Once Black Flame's face was revealed, every player in White River City recognized him without exception.
"The Zero Wing Guild Leader — Black Flame!"
"How is it him?"
"No wonder he's so strong."
Members of every major guild tensed up on the spot.
If it had been some top player from another city, they would have been surprised at most, but the idea that such a person could overturn White River City was laughable. Black Flame was a different story entirely — not only was his strength terrifying, but he also had an entire guild backing him up.
"You..."
Jiu Hou Diankuang watched Shi Feng approach step by step at a slow, unhurried pace, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head. For a long moment, he couldn't utter a single word.
He had only been sent here by Guild Leader Wei Wo Du Kuang to clear out some stray players. He never imagined he'd run into Black Flame — the one person in White River City whom absolutely everyone knew.
Not long ago, Black Flame had slain Wei Wo Du Kuang right in the middle of an army. Now Jiu Hou Diankuang had only a few hundred men at his side, and his combat skill was nowhere close to Wei Wo Du Kuang's. How was he supposed to survive this?
"Guild Leader, you've really thrown me into the deep end this time," Jiu Hou Diankuang thought bitterly.
As for the possibility of escaping from Shi Feng — Jiu Hou Diankuang was proud, but he wasn't stupid. Shi Feng's earlier strike could have ended his life on the spot, yet it hadn't.
Why?
It could only mean that taking his life was as easy as reaching into a bag — Shi Feng could do it whenever he pleased.
"I never expected Guild Leader Black Flame to grace us with his presence. I know for certain that I'm no match for you, and if you wish to kill me, I won't resist. However, today I don't represent Dark Star alone — I represent the many guilds of White River City. If you do this, Guild Leader Black Flame, you'll be putting Zero Wing at odds with all of them." Jiu Hou Diankuang had no desire to die, and he did have a certain degree of confidence. After all, he had the backing of numerous major guilds behind him.
Though Jiu Hou Diankuang spoke with righteous conviction, and though the weight of many great guilds loomed behind him, Shi Feng's footsteps did not slow.
"Guild Leader Black Flame, Jiu Hou Diankuang is the representative of our many guilds. If you kill him, you'll be slapping every guild here in the face. I hope you'll think this through." A member of a third-rate guild called Three-Headed Hound suddenly stepped forward and spoke.
"That's right, that's right. Your Zero Wing may be powerful in White River City, but we're not easy pickings either. If it comes to a fight to the death, nobody benefits. You should think carefully, Guild Leader Black Flame."
"Guild Leader Black Flame, why don't we just let this go? Wouldn't it be better if both sides took a step back? There's no need to make things ugly — it won't do anyone any good."
"Zero Wing only has five thousand members, but all our guilds combined have over a hundred thousand. Even if Zero Wing is full of top players, can every single one of them take on twenty opponents?"
After one person stepped forward, the other guilds chimed in one after another. Their words sounded like polite mediation, but in truth they were using a different tactic to pressure Zero Wing. If Shi Feng backed down today, it would shatter the momentum Zero Wing had been building. To outsiders, it would look like Black Flame had chickened out. And even if these guilds stopped blocking players from other cities who wanted to join Zero Wing, those players would likely give up on coming to White River City out of disappointment.
Behind Shi Feng, Banjiu and Jianying stared with stunned expressions.
They never could have imagined that the stranger who had stepped in to help was the Guild Leader of Zero Wing.
That was practically harder than winning five million in the lottery. White River City had far too many players, and the Zero Wing Guild Leader was the kind of figure who appeared and vanished like a dragon — never seen or heard of. Yet here they were, having run right into him.
But as they listened to what the guild members were saying, fury rose in their hearts.
"These people are absolutely rotten." Banjiu had never had a favorable impression of these guilds, and now that opinion had sunk to rock bottom.
Jianying nodded as well. This was exactly why he had no desire to join any of them — all they did was scheme and plot, constantly figuring out how to extract the most benefit. Today's enemy could be tomorrow's ally, and just watching it made him sick.
Though the two of them were outsiders, they could see through these guilds' intentions clearly enough.
These guilds had been in the wrong first, selfishly blocking players who wanted to join Zero Wing — that alone had been a slap in Zero Wing's face. And now they had the audacity to tell Shi Feng not to push people around, as if it were somehow bad for both sides.