Chapter 956: Priceless Town
Translator: h.e.l.lscythe_ Editor: FluffyGoblyn
Inside the tattered hotel, aside from a man dressed and cloaked in black sitting on a windowsill and the two Dark Guards standing beside him, there were no players inside the establishment.
There were only two NPCs inside the hotel: a bartender and a waiter.
It was difficult to call this establishment a hotel.
From the moment he entered to the moment he stopped before the black-cloaked man, the two Dark Guards watched s.h.i.+ Feng’s every movement. If he made any sudden movements, they would eliminate s.h.i.+ Feng immediately.
They both felt like well-trained bodyguards.
This is their hotel. Why are they so nervous? The Dark Guards’ behavior confused s.h.i.+ Feng. Their behavior furthered his interest in the man named Bloodfang.
In his previous life, Bloodfang had never once revealed his true appearance to the world. He had been a complete mystery, even more secretive than the legendary Flower of Seven Sins.
Although many people had looked into Bloodfang’s background, no one ever learned anything.
Bloodfang’s ident.i.ty was so obscured that n.o.body even knew whether he was a man or a woman. After all, there were many items in G.o.d’s Domain that could disguise a player. Moreover, Bloodfang wore a Black Cloak constantly. Even if one used an advanced Identification Skill, they would learn nothing. The only thing everyone knew was that Raven’s members referred to their Guild Leader as “Bloodfang.”
“Care for a drink?” Bloodfang asked after s.h.i.+ Feng sat. “The beverages here are very good.”
Unlike the Dark Guards, Bloodfang’s voice was not void of emotion. Only, his tone was somewhat gravely.
“No need. Just tell me what you want. You didn’t invite me all this way just for a drink, right?” s.h.i.+ Feng declined, shaking his head.
“Indeed, just as Bloodsucker had said, you really are straightforward.” Bloodfang chuckled. Pointing to the town outside the window, he continued, “I’ll just get straight to the point. What do you think of this town?”
“It is very shabby. However, the fact that your Guild has captured this town shows that there must be something of great interest to your Guild here,” s.h.i.+ Feng said honestly.
The Dawn Empire was very far from Star-Moon Kingdom. Teleporting from Star-Moon Kingdom to the Dawn Empire cost 4 Gold, 24 Silver. Even current expert players would be reluctant to pay this price.
In the past, s.h.i.+ Feng’s activity had always remain centered in Star-Moon Kingdom. Hence, other than knowing their general location, s.h.i.+ Feng did not know much about distant kingdoms and empires.
Of course, he still had some knowledge of major incidents.
Although he had never personally visited these countries, the Secret Pavilion often reported major incidents that occurred in G.o.d’s Domain’s various kingdoms and empires.
However, as far as he could remember, nothing significant had occurred in the Dawn Empire at this stage of the game.
“Your senses are sharp. Indeed, as you’ve said, this town is quite shabby. However, Raven has paid a huge price to capture it. We’ve almost invested everything we’ve acc.u.mulated since joining G.o.d’s Domain to do so,” Bloodfang said, sighing. “I’m ashamed to say this, but although Raven has acc.u.mulated a lot of resources so far, constructing this town is too expensive.”
s.h.i.+ Feng revealed a surprised expression as Bloodfang explained the situation.
He was very familiar with a town’s construction. The construction’s early stages required a hefty investment. However, to a power like Raven, it should not pose a problem.
“I don’t expect you to believe me. However, I am not lying. This town is somewhat special. Although it looks like this now, this town was initially flouris.h.i.+ng. What you’re seeing is our second reconstruction.” Helplessness tinged Bloodfang’s voice as he spoke.
“The second time? Had the town been destroyed?” s.h.i.+ Feng’s shock grew.
It was common knowledge that a newly constructed city could hire NPC guards to protect it for 15 days. To current players, Level 150 NPC guards were invincible. Even if the surrounding Level 40-plus monsters sought to cause trouble, Raven could take care of them easily. This town was indestructible.
“That’s right. This town has been destroyed once before. Even after hiring so many guards, in the end, we failed to defend it. Raven has invested too much into this town during its early stages. As a result, we can’t afford the reconstruction. Hence, I sought to cooperate with Zero Wing, hoping to convince your Guild to invest into this town and develop it with us,” Bloodfang said, nodding sternly. Confidently, he continued, “No other Guild knows about the town’s true value. I only discovered it after reading through an Ancient Doc.u.ment. If Zero Wing invests 100,000 Gold, your Guild will receive 20% of the town’s income.”
“Guild Leader Bloodfang, you’re talking about 100,000 Gold, not 100,000 Copper. With that kind of money, you can rebuild this town six or seven times over, or construct six or seven other towns, yet you’re only offering 20% of this town’s earnings. Even if there were a literal Gold Mine here, this town would never be worth that much money,” s.h.i.+ Feng said, shaking his head.
After hearing Bloodfang mentioning the words “Ancient Doc.u.ment,” s.h.i.+ Feng more or less understood that this town was different.
However, he could construct a city’s basic structure with 100,000 Gold, much less a town.
Even if this place had a Gold Mine, harvesting the ore would require tons of resources and manpower. Furthermore, they would have to smelt the ore into actual gold before they could sell it. Even if the harvest were high, if he only got 20% of the profits, who knew how long he would have to wait just to earn back his initial investment? He could not afford to throw what Coins he current possessed at this town.
“Elder Ye Feng, don’t reject the offer so quickly. I have yet to explain why this town is so special.” s.h.i.+ Feng’s refusal did not seem to surprise Bloodfang.
“Special? What’s special about this place?” s.h.i.+ Feng asked.
“There is a Manat.i.te vein here. One can also obtain Magic Crystals alongside the Manat.i.te Ore. Although the vein does not yield much, I believe that it does yield more than Stone Forest Town’s daily income. This could certainly benefit the Candlelight Trading firm,” Bloodfang said, chuckling. “How about it? Do you think my offer is worth consideration now?”
“It’s no wonder why Guild Leader Bloodfang is so confident. However, why Zero Wing? Wouldn’t it be better to work with Super Guilds? With the financial strength and manpower of a Super Guild, you would have more than enough to develop the town,” s.h.i.+ Feng said. He had to admit that the offer was tempting.
Manat.i.te was one of G.o.d’s Domain’s particularly rare minerals. As Manat.i.te Ore contained dense Mana, Magic Crystals formed as a byproduct in a Manat.i.te vein. Although one could collect more Mana Crystals by grinding monsters in the Stoneclaw Mountains, there was one benefit to harvesting Magic Crystals from a mine: the absence of danger. As long as they had a sufficient Mining level, any player could mine Magic Crystals. Moreover, the higher their Mining level was, the greater their chances were of obtaining Magic Crystals.