Over a thousand players suddenly emerged from the wetland forest, plunging the group that had just exited the team Dungeon into stunned silence.
The thousand-plus figures before them were no ordinary players. Every single one was at least Level 53, clad in Mythril Rank equipment at minimum — absolute experts. Among them, quite a few wore Level 50 Adamantite gear, making this, by current standards, an extremely elite fighting force.
"Vice Leader, this isn't good. That's a Dark Seal — we can't use Return Scrolls for the next two hours," Holy Light Wheel said tightly, his gaze fixed on the middle-aged man carrying the black-horned ancient bow. Concern lined his voice.
Compared to the sudden army of over a thousand, it was the middle-aged man with the black-horned ancient bow who truly demanded attention.
That man was Black Shark, the leader of the Shadow Hunters — an adventurer team that had clashed with their Undying War Spirit in the shadows on numerous occasions. He possessed both extraordinary combat prowess and the ability to transform into a monster, making him a rival even Vice Leader Undying Warheart couldn't defeat.
What's more, the Shadow Hunters harbored quite a few such monsters within their ranks. By their estimates, at least three hundred could manage the transformation — and fighting against that kind of ability was excruciatingly troublesome.
Undying Warheart swept his gaze across the thousand-plus players encircling them. The setup was clearly premeditated, and with the Dark Seal in effect, their only way out was to cut a path through. He turned to Shi Feng and said gravely, "Guild Leader Black Flame, this is the Shadow Hunters — a dark adventurer team. Everyone in the team is powerful, and some of them can transform into monsters, dramatically boosting their combat strength. Even someone at the Tier 1 level can go toe-to-toe with a Tier 2 Class after transforming."
Their side had a full two hundred Tier 2 players, but against the Shadow Hunters, they couldn't afford to let their guard down.
A Tier 1 player in monster form might not match a true Tier 2, but their bizarre and unpredictable fighting style could throw any opponent off balance. One lapse in concentration and you'd take a devastating hit — to say nothing of the fact that many Shadow Hunters had already advanced to Tier 2 themselves, making them even harder to deal with.
Under normal circumstances it wouldn't have been a major issue, but they had just finished fighting the boss. Their burst skills were on cooldown, and facing Tier 2 players who could transform was going to be a serious headache.
"So these are the Shadow Hunters?" Feng Qianyu's beautiful eyes swept across the assembled players before settling appraisingly on Black Shark at the forefront.
She didn't know much about the Shadow Hunters' reputation, but intelligence reports had made one thing clear: they were the Star Route Financial Group's trump card — a force cultivated specifically for sabotage and assassination. Both Crimson Emperor and Undying War Spirit had suffered considerable losses at their hands.
The current situation looked like the Shadow Hunters had the numbers advantage, but they were no pushovers. Running into them alone might spell trouble, but with the main forces of all three major guilds present, a mere adventurer team like the Shadow Hunters shouldn't be able to do anything to them.
Just as both sides sized each other up, a sweet voice drifted out from the forest.
"A lively scene like this — how could the Shadow's Claw possibly be left out?"
A stunning woman in an ornate deep-blue mage robe strode gracefully from the treeline. Behind her trailed another contingent of lavishly equipped experts, numbering over a thousand as well — every bit a match for the Shadow Hunters.
"Why is she here too?" Undying Warheart's brow furrowed as he watched the approaching woman.
The others would have no idea who she was, but he knew her all too well.
She was the leader of the dark forces in the Copper Eagle Kingdom, which bordered the Nightfall Empire — and simultaneously the leader of the Shadow's Claw. Her name was Shen Yin.
He knew her because she had personally annihilated a top-tier guild in the Copper Eagle Kingdom.
As a top-tier guild under the Undying War Spirit banner, they had dispatched experts to provide support time and again. None of it changed the outcome. In the end, over a dozen of their peak experts leading a thousand-man legion had been completely wiped out by Shen Yin and her Shadow's Claw…
"Shen Yin, you've got impeccable timing," Black Shark remarked, glancing at the stunning woman as she approached.
"All three major guilds' main forces are gathered here — how could the Shadow's Claw miss an opportunity like this?" Shen Yin replied with a light laugh.
"Fine. Leave the Dragon Phoenix Pavilion to you. Zero Wing and Undying War Spirit are mine," Black Shark said.