Chapter 1 Everything Is Ready

Everything was ready, and all that was left was to wait for the money to roll in. Nie Yan continued to busy himself with his own affairs, leaving the gemstone matters to Guo Huai.

Nie Yan headed towards Ignatius's leather goods shop, only to find that the location of the shop had been reduced to rubble. Debris was everywhere. The shop was gone, and Ignatius was nowhere to be seen.

Since the quest progress required him to find Ignatius, he must still be alive.

Hilton Fortress was the size of a medium city, and finding a single person in such a vast crowd wouldn't be easy.

Nie Yan thought of one place: the government hall!

Walking along the street towards the center of Hilton Fortress, he saw a few scattered shops selling basic consumables. The rest was just rubble. More than twenty of the sixty-plus plots of land on both sides of the street had been sold, but the remaining, better plots were still available.

Nie Yan had heard from Guo Huai that Asskickers United had received an allocation to purchase a plot of land in Hilton Fortress at a low price, with the stipulation that they build a shop within three days. Several other guilds, such as the Angel Corps and the Holy Roman Empire, had also received a plot. It was said that only guilds level 5 and above were eligible for such an allocation.

With only one allocation available, Hilton Fortress, despite its inconvenient location, was an extremely important place. Equipment for the level 70-80 to level 90-100 transition period would mostly come from here. It would continue to be a hot spot. During its peak, the number of players active around Hilton Fortress would reach several million. In the future, land here would definitely be worth its weight in gold.

If he could find a way to buy a few plots here, it would be awesome.

Unfortunately, the land in Hilton Fortress was strictly controlled and not easily sold to players.

The plot allocated to Asskickers United had been used to build the Starry Night Potion Shop. Unfortunately, the plot wasn't big enough, and they could only build a level 10 potion shop at most.

Nie Yan thought for a moment. Given his status as a Great Scholar and his previous successful prediction of the monster siege on Hilton Fortress, if he could meet with the governor of Hilton Fortress, he wondered if he could wangle one or two plots of land from him.

With that in mind, Nie Yan walked towards the government hall in the center of Hilton Fortress. His eyes fell on the streets on both sides, littered with rubble and desolate. Players and NPCs passed by one after another. More and more players were coming to Hilton Fortress. In addition to the elite groups from the major guilds, well-known top teams had also arrived. They traveled in groups, shuttling back and forth.

These players were traveling in teams of twenty.

The monsters near Hilton Fortress were not as easy to deal with as the monsters in other places. A single demon required at least five teams of twenty to cooperate. Sometimes, even five teams weren't enough, and it would take ten or even dozens of teams working together.

The demons they were grinding were relatively ordinary monsters. They wouldn't dare touch the Kruso beasts that Asskickers United was grinding. They would have to wait until their equipment was better before trying.

"Team up to kill Kolon Armored Beetles, need two more teams before we depart. Average level 65 or higher, whisper to join the team."

Shouting could be heard everywhere on the street. The basic unit for teaming up here was a group of twenty players, and solo players were simply ignored.

Passing through the bustling streets and a wide-open plaza, Nie Yan saw the government hall of Hilton Fortress. It was a five-story building, over twenty yards tall, and very majestic. Several arrow towers stood around it, and fully armed guards patrolled everywhere, heavily guarded.

Traces of damage could still be seen on the walls of the building, covered in scars, showing how tragic the battle had been. Demons had poured into Hilton Fortress, sweeping through it like a tide. Only a few strongholds remained standing inside Hilton Fortress. The rest had been reduced to rubble.

Several players were chatting a few hundred yards away from the government hall.

"What is that building?"

"The government hall of Hilton Fortress."

"The security is so tight. It's a bit different from the government halls in other cities."

"So far, no player has been able to get close to the government hall," a Thief said. But then, his eyes locked onto Nie Yan in the distance. Nie Yan, wearing a black cloak, was approaching the fully armed guards.

"He's dead. He's going to get arrested by those guards," an arcane mage said gleefully.

The guards next to the government hall wore thick golden armor and carried sharp greatswords. They were all elites of at least level 100.

They thought Nie Yan was stupid to dare approach the government hall. However, what they saw next stunned them. Nie Yan walked up to the guards, but instead of attacking, the guards respectfully bowed to him.

Nie Yan said a few words to the guards, and they led him into the government hall. His figure disappeared from the players' sight.

"Who is that guy?"

"I don't know. He's got a lot of style."

The players looked at each other. Nie Yan was the most awesome player they had ever seen. These high-level guards were usually arrogant and overbearing in front of ordinary players, but in front of Nie Yan, they had become docile and submissive.

Inside the government hall, Nie Yan walked in. The interior was magnificent and very spacious.

After entering the government hall, Nie Yan took off his hood. There shouldn't be any players in the government hall, and it would be a little inconvenient to talk to NPCs while wearing a hood.

A skinny old man walked towards Nie Yan. Nie Yan looked closely and realized it was Ignatius.

"Respected Great Scholar, hello." When Ignatius saw that it was Nie Yan, his expression immediately became very respectful.

"Hello, Mr. Ignatius," Nie Yan greeted.

"Respected Great Scholar, thank you. If it weren't for your successful prediction of the Hilton Fortress siege, all of us here would have become food for the underworld demons," Ignatius said gratefully.

"May the gods bless all the citizens of the Greenland Empire," Nie Yan said according to routine.

"Respected Great Scholar, please follow me. I'll take you to see Governor Gilfyther," Ignatius said.

Ignatius led Nie Yan towards the inside of the hall. Passing through the hall, there was a long corridor. Statues lined the edges of the corridor, making it very impressive. Just as Nie Yan was following Ignatius, a player walked towards them.

Nie Yan's heart skipped a beat. He didn't expect a player to appear in this place. It was too late to put on his cloak.

Nie Yan and the other person faced each other. The player walking towards them was a mage, wearing a gray robe with a lightning symbol on it. He was an elemental mage.

He looked to be in his thirties, with a square face. He looked familiar. He held a long staff in his hand. A dazzling red gem was emitting a bright light at the tip of the staff, and flames were burning fiercely.

The Palak Flame Staff. It was him!

Mad Law, the chairman of the Mages Alliance!

How could he be here!

Nie Yan and Mad Law exchanged a look. Both were stunned.

What a narrow road. He didn't expect to run into him here. He had only come here to do a quest. He thought he was the first person to arrive here.

Ignatius looked at Nie Yan with great respect, making people wonder. How did that guy, Crazy Thief Nie Yan, do it!

Mad Law understood that he couldn't cause trouble for Nie Yan at this time. Making a fuss in the government hall would not only fail to affect Nie Yan's quest progress, but it could also get him into trouble!

Nie Yan was also wondering what Mad Law was doing here.

The two passed each other without saying a word. But some things were already understood without speaking. Everyone had their own masters to serve, so there was nothing to say.

Some people were destined to be enemies.

Seeing Mad Law walking away, Nie Yan looked at Ignatius and asked, "Mr. Ignatius, what is he here for?"

"He took a quest in the government hall before, and he's here today to turn it in. Advanced Demon Hunter, Ranger Mad Law," Ignatius said. In his opinion, such titles were extremely ordinary.

The titles of Advanced Demon Hunter and Ranger were extremely rare among ordinary players, but compared to Nie Yan's titles, they were several levels lower. Nie Yan's Demon Slayer title was one level higher than Demon Hunter. As for Ranger, it was a slightly rarer title than Demon Hunter, and it was considered a good advanced title, but that was all it was. Compared to Nie Yan's Great Scholar title, it was far inferior.

Nie Yan inquired about Mad Law from Ignatius. Ignatius did not hide anything. This was the benefit of power!

In addition to the title of Great Scholar, Nie Yan was already a quasi-Great Prophet, only one step away from becoming a Great Prophet. He was a very noble figure in the Greenland Empire. Furthermore, Nie Yan had saved everyone in Hilton Fortress, while Mad Law had to be careful when meeting Ignatius, because Ignatius was an important figure in Hilton Fortress.

This was the difference in rank.

In the Greenland Empire, this difference in rank was very obvious, because Greenland implemented a strict aristocratic system.

Like Nie Yan, who had the title of Great Scholar, he could talk to NPCs in all the major cities. Generally, he could easily accept any quest he wanted to do, while many ordinary players didn't even have the qualification to accept quests.

Nie Yan inquired about Mad Law's situation from Ignatius. Ignatius did not hide anything. This was the benefit of power!