Chapter 513: Rights!

Everything was ready, and the only thing left was to wait for the money. Nie Yan continued with his own affairs, leaving the gem matters to Guo Huai.

Nie Yan made his way towards the direction of Ignatius’s fur shop. However, he found that the location where the fur shop once stood had become a pile of ruins, with broken walls scattered everywhere. The fur shop was gone, and Ignatius was nowhere to be found.

Since the task progress instructed him to find Ignatius, Nie Yan was certain that Ignatius must still be alive.

Hilton Fortress was about the size of a medium-sized city. Finding a single person among the sea of people would be quite challenging.

Nie Yan thought of a place—the Governor’s Hall!

Walking along the street towards the center of Hilton Fortress, he noticed a few scattered shops on both sides of the road, selling only the most basic consumables. Other areas were completely in ruins. Out of the approximately sixty plots on both sides of the street, more than twenty had already been sold, while the remaining, better plots were still available.

Nie Yan had heard from Guo Huai that Bull Man Tribe had been allocated a quota to purchase a plot of land at a discounted price in Hilton Fortress, with a requirement to build a shop within three days. Guilds such as Blue Temple and Holy Roman Empire had also received their respective quotas, reportedly only available to guilds ranked level five or above.

Only one quota was given. Although Hilton Fortress had inconvenient transportation, it was an extremely important location. Equipment for levels seventy to one hundred would mostly drop here. The area would remain bustling, with up to millions of players active during its peak period. In the future, this place would definitely be as valuable as gold.

It would be amazing if he could somehow purchase a few plots of land here.

Unfortunately, the land in Hilton Fortress was strictly controlled and not readily available for sale to players.

The plot assigned to Bull Man Tribe was used to build Starry Sky Pharmacy, but the plot was not large enough, allowing for the construction of only a level ten pharmacy at most.

Thinking about it, Nie Yan considered that with his status as a Grand Scholar and his previous success in predicting the monster siege of Hilton Fortress, he might be able to obtain one or two plots of land from the governor if he could meet him.

Nie Yan headed toward the Governor’s Hall in the center of Hilton Fortress, glancing at the streets on both sides. The area was littered with debris and looked desolate. Players and NPCs occasionally passed by. The number of players in Hilton Fortress was increasing, including elite teams from major guilds and several well-known top-tier teams. They moved in groups.

These players generally traveled in teams of twenty.

The monsters near Hilton Fortress were not as easy to deal with as those in other areas. Usually, it would take at least five teams of twenty players to defeat a single monster. Sometimes even five teams weren’t enough, requiring as many as ten or even dozens of teams.

The monsters they hunted were relatively common ones. They wouldn’t dare to touch monsters like Bull Man Tribe’s Kruzo beasts until their equipment improved.

“Forming a team to hunt Colongold Beetles. Need two more teams to start. Average level must be above sixty-five. Teams interested, send a private message.”

The streets were filled with loud calls. The basic unit for forming a team here was a group of twenty players; individual players were completely ignored.

Passing through the bustling streets and a wide open square, Nie Yan finally saw the Governor’s Hall of Hilton Fortress. It was a magnificent five-story building, over twenty yards high, with several surrounding arrow towers. Fully armed guards patrolled everywhere, making the place heavily fortified.

The walls of the building still bore signs of destruction, showing the severity of the previous battle. Monsters had stormed into Hilton Fortress like a tide, leaving most of the area in ruins, with only a few sturdy strongholds remaining intact.

A few players were chatting a few hundred yards away from the Governor’s Hall.

“What’s that building?”

“The Governor’s Hall of Hilton Fortress.”

“It’s so heavily guarded. It’s different from the governor’s halls in other cities.”

“So far, no player has been able to get close to the Governor’s Hall,” said a rogue, but his eyes soon locked onto Nie Yan in the distance, who was approaching the fully armed guards wearing a black cloak.

“He’s definitely going to get caught by those guards,” an Overmage said gleefully.

The guards near the Governor’s Hall wore thick golden armor and carried sharp greatswords, clearly elite monsters of at least level one hundred.

They thought Nie Yan was foolish for daring to approach the Governor’s Hall. However, the next moment left them stunned. As Nie Yan approached the guards, they did not stop him; instead, they respectfully bowed.

Nie Yan exchanged a few words with the guards, who then led him into the Governor’s Hall. His figure disappeared from the sight of the group of players.

“Who is that guy?”

“I don’t know. He sure has some clout.”

The players looked at each other in astonishment. Nie Yan was the most impressive player they had ever seen. These high-level guards, who were arrogant and domineering toward ordinary players, became meek and respectful in front of Nie Yan.

Inside the Governor’s Hall, Nie Yan entered the grand and luxurious hall.

After entering the Governor’s Hall, Nie Yan took off his hood. Since there were likely no players inside, wearing a hood while talking to NPCs would be inconvenient.

A thin, elderly man approached Nie Yan. Upon closer inspection, Nie Yan recognized him as Ignatius.

“Respected Grand Scholar, good day to you,” Ignatius said, his expression immediately turning very respectful upon seeing Nie Yan.

“Hello, Mr. Ignatius,” Nie Yan greeted.

“Respected Grand Scholar, thank you. If it weren’t for your successful prediction of the siege on Hilton Fortress, all of us here would have become food for the underground monsters,” Ignatius said gratefully.

“May the gods bless all the people of the Greenlan Empire,” Nie Yan replied as a matter of routine.

“Respected Grand Scholar, please follow me. I will take you to meet Governor Kilfeather,” Ignatius said.

Ignatius led Nie Yan deeper into the hall. Passing through the main hall, they entered a long corridor lined with statues on both sides, exuding grandeur. As Nie Yan followed behind Ignatius somewhat absentmindedly, a player approached from the opposite direction.

Nie Yan’s heart tightened. He hadn’t expected a player to appear here, and by the time he thought to pull his hood back up, it was too late.

Nie Yan and the player faced each other directly. The player was a mage wearing a gray robe with a lightning symbol on it—an Elementalist.

He looked to be in his early thirties, with a square face and a somewhat familiar appearance. In his hand was a long staff, with a red gem glowing brilliantly at its tip, flames burning fiercely.

Parak’s Flame Staff—it was him!

The leader of the Mage Alliance, Kuang Fa!

He was actually here!

Nie Yan and Kuang Fa locked eyes. Both were momentarily stunned.

What a narrow world! They hadn’t expected to meet like this.

Kuang Fa bowed to Ignatius upon seeing him, but Ignatius merely gave a casual nod.

“Kuang Zai Nie Yan!” Kuang Fa’s eyes turned cold when he saw Nie Yan. He hadn’t expected Nie Yan to be here. He had come here simply to complete a quest, assuming he would be the first to arrive.

Ignatius’s respectful demeanor toward Nie Yan left others speculating. How had Kuang Zai Nie Yan managed this?

Kuang Fa realized that he couldn’t cause any trouble for Nie Yan here in the Governor’s Hall. Doing so wouldn’t hinder Nie Yan’s quest progress but might get himself into trouble instead.

Nie Yan also wondered what Kuang Fa was doing here.

The two passed each other without exchanging a single word, yet they understood each other without needing to speak. They were on opposing sides, with nothing more to say.

After Kuang Fa had walked away, Nie Yan turned to Ignatius and asked, “Mr. Ignatius, may I ask what he came here for?”

“He accepted a quest at the Governor’s Hall before. Today he came to complete it—Senior Demon Hunter and Ranger Kuang Fa,” Ignatius replied. In his view, such titles were quite ordinary.

Titles like Senior Demon Hunter and Ranger were extremely rare among ordinary players, but they were several tiers below Nie Yan’s titles. Nie Yan’s Demon Slayer title was one level higher than Demon Hunter. As for Ranger, although it was rarer than Demon Hunter and considered a decent high-level title, it was still far inferior to Nie Yan’s Grand Scholar title.

Nie Yan asked Ignatius, who dared not refuse to answer and was very respectful, because Nie Yan not only held the title of Grand Scholar but was also a near Great Prophet, just one step away from becoming a full Great Prophet, a highly revered figure in the Greenlan Empire. Moreover, Nie Yan had saved everyone in Hilton Fortress, whereas Kuang Fa would have to be careful around Ignatius, since Ignatius was an important figure in Hilton Fortress.

This was the difference in social status.

In the Greenlan Empire, such class distinctions were very clear, as Greenlan practiced a strict aristocratic system.

Nie Yan, with the title of Grand Scholar, could easily talk to NPCs in major cities. Generally, any quest he wanted to take, he could easily get. Many ordinary players, however, didn’t even have the qualifications to receive quests.

Nie Yan learned some information about Kuang Fa from Ignatius, who withheld nothing. This was the benefit of power!