THE STRONGEST THUNDER SWORD, VOLUME 8 - Season 15 Episode 12

“And you are?” Crimson Fox could not help but grow confused as he watched Shi Feng approach his location.

Currently, Shi Feng was wearing a Black Cloak, so Crimson Fox could not see his appearance and level at all. However, based on the deadly threat Crimson Fox sensed from the Demonic Flame Tiger, he could tell that Shi Feng was definitely not your run-of-the-mill expert.

Everyone present similarly shifted their gazes to Shi Feng, curious to find out Shi Feng’s identity.

In the next moment, Shi Feng removed his Black Cloak, displaying his disguise as Black Flame. Currently, he was fully garbed in black, light armor sporting dark-blue magical patterns. At his waist hung two exquisite longswords. The Mana enveloping his body was also much denser than the ambient Mana.

Meanwhile, those within range of Shi Feng’s aura felt as if they were standing before a humanoid beast right now.

“He’s Black Flame!”

“You mean the Black Flame with the nickname of Sword King?”

“Yes! I am absolutely sure of it! I’ve watched his battle videos before. I never imagined he would actually come to spectate this competition.”

“Crap! Just what kind of equipment is he wearing?! The Mana surrounding his body feels so dense!”

A few players familiar with Black Flame immediately recognized Shi Feng’s identity. A huge commotion promptly broke out on the street as everyone started discussing Black Flame.

In Star-Moon Kingdom, everyone was familiar with Black Flame’s name. However, aside from merchant players, most players rarely paid attention to matters relating to other kingdoms and empires. If not for the God’s Domain Experts List having recorded Black Flame’s name, ordinary players would most likely have no idea who Black Flame was.

“Guild Leader!”

At this moment, Gentle Snow’s eyes were filled with surprise as she looked at Shi Feng.

Although she had long since known that Shi Feng improved rapidly, she never imagined that it would be this fast. It had only been a short time since the last siege war at Stone Forest Town ended. Yet, compared to the pressure she felt from Shi Feng back then, the pressure he gave off now was superior by leaps and bound.

Meanwhile, the upper echelons of the various large Guilds present on the street were likewise shocked by the pressure from Shi Feng.

“So this is Zero Wing’s Guild Leader?”

“It seems the rumors about him are true after all! He really is a monstrous existence!”

“Fortunately, the ranking competition forbids Guild Leader and Vice Guild Leader characters from participating. Otherwise, Zero Wing would definitely be the dark horse of this competition.”

The upper echelons of the various large Guilds inwardly celebrated as they looked at Shi Feng. If the Secret Pavilion allowed someone like Black Flame to participate in the ranking competition, Zero Wing would be unstoppable. In the entire Black Dragon Empire, most likely only the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion possessed experts capable of contending against Black Flame.

As Shi Feng approached the members of Crimson Castle on the Demonic Flame Tiger, the aura he exuded also grew increasingly powerful. Even the space around him started to stagnate. Meanwhile, those subjected to his aura felt an indescribable pressure bearing down on them, discomfort overwhelming their bodies.

Sword King Black Flame? Initially, Crimson Fox also revealed a shocked expression at his taste of Shi Feng’s presence. Very quickly, however, he calmed down and smiled, saying, “Since Guild Leader Black Flame has already said so, whichever one of our two Guilds ranks lower in this competition will have to give up on Hidden Fog Town.”

“Naturally.” Shi Feng nodded.

“With Guild Leader Black Flame’s word, I can rest assured now. I still have other matters to attend to, so I will not take up your time, Guild Leader Black Flame.”

Upon hearing Shi Feng’s answer, Crimson Fox revealed a delighted smile. He immediately turned around and walked back into the Underground Arena.

Meanwhile, the two cloaked players in Crimson Fox’s entourage could not help but send a few additional glances at Shi Feng before reentering the arena.

“Boss, that person is Black Flame. He might have prepared some trump cards for the competition. Is it really all right to proceed with our original plan to compete with Zero Wing?” a Level 45 Shield Warrior standing beside Crimson Fox asked worriedly.

“What’s there to worry about? The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion has long since investigated everything there is to know about Zero Wing. While the top-ranking experts of Zero Wing are indeed scary, none of those experts are among the representatives Zero Wing has dispatched for the competition this time. Zero Wing’s representatives consist solely of the experts that originally belonged to Ouroboros. There is no need to be fearful of them,” Crimson Fox sneered. “Even if Black Flame does have some kind of backup plan, do you think our side doesn’t possess one as well?”

“Boss, what do you mean?” the Shield Warrior asked in confusion.

“The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion has always found Zero Wing to be an eyesore. Do you think they would secretly send only two experts to help Crimson Castle?” Crimson Fox whispered. “Rest assured. Zero Wing has no chance of winning against us. Most likely, even getting into the top 10 will be a problem for them. After all, among the participants in the competition this time, many are newcomers nurtured by superpowers.”

After the Shield Warrior gave the matter some thought, he found his Guild Leader’s words reasonable. In order to ensure its conquest of Hidden Fog Town, Crimson Castle had made plenty of preparations. The Shield Warrior then unconsciously turned to look at the two cloaked men some distance behind him. His body shuddered involuntarily when he felt the killing intent the two were radiating.

He had personally witnessed the strength of these two players before.

Even when these two players went up against five of Crimson Castle’s top ten experts all by themselves, they had easily emerged victorious, not even losing one-tenth of their HPs. Moreover, this was while the two players were keeping many of their trump cards hidden. If those two players went all out, they could trounce all ten of Crimson Castle’s strongest experts, even if the latter teamed up.

…

“Guild Leader, you shouldn’t have agreed to their bet so hastily,” Gentle Snow said helplessly as she looked at Shi Feng. “It is obvious that Crimson Castle has come prepared this time. The two cloaked experts following behind Crimson Fox have never appeared in our investigations of Crimson Castle before. It is highly possible that they are Crimson Castle’s trump cards this time.”

Although those two experts had hidden their levels and equipment, the killing intent they radiated was no laughing matter. They must’ve experienced countless battles to have gained that kind of killing intent. Moreover, she could tell that those two experts were already actively restraining their killing intent. Only, as the killing intent they cultivated ran bone-deep, they couldn’t conceal it completely. She had no doubt that those two experts were frighteningly powerful. Otherwise, Crimson Fox would not have so willingly agreed to such a risky bet.

“That’s right! Guild Leader, the pressure I felt from them is much stronger than even what the top-tier experts of Corpse Soul gave off. There is a high chance that those two players are Refinement Realm experts. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have felt such intense pressure from them,” Zhao Yueru said, nodding in agreement with Gentle Snow’s words.

“Far from just Refinement Realm experts, those two people have already reached the Flowing Water Realm. They are capable of making the best response through observing their opponents,” Shi Feng said, shaking his head.

When he was walking towards Crimson Castle’s group, he could clearly feel how powerful those two cloaked players were. Or to put it in another way, their presence was right in his face. Hence, he had deliberately released his aura in order to test the two cloaked players’ reactions.

And indeed, just like he had guessed, both of them were definitely experts!

The instant he directed killing intent towards Crimson Castle’s group, only these two players had prepared to retaliate straight away. It was obvious that they had perceived and reacted to the subtle actions he made. As for Crimson Fox and the others, they had not shown a single reaction whatsoever.

“Guild Leader, why did you agree to the bet, then?!” Gentle Snow could not help but grow anxious.

Going up against two Flowing Water Realm experts was no joke. In a situation where both sides possessed similar levels and Attributes, either one of these Flowing Water Realm experts could easily annihilate all five members that Zero Wing had dispatched. With these two players taking the field, Crimson Castle had a sporting chance of contesting for the top three positions. If the first-rate Guilds taking part in this competition did not dispatch any powerful experts, it might even be possible for Crimson Castle to win the championship. As for the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, a super-first-rate Guild like itself would not take such a ranking competition seriously. At most, it would only field some of the newcomers it nurtured to let them gain some experience.

“Won’t it be interesting that way?” Shi Feng retorted, laughing. “Not to mention, if even Crimson Castle has some trump cards, do you think Zero Wing doesn’t?”