Chapter 720 - Marquis

s.h.i.+ Feng fell silent at Blackie’s question.

He had never expected the Flower of Seven Sins to take action so quickly. Not only had the organization made its move several days earlier than estimated, but their targets had also not been Zero Wing’s main force or upper echelons.

The loss of EXP from the Dark G.o.ds Legion’s annihilation was a small matter. However, it would not be easy to recover the lost equipment.

“Blackie, tell Aqua and the others that they are already being targeted immediately and try to stay within city limits as much as possible. Have them focus on improving their techniques in the Divine Colosseum. We’ll deal with the Flower of Seven Sins once I return,” s.h.i.+ Feng said after giving it some thought. The best decision right now would be to have Aqua Rose and the others avoid the executioner’s blade. With so many Refinement Experts, Aqua Rose and the others would have no chance of victory in their current state. “Right, also have Melancholic gather some materials for me. I’ll need them once I return.”

In G.o.d’s Domain, with players’ current strength, it was impossible to commit murder in the cities or Stone Forest Town and get away with it. Although the Flower of Seven Sins was powerful, they would throw away their lives and suffer in jail for a time if they killed another player within a city.

The Flower of Seven Sins would most likely avoid such a raw deal.

If they wanted to deal with the Flower of Seven Sins, their best option was to wait for his return and set up a trap for the organization’s a.s.sa.s.sins. Only then would they have a chance of victory. Anything else would just add bodies to the growing mound of corpses.

“I understand.” Blackie nodded solemnly. Although he was frustrated, this was all he could do right now.

After the call ended, s.h.i.+ Feng busied himself, refilling the gaming cabin’s Nutrient Solution. He needed to give it his all and complete this Epic Quest of his as soon as possible.

Now that he was halfway through the quest, he could not turn back to seek for help. The penalty for failing an Epic Quest was no laughing matter.

I’m taking too much time to kill the Ghouls. I need to work faster. After s.h.i.+ Feng logged into the game, he opened the imperial capital’s map and searched for the location with the highest density of monsters. Although the area around the Palace is crowded, it’s not the most populated area. Generally, the Trade Area has the most NPCs.

After deciding on a destination, s.h.i.+ Feng activated Wind Rider, leading his two Tier 3 Demons as he charged towards the Thunder Beast Empire’s Commercial District.

---

At the same time, something was happening in Star-Moon Kingdom.

The news about the near annihilation of Zero Wing’s Dark G.o.ds Legion had already appeared on Star-Moon Kingdom’s forums, and many players chatted about this latest drama.

“Aren’t there a ton of experts in Zero Wing’s Dark G.o.ds Legion? How did they get wiped out?”

“I heard they were done in by a group of independent players.”

“I used to think that Zero Wing was very powerful. It seems that they only amount to this much.”

“Indeed. Others keep saying how powerful Zero Wing is and how the Guild has so many experts. In the end, a group of independent players slaughtered them. As expected, everything was just a bunch of rumors.”

…

As news about Zero Wing’s defeat spread, the Guild’s reputation began to sink. As a result, many players who had intended to join Zero Wing began to hesitate. Meanwhile, in Stone Forest Town, many Guilds had begun to move covertly when they heard this news. They were all preparing to deal with Zero Wing.

---

“Hahaha! Open Source Corporation is truly formidable! They managed to annihilate Zero Wing’s Dark G.o.ds Legion so quickly. This should be a major blow to the Guild.” Galaxy Past could not help but laugh when he received the news. “Purple, do you know who did it?”

“The Flower of Seven Sins!” Purple Eye said with a serious expression.

As an expert who had been nurtured by a Super Guild, Purple Eye knew quite a bit about the terror of the Flower of Seven Sins.

Although she was quite happy that the Flower of Seven Sins targeted Zero Wing, she could not help her fear upon seeing the organization’s frightening power. On the off chance that a major power hired the organization to target the Star Alliance, they would not laugh.

“It’s no wonder they wiped out the Dark G.o.ds Legion. It seems that OSC really went all-out this time.” Galaxy Past similarly s.h.i.+vered when he heard the name of the Flower of Seven Sins, his joy vanis.h.i.+ng. “Since the Flower of Seven Sins has begun to strike, we won’t have anything to worry about. Notify Red Feather and the others. Both inside and outside of the Stoneclaw Mountains, tell them to kill every Zero Wing member they meet!”

Previously, the Star Alliance had been afraid of an ambush by Zero Wing’s top fighters. Hence, the Guild had dispatched mostly elite members to the Stoneclaw Mountains, with only a few experts to tag along.

Now that they had the support of the Flower of Seven Sins, however, things had changed. In terms of top combatants, the Flower of Seven Sins possessed an overwhelming advantage. Now, rather than fear Zero Wing’s experts, their experts could strike. That way, the Flower of Seven Sins could obliterate all of them in one-go, burning Zero Wing’s prestige to the ground.

“I’ll get it done.” Purple Eye left to put the plan into action.

---

As the Star Alliance’s experts began to move, Zero Wing, which had dominated the Stoneclaw Mountains, was suddenly at a disadvantage in the Regional Dungeon, its members having to take precautions.

“Vice-Leader Aqua, many Guild members have begun complaining about our inaction. If you keep having us train in the Divine Colosseum and ignore the situation in the Stoneclaw Mountains, I’m afraid that morale will start to fall.”

“Vice-Leader, why don’t you let us deal with those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds from the Star Alliance? The Dark G.o.ds Legion will put fear into their hearts, and the Alliance won’t dare set foot in the Stoneclaw Mountains ever again.”

Many of Zero Wing’s core members were annoyed with the Star Alliance’s actions, eager to partic.i.p.ate in the battles in the Stoneclaw Mountains.

“Rejected. I understand your sentiments, and I feel the same, but we will only fall into the Star Alliance’s trap by doing so. Guild Leader has already ordered us to put everything aside until his return,” Aqua Rose said, shaking her head. “As for the Stoneclaw Mountains, everyone should just go elsewhere to level up for now.”

Previously, roughly a dozen of the Guild members had attacked without authorization in the hopes of teaching the Star Alliance a lesson. In the end, they died before they had even arrived at the transfer gate to the Stoneclaw Mountains.

The dozen or so main force members had been defenseless. Moreover, the enemy even had fighters at the time.

Launching a counterattack right now would be the equivalent of gifting their equipment to their enemies. For now, they could only give up on the resources in the Stoneclaw Mountains.

---

Meanwhile, inside the Ruins of the Imperial Capital…

After luring and killing monsters in the Trade Area for more than a day, s.h.i.+ Feng finally managed to kill 5,000 Ghouls, reaching Level 38 and becoming a Marquis of the Thunder Beast Empire.

However, s.h.i.+ Feng was more excited about the Mastery Books he had obtained. Although the drop-rate in the Trade Area was much lower, the 5,000 Ghouls s.h.i.+ Feng killed had yielded him a total of 31 Bronze Mastery Books.

After killing 5,000 Ghouls, s.h.i.+ Feng had killed practically every Ghoul in the Trade Area.

The Ghouls in the imperial capital were different from the monsters in the outside world. They did not resp.a.w.n after they died, so there would be one Ghoul less with each kill. Hence, no one else would ever grind here for Mastery Books again.

With so many Mastery Books, I wonder just how many Mastery Points I’ll obtain? Hopefully, my luck won’t be too bad. s.h.i.+ Feng then took out a Mastery Book from his bag and clicked to use it.