Star Moon Kingdom, White River City.
The moment Shi Feng stepped out of the packed teleportation hall, he could feel that the city's atmosphere was completely different from before.
The hidden killing intent and oppressive gloom that had once pervaded the area had vanished entirely. Far fewer members of the various major guilds could be seen loitering on White River City's streets — instead, adventurer team players had grown considerably more numerous.
On the crowded city streets, these players could be heard discussing the events at Witch's Hill everywhere they went.
"Zero Wing went absolutely insane this time! They took down two of the Starlight Alliance's towns in one fell swoop — even the superpowers might not be able to pull something like that off!"
"Who could've guessed Zero Wing had this much depth? Because of this, the Starlight Alliance has completely dissolved. The financial groups have already pulled their funding, and it probably won't be long before Zero Wing purges them from Star Moon Kingdom entirely."
"Who told the Starlight Alliance to be so arrogant in the first place? They actually dared to oppose Zero Wing — they should've looked at how Zero Wing became the overlord of Star Moon in the first place. They're probably kicking themselves right now."
"Tell me about it. I heard the ones who captured both towns were Zero Wing's giant players — each standing over four meters tall, with immense strength, absurdly high defense, and the ability to tank turret shots head-on. Add in the terrain advantage, and who'd dare challenge Zero Wing? I have no idea how they managed to convert so many players into the Giant race. If only I could become a Giant player too."
"That's easy — just join the Zero Wing Guild. Since Zero Wing can convert that many players into Giants, they can surely convert even more. The only question is what the cost would be."
"Exactly! Because of this, tons of independent experts across Star Moon Kingdom have already flocked to Zero Wing, all trying to get a spot for the Giant conversion. Sure, operating in human cities as a neutral race isn't exactly convenient, but the combat power is undeniable. And once our levels get high enough, we'll mainly be operating in the wider neutral zones anyway, so the inconvenience of human cities won't really matter."
"Actually, you don't even need to join Zero Wing. I heard that because of the Giant players, it's not just the guilds in Star Moon Kingdom — major powers all across the surrounding regions have started investigating everything related to Giant conversion. They all want their top experts to become Giants. It's only a matter of time before the conversion conditions are discovered, and we independent players might stand a chance too."
……
The independent players on the streets were buzzing with discussion about the Battle of Witch's Hill, especially when the topic turned to the Giant players. Their eyes lit up with excitement at the very thought, wishing they could be converted into Giants right then and there.
On the streets, it didn't matter whether you were an independent player or a member of a major power — everyone was obsessed with the Giant players, as if a new era of Giants had dawned.
Shi Feng could only smile faintly at this as he headed straight for the Candlelight Trading Company.
The Giant race's power was indeed formidable, but its weaknesses were equally obvious — advancement was extremely difficult, and without substantial guild support, even reaching Tier 3 was a monumental challenge.
Right now, he had converted a thousand Shield Warriors and Berserkers into Giants specifically to bolster Zero Wing's advantage. Under normal circumstances, this kind of conversion would be left to individual player choice.
Of course, Giants could revert back to their original form afterward, though they would lose some levels. However, compared to the advantages accumulated during Tier 2, that level loss was hardly a significant problem. Besides, it allowed him to identify the truly outstanding players early — after all, before the conversion, no one could tell whether they were a good fit or not. With his Titan Bloodline, he could significantly mitigate the advancement issues faced by Giant players, allowing these Giant experts to shine all the sooner.
As for the various guilds investigating the Giant conversion process, both Water Color Rose and Orchid had expressed some concern, but Shi Feng wasn't worried in the slightest. It was only a matter of time before Thunderclap City was discovered, since he had already opened a teleportation gateway to it.
For players to convert into Giants through legitimate means would require considerable time, and during that window, the advantages Zero Wing needed to secure had long since been seized.
Before long, Shi Feng arrived at the Candlelight Trading Company, where Melancholic Smile had already prepared all the materials and manpower. They had begun full-scale production of the defensive puppets.
This was far more meaningful than simply increasing the number of Giant players.
In his previous life, it was precisely tools of war like defensive puppets that had allowed second-rate and third-rate guilds to survive under the noses of first-rate and superpowers.