Zero Wing City, Tower of the Four Elements.
Thanks to the Tower of the Four Elements' teleportation capability and the explosive popularity of the Witch's Hill, the number of players flocking there for teleportation each day was enormous. Even with the Starlight Alliance's blockade, such restrictions could only be maintained temporarily and weren't in effect around the clock. So for convenience, players still swarmed to the Tower of the Four Elements—not only saving travel time, but making the journey far safer as well.
But the players arriving at the Tower of the Four Elements now were thrown into an uproar.
"What's going on? Why did the teleportation fee suddenly shoot up like this? I'm just teleporting within the Witch's Hill range and they want over one gold from me? Even highway robbers aren't this brazen!"
"As a Tier 2 player, I only make one or two gold a day at the Witch's Hill. Has Zero Wing lost its mind?"
…
The players inside the Tower of the Four Elements were in a frenzy over the sudden fee hike. Compared to these independent players, though, the orderly, solemn thousand-player teams assembled in the hall were stunned speechless for a long time.
"Guild Leader, Zero Wing is being absolutely despicable—suddenly jacking up the teleportation fees like this. If our twenty thousand people teleport out, it'll cost us over twenty-three thousand gold. They're definitely doing this on purpose." A Tier 2 female Warlock in gray robes walked up to Yan Xiao and said indignantly.
Their War Rider Tribe certainly had large numbers, but their adventurer team's funds were far inferior to those of a top-tier guild. Their current reserves amounted to only sixty or seventy thousand gold. Blowing nearly a third of their liquid funds on a single mass teleportation would seriously hamper their upcoming resource acquisitions and new recruit training.
"It seems Zero Wing has already noticed us. Though this greeting method of theirs is rather... creative." Yan Xiao let out a wry laugh. "Since Zero Wing won't let us teleport out, we'll just walk out on our own."
"Zero Wing really doesn't have the nerve. They're afraid our War Rider Tribe will link up with the Starlight Alliance to deal with them, so they're resorting to this kind of stall tactic." The level 59 Tier 2 female Warlock curled her lip in disdain. "Everyone used to make them sound unstoppable, but it seems that's all talk. He thinks this delaying tactic will change anything? Just wait until we get out—we'll show Zero Wing what's what!"
After that, the War Rider Tribe members had no choice but to leave the Tower of the Four Elements and exit Zero Wing City through the main gate.
Meanwhile, on the observation deck at the very top of the Tower of the Four Elements in Zero Wing City, a hundred-person team watched the entire scene in silence. Though each of them wore black cloaks that concealed their figures and faces, the pressure they radiated kept many Tier 2 players from daring to come anywhere near—as if these hundred were monsters freed from their chains, and anyone who approached would die.
If Shi Feng had been there, he would have recognized this hundred-person team as the Sky Eagle Corps, assembled by Black Water Guild's Vice Guild Leader Xuanwu Chisha and packed with top-tier experts. Among them were numerous Grandmaster-level fighters, and leading the group was none other than Xue Hen, whose ranking on the Expert Leaderboard had been climbing steadily, earning him the moniker of the Gun Demon.
"Just like the intelligence said—the War Rider Tribe has joined the Starlight Alliance too. Now Zero Wing Guild is really going to suffer at the Witch's Hill."
"Zero Wing is done for this time. Before Black Water even lifts a finger, the Starlight Alliance is going to strip them of their title as the number one guild in the Star Moon Kingdom."
"Exactly! Sin Domain has deep ties with the Beast Emperor's side and possesses the power to turn players into monsters. Just from the intelligence we've gathered, the Starlight Alliance has prepared over three thousand monster players specifically to crush Zero Wing, and the number of experts they've dispatched reaches twenty thousand. Add in the War Rider Tribe that just arrived, and if Zero Wing stays inside the city, they might be fine—but the moment they dare step out, the Starlight Alliance will swallow them whole."
"I've always heard that the War Rider Tribe's leader Yan Xiao is incredibly powerful, and seeing him now, it really lives up to the reputation. No wonder he dared to turn down the Vice Guild Leader's generous recruitment offer."
"With strength like that, I'd love to have a go at him."
"I'd rather fight Hei Yan—see if he's really as formidable as the rumors claim."
"Enough! Stop fooling around. Don't forget our mission this time."
As the team members chattered among themselves, their leader Xue Hen suddenly cut them off. Everyone fell silent immediately—none of them harbored even a trace of the old defiance toward this leader.
"For now, all of you proceed to your designated positions. The moment Zero Wing sends any force out of the city, be ready to strike!" Xue Hen said through team chat. "No matter whether Zero Wing wins or loses this time, we're cutting off their source of income."
"Yes!" Everyone sprang into action at once, scattering to various locations throughout the Tower of the Four Elements, waiting for a single command to destroy Zero Wing City's greatest revenue source—the Tower itself.
"Zero Wing! Kicking you while you're down is a bit underhanded, but you've only got yourselves to blame for blocking Black Water's path!" Xue Hen cast a glance toward the distant Zero Wing headquarters, then headed toward the predetermined position.
As various powers were meticulously laying their plans at the Witch's Hill, in the reception hall on the second floor of Zero Wing City's headquarters, a thousand of Zero Wing's Tier 2 Shield Warriors and Berserkers had gathered together. They had no idea why Shi Feng had summoned them here, and he still hadn't told them what the mission was. Everyone was buzzing with speculation—until Shi Feng and Shuise Qiangwei walked into the hall, at which point the entire room fell silent.
"Since everyone's here and all of you present are core members of the guild, I'll be direct. I have a mission for you, but before you carry it out, you'll need to undergo a transformation into the Giant race to gain more powerful strength. If you don't want to, you're free to leave now—I'll find replacements. If there are no objections, line up and come to me one by one." Shi Feng walked to the center of the hall, swept his gaze across the crowd, and spoke plainly.
"Transform into the Giant race?" Shuise Qiangwei blinked in surprise, staring at Shi Feng.
She knew a thing or two about race transformations and understood their benefits—especially the Giants. They were a race created by the Titans, possessing combat power far beyond what any other race could match. But this kind of transformation wasn't something you could just undergo whenever you pleased.
The assembled crowd first fell completely silent, then erupted into excited cheers. Everyone present was a core member of Zero Wing and understood the advantages of becoming a neutral race—let alone the legendary Giant race, a mysterious people rumored to be even more powerful than Half-Elves and Half-Orcs.
In no time, everyone was practically surging toward Shi Feng, desperate to be the first in line for the transformation.
Seeing that no one had any objections, Shi Feng produced the Giant Holy Stone and began transforming them one by one. In just over ten minutes, all one thousand had been converted into Giants standing over four meters tall, making the spacious hall feel decidedly cramped.
" Incredible!"
Even a single Tier 2 Giant among them made Shuise Qiangwei feel considerable pressure. With a full thousand gathered together, the word "awe-inspiring" hardly did it justice.
"Good! Now let's head to Barbarian Hammer Town and pay the Starlight Alliance a visit!" Shi Feng regarded the thousand Tier 2 Giant players, nodded in satisfaction, and activated the teleportation gate of the Seven Luster Ring.