As the system announcement rang out once more across the Cold Wind City region, the members of Hecate, who had been celebrating their first clear of the Frozen Ruins, froze in place.
"Did I hear that right? A Hero Difficulty first clear?"
"It must be a mistake. How could anyone clear Hero Difficulty right now?"
"No way. The Asura Adventure Team couldn't even beat the boss on the third underground floor before. How could they possibly defeat the Hero Difficulty's final boss?"
……
The members of Hecate stared at the system announcement, refusing to believe it was real.
Hero Difficulty of the Frozen Ruins was vastly harder than the Normal Difficulty. If a team hadn't accumulated enough equipment from Normal runs, challenging Hero Difficulty was completely out of the question.
Right now, the Asura Adventure Team couldn't even clear Normal Difficulty. How could they possibly have cleared Hero Difficulty?
"Hero Difficulty?" Blood Glow's expression was indescribably dark.
He had never expected the Asura Adventure Team to attempt Hero Difficulty. Clearing it was already shocking enough, but the key issue was the five hundred contribution points in Cold Wind City.
Currently, the initial contribution points needed to seize control of Cold Wind City were exactly five hundred. That meant the Asura Adventure Team had already seized control of Cold Wind City, becoming its rulers. For the next month, the Asura Adventure Team would be able to control a portion of Cold Wind City's operations. Only after a month, when contribution points were reassessed, could someone else reclaim control.
But during that one month of control, the ruling party enjoyed numerous advantages. To surpass the controller in city contribution points required several times the effort…
Just as the members of Hecate were stunned by the news of the Asura Adventure Team's Hero Difficulty clear of the Frozen Ruins, players across the entire Cold Wind City region erupted with excitement.
"Asura is mighty!"
"Incredible! They even secured a Hero Difficulty first clear. How strong is the Asura Adventure Team's main force?"
"Hecate really has it rough this time. They only just got the Normal Difficulty first clear of the Frozen Ruins, and the Asura Adventure Team already stole all their thunder."
"But this is great news for us free players! The Adventurer's Alliance belongs to the Asura Adventure Team, so it'll only keep growing. Maybe we'll even be able to exchange for level fifty Dark Gold equipment down the line."
……
The news of the Asura Adventure Team's Hero Difficulty first clear of the Frozen Ruins sent the free players of Cold Wind City into a frenzy. Every one of them wished they could join the Asura Adventure Team. For the major guilds in Cold Wind City, however, this was nothing short of a nightmare.
If Hecate had seized control of Cold Wind City, the Adventurer's Alliance formed by the Asura Adventure Team would have been heavily suppressed, and many free players would have recognized the guilds' dominance. But now that Cold Wind City was under the Asura Adventure Team's control, it would only convince more players in the city that joining the Adventurer's Alliance was the better choice. When that happened, those guilds would have even less room to operate within Cold Wind City.
Badao Changkong of the Hundred Generations Dynasty was equally dumbfounded.
He had no idea how the Asura Adventure Team had managed it.