In the silent hall, the Hecate higher-ups couldn't help but shudder at the handsome man's cold shout.
Although they were all high-ranking members of Hecate with formidable strength of their own, they felt instinctive reverence toward the handsome man standing before them.
Because this handsome man was none other than their vice guildmaster — Xue Guang, known as the Hell Knight.
Despite his remarkably youthful appearance, Xue Guang was actually over forty years old — considerably older than anyone else present. He had once been a battlefield mercenary known as the Reaper.
It could be said that Xue Guang deserved much of the credit for Hecate's current success.
In fact, he served as the chief instructor of Hecate's internal training program. All those present had been personally trained by him, and that painful experience could only be described as living in hell itself. Even Xuan Cang's current strength was a result of Xue Guang's tutelage.
They understood Xue Guang's temperament better than anyone.
He rarely lost his temper, but once he did, it was like the descent of hell itself. Right now, they could already feel his fury.
Still, it was hard to blame him.
A full three thousand of the guild's elite fighters, and over two thousand had been wiped out. Even during the war against the Hundred Dynasties Empire, they had never suffered such losses — yet now, just ten people from the Shura Expedition Team had annihilated them without leaving a single survivor.
The guild's elite fighters had been cultivated with enormous resources. The experts they had brought over through special channels numbered only a thousand. After arriving at Cold Wind City and absorbing the Gaishi Family's forces, they had greatly increased their membership, bringing their elite count to over ten thousand. Of the three thousand Xuan Cang had led, nearly four hundred had been their original guild experts. Now, having lost over two thousand fighters, more than three hundred of those original experts had been killed — accounting for more than a third of their total fighting strength in Cold Wind City. This was a devastating loss.
The players' drop in levels was secondary. The real issue was their equipment.
In the Ice Crystal World, the weapons and equipment of guild elites and experts primarily depended on player craftsmanship. However, life-skill players capable of crafting equipment of that caliber were exceedingly rare — especially the materials needed for Mythril Rank gear, which were incredibly precious and difficult to obtain.
Yet after a single battle, their post-war accounting showed they had lost over two hundred pieces of level-fifty Mythril Rank equipment. Getting even a single piece of level-fifty Mythril gear required considerable time — let alone over two hundred. This had severely impacted their progress in the Great Frost Rift.
"Vice Guildmaster, we've investigated thoroughly. The ones who attacked us were the Shura Expedition Team's experts who had previously disappeared. We heard their captain had taken them to clear dungeons and complete quests. What's strange is that their original strength wasn't this high — we don't know what caused their current fighting power." A level-52 Elementalist seated nearby reported cautiously.
Xue Guang glanced at the detailed report his subordinates had passed to him, and the corner of his mouth curled upward.
"Suddenly grown stronger? How interesting. A bunch of backcountry brutes — not only have their base stats improved dramatically, but their combat level has effectively doubled as well. It seems this Shura Expedition Team is hiding quite the secret."
"Go investigate immediately. Use every means at your disposal — I want to know the Shura Expedition Team's secret. If our Hecate obtains that secret, becoming the number-one guild in the north won't be far off!"
"Oh, and contact headquarters. Have the Twelve Heavenly Fiends come to Cold Wind City."
As Xue Guang finished issuing his orders, everyone was taken aback.
None of them had expected him to summon the Twelve Heavenly Fiends. They were Hecate's peak fighting force. In Cold Wind City, aside from Xue Guang, Xuan Cang was the strongest — yet even he didn't qualify to join the Twelve Heavenly Fiends. At most, he could be considered a reserve member.
These twelve experts were normally scattered across Hecate's various branches. But the mere thought of them assembling together was enough to make one's blood run cold.