As soon as the system notification ended, a light-blue selection window popped up before s.h.i.+ Feng.
Despite his mult.i.tude of experiences, when s.h.i.+ Feng saw the two options the window displayed, he could not help but grow excited.
G.o.d's Domain's current players might realize that the Peak Construction Design and Cold Town Promotion Order were amazing items, but they likely didn't know how important these items were. Not even the various superpowers would recognize their true value. Of course, s.h.i.+ Feng knew.
Both items had been capable of changing a power's fate during his previous life, and superpowers were no exception.
The Peak Construction Design might not seem like much as it only allowed one to construct a single building, but a Guild City required a Peak Construction to qualify for its promotion to Main City rank.
Even a major NPC city like White River City was only Advanced rank, a step away from reaching a Main City's standard. Star-Moon City was the only NPC Main City in the kingdom.
Meanwhile, a Main City could serve as a Guild's foundation. Superpowers had paid astronomical sums to capture a first-rate Guild's Main City even after a decade in G.o.d's Domain. If not for the existence of Main Cities, the various superpowers would've snuffed out all first-rate Guilds and stolen their territories.
Hence, a Guild had only been considered first-rate once it had acquired a Main City during s.h.i.+ Feng's previous life.
In the past, a Peak Construction Design had even been worth more than an ordinary Fragmented Legendary item. When one had appeared on the market, the various major powers hadn't hesitated to offer their Fragmented Legendary items in exchange.
The Gold Town Promotion Order was only slightly less valuable than the Peak Construction Design. It could only promote an Advanced Town into a Basic City.
However, the two items were equally valuable right now. Players were getting closer to qualifying for their Tier 3 promotions, and without a Guild City as a base in Level 100 neutral maps, completing the Promotion quest would be quite difficult. Unfortunately, upgrading an Advanced Town into a Basic City wasn't easy and required a lot of time.
Even after players had reached Level 100 in the past, very few superpowers had commanded a Guild City, not to mention lesser organizations. If Zero Wing secured an additional Guild City before players reached such a high level, the Guild would gain unimaginable benefits.
Let's go with the Gold Town Promotion Order. After hesitating for a long moment, s.h.i.+ Feng chose the promotion order.
Although a Main City was unshakable to any below Tier 5, the amount of time a Guild needed to prepare its Guild City for the promotion was no laughing matter. Furthermore, with Zero Wing's current predicament, the Guild would be eliminated before it could successfully acquire a Main City.
On the other hand, the Gold Town Promotion Order could instantly provide an additional safeguard.
After obtaining the Gold Town Promotion Order, s.h.i.+ Feng immediately made his way toward White River City's Auction House. Now that he had the Auction House's Proof of Release, the NPC Auction House could finally fulfill its potential.
The thought alone excited s.h.i.+ Feng.
White River City's Auction House was already connected to the Auction Houses in the several neighboring NPC cities. In total, more than 15,000,000 players had access to the Auction House. Now, the items these players sold through the NPC Auction Houses would show up in Stone Forest Town's Auction House. This was akin to adding another 15,000,000 players to Stone Forest Town's population. Moreover, items sold in Stone Forest Town's Auction House would appear in White River City's Auction House, which would greatly increase the latter's compet.i.tive edge.
With the two Auction Houses complementing each other, their development speed and income would easily surpa.s.s that of the Guild Auction Houses and NPC Auction Houses the various superpowers ran.
However, shortly after s.h.i.+ Feng entered the crowded Auction House of White River City, Aqua Rose called him. When the call connected, the system revealed her fl.u.s.tered expression.
"Has something happened in the Guild?" s.h.i.+ Feng asked.
Fire Dance's team had just chased away the Mad Beast Legion that had been interfering with Silverwing Town. Starlink would likely need some time to prepare if it wanted to remount its a.s.sault on the town. Dealing with Zero Wing in Star-Moon Kingdom should prove even more challenging for the superpower. Even a fool would know the benefits the 1-star Honorary Guild t.i.tle provided. Unless Starlink had gone mad, it would never attempt to start an actual war with Zero Wing in Star-Moon Kingdom.
"No, it's the Dark Night Empire! Something major has happened there!" Aqua Rose hurriedly reported. "I've just received news that Starlink has dealt a heavy blow to Unyielding Soul during its attempt to capture the Buried Bones Fortress. Half of Unyielding Soul's Guild experts were killed in the ambush. Unyielding Soul will likely have a lot of trouble just trying to set foot in the Ancient Undead Country, now. After this, Starlink will likely try to eliminate the Dark Night Empire's various major powers to ensure that no one ever dares to question it in the empire. The Hundred Flowers Palace's several allies have publicly severed their relations.h.i.+p with the Palace over this."
Three superpowers fought for supremacy in the Dark Night Empire. Although Starlink had gained a ma.s.sive advantage after securing Dark Night City's Auction House, Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor were still capable of fighting Starlink in the empire's other locations. Although the empire's major powers were in awe of Starlink's strength, they had no qualms about carrying out covert operations. Overall, the various major powers still had plenty of living s.p.a.ce in the empire.
However, now that Unyielding Soul had taken such a severe blow and lost a significant portion of its combat power, it was at its limit as it tried to stay afloat. Unyielding Soul couldn't pin down Starlink any longer. As for Crimson Emperor, the Guild's att.i.tude toward Starlink had always been lukewarm. Crimson Emperor only supported Unyielding Soul on the surface; it wouldn't attempt to stand against Starlink for the other Guild.
After this victory, Starlink would try to solidify its position in the empire. Zero Wing's Shops and its partners.h.i.+p with the Hundred Flowers Palace would likely go down the drain.
Once Starlink's position was unshakable, the Guild could afford to dispatch even more of its members to hara.s.s Zero Wing.
A large part of the reason that Zero Wing had resisted Starlink's forces in the Ore Empire thus far was the help Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor unwittingly provided by pinning the superpower down in the Dark Night Empire. Without them, Starlink would've likely taken Silverwing Town by now.
As expected of Starlink. It wounded Unyielding Soul even while fighting on two fronts. s.h.i.+ Feng could not help but lament at Starlink's foundations.
Although s.h.i.+ Feng had known that Starlink had the Starline Corporation's support and had developed rapidly in the past, he hadn't thought that the Guild would be this strong. It was no wonder why the Secret Pavilion had allowed Starlink to become an advanced member in the Secret Chamber of Commerce.
"What should we do now, Guild Leader? We've expended a lot of effort to gain a foothold in the Dark Night Empire. Should we give it up?" Aqua Rose asked.
Starlink hadn't begun to clean up the Dark Night Empire just yet. If they took advantage of this opportunity to sell off their Shops and resources in the empire, they should be able to get a high price. If they waited until Starlink took action, however, they'd likely get nothing for these Shops and resources. On the contrary, they might take a loss.
"No! This is a good opportunity. I'm sure plenty of powers are trying to sell their properties and cut their losses in the empire. Send someone to negotiate with them. If the price is suitable, we'll take their a.s.sets off their hands," s.h.i.+ Feng said, smiling as he shook his head.
By now, the most strategic Lands in G.o.d's Domain's various kingdoms and empires had already been claimed. Purchasing these plots for anything less than an exorbitant amount was practically impossible.
Unlike the various superpowers, Zero Wing had started with nothing in G.o.d's Domain. Now that Starlink was trying to solidify its position in the empire. This was the perfect opportunity for Zero Wing to expand its influence.
"This..." s.h.i.+ Feng's decision stunned Aqua Rose.
The Dark Night Empire's powers were trying desperately to flee, yet s.h.i.+ Feng wanted to rush headlong into the empire. Although his plan could yield tremendous profits for Zero Wing, the risk was just as great.
"Go negotiate for now. Starlink might be powerful, but Zero Wing is no pushover!" s.h.i.+ Feng said earnestly.
"Understood." Aqua Rose nodded.
One could only hope to become rich by taking risks. If s.h.i.+ Feng's plan succeeded, Zero Wing's development would reach a whole new level. Star-Moon Kingdom was, after all, only a kingdom; it was no match for an empire.
By the time s.h.i.+ Feng had finished his conversation with Aqua Rose, he had arrived on the top-floor hall of White River City's Auction House.
"Lord Protector, how may I be of service?" Hope, the Auction House's senior administrator, respectfully asked as he approached s.h.i.+ Feng.
"I wish to connect White River City and Stone Forest Town's Auction Houses. I have this certificate from Lord Weissman," s.h.i.+ Feng said as he handed the Proof of Release to Hope.
After a moment of surprise, Hope carefully inspected the parchment.
"This is indeed a certificate signed by Lord Weissman," Hope said with even greater respect. "My lord, please wait here for a moment. I'll take care of the necessary procedures right away."
s.h.i.+ Feng nodded. This wasn't his first time doing something like this.
The Auction Houses in question operated through different systems. Connecting the two would take some time, which would depend on the Auction Houses' standards and resources.
Hope finally returned to the top-floor hall over half an hour later. He then handed s.h.i.+ Feng an ancient token and said, "My lord, this is the management certificate for the two Auction Houses' warehouses. The two Auction Houses are now linked. You may use this certificate to open either Auction House's warehouse at any time."
A Silver Auction House Certificate? s.h.i.+ Feng stared at the silver token in his hand, stunned.
Normally, players only received the Bronze rank certificate for initiating a link between a player Auction House and an NPC Auction House. With a Bronze Auction House Certificate, the two Auction Houses could share merchandise, and players could claim a certain percentage of the generated revenue. As the Auction Houses shared more transactions, not only would their development accelerate, but the Auction House Certificate would also improve, granting its owner better benefits.
But to s.h.i.+ Feng's surprise, he had received a Silver Auction House Certificate for connecting one NPC Auction House to one player Auction House. He had never heard of something like this happening in the past. He hadn't even been able to upgrade his Auction House Certificate to Silver rank in his previous life. And yet, in this life, he had secured one so quickly...
