BXBX NOVEL Chapter 2050 - Empire Upheaval
A large number of players visited the Dark Night Empire’s imperial capital every day. The city was constantly active and lively, both day and night. It was a city that never slept.
Currently, however, a deathly silence reigned over the meeting room in Unyielding Soul’s Residence.
“What did you say?! Starlink lost?!” Unyielding Heart, geared in a suit of black armor, was stunned when he heard his subordinate’s report
Not even Unyielding Soul was guaranteed to defend Moon Creek Town against 300,000 elites and 100-plus Large Ballistas, yet Starlink had suffered defeat.
No matter how he looked at it, the situation was ridiculous.
“Mhm. According to the latest report from Moon Creek Town, Starlink has pulled out of the Silent Canyon. The Guild lost roughly 7,000 players in the battle, in addition to 50-plus Large Ballistas. The losses are pretty severe,” the Tier 2 Assassin said, nodding. “We have also collected some footage of the battle. All of the details are in the video.”
Unyielding Soul had known for some time about Starlink’s plan to capture Moon Creek Town and had, subsequently, dispatched quite a few players to the town. This gave the Guild access to information on the battle over the town.
Everything, from the Guardian Puppets’ destruction of Starlink’s defensive magic array to the Fire Spirit’s massacre of the Guild’s forces, had been recorded. With this, Unyielding Soul’s upper echelons had an in-depth view of the battle.
“Amazing! With such combat power, it’s no wonder why Starlink retreated.”
“Zero Wing should not be underestimated. Heart, haven’t you had a few dealings with the Guild before? See if you can rope Zero Wing into an alliance. We’ll offer 3% of our shares in exchange for 10% of Zero Wing’s.”
“A share exchange?”
The proposal the Guilds’ upper echelons suggested slightly surprised Unyielding Heart. He had never thought that they would willingly offer the Guild’s shares to another entity that wasn’t a superpower. This was the first time he had encountered such a situation. A share exchange was also an exchange of Guild interests, but when Unyielding Heart considered the Fire Spirit and four Guardian Puppets Zero Wing had revealed, he agreed that the Guild was worth the price.
Long Soul and Hunting Blade could not help their rueful sighs. Not long ago, Zero Wing had been a Guild on par with first- rate Guilds, yet it had already grown into a power that even a super-first-rate Guild like Unyielding Soul would willingly offer a share exchange for its cooperation.
“Starlink has suffered a significant loss this time. It will likely need quite some time to recover and will have trouble taking action against us in the near future. We can use this opportunity to secure the rally point in the Phantom Maze.”
“That’s right! Starlink has been fighting us for control over the Sea of Trees’s Phantom Maze. If we secure the Phantom Maze’s rally point, we can acquire a large number of Magic Crystals and combat techniques. We won’t have to worry about nurturing expert players.”
Although the strength Zero Wing had displayed surprised Unyielding Soul’s upper echelons, they paid more attention to Starlink’s defeat. To them, this was definitely a matter worth celebrating.
By this time, the Dark Night Empire’s other major powers had also received news about the battle at Moon Creek Town. All of these major powers were astounded. They had never thought that the peerless Starlink would suffer defeat. Moreover, Zero Wing, a Guild that they were barely familiar with, had been responsible for its defeat.
“Zero Wing?”
“Investigate them! Send someone to look into Zero Wing immediately!”
Zero Wing had suddenly become the center of attention for the Dark Night Empire’s various major powers. Every power was intent on learning more about the Guild.
After all, a new Guild that was powerful enough to defeat Starlink in the Dark Night Empire meant major changes to the empire. If they didn’t investigate Zero Wing now, they might end up buried under these changes.
Dark Night Empire, Silver Pine City:
After the battle at Moon Creek Town, the dark atmosphere that had previously enveloped Silver Pine City had dispersed. The city had reverted to its original, peaceful state. Many players from other cities began to swarm to Silver Pine City, and if one visited the city’s Teleportation Hall, they’d find that most of these new arrivals were Guild players. Even elusive Guild upper echelons wandered the city streets. It seemed as if Silver Pine City had become the Dark Night Empire’s imperial capital as various major powers gathered here.
“Big Sis Crimson, the Vice Guild Leaders from three second-rate Guilds and one first-rate Guild have come to seek an alliance,” a Level 58 female Summoner reported as she entered the Vice Guild Leader’s office. “Do you want to meet them?”
“Again?” Crimson Heart could not help her bitter smile. “Alright. Have them wait in the reception room. I’ll head there in a moment”
Since she had returned to Silver Pine City, more than 20 large Guilds had sought her out. The weakest among them was a third-rate Guild, while the strongest could even rival the Hundred Flowers Palace.
This was the first time she had experienced anything like this.
This was all due to the alliance between the Palace and Zero Wing. To get closer to Zero Wing, the various large Guilds had approached her. On the surface, these Guilds expressed their desire to cooperate with the Hundred Flowers Palace, but in reality, they simply wanted her to recommend them to Zero Wing. They would have far more credibility with an ally’s recommendation to Zero Wing than if they approached the Guild on their own.
“Understood!” The female Summoner nodded before turning to leave, pride filling her heart.
Before the battle at Moon Creek Town, Crimson Heart would have been forced to meet with any first-rate Guild’s Vice Guild Leader if her presence were requested. However, things had changed. Even such important figures would have to wait in line for a meeting.
Crimson Heart shifted her gaze to Shi Feng, who currently sat on one side of her office.
“Commander Ye Feng, are you sure these Shops are acceptable?” Crimson Heart asked curiously.
According to their contract with Zero Wing, since the Guild had helped hold Moon Creek Town, the Hundred Flowers Palace had to agree to the previously proposed alliance. In the future, Zero Wing would protect the Palace from Starlink in the Dark Night Empire. In exchange, the Hundred Flowers Palace would concede the management rights of 50% of its Shops.
She had thought that Shi Feng would select Shops in important NPC cities, but much to her surprise, that hadn’t happened. He had chosen quite a few NPC cities with very small player populations. Some of the Shops he had chosen were even in NPC towns. He hadn’t actually touched any of the Hundred Flowers Palace’s top-five Shops. His decision was confounding.
“Mhm. These will do.” Shi Feng nodded, not bothering to explain his choices.
NPC cities with high player populations weren’t important to Zero Wing. It had already joined the Secret Chamber of Commerce and no longer lacked sales channels in major NPC cities. As long as Zero Wing rose within Secret, it would gain access to even more NPC cities. What Zero Wing currently lacked was access to NPC cities and important NPC towns with small player populations.
Moreover, he had chosen the Hundred Flowers Palace’s NPC towns while considering non-bag-space material transportation. Such items would become far more important in the future, including materials used to craft Epic items and war weapons.
Fortunately, not a single power in God’s Domain knew about this yet. Naturally, he had to plan ahead.
As Shi Feng discussed the transfer of management rights with Crimson Heart, the sounds of a series of system notifications reached their ears.
System Announcement: A total of 100 NPC cities in God’s Domain have qualified for promotion. In three hours, various promoted cities’ Auction Houses will activate the Auction Arena System. Once active, players may visit the promoted Auction Houses to learn more.