As a batch of players walked into the hall and excitedly announced the news that Zero Wing had defeated the Dark World, the crowd—who had completely disbelved Yuan Tiexin's words moments ago—was now stunned.
"You're kidding, right?! It's actually true?!"
"How could Zero Wing possibly win? Those were experts from an entire great world!"
It was hardly a secret that the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion held a portion of Stone Forest City's shares, so it was entirely possible that Yuan Tiexin had been lying simply to boost Zero Wing's reputation.
But the players who had just walked in were different. They were all free players, and each one was well-informed when it came to news in Stone Forest City. Many members of Stone Forest City's adventure teams were familiar with these people, and since they had no ties to Zero Wing whatsoever, their words carried a great deal of credibility.
Most importantly, this also explained why the major superpowers had suddenly changed their attitudes, each and every one of them now eager to build good relations with Zero Wing.
Even though many people present were still half-skeptical, the news itself—whether it turned out to be a lie or an exaggeration—meant that Zero Wing had definitely done something extraordinary to cause the major superpowers' attitudes to shift so dramatically.
Simply this one event alone was enough to leave everyone present shocked and awed.
Without the major superpowers secretly stirring up trouble, relying on Stone Forest City's defenses and natural advantages, even players from the Dark World would need a very long time to capture it. And during that time, they could develop peacefully within Stone Forest City—every extra day of growth would put them well ahead of players on the outside.
"Good thing we didn't do anything reckless this time. But I really never expected Zero Wing's hidden strength to be this formidable. That Yan Guang from Demon's Heart must be writhing with regret right about now." The fierce-looking man from the Scarlet Emperor Guild glanced toward the Demon's Heart members who had already departed, and let out a bitter laugh.
What made Demon's Heart most feared was the Dark World teleportation gate that Yan Guang controlled.
It could be said that this gate was Yan Guang's greatest trump card—something even the five great super-guilds were wary of. Otherwise, Demon's Heart wouldn't have thrived so comfortably in the Ten Saints Empire.
But this time, all their efforts to preserve the guild's prestige and intimidate the various powers of the Ten Saints Empire had come to nothing.
One could even say they had inadvertently helped Zero Wing.
Zero Wing now reaped both fame and profit!
The feat of defeating an entire Dark World would inevitably spread across the whole Divine Realm before long. This was something none of the major superpowers had ever accomplished, yet Zero Wing had done it. Even if they had relied on a large number of Tier 3 NPCs, those were still Zero Wing's forces.
And with Zero Wing now controlling the Dark World's teleportation gate, even ordinary players could see that a massive period of growth was ahead for Zero Wing—potentially catapulting them into becoming yet another superpower in the Divine Realm.
And the person responsible for setting all of this in motion was none other than Yan Guang of Demon's Heart…
"That's right. Without the Dark World as its great lever, Demon's Heart is going to have a rough time in the Ten Saints Empire from now on." Huan Yu nodded in agreement.
It had to be said that Demon's Heart's gambit had completely backfired.
Originally, the opening of the Dark World was supposed to bring about an unprecedented shift in the balance of power across the Divine Realm. But now the teleportation gate was under Zero Wing's control, and Zero Wing would be charging entry fees—sure to drastically reduce the number of Dark World players entering the Divine Realm. This was essentially a fatal blow to Demon's Heart.
For quite some time to come, Demon's Heart would have to keep its head down.