"What did you say?"
"Black Flame publicly executed a Tier 4 NPC and had Oath Blood Soul imprisoned for fifteen days?"
Every major power and adventurer team in Dragonheart City that received the news was stunned by this astonishing feat, with some even asking the reporting members to confirm the accuracy of the information multiple times.
However, the messengers had long anticipated this reaction. They immediately sent over the battle footage of Shi Feng slaying Sablaid, the recording of Shi Feng instantly killing the three top-tier experts guarding Oath Blood Soul in a single move right before the man's eyes, and all the subsequent footage of the NPC guards publicly dragging Oath Blood Soul away—all in one go.
Dragonheart City. The Bloodstone Premium Bar.
A group of Tier 3 experts, all level 123 or above, had gathered together. Even the weakest among them possessed Perceptive-level skill, and among them were over a dozen top-tier experts and four Domain-level masters. The elderly man seated at the head was none other than the renowned Elder Wu—a figure known throughout the Divine Realm—and one of the founders of the Thirteen Royal Courts.
"Qianming, are you certain the information is correct?" Elder Wu looked at the woman who had come to report, her entire body shrouded in a layer of dark mist, his gaze filled with disbelief.
The news Qianming had reported was simply too shocking.
After all, the reason they were currently operating covertly in Dragonheart City was entirely because of the War Blood adventurer team.
Now telling him that the War Blood adventurer team was finished, and that it had been single-handedly destroyed by Zero Wing's guild master, Black Flame — who would dare believe such a thing?
"It's absolutely true. Quite a few forces have already started eyeing War Blood's territory. If the Hidden Hand Society didn't still have some ties to War Blood, they'd have long since moved in to seize everything." Qianming spoke with complete certainty. "Furthermore, I've received word that the Firmament's Edge has been getting very close to Black Flame recently. If Zero Wing has the full support of the Firmament's Edge — a former top-tier local power — it's only a matter of time before they take control of Dragonheart City's resources across the board."
"I simply can't figure out what that Black Flame is thinking. The Twin Towers Kingdom is fighting tooth and nail against every major superpower day after day — things are practically on the brink — yet here he is, this guild master, leisurely running off to Dragonheart City. Does he really not care about what's happening in the Twin Towers Kingdom?" Elder Wu, his hair now completely white and his expression somewhat haggard, was listening with visible astonishment.
Just as baffled was he by the question of when exactly Shi Feng had grown to such a terrifying level?
Slaying a Tier 4 NPC at level 160, single-handedly imprisoning the Oath Blood War Soul with a single word — he had clearly already reached the pinnacle of Dragonheart City, making every major power there look up to him in awe.
And according to the intelligence Elder Wu had received, Zero Wing was causing quite a scene in the Twin Towers Kingdom right now.
A complete Tier 3 inheritance was an absolute shot in the arm for every major superpower, and a guarantee against future confrontations with NPC factions. As a result, more than twenty superpowers were now frantically sending their top experts to Heavenly Spring City to harass Zero Wing.
These superpowers were simultaneously engaged in fierce battles against Zero Wing's three factions in Heavenly Spring City, while also dispatching large numbers of personnel from the nearest NPC city toward the Tower of the Secret Pact in an unrelenting push.
To prevent a flood of players from pouring into the Tower of the Secret Pact, Zero Wing's three factions had stationed massive garrisons along every major route leading to the tower.
In battles involving over a hundred thousand players on each side alone, the two sides had clashed more than five times, while there had been over twenty additional skirmishes with tens of thousands of combatants each.
In the most recent major battle, the two great guilds — Star Ring and Miracle — also participated, dispatching a full four Tier 4 experts, while Zero Wing barely managed to scrape together three.
One was Zero Wing's main raid team leader, Fire Dance. Another was War Spirit Unfallen's vice chairman, Indomitable Warheart. The third was Crimson Emperor's vice chairman, Phantom Words. As for Black Flame, the original Tier 4 Sword Emperor, he did not appear. Everyone speculated endlessly about this, unable to understand why Black Flame had not joined the fight.
This battle had shaken the entire Divine Realm, marking the first time in the Divine Realm's history that multiple Tier 4 experts clashed in a single engagement. The fight was earth-shattering, reducing the Ice Lake Plains on the other side of the divide into a desolate wasteland…
If not for Zero Wing possessing powerful war weapons like the Crimson Dragon Airship, war puppets, and advanced magic barriers, and if not for the fact that the NPC forces were currently too rampant — forcing the major superpowers to preserve a great deal of their strength to deal with those NPC forces — The Tower of the Secret Pact would have fallen long ago. There was simply no way Zero Wing's three factions would still be occupying it now.
However, Zero Wing's three factions were faring poorly themselves. The prolonged war of attrition had taken a considerable toll on them. Crimson Emperor and War Spirit Unfallen were managing somewhat better, given their deep foundations and vast resources — wearing them down was no easy task. But Zero Wing was a different story.
Having started from scratch, their accumulated resources were far inferior, and they had no backing whatsoever behind them.
To wear Zero Wing down as quickly as possible, the major superpowers had put in no small amount of effort. They frantically poached Zero Wing's experts, blocked resource access, and especially cut off Zero Wing's various sources of funding in the real world, forcing Zero Wing to survive entirely on its dwindling reserves.
Most critically, the major superpowers had cut off Zero Wing's equipment sources and the materials used to craft equipment. While they couldn't achieve a complete blockade, the superpowers had driven the prices of crafting materials to absurd heights. The cost of crafting a single Level 120 Iron Rank piece of equipment had ballooned to thirty gold coins!
Back in the day, thirty gold coins could have easily been used to craft a Level 120 Mythril Rank piece of equipment. Now, the crafting cost for a single Level 120 Mythril Rank piece required a full hundred gold coins — far more expensive than Mythril Rank equipment on the open market.