Chapter 1 A Patch of Icy Valleys

In an icy valley within the Frozen Scar, the frigid environment was so intense that even a single breath would create a cloud of white mist. Frozen plants and animals were everywhere, turned into ice sculptures, yet a well-organized legion of a thousand players steadily advanced through the valley.

Guardian Knights and Shield Warriors, all level 42 or higher, formed the front line, cutting off the narrow valley path like an impenetrable wall of bronze.

The monsters they faced were level 46 and 47 Icehowl Bears, strength-type High Lords.

Icehowl Bear, Elemental Creature, High Lord, Level 47, HP 31,000,000

Even if an ordinary MT managed to block an attack, they would still lose over 10,000 HP.

The Icehowl Bear's attacks were not only incredibly powerful but also dealt frost penetration damage.

The frost penetration effect reduced the target's reaction and attack speed, halved healing effects, and could not be fully blocked by a shield. Combined with their frenzied attack speed and occasional Tier 2 skill, Icy Stomp, the MT in the front line could be instantly killed if the healers weren't careful.

This was precisely why many teams attempting to venture deep into the Frozen Scar were stuck here, unable to move forward.

However, these Guardian Knights and Shield Warriors took an average of no more than 7,000 damage from each attack, and even when facing the Icehowl Bear's skill attacks, the damage was no more than 20,000. This was quite manageable for MTs with HP generally over 40,000.

"Guild Leader, the Frozen Heart is truly amazing. It seems the Beast Emperor wasn't lying to us. With the Frozen Heart, our chances of taking down the Frozen King have increased by at least 20%," said Wu Xia, looking at the crystal heart in her hand, into which she was constantly pouring mana.

"This is just the beginning," Yi Xiao Du Zang replied with a slight smile. "The three top-tier adventurer teams we're cooperating with each have their own unique skills. And because of their addition, our team's overall strength has also increased considerably. Taking down the Frozen King is only a matter of time."

Zero Wing Guild had just gone through a major battle. Although the monster army hadn't significantly reduced Zero Wing's overall strength, it had made a mess of Stone Forest Town. Nearly half of the main force and core members were lost, and it would take a long time to recover.

Moreover, Zero Wing Guild was expanding in multiple directions, and their enemies weren't limited to their Heaven's Burial. The Black Dragon Empire was also eyeing them covetously. The various guilds there had all sorts of minor conflicts with Zero Wing, and according to the information he had received, these guilds were backed by certain super forces. It wouldn't be easy for Zero Wing to stabilize itself in the Black Dragon Empire; they needed a large number of experts to hold the line.

Zero Wing Guild was in dire need of rest and recuperation, making it the perfect opportunity for their Heaven's Burial Guild to catch up.

With the Frozen Heart, their leveling efficiency here was extremely fast. The Shura-ranked regional dungeon was simply incomparable to the outside world. Reaching level 49 quickly would allow them to challenge the level 50 large-scale team dungeon early. When they eventually took down the Frozen King, Heaven's Burial Guild's position in Eternal Night City would be further enhanced. Scarlet Iron Town might even be able to compete with Stone Forest Town, especially with the unfathomable Beast Emperor secretly helping him.

Just as Yi Xiao Du Zang was planning his grand strategy, Wu Xia's expression suddenly changed.

"Guild Leader, something's not good! Zero Wing Guild just assembled a thousand-man expert legion, all mounted, led personally by Guild Leader Black Flame. Their current whereabouts are unknown. Everyone suspects Zero Wing Guild is planning a secret attack on someone. Guilds are recalling their main forces, and telling their outdoor teams to scatter. Should we take precautions?" Wu Xia asked with concern, looking at the message she had just received.

A thousand-man expert legion was no joke.

Especially with Guild Leader Black Flame leading the charge...

"Do our people planted in Zero Wing Guild know where they're going?" Yi Xiao Du Zang asked.

"Our people are of average level and strength and aren't qualified to participate in this Zero Wing event," Wu Xia replied, shaking her head.

Although she wanted to send experts to infiltrate, Zero Wing Guild was meticulous in its actions, and its management system was extremely strict. They also cleverly used the Main God System's contracts to impose minor restrictions that guild members didn't really care about. It was hard to imagine that this was just a new guild that had only been established in God's Domain for a few months; the completeness of its system would impress even first-rate guilds.

Any expert players who joined Zero Wing Guild would be thoroughly investigated, making it difficult to plant people. The only way was to put some promising individuals into Zero Wing Guild and let them slowly rise through the ranks. Making them stand out too much would risk being discovered.

Wu Xia wasn't aware that Shi Feng had been the guild leader of a God's Domain guild for ten years, and the completion of God's Domain guild system was far more advanced than it was now. He had already developed efficient solutions for dealing with spies from various guilds. While it was impossible to completely eliminate spies among the guild's lower and middle-level members, he could greatly prevent the leakage of important guild information.

"Just in case, have the assassins from the Shadow Legion spread out throughout the Frozen Scar. Report immediately if they spot Zero Wing Guild's army!" Yi Xiao Du Zang instructed after thinking for a moment.

Although he didn't think Zero Wing would cause trouble for Heaven's Burial now – on the surface, the two guilds were minding their own business, each developing separately.

Zero Wing Guild had no reason to deal with them. It was just Qi Yitao leading the monster army to attack the city, and Yan Xue had said that his identity hadn't been exposed. A real fight between them would only benefit other guilds, benefiting no one. After all, they had already entered the Mount era, and the various guilds were developing rapidly. No one had time to waste on unnecessary conflicts.

However, considering Shi Feng's unpredictable nature, it was still necessary to be careful.

In Darktide Town, a place no player wanted to visit, Shi Feng, the instigator who had caused panic among the various forces of Star-Moon Kingdom, was quietly counting the guild members and adjusting the team's class composition.

"Alright, let's go!"

Shi Feng reorganized the team and then led the group out of Darktide Town in a mighty procession.

"Sister Aqua, there aren't any high-resource maps around Darktide Town, and we've gathered so many people. Is the Guild Leader planning to have us conquer a nearby Dark Faction town this time?" Hei Zi asked curiously, glancing at the desolate wilderness along the way.

Darktide Town was a border town in Star-Moon Kingdom, surrounded by barren land. There were no resources at all. Even though the level was suitable for players in their forties to level up, no players were willing to come here.

The only thing worth noting was the Dark Faction towns. Because it was a border region, many Dark Factions were active here. Conquering these Dark Faction towns would not only bring greater fame to the guild but also yield treasures stored within the Dark Faction towns, making it a win-win situation.

However, these Dark Faction towns were not ordinary, and conquering them would not be easy.

"I don't know, you'll know when the Guild Leader says so," Aqua Rose replied, shaking her head, also unsure of what was going on.

According to the information available about these Dark Faction towns, the NPCs stationed there were generally level 65 to 70, which was far too challenging for them at their current level.

But just as everyone was thinking this, Shi Feng led them through Star-Moon Kingdom's territory and into the neutral map, Howling Battlefield.

Most people were familiar with the maps within Star-Moon Kingdom, but they knew very little about the areas outside of Star-Moon Kingdom. However, this didn't stop everyone from sensing the danger.

"This... what is this place?"

The moment they entered Howling Battlefield, everyone felt a chill run down their spines. The air was filled with murderous intent, and their brains were constantly sending signals that this place was extremely dangerous.

In the distance, they saw green-skinned Orcs, each three to four meters tall, patrolling a low city wall. They were armed with long spears and bows and wore simple armor. There were over four to five hundred of them. In addition, there were Orcs wearing better armor and carrying huge battle axes. Although they were few in number, each one exerted immense pressure...

Orc Sentry, humanoid, Elite, Level 75, HP 8,400,000.

Orc Captain, humanoid, Grand Lord, Level 77, HP 78,000,000.

Humanoids had considerable intelligence. Forget fighting, it would be a feat to even escape from these monsters.

"Guild Leader, we're not here to grind these monsters, are we?" Sword Shadow asked, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he looked at the Orc Captains on the city wall.

There were over twenty Orc Captains here. This wasn't Stone Forest Town with its Magic Towers and NPC guards. Charging in would be suicide.

"Don't worry."

Shi Feng smiled nonchalantly and then took out small ballista carts and exploding arrows from his backpack.

Howling Battlefield was a treasure trove for leveling, but it wasn't suitable for ordinary player teams. The Orcs here were in large groups and had high overall strength, so ordinary players were unwilling to risk coming here. Usually, a hundred-man team consisting of Tier 2 players was needed to be safe.

Although they hadn't reached Tier 2 yet, they could use small ballista carts to compensate.