71 Showtime

Point out any errors I made in the chapters, as I'm very lazy and sometimes can't be bothered to reread them. Also give your opinions on something I should change or add.

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White River City, inside the Candlelight Trading Firm's first-floor reception hall...

Currently, the upper managers from various Guilds occupied the large reception hall. Among the Guilds present, the weakest were second-rate Guilds, while the strongest Guild was close to becoming a Super Guild. Some of these Guilds were allies, while others were enemies. Hence, the reception hall's atmosphere was extraordinarily intense.

Even the NPC beauty receiving these people felt uncomfortable.

"I didn't think Guild Leader Snow would show up as well. It is indeed a rare sight," Galaxy Past said, laughing as he glanced at Gentle Snow sitting a short distance away. "I heard that you have a mountain of work to do back at Ouroboros and that Cao Chenghua is trying to split up the Guild. Cao Chenghua has many of his supporters stationed in Star-Moon City. Guild Leader Snow, is it really a good idea for you to be here right now?"

"There is no reason for Guild Leader Galaxy to worry. Ouroboros is getting by quite well right now. Otherwise, why would I come here?" Gentle Snow did not reveal a trace of weakness as she replied. "On the contrary, aren't you, Guild Leader Galaxy, having a bad time right now? I've heard that Star Alliance's branch in the Lion Kingdom has suffered a major loss, losing over 10,000 people in a single Guild War. In the end, you even allowed others to profit."

First-rate Guilds would usually develop themselves in several major regions. Naturally, the Star Alliance was no exception.

The Lion Kingdom was west of the Star-Moon Kingdom. Though the kingdom only occupied half as much area as the Star-Moon Kingdom, the kingdom's player population was still significant. Two first-rate Guilds and multiple second-rate Guilds constantly fought over the Lion Kingdom. The Star Alliance was one of the two first-rate Guilds. However, in order to fight over a treasure, many of the Guilds in the Lion Kingdom had gone all-out. In the end, the Star Alliance had suffered heavy losses. To make matters worse, the other first-rate Guild had snatched the treasure.

Despite Gentle Snow striking a sore spot, Galaxy Past did not grow angry. Instead, he laughed and said, "As expected of Guild Leader Snow; you really are well-informed. You truly do possess some of your brother's aura from when he controlled Ouroboros. Unfortunately, the Ouroboros of today is not the Ouroboros of the past."

Purple Eye, the beautiful female Elementalist sitting beside Galaxy Past, on the other hand, radiated an intense killing intent as she glared at Gentle Snow.

"You want to make a move?" Gentle Snow spoke calmly, not feeling threatened by Purple Eye in the least, as her own aura burst forth. Unlike Purple Eye's, Snow's aura wasn't intense or flamboyant, but gave off a sharp and overwhelming sense, causing Purple Eye to feel like someone had placed a sword to her throat. Smiling faintly at Purple Eye, she said, "I heard that the Star Alliance possesses five great experts, and they are Galaxy Past, Red Feather, Flourishing Willow, Flying Jade, and Purple Eye. Among them, Flying Jade is the most mysterious, and Purple Eye is the strongest. I really want to know if this rumor is true."

'Let's put it to the test, then!' Is what Purple Eye wanted to say, without backing off, but the aura Snow currently radiated gave her a very dangerous and threatening feeling, like she wasn't the Snow Goddess's match. 

At the same time, Galaxy Past and the rest of the meeting room's occupants, who were experts in their own right, also sensed the same thing as Snow's chilling aura washed over them. 

'It seems the rumors of her strength drastically increasing weren't at all exaggerated. If anything, they were undermining Gentle Snow's improvement.' Galaxy Past furrowed his brows slightly. 

He had heard talks of Snow suddenly growing stronger after the competition between Cao Chenghua and becoming Ouroboros's Guild Leader, having gained unfathomable strength which left all who witnessed it in awe. People would say that she could slay Lord rank monsters with ease, and that most experts on the Secret Pavilion's Expert List have been surpassed by her, with the Snow Goddess being the strongest player in Star-Moon City. 

Being a great expert himself, Galaxy Past didn't believe such words from regular players, and had merely thought Gentle Snow had improved her techniques a bit. But now, Star Alliance's Guild Leader could see there was some truth to the rumors floating around about her newfound strength. 

As he sensed Snow's lethal yet calm aura, like that of a predator gazing at some weak prey which it could kill at any moment, Galaxy Past knew that neither he nor Purple Eye were Snow's match any longer. 

Of course, that didn't mean either of them would back away from a challenge, releasing their auras and murderous intent to the limit as they prepared to fight the Snow Goddess. 

For a time, it felt as if the temperature in the reception hall had fallen by a few degrees.

Ouroboros and the Star Alliance were known enemies. Both Guilds had competed against each other for over a dozen years, and at this point, their rivalry would not stop until one of them was wiped out of existence. Hence, the stand-off between the two Guilds did not seem out of place to anyone watching.

The many Guild representatives promptly moved to the side, hoping to watch the fight between the opposing guilds, as well as see how strong the current Snow Goddess truly is.

Meanwhile, sitting at the forefront of the reception hall, a robust man suddenly turned to the handsome and dashing youth seated beside him, respectfully saying, "Pavilion Master, this subordinate will go and remind them of where they are lest they ruin Pavilion Master's good mood."

Saying so, this robust man strode towards Gentle Snow and the other two. Suddenly, however, a single hand halted his advance.

"Forget it. Doing nothing but waiting here is quite boring. Watching them fight will be a nice change of pace," the dashing youth said, smiling faintly. 

"Understood."

The robust man returned to his seat. 

Everyone present had seen the handsome youth's actions. And though that high and mighty attitude of his displeased the other Guild representatives, nobody felt that the youth's attitude was inappropriate.

This handsome youth was one of the two Pavilion Masters of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. The Pavilion had possessed the strength of a Super Guild for a long time now. It lacked a stage to display its might. Meanwhile, in the eyes of Super Guilds, first-rate Guilds were nothing but children. It was only natural that the handsome youth thought little of the others.

As the youth gazed at the three people squaring up, he sized up Snow, saying in slight surprise with a quieter tone "Though, I didn't expect to see someone who has managed to reach the Refinement Realm standard in this backwater place, not to mention a person so young like her. She would be worth recruiting into the War Dragon Legion." 

Just as Gentle Snow was about to face-off against Galaxy Past and Purple Eye...

"Enough."

A clear, crisp voice swept through the crowd. When everyone turned to look at the owner of this voice, they discovered another great beauty. Unlike Gentle Snow and Purple Eye, this beauty did not possess a frightening aura. However, although she seemed somewhat ordinary, every Guild representative took her seriously.

This beauty was the Candlelight Trading Firm's manager, Melancholic Smile.

"This is the Candlelight Trading Firm. All forms of fighting are prohibited here. If anyone violates Candlelight's rules, you'll be thrown out immediately." Melancholic Smile gave a calm warning while glancing at the three. 

Nobody doubted Melancholic Smile's power. Inside a private Shop, the manager was invincible. The manager of the Shop could teleport someone out with a single thought and bar that person from entering the building ever again.

'Sure enough, she is indeed formidable! It is no wonder why she can ignore even Underworld!' Galaxy Past could not help but focus on Melancholic Smile.

The upper managers of the other Guilds were similarly surprised.

They had not expected Melancholic Smile to be so fearless.

Every player here was an overlord in their own right; their status and identities were extraordinary. It was especially true for the first-rate Guilds present. Yet, Melancholic Smile had not left any room for argument. Her mighty attitude was exactly as the information they received stated, so much so that she appeared even more overwhelming than before.

At Melancholic Smile's appearance, Gentle Snow and her adversaries glanced at each other before turning away.

Everyone had come here today to do business. Nothing good would come from provoking the Candlelight Trading Firm.

Peace returned to the reception hall, and everyone began to observe Melancholic Smile. Although she did not emit any sort of aura, there were not many people who had the courage to reproach two first-rate Guilds.

After all, the Candlelight Trading Firm was but a single Lifestyle Guild. Without any combat power of its own, it would have no choice but to purchase its materials from Combat Guilds. One could say that the Trading Firm's survival relied on Combat Guilds. Moreover, as the game progressed, the Trading Firm would require more precious materials. At that time, the Firm's reliance on Combat Guilds would grow stronger. Hence, it was not a good idea for the Firm to offend powerful Combat Guilds. 

Snow was intrigued as well on the person who could behave so fearlessly in a situation like this, as well as who a man like Black Flame would place to be the manager of his Trading Firm, and couldn't help but closely scrutinize Melancholic. But the moment she did, Snow's eyes widened in shock. 

Even without emitting any overbearing aura, from the way this manager moved without making any excess movements, Snow could tell Melancholic was at the Refinement Realm, the same as her. There was also the feeling of danger she had sensed upon those calm eyes sweeping past her, telling Snow of the difference between them. 

Unlike her predatory aura, though, the feeling Melancholic gave off was one of complete disregard, like she didn't put anyone here, including Snow and one of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion's Pavilion Masters, in her eyes at all. 

'This is insane.' Snow couldn't help but complain in her mind while looking at Melancholic with a dumbstruck gaze. 

It was one thing for there to be many people in Zero Wing stronger than herself, such a thing no longer being a surprise to Snow, and having come to terms with it considering Zero Wing's strength and it being a Combat Guild full of monsters. 

But some random manager of a Trading Firm to being above her, one of the strongest payers of Star-Moon Kingdom, without taking into account the many hidden experts of Zero Wing, in strength was simply absurd. 

A hint of despair also appeared in her mind, knowing she'd be settling for the minimal resources of Star-Moon Kingdom unless she moved Ouroboros's operations completely to somewhere else, but also that her current situation didn't permit such a thing. Thus, Snow could only pray Zero Wing would leave some of the Kingdom's share for her on the count of the friendship between it and Ouroboros. 

In reality, though, the difference in strength between Snow and Melancholic wasn't as massive as Snow thought, as they were both in the Refinement Realm, with only the difference in experience and knowledge of fighting being the key thing Melancholic had over her. 

After all, she had spent a decade watching battles of calibers even the old monsters in this God's Domain couldn't imagine, with fights between top-tier Beyond Domain Realm experts being available to Melancholic to watch due to her position. Her own experience of fighting to the death weren't small, or at least weren't unless compared to the restored members of Zero Wing, so Melancholic surpassed Snow by a large margin in the technicalities, as well as possessing a bit of proficiency in the Realms of Truth. 

If it came down to a fight between them, considering the difference in their equipment and class, as Melancholic was a Cleric who didn't bother with equipping herself in the top-tier items available from Zero Wing's Warehouse while Snow was the Guild Leader of a first-rate Guild and had the best stuff players of her level could get at this stage of the game, and their Levels being similar, it would be a close call on who emerged victorious. 

With Melancholic being a Lifestyle Player, that may not seem like much, but considering she had the experience of her previous life and plenty of great resources at her disposal in both timelines, while Snow was currently just a young girl who joined the virtual reality gaming world a few years ago with limited resources which she could use, and had spent only a month in God's Domain, it was an amazing achievement. 

Of course, in front of the previous timeline's Snow, one of Zero Wing's five Unthinking Realm experts, Melancholic would be no different than a speck of dust. 

Aside from Snow, the only other people who recognized Melancholic for what she truly is were the Dragon Pavilion Master, Nine Dragons Emperor, and his entourages, who were surprised at the appearance of another Refinement Realm expert in this small Kingdom, but quickly disregarded it, thinking whoever is behind the Candlelight Trading Firm had sent out Melancholic simply as a show of power, not believing there was someone who'd have a Refinement Realm expert serve as a mere manager. 

As for the rest, aside from a few with acute senses who could feel their instincts warning them of the Cleric manager, none of them could tell how strong she actually is, and everyone simply focused on her position in the Candlelight Trading Firm. 

At this moment, the Dragon Pavilion Master seated at the forefront of the hall opened his mouth and said, "Miss Melancholic, since you have arrived, shouldn't it be about time to begin our discussion?"

Everyone nodded their agreement to the Dragon Pavilion Master's words.

They had waited for quite some time now, and they had only waited for so long out of respect for the Candlelight Trading Firm's prestige. Now that its manager had arrived, it was only natural that they began discussing business.

"Certainly. However, a manager like myself does not have the power to make the decisions you are all looking for." Melancholic Smile shook her head.

"What are you trying to say?" various representatives asked, curious. "Are you saying that you're not going to do business with us?"

What a joke! They had come from so far and had spent a significant sum on teleportation fees. Now that they were told that there was nothing to discuss. Was the Candlelight Trading Firm just toying with them?

Suddenly, the temperature in the reception hall dropped sharply.

Not a single person present was someone that should be easily offended. Not only were they powerful experts, but the influence they commanded was also frightening. Standing by the side, Melancholic Smile's assistant felt her legs grow weak, her complexion paling. To an ordinary player like herself, this pressure was immense.

Fortunately for the female assistant, everyone focused not on her, but on Melancholic Smile instead. However, Melancholic's expression remained unchanged from the same cold and calm look she walked into the reception hall with. 

"I am only the manager of the Candlelight Trading Firm. Only my boss can make decisions regarding the business you wish to discuss. If you are really interested in working with us, then you'll be able to meet my boss if you wait for a little while longer." After Melancholic Smile finished speaking, she turned and left the reception hall.

For a time, silence overtook the reception hall.

Although they had long since guessed that Melancholic Smile was not the Candlelight Trading Firm's proprietor, hearing her statement had surprised them.

Since Melancholic Smile had been able to establish such a powerful trading firm, the force backing her would naturally be extraordinary. Moreover, nobody present had yet to uncover the tiniest bit of information about this hidden backer. One could just imagine this mysterious backer's power.

Just as everyone inside the reception hall pondered the identity of the Candlelight Trading Firm's true boss, Melancholic arrived at Black Flame's Special Forging Room, and entered. 

Seeing him finish with forging an Intermediate Mana Armor Kit, she reported "Guild Leader, all the important ones have already arrived, and there don't seem to be any changes worthy of note." 

"Good," Black Flame tossed his tools and spread out materials into the Spatial Bag "About damn time. I've grown bored of making these things for the last few days." 

Finally having a reason to leave his Forging Room, Black Flame walked out in strides and went down to the Reception Hall, with Melancholic, who had already been made aware of Black Flame's nature as Feng's clone, following after him. 

---

Inside the Candlelight Trading Firm's reception hall...

Due to Melancholic Smile's statement, everyone inside the hall had begun to make their guesses of who might be the Candlelight Trading Firm's owner.

However, even if the boss behind the scenes was impressive, what could he possibly do against so many large Guilds?

As everyone occupied themselves with their discussions, time slowly ticked by.

"This Candlelight Trading Firm sure knows how to treat its guests. They've already made us wait for such a long time. Do they really think we are easily bullied?" a representative of a second-rate Guild complained.

Everyone was greatly displeased with the situation. Who were they?

They were the overlords of God's Domain.

Moreover, they had brought both money and sincerity with them.

Yet, the Candlelight Trading Firm actually dared make emperors like them wait so long. Whoever was behind the Firm must truly be tired of living.

Meanwhile, seated in a corner of the hall, Feng Xuanyang watched the souring situation with a smile.

The Candlelight Trading Firm might have been able to get away with angering the various small Guilds of White River City, but if it angered all of these large Guilds, who would dare supply the Firm?

Without materials, the Candlelight Trading Firm would not produce a single product.

However, Feng Xuanyang's smile had not lasted long as the doors to the reception hall suddenly slammed open. In the next moment, a middle-aged man leisurely walked in. 

"Sorry I made you all wait for me." Black Flame suddenly crossed the reception hall's threshold, his emotionless expression showing his previous words were bullshit. Sweeping a glance over everyone present, he calmly said, "I'm the owner of the Candlelight Trading Firm, Black Flame."

The arrival of Zero Wing's Guild Leader had silenced the reception hall. At this moment, practically every Guild representative in the hall focused on Black Flame.

"Why does it have to be him?"

"So that's the case. It is no wonder the Candlelight Trading Firm set up its headquarters in White River City."

Everyone suddenly came to a realization.

However, at the same time, the upper managers of the various large Guilds reevaluated their impression of Zero Wing.

The majority of the people present had not understood Zero Wing's true strength. They had only read some reports about the Guild.

Before arriving in White River City, each Guild had investigated the various Guilds residing in White River City.

The reports had contained a lot of information about Zero Wing. Moreover, after the Guilds' intelligence agents' detailed investigation of the number one Guild in White River City, they had quite the high evaluation of Zero Wing.

Practically every agent had evaluated Zero Wing as a Guild that was above a second-rate Guild, but below a first-rate Guild. Meanwhile, Zero Wing's Guild Leader, Black Flame, was even Star-Moon Kingdom's number one expert. Up till today, Black Flame had yet to suffer a single defeat. Even Overwhelming Smile, the Guild which had been secretly supported by Underworld, had been forced to disband due to him. 

When everyone had received these reports, they had simply laughed it off and placed no particular importance on Zero Wing.

Now, however, the upper managers of the various large Guilds even considered firing those intelligence agents of theirs.

Just what had they investigated?

Even after silence had gripped the reception hall for some time, Black Flame had not hurried to dive straight into business. Instead, he waved his hand and signaled Melancholic Smile.

At this moment, Melancholic Smile opened her mouth and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, if you are here to purchase Intermediate Mana Armor Kits, please follow me. As our stock is limited, the Candlelight Trading Firm intends to hold a small-scale auction exclusively for you."

Saying so, Melancholic Smile led the way out of the reception hall.

In response, however, the Guild representatives only turned to look at each other, showing no signs of leaving their seats.

Who among them was not here to purchase the Candlelight Trading Firm, hoping to earn a massive profit through the transaction? How could they possibly come all the way here just to purchase a few measly Intermediate Mana Armor Kits?

Particularly, the Dragon Pavilion Master from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion looked utterly uninterested in the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits.

With the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion taking the lead, everyone would naturally follow.

However, among these people, one person stood up from their seat and followed Melancholic Smile.

"Has Gentle Snow gone insane?" Galaxy Past watched Gentle Snow's departing figure.

There were so many Guilds putting pressure on Zero Wing and Candlelight right now. Even if Zero Wing was strong, it would have no choice but to tread carefully when faced with so many large Guilds. Offending so many large Guilds at once would be tantamount to suicide. Anyone who had a brain would definitely choose to stay. After all, they could take advantage of the situation to rake in even more profit for themselves, and that was not something a few measly Intermediate Mana Armor Kits could hope to compare with.

Yet, Gentle Snow had actually chosen to leave...

"Don't tell me that no one else here is interested in the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits?" Black Flame asked as he glanced at the seated guests.

At this moment, Feng Xuanyang stood. Righteously, he said, "Guild Leader Black Flame, many of us here have journeyed from far away. We have already shown the Candlelight Trading Firm sufficient respect. If you turn us away empty-handed, our reputations will suffer."

"That's right, Guild Leader Black Flame! Let's prosper together! Wouldn't it be better if we invest into and develop the Candlelight Trading Firm together? That way, everybody can profit!" Many among the crowd began advising Black Flame as they laughed merrily.

Among those present, aside from the upper managers of a few first-rate Guilds, everyone promptly voiced their agreement.

"Are all of you of the same opinion?" Black Flame calmly asked.

"You could say that," Nine Dragons Emperor, suddenly said. "However, aside from my interest in the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits, I am more interested in the Trading Firm as a whole. Why don't you state a price? I'll take it off your hands."

Although Nine Dragons Emperor wore a lukewarm smile, his tone indicated that he would not take no for an answer.

Suddenly, the entire venue fell silent. Many of the Guild representatives sucked in a breath of cold air.

Initially, they had thought that the conditions they had proposed were sufficient. They had never expected that this Dragon Pavilion Master would be even greedier than they were. He actually wanted to devour the Candlelight Trading Firm all for himself.

Although Nine Dragons Emperor's words were quite arrogant, all of the various Guild representatives present knew that this handsome youth before them had certainly earned his arrogance.

The fact that the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was hailed as a super-first-rate Guild, which was the closest existence to a Super Guild, was not without reason. Great strength had built that reputation.

In today's era, virtual reality had long since integrated into everyone's life. Practically everyone would come into contact with virtual reality games in some form. Meanwhile, there were countless virtual gaming Guilds.

Any Guild that the public officially recognized became a third-rate Guild. Even though third-rate Guilds were nowhere near the top of the gaming industry, they still stood out among the countless Guilds in the virtual gaming world. Not only did a third-rate Guild possess a certain degree of financial support, but it also possessed a large number of members. Normally, third-rate Guilds had also earned some form of achievement in some virtual reality games.

Standing above third-rate Guilds were second-rate Guilds. Not only did second-rate Guilds possess abundant capital, but they also possessed quite a number of experts. These experts were normally those who held some fame in the virtual gaming world. As for a second-rate Guild's member count, there was no need to even mention that. Normally, a second-rate Guild would develop itself in multiple cities simultaneously.

As for first-rate Guilds, they were normally Guilds that had been crowned as overlords in at least a dozen large-scale virtual reality games. Such Guilds generally had over a decade of history, having overcome countless, painstaking trials. First-rate Guilds had perfected expert training programs and a large network of contacts. Most importantly, these Guilds had recruited a large number of experts over the years.

Practically all up and coming experts of the virtual gaming world would be split between these first-rate Guilds. With more experts joining the Guild every passing year, there would always be a large number of experts present to support, to battle for, and to bring endless glory to the Guild.

They were existences far above second-rate Guilds.

As for Super Guilds?

They were the titans of the virtual gaming world. There were even many virtual reality games that these Super Guilds had produced personally. They also had their own research teams that were set up to study and improve a person's gaming skills. Super Guilds had no shortage of ordinary experts. Aside from recruiting some experts who possessed extraordinary talents, they would usually nurture their own army of experts.

As for the various major competitions held in the virtual gaming world, these Super Guilds organized practically all of them. Meanwhile, the majority of the top-tier experts that had emerged from these competitions every year were usually experts that these Super Guilds had nurtured.

Take Purple Eye and Aqua Rose for example. Both had been nurtured by the same Super Guild. After undergoing the sharpening of various major competitions and emerging victorious, both had become rookies of the year. They had then separated from the Super Guild they had belonged to to develop themselves separately.

In fact, this wasn't just limited to the two of them. Many well-known experts in the virtual gaming world had originated from Super Guilds.

This was the amazing part about Super Guilds.

With this aspect alone, Super Guilds were already leaps and bounds above first-rate Guilds.

Take the financial prowess backing Super Guilds for example. All Super Guilds already stood at the peak of the virtual gaming industry. In a society where virtual reality was so well-developed, the economic value of the virtual industry constantly rose. Whether it regarded financial prowess or influence, Super Guilds were not one bit inferior to international corporations. There were some Super Guilds that were even stronger.

Although the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was not a Super Guild, in reality, it was not far from becoming one. Only, the Pavilion was somewhat young. However, that was only true when compared to actual Super Guilds. When compared to other first-rate Guilds, the Pavilion's history was a lot longer than many first-rate Guilds in the virtual gaming world.

"This should be fun," Galaxy Past said as he looked at Black Flame standing near the door, a meaningful grin appearing on his face.

"Guild Leader, you still have the heart to make jokes? If the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion really buys out the Candlelight Trading Firm, wouldn't we have come here for nothing?" Purple Eye asked as she frowned at Galaxy Past. She had come from a Super Guild, so she knew full well just how powerful a Super Guild's background could be.

Although Black Flame was very strong, his strength only mattered in Star-Moon Kingdom. If he were in a Super Guild, he would be a slightly high ranking member at best.

As for the other experts of Zero Wing, a Super Guild had armies of such individuals.

Not to mention, Super Guilds also possessed plenty of old monsters. Those players were no longer considered human. Only, these old monsters would not normally appear in the public eye, so not many people knew of them.

A single flick from a Super Guild could easily annihilate Zero Wing.

If it came down to a fight, Zero Wing wouldn't even be powerful enough to resist.

In reality, even an amazing first-rate Guild would stand no chance against a Super Guild, much less Zero Wing. At most, it could only provide a momentary struggle. This was also one of the reasons why there was only a small number of Super Guilds, despite there being a large number of first-rate Guilds in the virtual gaming world.

The only reason why Super Guilds did not go out of their way to compete with first-rate Guilds, only contending with opponents of the same level, was because they did not like bullying the weak. It was the same concept as for how an adult would not participate in a fight between children. Doing so would only harm to their reputation.

"It seems that Gentle Snow's decision was correct. If I had known something like this would happen, I would have gone along to purchase some Intermediate Mana Armor Kits," Galaxy Past sighed ruefully.

Once the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion purchased the Candlelight Trading Firm, it definitely would not sell the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. Rather, it would use those kits to strengthen itself and challenge those Super Guilds.

If he wanted to buy the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits, now was his only chance to do so.

Meanwhile, sitting in the corner of the reception hall, Feng Xuanyang was thoroughly dumbfounded. The situation left him utterly speechless.

The higher-ups of Underworld had instructed him to purchase 300 Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. If the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion bought the Candlelight Trading Firm, how was he supposed to buy the kits?

---

Melancholic Smile entered the reception hall on the second floor with Gentle Snow behind her.

The location Melancholic Smile had led Gentle Snow to was still inside the reception hall. Only, it was situated on the building's second floor. It could be considered a VIP room of sorts. And while the occupants of the first floor could not see the occupants on the second floor, the reverse did not hold true. Not only could one see everything that went on inside the reception hall on the first floor, but one could also hear the first floor's ongoings clearly.

"Why have you brought me here?" Gentle Snow asked, surprised.

"Miss Snow, please wait a moment," Melancholic Smile said. "Guild Leader knows that you want a large number of Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. However, the supply for the kits is truly too scarce. As the demand for it is very high, he plans to hold an auction for the kits. Meanwhile, the auction will be held right here. As soon as he sends away the Guild representatives below, the auction will begin."

"Send them away?" Gentle Snow could not help but glance at the Nine Dragons Emperor.

She had seen the Nine Dragons Emperor many times before, so she knew this man's temper. He was the very definition of the word "hypocrite." If both sides were on equal footing, then there wouldn't be a problem with discussing business. However, if the other side's strength were inferior to his, only a painful slaughter awaited them.

Nine Dragons Emperor was also willing to do whatever it took to achieve his goals, and that included unscrupulous means. Hence, very few people were willing to deal with him. However, it was also this personality that had allowed him to reach the position of Pavilion Master.

In a super-first-rate Guild, it was not easy for one to reach the position of Pavilion Master. Knowing a few tricks was far from enough. One also needed strength and ability. Otherwise, one would not be able to secure their position even if they did manage to obtain it. The fact that Nine Dragons Emperor had held his position firmly for so many years spoke volumes about his strength.

Though, Snow wouldn't consider it too unreasonable if Black Flame were to do as Melancholic had said. Although, she still couldn't even fathom how strong Zero Wing's Guild Leader is, as she hadn't been able to sense anything from the man even now that she had taken a step into the Realms of Refinement, considering the strength she had seen from Ye Feng, Violet Cloud and Black Cloud, Nine Dragons Emperor doesn't even come close to any of them. 

Snow also knew those three weren't the only incredible experts in Zero Wing from the bits of information she had managed to gather and the videos she had seen, even if the other players couldn't tell the strength they have hidden. 

Meanwhile, considering that he was the leader of all those monsters, it was safe to say Black Flame was even stronger, and it wouldn't be surprising if he were to chase off the Pavilion Master. In fact, it was definitely Nine Dragons Emperor who was overstepping and testing his fate by telling Black Flame to sell the Candlelight Trading Firm to him. 

---

Inside the reception hall on the first floor, silence filled the venue. Everyone had focused on Black Flame, waiting for his reply despite having already guessed what the outcome would be.

"You want to buy the Candlelight Trading Firm?" Black Flame asked, disdain suddenly filling the pitch-black void which were his eyes as he said, "Kid, even if you were to sell the entirety of your little guild, you wouldn't be able to afford 1% of my Trading Firm. Now get your head out of your ass and lets talk business before I throw you out of my Shop."

Immediately after Black Flame finished speaking, silence overtook the venue. Every Guild representative in the hall was stupefied.

Black Flame has gone insane!

They all stared at Black Flame with dropped jaws.

Who was the Nine Dragons Emperor?

He was the Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion. He stood at the very top of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. With a single word, he could easily bring an end to the existence of any second-rate Guild in the virtual gaming world.

Moreover, the Nine Dragons Emperor was famed for being vicious and merciless.

There was once a Vice Leader of an ordinary first-rate Guild who had competed against the Nine Dragons Emperor in an auction for an item. Enraged, Nine Dragons had sent a notice to the first-rate Guild and demanded that the Vice Leader in question grovel and apologize to him, as well as return the item in question. Otherwise, he would take action against this first-rate Guild.

How could an ordinary first-rate Guild possibly hope to contend with the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion? Furthermore, the first-rate Guild in question had many competitors. Nine Dragons had only needed to give the word, and many other first-rate Guilds would have joined hands to take out the offending Guild. Having no other option, the first-rate Guild sent for the Vice Leader in question to apologize and offer the item. In the end, however, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion still annihilated the first-rate Guild, forcing the Guild to migrate to a different virtual reality game.

Currently, not only had Black Flame outright stated that he refused to sell, he had insulted both Nine Dragons Emperor and the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, slapping the Pavilion Master in the face.

"This Black Flame is exactly as the rumors made him out to be! He is simply fearless!" Galaxy Past could not help but voice his admiration.

Throughout God's Domain, other than those Super Guilds and a few Guilds with extremely powerful corporations backing them, there were no Guilds that dared provoke the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Even the upper echelons of Super Guilds would consider their options carefully before humiliating this Pavilion Master.

Although a virtual reality game was only a game, where there were people, there was bound to be conflict.

The Nine Dragons Emperor was the face of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Even if Black Flame refused to give in to Nine Dragons' coercion, he should have handled the situation with a more delicate hand. Yet, Black Flame had thrown all pretenses out the window and made a mockery of the Nine Dragons Emperor. Even if it were just for his reputation's sake, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would now go all-out to destroy him.

Hence, Galaxy Past truly admired Black Flame's courage.

"He should have shown some restraint and refrained from such an impulsive comeback. If he could have endured the humiliation he has suffered today in order to retaliate another day, he would have gained more of my respect. However, with him acting like a boorish fellow, Zero Wing is truly finished this time," Purple Eye said as she glanced at Black Flame. She then silently lamented as she remembered Aqua had previously left Twilight Echo and joined Zero Wing, saying "It seems that Aqua Rose has still made the wrong decision. In the end, a small Guild will only ever be a small Guild. Though it might triumph temporarily, it could not make it last."

---

Meanwhile, in the second-floor reception room...

"Isn't your Guild Leader going a bit far? If word spreads, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion will definitely try to annihilate Zero Wing with everything it has to restore its reputation!" Gentle Snow exclaimed as she stared at Melancholic Smile.

Based on what she understood of Black Flame, the man was not ignorant. On the contrary, he was quite shrewd with great foresight.

Yet, now, he had actually insulted the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Even if he were much stronger than the Pavilion Master and had multiple powerful subordinates, this was still a Super-first-rate Guild! 

Unfortunately for Snow, she has still yet to gleam at the true strength Feng, Black Flame and Zero Wing have been hiding, while her limited knowledge made her not able to realize how much power the various guilds above First-rate rank had, and how inconsequential it was to Feng and the others. 

"Nah, not at all. If anything, the Guild Leader let that trash off easy for daring to voice such a preposterous suggestion." Melancholic Smile shook her head, feeling that Black Flame hadn't done anything surprising in the least, and had even held back on his words out of consideration for his future partnership with Phoenix Rain. 

Gentle Snow failed to think of a response, having no clue if this was just the perspective of the truly strong, or if Black Flame and Melancholic were simply insane. 

---

Meanwhile, back in the first-floor reception hall, even the Nine Dragons Emperor himself was stunned. He had never expected Black Flame to be so foolish.

Although he had investigated Zero Wing a bit and knew Black Flame was ranked 100th on the God's Domain Expert List, meaning that he should be a Void Realm expert, and that there were some slightly powerful players in Zero Wing, with Melancholic being a hidden addition, that was still nothing compared to the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. 

Even the heavens would laugh at such folly.

However, Nine Dragons could not find it in himself to laugh. Instead, his expression shifted slightly as a cold, killing intent flashed in his eyes. However, this killing intent quickly disappeared. In the next moment, a bright, dazzling smile appeared on the Nine Dragons Emperor's face.

"Since Guild Leader Black Flame has no intentions of selling, I won't overstay my welcome. Goodbye." The Nine Dragons Emperor smiled. He then left the reception hall with his subordinates.

Everyone else in the reception hall turned to look at each other.

What had just happened?

That's it?

Wasn't he supposed to warn Zero Wing and teach them a lesson?

"Purple, let's leave as well, then." At this moment, Galaxy Past smiled faintly as he prepared to leave the building.

"Guild Leader, are we not going to negotiate with Zero Wing? Are we just leaving?" Purple Eye asked curiously.

It had taken quite some effort to embark on this trip. After all, Galaxy Past was the Guild Leader of the Star Alliance. If he left White River City without obtaining even the tiniest harvest, he would become a laughingstock.

"It will be meaningless. If even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion has been treated in such a way, do you think Black Flame will agree to sell the Candlelight Trading Firm to us?" Galaxy Past shook his head. He then explained, "Also, a war is going to begin in White River City, so don't you think we should return quickly?"

"War?" Purple Eye suddenly came to a realization.

Although Nine Dragons Emperor had left the building peacefully and had not made any vicious remarks, in reality, killing intent filled his heart. It would have been foolish of him to reveal his thoughts inside the Candlelight Trading Firm.

Inside this Shop, Black Flame's words were law. Anyone who dared spout profanities inside the building would only be sentenced to death. Only a brain-dead fool would risk that just to sate his pride.

Most likely, the Nine Dragons Emperor would notify his subordinates, instructing them to annihilate Zero Wing the moment he returned to the Black Dragon Empire. He would not give Black Flame the chance to react.

"Hahaha! Black Flame, so even you will have such a day!" Feng Xuanyang grinned like a drunk fool.

At this point, there was no doubt that the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would obliterate Zero Wing. However, based on the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion's prestige, it would abhor remaining in a small location like White River City. Once Zero Wing was annihilated, Frosty Thread would automatically become the number one Guild of White River City without even needing him to expend any effort.

Afterward, the various Guild representatives promptly left the Candlelight Trading Firm. Not a single Guild chose to stay behind.

---

Meanwhile, inside the VIP room on the second floor, Black Flame had already begun to discuss business with Gentle Snow.

"May I know how many Intermediate Mana Armor Kits Guild Leader Black Flame intends to sell to me?" Having seen Melancholic's attitude, Snow guessed Black Flame would most likely have a similar thought process, so she didn't bother bringing up the matter with the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and merely got down to business. 

"Miss Snow, how many do you want?" Black Flame simply asked.

Hearing Black Flame's question, Gentle Snow pondered for a moment before asking softly, "Do you have enough to gear a 50-man team?"

Everybody knew how precious the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits were. Even partnered Guilds were only allowed to purchase 21 kits at a time. That amount was only sufficient to gear seven players at most. Beyond that, it was extremely difficult to obtain any more kits, as all those who had managed to purchase them refused to part with them.

It was impossible for any Guild, other than Zero Wing, to obtain a sufficient number of Intermediate Mana Armor Kits to gear a 50-man team fully.

"Okay, but the Candlelight Trading Firm requires a large amount of rare materials. In the future, I will require Ouroboros to sell the majority of the materials it obtains to the Candlelight Trading Firm." Black Flame said.

"Once I return, I'll instruct my subordinates to send you the materials." Gentle Snow nodded in agreement. In any case, she was tight on money right now. If she could convert some of the Guild's materials into Coins, it would help her greatly.

---

After Black Flame and Gentle Snow concluded their trade, the matter of Zero Wing's Guild Leader, Black Flame, provoking the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had already spread throughout God's Domain.

As a super-first-rate Guild, any minor matter relating to the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would receive the attention of the various large Guilds in the virtual gaming world, not to mention a major incident such as a Guild openly insulting them.

For a time, everyone began to pay attention to the Star-Moon Kingdom, to Zero Wing, and to Black Flame.

"Crap, Black Flame must've gone insane! He actually dared to slap the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion in the face! Does he not want to play God's Domain anymore?"

"What do you know? Black Flame is super amazing! He is a titled expert on the God's Domain Ranking List! He has his own pride, naturally, so how could he possibly hand over the Candlelight Trading Firm he had built by himself?"

"I wonder what the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion will do?"

"Isn't it obvious? If Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion does not flatten a Guild like Zero Wing, will it still qualify to be called a super-first-rate Guild?"

News and talk of the conflict between the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Zero Wing filled God's Domain's forums. As for Super Guilds, they, too, had fun watching from the sidelines.

---

Currently, while all of God's Domain was in an uproar, the atmosphere inside one of White River City's high-class restaurants was extremely awkward.

"Pavilion Master, leave this matter to this subordinate. I will give Black Flame more than what he bargained for," the robust Blood Dragon requested respectfully.

"I never expected to encounter such a blind fool in this far-off city. Now, every player in God's Domain knows of this incident. The Great Pavilion Master has even sent me a message personally, telling me to deal with this matter as visibly as possible and show those Super Guilds that the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion is no longer just a super-first-rate Guild. Rather, it is a Super Guild that stands on equal footing," Nine Dragons Emperor said, a bone-chilling glint flashing in his eyes. Curling up his lips, he said, "Since the Great Pavilion Master has issued the command, we cannot take this matter lightly. Notify the War Dragon Legion and have them meet us here immediately. I want to destroy Zero Wing's Guild Residence personally!"

"The War Dragon Legion?" Blood Dragon could not help but suck in a breath of cold air when he heard this name.

The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was divided into two Pavilions: the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion and the Phoenix Pavilion. Both Pavilions had their own strongest legions.

The Heavenly Dragon Pavilion's strongest force was the War Dragon Legion.

The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion nurtured its own experts internally. Among these experts, only the best of the best were allowed into the War Dragon Legion.

One could say that the War Dragon Legion was the strongest legion specially established to contend with Super Guilds.

Blood Dragon had also come from the War Dragon Legion.

Who wouldn't be shocked by the Nine Dragons Emperor summoning the War Dragon Legion?

"Pavilion Master, aren't we just dealing with a small Guild? Is there really a need for such a commotion?" Chaos Dancer, the beautiful woman seated beside Nine Dragons Emperor, advised, "In fact, we can rely on the Blood Legion to get rid of Zero Wing. If we expose the strength of the War Dragon Legion right now, won't we waste a trump card that we could use against those Super Guilds in the future?"

"It doesn't matter. Since joining God's Domain, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion has yet to achieve anything significant. Now that everyone is watching the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, it is a good opportunity for an excellent performance," Nine Dragons Emperor said, smiling playfully. "Moreover, Zero Wing's reputation is not insignificant. If we can finish off Zero Wing swiftly, it will serve as a shock to some of those weaklings and let everyone know that the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion is no longer a super-first-rate Guild, but a true Super Guild."

"Understood. This subordinate will notify the War Dragon Legion immediately." Chaos Dancer then began contacting the War Dragon Legion.

---

Time passed little by little.

While the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion prepared to deal with Zero Wing, other Guilds did not idle and do nothing. Every one of them gathered their members in White River City.

For a time, experts swarmed White River City.

Despite it obviously being daytime, the number of players filling the streets surpassed even night-time. Among all these players, aside from those that large Guilds had sent, there were plenty of ordinary players who had hurried over from other cities.

Players throughout God's Domain knew about the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion's intentions to take out Zero Wing.

Although this was clearly a one-sided battle, many players still wanted to witness the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion's strength. Hence, many ordinary players had hurried to White River City to watch the show.

All of White River City's various large Guilds, including Frosty Thread, considered and prepared to strike against Zero Wing while it was down, taking the opportunity to benefit from the Guild's downfall.

However, it was also this reason that boosted the Candlelight Trading Firm's business. Among the items sold by the Firm, Light Stones were the most popular. The Candlelight Trading Firm's income had practically recovered to its peak, earning over a thousand Gold in one hour.

As a result, Melancholic Smile and the others at the Candlelight Trading Firm focused fully on their work.

---

Meanwhile, in a high-class bar a short distance from Zero Wing's Guild Residence, many upper managers of Guilds had gathered.

The entire three-story building was packed full of players. Among them, first-rate Guilds fully occupied all of the private rooms on the third floor. From these rooms, one could clearly see every movement around Zero Wing's Guild Residence.

"Guild Leader, don't you think that Zero Wing is acting strangely? Even now, they are still so carefree. They have not taken any precautionary measures at all. Is this Black Flame pretending to be a fool, or is he actually one?" Purple Eye frowned as she watched Zero Wing's Guild Residence through the window.

"There's nothing surprising about this. Black Flame simply does not understand the Nine Dragons Emperor's character. Look at the people inside the bar for example. Aren't most of them members of first-rate Guilds? Meanwhile, a newly-established Guild like Zero Wing and a newcomer to the virtual gaming world like Black Flame don't know Nine Dragons' style of conduct. Thus, he continues with his carefree manner," Galaxy Past said, laughing. Downing a mouthful of Flame Beer, he continued, "The Nine Dragons Emperor is someone who conducts himself with a lofty tone and does not play his cards according to common sense. This time, he has even secretly mobilized the War Dragon Legion to deal with Zero Wing, making a fuss over a minor incident. Naturally, the only reason why he would mobilize such a powerful legion is to destroy Zero Wing's Guild Residence.

"A Guild Residence is different from a private Shop. While inside the Shop, the manager is invincible. However, it is a different story for a Guild Residence. It is slightly troublesome to deal with the Residence's hired guards, and there are also the city guards who patrol the streets. With current players' Levels and equipment, it is still impossible to resist the patrolling guards. Hence, no sane Guild would attempt to attack another Guild's Residence.

"However, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion is no trivial existence. One cannot measure by the strength of an ordinary Guild. Moreover, the Nine Dragons Emperor is no fool. I keep getting the feeling that he has some sort of trick up his sleeve. Otherwise, he would not have sent the War Dragon Legion, a trump card that he had prepared for facing Super Guilds!

"What we need to do now is wait for the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion to make its move. Once they take action and Zero Wing falls, we can begin our operation as well."

Purple Eye nodded silently.

This time, the Star Alliance had sent quite a number of elites and experts. They were not afraid that Zero Wing would not fall today. Instead, it was only a matter of how much profit they could gain.

However, the various large Guilds, including the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, was ignorant of one point.

Feng was a reincarnator who had already been through all of this once before. Moreover, he had brought his friends along this time from his previous life. 

Inside the meeting room in Zero Wing's Guild Residence...

Black Flame called up the Guild System to check the status of Zero Wing's recruitment while waiting for everyone to gather.

Both him and Feng had busied themselves with the Candlelight Trading Firm; and had paid no attention to Zero Wing. Feng had left the Guild's management to Aqua Rose and Blackie. If the two of them had not encountered any major issues, they normally would not contact him. So, he was not all that worried that anything had happened to the Guild while he had been away.

Upon opening the Guild's System Panel, Black Flame suddenly noticed that the Guild's population had greatly increased.

Previously, the member count had balanced around 40,000. Now, however, there were already more than 50,000 players in Zero Wing. Moreover, this number continued to rise.

Throughout this time, Zero Wing had never changed its recruitment standards. On the contrary, the minimum requirements had been raised further in order to increase the quality of the new players. However, instead of seeing a decline in the number of players joining the Guild, the opposite had happened.

Seeing that, Black Flame closed the System Panel while deciding on how to best progress the guild further. 

Zero Wing's core members filled the large meeting room soon; and everyone had a relaxed air around them as if this was a casual meeting.

War was imminent.

Although Zero Wing had succeeded in annihilating Overwhelming Smile from both White River City and God's Domain, their current enemy, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, was a lot stronger than Overwhelming Smile. The two Guilds were on entirely different levels.

Yet, no one seemed bothered by this fact as they lounged about, waiting for the Guild Leader to start the meeting. 

Seated on the Guild Leader's throne, Black Flame spoke upon seeing everyone had gathered, a faint smile appearing on his normally emotionless face "Well, everyone, the time has come. We can finally stop holding back and showcase Zero Wing's true strength." 

At Black Flame's words, all of the other Zero Wing members present showed similar smiles and grins. All of the core members currently in the meeting room were restored members, so there was no need for further explanation or words, or for them to pretend like they didn't know what was happening. 

From the very beginning, it had been Feng's and Black Flame's full intention to provoke Nine Dragons Emperor into attacking them, so that the Pavilion Master could become Zero Wing's stepping stone. 

It was why he and the restored members have been holding back and not showing their true strength all this time, so that Nine Dragons Emperor wouldn't be too scared of fighting against Zero Wing. 

As for why he had chosen to use such a method, there were two reasons. 

The first was that he needed a good enough stage to attract attention so that everyone takes notice of it, and that he didn't have to repeatedly demonstrate their power, as well as a powerful enough opponent, so that no one questions the legitimacy of Zero Wing's strength. 

A Super-first-rate Guild like the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion in this situation fits that criteria, and him provoking it in public, causing the news to quickly spread, and forcing the Nine Dragons Emperor to go all out and attack Zero Wing, giving him the perfect opportunity to show the guild's strength in front of a bountiful audience. 

The second, is that he wanted to attract Phoenix Rain's attention to him this way. Of course, he could have simply gone to her, but considering the current situation where they were strangers, his intentions would be under suspicion by the Phoenix Pavilion Master when a person of his strength suddenly comes along and proposes cooperation, while Feng would also have to state what he wanted from her, making things a bit complicated and troublesome. 

Thus, it was more reliable to make Phoenix Rain come to him and ask to form a partnership, which would allow him to obtain the things he wanted from her, while keeping his true desire for simply getting close to her hidden. 

As for why Feng would put in that much effort and use such a method into simply creating some sort of connection between him and Phoenix Rain? 

Besides the opportunity of having full ownership over a team in the Dark Arena, he also wished to find a chance where he could restore Phoenix Rain's memories, something that would normally be difficult due to him not being able to get to her in real life and restore Zero Wing's Fourth Vice Guild Leader to her peak. 

Since he already had the previous timeline's experience and knew the very efficient method of defeating Nine Dragons Emperor's troops in order to draw Phoenix Rain's attention in the right direction, he had naturally decided to use it and achieve his goal without risking any mishaps. 

These restored members currently in the meeting room, although not aware of the full extent of Feng's aim, knew that with the upcoming fight, their days of withholding themselves and taking it easy on their enemies were over. 

It had slightly bothered them, being decently powerful experts even in the Greater God's Domain, let alone here, that they had to hold back, allowing the common rabble to think the "experts" of the current God's Domain were on the same level as them. 

Now that they could finally let loose on some old enemies that had caused them a lot of trouble in their previous lives, the excitement building up inside them could be seen on the restored members' faces as they looked forward to tonight. 

There was no need for a plan or strategizing or anything of that sort, since their enemies were too weak to be a proper threat, while it wasn't a secret the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion will be attacking Zero Wing's Guild Residence. 

If a Guild Residence was destroyed, it could not be repaired within ten days' time. Moreover, if a Guild Residence were destroyed, all members of the corresponding Guild within the city would receive a penalty.

Not only would all members lose a Level, but their EXP gain would also be halved for the following ten days. The Guild's Popularity would drop by 50,000 points as well. Moreover, after the destroyed Guild Residence was reconstructed, the quality of the Guild Quests the Guild would receive would be significantly affected.

The best time to destroy a Guild Residence was at night.

Players' greatest foe when trying to destroy an enemy Guild Residence was not other players, but the patrolling NPC city guards. These city guards were no trivial matter; they were all Level 150 NPCs. To players, they were nightmares. These NPCs only needed one hit to finish off the current players of God's Domain.

However, the number of patrolling city guards would change depending on the time of day.

During the day, these NPCs always patrolled in groups of twenty. By the time night arrived, however, that number would decrease to ten. If a Guild attacked an enemy Guild Residence at night, it could notably lessen its losses. That way, the Guild would have more combat power to spare for destroying the enemy Guild Residence. Aside from the city guards, there were also the hired guards inside the Guild Residence to contend with. Although the hired guards were not as powerful as the Level 150 city guards, they were still genuine Level 50 NPCs.

Knowing all that made Zero Wing's next move a no-brainer, and one the core members were prepared for, with the only thing they had needed being Black Flame's permission to show their true strength which still remained hidden from the public up till now, so the meeting was very quickly dismissed. 

---

Time slowly ticked by.

While everyone waited for the start of the battle, night arrived in God's Domain.

Currently, players clogged the streets neighboring Zero Wing's Guild Residence.

"Pavilion Master, all 1,000 men from the War Dragon Legion are in position," a valiant and extraordinary-looking youth reported to Nine Dragons Emperor.

The War Dragon Legion was the strongest force in the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion's arsenal. As of today, it had never been used to deal with any Guild less than a Super Guild. The legion consisted of 1,000 players, and every one of these players wore Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment. A few even had Level 25 Dark-Gold Equipment. These legionnaires' Levels also ranged from Level 27 to Level 28. These players were definitely at the peak of God's Domain in terms of levels. Every member also radiated a sharp and penetrating aura.

Although the War Dragon Legion consisted of 1,000 members, they felt like an army of tens of thousands that was capable of mass destruction.

Meanwhile, among these players, the man reporting to Nine Dragons Emperor was even more extraordinary. He was the War Dragon Legion's Commander, Martial Dragon. He was a Level 28 Berserker, and the majority of his equipment consisted of Level 25 Dark-Gold Equipment. The greatsword he wielded was also of indiscernible quality. However, judging by the blade's capability of even tearing apart air, one could tell that it was an exceptional item with a single glance.

Aside from the War Dragon Legion's 1,000 players, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had also dispatched close to 10,000 elite players. These elite players were all Level 25 and above. It was a truly shocking sight. Only a first-rate Guild would be capable of dispatching so many elite players. Were it not for the transportation fees, this number would have most likely been several times higher.

Many players involuntarily trembled when they saw the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion's war formation from afar.

This was the power of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Regarding both financial prowess and manpower, ordinary first-rate Guilds simply could not compare to the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion.

"Hahaha! Zero Wing is truly finished this time!" Sitting in a third-floor private room of a high-class bar, Feng Xuanyang felt indescribable joy well up in his heart when he saw the Pavilion's army.

Meanwhile, standing on the street, Nine Dragons Emperor swept a glance over the army before him. In the next moment, he waved his hand and pointed at Zero Wing's Guild Residence. Very calmly, he said, "Go! Leave none alive!"

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