"Deep Blue Blade brother, thank you for your trust in the Scarlet Moon Knights!"
Lin Zhao dismounted and cupped his fist with a smile. "Our Scarlet Moon Knights currently have two guilds, a youth guild led by Guild Leader Lu Han, and a white-clad guild that I personally lead. Both of these guilds are close to 500 members. So, when you come over, I plan to incorporate your team into a third guild, personally led by Chen Xue. Chen Xue's current ID is not pleasant; we can't call it the Bitter Gourd Guild, so let's use her old ID, Xue Qiancheng. The third guild will be called the Qiancheng Guild, with Chen Xue as the leader and you as the deputy leader. What do you think?"
"Sounds good!"
Deep Blue Blade was also a straightforward person and said with a smile, "But I have a requirement: Lu Li and Qing Ning must be assigned to the Qiancheng Guild. This guild is the last to be formed, and its combat power must be up to par. We need them both. I hope the alliance leader can accommodate this small personal request."
"No problem, Lu Li and Qing Ning will both join the Qiancheng Guild."
"Thank you, Alliance Leader!"
"Come on, join the Scarlet Moon Knights, and then we'll head into the secret realm map."
"Alright!"
Not long after, Deep Blue Blade brought over 100+ people to join the Scarlet Moon Knights. Coupled with Chen Xue, Lu Li, and Qing Ning, the Qiancheng Guild had initially taken shape. All that remained was to continue recruiting and expanding its scale. With Chen Xue personally leading the guild, its combat power would surely not be lacking.
...
Titan Secret Realm, western side.
Under a maple forest, Li Canghai, astride a tall horse and clad in imposing armor, gazed coldly eastward. That was the respawn location of the Titan's Spirit, his dream. Unfortunately, it was now occupied by members of the Scarlet Moon Knights, and they couldn't defeat them for the moment. If they were to fight seriously, the Azure Knights, with thrice the number of opponents, were still at a slight disadvantage, with a combat loss ratio exceeding 3:1.
"Damn it!"
Xi He Da Guo Kui lit a hand-rolled cigarette under a tree, taking a few puffs. He frowned, "We don't know when the Titan's Spirit will respawn next. The Scarlet Moon Knights seem to have it figured out, and they're simply not allowing our Azure Knights to enter. How about... we join forces with Prosperous Peony and suppress the Scarlet Moon Knights together?"
"Hmph..."
Li Canghai snorted, "Prosperous Peony is useless. People with such narrow vision as Ghost King are simply not qualified to be our allies. It would be good enough if they didn't kick us in the backside, and you expect us to ally with them? Look at what happened yesterday; a youth guild completely routed Prosperous Peony. We're better off without such allies; they're just a laughingstock."
"That's indeed the case..."
Xi He Da Guo Kui took a deep puff of his cigarette, "Then what should we do?"
"It's easy."
Not far away, a guild leader of elite archers said plainly, "It's just that I'm afraid the Alliance Leader will have to spend some money."
"Oh, what do you mean?" Li Canghai raised an eyebrow and asked.
"I heard that when the Star River Guild killed the Titan's Spirit early this morning, another Guild Creation Token dropped. Star River is a guild that has already been established, so this Guild Creation Token is surplus. Alliance Leader, why don't you contact Su Xinghe now and see if you can buy this Guild Creation Token from him? If possible, our Azure Knights will be the first guild to be established in Cloud County."
He smiled, "I heard that after establishing a guild, there are many benefits. Firstly, allies gain extra experience bonuses when leveling up together. Secondly, the higher the guild's level, the more bonuses it can obtain. It's said that a level 1 guild can grant all members a 5% boost to overall attack power, defense, resistance, and so on. This 5% can influence the overall situation. If our Azure Knights have this 5% attribute advantage, will we be able to directly crush the Scarlet Moon Knights?"
"If that's the case..."
Xi He Da Guo Kui extinguished his cigarette butt, "We have to do this!"
"Understood."
Li Canghai took a deep breath, "I'll go contact Su Xinghe."
...
In the afternoon, Su Xinghe, who had just logged in, received a video call from Li Canghai.
"Yo~~~"
Su Xinghe smiled slightly. He had heard of Li Canghai, so he added him as a friend. "Alliance Leader Li Canghai is looking for me? Is there something you need?"
"Yes, there is!"
Li Canghai said with a smile, "I heard that the divine player Su dropped the second Guild Creation Token for your guild this morning. So, I, Li Canghai, though not talented, wish to inquire if this Guild Creation Token is for sale? If you are willing, I, Li Canghai, am willing to offer a sufficiently sincere price to purchase this Guild Creation Token. Divine player Su, you don't need to doubt my sincerity."
"Oh?"
Su Xinghe smiled, "Do you know how much the Guild Creation Token for the Azure Dragon Guild's establishment was auctioned for last time?"
"80 million universal coins, I know."
Li Canghai smiled slightly, "If Star River is willing to sell it, I can offer 100 million universal coins, or even up to 120 million. It's all negotiable."
"Understood."
Su Xinghe said, "However, many friends have set their sights on this Guild Creation Token. It's not that I want to raise the price, but I need to consider it further. Alliance Leader Li Canghai, please wait for my news. If I decide to sell it to you, it will still be at the price of 100 million. I won't raise the price."
"Alright, thank you."
"You're welcome."
...
Su Xinghe took a deep breath and walked forward a few steps. In the secret realm map, a peerlessly beautiful female mage, Shen Xingchen, sat on the branch of a fallen ancient tree. Her level was high enough, and her equipment was good enough, so she wasn't too focused on leveling. She plucked a small white flower from a vine and was admiring its beauty. Beside her stood a bodyguard, her brother Shen Lingyuan.
"What did he say?" Shen Xingchen asked.
"The Azure Knights also want this Guild Creation Token."
Su Xinghe's expression was serious. "I'm considering whether to sell this Guild Creation Token to the Azure Knights or to the Spark of Succession Guild. I'm a bit hesitant."
"Is there a difference?"
Shen Lingyuan frowned, "Isn't it all just making a windfall?"
"On the surface, yes, but in essence, it's not."
Su Xinghe didn't mock his simple-mindedness. Instead, he turned his gaze to Shen Xingchen and said with a smile, "If it's for the Azure Knights, they can suppress the newly rising Scarlet Moon Knights in Cloud County. The Scarlet Moon Knights have now merged with the Passionate Youth Guild, greatly increasing their strength. Coupled with the celebrity effect of Bai Yi and Xue Qiancheng, if the Azure Knights can defeat them again during the Scarlet Moon Knights' development period, we'll have a chance to turn the Scarlet Moon Knights into a subordinate guild of Star River."
He raised his eyebrows and continued, "As for Spark of Succession, it can rapidly improve their strength and use them as a pawn to suppress the development speed of their old rivals, Azure Dragon, who are also in Cold Table County. At least after the mainstream players break through level 100, keep Azure Dragon at T2 level in the Huaxia server and prevent them from entering T1."
"Hmph..."
Shen Lingyuan sneered, "Calculating and scheming!"
Su Xinghe didn't get angry. He just smiled. With so many guilds and such complicated forces in the national server, which of the guilds that eventually rose to prominence didn't rely on calculation and scheming?
"Xingchen, what do you think?" Su Xinghe asked.
Shen Xingchen pursed her red lips and said, "I have no opinion. Sell it to whomever you want. I just feel that the situation in Cloud County is developing too quickly. We, Star River, are almost completely losing control of Cloud County. The Scarlet Moon Knights are rising too fast. It's difficult to treat them as a single guild anymore. It's already hard to defeat the Scarlet Moon Knights with just the Azure Knights. External forces need to intervene."
"Understood."
Su Xinghe smiled slightly, "I'll give Li Canghai a little hint."
"Mmm."
"Then it's settled, we'll sell it to the Azure Knights. Next, let's see who can stay on this grand stage of Cloud County." Su Xinghe's eyes were bright, as if he could already foresee the turbulent future of Cloud County.
Shen Xingchen then gracefully leaped down, her fair and slender legs landing softly. Holding her staff, she said, "Brother, come with me to farm monsters. Oh no, it should be me leveling you up!"
"Alright~~~"
Shen Lingyuan followed on his horse.
"Do you want me to accompany you?" Su Xinghe asked.
"Do you need me to?"
Shen Lingyuan, holding his long sword and heavy shield, looked back at Su Xinghe, his eyes even carrying a warning. He smiled and said, "I believe I can handle the monsters. Alliance Leader, you don't need to worry. I will not let my sister get hurt in the slightest."
Su Xinghe frowned. Being left alone in place made him somewhat displeased. What did Shen Lingyuan's words mean? Had his pursuit already hurt Shen Xingchen? Among the countless female players in the Huaxia server, more than half liked me, Su Xinghe. Why, in your eyes, Shen Lingyuan, did I become so worthless?
But there was nothing he could do. The Shen family were unreasonable people.
Su Xinghe sighed. Being the leader of the number one guild in the national server... seemed to be a bit of a failure.
...
Evening.
Hai Xi County City, the north gate viewing platform.
At this time, it was lightly snowing in Hai Xi County, making for a pleasant view.
Accompanied by heavy footsteps, Li Canghai, clad in armor, ascended the snow-covered viewing platform. When he reached the top, he found Su Xinghe enjoying a cup of fragrant tea. Beside him was a beautiful NPC maid in a gauze dress, her alluring figure subtly revealed, stirring the heart.
Li Canghai frowned. Was this the style of the wealthy? Serving tea like this cost 3000 gold, which was equivalent to 60,000 universal coins at present, for less than 2 hours of service. What kind of wealth could one possess to dare to purchase such a service from the system?
"Divine player Su!"
Li Canghai cupped his fist with a smile.
Su Xinghe gestured for him to sit and said with a smile, "You're here. Did you bring the 100 million?"
"I did. It's in the account. I transferred it out this afternoon."
"Good, let's trade directly."
The next moment, the Guild Creation Token fell into Li Canghai's inventory, and Su Xinghe received 100 million universal coins.
...
"Alright, thank you, Divine player Su!"
Li Canghai turned to leave, eager to return and establish the guild!
"Wait."
Su Xinghe smiled slightly and said, "Alliance Leader Li Canghai, do you really think that the Azure Knights can defeat the Scarlet Moon Knights just by establishing a guild?"
"Can't we?"
Li Canghai raised an eyebrow, "Is Divine player Su underestimating our Azure Knights a little?"
"There's no disrespect intended. I'm just saying that one must act steadily."
Su Xinghe said with a meaningful smile, "Instead of one guild charging headfirst, why not seek external help? In Lingbei County, the former county city of the Passionate Youth Guild, there's a guild called 'All Villains.' They had many conflicts with the Passionate Youth Guild before. If Alliance Leader Li Canghai allies with All Villains, they could get reinforcements of 2000+ troops for very little hiring cost. If they join forces to attack the Titan Secret Realm in Cloud County, do you think the Scarlet Moon Knights would still have the right to stay in the Titan Secret Realm?"
Li Canghai's expression sharpened, and his heart was greatly moved. He frowned tightly. This pretty boy in front of him was definitely a damned schemer. Such people were truly disgusting! Just looking at his handsome face made him feel nauseous.
But the advice he gave was not bad!