THE STRONGEST THUNDER SWORD, VOLUME 2 - Season 5 Episode 87

Thoughtful Rain glanced at Blue Bamboo’s pleading look before examining her elegant surroundings. Indeed, no other Guild could compete with Zero Wing, so it would not be a bad choice for them to join this Guild.

“Hah… I only met Ye Feng by chance; our relationship isn’t what you imagine. I can only try my best; don’t expect too much,” Thoughtful Rain replied softly through their private chat.

“Mhm.” Blue Bamboo nodded vigorously.

Compared to Blue Bamboo’s fascination, Everlasting War and his companions only considered Zero Wing’s benefits and environment decent. However, compared to a small, unknown Guild, the sudden emergence of a great expert like Shi Feng was what truly shocked them.

Carefully observing his surroundings, Everlasting War suddenly realized that Zero Wing’s members were actually quite powerful. They were much stronger than the members of other Guilds.

As the rumors had said, Zero Wing was the true overlord of White River City.

A moment later, Shi Feng had led the group to one of the small rooms located in the Rest Area. The environment inside the room was excellent, and the pleasant aroma filling the air soothed everyone’s tense spirits.

Shi Feng had to admit that the Luxury version of the Smithy was worthy of the price. He had not spent 1,000 Gold for nothing.

“What would you like to talk about?” Shi Feng asked casually as he looked at Everlasting War.

“Originally, I had hoped to ask Brother Ye Feng to introduce us to your Guild Leader, Black Flame. However, seeing as Brother Ye Feng possesses such strength and is one of the upper-managers of Zero Wing, discussing this matter with you should have the same effect,” Everlasting War said leisurely. “Truth be told, we are not players from Star-Moon Kingdom. Rather, we are from the Beast Empire, the eighth strongest country in God’s Domain. As you can see, although we are independent players, our weapons and equipment are not the possessions of ordinary independent players.”

“Indeed. The majority of your party’s equipment consists of Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment. The Level 25 shield and weapon in your hands are even Dark-Gold rank, something extremely rare throughout God’s Domain. There are not many Guilds in Star-Moon Kingdom capable of obtaining those items.” Shi Feng nodded in agreement. He could not help but admit that there was a massive difference regarding resources between the empires and kingdoms of God’s Domain, not to mention the difference between Star-Moon Kingdom and the current eighth strongest country in God’s Domain, the Beast Empire.

“Their weapons and equipment are all Level 25 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold rank? How is this possible?” Blue Bamboo looked at Everlasting War’s party, her eyes widening with surprise.

Blue Bamboo knew that Everlasting War was very powerful. She could tell that just by looking at his Level.

All this time, however, Blue Bamboo had thought that the Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold rank glow effect surrounding Everlasting War’s body originated from Level 20 weapons and equipment. She never considered that he had Level 25 weapons and equipment.

Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment was a luxury to any Guild, much less Dark-Gold rank.

By the side, Thoughtful Rain was also shocked. Only now did she understand why this party did not mind giving them a Level 25 Secret-Silver staff. It turned out that these players were all using Level 25 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold ranked weapons and equipment.

“Is this the gap between a kingdom and empire?” Thoughtful Rain was greatly confused.

Upon seeing the shock on Blue Bamboo’s and Thoughtful Rain’s faces, Everlasting War’s companions felt proud even though they had long since gotten used to the shocked expressions of White River City’s players.

“You’re mistaken. Although there is indeed a gap, it is not as large as you imagine. Moreover, they are no ordinary independent players. Someone has sponsored them,” Shi Feng explained.

In God’s Domain, both players in kingdoms and in empires face similar difficulties when leveling up. However, since empires mirrored the major cities in the real world, claiming the players who lived in said cities upon character creation, empires had far more players within their borders. As a result of the astounding player population of an empire, the competition in an empire was far more intense than in a kingdom. The intense competition, in turn, gave birth to greater motivation, which resulted in empire players improving their techniques faster. Naturally, the levels and equipment of empire players were slightly better than kingdom players.

As for Everlasting War’s party, even in empires, they were far above ordinary players. So, how could the ordinary players of White River City possibly hope to compete with them?

Shi Feng’s declaration stunned Everlasting War’s companions, shock coloring their expressions as they stared at Shi Feng’s calm smile. Shi Feng’s words were not incorrect in the least. It was as if he had seen through every detail about them.

“Brother Ye Feng is as amazing as expected. Someone has indeed sponsored our weapons and equipment. This is also why we have come in search of Guild Leader Black Flame.” Everlasting War did not deny Shi Feng’s statement. Slowly, he said, “You might not know this, but a few days after God’s Domain launched, the various major corporations around the world began to invest in the game. In order to prevent an overly intense struggle, these corporations began hidden competitions with each other.

“These competitions take place in the Dark Arena. The various major corporations send their experts to face each other, taking the chance to probe the opponent’s strength. The victors earn large amounts of Gold, Credits, rare materials, and other benefits that you cannot even begin to imagine.

“I have come here today with the purpose of inviting Guild Leader Black Flame to join our battle team.

“If our battle team wins, it will benefit a Guild such as Zero Wing that lacks funding. Not only can you obtain a large sum of Credits, but you can also obtain a large sum of Gold Coins and top-tier equipment that you cannot even imagine exists.

“Now, however, I want to invite Brother Ye Feng to join us, instead. What are your thoughts on this?”

Although Everlasting War’s voice was soft, it was sufficient to shock everyone present.

This was a competition between the top 500 corporations around the world. This competition was several times more intense than the competition between first-rate Guilds. The experts that were invited to participate were on an entirely different level.

“I understand. I can agree to your invite, but I have a request,” Shi Feng calmly said.

He had long since known about this Dark Arena. It was a gathering place for experts. However, the experts there were far more powerful than the experts one usually saw in the virtual gaming world. Moreover, the financial power these people possess was several times greater than a first-rate Guild’s.

If one could obtain consecutive victories in the Dark Arena, it was even possible to obtain more Credits than what Underworld possessed.

Take Everlasting War for example. Originally, he had not been a professional virtual reality gamer. Before God’s Domain came into existence, he had been a top-class professional bodyguard tasked with protecting world-class characters. He had undergone both specialized mental and physical training. Ordinary people could never hope to be a match for him.

Only, the price the Dark Arena had offered was very high. It was enough to tempt even Everlasting War to play God’s Domain.

In the end, Everlasting War had become the Everlasting War God of the Dark Arena, one of the apex existences of God’s Domain.

In the past, Shi Feng had been fortunate enough to witness some of the matches in the Dark Arena. However, he had never even come near to qualifying to participate.

As this was a competition between major corporations, only those who were invited were allowed to participate in the Dark Arena.

“Request?” Everlasting War could not help his surprise. He had not expected Shi Feng to maintain his composure. However, he decided to ask, “May I know what this request is?”