Nieyan had practically taken control of the entire potion market, and no capital could shake his dominance in this sector.
Due to the rising potion prices, guilds like Sword of Divine Retribution, Holy Guardians, and Angel Empire were forced to spend heavily to purchase large quantities of potions from Nieyan’s Starlight Pharmacy. The daily massive expenditures made them gnash their teeth in frustration, yet they were helpless.
A few days after the potion market was monopolized, a series of chain reactions occurred. Seeing Nieyan’s determination to control the potion market, major pharmacies realized that they absolutely couldn’t compete against him. Many pharmacies reluctantly chose to withdraw, some switching to other industries while others opportunistically sold their shops for cash.
As notices for pharmacy shop transfers became increasingly common in the market, Nieyan, with his capital of tens of millions of gold coins, naturally became the biggest buyer. Even big tycoons like Angel Empire and Century Financial Group couldn’t compare with Nieyan. Eight or nine out of ten shops being transferred in the market ended up in Nieyan’s hands.
A vast commercial empire had begun to take shape!
Nieyan glanced at the time. It had been nine days since he received the news that the Council had granted him territory. Within ten natural days, he must go to the Council to claim his fief. With such ample financial resources, he could now begin developing his territory.
After arranging matters concerning the Bull Tribe, Nieyan reviewed intelligence reports from various locations. Qin Han’s Skeleton Army had remained inactive. Nieyan figured he could still return in time after Qin Han launched his attack. Thinking thus, Nieyan made his way toward the Council of the Greenlan Empire.
The Council of the Greenlan Empire remained solemn as always. On the street in front of the Council’s entrance, some players hurried past with their heads lowered, not daring to make any noise.
Upon entering the Council, Nieyan noticed something unusual. Emperor Jobia and Elder Redwin were both absent. The one who received Nieyan was an Elder named Manwell, relatively young with a sturdy build and steady gait, holding a comparatively low rank among the Council elders.
Elder Manwell led Nieyan through a hall. Nieyan glanced inside and found the usually heavily guarded hall now completely empty, with all the guards withdrawn. The Council was unusually quiet.
This abnormal situation puzzled Nieyan slightly, but he soon reasoned that these weren’t matters he could meddle in. Every individual in the Council was an NPC of legendary status; they could eliminate Nieyan with a mere finger movement. Wandering recklessly inside the Council was clearly unwise. Nieyan followed Elder Manwell, occasionally glancing around. Although the atmosphere seemed somewhat odd, nothing particularly unusual occurred.
While walking, Elder Manwell addressed Nieyan, “Prophet Nieyan, Emperor Jobia has already left the Greenlan Empire on a journey. Before departing, he entrusted me to give you these items.” Saying so, Elder Manwell handed over three items to Nieyan through a trade interface.
Nieyan examined the three items: a map, a thin contract certificate, and a shard of crystal.
Nieyan confirmed the trade and asked, “Respected Elder Manwell, do you know where Emperor Jobia has gone?”
“I’m afraid I know nothing about Emperor Jobia’s whereabouts,” Elder Manwell shook his head.
Receiving no useful information, Nieyan gave up. These events seemed too suspicious. The undead army had already spread across most of the Greenlan Empire, yet the Council had remained completely inactive. Now even Emperor Jobia had disappeared.
Though fully aware that something was amiss, Nieyan dared not conduct an extensive investigation. The Council was too sensitive a place. If Nieyan did anything inappropriate here, it wouldn’t just affect him personally but also the entire Bull Tribe.
“Alright, thank you, respected Elder Manwell,” Nieyan nodded.
System Announcement: Player Nieyan has been granted the Abernathy Grasslands as his fief and awarded the title of Duke. He shall be the Lord of the Abernathy Grasslands.
A system announcement rang out, prompting discussions among players. All along, each action Nieyan had taken had left players in awe and admiration. First, he became a great prophet, then received the title of Duke and a vast fief. In their eyes, no one could challenge Nieyan’s myth.
This system announcement undoubtedly added another brilliant halo to Nieyan’s many achievements.
All major factions were closely watching Nieyan’s every move. The news of Nieyan receiving a fief drew attention from all quarters. As soon as they learned of Nieyan’s new fief, they immediately looked up the location of the Abernathy Grasslands. Upon discovering its exact location, some were delighted while others worried.
Guilds located farther from the Abernathy Grasslands naturally felt unconcerned, while those nearby were somewhat anxious, not wanting to be swallowed up by the Bull Tribe. The most worried were undoubtedly the Angel Empire and Century Financial Group.
The Abernathy Grasslands lay between the Greenlan Empire and the Sattern Empire. The Bull Tribe’s control of this area meant they could pose a threat to them at any moment.
At the Angel Empire headquarters, Cao Xu, dressed in black decorative robes, appeared in the central hall.
“Brother Fan, long time no see,” Cao Xu looked toward the front of the hall, where Ascending Winged Angel, clad in sapphire leather armor, stood.
“Long time no see, Brother Cao. I hope you’ve been well,” Ascending Winged Angel nodded, and the two exchanged greetings.
“You’ve probably heard the news that the mad rogue Nieyan has just received the Abernathy Grasslands fief. What are your thoughts?” Cao Xu got straight to the point.
“The Abernathy Grasslands lie on the border between Greenlan and Sattern Empires. If they summon regular mounts, they could reach the Orcish capital in at most three hours. As for catapults, although slower, they could still reach our territory within twenty hours. I’m quite restless, Brother Cao. Do you have any good strategies?” Ascending Winged Angel asked. He understood that a conflict between the Angel Empire and the Bull Tribe was inevitable. He wasn’t afraid of war but didn’t want to lose the initiative before the battle even began.
“For now, there’s nothing we can do. The protection period for the territory is as long as three months. We can only hope that Mone Financial Group doesn’t fall too quickly, allowing them to drain some of the Bull Tribe’s strength. Additionally, we can coordinate our defenses, hoping to survive the three months and then destroy Nieyan’s territory,” Cao Xu replied. After extensive operations in the Sattern Empire, he had acquired over thirty guilds, accumulating considerable strength, controlling three cities, second only to the Angel Empire’s five.
Ascending Winged Angel nodded. He had already started preparing various methods to counter the Bull Tribe, though he wasn’t ready to discuss them with Cao Xu yet; these were Angel Empire’s secrets. Cao Xu also had his own plans. Their relationship wasn’t as harmonious as it seemed. Century Financial Group was both a shareholder and partner of Angel Empire, yet also a competitor.
“The Bull Tribe has just monopolized the potion market. We’ve had to use the high-priced potions from Starlight Pharmacy recently. Now that the Bull Tribe has grown so powerful, if they expand their territory, we’ll definitely be the first to suffer,” Cao Xu said.
“Don’t worry, Brother Cao, I understand that.”
The two giants of the Sattern Empire briefly discussed their plans and began studying strategies to counter the Bull Tribe.
Nieyan could imagine the pressure this announcement of the Abernathy Grasslands fief would place on the two giants in the Sattern Empire. Once the Mone Financial Group was eliminated, it would be Century Financial Group and Angel Empire’s turn.
Nieyan, along with five Bull Tribe members—Cui Can Dao Guang (Cui Can Daoguang), Shui Se Yan Tou (Shui Se Yantou), Yu Wang (Yu Wang), and others—used a teleportation array to reach Nisuo De City (Nisuo Decheng) before mounting their flying mounts and heading toward the Abernathy Grasslands.
Approximately two hours later, after crossing a range of towering mountains, Nieyan and his group flew over a vast grassland. Looking toward the distant horizon, the endless prairie stretched out without end, occasionally dotted with one or two small lakes, clear as mirrors. Herds of creatures occasionally roamed the grasslands.
“Is this the Abernathy Grasslands?” Cui Can Daoguang asked, disbelief evident in his expression. This vast grassland was all Nieyan’s fief? It was astounding!
“Yes, everything our eyes can see belongs to us!” Nieyan smiled slightly.
According to the map, the Abernathy Grasslands even surpassed the size of the Carol Plains.
They continued flying on their mounts, and after five full minutes, the grasslands ahead still stretched endlessly.
What an enormous area!
Cui Can Daoguang and others couldn’t help but whistle in amazement.
While flying over the grasslands, they occasionally spotted clusters of continuous white tents. These tents housed the indigenous residents of the Abernathy Grasslands. In this vast grassland, there were nearly half a million NPC inhabitants. Approximately 200,000 were human tribes, while the remaining 300,000 belonged to orcish tribes. Regardless of their tribe, from this day forward, they must all revere Nieyan as their Lord. Otherwise, they would defy both the Greenlan and Sattern Empires, becoming rebels subject to imperial punishment.
Nieyan possessed numerous privileges in this territory, including the authority to establish laws and even the power to determine the life and death of any NPC within these lands. Although the authority was immense, Nieyan didn’t wish to become a tyrant. Establishing a firm foothold through tyranny wouldn’t work. First, he needed to gain the support of all NPCs, build a powerful army, and only then could his rule truly become stable.
Gazing at this boundless land, Nieyan felt a surge of ambition. A new chapter of development would begin right here on this territory!
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