Chapter 1040: Maritime Business
Translator: Hellscythe_ Editor: FluffyGoblyn
Chapter 1040 – Maritime Business
Star-Moon City, Blackwater’s Guild Residence:
Currently, three people, two men and one woman, sat inside the Guild Leader’s luxurious office. Among them, one man was Blackwater’s Guild Leader, Abandoned Wave, while the woman was Qin Muyun, who had been tasked with managing Blackwater’s affairs in the Black Dragon Empire.
However, these two VIPs of the Blackwater Guild had their eyes locked on the man before them.
The man wore a Black Cloak and had tightly-wrapped bandages around most of his face, preventing others from seeing his appearance or level. Moreover, he felt as if he were an illusion as if the man would vanish if one did not pay him careful attention.
“You’re saying that Zero Wing can construct as many of those Magic Tower as they want?” Abandoned Wave asked, his brows raised in suspicion; he found this information somewhat hard to believe.
Everyone throughout Star-Moon Kingdom had likely discovered how powerful the Magic Tower’s effects were in Stone Forest Town.
The Magic Tower was precisely the reason that players had overcrowded the town.
When Abandoned Wave saw the number of players traveling to and from Stone Forest Town, he could not help his jealousy. After all, all these players were walking sacks of Coins!
Although the Blackwater Corporation was wealthy, its Coin income was very limited.
With just the income of Stone Forest Town, it was no impossible for Blackwater to wear down Zero Wing. If what the bandaged man had said was indeed true, once Zero Wing captured another one or two towns, Blackwater would not be able to compete with the Guild’s financial strength.
“I can assure you that this news is true. Moreover, Zero Wing has found a powerful financial backer. I’m afraid that within this short period, Zero Wing’s strength will rise explosively once more,” the bandaged man declared confidently. “If we don’t get rid of Zero Wing soon, we will have endless trouble in the future.”
“I understand. I’ll send some men to help Heaven’s Burial with the sealing magic array’s construction immediately. But how are preparations coming along?” Abandoned Wave understood that this matter could no longer be delayed. If they did not remove Zero Wing soon, it would become increasingly harder to defeat the Guild in the future.
Moreover, Young Master Jing had grown somewhat impatient and instructed him to conclude the matter swiftly. Otherwise, Blackwater would soon have another Guild Leader.
“It won’t take too long. A day at most. Even if the Guild dispatches every player it has, nothing will save Zero Wing when the time comes,” the bandaged man laughed coldly. “However, once this matter has been resolved, don’t forget about our agreement. You are aware of the consequences should you forget.”
“Rest assured. I am always a man of my word. When it is time, I’ll give you what we agreed upon,” Abandoned Wave said. Hearing the bandaged man’s tone, Abandoned Wave’s confidence grew.
The main force attacking Stone Forest Town this time would not be from Blackwater or Heaven’s Burial at all. Rather, it would be this bandaged man before him.
“Guild Leader, Big Sister Ling just sent a message stating that the situation with Pantheon is a done deal. Now, we only need to decide a date for the operation,” Qin Muyun suddenly reported.
Abandoned Wave grew ecstatic upon hearing this. “Good! Muyun, lead a team to assist Heaven’s Burial right away. Once the magic array is complete, we’ll attack Stone Forest Town!”
Although capturing Stone Forest Town was already in the bag, Pantheon’s help would be icing on the cake, depriving Zero Wing of every last shred of hope.
…
Apocalypse Empire, imperial capital’s Teleportation Hall:
As soon as Shi Feng arrived in the Apocalypse Empire’s capital, he discovered a crowd of players filling the Teleportation Hall as they lined up to use the teleportation arrays. It was even more crowded than Stone Forest Town.
There sure are a lot of people here. Shi Feng could not help but sigh as he surveyed his surroundings.
As one of the most ancient empires still in existence in God’s Domain, the Apocalypse Empire had a lot of players. Ordinary empires simply could not compete.
The quality of the players in the Teleportation Hall made this clear.
Among the players lining up, many were high-level independent players.
Currently, God’s Domain’s mainstream players were only Level 35. However, most of the independent players here were Level 37 or above, with some already at Level 40.
Even the Black Dragon Empire paled in comparison to the Apocalypse Empire’s prosperity.
However, this was also the reason that three major powers contested over the Apocalypse Empire, with two being super-first-rate Guilds, while the third was a Super Guild. Of the two super-first-rate Guilds, one was the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, and the other was the Miracle Guild. Battle Wolves was the Super Guild. Due to these three major powers, even first-rate Guilds were forced to watch from the sidelines.
With the Apocalypse Empire’s massive population, whichever Guild managed to take control of the empire would enjoy an explosive development speed.
After all, only with more people could a Guild easily recruit talented players.
Even now, the three major powers fought each other constantly, dispatching many of their elite and expert members to the Apocalypse Empire to develop. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion’s choice representative to preside over the struggle for the empire was none other than Phoenix Rain.
This time, Phoenix Rain had resolved to bet all of her cards on Zero Wing’s cooperation.
Shi Feng had to admit that Phoenix Rain had bet correctly.
If the Town of Beginnings had a Magic Tower, not only could she rake in a fortune, but she could also hasten the town’s promotion to a medium-sized town. The Town of Beginnings would become the cornerstone that would allow the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion to take over the Apocalypse Empire.
Compared to the potential profits, the initial cost was nothing.
Unfortunately, while focusing on a narrow goal, Phoenix Rain had neglected an even greater opportunity.
Even without taking control of the Town of Beginnings, there was a way to access the Savage Wildland’s benefits.
Following which, Shi Feng teleported to Ocean Viewing Town.
Ocean Viewing Town was the closest coastal town to the Savage Wildland. However, due to the wildland’s location in the middle of the sea, players generally rented boats for the journey. The sea was far more dangerous than land. Players had to be extremely careful when venturing across the sea. If a player carelessly allowed their boat to be destroyed, they would have to rely on their own strength to swim the rest of the way.
Compared to walking, swimming in the ocean was much more taxing on a player’s Stamina. It was also much slower. After running out of Stamina, players would ultimately drown.
Due to this, despite Ocean Viewing Town’s close proximity to the Savage Wildland, the trip generally took around 20 hours.
When Shi Feng reached Ocean Viewing Town, he did not immediately rent a boat. Instead, he visited the Town Hall.
In the past, due to the many players rushing to the Savage Wildland, Ocean Viewing Town had also prospered. Eventually, it had even been promoted from a town to a city. The value of the town’s Lands had risen like crazy.
However, trading these Lands had not been the most profitable business.
The true profits were from boat rentals.
Boats were different from ordinary Mounts. Although they were another mode of transportation and engineering players could construct them, their designs were exceedingly rare. Generally, players who wanted a boat of their own would use the designs that came with a Shipyard. A Shipyard also increased the speed of crafting boats.
There were a total of five Shipyards for sale in Ocean Viewing Town.
In the past, those who had purchased these Shipyards early had made a fortune when the Savage Wildland became popular.
This was because the boats Shipyards crafted were unlike the fishing boats that NPCs rented out. Fishing boats were slow and could only carry a few players at a time. The boats also had very low durability, and mishaps occurred easily. Hence, when traveling to the Savage Wildland, players generally rented boats that other players had crafted. With this, the normal 20-hour travel time could be cut in half. Not only could one save a lot of time, but it was also much safer to rent a player-made boat.
However, it was not easy to purchase a Shipyard in Ocean Viewing Town. The first requirement was a high enough Reputation. Without that, the Mayor would refuse to sell.
The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, which had only recently discovered the Savage Wildland, didn’t have enough Reputation to purchase one, even if it realized the value of Shipyards.
It was simply impossible for the Pavilion to collect enough Reputation Points to become an Ocean Viewing Town Baron within this short period.
However, Shi Feng was different.
Upon entering the Town Hall, Shi Feng switched to the City Protector title. The title allowed him to enjoy the benefits of a major noble, which was the equivalent of a Viscount, in every human town and city. He now qualified to purchase a Shipyard in Ocean Viewing Town.