The fog in the Griffon Woods was so thick that without Fog Dispelling Scrolls, it was impossible to move even a single step. Thieves who scouted inadequately could easily encounter monsters, leading to a total party wipe. Therefore, a trip to the Griffon Woods would at least consume one Fog Dispelling Scroll, sometimes even two or more.
Generally, a guild team needed to consume more than fifty Fog Dispelling Scrolls to roughly explore the Griffon Woods and gain a detailed understanding of it, after which they would start reaping steady rewards.
In his past life, the Griffon Woods was bustling with activity, often witnessing conflicts between guilds.
Nie Yan answered the voice call and said to Guo Huai, “Find some mages and go to the Mage Guild in Carol City. Look for a mage named Aizet and check if they have Fog Dispelling Scrolls for sale.”
“What are Fog Dispelling Scrolls used for?” Guo Huai asked curiously.
“You’ll know later. Remember, these mages must be trustworthy; absolutely no leaks of information,” Nie Yan replied. If the Mage Guild started selling Fog Dispelling Scrolls now, he would definitely buy up all of them without hesitation.
“Got it, I’ll arrange it immediately,” Guo Huai said, realizing Nie Yan’s seriousness and not daring to take it lightly.
After a while, Guo Huai’s people sent back a message.
“There are indeed Fog Dispelling Scrolls, but they’re a bit too expensive. Each one costs 500 gold!” Guo Huai said, puzzled why Nie Yan was interested in such an impractical item.
“Have everyone buy them and store them in my personal warehouse,” Nie Yan said excitedly upon hearing Guo Huai’s words.
“There are five in total; that’s 2,500 gold!” Guo Huai said, feeling a bit reluctant. Even with money, spending it like this was excessive.
“Not only Carol City, send people to the Mage Guilds in all cities and buy up all the Fog Dispelling Scrolls there. Also, send some people in disguise to the Sarten Empire; don’t let a single Fog Dispelling Scroll slip through!” Nie Yan instructed. He wanted to set up a network dedicated to buying out all Fog Dispelling Scrolls. Since these scrolls refreshed every five days and at fixed times, buying them immediately upon refresh would keep them out of other players’ sight. If the secrecy was well maintained, Fog Dispelling Scrolls would become an exclusive item of Bull Tribe.
Of course, Bull Tribe alone couldn’t consume so many Fog Dispelling Scrolls. Nie Yan didn’t have enough money to keep stockpiling them indefinitely. After meeting the needs of his own people, he naturally planned to release the scrolls to the market.
In his previous life, countless people flocked to Mage Guilds to snatch these scrolls. Once acquired, they could be resold on the market for two or three thousand gold coins, sometimes even more. This was a risk-free venture with profits reaching several hundred percent, enough to drive many to madness.
If Bull Tribe monopolized this trade, besides making money, he could also give Mage Alliance, Holy Guardians, and Angel Dominion a good thrashing.
Currently, the most important thing was to maintain secrecy and quietly make a fortune.
“Are you sure there’s a market for this?” Guo Huai asked. There were at least twenty or thirty major cities in the Greenland Empire, with another fifty or sixty smaller cities. As more players entered the game, many smaller cities rapidly increased in population and established Mage Guilds. In the Sarten Empire, the two empires combined had at least over a hundred cities. Buying all the Fog Dispelling Scrolls would cost at least 250,000 gold. Considering the scrolls refreshed every five days, that meant spending 250,000 gold every five days, not including transportation costs. If the money couldn’t be recouped, Nie Yan would inevitably have to venture into the underworld several times more.
“Don’t worry, I’ll give you a surprise later,” Nie Yan smiled.
“Alright then,” Guo Huai nodded. Fortunately, Bull Tribe was a large and wealthy guild with nearly a million gold in total assets and over 200,000 in liquid funds, otherwise such spending would be unthinkable. After all, with so many members in a guild, massive gold expenditures occurred every second, making it quite challenging.
Under Nie Yan’s instructions, Guo Huai began assigning tasks. Many Bull Tribe mages removed their guild badges and, hiding their identities, headed to various cities. These mages were trusted confidants of Guo Huai and Nie Yan, their loyalty beyond doubt.
After two or three hours of busy work, the network was finally set up. The effects it would produce would become apparent after some time. With such a large investment, recouping costs would be simple. However, Nie Yan’s goal was not merely to recover costs but to make these scrolls exert tremendous power.
Once the guild stabilized, Nie Yan would go to the Holy Temple to complete the Shadow Dancer class change quest. Recently, Mage Alliance, Holy Guardians, and Angel Dominion had continuously harassed Bull Tribe. Bull Tribe couldn’t deal with so many guilds at once and could only maintain a disadvantageous position. An ordinary guild suffering such harassment might already face financial crisis, but Bull Tribe, with its staggering wealth, wasn’t significantly affected.
Besides threats from Mage Alliance, Holy Guardians, and Angel Dominion, recently, with more players entering the game, one guild after another began developing rapidly under the support of domestic and international financial groups. Divine Sword and Light-Dark Empire were typical examples, along with Blood Moon Guild, Hidden Dragon Guild, Ruling Heaven Guild, and others. With Faith’s built-in language translation system, more foreign players began entering the game, mostly organized groups from professional studios. They were still developing now, but once they formed guilds and united, their strength would be formidable.
Most of these newly established guilds opted for smaller cities beyond the reach of major guilds, enabling them to develop undisturbed. With a teleportation fee of just one gold, players found it affordable. Given that bustling metropolises like Carol City were overcrowded—making prime leveling spots scarce—some players began migrating to more remote regions. This dispersal created fertile ground for smaller guilds to flourish. A single spark, as they say, can ignite a prairie fire.
Faith had been open for more than four months, a golden period for rapid guild development. During this time, Nie Yan dared not leave and decided to observe the situation first.
In his past life, the Greenlan Empire was a place of diverse competition. Although Cao Xu acquired five major guilds, they never stopped facing troubles. One guild after another rose, creating significant challenges to their ruling position. Maintaining dominance in the Greenlan Empire was no easy task, with several close calls nearly leading to the collapse of their empire.
Progress is like rowing upstream; if you don’t advance, you retreat. Nie Yan understood that Bull Tribe had to keep developing to ensure its future position. Otherwise, sooner or later, one guild after another would rise and replace Bull Tribe.
If Bull Tribe wanted to achieve dominance, it had to be prepared to withstand challenges.
From Guo Huai, Nie Yan learned that many guilds were recruiting players in Carol City. As long as players reached level 50 and joined their guilds, they would even reimburse teleportation fees. Most of the old members from guilds like Triumph Empire and Hengzong Tianxia had left Carol City, and their whereabouts were unclear.
Besides guild affairs, Nie Yan’s recent goal was to reach level 100 and then change classes to Shadow Dancer. He racked his brains, thinking of ways to level up quickly. Nie Yan remembered the Dark Gem in his backpack, which he had kept unused, waiting for the right equipment.
Dark Gem (9): Can be embedded.
Additional attributes: Converts 10% of attack into dark piercing damage, 1% chance to ignore defense. Equipment requirement -10.
In a while, he would make this Dark Gem exert its due effect, then smoothly reach level 100.
An extremely small item, if it could exert its effect, could create absolutely amazing results.
Looking at the time, it was already time to log off. Nie Yan logged out and came out of the game pod. He remembered today was the graduation party and looked at the game pod beside him. It happened to open, and Xie Yao walked out.
Nourished by the nutrient solution, Nie Yan noticed Xie Yao’s skin had grown even fairer, as translucent as a pearl, making one unable to resist the urge to take a bite. Dressed in a pink strapless outfit, Xie Yao exuded an irresistible allure.
“Nie Yan, today is the graduation ceremony. I heard there will be a performance. Let’s go together,” Xie Yao said eagerly.
Nie Yan frowned slightly and said, “It’s a bit unsafe for you to go out.”
“It’s okay. We can disguise ourselves. I asked my father,” Xie Yao smiled, saying it would be a pity not to attend such an important event.
Nie Yan thought for a moment. Since Xie Jun had agreed, Zhengrong Group and Longyue Group would probably send people. Bringing Cidao along, there shouldn’t be any problem. “Alright then.”
Nie Yan and Xie Yao finished washing up and changed clothes, then left the villa together.
At Huada High School, today was particularly lively, with people coming and going. There seemed to be a performance later.
“Nie Yan, you said you had a friend to protect us. Where is he?” Xie Yao asked, puzzled.
“He’s already here,” Nie Yan smiled slightly.
Xie Yao looked confused. She looked around, seeing mostly familiar students passing by. Where was the friend Nie Yan mentioned?
Nie Yan smiled and said, “Let’s go in.” If Cidao were that easy to spot, he wouldn’t be able to survive.
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