Chapter 2233 – New Powerhouse

As the system announced the compet.i.tion’s victory, silence descended on the entire venue. Only after some time did the audience snap out of their daze.

“What?! Zero Wing won, just like that!?”

The spectators couldn’t believe their eyes as they stared at the words hovering above the battlefield.

Although Zero Wing had killed all of Starlink’s top combatants, Zero Wing’s army had suffered. After such a long fight, Zero Wing’s top combatants should have exhausted much of their Stamina and Concentration. If they had continued this battle, they would’ve likely collapsed from exhaustion.

Moreover, Zero Wing’s 300-man vanguard only had a little over 100 survivors remaining. Among them, less than 70 were Refinement Realm experts. In contrast, although Starlink had lost all of its Domain Realm experts, it still had over 200 Refinement Realm experts. Overall, Zero Wing had still been at a disadvantage.

Most importantly, Starlink’s main army had crushed Zero Wing’s main army to a point where it couldn’t even be considered an army anymore. The situation wouldn’t be easy for Zero Wing to salvage.

And yet, Starlink had taken the initiative to admit defeat…

“Starlink surrendered?” Delicate Blood watched Lu Xingluo, who had already returned to the Divine Colosseum’s main hall, in astonishment. She had never expected this outcome.

Starlink was the Dark Night Empire’s overlord and a Guild that developed on both the eastern and western continents simultaneously. The Guild had countless experts under its command, yet Starlink had surrendered so strangely…

“Hahaha! I told you that the outcome wasn’t set in stone! Zero Wing has won!” Unyielding Heart exclaimed, grinning at Delicate Blood.

“Don’t celebrate so soon. Starlink might have lost, but there is a high chance that it only surrendered to keep its true strength hidden,” Delicate Blood said, clicking her tongue. “If Starlink accepted defeat in such an important compet.i.tion to hide its strength, it must have something ma.s.sive in store.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that Zero Wing won,” Unyielding Heart said, chuckling. “Every player in the empire was watching this match. Now that Zero Wing has won, the powers that previously doubted the Guild’s strength will begin to side with Zero Wing.”

Unyielding Heart didn’t know what Starlink was planning, but the fact that Zero Wing had won this 10,000- versus-10,000 match was undisputable.

Today, the Dark Night Empire entered a new era. Starlink would no longer have full control over the empire. Instead, two powerhouses would contest for control. The various major powers that had hesitated to pick a side would swarm toward Zero Wing.

The Dark Night Empire was very large, and although it appeared to be under Starlink, Unyielding Soul, and Crimson Emperor’s control, the three superpowers only commanded the empire’s core areas. There were plenty of small, obscure cities that were free of these three superpowers, controlled by upstart powers.

Corporations around the world were actively trying to invest in G.o.d’s Domain, and while some invested in existing Guilds, others had chosen to form their own. As a result, upstart powers were secretly rising all over G.o.d’s Domain. Naturally, the Dark Night Empire was no exception. Meanwhile, these upstart powers had been annexing small Guilds and adventurer teams across the empire, and by this point, they were no weaker than first-rate Guilds. Some were even stronger.

Since these upstart powers had their own agendas, they weren’t willing to submit to Starlink. That being said, they didn’t dare oppose the superpower, either. As a result, they had remained in an awkward position. However, now that Zero Wing had defeated Starlink and proven itself to be just as powerful in the Dark Night Empire, these upstart powers would eagerly ally themselves with Zero Wing to work against Starlink.

Delicate Blood had no response to offer Unyielding Heart. Instead, she s.h.i.+fted her gaze to s.h.i.+ Feng, who had just left the battlefield.

It seems I’ll have to report this to the old commander, Delicate Blood thought as she watched Zero Wing’s Guild Leader.

Unyielding Heart hadn’t been wrong.

A victory was just that. From today on, the Dark Night Empire had a new powerhouse—Zero Wing.

Meanwhile, in one of the Divine Colosseum’s second-floor VIP rooms, Happy Art could not believe her eyes as she stared at the outcome of this compet.i.tion.

“Guild Leader, Zero Wing…won,” Happy Art muttered, dazed.

She had insisted that Zero Wing was an excellent Guild, but she hadn’t actually expected it to defeat Starlink in this compet.i.tion. The difference between the two Guilds was just so ma.s.sive.

“I can see that,” Melancholy said, smiling at Happy Art’s dazed expression. “Zero Wing has certainly surprised me. With such strength, we’ll have a much better chance of securing the fortress. I really must thank you for your recommendation and reports. I will leave our cooperation with Zero Wing to you. Also, I want you to tell Black Flame something for me; others will always envy those who stand out. Even Super Guilds will be envious of Zero Wing’s incredible development speed.”

Melancholy didn’t particularly care about Zero Wing’s other experts, but the strength its vanguard had displayed in this battle had surprised him. Now, he, more or less, understood why s.h.i.+ Feng had been so confident.

Zero Wing’s growth rate was too frightening. It had grown from an obscure Guild in a kingdom into Starlink’s rival in such a short time. Moreover, it had successfully nurtured so many powerful experts. There was definitely a secret behind Zero Wing’s success, one that even tempted Melancholy.

“I understand,” Happy Art said, nodding.

While everyone discussed the compet.i.tion’s outcome, s.h.i.+ Feng, who had just left the battlefield, was puzzled.

He had been prepared to order a retreat into the forest, employing guerilla tactics against Starlink’s remaining forces. Not only would his strategy compensate for Zero Wing’s numerical disadvantage, but it would also give his players time to recover their Stamina and Concentration. With their level and Attribute advantage, they could whittle Starlink’s survivors down.

He had never expected Lu Xingluo to give up so quickly. s.h.i.+ Feng found the situation strange since it didn’t fit with Lu Xingluo’s usually rash behavior.

Just forget about it. In any case, we’ve won. s.h.i.+ Feng shook his head as he dismissed the issue.

What mattered the most was the reputation boost Zero Wing would gain with its victory. Although Zero Wing had established a foothold in the Dark Night Empire, it hadn’t made any developmental progress yet, even with the benefits Stone Forest City provided. Starlink was simply far too strong.

However, Starlink’s prestige in the empire would suffer, while Zero Wing’s would soar. After this, Zero Wing could finally absorb the empire’s talented players.

If a Guild wanted to become a true superpower, it needed enough talented players and experts.

Although Zero Wing had already surpa.s.sed first-rate Guilds in this aspect, it wasn’t a match for superpowers. This compet.i.tion had made that much obvious. The difference between each side’s Refinement Realm experts had been ma.s.sive. There was no need to mention other aspects.

To gain more Refinement Realm experts, Zero Wing needed to recruit a large number of talented players and experts, but relying on Star-Moon Kingdom’s player population wasn’t enough.

Most importantly, Zero Wing had exposed too much of its strength during this compet.i.tion. Superpowers would start to become interested in the Guild. s.h.i.+ Feng needed to increase Zero Wing’s overall strength as quickly as possible.

Thinking up to this point, s.h.i.+ Feng’s gaze drifted toward the 10,000 Ancient Gold he had won from Lu Xingluo.

Ten thousand Ancient Gold Coins!

Even for Starlink, this amount was extremely difficult to acquire. If s.h.i.+ Feng hadn’t signed a contract with Lu Xingluo before the compet.i.tion, Lu Xingluo would likely have gone back on his word, even if his reputation would take a hit for it. Ancient Gold Coins were immensely difficult to acquire. Most independent experts on Dragonheart Island only earned Ancient Copper, with an extreme few earning Ancient Silver Coins. Only superpowers were strong enough to earn Ancient Gold Coins.

It’s about time I pay Dragonheart Island a visit, s.h.i.+ Feng thought, smiling.

He had a.s.sumed that he’d only earn so many Ancient Gold Coins after fulfilling his agreement with Thirteen Thrones, but now that he had them in hand, he could secure a foothold on Dragonheart Island.

Later, s.h.i.+ Feng left the Dark Night Empire’s affairs to Aqua Rose while he made his way to Dragonheart Island.