Rebirth of the thief who roamed around the world (BOOK 3)

Chapter 411 - Empress Finas' Eye

Nie Yan refused to believe Bloodlust Blades had more than a few Armoured Catapults. They were extremely costly to manufacture, both in terms of resources and manpower. Although only several of them were enough to destroy the walls of the Blackstone Stronghold, they didn't pose much of a threat beyond that.

Armoured Catapults were only dangerous in large numbers. A single bombardment could wipe out players in droves. The vast majority of players, save for those over Level 100 with full set equipment, would be instantly killed by the explosive incendiary shells.

Perhaps the Goblin Magic Cannons could destroy the Armoured Catapults before they neared the Blackstone Stronghold by relying on their superior range. However, that would depend on Asskickers United getting them out in time.

This was only the beginning of the siege. Both guilds had brought out their most advanced weaponry.

Aside from manufacturing siege weapons, Asskickers United also had to start focusing on reinforcing the defenses of their strongholds. After provoking the likes of Bloodlust Blades, Alliance of Mages, Divine Protectors, and Angel Corps, their future was guaranteed to be full of strife.

War was fast approaching. Nie Yan understood just how important funding was to Asskickers United at this moment.

「Try to hold out for the next two days,」Nie Yan said. When he returned to the surface, Asskickers United would have at least an additional 1,000,000 gold in capital.

「Two days shouldn't be a problem. I'll mobilize the five branch guilds. Even if they can't do much to the enemy's forces, they can still buy us a precious few hours,」Guo Huai said. Without accounting for travel time, taking down a stronghold generally took at least a day, which meant the most Bloodlust Blades could accomplish before Nie Yan returned was the occupation of the Blackstone Stronghold. If it really came down to it, Asskickers United could just cut their losses. After all, the stronghold wasn't going anywhere. It would fall back in their hands after they won the war. All it meant was that their initial investment would be lost.

Asskickers United would have no problem delaying the final battle until Nie Yan returned from the Underworld.

Aside from discussing plans on how to deal with Bloodlust Blades, Nie Yan also ordered Guo Huai to start recruiting more Engineers, Tinkerers, Blacksmiths, and Miners. He feared it would be too late if they waited until the war was over. Since Bloodlust Blades had produced Armoured Catapults, Asskickers United also had to step up the pace, or risk facing grave consequences if they lagged too far behind in terms of both scientific advancements and technology.

What Asskickers United lacked the least right now was Alchemists. Branches of the Starry Night Potion Shop could be found all across the Viridian Empire. With over 600 Alchemists employed, 13 of which were at the Advanced rank, they were unrivalled and could fulfill all the needs of the guild. However, when it came to the other crafting professions, they were sorely underdeveloped.

Guo Huai immediately got to work. Developing players for these several crafting professions would cost at least 100,000 gold. Talented Engineers and Tinkerers were especially hard to find. Thankfully, Nie Yan had given him a list of names, so all he had to do was go down the list. As for Miners, that was a far simpler task. He could recruit five or six hundred in a heartbeat. It was just a shame they couldn't spare the manpower for mining expeditions in the middle of a war.

Generally, a whole map had to be cleared followed by the construction of a mine before operations could commence.

Doing anything required gold. Wars especially were expensive. It was crucial Nie Yan took full advantage of the Dark Portal!