Chapter 398 - Cao Xu! (1/2)
Chapter 398 - Cao Xu!
Of the equipment collected, more than 10 pieces were Level 50 Dark Gold-grade, each with an estimated market value of at least 1,000 gold. There were another 70 pieces with decent properties that would sell for a significant sum too.
All the equipment the players from Asskickers United dropped had been retrieved.
“What are our casualties?” Nie Yan asked.
Paladin of the Elegy did a headcount. “We lost around 1,000 people. Most of them died to area-of-effect magic.”
“How many jars of Black Gunpowder were destroyed?” Nie Yan asked. He had heard several explosions during the battle.
“Five. the remaining ones are all accounted for,” Paladin of the Elegy replied in a somewhat guilty tone. Even though most of the jars were safe, they had still lost enough of them that he didn’t have the face to report back to Guo Huai.
The remaining jars of Black Gunpowder were all neatly gathered together. Transporting so many of them at once was by no means an easy feat. Each jar contained 20 lbs of gunpowder. Including the weight of the jar, that was 30 lbs altogether. Even the strongest Warriors would eventually get tired after transporting such heavy goods. And since having two people carry a jar at the same time wasn’t really practical, the only solution was to have people take shifts.
“It’s fine, five jars isn’t too big of a loss,” Nie Yan comforted Paladin of the Elegy. There were still 17 jars of Black Gunpowder remaining, enough to last them until they could produce their own.
Sun, Bladelight, and the others approached Nie Yan. There were over 30 top-ranking players from Asskickers United altogether. Were it not for their arrival, the forces ambushing them might not have left so willingly.
“We were late,” Bladelight said apologetically. When they were rushing over on horseback, they had heard the sounds of explosions in the distance. At that time, they were extremely anxious and feared all the jars of Black Gunpowder had been destroyed.
“Better late than never.” Nie Yan chuckled. Even though the loss of five jars pained him, it was still better than losing everything.
Nie Yan decided to have the transport team stay put until reinforcements arrived. They only had around 1,000 players remaining. It would be troublesome if they encountered another ambush.
After a while, the 5,000 players Guo Huai dispatched as reinforcements arrived, immediately bolstering the strength of the transport group. Only then did they resume their trek to United City.
About an hour later, Nie Yan and the others finally arrived at United City. United City was connected to the Cripps Stronghold via a transfer point, allowing them to teleport the jars of Black Gunpowder between both places.
Guo Huai recruited 5 Advanced Tinkerers, 1 Advanced Alchemist, 2 Advanced Runecrafters, and 1 Advanced Enchanter and had them all sign non-disclosure agreements. A secret workshop in the Cripps Stronghold was specially prepared for them, and they were provided with ample resources to help them get settled in.
Nie Yan handed over the Goblin Magic Cannon Blueprints (Rank 1) to them, whereupon they immediately got to work. In an estimated six days, Asskickers United would have their first Goblin Magic Cannon.
Nie Yan looked around the secret workshop. It was located deep underground right behind the guild headquarters with only a single secret entrance. The interior was a gorgeous and spacious hall. There was no sense of claustrophobia at all. All sorts of crafting tools and appliances were placed throughout the hall, along with several hundred kinds of materials which were restocked on the daily. The nine players who had reached the Advanced rank in their respective crafting professions were all busily working.
After everything was prepared, only then did Nie Yan feel at ease. Checking the server clock, it was time to log off.
Nie Yan took off his game helmet and crawled out of bed.
It was a brand new morning. Today was Xie Yao’s birthday. Her birthday party would be taking place at the Dragonsoar Financial Group owned Moro River Banquet Hall at 2 o’clock in the afternoon. All of Xie Yao’s close relatives and family friends would be attending. Nie Yan felt a bit nervous, but he knew he would have to meet Xie Yao’s parents eventually, so he forcefully calmed himself.
Nie Yan pondered on what sort of gift he should get Xie Yao. He made a trip to a jewelry store and finally settled on a necklace.
Driving to his father’s company, memories of old and new filled his mind. He had already received the acceptance letter from the Top Military Academy. He could choose to enter any one of the two Ace departments, Command or Interstellar Travel. This was a privilege allowed only to those who ranked in the top three. In this life, he had fulfilled his father’s only dream. There were no more regrets.
When Nie Yan arrived at his father’s company, he went to chat with Ah Chen. The growth of the War God Tribe was progressing smoothly, having recently captured one of the strongholds belonging to a guild under the Tuoba Family. This was only the start of their campaign to take over Nisode City.
The War God Tribe’s rise to glory was nothing short of amazing. There were several more newcomers rising up in other cities, the most famous of which were the God Punisher Sword and Darkbright Empire guilds.
Nie Yan recalled their names. God Punisher Sword was a guild based in Moonlight City. They were still weak, for now. It would take at least a month for them to solidify their foundation. As for Darkbright Empire, they were a Calore-based guild in the previous timeline. He believed his interference in this life had caused them to disappear from the river of history. Who knew they had run off to Blaze City, and it seemed they were doing even better than they ever had in the previous timeline.
History had deviated greatly ever since Nie Yan returned to the past.