Chapter 2370 - Knight Division Takes Shape
White River City, Adventurer’s Association:
Due to the new Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance in Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City’s Adventurer’s Association had become extraordinarily lively. When Shi Feng arrived, he spotted teams entering and leaving the building. Nearly half of these players were from Otherworlds. There were now many times more Otherworld players than there had been several days ago.
Moreover, every one of these Otherworld players was impressively strong, with the lowest level among them Level 98, while many had already reached Level 99. These Otherworld players’ average level was far higher than the local players’.
There are so many people here. Has it started already? Shi Feng was a little surprised as he watched the teams flow in and out of the Association.
The Otherworld powers weren’t the main continent’s various powers’ true opponent. Rather, it was the Otherworlds’ general populace.
When the Planar Passages had first opened, only the Otherworlds* major powers had been able to cross to the main continent since they had monopolized their respective passages. However, as the passages activated fully, not even those major powers could control them completely, and as a result, players surged toward the main continent.
Competition on the main continent had already been intense, and now, as powerful Otherworld players joined the fray, it was easy to imagine the impact they had on the main continent’s various powers. Players would especially fight over the resources in the various NPC cities.
Take the Adventurer’s Association, for example. There were only so many high-ranked quests available, and with an increase in player population, it was natural that players would have fewer quests to complete.
If resources became less available, the various large Guilds’ development would slow significantly. The Guilds that hadn’t bothered to focus on neutral maps, in particular, would suffer. This lack of resources would be fatal to them.
This was why even superpowers had fallen prey to the Otherworld powers in Shi Feng’s previous life. Even if the main continent’s ordinary powers hadn’t been directly affected by the invasion, the aftereffects had been more than enough to stagnate their development.
Currently, Zero Wing had a wide sphere of development. The Guild even had territory in neutral maps. Zero Wing shouldn’t have any issues enduring the initial Otherworld invasion. However, the Guild still needed to be very careful with its operations. Otherwise, Zero Wing would suffer a severe developmental blow since multiple hostile superpowers were keeping an eye on it.
Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng entered the Adventurer’s Association.
“Administrator Lorrain, I wish to check the status of the Knight draft,” Shi Feng addressed the elven beauty that entered the VIP reception room he occupied.
The 5,000 Knights were crucial to his management of the Cold Spring Canyon. Although he had spent a lot of money to draft these Knights, he hadn’t bothered to visit the Adventurer’s Association since he hadn’t had enough money.
Finding willing and powerful NPCs wouldn’t matter if he couldn’t afford to hire them.
Hiring NPCs for a Knight Division wasn’t like hiring NPCs as soldiers to protect a Guild Town. He would not receive any subsidies from the kingdom. It was like nurturing 5,000 Personal Guards. Without sufficient capital, he couldn’t support the Knight Division.
Now, however, he had 900,000 Gold on him, which should be, more or less, enough to establish his Knight Division. “This is the current status of your draft,” Lorrain said, smiling as she handed Shi Feng a thick stack of papers.
He was dumbfounded when he saw the listed numbers on the summary sheet.
Aren’t these results a little too amazing?! Shi Feng couldn’t believe his eyes.
His draft had attracted 20,164 NPCs in total. Among them, 13,664 were Tier 2 Common Knights, 4,814 were Tier 2 Bronze Knights, 1,669 were Tier 2 Mysterious-Iron Knights, 15 were Tier 2 Secret-Silver Knights, and 2 were Tier 2 Fine-Gold Knights.
Shi Feng had assumed he’d be fortunate to gain the interest of 5,000 NPCs with his draft. Recruiting NPCs wasn’t easy, after all. Players that weren’t 1-star Lords would have to spend two or three months to find enough interested NPCs.
And yet, he had over 20,000 NPCs apply for the draft, and they were frighteningly high-quality.
Based on what Shi Feng knew, most of the NPCs in a superpower’s Knight Division would be Bronze Knights, with very few Mysterious-Iron Knights. Mysterious-Iron Knights were just as rare as Mysterious-Iron Personal Guards. Only the Knight Divisions that had been in place for a while had attracted Secret-Silver Knights in the past, and one would have to be very lucky to find treasured Fine-Gold Knights.
Shi Feng had never imagined that his simple draft would lure 15 Secret-Silver and 2 Fine-Gold Knights. If the various superpowers of the past knew about this, they’d go mad with envy.
As for Tier 3 NPCs, recruiting such a being was painfully difficult in God’s Domain because they were considered powerhouses in the game. They qualified to rule over a small city. Naturally, they wouldn’t be willing to lower themselves to becoming someone’s knight.
However, when Shi Feng saw the prices to recruit these NPCs, his excitement vanished.
The Bronze Knights only requested a weekly salary of 30 Gold, with a 20 Gold per week nurturing fee, but the Knights of higher ranks cost far more. Mysterious-Iron Knights requested a weekly salary of 70 Gold and a 30 Gold per week nurturing fee, Secret-Silver Knights requested a weekly salary of 150 Gold and 50 Gold per week nurturing fee, and Fine-Gold Knights requested a weekly salary of 300 Gold and 100 Gold per week nurturing fee.
If Shi Feng hired the best available Knights, maintaining his Knight Division would cost him 336,400 Gold per week. Even superpowers would choke at this amount, and that didn’t even include the cost of arming these Knights…
“Lord Bronze Legatee, may I know who you wish to choose?” Lorrain asked after Shi Feng’s long silence.
“I want all of the Fine-Gold, Secret-Silver, and Mysterious-Iron Knights. Fill the remaining slots with Bronze Knights,” Shi Feng said, his heart aching as he spoke. “Also, outfit the Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Knights with Epic Equipment, and give the rest Secret-Silver Equipment.”
Fortunately, arming these Knights cost as much as arming NPC soldiers. A full set of Level 100 to Level 150 Epic Equipment cost 4,000 Gold, and a full set of Level 100 to Level 150 Secret-Silver Equipment cost 50 Gold. Even so, it still cost him a total of 317,150 Gold to outfit his entire Knight Division.
“Very well. Your total comes to 653,550 Gold Coins,” Lorrain announced after calculating the total cost.
“Here,” Shi Feng said, gritting his teeth. He was reluctant, but he still paid the full amount.
If he hadn’t just earned 900,000 Gold, he doubted he’d be able to walk out of the Adventurer’s Association.
Shi Feng finally understood why so few first-rate Guilds had formed Knight Divisions in the past. Although it was profitable to own territory in a Level 100 neutral map, the Knight Division was a heavy burden. If not handled carefully, a first-rate Guild would easily go bankrupt. Only superpowers could afford to maintain a Knight Division without major repercussions.
“Now that you have hired your Knights, please prepare their accommodations in your territory as soon as possible. If they do not have suitable accommodations, they may dissolve their contracts,” Lorrain warned Shi Feng after she received the payment. At the moment, there wasn’t even a town in Cold Spring Canyon.
“That won’t be a problem. I wish to transfer Stone Forest City to my new territory now,” Shi Feng said. He then handed another 50,000 Gold to the Elven administrator.
Once players had a land of their own, they had the authority to transfer a Guild Town or City to the area. Of course, the transfer had a price, which would depend on the target’s size. Transferring a Basic City like Stone Forest City would cost 50,000 Gold, while if one transferred an Advanced Town, they’d only have to pay 10,000 Gold.
Mainstream players had already reached Level 95, while most experts were, on average, Level 97. They weren’t far from Level 100. Once players reached Level 100, they wouldn’t be allowed into the Bottomless Abyss. Although the Bottomless Abyss had bountiful resources, it would become drastically less useful to players as time passed, and as a result, Stone Forest City’s daily income continued to decrease. Rather than let the city rot in the Bottomless Abyss, Shi Feng would benefit from transferring it to a Level 100 neutral map as soon as possible.
“That won’t be a problem. We’ll send people to transfer your city immediately,” Lorrain said as she accepted the 50,000 Gold. She retrieved a map of the Cold Spring Canyon, smoothing it down on the table. “Where do you wish to place the
“I want to transfer it here, beside Cold Spring Lake,” Shi Feng said as he pointed at one of the mountaintops near the lake.
Very well. The transfer will be completed in one hour,” Lorrain informed him once she had confirmed the destination.
Once Shi Feng had settled his affairs with the Adventurer’s Association, he promptly returned to the Candlelight Trading Firm to wait. At the same time, Stone Forest Town abruptly disappeared from the Bottomless Abyss, leaving a bunch of confused players in an empty plot of land.