THE STRONGEST THUNDER SWORD, VOLUME 8 - Season 16 Episode 22

After reaching White River City’s Teleportation Hall, Shi Feng teleported to Bewildering Forest Town.

In seconds, Shi Feng arrived in another, crowded Teleportation Hall.

Not only was the hall crowded, but he also noticed that all of these players were above Level 40. Many wore Guild Emblems on their chests and grim expressions on their faces.

The rest of the players had already formed teams of over 20 players. Shi Feng only spotted a few solo players throughout the hall.

Why are so many people here? Shi Feng watched the players around him curiously.

Bewildering Forest Town was one of the more remote towns in Star-Moon Kingdom. Moreover, most of the leveling maps around it were below Level 30. Although it was the closest NPC town to the Witch’s Hill, even with a Mount, it would take players over seven hours to reach the map. Furthermore, Witch’s Hill wasn’t the most resource-rich map in this level range, and Star-Moon Kingdom’s largest forest separated Bewildering Forest Town and Witch’s Hill.

The Maze Forest!

The monsters in the Maze Forest were between Level 40 and Level 50. Although the entire forest was not particularly dangerous, its inner sanctum was a maze. Players who weren’t familiar with the terrain could easily lose their way. The only thing that even made grinding in the Maze Forest worthwhile was the Dawn Flower.

The Dawn Flower was a rare material for brewing wine and the Disorienting Potion. Currently, however, neither of these items were useful to players. Logically, there should not be that many high-leveled players in Bewildering Forest Town.

“Starting a 1,000-man expedition to an Orc Fortress! Players who are interested in the raid can register with me!”

“Selling cheap Mana Charms! Interested players can come find me!”

…

As soon as Shi Feng left the Teleportation Hall, he was greeted by the sight of quite a few expedition teams recruiting members. In addition, merchant players stood by the busy street, hawking their wares. Of the numerous times Shi Feng had visited the town during his previous life, he had never once seen the town this lively.

The Orcs have already reached this area?

Shi Feng was surprised as he watched the various players recruiting for 1,000-man team expeditions.

The Orc Empire was southwest of Star-Moon Kingdom, but although Bewildering Forest Town was the closest town in the kingdom to the Orc Empire, it didn’t border the empire.

Moreover, these players weren’t mobilizing 100-man teams, but 1,000-man teams. It was rare in God’s Domain, much less Star-Moon Kingdom. Normally, players would only form such large teams when venturing into dangerous Regional Dungeons.

As Shi Feng turned away from the crowd, intending to head to a bar to collect some intel, he heard the sound of a regional announcement.

…

Bewildering Forest Town Region System Announcement: An army of Orcs has broken through the defensive line of Star-Moon Kingdom’s Third Army and is currently making its way to Bewildering Forest Town. Bewildering Forest Town will enter a defensive state and garrison quests will activate in Bewildering Forest Town. The Orc army’s estimated time of arrival is 10 Hours. Please make prepare.

…

“Crap! Aren’t the Orcs moving too quickly? They’re already heading our way?”

“Hahaha! This is wonderful! I’ll be able to earn even more CPs!”

Upon hearing the system announcement, a commotion broke out among the players in town. Some were excited for the event, while others were surprised. However, the one thing these players had in common was their anticipation of the Orc army’s arrival. They were clearly interested in participating in the town’s defense.

It wasn’t long before the teams that had been recruiting for an expedition changed their goal to the town’s defense.

Members of the various large Guilds and adventurer teams immediately contacted their superiors, notifying them of the sudden development.

“Boss, Orcs are going to attack Bewildering Forest Town!”

“Guild Leader, the Orc Empire you asked me to keep an eye on has broken through the defensive lines and will attack Bewildering Forest Town in ten hours.”

…

For a time, players from the various large Guilds and well-known adventurer teams in Star-Moon Kingdom hurried towards Bewildering Forest Town. It was clear that these Guilds and adventurer teams had long since prepared for this as their members flooded the town.

Meanwhile, Shi Feng found a seat on the second floor of an open-air bar, and just as he was about to browse Star-Moon Kingdom’s forums for information, Aqua Rose contacted him.

“Guild Leader, the Orc army has started its invasion of Star-Moon Kingdom’s Bewildering Forest Town. I just received the news, but it seems that many Guilds have already dispatched their armies to the town. Should we do so as well? I’ve heard that if the town is successfully defended, participating players will receive an abundance of CPs, and participating Guilds can increase their Influence in Star-Moon Kingdom.”

“Increase a Guild’s Influence in Star-Moon Kingdom?” When Shi Feng heard Aqua Rose’s report, he realized why the various large Guilds seemed so prepared and passionate about defending this town.

In God’s Domain, kingdoms and empires wouldn’t remain the same forever. As time passed, some would disappear, while others would rise to prominence. Guilds even had the opportunity to take control of some countries. This was how the various superpowers had established their own massive kingdoms and empires during Shi Feng’s previous life.

Players couldn’t simply establish kingdoms and empires by constructing numerous towns and cities. They had to take control of an NPC kingdom or empire.

The oceanic kingdom, Sea’s End, was a perfect example, in which players could take control of its NPC cities. Although players wouldn’t have as much control of the cities as they would of a Guild town, it was enough.

On God’s Domain’s continent, Guilds that wanted to take control of NPC cities, kingdoms, or empires needed Guild Influence.

Of course, Influence wasn’t the only thing Guilds needed to take control of NPC cities and countries. There were other requirements as well. At this stage of the game, it wasn’t possible; players were simply too weak, unable to take on God’s Domain’s NPCs.

However, it was important for a Guild to accumulate Guild Influence as early as possible.

“Aqua, see to the necessary arrangements immediately. Since the Star-Moon Kingdom’s large Guilds are participating in the event, Zero Wing can’t be absent,” Shi Feng instructed after giving the matter some thought.

Although he had several methods to increase Zero Wing’s Guild Influence in Star-Moon Kingdom, it was not a bad idea to take advantage of this opportunity. It could save him a lot of time in the future.

“Guild Leader, should we call in Gentle Snow’s team as well?” Aqua Rose asked.

“No need. Let them finish their promotions first.” Shi Feng had high hopes for Gentle Snow’s and Zhao Yueru’s Tier 2 promotions. After all, both wielded Fragmented Legendary items and hidden classes. Once the two completed their Tier 2 promotion, their combat power would be extraordinary.

Following which, Shi Feng disconnected the call and departed from Bewildering Forest Town. After finding a secluded location, he summoned the Demonic Flame Tiger and made his way to Witch’s Hill.

With he still had ten hours before the Orc army arrived, it was more than enough time to deal with the Guild City and return to command the Guild’s army in battle.

With the Demonic Flame Tiger, Shi Feng completed his journey to Witch’s Hill, which normally required over seven hours of travel time on a Common Mount, in less than four hours.

As Shi Feng reached the massive waterfall near Witch’s Hill, the sight of a towering city rose before him.

Unlike Stone Forest Town, soaring, magically strengthened stone walls surrounded the city. Although it wasn’t visible to the naked eye, a magic barrier also enveloped the city. Although players could enter a town from any side, players could only enter the city through its main entrance.

“The construction looks quite nice.” Even from afar, Shi Feng was satisfied with how his city turned out.

His new city was much larger than the Basic Cities, which were upgraded from Advanced Towns, that he had seen in the past.

After the brief pause, Shi Feng made his way towards the city.