White River City, the Divine Arena.
Ever since the Seven Sins Flower had set their sights on Zero Wing, Shui Se Qiang Wei and the rest of the guild's upper echelons had practically taken up residence inside the Divine Arena, never leaving. They continuously burned through Magic Crystals and Hundred Fruit Wine to push their strength higher in the Trial Tower and the Divine Battlefield.
One record after another fell in the Trial Tower, stunning every player in White River City and deepening their awe toward Zero Wing.
Inside the Divine Arena, a bald man in gray leather armor sat nursing a vodka while staring at the Trial Leaderboard.
Without warning, a thin young man draped in a black cloak slipped into the seat beside him.
"Zhun Jiu, how are Zero Wing's higher-ups doing?" the scrawny youth ordered an Ice Blue Ale and murmured quietly.
"They've been leveling up fast. Three of them have already reached the eighth floor of the Trial Tower, and another seven are on the seventh. The rest will probably get there before long too. Getting them all wiped back to zero won't be easy." The bald man called Zhun Jiu grinned. "Then again, the stronger they are, the better. That just means fatter paychecks for us."
"True. The question is whether the Open Source Consortium is willing to foot the bill." The thin youth nodded.
"They should be." Zhun Jiu handed a Magic Crystal to the NPC bartender and ordered another vodka. "Magic Crystals are the lifeblood of Divine Realm. If the Open Source Consortium takes the Stone Fang Mountains, the money they'll rake in down the road will dwarf our cut by a mile."
"Here's hoping they pay up. I haven't taken a big job in ages—this Zero Wing gig is a nice change of pace. Good chance to sharpen my skills." The thin youth downed his Ice Blue Ale in one gulp, then scanned the three names on the eighth floor of the Trial Tower. "Hm, why isn't Black Flame on here?"
"Black Flame's a mystery. I still haven't pinned down his exact level, but from what we've gathered, he's already hit a pretty high stage of the Insight realm. He might even be at your level." Zhun Jiu cast a sideways glance at the youth, his expression grave.
"At my level? The second tier of Insight? Now that's interesting." A spark of excitement lit up the youth's eyes. He looked like a hunter who had just spotted wounded prey.
"Mao, don't even think about it. Silver has already called dibs on him. You get to pick from whoever's left on the eighth floor." Zhun Jiu shook his head and pointed at three names on the leaderboard—Ziyan Liuyun, Huo Wu, and Shui Se Qiang Wei.
"Silver? Since when does he care about a job this low-tier?" The youth called Mao looked stunned. "Doesn't he usually go after those old monsters?"
"Who knows." Zhun Jiu spread his hands. "But Open Source is getting a steal this time. Someone of Silver's caliber wouldn't normally touch a job like this. It all comes down to how much they're willing to pay."
"That Black Flame guy really drew the short straw. If Silver's got his eye on him, there's not a soul in heaven or earth who can save him." Mao sounded almost sympathetic.
The Seven Sins Flower categorized their contracts by tier, and their operatives as well—one level of skill matched to one level of assignment. An assassin like Mao was merely mid-tier. Silver, on the other hand, was top-of-the-line, the absolute elite. Going after Black Flame was, frankly, overkill.
At that same moment, the Star River Alliance—a first-rate guild based in the Star Moon Kingdom's capital—formally declared all-out war on Zero Wing. They were determined to seize Stone Forest Town.
The news spread across the Star Moon Kingdom like wildfire.
Outer perimeter of the Stone Fang Mountains.
A five-hundred-man squad was sweeping through a half-beastman settlement.
Any half-beastman encampment worth its salt had at least one Lord-level beastman in charge. The more formidable ones boasted three or four Lords, along with a handful or more Leader-level half-beastmen.
This particular settlement held a full three Lord-level half-beastmen and seventeen Leader-level half-beastmen—yet against the five-hundred-strong team, they could barely put up a fight.