THE STRONGEST THUNDER SWORD, VOLUME 8 - Season 15 Episode 13

“Trump cards?” Gentle Snow stared at Shi Feng in confusion.

Zero Wing had already decided the five members who would be participating in the ranking competition; changing representatives at the last minute was impossible. She had also geared them with the best weapons and equipment available to her. Currently, even the most inferior piece of equipment these five players wore was Level 45 Dark-Gold Equipment. Zhao Yueru was even equipped with the Tier 1 Set Equipment for Elementalists, in addition to a piece of Epic Growth-type Equipment. The weapon Zhao Yueru wielded was even an Epic staff. In terms of equipment, Zhao Yueru could definitely rank near the top among those participating in this ranking competition.

Hence, it would be very difficult to further upgrade the weapons and equipment of Zero Wing’s representatives.

As for their techniques, those were not something that could be improved within a short period.

“This isn’t the place to talk about them. Let’s go to our Guild’s designated room first,” Shi Feng said as he sent a glance at their surroundings. Currently, members of various large Guilds were focused on them. It was obvious that these Guilds were starting to grow cautious of Zero Wing in this competition.

Gentle Snow nodded in agreement with Shi Feng’s words.

Shi Feng was currently too eye-catching. He also didn’t have his aura concealed. Although it was impossible to make out his level and the quality of his weapons and equipment, judging by the increased Mana density around Shi Feng, an expert could readily tell that Shi Feng was incredibly powerful.

After Shi Feng and the others entered the Underground Arena, the members of the various large Guilds stationed outside the arena to keep an eye out for noteworthy opponents immediately reported back to their superiors.

…

Meanwhile, over a dozen people were currently seated inside one of the Underground Arena’s luxurious VIP rooms. Even the lowest leveled player among these people was Level 45, while the highest even reached Level 46. The Dark-Gold Equipment they wore were also of a style; these were obviously set equipment. At this stage of the game, even first-rate Guilds had trouble collecting one set of Level 45 Dark-Gold Set Equipment, yet there were actually six sets here.

Seated in the front of this group of players were a man and a woman. These two people were none other than Nine Dragons Emperor and Phoenix Rain.

Although both of them were representatives of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, they sat on different sides of the room, each of them leading a group of newcomers they’d cultivated on their own. The newcomers of each side also faced their counterparts as if they were mortal enemies. They looked nothing like members of the same Guild.

To the various large Guilds, the ranking competitions hosted by the Secret Pavilion were a good opportunity for them to raise their fame. To the various superpowers, however, these competitions were merely amusements. After all, even without doing any publicity, everyone was already familiar with their Guilds.

Hence, during every ranking competition, the various superpowers in God’s Domain would field their internally nurtured newcomers instead of their mainstays. One of the reasons for doing so was to allow the newcomers to gain some combat experience. The second reason was to let the public know just how powerful the newcomers they nurtured were.

“Interesting. Zero Wing’s Black Flame has come as well?” Nine Dragons Emperor’s lips curled up slightly when he read the report that just came in. “He actually agreed to Crimson Castle’s wager? It seems he’s pretty confident in his own Guild members.”

“Pavilion Master, should we supply a few more Epic items to Crimson Castle?” Martial Dragon whispered.

“No need. The helpers and items we’ve provided Crimson Castle are already enough to defeat Zero Wing,” Nine Dragons Emperor said, shaking his head. Sneering, he continued, “However, tell the others to go all out against Zero Wing’s members. Make sure to give them a beating. Let the players of the Black Dragon Empire know just what kind of Guild Zero Wing is.”

He hated Zero Wing down to the bone. If not for Phoenix Rain’s partnership being known by all in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, which prevented him from publicly mobilizing the Pavilion’s forces against Zero Wing a second time, he would’ve long since trampled Zero Wing’s Branch Guild. He wouldn’t have let the Branch Guild survive until now.

However, as long as Crimson Castle won its bet and secured Hidden Fog Town, Zero Wing’s Branch Guild’s days would be numbered.

Hidden Fog Town did not only possess a small Mithril vein but was also located in Sky Fog Valley, a resource-rich map as well as the most important Level 50 to Level 70 map in the Lake Heart City region. As long as Crimson Castle obtained Hidden Fog Town, it would have absolute control over Sky Fog Valley. Moreover, the several second-rate Guilds Crimson Castle was allied with could easily gather at the Guild town.

Then, as long as Zero Wing’s members dared to set foot into Sky Fog Valley, they would not get out alive. Furthermore, without the resources of Sky Fog Valley, Zero Wing’s development at Lake Heart City would definitely slow down. Sooner or later, Crimson Castle would surpass Zero Wing and chase it out of Lake Heart City.

Meanwhile, even if the upper echelon of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion were to find out about this matter, they would not say anything about it. After all, Nine Dragons Emperor did not personally take action.

“Understood.” Martial Dragon nodded. He then proceeded to make the necessary arrangements.

…

Inside one of the rooms that the Secret Pavilion prepared for the various invited Guilds:

“Guild Leader, the competition is about to start soon. Just what do you want to show us?” Zhao Yueru asked curiously.

At this point, it was already impossible for them to further increase their combat power—unless they took the equipment of Aqua Rose and the Guild’s other peak experts. However, that was obviously out of the question. Aside from that, Zhao Yueru could not think of anything else that could possibly increase their strength within such a short time.

“First, eat these,” Shi Feng said as he took out one Moonlight Fruit after another from his bag.

The Moonlight Fruit was a treasure he had harvested from the Dark Canyon. When consumed, it would permanently improve the user’s physique by 2%. A player could consume a maximum of five Moonlight Fruits, permanently improving their physique by 10%. He had only obtained a little over 100 Moonlight Fruits from the Dark Canyon. After distributing some to Aqua Rose and the others who had reached Level 50, he had only 83 left.

“Guild Leader! How did you manage to get your hands on these things?!” Shock filled Gentle Snow’s eyes when she read the Moonlight Fruit’s introductory text.

She had never even heard about a fruit capable of permanently increasing a player’s physique, much less seen one. Such a fruit could easily sell for thousands of Gold. Nevertheless, Shi Feng took out 30 Moonlight Fruits—including a portion for her.

“I got them from the secret land my Promotion Quest transported me to. Make sure not to tell anyone about them.” Shi Feng did not hide the origin of the Moonlight Fruit, as everyone present was a trusted aide of Gentle Snow. Moreover, he was also familiar with their personalities.

In the past, these top-tier experts of Ouroboros were all very famous in Star-Moon Kingdom.

Besides Zhao Yueru, the others participating in the ranking competition this time were Fierce Snake, Wind Mill, Wild Bone, and Negative Life. Fierce Snake was a Level 45 Berserker while Wind Mill was a Level 45 Summoner, both of them former members of Ouroboros’s Twelve Apostles. As for Wild Bone, he was a Level 45 Shield Warrior and was previously Ouroboros’s third-ranking Shield Warrior.

Lastly, Negative Life was a Level 46 Ranger. In terms of talent, he was inferior only to Soaring Snake, the leader of the Twelve Apostles. Only, as he had entered the virtual gaming world a lot later than Soaring Snake, his combat standards had been inferior to Soaring Snake’s. However, after receiving various resources from Zero Wing, his combat standards had improved rapidly. Right now, he was already close to rivaling Minor Wind in terms of combat standards.

These people had stayed by Gentle Snow’s side all this time, so Shi Feng was not afraid word of the Moonlight Fruit would leak out.

“These Moonlight Fruits are amazing! I can already feel my combat power increasing by at least 10%,” Zhao Yueru exclaimed in surprise after consuming five Moonlight Fruits and carefully sensing the changes to her body.

As for everyone else, due to their deficient standards, their combat power had only increased by 5% or so.

“Alright, don’t get too excited yet. Just a 10% increase to your physique won’t be enough to make up for the gap in techniques. Next up, wear these,” Shi Feng said as he began taking out Epic items from his bag one after another, placing a total of six on the table.

A portion of these Epic items was loot from Heaven’s Burial, while the rest came from Boss drops and quests.

“Guild Leader, did you rob a kingdom’s treasury?” Zhao Yueru’s eyes widened when she saw the Epic items on the table.

The others were likewise stupefied by this scene. While they all knew that Zero Wing’s foundations were extraordinary, they had never thought that the Guild could still bring out so many Epic items for them to use.

“Right, Yueru, how much Intelligence and Strength do you currently have?” Shi Feng asked.

“My Intelligence is at 1,370. As for my Strength, it’s at 400,” Zhao Yueru stated proudly. These Attributes were considerably high for an Elementalist of her level.

“That should be barely enough,” Shi Feng muttered after some mental calculations. He then started taking out Attribute Gemstones and a Skill Book for a Tier 1 Passive Skill that increased the user’s Strength Attribute. “First, equip these Tier 3 Gemstones. After you’re done, wear the Magic Devouring Charm and Eye of Arnos.”

Zhao Yueru was rendered speechless when she heard Shi Feng’s comment that her Attributes were barely enough. However, she still obediently equipped the Attribute Gemstones and the two pieces of Epic Equipment and learned the Tier 1 Skill.

“How are your Intelligence and Strength now?” Shi Feng asked.

“My Intelligence is at 1,590, and my Strength is at 614,” Zhao Yueru replied, feeling greatly elated.

“Good! Then temporarily set aside that staff of yours and use this one for the competition,” Shi Feng said as he handed Frostflame’s Wrath to Zhao Yueru.