Towards the west side of the Silverleaf forest, a team of over one hundred elite players was currently searching the vicinity as they moved. The majority of these players were Red Names, creating a very eye-catching sight. Moreover, none of them tried to hide their presence—which made it very easy to discover them.
"Uncle South Wolf, Zero Wing has played a significant role in the war between Ouroboros and World Dominators this time. We also can't overlook the combat power Zero Wing displayed. It is definitely not as simple as it appears in the video recordings of their battle. If Zero Wing had not suddenly ambushed World Dominators from behind, World Dominators would not have lost so overwhelmingly.
"Now, World Dominators in White River City is only an empty shell of its past self. Blood Halberd is also continuously lambasting Lone Tyrant with a barrage of curses. However, since Lone Tyrant does not dare to become hostile with Blood Halberd, he has no choice but to suffer in silence. Black Flame is truly decisive with his actions.
"Not only did he eliminate World Dominators from White River City, he has also severed a large portion of Dark Star's support. In addition, the post he made before declaring war on Dark Star has led to the war between Zero Wing and World Dominators receiving widespread attention. Using only 3,000 players to defeat a first-rate Guild like World Dominators, with such a brilliant battle record, Zero Wing has instantly risen to fame from this single battle.
"Killing three birds with one stone. Even I am starting to admire this person named Black Flame."
The commentary of the female Summoner walking beside South Wolf on Zero Wing's battle was eloquent. She spoke as if she knew every little detail of Feng's plan.
This girl was around 20 years old. She had a pair of beautiful eyes that was both bright and dazzling, making it difficult to discern the girl's thoughts. Her cherry lips were currently tilted up slightly, while her eyelids were curved into small crescents. The girl exuded a calm and mysterious aura. During the few occasions when she giggled, she would also reveal a noble and elegant temperament that drew the attention of others despite themselves.
"Youlan, you are Underworld's female Zhuge. How can you uplift others' prestige while downplaying your own worth? That Black Flame simply got lucky. He definitely isn't as smart as you make him out to be." South Wolf felt that Youlan overestimated Black Flame, who South Wolf believed was simply an arrogant and despotic person. Meanwhile, Zero Wing's victory in the war this time and the subsequent trouble that visited Dark Star were simply coincidences. There was nothing worthy of their concern.
"Maybe I am overthinking things," Youlan laughed, having no intention of refuting South Wolf's words.
"Although Zero Wing has risen to fame with this single battle and they have also managed to cause us some trouble, their core team is still trapped in this Silverleaf Forest. We have them completely surrounded now. Even if Ouroboros and the rest of Zero Wing rush over here right away, they will still be too late to change anything. As long as Zero Wing's core team is annihilated, the Guild itself will receive a fatal blow. At that time, we'll see how Black Flame can continue acting rampantly," South Wolf scoffed proudly.
Zero Wing had only managed to garner the reputation it had today due to their continuous monopoly of the top ten positions on the Ranking List of White River City. The eight experts of Zero Wing were known by all, and they still occupied the top eight positions on the Ranking List until this day; nobody had managed to threaten their positions all this time. If these eight players died today, they would definitely fall out of the top ten. Subsequently, Zero Wing would also lose the fame and prestige it possessed.
"I guess this could be considered a flaw of Guild Leader Black Flame. Players have always worshiped the strong. Although occupying the top position on the Ranking List would bring him great benefits, if he fails to maintain this position, it would instead become a sword that will stab him in the heart." Youlan nodded.
In the middle of South Wolf and Youlan's conversation, an Assassin suddenly spoke in the team chat, "Brother South Wolf, I've found them."
Assassins were not only proficient in the art of assassination, they were also proficient in the art of tracking. Hence, Assassins were definitely the best choice when hunting for players.
"Good! Even the heavens are aiding me! I will bring an end to Zero Wing! Blade, immediately inform Guild Leader Tyrant of this and have them come quickly. We'll go ahead and delay Fire Dance's group. The moment everyone arrives will be their time of death." South Wolf laughed. "It is a pity Ye Feng isn't with them. Otherwise, I will definitely make him regret making a mockery out of Underworld. Regardless, I will use the deaths of Zero Wing's core team members as a greeting gift to him."
"Ye Feng? Uncle South Wolf, are you referring to the god-ranked expert of White River City, that Ye Feng?" Youlan suddenly grew interested.
"What dog's fart expert? If he had not hidden himself, I would have already made him kneel and beg for forgiveness by now," South Wolf said in disdain.
Youlan entered a deep contemplation after hearing South Wolf's words. Suddenly, a smile appeared on her face and a hint of joy glimmered in her eyes. It was as if she had found a new toy to play with. Laughing lightly, she said, "First, there is Black Flame, and now, there is Ye Feng, a god-ranked expert. Zero Wing is truly an interesting existence."
---
Just as South Wolf's group was closing in on Fire and the others, Feng sat hidden within the dense treetops with his jaw resting on his hands, waiting for South Wolf's group to approach him.
"Guild Leader, we're ready," Fire reported to Feng through the team chat. Although the relationship between the two of them has changed from just being Guild Leader and subordinate ever since they started having sex, and this wasn't a secret to the remaining people who had their memories restored, they still acted professionally when working and Fire addressed Feng as Guild Leader the same as before. They kept private what should be kept private. At least, when Feng appeared as Black Flame, or when there were people around, that is.
"Aight. You guys know what to do." Feng said nonchalantly.
South Wolf's elite team consisted of over a hundred players. All of them possessed relatively good quality equipment. Although there were a few Bronze Equipment mixed in, most of them were using Mysterious-Iron Equipment. This team was definitely one of Dark Star's core teams.
"Leave it to me." Saying so, Fire immediately led five Assassins and snuck over.
Even when South Wolf and his group walked into Blackie's attack range, they all remained unaware of the looming danger.
The ten healers from Dark Star did not detect the presence of the six figures swiftly closing in on them at all.
Fire was extremely quick. She crossed the distance of eight yards within an instant.
The Level 19 Cleric that Fire approached had no clue whatsoever. The Cleric did not sense even a thread of danger as an electric dagger stabbed into the back of his head, instantly wiping away all of his HP.
The other five Assassins that moved with Fire performed similarly well, killing their targets almost as quickly as Fire had hers, leaving only four alive. Of course, they could have killed the last four easily and quickly as well. In fact, just Fire by herself could have killed all ten in an instant with the difference in their attributes. But in fear of scaring the Dark Star's members too much, they decided that the six of them should move together and each kill one while allowing the rest to survive a bit longer in order to complete this little act.
"They actually dared to lay an ambush on us. What a bunch of suicidal fools. Everyone, do not panic. Guardian Knights, cast Protection Blessing on the healers. Rangers, mark those fools immediately; absolutely do not let them disappear again. Elementalists, use ice-type magic to restrict their movements. Everyone else, charge at them." South Wolf quickly issued commands after discovering the deaths of six of their healers, a cold sneer on his face.
The Shield Warriors and Berserkers closest to the healers reacted quickly. They used Charge on the six enemy Assassins in an attempt to save the remaining healers in their team.
Simultaneously, the Guardian Knights of Dark Star cast Protection Blessing on the four remaining healers, reducing the physical damage they received by 50%.
In the face of the Shield Warriors' and Berserkers' Charge and also the barrage of Frost Arrows sent by the Elementalists, Fire and her fellow Assassins promptly used Wind Steps, gaining more than a second's worth of invincibility, thanks to the skill's effect. All six of them then turned around and ran, leaving behind only the corpses of the six healers they killed as they plunged into the forest.
"Despicable! Assassins, chase after them! Make sure you don't lose track of them!" South Wolf bellowed, anger filling his heart.
Their team consisted of 100-plus elite players. Yet, not only had they lost six of their healers in an ambush by six Assassins, they had even allowed these ambushers to escape. Wouldn't they become laughingstocks if others were to find out about this matter?
Before the elites of Dark Star could set off in pursuit of Fire's group, the female Summoner, Youlan, suddenly shouted loudly, "Do not chase after them! Everyone, scatter immediately!"
The moment Youlan finished speaking, she promptly sprinted away from this part of the forest.
South Wolf was confused by Youlan's actions, failing to understand why she would do such a thing. However, he still chose to listen to her advice and started running.
At the same time, in the distance, Blackie finished chanting the final verse of his spell's incantation.
In the next moment, an enormous, golden magic array appeared in the sky, covering a large part of the forest. Shortly after, a dazzlingly brilliant star appeared from the magic array and plummeted towards the forest.
One after another, the Dark Star Elementalists with quick reactions responded by immediately activating Instantaneous Movement. Meanwhile, the other classes also activated their own lifesaving skills while doing their best to escape the effective range of the attack. However, there were a few players from Dark Star that failed to respond appropriately. Moreover, Blackie's Stars of Light possessed a very large effective range. Hence, when the first star impacted the ground, the blast caught over a dozen Dark Star players. The continuous bombardment of the Stars of Light easily wiped out even Shield Warriors that possessed more than 3,000 HP.
To put it simply, all those within the Stars of Light's effective range died.
"What an amazing skill. Now that I'm seeing it in person, this skill is extraordinary as expected. Aside from Black Flame and Ye Feng, the top ranker of White River City cannot be taken lightly, either." Although Youlan had managed to avoid the bombardment of the Stars of Light, she still could not help but marvel at the terrifying destructive power of the skill.
"Youlan, if not for your reminder, we would have lost more than just a dozen or so members." At this moment, South Wolf had yet to recover from his shock. After all, he had originally been standing at ground zero of the attack. If he had not escaped as quickly as he had, he might have been among the dozen or so players who had died.
"Uncle South Wolf, please contact Guild Leader Tyrant immediately and have them on the lookout in their vicinity. Make sure they don't split up, as the ambushers from Zero Wing are definitely not limited to just those six," Youlan said in the team chat after surveying her surroundings.
"Youlan, you worry too much. Although we have lost some of our people, this team of ours consists entirely of Dark Star's elite. Fire Dance's group has only around 50 or so members remaining. In a direct confrontation, they stand no chance against us at all. The most they can achieve right now is an ambush on us. Now that they have revealed themselves, it is the perfect chance for us to pursue them. So, how can we choose to wait for our deaths in this place?" South Wolf felt that Youlan was panicking slightly after seeing the Stars of Light.
Originally, Youlan had wanted to dissuade South Wolf. However, the latter was simply too impatient. He also did not wish to miss this great chance to get rid of Fire Dance and her group. Hence, before Youlan could say anything more, South Wolf had already led the team off, charging in the direction where Fire Dance and the others had disappeared.
On top of one of the dense trees, Feng sat and watched as Youlan turned around and quickly ran away while South Wolf and the rest of Dark Star members ran after Fire's team. After noticing that Youlan was no longer within sight, Feng switched his gaze to South Wolf's team and spoke into the team chat "No need to play around anymore."
Hearing Feng's words, the eyes of all of Zero Wing members instantly lit up. Fire and her team did a 180 degree turn and started running at South Wolf's team at a speed many times higher than when they were running away, while Cola and the rest charged out of their hiding places and followed along as well.
The moment South Wolf's group noticed the Zero Wing members charging at them, they, too, did not hesitate to hasten their steps, not bothering to think about why the assassins were charging at them as well, their eagerness to get rid of Cola and the others showing clearly in their eyes.
However, when they collided, the Dark Star's members realized that something was wrong, as all the elites who were attacked by Zero Wing's members instantly died, while all of their attacks were dodged. Not giving their enemies any time to react and scatter, Zero Wing's members continued forward and started harvesting the rest of Dark Star's members.
Away from the fight, South Wolf stood with his eyes bulging when he noticed that the members of his team that first collided with Zero Wing's members had died instantly, but before he could react and do anything, a red needle pierced through the back of his head, wiping away all of his HP.
Suddenly, South Wolf's field of vision turned gray, while his body fell to the ground involuntarily. Even as he died, shock and confusion still filled his face.
As South Wolf had not participated in any of the battles so far, his name remained white all this time. After he died, only one piece of equipment dropped by his body. He also lost only a single level.
After South Wolf died, the members of Dark Star were like headless flies. Frightened and scared, they fled in all directions.
However, all of them were quickly hunted down and none managed to get away. As these players died, they left behind piles of weapons and equipment.
"Collect the loot. Dark Star will be arriving here soon," Feng commanded as he arrived next to them.
The members of Zero Wing nodded and went on to collect the loot, however, when some of them noticed the Pandemonium Lashblade on Feng's waist, they couldn't help but stare in shock. Although Feng had changed the look of his other equipment, he didn't bother changing the Pandemonium Lashblade, and as it was fairly famous in their God's Domain for many of their world's natives being killed by it, they naturally recognized it. Moreover, even if they didn't, with their vast experience in identifying the quality of items as well as faintly sensing the pressure the Pandemonium Lashblade released, they could instantly identify it as currently being at the Fragmented Legendary rank.
Moreover, they could also feel that the pressure they felt from Feng had exponentially increased from when they last saw him. They couldn't help but wonder how Feng had managed to get such an item and reach such a standard in strength at this stage of the game.
However, they kept their questions to themselves and went on to collect the items dropped by the Dark Star members.
The loot they obtained from killing the 100-plus elite members of Dark Star was extremely bountiful. They had collected close to a thousand weapons and equipment, and a majority of them were even Mysterious-Iron rank. The harvest they got from this single battle far exceeded even the harvest Aqua Rose obtained from the battle that involved tens of thousands of players.
"Alright, you guys go on ahead and break through the encirclement before going to Creak Town." Feng said after everyone finished collecting the loot while he jumped back up on a tree, when he suddenly stopped and turned around while adding "But try not to traumatize them too much. I still need to use them as sacrifices later."
---
Shortly after Fire and the others departed...
Youlan came hurrying over to this place with a huge team of more than 300 players.
"Sure enough, all of them died."
Youlan sighed softly when she saw the ground littered with corpses. However, she was not surprised by this outcome. Obviously, the ambush before was meant to lure them into a trap. However, South Wolf had been too eager for success—which resulted in a team-wipe, as she had expected.
"Revive them," Youlan said to the healers in her team.
Immediately, the 30-plus healers in the team started using resurrection skills.
If players died outside of a Dungeon, there were two methods for them to revive. The first method was to revive back at the cemetery. However, players were required to wait for half an hour before they could do so. The other method was to have one of the healer classes use a resurrection skill. Players could be revived immediately using this method. However, upon resurrection, players would have to wait another ten minutes before resurrection skills could be used on them again.
A short while later, all 100-plus elite players had been revived.
Meanwhile, after being resurrected, South Wolf felt fortunate over the fact that he was not a Red Name. He had only lost one piece of equipment and fallen by one Level after he died.
At this moment, Lone Tyrant arrived at the scene. He then asked, "South Wolf, what happened here? How did all of you die?"
South Wolf was someone from Underworld, so he did not particularly care how many players from Dark Star had died. He cared more about himself instead. However, the same could not be said for Lone Tyrant. The strength of Dark Star determined his future as its Guild Leader. Now, more than 100 elites from his Guild had died for no reason. The worst part was that these elites had lost most, if not all, of their weapons and equipment. The levels they lost could be recovered, but it would not be as easy to recover the equipment.
"We were lured into an ambush unprepared, and all of us got killed. The members of Zero Wing are much stronger than we anticipated. However, we should have no problems dealing with all of them if we send in a team of 300 to 400 players. We can still catch up if we chase after them right away."
South Wolf revealed an awkward and confused look as he answered. Even right now, he still had no idea how he had died, and how the core members of Zero Wing were suddenly so strong. He even began to wonder whether or not he had hallucinated the entire thing when he thought about the scene he saw. However, even if he described exactly what happened and what he saw to Lone Tyrant, South Wolf doubted that the man would be believe him, so he only gave a brief explanation before switching the subject.
Youlan narrowed her eyes at South Wolf, feeling like he was hiding something, but Lone Tyrant didn't think much about South Wolf's words and commanded.
"Gather everyone immediately and surround this area. I don't believe that they can grow wings and fly away," Lone Tyrant sternly issued his command.
The news of World Dominators' defeat had already spread, and very few in White River City did not know about the battle that took place. This result had greatly boosted Zero Wing's prestige.
If Dark Star could get rid of Zero Wing's core team, then they could destroy the fame that Zero Wing had accumulated up until this point.
At that time, Dark Star would also garner fame themselves, killing two birds with one stone.
Naturally, Lone Tyrant would not let go of such a valuable opportunity.
Immediately, everyone from Dark Star started moving.
Previously, they had tried to cover too large an area in their search. Now that the core team of Zero Wing had exposed themselves, Lone Tyrant quickly concentrated their hunt.
---
Soon, more and more Dark Star members gathered at the stated location in the dense forest. Feng, who remained hidden in a tree, continued to wait for all the members of Dark Star to arrive.
"Guild Leader, our members have surrounded this part of the forest. As long as any Zero Wing's members show themselves, it will be their death," a Ranger reported as he walked up to Lone Tyrant.
"Good. Start shrinking the encirclement." Lone Tyrant laughed satisfyingly. He then looked towards Ming Sha, the team leader of the Underworld Guards, and respectfully said, "In a moment, we will have to rely on Brother Ming Sha and your men to take care of the experts from Zero Wing."
"Rest assured; Young Master Feng sent us to deal with Fire Dance and her team of experts. We won't let any of them escape," Ming Sha replied and nodded his head.
In order to extinguish Zero Wing's core team, Feng Xuanyang had specifically sent a team of Underworld Guards to assist Dark Star. Feng Xuanyang had gone all out on this hunt.
Every Underworld Guard was an expert that Underworld had spent many years searching for to recruit. Underworld had also spent massive amounts of resources on nurturing these experts further. Compared to Absolute Heaven, these Underworld Guards were stronger, not weaker. Meanwhile, Feng Xuanyang had sent a team of 20 of such Guards. One could just imagine the frightening might this team possessed.
Even a 100-man elite team from Dark Star was no match for this team. Also, the leader, Ming Sha, was an expert among experts. In the virtual gaming world, he ranked near the top. Regarding pure combat techniques, he was on the same level as the Snow Goddess, Gentle Snow. However, as Gentle Snow was in possession of a huge amount of resources, in terms of equipment, Ming Sha was definitely no match for her.
Originally, Feng Xuanyang had arranged for Ming Sha to go to White River City to deal with Ye Feng. However, Ye Feng was simply too elusive as if he had completely vanished from White River City. Hence, Feng Xuanyang sent Ming Sha to deal with the top experts of Zero Wing, such as Fire Dance and Blackie.
In regards to Ming Sha's strength, Lone Tyrant had personally experienced its power. Even though he was clearly above Ming Sha in terms of Levels, and his equipment was of higher quality, he still suffered defeat at Ming Sha's hands in less than twenty exchanges. On the other hand, he had only managed to reduce Ming Sha's HP by one-tenth.
Meanwhile, after taking some time to focus on upgrades, Ming Sha's equipment could now compare to Lone Tyrant's. Now, Ming Sha was mostly geared with several pieces of Level 15 Secret-Silver Set Equipment and Fine-Gold Equipment. He also wielded a Level 15 Fine-Gold greatsword, the Bone Shatterer. His equipment certainly ranked at the very top of White River City.
Lone Tyrant had estimated that, if he fought Ming Sha now, he would last ten exchanges at most before his defeat.
Now that he had so many players surrounding this area and a powerful team of experts like the Underworld Guards supporting him, even a top-tier Assassin like Fire Dance could not escape.
Just as Lone Tyrant felt confident and was about to declare that he would annihilate everyone from Zero Wing, a figure suddenly appeared in the top of a nearby tree.
"Someone's there!" Ming Sha, who possessed acute senses, immediately discovered the figure.
As Ming Sha turned his sights to the intruder, everyone similarly followed his line of sight. Indeed, in the top of the tree, they discovered a person quietly watching them.
"Black Flame, why are you here?" South Wolf instantly recognized the figure as he revealed this person's identity.
At South Wolf's reminder, everyone finally realized Feng's identity. After all, Black Flame had always been a mysterious existence, and most players had never actually seen Black Flame before. Now that this intruder had revealed himself, everyone from Dark Star discovered that Black Flame was just an ordinary-looking, middle-aged man. He did not even possess the type of aura that a Guild Leader should have. No matter how they looked at him, he was only an ordinary man.
"So, it is Guild Leader Black Flame. I didn't expect you to show yourself here. Since you have refused to walk the path towards heaven and have instead barged your way down to hell, today will be the day that you die!" Lone Tyrant laughed coldly. He then commanded, "Everyone, kill him!"
Immediately, over a thousand players from Dark Star surrounded and charged at Feng. Their encirclement was tightly packed, and not even a fly could get past them.
Faced with over a thousand players charging at him, Feng did not panic in the slightest. Instead, he merely snapped his fingers. Before anyone could react, a storm of flames suddenly emerged above them, and the HP of all of Dark Star's players within 50 yards of Feng was instantly snuffed out.
The Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights didn't even have time to activate their lifesaving skills, as all of Dark Star's players caught within its effective range were reduced to cinders immediately.
Over three hundred of the forces gathered by Dark Star have been killed before the battle even started. The remaining members stared at the pillars of fire in disbelief while the ones in the front were glad they were slightly slower, otherwise they too would have met a quick end. When Firestorm's duration finally ended, everyone stared at Feng's figure within the trees in fear.
"What are you all standing around for!? Keep charging! Such a powerful skill must have a long cooldown, so quickly kill him before he can cast it again!" Lone Tyrant bellowed when he noticed that his subordinates weren't moving. Although he, too, had been shocked by Firestorm's large range and the quick deaths of all the people within it, he quickly composed himself and figured that a large-scale destruction skill like that must have a long cooldown. So he immediately commanded the rest of Dark Star's members to keep charging at Feng.
Upon hearing their Guild Leader's words, the rest of Dark Star members came to a realization, and quickly resumed their charge at Feng. Meanwhile, the ranged classes in the back aimed their spells and arrows at Feng as well.
Feng, though, still remained as calm as ever. He merely shook his head at the charging enemies, before jumping down while the Pandemonium Lashblade in his hand continuously extended.
It has already been two hours since Steroid's duration ended, so Feng was no longer under the Overdose's effect, and could act freely without being under the threat of vomiting with any sudden movement.
Just as Feng was about to touch the ground, he disappeared, reappearing in the middle of the thousand or so Dark Star members with the Pandemonium Lashblade's nearly 40 yard long blade twirled around and slightly lifted in the air.
In the next moment, Feng slashed out, making an entire circle around him with the Pandemonium Lashblade in the blink of an eye. Meanwhile, within a radius of nearly 40 yards around him, all the players of Dark Star, both melee and ranged, suddenly split in two halves.
Before the ones who were lucky enough to not be within range could react, Feng moved, arriving at another places in the middle of the surviving members while slashing another circle around him with the Pandemonium Lashblade, before moving onto another spot and repeating the process.
Although, the Dark Star members remaining attempted to stop him, Feng was just too fast, and they couldn't even catch a glimpse of his shadow as he moved, only realizing his location after he had already split another group into half and moved on to another spot. After all, Feng's current speed was already at the Tier 3 standard, while the people around him weren't even Tier 1 yet.
Calling what Feng was currently doing bullying would be a huge understatement.
Within five seconds, only Lone Tyrant, Youlan, South Wolf and Ming Sha, who were slightly separated from the rest, remained on Dark Star's side. Meanwhile, Feng, who was standing within the sea of weapons and equipment, finally switched his gaze to their group of four after dealing with all the extras, causing the four people to feel a chill run their spines.
In the next moment, Feng hand moved. With his acute senses, Ming Sha instantly sensed the danger he was in as soon as Feng looked at them, and had already lifted the Bone Shatterer and slashed it down by the time Feng's hand had moved, attempting to block the incoming whip blades.
However, under Feng's control, the Pandemonium Lashblade twisted slightly, easily getting past Ming Sha's defenses and cleanly piercing through him. South Wolf wanted to use Vanish as soon as he saw this scene, but before he could, the Pandemonium Lashblade continued, completely unobstructed by Ming Sha's armor or corpse and pierced through his heart, before retracting back to Feng, returning to its original form of a regular one-handed sword.
Naturally, with Feng's high Attack Power, neither Ming Sha nor South Wolf survived.
Lone Tyrant and Youlan stood rooted as they stared at their collapsed companions. Youlan quickly recovered from her shock, but even so, she had no idea what to do. With the vast difference in strength between Black Flame and them, there wasn't much they could do. But she felt a glimmer of hope after seeing the sword in Black Flame's hand return to normal, thinking that the duration of that skill had ended, which will most likely have a long cooldown, and that there was still a chance for her to survive, even if Dark Star doesn't manage to kill Black Flame.
Thinking of that, Youlan secretly contacted the Dark Star members at the border of Silverleaf Forest, wishing for them to quickly rush over to save her and Lone Tyrant while she attempted to stall Black Flame with words. However, when Youlan received news from the team at the border that Zero Wing's core team led by Fire Dance had suddenly appeared and massacred them, she nearly fainted on the spot.
'This thing's fun.' Unaware, or perhaps uncaring about Youlan's thoughts and actions, Feng admired the Pandemonium Lashblade after cancelling the Within Sight, Within Range Passive skill and having it turn back to its original form. Although he knew the power and abilities of the Pandemonium Lashblade from fighting against it in his previous life as well as seeing its information in this one, he still decided to give it a test.
Suffice to say, he was fairly satisfied by its performance. Although it was a bit difficult to control when its blade extends to a large length, and a regular person would be completely unable to use it properly, with Feng's standards, it would only take some getting used to.
After making a mental note of the Pandemonium Lashblade's usage, Feng switched his gaze on Lone Tyrant and Youlan.
"Well, you're in quite a predicament, aren't you Guild Leader Tyrant?" Feng spoke in a mocking tone as he approached the two remaining survivors.
"Black Flame!" Lone Tyrant gritted his teeth and hissed out after hearing Feng's mocking words. After making Dark Star suffer such a catastrophic loss and turn it into a joke, along with failing to complete Feng Xuanyang's request, he'll be counting his lucky stars if he only loses his position as Dark Star's Guild Leader. But before Lone Tyrant could hurl a few curses at him, Feng continued...
"Of course, if you kneel down and beg for forgiveness, I can consider not uploading this video of me massacring all of your troops like a bunch of helpless children and completely ruining all of your reputation on the forums." Feng continued in a righteous tone as if he was giving Lone Tyrant a great offer. Though, Lone Tyrant's decision was meaningless, as the video was going up regardless.
Unfortunately for Lone Tyrant, Feng had made a bad habit of humiliating his opponents as much as he could in his previous life, so now that this weak and powerless enemy of his was standing right before him, Feng simply couldn't resist indulging.
A vein nearly popped on Lone Tyrant's forehead as his face contorted. If Feng truly posted a video of what happened just now on the official forums, he'd be running Dark Star's reputation through the dirt. Even faced with thousands of enemies, Zero Wing's Guild Leader easily kills all of them and Dark Star's Guild Leader, Lone Tyrant, becomes powerless in front of Black Flame.
Lone Tyrant could already foresee those types of posts appearing. Moreover, he knew very well that he'd end up as a space goat for all the failures today in order to save as much of Dark Star's face as possible. However, Feng didn't give him much time to consider.
"You seem to be having some trouble. Here, let me help you."
"Arghhh"
Suddenly Lone Tyrant's Secret Silver Leg Guards, along with his legs, were cut apart, forcing Lone Tyrant to fall to the floor.
"Good. That's the position an ant like you should be in." Feng retracted the Pandemonium Lashblade after using its extended blade to cut off Lone Tyrant's legs and approached the collapsed man. Lone Tyrant tried to glare up at Feng, but a foot stomped his face hard back into the ground. He struggled to lift his head up for a while, but couldn't budge even an inch, "No apology, then?" Feng asked when he saw Lone Tyrant trying to get up and not intending to apologies for causing him trouble, but his smile only grew wider.
A blue flame appeared on Feng's foot and spread onto Lone Tyrant. Before Lone Tyrant could even scream, he, along with all of his equipment, turned to ash instantly. Afterwards, Feng turned off the recording and posted it on the official forums.
"As for you, little missy," Feng then switched his gaze to Youlan and started approaching her, causing Youlan to step back in fear of having the same fate as Lone Tyrant. However, Feng didn't intend to do anything to Youlan. After all, he'd be recruiting her later on and returning her memories, so it didn't make much sense to humiliate her now. Instead he merely sighed "You seem like you have some decent talent. It's only a shame you chose to join a small and weak power like Underworld. I mean... look at who they decided to secretly support. You can see just how stupid they are from that." Feng revealed that he knew her identity in Underworld as he glanced at Lone Tyrant's corpse.
Meanwhile, Youlan stood dumbfounded after Feng not only exposed herself being from Underworld, but also so brazenly insulted it to a member. Was he not afraid of Underworld at all? Why did he not put it in his eyes, even calling it little and weak? Youlan felt that this Black Flame was much more interesting than she originally thought.
"Well, whatever." Youlan's thoughts were interrupted by Feng's voice. In the next moment, the Pandemonium Lashblade extended and decapitated the beauty before she could react. Feng already knew that Youlan was currently deeply tied with Underworld and that he couldn't recruit her over just yet, so there was no point in continuing this conversation.
As Feng was about to turn around and leave, he suddenly remembered something and looked at the battlefield filled with thousands upon thousands of weapons and equipment. A deep laziness appeared in his eyes.
'Do I really have to?' With his experience, he easily identified that most of the items were only Common, Bronze and Iron, with only a few pieces of Secret-Silver equipment in the midst of them all. On one hand, should a person with his status and power really bother himself with collecting this trash? On the other hand, these pieces would be of great use to the current Zero Wing...
After thinking for a moment, Feng finally came to a decision. "Fuck it, I'll use my Ultimate move," Feng drew his hand though the air majestically as he called up the system interface "Have someone else handle it!"
He then called Aqua and had her send some people over quickly.
Satisfied with himself for bothering to make a call over some trash equipment, Feng gave a nod of approval, before using Spatial Shift to teleport out of the Silverleaf Forest and the area with the Guild War Order's seal, before using a Return Scroll to teleport to White River City.
---
After his resurrection, Lone Tyrant was like a madman as he sent out all members of Dark Star to hunt Feng and his team in the Silverleaf Forest, not knowing that they have all already left. His insanity also attracted the attention of the players in White River City.
Why was Dark Star sending even more players to the Silverleaf Forest?
Were the thousands of players they had sent there before not enough to deal with the core members of Zero Wing?
At this time, a new post from Black Flame appeared on the forums, and within the post, there was a video. This video bore the title:
Dark Star's Guild Leader, Lone Tyrant's death!
The confrontation between Dark Star and Zero Wing had already become explosively popular on the forums.
Previously, using the name Black Flame, Feng had declared that he would exact vengeance against Dark Star.
In response, those who knew of Dark Star's strength were not optimistic about Zero Wing's chances of success.
After all, everyone knew that Zero Wing had only recently established; it did not possess a significant background. However, Zero Wing was still the first Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom to possess a Guild Residence, so most considered it to have great potential. If it spent a few more months developing, it might become an existence that surpassed even Dark Star. At the moment, though, it was simply too early for Zero Wing to go against Dark Star.
Yet, sometime later, such remarks about Zero Wing completely disappeared.
World Dominators, veteran first-rate Guild, had actually suffered defeat. Moreover, the Guild had been eliminated from the competition for dominance over White River City. Zero Wing had played a significant role in achieving this feat, so it was apparent that Zero Wing was not as weak as everyone had imagined.
Hence, the moment the video of Feng killing Dark Star's Guild Leader, Lone Tyrant, uploaded, its popularity instantly grew.
However, everyone became dumbfounded upon seeing the scene of Feng going on a killing spree and massacring over a thousand of Dark Star's members.
Afterwards, he even humiliated and killed Lone Tyrant, completely destroying all of his and Dark Star's reputation.
A scene that was only possible in storybooks had actually occurred in reality.
In the face of Black Flame, the Guild Leader of Dark Star was like a little kid. Even as Lone Tyrant died, he had not offered the least bit of resistance.
"This Black Flame is too powerful! With his skills, he can rank on the God's Domain Experts List."
"Perhaps. The Secret Pavilion has collected information on all experts in God's Domain to compile that list and the God's Domain experts that rank on it are all monsters. Previously, even though the god-ranked expert, Ye Feng, had killed over a hundred players all by himself, he still failed to earn a spot on that list, however, Black Flame might manage to after killing over a thousand by himself."
The Secret Pavilion was famous in the virtual gaming world, and one could find the Secret Pavilion's presence in practically every virtual reality game available. The Experts List compiled by the Secret Pavilion was also well-received by many players. After all, by browsing through the Experts List, one could easily find information such as the major events that had occurred in God's Domain, what kind of experts were present in the game, who the number one player was, and more. Players had no need to go through the trouble of searching for such information through the official forums.
Any player who managed earn a place on the Experts List was a target for recruitment of all of the major Workshops in the gaming industry.
Although nobody knew whether Black Flame was capable of ranking on the Experts List, undoubtedly, he had already earned his fame in Star-Moon Kingdom.
In the future, whenever people talked about Zero Wing, the first thing that would come to their minds would be Black Flame.
---
"Damn it! Damn that Black Flame!" Lone Tyrant burst into an uncontrollable rage when he discovered the video Feng had uploaded. Although he had already expected this to happen, he had still hoped that Black Flame was bluffing.
His original plan to destroy Zero Wing had completely backfired, and instead, he became the laughingstock throughout Star-Moon Kingdom.
"Have we not found them yet?!" Lone Tyrant bellowed.
Dark Star had suffered a tremendous loss this time. Not only had it lost thousands of players to Zero Wing, but Dark Star's fame and prestige had also been destroyed. Lone Tyrant's reputation had gone up in flames. To make things worse, he still had to compensate World Dominators for its losses. The amount they had to pay would definitely put a dent in Dark Star's funds, damaging the Guild's development.
In this war, Dark Star had suffered a double loss. However, Lone Tyrant was completely helpless about this situation.
"Guild Leader, we've already increased the number of people searching for them to 15,000. However, they had completely disappeared after leaving the Silverleaf Forest. We couldn't find any trace of them or where they have left to. They might have already returned to White River City. Moreover, even if they hadn't, with the strength they and Black Flame possessed, we'd need to spend a lot of manpower in hunting them down until they run out of Stamina even if we do find them. And Black Flame might use those skills to kill a large number of our members again before escaping." Lone Tyrant's confidant explained slowly.
Before, Lone Tyrant's anger had blinded him, so he had not considered this. However, now that he thought it through, it was as his confidant said.
"Damn that Black Flame! We've wasted so much time and manpower!" Lone Tyrant's eyes burned with anger. However, he was simply helpless against Zero Wing. It was no longer possible to deal with their enemy now.
Previously, he had the help of World Dominators to hinder Ouroboros. Now that World Dominators was out of the competition, if Dark Star wished to deal with Zero Wing, it would have to fight both Zero Wing and Ouroboros simultaneously. Even with Underworld's support, it was still not an opponent for these two Guilds.
Suddenly, Lone Tyrant seemed to age by several years.
"Pass on my command: everybody is dismissed. Those who should rest, rest. Those who wish to level up, go level up. As for the rewards and compensations, I will issue those later." After Lone Tyrant finished speaking, as if all the strength in his body drained away, his entire person became powerless.
Soon after, everyone from Dark Star departed from the Silverleaf Forest, one after another.
As for the seal of Guild War Order, that, too, had dissipated. Not that it mattered, though, since everyone had already left.
---
After Feng returned to White River City, he suddenly became the focus of the entire city. Any players who saw him immediately began whispering to companions or strangers by their sides. Feng was a celebrity right now, and everyone in White River City knew about him.
Although part of the reason why Feng attracted so much attention was due to his black name, the actual cause for his fame was due to the name Black Flame.
The video of the battle in the Silverleaf Forest was extremely exciting.
"Guild Leader Black Flame! When will Zero Wing hold another mass recruitment? I've been waiting to join Zero Wing for a long time now!" a Level 17 male Swordsman asked loudly.
"That's right! This little girl wishes to join Zero Wing as well! Big Brother Black Flame, please tell this little sister when you'll recruit again! It can be our little secret! I promise not to tell anyone!" a beautiful female Summoner asked sweetly.
Everyone's eagerness to join Zero Wing grew greater and greater. If Zero Wing had not announced to the public that it had temporarily halted recruitment in order to fine-tune the management of the Guild, the stampede of players might have trampled Zero Wing's recruitment area by now.
In the face of the crowd's enthusiasm, Feng remained completely indifferent. His sharp gaze silenced everyone, before he said, "Everyone can rest assured that Zero Wing will definitely recruit for more members. Moreover, we will have even more slots available during the next recruitment. As for the time and venue, the recruitment will be held in three days at Zero Wing's Guild Residence. I hope that everyone will show up for the registration when the time comes."
Finished speaking, Feng disappeared from the crowd's eyes and left.
"In three days? Great! I can use that time to improve my techniques and strength! I will definitely pass the test and become a member of Zero Wing!"
After receiving a specific time, everyone grew even more enthusiastic. They all swore to join Zero Wing no matter what.
In their minds, Zero Wing stood out like a sacred temple of experts.
Assassin Fire Dance, Guardian Knight Cola, Cursemancer Aqua Rose, Berserker Lonely Snow, Cursemancer Black Cloud, Cleric Violet Cloud, Swordsman Black Flame, Swordsman Ye Feng, and many other experts all belonged to Zero Wing. These experts possessed brilliant battle records in God's Domain, and they were far stronger than other Guilds' experts.
Feng's return immediately attracted the attention of the various powers in White River City.
When these powers learned about Feng's return, in addition, his black colored name, they knew that Dark Star's encirclement had completely failed.
Dark Star had dispatched over 10,000 members during this encounter. Yet, they still failed to annihilate Zero Wing's core members. This conclusion had greatly boosted Zero Wing's fame. Moreover, Lone Tyrant's death at Black Flame's hands had also been a huge blow to Dark Star's reputation.
Excluding World Dominators, which had already been eliminated from the competition for the dominance over White River City, Dark Star's current reputation ranked at the very bottom of the top six Guilds of White River City. As a result, many players who had originally intended to join Dark Star now had their sights on Zero Wing instead.
As things stood, it was only a matter of time before Zero Wing surpassed Dark Star.
In the streets of White River City, Feng casually strode towards the Adventurer's Association of White River City, remaining completely unnoticed by the crowds despite his fame and black name.
With his standards, he could naturally completely hide his presence from these regular players, causing them not to notice him even when he was standing right in front of them.
A few minutes later, Feng arrived at the Adventurer's Association and headed inside.
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