Chapter 1 The Hilton Stronghold

Nie Yan followed Ignatius into a grand hall, where he saw a tall NPC wearing a dark purple suit, standing in front of the hall. The dark purple scales on the suit shone under the light, and a soaring dragon logo was engraved on the left shoulder.

Seeing this purple suit, Nie Yan's heart tightened.

This was a Legendary Dragon Armor!

Dragon Armor was generally made from the scales of dragons. Its defensive capabilities were very strong, and it was very light, with little burden, which could increase flexibility during combat.

Generally, NPCs who could wear a Legendary Dragon Armor suit were people of high status. Nie Yan recalled some things. In his previous life, he had heard people say that among the governors of all the cities in the Greenland Empire, the governor of Carol City had the highest title, a royal title. The governor of Hilton Stronghold was second, one of the three dukes of the Greenland Empire, and one of the people with the most power.

Nie Yan used Super Appraisal on the NPC.

Governor Kilffether: Grand Duke, High Warlord, Dragon Slayer. ??? Level.

Nie Yan couldn't see Kilffether's level, but he could be sure that Kilffether was at least a Level 180+ Lord.

"Greetings, Great Scholar, thank you for everything you have done for Hilton Stronghold. If you hadn't accurately predicted the disaster of Hilton Stronghold, Hilton Stronghold would have suffered a devastating blow. You saved this city," Kilffether said. Once a Great Scholar successfully predicted a major event, they would be considered the person closest to God, a quasi-prophet, so Kilffether was very polite to Nie Yan.

"As a citizen of the Greenland Empire, this is what I should do," Nie Yan said, exchanging pleasantries with Kilffether using quest language.

Kilffether described the disasters Hilton Stronghold had recently encountered. Nie Yan roughly understood the process of the demon siege. Eighty to ninety percent of the NPCs in Hilton Stronghold were gone, but the High Warlords and Warlords had basically survived. If the reinforcements from Carol City hadn't arrived in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable. The casualties among these elites of Hilton Stronghold might have been even greater.

"Respected Great Scholar, you saved Hilton Stronghold, this is a token of our respect," Kilffether said.

Hearing Kilffether's words, Nie Yan's heart skipped a beat. He could finally get the reward.

Nie Yan heard two crisp system prompts and looked down.

System: You have obtained the title Guardian of Hilton.

System: You have obtained the Anglish's Guard Gauntlet.

'Guardian of Hilton' was a high-level title. In other cities, this title might not be anything special, but in Hilton Stronghold, it was second only to the governor.

Nie Yan looked at the status of this title.

Guardian of Hilton, attached attribute: Hilton Stronghold Respect +50, enjoy a 30% discount on purchases in any NPC shop in Hilton Stronghold. In addition, within Hilton Stronghold, anyone who offends Nie Yan will be hated by the NPCs of Hilton Stronghold. If there are any excessive actions, without a doubt, they will be locked up in prison.

Except for the governor, basically no NPC in the entire Hilton Stronghold dared to be disrespectful to Nie Yan.

In Hilton Stronghold, Nie Yan's position had basically reached its peak. Above that was the governor himself.

In addition to the title of Guardian of Hilton, Nie Yan also obtained an eye-catching item, the Legendary Anglish's Guard Gauntlet.

Anglish's Guard was a high-defense equipment, gray and white all over, and didn't look very conspicuous. The mainstream equipment of thieves was very simple, mainly gray and black, because these colors were easier to hide in the dark. Thieves' equipment emphasized simplicity and practicality, with nothing fancy. This gauntlet was the same. Some ancient runes were engraved on it, making it look a little mysterious. The side of the gauntlet had sharp spikes, which could be retracted and extended freely, and could be used to block attacks.

Nie Yan looked at the attributes of this gauntlet.

Anglish's Guard Gauntlet: Required Level 100.

Item Description: A Legendary item forged by Anglish, a blacksmith from Hilton Stronghold. Its excellent protective ability can effectively protect the wearer from harm.

Attributes: Defense 720-768, Block Rate +20%, All Control Skill Levels +1, All Freedom Skill Levels +2.

Nie Yan looked at the attributes of this item. The defense attribute of Anglish's Guard Gauntlet was very high. Most importantly, the block rate. The block rate attribute generally only appeared on shields. A 20% block rate could have a certain chance to block the opponent's attack, and the damage received would also be greatly reduced.

In addition, the two attributes of All Control Skill Levels +1 and All Freedom Skill Levels +2 were also very good, and belonged to top-level attributes.

Although Anglish's Guard Gauntlet didn't have any attached skills, it was definitely worthy of the name of Legendary item. This gauntlet could be worn at Level 100. Before wearing the Abak Set at Level 180, Anglish's Guard was a very good piece of equipment for the transition period.

Nie Yan put the gauntlet into his backpack and began to think about how to ask Governor Kilffether about buying land.

The land in Hilton Stronghold was definitely a piece of fat that all guilds coveted. He had finally been able to contact the governor himself, and such an opportunity must not be missed.

The governor introduced the situation of Hilton Stronghold and hoped that Nie Yan would make more contributions to Hilton Stronghold. For a city, keeping a Great Scholar could make the city safer. The reason was Nie Yan's Greater Prophecy, which could predict impending disasters.

"As the governor of Hilton Stronghold, I hope to attract more people to live here in the future and jointly resist the invading demons. As a reward measure, if the contribution value to Hilton Stronghold reaches a certain level, we will give certain discounts. Respected Great Scholar, we will give you a villa. This villa is located near the Governor's Hall. It only takes one minute to reach the Governor's Hall," Kilffether said, introducing the location of the villa.

This villa was located in the commercial center of Hilton Stronghold. The bustling commercial street was just outside the door. If such a location was used to build a shop, the future appreciation potential would be huge, but the governor used it to build a villa. Nie Yan couldn't help but exclaim in his heart that it was a waste.

But why not take a villa for free?

"Respected Governor, may I ask if I can purchase land in Hilton Stronghold? I think Hilton Stronghold definitely needs more shops. Prosperous and convenient commerce can attract more people to live here," Nie Yan said. He finally spoke, waiting for the governor's answer with anticipation.

"Of course, Hilton Stronghold still has about two hundred and thirty plots of land, more than sixty of which are located in the most prosperous commercial area. The rules we have formulated are that depending on each player's contribution to Hilton Stronghold, they can purchase one to six plots of land. These plots of land are not allowed to be transferred and require a certain amount of commercial tax to be paid each year, which is 5% of the operating profit. If you no longer use them, you can sell them back to us at 80% of the market price. You have the highest welfare in Hilton Stronghold and can hold six plots of land without paying any taxes," Kilffether said.

The rules for selling land in Hilton Stronghold were different from those in other cities. Nie Yan looked at the specific details. He could buy six plots of land in Hilton Stronghold, which was already the best welfare. The land here would definitely be very valuable in the future, and after having the title of Guardian of Hilton, he didn't need to pay commercial tax for holding land, which was definitely more cost-effective than other players.

"These are all the shops waiting to be sold," Kilffether said, taking out a map to introduce.

Nie Yan glanced at it casually. The locations of the shops were marked on the map. These two hundred and thirty-odd shops were scattered in all directions. Some were located near the Governor's Hall in the center, and some were located in remote corners of the stronghold. The prices varied, with the expensive ones costing hundreds of thousands of gold coins and the cheap ones costing thousands of gold coins. Since no players had come to buy land yet, only a few guilds above Level 5 had been allocated land, and the locations weren't very good. Those prime locations were still there. After browsing casually, according to his experience in his previous life, Nie Yan saw more than twenty prime locations at a glance.

It wasn't easy to choose the best ones from so many good plots of land.

Nie Yan looked at them and selected six plots with more development potential. Those smaller prime locations were also excluded. The plots he selected were generally those that could be upgraded to Level 16 shops.

"Respected Governor Kilffether, I have already selected them," Nie Yan said, pointing out the six plots of land he wanted to buy one by one.

Nie Yan followed behind Kilffether and completed the procedures, paying 180,000 gold coins. Since Nie Yan's title could enjoy a 30% discount, he only paid 180,000 gold coins. If it were other players, they would have to pay a full 600,000 gold coins!

After completing the procedures, those six plots of land belonged to Nie Yan.

This trip to the Governor's Hall was very rewarding.

Six plots of land were far from enough to meet Nie Yan's needs, but Nie Yan himself could no longer buy any more. After thinking about it, he should let Canopus, Aquablue Smoke Stub, and others quickly earn contribution to Hilton Stronghold, so that they could buy one or two shops after other players. There were still prime locations to buy now. In a few months, it was estimated that even the most remote shops would be snatched up.

There were many ways to earn contribution, including doing quests issued by NPCs in Hilton Stronghold, killing demons, and so on. Contribution value needed to be accumulated slowly, and it couldn't be rushed.

After finishing these things, Nie Yan bid farewell to Ignatius and Governor Kilffether and walked out of the Governor's Hall. He was going to see what the villa that the system had allocated was like.