The Star Moon Kingdom's Royal Capital. The former headquarters of the Snake of the Body had now become a Blackwater base.
Compared to the old Snake of the Body headquarters, the place was far more bustling. Many of the players here were only levels ten or twenty, yet not a single player inside the guild base dared to look down on any of them.
These people radiated an aura utterly different from ordinary players—each and every one of them brimming with sheer ferocity. They were broad as bears and towering in stature, and even though their levels were low, regular players in their thirties wouldn't dare get close, fearing nothing more than catching one of their stares.
"Who the heck are these people? They just joined Blackwater, their levels are this low, and yet every single one of them has been placed into the Blackwater Legion—the guild's core training force?"
"You must've just joined Blackwater, so you wouldn't know. These are all experts sent over by the Blackwater Conglomerate. Don't let their levels fool you—their combat skill is insanely high. Before, plenty of the guild's Elite members challenged them to even-level duos, and every single one got taken apart in a matter of moves. A lot of them are far stronger than the original Snake of the Body experts."
"What? Even stronger than the old Snake of the Body experts?"
"Absolutely. I used to be an Elite member of the Snake of the Body myself. When Blackwater reorganized its ranks, they let any dissatisfied Snake of the Body experts challenge the Conglomerate's newcomers. The result was ten losses out of ten fights—not a single win. Those former experts got demoted from the core tier to the Elite tier, and the rest of us Elites got pushed down to regular members. If we want to rank up, we have to pass Blackwater's new assessment."
"I figured Blackwater would be short on experts after absorbing the Snake of the Body, but turns out they've got a ton. Once these guys grow into their levels, it'll be a piece of cake for our Blackwater Guild to become the number one guild in the Star Moon Kingdom!"
"Tell me about it. I was actually worried before, but now I realize leaving back then was the right call. The current Blackwater Guild has way more potential than the old Snake of the Body ever did. Now when we go out to grind or do quests, even the Star River Alliance people have to give us a wide berth. Just thinking about it feels great."
Quite a few Blackwater members inside the base were chatting away, their confidence in the guild's future brimming over.
***
"Guild Leader, Zero Wing has made a move. Right now, besides the Light Stone, which they haven't dropped the price on, every other product is being sold at the same price as ours. On top of that, I got word just a little while ago that Vice Guild Leader Watercolor Rose apparently failed to close deals with those major corporations. Zero Wing getting a large injection of capital is now out of the question. The only potential headache is the Sun and Moon Group backing Watercolor Rose." A bald middle-aged man walked into the Guild Leader's office and reported respectfully to Qi Yitao.
"The Sun and Moon Group is nothing to worry about. They've already got their hands full with the problems at Dusk Echo—the company they invested in. And with more and more players hitting level forty, every major guild is going to need massive funds to make mounts widely available. There's no way they'll have much spare cash to throw at Zero Wing. All we need to do next is slowly bleed Zero Wing's coffers dry, force them to make a move, and then deliver the killing blow." Qi Yitao chuckled and asked, "How are those materials coming along?"
"The Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion has already delivered all the materials—more than enough to keep us supplied for a good long while. They also sent over twenty high-level Life profession players, claiming they can help us mass-produce Forged Steel Armor Plating and Mana Elixirs. Guild Leader, should we turn them down?" the bald man asked.
"No need. They just want the Forged Steel Armor Plating and Mana Elixir formulas, so let them learn them. These formulas will never amount to anything significant. I've actually been worrying about where to find enough high-level Life profession players. The Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion doing this is actually doing our Blackwater Trading Company a huge favor—it'll make it so much easier for us to take over the Star Moon Kingdom's market." Qi Yitao shook his head with a cold smile. "That said, we can't let the Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion get off scot-free. If they want to learn the formulas, fine—but they have to sign an agreement. Once they've learned them, they must immediately destroy Zero Wing's branch in Lakeside City. I don't want Zero Wing having even a sliver of a chance at a comeback."
"Understood. I'll get on it right away." The bald man bowed and left.
***
At the same time, inside the Temple of the God's Trial, Shi Feng and the others were trying to figure out how to deal with the Undead Commander that had suddenly appeared in front of the Seven-colored Treasure Chest. Compared to the earlier Undead Guardians, the Undead Commander wore ornate golden armor and had two frost-gleaming longswords hanging at his waist. Even from a distance, waves of bone-chilling cold washed over them.
Merely stepping within a hundred yards, every person gained a new negative status—Netherfrost Domain: movement speed reduced by 50%, all attributes reduced by 20%, stamina consumption doubled, and any damage taken from ice-element magic skills doubled.
Undead Commander. Dark creature. Great Lord. Level 50. HP: 27 million.
Twenty-seven million HP wasn't much for a level-fifty Great Lord, but the Netherfrost Domain had everyone stumped. Their levels were already too low against the Undead Commander to begin with, and now with a 20% reduction, they stood no chance. Add to that doubled damage from ice-element magic, and even a level-forty tank like Duotian Feng wouldn't be able to survive the hits.
If no one could tank the Undead Commander, passing this trial was simply impossible.
"The Seven-colored Treasure Chest really isn't going to be easy to claim," Shi Feng muttered after sizing up the Undead Commander, a bitter smile forming in his heart.
In the God's Trial, clearing each tier brought a reward—and that reward was a treasure chest. The chest's grade corresponded to the trial's difficulty. Generally, the highest chest that could appear in a Four-colored Trial was a Five-colored chest, and the pinnacle chest in a Six-colored Trial was a Seven-colored one.
Rumor had it that the finest chest obtainable in a Seven-colored Trial was the Black-and-White Chest—also known as the God-Demon Treasure Chest. According to online speculation, the God-Demon Treasure Chest was said to be an even higher grade than a Legendary chest. Yet despite ten years of development in the Divine Realm, no one had ever managed to open a God-Demon Treasure Chest.
The Seven-colored Treasure Chest before them was without a doubt the highest-grade chest Shi Feng had ever seen.
"Leader, what if we try using Tier Two Summoning Scrolls?" Yan Qiu looked at the Undead Commander, who stood over three meters tall. After thinking it over, their only option seemed to be using Tier Two summoned creatures as meat shields while they attacked from the flanks.
At their levels, a Tier Two summoned creature would be around level fifty—a level-fifty Lord monster. It wouldn't be able to hold out for very long, true, but they had four scrolls, giving them four summons. That might just be enough to whittle the Undead Commander down.
And even if they died, it wouldn't be like the outside world where death meant losing an entire level. Inside the God's Trial, death was just like in a Dungeon—only a ten-percent experience penalty. They could afford to give it a shot.
"It's the only way for now. I'll summon a creature first to test the Undead Commander's strength. If it looks feasible, the rest of you move in." Duotian Feng thought it over and concluded that this was their only remaining option. Otherwise, they'd have to abandon the trial and leave—and the punishment for that was no laughing matter.