Chapter 822 - Adjudicator
Glory Empire, Imperial Capital Light City:
As the main headquarters of the Super Guild King's Return, Light City's prosperity surpassed even that of the Black Dragon Empire's imperial capital. The player population alone exceeded the capital's by 15 million.
The player population wasn't the only indicator of Light City's prosperity; player's Levels also displayed the city's success.
Currently, God's Domain's mainstream players were around Level 32, while some of the more powerful elite players had reached Level 35.
However, if one wandered the streets of Light City, they would easily spot Level 35 elite players. From time to time, one would also notice Level 36 or Level 37 independent players. The capital cities of various kingdoms and ordinary empires could not hold a candle to Light City.
The reason behind the high levels of Light City's players was none other than the Super Guild King's Return.
Super Guilds had very long histories in the virtual gaming world. Normally, these Super Guilds had their own means of nurturing experts, and they had no need to recruit powerful players from elsewhere.
Moreover, the experts who enjoyed Super Guild's nurturing would always rank as the top rookies of the year in the virtual gaming world, instantly becoming well-known experts. Their personal value would soar by several times.
Countless players held this long-cherished dream of gaining overnight fame and riches. Hence, every year, swarms of young players would take part in the internal exam of Super Guilds, fighting to gain membership and participate in the Guild's expert training programs.
Aside from nurturing its own experts from scratch, King's Return, a Super Guild that had already existed for a long time, did recruit some experts from elsewhere as well. These experts would become internal members and receive a multitude of resources. If any of these experts became one of the year's top newcomers, they might even earn the privilege of becoming one of the Guild's upper echelons. If that happened, they would not have to worry about a lack of money for the rest of their lives.
Aqua Rose and Purple Eye were both such players. However, they had chosen their own paths. Hence, after finishing their training and paying a certain price, they left their Super Guild.
Meanwhile, King's Return was once again recruiting experts. Hence, many players throughout God's Domain had come to Light City, hoping to join King's Return. There was no lack of expert players among the crowd.
---
Currently, many players were lined up inside King's Return's Guild Residence, giving the place a lively atmosphere.
However, when two men entered the Guild Residence's main hall, the room fell silent, every gaze shifting towards these two people. Of these two, one was a middle-aged man wearing black armor. He also carried a greatsword with inscribed runes, a chill radiating from the weapon. This man was a Level 38 Berserker.
A handsome, younger man stood beside the Berserker with an unruly temperament. The young man carried a staff made of sapphire crystal and wore a set of gray mage robes. Faint arcs of gray electricity surrounded his body. This man was a Level 38 Elementalist.
Even in the entire Glory Empire, these people's Level could rank at the very top.
"Isn't that the Thunder Sword, Broken City? I actually get to meet one of King's Return's upper echelons! I'm so lucky today!"
"The person beside Broken City seems to be the newly-promoted Adjudicator of King's Return, Hell Fiend. I never thought that he would be so handsome. I wonder if he has a girlfriend?"
Immediately, the various players in the main hall fell into heated discussions among themselves, reverence filling their eyes as they gazed at the two latest arrivals.
Every one of these players dreamed of joining the ranks of King's Return's upper echelons or obtaining the title of the Guild's Adjudicator one day. Hell Fiend, in particular, had obtained the position of King's Return's Adjudicator at such a young age. This had been unheard of in the Super Guild's long history. Generally, experts could become an Adjudicator only after many years of arduous training. The title should be out of the reach of a rookie like Hell Fiend, yet the youth had managed to obtain it.
Under the crowd's watchful eye, Broken City and Hell Fiend walked into a small meeting room.
A man in a Black Cloak had been waiting in the meeting room for quite some time. When this man noticed the two people enter the room, he immediately stood to welcome them.
"Hand me the files and items. Also, give me a summary of the situation," Broken City commanded gruffly.
"Understood," the cloaked man nodded. He then handed over a box and a folder before saying, "Originally, the plan had proceeded quite smoothly. However, Sinned Heart encountered Zero Wing's upper echelons. Moreover, Zero Wing's people agreed to Sinned Heart's offer, and they are willing to purchase the five plots of Land. Sinned Heart will be to Zero Wing to complete the trade today."
"Do those people from Zero Wing not know about our warning?" Hell Fiend asked coldly, frowning.
"Sinned Heart had taken the initiative to reveal the situation to them. However, Zero Wing agreed to the purchase on the spot as if King's Return means nothing to them," the cloaked man reported anxiously, sweat beading on his forehead as he felt the weight of Hell Fiend's gaze.
Peng!
"Zero Wing is taking us too lightly!" Rage flashed in Hell Fiend's eyes as he slammed his staff into the ground, cracking it.
"There is no reason to be anxious. They have yet to conduct the trade, so we still have time to do something about it. I'll have someone send Zero Wing's Guild Leader a light warning. I believe Zero Wing will make the right choice," Broken City said, chuckling. "If Zero Wing truly refuses to listen, it won't be too late for us to act."
"I understand, Uncle Broken," Hell Fiend said as he suppressed the rage in his heart.
To him, this matter was of utmost importance. If Zero Wing dared to interfere, he did not mind annihilating the upstart Guild.
---
Elsewhere, Shi Feng directed his team's battle preparations.
"Fire, Flying, Minor, lure the surrounding monsters to us! Rain, get ready to use Waterfall! Blackie, get ready to use Stars of Light!" After Shi Feng summoned the Tier 3 Battle Demon, he did not rush to take on the Frost Bone Dragon.
A Level 45 Grand Lord was simply too powerful for current players.
Furthermore, the slightest mistake while the team fought inside a monster next could result in a team-wipe.
Clearing the surrounding monsters was a must, particularly when facing a Guardian Boss like the Frost Bone Dragon.
All Guardian Bosses possessed a similar ability: Life Devour. If a team did not respond to this Passive Skill appropriately, it would not matter how many players charged at a Guardian Boss. Everyone would simply charge towards their graves.
Life Devour allowed Guardian Bosses to absorb all Life Force within a radius of 1,000 yards. Be they players or monsters, all those in range would lose 1% of their HPs every three seconds. Meanwhile, the Guardian Boss would absorb this HP. Hence, when going up against a Guardian Boss, too many people was not always a good thing.
Guardian Bosses usually had very high HP. Chances were high that players could not even deal enough damage to these Bosses to overcome their innate battle recovery.
Moreover, when fighting a Grand Lord like the Frost Bone Dragon, players' Stamina consumption rate would be very high. They could not afford to fight a battle of attrition against such Bosses. In the end, players would die from exhaustion.
Finally, after over an hour, Shi Feng's team managed to clear all of the monsters within the Frost Bone Dragon's range of activity.
"Move out!"
Following which, Shi Feng directed the Battle Demon to charge at the Frost Bone Dragon. He also activated the Demonic Flame Tiger's Battle Roar and Dark Blessing.
Immediately, the entire team's Attributes and Magic Resistance rose by a large margin.