The players arriving in Okoron either came by flying mount or were already levelling in the Abernathy Great Grasslands. They strolled the streets full of curiosity for this first player-built city.
Even though Okoron was much smaller than a major city like Calore, it was already quite amazing. Seeing the clean streets and rows of shops, the players gasped in amazement. Just how much gold was spent on building such a city!?
Nie Yan erected a mercenary association downtown and began a recruitment campaign for NPCs to join his army. Even with the announcement out there, it would take some time for NPCs to start streaming into Okoron.
Nie Yan wondered about how he would develop the city's commerce. The only way to convince players who visited here to stay was with a flourishing trade. As he was drawing up plans and making preparations, Guo Huai sent word that many businesses were inquiring about opening up shop in Okoron. Even though Okoron was only recently established, they saw boundless potential in the city's future.
The Abernathy Great Grasslands would become a hub connecting the Viridian Empire and Satreen Empire. The goods from both empires would pass through here. With such a golden location, this city was destined to become a bustling commerce center. How could merchants with the slightest bit of foresight not take action?
They contacted Guo Huai and fervently asked about the possibilities. Like this, one of Nie Yan's biggest worries was resolved.
「How many businesses have contacted you so far? Any big names?」Nie Yan asked. Naturally, he would thoroughly screen any businesses that wished to establish a presence in Okoron.
「212 businesses in total. About 40% among them are from the Satreen Empire. Some fairly famous ones, including the Red Moon Commerce Chamber that occupies 60% of the scroll market in the Satreen Empire, expressed their interest in opening up a branch here. Their only point of concern is the high transfer fee. They wish to know when the flight point will be ready for lift off. They're also interested in how large of an operation you're planning.」
「Don't worry. The flight point won't be an issue. We'll buy some Giant Bats from the Viridian Empire and Satreen Empire. We can use them as flying mounts for the flight point for the time being no problem. But after three months, we'll have to get some more powerful flying mounts and set up escort teams, or we'll likely get targeted by other powers,」Nie Yan said. Giant Bats didn't have any fighting ability. They were only good for transport. Angel Corps might not dare to attack them during the three-month protection period, but that certainly wouldn't be the case afterwards.
「How much does a Giant Bat cost?」Guo Huai asked. He wasn't too knowledgeable about the market prices in this field.
「10,000 gold, not too expensive.」
「How many do you plan to buy?」
「At least 600, or we won't have enough Giant Bats to transport the stream of people coming and going to Okoron,」Nie Yan replied.
「600?」Guo Huai sucked in a cold breath of air. That was 6,000,000 gold! He felt his head spinning.「Will we be able to make our investment back?」
「Not directly, no, but the Giant Bats are necessary. We'll establish flight points in the cities closest to the Abernathy Great Grasslands in the Viridian Empire and Satreen Empire. With Okoron as the hub, we'll only make about five trips every day. At most, that's about 3,000 people a day–far from enough for a city. So, we'll have to continue buying more in the future. Treat it as a loss-leader. Even though we won't make a return on the flight points, the profits we'll make by getting more people into the city will far exceed this initial investment.」
「Alright, you've convinced me,」Guo Huai said. Even though his heart ached at the thought of spending the 6,000,000 gold, he knew Nie Yan was right. Asskickers United wasn't short on funds. The Starry Night Potion Shop could make that amount back in a single day.
Giant Bats was only a stop-gap measure. Nie Yan would have to obtain some offensive flying mounts. After the three-month period was up, Asskickers United would definitely face obstruction in the skies from guilds like Angel Corps.
"I should go back to the Griffon Woodlands one of these days," Nie Yan muttered.
Everything progressed on in an orderly manner. About six hours later, the first batch of NPCs arrived in Okoron. It was a group of tribesmen surviving in the nearby plains. They lived from meal to meal, sometimes going days without. The erection of Okoron was like a gift sent by God to them. They came rushing over to seek better opportunities.
Even though they weren't warriors, only ordinary inhabitants, their presence was a sign that Nie Yan's announcement worked.
Nie Yan provided the tribesmen with basic provisions from the NPC shops of the Viridian Empire. Afterwards, he assigned them tasks and helped them settle down in Okoron.
"G-great Prophet, thank you for your benevolence. You've given us a safe home," an elderly NPC with a head full of white hair said.
"Senior, please stand up. You don't need to use that kind of etiquette here."
Only with the presence of NPCs would Okoron flourish.
Nie Yan obtained all sorts of information from the mouths of these NPCs. He learned a war had broken out between the Kerunsi tribe of humans and Sodan tribe of orcs in the north of the Abernathy Great Grasslands because of a dispute for land. Some refugees had made their way all the way over to Okoron. He also heard that a frightening Kong King had descended from the Morogo Mountains had appeared in the plains about 10 minutes from Okoron. This Level 180 Lord had already slaughtered two small tribes.
Thanks to the arrival of these NPCs, Nie Yan became much more informed about the happenings around the Abernathy Great Grasslands. Since he treated them with kindness and generosity, he quickly gained their allegiance.
The players from Asskickers United bought Giant Bats from all over the Viridian Empire and Satreen Empire. Afterwards, they loaded them up with large bags of supplies and set off for Okoron.
Nie Yan planned to draw in more NPCs.
"A Level 180 Lord, huh… If it makes its way here, it could threaten the city. Interested in heading over there together?" Nie Yan asked. Though he'd teamed up with Bladelight and the others recently to fight Divine Protectors, he couldn't remember the last time they set out to hunt a large monster together.
"Sure, we're ready whenever you are," Bladelight replied.
Hearing Nie Yan wanted to take them to hunt down a Lord, everyone became excited. Not to mention their target was a Level 180 Lord! This still posed a certain amount of challenge.
Nie Yan began making the arrangements. Ordinary players had no way of dealing with a Level 180 Lord. Their attacks wouldn't even deal any damage. Only Masters were qualified.
"Just the 12 of us?" Lustboy asked.
"The others aren't strong enough. With the 12 of us plus Yallop, we should be able to pull it off. If worse comes to worse, we'll just withdraw," Nie Yan said. There was no harm in checking it out. Xie Yao, Lei Su, and the others hurried over from different locations. They were rich enough to not care about the transfer fees. So, travelling to Okoron was fairly convenient.
While everyone happily chatted, Undying Scoundrel got in touch with Nie Yan.「Boss, Lustboy said you guys are going to hunt a Lord together. Count me in too!」
「You've completed your class advancement quest?」Nie Yan asked in surprise.
「I just got out of the instance! Hehe.」Undying Scoundrel chuckled.
「Good, very good!」Nie Yan exclaimed in joy. Previously, many top rank players from Asskickers United had failed their class advancement quests. Undying Scoundrel succeeding his was definitely a pleasant surprise. With the addition of Undying Scoundrel, Asskickers United already had 13 Masters!
Over these past couple of weeks, another three Masters had popped up in the Viridian Empire and Satreen Empire. However, they were all solo players. Nie Yan had no idea where they came from. It was rumoured that guilds like Angel Corps and God Executioner Sword tried to recruit them to no avail. Even though more Masters had appeared on the outside, they were of no threat to Asskickers United. With Undying Scoundrel successfully class advancing, they now had four Magisters.
Another Magister was an extra source of damage. Defeating the Kong King would be much simpler.
Nie Yan and the others gathered in Okoron with Undying Scoundrel being the last person to arrive. He was panting for breath.
Lustboy walked over and patted Undying Scoundrel's shoulder. "How come you're so late? You've made us wait!"
"My bad, my bad. I was busy socketing my new equipment with some gems." Undying Scoundrel gave an apologetic smile. He knew that every minute of their time was extremely precious for these 12 people.
Nie Yan looked over Undying Scoundrel. This fellow had switched out a lot of his equipment. He wore an ashen robe with an eagle embroidered on the collar with gold silk. Based on the magic fluctuations coming off of him, it was undoubtedly Legendary grade. Nie Yan had seen many images of Legendary equipment in the past, but he had never seen a robe like this before.
"Get anything good during your class advancement quest?" Nie Yan asked with a smile.
"Yeah, this robe I'm wearing right now. It's called Mannix's Golden Eagle Robes, Legendary-grade and a Soul Item, meaning it'll grow with me as I level up!" Undying Scoundrel explained excitedly. He appeared to be extremely pleased with these robes.
Mannix's Golden Eagle Robes? Nie Yan knitted his brows. He suddenly recalled such a figure in Conviction's history. About two hundred years ago, Mannix and 12 other Magisters created a powerful organization called the Golden Eagles. They were extremely influential in the Viridian Empire. With his remarkable magic, he was praised as a genius. But his life fell short when agents from the Undead Empire assassinated him. Even so, his legend lived on. Naturally, the robes he left behind were extraordinary.
"Not bad, not bad. It's a pretty nice piece of equipment." Nie Yan nodded with a light smile.