Chapter 356 – Windfall
A while later, Nie Yan arrived at the Calore Mercenary Auction House. He listed up several pieces of Night Vision and Focus increasing equipment, immediately inciting a mad scramble among the players present. It wasn’t every day such highly sought after equipment appeared in the marketplace, so how could they let this opportunity slip by?
All of Calore’s attention was suddenly focused on these pieces of equipment. The competition was fierce, the prices rocketing sky high.
Nie Yan visited every large auction house in Calore, selling over 20 pieces of equipment in total. Afterwards, he made his way to the auction houses in other cities, such as Hilderlocke, Glory City, and so on. The appearance of Night Vision equipment stirred up huge waves in these places.
Thanks to perks of the Grand Scholar title, Nie Yan freely travelled to the 30 plus cities across the Viridian Empire, selling more than 100 pieces of equipment in total. Although this seemed like a lot, it was a mere drop in the ocean compared to the deluge of items that circulated through the empire every day.
The equipment Nie Yan listed up sparked fierce competition in every city. The bids increased less frequently in the smaller cities, but in some of the larger ones the equipment would sell for a premium.
This lively spectacle persisted as the items were sold throughout the empire. Nie Yan checked his trade logs.
Your Disintegrator Gloves have been successfully auctioned off for 2,820 gold!
Your Light Source Cuisses have been successfully auctioned off for 2,305 gold!
…
One notification after the other popped up in Nie Yan’s trade logs while gold poured into his personal storage by the thousands. His balance rose up from 50,000 gold to 100,000 gold, 200,000 gold, and finally 360,000 gold.
As the last item auctioned off, the first round of offloading was over. Nie Yan checked his bag, which still contained roughly 180 pieces of equipment. He had saved the best for last, planning to get rid of them later when the players were hungry for more.
When the six pieces of Night Vision equipment were auctioned off, the bidding frenzy in the Calore Central Auction House finally calmed down. However, the crowd didn’t disperse; they were waiting for Nie Yan to continue listing up more items. Only after a long time with nothing happening did they realize that the ship had already sailed. Those who failed to get anything were endlessly vexed, cursing themselves for not taking action sooner.
“I guess it’s over. Let’s leave.”
“Dammit! If I knew this would happen, I wouldn’t have held back. I thought that guy was going to continue dumping equipment. I was too hopeful.”
“This world has no potion for regret. So be it. Get someone to keep watch over the auction house. Who knows if he’ll be back with more.”
Only now did the crowd in the Central Auction House finally disperse.
Nie Yan glanced at the 360,000 gold in his personal storage. He could do many things with this gold, at the very least restore the gear quality of Asskickers United back to its previous state prior to the war with Bloodlust Blades.
「Guo Huai, you finished with the calculations? How much gold do we need to spend?」Nie Yan asked. He wanted to fully compensate every member in Asskickers United for all the losses they suffered. He planned to reward them for their loyalty in the future as well.
“At least 120,000 gold, which averages to about roughly 2 gold per player. A lot of our guild members have suffered setbacks due to the loss of their gear, with their average level dropping by at least three, so we’ll need to compensate them for that as well,” Guo Huai replied. He knew they owed quite a bit in restitution, but with their current finances being so tight, this matter could only be put off for the time being.
「Including the loss of equipment and levels, how much does it come out to?」Nie Yan asked.
「I suppose around 200,000 gold,」Guo Huai replied.
「Alright, I’ll give you 200,000 gold. Start handing out the restitution, and make sure you don’t miss anyone!」Nie Yan ordered. The players who had stuck with Asskickers United untill now were absolutely the most loyal members of the guild! Stiffing any of them was unacceptable!
「What…? Just where did you get 200,000 gold from?」Guo Huai asked in sheer disbelief.
「I just sold some of the equipment I got from the Underworld and netted about 360,000 gold. I still have quite a bit left to sell,」Nie Yan replied with a faint chuckle. He had tested out the waters with the first round of offloading, and the market had responded well. He was confident he could sell the remaining equipment for an even greater profit!
「Really, that much!? How much do you think you’ll earn selling all the equipment?」Guo Huai couldn’t help but ask in a trembling voice. With 360,000 gold, they could take down Bloodlust Blades. He refused to believe they could last much longer! Perhaps even more shocking was that Nie Yan claimed to still have a lot left to sell!
「I’d, say around 1,000,000 gold,」Nie Yan replied. His real estimation was closer to 1,200,000 gold, but he didn’t dare to make any guarantees.
“You’re not pulling my leg, right?” Guo Huai felt his head spinning. Just what kind of sum was 1,000,000 gold? Asskickers United had been pushed to the verge of bankruptcy after only spending 60% of that amount! With this gold, he was confident they could fully recover from this war and come back even stronger! They would become the richest guild, especially with Bloodlust Blades out of the picture!
「Quickly come over so I can give you the 200,000 gold. Also bring along some trustworthy people, preferably those you know in real life. I want to rebuild the guild treasury!」Nie Yan boldly declared. The current guild treasury of Asskickers United looked quite unsightly, with only a thousand items scattered here and there. Rebuilding it was their top priority!
「I’ll be there right away!」Guo Huai said, barely containing his excitement. He immediately got to work.
Before long, Guo Huai arrived with more than 100 players in tow. He took the 200,000 gold back with him to the guild headquarters and started paying out restitution. Meanwhile, Nie Yan brought the 100 players with him as he visited various large auction houses, purchasing suitably priced equipment which would then be delivered to the guild treasury. He didn’t feel at ease leaving the job to others, so he wanted to personally handle it himself. The estimated cost of restoring the guild treasury to its previous state was at least 200,000 gold. However, there was no harm in getting started.
When word got around that Guo Huai was paying out restitution, the players voiced their bewilderment in the guild chat. Wasn’t the guild on the verge of bankruptcy? Where did this gold come from?
「Executive Guild Leader, you’re not playing a joke, are you?」one player asked.
「Watchful Snail, forget it. We understand finances are tight right now. Let’s wait for the storm to pass over first. When everyone is suffering like this, how could we have the face to take the guild’s gold?」
This opinion was echoed by many others in the chat.
「Enough with the nonsense. You don’t think I know that? Hurry up and take the gold before I start embezzling it,」Guo Huai jokingly scolded.「The guild isn’t lacking funds anymore. We’re going to compensate everyone for all the losses they suffered. Those of you that donated to help keep things afloat will be rewarded doubly. We won’t mistreat any of the members who chose to stick with us.」
The guild wasn’t lacking funds anymore? Just where did this gold come from? The players were flabbergasted and started bombarding Guo Huai with questions.
「Nirvana Flame recently managed to secure some funds. Don’t worry. If the guild’s finances were truly tight, we wouldn’t hesitate to do what’s needed,」Guo Huai assured. His words immediately dispelled their doubts, giving them renewed confidence. In that case, didn’t this mean Asskickers United would win the war?
A few astute players did the calculations. The cost of compensating every single member in the guild would total at least 150,000 gold! For the guild to take out so much gold, they sure were rich!
The restless players who feared the collapse of Asskickers United immediately had their minds put at ease.
The guild members hurriedly flocked to the guild headquarters in United City. Everyone received at least 1 gold in restitution. Those who had suffered large losses received 5 or 6 gold to upwards of 50 gold. The stronghold was bustling with activity.
Aside from paying out restitution, Guo Huai under Nie Yan’s orders started distributing medals to the guild members. The medals were divided into bronze, silver, gold, and dark gold. They represented a member’s status in the guild. Every player who had stuck with the guild through this ordeal would at least receive a bronze medal, which signified their status as veteran members who were willing to risk life and limb for the guild. The silver medal was given to members who had made outstanding contributions to the guild during the war with Bloodlust Blades, such as donating vast sums of gold. Gold medals represented the most important members of the guild. There were many players with bronze and silver medals, but those who received a gold medal numbered only around several dozen.
When Asskickers United recruited new players in the future, these veteran members would be treated much better than the new recruits. Otherwise, if any new recruit could receive the same treatment as them, they would start feeling resentment.
This initiative by Nie Yan received all round approval. These players had stuck with the guild during its most trying times, never leaving. Compared to receiving compensation, they were much happier about earning the recognition of the guild. These medals were their glory which proved they had gone through the many trials and hardships together with the guild!
When everyone was receiving compensation in the stronghold, some keen-eyed players noticed the guild treasury rapidly filling up with several hundred items at a time. These items weren’t just trash meant to fill up space either. All of them were useful with decent properties.
First was the 200,000 gold in compensation, then the guild treasury filling up with over 100,000 gold’s worth of items right after. Nie Yan’s show of wealth shocked everyone, causing them to confirm one thing in their minds. Bloodlust Blades had kicked a steel plate. Asskickers United’s victory was right around the corner!