"Just look at that! How did so many guilds gather in Midnight City?"
"Probably the same as those adventuring parties from before — they're likely here to cooperate with Zero Wing over Stone Forest City."
"Zero Wing is going to be a big deal now. If they can partner with this many guilds, even the Star Ring wouldn't dare make a move against them."
"Not just 'wouldn't dare make a move' — did you notice the people wearing the Tiger's Radiance insignia? That's a superpower that rose not long ago. I heard their guild strength is barely behind the Star Ring's, and the Declining War Spirits are no comparison at all. If Tiger's Radiance partners up with Zero Wing, the Star Ring will have a much harder time touching them."
"If that's really the case, and Zero Wing develops within the Night Empire, the entire Night Empire will probably be thrown into a fierce struggle."
Players from every major power in the Midnight City Teleportation Hall watched as Ziyan Liuyun and her group arrived through the teleportation circle, unable to hold back their hushed discussions. Many of them could already picture the future — countless guild wars erupting across the Night Empire.
For them, this was absolutely the scenario they most wanted to see.
Because turbulent times bred heroes. Under the Star Ring's domination of the Night Empire, no one dared do anything, and no power dared act either. Between the major factions, it was all petty skirmishes at best — push too far, and the Star Ring would crush you in an instant. As a result, it was incredibly difficult for any expert from the major powers to make a name for themselves.
Of course, compared to what the future might hold, everyone was far more interested in Tiger's Radiance's appearance right now.
Because as long as Tiger's Radiance joined forces with Zero Wing, Zero Wing would have the capital to develop in the Night Empire. Other guilds, even if they banded together, would offer Zero Wing no real help in the Night Empire. As for the Declining War Spirits and the Celestial Mechanism Pavilion, no one even bothered to consider them.
The Declining War Spirits had been clashing with the Star Ring for ages. Whether they cooperated with Zero Wing or not, it wouldn't change the Night Empire's current situation — and the Declining War Spirits were already on a downward spiral.
As for the Celestial Mechanism Pavilion, it was a famously transcendent power that never involved itself in the struggles of other factions. It only developed commerce and earned money. The only reason it had intervened in the Stone Forest City battle was that its interests had been touched. Otherwise, it would never have lifted a finger.
Tiger's Radiance was different. It was a superpower from beyond the Night Empire. Dragging Tiger's Radiance into the Night Empire would inevitably shake things up enormously.
"So this is the Star Ring's stronghold? The player caliber here really is high — not far behind the Glory Empire at all. No wonder the Star Ring developed so quickly." Ziyan Liuyun glanced around the hall, making a rough assessment of the players present. "If Zero Wing really intends to fight the Star Ring to the death, we may need to reconsider our cooperation with them."
The Glory Empire was at least on par with the Night Empire, arguably even stronger. Though no Divine-tier regional dungeons had appeared there yet, no shortage of Asura-tier regional dungeons existed — more than enough for Tiger's Radiance to develop in.
If it weren't for the guild elders showing interest in the Bottomless Abyss, along with the White Tiger Martial Hall's strong recommendation, Tiger's Radiance wouldn't have given Zero Wing a second thought.
"Indeed, the player quality here is very high. Recruiting fresh talent wouldn't be difficult at all. And with the thing the Star Ring has obtained, their rate of growth will probably be staggering," Chi You agreed from beside her. "But since we're already here, we might as well go see this Stone Forest City."
As a superpower, they would not easily offend another superpower. Even if they did, they would weigh the costs and benefits carefully. There was no way the guild would approve this venture merely to give its members an optional development zone.
"Naturally. At the very least, we need to give the elders something to report." Ziyan Liuyun nodded.
Under the watchful eyes of every major power's players in Midnight City, Ziyan Liuyun and her group teleported to the NPC town nearest the Undead Kingdom. From there, mounted on their rides and led by Watercolor Rose, they traversed one neutral map after another. All monsters encountered along the way were dispatched by Zero Wing's main raid team.
And the main raid team's performance immediately caught every guild representative present off guard.
After entering the Undead Kingdom and facing Great Lord-tier monsters above level 60, Zero Wing's main raid team carved through them as easily as chopping melons and vegetables. Watercolor Rose, Bai Qingxue, and the other experts treated level-65 Great Lords as though they were nothing — each of them could easily suppress several at once. Even the level-65 Superior Great Lords could only barely edge past Bai Qingxue by a sliver…
The sheer fundamental stats of Zero Wing's main raid team left everyone present in disbelief.
"Bai Qingxue's base stats are absurdly high. I'd wager even our guild's top Berserker falls a little short of her." Ziyan Liuyun watched Bai Qingxue single-handedly engage a level-65 Superior Great Lord and couldn't help but voice her thoughts.
Berserkers were renowned for their strength. She had seen plenty of Berserkers who could hold their own against Great Lord-tier monsters under normal conditions. But a Berserker who could solo a Superior Great Lord? This was a first for her.
"It's not just her base stats — in a straight fight, I'm not sure I could beat her either." Chi You watched Bai Qingxue with a grave expression.
"She's really that strong?" Ziyan Liuyun looked at Chi You, unconvinced.
Others might not know how powerful Chi You was, but she certainly did. Though he was only an Assassin, Chi You possessed the hidden class Blood Wielder — a top-tier legacy. His raw strength stat was no less than any Berserker's, and his agility far surpassed that of ordinary Assassins. In a head-on confrontation, he was no pushover.
In the unstructured environment of the wild, his frontal combat ability was even more formidable. Formal matches were like shackles for experts who had mastered Domain — they simply couldn't bring out their true strength.
She had watched Zero Wing's previous battle for White River City. Bai Qingxue and the others were undeniably strong, but that was only within the context of formal matches. Wild combat was a completely different story.
"I wish it weren't true, but she really is that strong," Chi You said with a bitter smile.
Combat assessment was the area where he was most confident — it was precisely that ability that had allowed him to repeatedly take down experts from the superpowers. The Bai Qingxue before him now gave him a deeply dangerous feeling. And he hadn't even mentioned the other matter: it wasn't Bai Qingxue alone who gave him that sensation.
Zhao Yueru and Ziyan Liuyun, standing beside Bai Qingxue, did as well — though their threat level wasn't quite as obvious as Bai Qingxue's.
Just as Ziyan Liuyun and her group were forming a clearer picture of Zero Wing's main raid team, they arrived at Stone Forest City without even realizing it.
The moment they set foot inside the city, everyone was stunned by the incredibly dense mana permeating it.
"How can the mana be this concentrated?" Ziyan Liuyun, herself an Elementalist, felt the mana swirling around her, her eyes filled with disbelief.