Chapter 1 The Dark Night Empire

Dark Night Empire, Dark Night City.

The central streets teemed with traffic, and the shops lining the streets were overflowing with people. Players from other cities and kingdoms arrived constantly to purchase goods.

Compared to the surrounding kingdoms, the Dark Night Empire's commercial level was significantly higher. Mythril equipment of Level 50, rarely sold in other kingdoms, was common here. There was even Fine-Gold equipment of Level 50, although the exorbitant price discouraged most buyers.

Because of the prosperity of Dark Night City, many players from nearby areas were willing to sell their treasures here, creating a snowball effect. Even the major guilds of some surrounding kingdoms sent their members to Dark Night City to purchase supplies, making it far more lively than any royal city.

In the center of the main street stood a majestic guild residence, occupying an area the size of a ten-thousand-seat stadium. Purchasing this plot of land required not only sufficient status but also a frighteningly high price of five thousand gold, making it one of the few expansive plots in the central district of Dark Night City.

"This guild residence is so luxurious! They're actually willing to spend money to build a five-story restaurant!"

"Indeed. I heard that building a restaurant in a guild residence is already expensive, and a restaurant this large must have cost at least ten thousand gold."

"Ten thousand gold? You're underestimating the Starlight Guild. The Starlight Guild was established by the Starlight Financial Group. Just building this guild restaurant, including all the equipment inside, cost a full twenty thousand gold. Besides the restaurant, they also built a special training room, which I heard is enhanced by a magic array. The magic density inside is much higher than outside, making training more effective. It's a pity that only members of the Starlight Guild can enjoy these benefits."

"Can we join the Starlight Guild?"

"Join? You newbies? The Starlight Guild is now one of the three rising major guilds in the Dark Night Empire, and its strength is no less than the super-first-rate guilds Crimson Emperor and Undying War Souls. Even with their current recruitment drive, newcomers can't just join."

...

As players on the street discussed the Starlight Guild, a team of a hundred riders on panthers, wearing uniform and luxurious attire, entered the Starlight residence. Their imposing presence made many expert players envious, desiring to be one of them.

This team was the Starlight Guild's main force, which had recently cleared the fourth Boss of the Level 50 hundred-man team dungeon. They were only one final Boss away from completely conquering the dungeon, putting them on par with the other two super-first-rate guilds.

In the Starlight Guild's president's office on the top floor, three people stood watching the returning main force.

"President, now our guild's progress has caught up with Undying War Souls. Surpassing Undying War Souls and Crimson Emperor is only a matter of time," a Level 55 Tier 2 Shield Warrior with a silver cross shield said to Lu Xingluo, who was wearing a black robe, with a smile.

Because the Starlight Guild had acquired a mineral vein, they obtained a large number of magic crystals every day, allowing them to maintain the magic array in the guild's training room. This allowed the guild's experts to continuously train and improve.

More experts would soon meet the requirements for Tier 2 advancement. As long as they accumulated enough Tier 2 classes and their combat skills met the standards, clearing the Level 50 hundred-man team dungeon would only be a matter of time.

Without worrying about magic crystals, the guild's speed of nurturing experts was much faster than before. In just one or two months, the number of experts in the Starlight Guild might surpass Crimson Emperor and Undying War Souls, making them the number one guild in the Dark Night Empire.

"Good. The Thorn Fortress battle is about to begin. Next, use all the magic crystals we obtain to nurture Tier 2 classes. Create as many Tier 2 classes as possible. As long as we seize control of Thorn Fortress, I want to see how Crimson Emperor and Undying War Souls compete with our Starlight Guild," Lu Xingluo said with a smile.

"Yes, President, rest assured that before the battle begins, the number of Tier 2 experts in the Starlight Guild will definitely exceed Crimson Emperor and Undying War Souls," the Shield Warrior with the silver cross shield guaranteed.

As Lu Xingluo discussed the Thorn Fortress battle with his two subordinates, a message notification sounded in his ear.

"A message from Dark Soul?" Lu Xingluo looked at the sender's name, then opened the message and read it. His expression immediately darkened. "Is this Dark Soul crazy about money? He actually wants to triple the price to deal with a small Zero Wing Guild!"

"President, we also just received a message that Dark Soul's people seem to be besieging the main force of the Zero Wing Guild near the Eclipse Gate, but Dark Soul's people were defeated, suffering more than half their losses. I guess it's related to that," Su Luo, a voluptuous Level 55 Tier 2 female Elementalist standing beside the enraged Lu Xingluo, explained.

"You said Dark Soul besieged the main force of the Zero Wing Guild and was defeated in a counterattack?" Lu Xingluo asked in disbelief. "How is that possible?"

"It's true. Someone even uploaded the battle video to the official forum of Eclipse Gate. Now, players throughout Eclipse Gate are discussing this." Su Luo sent the battle video to Lu Xingluo.

"I see," Lu Xingluo said, his brow furrowing as he watched the battle video. "No wonder they dared to oppose me before."

"President, should we still deal with this Zero Wing Guild?" Su Luo asked.

"Of course!" Lu Xingluo said decisively. "They only repelled two thousand or so members of Dark Soul. That's just a scratch for Dark Soul, yet he wants three times the price. Moreover, that level of strength is nothing compared to our Starlight Guild. However, before dealing with Zero Wing, we need to seize Thorn Fortress first. Tell Dark Soul that they can forget about three times the resources, but I can change the conditions. If they can destroy the Zero Wing Guild, I can give them an additional 5% of the shares in Thorn Fortress."

"Also, tell Duantian Hu that the Zero Wing Guild is just a self-made guild without any backing. If they can become this strong now, it means they definitely have a significant secret. If he doesn't want it, our Starlight Guild will personally obtain it! Don't let them be envious!"

He knew very well the level of Dark Hunter and Shadow Claw in Dark Soul. They were only the fourth and fifth-ranked adventure teams. This defeat was more due to incorrect information and insufficient preparation, but Duantian Hu wanted to take the opportunity to raise the price.

"I understand." Su Luo nodded slightly and contacted Dark Soul.

While the Starlight Guild was discussing this matter, the various super forces also learned about the battle at Eclipse Gate, significantly increasing the Zero Wing Guild's reputation. However, it also attracted the attention of many interested parties. Zero Wing Guild's combat power was abnormal, especially the number of Tier 2 classes. There must be a big secret hidden within.

For a time, the major forces' attention to Zero Wing also began to change. They no longer saw them as ants, but rather as a piece of fat.

"Issue the order, find a way to discover the secret of Zero Wing Guild's rise!"

Almost every super force issued this order immediately after watching the battle video.

Meanwhile, Shi Feng, having just rested, arrived at Silverwing Town.

"Guild Leader, the fifty advanced architects you asked me to find have all been brought here," Youyu Weixiao reported, looking at Shi Feng standing on a vacant lot.

The fifty advanced architects who came with her looked nervously at Shi Feng, not understanding why their Guild Leader had suddenly summoned them, and so many of them at that. So many advanced architects could build a small town.

"Good. You can build it here according to this construction blueprint." Shi Feng then took out a stack of old blueprints from his backpack. These blueprints were the design for an Advanced Blacksmith Shop.