Chapter 711 - Violent Dragon Set
After the birthday party ended, Shi Feng immediately returned to the Greenwater Villa and logged back into God's Domain.
Yuan Tiexin had already made himself very clear with his words. If Shi Feng wished to find out more about the Flower of Seven Sins, then it would be best if he contacted the man.
Since the Flower of Seven Sins had already started taking action, then what he needed to do right now was prepare for the upcoming battle. If he had information on the exact movements of the organization, at the very least, he would not be caught off-guard.
The Flower of Seven Sins had yet to fail at a job.
If the organization truly managed to annihilate Zero Wing's upper echelon, it would deal an irrecoverable blow to the Guild—especially now that the Star Alliance had declared all-out war on Zero Wing.
In fact, during the time Shi Feng was at the party, many battles between the two Guilds had occurred both inside and outside the Stoneclaw Mountains. Fortunately, though both sides had suffered losses, Zero Wing had the upper hand since it also had help from Ouroboros. Even so, the situation was not looking too good, as the Star Alliance also had many Red Names and Workshops on its side.
This situation prevented the members of Zero Wing from focusing on grinding at the Stoneclaw Mountains.
On the sidelines, other Guilds were quietly eyeing Zero Wing as well.
If this situation dragged on, it would be extremely detrimental towards the level and equipment of Zero Wing's members.
On top of that, if Zero Wing's upper echelon were to suffer complete annihilation, the blow to the Guild would be fatal.
Then, the various Guilds grinding at the Stoneclaw Mountains would definitely have designs on Stone Forest Town. At that time, if these Guilds were to band together with the Star Alliance to deal with Zero Wing…
Shi Feng did not wish to see such a situation take place.
When Shi Feng logged back into God's Domain once more, he had already been teleported out of the Blood Refining Passage, appearing at the foot of Mount Sogar.
He immediately opened his Friends List and chose to add a friend.
Shi Feng had set his Friends List so that it was shielded, which prevented others from adding him as a friend. As for messages and calls, his settings automatically rejected those from strangers. Hence, other than his friends, nobody had any way of contacting him.
Yuan Tiexin had told Shi Feng that his God's Domain ID was Grilled Ironheart[1]. Currently, Shi Feng was using his identity as Black Flame to add Yuan Tiexin as a friend. As long as Yuan Tiexin agreed to the friend request, the middle-aged man would be able to contact Shi Feng right away.
Less than five minutes after Shi Feng sent out the friend request, the system notified him that Grilled Ironheart had agreed to become his friend.
"It really has been difficult for the Secret Pavilion to get in touch with you, Guild Leader Black Flame. Since Guild Leader Black Flame has taken the initiative to contact me, then you must be very interested in the information regarding the Flower of Seven Sins," Yuan Tiexin said slowly. "Guild Leader Black Flame, you should know that the Secret Pavilion thrives on trading information. If you wish to obtain information on something, then you have to pay an appropriate price for it. I believe Guild Leader Black Flame should understand this point, right?"
"I understand what you are trying to say. Without a doubt, you guys must be aiming for the Magic Crystals in the Stoneclaw Mountains. Yet, it also won't be so convenient for you to obtain them. Hence, seeing as you are trying to make contact with me at this time, you must be hoping to set up a foothold at Stone Forest Town, correct?"
Initially, Shi Feng had felt it strange that a major character like Yuan Tiexin would appear at Zhao Ruoxi's birthday party. However, when the middle-aged man had brought up his wish to make contact with Black Flame, Shi Feng immediately understood his goal.
The Magic Crystal was an essential resource required for a player to develop in God's Domain. Although the various kingdoms and empires around the continent also had their own Regional Dungeons that could produce Magic Crystals, these Regional Dungeons remained undiscovered. Moreover, even if some countries had activated their Regional Dungeons, the drop-rate of Magic Crystals there could not compare to the Stoneclaw Mountains.
The Stoneclaw Mountains was an Asura Mode Regional Dungeon.
A Regional Dungeon of such high difficulty would naturally have much better drop-rates than other Regional Dungeons.
Although the Secret Pavilion was quite a lofty existence in God's Domain, it had yet to reach the standard of an omnipotent God. The Secret Pavilion might not have much need for Coins, weapons, and equipment, but it was a different story for Magic Crystals.
After all, if they wished to maintain their status as a lofty existence, strength was still necessary.
For example, the current Yuan Tiexin, whom Shi Feng was looking at through the video chat, carried a flame-shaped shield and wore spiked scale armor. This spiked scale armor set was the Violent Dragon Set, a Level 30 Dark-Gold Set Equipment meant for Shield Warriors. To obtain the entire set, one had to complete a series of high-level quests that was utterly impossible without a very powerful 100-man team. The difficulty of the quests was only slightly lower than the difficulty of raiding a 100-man Team Dungeon. One could just imagine how powerful the Secret Pavilion was.
It should be known that Shi Feng had relied on special means to clear a 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon. Otherwise, raiding the Hell Mode Frost Prison would have been utterly impossible.
"Guild Leader Black Flame is certainly amazing. That's right. The Secret Pavilion is indeed very interested in the Stoneclaw Mountains. Hence, we hope to set up a Guild Residence at Stone Forest Town," Yuan Tiexin said laudatorily.
Practically everyone within the Secret Pavilion was familiar with the name of Black Flame by now.
As for why they were very familiar with it, it was not because Black Flame was the number one expert of Star-Moon Kingdom. Rather, it was because Black Flame had managed to kill one of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion's strongest fighters, Martial Dragon. Although he had the aid of a Personal Guard, that, too, could be considered a part of his own strength.
"Straight to the point, I see. I wonder, what benefits can the Secret Pavilion bring to me, then?" Shi Feng asked, smiling bitterly.
In truth, letting the Secret Pavilion establish a Guild Residence in Stone Forest Town would not affect Shi Feng in any way.
The Secret Pavilion's home ground was not in Star-Moon Kingdom. It would not have any conflicts of interest with Zero Wing. After all, Zero Wing was not yet strong enough to prevent others from entering the Stoneclaw Mountains.
Moreover, if the Secret Pavilion invested in Stone Forest Town, Zero Wing could also earn some repair fees from the Guild.
However, even though there were no demerits, that did not mean he should let the Secret Pavilion enter Stone Forest Town for free.
"Guild Leader Black Flame can rest assured on this point. The Secret Pavilion can provide you with the general information regarding the Flower of Seven Sins' hit list on Zero Wing and the assigned assassins. To know one's own strength and the enemy's is the sure way to victory. I believe that, with this information, Guild Leader Black Flame will have a much easier time coping with the situation."
Although Yuan Tiexin had said these words very casually, Shi Feng's heart was already beating madly at this moment.
Shi Feng had never imagined that the Secret Pavilion was such a frightening existence!
The Flower of Seven Sins was a very mysterious organization in the virtual gaming world. Its movements were kept even more of a secret from others. Yet, the Secret Pavilion was actually able to obtain such information. It was simply inconceivable.
If I have this information, with Zero Wing's current state, we should be able to cope with the assassinations of the Flower of Seven Sins. Shi Feng had some knowledge regarding the jobs carried out by the Flower of Seven Sins. Normally, the organization would send out assassins according to the mission's difficulty. Unless it was absolutely necessary, the organization would not field an overwhelming force to complete a mission.
Shi Feng did not think that the Flower of Seven Sins would rank an upstart Guild like Zero Wing that highly on their mission board. If he responded properly, Zero Wing had a definite chance of defeating the Flower of Seven Sins.
If the Flower of Seven Sins failed a mission, they would drop it. Moreover, they would return only half of the remunerations paid. Unless, of course, someone spent more money to commission a new mission. At that time, however, the price would be more than double that of the first time.
Shi Feng did not believe that Open Source Corporation would be willing to spend that much money on commissioning another hit on Zero Wing.
"May I know Guild Leader Black Flame's thoughts on this?" Yuan Tiexin asked, smiling.
TL Notes:
[1] Grilled Ironheart(炙火铁心): Yuan Tiexin(袁铁心) has no relation to Roasted Ironheart(炙铁心). Their in-game names are just that similar.