Chapter 1010 - High-profile War Declaration
"Guild Leader, are you really planning to do this?" Flame Blood asked, slightly confused.
There were no NPC towns close to Stone Forest Town. If they attempted to raid Stone Forest Town, they wouldn't be able to dispatch reinforcements quickly. On the other hand, Zero Wing's members could utilize the Guild Transfer Scroll to reach the town in an instant. Even when they died, they would revive inside the town.
To put it simply, this town was easily defensible.
Although Stone Forest Town's protection period was over, players could hire NPC guards. Although the levels of the enlisted NPCs would not be as high as the Level 150 NPC guards hired during the protection period, recruited NPCs were still 10 to 15 Levels higher than current players.
With Stone Forest Town being one of Zero Wing's primary revenue sources, after its protection period had ended, Zero Wing had hired 500 Level 50 and above Tier 1 NPC guards to defend it. In addition, many of Zero Wing's members were garrisoned in the town. Zero Wing had also constructed Basic Mana Pulse Cannons, which the Guild had used in its war against the Star Alliance, around the town.
In the last war, Zero Wing had introduced everyone to the weapon's attack range and destructive power.
Hence, raiding Stone Forest Town would not be easy. It was likely that they would have to sacrifice a significant number of players to take the town.
The other Heaven's Burial members also turned to Singular Burial, wearing confused expressions.
While they had considered raiding Stone Forest Town before, it was too early for that. God's Domain was only starting to transition into the era of Mounts. They should wait a little longer.
"I understand your concerns. However, I have already considered this problem. Since we are going to make a move, I am confident in our success." Singular Burial chuckled. "However, I would like to invite Miss Ling to elaborate on this point."
Everyone shifted their gaze towards Ling Jingxuan, questioning looks filling their eyes.
"I've received news that Zero Wing has recently contacted several major companies to gain financial support. In addition, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion has begun to move against Zero Wing and is dealing with Zero Wing's Branch Guild in Lake Heart City. In response, Zero Wing has dispatched quite a number of their members to the Black Dragon Empire. Hence, the Guild's member population in Stone Forest Town has decreased significantly.
"However, most importantly, Zero Wing has begun to show signs of activity in White River City. They have even recalled their Guild's strongest Dark Gods Legion. As long as Zero Wing is focused on hunting down Dark Guild members, the latter will think of a way to pin down Zero Wing's main forces for as long as possible. After that, both Blackwater and Heaven's Burial can take the opportunity to attack Stone Forest Town."
Ling Jingxuan's explanation had caught these upper echelons' interest.
If Zero Wing pitted everything it had to defend Stone Forest Town, they would never be able to capture the town. However, now that Zero Wing's members were scattered, it would be a piece of cake to take Stone Forest Town with the strength of both Guilds.
"I have a question!" Daybreak Fog suddenly declared. "If Zero Wing's members use their Guild Transfer Scrolls, they can easily gather in Stone Forest Town. Regardless of how fast we assemble our forces, we're not faster than Zero Wing.
As if she had expected this question, Ling Jingxuan took out over a dozen old, tattered scrolls, displaying them on the table.
"Those are…"
Curiously, everyone examined the scrolls introduction. Immediately, everyone's jaws dropped; none of them could believe their eyes.
A sealing magic array!
This magic array would seal off an area for a certain amount of time, preventing the players from teleporting out of or into the area. This was a godly tool for raiding towns and cities!
If Zero Wing could not teleport players into Stone Forest Town, with the small number of players garrisoned in the town, they could successfully raid it.
As long as they took Stone Forest Town, Zero Wing would lose its main source of income. Meanwhile, their two Guilds, who captured Stone Forest Town, would enjoy the town's massive profits. With this shift in power, it would only be a matter of time before Zero Wing was annihilated.
"I'll leave the sealing magic array in your hands. I hope that you can construct it quickly. If there's nothing else to discuss, I'll be taking my leave." After Ling Jingxuan said so, she left the meeting room under everyone's watchful gazes.
"Fog, you and everyone else here, get ready. I've already arranged for the Advanced Lifestyle players that will be required to construct the sealing magic array. You will protect them until they have finished their work. Do not let anyone disrupt them!" Singular Burial commanded sternly.
"Guild Leader, leave it to us!" everyone excitedly replied.
The sealing magic array was powerful. However, it possessed major flaws. Players needed to construct the magic array's cores in various locations of a map. Moreover, the magic array cores would disturb the surrounding Mana, which would, in turn, cause nearby monsters to gather and attack the cores. Hence, players were needed to defend the cores. This was why Singular Burial had called Heaven's Burial's upper echelons back.
To seal a map as large as Stone Forest Town's, they needed to construct at least 14 magic array cores. In other words, they needed to defend 14 separate locations. If they mobilized too many players at once, it would attract Zero Wing's attention. Hence, dispatching experts to defend these locations was the best option. When the time came, they simply needed to replace these experts with a large number of elite players.
…
Meanwhile, inside Zero Wing's Residence in White River City, after Shi Feng recalled the Dark Gods Legion, he had Fire Dance rally the Guild's experts and elites, officially announcing their crusade against the Dark Guilds in Star-Moon Kingdom that targeted their Guild!
Every player in Star-Moon Kingdom noticed this sudden announcement. In a few short minutes, Shi Feng's post rose to the very top of Star-Moon Kingdom's official forums.
"This is insane! Zero Wing has gone insane!"
"Zero Wing is awesome! It has openly declared a crusade against Star-Moon Kingdom's Dark Guilds! With their temper, these Dark Guilds won't let this rest!"
"All hail Zero Wing!"
Zero Wing's latest declaration dazzled God's Domain's ordinary players. Not only was Zero Wing at war with two of the kingdom's giants, but it had also declared war on the Dark Guilds, which most players tried to avoid. Only a lunatic would make a move like this.
The various Guilds were even more shocked by Zero Wing's declaration of war.
Ordinary players might not realize the truth about Dark Guilds, but they were perfectly aware. Although Dark Guilds had very few members, these people were extremely obstinate. Dealing with large Guilds like theirs was just another day at work for these people. Moreover, even if these players died, their Dark Guilds wouldn't compensate them for any losses. They would only have themselves to blame for not being strong enough.
Speaking of the survivability of Dark Guild players, they were much stronger than regular Guild members. Most importantly, unlike regular Guilds, Dark Guilds did not possess a permanent base of operations such as a Guild Residence. Instead, they operated like independent players. A simple bar was enough of a base for them. They could easily move between towns controlled by the forces of darkness. Hence, it was very difficult to launch a concentrated attack against Dark Guilds.
Regarding sustainability, regular Guilds were even less of a match for their Dark cousins. Dark Guilds players could level up by killing other players. This was not an option for regular Guild players. If an extended war occurred between a regular Guild and a Dark Guild, the latter would only exhaust their enemy to death. Hence, regular Guilds generally overlooked Dark Guilds as none of them wanted an unnecessary confrontation.
Logically, Zero Wing should have been more focused on dealing with Blackwater and Heaven's Burial after it realized that its enemies had hired Dark Guilds to take action. After all, Dark Guilds were merely hired guns. It was easy enough to hold them at by. Once their employers were gone, they would go back to their normal lifestyle.
Yet, not only had Zero Wing ignored Blackwater and Heaven's Burial, but it had also provoked the various Dark Guilds deliberately. Zero Wing's priorities were clearly skewed.