowers, and it wouldn't have to dispatch players to guard the mine. The island's abyssal monsters would serve as a natural deterrence.

Following which, Shi Feng regrouped with Aqua Rose and the others, continuing to lead them deeper into the Demonkin nest, defeating one patrol squad after another.

The Demonkin nest was quite large, and the pathways within were incredibly complex. As a result, exploring the nest was far more difficult than Shi Feng had assumed.

"Guild Leader, I found the nest's Boss!" Fire Dance excitedly announced.

To mine the Manatite vein, they first had to defeat the nest's Guardian Boss to stop the Demonkin from respawning. The Demonkin would only respawn once the Guardian Boss had, but the Bosses based in ore veins had very long respawn times. Although the Guardian Boss would grow stronger with each respawn, it wasn't a cause for worry since players would be much stronger by the time it did.

"Alright, I'll lead the team to you." Shi Feng rejoiced when he heard Fire Dance's sudden declaration. He immediately led his team to her location.

However, when Shi Feng made it to the cavern Fire Dance stood in and saw the Demonkin, he was stunned. The Demonkin was six meters tall and fully geared in dark-gray armor. Its back was decorated with all sorts of longswords. Currently, the Demonkin stood in the middle of the cavern with its eyes shut.

A Tier Master?!

Chapter 1949 - Tier Master

Everyone felt stifled as they watched the quiet Demonkin in the middle of the dark cavern with grim expressions.

[Demonkin King Auva] (Mythic, Tier Master)

Level 68

HP 600,000,000/600,000,000

"What kind of monster is that? How is it giving off such intense pressure?"

"Is that really a Tier 4 monster? I can already feel death loom over me just by looking at it Why do I feel like I can't even hit it even though it's just standing there?"

"Huh? What does Tier Master mean?"

Although none of them knew what a Tier Master was, after a long time fighting in God's Domain, they had developed their instincts. Those instincts screamed a warning; if they set foot in this cavern, they'd get a one-way trip to hell.

Naturally, Shi Feng wasn't particularly surprised by his team's reaction. After all, their instincts were correct. If they entered Auva's cavern carelessly, their deaths would be guaranteed!

The concept of a Tier Master was still foreign to current players. It was akin to a king among those of the same tier, but unlike ordinary Archaic Species or Dragons, a Tier Master's strength didn't originate from extraordinary Attributes. Rather, it came from the monster's extraordinary combat standards.

Dealing with Tier Masters was far more difficult than dealing with Archaic Species that had high Attributes. A fight against a Tier Master was a test of players' combat standards. If players' combat standards were lacking, they would die instantly. In comparison, players would have a fighting chance against an Archaic Species even if they were at a disadvantage in terms of Attributes.

Moreover, when raiding Tier Masters, players would not be able to use their numerical advantage. In fact, raiding a Tier Master with more players than necessary would only increase the raid difficulty. Tier Masters were capable of summoning an army of monsters, and they would summon more monsters based on the number of players participating in the raid.

The summoned monsters might not have high Attributes, but even the weakest combat standards would be at the Trial Tower's third floor. This was why Tier Masters were so fearsome.

Normally, Tier Masters only spawned after Level 100. Shi Feng had never considered that the Boss guarding Kama Island's Manatite vein would be a Tier Master...

"Guild Leader, this Boss is giving off a very dangerous feeling. We have quite a few players with us. Should we send some players in to test the waters?" Aqua Rose suggested.

When dealing with unknown Bosses, particularly Field Bosses, teams usually dispatched a small group to test the Boss's abilities and search for appropriate countermeasures to avoid excessive losses. After all, dying in the field meant losing a full level. Even when resurrected, players still lost half a level of EXP.

"Forget it. Compile a list of data on every member of the team. I'm going to reform a 100-man raid team," Shi Feng said, shaking his head.

There was no point in probing a Tier Master. Such Bosses were straightforward. Unlike other Bosses, which used many strange Skills and Spells, a Tier Master would only use normal attacks and the occasional team-wipe move. If players could keep up with the Boss's combat standards, they could defeat it. If they couldn't keep up, it didn't matter what strategies they employed; they'd all die.

Moreover, the 500 Tier 2 players present were all true experts in the Guild. Whether they lost half a level or a full level, it would deal a significant blow to Zero Wing. They'd be better off going all-out on their first try.

Following which, Aqua Rose gathered the details on the 500-man team and sent the information to Shi Feng. She had collected data on players' Basic Attributes, weapons, equipment, and current progress in the Trial Tower. After planning for about half an hour, Shi Feng finally decided on the 100 members that would take part in the raid.

The weakest of the players he had selected had already reached the late-stage of the Trial Tower's sixth floor. They would have no problems facing the Tier Master's summoned mobs in a one-on-one.

"Alright, Cola, start the raid!" Shi Feng commanded once everyone had their tasks.

Cola nodded seriously. Although he was nervous, he willed himself to enter the cavern.

The moment Cola stepped into the cavern, a bright light illuminated the space. Rather than a cavern, this place looked like an ancient temple. Faded murals covered the cavern walls, and stone pillars stood at intervals, supporting the cavern's vast ceiling. Although severely damaged, magic arrays were visible on the stone ground.

Once Cola was within a certain range, the Demonkin King opened its eyes. The moment Auva's crimson eyes were revealed, Cola felt as if he had plunged into an icy hell as a chill seeped into his bones. Unlike other monsters, whose auras contained death and violence, Auva's aura was calm and indifferent.

Before Cola could overcome the frosty sensation, Auva moved. Unlike other monsters they had faced, Auva wasn't lightning fast. They could all follow every single movement with their eyes, but despite the several hundred yards between the Boss and Cola, each of Auva's steps rapidly devoured the distance.

"Crap! This monster's an expert!" Cola had an incredibly bad feeling as he watched Auva approach. Hurriedly, he raised Titan Guard to defend himself.

Dang!

A crisp, metallic clang reached everyone's ears as dazzling sparks flew from Cola's Titan Guard. Cola stumbled back several steps before stabilizing himself. However, before he could catch his breath, another sword descended on him. This time, Cola instinctively raised his shield to block the attack.

As they watched Cola receive a series of attacks from Auva, everyone could not help but gasp. Although Cola only lost around 13,000 HP from each attack, the Tier Master continued to push him back. In the battle between the expert MT and the Guardian Boss, Cola was at a complete disadvantage. He had no opportunities to launch a counterattack; he could only defend himself. If he diverted his focus in the slightest, Auva's blade would likely find its mark.

When the rest of the 100-man team came within 100 yards of Auva, the Demonkin King bellowed with anger. Multiple Demonkin then began to rise from the ground, ranging between Level 64 and 66. By the time they stopped emerging, a total of 200 Demonkin stood before the players. Among them, the weakest was a Chieftain, while the strongest was a Lord.

At first, Zero Wing's members paid little attention to these monsters due to their low ranks, but after clashing with them, these expert players were stunned.

These Demonkin commanded incredibly high combat standards. The weakest Demonkin could easily reach the Trial Tower's third floor, while a few Lord ranked Demonkin could reach the fifth floor, the publicly acknowledged expert standard in God's Domain right now.

Of course, Demonkin's Attributes were already higher than players. Combined with expert combat standards, the Lord ranked Demonkins instantly slew several Tier 2 players. Fortunately, Violet Cloud managed to rescue some of them in time, reducing the number of casualties.

Thank goodness. It seems this Demonkin King is only at the late-stage, fifth-floor standard. Defeating it shouldn't be a problem. After watching Cola fight Auva for some time, Shi Feng had a rough estimate of the Guardian Boss's combat standard, and he could not help but breathe out a sigh of relief.

Not all Tier Masters were equal. The weakest among them were close to reaching the Trial Tower's sixth floor; in other words, the fifth floor's late stage. In a large Guild, a player with such a combat standard would be considered a relatively strong expert. As for the stronger Tier Masters, some had even reached the Void Realm.

Fortunately, Auva was one of the weakest Tier Masters. Had it been slightly stronger, Cola would've died instantly even if he met the Attribute requirements for this raid.

The only reason Auva was able to suppress Cola was its Mythic ranked Attributes. Although Cola's life dangled off the side of a cliff, Auva couldn't push the MT any farther. Furthermore, Cola could activate his Berserk Skill to bridge the gap between them.

Under Shi Feng's command, Cola activated his Berserk Skill, instantly decreasing the raid's difficulty. Meanwhile, with Turtledove and Ye Wumian tanking most of the mobs, the rest of the team was free to attack the Demonkin King, decimating its HP.

90%... 70%... 50%...

When Auva only had 1% of its HP remaining, Shi Feng activated Divine Providence and finished the Demonkin King off with Shadow Blade and Lightning Slash. As soon as the Guardian Boss fell, a system notification reached everyone's ears.

Chapter 1950 - Demonkin King's Loot

System: Congratulations! You have killed the Demonkin King, Auva. Due to the Demonkin King's death, all Demonkin in the area will not respawn.

System: Congratulations! You have obtained the First Kill on the Demonkin King Auva. Rewards doubled. Guild Popularity +500 and Humanity Reputation +20.

When they heard the system announcements, Zero Wing's members cheered in joy.

Now that they had killed the Demonkin King, the Manatite vein had finally come under Zero Wing's control. Their Guild could now mine the vein freely.

Currently, only a few superpowers had possession of ore veins that produced Magic Crystals.

Once the system notifications ended, the Demonkin King's corpse burst into countless particles of light. Items began to manifest in the air, falling to the ground one after another. These dropped items glowed with colorful lights, dazzling the watching players. By the time they stopped appearing, a small mountain had formed on the ground.

As expected of the First Kill reward. The loot is frightening. Shi Feng was a little astonished as he gazed at the small mountain of loot.

Although the Demonkin King hadn't dropped a much loot as the Void Serpent, it still surpassed ordinary Mythic monsters of the same level.

After Shi Feng had the healers start resurrecting the dead, he began to organize the loot. As his team watched expectantly, Shi Feng spent more than 20 minutes inspecting the items.

The Demonkin King had dropped a total of 176 items. Although more than half consisted of materials, there were still 33 weapons and equipment, a considerable amount. As many as 17 were Level 60 Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment.

Level 60 Secret-Silver Equipment was better than Level 55 Fine-Gold Equipment At this stage of the game, even Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment was extremely rare among the various large Guilds, let alone Level 55 Fine-Gold Equipment.

Without hesitation, Shi Feng held an internal auction for the 17 Level 60 Secret-Silver Equipment pieces. Although Level 60 Secret-Silver Equipment was too high-leveled for most of the players on the team, there were Level Reduction Gemstones in the Guild Warehouse. They should be able to equip Level 60 weapons and equipment after equipping the gemstones.

Everyone on the team fervently bid for the weapons and equipment

As for the eight Level 60 Fine-Gold and six Level 60 Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment pieces the Demonkin King had dropped, he had no intention of distributing them via internal auction. Instead, he stored them in the Guild Warehouse and made them available to the Guild's core members for purchase. Not only did these items cost a large number of GCPs, but players also needed to contribute sufficiently to the Guild. After all, weapons and equipment of such level and rank could even tempt superpowers. He would not allow other Guilds to claim the items by spending a few GCPs.

The Demonkin King had also dropped two pieces of Epic Equipment: a pair of cloth armor boots and a leather armor belt. Both pieces offered excellent Attributes. The boots granted magical class players a chance to reduce their spellcasting time by half, while the belt increased physique by 5% and granted players the Leap Skill, which gave players greater flexibility.

After some consideration, Shi Feng decided to give the boots to Aqua Rose and the belt to Fire Dance. Both women's combat standards ranked among the top in Zero Wing, and they could best utilize the power of these two Epic Equipment pieces.

At this point, Zero Wing lacked peak experts more than anything else. Compared to the various superpowers, the Guild's number of peak experts was pitiful. Moreover, as the various superpowers gathered more peak equipment, Zero Wing's Attribute advantage would decrease. Hence, instead of splitting the Guild's peak equipment among its many experts like the various superpowers, Zero Wing needed to concentrate its resources for greater effect.

After Aqua Rose and Fire Dance equipped their new Epic Equipment, their Basic Attributes soared. Among the two, Fire Dance's current equipment lineup was simply dazzling.

Fire Dance currently wore six pieces of Epic Equipment, as well as the Fragmented Legendary Weapon, Thousand Transformations. Not even a Super Guild's Guild Leader was a match for her equipment now. Even if she encountered a superpower's apex experts, she'd have a high chance of triumphing.

However, the Demonkin King's remaining items delighted Shi Feng far more than the materials, weapons, and equipment the Boss had dropped.

No matter how many Demonkin patrol squads they had killed, he hadn't been able to get his hands on the last fragment of the Magicbreaking Crossbow Design. Fortunately, it had finally dropped from the Guardian Boss, completing the design.

So, this is the Magicbreaking Crossbow? Sure enough, its production method isn't easy. It's no wonder why only superpowers had managed to mass-produce the weapon. Shi Feng could not help his excitement as he gazed at the complete design in his hands.

The Magicbreaking Crossbow had been the perfect tool for ordinary players to combat experts in the past.

Even ordinary, Tier 0 players could defeat Tier 3 and 4 experts with the power of this weapon. Because of this, the various large Guilds had treated it like a precious treasure. Unfortunately, the Magicbreaking Crossbow Design was incredibly rare, and as a result, most Guilds, those that hadn't acquired the design, had only amassed a small stockpile of the tool.

Even Shadow had only collected around 500 crossbows after spending a long time accumulating them. Even so, a 100-man expert team that was fully equipped with Magicbreaking Crossbows could kill a Tier 4 player, much less 500 crossbows.

The only downside to the Magicbreaking Crossbow was that it was a Consumable item. It would disappear once its durability ran out. Hence, Guilds avoided using the weapon unless they had no other choice.

But now that Shi Feng had the complete design, this flaw wouldn't be a problem.

Although crafting the Magicbreaking Crossbow required very rare materials, a Master Engineer, a Master Forger, and a Master Alchemist, these requirements weren't a problem for Zero Wing.

After Shi Feng stored away the Magicbreaking Crossbow Design, he shifted his attention to a small, Magic Crystal box. Among the items the Demonkin King had dropped, this small box's value was only second to the Magicbreaking Crossbow Design.

This item was a Bloodline Box, capable of randomly generating a single Bloodline when opened!

The Bloodline this box would generate would range between Basic and Advanced rank; the box was no less valuable than an ordinary Fragmented Legendary item.

Hopefully, it gives me something good.

Once Divine Providence's Cooldown had ended, Shi Feng took a deep breath and activated the godly Skill. He then activated the Bloodline Box.

Chapter 1951 - Superior Vein

After Shi Feng clicked to open the Bloodline Box, a loading bar appeared before him. Once the loading bar was full, the Bloodline Box slowly opened, brilliant, colorful light escaping from under the lid.

The colorful glow instantly attracted the attention of Zero Wing's players.

However, as their gaze rested on the strange box, an imposing aura washed over them. Despite the aura's weak pressure, the players instinctively cowered in fear and reverence. They felt like lowly ants standing before some great being.

The party members only relaxed after the colorful light faded, revealing the Bloodline Box's bounty before Shi Feng.

A crystalline bottle laid inside the Bloodline Box, the silver liquid within radiating a cold, tranquil feeling.

Curious, Shi Feng inspected the bottle.

He had only come across a few Bloodlines in the past, so he couldn't determine what kind of Bloodline the silver liquid was based on appearances alone.

However, upon seeing the silver liquid's Attribute Panel, Shi Feng was stunned.

Space-time Bloodline?!

Shi Feng's hands nearly trembled as he gazed at the silver Bloodline.

Although he did not know much about Bloodlines, he knew that those with the three Supreme Attributes-Illusion, Space, and Time-were incomparably rare in God's Domain.

Although the Bloodline before him was only Basic rank, it was far more valuable than any ordinary Advanced Bloodline. [Space-time Bloodline]

Reduces all Spells' cast-time and Cooldown. Improves Vitality, followed by Intelligence, Endurance, Agility, and Strength.

Amazing! Shi Feng was flabbergasted after reading the Space-time Bloodline's introduction.

While increasing magic damage was extremely important to magical class players in God's Domain, their Spells' cast-time and Cooldowns took precedence. Stronger Spells had longer cast-times, but enemies, be they players or monsters, wouldn't give players a lot of time to cast Spells. As a result, magical class players preferred items that could reduce their cast-times over items that increased magic damage.

Moreover, reducing a Spell's cast-time would also reduce the casting difficulty, which would, in turn, increase a player's Spell Completion Rate.

"Guild Leader, what is that? Its aura is almost like Divine Might," Blackie asked curiously as he looked at the crystalline box in Shi Feng's hands.

It took a lot of effort for even the slightest move when subjected to that aura. Fortunately, the aura had only washed over him for several seconds.

"This? It's something that can guarantee expert players a straight path to the apex of God's Domain!" Shi Feng said, chuckling. "Take a look at its Attributes for yourselves."

Saying so, Shi Feng shared the Space-time Bloodline's Attributes with Blackie, Aqua Rose, Alluring Summer, and Violet Cloud.

"Amazing. Whoever gets this Bloodline will have no trouble completing their Tier 3 Promotion Quest once they get that far," Aqua Rose muttered as she stared at the Space-time Bloodline, entranced. She had never expected to find such an amazing item in God's Domain. Its effects could practically rival a Legacy.

Alluring Summer and the others nodded in agreement.

Just the Basic Attribute growth the Bloodline granted could greatly affect the user's future. In addition, the reduced cast-time and Cooldowns would improve as a player reached higher levels. With this Bloodline, even an ordinary magical class expert could become a peak expert with enough time. If the Guild provided further resources, a somewhat talented player wouldn't have any issues reaching Tier 4 in the future.

Looking at the four people before him, Shi Feng could see the burning passion in their eyes. He suggested, "We can't let this Bloodline just sit around. Why don't you discuss among yourselves and decide who will take this Bloodline?"

The Space-time Bloodline was incomparably valuable. Regardless of which player he gave it to, they'd have no issues reaching Tier 4. Unfortunately, relying on a Basic Bloodline wouldn't be enough to reach Tier 5; they'd also need luck and individual strength.

"I already have my Sea God's Legacy. Let someone else have this Bloodline," Aqua Rose said after giving the matter some thought

"I'll pass, too. I'm normally busy with the Guild's management. I won't be able to put this Bloodline to good use," Blackie said as he swallowed his desire. He also felt that someone else should have it.

"Let's give it to Little Sister Violet. She only has an Advanced Legacy. Her current equipment isn't that great, either, but she has the highest combat standard among us," Alluring Summer suggested. "If Violet uses this Bloodline, it'll be a great help when raiding Dungeons or in PvP in the fields."

"I agree," Aqua Rose said.

Healers were inconspicuous to most players, but as a team commander, Aqua Rose knew how important these players were. If a team had a powerful healer, it would alleviate the pressure on the team's MTs. While Violet Cloud's current weapon and equipment were considered high-quality in the various superpowers, the items weren't anything special in Zero Wing. Compared to her and Alluring Summer, Violet Cloud's equipment standard was lacking. If Violet Cloud obtained the Space-time Bloodline, Zero Wing would have one extra peak expert it could rely on.

"Since everyone has already decided, this is for you, Violet," Shi Feng declared as he handed the Space-time Bloodline to Violet Cloud. Considering his companions' points, he agreed with the wisdom of the decision.

Violet Cloud, who hadn't said anything, was speechless. However, she was quite happy to receive the Space-time Bloodline. With this, her Basic Attributes would no longer be so much lower than the other main force members.

After dealing with the Demonkin King's loot, Shi Feng had Fire Dance lead a small group of players to eliminate some of the scattered Demonkin in the nest while he led the rest of the team to take care of the remaining Demonkin patrol squads. He also had Aqua Rose survey the Manatite vein and calculate the mining volume so they could determine the suitable amount of manpower to dispatch. Although teleporting here would be convenient, each teleportation would consume a large number of Magic Crystals. Hence, it was best to plan properly to maximize their profits. Moreover, as it was still necessary to keep the Manatite vein a secret, it was best to inform as few players about it as possible.

After about four hours, they finally killed the last Demonkin near the Manatite vein. In the end, many of the team's players had risen from Level 57 to 58, and Aqua Rose had completed her survey of the vein.

"Guild Leader, we're rich!" Aqua Rose excitedly announced. "Based on the information I've obtained, the various superpowers' Manatite veins required between 1,500 and 2,000 players to mine at maximum efficiency, and their chances of obtaining Magic Crystals are between 5% to 7%. Meanwhile, after our experiments, we'll only need around 1,600 people to mine at maximum efficiency, but we'll have a 7% to 9% chance of obtaining Magic Crystals. Our vein is almost a superior vein!"

"Alright Dispatch players to mine this vein immediately. I'll leave the management to you. Keep the vein confidential," Shi Feng said, nodding. This outcome didn't particularly surprise him. He had long since known that Kama Island's Manatite vein was a superior vein. Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen to capture it first.

"Also, Guild Leader, I received a message from the Secret Pavilion some time ago, starting that Miracle has issued a Red Annihilation Order on Zero Wing. Moreover, Miracle has secretly dispatched a large number of experts to the Black Dragon Empire. The Guild likely plans to attack our Branch Guild members," Aqua Rose said worriedly.

"They have trouble striking us in Star-Moon Kingdom, so they're starting with the Black Dragon Empire?" Shi Feng chuckled. He then said, "Alright, I got it For now, just focus on the Manatite vein. I'll prove to Miracle that Zero Wing isn't just unshakable in Star-Moon Kingdom, but in the Black Dragon Empire, as well!"

Chapter 1952 - Dark Tidings

Black Dragon Empire, Lake Heart City:

Due to the teleportation gate to the Ice Crystal World, Lake Heart City had become one of the most popular cities in the Black Dragon Empire. A flood of players visited the city each day to travel to the Ice Crystal World and obtain its unique resources. Moreover, it was much faster to level in the Ice Crystal World than on the continent of God's Domain. Even adventurer teams eagerly rushed to the new Otherworld, not to mention the various large Guilds.

Meanwhile, Nine Dragons Emperor sat by a window in a high-class restaurant not far from the teleportation plaza, quietly watching the teleportation gate with a grin. Suddenly, a tall, muscular man approached with hurried steps. He was none other than Blood Dragon, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion's Branch Guild Leader in the Black Dragon Empire.

"Pavilion Master, good news! I've discussed the situation with Miracle. As long as we provide information about the Zero Wing members in Lake Heart City, Miracle will take care of everything. Once the matter has been dealt with, we will secure Zero Wing's possessions in the empire," Blood Dragon respectfully reported.

"Miracle sure moves quickly!" Nine Dragons Emperor smiled upon hearing Blood Dragon's report. "I knew Miracle wouldn't let things slide. I had planned to remove Zero Wing from Lake Heart City quietly, but now, I won't have to put in the effort."

"Based on the information I've received, Miracle has dispatched at least 20,000 expert members and 80,000 elite members,' Blood Dragon said. "To ensure the total annihilation of Zero Wing's branch in the empire, Miracle's Elders have decided to send their First Vice Guild Leader to command the battle. By the looks of it, Miracle plans to end the battle swiftly, restoring the Guild's reputation as quickly as possible."

"They've even sent Shredded Soul?" Nine Dragons Emperor was slightly surprised by the news.

He had only met Shredded Soul a few times, but almost everyone in the virtual gaming world knew about the man. One could say that he was a mythical figure. Since his rise, Shredded Soul had been responsible for numerous, miraculous feats. He was no doubt the most capable subordinate under Miracle's Guild Leader.

Some time ago, Shredded Soul had led Miracle's forces in a victory over a Super Guild on the western continent of God's Domain[l) and occupied a neutral city. This incident had caused a huge sensation among the various superpowers and was the reason that Ku Rong, the Great Pavilion Master, wanted to avoid a conflict with Miracle.

Miracle was simply too strong. If not for its lacking legacy, it would've already been crowned as a Super Guild.

The fact that Miracle had sent Shredded Soul was utterly unexpected.

"They didn't only send Shredded Soul. To put a swift end to Zero Wing, Miracle also dispatched 12 of its Guild Elders. Zero Wing's doom is assured," Blood Dragon said.

Those capable of rising to the position of Elder in a superpower had a list of impressive achievements in the virtual gaming world. They also had to display certain individual combat standards. Without sufficient strength, after all, no one would listen to their commands. In Miracle, a player had to reach the Void Realm at the very least to become an Elder.

Since Miracle had dispatched so many experts, the Guild had certainly prepared plenty of trump cards, as well. It was clear how furious the Guild was with Zero Wing.

"Good. Keep an eye on Zero Wing's people. Notify Miracle the moment you notice any changes," Nine Dragons Emperor instructed, smirking as he watched the numerous Zero Wing members on the street outside. "I had thought of involving Beast Emperor, but it seems that won't be necessary."

Meanwhile, in Star-Moon Kingdom's Zero Wing City...

After Shi Feng had assigned Aqua Rose her tasks, he used a Return Scroll to teleport to Zero Wing City.

As soon as he exited the Guild Residence, he could tell that the city's player population had slightly decreased. The city wasn't as lively as it had been during his previous visit, and there were far fewer Guild players in the city.

When Shi Feng reached the Candlelight Trading Firm, he noticed that the Shop's business had slowed considerably, as well.

"Guild Leader, you're back." When Melancholic Smile noticed Shi Feng enter the Shop, she hurriedly reported, "The invites we've sent to the various corporations have all been returned. Even some of the corporations that had previously expressed interest in our auction have lost interest. They've declared that they are only willing to purchase Zero Wing City's virtual stores."

"None of them are willing to rent?" Shi Feng was surprised by the news. "Has something happened in Witch's Hill?"

"Mhm. Three hours ago, two Guilds established towns in the area. Although both are only Basic Towns, they have received support from the kingdom's various large Guilds. All of these Guilds intend to share responsibility for the two towns' development. Moreover, both towns are selling a large number of virtual stores and are currently negotiating with the various corporations," Melancholic Smile said, nodding. "Based on our investigations, a few major corporations and first-rate Guilds have expressed interest and plan to invest in the towns, as well. If they reach an agreement, it will severely affect Zero Wing City's development. Why don't we sell a small number of our virtual stores, Guild Leader? We've recently moved to a new training ground, and we have to spend a lot of money on multiple aspects. With our current daily income, we can't afford to support the training ground."

"Not bad! They actually set up towns in Witch's Hill so soon!" Shi Feng chuckled. "Don't worry about selling the virtual stores for now. If we really need Credits, you can sell some of Candlelight's lower-quality weapons and equipment. Sell them in batches and don't reduce the price too much. We'll store the higher-quality items in the Guild Warehouse."

After saying so, Shi Feng transferred all the weapons and equipment he had looted from Miracle's members to Melancholic Smile.

When Melancholic Smile saw the items, she was dumbfounded. Of the 7,000-plus weapons and equipment Shi Feng had just given her, even the most inferior was Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment.

Although mainstream players had already reached Level 50, Level 50 equipment was still difficult to come by, especially for Secret-Silver rank and above.

Even if she only sold 1,000 pieces of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment, she'd earn enough Credits to sustain the Guild for quite some time. After all, many players and the various large Guilds, in particular, preferred to purchase items with Credits, rather than spend their Coins.

"Guild Leader, I can really sell these items?" Melancholic Smile asked. Normally, Shi Feng objected to selling God's Domain's resources for Credits more than anyone. Doing so was putting the cart before the horse, after all, yet Shi Feng actually wanted her to convert so many important items into Credits.

"Do it. Just make sure that you don't sell them for too cheap," Shi Feng said, chuckling as he shooed Melancholic Smile away.

Normally, he wouldn't agree to something like this since Zero Wing needed resources, but since the Guild had secured the Manatite vein, things had changed. Moreover, while Level 50 Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment were precious right now, after a little more time, they wouldn't be. Rather than wait for these items to depreciate, selling them for Credits to sustain the new training ground was a wiser option.

Once she had Shi Feng's confirmation, Melancholic Smile left excitedly with the weapons and equipment. She then sorted the items and selected those with inferior Attributes to sell in the Candlelight Trading Firm's various branches. However, these items would cost Credits, not Coins.

Chapter 1953 - How Dare They?!

Zero Wing City, Candlelight Trading Firm's first-floor hall:

Although many of the Guild players that had resided in Zero Wing City had shifted their operations to the new Guild Towns in the Witch's Hill, the city was still independent players' first choice when visiting the area. The two Guild Towns weren't a match for the city's level of convenience or its wonderful environment.

While players browsed the merchandise in the first-floor hall, a new counter appeared. According to the sign hovering above the counter, it offered weapons and equipment in exchange for Credits.

In NPC cities' Shops, items could only be purchased with Coins or traded for certain special items, such as Magic Crystals. There was no function that allowed players to purchase items with Credits. However, Guild Towns and Cities were a different story. The owner could freely determine what currency they'd accept.

The new counter attracted the attention of every player in the hall the moment it appeared.

"What's going on? Candlelight is selling weapons and equipment for Credits?"

"They're not garbage weapons and equipment, are they?"

"I doubt it Who would buy them if they were trash? I bet that they're ordinary weapons and equipment. After all,

Candlelight is Star-Moon Kingdom's number one trading firm, and multiple Lifestyle Masters work for the firm. The new items are probably these Masters' failed products. Even so, it's better than nothing. I have wanted to replace my Level 45 equipment for a while now. However, I don't even have enough Coins to buy a piece of ordinary Level 50 equipment."

"Indeed. If Candlelight's asking price isn't too high, I might buy a few pieces for myself."

Everyone quietly discussed the new counter. Many among them had already approached out of curiosity. They wanted to know what kind of weapons and equipment Zero Wing was trying to sell.

Several dozen Level 50 weapons and equipment had been laid out on the counter, and every one of them gave off the glow unique to Secret-Silver items. The dazzling sight dumbfounded the players that investigated the counter.

"What's going on? These are Level 50 Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment!"

"Am I hallucinating? Did Zero Wing make a mistake when it set the currency requirement? Even large Guilds' internal members have a hard time obtaining a piece of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment, yet Zero Wing is selling them? And they're only selling the pieces for Credits!"

"Amazing!"

"Scram! I was here first! I'm buying five pieces!' "I want ten!"

The players that had only planned to window-shop went into a frenzy. Regardless of whether they could use these weapons and equipment right now, they intended to buy as much as they could. Each piece of equipment only sold for a few thousand Credits, while the weapons sold for over 10,000 Credits. It was much easier to buy these items with Credits than with Coins. Relatively well-off players, in particular, immediately purchased an entire set.

In the end, it took less than three minutes for the 100-plus Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment to sell out, and Zero Wing instantly earned over 600,000 Credits.

"Crap! They've already sold out!?"

"I knew I shouldn't have hesitated and bought more! I could've made a small profit by reselling them!"

The moment the weapons and equipment sold out, many of the independent players who had hesitated regretted their decision. They hated themselves for acting quicker.

However, after another ten or so minutes, another batch of weapons and equipment appeared on the counter. Like the first batch, every piece was Level 50 Secret-Silver rank.

"Is Zero Wing insane? It's selling more?"

"Out of the way! I'm going to buy as many as I can this time!"

Upon seeing the new batch of weapons and equipment, the independent players' eyes turned bloodshot as they charged over to the counter.

This time, the items sold out in less than a minute. Meanwhile, news of the Candlelight Trading Firm's Level 50 Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment quickly spread, shocking many powers.

"What's going on? Our Guild has had a massive headache over acquiring more Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment, yet Zero Wing is selling such items in large quantities? Is Zero Wing going to disband soon?"

"Is Zero Wing's Warehouse overflowing with these items?"

"Quick! Send someone to camp the Candlelight Trading Firm! As long as Zero Wing sells these weapons and equipment for Credits, buy as many as you can!"

Although the various large Guilds had already raided Level 50, 100-man Team Dungeons, they had been limited to Normal Mode. None of them had any progress in Hard or Hell Mode. Only the various superpowers had the power to challenge these modes.

Hence, Level 50 top-tier weapons and equipment were still extremely rare. Normally, players could only obtain such items by defeating Field Bosses or completing high-difficulty quests. At this point, the various superpowers didn't even have enough Level 50 Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment to gear their expert players fully.

Yet, Zero Wing had so many of these items that they were selling them so cheaply to the public...

However, while most of the various large Guilds assumed that was the case, the various superpowers knew otherwise. Zero Wing was simply offloading the loot it had taken from Miracle.

News of the battle between the two Guilds had only reached the various superpowers thus far. Most first-rate Guilds had no idea of the incident, let alone those weaker than first-rate Guilds.

Black Dragon Empire, in one of Lake Heart City's high-class restaurants...

"Uncle Yuan, is this Zero Wing's way of complaining that Miracle isn't killing it fast enough?" Purple Jade was astounded when she read the latest report.

Even newly-formed superpowers would not dare to provoke Miracle to such an extent, yet Zero Wing was so bold as to throw fuel on the fire.

"I don't know, but based on my understanding of Shredded Soul, he won't let Zero Wing get away with this. He'll employ the most ruthless methods to deal with the Guild," Yuan Tiexin said, chuckling. "However, this has definitely made our trip here worthwhile. Even if we don't see Miracle's true strength, we should at least witness three-quarters of it."

They had come to Lake Heart City to investigate Miracle's power. This was only the third time Miracle had launched such a major assault on another Guild, and every major operation was a golden opportunity to investigate a Guild's strength.

Meanwhile, inside Miracle's temporary Residence in Lake Heart City...

Miracle's upper echelons and 曰ders currently filled the Residence's spacious meeting room. However, the room was deathly silent as everyone focused on an emaciated, middle-aged man. Although he appeared frail, none in the virtual gaming world dared to look down on this man. He was Miracle's First Vice Guild Leader, Shredded Soul.

"Damn it! Damn Zero Wing! How dare they?! I will tear their corpses to shreds!" Thousand Miles's expression had twisted in an ugly mask as he read the latest report on the enemy Guild.

"Zero Wing?" A cold glint flashed in Shredded Soul's eyes as he read the report. "How courageous. They dare to sell our items so openly. It seems it has been so long since Miracle has taken action in the eastern continent that even an upstart Guild dares to look down on us!

"If any of Miracle's members find Zero Wing's outside of an NPC town or city, regardless of their rank in the Guild, they are to kill them all on sight!"

Chapter 1954 - Basic Combat Device's Effects

Star-Moon Kingdom, Zero Wing City:

As the crowd in the Candlelight Trading Firm cheered the Level 50 Secret Silver Equipment sales, a disturbance occurred among Zero Wing's internal members.

There hadn't been much Level 50 Secret-Silver or Fine-Gold Equipment in Zero Wing's Guild Warehouse, but suddenly, a massive stockpile had appeared. There were even plenty of Level 50 Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment now, tempting many of the Guild's internal members. They, too, went into a frenzy to purchase the new items.

Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment wasn't very difficult to obtain for Zero Wing's members since the Guild's various raid teams returned with some of these items from time to time. However, Level 50 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Equipment was a different story. Many of the Guild's Tier 2 experts didn't even have full sets of such equipment.

Many Guild members chose to convert their rare materials into GCPs to purchase the new equipment, which not only increased the Guild's material stockpile, but also increased the overall strength of these Guild members.

At this point, Shi Feng had arrived at the Candlelight Trading Firm. He immediately headed to his exclusive Special Forging Room and was greeted by the sight of various rare materials, all of which he had instructed Melancholic Smile to prepare. He then dived into crafting the Basic Combat Device.

Shi Feng was very familiar with the Combat Devices' power. Although the design he had obtained was only for the Basic Combat Device, the Basic version was most suitable for current players. Even an ordinary player could become as strong as an ordinary expert after equipping the Basic Combat Device, and if given to ordinary expert players, they wouldn't be far from rivaling peak experts, if at all.

The Basic Combat Device was what Zero Wing needed most right now. If he could mass-produce the device, he could mostly solve the issue regarding Zero Wing's weak foundation and expand the Guild significantly in a short time.

As for the Magicbreaking Crossbow, he had left the tool's production to Cream Cocoa and her comrades. After all, he was Zero Wing's Guild Leader. He had a long list of duties each day, and he simply didn't have the time to stay cooped up in his forging room. He only forged the Basic Combat Device personally because the design was bound to him.

Dense Mana filled the quiet Special Forging room. Using the Philosopher's Stone, Shi Feng began to synthesize one Mana Stone after another. He then collected the necessary materials and began his first attempt at crafting the Basic Combat Device.

Smelting, extracting, engraving...

Before five minutes had passed, a Rubik's cube made of pitch-black iron took shape before Shi Feng.

Since this was the first time he had crafted a Basic Combat Device, Shi Feng couldn't help his growing nerves as he waited for the system to appraise the iron cube.

The Basic Combat Device was a special tool that only Basic Master Forgers or above could produce. Moreover, the tool was quite difficult to craft. Even a Basic Master Forger would not have more than a 50% production success rate.

Once the loading bar was full, a melodious sound echoed throughout the forging room.

System: Basic Combat Device has been successfully manufactured. Forging Proficiency increased by 5 points. Obtained 274,000 EXP.

So, this is the Divine Library's Basic Combat Device? Shi Feng stared at the Basic Combat Device's Attributes in astonishment

[Basic Combat Device]

Increases the Life Rating of players at Tier 3 or below by one grade and Skill and Spell Completion Rates by 2% for 12 hours.

He had already known that the Combat Device increased its user's Life Rating, but he hadn't expected this device to increase Skill and Spell Completion Rates as well.

In the past, the Basic Combat Devices he had obtained from ancient ruins had provided additional Defense, at most Though he had never found one, he had heard that the more powerful devices increased Attack Power or Movement Speed, but the Basic Combat Device he had just forged actually increased Skill and Spell Completion Rates. This bonus Attribute was far more valuable than any of the bonuses he had heard of in the past.

In God's Domain, the higher one's Skill or Spell Completion Rate was, the more power they'd exhibit with their Skills or Spells. This was one of the major factors that differentiated players. The difference between a Skill with 90% Completion Rate and 100% was massive.

This improvement was particularly useful in PvP, in which players usually fought at top-speed, especially experts. Even a split-second difference could decide a battle's outcome. Having a Completion Rate boost would increase Skills and Spells' tolerance, and players' execution wouldn't have to be as precise to get the same results.

Excited, Shi Feng immediately began to forge more Basic Combat Devices.

After crafting nearly 20 Basic Combat Devices, Shi Feng received an unexpected call from Gentle Snow.

"Guild Leader, the situation in Lake Heart City has changed. A large number of experts have suddenly arrived and started hunting our Guild members in the fields. Over 500 of our players have already died..." Gentle Snow reported, her head aching slightly. "All of these ambushing players have very high combat standards, and although I've sent teams to deal with them, they've turned the tables on our members."

"Miracle can't sit still any longer, huh?" Giving the matter some thought and considering the previous reports, he assumed these players were from Miracle. Only, he hadn't expected the Guild to act so soon. "Do you know how many people they have?"

"We've confirmed around 50,000 enemies..." Gentle Snow replied weakly.

Although Zero Wing's development in the Black Dragon Empire had been progressing smoothly, the Branch Guild did not have many expert and elite members. Overall, there were a little over 2,000 experts and 90,000 elite members. Moreover, the majority of the expert players were her subordinates from Ouroboros.

"They sure mobilized their forces quickly!" The number surprised Shi Feng slightly.

After the battle on Kama Island, he knew that Miracle wouldn't let him or Zero Wing get away unscathed, but he had thought that it would take the Guild some time to muster a large force after so many of its expert and elite members had died. He had never thought that Miracle could gather 50,000 players in so little time.

He truly hadn't expected this situation.

He had thought that Miracle would, at most, transfer a little over 10,000 players to the Black Dragon Empire to harass Zero Wing. Transferring more than that would leave Miracle's other territories undefended. If Miracle weren't careful, it could easily be ambushed by other powers.

"Guild Leader, what should we do?" Gentle Snow asked. "Do we fight?"

Fighting Miracle's 50,000-strong army directly would incur serious losses for Zero Wing. Depending on the severity, the Guild's development might even grind to a halt. However, if they avoided fights with Miracle's forces, the enemy Guild would continue to ambush Zero Wing's teams. The Guild couldn't afford that, either.

"Of course, we're fighting! Moreover, we have a big surprise for Miracle!" Shi Feng said, smiling faintly as he thought about the Basic Combat Devices he had just completed.

Chapter 1955 - Foothold

"A surprise?" Gentle Snow watched Shi Feng on the screen in confusion.

Naturally, she welcomed the confrontation with Miracle, but it was a very powerful super-first-rate Guild. Moreover, based on Miracle's reaction, the Guild seemed quite intent on Zero Wing's destruction. Defeating their 50,000-man army wouldn't be easy. There was also a huge difference between the number of experts in Zero Wing and those in Miracle.

"Mhm. In a moment, I want you to visit Zero Wing City's Candlelight Trading Firm. I've got something good for you," Shi Feng said, nodding.

If this had happened before he had obtained the Basic Combat Device Design, he wouldn't have dared to drop all pretenses with Miracle on Kama Island. Any superpower was terrifying once it got serious, after all.

He had watched superpowers slaughter many large Guilds in the past, including plenty of first-rate Guilds. Top-ranked first- rate Guilds might put up a fight against super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds normally, but in a serious confrontation, they had no hope of surviving.

"Alright, I'll head there now!" Seeing Shi Feng solemn expression, Gentle Snow understood that the item he spoke of was immensely important. Otherwise, he wouldn't have told her to make the trip personally.

After Gentle Snow disconnected the call, she took out a Guild Transfer Scroll and teleported to Zero Wing City's Residence. She then donned a Black Cloak and made her way toward the Candlelight Trading Firm.

Candlelight Trading Firm, Shi Feng's Special Forging Room:

As Gentle Snow entered the workshop, she could feel the strange Mana in the room. It felt particularly violent. Logically, players should feel clearheaded in places with high Mana density, but she felt her blood boil and her heart pound as she entered the room.

"What are these?" Gentle Snow asked as she around the room at the pitch-black Rubik's cubes. She could sense that these cubes were the cause of the strange Mana.

"These are Basic Combat Devices, and the items I wanted to give you," Shi Feng, who was in the midst of forging another Basic Combat Device, explained as he stopped his work.

The magic arrays engraved on the Basic Combat Devices were extraordinary, capable of changing the nature of Mana. If he hadn't been an Advanced Magician, he wouldn't have been able to complete the devices.

Despite their passive state, the Basic Combat Devices were still effective. Even though the effects were much weaker in this state, they changed the room's Mana as the pile of cubes increased.

"Basic Combat Device?" This was the first time Gentle Snow had heard of this item.

"You'll know once you inspect them," Shi Feng said as he traded one of the completed devices to Gentle Snow.

Outsiders couldn't inspect or take items in a workshop in God's Domain to prevent theft. After all, the materials within workshops were extremely valuable.

Gentle Snow was dazed as she inspected the Basic Combat Device's Attributes.

Not only could one of these devices increase a player's Life Rating by one grade, but it could also increase Skill and Spell Completion Rates. She had never heard of such a tool.

The various powers had already investigated the Life Rating feature and understood its implications.

After equipping the Basic Combat Device, players would become Boss-like existences among their peers. They'd receive an overall increase to their strength.

"Guild Leader, are all of these cubes the same?!" Gentle Snow could not help but ask, shocked, as she surveyed the pitch- black Rubik's cubes around the room.

Although Shi Feng had said as much, she needed confirmation. The revelation was just too shocking.

Most tools that increased players' combat power only improved one or several aspects. Take a tool that increased players' Strength, for example. The Strength boost might increase a player's combat power, but if the player couldn't land an attack, it would be meaningless.

Unlike most tools that increased combat power, the Basic Combat Devices increased their user's Life Rating, which was far more effective than increasing several Attributes. A Life Rating boost wouldn't just improve a player's Basic Attributes, but it would also sharpen players' five senses and qualitatively transform their physique. With such an overall boost, players could better exhibit their combat power.

Gentle Snow couldn't believe that so many of these valuable items existed.

"Not all of them are the same." Pointing at the two Rubik's cubes on his worktable, Shi Feng said, "These two are Strengthened Basic Combat Devices. Although there's no change to Life Rating, it provides an additional 10% to physique. It will help players better-exhibit their combat power."

These two Strengthened versions were a result of his Blacksteel Insignia's effect, which improved an item's Attributes by a fixed percentage.

"Ten percent to physique?" Gentle Snow gaped at the items.

Basic Combat Device was already impressively powerful, yet there were Strengthened versions of it as well.

While a 10% boost to physique might not seem like much, it significantly increased a player's actual combat power.

"I have only started production. Take these and use them for now. It's best if you let the Guild's Tier 2 experts test them," Shi Feng said as he traded the 22 Basic Combat Devices and Strengthened Basic Combat Devices to Gentle Snow. "I'll deliver more Basic Combat Devices later. However, do not engage Miracle in any large-scale fights before you get the next delivery."

Although he wanted to use the Hell Tanks, they were necessary to fend off Beast Emperor and Blackwater. If they found out that the Hell Tanks had been moved to the Black Dragon Empire, they'd take advantage of the opportunity to strike at Zero Wing's territory. The best he could do was rely on the Basic Combat Devices.

"I understand." Gentle Snow nodded.

Thus far, Zero Wing's forces had used guerilla tactics against Miracle, and the Basic Combat Devices were perfect for that strategy. Zero Wing had the upper-hand numerically, only lacking quality experts. Besides, Miracle's ordinary experts weren't the cause of her headaches; its peak experts were.

Peak experts could exhibit far greater combat power in small fights than in large-scale combat.

However, if Zero Wing's Tier 2 experts equipped the Basic Combat Device, they might be able to put up a good fight.

Following which, Gentle Snow returned to Lake Heart City with the 22 Basic Combat Devices. She then recalled all of the Guild's Tier 2 experts in the area, anxious to test the devices' effects.

Meanwhile, in one of Lake Heart City's high-class restaurants...

"Boss Soul, we've just received a report from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Zero Wing has sent a 100-man team to quest in Blue Wave Rock," a Level 58, Tier 2 Assassin reported after approaching Shredded Soul.

"Zero Wing still won't give up?" Shredded Soul chuckled. "Notify the nearby teams and get rid of them. Teach Zero Wing that it no longer has a foothold in Lake Heart City!"

Chapter 1956 - First Test

Lake Heart City, Blue Wave Rock:

A large group of Miracle members patrolled inside a mountain surrounded by lush forest. These players had split into 32 teams of 100.

"Boss Starstreak, everyone's in position. If Zero Wing's members dare to set foot in Blue Wave Rock, we'll ensure that none leave alive," a Level 57 Ranger wearing silvery-gray chainmail reported to the black-clad, indifferent youth before him.

"Good. Vice Guild Leader Shredded assigned us this mission personally. We need to complete it properly. You all know the consequences if we fail," Starstreak said solemnly.

Shredded Soul was well-known for his strict nature. He'd even demote the Guild's peak experts if they didn't handle a mission properly, not to mention lower-ranked members. Hence, the Guild members had given him the title 'Demonic Vice Guild Leader.'

"Boss, rest assured; Zero Wing can't even dispatch enough members to serve as a warm-up. Besides, you're in command this time. Even if Gentle Snow leads her Branch Guild's main force personally, she'll only be marching towards her grave," the Level 57 Ranger confidently declared.

His confidence was not baseless.

Although Shredded Soul was a strict Vice Guild Leader, he was also a careful person. All of the 32 teams he had dispatched to Blue Wave Rock were expert teams, with over 1,000 expert players. Over 100 among them were also Tier 2 players. The peak Assassin expert, Starstreak, was even in command, and his assassination and tracking standards were first-rate. Four other peak experts were participating in the operation, as well.

Zero Wing had only sent a 100-man team to Blue Wave Rock, and based on the latest reports, the team only had 20 Tier 2 players. Even if the remaining 80 players were experts, defeating Zero Wing's team would be a piece of cake.

While Miracle's forces waited for Zero Wing to fall into their trap, the 100-man team had rested in a forested area a short distance away for some time now.

"Boss Fierce, Blue Wave Rock is just ahead. My guess is that Miracle's army has been hiding there, waiting to ambush us. Are we really going in there?" a Level 57, Tier 1 Assassin asked nervously as he looked towards Blue Wave Rock.

In truth, Gentle Snow hadn't sent them here for a quest, but to fight Miracle's members.

However, although the team had 20 Tier 2 experts, the rest were elite members. These elite members might hold their own against first-rate Guilds' elites, but they'd be lucky to defeat a super-first-rate Guild's elite members in a one-on-one, not to mention Miracle's army. The 80 elite players likely wouldn't even survive against one of Miracle's expert parties.

"This is the mission we've been assigned, so yes, we're going there. Fortunately, your job doesn't involve fighting. You guys only need to scout the area and figure out Miracle's movement pattern. Leave the fighting to us," Fierce Snake said. "Alright, we've recovered most of our Stamina. It's time to move out!"

This operation would test the Basic Combat Devices' effects, and since that wouldn't be easy to determine in large-scale combat involving thousands of players, Gentle Snow had deliberately chosen Blue Wave Rock as the battlefield. Not only did dense forest surround the area, but its terrain was also quite complex. This was a perfectly suitable area for a small force to employ guerilla tactics. Moreover, Miracle wouldn't be foolish enough to mobilize tens of thousands of players just to catch a 100-man team.

They could fight and retreat freely in Blue Wave Rock, and Miracle's members wouldn't be able to do anything about it, but as a precaution, the entire 100-man team consisted of Assassins. These Assassins were responsible for scouting Blue Wave Rock and preventing a situation where the Tier 2 players were surrounded and killed. After all, Tier 2 players were important assets to the Guild. They must not be lost.

When Fierce Snake finished speaking, the 80 Tier 1 Assassins went into Stealth and dispersed. Fierce Snake and the Tier 2 players then moved as a 20-man team.

After wandering Blue Wave Rock for around 20 minutes, the scouting Assassins located four 100-man teams. The closest among them was less than 1,000 yards from Fierce Snake's team, while the farthest was within 4,000 yards. At this distance, the farthest team would need 10 minutes at most to reinforce the closest force.

"Everyone, equip your Combat Devices! The 100-man team ahead will be our first test subjects!" Fierce Snake commanded after verifying the scouting teams' locations.

Zero Wing's Tier 2 experts then eagerly retrieved the Basic Combat Devices they had been assigned and used them. Although they had a general understanding of the item, they didn't how effective it would truly be. Moreover, they had signed confidentiality contracts, which would force them to delete their accounts should they leak any information, to take part in this operation.

"This feels amazing! Zero Wing City's high-Mana environment is nowhere close to half as effective as this device!"

"I can even hear the leaves rustle over 100 yards away!"

"That's nothing! Look at the birds in the sky! They seem so much slower now."

Once the team members had equipped the Basic Combat Devices, the Mana around them became turbulent. Although their bodies felt so much lighter, they felt their blood boil as they were overcome by an urge to fight.

"Charge!" Fierce Snake roared.

Without hesitation, Fierce Snake's 20-man force charged toward Miracle's closest team.

When less than 600 yards separated the two, one of Miracle's Rangers discovered the charging players. The Ranger immediately reported to his Tier 2 commander.

"A 20-man team dares to charge at us? They must be tired of living!"

"Leader, should we request reinforcements from the other teams?"

"Are you joking? It's only a 20-man team. If we notify the other teams, we'll only become a laughingstock! Don't worry about that! We'll handle these fools ourselves!" the Tier 2 Elementalist leading the team growled before readying his players.

Although his was only one of many teams Miracle had sent to Blue Wave Rock, he had more than 30 experts under his command. Four players were even Tier 2 experts, and he was even a Refinement Realm expert. He alone was enough to defeat several non-Refinement Realm, Tier 2 experts. Why would he ever fear Fierce Snake's 20-man party?

Once Zero Wing's force was within 60 yards of Miracle's team, Miracle's ranged players opened fire on the 20-man party, launching Spells and arrows.

Despite the numerous attacks descending on his players, neither Fierce Snake nor his companions showed any intention of dodging the incoming attacks. Rather, the Tier 2 MTs moved to the front of the team, while the rest of the Tier 2 experts fell in behind them. The party then charged into the bombardment.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A rain of Spells and arrows showered Zero Wing's Tier 2 MTs.

However, the results left Miracle's members dumbfounded. Not only did the three MTs block every one of their attacks with their shields, but they also retained all of their HP after doing so...

Before Miracle's members snapped out of their daze, Fierce Snake reached the enemy melee players and brandished his Level 55, Dark-Gold ranked battle axe.

Boom!

A violent storm sent several players flying back by over a dozen yards, losing a significant chunk of their HP. The difference in Strength was clear. The rest of Zero Wing's Tier 2 players had also spread out, pouncing on Miracle's members like starving tigers.

Zero Wing's players dodged Miracle's attacks without much effort, even the Tier 2 experts' attacks. With Zero Wing's Strength and speed advantages, Miracles' Tier 2 experts were forced to retreat, continuously losing HP. Miracle's Tier 2 experts only stayed alive, albeit barely, thanks to the support from their healers and companions.

"How? He clearly hasn't reached the Refinement Realm yet, so how is he displaying such great combat power?" The Tier 2 Elementalist leading Miracle's team couldn't believe his eyes.

Although Fierce Snake had higher Basic Attributes, the man's Attributes were high enough to keep him on the run. However, not only was Fierce Snake's perception astonishingly acute, but the Berserker's reaction speed was also impressively fast. The Berserker even blocked attacks that no normal player should be able to.

After less than 30 seconds, nearly half of Miracle's 100-man team had been annihilated...

"Quick! Notify Boss Starstreak and the others!" the Tier 2 Elementalist shouted in a panic.

Chapter 1957 - Experts Close to the Peak

Starstreak and his team had set up camp on one of Blue Wave Rock's barren hillsides. They had excellent visibility, which allowed them to scout their surroundings. Unfortunately, the monsters in the area had short respawn times and constantly need to be cleared out.

Currently, Starstreak's team fought dozens of Level 62 Cliffside Gargoyles.

"Boss, Deep Trace's team has been attacked by Zero Wing and is requesting immediate backup!" a Level 57 Ranger reported.

"Zero Wing has taken the initiative to attack?" Starstreak, who commanded the battle against the Gargoyles, could not help but chuckle. "It seems they haven't learned from the previous lessons. Send the nearby teams to reinforce Deep Trace immediately. Tell the other teams to head towards their location, as well. Do not allow Zero Wing to escape!"

The Level 57 Ranger immediately relayed the command to the various teams. Fortunately, the closest team was only three minutes away from Deep Trace, and once the two teams grouped up, they should have no problems pinning down Zero Wing long enough for the other two nearby teams, which were about ten minutes away, to arrive. Once the four teams surrounded Zero Wing's members, the latter would have no chance to flee.

Starstreak then led his team as they withdrew from the battle, ignoring the provoked the Cliffside Gargoyles and heading straight for Zero Wing.

Shredded Soul had given him this mission personally, and he had no choice but to take it seriously. Although Starstreak felt that four teams should be enough to defeat Zero Wing's 100-man team, he decided to head there personally as a precaution.

Elsewhere, Fierce Snake's 20-man party fought with more vigor as time passed. On the other hand, fear overwhelmed the Tier 2 Elementalist that led Miracle's team as he watched his teammates die, one after another.

What is this... Just what is going on!? The Elementalist couldn't believe his eyes as he watched Fierce Snake and his comrades cut down Miracle's players.

At first, Zero Wing's defense had contained many weak points, but as the battle progressed, these weaknesses had vanished. Zero Wing's fighters had also reduced their excess movements.

It was as if Fierce Snake and his players had obtained a new body and adapted as they fought His Spells had been, more or less, able to interrupt Fierce Snake's strikes at the beginning of this fight, but the Berserker now chased him while dodging or blocking his Spells without issue.

While the Tier 2 Elementalist was awed by Fierce Snake's improvements, the Berserker continued to tighten his control. Now, he completely abandoned defense and utilized the Basic Combat Technique, Windshadow Footwork, for the first time in this battle. Like a light breeze, Fierce Snake weaved his way through the incoming Spells.

In two breaths, Fierce Snake dodged the spells and reached the Elementalist. He then swung down with his battle axe.

Tier 2 Skill, Thundering Impact!

The battle axe descended on the Tier 2 Elementalist like a lightning bolt. The enemy player had no way of coping with the attack's speed or Strength.

Boom!

When the lightning bolt landed, the blast carved out a massive crater beneath the Elementalist. The caster, who had only had one-third of his HP remaining, vanished from the forest with his shattered Magic Shield. Only a robe remained of the player.

When Miracle's members saw this, they despaired.

The Tier 2 Elementalist had been their leader and a bona fide Refinement Realm expert. He could hold off several non- Refinement Realm, Tier 2 experts by himself during their sparring sessions. Now that even their powerful leader had died, how were they supposed to face Fierce Snake and the others?

"Run away!" One of Miracle's members instinctively shouted before turning and fleeing the battlefield.

"Run away? Can you, though?" Fierce Snake ran after the fleeing player before snatching up the robe his prior prey had dropped.

When the Basic Combat Device increased his and his teammates' Life Ratings, their Basic Attributes had received a significant boost. The improvement was akin to activating a miniature Berserk Skill. Their HP, in particular, had doubled. At the same time, their Movement Speed had risen considerably. Fierce Snake was even confident of defeating an excellently- equipped, Tier 2 Assassin with his current Movement Speed.

After less than a minute since the battle had begun, all of Miracle's 100 elite and expert players were dead. In contrast, Fierce Snake's team of 20 had suffered zero casualties.

"Boss Fierce, Miracle's other teams are heading your way," one of the scouting Assassins reported in the team chat. "The nearest team should arrive in about two minutes."

"Two minutes?" After giving the matter some thought, Fierce Snake looked at the teammates around him and asked, "We should have enough time. Brothers, what do you think? Will you be ready for round two after a short break?"

"Don't be insulting, Boss. That fight was barely a warm-up."

"That's right! Boss, you're so sneaky! You fought the enemy leader by yourself and only left the small fries for us! We barely got a chance to test any new combat techniques!"

Every player in the 20-man party agreed with Fierce Snake's conclusion. In fact, they brimmed with fighting spirit. They had discovered how powerful the Basic Combat Devices were in their previous battle, and due to their new Life Ratings, they could finally execute the combat techniques that had given them too much trouble before. This was a great opportunity to grasp these techniques fully.

Of course, they still couldn't use these combat techniques casually since it was such a burden on their Stamina. By using combat techniques they had yet to master, they lost Stamina even faster than usual. Hence, they only used the techniques when they fought powerful enemies. Tier 1 experts simply weren't worth the effort.

"Good! I'll leave the big ones to you in the next battle!" Fierce Snake said, laughing.

After resting for a short time, another team from Miracle stumbled on Fierce Snake's party. However, before the new arrivals could get a grasp of the situation, Fierce Snake and his players charged toward them.

Fierce Snake's party had already adapted to the Basic Combat Device's effects, so they eliminated the second Miracle team with far more efficiency. Once their enemies were dead, they retreated from the battlefield. By the time the third and fourth Miracle teams arrived, only an empty battlefield was there to greet them.

"What did you say? Zero Wing killed two teams with just 20 people?" Starstreak paled when he heard his subordinate's report. After calming his burning rage, he continued coldly, "Send me the battle videos! From now on, I want all teams to move in pairs!"

Starstreak examined the battle videos he had received after disconnecting the call.

"How is this possible? Since when has Zero Wing had so many powerful experts?" Starstreak's anger vanished when he saw the fight between his Guildmates and Fierce Snake's group, his expression hardening.

Originally, he had refused to believe that Zero Wing had slaughtered two 100-man teams with only 20 players, even accomplishing this feat before reinforcements could arrive. They shouldn't be able to wipe out two teams so quickly even if Fierce Snake and his party were all Tier 2 players, but after watching the videos, he understood how it had happened.

Although Fierce Snake and the others had not reached the Refinement Realm, their combat power nearly rivaled that of peak experts due to their Attributes, extraordinary perception and reaction time, and combat techniques. Even Starstreak would need some time to take Fierce Snake down by himself.

If he had to face two or three experts of this caliber, even he'd be forced to retreat, and every member of Zero Wing's 20- man party wielded the same combat power. Even his 100-man team might lose against such a monstrous party, much less the other teams patrolling Blue Wave Rock.

"Starstreak, what's happened?" a Level 58, Tier 2 Ranger asked when he noticed Starstreak's twisted expression.

"It's nothing," Starstreak said, shaking his head. "Inform all teams to give up the search for Zero Wing immediately."

"Give up?! But we have orders from Vice Guild Leader Shredded!" The Ranger stared at Starstreak in astonishment.

"I understand. I'll report the situation to the Vice Guild Leader personally," Starstreak said, nodding.

"Even so, shouldn't you give us a reason?" the Ranger asked.

"A reason?" Smiling bitterly, Starstreak responded, "What if I tell you that the 20-man team we're chasing consists of experts with the combat power to rival peak experts? Is that enough of a reason?"

What a joke!

If their remaining 3,000 members worked together to fight Zero Wing's 20-man party head-on, it might be a different story, but trying to catch 20 peak experts in this forest was impossible. Even though Blue Wave Rock's forest wasn't particularly large, they'd still need ten times their current manpower to accomplish such a feat!

Chapter 1958 - Promotion to Intermediate Master

Black Dragon Empire, Lake Heart City:

Several Guild Elders and over a dozen upper echelons occupied the Guild Leader's office within Miracle's temporary Residence. They all quietly and carefully watched the emaciated, middle-aged man before them.

This man was none other than Shredded Soul, one of Miracle's mythical existences.

Although the people present were all peak experts, they were tense with fear as Shredded Soul's aura washed over them.

The tension in the room was all due to the message Starstreak had just sent.

"Has Starstreak gone mad? He only has to take out 100 Zero Wing members, yet he dares to retreat despite having over 3,000 players under his command? Doesn't he know that the Vice Guild Leader hates retreating more than anything?"

"This is the first time I've seen the Vice Guild Leader so angry. Hopefully, Starstreak's punishment won't be crippling."

The upper echelons whispered amongst themselves as they gazed at Shredded Soul's frosty expression. They all agreed that Starstream must be tired of living in God's Domain. Shredded Soul's authority in the Guild was only second to the Guild Leaders', and while the other Vice Guild Leaders had command of their subordinates, the man before them could mobilize any player in Miracle. Even the Guild's trump card legions were forced to follow Shredded Soul's commands.

Shredded Soul even had the authority to remove Guild Elders from their positions as long as he had enough reasoning to do so, let alone regular Guild members.

Even the other Vice Guild Leaders feared this man.

But there was no helping it. Shredded Soul was responsible for major contributions to the Guild, and all of the Guild's Founding Elders and the Guild Leader stood behind his authority.

A chill ran down the various upper echelons' spines as they thought about Starstreak's opposition to Shredded Soul's command.

After a long moment of tense silence, Shredded Soul finally seemed to relax. The watching crowd then released a sigh of relief.

"Good! Very good!" Shredded Soul's lips curled as he read the report from Starstreak. "I have underestimated Zero Wing. It's no wonder why such a small Guild dares to provoke Miracle."

"Vice Guild Leader, what happened? Is there something unique about this 100-man team from Zero Wing?" one of the upper echelons asked curiously.

Shredded Soul had clearly been furious about Starstreak's decision to flee from Blue Wave Rock a moment ago, but after reading the follow-up report, the Vice Guild Leader actually smiled...

Those that knew Shredded Soul knew what his smile meant. He had either found something interesting or an opponent that he considered appropriate.

"Take a look for yourselves!" Shredded Soul said as he input the report and displayed the information before the crowd. He then played the battle video involving Fierce Snake and the other Tier 2 Zero Wing experts.

As Fierce Snake and his comrades fought the first team, their movements were clumsy but had visibly improved during the fight against the second team. Even when facing Miracle's Tier 2 Refinement Realm experts in a one-on-one, Fierce Snake and the others had gained the upper hand, slowly whittling down their opponents.

Every member on Zero Wing's 20-man team wielded combat power that rivaled Miracle's peak experts.

"How is that possible? How does Zero Wing have so many experts with peak-level combat power?!"

"Based on our information, although Zero Wing is stronger than the average first-rate Guild, it has less than ten peak experts. How did it suddenly gain an additional 20?"

Miracle's upper echelons watched Fierce Snake and his team fight with wide eyes.

After watching the videos, they realized why Starstreak had ordered a retreat. With the forces under his command, facing 20 experts with peak-level combat power who used guerilla tactics would be suicidal. Even a team of several hundred players would be helpless against 20 peak experts. If they wanted to hunt these players down in the field, they'd have to dispatch 1,000-man teams for the search, and several tens of thousands for the fight

"Notify Starstreak that his forces are allowed to retreat," Shredded Soul said calmly.

"Vice Guild Leader, Zero Wing is clearly trying to put on a show. Are we just going to let them get away with this?" one of Miracle's upper echelons asked.

With the forces Miracle had sent to the Black Dragon Empire, cordoning off Blue Wave Rock and hunting down Zero Wing's team was entirely possible.

"We are Miracle! We do not need such wasteful tactics to eliminate Zero Wing! Since the Guild wants to show off its abilities in guerilla warfare, we'll do the same!" Shredded Soul snapped, smiling. "Split up our forces and have them deal with Zero Wing's members. Rather than focusing on the areas around Lake Heart City, we'll target every Zero Wing player in the Black Dragon Empire! I want to see who can rack up the most kills!"

When they heard Shredded Soul's command, realization dawned on the crowd.

So what if Zero Wing had a party of peak combatants?

Zero Wing's overall strength was nothing compared to Miracle's. If Miracle scattered its forces and attacked multiple locations at once, how many areas could Zero Wing keep safe?

Although doing so would incur losses, Zero Wing's suffering would be much greater.

After Starstreak received the command to retreat, he led his forces away from Blue Wave Rock. Meanwhile, news of this situation quickly spread to the various superpowers.

"Miracle has retreated?!"

"What happened at Blue Wave Rock?"

Miracle's retreat surprised the various superpowers, and they immediately ordered infestations on the battle at Blue Wave Rock.

However, when the reports came in, the superpowers that had been watching the war between Zero Wing and Miracle were astonished. They had never considered that Zero Wing had such a sturdy foundation.

They also marveled at Zero Wing's performance. They hadn't expected Shredded Soul to suffer such a loss, albeit a minor one, at Zero Wing's hands. It had been a long time since a non-superpower had accomplished such a feat.

When Phoenix Rain, who was busy on Thunder Island, received the news, she was stunned. Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words, who explored an ancient ruin in the Dark Night Empire, were astonished, as well.

However, Shi Feng, who toiled in Zero Wing City's Candlelight Trading Firm, remained wholly ignorant of the matter, thoroughly absorbed in forging Basic Combat Devices. After over a day of work, Shi Feng received a system notification.

System: Strengthened Basic Combat Device has been successfully manufactured. Forging Proficiency increased by 5 points. Obtained 368,000 EXP.

System: Congratulations! You have been promoted to an Intermediate Master Forger.

Chapter 1959 - Forging Treasure Chest

"Finally!" Shi Feng cried out when he heard the system notification.

Intermediate Master Forger!

This was a huge threshold for forgers to cross. Although it was extremely difficult to become a Master Forger, with how many players God's Domain had, quite a few were capable of reaching the Master rank.

However, the majority of these Master Forgers would grind to a halt at the Basic Master rank. A forger would only receive the various superpowers' attention after becoming an Intermediate Master. Meanwhile, to the various superpowers, Basic Master Forgers were simply qualified to join them.

Only by becoming an Intermediate Master Forger could players craft truly powerful war weapons. In addition, only Intermediate Master Forgers and above could producing top-tier Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment for expert players. After all, even among Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment, there was a considerable difference between the Basic Attributes and additional effects they provided.

Take the Level 55 to 60 Dark-Gold Equipment he forged using the standardized designs he had acquired from Titan City, for example. Despite being at the Dark-Gold rank, those pieces were nothing compared to ordinary Dark-Gold Equipment of the same level that dropped from Bosses. They were only slightly stronger than Fine-Gold Equipment of the same level.

Moreover, a forger qualified to produce Epic Weapons and Equipment after becoming an Intermediate Master. In contrast, Basic Master Forgers could only produce Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment, at best. Moreover, they would be limited to forging the most ordinary Dark-Gold ranked items since they'd have such a low success rate when attempting to craft top- tier weapons and equipment of the same rank. While a Basic Master had a chance of successfully producing Epic Weapons and Equipment, in theory, not even the various superpowers would be willing to front the production costs. They'd only tolerate an Intermediate Master Forger's success rates.

Now that Shi Feng was an Intermediate Master Forger, he could finally begin production for the Guardian Puppet. Now, all he needed to do was to stockpile the necessary materials to mass-produce it.

Once he had amassed enough Guardian Puppets, not only would Zero Wing be capable of defending its territories, but it could also afford to relax its guard. The Guild would be able to fight the Evil God's Temple in the fields. Even capturing Ancient Rock City would be possible.

Shortly after Shi Feng received the notification informing him of his subclass's new rank, a second notification reached his ears.

System: Congratulations! You are the first player to become an Intermediate Master Forger in Star-Moon Kingdom.

Rewarding one Silver Forging Treasure Chest and Humanity Reputation +50.

"A Silver Forging Treasure Chest?" Surprise flashed in Shi Feng's eyes as a silver chest, studded with a five-colored gemstone, appearing in his bag space.

At this stage of the game, players were ignorant of Forging Treasure Chests. However, all forging players had dreamed of acquiring one during his previous life.

As the name suggested, Forging Treasure Chests contained items specifically for forgers, such as Secret Forging Techniques, forging designs, and various forging tools. In the past, there had even been rumors that these chests could drop Mysterious Flames.

To forging players, Forging Treasure Chests were far more valuable than ordinary treasure chests. Normally, players had to complete high-ranked quests for their subclass to obtain such a treasure chest, and even then, the quests normally only awarded Bronze Forging Treasure Chests. Shi Feng had only ever heard of the Silver version; he had never seen one personally.

He had never thought that he would receive such a reward for being the first person to become an Intermediate Master Forger in Star-Moon Kingdom.

Immediately, Shi Feng removed the Silver Forging Treasure Chest from his bag and activated Divine Providence.

When Shi Feng opened the treasure chest, the lid slowly lifted. A dazzling, five-colored light escaped the chest, illuminating the forging room.

When the glow eventually faded, two items appeared before Shi Feng. One was a hammer engraved with dark-purple runes, while the other was an old book. When Shi Feng tried to inspect the items, all they would reveal was the word 'Unknown.'.

"These are..." After Shi Feng appraised both items with Omniscient Eyes, he could not help but stare at the items with wide, surprised eyes.

[Magic Refining Hammer] (Dark-Gold Rank) Durability 200/200

Equipment Requirement: Master Forger

Increases production speed by 10%, success rate when producing items below Epic rank by 5%, and success rate when producing items at Epic rank by 2%.

[Hundred Refinement Gold Design]

Hundred Refinement Gold has a certain chance of granting weapons and equipment below Epic rank the Metallic Reinforcement buff, strengthening the item by 10%. Each weapon or equipment piece can only be strengthened once. Players are allowed to equip a maximum of three weapons and equipment with the Metallic Reinforcement buff at a time.

Amazing! It's no wonder why there had barely been any information about Silver Forging Treasure Chests in the past! Shi Feng's eyes glowed as he read the two items' Attribute Panels.

Both items were extraordinarily valuable, especially the Hundred Refinement Gold Design. This would be an excellent item for strengthening his Guild members. He wouldn't even trade it for tens of thousands of gold. Meanwhile, with the Magic Refining Hammer, he would have a slightly higher success rate when forging items.

Following which, Shi Feng notified Aqua Rose and had her collect large quantities of the necessary materials for the Guardian Puppet Meanwhile, he intended to continue his work with the Basic Combat Devices.

Zero Wing urgently needed more of these devices. Miracle had withdrawn from the Zero Wing members who wielded Basic Combat Devices, but it had redirected its focus to whittling down the Guild's forces in the empire.

This situation had given Gentle Snow a massive headache.

Although he had focused on forging the Basic Combat Devices to produce more temporary peak experts, he could only craft around 200 devices each day. He was also expending a ridiculous number of Magic Crystals to do so. If Aqua Rose hadn't already arranged the necessary manpower to mine the Manatite vein, which earned the Guild tens of thousands of Magic Crystals every day, he would've likely emptied Zero Wing's reserved in a single day...

Furthermore, he had to take breaks from time to time. He couldn't perform such high-intensity work without rest.

Unfortunately, each Basic Combat Device could only last 12 hours. If he wanted to ensure the safety of Zero Wing's members during the day, he'd need to equip each Tier 2 expert with two or three devices. In other words, Zero Wing could only maintain around 100 peak experts in the fields.

With how large the Black Dragon Empire was, it was impossible to safeguard all of Zero Wing's members as they operated in various locations. As a result, they had to prioritize a few important leveling maps. Sadly, it was no longer possible to gather Zero Wing's members in a select few maps. Due to Zero Wing's constant expansion, the Branch Guild had too many members. Meanwhile, each map could only accommodate a limited number of players. Overly saturating a map would only impede the Guild members' development.

Hence, Zero Wing sustained significant losses. The Guild's foundation wasn't strong enough, and there was no comparison between the number of experts in Zero Wing and those in Miracle.

Zero Wing had already suffered over 10,000 casualties. In contrast, Miracle had suffered less than 2,000 casualties. The difference was clear. Although Shi Feng had considered sending Fire Dance and the other main force members as reinforcements, Silverwing Town's defenses also required a large number of experts.

This put the Guild in an awkward position.

Fortunately, things had taken a turn for the better.

Even with the various support tools at his disposal, he had only pushed his forging success rate to around 50%, but now that he was an Intermediate Master Forger and had the Magic Refining Hammer, his success rate had risen to 70%. Moreover, his production speed had increased by at least 25%. Overall, he could forge nearly twice as many Basic Combat Devices in the same amount of time.

In other words, he could craft around 400 devices each day, which would allow him to double the patrols in the Black Dragon Empire.

Time passed quickly. After working for an entire day, Shi Feng had finally produced 400 Basic Combat Devices. Among them, 21 were Strengthened Basic Combat Devices.

Suddenly, Gentle Snow contacted Shi Feng, asking, "Guild Leader, have you finished forging the Basic Combat Devices, yet? Our current devices' duration is almost up. If we can't restock, our operations will crumble."

The war with Miracle hadn't been particularly tense, at first, but as time passed, Miracle had dispatched more experts to the empire, becoming a far more formidable foe. Now, Zero Wing was at a complete disadvantage. If the Guild's experts lost the Basic Combat Devices, as well, Miracle would quickly crush them.

"They're done. I'll deliver them to you in a moment," Shi Feng said, chuckling.

"They're done?" Gentle Snow breathed a sigh of relief. "HI recall the patrols now, then."

After Gentle Snow disconnected the call, she contacted the Tier 2 players fighting Miracle's forces and ordered their return. As for Shi Feng, he finished organizing the new devices and called Melancholic Smile.

"Melancholic, how are things on your side?" Shi Feng asked when he saw Melancholic Smile's tired expression.

"Guild Leader, this Magicbreaking Crossbow is too hard to produce. We've only completed 60 crossbows thus far," Melancholic Smile reported, slightly ashamed of her progress.

"Sixty?" After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng said, "That should be enough. Send them to me."

Chapter 1960 - Send Them on Their Way

Black Dragon Empire, Lake Heart City, Zero Wing's Residence:

Due to the war against Miracle, an awkward atmosphere had infiltrated the Residence. While they rested, Zero Wing's members felt an invisible noose slowly tightening around their necks, capable of stealing their lives at any moment.

"Snow, this is bad. We've already suffered over 35,000 casualties. Although the majority of the victims are normal members, everyone is afraid for their lives. Moreover, Miracle has deliberately announced the number of slain Zero Wing members, scaring away potential recruits. Many of our Guild members are considering moving to another country to level up. At this rate, the Black Dragon Empire's Branch Guild will be finished, sooner or later," Zhao Yueru worriedly reported to Gentle Snow.

The strength Miracle had displayed thus far was utterly beyond what they had imagined.

Miracle had already dispatched over 100,000 members to the Black Dragon Empire. Among them, over 20,000 were confirmed expert players. This was simply ridiculous. The average first-rate Guild only had several thousand expert players in total, yet Miracle had sent over 20,000 to harass Zero Wing. That was nearly triple the number of experts in Zero Wing...

To make matters worse, Miracle had rapidly improved the quality of its forces. In the last two days alone, the enemy Guild had dispatched more than 1,000 Tier 2 players to the empire. In contrast, Zero Wing had only slightly increased the number of Tier 2 players under its command.

Furthermore, Miracle had bolstered its forces with plenty of Refinement Realm experts, dispatching more of these players than the number of experts Zero Wing had equipped with Basic Combat Devices. In addition, Miracle still had various Guild Elders, none of which had made a move yet.

No matter how she looked at it, this difference between them and their enemy was impossible to overcome.

"None of those factors are our main problem right now. I've just received a report stating that Miracle's performance has encouraged a number of the empire's powers, and they've begun to move against us," Gentle Snow said, a cold glint flashing in her eyes. "These little powers are normally neutral, but now that they realize that we are slowly losing to Miracle, they are taking advantage of the situation to kick us while we're down. Some have even started to mock us on the forums, demanding a decisive battle in the Ice Jade Forest."

They wouldn't have been forced into such a passive state if their only enemy had been Miracle. While it was true that Miracle had sent over 100,000 players to the Black Dragon Empire, Zero Wing's Branch Guild still had the numerical advantage.

However, Miracle wasn't the only power to target Zero Wing. Many of the empire's large Guilds had pegged them as an enemy as well, boosting Miracle's momentum in this war.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yueru's expression darkened.

If this were true, Zero Wing's Branch Guild in the Black Dragon Empire was on the path to destruction.

"The other Guilds are kicking us while we're down?" Shi Feng, who had just entered the room, frowned as he overheard the two women's conversation.

"Mhm." Gentle Snow nodded as she turned to Shi Feng. "They aren't fools, Guild Leader. They know that we cannot afford to face Miracle head-on, resorting to guerilla tactics. Hence, they're boldly ambushing our Guild members. However, if we dispatch our forces to deal with these interlopers, either they'll notify Miracle or Miracle will hear of it from their spies, setting up an ambush for our reinforcements. We have already lost nearly 3,000 experts thanks to these little powers' interference."

With the Branch Guild's strength, Zero Wing could easily deal with these large Guilds, but they were using themselves as bait to lure Zero Wing's experts in for Miracle.

Zero Wing couldn't simply dispatch a small group of experts as reinforcements since these large Guilds employed 1,000- man teams for their ambushes, yet if their Guild dispatched an equally large force, Miracle would discover their movements immediately and use the opportunity to cripple Zero Wing.

This was the cause of her current headache. Whether Zero Wing fought or not, it would suffer.

"Snow, gather 1,000 experts in the Residence." Smiling, Shi Feng continued, "Since Miracle wants a frontal confrontation and we have enemies who want to act like bait, we'll fulfill their wishes!"

"But..."

Gentle Snow wondered if Shi Feng truly understood Miracle's situation when he issued his command, but before she could dissuade him, he sent her a trade request, dropping a large number of Basic Combat Devices and Magicbreaking Crossbows into the trade window. After taking a look at the total numbers, Gentle Snow was dazed. She couldn't believe her eyes.

Four hundred Basic Combat Devices!

They could dispatch 200 peak experts to the Black Dragon Empire's various maps for an entire day with so many devices.

There were also the Magicbreaking Crossbows to consider. The crossbows' attacks had the power of Tier 3 attacks. A direct hit would guarantee an instant-kill. Even if the target blocked the attack, the impact would still be significant. Most importantly, the Magicbreaking Crossbows could easily be carried and used. Players with these crossbows would be akin to miniature Defense Turrets.

"Understood! I'll see to it immediately!" Gentle Snow abandoned all thoughts of opposing Shi Feng's commands. A seed of anticipation even began to sprout in her heart. She immediately recalled the Tier 1 and 2 experts operating near Lake Heart

Over the past two days, quite a few Tier 1 experts had completed their Tier 2 Promotion quests. Since the Branch Guild in Lake Heart City urgently needed experts, the new Tier 2 players were sent here. As a result, more than 500 Tier 2 experts operated around Lake Heart City right now. Even after deducting the Tier 2 experts that had been sent to protect the Guild's leveling maps, gathering 200 of these experts on short notice wouldn't be a problem.

In no time at all, 200 Tier 2 experts and 800 Tier 1 experts had gathered in Zero Wing's Residence in Lake Heart City. Shi Feng gave each of the Tier 2 experts a Basic Combat Device and distributed the 60 Magicbreaking Crossbows amongst the Tier 1 Rangers, who were particularly skilled with long-ranged attacks.

Once the team was prepared, Shi Feng boldly led his 1,000-man force out of Lake Heart City, heading for the Ice Jade Forest, a resource-rich, Level 60 to 75 map. This was also where Zero Wing's members encountered Miracle's most often.

Meanwhile, in one of the high-class restaurants around Lake Heart City's central plaza...

"Just what is Black Flame thinking? He's actually sending a 1,000-man team to Ice Jade Forest? Doesn't he realize that Miracle and the various large Guilds have occupied that map already?" Yuan Tiexin could not help his surprise when he read the latest report on Zero Wing.

Over a dozen large Guilds had gathered in the Ice Jade Forest, and Miracle had stationed a significant portion of its army in the area. There should be more than 150,000 players in the forest at the moment, and they were all elite and expert players. Even if Zero Wing gathered every one of its players in the Black Dragon Empire, it would fail to wrestle back the Ice Jade Forest, much less a 1,000-man team.

While Yuan Tiexin wondered about Zero Wing's purpose, Shi Feng and his team reached the Ice Jade Forest by Mount.

"Guild Leader, we discovered a team raiding a Field Boss. It has roughly 3,000 players. Two thousand Miracle members are also lying in wait," a Tier 2 Assassin reported to Shi Feng.

"Since we've found them, let's send them on their way!" Shi Feng commanded indifferently.