Tianquan City, Zero Wing's base of operations.
Ever since Zero Wing's jaw-dropping battle at the Tower of the Secret Pact, the entire base had been packed to the brim with newly recruited Zero Wing members. Their numbers had more than doubled compared to before and were still climbing.
The sheer speed of this growth was enough to send chills down the spines of every major power operating in Tianquan City.
The third-tier experts alone that had gathered at this single Zero Wing base in Tianquan City were enough to make any top-tier guild gasp—there were over ten thousand of them, and the count was still rising.
"What's going on with Zero Wing? Why are they suddenly massing so many third-tier members at the base?"
"Could Zero Wing be planning some big operation?"
"It's possible. Ever since the Tower of the Secret Pact, the Hand of Sacred Heart declared all-out war on Zero Wing. The Beastman Empire is Sacred Heart's home turf, and with their ability to control Sacred Sculpture monsters, no other guild's experts dare provoke them. Even the Black Dragon Empire has had territory seized, and all roads around Silver Wing City have been blockaded. Sure, there's a teleportation hall, but profits are low—anyone who dares leave Silver Wing City gets hunted down by Sacred Sculpture monsters until they're dead. Now that Zero Wing's strength has surged, maybe they're planning to face the Hand of Sacred Heart head-on in the Beastman Empire. You never know."
Players curious about Zero Wing's base couldn't help but discuss the matter among themselves, speculating that Zero Wing was seizing this opportunity to expand aggressively. After all, the Tower of the Secret Pact had become Zero Wing's greatest shield—no one could touch it.
With the Tower of the Secret Pact serving as a premier leveling zone, combined with the continuous influx of third-tier professionals, Zero Wing might just be able to hold its own against the Hand of Sacred Heart, even in the Beastman Empire.
Yet it wasn't only outsiders who were baffled by this sudden assembly. Even Zero Wing's own members were scratching their heads, completely unable to understand why the guild had suddenly called so many third-tier experts to gather.
"Yezi, did you figure out what's going on?"
Dressed in a set of fiery red light armor with waist-length hair, Sword Mo Chou—the former leader of the Red Wolf Adventurer Party—couldn't help but ask the third-tier young Summoner who was hurrying toward her.
The sudden flood of third-tier experts into the base was impossible to ignore, especially with the Zero Wing warehouse now stocked with so many top-grade Epic weapons and equipment. In less than a day, eight of the hundred top-grade Epic weapons and equipment had already been redeemed. And this was only the beginning—as time went on, the various adventurer parties that had joined Zero Wing would accumulate more and more guild contribution points, and the redemptions would only accelerate.
She herself had only managed to redeem a single top-grade Epic headpiece for the Swordsman class so far. But she had her eye on a weapon—a weapon that would push her combat power to an entirely new level.
Now, with so many third-tier experts suddenly showing up, if they were all here to compete for those top-grade Epic weapons and equipment, the competition was going to intensify dramatically.
"Boss, I've been asking around everywhere. I even reached out to adventurer parties we used to have good relations with—none of them know what's going on. Even the guild's core members are completely in the dark." The third-tier young Summoner shook his head and continued, "But I did pick up one piece of news. Apparently, the reason so many third-tier experts are flooding into Tianquan City is because of a temporary notice issued by the Guild Master's assistant. The people being notified are all veteran third-tier members of the guild."
"They're specifically calling the guild's core members?" Sword Mo Chou furrowed her brow. "Then this gathering is probably for some large-scale guild event."
Whenever a major event took place, the guild typically offered generous guild contribution rewards—meaning that for newcomers like her who were trying to redeem top-grade Epic weapons and equipment, the competition had just multiplied.
While Sword Mo Chou was fretting over this, a large group of players suddenly walked into the guild base. None of them wore the Zero Wing emblem, and every single one of them radiated a terrifying aura. The man leading one of the groups in particular made everyone present feel a crushing sense of pressure—his presence was so formidable it was almost on par with a fourth-tier professional.
"The vice-leader of the Firmament Blade is here too?"
"I heard that the Firmament Blade from Dragon Heart Island had already been absorbed into Zero Wing—I thought that was just a rumor?"
The appearance of so many third-tier experts from the Firmament Blade adventurer party stunned the players outside the base. Members of the various major factions didn't even know what to say.