Dragonheart City was originally already bubbling over the conflict between Zero Wing and War Blood. Hence, the city's various powers were keeping an eye out for news about the Northern Fortress.
The World Tower could be said to be Dragonheart City's greatest resource; the various powers had all obtained a large number of leveling and material resources from it. Meanwhile, the Gravity Mountain Range's fortresses played a crucial role in further enhancing their resource acquisition rate.
With rumors regarding the Northern Fortress's devastating abilities proliferating, Dragonheart City's various powers immediately launched an investigation to ascertain the truth.
"Return Scrolls?"
"Investigate! I want this information verified as soon as possible!"
Previously, the various powers had nothing much to say much about War Blood's threat, as War Blood had also captured a fortress in the northern region and was going to open it just one day after the Northern Fortress opened. A one-day difference wouldn't affect their development by much. Moreover, the Northern Fortress's location was remote, so it wasn't particularly attractive to the various powers. At best, it could only serve as a rest area.
However, things were different now.
The Northern Fortress's Return Scroll would be a game-changer in the Gravity Mountain Range. The difference between having a Return Scroll and not having one while grinding in the Gravity Mountain Range was ma.s.sive. Moreover, the effects would s...o...b..ll as time pa.s.sed.
The reason the various powers had set up a base of operations in Dragonheart City was to gain better development resources. If their own profits were not affected, the various powers would show War Blood some respect and avoid provoking it as much as possible. However, it was a whole other story if conceding to War Blood's demands affected their development by a significant margin.
Dragonheart City's various powers sent scouts to check out the Northern Fortress, which crowded the hall of the World Tower's first underground floor.
The moment the various powers' scouts entered the Northern Fortress, they were shocked by the fortress's environment.
The high Mana density and lack of mental pressure here made the Northern Fortress no different from Dragonheart City. It was entirely possible for players to use the Northern Fortress as a temporary base. With the Northern Fortress, they would no longer have to shuttle between the World Tower and Dragonheart City.
Most importantly, the Northern Fortress possessed Return Scrolls. The price of 10 Ancient Silver nearly had the visiting players wondering whether they were hallucinating.
After the various powers' scouts reported back about the situation inside the Northern Fortress, a huge commotion erupted in Dragonheart City.
The Gravity Mountain Range's resources were incomparably abundant. Until now, the various powers had yet to explore even two-thirds of the entire map. This was especially true for the ruins of the ancient civilization. These ruins contained a plethora of precious treasures. Only, due to the Gravity Mountain Range's environment, exploring these ruins was still incredibly difficult, even with the help of a Small Fortress.
Meanwhile, although the Northern Fortress was in a remote area, it perfectly solved the hindrance to staying in the Gravity Mountain Range long-term.
This meant that Guild members could start exploring the various ancient ruins with much greater efficiency than before and secure even more resources for themselves. Their exploration progress might even surpa.s.s that of Thirteen Thrones, which possessed a Small Fortress.
"Notify everyone immediately! We're s.h.i.+fting our Guild's base of operations on Dragonheart Island to the Northern Fortress!"
"But what about War Blood?"
"Screw them! This is an opportunity for our Guild! We'll kill anybody that stands in our way!"
Less than an hour after the various powers based in Dragonheart City verified the rumors regarding the Northern Fortress, many started sending a large number of experts there lest other powers get ahead of them. After all, the Northern Fortress was only a Medium Fortress. Unlike a city, a Medium Fortress could accommodate only a very limited number of players. The number of hotels in a fortress was especially limited.
Not resting in a hotel would severely impact players' recovery speed. Moreover, according to the powers' investigations, the Northern Fortress's hotels could even hasten the Double EXP buffs acc.u.mulation rate. The difference between having a hotel to rest in and not having one would drastically affect their leveling speed.
Meanwhile, over at the Gravity Mountain Range's Northern Fortress, the sudden influx of players made the fortress bustle.
"Big Sis Rain, according to our latest statistics, over 150,000 players have visited the Northern Fortress thus far, and estimates state that we should hit the 400,000 mark by the end of today," Blue Phoenix reported excitedly as she approached Phoenix Rain.
Back when Thirteen Thrones had successfully captured a fortress, despite the huge commotion in Dragonheart City, the fortress had managed to attract only around 200,000 visitors on its first day. Meanwhile, the fortress had a player population of only 700,000, which was also the maximum capacity of a Small Fortress.
In comparison, the Northern Fortress was expected to attract over 400,000 visitors on the opening day alone. It would most likely take only two or three days to exceed the 700,000 threshold. Reaching the maximum capacity of 1,500,000 players was only a matter of time.
It should be known that even with just a 700,000 player population, Thirteen Thrones' Small Fortress generated tons of wealth and resources every day. Although Blue Phoenix did not know how much the Small Fortress was earning exactly, according to the investigations of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion's spies, the fortress's daily income was at least 5,000 Ancient Gold and 600,000 Ancient Silver.
Once the Northern Fortress's player population reached maximum capacity, one could easily imagine how much income it would generate. Moreover, the Northern Fortress had many more sources of revenue than Thirteen Thrones' Small Fortress. Even though Phoenix Rain held only 20% of the Northern Fortress's shares, the income she would receive could rival half of a Small Fortress's total income, at the very least.
Half!
Even Starlink did not receive half of the income from Thirteen Thrones' Small Fortress. At that time, who would dare question Phoenix Rain's position in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion?
"I'm afraid that even War Blood and Starlink did not expect such an outcome." When Phoenix Rain looked at the statistics report in her hand, she could not help but sigh ruefully.
Previously, even after successfully capturing the Northern Fortress, she had still felt that s.h.i.+ Feng had gone overboard with his actions in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion's Residence. Now, however, it would seem that the one to regret their actions would not be Zero Wing, but War Blood instead.
The Northern Fortress's future was already clear for all to see. Once a sufficient number of players gathered and the Northern Fortress was in full operation, it would be impossible for War Blood to exhaust and destroy Zero Wing in the Sea of Death. After all, the disparity in the incomes of the two sides would be simply too ma.s.sive.
Aside from Phoenix Rain, Dragonheart City's various superpowers were entertaining such thoughts as well.
Although War Blood had captured the Rock Nest Fortress, the difference between that and the Northern Fortress was far too ma.s.sive. With this, War Blood had backed itself into a corner. After all, War Blood had previously declared that it would ban all those who entered the Northern Fortress from the Rock Nest Fortress. Now, the players that were originally planning on resting at the Rock Nest Fortress would not dare approach the fortress at all—a situation that would definitely reduce the Rock Nest Fortress's income.
While the various powers were paying attention to the Northern Fortress, s.h.i.+ Feng was hustling in the Northern Fortress.
Not only did he have to reorganize the Northern Fortress's construction plans, due to the explosive increase in player population, but he also had to deal with the partners.h.i.+p offers and Shop purchase requests from the various powers.
"Guild Leader, the Fang Family's people have visited our main headquarters and stated that they wish to meet you," Gentle Snow, who was currently organizing the information on the Northern Fortress's Shops, said, a grim expression on her face.
Previously, due to her personal matters, s.h.i.+ Feng had stepped forward to provoke the Fang Family, the number one family in Fenglin City, which possessed extraordinary influence in the city. The fact that the Fang Family was paying Zero Wing a visit now definitely wasn't good news for the Guild.
"The Fang Family?" s.h.i.+ Feng nodded. "Let's go meet them, then."
