At the same time that Level 70 weapons and equipment appeared in Zero Wing's guild warehouse, Beastblood Fortress, standing deep within the Beastman Empire's territory, received the news almost immediately. In the conference room on the top floor of the fifth building, several experts above Level 66 watched with tense expressions as Xuanyuan Sansha sat by the window admiring the street view.
"Vice Leader, according to our undercover agents inside Zero Wing, the number of Level 70 weapons and equipment available for exchange is close to a thousand pieces, and every single item carries an attribute that reduces stamina consumption," a Level 66 Ranger said, looking at Xuanyuan Sansha with undisguised envy. "The entire Zero Wing is buzzing with excitement over this. A lot of their guild members are scrambling to earn contribution points to exchange for this equipment. It's given Zero Wing a significant boost in morale."
Level 70 weapons and equipment were already extravagant items for the various superpowers. Even experts of their caliber were only wearing Level 65 Gold-grade gear at best—having a few pieces of Level 65 Dark Gold-grade equipment would be enough to make them grin in their sleep.
Yet Zero Wing had actually put up a considerable number of Level 70 Mythril Rank equipment for their Elite members to exchange. That kind of benefit was genuinely enviable.
If they could swap in even a few pieces of Level 70 Mythril Rank equipment with stamina-reduction attributes, it would make their future progress considerably easier. And yet this kind of opportunity had fallen to players who didn't even meet the standard of ordinary experts. It was enough to drive anyone mad.
"Zero Wing certainly has nerve, putting equipment like that on the table," Xuanyuan Sansha remarked with a trace of surprise, then chuckled. "Unfortunately, this can only put a temporary dent in the problem. We've prepared for a long war of attrition—even the Guild Master has set aside three hundred thousand gold to attract experts from all over to deal with Zero Wing. Zero Wing putting those items up for Elite exchange just makes them an even better target."
"I originally thought that Black Flame would have the sense to pull his guild members back into the Star Moon Kingdom and hole up defensively. Even if we at Star Ring wanted to wipe them out, it would cost us enormous amounts of time and resources. But it seems this Black Flame thinks that winning a few small victories against superpowers means he can stand on equal footing with them. Utterly foolish!"
"Zero Wing really doesn't know when it's outmatched, trying to go head-to-head with us in a war of attrition. It's literally smashing eggs against rocks." The tall woman beside them, clad in pitch-black sacred armor, furrowed her brows and stepped forward to volunteer. "Vice Leader, let's strike before Dark Soul does. We can't let Jingfeng and Dark Soul hog all the credit this time!"
"Of course. Yuemeng, go make the preparations. First, we cut off every road between Silver Wing Town and the Star Moon Kingdom. That way, Silver Wing Town will lose its entire source of income!" Xuanyuan Sansha nodded.
"Leave it to me, Vice Leader. I guarantee not a single person will get through by land!" Yuemeng patted the heavy hammer in her hands, her beautiful eyes brimming with absolute confidence.
Meanwhile, in White River City, Shi Feng had quietly arrived at the second-floor hall of the Adventurer's Association.
"Honored Protector, how may I be of assistance?" the NPC Senior Steward asked respectfully upon seeing Shi Feng.
"I'd like to turn in a quest. This is the Heart of the Fire Meteor that I obtained." Shi Feng produced a stone radiating a blue-green flame from his inventory and handed it directly to the Senior Steward.
Every subjugation quest required corresponding proof of subjugation, and the Heart of the Fire Meteor was proof of successfully defeating the Lord of the Fire Meteor.
The moment the Senior Steward laid eyes on the Heart of the Fire Meteor, he froze. It took a long while before he snapped back to reality, and the respect in his gaze toward Shi Feng only deepened.
Once the Senior Steward finished verifying the Heart of the Fire Meteor, a rapid succession of system notifications rang in Shi Feng's ears.
Star Moon Kingdom Regional System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for completing the Heroic-level subjugation quest "Lord of the Fire Meteor"! Guild Fame +30,000. Zero Wing has been granted One-Star Honorary Guild status within the Star Moon Kingdom.
…
The system announcement echoed through the entire Star Moon Kingdom three times over. Every player within the kingdom heard it crystal clear. Moreover, in every major Adventurer's Association hall across the Star Moon Kingdom, a Zero Wing guild banner was raised. Any player who visited the Adventurer's Association would see this banner—an absolute symbol of glory. Even if Zero Wing were to disappear one day, these banners in the Star Moon Kingdom's Adventurer's Associations would never come down.
But compared to the symbolic glory, what truly excited Shi Feng was that Zero Wing had become a One-Star Honorary Guild.
Honorary Guild!
This was a title that countless guilds throughout the Divine Realm yearned for.
Even though the title only applied within a single kingdom or empire, for a guild, it was capital for growth.
In his previous life, even the Shadow Guild had exhausted every ounce of effort trying to obtain such a guild title and failed. Yet in this life, he had achieved it.
Generally speaking, a guild needed to complete three Heroic-level subjugation tasks to earn the One-Star Honorary Guild title. But as the first guild to complete a Heroic-level subjugation quest, Zero Wing had been granted the title directly.
It might seem like nothing more than a guild title—without any tangible items in the quest rewards. However, for a guild, a One-Star Honorary Guild title was worth more than dozens or even hundreds of Epic-grade weapons and equipment.
With this guild title, the guild would gain access to higher-level quests from noble NPCs, while guild members would receive a 5% boost to their base attributes and a 5% increase in experience gain while adventuring in outdoor maps throughout the Star Moon Kingdom.
Five percent base attributes and five percent experience might not sound like much, but for high-level players it was anything but insignificant. These small advantages compounded over time, gradually widening the gap between them and other players—and by extension, the gap between the guilds themselves.
If Zero Wing had previously been like an iron fortress within the Star Moon Kingdom—nearly impossible to shake—then with this title, they had become a steel citadel. No outside force could do anything to Zero Wing unless they possessed an overwhelming disparity in power.
This was precisely why, in his previous life, the major powers had frantically pursued Heroic-level subjugation quests. Possessing a kingdom or empire's Honorary Guild title was like holding the strategic high ground in wartime—easy to defend, difficult to assault.
After witnessing the effects of the One-Star Honorary Guild title, every Zero Wing member grew excited in turn.
They might not be able to level up in neutral territory anymore, but with this guild title, they could return to the Star Moon Kingdom to grind, and their leveling speed wouldn't necessarily be much slower than in neutral maps. On top of that, they would have a distinct advantage when fighting field bosses within the kingdom.
"Guild Leader, Zero Wing is saved now! Even if Star Ring has sealed off Zero Wing's development path in neutral territory, we can rely on this to develop peacefully within the Star Moon Kingdom," Yiluofei said happily from Silver Wing Town.
Following their leader Yantianxing's suggestion, the FFF Squad had joined Zero Wing. But truth be told, even after they joined, Zero Wing's situation in the Beastman Empire was still dire. Star Ring's power, once they got serious, was terrifying—far too strong. Zero Wing's members couldn't set a single foot outside Silver Wing Town.
A guild unable to develop in neutral territory would inevitably be overtaken by the major powers and slowly bled dry.
But now, with the Honorary Guild title, their development speed within the Star Moon Kingdom wouldn't fall far behind what they could achieve in neutral territory. At the very least, ordinary powers wouldn't be able to surpass Zero Wing, and it would become even harder for Star Ring to deal with Zero Wing within the kingdom's borders. As long as Zero Wing could hold on, there would always be a chance to turn things around. After all, the Divine Realm was constantly changing, and Star Ring couldn't keep their main force stationed around Zero Wing forever.
"Zero Wing truly lives up to its reputation as a guild that clawed its way up from nothing. They held back all this time, and it was all for this," Yantianxing breathed a sigh of relief.
Over this period, he had dealt with Star Ring's forces more than enough. The strength Star Ring kept hidden was genuinely terrifying. The sheer number of experts they had dispatched was staggering, to say nothing of the Beast Legion—a force that moved like shadows and struck like wind, sweeping through everything in its path like a gale. He himself had nearly been killed by members of the Beast Legion. If not for the magical tower and war golem guarding Silver Wing Town, the town itself would likely have fallen to those Beast Legion operatives.
"Guild Leader, look—the main team members have arrived! They seem to be heading straight toward the Beast Legion's position!" Yiluofei exclaimed, watching Fire Dance and the others appear at the city gates and march toward the camp where the Beast Legion was openly taunting them. She couldn't help but feel puzzled.
"Have they lost their minds?" Yantianxing watched as Fire Dance and the other thirty-odd members mounted up and charged toward the Beast Legion's location without a word, and his heart lurched with alarm.