When Nie Yan opened his eyes again, he had already arrived at a human city. Glancing at the nearby buildings, he realized it was Radiant City. He didn’t know why he had ended up in this city. He looked at his wrist, where a triggering rune of a magical teleportation array had been imprinted. A strange power was contained within it, allowing him to open a portal anytime to return to the barbarian Kroytz. However, this teleportation array could only be used once.
Nie Yan suddenly noticed many players around staring at him, their faces filled with shock.
Following their gaze, Nie Yan looked down at the sword in his hand—Zennarde’s Blade. This sword radiated a terrifying glow, with black flames burning fiercely. It was a flame sword! Even if Nie Yan concealed its brilliance, its crystal body and sharp barbs on the side remained strikingly evident.
They had never seen such an impressive dagger before.
“Damn, what kind of sword is that?”
“I don’t know, I’ve never seen it before!” The players whispered among themselves.
“Isn’t that Nie Yan, the leader of the Bull Tribe? Why is he here in Radiant City?”
“I don’t know. I heard the Bull Tribe and the Warblade Bloodthirsty aren’t on good terms.”
Hearing the players’ whispers, Nie Yan made no comment. This was his first visit to Radiant City, and he would return again next time. He sheathed the dagger at his waist and walked toward the teleportation array.
“You’re finally out,” Guo Huai messaged Nie Yan, as he noticed Nie Yan’s coordinates now showed Radiant City. Nie Yan had granted Guo Huai permission to see his location.
Nie Yan smiled and replied, “How is the guild developing lately? Are the major guilds making any moves?”
“We’ve secured three strongholds already, but we haven’t decided how to arrange them yet—we’re waiting for you to help plan. Also, I have some news: the Holy Roman Empire already has two strongholds, and the Triumph Empire, Radiant Flame, and Kalam Serene Temple each have one. Warblade Bloodthirsty already has five strongholds, while the Mage Alliance and Sacred Guardians each have three. The Furious War Alliance has two strongholds,” Guo Huai said. The Bull Tribe had barely caught up in the race. However, the three strongholds they had just cleared were still barren, with no development at all, far behind Warblade Bloodthirsty, Mage Alliance, and Sacred Guardians.
“Did you watch the video I sent you?” Guo Huai asked.
“I did,” Nie Yan replied. In the video, Warblade Bloodthirsty’s stronghold was already taking shape, with many merchants setting up shop, and commerce beginning to develop successfully.
“We need to speed things up,” Guo Huai said. Warblade Bloodthirsty was right next door in Radiant City, and there was a strong sense of urgency. If Warblade Bloodthirsty developed further, their first move would surely be to ally with Radiant Flame and Triumph Empire, targeting the Bull Tribe directly!
Once a guild obtained a stronghold, its headquarters had to be relocated there. From then on, the guild’s fate would be closely tied to the stronghold. If the stronghold was lost, the guild headquarters might be destroyed, and the guild level would drop by two levels.
The Bull Tribe must first defend its strongholds, especially the one where the guild headquarters was located, before gradually expanding. In the future, if the Dragon Vault Consortium gained enough benefits in the Bull Tribe’s stronghold, they would continue to invest in it, creating a virtuous cycle and shared interests. As long as the Bull Tribe held the stronghold, the Dragon Vault Consortium could establish shops and other facilities there to generate continuous revenue. If the Bull Tribe’s stronghold was lost, the Dragon Vault Consortium’s income sources in the virtual game would be cut off by other consortiums.
A situation of competing powers was gradually taking shape.
“I’ll head to the stronghold soon,” Nie Yan said. Now that the major guilds had just captured their strongholds and were fortifying them, there wouldn’t be any conflicts for the time being.
Nie Yan teleported to Carol City and then walked outside the city.
The Bull Tribe’s first stronghold was on the edge of the Dreaming Crimson Forest, situated halfway up a hill, commanding a high position, and easily defended but hard to attack. Guo Huai had set up the guild headquarters there only after getting Nie Yan’s approval.
Nie Yan named this stronghold “Neverfall,” a homophone of the last two characters in the Bull Tribe’s name.
Nie Yan rode his horse across the wilderness, looking toward Neverfall. On the high slope stood a stronghold covering about 2000×2000 yards. Outside were walls over thirty yards high. Inside, there were not many buildings yet, but it was easy to foresee that this place would rise into a magnificent stronghold city in the future.
In his past life, this stronghold had been the Radiant Flame’s first stronghold. Its easily defended terrain had led to several crushing defeats for the Holy Roman Empire at its gates.
But in this life, the stronghold had already changed hands. Nie Yan would turn it into a true Neverfall!
Nie Yan rode his Forcarna warhorse into the stronghold. Looking around, the ground was vast and mostly empty, with only a few buildings left behind by dark creatures—ruined structures that would be demolished after the stronghold’s renovation.
Thousands of guild members were guarding the place. Seeing Nie Yan return, they greeted him enthusiastically.
“Boss, good to see you!”
“Boss Nie Yan, good to see you!”
Looking into the distance, Nie Yan saw several people approaching. Guo Huai, Cui Can Daoguang (Crimson Blade), Shui Se Yantou (Smoke Blue), and others were among them.
“You’re here. We’ve drawn up a construction plan and were just about to show it to you,” Guo Huai said.
Nie Yan exchanged smiles with the team members present. He looked at Shui Se Yantou, who was wearing the Level 45 War God’s Eulogy armor, its gleaming silver-white armor making him look energetic.
“Got your gear back?” Nie Yan smiled. Shui Se Yantou seemed to be doing quite well lately.
“Not bad. With help from Cui Can Daoguang, Li Cheng Huasha (Ten-Mile Painting Veil), and others, I got it back quickly,” Shui Se Yantou smiled slightly. During this period, the strength of the former Ku Ye Studio members had gradually improved. Although Ku Ye Studio no longer existed, they occasionally took on missions in the Assassin Alliance, earning considerable income.
“How’s the studio’s financial situation? Let us know if you have any problems,” Nie Yan said. Shui Se Yantou was now part of the Bull Tribe, and if he encountered difficulties, the Bull Tribe wouldn’t stand idly by.
“It’s okay now. After getting our gear, we’ve been able to take on many high-reward missions. We’ve entrusted the money we earned to Mu En for investment, and we’ve made a lot. Our finances have improved, and I estimate that in about five or six days, we’ll be able to pay off our debts and start making a profit,” Shui Se Yantou replied. After being expelled empty-handed, their debts weren’t heavy, though all their savings from previous years were gone. They had to start from scratch, but life wasn’t unbearable.
“That’s good,” Nie Yan nodded. He took the blueprint from Guo Huai’s hands. The blueprint outlined the stronghold’s construction plan, including the locations of the guild headquarters, commercial districts, and more.
Nie Yan studied the blueprint, comparing it with some successful strongholds from his past life, and made some modifications.
“Since this stronghold is crucial to the guild’s survival, one layer of city walls in front isn’t enough. We need three layers. They should be placed side by side, with some distance between them. The gates of the three walls shouldn’t be aligned, preventing enemies from charging straight in,” Nie Yan proposed as his first modification.
If enemies rushed through the first gate, they would find a wall blocking their way. They would have to go a long way around the gap between two walls to find the second gate. After finding the second gate, another wall would block their path, forcing them to go a long way around again to find the third gate. Thus, the time required to breach the stronghold would be significantly extended. If giant crossbows were placed on the walls, and mages stood on both sides, while warriors lined the passage between the walls, enemies without heavy siege equipment like catapults would find it impossible to break into the stronghold.
Guo Huai’s eyes lit up. “Great idea! This will significantly enhance our defensive capabilities.”
“This idea is indeed very creative,” Shui Se Yantou nodded in agreement.
Cui Can Daoguang and others also strongly supported the idea.
“Also, we need to change the teleportation point and build the commercial district behind it. After all, the Dragon Vault Consortium is our investor, and we must ensure their in-game interests. Besides, I have an energy core here that can create a protective barrier for the stronghold,” Nie Yan added. With this, the stronghold would be as solid as a fortress.
After discussing and finalizing the stronghold’s planning, everyone began the construction.
After the Dragon Vault Consortium invested a large sum of money, the Bull Tribe had sufficient funds for construction. Nie Yan began arranging the stronghold. Three continuous walls rose outside, each higher than the last, allowing players on the walls to fire upon enemies outside the stronghold.
Building a fourth or fifth wall would be ineffective and reduce the internal land area of the stronghold.
In the center of the stronghold stood a tall building—the guild headquarters. A teleportation array was set up here, connected to the teleportation array in the guild office in Carol City. Then, streets radiated outward from the center to each wall, allowing teams to be teleported immediately to any problematic area. The commercial district was placed in a safer rear area. In front were buildings like the Level 1 siege weapon workshop, Level 1 mage tower, and Level 1 War God statue. The siege weapon workshop could produce various siege and defense equipment, such as ballistae. In later stages, it could produce catapults and other items. The mage tower could provide mages with magical power, while the War God statue could enhance the attack power of defending warriors—for example, Level 1 provided a 3% boost. More useful buildings would be added in later stages. Additionally, residential houses were to be built—each house could provide a certain population, and the number of houses determined how many players could participate in the city defense.
Under Nie Yan’s guidance, buildings sprang up one after another, neatly arranged like stars scattered across the sky. At a glance, hundreds of buildings had already taken shape, quite impressive in scale. What was still lacking was simply the presence of people.
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