Chapter 2574 - Ancient God's Tower

Stone Forest City, Freedom Hotel’s top-floor reception room:

Blue Rainbow from Dark Rhapsody and Elder Gold from Deity Society sat on a sofa, an awkward silence between them, in a spacious, luxurious reception room. Magic Flash and Old Forest sat beside them, just as dazed.

This was simply too humiliating!

They had thought that their previous meeting with Shi Feng would’ve been their last, and they would never have to see each other again. They had seen Shi Feng’s hope of a stronger partnership between their Guilds as nothing more than wishful thinking.

However, less than two days after that meeting, they had sought the Swordsman out again.

Meanwhile, Shi Feng had transformed his brazen declaration into reality, taking control of the Dark World’s Teleportation Gate and the Otherworld’s lifeline. If any of the Dark World’s powers or players wanted to continue and accelerate their development, they’d have to travel to Cold Spring Forest.

However, Zero Wing’s teleportation fees were just fraudulent. The Guild actually charged one Darkness Crystal or similarly Attributed Magic Crystal per person…

Attributed Magic Crystals were even rarer than ordinary Magic Crystals, and Dark Players needed Darkness Crystals for their growth. In fact, they needed a lot of them. There weren’t even enough Darkness Crystals to go around for the Dark World’s various powers and independent players, yet Zero Wing was cruel enough to charge Darkness Crystals as its teleportation fee.

Worse yet, they couldn’t defeat Zero Wing…

To secure its hold on the Teleportation Gate, Zero Wing had established a permanent magic barrier around it, in addition to stationing two Crimson Dragon Flying Ships, eight Combat Puppets, 600 Tier 3 Knights, and 2,000 Tier 2 Knights to guard the gate. The defenses Zero Wing had set up around the Teleportation Gate were maddening.

Sending an army of 20,000 Tier 3 experts would be futile against such high security, much less sneaking through…

The only option the Dark World’s powers and players had left was to hand over the required fee obediently.

After Blue Rainbow and the others waited for a while, the reception room’s doors opened abruptly, and Zero Wing’s Guild Leader, Black Flame, walked in. He was the monster that had single-handedly deterred the Dark World’s army of several million players.

However, Shi Feng seemed like a completely different person at the moment.

When he had stood before the Dark World’s Teleportation Gate, he had radiated an incredible aura that frightened everyone in his presence, but now, they couldn’t even detect the hint of an aura as if he were just an ordinary player. Similar to Blue Rainbow and the others’ first meeting with this Swordsman, he seemed harmless.

Rather than contempt, however, they only looked at Shi Feng with fear in their eyes.

They hadn’t paid much attention to him during their last meeting, but now that they did, they couldn’t even consider Shi Feng as human. He felt more like a plant, nearly non-existent.

As Blue Rainbow and Elder Gold began to stand to greet him, Shi Feng gestured for them to remain seated, dispensing with the formalities. He then smiled and asked, “I’ve heard that you’ve conveyed my proposal to your respective Guild Leaders? How do your Guilds wish to cooperate with Zero Wing?”

Magic Flash and Old Forest inwardly rolled their eyes at Shi Feng’s question. His actions had practically engraved his words on their Guild Leaders’ bones, and they’d remember them for the rest of their lives.

“Guild Leader Black Flame, your proposal has delighted our Guild Leaders, and they have stated that as long as Zero Wing will waive the teleportation fees for our Guild members, we will help the Candlelight Trading Firm establish itself in the Dark World’s major NPC cities. What do you think?” Blue Rainbow asked.

Although their two Guilds were reluctant to accept Shi Feng’s conditions, they had no choice with the situation weighing against them. If they declined, both of their Guilds’ positions would become more disadvantageous as time passed.

“Waive the teleportation fee?” After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng said, “That’s fine, but I’d like to set up a branch Shop in every NPC city in the Dark World. Of course, Zero Wing will cover the necessary expenditures. Your two Guilds only need to resolve the issue of Land.”

“Guild Leader Black Flame, you are asking for the impossible. The Dark World is even larger than the main continent’s ancient empires. While our Guilds are two of the top three in the Dark World, we only control a small portion of the Otherworld. We simply don’t have the manpower and resources to ensure that Candlelight can operate in every NPC city,” Elder Gold said, shaking his head with an unhappy smile.

Dark Rhapsody, Deity Society, and World Domination had a lot of influence on the surface, but the same couldn’t be said for their control on the Dark World.

In the Dark World, players had partial control of the various NPC cities. As long as a power controlled one of these cities, they wouldn’t have to worry about needing funds or resources, and without these concerns, they didn’t have to worry about offending the Otherworld’s top three Guilds.

To put it simply, helping Candlelight secure branches in the Dark World’s major NPC cities was a colossal challenge.

Both Guilds would have to pull a lot of strings to fulfill their end of the bargain. Unfortunately, helping the trading firm set up Shops in every NPC city would be a dream. Even if World Domination cooperated, the feat wouldn’t be feasible.

There is something else we need to inform you about, Guild Leader Black Flame,” Blue Rainbow said. “Due to your actions at the Teleportation Gate, the Dark World’s various major powers loath Zero Wing. As a result, our Guilds are risking much by allying with your Guild. Moreover, Demon’s Heart has traveled across the Dark World, secretly persuading the various powers to join its alliance. By the looks of it, they plan to challenge the Ancient God’s Tower in the Dark World.”

“This Ancient God’s Tower is extraordinary, surviving since the Dark World’s creation. There are rumors that it’s connected to thousands of Otherworlds. Nobody had been able to clear the tower’s trials yet, but as players grow stronger, the various powers will be able to activate a portion of it, if not all. If that happens, the various powers will reach the main continent, even without the Teleportation Gate. Only, they will have to do so by passing through another Otherworld.”

Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow, who stood behind Shi Feng, frowned at the news. If what the female Dark Knight said was true, wouldn’t that mean the effort they had put into capturing the Teleportation Gate would go to waste?

“The Ancient God’s Tower?” Shi Feng had some recollection of this name.

The Ancient God’s Tower was connected to thousands of Otherworlds. It was also one of the reasons that the Dark World was considered a special Otherworld in God’s Domain. However, since no power had taken control of the Dark World’s Teleportation Gate in his past, none of the Dark World’s powers had bothered to challenge the tower’s trials. Activating the Ancient God’s Tower was insanely difficult, after all.

Of course, while current players had no hope of fully activating the Ancient God’s Tower, activating some of it should be possible.

“That’s right. The Dark World’s various powers have already turned their focus to the Ancient God’s Tower, and Demon’s Heart has quite a bit of resources and information relating to it. I’m afraid it won’t be long before the various powers band together to challenge the tower,” Blue Rainbow said, nodding.

One Darkness Crystal per person was no trivial cost. No one would pay such a high fee unless necessary.

“What if I can help you secure the Ancient God’s Tower within a short time?” Shi Feng asked.