Chapter 147 - 143 Festivals, Entries, Seven
Translator: 549690339
Mu Yuan immediately perked up and sat up from the sofa, changing from his lying position to one with his elbow propping him up on the armrest as his fingers continuously scrolled through the screen of his phone.
“Logically speaking, isn’t the Hero Festival supposed to happen in two months? There’s only a month left?”
“It makes sense for the Hero Festival to be moved up if the Lord’s Trial has also been moved up, right?”
“Hurry up! I’m already restless with anticipation and can’t wait to recruit a hero!”
“I feel the same way, I’ve even prepared my gifts already!”
“Wait, isn’t that too soon? It’s unfair to us new lords though.”
But the voices of the new lords were drowned out in the forum due to the numerical advantage of the long-serving lords. They could only grumble within their respective groups of newcomers.
They’ve lost the advantage of timing!
However, not all newcomers share the same feelings, Mu Yuan didn’t feel too rushed. Actually, he thought it was taking a bit too long.
He currently needs a top-tier talent skilled in scholarly and administrative fields, has research and teaching capabilities, and a rich knowledge reserve. A jack-of-all-trades would be even better.
But if this was a few years down the line, there might not be such an urgent need anymore.
That is,
“One hero is too little. If one could recruit a team of talents, only then can the weaknesses of Tianyuan Territory be completely made up for.”
“The rules of the Hero Festival are rather rigid.”
Mu Yuan was somewhat confident, but he dared not to be careless.
If it was based on the Battle Will rules, honestly speaking, he had no confidence in competing with those lords who had been in power for over two years — being able to defeat old lords such as Liu Cheng and Wang Wang did not mean that he could defeat the most outstanding lords from the same period as Liu Cheng’s.
After all, he was still a greenhand.
And the competition in the Hero Festival reportedly does not compare combat power?
Then there is a chance to compete now.
In the Baijiang Longteng Group, Mr. Tan said, “Don’t panic, the competition for heroes is based on charm and special factors. We may not lose to the old lords. Who knows? Maybe a hero might see our potential!”
In terms of potential, they are certainly not inferior to any outstanding lord.
Moreover, Mr. Tan had specifically prepared a lavish gifting strategy, which he saw no need to show off in the group.
“The Hero Festival is like a job fair. However, with more applicants and less availability, not to mention the high standards of the heroes, it is usually not us who choose the heroes, but the heroes who choose us.”
“We need to bring out our own strengths to attract the attention of the heroes. Ultimately, if we can secure the favor of a hero, it would be a great victory.”
“The Hero Festival does not compete in the form of Battle Will; fighting is also prohibited in the Secret Realm, so…”
“According to the information released by the Astronomical Society, this Festival will be more specific than the last with the establishment of a certain number and rank of tags based on the lord’s situation.”
“For example, if they are lords of level one or two territories, a ‘village chief tag will be established. And if they are lords of level three or four territories, they will have the higher-level ‘town chief tag.”
“Aside from the tags that very few people have, only outstanding lords can earn extra tags.”
“Symbols of wealth like ‘well-off and ‘wealthy’, symbols of troop type like ‘Mage Team’, ‘Mage Battle Team’, ‘Mage Army’, different tags can also be established based on the usage of different rare buildings. Some tags have a pretty strong attraction to heroes, such as ‘mansion’…’1
“The lord’s personal outstanding features can also form tags, like ‘Sword Heart’, ‘Sword Intent’, and ‘Sword Master’. These types of tags have extremely strong attraction to certain heroes. However, most lords can hardly earn them.”
“Some tags do not garner heroes’ attraction but their disdain, such as ‘Goblin Lair’ and ‘Goblin Army’, etc. Many female heroes have explicitly stated their disgust with goblins, saying they will not join territories that have goblins.”
“In addition,…”
After reading the information released by the Astronomical Society, Mu Yuan had a better understanding.
In essence, it was like a job fair where companies showcase their advantages. Unfortunately, most territories appeared like ‘small, insignificant companies’ to the heroes, experts, and masters being recruited, and were deemed unworthy.
Many top-tier heroes didn’t take a fancy to any company or territory throughout the entire fair.
“The rules this time have slightly changed compared to the previous Hero Festival.”
“Armed with the information from the Astronomical Society, lords are able to prepare in advance, even though… it’s mostly a last-ditch effort.”
But Lord Shepherd soon discovered that there were many areas where he too needed to make a last-minute effort.
For instance, mansion! Mansion! And mansion!
Only rare or higher-ranked residential buildings could be considered mansions. Yet, in Tianyuan Territory, there’s only the ‘Level Two Civil House’. He had to cough up Krypton Gold!
Luckily he had hundreds of Soul Crystals at hand.
However, by the time Mu Yuan wanted to cough up Krypton Gold and looked into purchasing the high-priced ‘Mansion Class’ Miracle Blueprint, he realized that the market had already been swept clean.
Rare blueprints were scarce to begin with. With the release of the Astronomical Society’s news, there wouldn’t be even half a piece left.
There were still some available for exchange on the Tai Xuan Covenant Platform, but the exchange rate had also risen by 30%. Of course, even if the price didn’t increase, Lord Shepherd couldn’t afford it.
Is it not okay for him to be broke?!
“Forget it, instead of finding ways to compensate for shortcomings, it’s better to continue to strengthen advantages as they are what matter most!”
But for the majority of new lords who have no advantages and are beset with shortcomings, despair sets in, and their miserable cries can be heard all over the forum.
“Having gone through the Association’s data, I feel like I cannot form any additional attributes.”
“Be confident, get rid of ‘feel like’ and ‘seems like.’
“Whaf s wrong with goblins? As a female lord, my entire territory is filled with goblins, and I don’t see any issues!”
“Really? I don’t believe you, show a picture.”
“Let me, someone who has a lot of experience, tell you that attributes are not everything. In the previous generation, there was an ordinary young man who successfully connected with a widowed female hero. This shows that everybody has a chance.
“But of course, if you want to connect with advanced heroes or top-tier heroes, it’s not possible without billions of advantages. Besides gaining the favor of the heroes, you also need to stand out in the competition with other lords. It’s a cruel world.”
“Wasn’t there an extremely powerful hero ‘the Death Chanter’ who was snatched away by a foreign lord?”
A lord suddenly spoke up.
The chat channel for the whole area suddenly went silent.
The greenhands did not understand much, but there were also some old players who were familiar with the history of the Eternal World.
In the vast Eternal World, there are both indigenous powers that have been rebuilt after catastrophes, and Chosen Lords like them who have received the invitation from the heavens and earth, built territories, and expanded the areas of civilization.
But the players who have been chosen by the world and have been able to descend to establish territories, are not only from Lanxing.
Three hundred years ago, two hundred years ago, and one hundred and thirty years ago, there were chosen lords from other worlds who entered the continent.
One semi-old lord who was familiar with history and the world structure said:
“There is more than one Festival Secret Realm, and the secret realm space we are about to enter is only open to Lanxing lords.
“Our toughest opponents in the Tai Xuan Alliance are actually the Shen Yao Empire created by the Starlight Federation. If it were only that, we would not be scared at all, but…”
The semi-old lord changed his tune and said, “Our ‘Tai Xuan Alliance,’ the neighboring ‘Shen Yao Empire,’ have quite an influence in the Eternal World, and are recognized as the ‘Seven Great Nations Chosen by Destiny’ along with the ‘Yongxing Empire,’ ‘Shen Mu Dynasty,’ ‘Qi Cheng Federation,’ ‘Wan Shang Country,’ and the ‘Xi Mo Empire.'”
“But because we have been present for a shorter time, whether in terms of the number of lords, the size of our territory, or all kinds of accumulations, we can’t compare to the old powers like Yongxing.”
“And these strong nations, they might have a few top-tier new lords who will enter our Festival Secret Realm through special means to fight for the top-tier heroes here.”
“The ‘Death Chanter’ from the last generation was recruited by a lord from Yongxing.”
“If we are not as skilled as others, there is nothing we can do. However, the most dazzling lord of the last generation was the Lord of Han Yue City from our Tai Xuan Alliance, she even struggled to decide which powerful hero she should recruit.”
Actually,
Top-tier heroes are either heroic spirits resurrected from ancient empires or native wild heroes scattered outside the Eternal World. In theory, they don’t have any direct connection to the lords of Xuan Country.
Moreover, whether it’s the lords from other countries or the lords of Xuan Country, they are all competitors during the festival.
Even for most of the lords, there is no direct conflict between them, Yongxing, and Shen Mu—they can only possibly compete for, and recruit, the most common heroes. Only the best lords can enter the top-end battlefield.
Once the Astronomical Society released the news, all the new lords were stirred up again.
Many village-level lords, who were just one step away from becoming ‘Town Chiefs’, made their utmost efforts to sprint forward.
Mu Yuan pondered:
“Even with constant top-ups, it took me a month to upgrade Tianyuan Territory to Level 2. Now there’s only one month left, and it doesn’t seem so easy to upgrade to Level 3 and get rid of the ‘Village Chief title.”
‘Town Chief doesn’t necessarily sound much more attractive or competitive.
There’s no point in disrupting your own plans.
Even if he only has the stature of a ‘Village Chief,’ he can still be the most dazzling guy among the crowd. He wants to attract numerous heroes with his pure charm.
Evolution Points, I need them in full!
However, because he is not very sure about what attributes he can have, Mu Yuan decides to save up more Evolution Points and make a sprint when more specific rules are announced.
Soon, ten days passed in the blink of an eye.
One early morning, as soon as Mu Yuan had finished his morning exercise, a notice from the heavens and the earth sounded in his ear.
‘Ding!’
‘Notice: do you want to connect to the special secret realm ‘Festival Grounds’.’
‘Notice: the current Hero Festival has entered a preparatory phase. Lords can visit the Festival Grounds in advance, read the festival rules. The official start will be in 20 days. At that time, heroes to be recruited will appear.’
When he silently agrees, beside the black wilderness where the Lord’s Altar has opened a door, a golden portal slowly appears.
Vaguely, he can see the vast and bustling landscape inside..