Chapter 174 Hilton Fortress' Governor

Everything was ready. All that was left was to sit back and wait for the money to roll in. Nie Yan continued with his own tasks, leaving Guo Huai to handle the gemstone matter.

Nie Yan headed towards Ignatius's leather goods store, only to find that the area where it had stood was now a pile of rubble, with broken walls and debris everywhere. The store was gone, and Ignatius was nowhere to be seen.

Since the quest progress directed him to find Ignatius, he was undoubtedly still alive.

Hilton Fortress was the size of a medium-sized city, so finding one person in the vast crowd would be quite a challenge.

Nie Yan thought of one place: the Government Hall!

He followed the street towards the center of Hilton Fortress. A few scattered shops selling basic consumables lined the sides of the street, but the rest was just debris. More than twenty of the sixty-plus plots of land on both sides had been sold, while some of the better ones remained available.

Nie Yan heard from Guo Huai that the Niu Ren Tribe had been allocated a quota to purchase a plot of land in Hilton Fortress at a low price, with the condition that a shop be built within three days. Several other guilds, such as the Kalandar Temple and the Holy Roman Empire, had also received allocations. It was said that only guilds above level five were eligible for a plot of land.

With only one quota available, Hilton Fortress, despite its inconvenient transportation, was a crucial location. Equipment for the level 70-100 transition period was primarily produced here, ensuring its continued popularity. At its peak, the number of players active around Hilton Fortress could reach several million. In the future, land here would undoubtedly be worth its weight in gold.

If he could find a way to buy a few plots of land here, that would be amazing.

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

The plot allocated to the Niu Ren Tribe was being used to build the Starry Night Pharmacy. Sadly, the plot wasn't large enough to build anything more than a level 10 pharmacy.

Nie Yan pondered. Given his status as a Grand Scholar and the fact that he had successfully predicted the monster siege of Hilton Fortress, he wondered if he could get a plot or two from the governor if he met him.

As Nie Yan thought this, he walked towards the Government Hall in the center of Hilton Fortress. His eyes fell on the rubble and desolation on both sides of the street. Players and NPCs were passing by intermittently, and the number of players in Hilton Fortress was steadily increasing. In addition to the elite teams from the major guilds, well-known top-tier teams had also arrived, traveling in groups.

These players were usually traveling in groups of twenty.

The monsters near Hilton Fortress were not as easy to deal with as those in other areas. Generally, it took at least five teams of twenty players to deal with a single monster. Sometimes, even five teams weren't enough, and it took a dozen or even dozens of teams working together.

The monsters they farmed were still relatively ordinary. They wouldn't dare touch the Kruso Beasts that the Niu Ren Tribe farmed until their equipment improved.

"Forming a group to kill Kolon Armored Beetles! Need two more teams before we leave. Average level 65 or higher. Message me if you want to join."

Shouts echoed through the streets. Here, the basic unit for forming a group was a team of twenty players. Individual players were generally ignored.

Passing through bustling streets and a wide plaza, Nie Yan saw the Government Hall of Hilton Fortress, a five-story building more than twenty yards high, magnificent and imposing. Several arrow towers stood around it, and fully armed guards patrolled everywhere, maintaining strict security.

The walls of the building still showed signs of damage, covered in scars, bearing witness to the terrible battle that had taken place. Monsters had surged into Hilton Fortress, sweeping through like a tide, leaving only a few strongholds standing firm, while the rest was reduced to ruins.

A few players were chatting a few hundred yards away from the Government Hall.

"What's 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 gaze locked onto Nie Yan in the distance, who was approaching the fully armed guards in a black cloak.

"He's dead. Those guards will arrest him," an arcane mage said gleefully.

The guards next to the Government Hall were clad in thick golden armor, wielding sharp greatswords, and were at least level 100 elites.

They thought Nie Yan was crazy to approach the Government Hall, but the next moment, they were dumbfounded by what they saw. As Nie Yan approached the guards, they didn't do anything to him. Instead, they bowed respectfully.

Nie Yan exchanged a few words with 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 presence."

The players looked at each other in disbelief. Nie Yan was the most amazing player they had ever seen. These high-level guards, who were usually arrogant and overbearing in front of ordinary players, became docile and obedient in front of Nie Yan.

Inside the Government Hall, Nie Yan walked in, finding it magnificent and spacious.

After entering, Nie Yan removed his hood. Since there shouldn't be any players inside, it would be a bit inconvenient to talk to the NPCs with it on.

A thin old man walked towards Nie Yan. Upon closer inspection, Nie Yan recognized him as Ignatius.

"Respected Grand Scholar, hello," Ignatius said, his expression immediately becoming respectful when he saw Nie Yan.

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

"Respected Grand Scholar, thank you. If you hadn't successfully predicted the siege of Hilton Fortress, all of us here would have become food for the underworld monsters," Ignatius said gratefully.

"May the gods bless all the citizens of the Greenland Empire," Nie Yan said, following protocol.

"Respected Grand Scholar, please come with me. I'll take you to see Governor Kilffese," Ignatius said.

Ignatius led Nie Yan into the hall, passing through to a long corridor lined with statues, a grand sight. Just as Nie Yan was following Ignatius, slightly distracted, a player walked towards them.

Nie Yan's heart tightened. He didn't expect to encounter a player here. It was too late to put his hood back on.

Nie Yan and the person faced each other directly. The approaching player was a mage, wearing a gray robe with a lightning symbol, an elemental mage.

He was about thirty years old, with a square face and a somewhat familiar appearance, holding a long staff. At the tip of the staff, a red gem emitted a dazzling light, burning with intense flames.

Parrak's Flame Staff. It was him!

The president of the Mage Alliance, Crazy Magic!

What was he doing here?

Nie Yan and Crazy Magic exchanged glances, both stunned for a moment.

It was truly a case of ill-fated foes meeting on a narrow road. He hadn't expected to run into him here. He had only come here to do a quest, thinking he was the first to arrive.

Ignatius was very respectful to Nie Yan, making people wonder. How did that thief, Nie Yan, manage to do that?

Crazy Magic understood that he couldn't cause trouble for Nie Yan at this moment. Making a scene in the Government Hall would not only fail to affect Nie Yan's quest progress but might also get him into trouble!

Nie Yan was also wondering what Crazy Magic was doing here.

The two brushed past each other without saying a word, but some things didn't need to be said to be understood. They each served their own masters, and there was nothing to say.

Some people were destined to be enemies.

Seeing Crazy Magic walk away, Nie Yan asked Ignatius, "Mr. Ignatius, what is he doing here?"

"He accepted a quest in the Government Hall earlier and is here to turn it in today. Advanced Demon Hunter, Ranger Crazy Magic," Ignatius said, treating the titles as very ordinary.

Titles like Advanced Demon Hunter and Ranger were extremely rare among ordinary players, but they were still several levels below Nie Yan's titles. Nie Yan's Demon Hunter title was one level higher than Demon Hunter. As for Ranger, it was a slightly rarer title than Demon Hunter, considered a decent high-level title, but that was all it was. Compared to Nie Yan's Grand Scholar title, it was far inferior.

Nie Yan asked Ignatius about Crazy Magic, and Ignatius didn't dare not answer, his attitude very respectful. This was because Nie Yan, in addition to being a Grand Scholar, was also a near-Prophet, one step away from becoming a Prophet, a highly esteemed figure in the Greenland Empire. Furthermore, Nie Yan had saved everyone in Hilton Fortress, while Crazy Magic had to be cautious around Ignatius because he was an important figure in Hilton Fortress.

This was the difference in status.

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

Someone like Nie Yan, with the title of Grand Scholar, could speak to NPCs in all the major cities. He could easily receive any quest he wanted to do, while many ordinary players didn't even have the qualifications to accept quests.

Nie Yan learned some information about Crazy Magic from Ignatius, who didn't hide anything. This was the benefit of power!