Yes, ppl did this all the time on live & seem to do it here also. It can be annoying for the newbies in the area. So what I normally do when seeing lots of dead guards in places like Misty Thicket is talk to the ppl doing the killing & ask them to leave just 1 guard up for the newbies. Folks usually comply.

As a newb on an aging server, that's part of the game. You get no guard protection.

On the other hand, you can easily get buffs and equipment from higher levels so it evens out.

this was literally never a thing and if you did actually see a guide do this, the guide was wrong

You have no inherent right to demand to level at the crossroads with NPC guard protection. Go somewhere else, like the greater faydark or steamfont. Sorry you're so attached to one particular area and getting denied, but it makes you sound like a baby.

The culprits are all Iksars! I've seen them at it with my own two eyes. This means war with the scaly rapscallions! To arms, good people of Norrath!

This game is a sandbox game, players can do what they wish. Maybe you could reach out to them and they would kill the mobs you aggro for you since the guards are dead? Get creative.

I haven't hunted guards on my characters for this reason but it's within the rules and can also work in an RP sense. Pull up your big boy pantaloons, learn to strafe run to a zone line and deal with it if they're dead.

There's a silver lining to the situation. Sometimes the people poopsocking the guards leave their corpses unlooted for new characters to come loot - or because they are encumbered/rich already. Many a newb has bought spells from selling the fine steel weapons dropped by guards in their home town.

I am killing dwarves slut all day long, loving it, and will continue doing so till they stop gives me exp.