Chapter 293 – Stronghold Infrastructure (1/2)

Chapter 293 – Stronghold Infrastructure

When Nie Yan opened his eyes, he was back in the outside world. After sweeping his eyes over the nearby buildings, he recognized his current location as Glory City. Why was I teleported here? He noticed a teleportation mark on his wrist which pulsed with a mysterious power. It would allow him to open up a portal and return to Barbarian Kelowitz’s location at any time. However, it was only one-time use.

Nie Yan suddenly noticed a crowd of players staring at him in shock.

Nie Yan followed their gazes to Zennarde’s Sword in his hand. Gleaming with a gaudy light, its black flames burned fiercely. This was a fire enchanted sword! Even if Nie Yan hid the special effects, the reaction would still be the same. The pitch-black blade was translucent like crystal with a sharp barb curving out from the side.

This was the first time they had ever seen such a striking short sword.

“Damn, what kind of sword is that?”

“Who knows? I’ve never seen one like that before!”

“Wait! Isn’t that the guild leader of Asskickers United, Nirvana Flame? Why would he be all the way out here in Glory City?”

“I don’t know. Isn’t his guild Asskickers United at odds with Bloodlust Blades? Why did he walk into the lion’s den?”

Nie Yan remained unperturbed by these comments. This wasn’t his first trip to Glory City, nor would it be his last. He strapped Zennarde’s Sword to his waist, then started walking towards the transfer area.

「You’re finally out.」Guo Huai messaged Nie Yan after seeing his current location appear as Glory City.

Nie Yan chuckled.「How’s the growth of our guild been lately? What about the other guilds?」

「We’ve cleared out three strongholds so far, but haven’t yet decided on how to arrange them since we’ve been awaiting your input. As for the others. Holy Empire is in control of two while Victorious Return, Radiant Sacred Flame, and Sapphire Shrine have one each. Bloodlust Blades has already captured five, and both Alliance of Mages and Divine Protectors have three. Meanwhile in Hilderlocke, Battle Crazed Alliance has occupied two,」Guo Huai replied. With great difficulty, Asskickers United had caught up to the middle of the pack. However, since their strongholds were still undeveloped, they were lagging further behind Bloodlust Blades, Alliance of Mages, and Divine Protectors every second.

「Did you watch the video I sent you?」Guo Huai asked.

「Yeah,」Nie Yan replied. It was a video of one of Bloodlust Blade’s recently captured strongholds which was quickly taking shape. With many merchants settling down, business was starting to flourish. Their operations were quite successful.

「We should speed things up on our side too,」Guo Huai urged. Bloodlust Blades was stationed in the neighbouring Glory City. They would definitely be setting their sights on Calore next. It would mean serious trouble for Asskickers United if they allied with Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame!

Guilds would generally relocate their headquarters to a stronghold they captured. From then on, their actions would be closely tied to that stronghold. If they failed to defend it, letting the enemy run amuck in their headquarters, the guild would drop by two levels.

Asskickers United would have to put up solid defenses to protect their strongholds, especially the one they chose to house their guild headquarters. Later on, if the Dragonsoar Financial Group earned enough profit from Asskickers United, they would invest even more capital into the guild. This would create a continuous cycle that would cement their shared interests; Asskickers United would receive their money, while the Dragonsoar Financial Group would rake in money from businesses they opened in the strongholds. Once that happened, they would be so intertwined that if Asskickers United fell, the financial consortium would also have their supply chains cut off by other corporations.

The political atmosphere of the game was slowly taking shape with various factions and alliances starting to solidify.

「I’ll be at the stronghold in just a moment,」Nie Yan said. After capturing strongholds, most guilds would spend their time fortifying them, so war wasn’t likely to break out for the time being.

Nie Yan teleported to Calore, then departed the city.

Asskickers United’s first stronghold was located on the border of Violet Dream Forest halfway up a mountain. It was perched high atop the land, making it easy to defend. After receiving Nie Yan’s permission, Guo Huai had relocated their guild headquarters here.

Nie Yan decided to name the stronghold United City, taking the second word from their guild’s name.

Nie Yan rode through the wilderness on horseback. He could see United City in the distance. It was perched high atop a mountain, covering roughly 2000 by 2000 meters. The perimeter of the stronghold was fortified by over 30 meter tall walls. Although there weren’t many buildings inside, he could foresee it becoming a grand fortress city in the future.

In the previous timeline, this had been Radiant Sacred Flame’s primary stronghold. It was incredibly difficult to siege, repelling the attacks of Holy Empire time and time again.