Chapter 326 – Unprecedented Unity
「How should we respond to Mad Blade?」Guo Huai asked. Not responding to the post meant Asskickers United was taking this humiliation lying down. No matter what, they couldn’t back down!
「It’s fine. I’ll do it myself.」Nie Yan opened up the forums and prepared a response to Bloodlust Mad Blade’s post.
「Alright.」Guo Huai nodded, then focused on another matter of importance. After killing some members of Bloodlust Blades, players were arriving to collect their bounties. He began distributing the rewards according to the criteria Nie Yan set.
When Nie Yan opened up the forums, the players from Bloodlust Blades were still in the midst of mocking Asskickers United. They were clearly hoping to goad their enemy into taking rash action.
Truthfully, such meddling wasn’t necessary. With Bloodlust Blades declaring war, Asskickers United would naturally take up the challenge.
Nie Yan wrote a reply to Mad Blade’s post.
「Azure Falling Sky, Unhindered, Radiant Sacred Flame, Victorious Return… Asskickers United has never been afraid of anyone. This time is no exception. Why go through all these hoops just to declare war? We’ll sweep through Glory City and flatten Bloodlust Blades!」
The Mad Rogue responded! The forums erupted with excitement. Many players were deeply moved after reading the reply. Nirvana Flame was just as domineering as ever!
When Nie Yan’s reply was shared in guild chat, the fighting spirits of the players from Asskickers United were ignited, and they roared out in cheers.
「Sweep through Glory City! Flatten Bloodlust Blades!」
「Fuck those dog bastards from Bloodlust Blades!」
…
Below Nie Yan’s declaration was also a number.
# of Bloodlust Blades players killed: 1,563
Asskickers United’s bounty notice was put up over an hour after Bloodlust Blades released theirs, so for their kill count to be lower was nothing strange. However, it was rising at a frightening rate!
Of course, the victor wouldn’t be decided by whose kill count was higher but rather who could hold out until the very end!
No one was clear on the wealth of Bloodlust Blades. Asskickers United could only fight them with all their strength!
In just a short hour, Nie Yan already had to pay out over 3,000 gold.
Knowing the guild was facing a financial crisis, the players from Asskickers United who were ambushed and killed refused to accept any form of compensation.
At this time, Paladin of the Elegy appeared in guild chat.「Looking for more to form a Level 40 gold farming group. We’re going to grind in the Level 40 map, Flowing Gold Plains!」
Gold farming group! It was as if the entire guild shared the same epiphany.
「Forming a Level 35 gold farming group!」
「Forming a Level 40 gold farming group!」
「Tough Jerky, where are you? Hurry up over to the Calore transfer area!」
「Liu Shu, let’s gather at Calore’s south entrance!」
…
The chat was flooded with messages from players looking to form gold farming groups. One team after another departed from Calore and set off for easy farmable maps. Although the experience gain was pitiful, the consumable costs were kept at a minimum, and the drop rate for both money and items was decent. All the loot they collected would be donated to the guild!
As elite players, they normally disdained this sort of work. But right now, with the guild facing a huge crisis, everybody was trying their best to pitch in.
Nie Yan was deeply moved by the actions of these guild members.
「Thank you, everyone!」Nie Yan said in guild chat. As long as Asskickers United had such loyal players, it would never fall!
「Boss, you’re treating us like outsiders. We’re family. We rise and fall together. When the guild is in trouble, it’s only natural for everyone to share the burden!」Paladin of the Elegy replied. His words were quickly echoed by others in the chat.
「Elegy is right! Boss, don’t worry! With all of us working together, Bloodlust Blades can only flee with their tails tucked between their legs! Let’s see which side falls first!」
Transfer points all over Calore lit up brilliantly as 20-player teams set out in every direction. All of them were burning with determination and were not the slightest bit discouraged.
The rest of Calore was amazed by this sight.
“What’s Asskickers United doing?”
“I heard from a friend the players in Asskickers United are forming gold farming groups to support the guild. They’re planning to see this conflict with Bloodlust Blades through to the very end!” a player explained.
Seeing the soaring morale of these players, everyone shared the same thought: Do not provoke Asskickers United! With this kind of resolve, it would be strange if they didn’t achieve victory!
60,000 players grinding in Level 40 maps could generate roughly 30,000 gold a day. This was purely from the money that dropped! If you added in the value of the equipment, the number might even double or triple! But if unexpected trouble occurred, the profit would be somewhat smaller.
One gold farming group after another departed from Calore.
Back at Bloodlust Blades’ guild headquarters in the Red River Stronghold, Bloodlust Mad Blade was monitoring the situation over in Calore. His gaze was a bit distracted. He never expected that the players from Asskickers United would take such action. He asked himself if his players would do the same when faced with a similar situation? The answer was a resounding no!
If he asked his players to sacrifice themselves for the guild, it would be impressive if they didn’t revolt!
When Mad Blade looked at the video of the Asskickers United players setting out from Calore, he saw them brimming with fighting spirit. Every single one of them carried the resolve to fight to the bloody end!
Just how did Nirvana Flame do this?
Even though Asskickers United only had 60,000 players, Mad Blade became painfully aware of their strength. This sort of power didn’t come from numbers but rather unshakable unity! Outside of Asskickers United, could another such guild be found? Perhaps not even Angel Corp in the Satreen Empire could pull this off.
Mad Blade didn’t have to worry about gold thanks to the Century Financial Group. However, if all 60,000 players of Asskickers United continued farming gold like this, it would truly be difficult to tell who would emerge victorious.
Mad Blade had a vague feeling that Bloodlust Blades would fail to swallow up Asskickers United. He still had two allies. If worse came to worst, he could call in the support of Divine Protectors and Alliance of Mages.
A hint of fear emerged in Mad Blade’s heart. A guild like Asskickers United was simply too dangerous. With this sort of unity, they could sweep through everything in their path. They shared an eerie resemblance to the Dark Hero guild during its prime.
The Dark Hero guild had fallen, its glory no more. However, the present Asskickers United was just like a newly arisen Dark Hero guild!
If Asskickers United was allowed to grow, there would be no place left for Bloodlust Blades in the Viridian Empire!
No matter the method or price, Asskickers United had to be eliminated!
Mad Blade busily got to work.
For the time being, it was hard to determine who would come out on top in this war. Nie Yan began making some preparations. He would make some adjustments to his money-making businesses and raise the rent on his shops. Recently, business was booming. They had made a lot of profit, so it was only natural for them to share some of the good fortune.
Nie Yan raising the rent on his shops would definitely upset some merchants. However, there was nothing they could do. Calore and Nisode were his domain. He simply owned too many properties, not to mention all of them were in prime real estate locations. He had complete market dominance. If he chose to take back his shops, their losses would be even greater! For the sake of earning money, they had no choice but to concede to his demand.
Nie Yan chatted with Yao Yao for a while. She still had to do the second part of Karsi’s Blessing. The beginning of the quest wasn’t difficult, only a bit tedious. The two of them separated, and he went to stock up on some basic consumables. After checking his character information, he noticed his Intermediate Combat Bandages was only a few points away from ranking up. He went to buy some Silk Cloth.
Nie Yan was a lot more restrained when buying items, unlike before where he would practically empty out an auction house of something he needed. He simply had too many expenses and not enough gold.
Nie Yan sent Tang Yao a message.「Want to help me do a quest?」
「Sure. Where are you?」
「I’m waiting at the Calore transfer area.」
Tang Yao quickly met up with Nie Yan.
“What kind of quest are we doing?” Tang Yao curiously asked.
Nie Yan glanced at the Arcane Fairy floating beside Tang Yao and asked, “Is your Arcane Fairy Rank 4 yet?”
“No, it’s still a ways off. Rank 4 is too hard to get. I estimate it’ll take at least another month,” Tang Yao replied.
“In that case, it’ll be a bit difficult but still doable. It’s a pretty simple quest and doesn’t take a lot of time. Follow me. We’re teleporting to Soyu Town.”
“That’s a Level 60 map!” Tang Yao blurted out in surprise. Did Nie Yan go mad? Why were they going to such a place to do a quest?
“It’s fine. Just follow me. I’ve investigated and discovered some good things in that map. It’ll be a quick trip,” Nie Yan said as he began walking towards the transfer point.
Tang Yao quickly followed behind him. Since the start of the game to now, had Nie Yan ever lied to him? If his brother said it was fine, it was fine! This was the sort of unwavering faith that came from their bond!
Nie Yan proved time and time again that he was trustworthy, so Tang Yao had no reason to doubt him.
As the two stepped onto the transfer point, they teleported away with a brilliant flash of light. Before them appeared a deserted town with only a few buildings scattered here and there. As gusts of wind blew in, the entire town was shrouded in granules of yellow sand.
“Let’s go,” Nie Yan said as he walked toward a fairly eye-catching building. It was a slightly dilapidated mud house which had been badly damaged by the elements. It was teetering on the verge of collapse.