Chapter 1819 – Advanced Smithy Dark Night Empire, Dark Night City:
Translator: Hellscythe_ Editor: Lucky Old Cat
The city’s Central District bustled with activity and traffic. Players also crowded the Shops along the streets. Players from other cities and kingdoms constantly visited these Shops to purchase items.
The Dark Night Empire’s businesses were far more popular than those in the neighboring kingdoms. In those kingdom’s capitals, Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment was rare on the market, but in Dark Night City, such equipment was common. Some Shops even sold Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment Only, the prices for those items were absurdly high, way above market value.
Due to Dark Night City’s prosperity, many players from neighboring kingdoms brought their treasures here to sell. This made the city a hub for precious treasure. The various large Guilds operating in the neighboring kingdoms had even stationed some players in Dark Night City long-term to search for purchase opportunities. Kingdoms’ capitals simply couldn’t compare to the Dark Night City’s liveliness.
Meanwhile, a towering Guild Hall loomed in the center of the city’s Central District. The Guild Residence occupied an area large enough to house a stadium that could accommodate tens of thousands of people. Not only would one need a high enough status to purchase such a large plot of Land, but they’d also need a frightening number of Coins. The Land’s base price was 50,000 Gold, and it was one of the few spacious Lands available in Dark Night City’s Central District.
“This Guild Residence is so luxurious! The owner has even built a five-story restaurant in it!”
“This is ridiculous. I’ve heard it costs quite a lot to build a restaurant in a Guild Residence. Such a massive restaurant should cost at least 10,000 Gold to build.”
“Ten thousand Gold? Aren’t you looking down on Starlink a little too much? The Starline Corporation established the Guild. Including the building’s various accessories, Starlink has spent a total of 20,000 Gold to build this restaurant The Guild also built training rooms with magic array enhancements. I’ve heard that the Mana density inside these training rooms is much higher than that of the outside world. You’ll be far more efficient when training in those rooms. It’s a pity that only Starlink’s members can enjoy this benefit”
“Then, why don’t we just join Starlink?”
“A newcomer like you? Join Starlink? Starlink is one of the top three Guilds of the Dark Night Empire. It’s no weaker than super-first-rate Guilds like Crimson Emperor or Unyielding Soul. Although Starlink is mass-recruiting right now, it is still out of reach for a newbie like you.”
…
While the players near Starlink’s Residence discussed the Guild, a team of 100 players atop leopards turned onto the street. The 100-man team wore exquisite uniforms and radiated majestic auras. Many experts watched the team of players enter Starlink’s Residence in awe, dreaming of joining that team in the future.
The 100-man team was Starlink’s main force, and not long ago, the main force had defeated a Level 50, 100-man Team Dungeon’s fourth Boss. Now, the team only needed to defeat the Final Boss to complete the 100-man Team Dungeon. This raid progression could already rival that of the Dark Night Empire’s two super-first-rate Guilds.
Meanwhile, three people stood in the Guild Leader’s office in Starlink’s Guild Hall. These three watched the Guild’s main force, which had just returned from a Dungeon raid, from a window.
“Guild Leader, we have now caught up with Unyielding Soul’s raid progress. Now, it is only a matter of time before we surpass Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor,” a Level 55, Tier 2 male Shield Warrior carrying a silver cross-shield across his back said, laughing as he turned to Lu Xingluo, who wore a set of black robes.
Due to Starlink acquiring a share of the Secret Pavilion’s Magic Crystal vein, the Guild acquired a large number of Magic Crystals every day. This allowed the Guild to sustain the magic arrays powering the Guild’s training rooms. With this, the Guild’s experts could continuously train and improve rapidly.
Once the Guild had accumulated enough Tier 2 players, it was only a matter of time before they obtained the First Clear of the Level 50, 100-man Team Dungeon they were raiding.
Now that their Guild didn’t have to worry about Magic Crystals, they were able to nurture Guild experts much faster. In one or two months, Starlink might even surpass Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul’s expert count, becoming the Dark Night Empire’s number one Guild.
“Not bad. The struggle for the Thorn Fortress is about to start. For a while, divert all of the Magic Crystals we obtain to nurturing as many Tier 2 players as possible. I want to see how Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul intend to compete with Starlink when we obtain the management rights to Thorn Fortress,” Lu Xingluo said, smiling.
“Understood. Guild Leader, rest assured; I’ll make sure that we have more Tier 2 experts than Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul by the time the struggle begins,” the Shield Warrior promised.
As Lu Xingluo was about to discuss their plans for the struggle over Thorn Fortress, he received a message notification.
“A message from Dark Soul?” Lu Xingluo muttered when he noticed the sender’s identity. By the time he finished reading the message, his expression had darkened, “Have the people from Dark Soul gone mad? They’re actually tripling their price to deal with a small Guild like Zero Wing?!”
“Guild Leader, we just received a message as well. It seems that Dark Soul’s members have ambushed Zero Wing’s main force. However, Dark Soul’s members suffered a disastrous defeat and lost over half of its numbers. I suspect that this has something to do with their new demands,” Dawn Web, a Level 55, Tier 2 female Elementalist and the third person in the room, explained.
“You’re saying that Dark Soul tried to ambush Zero Wing, but the Guild turned the tables on them?” For a moment, Lu Xingluo thought he had heard wrong. “How is that possible?”
“It’s true. Some people have posted the battle videos on the Eclipse Gate’s official forums. Almost everyone in the Eclipse Gate is talking about it,” Dawn Web said as she forwarded a few battle videos to Lu Xingluo.
“So, that is the case.” Lu Xingluo could not help his frown as he watched the recordings. “No wonder why a measly bug dares to oppose me.”
“Guild Leader, are we still going to take care of Zero Wing?” Dawn Web asked.
“Of course!” Lu Xingluo said determinedly. “But before we do, we have to secure the Thorn Fortress. Send a reply to Dark Soul; tell them that they can forget about tripling the price. I’m not going to triple their pay just because they got scratched. However, I am willing to tweak the conditions of our agreement. As long as they annihilate Zero Wing, I’ll give them an additional 5% of Thorn Fortress’s shares.
“Also, tell Tiger Breaker that Zero Wing doesn’t have any backers. Since Zero Wing is so strong, it must have a massive secret If he doesn’t want that secret, he better not regret his choices once Starlink claims it!”
He was very familiar with the Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw’s strength in Dark Soul. They were merely the fourth and fifth ranked adventurer teams in the alliance. Dark Soul was only defeated due to misinformation, yet Tiger Breaker wanted to use this opportunity to hike up the price.
“Understood.” Dawn Web nodded before contacting Dark Soul’s representative.
While Lu Xingluo discussed Zero Wing, the various superpowers had discovered the battle in the Eclipse Gate. The outcome further increased Zero Wing’s fame among the various superpowers. At the same time, the Guild had attracted a lot of attention. For a Guild of Zero Wing’s caliber, it was simply absurd to have so many Tier 2 players. The Guild was definitely hiding something major.
For a time, the various superpowers reevaluated their opinions of Zero Wing. Rather than an ant, Zero Wing had become a fat piece of meat.
“Relay my commands! Order our subordinates to investigate the secret to Zero Wing’s success!”
After watching the battle between Zero Wing and Dark Soul, many superpowers’ upper echelons issued the same command.
…
Meanwhile, Shi Feng had already rested and paid Silverwing Town a visit.
“Guild Leader, I have brought the 50 Advanced Architects you asked for,” Melancholic Smile said as she approached Shi Feng, who surveyed an empty plot of Land.
The 50 Advanced Architects following Melancholic Smile could not help their growing nerves as they looked at Shi Feng. They were confused about why their Guild Leader had gathered them all here. With so many Advanced Architects, one could construct an entire Basic Town.
“Good. I’ve gathered you all here today to build the construction on this design,” Shi Feng said. He then retrieved a stack of old parchment from his bag. This stack was none other than the Advanced Smithy Design.