Chapter 2331 – Times Have Changed

When someone had mentioned a Mysterious-Iron Sailboat, silence descended on the port as everyone stared intently at the approaching fleet.

“A Mysterious-Iron Sailboat?”

“Impossible!”

To small Guilds and adventurer teams, sailboats were unattainable treasures, but that wasn’t the case for the major powers on Starfall Island. Ordinary sailboats were nothing special, and Bronze Sailboats, at most, would earn a surprised glance.

For major powers, it was only a matter of time before they had their own Bronze Sailboats. Many of them already had clues and information that would lead to Bronze Sailboats, and as long as they had the strength and were willing to put in the time and resources to follow these clues, it wouldn’t be difficult to secure a Bronze Sailboat.

Otherwise, so many powers wouldn’t have acquired their own by now.

However, Mysterious-Iron ranked Sailboats were an entirely different story.

Not one power had found a single clue pertaining to Mysterious-Iron Sailboats’ locations, much less acquired one. Although there was only one rank between a Mysterious-Iron Sailboat and a Bronze Sailboat, the difference between the two boats’ strength was like the difference between heaven and earth.

A Bronze Sailboat had slightly stronger defense and firepower than an ordinary sailboat, but at Mysterious-Iron rank, its defense would undergo a qualitative transformation. At that point, a sailboat could block Great Lord ranked sea monsters’ attacks without losing any durability.

As players explored higher-level sea zones, they’d encounter Great Lord ranked sea monsters more frequently.

Coming across two or three Great Lords at a time might not be an issue, but even a Bronze Sailboat would lose some durability during a fight with five or six Great Lords. Without multiple ships, long journeys at sea would be impossible, as would exploring dangerous sea zones.

“Crap! It really is a Mysterious-Iron Sailboat!”

“A Mysterious-Iron Sailboat! Our Guild could practically move unhindered through a Level 100 sea zone if we had one of those!”

“Amazing! Whose fleet is that? They actually sent a Mysterious-Iron Sailboat to lead it!”

The various major powers couldn’t help their shock and curiosity as they watched the gradually approaching Storm Sailboat. Aside from the up-and-coming superpower, Giant’s Heart, they hadn’t expected another power with the ability to field a Mysterious-Iron Sailboat to participate in this meeting on Starfall Island.

The Storm Sailboat glided to a stop by one of the port’s docks while the representatives quietly chatted amongst themselves.

As Immortal Light’s members stepped onto the dock, many players quickly recognized Sinned Heart. His arrival caused an instant sensation at the port.

“Sinned Heart? That Mysterious-Iron Sailboat belongs to Immortal Light?”

“Impossible! How can a Guild like Immortal Light have a Mysterious-Iron Sailboat? Our Guild has thoroughly investigated Immortal Light. That Guild doesn’t even have a Bronze Sailboat, much less a Mysterious-Iron Sailboat!”

The various major powers that had cooperated with the Freedom Alliance for a while knew, more or less, details about their competitors, especially the powers that were on friendly terms with the Freedom Alliance’s upper echelons. Since Immortal Light received 10% of the Freedom Alliance’s resources, the other powers had paid particularly close attention to the Guild. Thus, all of these representatives knew how powerful Immortal Light was as a Guild.

However, none of them knew how to rationalize the Storm Sailboat they saw before them.

“No, that’s not it! I don’t see Immortal Light’s Guild Emblem on the sailboat!” It wasn’t long before one of the players noticed something amiss. “Moreover, the person beside Sinned Heart looks like Zero Wing’s Ye Feng!”

The declaration inspired everyone to take a closer look at the player accompanying Immortal Heart’s Guild Leader.

“It’s true! That’s Zero Wing’s Ye Feng! If that’s the case, then the Storm Sailboat must be Zero Wing’s.”

“Zero Wing is stronger than even the rumors have made it out to be. It actually possesses a Mysterious-Iron Sailboat.”

“It seems Immortal Light has come prepared!”

“So what if Immortal Light has Zero Wing’s support? Strength is everything on the ocean, and Zero Wing is only a pseudo-superpower on land. How could it possibly contend with naval Guilds like ours?”

The various representatives sneered at Shi Feng and Immortal Light’s members.

The status quo wasn’t the same as it had been at sea. In the past, a powerful ship had been a significant asset to a power. After all, the various naval powers barely had enough ships to form a full fleet back then. However, even third- rate powers had their own fleets by now, not to mention first-rate powers.

“So, that’s the rumored Zero Wing? I hadn’t expected it to have a Mysterious-Iron Sailboat as well. It’s no wonder why it dared to provoke War Blood on Dragonheart Island,” a tall, handsome man some distance away from the port stated.

The man wore Giant’s Heart’s Guild Emblem, and a hint of interest flashed in his eyes when he saw the Storm Sailboat.

“A Mysterious-Iron Sailboat is quite powerful, but unfortunately, it’ll at most offer some convenience when grinding sea monsters. A single Mysterious-Iron Sailboat isn’t enough to affect the power struggle at sea,” a blue-haired woman added indifferently. “Moreover, Zero Wing has provoked Starlink, which Old Undying has nurtured. Its future is quite bleak.”

Although Zero Wing’s Storm Sailboat had indeed caused quite a commotion at Starfall Island’s port, it was only a minor interlude to the Freedom Alliance’s announcement regarding how it would redistribute its resources among its partners.

Following which, the Freedom Alliance’s members guided the various representatives to a reception room in the Freedom Alliance’s Residence on Starfall Island. Once everyone had arrived, the Freedom Alliance’s twelve commanders entered and took their seats on the stage at the front of the room.

These experts’ standards had clearly improved since the last time Shi Feng had attended one of the Freedom Alliance’s meetings. This was especially true for the First Fleet’s representatives, who sat in the center of the stage. Although the First Fleet had only sent two representatives, both were apex experts. The middle-aged man, the First Fleet’s commander, was particularly powerful.

The First Fleet’s commander only looked to be around 40, but Shi Feng could sense a wild energy deep within the man. He felt like a veteran mercenary that had seen countless battlefields before. He was also a Level 97 Berserker.

A young man with short hair stood behind the commander. The Assassin youth radiated a chilling aura, and even Sinned Heart, who sat quite a distance away, felt an intense pressure from this youth.

These two people alone would be more than enough to give the various superpowers a huge headache. It was no wonder why Silent Entropy, Passing Monarch, and the Freedom Alliance’s other commanders had been overtaken.

“Since everyone’s here, I’d like to begin with discussing our resource redistribution,” Flame Robber, the First Fleet’s commander, said as he swept his gaze over the gathered players. “The resources under the Freedom Alliance’s control have changed, and more powers have begun to target us. Hence, we have decided to reexamine our current partners’ strength to ensure the safety of our future benefits.

“The method we will use to determine your strength is simple. We have stored some precious, non-bag space materials on Starfall Island, and we’d like you to deliver these materials to the Chaos Sea’s Ghost City. As long as you arrive safely with the materials, you will pass the test.”

The various representatives’ expressions twisted when they heard Flame Robber’s announcement. Even Sinned Heart’s expression turned dark.

God’s Domain’s dark forces ruled over the Chaos Sea, and the players in the area were lunatics who only thought of slaughter. Dark Players in the Chaos Sea were particularly powerful; some of them could even control sea monsters, using them as tools for transportation and combat. In the Chaos Sea, even an expert fleet would suffer tremendously, and some would simply be annihilated. Most of the various superpowers tried to avoid the sea zone at all costs.

If Immortal Light, a Guild that was barely considered a first-rate power on land, tried to sail through the Chaos Sea, it was almost guaranteed that the journey would be a one-way trip.

“Flame Robber must’ve lost his mind, Big Sis Leaves! He actually set up such a brutal test! If we agree to this, we’ll lose over 80% of our partners, including many of his own supporters! What is he thinking?” a Level 96 female Cleric asked from her seat with the Fourth Fleet’s members. As far as she was concerned, Flame Robber’s decision might weaken the other fleets’ influence in the Freedom Alliance, but it would also weaken First Fleet’s.

“No, he hasn’t gone mad. I’m afraid that Passing Monarch will get hit the hardest with this decision,” Hundred Leaves, the Fourth Fleet’s current commander, said as she watched Passing Monarch, who wore a similarly ugly expression. At the same time, she couldn’t help but applaud Flame Robber’s determination. “Passing Monarch’s fleet consists of independent adventurer teams, none of which have any background or support from major corporations. Passing Monarch has gone to great lengths to strengthen Immortal Light as his supporter, but after this redistribution, he’ll lose the Guild. If that’s the case, Passing Monarch might also lose his position among the top five fleets in the Freedom Alliance during the next resource competition.”

While most of the Freedom Alliance’s fleet commanders celebrated Passing Monarch’s misfortune, the tall, handsome man from Giant’s Heart, who sat with the other representatives, shifted his gaze toward Shi Feng.

“What a pity. I had hoped I would get to see the power of a Mysterious-Iron Sailboat, but it seems that won’t be the case,” the handsome man said, sighing.

“I told you that a single ship means nothing at sea,” the blue-haired woman said, rolling her eyes. “Let’s get moving. Once the sun sets, the Chaos Sea will become far more dangerous.”

The handsome man fell silent and followed his companion out of the reception room.

The other first-rate powers began to move, as well. They might not be a match for the various naval superpowers and wouldn’t survive a direct clash with the Chaos Sea’s Dark Players, but if they were careful and lucky, they could pass this test.

“Brother Ye Feng, it seems this trip has been a waste of your time. I hadn’t expected the Freedom Alliance to set up such a vicious test. However, I still intend to try. The Chaos Sea is the dark forces’ territory, but with how vast it is, I might be able to avoid Dark Players if I’m lucky,” Sinned Heart said, gritting his teeth. The Freedom Alliance’s resources were too important for Immortal Light to give up. He had to take this risk and try to pass the test.

“You don’t need to take everything on yourself, Brother Heart. Zero Wing is Immortal Light’s major shareholder, and this matter involves resources that my Guild requires. Naturally, Zero Wing will participate as well,” Shi Feng declared, shaking his head. He then glanced at Flame Robber, who had stood and was about to leave the room.

Flame Robber had certainly played his cards well. Unfortunately, he had chosen the wrong opponent.