Chapter 2539 – Abyssal Blade’s Fragment

Cold Spring Forest, Stone Forest City:

With Troubled Times dead, s.h.i.+ Feng returned to Stone Forest Town with the h.e.l.l Legion. He didn’t linger in the Ten Saints Empire for a moment longer.

The moment h.e.l.l Rush and his comrades entered Stone Forest City, the sight that greeted them left them stunned.

Stone Forest City was a Guild City, and normally, only players visited Guild Cities in Level 100-plus neutral maps. NPCs rarely visited such Guild Cities, yet Stone Forest City was full of them. There was even a long line of NPC merchants waiting to enter the city at the main entrance. Calling the city an NPC city wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

h.e.l.l Rush was also stupefied when he saw the number and quality of players visiting Zero Wing’s city. He spotted several dozen Tier 3 players with a casual glance around the main street…

Although the various superpowers had over a hundred Tier 3 players at this stage of the game, and some even had several hundred, Tier 3 players were still a rarity as a whole. No matter where they went, they attracted a lot of attention.

However, Tier 3 players in Stone Forest City were just as common as ordinary, Tier 2 experts…

“So, this is Zero Wing’s Guild City?” Thunder Beast muttered, looking around him in astonishment.

The h.e.l.l Legion had a total of 300 Tier 3 experts, which was a staggering number no matter where they went, but it was nothing in Stone Forest City. From what he could see, there were easily more than a thousand Tier 3 experts wandering the city’s main street alone.

Even Blue Frost and Zero Wing’s Dark Den members were stunned. Shelters in the Dark Den didn’t even have more than 100 Tier 3 experts at this stage. They were still highly sought after in the Dark Den.

And yet, even a random street on Stone Forest City had more Tier 3 players than any of Dark Den’s Shelters…

“Blue, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d, you kept us in the dark this! If we knew our Guild had such a magnificent city, we would1 ve joined Zero Wing long ago!” a Tier 3 Cursemancer, who had just joined Shelter One’s Zero Wing, scolded the Vice Guild Leader as he admired the crowd of Tier 3 players.

The Cursemancer estimated that Stone Forest City easily had multiple times more Tier 3 players than all of the Dark Den…

Ordinary players might not care how many Tier 3 players a town or city had, but it was a significant matter to someone who played a management role in Shelter One.

Every player’s value was different, especially in towns and cities. A city could benefit from a Tier 3 expert far more than from a Tier 2 expert, particularly when it came to resources. Tier 3 experts simply had access to more and better- quality resources than Tier 2 players because they could explore locations that were too dangerous for the weaker players.

In a city full of Tier 3 experts, players unwittingly added resources to the town, even if they weren’t a member of the ruling Guild, which, in turn, attracted more experts.

Another benefit came in the form of leveling.

G.o.d’s Domain’s mainstream players had already reached Level 100 and beyond, and after Level 100, players needed far more EXP to reach each subsequent level. Players also needed to defeat much stronger monsters. Thus, they would need Tier 3 players’ help if they wanted to level up quickly.

This was also why the Dark Den’s players preferred to develop in powerful Shelters.

With how many Tier 3 experts wandered Stone Forest City’s streets, these players leveling speed would be incredible. The Dark Den’s various Shelters couldn’t even imagine how fast these players reached their next level.

If the Dark Den’s players knew that Zero Wing ruled a Guild City like this, every one of them would immediately try to join the Guild.

Blue Frost, however, did not have a good response for the Cursemancer’s complaint. Although he had always known that Zero Wing was extraordinary, he had never dreamed that it was this powerful…

However, Blue Frost and his companions didn’t know that many superpowers had sent their experts to Stone Forest City precisely because of s.h.i.+ Feng’s recent performance in Demon City. In fact, the Ten Saints Empire’s superpowers had been some of the first. Not only had they sent a large number of scouts, but they had also sent quite a few Guild upper echelons.

Because of this, Stone Forest City’s player population had reached an all-time high, and there was an unprecedented number of Tier 3 experts in the city.

Meanwhile, three Level 108-plus Tier 3 experts enjoyed Stone Forest City’s specialty cuisine in a high-cla.s.s restaurant’s top-floor VIP room not far away from Zero Wing’s Residence, quietly observing s.h.i.+ Feng’s group as they entered. Two of the three were Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade from the Secret Pavilion, while the third was a young woman in her mid-twenties.

If s.h.i.+ Feng had known about this gathering, he’d be surprised.

Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade were showing the woman deference. Even as she spoke to her companion, Purple Jade’s eyes glowed with reverence and respect. Although she was the Secret Pavilion’s number one genius, she displayed no arrogance before the woman…

“So, he’s Black Flame? He really is something. It’s a pity he has offended Demon’s Heart. With his presence and Stone Forest City’s a.s.sistance, it wouldn’t have been long before Zero Wing had joined the realm of G.o.d’s Domain’s superpowers, otherwise,” the young woman with long, icy-blue hair said as she watched s.h.i.+ Feng disappear into Zero Wing’s Residence, smiling softly.

“Are you certain that you won’t reconsider, Vice Guild Leader Dawn? Stone Forest City is now the number one city in the Cold Spring Forest and several neighboring Level 100 neutral maps. If you step forward, I’m sure Demon’s Heart will hold back against the city,” Yuan Tiexin respectfully pleaded with the young woman.

The woman before him was Dawn Jade, and he had nothing but respect for her. Dawn Jade was most likely to succeed the Secret Pavilion’s Guild Leader in the future, and her current position was only second to the Guild Leader’s.

“Before his a.s.sault on Demon City, I could understand why the Guild Leader had such an optimistic opinion of Zero Wing, but Elder Yuan, you know times have changed. The dark powers have far more influence over G.o.d’s Domain than they used to, especially Demon’s Heart, which stands at the peak of the many dark powers. But Black Flame mercilessly killed someone Flaming Light was protecting, and the various dark powers think this is a good opportunity to set an example for G.o.d’s Domain’s various superpowers,” Dawn Jade said. Sighing, she continued, “Zero Wing has provoked far too many superpowers. Based on recent reports, aside from Mythology, Flaming Light has begun to negotiate a partners.h.i.+p with Beast Emperor, who currently occupies the Ore Empire. Not even the Guild Leader can prevent Zero Wing’s fall at this point. Black Flame only has himself and his stubborn nature to blame. I doubt even Netherworld Empire’s h.e.l.l Legion can save his Guild.

Your people should prepare, as well. I’m sure it won’t be long before Demon’s Heart makes it move. But don’t worry too much. I’ll think of a way to retain our shares of Stone Forest City.”

Once Dawn Jade finished speaking, she made a cutting gesture with a hand, summoning a Spatial Gate. She then walked through the gate, vanis.h.i.+ng from the restaurant.

Silence dominated the room for a long time after the young woman’s departure.

“Uncle Yuan, what should we do? If the Vice Guild Leader won’t help us, we won’t have enough forces to defend Stone Forest City, even if we gather all of our players,” Purple Jade asked.

Few knew of the true terror of Demon’s Heart. Once the Dark Guild took action, Cold Spring Forest would become a nest for Dark Players.

Flaming Light possessed the means to open a portal to a Dark World, allowing the Otherworld’s players to flood onto the main continent. This was the true reason that even Super Guilds were afraid of Demon’s Heart.

Only, Flaming Light wanted Demon’s Heart to establish a stable foothold in G.o.d’s Domain, so he hadn’t actually used this card. Once he did, he’d lose it, and he’d have to wage war against whichever superpower or superpowers his actions affected.

Unfortunately, Flaming Light wouldn’t hold back against Zero Wing now that s.h.i.+ Feng had damaged Demon’s Heart’s reputation so severely. With the Guild’s current strength, it would find threatening Zero Wing quite difficult. Thus, the chances of Flaming Light activating the portal in Cold Spring Forest were very high.

The Dark World was far stronger than many other major Otherworlds, and it easily had a player population that could rival two or three empires. Moreover, every player in the Dark World was a Dark Player. Once Flaming Light activated the portal in Cold Spring Forest, Stone Forest City would have to face a storm of Dark players. Its chances of surviving were practically non-existent. In fact, the portal’s activation would also have an unprecedented impact on the nearby kingdoms and empires.

“I don’t know. Let’s just take one step at a time,” Yuan Tiexin replied, and he couldn’t help but glance in s.h.i.+ Feng’s direction, rolling his eyes.

Rather than quietly developing Zero Wing, s.h.i.+ Feng had gone through G.o.d’s Domain, making one enemy after another. Now, even the Secret Pavilion could save the Guild. They could only watch as Zero Wing burned to the ground.

During Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade’s meeting in the nearby restaurant, s.h.i.+ Feng had made his way to the second underground floor in Zero Wing’s Guild Hall.

After entering the core room, he activated the room’s defensive magic array and sealed off the entire floor. He then carefully pulled a pitch-black blade from his bag, placing it on the central platform.

The blade was none other than Rebellious Thunder’s Cruel Darkness. Initially, s.h.i.+ Feng hadn’t paid the Magic Weapon Rebellious Thunder had dropped much mind. He had been utterly focused on killing the man at the time.

However, while the Black Dragon had bombarded Demon City’s defensive magic array, he had offhandedly collected Cruel Darkness from its previous wielder’s ashes. When he had picked the Magic Weapon up, he had discovered that Cruel Darkness resonated with his Abyssal Blade, which he had found endlessly exciting.

Two weapons only resonated in G.o.d’s Domain when both were a part of the original weapon. In other words, they were weapon fragments.

As a Magic Weapon, the Abyssal Blade was already ridiculously strong, powerful enough to rival Fragmented Legendary Weapons in its current state. Hence, s.h.i.+ Feng had been flabbergasted to learn that the Abyssal Blade was only a fragmented weapon, not a complete one. If that were true, how strong would the complete weapon be?

Would it become a Fragmented Legendary Weapon?

Or a Legendary Weapon?

With this astonis.h.i.+ng discovery occupying his thoughts, s.h.i.+ Feng had slain Troubled Times before hurrying back to Stone Forest City.

This should be safe enough. Hopefully, the fusion doesn’t cause too much of a commotion.

After examining Cruel Darkness, s.h.i.+ Feng unsheathed the Abyssal Blade, and as a result, he received a system notification.

System: The Abyssal Blade has discovered a fragment of the same origin. Do you wish to fuse the fragment with the Abyssal Blade?

“Fuse them!”