Stream Town was a remote border settlement under the jurisdiction of White River City, surrounded on all sides by nothing but desolation — desert upon desert, a place so barren not even birds bothered to nest there.
Yet precisely this kind of town drew red-named players who prowled the shadows in droves.
Cities like White River City enforced strict management, far more unforgiving than what the small towns allowed. So players who regularly killed others for their equipment and lurked in darkness had nowhere to go but places like this to pick up quests and level up.
The area around Stream Town was populated with high-level monsters ranging from level 15 to 30, making it a perfect fit for the current player base.
Inside Stream Town, red-named players were everywhere — all above level 15, with very few below that threshold. The Blood Hand Society, which governed the town, was itself a dark faction and naturally had no interest in hunting red-named players. On the contrary, these red-named players were warmly welcomed here. Depending on their sin value, they could even receive better quests and gain more reputation with their affiliated dark forces.
"Guild Leader, there are well over a thousand players here, and that's not even counting the NPC sentries. I'm afraid we won't be able to take the town," Rosa said after observing Stream Town for quite some time, having formed a rough assessment of its fighting strength.
Leaving aside the thousand-plus red-named players for the moment, the NPC guards alone numbered over five hundred. The weakest among them were level 50, and among them were plenty of elite guards, along with several squad leaders at First Order, level 70. If a real battle broke out, the actual number of NPCs could only be higher. With just their hundred players plus forty-nine guards, they wouldn't stand a chance.
After all, there was a massive gap between NPCs and monsters. If they attacked the town, those NPCs wouldn't stand around waiting for players to close the distance. They would mobilize every guard in the town and charge in simultaneously — and the NPCs would coordinate with each other. That was far more daunting than facing tens of thousands of wild monsters.
On top of that, during the battle, those red-named players would definitely try to take advantage of the situation. That put them at a severe disadvantage. And those red-named players were no pushovers — the fact that they'd survived with red names and maintained these levels was proof enough of their exceptional combat skills, to say nothing of their equipment.
Killing and plundering paid well. Setting aside a full set of Mythril Rank gear, they were at least decked out in Bronze Rank or above.
If you dropped any of these red-named players into a guild, they'd all qualify as elite main-force members, and their constant fighting had honed them to a razor's edge. Among them were no shortage of real experts.
Furthermore, though there were only a little over a thousand of them, these players were individually stronger than even two thousand elite members of Dark Star.
Wiping out Stream Town seemed impossible — impossibly, impossibly, impossibly difficult.
"A frontal assault would obviously be impossible, but we've come with a Subjugation Quest," Shi Feng said, fully aware of the situation.
Did anyone think Subjugation Quests were easy to complete?
If they were, the system wouldn't be offering such staggering rewards and reputation.
These red-named players spent their days robbing others blind — when had they ever been on the receiving end?
But this time, it was their turn to bleed a little.
"Fire Dance, how's everything coming along on your end?" Shi Feng asked through the team chat.
The forty-eight First Order, level 50 guards Shi Feng had recruited were no slouches. Under normal circumstances, these ordinary guards couldn't be used for hunting monsters or running dungeons. They weren't even suited for large-scale field battles — they were typically employed to defend towns or private residences. However, they could be deployed for major guild quests, which was precisely why Shi Feng had recruited so many at once.
Though they were all First Order guards, they still wouldn't be enough to go head-to-head with Stream Town's NPC garrison. And that wasn't Shi Feng's plan anyway — he hadn't brought them to hold the line against the town's defenders.
Among these guards were quite a few rangers and assassins. So Shi Feng had paired each of Fire Dance and the others with one of these guards, using them to lure the town's NPCs away. The NPC guards' AI was far inferior to that of real players. Having the guards execute the plan on their own would be too prone to failure. But if players tried to do it personally, the stat gap was enormous — they'd be caught and taken down in no time. The solution was for players to secretly direct the guards from the shadows.
"Everything's ready. We've got their basic operations down, and we're just waiting for your command, Guild Leader," Fire Dance replied with a smile.
"Good. The moment I activate the quest, you move immediately. Remember — don't lure the town guards too far. If you pull them too far out, they'll turn around and head straight back," Shi Feng reminded them before making his way toward Stream Town.
When he was several hundred yards away from Stream Town, Shi Feng stopped and pulled out the Subjugation Decree that came with the quest. He raised it toward the sky with a pointed finger.
The golden decree blazed with brilliant light, and a golden magical formation materialized instantly above Stream Town. The sky had already begun to darken, making the golden formation stand out with startling clarity. Many players inside the town turned to stare.
Moments later, the magical elements gathered in the formation erupted with explosive force. Rings of golden ripples spread outward in every direction, blanketing the entire Stream Town area. From the outside, it looked as though a golden barrier of protection had descended over the town.
[Stream Town Announcement: Zero Wing Guild has begun the subjugation of Stream Town. All uninvolved parties, please evacuate immediately!]
[Stream Town Announcement: Zero Wing Guild has begun the subjugation of Stream Town. All uninvolved parties, please evacuate immediately!]
[Stream Town Announcement: Zero Wing Guild has begun the subjugation of Stream Town. All uninvolved parties, please evacuate immediately!]
The subjugation notice blared three times in succession, and every red-named player in Stream Town was stunned. A guild had actually come to slaughter a red-named town? They must be out of their minds.
At the same time, the players affiliated with Stream Town's dark forces received another system message — this one issued by the Blood Hand Society. As long as they held the town, all participating players would receive generous rewards. Based on their kill counts, they would earn corresponding merit points, which could be exchanged for weapons and equipment after the battle ended.
"Well, isn't Zero Wing generous — coming all this way to hand us free money."
"What's so great about Zero Wing? They dare set foot on our turf? Let's destroy them!"
The players of Stream Town whipped themselves into a frenzy, murderous intent radiating from every one of them. Zero Wing Guild might be at the height of its power in White River City, but in the eyes of these red-named players, it was utterly insignificant. Their skills were sharp, they didn't operate in White River City, and they had absolutely no fear of retaliation. Even if Zero Wing came after them, all they had to do was go into hiding — what could Zero Wing possibly do?
Those with nothing to lose feared nothing. They were lone wolves with nothing on the line — why would they ever fear Zero Wing?
Inside a bar in Stream Town, a black-clad assassin was drinking alone in bitter silence. He gave off the impression of a block of ice, radiating a cold aura that kept everyone at a distance. Yet this assassin's level and equipment were remarkably impressive — level 20, outfitted with a full set of Mythril Rank gear. In White River City, that would put him in a class all by himself.
The system announcement caught the black-clad assassin off guard, and the bottle slipped from his hand, shattering on the floor.
"Zero Wing Guild, you say? That means Night Edge might have come along," the assassin murmured, the corner of his mouth curving into a devilish smile. "Last time, I lost because of equipment stats. This time, I'm going to take back everything."
If Shi Feng had seen this assassin, he would have recognized him instantly — it was Jue Tian, the very player he had once killed.