The Dark Night Empire. Dark Night City.
Atop the highest floor of the War Soul Imperishable guild hall, a group of the guild's senior executives sat stiffly in their seats. The conference room was cloaked in a suffocating silence.
After the battle at the Burial Grounds Fortress, the War Soul Imperishable's main forces had suffered catastrophic losses. They were now in no position to contest the Undead Kingdom against Star Ring, and the situation was growing more dire by the day—which was precisely why this emergency meeting had been convened.
"Over the past few days, the Crimson Empire Guild has halted all operations in the Undead Kingdom. The envoys we sent to negotiate couldn't even get an audience. I'm afraid we can't count on Crimson Empire's help anymore," Mu Lingsha said, her tone helpless.
Previously, Star Ring had enjoyed an enormous advantage by holding the fortress in the Undead Kingdom, but War Soul Imperishable had managed to hold its own—barely—through a covert alliance with Crimson Empire supplemented by the Endurance Gems provided by Zero Wing.
Now, not only had their strength been decimated, but Crimson Empire had also pulled out entirely. There was simply no way left to compete with Star Ring for control of the Undead Kingdom.
And the resources of the Undead Kingdom were incomparable to any other neutral zone. If Star Ring seized it completely, the consequences were easy to imagine. War Soul Imperishable would never again have a foothold in the Dark Night Empire.
"Our only hope now lies in the Endurance Gems and Endurance Elixirs that Zero Wing provides," Indestructible War Heart said after a moment's thought. "If we had a large supply, we might still be able to fight for it. After all, the Undead Kingdom drains stamina far more heavily than other neutral zones, and right now only expert players can survive there. The player population is still too small to form any real scale."
The Undead Kingdom was a lucrative prize, but its environment and level requirements meant ordinary players simply couldn't survive there—they'd be cut down by the monsters in short order. Only expert players could hold their own. Though War Soul Imperishable had taken heavy losses, their core elites remained largely intact.
With a guaranteed supply of Endurance, gathering resources wouldn't be a problem.
"Zero Wing has already emptied its reserves of Endurance Gems and Endurance Elixirs to keep Star Ring bogged down in the Dark Night Empire. Getting more is probably…" Mu Lingsha shook her head. She wasn't optimistic.
"Indestructible, you've really gone soft. Zero Wing is nothing but a small guild occupying a single kingdom. At a time like this, you're still counting on them to do something?" A Guardian Knight clad in golden armor, his level an imposing 67, spoke up. This was Soul Oath. "The only reason Zero Wing dared to act so brazenly in the Dark Night Empire before was because we and Crimson Empire were backing them. Now that we've taken devastating losses, a small fry like Zero Wing will run as far in the other direction as they can. And you still expect them to pitch in? Do you honestly think that's possible?" He jabbed a finger toward Indestructible War Heart. "I said it from the start—we should have cut our losses while Star Ring was still growing and expanded elsewhere. But no, you insisted on partnering with Zero Wing and going head-to-head with Star Ring all the way. Well, look where that got us!"
At Soul Oath's words, everyone in the room fell silent.
If they had pivoted to one of the other kingdoms right after Star Ring seized the Auction House in Dark Night City, their growth would have been severely stunted and they would have gone quiet for a long stretch. But even that would have been far better than their current predicament.
"Enough!" Guild Master Soul Heaven Without Words suddenly barked. "What we need to discuss right now isn't whose fault this is—it's what we do next!"
The sheer authority behind his voice silenced even Soul Oath, who had been about to retort. The executives around the table all nodded. The damage was done. What mattered now was finding a solution.
Just as the group was wrestling with their next move, the conference door suddenly burst open and a Level 66 Tier Two Assassin rushed inside.
"What is it?" Soul Heaven Without Words glanced toward the newcomer.
"We just received word. Moments ago, Zero Wing abruptly purchased forty-five shops across the ten major cities of the Dark Night Empire—bought them right out from under every other major power."
"What did you say? Zero Wing bought forty-five shops in the Dark Night Empire?"
"How is that even possible?!"