Withered Forest City, Ice Rain Ridge.
Ice Rain Ridge was a level-70 grinding map, blanketed in snow and wind year-round, yet famous for its supply of Ice Crystal Stones. Ice Crystal Stones were one of the few ores in the Divine Realm that could be used to craft alchemical tools, and demand for them was enormous. However, their yield was limited, their distribution highly random, and their price stayed consistently high — a single stone could fetch as many as twenty silver coins. Many newcomers to the Divine Realm chose to grind here, as they could mine these rare ores in the process and sell them at the city Auction House for a tidy profit.
Yet at this moment, the vast expanse of Ice Rain Ridge held not a single Divine Realm player — not even grinding NPCs remained. The entire ridge had been transformed into a land of death, completely devoured by humanoid Saint Sculpture monsters.
High above Ice Rain Ridge, a Darkflame Crow standing over twenty meters tall flew in from the distance, gliding straight toward a Demonic Spirit Bone Serpent that hovered in midair, its body stretching well over two hundred meters in length.
The Demonic Spirit Bone Serpent loomed like a king of the skies, gazing down upon all beneath it. The Transcendent-rank Darkflame Crow was nothing more than an infant before it — even a peak Tier 3 Darkflame Crow trembled with dread in its presence. Had the rider on its back not been forcibly controlling it, the crow would never have dared approach even a single step closer.
Atop the enormous Demonic Spirit Bone Serpent stood a full three hundred people. Every last one of them was at least level 126, clad in dark heavy armor, their eyes gleaming with a blood-red light. The cold, lethal aura radiating from each of them was indistinguishable from that of a Primordial species — their combined might no less intimidating than a Tier 4 Legendary monster.
Leading the group were five individuals who were genuine, bona fide Tier 4 Class holders.
If Shi Feng had been present, he would have noticed that among the five, a short-haired beauty named Fei Ye — who carried an enormous axe on her back — was among them. However, she regarded the black-armored elder leading the group with a mixture of reverence and fear.
"Elder Fengying, I've kept you waiting far too long." Lu Xingluo, seated atop the Darkflame Crow and draped in a gray cloak, with blood-colored runes flickering faintly across his neck and pupils that had become inverted dark-gold crosses, looked toward the black-armored elder and called out with a smile. "I didn't expect you to bring even the Black Knights this time, Elder Fengying. It seems you're planning to make Zero Wing vanish for good."
Among all the major superpowers, only a handful knew anything about the guild Hundred Ghosts — and in the entire Divine Realm, only he truly understood the horror of Hundred Ghosts.
The Black Knights were Hundred Ghosts' ace legion, far more formidable than the ace legions of the five great super-guilds. That was because these people could no longer be called human — each possessed a special bloodline, making them genuine monsters. At the very least, their combat proficiency reached the Flowing Water Realm. Their acute five senses, lightning-fast neural reflexes, and overwhelming strength were beyond what even Tier 4 Class holders could match.
As for their equipment, it came from an even more impressive source — complete Ancient Tier 3 Magic Energy Sets. Any ordinary Tier 3 expert who donned one could rival a Tier 4 Legendary monster of the same level.
Of course, not just anyone could wear these Tier 3 Magic Energy Sets. The strength requirements were absurdly high — even a Tier 3 Berserker who had allocated every last stat point into Strength still could not meet the threshold, because the Strength baseline was set at Tier 4, regardless of the player's level.
Only these monsters created by Hundred Ghosts were capable of wearing the Tier 3 Magic Energy Sets.
Moreover, the Magic Energy Sets had one significant drawback — they were consumable items that could not be repaired. Durability was lost permanently with every use, which was why even Hundred Ghosts rarely deployed them lightly.
And there was a full thousand-man squad of these magitech monsters. With three hundred dispatched here now, they could run roughshod across the Divine Realm's continents with impunity.
"Nothing to it. Zero Wing presumed Hundred Ghosts had no one of consequence, so naturally I must show everyone that Hundred Ghosts is not to be trifled with." Zhu Fengying glanced at Lu Xingluo, who was barely recognizable as human anymore, his gaze betraying neither joy nor sorrow. Instead, his attention shifted to a man standing behind Lu Xingluo. "Guild Master Xingluo, won't you introduce this expert standing behind you?"
If Lu Xingluo now looked like a demon, then the mysterious man wrapped head to toe in bandages behind him was a true devil in every sense. Though his aura was concealed, the feeling he gave off was nothing short of menacing.
"Oh, right — I almost forgot." Lu Xingluo smiled and said, "Allow me to make the introduction. This is the true Guild Master of the Hand of Sacred Heart — the Beast Emperor!"
As Lu Xingluo finished speaking, even Zhu Fengying was visibly taken aback.