Hearing Shi Feng's words, everyone thought he had gone insane for a moment. This was a chance to become a Super Guild, how can anybody just give that up without hesitation.
Even Gentle Snow thought Shi Feng was crazy. She had always believed that he wanted to make Zero Wing into a guild that surpasses all others and all he had to do was loan some experts. That fact that he refused is mind boggling.
Yuan Tiexin had to ask for confirmation again, "the Secret Pavilion is willing to give Zero Wing the foundation it needs to take the next step, are you sure you don't want this?"
"That's right, Zero Wing isn't interested." Shi Feng didn't really care for the data the Secret Pavilion would give him. His guild will naturally figure things out as they progressed. Also he had an advantage that no one else has.
He's a reincarnated individual.
In order to unlock more of his brain's capabilities he had read countless studies and research papers, visited many institutions and met with dozens of specialists. He also studied many war and battle theories and strategies from some of the best in the field in order to develop Shadow into a top tier Second Rate Guild.
To top it all off he is also an engineering graduate and kind of stuck with his studies after he graduated. Since knowledge and technology grows at an exponential rate, the things he knows might not be on the same level as the leaders in those various fields of today, but its no trouble at all to hire an expert and work from there.
Even without the Secret Pavilion's help, Zero Wing will still get there. It will only just take a little longer.
The death penalty in the Ancient Gods Secret Realms are much harsher than normal. It varies depending on the rewards for clearing the realm. He wouldn't risk his most powerful experts for something the guild didn't even need.
While Yuan Tiexin was contemplating his next move Shi Feng spoke up, "Zero Wing can lend you 15 experts, but in exchange we require half of the God Crystals that drop and the first pick of the God's chest."
"How do you know about the God's chest?" Yuan Tiexin was surprised to hear Shi Feng mention that. The Secret Pavilion had only learned about the chest very recently.
"I read it in an ancient tome," Shi Feng said. The God's chest is the true treasure of the Secret realm. While the final boss has the chance of dropping a fragmented legendary item or higher, the God's Chest is where the ancient god's legacy resides.
Even though fragmented legendary items were extremely valuable, Zero Wing no longer lacked experts. What he needed to do was to prepare his players for their tier 5 and 6 promotion quest. A tier 5 and 6 player is much more valuable than a fragmented legendary item.
In the past First Rate Guilds had happily traded a fragmented legendary weapon or equipment piece for the ability to nurture a tier 5 player.
With the strength of a tier 5 player and the resources of a First Rate Guild obtaining more fragmented legendary items was doable.
"Please wait a moment, I'll have to discuss this with my guild leader," Yuan Tiexin said. If they can get 15 more experts they will be close to forming a 200 man team for the raid. They can easily fill the remaining slots with independent experts.
But Zero Wing's price of half the God Crystals and the first pick of the God's Chest was just too high. The Secret Pavilion had many items that required God Crystals and Yuan Tiexin would cry if the guild chose a fragmented legendary item from the chest.
After a few minutes of conversation Yuan Tiexin came back and said, "If you can provide us with 20 experts the Secret Pavilion will agree. But we must obtain ten or more God Crystals for you to get half and the item you chose from the God's Chest must be epic rank or lower. If you can agree to those terms we have a deal."
"That won't be a problem, let's sign the contract," Shi Feng said happily. Most of the items in the chest will be unrated anyway, players had to rely on their abilities to identify high quality items.
An ancient god's secret realm used to be a vacation home of an ancient god. The amount of God Crystals in that place should be abadunt. If they were lucky they might collect close to twenty.
If he can get around ten crystals he can upgrade the Seven Luminaries Gauntlets for Snow. Then he can go to the world summit and get more God Crystals to upgrade his Night Walkers Cape.
He's nearing level 150 and close to his tier 5 promotion quest. He wants to go beyond 100% on this promotion quest like his last. But that time was due to dumb luck.
If he wants to reliably get a good score he will need to increase his strength. The best way to do that is to obtain another legendary item. The most reliable and safest way is the NightWalkers Cape.
Upgrading the Abyssal Blade is way too dangerous and he can't do anything about the Heavenly Dragon Breath till level 150+. While he can upgrade the Seven Luminaries Ring with the Holy Grail that would be a waste.
The Holy Grail is his guilds absolute trump card, every time he uses it should be meant to strengthen the guild.
After they signed the contract Yuan Tiexin said, "the raid will begin in one month. Try to reach level 145 by then. The Secret Pavilion will provide the necessary potions and tools but you should also prepare something's as well. The death penalty in the realm is particularly harsh alright." With that the trio left.
The Secret Pavilion really is asking for a lot Shi Feng thought.
The superpowers peak experts are now reaching level 139. Aside from Zero Wing main force members asking anyone to reach level 145 in one month is absurd.
It could take a week or two just to gain one level these days even for tier 4 players. Also after reaching level 140 trying to get to the next level is like attempting to climb up a mountain on a wheelchair.
Not only are level 140+ monsters a massive headache to deal with, they don't reward as much exp as they should. Trying to gain one level in the 140s can take up to three weeks of nonstop grinding. This might seem like the system acting like a jerk but in reality it is meant to help players.
Similarly as when players reach level 100, upon reaching level 150 their game characters will undergo a drastic change. This will make combat much more realistic and therefore more difficult.
If they went from level 140 to 150 in one shot, it could make a person sick. The long period of staying in the 140s will temper players bodies and minds for that drastic change.
When the three left the office Yuan Tiexin turned to White Soul and asked, "Soul what wrong with you? You don't seem like your usual self."
Purple Jade was also curious to know and looked at White Soul. Despite being only a year older than her White Soul had actually reached the Domain realm before her. He was also a berserker and used a two handed greatsword. She would spar with him from time to time.
"Oh, it's nothing, I just noticed that many of Zero Wing members are very well equipped," he said.
Yuan Tiexin's eyes lit up, "why didn't you say so! This information will be valuable, spit it out, what are they wearing!"
The higher ups in the Secret Pavilion know that White Soul has gained a very special identification. The skill is called Forgers Eyes. It's ability is only slightly better than most advanced identification skills in general, but it could determine the rank and details of any weapon or equipment. He could even see these details when a player wears their equipment and a black cloak.
The only downside is that it doesn't work on special epic equipment, magic weapons and fragmented legendary or higher equipment when players wear them.
Seeing Yuan Tiexin's interest White Soul said, "Well Uncle Yuan, I couldn't see a single detail of Black Flame's items."
Yuan Tiexin was astounded, Soul's identification skill can even see through an epic ranked black cloak, so what he said can mean one of two things.
Either Shi Feng has an item that can even block Soul's identification skill or all the items he wears are fragmented legendary rank, special ranked, or higher. That's just absurd.
"I'm sure he just has an item that can block your skill. With that man's capabilities it's not too far fetched," Purple Jade said. She instinctively couldn't believe that Shi Feng had nothing but special ranked or stronger equipment on him.
"Jade is right. So what about the other members," Yuan Tiexin asked.
"I forgot to check them out, I was just too shocked by Black Flame." White Soul knew how difficult it is to get such powerful gear. He had taken part in an inferior legendary quest the guild had discovered a few months back but couldn't complete due to lack of strength.
Only after the guild had gained 200 tier 4 players did they attempt to do the quest. After weeks of painstaking effort, tons of resources and manpower, and 85% of their experts dying, did they manage to complete the quest. Luckily they were rewarded with a pair of fragmented legendary boots, and even now the Secret Pavilion's grand elders are fighting over who it should go to.
That's why he had been so shocked at the possibility of Shi Feng's equipment. It makes you wonder just how powerful the Sword King truly is. "If my suspicions are accurate then I need to talk to aunty about that certain matter, involving Shi Feng."
When the Secret Pavilion group left in came Ninth Heaven's Melody and the other experts from the Fairy Country.
"Welcome to Zero Wing, I've heard you have a problem you would like us to handle. Please tell me about it," Shi Feng said smiling.
They had been prepared to be plunged in an overwhelming aura but to their surprise the room seemed very peaceful and comfortable. Even Shi Feng, the person they were expecting to have an overbearing nature felt very approachable.
It was weird that the room was filled with multiple beauties, but the men found that very nice as well.
The mood was very relaxing, for a minute they felt embarrassed about trying to show off their strength so Zero Wing wouldn't look down on them. They didn't know what to say.
Only Melody acted like normal, "hello Guild Leader Black Flame, it's Great to meet again."
Hearing Melody talk the other representatives quickly introduced themselves as well, afterwards the half elf named Strong Clove explained the situation.
"Guild Leader Black Flame, thank you for meeting with us. You see we've come to Zero Wing to request your strength."
"Fairy Country is very far from any of Zero Wings territories. Do you plan on expanding and want Zero Wing's protection?" Shi Feng asked
Strong Clove answered, "no that's not it. I'm sure you're familiar with the Death God workshop. They have always been a plague of sorts to the various guilds of Fairy Country, but after the opening of the planar passages the workshop has become overwhelmingly strong. All of our guilds are suffering at their hands."
"The Death God workshop was small before but no First Rate Guild or lower could handle them. Even the superpowers of Fairy Country would avoid trouble with the workshop."
When the other worlds connected to the main continent the workshop recruited many powerful individuals and underwent an earth shattering transformation. Their member count still can't compare to what Second Rate guilds have but every person in the workshop is an expert to be feared.
"Now Death God does whatever they want. They would assault guild members and independent players, robbing them of their valuables. They also attack guild residences and steal things like seven luminaries crystals and other treasure whenever they feel like."
Strong Clove's frustration was clear for all to see. "The major powers of Fairy Country are being treated like cattle. Death God would let them build up their strength and riches before taking it away.The only group that the Death God workshop don't mess with is the five Super First Rate and Super Guilds in Fairy Country."
"We would like for Zero Wing to eradicate Death God, in exchange our guilds will sell you the resources of Fairy Country at half off for a certain period. We also provide a significant amount of coins or credits. Of course this is negotiable."
"I see. But may I ask why did you come to Zero Wing and not another superpower that's closer to you? Wouldn't it be more efficient," Gentle Snow asked.
Thoughtful Rain and the others were curious as well. asking to wipe out another organization is no simple matter. It requires tons of resources and manpower, and the task get more difficult the further they are from each other.
A half tiger man next to Clove spoke up. He sighed then said, "we have gone to our local superpowers, but their demands are ridiculous. They all asked for a large percentage of our guilds shares and many other resources. They are no different from Death God."
Clove continued, "that's right, but for some reason Death God hasn't been messing with Ninth Heaven. After a little investigation we've discovered that Ninth Heaven is under Zero Wing's protection and Death God seems to be afraid of your guild. That's why we asked Guild Leader Melody to set up this meeting."
The other neutral race members turned to Melody and in response she could only give an awkward smile. Because Ninth Heaven is free from Death God's harassment, her guild had become a First Rate guild. Even the Fairy Country's superpowers avoid trouble with her guild and it's all thanks to Zero Wing.
Clove and the others are also her friends, she couldn't sit back in prosperity while she watched her friends slowly die. That's why she urgently asked Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo for a meeting with Zero Wing. She was hoping they could do something about this problem.
After a moment of thinking, Shi Feng spoke up, "Zero Wing can help you with your problem but I don't want the payment you spoke of."
The neutral race players looked curiously at Shi Feng. Clove then asked, "what is it that you will like Guild Leader Black Flame?"
Shi Feng stated his demands. "I want 20% each of your lands. 5% must be golden lands or lands with high potential."
At first the neutral race players looked at Shi Feng with shock then that shock slowly turned to anger. Even Melody, Thoughtful Rain, and Blue Bamboo were surprised. They didn't expect Shi Feng's appetite to be this big.
They clearly saw the anger on the players from Fairy Country.
A half bearman spoke up, "see I told you it wasn't a good idea to come here! Zero Wing is just like the other superpowers, taking advantage of us lowly players when we're down!"
"Big brother Clove, they're just like Death God, a bunch of bandits! Let's not waste our time here."
The room's atmosphere started to turn tense, Melody wanted to diffuse the situation but she felt like she had no right to. Her guild wasn't facing the same problems as them.
Shi Feng didn't let their comments get to him, in fact he sympathized with them. He had lost count of the number of times First Rate guilds or superpowers had taken advantage of Shadow when they were in a pinch. It's one of the reason he he acts so stubborn in front of superpowers.
But he still felt that his demands were reasonable, kind in fact.
"Wait," Strong Clove let out a chilling wave of mana, this mana didn't do any type of damage but it actually calmed his allies' minds and pacified their anger.
This slightly impressed Shi Feng, this man called Strong Clove has excellent mana control. It should be nearing the advanced standard.
Seeing that his companions had calmed down, strong Clove turned his attention back on Shi Feng. He inspected the man and didn't notice a bit of the arrogance and superiority he typically sees from superpowers' upper echelons.
He asked, "Guild Leader Black Flame, can you explain your reasoning for that price?"
At first he had been angry like his companions, the frustration of not being able to control your own fate was nearly getting to him. The demands of these superpowers made him want to bang his head on a wall, but Shi Feng felt different. That's why he's willing to hear the man out.
Shi Feng calmly explained his reasoning. "I know what I'm asking for may seem like a lot, but it is mainly for your benefit."
"How is taking our territory for our benefit! You ju-" before the half tiger girl could continue Strong Clove stopped her.
Shi Feng went on. "You're not asking for Zero Wing's protection but us to eradicate Death God. I'm sure you know that Death God is now backed by several major corporations, one of them being a top ten international corporation. If they found out you hired us to do such a task not only will Zero Wing face their wrath but your guilds as well. Do you think you are capable of handling the ire of these corporations, especially a top ten international corporation?"
The players from Fairy Country couldn't offer a rebuttal to Shi Feng's words. They were aware of this problem from the beginning but had no solution.
"I'm sure you realize that not even Super Guilds won't take this lightly, that's part of a reason for their insane conditions for their help. But if Zero Wing builds a foundation in Fairy Country and starts developing nicely, then it's possible that those corporations will focus only on us, sparing your guilds."
"While our price is high, I can assure you Zero Wing is worth it. Well at the end of the day the choice is yours to make, take some time to think about it." Shi Feng told the group.
"Thank you Guild Leader Black Flame, we will definitely consider it and make sure to get back to you." Strong Clove said.
"That's fine. I'll have Flying Shadow go with you to scout the situation." Shi Feng said
"Flying Shadow?" When Melody and the other neutral players heard Shi Feng they were confused. They all did their research on Zero Wing and knew who Flying Shadow was, but the young man is nowhere in sight.
"Ok guild leader. I'll take a team with me and give you a report by the end of the day."
Before any of them could question Shi Feng's sanity, they heard a voice in the corner of the room which shocked them. They saw an indifferent youth standing idly in the corner. If you focused hard enough it almost seemed that a red dot was on his forehead as if he was flicked in that location a while ago.
"What an incredible concealment technique!"
"Not even in Fairy Country is there an assassin with such skill!"
"He's not even the Guilds number one assassin. Is Zero Wing a guild of monsters?"
They were all neutral race players so their senses were better than most human players, and they were more sensitive to human players' life auras, but yet they didn't detect a hint of Flying Shadow.
Their fear and awe for Zero Wing grew slightly.
Flying Shadow followed the rest then left the office. As they left Violet Cloud asked "guild leader, do you really intend to take on those corporations?"
Liang Jing looked at him with worry too. To make sure that other companies will still do business with them after that trap they set for those corporations she had been running around like a headless chicken. If the guild does something like that again, she may die from exhaustion.
Shi Feng laughed, "you guys worry too much. Major corporations invest in multiple entities. They might be upset that we exterminated Death God, but they won't go too far over it."
"Besides the Gemini Union; one of the top ten corporations supporting Death God is one I've wanted to meet for a while now. This is the perfect chance to get their attention."
Gentle Snow, Youlan, and Liang Jing all looked at Shi Feng curiously. Why would he want to meet with one of the world's top ten companies, does he have some kind of connection with them?
"Anyway that's not important now. The situation in the Orc Empire needs to be handled. Snow, Fire, Violet, you three will come with me."
The Four then took out return scrolls then teleported to Silver Wing City. As they came out of the city lord mansion, they noticed an eerie sight that made their skin crawl.
"What is all this?"
"Just looking at that gives me goosebumps!"
Right now the sky was covered in a black fog, but to these players who had extraordinary physiques looking closely they could tell this was no fog.
An uncountable number of winged worm-like creatures were clustered together blocking out the sun.
What's going on in the Orc Empire, Shi Feng wondered.