Aqua Rose was stunned when she heard s.h.i.+ Feng's orders.
"Guild Leader, are we really doing this?" Aqua Rose hurriedly asked after snapping out of her daze. "We're short on Coins and Credits right now because of the Guild's development. I'm afraid that we won't last more than two days if we go through with this."
Zero Wing had secured White River City's Auction House, which significantly increased the Guild's income, but the battle had also tremendously elevated the Guild's fame, which had attracted more recruits and increased the Guild's member count. Overall, the Guild's funds were still stretched thin.
Meanwhile, a large-scale price war wouldn't yield results quickly. It could even backfire on Zero Wing. Starlink was its opponent this time, and the superpower had immense financial strength. Moreover, Zero Wing would be attacking Starlink's home turf. Even when Zero Wing's coffers had been overflowing, it still hadn't been a match for Starlink.
Not even superpowers like Unyielding Soul or Crimson Emperor dared to engage in a financial war against Starlink.
"How many Coins can we save each day after including the income from White River City's Auction House?" s.h.i.+ Feng asked.
"After deducting the Guild's necessary expenditures and including the funds we have on hand, we should be able to save around 35,000 Gold per day," Aqua Rose said with a bitter smile.
Thirty-five thousand Gold was unquestionably a huge sum to current first-rate Guilds. Many of them dreamed of saving so much in a single day. As Guilds continued to develop, they encountered more necessary expenditures.
Trying to wage a price war against a superpower on its home turf with just 35,000 Gold per day was a joke. That money would be gone in two days, at most. Even if Zero Wing was generating more income each day, the Guild could only afford to maintain its financial attack for around five days. Any longer and the war would affect the Guild's development.
"That should be just barely enough." s.h.i.+ Feng mimicked Aqua's faint smile after giving the matter some thought.
"That's enough?" For a moment, Aqua Rose wondered if she had misheard s.h.i.+ Feng. Either that, or she had accidentally told him the wrong numbers, stating the Guild's net income as 350,000 rather than 35,000.
"Mhm, that's enough. Just inform Melancholic and Youlan and tell them to see to the necessary preparations in the Dark Night Empire," s.h.i.+ Feng said, nodding. He then disconnected the call and continued toward the Candlelight Trading Firm to prepare for the Lord of Fire raid.
A few days ago, he wouldn't have been confident enough to start a price war with Starlink in the Dark Night Empire, but he had already purchased 500 Stamina Gemstones from the 4-star Wandering Merchant Zall.
The various major powers desperately needed Stamina Gemstones since they'd all started to explore neutral maps. Unfortunately, these neutral maps didn't have Guild Towns or Cities yet where players could rest. Moreover, the various large Guilds couldn't transfer their Guild Towns to these neutral maps yet, which meant that exploration relied entirely on players' strength and Stamina.
Meanwhile, the wealthier a neutral map was, the hasher its environment would be. As a result, players expended more Stamina than normal when exploring these maps. Players would even consume Stamina while standing still in some neutral maps, and even if they sat down to rest, their Stamina recovery would only be enough to nullify the pa.s.sive consumption rate. Players simply couldn't survive in these maps for long. Although there were some potions that aided in Stamina recovery on the market, they were extremely rare. The various major powers usually saved these potions for their members, rarely selling them.
Take Zero Wing, for example. Although Zero Wing could brew the Exotic Stamina Potion, it only had ten players that were capable of producing it, yet the Guild had more than 500,000 members. After deducting the Guild's needs, very few Exotic Stamina Potions were left that could be sold on the market.
This predicament only increased the Stamina Gemstone's value. First, the Stamina Gemstone did not have a set duration; it would not disappear after a certain period of use. Second, it did not have a level limit. Hence, players could use the Stamina Gemstone throughout their careers in G.o.d's Domain.
If players equipped three Stamina Gemstones, they wouldn't have to worry about Stamina consumption when exploring neutral maps below Level 100. Because of this, the various major powers had gone crazy for Stamina Gemstones in the past, each easily selling for 300 Gold in an auction.
While s.h.i.+ Feng prepared all sorts of Fire Resistance equipment and potions, players throughout Star-Moon Kingdom had discovered Starlink's a.s.sault on Zero Wing, and a commotion erupted across the kingdom.
"Starlink has finally made its move."
"I knew Starlink couldn't take the embarra.s.sment of losing to Zero Wing lying down. Even though Zero Wing has many experts, the compet.i.tion between the various powers is one of finances. How can Zero Wing possibly compete with Starlink without any backers?"
"Starlink is pretty impressive, though. It's actually poaching Zero Wing's members by offering to triple their salaries. I've heard that several hundred Zero Wing members have already left to join Starlink. Moreover, a large number of them are Advanced Lifestyle players. This will likely wound the Candlelight Trading Firm."
"I would be tempted, as well. After all, they get to join a superpower and earn three times their normal salary."
"That's not all Starlink is doing. I've heard that it's started to buy Star-Moon Kingdom's materials at a high price, too. It is also selling similar products to the Candlelight Trading Firm at a much lower price. As a result, Candlelight's player traffic has decreased."
"Zero Wing's in trouble now. It has just secured White River City's Auction House after fighting so hard, and just as it has gained the funds to start on the path toward becoming a superpower, Starlink had jumped in and made such a move. Zero Wing's development will likely stagnate."
"Sure enough, superpowers shouldn't be casually provoked."
By this point, Star-Moon Kingdom's players had gained a better understanding of superpowers' wealth. Although they had recently held an optimistic view of Zero Wing's future, hoping that Zero Wing could emerge victorious from a price war with Starlink was unrealistic.
Meanwhile, a gorgeous woman in dark-purple robes entered one of White River City's Advanced Bars. As soon as she spotted the middle-aged man wearing pitch-black leather armor at the bar, she hurried up to him.
"Commander, I've just received a message from the Seven Sins. Not only has Starlink successfully secured three Auction Houses, but it has also become an advanced member in the Secret Chamber of Commerce. As an advanced member, the first thing Starlink did was use its authority to hold an Advanced Union. It looks like Starlink is trying to kick Zero Wing out of Secret," Yi Luofei immediately reported.
"An Advanced Union?" Yan Tianxing could not help but shake his head and sigh as he said, "Sure enough, hoping that a Guild with no background can become a superpower is a fool's dream. Since that is the case, let's return to the Black Dragon Empire."
Within the Secret Chamber of Commerce, there were two levels of members.h.i.+p: basic and advanced. Not only did advanced members enjoy greater authority and have more access to the Chamber's resources, but they could also hold an Advanced Union to propose changes to the Chamber's other advanced members. As long as more than half of the advanced members agreed to the proposal, it would be enacted immediately. One of the potential proposals included expelling basic members from the Chamber.
However, becoming an advanced member in the Secret Chamber of Commerce was extremely difficult. Not even all Super Guilds qualified for that level of members.h.i.+p, and Starlink's success in doing so was certainly shocking.
Since Starlink was responsible for the proposal, Secret's advanced members would likely approve Zero Wing's removal to avoid provoking the superpower and prevent another from rising in G.o.d's Domain. Now, not even the Secret Pavilion's objection could save Zero Wing from its fate.
It was easy to imagine what end awaited Zero Wing if it lost access to the Secret Chamber of Commerce's sales channels.
s.h.i.+ Feng, who busied himself in the Candlelight Trading Firm, received a frustrated notification from Yuan Tiexin, as well. After today, Zero Wing was no longer a member of the Secret Chamber of Commerce, and all dealings it had with the Chamber would be canceled immediately.
"Guild Leader Black Flame, this decision is a result of the Advanced Union's agreement. Although the Secret Pavilion voted against it, the five other advanced members voted for the proposal. There was nothing the Pavilion could do," Yuan Tiexin said apologetically.
"It's fine. It's the rules, after all. Although, I have to thank the Pavilion for voting in Zero Wing's favor," s.h.i.+ Feng said, chuckling.
"Although Zero Wing is no longer part of the Secret Chamber of Commerce, if your Guild needs anything, the Secret Pavilion can help with small matters. Just contact me if you need anything in the future," Yuan Tiexin sincerely offered.
"Thanks." s.h.i.+ Feng nodded appreciatively.
As s.h.i.+ Feng learned of Zero Wing's banishment from the Secret Chamber of Commerce, news of the matter spread throughout Star-Moon Kingdom, causing an uproar.
n.o.body would've imagined that Secret would annex Zero Wing without a second thought. With this, Zero Wing would find it even more difficult to survive Starlink's economic suppression.
"Zero Wing! Didn't you want to play? I'll give you my full attention this time!" Lu Xingluo, in the distant Dark Night Empire, laughed when he received the latest report on Zero Wing.
Previously, he hadn't had the time to deal with Zero Wing, but now that Starlink has secured its position as the Dark Night Empire's overlord, neither Unyielding Soul nor Crimson Empire was a match for its prowess in the empire. Now that he didn't have to worry about Starlink's position in the empire, he had the time to punish Zero Wing for angering Starlink.
Meanwhile, Melancholic Smile and Youlan had just arrived in one of the Hundred Flower Palace's Shops in Dark Night City that Zero Wing had taken over.
"Guild Leader, all of Candlelight's Shops in the empire have been stocked with Stamina Gemstones and Exotic Stamina Potions. We can start selling them at any time," Melancholic Smile reported after calling s.h.i.+ Feng.
"Good! Begin the operation!" s.h.i.+ Feng commanded. "It's about time we teach Starlink a lesson!"
