As Fire Dance publicly announced that Zero Wing intended to auction off one million entry slots, the entire Eastern Continent of the Divine Realm erupted into an uproar. Virtually every major power convened emergency meetings the moment the news broke, eager to discuss the matter of the entry slots.
Beastman Empire, Crimson Flame Fortress.
"Zero Wing really has some nerve — publicly auctioning entry slots at ten Magic Crystals per person. I'm surprised they don't choke on the greed," remarked a lean, 130-tier-four Berserker named Xue Hen as he read the report on the conference table, his eyes brimming with mockery. "I doubt Zero Wing even knows that the Hand of the Sacred Heart has already partnered with over a dozen superpowers. They're planning a full-scale joint effort to clear the level 130 neutral map, the Black Soil Hills — and they've already begun construction on a city."
The Black Soil Hills!
This was the neutral map connected to the Forbidden Zone of Life, the Great Death Rift. The Great Death Rift was currently the Forbidden Zone most likely to be cleared by players. It was extraordinarily dangerous inside, but according to the tier-four experts who had managed to traverse it, the number of tier-four Legacy Sites that appeared within its borders dwarfed what could be found elsewhere. What was more, it was rumored to contain numerous ancient ruins — invaluable for advancing to tier four and even for strengthening existing tier-four Classes.
Nearby, a 131-tier-four Arcane Mage named Jing Yang respectfully turned to the strikingly beautiful woman seated in the main chair — a figure who radiated an effortless, commanding presence — and reported in a measured tone: "Vice Guild Leader, the Hand of the Sacred Heart has extended an invitation to our Black Water Guild as well. Once the city is completed, we would receive a ten percent equity stake, provided we station one tier-four expert and twenty thousand tier-three experts there on a permanent basis."
"The Hand of the Sacred Heart certainly knows how to calculate," sneered a 128-tier-four female Assassin seated further back. "They're well aware of Black Water's considerable strength and our foothold in the Beastman Empire. Partnering with us makes dealing with Zero Wing a great deal easier. But if they expect to use Black Water as a mere pawn, the price they're offering is laughably low."
Xue Hen, the Berserker, nodded in firm agreement.
Black Water was not what it had once been. Under Vice Guild Leader Xuanwu Chisha's leadership, the guild's strength rivaled that of any superpower. Among its ranks were a full six tier-four experts — a fact the guild had kept carefully under wraps.
"Jing Yang, send word to the Hand of the Sacred Heart. If they want our cooperation, they'll need to show more sincerity. Thirty percent city ownership — at minimum." Xuanwu Chisha's elegant eyes swept across the room, and the twenty-odd guild executives fell silent without exception. "At the same time, pass along the Hand of the Sacred Heart's movements to Zero Wing. Tell them that Black Water is willing to cooperate with Zero Wing against the Hand's coalition — but only on the condition that access to Zero Wing City be opened to all Black Water members of Elite rank and above."
"Vice Guild Leader, you know how Zero Wing is. They'll almost certainly refuse," Jing Yang replied with a headache.
He had already approached Zero Wing about cooperation before, but they had been entirely dismissive. And that was before Zero Wing's meteoric rise — now their future potential was seen as rivaling even the five great superpowers.
"It doesn't matter if they refuse now," Xuanwu Chisha said with a placid wave of her hand. "Once the Hand of the Sacred Heart opens their city and the timing is right, Zero Wing will have no choice but to agree."
"Understood." Jing Yang nodded.
Right now, Zero Wing had plenty of leverage and confidence. But once the Black Soil Hills city went online, that would almost certainly change. After all, the mainstream player base was only around level 120. The Eternal Frost Canyon where Zero Wing City was located, while an excellent location with superior magical energy, was simply not somewhere most players could reach.
Add to that the combined resources and manpower of over a dozen superpowers, and it was only a matter of time before this new city became a colossal force — one that even the five great superpowers wouldn't dare provoke lightly.
When that day came, Zero Wing's advantage in tier-four numbers would be rendered meaningless.
But the real trouble wasn't any of this. A cataclysmic battle was approaching, and factions like Zero Wing — stationed in a level 140 neutral map — would almost certainly be the first to be swept up as cannon fodder. At present, only a vanishingly small number of people across the entire Divine Realm knew of this development. Black Water had only learned of it because of their Vice Guild Leader's unique connections.
Otherwise, they too would have remained blissfully ignorant, dying like ants without ever understanding what had killed them.
And just as Black Water was preparing to relay the Hand of the Sacred Heart's plans to Zero Wing, the Hand of the Sacred Heart preemptively broadcast the shocking news across the entire Eastern Continent without a shred of restraint.
Overnight, every faction that had been on the verge of joining Zero Wing's alliance began to waver.
The Hand of the Sacred Heart further announced that their city would be open to everyone, that experts from more than ten superpowers would be garrisoned there, and that multiple tier-four experts would be stationed to guarantee the city's security — all at a very reasonable price of one Magic Crystal or fifty silver coins.
The moment this news hit, the Divine Realm's first-rate powers changed their minds entirely.
Zero Wing City's environment was admittedly excellent, but the cost of entry was simply too steep. The entry slots were being auctioned, not sold at a fixed price, which meant the actual transaction costs would be even higher — fifteen Magic Crystals, perhaps even twenty, were entirely possible.
Such exorbitant entry fees, on top of the inevitable expenses within the city, were more than even first-rate guilds could sustain in Magic Crystal spending. They would be far better off heading straight to Sacred Heart City — the city the Hand of the Sacred Heart was constructing — and venturing into the Forbidden Zone of Life, the Great Death Rift, to seek out Legacy Sites and tier-four inheritance grounds. The potential gains for their guilds would be immense, the costs far lower, and the returns far greater.
Tianquan City, Zero Wing headquarters.
"Guild Leader, the Hand of the Sacred Heart is ruthless. Just by putting this information out there, ninety percent of the first-rate powers willing to cooperate and ally with us have already bailed. Even the prominent adventuring teams that had wanted to join Zero Wing — more than eighty percent of them have fled," Fire Dance said, staring at the freshly compiled statistics with an expression of pure exasperation. "Forget about guilds fighting over the one million entry slots — we now have far more slots than there are people willing to buy them…"
"It doesn't matter. Let the Hand of the Sacred Heart say whatever they want. Our plan stays the same — we'll still auction the first batch of ten thousand entry slots through the Candlelight Trading Company." Shi Feng glanced at the data and smiled. "We'll sell as many as we can. After all, our goal was never to profit from Magic Crystals. We just need enough to keep Zero Wing City running smoothly."
"That's true enough, but if we had more Magic Crystals, couldn't we build another Mobile Fortress?" Fire Dance sighed wistfully.
Right now, the Magic Crystals earned purely from guild members traveling to and from Zero Wing City were already enough to cover the city's operating costs. The next step was recruiting NPC guards and sustaining them — tasks that were no longer particularly difficult for Zero Wing, given that an abundance of guild members had chosen to develop within the city. Over twenty thousand tier-three experts from Sky Edge and the Asura adventuring team had relocated to Zero Wing City as well, pushing the city's total tier-three population to a staggering fifty thousand.
All they were waiting for now was for enough tier-three experts to accumulate to ensure the city's day-to-day security. Once that threshold was met, they could open Zero Wing City to NPCs and begin mass-recruiting NPC guards.
As for how formidable a Mobile Fortress was — that truth had been seared deep into her mind. If Zero Wing could field one more, that would be extraordinary.
Of course, she knew it was just wishful thinking. Zero Wing's tier-three workforce was only so large; there simply weren't enough hands to develop elsewhere.
"Forget about the Mobile Fortress," Shi Feng said with an amused chuckle. "However, we can increase the number of tier-four experts we have, and use that to bolster the guild's overall strength."
"Increase them further?" Fire Dance blinked, surprised. "Is that actually possible?"
Tier-four experts didn't just appear on command. Locating tier-four Legacy Sites was one thing, but the real challenge was mastering tier-four magic skills. The environment in Zero Wing City had already pushed things to their limit — she couldn't imagine what else could be done to increase the count.
"Of course it's possible," Shi Feng said with a smile. "Go notify Banxia Qingcheng and the others. Tell them to assemble at the City Lord's Mansion in Zero Wing City."
Before his trip to the Ancient Divine Realm, he genuinely wouldn't have had a solution. But after that experience, he now had a way to further improve the success rate of advancement.
The ancient treasure — the Strange Beast Stone Sculpture!