Chapter 773 – Fearless

“Black Flame?”

“Are you Zero Wing’s Guild Leader Black Flame?”

When Venom Tail and Fallen Dragon heard the words of Chalk Splendor and Verdant Rainbow, they reacted with skepticism, and they couldn’t help but feel like the two were playing a joke on them.

Setting aside how an upstart Guild like Zero Wing could construct a Guild Town in the World Ark’s core area, how were they supposed to believe Zero Wing could recruit 1,000 NPC Guards of Epic Potential and above? Even the average apex power would find it nigh-impossible to accomplish such a feat.

“That’s right. I am Black Flame,” Shi Feng said, finding Venom Tail and Fallen Dragon’s need to verify his identity a little exasperating. “If all you are here to do is play some name-calling game, please find someone else to entertain you.”

As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, the 1,000 NPC Guards behind him advanced on Venom Tail and the others in unison. They evidently got the hint that Shi Feng was looking to drive these uninvited guests away.

The 1,000 NPC Guards gave off the feeling of 1,000 Gods as they advanced on Venom Tail’s group, their intimidating presence causing the five powers’ experts to retreat subconsciously.

At first glance, the five powers’ 60,000-plus Tier 6 experts might seem terrifying. However, they would fare no differently than ants before a human if they tried to fight against these 1,000 Level 210-plus NPC Guards. They’d be especially fragile in front of the seven Legendary NPC Guards. If these seven Legendary NPC Guards fought as a group within the confines of Shadowring Town, they’d be as strong as an Ancient God of the same level. Merely the Divine Might they radiated could immobilize most Tier 6 players.

“Hold on a second, Guild Leader Black Flame!” When Venom Tail saw the NPC Guards about to take action, he hurriedly called out to Shi Feng and said, “I am Venom Tail, a Holy Child of the Sovereign Mark Guild! I come here bearing only good intentions to seek partnership with Zero Wing!”

As soon as Venom Tail finished speaking, Chalk Splendor, Verdant Rainbow, Phoenix Flame, and Fallen Dragon cast a look of contempt at him in unison.

Before entering Shadowring Town, Venom Tail was very supportive of Chalk Splendor’s proposal to target Zero Wing. In fact, if it weren’t for Venom Tail’s agreement, Chalk Splendor could have never gotten Verdant Rainbow to agree to halt all support the Seven Luminaries Alliance provided to Zero Wing in the World Ark.

Yet, as soon as Venom Tail saw that capturing Shadowring Town was no longer possible and that Zero Wing was the town’s ruling power, he instantly changed tunes, proposing to cooperate with Zero Wing. The extent of his shamelessness was so astonishing that it could even be considered admirable.

“You say you come with good intentions?” Shi Feng asked, his gaze indifferent as he swept over the nearly 20,000 Sovereign Mark members behind Venom Tail. “And you demonstrate it by encircling the Town Hall with such a large force of Tier 6 experts?”

“A misunderstanding! It’s all a misunderstanding!” Venom Tail said, chuckling. “Sovereign Mark might have brought a lot of members here, but haven’t the four other powers here done the same? The treasures in God’s Domain have always gone to those with capabilities. As the leader of a Guild, I am sure you are aware of this, Mr. Black Flame. Now that Zero Wing has proven itself capable of protecting Shadowring Town, it has naturally become the ideal partner for Sovereign Mark.”

While making up excuses, Venom Tail couldn’t help but regret his hasty decision to support Chalk Splendor’s proposal.

Shadowring Town was akin to a mountain of gold. Whether it was the ability to recruit NPCs of Mythical Era races as Personal Guards or the ability to teleport directly to Luminous Sky City, both could bring immense wealth and benefits to Sovereign Mark. In a situation where Sovereign Mark lacked the strength to seize Shadowring Town, the next best option would naturally be to partner with Zero Wing. But now, Sovereign Mark had already offended Zero Wing…

If Sovereign Mark was permanently banned from Shadowring Town because of this, its competitiveness in the World Ark would undoubtedly plummet.

“What you say is right, but aren’t you forgetting something? Have you forgotten how you forced the Seven Luminaries Alliance to stop supporting Zero Wing in the World Ark?” When Chalk Splendor saw Venom Tail shifting the topic, he unceremoniously exposed the other party’s true colors.

The Sun Dynasty and Sovereign Mark were rivals. If he allowed Sovereign Mark to benefit from Shadowring Town, he might as well say goodbye to his status as a Holy Child of the Sun Dynasty.

As for seeking a partnership from Zero Wing himself?

Not even for a moment did Chalk Splendor humor the thought. He did not think that Shi Feng would ever partner with the Sun Dynasty after the bounty the Sun Dynasty had placed on him. He also personally wished for Shi Feng’s demise, so he would naturally favor seeing Zero Wing have as many enemies as possible.

“Splendor, you!” Venom Tail glared at Chalk Splendor.

If he could establish a partnership with Zero Wing and purchase a few shops and land permanently, it would definitely earn him significant merits in Sovereign Mark. But now, it was all ruined.

Subsequently, Venom Tail returned his gaze toward Shi Feng, but his attitude was no longer friendly like before.

“Since the cat’s out of the bag, I’ll cut to the chase,” Venom Tail said. Then, glancing outside the town, he threatened, “The Holy Race currently holds the upper hand in the World Ark. Sovereign Mark and the Sun Dynasty also hold significant influence over the Holy Race members operating here. Since you have already offended the Sun Dynasty previously, if you offend Sovereign Mark as well, your town will most likely have trouble operating in the future.”

Upon hearing Venom Tail’s words, Chalk Splendor couldn’t help but gnash his teeth angrily.

The Sun Dynasty and Sovereign Mark indeed held significant influence over the Holy Race’s various powers and players operating inside the World Ark. If Zero Wing refused to partner with Sovereign Mark, it was unlikely any Holy Race player would set foot into Shadowring Town in the future.

Currently, Shadowring Town’s greatest advantage was its ability to enable trade between human players and Holy Race players. If no Holy Race players visited, the town would instantly lose its greatest advantage. So long as Shi Feng didn’t have a few screws loose in his head, he wouldn’t turn down this transaction.

Seeing this situation, Phoenix Flame also started to grow anxious.

Prior to this, Demon’s Gate had already placed a public bounty on Zero Wing across the entire Eternal Realm. It had even used its guild membership as a reward to convince more players to attempt the bounty. Although Zero Wing had retaliated by similarly placing a bounty on Demon’s Gate, everyone merely treated it as a joke. After all, the difference in value between the two Guilds’ membership was night and day.

However, it was a completely different story following Shadowring Town’s appearance.

Setting aside the various benefits Shadowring Town offered, so long as Zero Wing established a partnership with Sovereign Mark, a royal power of the Holy Race, its status in the Eternal Realm would skyrocket. Zero Wing might even be able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Demon’s Gate.

After factoring in Shadowring Town’s connection with Luminous Sky City, if Zero Wing had Sovereign Mark’s assistance, it might come to gain absolute authority over a significant portion of the southern region. If that happened, Demon’s Gate would be in deep trouble.

While Phoenix Flame was worried about Demon’s Gate’s future, Shi Feng’s voice echoed across the Town Hall once more.

“I see that Sovereign Mark is as domineering as always,” Shi Feng said, chuckling when confronted with Venom Tail’s threat. “Unfortunately, your threats are meaningless. Whether it is the Sun Dynasty or Sovereign Mark, Zero Wing has never intended to partner with any Holy Race power. If you only want to trade, Zero Wing will welcome it. But if you want to supplant Zero Wing, Zero Wing wouldn’t mind having a few more enemies!”

…