Chapter 1 Dark Night City

Dark Night Empire, Dark Night City.

The central square outside the Arena of Gods and Demons was packed with players. Upon closer inspection, it was clear that each of them was level 75 or higher, either a core member of a well-known adventurer team in the Dark Night Empire or a master of a major guild.

"Amazing! To gather so many experts, is there some event at the Arena of Gods and Demons?" A level 72 ranger who had just arrived in Dark Night City asked, puzzled by the scene.

"Don't you know? In a little while, the two major guilds, Star Ring and Zero Wing, will be engaged in a battle of ten thousand players at the Arena of Gods and Demons. One is the overlord of the Dark Night Empire, the other occupies Stone Forest City. It's a rare spectacle in the entire Dark Night Empire, so these experts naturally want to come and take a look," a level 74 berserker beside him said to the level 72 ranger.

"Wouldn't that be amazing? Let's go take a look, and then go replace our equipment," the ranger's teammate said, immediately intrigued.

It was rare to see super forces in action, and even when you did, you only caught a glimpse. It couldn't compare to two overlords clashing. Moreover, this was a battle of ten thousand, the excitement of which would far surpass any epic war movie.

The ranger agreed that it was a good idea. Setting aside the visual effects of such a battle, simply watching the top experts fight could teach them a lot. After all, one-on-one fights were rare in God's Domain; it was more often one against many.

"Want to watch?" The level 74 berserker glanced at the ranger and his companions, and chuckled. "Do you see all these experts in the square?"

"What about them?" the ranger asked curiously.

"They want to watch too, but unfortunately, they can't, because they can't even get through the gates of the Arena of Gods and Demons, so they can only stand outside," the level 74 berserker explained. "Star Ring has booked the entire Arena of Gods and Demons. To get in and watch the fight, you need proof of clearing the sixth floor of the Trial Tower, or pay one hundred gold."

The ranger and his companions were stunned, then gasped.

"That's ruthless! They clearly don't want anyone to watch!" the ranger exclaimed.

Reaching the mid-fifth floor of the Trial Tower was already considered an expert level. Those who could reach the sixth floor were experts among experts, with only a handful in any guild. He considered that he still had a chance to break through, as he had reached the late fifth floor and was only a step away from the sixth.

As for clearing the sixth floor to reach the seventh, he didn't even dare to imagine it.

The one hundred gold was equally outrageous. An average expert only had a dozen or so gold coins. After the usual expenses of repairing equipment and teleporting, and the occasional equipment replacement, they barely had any money left.

Hundreds of gold coins were a luxury for experts like him.

Now he understood why there were so many people standing in the square. It was perfectly normal.

Just as the ranger finished speaking, a team walked toward the gates of the Arena of Gods and Demons. There were twenty or thirty of them, none wearing a guild emblem, clearly free players, and the crowded square made way for them.

These people entered the gates of the Arena of Gods and Demons without any obstruction and disappeared from sight.

"Who are these people?" The ranger stared in disbelief.

The people in the square were all absolute experts, some even stronger than him. Yet these experts were all giving way to these free players. It was unbelievable.

And even more, these people didn't even pay! Twenty or thirty of them entered directly, meaning their level had all reached the seventh floor of the Trial Tower...

"They're the Fenglang Adventurer Team. They're a top adventurer team in the Dark Night Empire. The bald man leading them is the team leader, Feng Yibei. I never thought even he, who rarely shows himself, would come. If only I had a hundred gold, I would definitely go inside to watch," the level 74 berserker said, his eyes full of longing as he looked at the Arena of Gods and Demons.

Although one hundred gold was a lot of money, it was nothing compared to a battle of ten thousand between two major forces. After all, watching the battle in the Arena of Gods and Demons was like experiencing it firsthand, far better than any recorded video.

Not long after the Fenglang Adventurer Team entered the Arena of Gods and Demons, a vast army arrived at the square. Their appearance instantly made everyone in the square feel suffocated.

"Star Ring! The people of Star Ring are here!"

"Strong! Too strong! I feel like any one of them is stronger than me."

The people in the square, even the experts among them, couldn't help but exclaim as they saw the Star Ring army.

Because this Star Ring army was too strong. The lowest level among them was 77, and the worst equipment they had was level 75 mithril. Their equipment was several levels better than the experts in the square.

"Is this the power of a super force?"

"Are you kidding me? Our guild probably doesn't even have a hundred people who have reached level 77. Star Ring's leveling speed is too fast!"

"What does level matter? Their equipment is what's really amazing. Our guild leader only has a few pieces of level 75 mithril equipment, and only two pieces of level 75 refined gold equipment. Look at them, more than a dozen of them are wearing the level 75 refined gold Evil Ghost Set produced in the Abyssal Purgatory. They're making it impossible for anyone else to live!"

For the current major forces, they couldn't even put together a set of the level 75 Evil Ghost Set. It was god-level equipment that expert players dreamed of, but Star Ring had assembled more than a dozen sets. The difference in strength was simply worlds apart.

As the Star Ring army entered the Arena of Gods and Demons, the high-level members and experts of the various forces who were already waiting in the arena couldn't help but sigh at Star Ring's foundation.

"Star Ring is Star Ring. No wonder the super guilds are so wary of them. They've even absorbed the War Scar of the Dark Workshop, which is famous in the Western Continent." A beautiful woman wearing dark black armor, with long fiery red hair, and a domineering aura like a demon king, glanced at the Star Ring army entering and then looked at Undying Battle Heart sitting to the side, smiling. "Undying, it seems your ally is going to suffer this time."

Although the War Scar workshop was just a workshop, no super guild dared to underestimate them.

They weren't numerous, totaling only two or three hundred people, but the things they did were all shocking. They specialized in attacking the main forces of various powers. The main forces of many super powers in the Western Continent had been attacked by the War Scar workshop, and the losses were very heavy.

They had been besieged by large armies from various super forces, but none had succeeded. Instead, they suffered significant losses.

The War Scar workshop considered this kind of battle of ten thousand as child's play.

At this time, Undying Battle Heart's expression was also slightly gloomy. He didn't expect Star Ring to be so deeply hidden. A Mad Beast Legion was one thing, but even the War Scar workshop had joined Star Ring.

"Blood Enchantress, aren't you always active in the Fire Dragon Empire? How do you have time to come to the Dark Night Empire?" Undying Battle Heart glanced at the red-haired beauty walking over and asked coldly.

The woman in front of him was as strong and famous as Jingle Wind, the leader of the Mad Beast Legion, and he had to treat her with caution.

"Of course, I'm here to see if there are any good seedlings in the Dark Night Empire. But I really didn't expect that the once-famous War Soul Undefeated would now need to form an alliance with a newly-rising guild." Blood Enchantress glanced at Undying Battle Heart and said with a faint smile, "Why don't you leave War Soul Undefeated? With Zero Wing's defeat, they'll lose their momentum in the Dark Night Empire. Once Star Ring finishes off Zero Wing, they'll turn around and finish off your War Soul Undefeated. Your War Soul Undefeated is no match for them. Why not come to me and be my vice leader? It's definitely more promising than staying in War Soul Undefeated."

"I will never leave War Soul Undefeated, and Zero Wing is not necessarily going to lose," Undying Battle Heart said with a slight anger.

"Maybe. If you have nowhere to go, you can come find me then." Blood Enchantress smiled and didn't refute, because in her opinion, Undying Battle Heart was just deceiving himself.

While the various forces in the arena were discussing Star Ring, another group of players appeared at the gates of the Arena of Gods and Demons. The lowest level among these players was 77, and there were many level 78 players. Their numbers were even greater than Star Ring's.

And these players all wore a silver-white six-winged emblem, which was particularly conspicuous on their bodies.

"Zero Wing?"