s.h.i.+ Feng's decision inspired Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow, sparking countless ideas as restless excitement filled their hearts.
"Guild Leader, although I think it's a good idea to take advantage of a compet.i.tion between these Guilds for the garrison slots, I'm afraid that some of the smaller Guilds will give up altogether knowing that they won't have any chance of winning. Most of the Guilds that have approached us with partners.h.i.+p proposals are small Guilds, and although they aren't powerful individually, their combined strength is even greater than that of the larger Guilds who are interested in an alliance," Aqua Rose said, quickly pointing out the problem with s.h.i.+ Feng's suggestion. She was far more astute than s.h.i.+ Feng when it came to management and business.
"That's right. These smaller Guilds don't share the same thought process as their larger counterparts. They aren't considering their future development, prioritizing immediate benefits over all else," Gentle Snow said as she nodded in agreement. "We might find it challenging to lure them into the Chamber if we only offer a 20% discount. The small Guilds don't have many experts, to begin with, and they can only afford to send a small number of players to explore the Bottomless Abyss. The benefits of joining the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce aren't greater than the cost. They will definitely reject our offer."
Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow's reasoning was sound. Although s.h.i.+ Feng had only suggested the idea a moment ago, both women had already found flaws in his plan. His other subordinates, such as Blackie and Liang Jing, simply couldn't compete with these two.
"You're both correct. A discount on the city's entry fee won't likely be enough to convince these small Guilds, but this city isn't like others. This is Stone Forest City. Even if they wanted to, they'd find the offer difficult to refuse," s.h.i.+ Feng said, smiling confidently.
Listening to his Vice Guild Leaders' suggestions, s.h.i.+ Feng recognized how both had developed their respective Guilds into pseudo-super-first-rate Guilds in the past.
To grow stronger, a Guild needed more than just powerful experts; it also needed skilled managers with a sharp sense for business. If s.h.i.+ Feng hadn't relied on philosophies that were beyond the current time and knowledge of G.o.d's Domain's future, not even he would've been a match for Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow's business sense.
"This..."
Both women gave their Guild Leader skeptical looks.
"These Guilds want to negotiate a partners.h.i.+p deal, correct? In that case, we'll sit down with them in Stone Forest City's Candlelight Trading Firm," s.h.i.+ Feng declared, chuckling.
"Alright. We'll lead them there now, then."
Although these women were confused over s.h.i.+ Feng's decision, they were familiar with his typical antics. Since he had come up with the idea, he must have considered certain factors. Moreover, Stone Forest City was key to Zero Wing's development. As the Guild's upper echelons, they had to visit the city and gain a proper understanding of what it had to offer.
Disconnecting their call with s.h.i.+ Feng, the women contacted the various Guilds' representatives and informed them that the negotiations would take place in Stone Forest City.
"What is Zero Wing trying to do? They could negotiate with us directly, but they want us to head to Stone Forest City for the discussion? Isn't this just a waste of time?!" a Level 68 female Elementalist in exquisite, light-red robes snarled as she watched Aqua Rose in the distance.
Over 200 Guild representatives occupied the s.p.a.cious hall, but aside from Unyielding Heart and Mu Lingsha, none of them dared to look this furious woman in the eye. They lowered their heads and avoided her gaze, afraid of attracting her ire.
This woman was Sixteenth Cloud, the Second Vice Guild Leader of the recently-promoted superpower, s.h.i.+ning Tiger. She had also earned the nickname 'Flame Empress.' She had once been a peerless genius, nurtured by a Super Guild like the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion's Phoenix Rain, but she had left the Super Guild abruptly and joined s.h.i.+ning Tiger, performing many impressive feats for the new superpower.
Although s.h.i.+ning Tiger was not as powerful as Starlink, it ranked near the top among recently-promoted superpowers. The Guild currently controlled four kingdoms and had built a solid foundation in the Glory Empire. It was even stronger than Unyielding Soul.
"We are here to gain an understanding of Zero Wing and see for ourselves if the Guild is as impressive as the White Tiger Dojo claims, Vice Guild Leader. So please, endure this for now." The middle-aged man, a Level 68 a.s.sa.s.sin, beside Sixteenth Cloud tried to calm the woman, acting like her butler. It was obvious that he was used to the woman's hot temper.
Unyielding Heart, who sat across the subservient a.s.sa.s.sin, kept his guard up against the man.
This middle-aged man had an even greater backstory than Sixteenth Cloud. His name was Sorrowful Silence, and he had risen to fame even earlier than Unyielding Heart had. Moreover, Sorrowful Silence was a bona fide monster. The man specialized in eliminating high-profile targets. Since G.o.d's Domain's launch, he had been responsible for the deaths of more than six superpower upper echelons. These a.s.sa.s.sinations had foiled many of the superpowers' plans.
How strange. s.h.i.+ning Tiger has clearly focused on its development in the Glory Empire. So, why is it here to discuss a partners.h.i.+p with Zero Wing? Initially, Unyielding Heart had been a little surprised to find Sixteenth Cloud and Sorrowful Silence in Zero Wing's Residence. Is Zero Wing already allied with s.h.i.+ning Tiger in secret?
Although s.h.i.+ning Tiger had only recently become a superpower and had begun its development in G.o.d's Domain much later than Starlink had, it hadn't developed any slower than Starlink. s.h.i.+ning Tiger even had the support of the Radiant Corporation, an international corporation. Like Blackwater, the Radiant Corporation specialized in the fighting and security industries. Hence, Radiant had no lack of expert players and an advantage over its compet.i.tion.
If the Radiant Corporation hadn't waited so long to join G.o.d's Domain, s.h.i.+ning Tiger would've likely risen to rival Starlink and Blackwater by now.
While Unyielding Heart wondered about the other Guild's presence here, Sixteenth Cloud returned to her seat, no longer making a fuss.
"I know! I was just saying," Sixteenth Cloud grumbled.
She didn't have a great opinion of Zero Wing, which had neither a background nor any supporters. Since she had originally been a member of a Super Guild, she was very familiar with how powerful superpowers were. Although Zero Wing had made a name for itself by defeating the superpowers' joint army, that didn't prove anything. Zero Wing had simply accomplished the feat by relying on some fortuitous opportunity.
Such opportunities appeared randomly and were available to everyone. Throughout the virtual gaming world's long history, many Guilds like Zero Wing had risen to great heights due to fortuitous opportunities, but very few had eventually become super-first-rate Guilds or Super Guilds.
In Sixteenth Cloud's opinion, Zero Wing was little more than a lottery winner. It was nothing compared to families with wealthy histories.
If the White Tiger Dojo hadn't boasted of Zero Wing's amazing skills when nurturing experts, her Guild wouldn't have sent her here, much less decided to approach Zero Wing for a partners.h.i.+p.
Not long after Sixteenth Cloud's tantrum came to an end, the various representatives calmed as they followed Aqua Rose toward White River City's Teleportation Hall.
At the same time, Gentle Snow led her visitors toward the city from the distant Black Dragon Empire.
Suddenly, several hundred powers' representatives gathered in Dark Night City, causing a commotion that spread throughout the Dark Night Empire.
