Chapter 1887 – Foundations Solidifying
Once the Candlelight Trading Firm had published the Shops’ rental prices, the town’s merchant players and nearby bystanders gaped in shock.
“c.r.a.p! Three thousand Gold to rent a Shop for one month?! I can buy a Shop in an NPC city with that kind of money!’
“Silverwing Town can’t even compare to an NPC city, yet Zero Wing dares set the rent so high. Who could possibly afford such a price?”
“If I had 3,000 Gold, I could fully equip myself in top-tier equipment. With that kind of equipment, I’d be able to earn back the Gold in a month if I’m lucky. It’d be far more profitable than renting a Shop in Silverwing Town.”
For a time, Silverwing Town’s players heatedly discussed the astronomical rent.
“Guild Leader, I’m afraid that very few merchant players will be able to afford this price. Many capable trading firms have offered to rent the Shops long-term if we lower the price by 30%, as well. Why don’t we drop it just a little?” Aqua Rose suggested from her seat in the second-floor hall.
Truthfully, even she thought that s.h.i.+ Feng’s price was a little too high. It might be acceptable for the Shops in Zero Wing City since the city had over 5,000,000 player residents. The city’s merchant players would accept such a high rent. Even the players that purchased permanent Shops in NPC cities still had to pay a 15% monthly property tax, after all. Moreover, this property tax would change based on the Shop’s monthly evaluation. The tax wasn’t fixed based on the initial purchase price.
However, Silverwing Town wasn’t Zero Wing City. Although it had already become an Intermediate Town, it could only accommodate a limited number of players at a time. Right now, its player population was nowhere near that of a major NPC city, not to mention Zero Wing City.
“Tell them that my price isn’t that high considering Silverwing Town’s current prosperity. If they refuse, we won’t push the matter. However, I can’t guarantee that the prices won’t increase after another fortnight,” s.h.i.+ Feng said nonchalantly.
Silverwing Town was home to the treasure trove known as the Transportation Firm, which allowed players to purchase rare items. If players purchased these rare items before reselling them in other countries, they could make quite a profit In addition, the Shops themselves could be used as warehouses to store items.
If his plans for the Sea of Trees hadn’t required so many Coins, he wouldn’t have chosen to rent out Silverwing Town’s Shops yet.
“Guild Leader, I’ve also received a report regarding the Ore Capital City. It seems that Blackwater has removed the seal on the Ore Capital City’s armory. The various large Guilds have already dispatched expert teams to explore the armory. Although we are attempting to do the same, Blackwater’s surveillance around the Regional Dungeon is quite tight. If we approach, Blackwater’s members will intercept us. We can’t get anywhere near the city,” Aqua Rose said worriedly. “However, the Ore Capital City’s armory is guaranteed to contain a plethora of war weapons. If we let Blackwater claim them, it’ll be detrimental for our Guild’s development in the empire.”
“They’ve opened the Ore Capital City’s armory?” s.h.i.+ Feng frowned. “Blackwater is certainly impressive.”
The Ore Capital City was an Asura Mode Regional Dungeon, which doubtlessly had bountiful resources. Needless to say, plenty of war weapons were stored within Regional Dungeons’ armories. It was a perfect location to secure war weapons for the large Guilds that lacked such things.
However, since Blackwater controlled the Crimson Flame Fortress, it essentially controlled the path to the Ore Capital City. Moreover, Blackwater would have a much easier time eliminating Zero Wing’s members once they entered the city since the Guild had the home ground advantage.
If Blackwater truly acquired a large number of war weapons, it would become a detriment to Zero Wing.
Zero Wing had solidified its position in the Ore Empire because it had far more and stronger war weapons than other Guilds. If it lost this advantage, Blackwater would have a much easier time capturing Silverwing Town. The various superpowers might even take advantage of the situation to strike at Zero Wing while it was down.
“Based on our reports, the various superpowers have begun to prepare for the armory’s exploration. If we fall behind…” Aqua Rose felt utterly helpless about the situation.
While Zero Wing could sneak some of its experts into the Ore Capital City, they could only send in so many before attracting Blackwater’s attention. If they didn’t send in enough, however, the partic.i.p.ating superpowers could easily chase them away.
“We’ll give up on the Ore Capital City,” s.h.i.+ Feng decided after considering the matter.
“Give up? But…” s.h.i.+ Feng’s response surprised Aqua Rose.
If they gave up on the Ore Capital City, Zero Wing’s situation would become quite awkward once the various superpowers had explored the armory and acquired a stock of war weapons.
“I’m not done. Although we’ll give up on the Ore Capital City, we can still explore other locations. The Ore Capital City isn’t the only Regional Dungeon in G.o.d’s Domain,” s.h.i.+ Feng said, chuckling. “How many Tier 2 players do we currently have?”
“Thanks to the Primordial Souls, our members have had an easier time with their Tier 2 promotions than other Guilds’ members. We now have more than 400 Tier 2 players, and quite a few players are still attempting to complete their Promotion Quests. I don’t think it will be long before we have 1,000 Tier 2 players,” Aqua Rose said, a little excited.
Zero Wing already had enough Tier 2 players to rival superpowers, and as time pa.s.sed, the Guild might even surpa.s.s the various major powers in G.o.d’s Domain.
She had to admit that monopolizing a large fraction of Primordial City’s resources gave Zero Wing a ma.s.sive advantage.
Zero Wing had far fewer experts than the various superpowers, but after acquiring the Primordial Souls, Zero Wing’s members had a much easier time with their Tier 2 Promotion Quests. The Guild also had an advantage in the equipment its members wore.
“We have so many already?” s.h.i.+ Feng was a little surprised by this revelation. It was far more than he had expected. Currently, the various first-rate Guilds were lucky if they even had 40 Tier 2 experts. “Excellent. In that case, take Icarus’s Heart and organize a 300-man team to raid the Salock Mountains. Grind the Giant Rock Beasts there. Kill as many as you can for their loot. It’ll also be a good opportunity to level up. However, be careful as you explore the map. Although it isn’t an Asura Mode Regional Dungeon, it is still one of the rare h.e.l.l Mode Regional Dungeons.”
The Salock Mountains occupied a Level 60 to Level 90 neutral map near the Storm Empire. Meanwhile, the Regional Dungeon was well-known for its production of Fine t.i.tan Ore.
Fine t.i.tan Ore was far more valuable than t.i.tan Ore. Although it could be acquired from 100-man Team Dungeons, the drop-rate was painfully low. Although the Fine t.i.tan Ore’s drop-rate in the Salock Mountains was also relatively low, less than 3% for Great Lord ranked Giant Rock Beasts, the Regional Dungeon was home to plenty of these monsters.
However, grinding in the Regional Dungeon had a condition—players had to reach Tier 2 first.
Previously, Zero Wing had only nurtured several dozen Tier 2 players, not nearly enough to grind in the Regional Dungeon effectively. Hence, he had set the endeavor aside. However, now that the Guild had so many Tier 2 players, he could use this opportunity to collect Fine t.i.tan Ore, which was the main material needed to produce the Guardian Puppet. Once he had the Fine t.i.tan Ore, he would only have to wait until Melancholic Smile had nurtured the necessary Master Lifestyle players.
s.h.i.+ Feng’s ordered left Aqua Rose a little confused. She didn’t understand why he wanted to grind monsters so far from their territories, but since he had given the order, she had no choice but to accept Icarus’s Heart and do as he had told her.
Meanwhile, all 20 of the Shops s.h.i.+ Feng had offered had been filled after only a day. Of the 15 small Shops and five large Shops he had prepared, none were vacant In the blink of an eye, s.h.i.+ Feng had earned 70,000 Gold. This dumbfounded many merchant and independent players. They all wondered if the Shop’s tenants were crazy to spend so many Coins on these Shops.
By the time the appointed date to set off for the Sea of Trees arrived, s.h.i.+ Feng had earned a total of 120,000 Gold from Zero Wing’s territories and selling the materials he had acquired from the Ice Crystal World.
Following which, s.h.i.+ Feng took his money and nine Tier 1 experts to the Dark Night Empire’s Dark Night City.