s.h.i.+ Feng and the others had spent eight days fighting in the Falling Star Secret Land, and they were mentally exhausted from the repet.i.tive grinding.
However, when they returned to Zero Wing's Residence in White River City, they were hit by the Residence's depressing atmosphere before they had a chance to rest.
"Guild Leader, you're finally back!" Busy in the Guild Hall's main lobby, Youlan's weary features brightened with excitement when she noticed s.h.i.+ Feng's team returning to the Residence.
She hadn't been sure that she'd last much longer had s.h.i.+ Feng's team remained missing.
"What's the Guild's current situation?" s.h.i.+ Feng asked.
"Overall, it's bad. Many players and adventurer teams have joined the Guild in the last week or so, but the Guild's finances were already tight. To make matters worse, Starlink has started attacking us in the surrounding neutral maps. We've already suffered over 50,000 casualties. We've nearly had to empty our savings just to compensate the slain players. Fortunately, Unyielding Soul has sent us some aid, so we've been able to maintain the Guild's operations," Youlan explained with a bitter smile. "But if this keeps up, the Guild's funds will run dry sooner or later.
"Moreover, the lack of funds isn't the most pressing issue right now. We've already depleted the weapons and equipment stock in our Guild Warehouse. If we don't replenish it soon, the Guild won't be able to operate normally."
"How did the Guild fall into such a state? I thought I had told everyone to limit our activity earlier." s.h.i.+ Feng was surprised to hear that the Guild has suffered so many deaths.
Starlink had only begun its a.s.sault a day ago, yet it had slain more than 50,000 Zero Wing players in that time. No matter how he thought about it, the feat shouldn't be possible.
"Initially, we only lost around 20,000 lives, but Starlink refused to give up and ambushed out members after they moved to the Silverwing Town area. Enraged, some of our Guildmates led teams to face Starlink's members.
"Unfortunately, the results were far from ideal. The players Starlink has sent to attack us are impressively strong, especially a specific, fierce group. With just a 100-man team, they killed more than 10,000 of our players. Four hundred of the slain players were even members of the Dark G.o.ds Legion. That team also destroyed two of our h.e.l.l Tanks.
"After that, I told everyone to stay put in Silverwing Town. Only then did our casualty rate decrease. However, Starlink's members have surrounded the town and are causing a ruckus. Many of our Guild members have begun to express their opinions on this issue. Holing up in the town isn't a long-term solution."
The matter clearly frustrated Youlan. This clash with Starlink had shown her how truly powerful superpowers were. The quant.i.ty and quality of Zero Wing's experts and those in Starlink were on completely different levels. If current players weren't so low-leveled and low-tiered, not even Silverwing Town's defenses would've stopped Starlink's a.s.sault.
"So, that's the case." Youlan's report gave s.h.i.+ Feng a rough understanding of the Guild's situation.
The predicament didn't particularly surprise s.h.i.+ Feng. The Guild's collection of powerful weapons and equipment, as well as Zero Wing's large number of Tier 2 players, was why the Guild could provoke so many superpowers and win multiple major battles.
However, not only had Tier 2 players become more common, but the gap between Zero Wing's equipment standards and the various superpowers' had begun to close. In addition, the new Auction Arena allowed the various superpowers to secure their rule in their territories, so they had less to worry about and could afford to dispatch more experts on long-distance tasks.
"Fire, take some of our people to Silverwing Town and get rid of the players causing trouble outside of our walls. They do not qualify to flaunt their strength in Zero Wing's territory!" s.h.i.+ Feng said as he turned to Fire Dance, who stood beside him.
Letting the Guild's enemy cause a ruckus in its territory was bad for the Guild's reputation. If this persisted, moral would also plummet.
"Leave it to me." Fire Dance smiled and nodded. She had grown bored of grinding monsters in the Falling Star Secret Land, so this task would be a good change of pace.
The a.s.sa.s.sin the teleported to Silverwing Town with Violet Cloud, Cola, and a few other core upper echelons.
"Guild Leader, those Starlink players are extraordinary, and there are a lot of them. I'm afraid that they won't be so easy to deal with," Youlan expressed her concern as she watched Fire Dance lead a dozen or so comrades to Silverwing Town.
"We're just chasing a bunch of riffraff away. We don't need to mobilize a full force," s.h.i.+ Feng calmly responded. "Anyways, you said the Guild needs weapons and equipment? I have some. Use them to ease our current predicament."
After saying so, s.h.i.+ Feng started a trade with Youlan and dropped one item after another into the window, all weapons and equipment from the Falling Star Secret Land.
He had already given the Falling Fire Orb to Fire Dance, and with the Fragmented Legendary item, her team should be more than enough to deal with these problem players.
When Youlan saw the weapons and equipment s.h.i.+ Feng traded to her, she was dumbfounded.
"Level 70 equipment?" Youlan stared at the window incredulously.
The various superpowers likely only had a handful of Level 70 items, yet s.h.i.+ Feng handed her nearly a thousand weapons and equipment pieces. Moreover, the weakest pieces of equipment were Mysterious-Iron rank, while most of the items were Secret-Silver rank...
Taking a closer look at an item's Attribute Panel, Youlan's eyes nearly fell from their sockets.
Not only were these items Level 70, but they also had an Attribute that reduced players' Stamina consumption. Current players dreamed of using such equipment. This Staminrate reduction equipment could sell for astronomical prices.
"Guild Leader, are we really going to let everyone purchase these items from the Guild Warehouse?" Youlan could not help but ask.
Every weapon and equipment piece s.h.i.+ Feng had handed her was undoubtedly top-tier at this stage of the game. These items could be used as capital to secure more resources in neutral maps. Any other Guild would most likely reserve these weapons and equipment for their core members; they'd never let give their normal and elite members access to such precious items.
"It's fine. Use them to motivate our members," s.h.i.+ Feng said, chuckling.
While the Level 70 Mysterious-Iron and Secret-Silver Equipment were good, these pieces were nothing compared to the Level 70 Secret-Silver Set Equipment s.h.i.+ Feng still had in his bags.
Youlan then stored the weapons and equipment in the Guild Warehouse, allowing members to purchase them for GCPs.
Meanwhile, s.h.i.+ Feng secretly left the Guild Residence and made his way to the Adventurer's a.s.sociation to turn in the Lord of Fire's Crusade Quest.
After all was said and done, the weapons and equipment he had collected were only a temporary solution. If Zero Wing wanted to defeat Starlink, these items wouldn't be enough. Zero Wing needed more funding and strength.
Shortly after s.h.i.+ Feng left, the Level 70 weapons and equipment appeared on the Guild Warehouse's exchange list. When they discovered these items, the Guild members looking to upgrade their items stared at the new equipment with bloodshot eyes.
"c.r.a.p! Level 70 Secret-Silver Equipment! Am I dreaming?"
"Did our Guild rob some NPC's treasury? How do we have so many Level 70 Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment?" "Quick, look! This equipment reduces Stamina consumption!"
"Amazing! If I had a full set of this equipment, I wouldn't have to worry about my Stamina when I'm exploring neutral maps!"
A commotion tore through Zero Wing's Residence as Guild members discovered the newly stocked Guild Warehouse and began to think of ways to earn more GCPs to purchase the Level 70 weapons and equipment.
Meanwhile, news of Zero Wing's new collection quickly reached the various major powers.
