Five-fold compensation was no small number, and the guild masters of the various guilds hesitated.
They weren't elite guilds with deep pockets or reliable channels for earning large amounts of gold. If the contract was signed and their subordinates died, they'd stand to profit from the deal — and the more people died, the more they'd earn.
But if they actually went through with it, the loss of guild members would weaken their overall strength and erode trust among their ranks.
Watching the guilds hesitate, Chi Yu grew anxious. He didn't know whether Zero Wing still had any large-scale destruction magic in reserve, but he had his own way of killing Hei Yan. If he could get his people close enough, even a renowned expert like Hei Yan — someone listed on the Expert Rankings — wouldn't survive.
Once Hei Yan died, his items would drop, and his people could snatch them up first. Then they could use the teleportation formation to leave White River City.
The loot they'd grabbed before was already gone. If they couldn't seize the drops from Hei Yan as well, Chi Yu would never accept it.
"Don't you want the items dropped by the Mechanical Slaughterer?"
"That monster was slain by a fourth-tier Archmage — never mind dark gold items, it wouldn't be surprising if it dropped an epic item! Don't you want your hands on an epic item?"
Chi Yu's challenge set the players of every guild ablaze with excitement.
None of them had even laid eyes on a dark gold item, let alone an epic one.
If a guild possessed an epic item, it would be massive news across the entire Divine Realm. An obscure guild could instantly become a household name — one rallying cry and droves of players would join. They might not rival the elite guilds, but becoming the dominant force in an entire city wouldn't be out of the question.
The power of an epic item was beyond imagination.
In the Divine Realm, dungeons were one of the primary sources of weapons and equipment. Since dungeons imposed strict party limits, the only way to clear them more easily within those constraints was to boost your combat power — which made epic items not only a symbol of guild prestige but an incredibly practical asset.
Simply put, getting your hands on an epic item could elevate an entire guild to the next level.
Even if they obtained the Mechanical Slaughterer's drops, they'd need to appraise the items to learn their quality and stats. Nobody knew for certain what the drops might be. But given how powerful the Mechanical Slaughterer was, it wouldn't be strange at all if it dropped an epic item. As long as there was even a sliver of a chance, no one was willing to walk away.
"Kill them! For the epic item!"
"Hei Yan, hand over the epic item and we'll spare your life!"
Fueled by passion, the various guilds launched yet another massive charge. Setting aside Chi Yu's offer of five-fold compensation, just the thought of an epic item made any price worth paying.
"Guild Master, they're charging again. We've bought enough time — shouldn't we leave now?" Shuise Qiangwei walked up to Shi Feng and suggested.
Despite their advantages in levels, equipment, and terrain, facing this many enemies in a direct confrontation meant casualties were inevitable. Their objective was already achieved, so there was no reason to keep fighting.
"All right, let's pull out." Shi Feng nodded. "Hand me that third-tier magic scroll we got from Stream Town. I'll buy us some time and leave them a little souvenir to remember us by. You all go activate the teleportation formation."
Everything played out exactly as Chi Yu had suspected — large-scale destruction magic wasn't something you could just pick up anywhere. In the entire Zero Wing guild, only he and Hei Zi had any. They had plenty of smaller area-of-effect spells, but their power and range were too limited to make a real difference.
"You're really going to use that third-tier scroll? It's the only one we've managed to get. Can't we just have everyone hold the line a bit longer? We only need to stall for a short time, and if we fight defensively, we shouldn't take many casualties in that window." Shuise Qiangwei winced at the thought — a third-tier magic scroll was worth far more than a dark gold item.
"It's fine," Shi Feng waved his hand. "Now is the perfect time to use it."