"The city is advancing?!"
The moment someone uttered the word "advancing," the entire crowd fell silent, every person staring in disbelief at Stone Forest City, now completely enveloped in a magic barrier.
Town advancement was already fairly common in the current Divine Realm, but to date, not a single guild city had advanced to a mid-tier city. The reason was simple — the requirements for advancing to a mid-tier city were steep and demanded a considerable amount of time to accumulate.
Yet how long had it really been? The major superpowers barely had a handful of basic guild cities among them, and not one had even established itself on a level-100 neutral map, when Stone Forest City had already advanced…
"So Stone Forest City actually advanced! Zero Wing is about to have a field day. Every time a town levels up, its area expands and its defenses get a serious boost. At mid-tier city level, it'll be even harder for those Dark World players to break through."
"You're thinking too simply. It's just a mid-tier city, not a main city. How much can the defenses really improve? And what Zero Wing is facing is an entire world's worth of players — even the NPCs' high-tier cities might not be able to hold out, let alone a mid-tier one."
"Exactly. And if Stone Forest City gets broken into, Zero Wing is going to be devastated."
While everyone present found Stone Forest City's advancement to mid-tier surprising, nobody considered it good news at this point. After all, the crisis of the Dark World was still looming.
The information reached the higher-ups of the major powers almost instantly, and discussions erupted across every faction.
"So that's what Zero Wing was up to — preparing to advance to a mid-tier city. Is this their trump card?" Inside a VIP lounge at the Crimson Emperor base in the Ten Sacred Empires, a fierce-looking man at level 108, radiating a dangerous aura, glanced dismissively at the intelligence report on Stone Forest City that a subordinate had delivered. He then turned his gaze toward a woman in white robes resting nearby and said with a grin, "Huanyu, it looks like you've lost this bet. How is a mere mid-tier city supposed to hold off the Dark World and the combined might of every major superpower? And because you insisted so strongly on rejecting the alliance with Demon's Heart, the Elder Council is already furious with you. If Zero Wing can't even survive in the Cold Spring Great Forest, you'll not only lose your Vice Guild Master position — you'll probably spend the rest of your life stuck in logistics."
"I only made a suggestion. The final decision was the Guild Master's, wasn't it?" Huanyu shot the fierce man a look and said earnestly, "I just have this feeling that Zero Wing won't be taken down so easily. Just like before — I didn't believe Black Flame and his people could break into Demon's City either. Besides, even if we Crimson Emperor don't take part in this, we don't lose anything."
"No, we don't lose anything directly. But you need to understand — from now on, the Dark players and us are going to share the world. Demon's Heart's growth speed is terrifying. Based on what's been scouted so far, their strength is already on par with those super guilds. Building a good relationship with them would make things much easier for our guild on the level-100 neutral maps." The fierce man shook his head as he looked at Huanyu's serious expression. "If we had taken part in Demon's Heart's plan, Crimson Emperor would have earned their friendship and a share of Stone Forest City's profits. Right now, the Elder Council probably wants to strangle you. They were counting on one more round of profits before they could retire comfortably, and now that's all gone out the window. You're going to have a rough time going forward."
"You can't blame me for this. Better safe than sorry. The Guild Master probably thought the same way — the Divine Realm is in a turbulent state right now, tensions between the major powers keep escalating, and with the Dark World's arrival, the atmosphere has already dropped to freezing point. An explosion could happen at any moment, and it wouldn't be surprising if an entire superpower collapsed." Huanyu smiled bitterly in response to the fierce man's teasing.
She hadn't wanted to make that suggestion in the first place. She, too, had believed Zero Wing was finished this time.
But she kept thinking about Shi Feng's performance at Demon's City — especially the legend he had forged in the Dark Cavern, single-handedly blocking the Demon King's Hand. That earth-shattering scene was still vivid in her memory.
That level of shock was beyond words. Only those who had witnessed it firsthand could truly understand how terrifying and awe-inspiring Shi Feng had been in that moment.
That was why she couldn't help but propose to the Guild Master that they abandon the cooperation with Demon's Heart.
"You'll have to take that up with the Elders. They just sent me a message — by the Elder Council's resolution, I'm to lead the main raid team to Stone Forest City immediately. If Zero Wing's situation looks dire, we act in concert with the major superpowers right away." The fierce man shrugged, conveying his helplessness.
"They're moving this quickly?" Huanyu was startled. "Could Demon's Heart have made a move too?"
It had only been a few minutes since the news came through, yet the Elders had already decided on a contingency plan — and the Guild Master hadn't even objected. It genuinely caught her off guard. The only explanation she could think of was that something alarming had come from Demon's Heart's side; otherwise, the decision wouldn't have changed this fast.
"Most likely." The fierce man stood up and asked Huanyu, "Are you coming along?"
"I'm going!" Huanyu nodded firmly. "This was my proposal. If I don't show up, the Elders will only be more convinced that my judgment was unreliable."
The fierce man then led the main raid team of Crimson Emperor straight toward Stone Forest City.
By now, Stone Forest City had undergone two full hours of advancement. The magic barrier that had enveloped the entire city cracked apart with a thunderous shatter, revealing a brand-new Stone Forest City.
As the city reappeared before everyone's eyes, every player waiting in the surrounding forest stood frozen in astonishment.
The city walls, which had previously stood a little over ten meters high, had undergone a complete transformation. They now soared to more than thirty meters, and the material on the surface was entirely different — gleaming like steel, with dense lines of magic runes etched across the surface, radiating an indescribable sense of weight and solidity.
Beyond the walls, every building inside the city had changed as well. They were far taller and grander than before, and even from over a thousand yards away, everyone could feel an inexplicable pressure bearing down on them, as though something was locking onto them at all times.
But what shocked people the most was the magical energy radiating from Stone Forest City!
Even before the advancement, the city's magical power had been extraordinary — arguably beyond any other guild city in the entire Divine Realm. But now, it was on a completely different level. A faint mist had begun to swirl within the magic barrier's perimeter…
"Holy hell! Is that really Stone Forest City?"
"Did Zero Wing swap it out with some other city?!"