In a secluded stretch of stone forest deep within the Cold Spring Great Forest, a hundred-person party was steadily clearing level-100 wild beasts inside a narrow canyon. While other factions' teams would struggle against a level-100 Great Leader like the Three-Headed Lizard Serpent, it was nothing to this group — they could suppress it completely, chipping away at its HP without pause.
"Push harder, everyone! The boss's HP is almost gone!" bellowed the man at the forefront — a magic fighter in his thirties clad in deep-blue armor, gripping a war hammer as he tanked one of the Three-Headed Lizard Serpent's heads head-on.
The creature attacked with all three heads simultaneously. Two main tanks each held one at bay, and the magic fighter with his war hammer was locked in a fierce struggle against the third — not giving an inch.
If players from any other faction had witnessed this scene, their jaws would have dropped.
This party was not a guild team. It was a free-player squad — independent adventurers with no organizational backing.
On a level-100 neutral map, even the main forces of major factions could barely scrape by. Faced with a level-100 Great Leader, they would steer well clear, terrified that a prolonged battle would draw more monsters and trigger a total wipe. Yet this party had charged straight at a level-100 Great Leader the moment they encountered it, and was now suppressing it flawlessly. Their strength rivaled the cutting-edge raid parties of the most powerful superpowers.
In barely ten minutes, the Three-Headed Lizard Serpent — HP all but gone — collapsed before the party. Everyone's experience bar surged forward by a noticeable chunk, and several pieces of gleaming, level-100 equipment dropped to the ground.
"Leveling here is insanely fast. At this rate I'll hit 101 in under two days."
"Fast leveling is nice, but have you checked the stats on these level-100 pieces? Our ninety-five-level gear can't even compare — they're more than two tiers higher at the same quality. If we could get a full set of level-100 Mythril-rank equipment, we'd absolutely crush a ninety-five-level Dark Gold set."
"Getting level-100 Mythril gear is way too hard, though. Only the higher-tier Great Leaders drop them, and we've barely run into any — plus some of those we can't even handle. With our time constraints, putting together a full Mythril set is nearly impossible."
"That Zero Wing guild is really lucky. They actually managed to relocate Stone Forest City over here. If our Dark Dragon Adventuring Team had a rest spot on a level-100 neutral map, I bet we'd be rocking a full Mythril set — maybe even Gold-grade gear — and heading off to advance to Tier 3 in no time."
The mention of Stone Forest City drew a wave of envy. Compared to players who had never set foot on a level-100 neutral map, they understood all too well how precious a safe resting point could be on such dangerous territory. But Stone Forest City was not open to the public, so they could only watch from afar.
"Team leader, I heard Zero Wing set up an Adventurer Alliance. Anyone who becomes a Silver member can enter Stone Forest City. Why don't we reach out and negotiate with them? With the strength of our Dark Dragon Adventuring Team, Zero Wing would surely be thrilled to have us. They'd probably make us a Silver-rank adventuring team in the alliance right away," a level-100 dark priest said, looking at the magic fighter at the head of the group.
The rest of the party nodded in enthusiastic agreement.
Their Dark Dragon Adventuring Team was one of the most renowned top-tier adventuring teams in the Demon Prison World. They numbered only around a thousand — small by some standards — but their strength was formidable enough to send the first-rate guilds of the Divine Realm running for cover. If Zero Wing got the chance to add them to an alliance, they would jump at it.
"We really can't keep going like this," Team Leader An Li said after a moment's thought. "After this operation wraps up, a few of you go talk to Zero Wing. The bottom line is that we become a Silver-rank adventuring team in the alliance immediately. If they won't agree to that, forget the whole thing."
In his view, the only real benefit of joining the Adventurer Alliance was gaining access to Stone Forest City. If the entire team could not enter the city right away, there was no point at all.
While the Dark Dragon Adventuring Team was resting, a sudden explosion of sound and a brilliant flare of fire erupted from somewhere nearby.
"Team leader — there's a fight happening in the distance!" the ranger, who had been keeping watch, shouted.
"Who is it?" An Li asked.
"Not many people. One side is wearing the Zero Wing insignia — it should be a Zero Wing team. The other side looks like it's Star Ring's Hellfire Legion," the ranger replied.