Chapter 2128 – True Strength?

As the Mad Beast Legion members on the hill outside of Silverwing Town used Return Scrolls and disappeared, the players in the town were in an uproar.

“What?! That Mad Beast Legion is so scared it’s running away?!”

The spectating players in Silverwing Town could not believe their eyes as they stared at the now-deserted hill.

They had witnessed the legion’s power personally. Every one of the legion’s members was basically a monster, easily capable of taking on tens of thousands of enemies. The Mad Beast Legion had already proven its prowess by killing more than 10,000 Zero Wing members, including many expert players.

Yet, such a monstrous legion had fled from Zero Wing’s main force members...

Of course, these spectators didn’t consider the Mad Beast Legion’s retreat incomprehensible, either. Fire Dance had displayed horrific strength, slaying the legion’s members as if they were Common monsters. She had fought like some God on a mortal battlefield.

However, although Fire Dance was very strong, she was still only one person, and whatever she had used to increase her power should have a time limit. Once she lost that boost, the Mad Beast Legion was more than capable of continuing its assault against Zero Wing, and they’d definitely receive more reinforcements from Starlink. Even if Fire Dance’s boost lasted longer than expected, the legion could gradually wear her down and kill her once their reinforcements arrived. And yet, the legion had decided to retreat after only suffering minor losses. This turn of events confused the spectating independent players in Silverwing Town.

The Mad Beast Legion had previously boasted that it would kill any player that exited Silverwing Town’s gates, yet these players had run with their tails between their legs. This choice certainly dragged the legion’s reputation through the mud.

Only the various major powers’ experts understood why the Mad Beast Legion had chosen to retreat.

Unlike the general populace, they understood the implications of Fire Dance’s ability to kill an expert like Ink Rain so effortlessly. Numbers wouldn’t matter before a player like Fire Dance; sending in any number of experts that were weaker than Ink Rain would be futile. She could slay those experts as easily as killing low-level monsters. Fire Dance’s destructive power on a battlefield was akin to a strategic missile.

Even if Fire Dance had activated a Berserk Skill and her peerless strength had a time limit, she could end countless players’ lives in that time. Furthermore, she could simply retreat to Silverwing Town before the Skill’s duration ended, and the Mad Beast Legion wouldn’t be able to touch her. After waiting for the Cooldown to end, she could repeat the process. The legion would only continue to suffer if it insisted on standing its ground.

Hence, cutting their losses and retreating was the wisest decision Starlink’s players could make.

“I really hadn’t expected Zero Wing to have such a trump card remaining. Starlink will likely find it more difficult to cut off Silverwing Town, now.”

“That’s right. Unless Starlink has a player that can contend with Fire Dance, it’d only be asking for trouble by trying to suppress the town.”

The strength Fire Dance had displayed even deterred the various major powers for a time. They abandoned their original plans to interfere with Zero Wing’s profits.

Setting aside the invincible monster that was Fire Dance, they couldn’t afford to provoke Cola and Zero Wing’s other main force members.

At the same time, these powers realized how important expert players truly were to a Guild. With enough strength, a single player could defend an entire town. After this battle, the various major powers began to put more emphasis on nurturing their Guild experts.

Most of the independent players in the town had also gained a new understanding of expert players. This battle had utterly altered their mindsets.

In the past, experts’ usefulness had been limited to small-scale combat and Dungeon raids, but now, expert players had proven that they could influence a town’s prosperity.

Meanwhile, Yan Tianxing and the others, who stood behind Fire Dance, could not help their elation after the battle.

Not only had this battle restored confidence to Zero Wing’s members, but it had also broken Starlink’s hold on Zero Wing in neutral maps. Zero Wing no longer had to worry about suppression from other powers.

“She had actually hidden her strength during the Auction Arena?” Yi Luofei stared at the Mad Beast Legion corpses strewn around Fire Dance in shock.

She had assumed that the addition of the FFF adventurer team would be a great help to Zero Wing. As far as she was concerned, aside from Shi Feng, Zero Wing didn’t have any capable experts. Fire Dance and the others’ combat standards weren’t particularly high; they only relied on their weapons and equipment to defeat superpowers’ peak experts. However, this advantage would only become less significant as players progressed further in the game.

On the other hand, she and Yan Tianxing were different. They were bona fide peak experts. Not even superpowers could afford to underestimate them, and they’d be far more of an asset to Zero Wing than Fire Dance and her companions.

However, it seemed that she had been severely mistaken.

As she looked at Fire Dance, Yi Luofei got the feeling that she should do everything in her power to avoid becoming this woman’s enemy. In Yi Luofei’s opinion, Fire Dance might even be stronger than Shi Feng. The female Assassin had killed a monster like Ink Rain so easily, after all, and she hadn’t even used a single Skill during the exchange.

“Zero Wing really is unfathomable,” Yan Tianxing said, a bitter smile forming on his face. “However, this definitely means that I won’t have to listen to Lotus’s mocking anymore.”

Lotus had visited him multiple times, trying to persuade him to leave a hopeless Guild like Zero Wing while the Mad Beast Legion had harassed Silverwing Town. However, with the strength Zero Wing had just displayed, Lotus wouldn’t likely have anything else to say.

Once the Mad Beast Legion had retreated, news of the events quickly reached God’s Domain’s various powers. The game’s superpowers were particularly interested in the battle.

Starlink had been very serious about eliminating Zero Wing from the game, even taking more measures to prevent Unyielding Soul from sending reinforcements. However, despite the superpower’s wrath, Zero Wing had successfully defended Silverwing Town, and Starlink had suffered a minor loss. The outcome was truly unexpected.

However, the various superpowers recognized that Zero Wing had reached its limit.

Although Zero Wing had indeed defended Silverwing Town and its reputation, it hadn’t resolved its predicament of being unable to develop in neutral maps.

God’s Domain’s future was already clear for everyone to see. Those who ruled the game’s neutral maps would rule the game. If Zero Wing lost the ability to develop in neutral maps, it would never realize its dream of becoming a superpower. Moreover, Starlink still suppressed Zero Wing financially, chipping away at the Guild’s funds and resources. Zero Wing couldn’t survive long under Starlink’s financial assault with its foundations.

The various major powers developing in neutral maps knew this, and although Zero Wing’s strength was awe-inspiring, they weren’t afraid of the Guild. The various major powers continued to contest for the territory and resources Zero Wing had left behind.

Only independent players remained ignorant of Zero Wing’s unchanged fate, eagerly applying to join the Guild. When news of Zero Wing’s latest victory reached Star-Moon Kingdom, even more players rushed to join its ranks. Youlan, who was responsible for managing the Guild’s affairs, didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

The growing interest to join Zero Wing was certainly a benefit, but the increased member count would elevate the Guild’s expenditures.

Normally, Youlan wouldn’t have minded a sudden influx, but Starlink was trying to suppress Zero Wing in various aspects. Keeping the Guild afloat was already incredibly difficult. New members would only exacerbate the problem.

“Guild Leader, are you sure we should let these players join Zero Wing? Our current funds are already...” Youlan gave Shi Feng a confused look when he told her to accept the new applicants.

“Of course. A Guild cannot need players if it wants to develop further. Moreover, if we refuse to accept applicants, the Guild’s reputation will suffer,” Shi Feng said, nodding.

“But our funds...” Youlan whined.

“Relax. We’ll receive the funding we need shortly,” Shi Feng said as he gazed at the City Hall before him. “We’ll see who outlasts whom!”

He had been worried about Starlink’s suppression before he had killed the Lord of Fire, but now, he wasn’t concerned about the superpower’s aggression in the least. As long as he connected White River City and Stone Forest Town’s Auction Houses, he could just sit back and count his money.

After saying so, Shi Feng disconnected the call and entered White River City’s City Hall.