Chapter 1888 – Undead Knight Dark Night Empire, Dark Night City:

When Shi Feng and the nine experts Aqua Rose had carefully selected left the Teleportation Hall, they were greeted by a crowded street. Many of the players among the crowd were independent experts.

Many of these independent players were at Level 55 or above and very weH-equipped, with quite a few pieces of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment. As if they were on a pilgrimage, these independent players ventured towards Dark Night City’s business district. At a glance, there were easily more than 5,000 of these players.

Why are so many experts here? Shi Feng was surprised by the number of experts on the street.

While it was true that a large number of experts tended to gather in empire’s capitals, he had never seen so many independent experts in an imperial capital before. Not even the Four Major Empires’ capitals were this popular.

As Shi Feng wondered about the reason for this gathering, he heard shouting from a short distance away.

“Players wishing to class-change to a Tier 2 Traveling Bard, head to Starlink’s Residence to apply as soon as possible! The Guild will only accept applications for another 30 minutes!”

Upon hearing the announcement, the independent experts began to charge down the street.

“Starlink is so stingy. Despite controlling the path to the Sea of Trees, it’s only recruiting 200 non-Guild players.”

“I know, right? How could 200 slots be enough for so many people? I’ve heard that players had begun to line up outside of Starlink’s Residence ten hours ago. There are already more than 100,000 players in line right now. The most infuriating part of it all is that instead of recruiting based on individual strength, Starlink is recruiting based on one’s skill with magic arrays. I’m a Berserker; I almost never have to deal with magic arrays. Even magical class players rarely learn that stuff. That subclass can’t help improve one’s combat power, and you have to waste a lot of time researching arrays.”

“However, I’ve also heard that if you become a Traveling Bard, you instantly get access to the same treatment as Starlink’s core members.”

“If you don’t want to compete in Starlink, you can do so over at Unyielding Soul. Shortly after Starlink began its recruitment, Unyielding Soul did the same for the Traveling Bard class-change. However, it only has 100 slots available. Though, like Starlink, you’ll receive core-member treatment if you complete the class-change.”

“I really didn’t expect a Tier 2 class-change to require knowledge on controlling magic arrays. If I had known about it earlier, I would’ve studied magic arrays a while ago.”

The players on the streets chatted as they watched the swarm of players rush towards Starlink and Unyielding Soul’s Guild Residences, discussing the two Guild’s recruitment standards. They also expressed their regrets about not learning to control magic arrays earlier.

Starlink is recruiting players with knowledge on magic arrays? Shi Feng frowned a little when he overheard the nearby players’ conversations. Does Unyielding Soul have a leak?

Aside from himself and Aqua Rose, only Unyielding Soul’s members knew about the method of increasing players’ success rate during the Traveling Bard’s Class-change Quest at this stage of the game.

Unless Starlink had discovered it as well, its recruitment conditions wouldn’t have been so specific. Magic arrays were usually only useful to Lifestyle players; the benefits of manipulating magic arrays would be minuscule at best to combat players. Moreover, that was limited to magical classes. Knowledge regarding magic arrays was basically useless to physical classes.

While Shi Feng and his group traveled toward the Purple Night Plaza, the agreed meeting place, players crowded every inch of the plaza. Tens of thousands of players from Unyielding Soul, Starlink, and Crimson Emperor surrounded the area, and every one of these players wore full sets of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment at minimum. Some of these Guild players even carried Level 50 Dark-Gold Weapons. The scene made the lingering independent players envious.

Meanwhile, only these three Guilds’ members were allowed to enter the Purple Night Plaza right now. Outsiders could only watch from a distance.

As Shi Feng and his group approached, Mu Lingsha, who had been waiting for them for quite some time, led them to an area Unyielding Soul’s members had cordoned off, instantly attracting many players’ attention.

“Who are those people? Didn’t they say that the three Guilds have reserved the entire plaza?”

“Based on their Guild Emblems, they don’t seem to be from Unyielding Soul.”

“I think I’ve seen that Guild Emblem before... Right! That’s the Guild Emblem for the Guild that has garrisoned in the Ore Empire’s Secret Stone Fortress! That’s Zero Wing’s Emblem!”

“But why are Zero Wing’s members here? Didn’t they say that the three main Guilds weren’t even giving the Sea of Trees’ slots to players from first-rate Guilds?”

“Zero Wing is pretty impressive. It actually gained Unyielding Soul’s favor and earned some slots for itself.”

“Tch. So what if Zero Wing got some slots? It’s not like they’re guaranteed to complete the class-change.”

As Shi Feng led his team into the Purple Night Plaza, his nine guildmates grew nervous. This was the first time they had encountered such a large group of experts.

Of the tens of thousands of players in the plaza, all would be rare experts in a kingdom. With so many in one place, they radiated an immense pressure. Experiencing such a phenomenon would likely be rare for first-rate Guilds’ upper echelons.

Moreover, Unyielding Soul and Starlink’s members stared each other down in the center of the plaza. A chilling atmosphere lingered between the two Guilds. As for Crimson Emperor, their players seemed slightly more relaxed, but although the Guild was acting like a spectator, it would take action if given the opportunity...

“Bright Dawn, I had truly never thought that you would betray the Guild to join Starlink. Just what benefits did they offer you?” Unyielding Heart hissed, rage flashing in his gaze as he glared at the indifferent man beside Lu Xingluo. The indifferent man carried a bone greatsword across his back.

When Shi Feng saw the indifferent man, he was stunned.

This man was none other than Bright Dawn, Unyielding Soul’s Third Vice Guild Leader. Bright Dawn was also a Tier 2 Undead Knight, given the title ‘Undead Swordsman’ by the Secret Pavilion.

In terms of strength, Bright Dawn was on par with Unyielding Heart. He had been one of Unyielding Soul’s three main pillars.

As far as Shi Feng knew, Bright Dawn hadn’t betrayed Unyielding Soul in the past, yet he had done so now. This wasn’t the history he remembered...

In response to Unyielding Heart’s question, the indifferent man revealed a calm smile and responded, “You should be fully aware of Unyielding Soul’s situation. Rather than fall with the ailing Unyielding Soul, isn’t it better to join the rising Starlink? Moreover, the Starline Corporation has offered me far more than Unyielding Soul. Why don’t you join me? With your fame and strength, the Starlink Corporation won’t offer you any less than it has me. As for breaching your contract, the corporation will handle everything.”