After passing through a plaza and entering the flourishing trade district, a luxurious three-story villa tucked away in a street corner entered Nie Yan's sight. It was gated off from the public, with a stone wall running along the perimeter of the property. Inside was a vibrant, lush garden filled with all sorts of flowers and plants. Butterflies fluttered about and birds chirped cheerily. This 10,000 square feet estate stood in stark contrast to the war-ridden surroundings.
It was as if a fairytale wonderland had plopped down into a bustling downtown core. This villa stood out like a sore thumb.
Establishing a shop here would be quite profitable. Sadly, Nie Yan could only reside in this villa, not tear it down. It had a long history behind it and was considered a landmark, having weathered through many great battles without so much as being damaged.
It was rumoured six Legendary Mages had established a protective barrier around this villa. This was why it wasn't destroyed during the demon beast invasion, or any of the other wars that had swept over this stronghold.
"This building will make a good temporary guild office for Asskickers United in the Hilton Stronghold," Nie Yan muttered as he approached the villa.
A large crowd of players had gathered around the entrance. They were in a heated discussion about something.
"What's going on?" Nie Yan was baffled.
After getting a closer look, Nie Yan could finally overhear their conversations.
"Nirvana Flame's Residence... do you think it's referring to some NPC or the Mad Rogue?"
"Probably some NPC. This villa is a landmark of the Hilton Stronghold. We're in the middle of the trade district. Each of the properties here cost an arm and a leg. Even if Nirvana Flame had the gold, he'd buy a shop front, not some villa. It has no practical value!"
"I heard this villa has over 2,000 years of history behind it. It's had more than 20 owners. Some NPCs say it contains a priceless treasure. If that's really true, it'd make sense that Nirvana Flame bought this place."
Hearing these comments, Nie Yan shifted his attention to the villa entrance and saw a wooden plaque beside the gate, elaborately carved with the words Nirvana Flame's Residence.
Most famous NPCs had wooden plaques indicating their names outside the entrance of their residences.
This villa belonged to Nie Yan. Naturally, this kind of plaque would be put up.
Before long, the patrolling guards came over and dispersed the crowd of players that had gathered here. From now on, everything within a five-meter radius of the villa entrance was private property. No one was allowed to approach without Nie Yan's permission.
Nie Yan took a stroll around the villa. The interior was quite spacious and fully furnished, and there was a large terrace in the garden.
Nie Yan made an announcement in the guild. From now on, this villa would be a temporary gathering hub for the players of Asskickers United inside the Hilton Stronghold. Accommodating a few hundred people wouldn't be an issue.
The players from Asskickers United broke out in discussion. Snagging this kind of villa in the most flourishing commerce zone of the Hilton Stronghold was quite eye-catching!
The forums also exploded with activity. Everyone was marvelling at this villa. Some rich tycoons were even offering upwards of 600,000 gold to purchase it. However, Nie Yan rejected them all. He wasn't short on gold first of all, and it couldn't be sold to others anyway.
This villa was a symbol of Nie Yan's status. In the future, all the Asskickers United players travelling to the Hilton Stronghold would gather here. It would become a mark of pride for the guild. At present, no other player could enjoy this sort of glory in a city.
Only a moment ago, when players were talking about a hidden treasure inside the villa, Nie Yan didn't believe them. However, he would be lying if he claimed his interest wasn't the least bit piqued.
Nie Yan searched through every room of the villa. The layout of the furnishings was simple yet elegant at the same time. After failing to find a hidden mechanism or anything of the sort, he could only hang his head low in defeat. Finally, he rearranged the chairs and tables in the main hall. In the future, it could serve as a conference room.
「So, I heard you got yourself a villa in the Hilton Stronghold?」Bladelight asked.
「It was a reward from a quest. It'll be our temporary gathering hub. I've already had Watchful Snail dispatch people to take care of this place.」
「Not bad, we just happened to be lacking a base here.」When Bladelight previously heard news of Nie Yan acquiring a villa, he thought it was just a rumour. He didn't expect it to actually be the truth. With this kind of villa, doing work in the Hilton Stronghold would be much more convenient.
「How are things going on your side?」Nie Yan asked.
「We've already taken down two demon beasts. We're on our third one right now. I guess Level 90 Lords only amount to this much.」
Nie Yan chuckled. It wasn't that Level 90 Lords were too weak, but rather the elites of Asskickers United were too strong. In the previous timeline, he had never seen a single guild with a lineup this powerful. With Bladelight's unparalleled equipment added to the mix, Level 90 Lords were indeed nothing to break a sweat over.
Guo Huai worked hard day and night for the guild. In his busy schedule, he also made time to gather information on the guilds that had arrived in the Hilton Stronghold before Asskickers United. Alliance of Mages had taken down seven Level 80 Lords and Divine Protectors had taken down six. Since their main tanks were nowhere close to being on the same level as Bladelight, Lofty Shadow, and Yi Yan, they didn't dare to challenge the higher level Lords.
This was the gap in strength!
The top elites of Asskickers United were far above those from other guilds.
「You should be careful. Don't get surrounded by Alliance of Mages or Divine Protectors. There's also the players from Bloodfiends to worry about,」Nie Yan warned. Bladelight and the others should already be aware of the severity of the situation after watching the video of his exchange with them. Those five Thieves definitely weren't to be underestimated!
Asskickers United's forces killing Level 90 Lords had almost certainly reached the ears of Alliance of Mages and Divine Protectors by now. There was no way to tell if they would try to stir up trouble. Bladelight and the others had no choice but to maintain their vigilance.
After chatting with Bladelight for a while, Nie Yan hung up the call. Next up, he contacted Guo Huai to take care of some of the matters in the Hilton Stronghold, including the management of the villa and how to make use of the six properties he bought.
「How are the gems selling?」Nie Yan asked.
「Everything we've put up has been sold. The market demand is still huge. Most of the high quality gems are with us. Players have no way of buying them. I predict many people are going to keel over from all the worry and stress. Should we put up some more for sale?」
「List up another 5%. Also, send 1,000,000 gold my way.」
「What do you need so much gold for?」Guo Huai asked in shock.
「Establishing auction houses. I bought six properties in the Hilton Stronghold, three of which are suitable to be auction houses. I'll leave the remaining three to you. I'll hand over the administrative authority to you in a moment.」
「What!? You bought six properties? I thought the properties in the Hilton Stronghold weren't for sale!」
「It's because I finished a quest here...」Nie Yan briefed Guo Huai on the events that took place in the Hilton Stronghold.
Guo Huai nodded.「So it's like that... I'll immediately send the gold over.」Asskickers United currently had 2,000,000 gold in the treasury. They weren't the least bit short on funds.
Before long, Nie Yan received 1,000,000 gold, which he immediately spent on establishing auction houses at those three properties. Right now, a Tier 1 auction house cost roughly 100,000 gold, and upgrading to a Tier 5 auction house cost 300,000 gold.
Auction houses were the most profitable businesses. These three auction houses were located in excellent locations, and they were the very first to open in the Hilton Stronghold. Since they were all connected through the Super Trade Channel, players would have an easier time buying what they needed. As long as Nie Yan ran the auction houses well and no problems occured, he stood to gain at least 80% of the market in the Hilton Stronghold.
As for what the remaining three properties would be used for, Nie Yan and Guo Huai had decided they would be used for material collection, equipment processing, and a Tinkerer shop. These industries weren't as lucrative as auction houses, but they were still flourishing.
As for how much gold could be made from the Hilton Stronghold, only time could tell. However, in the future, this place would definitely become just as prosperous as Calore.
After dealing with the six properties, Nie Yan prepared to continue levelling by hunting one or two demon beasts. He was close to level 100. After that, he could become a Luminous Dancer.
「Nie Yan, where are you right now?」Xie Yao asked.
「I'm in the Hilton Stronghold. How's your quest going?」Nie Yan replied. Xie Yao was still busy questing. Every time he tried to contact her, it would say the other party was busy. Even though he could bypass this and call her through their linked game cabins, he decided not to disturb her so as not to affect her quest.
「I've made good progress. I've already collected three pieces of that set. But I'll have to wait until I reach Level 100 to start collecting the fourth piece.」
「How about we level together then?」Nie Yan asked. Xie Yao's levelling speed definitely wasn't slow. As a Thief and Holy Mage, them working together would only make levelling faster.
Nie Yan checked Xie Yao's character information. She was already Level 79. Furthermore, she was currently wearing three pieces of Legendary-grade equipment. Her damage would definitely be off the charts.
「Mhm, okay. It'll take me about 20 minutes to get to you,」Xie Yao said. She summoned her horse and set off for the Hilton Stronghold.
When Nie Yan was rushing to Level 100 in the previous timeline, he had spent some time levelling in the maps around the Hilton Stronghold. So, he was decently familiar with the surroundings here. He recalled players from the Underworld started arriving on the surface not long after the demon beast invasion, which led to several major conflicts. When the demon beasts were finally wiped out, this land was transformed into a battlefield between players from either camp.
The war of the Righteous Faction and Evil Faction was fast approaching.