The Night Empire, the City of Light and Shadow.
A massive deep-purple crystal hovered above the towering spire of the city, its magical barrier shielding the entire metropolis. Along the streets, large numbers of players could be seen walking alongside numerous NPCs and dark creatures — demons, abyssal beings, vampires, and the like — far more than one would find in any dark city within a kingdom.
There were even quite a few neutral races hawking their wares on the main streets, a sight that was exceedingly rare in the dark cities of other empires.
In terms of prosperity, the City of Light and Shadow was in no way inferior to the Night Empire's capital, Nightfall City, and the variety of races far surpassed it.
And standing on the bustling central avenue was a lavish five-story mansion, through which streamed a steady flow of players. Those entering and exiting were either flashily dressed player merchants or high-level experts at level 54 and above.
This left the players lined up at the entrance green with envy.
"Those guys' levels and gear are insane! I think they're even better equipped than the experts of first-rate guilds!"
"Of course. Dark Soul isn't a guild — it's an alliance — but they regularly organize dungeon raids, and they frequently plunder the elite squads and main forces of major guilds. The weapons and equipment they grab are naturally top-notch. And those big guilds can't do a thing about it. A first-rate guild once tried to go all-out against Dark Soul, and Dark Soul wiped them out completely. Now that whole guild is finished."
"Exactly! That's why I rushed over the moment I heard Dark Soul was doing mass recruitment. If I could join this alliance, that would be amazing."
"Obviously. Once you're in Dark Soul, forget the major guilds of the Night Empire — you could walk all over several neighboring kingdoms without a care. Every other dark guild gives you a wide berth. Especially if you get into one of the top five adventure parties — like the Shadow Claw from the Copper Eagle Kingdom, the number-one dark adventure party, or the Dark Hunters, which has been making a name for itself in the Night Empire. If you get in, you're set for life."
"I dream about getting into one of the top five parties too, but the entry requirements are brutal. You have to clear at least the fifth floor of the Trial Tower and reach the sixth, or at least reach the midpoint of the fifth floor with some kind of special skill."
…
At that moment, several thousand dark players queued up and whispering amongst themselves, all filled with yearning for Dark Soul.
Among the dark factions of the Dark Empire and its neighboring kingdoms, Dark Soul held a status comparable to those top-tier guilds and super guilds. Other dark guilds and adventure parties were somewhat wary of mainstream major guilds, but Dark Soul feared no one — they even clashed head-on with two super guilds, making the major guilds think twice before provoking them.
For dark players who had to hide and skulk about, this was something they had always craved.
Now that Dark Soul was openly recruiting, these free dark players naturally had no intention of missing out.
In the top-floor office of the mansion, a young man stood by the window, quietly watching the players below. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
This man was none other than the Alliance Leader of Dark Soul — Duan Tianhu.
"Alliance Leader, since we put out the recruitment notice, over two thousand players have already passed the selection. On top of that, more than thirty well-known adventure parties want to join us. With this batch of people, as long as the Star Voyage Consortium delivers their resources, we can quickly train two or three elite squads equipped to the teeth," reported a level-55 male Elementalist named Mo Wudao, who held a withered-wood staff.
"Good! Wudao, you've done well this time. As long as the other adventure parties take care of Zero Wing, I'm sure the resources from the Star Voyage Consortium won't be an issue," Duan Tianhu said with a satisfied nod.
"Rest easy, Alliance Leader. I hear Black Shark and his people have already spotted Zero Wing's leadership. The Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw have both moved in to surround them. This time, they're sure to deal a heavy blow to Zero Wing, which should satisfy the Star Voyage Consortium and get them to send over an advance portion of the resources," Mo Wudao replied with a grin.
Once those resources were fully in hand, Dark Soul would become the dominant dark power in the Night Empire. And from there, they could expand outward and become the supreme dark faction across the entire Divine Realm.
As the two chatted, Mo Wudao received a message. He opened it, and his expression darkened.
"What's wrong?" Duan Tianhu asked, noticing the shift on Mo Wudao's face.
"I just received word… all the adventure parties sent to the Star Moon Kingdom to deal with Zero Wing are preparing to return…" Mo Wudao said in a low voice.
"Return? They already dealt with Zero Wing that quickly?" Duan Tianhu was taken aback. "No, wait — Zero Wing is a guild rivaling a first-rate guild. There's no way they could have been dealt with that fast. What happened?"
"The two adventure parties — Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw — sent to ambush Zero Wing's main squad… suffered catastrophic losses. Over half their forces are dead or wounded. According to the Hidden Scout, the intel the Star Voyage Consortium gave them about Zero Wing was completely wrong — it's not even close to an ordinary guild. So the leaders of all the adventure parties decided to return to the City of Light and Shadow first, and reconvene to discuss how to handle Zero Wing," Mo Wudao said quietly.
"How is that possible? Those are the Dark Hunters and the Shadow Claw — two of our strongest adventure parties — up against just Zero Wing's main squad. How could they take catastrophic losses, with over half killed or wounded…" Duan Tianhu stared at Mo Wudao, shock flickering in his eyes. "And what did the Hidden Scout mean by 'not a guild'?"
"Alliance Leader, we have battle footage recorded by players who were present. Why don't you take a look?" Mo Wudao was just as baffled. He forwarded the video his subordinate had sent him to Duan Tianhu.
"Battle footage?" Duan Tianhu received it and opened the video.
He watched as over two thousand fighters from the Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw unleashed their trump cards — techniques that even drew an exclamation of admiration from him. And then Zero Wing struck. First, a female warrior rapidly dispatched Black Shark. Next, a single blow obliterated nearly a hundred experts. Finally, Shi Feng summoned a dark dragon that obliterated the demon soldiers in an instant, and his personal guards began cutting down enemies left and right. In the blink of an eye, the two great adventure parties had been pushed onto the back foot.
"This is what's supposed to be a guild rivaling a first-rate guild?!" Duan Tianhu snarled. "What the hell are the Star Voyage Consortium's intelligence people doing?! This is what they call rivaling a first-rate guild?! A first-rate guild's main squad taking out two of our Dark Soul adventure parties?! Wudao, get in touch with Lu Xingluo immediately! Tell him — if he wants Zero Wing gone, the price we agreed on needs to be tripled, or this deal is off!"
"Yes, I'll contact him right away." Mo Wudao's face was equally twisted with rage. The Star Voyage Consortium was clearly playing them for fools.