Although Shi Feng had thought about it, he wasn't in any rush to start collecting Magic Pattern Crystals.
Magic Pattern Crystals were common drop items in the sea, and buying large quantities from other players would be easy enough. His main reason for coming to the Endless Seas this time wasn't to collect Magic Pattern Crystals.
It was for the sea inheritance.
With that, Shi Feng set off toward the meeting point he had arranged with Jun Wuchang.
Meanwhile, in front of the most upscale high-end restaurant in Azure City, several hundred players clad in Gold-grade weaponry and equipment stood guard at the entrance. Every last one of them was level 42 or above, and simply standing there, they radiated an overwhelming sense of pressure. Passing players took one glance and immediately hurried along — not a single one dared enter the restaurant.
The players guarding the entrance were none other than members of the Freedom Alliance, the absolute rulers of Azure City. They controlled the entire city, and no one here dared go against the Freedom Alliance.
If you made the Freedom Alliance unhappy, there would be no staying in Azure City.
On the top-floor hall of the twenty-second floor of Azure Restaurant, all of the Freedom Alliance's upper echelon had gathered. Even the captains of the eleven fleets, who were rarely seen in ordinary times, had come.
"Wuchang, this month the fleets made up of adventure teams are counting on you all. If those guild-based fleets surpass us again, the standing of our adventure-team fleets is going to be in serious trouble," a woman with an oval face, fair skin, and a luxurious plum-red mage robe walked up to Jun Wuchang and said in a low voice.
Although this woman couldn't compare to Bai Qingxue's flawless beauty and looked rather plain and understated, she was the only female fleet captain in the entire Freedom Alliance — Bai Ye.
Jun Wuchang simply nodded silently.
He didn't entirely believe what Bai Ye was saying.
Anyone who became a fleet captain in a place as competitive as the Freedom Alliance was not to be underestimated. Bai Ye had risen rapidly — from the initial captain of the eleventh fleet when she first joined the Alliance, she had already climbed to captain of the eighth fleet. Her speed of advancement was staggering.
It wouldn't be long before she could rise to the fifth or even the fourth fleet. Who knew — she might even surpass their third fleet one day.
But Bai Ye was right about one thing: if their performance this time was poor and they failed to secure the inheritance, their standing would indeed drop significantly.
The power dynamics within the Freedom Alliance were extremely complex. It wasn't like a guild — although it was an alliance, it was divided into eleven groups. And these eleven groups were split into two major factions: one made up of freelance adventure teams forming fleets, and the other of small guilds forming fleets.
Normally, the adventure-team fleets banded together and the small-guild fleets banded together, the two sides competing for the resources the Alliance obtained.
However, because the small-guild side had managed to secure an inheritance last time, the situation on their side had grown somewhat unfavorable. If they couldn't match the other side this time, the distribution of benefits going forward would put them at a disadvantage.
"I heard that this time the second and fourth fleets have joined forces, and they've even invited quite a few powerful experts to help. Once we enter the secret realm, Captain Wuchang, you'll have to look out for our eighth fleet a bit," Bai Ye's gaze drifted toward several people sitting across from them. Those were the captains of the second and fourth fleets, and among them were several players wearing black cloaks whose identities were completely unrecognizable.
"Captain Bai Ye jests. Once we enter the secret realm, I'm afraid we'll be the ones who need Captain Bai Ye's help. I've heard that Captain Bai Ye managed to enlist the support of the super guild Sacred Temple of Magic this time. I suspect the entire Freedom Alliance combined couldn't match even a fraction of their strength." Jun Wuchang's gaze shifted to a woman of striking bearing seated beside Bai Ye. Although hidden beneath a black cloak so that nothing could be seen, the aura radiating from this woman was no joke.
It was the kind of aura he had only felt on Demon Island before.
And through this journey across the Sea of Death, he had come to understand many things.
The Divine Realm was vast. Those super guilds were incredibly powerful — far more powerful than he had ever imagined. Just what he had seen on Demon Island made that clear enough. Against Man Qiang and the others, they had been utterly powerless…
Now Bai Ye had somehow managed to recruit the support of the Sacred Temple of Magic. Among the eleven fleets, when the next ranking came around, Bai Ye's fleet would most likely take second place.
As for first place, that was unlikely.
The captain of the first fleet had personally founded the Freedom Alliance and was the first to obtain a sea inheritance. The forces behind him were quite mysterious, and even now Jun Wuchang hadn't managed to figure out the first fleet's true capabilities.
While Jun Wuchang and Bai Ye talked, the captains sitting across from them — Xia Tianqi of the second fleet and Tian Zhu of the fourth fleet — wore cold smirks on their faces.
"Hahaha, what a fool Jun Wuchang is. He went to the Sea of Death and came back with four Bronze-speed boats badly damaged, still not fully repaired. He lost over twenty advanced speedboats. The third fleet is no longer a threat to us — the only threats left are the first fleet and Bai Ye's eighth fleet." Xia Tianqi looked at Jun Wuchang with a cold laugh.
"The Sacred Temple of Magic is indeed tricky. As a super guild, they're different from the others — they established a maritime fleet early on. When it comes to sea power, I'm afraid the entire Freedom Alliance combined wouldn't be their match." Tian Zhu shook his head slightly.
Xia Tianqi glanced at Bai Ye and the woman beside her, then said with disdain, "What's there to be afraid of? Sure, Bai Ye is impressive enough to have gotten the Sacred Temple of Magic's help, but there's no way the Sacred Temple will go all out for her. At most they'll contribute a little strength. With what we have on our side, we'll handle it easily. After that, our two fleets will definitely take the first and second fleet positions. And then Haintian City will be ours to decide!"
The entire Freedom Alliance controlled three major NPC cities in the Endless Seas: Azure City, White Howl City, and Haintian City. As for Sea Dragon City, it wasn't a major city — just a small city on an island that allowed them to enter secret realms and obtain inheritances. In terms of value, Sea Dragon City was far below the three great cities.
Each of the three great cities had over eight million players. Haintian City had the most, with a full twelve million players — comparable to the player population of an ordinary empire's capital.
If they could take Haintian City, the wealth they'd gain would far exceed what major guilds obtained from occupying some empire on the mainland. The system models were completely different — here it was full occupation, while the cities on land were merely places to live.