The Ancient Undead Country was a cursed, ancient kingdom. It had been decimated during the Great Ancient War, becoming a land of death. Undead roamed the countryside, and none of the various kingdoms or empires wanted anything to do with the abandoned kingdom.
However, despite its ruined state, the Ancient Undead Country still contained legacies the former kingdom had left behind and resources that had gone unexploited for tens of thousands of years. As a result, the neutral map had become a goldmine for outlaws.
Unfortunately, the Ancient Undead Country was quite far from civilization. From the Dark Night Empire, the closest NPC-established map, a player would need more than a full day of mounted travel to reach the neutral map.
After spending more than half an hour of repeated teleportation and mounted travel, s.h.i.+ Feng finally reached the Ancient Undead Country's border.
s.h.i.+ Feng didn't hurry to enter the neutral map as he stood atop a plateau that overlooked the Ancient Undead Country. Taking a short break, he switched five of his Strength Gemstones for Stamina Gemstones and drank down an Exotic Stamina Potion.
The Ancient Undead Country wasn't like other neutral maps. Due to the war that had destroyed the former kingdom, the map was in a constant state of chaos. Not only was teleportation within the map impossible, but players' Stamina was also at least 50% higher than in ordinary neutral maps.
The kingdom's terrain and monsters weren't to be underestimated. Even players on Dark-Gold Mounts wouldn't get very far if they weren't careful.
Normally, players would take the time to recover to their peak before entering the Ancient Undead Country, including Tier 2 peak experts. Only Tier 3 and above players had the strength to ignore most of the map's dangers.
No matter how many times I visit this place, it's always breathtaking! s.h.i.+ Feng thought as he gazed at the gigantic, barrier, bathed in darkness, before him. Occasionally, he spotted arcs of silver lightning flicker within the barrier.
The Great Ancient War had happened tens of thousands of years ago, yet the aftermath lingered to this very day. The Ancient G.o.ds' power was truly unimaginable, far greater than any modern Tier 6 G.o.d.
After about a ten-minute rest, s.h.i.+ Feng had fully recovered from his travels. Not wanting to waste any time, he hopped back onto his Demonic Flame Tiger and rushed through the dark barrier.
Although Zero Wing had acquired 45 Shops in the Dark Night Empire's top cities, the debt it had acc.u.mulated to do so was large enough to make any first-rate Guild despair.
One million, sixty thousand Gold!
Even superpowers' eyes would twitch at seeing so much Gold.
If Zero Wing couldn't clear the debt within a month, it would have to offer up Zero Wing City's shares as collateral. Youlan had nearly lost it when she had heard of the transaction.
Zero Wing was already having financial troubles and barely preserved its hold on Star-Moon Kingdom. Now, s.h.i.+ Feng had taken out a debt that could crush an entire Guild.
Spending that amount on so many excellent Shops would be a wonderful thing in other kingdoms and empires, but no major power dared to set foot in the Dark Night Empire right now.
However, this was an excellent opportunity to further Zero Wing's development in s.h.i.+ Feng's opinion.
The Dark Night Empire was famed for its products, especially since it was connected with a city like the Sea of Trees. Even among the various empires on the G.o.d's Domain continent, the Dark Night Empire had above average resources. Although Zero Wing had accepted the management rights to half of the Hundred Flowers Palace's Shops in the empire, the partners.h.i.+p only allowed Zero Wing to sell its products in those Shops. Unfortunately, the Palace didn't own that many Shops in the first place, so it was important that Zero Wing make room for itself in the empire's market.
If a Guild wanted to become a powerhouse in G.o.d's Domain, it needed more than a large number of expert players; it also needed an astronomical amount of resources to support these experts' growth. Relying on one kingdom's resources simply wasn't enough.
s.h.i.+ Feng had already considered developing his Guild past Star-Moon Kingdom's borders and into the several neighboring kingdoms. With such a rare opportunity to do so before him, he couldn't afford to play it safe.
Although Zero Wing had indeed incurred a huge debt because of this investment, if s.h.i.+ Feng could move Stone Forest Town to the Bottomless Abyss, collecting 1.06 million Gold within a month was doable. The Bottomless Abyss was, after all, quite attractive to G.o.d's Domain's various powers and players.
The instant s.h.i.+ Feng stepped through the barrier, he felt a powerful gravitational force pull on his body, and his senses dulled. At best, he could only exert 70% of his combat power in this state.
After running through the map for about five minutes, he encountered an area full of Level 60-plus monsters. Most of these monsters were Undead, and although they were only Chieftain rank, with a smattering of Lords, these Undead had very high combat standards. An ordinary Tier 2 player would be fortunate if they could solo one of these Chieftains, and only Tier 2 experts stood a chance against the Lord ranked Undead in a one-on-one.
A Tier 2 expert wouldn't even have a hope against a Great Lord ranked Undead; defeating such monsters typically required a full 20-man team of Tier 2 experts at the very least.
However, these powerful monsters weren't the most troublesome aspect of the Ancient Undead Country. The countless traps that littered the map were far more dangerous. High-intellect Undead had set these traps, and if players accidentally fell into one, without the strength of a peak expert, their death was certain. Moreover, even peak experts had very little chance of survival if they fell into these traps.
Of course, in exchange for the danger it offered, the Ancient Undead Country contained resources and treasures that were far beyond those in other maps. After just ten minutes, s.h.i.+ Feng had encountered plenty of rare herbs and ores. He even found fragments of ancient equipment scattered across the ground.
These ancient equipment fragments were remnants of the Great Ancient War, and although the corrosion of time had rendered them unusable, a powerful Death Energy had tainted the items after so long in this land. Hence, players could trade these equipment fragments for goods with the neutral map's NPC residents. It was even possible to purchase Level 100 Fine-Gold Set Equipment with these fragments, although the price was extraordinarily high.
Unfortunately, he couldn't be bothered to clear out the monsters around these valuable resources; he was in a hurry. He avoided the monsters and continued toward the Bottomless Abyss.
Since he had already reached Level 76, far higher than the Level 60-plus Undead roaming the map, the monsters didn't hara.s.s him as he traveled through one region and into another.
After more than six hours, s.h.i.+ Feng finally reached the Psychedelic Forest, located in the Ancient Undead Country's inner region. Most of the monsters here were around Level 67, and Great Lords were far more common. Even Level 70 Grand Lords made an appearance from time to time. This forest was certainly no place for ordinary experts.
As s.h.i.+ Feng walked along a forest path toward the Bottomless Abyss, which was located in the Ancient Undead Country's core, he heard an explosion echo throughout the woods. Nearby, dazzling lights illuminated the gloomy sky, and as they disappeared, a furious roar shook the entire forest.
A Boss? s.h.i.+ Feng immediately jumped into a treetop and activated Omniscient Eyes.
Visibility in the Ancient Undead Country was particularly poor. Players with normal vision couldn't see further than 100 yards away, but Omniscient Eyes gave s.h.i.+ Feng perfect vision, even past that range. If he focused on a direction, he could see up to 600 yards away, even in this area.
s.h.i.+ Feng quickly noticed two groups of players roughly 300 yards away. Both groups had surrounded a Level 69 Grand Lord, which attempted to protect a Dark-Gold Treasure Chest. Each group had 100 players, but instead of focusing on the Boss, they split their attention between the monster and the other team.
Interesting. Despite being independent players, these guys are actually fighting Starlink over a Boss. s.h.i.+ Feng was slightly surprised to see this.
None of the players in one of the two groups wore Guild Emblems, while the other group bore Starlink's. Normally, independent teams did their best to avoid Guild Teams, but these independent players didn't seem to have that intention. Moreover, this independent team had fought Starlink's players to a standstill. It was a rare sight in G.o.d's Domain.
Unable to help himself, s.h.i.+ Feng smiled brightly as he boldly approached the two groups.
If this independent team had fought any other Guild, he would've ignored them and continued toward the Bottomless Abyss. However, since they fought one of Starlink's expert teams, just walking away without saying h.e.l.lo simply wouldn't do as Zero Wing's Guild Leader.
