Chapter 154 – Dispute (1/2)
Chapter 154 – Dispute
The Succubus Den was a large Level 15 map. The administrator of Calore had issued a large-scale guild quest to investigate this place in search of “The Amnesiac’s Brain.” Generally, 2,000 Level 15 players was the recommended number to attempt this quest, but with great difficulty also came great rewards as the guild’s grade would be promoted upon completion. If Holy Empire became a Grade 2 guild, their status in Calore would increase, and even more guild quests would become available to them in the future. Furthermore, they would also attract more expert players to their ranks, allowing their strength to rise to another level.
Holy Empire was constantly suppressed by Victorious Return, but if they were able to complete this quest, they would leap over them and take the position of top dog in Calore which they could then attempt to gradually consolidate.
However, all of this was only possible under the assumption that they were able to amass enough Cure Charm Potions.
A trip to the Succubus Den needed at least thirty bottles, but naturally, since that was only the minimum requirement, a guild would generally prepare a little more. A Cure Charm Potion Recipe was an Intermediate Alchemy Recipe. Even when working together, it would take two Intermediate Alchemists at least an entire day to concoct that many potions.
Since Intermediate Alchemists were such a scarce resource at the current stage of the game, Sleepy Fox could only turn to Nie Yan for help.
Him not hesitating to save Nie Yan and risk a potential falling out with Victorious Return was also potentially due to this reason.
As Holy Empire’s guild leader, Sleepy Fox would always act based on the guild’s interests. If it didn’t benefit the guild, then he absolutely wouldn’t do it!
“Do you have a Cure Charm Potion Recipe?” Nie Yan asked. If Sleepy Fox didn’t even have the recipe, then he was powerless to help.
“We have two Cure Charm Potion Recipes, and we can also provide the ingredients required to concoct the potions. I’d like to request a batch of fifty potions. Afterward, we can pay you 3 gold in labour fees,” Sleepy Fox replied. The price he offered was fairly generous, an indication of just how important this quest was to him. After the batch of potions was ready and their other preparations were completed, they should also have enough players at the right level to attempt this quest.
Nie Yan gave it some thought. If it was like this, then his two Intermediate Alchemists would make quite a killing. With recipes and ingredients already provided for, they’d get to improve their proficiency in Alchemy while also receiving a cut of the 3 gold in commision. This was already quite generous. At the same time, him helping Holy Empire was basically the same as helping himself because when Holy Empire toppled Victorious Return, the latter would definitely focus all their energy on taking back their position. In this way, Asskickers United could freely expand their own influence.
Nie Yan stood in silence, pondering over the matter. While facing him on the other side, Sleepy Fox actually believed he was contacting the Starry Night Potion Shop.
“Then the deal is set. Just send the recipes, ingredients, and whatever else to the Starry Night Potion Shop,” Nie Yan finally said to Sleepy Fox.
With the deal being finalized, Sleepy Fox couldn’t help but feel a little excited. After all, the project he had been planning for so long could finally start being carried out. He faced Nie Yan and said, “Then our next step is seeing you guys off. You all have red names, so you can’t return to town, and this area is filled with Victorious Return players. So if you guys try to leave by yourselves, you’ll definitely get surrounded again.”
“Alright, then we’ll be troubling you guys.”
“While you guys are hunting mobs in the wilderness to clear your red names, message me if you need any supplies. I’ll immediately send a person over to your coordinates,” Sleepy Fox said. All in all, he was being quite considerate.
Nie Yan and Sleepy Fox had to consider their own interests above all else, so it was unavoidable that they also schemed against each other. Perhaps if the both had some free time and were free of their commitments, then they could become good friends in private.
Nie Yan turned around and called Tang Yao and the others over, “We’re leaving. Let’s get rid of our red names first, then think about what we’ll do after.”
Guo Huai and the other survivors would be returning to the city first. Guo Huai walked up to Nie Yan and said with a mysterious smile, “There’ll be a nice surprise waiting for you guys tomorrow.”
Nie Yan also specifically instructed Guo Huai that the over two hundred players that had come to rescue him and Tang Yao, regardless of their intentions, whether it be loyalty or for their own benefit, would be given ample rewards. This would let all the members of their guild know that as long as they exerted themselves for the guild, the guild would generously reward them for their efforts. He had Tang Yao give all of the reinforcements 50 merit points each. For those that reached Level 10, they could even earn an additional 100 merit points.
The players had already done the calculations. In Asskickers United, 50 merit points was the equivalent of 2 and a half silver. This was already quite an amazing reward. 2 and a half silver could purchase several pieces of first-rate Bronze-grade equipment. It could even purchase one or two pieces of slightly inferior Silver-grade equipment. For the average Level 7–8 player, if they tallied up all their money, it would already be amazing for them to come up with 1 or 2 silver, considering many of them were usually in debt. Of course, 50 merit points wasn’t the only reward. Guo Huai had already recorded down the names of all the players that participated in the rescue mission. In the future, when the guild was giving out benefits, they would be the lucky ones to receive additional rewards.
Those that had died in the battle all received a message that the guild leader, Young Sparrow Hawk, had rewarded them with 50 Guild Contribution Points. And when they glimpsed at the level leaderboard, they noticed Tang Yao was still at the very top of the standings, leaving all of them stunned as to how he managed to stay alive through the seemingly fatal entrapment. This feat only built on their existing admiration of Tang Yao, which was further intensified when they recalled him gibbing Victorious Return players each time he fired off a spell. It was simply amazing.
As the players passed down their recollections of the event to each other, they practically elevated Tang Yao to the status of a god. At the same time, among the ones that didn’t go, upon hearing the stories and seeing the 50 merit points that were given as a reward, they couldn’t help but feel a sense of regret. To those many Level 7–8 players, even if they died and dropped a level and a piece of equipment, they would probably only be losing about 1 silver at most.
Currently, some players had already accumulated enough contribution and took out Silver-grade equipment from the guild treasury to wear. The vast majority of players were wearing White-grade equipment, having Bronze-grade equipment was decent, and owning even a single piece of Silver-grade equipment was enough to make many players endlessly envious.
Under Guo Huai and Hao Cheng’s leadership, their clash with Victorious Return didn’t have too much of a negative influence on their guild members. Add on the fact that Tang Yao didn’t die, still holding firmly onto the number one spot on the leaderboards, many of the members were actually in admiration of them. Against three hundred Victorious Return elites, they were able to wipe out nearly all of the enemies and still manage to escape unscathed from the battlefield. Tang Yao was practically a god! Earlier, the players joining the guild were mostly lower levelled, but now, some of the high-level players were also starting to apply. They were flocking over after hearing of Tang Yao’s feats.