Chapter 1853 – Returning to White River City

Looking at the Flame Core in Shi Feng’s hand, Cola and the others fell silent, incredulity flashing in their eyes.

“Guild Leader, are you for real?!”

They had all witnessed and experienced the Flame Demon King’s might. Only Cola had been able to stand against the Boss for any length of time. The rest of the team had been forced to flee to buy their Guild Leader the time he needed.

While they considered the possibility of Shi Feng fighting such a Boss, they knew that it would only be a matter of time before he died as well. As for Shi Feng slaying the Flame Demon King, that was simply impossible.

However, the Flame Core before them was proof of the Swordsman’s claim. Moreover, the raging inferno that had consumed the valley was gone; not even a spark remained.

For a time, they were utterly baffled.

“I have killed the Flame Demon King, but only its weakened version,” Shi Feng explained, smiling.

With the explanation, the team could, more or less, accept the fact that Shi Feng had killed the Boss. Otherwise, they would’ve suspected Shi Feng of abusing some bug in the game.

“Right, Cola, how far are you from Level 58 right now?” Shi Feng asked as he turned to the MT.

“Level 58?” After taking a look at his experience bar, Cola said, “After my recent death, I’m 73% away from Level 58.”

“What about you, Summer?” Shi Feng asked as he turned to Alluring Summer, who wore an exquisite set of light-blue robes. “How far are you from Level 59?”

“I’m down to 6% of Level 58. I’ll need quite a few days before I reach Level 59,” Alluring Summer said.

“Guild Leader, what’s going on?” Aqua Rose asked, giving Shi Feng a strange look. She didn’t understand why he suddenly asked about those two’s levels.

“It’s nothing. You two are a little low-leveled right now. Once we return, stop raiding Dungeons and come level with me. Violet, you’ll join us as well,” Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought

Now that he had the Scorching Wind Set and Sins of Thunderfire Set, it would be a waste to let them collect dust. Although the Level 70 equipment requirement was quite high, it wasn’t a problem without its solutions.

Both Cola and Alluring Summer had equipment that reduced items’ level requirements, though only by five levels. However, he had Requirement Gemstones, which could reduce the level requirements by another five levels.

Once they equipped the Requirement Gemstones, Cola and Alluring Summer could wear items that were ten levels higher than them. Once they donned the set equipment, it would increase the overall strength of the Guild’s main force by a significant margin.

“We’re low-leveled?” Alluring Summer blinked in astonishment at her own level.

She already had the highest level in the team. Even in an empire, she’d be the undisputed number one player on the empire’s Ranking List

However, the comment didn’t dampen Alluring Summer’s excitement in the least. After all, she was going to level up alongside Shi Feng.

“Guild Leader, we’ve rested already. Let’s hurry and head back,” Cola said impatiently after hearing Shi Feng’s intentions.

Their teammates looked on with a little envy. When leveling up with Shi Feng, not only would they rise in levels with astonishing speed, but they’d also improve their combat standards quickly.

Following which, everyone used Return Scrolls to teleport back to White River City.

Once the returned, Shi Feng had Aqua Rose organize a team to mine the Source Rre vein, only selecting trustworthy players.

He then contacted Melancholic Smile, instructing her to select trustworthy Advanced Lifestyle players from the Candlelight Trading Firm for the Philosopher’s Hand. These players would be required to sign an extremely strict contract, since containing the secret of the Philosopher’s Hand was of the utmost importance. He could not afford for the public to discover its existence. He’d only be able to relax after Zero Wing could properly protect itself. Otherwise, Zero Wing would definitely follow in the Kingdom’s Sword’s footsteps.

While Shi Feng rode an advanced horse carriage towards the Adventurer’s Association to promote Zero Wing to a 4-star Guild, Gentle Snow contacted him.

“Guild Leader, big trouble!” Gentle Snow said anxiously. “Not long ago, there was a system announcement in the Ore Empire, stating that Blackwater had captured the Crimson Flame Fortress!”

“The Crimson Flame Fortress? Isn’t that a transit hub to the Ore Capital City? They actually managed to capture it?” Shi Feng had already investigated the Ore Empire’s various fortresses. Each fortress varied in its importance. The more important it was, the more Ores it would contain.

The Crimson Flame Fortress was a crucial transit hub for the Ore Empire. Players heading for the Ore Capital City or other kingdoms or empires through the Ore Empire would have to pass through this fortress.

Because of this, the Crimson Flame Fortress was invaluable to the Ore Empire. According to player reports, over 700,000 Ores were stationed there, including four Mythic Ores. One of these four Mythic Ores even had a special Bloodline, which made it far stronger than ordinary Mythic monsters. In addition, the Crimson Flame Fortress was protected by powerful war weapons and defensive walls.

Current players shouldn’t be capable of raiding the Crimson Flame Fortress, even with Beast Emperor’s help.

“We don’t know how they managed to do it exactly, but based on the current reports, Blackwater has already dispatched a large number of players to garrison in the Crimson Flame Fortress. Blackwater has also officially announced the fortress’s grand opening to the public on the Ore Empire’s official forums. In addition, Blackwater has placed a bounty on every Zero Wing member.

“Right now, players gain one point for killing a normal member, five points for elite members, and 50 points for core members. These points can then be traded for Coins or weapons and equipment. In addition, depending on how many points a player has collected, they can get discounts for the Crimson Flame Fortress’s teleportation arrays. Players will receive a 10% discount for 500 accumulated points, 20% if they accumulate 3,000 points, and 30% if they accumulate 10,000 points. Those with over 10,000 points will even enjoy the benefits of a Blackwater core member.

“Shortly after this forum post was uploaded, a large number of players swarmed towards the Crimson Flame Fortress. The Ore Empire is in chaos. I doubt it will be long before this news reaches players in the neighboring kingdoms as well. Even more players will join this madness. I’ve also heard that a large number of Dark Players have set their sights on our members.”

As he listened to Gentle Snow’s report, Shi Feng’s expression darkened.

“They’re being so ruthless?” Shi Feng also could not help his surprise at Blackwater’s generosity.

To secure a share of the pie known as God’s Domain, the Blackwater Corporation had invested heavily into the Blackwater Guild. That investment enabled the Guild to offer its members even greater benefits than other superpowers. As a result, many expert players had sought to join the Guild, especially when they had learned of its core member benefits. The benefits were so generous that even large Guilds’ upper echelons envied Blackwater’s core members.

However, becoming a core member in Blackwater wasn’t easy. It wasn’t enough to be an expert player. One also needed a list of noteworthy achievements. Moreover, Blackwater limited the number of core members the Guild could have at a single time.

With how many expert players Blackwater had, it was easy to imagine how difficult it was to become a core member. Even so, a vast number of players did everything they could to achieve that status.

Now that Blackwater offered those same benefits for kill points, how could players ignore the temptation?

Moreover, by doing so, Blackwater could scout for true peak experts. Even if Blackwater couldn’t convince these peak experts to bear the responsibility of a core member, the Guild could persuade these experts to become allies.

“Guild Leader, should we limit our Guild members’ activity within the Ore Empire?” Gentle Snow suggested.

“No!” Shi Feng shook his head. “We’re already limited to a small area. If we reduce that further, our members in Silverwing

Town won’t be able to level up. Since Blackwater has already declared war against us, then we’ll prepare for war as well! Post an announcement on the Ore Empire’s forums, stating that Zero Wing will offer the same point-system as Blackwater.”

“But...Blackwater has too many advantages over us. Even if we establish a similar system, I’m afraid that very few people will side with us,” Gentle Snow said worriedly.

“Relax. I have a surprise for Blackwater,” Shi Feng said, smiling.

Shi Feng disconnected the call as the carriage arrived before the Adventurer’s Association. After alighting from the carriage, he walked into the building, brimming with confidence.