Dark Night Empire, Dark Night City.
As the capital of the Dark Night Empire, massive numbers of players flooded into the city every day, making it a never-sleeping metropolis bustling with activity at all hours.
But at this moment, the conference hall of the War Soul's stronghold was deathly silent.
"What did you say? Star Ring lost?!" Bu Mie Zhan Xin, clad in a suit of black armor, stared in disbelief at the sudden report from his subordinate.
Facing three hundred thousand elite soldiers and over a hundred heavy siege crossbows — even if it were War Soul on the defensive, they would have been confident in holding Creek Moon Town. Yet the outcome was that Star Ring had been defeated.
This had to be a joke.
"According to the latest intel from Creek Moon Town, Star Ring has already retreated toward Silent Canyon. Preliminary estimates put their player losses at over seven thousand, on top of fifty-plus heavy siege crossbows destroyed — a devastating blow." The second-tier assassin delivering the report nodded. "We also have combat footage from Creek Moon Town. All the details are in there."
War Soul had long been aware of Star Ring's plan to attack Creek Moon Town, so they had dispatched a considerable number of players to the area as well, which meant the battle intelligence had been collected in remarkable detail.
Everything was clearly visible — the guardian puppets dismantling the defensive magic array, and the Fire Spirit tearing through Star Ring's army.
"Incredible! With that kind of fighting power, it's no wonder Star Ring had no choice but to withdraw."
"This Zero Wing guild really can't be underestimated. Didn't Bu Mie already do quite a bit of business with Zero Wing before? They have some rapport, right? See if there's a way to bring them on as allies — we could trade 3% of our shares for 10% of theirs."
"Share exchange?"
The proposal from one of the guild's senior members caught Bu Mie Zhan Xin off guard. He hadn't expected the guild to be willing to exchange shares — this was a first. After all, exchanging shares was essentially an exchange of guild interests. But thinking about those four guardian puppets and the Fire Spirit, he had to admit they were worth it.
Sitting off to the side, You Jiu Zhi Hun and Lie Ren watched the proceedings with a mix of admiration and melancholy.
Zero Wing had been nothing more than a first-rate-adjacent guild not so long ago. And now, in such a short span of time, they had grown into a guild that War Soul was willing to exchange shares with.
"Star Ring took a serious beating this time. Before they can make a move against us, they'll need a good while to recover and rebuild their strength. This is our chance — we should seize the opportunity and quickly secure a foothold in the Phantom Labyrinth."
"Exactly! We've been deadlocked with Star Ring in the Phantom Labyrinth in the Sea Forest for ages. If we can take a stronghold in the labyrinth, we'll be able to rapidly amass large quantities of magic crystals and combat skills. No more worrying about how to train our experts."
The War Soul leadership in the conference hall reviewed the intelligence in their hands. While Zero Wing's display of power had surprised them, it was Star Ring's defeat that truly delighted them.
Meanwhile, every major faction across the empire had received the news from Creek Moon Town, and the revelation left them all stunned.
The overwhelmingly dominant Star Ring Guild had actually lost.
And not to some major power — but to a guild barely anyone had heard of called Zero Wing.
"Zero Wing Guild?"
"Find out! Get someone on it immediately — I want a full investigation into what kind of guild this Zero Wing really is!"