Shi Feng stepped out of the teleportation hall to find the streets outside wide and spacious, lined with NPC giants going about their business. For any player, arriving here would feel like stepping into a world of giants.
Every building here was enormous, and even the city's public carriages were massive. However, these carriages were not drawn by horses but by herbivorous land dragons — creatures far more powerful than horses and roughly the size of houses. Besides the giant race, various other neutral races also lived here. Even elves, who were exceedingly rare to encounter in the outside world, could be seen in this city.
Elves bore a strong resemblance to half-elf players, but the gap between them in terms of life form was worlds apart.
In the distant ancient era, elves had been considered envoys of the gods — or perhaps more accurately, mouthpieces of the divine. They were born favorites of the magical elements and could cast spells far above their level with ease. However, as the gods of the Divine Realm fell, the elves gradually declined, their numbers dwindling ever more.
Such a sight would be deeply impressive to players visiting for the first time, but Shi Feng had long grown used to it. He casually flagged down a land dragon carriage and headed toward the city center.
As a super-large neutral city, Thunder Axe City was vast. Even the imperial capital of the Black Dragon Empire, Black Dragon City, was only half its size. The teleportation hall sat in the far corner of the city. Inside Thunder Axe City, players could not ride their mounts, nor could they use any teleportation items or teleportation skills. The only way to get around quickly was by land dragon carriage.
Of course, if a player's standing in Thunder Axe City reached the rank of Viscount, they could ride their own mount within the city. But attaining Viscount rank in a neutral city like Thunder Axe City was extraordinarily difficult. Even in his previous life, many players who had reached Level 200 still hadn't managed to reach Viscount rank in Thunder Axe City. Simply moving around the city required a considerable amount of time.
Meanwhile, as Shi Feng made his way to the city center, a sizable commotion had erupted at Witch's Hill in the Star Moon Kingdom.
"Am I hearing this right? The Zero Wing Guild actually ordered its members to stop grinding at Witch's Hill!"
"They probably just don't want to keep fighting anymore. You have no idea how powerful those monster players are out in the wild. They make short work of Tier 2 class experts like it's nothing — a single player transformed into a monster can easily wipe out an entire six-man Tier 2 squad, and these monster players move around in groups."
"Zero Wing was able to stand up to the Miracle Guild over in the Black Dragon Empire before, but I guess they weren't all that impressive after all. How long did the fighting even last before they gave up?"
"I never thought Zero Wing would come to this. They used to dominate everywhere they went, and now they're forced to abandon Witch's Hill. Once Zero Wing gives up that prime territory, their development in the Star Moon Kingdom is going to fall way behind the other guilds. If this goes on, who knows whether Zero Wing will still be the number one guild in the Star Moon Kingdom."
"You're right. This is the perfect opportunity for the smaller guilds to rise to power using Witch's Hill."
…
Players across Witch's Hill were all surprised by Zero Wing's sudden directive. They hadn't expected the guild to be so decisive — simply giving up Witch's Hill in one fell swoop. Zero Wing could have leveraged the advantage of Zero Wing City to keep grinding down the other guilds' monster players, but they chose not to.
After Zero Wing made this move, many of the smaller guilds in the Star Moon Kingdom emerged from their quiet seclusion, each eager to join the Starlight Alliance formed by the two towns at Witch's Hill. The situation was now crystal clear: the Starlight Alliance, which could transform its players into monsters, held an overwhelming advantage in the open field. The moment any Zero Wing members stepped outside the city, they were as good as dead.
Shortly after Shi Feng issued his command, the leaders of the major guilds in the Starlight Alliance gathered together for a meeting in Anvil Town, not far from the Myriad Tree Grove.
Leading the charge were the Sin Domain and Angel Judgment guilds, which had built the two towns under the banner of the Purple Thorn Kingdom and the Hundred War Empire. Although both Angel Judgment and the Hundred War Empire were only second-rate guilds, a wave of investment from several major financial groups had dramatically bolstered their strength. In terms of raw power, neither guild was inferior to an ordinary first-rate guild anymore.
"This time, Zero Wing has been scared witless by our monster army. They're holed up inside Zero Wing City and won't come out — they won't even operate in the surrounding areas. Everyone knows how formidable Zero Wing City's defenses are. A direct assault is out of the question. But just leaving Zero Wing alone to develop freely isn't a solution either. Does anyone have any good ideas?" asked Axe Shadow, the guild master of Knight's Judgment, sweeping his gaze across the dozen or more guild representatives present.
Zero Wing's decisiveness had far exceeded their expectations — this was not what they had wanted to see.
From the outside, the monster army appeared invincible, virtually untouchable in the open field. But what most people didn't know was that maintaining a player's monster form consumed a massive amount of player lives, and only players Level 50 or above could volunteer as sacrifices. A prolonged war of attrition against Zero Wing was simply not sustainable.
"If Zero Wing wants to cleanly abandon Witch's Hill, then we need to make sure they can't give it up. We force them to come out and fight."
"Exactly. If Zero Wing doesn't want to fight, we'll make it so they have no choice but to fight. They want to use Zero Wing City as their base to develop? We'll make sure that doesn't happen. We can set up a teleportation blockade around Zero Wing City and announce that as long as Zero Wing refuses to fight us in the field, any player who leaves Zero Wing City will be killed on sight. We'll keep killing until Zero Wing is willing to come out and battle. Even if they never come out, as long as we kill enough that every player in Zero Wing City is too afraid to leave, who will dare to visit Zero Wing City? How long before Zero Wing City becomes a ghost town? And then how will Zero Wing rely on the city to develop?"
"That's actually a solid plan. Zero Wing's income primarily depends on Zero Wing City. If the city stops functioning, Zero Wing won't be able to sustain itself. For the sake of Zero Wing City, they'll have to come out and fight us."
"That's right! If Zero Wing really refuses to come out, their reputation as the number one guild in the Star Moon Kingdom will become a joke. Let's see how they operate from then on!"
Everyone present nodded in agreement and decided to carry out this plan, determined to force Zero Wing into the open no matter what.
While the Starlight Alliance began preparing and scheming, Shi Feng arrived at the center of Thunder Axe City aboard his land dragon carriage.
The city center was bustling with traffic. Even without any players, the wide streets felt congested, teeming with neutral race merchants from all manner of cities plying their trade. The sheer variety of goods and materials on sale rivaled anything found in player-run shops.
But Shi Feng didn't linger for long. He walked directly into a grand mansion located just one street off the main boulevard. The mansion's entrance alone was guarded by twenty giant sentries — all of them Level 180, Tier 2 guards. The commanding officer of the guard detail was a Level 180, Tier 3 class expert. Simply standing before this place was enough to make anyone think twice about approaching.
This mansion was the residence of the Grand Elder of the giant race.
Upon reaching the front gate, Shi Feng had the guards relay his message. After receiving their orders, the guards escorted him inside the enormous mansion and quickly brought him to an elegant study. Seated within was an elderly figure clad in a white robe.
The giant race were born warriors and not particularly skilled in magic. Yet this Grand Elder of the giants was a Level 200, Tier 5 Holy Magic Sovereign — the kind of existence that would reign supreme in any empire.
"It has been a long time since an adventurer of the human race has come here. I hear you possess the ability to open the ancient teleportation magic array on the outskirts of Thunder Axe City. Is this true?" The Grand Elder studied Shi Feng as he spoke in a measured voice.
"Yes. This is the Ancient Cube I found. It can open the ancient teleportation array." Shi Feng retrieved the Teleportation Cube from his inventory and handed it to the Grand Elder.
"As expected — the core of an ancient magic array's teleportation function." The Grand Elder examined it carefully, his eyes brightening with a trace of excitement. "Thank you, human adventurer. This is something our giant race has been searching for for a very long time. With this, we giants can finally break free from the defensive blockade imposed since the ancient era! You have done our race a tremendous favor, and we will not repay you lightly. Please accept this precious Giant Sacred Stone as the giant race's token of gratitude."
Only after the Grand Elder finished speaking did Shi Feng accept the Giant Sacred Stone. A string of system notifications immediately rang out in his ears.