Chapter 208 – Mutual Defense Pact (1/2)
Chapter 208 – Mutual Defense Pact
Nie Yan needed to find some reliable allies, and the interests of Asskickers United and Holy Empire were already intertwined due to the existence of the Union of Assassins. On top of that, both guilds had faced pressure from Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame in the past. He also had similar thoughts. In order to stand a chance against Victorious Return and Radiant Sacred Flame, Asskickers United and Holy Empire would inevitably have to form an alliance. The crucial point was what kind?
「We can cooperate together in many ways, and mutual trust can be established by exchanging shares of our respective guilds,」Sleepy Fox suggested. He was trying to probe Nie Yan’s attitude toward an alliance.
An exchange of shares? When Cao Xu started investing in Conviction during the previous timeline, he was able to seize control of Victorious Return, Radiant Sacred Flame, Alliance of Mages, Divine Protectors, and Bloodlust Blades in a short time specifically because he owned a stake in all of them. This brought the five major guilds all under the umbrella of the Cao Xu Century Financial Group, giving birth to an unparalleled colossus. Because Holy Empire, Sapphire Shrine, and the other major guilds weren’t willing to be acquired by Cao Xu, they were forced to take a passive stance.
Owning a stake in each other’s guilds really was the best way to establish trust!
Seeing as Nie Yan was taking his time to reply, Sleepy Fox continued,「The Victorious Return you’ve encountered so far is merely the tip of the iceberg, nothing more. They aren’t isolated to Calore. They have many other branches in other cities. It’s just that it isn’t feasible to mobilize those forces from so far away. However, when everyone gets mounts later on, they’ll be able to quickly reinforce each other from various locations. At that time, the strength of Victorious Return will increase by several-fold. The same also holds true for Radiant Sacred Flame. As for how many members they really have in reserve, even I can’t say for sure. It isn’t simply because of luck that these large guilds can exist for so long without being toppled by others.」
Sleepy Fox’s words contained an element of warning. No doubt, Asskickers United had become an almost unrivalled existence in Calore by defeating Victorious Return at Kiln Fire Woods. However, if Nie Yan believed Asskickers Uniteed could suppress Victorious Return right now, then his way of thinking was too naive, and he would bring about the destruction of his own guild.
Nie Yan naturally understood the point Sleepy Fox was trying to get across. He had experienced for himself just how overbearingly arrogant Victorious Return could get during the previous timeline. However, he was confident that Asskickers United would surpass them in the future.
「How do you propose we form this alliance?」Nie Yan asked. He wanted to listen to what Sleepy Fox had to say.
「I’m willing to exchange a 10% stake in Holy Empire for a 30% stake in Asskickers United,」Sleepy Fox replied, pausing slightly before continuing,「When I say a 10% stake in Holy Empire, I don’t just mean the main branch in Calore but rather the entire guild spread out across the Viridian Empire.」He was reminding Nie Yan that Holy Empire possessed a deep foundation in the game. Taking a 30% share of Asskickers United wasn’t him trying to short-end Nie Yan.
Nie Yan faintly smiled.「How many branches does Holy Empire have? How many members?」
「33 branches. Altogether there are over 300,000 members scattered throughout various cities; they won’t be mobilized until some time in the future,」Sleepy Fox replied. These branches were the reserve forces of Holy Empire, and he could call on them when the scope of conflict inevitably expanded later on. On the other hand, all the forces of Asskickers United were focused solely in Calore.
Nie Yan naturally had his own considerations. Calore was the capital of the Viridian Empire, the focal point of most conflicts. Over 90% of the elites were gathered here. What he wanted for Asskickers United wasn’t frantic expansion like Victorious Return or Holy Empire. So what if the other side had more people? On the path to dominance, what ultimately mattered was which side possessed more elites. Otherwise, in the previous timeline, how could the 50,000 members of Battle Craze Alliance have resisted the 600,000 players from Victorious Return and Bloodlust Blades? In the future, 100,000 members were enough for Asskickers United to contend against all the other guilds.
Nie Yan didn’t express any opinion on the information Sleepy Fox provided. Instead, he smiled, changing the subject yet again,「You don’t feel like you’re losing out? Asskickers United only has 50,000 members while Holy Empire has over 300,000. Even down the road, the number of players in Asskickers United definitely won’t exceed 100,000, but I assume Holy Empire’s force will probably surpass 1,000,000.」
In the future, Victorious Return, Radiant Sacred Flame, Holy Empire, Sapphire Shrine and the rest would all become massive guilds with over 1,000,000 members. However, Nie Yan’s end goal was to temper 100,000 players into a mighty elite force that could rival a million players! This was what he wanted to accomplish!
「Asskickers United isn’t planning to absorb a large number players?」Sleepy Fox asked in shock. Based on the current development speed of Asskickers United, he believed they would soon break through the 70,000 member threshold. Amassing 1,000,000 players a few years from now would be no problem for them at all.
「The future Asskickers United absolutely won’t surpass 100,000 members. In fact, it might even have fewer. Guild size doesn’t necessarily equate to strength,」Nie Yan replied. Fewer members meant everyone could enjoy more of the guild’s resources. And with his strong financial backing, every member would become elites among elites.
Sleepy Fox paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. Asskickers United had the perfect opportunity to greatly expand, but why were they not taking it? Just what was Nie Yan planning? He had a hard time understanding what was going through Nie Yan’s mind.
「In my opinion, you alone are worth a 5% share of Holy Empire. I’m willing to take a step back. A 10% stake in Holy Empire for a 20% stake in Asskickers United. What do you think?」Sleepy Fox didn’t know why, but he got the feeling Nie Yan was confident in defeating Victorious Return. Although he didn’t know where this confidence was coming from, he was willing to make a gamble on Nie Yan.
Nie Yan shook his head.「You still don’t get what I’m trying to say. In the future, Asskickers United will be an unrivalled and unique existence among the major guilds. I’m definitely not willing to sell a large number of the guild’s share. Even if you offered me a 30% stake in Holy Empire for a 10% stake in Asskickers United, I still wouldn’t agree. As for the topic of exchanging shares, I’m willing to transfer over 3% of my guild to you at most, nothing more. We can still discuss an alliance. After all, both our guilds already share numerous interests. We go through adversity and prosperity in tandem.」
Sleepy Fox didn’t expect his offer to be turned down. Did Nie Yan really have that much confidence in his guild? He began reexamning the worth of Asskickers United. After a while, he finally came to a decision.「Since you’re not willing to transfer over too many shares of your guild, I can offer a 5% share of Holy Empire for a 3% share of your guild. Other than that, you’ll have to take an honorary executive position in Holy Empire. How does that sound? 」An exchange of 5% and 3% shares in each other’s guilds was merely a token gesture. What would take place next was the most important. Sleepy Fox wanted to borrow the name of the Mad Rogue to give a boost to Holy Empire’s prestige. He felt Nie Yan’s reputation was worth much more than a 5% share of his guild.
Nie Yan considered the offer for a moment. Since he wouldn’t have to assume any responsibility, he didn’t mind accepting the position of an honorary executive.