Star Moon Kingdom, White River City.
As flash after flash of light flickered from the teleportation formation in the teleportation hall, batch after batch of players materialized. A closer look at these newcomers revealed that many bore the same guild emblems on their cloaks.
These adventurer teams were all well-known parties from other kingdoms and empires — some even originated entirely from various planar worlds.
However, after a single team of nearly a hundred players teleported in, every player in the hall drew a sharp breath.
"Incredible! Even the Curse Origin team — ranked in the top three of the Dark Night Empire — is getting involved?"
"I heard Star Ring has gone all out against Zero Wing. They've piled on the benefits for these top adventurer teams and top-tier experts inside the Alliance, even dangling special bloodline inheritances, all to deal with Zero Wing's experts on the Level 100 neutral maps."
"Looks like Zero Wing is in for a rough time. Sure, they have Stone Forest City, so their guild experts can go to the Level 100 neutral maps to level up. But those maps are still off-limits for most experts right now — though those top adventurer teams and peak experts are a different story."
"You can say that again. Those top teams and experts might have trouble getting to and from the Level 100 neutral maps, but once they're inside, dealing with Zero Wing's average members would be a walk in the park. And since travel on the Level 100 neutral maps is so inconvenient, even if Zero Wing sent reinforcements, they'd probably still take a pretty bad beating."
Players in the teleportation hall watched top adventurer team after top adventurer team arrive in White River City, each wave stoking fresh waves of astonishment and discussion. Some had already started quietly placing bets on whether Zero Wing or Star Ring would be the last one standing.
"So many top adventurer teams showing up — Star Ring really is pulling out all the stops," Shi Feng murmured, clicking his tongue after Torch Trading received the report.
The cost of getting a single top adventurer team to operate on a Level 100 neutral map was anything but cheap, yet Star Ring had managed to bring this many over. Even a super-guild would have winced at the price.
"Guild Master, I just got word too — Star Ring's Hellfire Legion members have started shifting toward Cold Spring Great Forest. Looks like they're planning to intercept our leveling teams out there," Miao Wuyin said anxiously from her own leveling session. "Should I talk to the Trade Alliance and ask them to send some experts over?"
Zero Wing had the advantage of Stone Forest City, but its members still needed to venture into the wilds to level up. The guild's foundation was still thin — even with the experts produced by the Twilight of the Gods, those experts were too few in number. Against the sheer volume of top-tier teams Star Ring had deployed, there was simply no way to cover everything.
Of course, this strategy was costly for Star Ring as well. But Star Ring was massive, with resources and funding that Zero Wing simply couldn't match. More importantly, Star Ring controlled several major adventurer alliances, which meant the situation would only grow worse for Zero Wing over time.
If any other superpower had been the target, Star Ring probably wouldn't have dared use this approach. But against a guild as shallow in foundations as Zero Wing, they had no reservations whatsoever.
"No need. Just focus on leveling," Shi Feng said with a smile. "Sure, Star Ring has deep resources, but our Zero Wing isn't exactly lacking in that department either."
Before Stone Forest City had been relocated to Cold Spring Ravine, he genuinely wouldn't have dared to go toe-to-toe with Star Ring in a war of attrition. But now things were different.
"Alright then. I'll get our team to Level 100 as fast as I can." Miao Wuyin had no choice but to buckle down — only at Level 100 could the true power of the Twilight of the Gods be brought to bear.
Meanwhile, Liang Jing walked into the basic meditation chamber where Shi Feng was stationed.
"Guild Master, the Adventurer Alliance's basic structure and benefits have all been finalized. The Alliance branches are set up too — not only in Star Moon Royal City and White River City, but also in Zero Wing City and Stone Forest City. We can start recruiting immediately." Liang Jing's voice was brimming with excitement.
She was brimming with confidence about the new adventurer alliance they were about to establish.
Sure, other adventurer alliances offered generous benefits, but compared to the one Zero Wing was setting up, they fell short by a mile.
"Good. Let's make the announcement," Shi Feng nodded.
Originally, he had planned to wait until the Asura adventurer team had grown further, then use it as a foundation to build an adventurer alliance. But with Star Ring going all-in, he had no choice but to move the timeline forward.
The moment Shi Feng gave his approval, Liang Jing immediately posted the news on the Star Moon Kingdom's official forums. At the same time, several major NPC cities across the kingdom began recruiting simultaneously, sending shockwaves through the entire Star Moon Kingdom.
"What? Zero Wing is forming an adventurer alliance?"
"Are they trying to go head-to-head with Star Ring? But Star Ring's Alliance benefits are incredibly generous — I doubt many people would choose Zero Wing's alliance."
"Wait, look — check out the Star Moon Adventurer Alliance benefits! As long as you reach Silver-tier membership, you can enter Stone Forest City. Gold-tier members can even buy private residences in Stone Forest City!"
"Private residences?! That's insane! Stone Forest City was only renting before, and people were going crazy over that. If you could permanently own your own private residence, your leveling speed would be absolutely through the roof!"
"It gets even better — Zero Wing's adventurer alliance has branches in quite a few places across the Star Moon Kingdom. They even have branches in Stone Forest City and Zero Wing City where Alliance members can rest for free!"
……
Players across the Star Moon Kingdom saw the benefits Zero Wing's adventurer alliance was offering, and every last one of them was beside themselves with excitement, practically itching to sign up right that moment.
Stone Forest City was currently the only city in the entire Divine Realm situated on a Level 100 neutral map. Forget about buying a private residence — even being allowed to enter Stone Forest City at all was something countless experts could only dream of. After all, even the top experts of the great superpowers didn't enjoy that privilege.
Now, simply by becoming a Silver-tier member of the Star Moon Adventurer Alliance, anyone could enter Stone Forest City. How could this not drive people wild?
In an instant, the branches of the Star Moon Adventurer Alliance were swamped with free players — their numbers more than ten times the count of those who had joined Zero Wing directly. Even a number of top-tier experts showed up to register.
As for those famous adventurer teams that had originally come to White River City to deal with Zero Wing, they deserted Star Ring's alliance en masse and rushed to sign up with the Star Moon Adventurer Alliance instead. The spectacle was so spectacular that every major power in the Star Moon Kingdom was left dumbfounded.
Then again, these powers could hardly blame them. No resource in the world compared to boosting your own strength. Never mind owning a private residence in Stone Forest City — even gaining access alone would put you leagues ahead of other players. How many would pass up an opportunity like that?
And it wasn't just players from the Star Moon Kingdom. Top-tier players from other kingdoms and empires who caught wind of the news immediately set out for the Star Moon Kingdom as well, causing the member counts of adventurer alliances established by the various planar powers to plummet……
Just as the Star Moon Adventurer Alliance was undergoing its explosive expansion, Shi Feng — busy in the basic meditation chamber crafting the Twilight of the Gods — suddenly received a message from Ke Le.
"Guild Master, we've successfully completed the class change!"