Chapter 1 The Outskirts of Stoneclaw Mountains

Due to the Star-River Alliance's frenzied promotion, more and more players were coming to the Stoneclaw Mountains to grind monsters. Even expert players from surrounding kingdoms and empires were pouring in. Although the level requirement to enter the Stoneclaw Mountains was level 30, the number of players entering easily exceeded 50,000, and as time went on, this number would increase geometrically.

"Guild Leader Chiyu, ahead is the Kobold's gathering place. There are over three hundred elite Kobolds, more than twenty special elites, as well as four Worgen Chieftains and one Worgen Lord." A gray-clad Assassin, returning from scouting, reported to Chiyu, the Elementalist holding a crystal staff.

"A gathering place?" Chiyu grinned. "Excellent! Immediately inform Liu Qianqian and the others. Combining the strength of our two teams should be enough to take down that Kobold gathering place."

Although the Stoneclaw Mountains were a treasure trove, it wasn't as if one could easily grind Magic Crystals and good equipment.

After a long period of exploration, the major guilds had also figured out some patterns.

The rewards from monsters patrolling the wilderness were far inferior to those from monster gathering places, especially the difference in Magic Crystals was huge.

Often, taking down a monster gathering place was equivalent to the daily income of a hundred-man team.

However, such gathering places were rare, and even a hundred-man team would find it difficult to take one down. Ordinary teams could only bypass them when they saw them, but the Star-River Alliance didn't need to.

"Guild Leader Chiyu, my equipment is already on the red alert line. If we fight another battle, I'm afraid the durability won't hold up," a Shield Warrior said, looking at the durability warning symbol on his equipment.

The Stoneclaw Mountains had complex terrain and numerous monsters, not to mention their individual strength was extremely high. If there were too many people in a team, they would easily be discovered by the monsters here, causing a chain reaction that would put the team in trouble.

Since the battle at Stone Forest Town, the overall strength of the Star-River Alliance had greatly declined, but fortunately, its peak combat power was not damaged, so it did not affect the progress of hundred-man team dungeons and the Stoneclaw Mountains.

However, the Kobolds in the Stoneclaw Mountains were very powerful, and their armor-breaking ability was extremely troublesome. Equipment that could originally last a long time was nearly depleted in just over ten sticky battles. If the equipment's durability reached zero, it would be impossible to repair it, and it could only be broken down for raw materials.

In fact, it wasn't just the main MT's (Main Tank) equipment that was about to break down; the equipment of other MTs and melee fighters was also almost the same.

Weapons and equipment were different. Weapons could rely on high-level whetstones to restore durability, but equipment had no items to restore it. They could only go to the blacksmith shop for repairs, but this was also because everyone usually didn't pay attention to the equipment on their bodies.

When attacking and defending against enemies, they used weapons to block, so they were rarely attacked on their equipment, so the durability decreased very slowly.

But the monsters in the Stoneclaw Mountains were different. Their armor-breaking ability was already strong, and their intelligence was not low. They often seized opportunities to attack players' vitals, so the equipment durability decreased extremely quickly.

"What about replacement equipment?" Chiyu frowned slightly.

"It's all used up. This is the last set," the Shield Warrior said helplessly.

Before entering the Stoneclaw Mountains, the major guilds knew that the Stoneclaw Mountains consumed a lot of equipment durability, especially the durability of MT equipment, so they specially prepared several sets that could be used interchangeably, but after a day, it was still unbearable.

"Damn it, it takes a full day to travel back and forth to the Stoneclaw Mountains. If we wait a day, this gathering place will probably be taken by other teams," Chiyu said unwillingly. "Then where is the team that's coming to deliver replacement equipment now?"

Everyone knew that it was troublesome to travel back and forth to the Stoneclaw Mountains, so the major guilds would also specially send out small teams to deliver replacement equipment, so as to save a lot of time.

"Guild Leader, I just asked. They'll need another seven or eight hours to reach the dungeon entrance."

"Seven or eight hours?" Chiyu didn't think that this gathering place could remain undiscovered in seven or eight hours. Now, more and more teams were coming to grind Magic Crystals. Although their Star-River Alliance had the advantage of being on their home turf, it wasn't much stronger than the first-rate guilds of other kingdoms and empires, not to mention the super-first-rate guild, Dragon Phoenix Pavilion, was also participating. "We'll withdraw first to meet the team delivering replacement equipment. Let Liu Qianqian's team watch over the Kobold gathering place. We must not let other teams get it."

Saying that, everyone turned around and prepared to leave the Stoneclaw Mountains.

The main MT's equipment was in critical condition, and the entire team couldn't fight well. Since they couldn't fight, then going out to resupply was the best choice, and actively going to meet the supply team would also save a lot of time.

At the same time, teams throughout the Stoneclaw Mountains were also worried about the decline in equipment durability.

If it was level 30 Mysterious-Iron and Mithril equipment, there would be no problem replacing as much as they wanted, but the monsters in the Stoneclaw Mountains were too powerful and their numbers were large. Without level 30 Fine-Gold equipment or higher, they simply couldn't last long. If they used Mithril quality equipment, it would turn into scrap metal in minutes. And level 30 Fine-Gold equipment and above was really rare. The major guilds couldn't produce much of it, so the equipment that could be replaced was very limited.

Many teams would grind in the Stoneclaw Mountains for half a day, then rest outside for half a day, waiting for the supply team.

Meanwhile, in Stone Forest Town.

Stone Forest Town, which was originally heavily guarded to prevent any outside players from entering, suddenly lifted the ban.

"Huh? The patrol guards outside Stone Forest Town are gone."

"Hey, look, there are even free players entering and exiting Stone Forest Town."

The guild teams delivering supplies quickly noticed that Stone Forest Town had changed.

Some curious players walked into Stone Forest Town, wanting to see what was going on.

Stone Forest Town originally didn't have high walls, but since it was controlled by Zero Wing, the Adventurer's Association automatically built city walls, making it difficult for outside players to see the situation inside the town.

"Wow, Zero Wing's Guild Residence is so big!"

"Isn't that the Candlelight Trading Firm? Is it already open for business?"

"There's an inn here!"

"Look, there's a blacksmith shop here!"

The players who came in were all surprised. Stone Forest Town had completely turned into ruins a few days ago. They didn't expect that in just a short time, Stone Forest Town had been completely renewed and was even better than before.

"No, we must inform the guild immediately."

"Zero Wing is too awesome. They built Stone Forest Town in just a few days. They even have a blacksmith shop and an inn."

Compared to the tall and majestic Zero Wing Guild and Candlelight Trading Firm, all the players who entered Stone Forest Town were more concerned about repairing equipment and restoring players' mental and physical strength.

Soon the news spread throughout all the teams in the Stoneclaw Mountains, and the major guilds were also shocked.

After Shi Feng obtained the town token, the major guilds carefully investigated the establishment of towns. They didn't know until they investigated, but they were shocked. Everyone didn't expect that building a small town would cost so much money.

An investment of tens of thousands of gold coins was a small matter. To officially operate, it would cost even more.

Even if the Zero Wing Guild was very rich, it would take a considerable amount of time to get Stone Forest Town up and running in a short period of time. They didn't expect that it would all be done in just a few days...

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