1952 Dark Tidings
Black Dragon Empire, Lake Heart City:
Due to the teleportation gate to the Ice Crystal World, Lake Heart City had become one of the most popular cities in the Black Dragon Empire. A flood of players visited the city each day to travel to the Ice Crystal World and obtain its unique resources. Moreover, it was much faster to level in the Ice Crystal World than on the continent of G.o.d's Domain. Even adventurer teams eagerly rushed to the new Otherworld, not to mention the various large Guilds.
Meanwhile, Nine Dragons Emperor sat by a window in a high-cla.s.s restaurant not far from the teleportation plaza, quietly watching the teleportation gate with a grin. Suddenly, a tall, muscular man approached with hurried steps. He was none other than Blood Dragon, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion's Branch Guild Leader in the Black Dragon Empire.
“Pavilion Master, good news! I've discussed the situation with Miracle. As long as we provide information about the Zero Wing members in Lake Heart City, Miracle will take care of everything. Once the matter has been dealt with, we will secure Zero Wing's possessions in the empire,” Blood Dragon respectfully reported.
“Miracle sure moves quickly!” Nine Dragons Emperor smiled upon hearing Blood Dragon's report. “I knew Miracle wouldn't let things slide. I had planned to remove Zero Wing from Lake Heart City quietly, but now, I won't have to put in the effort.”
“Based on the information I've received, Miracle has dispatched at least 20,000 expert members and 80,000 elite members,' Blood Dragon said. “To ensure the total annihilation of Zero Wing's branch in the empire, Miracle's Elders have decided to send their First Vice Guild Leader to command the battle. By the looks of it, Miracle plans to end the battle swiftly, restoring the Guild's reputation as quickly as possible.”
“They've even sent Shredded Soul?” Nine Dragons Emperor was slightly surprised by the news.
He had only met Shredded Soul a few times, but almost everyone in the virtual gaming world knew about the man. One could say that he was a mythical figure. Since his rise, Shredded Soul had been responsible for numerous, miraculous feats. He was no doubt the most capable subordinate under Miracle's Guild Leader.
Some time ago, Shredded Soul had led Miracle's forces in a victory over a Super Guild on the western continent of G.o.d's Domain[l) and occupied a neutral city. This incident had caused a huge sensation among the various superpowers and was the reason that Ku Rong, the Great Pavilion Master, wanted to avoid a conflict with Miracle.
Miracle was simply too strong. If not for its lacking legacy, it would've already been crowned as a Super Guild.
The fact that Miracle had sent Shredded Soul was utterly unexpected.
“They didn't only send Shredded Soul. To put a swift end to Zero Wing, Miracle also dispatched 12 of its Guild Elders. Zero Wing's doom is a.s.sured,” Blood Dragon said.
Those capable of rising to the position of Elder in a superpower had a list of impressive achievements in the virtual gaming world. They also had to display certain individual combat standards. Without sufficient strength, after all, no one would listen to their commands. In Miracle, a player had to reach the Void Realm at the very least to become an Elder.
Since Miracle had dispatched so many experts, the Guild had certainly prepared plenty of trump cards, as well. It was clear how furious the Guild was with Zero Wing.
“Good. Keep an eye on Zero Wing's people. Notify Miracle the moment you notice any changes,” Nine Dragons Emperor instructed, smirking as he watched the numerous Zero Wing members on the street outside. “I had thought of involving Beast Emperor, but it seems that won't be necessary.”
Meanwhile, in Star-Moon Kingdom's Zero Wing City…
After s.h.i.+ Feng had a.s.signed Aqua Rose her tasks, he used a Return Scroll to teleport to Zero Wing City.
As soon as he exited the Guild Residence, he could tell that the city's player population had slightly decreased. The city wasn't as lively as it had been during his previous visit, and there were far fewer Guild players in the city.
When s.h.i.+ Feng reached the Candlelight Trading Firm, he noticed that the Shop's business had slowed considerably, as well.
“Guild Leader, you're back.” When Melancholic Smile noticed s.h.i.+ Feng enter the Shop, she hurriedly reported, “The invites we've sent to the various corporations have all been returned. Even some of the corporations that had previously expressed interest in our auction have lost interest. They've declared that they are only willing to purchase Zero Wing City's virtual stores.”
“None of them are willing to rent?” s.h.i.+ Feng was surprised by the news. “Has something happened in Witch's Hill?”
“Mhm. Three hours ago, two Guilds established towns in the area. Although both are only Basic Towns, they have received support from the kingdom's various large Guilds. All of these Guilds intend to share responsibility for the two towns' development. Moreover, both towns are selling a large number of virtual stores and are currently negotiating with the various corporations,” Melancholic Smile said, nodding. “Based on our investigations, a few major corporations and first-rate Guilds have expressed interest and plan to invest in the towns, as well. If they reach an agreement, it will severely affect Zero Wing City's development. Why don't we sell a small number of our virtual stores, Guild Leader? We've recently moved to a new training ground, and we have to spend a lot of money on multiple aspects. With our current daily income, we can't afford to support the training ground.”
“Not bad! They actually set up towns in Witch's Hill so soon!” s.h.i.+ Feng chuckled. “Don't worry about selling the virtual stores for now. If we really need Credits, you can sell some of Candlelight's lower-quality weapons and equipment. Sell them in batches and don't reduce the price too much. We'll store the higher-quality items in the Guild Warehouse.”
After saying so, s.h.i.+ Feng transferred all the weapons and equipment he had looted from Miracle's members to Melancholic Smile.
When Melancholic Smile saw the items, she was dumbfounded. Of the 7,000-plus weapons and equipment s.h.i.+ Feng had just given her, even the most inferior was Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment.
Although mainstream players had already reached Level 50, Level 50 equipment was still difficult to come by, especially for Secret-Silver rank and above.
Even if she only sold 1,000 pieces of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment, she'd earn enough Credits to sustain the Guild for quite some time. After all, many players and the various large Guilds, in particular, preferred to purchase items with Credits, rather than spend their Coins.
“Guild Leader, I can really sell these items?” Melancholic Smile asked. Normally, s.h.i.+ Feng objected to selling G.o.d's Domain's resources for Credits more than anyone. Doing so was putting the cart before the horse, after all, yet s.h.i.+ Feng actually wanted her to convert so many important items into Credits.
“Do it. Just make sure that you don't sell them for too cheap,” s.h.i.+ Feng said, chuckling as he shooed Melancholic Smile away.
Normally, he wouldn't agree to something like this since Zero Wing needed resources, but since the Guild had secured the Manat.i.te vein, things had changed. Moreover, while Level 50 Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment were precious right now, after a little more time, they wouldn't be. Rather than wait for these items to depreciate, selling them for Credits to sustain the new training ground was a wiser option.
Once she had s.h.i.+ Feng's confirmation, Melancholic Smile left excitedly with the weapons and equipment. She then sorted the items and selected those with inferior Attributes to sell in the Candlelight Trading Firm's various branches. However, these items would cost Credits, not Coins.
