Nie Yan understood that financially, he could never compete with Century Conglomerate. Competing with Century Conglomerate over wealth? That would be a joke!
With Bull Tribe’s financial resources, for a second-tier player like Shao Bing, a monthly salary of 20,000 was already very high. Anything higher would be unaffordable for Bull Tribe. Century Conglomerate offered six times that amount, essentially throwing money around. Even first-tier core players probably only earned about that much. Would Cao Xu’s heavy investment in recruiting Shao Bing bring enough returns for Century Conglomerate?
In other words, every time Century Conglomerate recruited a Bull Tribe member, it was essentially a money-losing deal.
With that kind of money, Nie Yan could easily recruit more experts from outside!
Century Conglomerate was clearly targeting Bull Tribe. Even knowing it was a losing proposition, they proceeded anyway—after all, they had money to burn.
So Century Conglomerate wanted to poach Bull Tribe members? Fine, let them do it!
Nie Yan turned to Guo Huai beside him and said, “In my name, announce throughout Carol City that Bull Tribe is expanding its recruitment by 40,000 members, increasing our total to 100,000. Loosen the selection criteria and start the screening process immediately!”
After hearing Nie Yan’s words, Guo Huai thought for a moment and smiled, “That’s a good move. No matter how many Century Conglomerate poaches, we can replenish our numbers. Let’s see how long they can keep up this arrogance.”
Nie Yan understood that the newly recruited players might not match the skill level of Bull Tribe’s veteran members, but there would certainly be some capable players among them. Selecting these players could compensate for Bull Tribe’s losses.
Meanwhile, Nie Yan also increased the benefits for Bull Tribe members. With control over so many fortresses, Bull Tribe’s profits were considerable, and the income from these fortresses was sufficient to cover the welfare expenses for its members.
After Shao Bing and others left, Bull Tribe seemed to return to calm temporarily.
Under the command of Knight Elegy, Bull Tribe’s forces steadily dismantled two fortresses and continued advancing toward a third.
Kuang Fa could only watch helplessly as fortress after fortress was reduced to ashes under Bull Tribe’s bombardment by Frost Armored Catapults. They had no choice but to abandon those fortresses and concentrate their main forces at Ejeton Fortress, preparing for a decisive battle with Bull Tribe.
However, Bull Tribe showed no intention of engaging in a decisive battle. They continued methodically destroying fortress after fortress. Moonlight City had at least a dozen secondary guilds. While they were happy to watch Bull Tribe and Mage Alliance fight each other, if Bull Tribe wanted to establish a permanent presence in Moonlight City, these guilds would unite to resist them. Complete control over Moonlight City was still difficult for Bull Tribe; controlling a few fortresses was already quite an achievement. Therefore, these excess fortresses, Nie Yan preferred to destroy first. When Bull Tribe eventually had the strength to control Moonlight City, they could rebuild them.
Thus, wherever Bull Tribe’s Frost Armored Catapults went, only ruins remained.
As the campaign progressed, the number of Frost Armored Catapults at Bull Tribe’s front line kept increasing, from fifteen to nineteen, and Bull Tribe’s engineers were still producing more. Another five were already taking shape.
Mage Alliance was destined to become a tragedy. The longer the conflict dragged on, the more passive their position became. However, asking them to confront Bull Tribe on open ground was probably too much to expect. Bull Tribe’s nineteen Frost Armored Catapults were no joke—on open ground, no matter how many troops they had, they would only be fodder for slaughter.
After witnessing the devastating power of Bull Tribe’s nineteen Frost Armored Catapults, all the guilds in Grailand Empire felt a strong sense of crisis. They frantically searched for ways to counter the Armored Catapults, and Mage Alliance was no exception. But under current circumstances, they were equally at a loss.
Clearing out all of Mage Alliance’s fortresses would take at least two or three more days. As long as nothing unusual happened during this period, there wouldn’t be any problems. Nie Yan could even occasionally go out and level up.
Century Conglomerate’s activities in Carol City became increasingly frequent. They actively contacted Bull Tribe’s players, waving large sums of money to poach members.
Many people couldn’t resist the temptation of money and quietly left Bull Tribe. Nie Yan did a tally and found that over a hundred players had left. Fortunately, none of them were top-tier players. Most of those who left had little emotional attachment to Bull Tribe, low visibility within the guild, and modest salaries. Joining Century Conglomerate would bring them better compensation—why not?
Nie Yan wasn’t particularly concerned about their departure. These were not significant figures in Bull Tribe and held little importance.
Nie Yan kept this news under wraps. If it spread, it would surely cause panic. Century Conglomerate had been spreading rumors that Bull Tribe was losing many members. Although Bull Tribe players were somewhat suspicious, without confirmation from Bull Tribe’s leadership, they dismissed these as false rumors.
Just as Nie Yan was dealing with this issue, he received a message from Guo Huai: Century Conglomerate had approached Li Rui. The current situation was still unknown.
“I think Li Rui is somewhat unreliable. Last time he wanted to see you, I asked him what it was about, but he was evasive. Recently, he has met with Century Conglomerate representatives several times,” Guo Huai voiced his suspicions. His impression of Li Rui had never been good. Li Rui, Zhai Hao, and Liu Chengxu had joined Bull Tribe together. Zhai Hao and Liu Chengxu had already entered Bull Tribe’s core, showing great potential. Li Rui, however, remained only a small squad leader, likely harboring resentment toward Bull Tribe.
After hearing Guo Huai’s words, Nie Yan smiled and said, “I trust Li Rui. He’s definitely not the kind of person who betrays principles for profit.” He and Li Rui were brothers across two lifetimes. Nie Yan knew Li Rui’s character inside out.
Guo Huai replied, “But if that’s the case, he should just refuse Century Conglomerate outright. Why does he keep meeting with them?”
Guo Huai wanted to say more, but Nie Yan interrupted him. Nie Yan firmly stated, “If Li Rui betrays Bull Tribe, then probably no one in Bull Tribe can be trusted.”
Seeing Nie Yan’s stance, Guo Huai sighed helplessly, “Alright, I hope you’re right.”
Enlos Tavern, located beside Carol City’s central plaza, offered many private booths for players to conduct confidential conversations.
Li Rui was among the few Bull Tribe members responsible for staying behind in Carol City. While Moonlight City was in chaos with ongoing battles, his life remained leisurely. He could even visit a teahouse to chat and drink tea. After all, within Bull Tribe, he was just an insignificant figure. Zhai Hao and Liu Chengxu had already become important figures in Bull Tribe, while he remained the same, idling away his days in Bull Tribe.
He entered Enlos Tavern through the main entrance, scanning the entire hall. Only a few players were drinking and chatting in the hall. Confirming no suspicious individuals were present, he entered a private booth.
“Hello, welcome!” Several players in the booth stood up enthusiastically to greet Li Rui. They were members of the Century Conglomerate, dressed in casual attire without any insignias or medals. Even ordinary people wouldn’t suspect them of belonging to the Century Conglomerate.
“Hello,” Li Rui greeted them politely, his eyes scanning their faces.
“Regarding that matter, have you given it some thought? If you’re willing to be our spy in Century Conglomerate and gather intelligence on Kuang Zei Nie Yan, ten times the price is absolutely no problem,” said a mage wearing gray decorative robes beside him.
“We’ve had some cooperation before, and you’ve received quite a bit of money. If we were to expose all these matters, what do you think would happen?” added a priest with a weasel-like face beside him.
“You’re threatening me!” Li Rui’s expression turned cold as he glared at the priest.
The priest laughed heartily, “I was just kidding. If we fully cooperate, everyone benefits. We won’t leak any information. We get intelligence, you make lots of money. Why not consider it?”
“Yeah, brother, you can think it over,” the mage in gray robes added, trying to persuade him.
Li Rui hesitated for a long time before turning to the two beside him and saying, “You must guarantee my safety.”
“Sure, no problem. At worst, we’ll just leave Bull Tribe,” the priest and mage exchanged glances, their faces lighting up with joy.
Seeing their expressions, Li Rui inwardly sneered. They were so quick to agree now, but if he really left Bull Tribe, he would lose his usefulness to Century Conglomerate, and they would surely discard him without hesitation.
“According to your proposed price, if I provide useful intelligence, you must pay extra,” Li Rui said.
“Of course, absolutely no problem!”
Li Rui had previously provided Century Conglomerate with much useful intelligence, including successfully turning players like Shao Bing. Therefore, they had full confidence in him. After a while, Li Rui reached an agreement with them. They chatted for another ten minutes before he put on a black cloak and left. The Century Conglomerate members also quietly departed, and the entire tavern seemed as if nothing had happened.
After leaving the tavern, Li Rui once again dialed Guo Huai’s voice call.
“What’s up?” Guo Huai, seeing it was Li Rui, showed a hint of impatience. He had just received a report that Li Rui had met with Century Conglomerate members at Enlos Tavern.
“Executive Vice President, does Boss Nie Yan have time? I’d like to see him,” Li Rui earnestly requested.
“He…” Guo Huai was about to say Nie Yan was busy, but changed his mind and said, “Boss Nie Yan is currently at Carol City’s central auction house. I’ll have him contact you.”
“Thank you, Executive Vice President,” Li Rui expressed his gratitude.
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