Chapter 1 The Siege

Blue Moon Advanced Restaurant in White River City had been entirely reserved by Yi Xiao Qing Cheng. Dozens of Yi Xiao Qing Cheng's elite players stood guard outside, each looking menacing and in a foul mood. Any player who passed by would keep their distance, afraid of stirring up trouble.

Currently, Ling翼 (Zero Wing) and Yi Xiao Qing Cheng were engaged in a full-scale war. Zero Wing wasn't much to worry about, but Yi Xiao Qing Cheng's players were notorious bullies. They would cause trouble at the slightest provocation, their favorite pastime being clearing out leveling zones, leaving many free players in White River City seething but unable to speak out.

Many free players secretly cheered for the war between Zero Wing and Yi Xiao Qing Cheng.

Especially recently, Yi Xiao Qing Cheng's death count had risen sharply, exceeding eight thousand, which brought even more satisfaction.

Inside a private room on the second floor of the Blue Moon Advanced Restaurant sat two people, a man and a woman. The man was none other than Feng Xuanyang from Hell Shrine, and the serene beauty across from him was Youlan.

"I've reviewed the information you sent, and it's very well-written. I'm quite satisfied. I also submitted the analysis report you provided to the higher-ups, and they've determined that Zero Wing is indeed a thorn in our side. If we can't acquire it, then we must destroy it to prevent future troubles. Furthermore, the higher-ups are very optimistic about White River City."

"The number of players in White River City has now exceeded two million. Many players from other cities, even other kingdoms and empires, have come here, making it the second-largest city in Star-Moon Kingdom. We must control White River City. So, this time, the higher-ups have not only sent a large number of reinforcements from other locations but also increased funding, officially designating Yi Xiao Qing Cheng as a key guild to cultivate."

"I heard that Zero Wing has increased death compensation and kill rewards. You've followed suit, which must be quite a burden, right? But rest assured, you can go all out against Zero Wing. The higher-ups have gathered five hundred gold and three hundred million credits. The credits have already been transferred to you. As for the gold, it will be delivered in an hour or two at most. More gold and credits will be provided later. It can be said that the higher-ups are very serious this time. The total investment in Yi Xiao Qing Cheng alone may exceed five thousand gold in gold coins, not to mention credits."

As Feng Xuanyang spoke, he snapped his fingers. Twenty people walked in from outside the door, each exuding a strong aura of killing intent. Their muscular builds resembled grizzly bears, making them look less like players and more like well-trained soldiers.

"These are the Hades Guards sent by the higher-ups. These twenty are all squad leaders, each leading a six-person squad, totaling 120 people, all at your disposal," Feng Xuanyang said with a smile. "They are different from other Hades Guards. I think you can tell. They used to be mercenaries and have been on real battlefields. Now that Yi Xiao Qing Cheng is in a full-scale war with Zero Wing, as long as they take action, those players who haven't seen blood will be no match. Even Zero Wing's fifty-plus Tier 1 players will be finished."

"I've handed the people over to you. How you use them is up to you."

"Don't worry, Feng Shao, I won't let you down." Youlan was already confident in exhausting Zero Wing, but seeing the Hades Guard squad leaders standing neatly in two rows before her, she couldn't help but feel overjoyed.

Zero Wing's fifty-plus Tier 1 players had caused Yi Xiao Qing Cheng a lot of trouble, putting them at a disadvantage everywhere. They had to send out experts or Tier 1 players to counter them, otherwise, they couldn't do anything about those Tier 1 players.

But Youlan suddenly realized something.

Yi Xiao Qing Cheng had no shortage of elite players, but they lacked experts and Tier 1 players.

Although these people weren't necessarily all experts, their levels were all between 23 and 24. However, they were skilled in combat, and as the battles in God's Domain became more realistic, it undoubtedly benefited them greatly. They were much more powerful than ordinary elite players and could unleash terrifying effects in field battles when working together.

It was clear that the higher-ups in Hell Shrine were serious this time.

Currently, all the major guilds were frantically buying gold, and it was unknown how many gold farming teams they had secretly established.

It was truly not easy to come up with five hundred gold at once, let alone a total investment of five thousand gold later on. It was not easy at all to take down Zero Wing with this gold.

With Hell Shrine's subsequent financial investment, she wouldn't have to worry about equipment. Currently, there were three main sources for obtaining weapons and equipment: first, dungeons; second, auctions; and third, purchases from the virtual transaction center. Buying equipment from the virtual transaction center was different from the auction house in God's Domain. It was all purchased with credits, so the prices were relatively high, but those with money didn't care.

Firstly, there were more weapons and equipment there because many studios and players sold their weapons and equipment there to earn credits.

Secondly, it was convenient because money in God's Domain was really hard to obtain and trading was troublesome.

With a large sum of credits, she could immediately replenish Yi Xiao Qing Cheng's guild warehouse, rebuild the confidence of the guild members, and put great pressure on Zero Wing at the same time.

So that day, Youlan purchased a large amount of weapons and equipment from the virtual transaction center, ranging from level 15 to 20, with qualities ranging from Bronze to Fine-Gold, totaling over five thousand pieces. This immediately boosted Yi Xiao Qing Cheng's morale and further increased death compensation and kill rewards. Seeing this, more members of Yi Xiao Qing Cheng wanted to join the field battles.

In White River City, Yi Xiao Qing Cheng's momentum temporarily overshadowed Zero Wing.

However, Shi Feng, the guild leader of Zero Wing, was unaware of this and was still focused on crafting the Dragonscale Set, frantically increasing his forging proficiency.

Shi Feng had been busy with other things during this time, and his forging proficiency had stagnated. Despite being the first to become an Advanced Forging Apprentice, he had long been surpassed by Shuang Keke and the others. Now, these future forging masters had all become Forgers, while he himself was still far from having enough forging proficiency.

It should be known that it took three thousand proficiency points to advance from Intermediate Apprentice to Advanced Apprentice, while it took ten thousand proficiency points to advance from Advanced Apprentice to Forger, more than three times as much. Moreover, ordinary forging items made by Advanced Apprentices would not increase proficiency, so advancement was even slower.

Youyu Weixiao (Melancholic Smile) and Shuang Keke were able to improve so quickly entirely because of the Beginner Strengthening Armor Design provided by Shi Feng, but the effects of the Beginner Strengthening Armor became much weaker later on.

Fortunately, the Dragonscale Set made by Shi Feng was different. It was a very high level, and each successful crafting also granted additional proficiency bonuses, as well as a forging talent, which greatly increased the speed of proficiency gain. In addition, the Dragonscale was a Fine-Gold set, and the experience points rewarded for crafting it were very high.

However, crafting the Dragonscale Set required ten Starfire Essences for each individual piece, plus various auxiliary materials, and the success rate was less than 25%.

But Shi Feng was already very satisfied with this success rate. If it were someone else, they would be secretly laughing even with only a 10% success rate, let alone 25%. Moreover, the materials for the Dragonscale Set were not very precious, and he had plenty of Starfire Essence.

So he crafted frantically without considering the cost, and as Shi Feng became more and more proficient, and his brain activity increased, his grasp of the key points in the crafting process became very precise, and the speed of crafting became faster and faster, and better and better.

Shi Feng had never thought that there would be such a good thing.

Finally, after spending more than a day, he crafted over a hundred sets, using up almost all the materials. Shi Feng also advanced to become a Forger, at a speed that was astounding. Even Shi Feng's level rose to level 26, and the leveling speed was faster than grinding monsters in the White Mist Canyon.