As the system notification chimed, Shi Feng took a deep breath and directly selected the option to begin construction.
System: Please select the scale of the Freedom Inn. A small-scale inn will cost 1,200,000 gold coins. A medium-scale inn will cost 1,500,000 gold coins. A large-scale inn will cost 2,000,000 gold coins.
"As expected, it's absurdly expensive." Shi Feng couldn't help but click his tongue at the system prompt.
Although he'd known beforehand that top-tier buildings didn't come cheap, actually seeing the numbers still made it hard to stomach.
After all, 1.2 million gold was enough to establish two or three guild cities with ease — a massive sum even for superpowers, more than enough to propel a first-rate guild into rapid growth. And yet, that same amount was only sufficient to build a small inn…
It could be said that for top-tier buildings like this, only the superpowers dared to attempt them. For any other power, even if they got their hands on the design blueprint, they simply couldn't afford the construction. All they could do was hold onto the blueprint and stare at it.
Without hesitation, Shi Feng went straight for the large-scale option.
His original plan had been to build a small Freedom Inn, with the main goal being to upgrade Stone Forest City to an intermediate city.
But now that the rare materials from the Western Continent were selling like hotcakes, there was no need to be frugal. The gap between a small-scale and a large-scale inn was anything but minor.
Functionally they were the same, but a small Freedom Inn was only seven or eight stories tall. A large Freedom Inn, on the other hand, not only occupied a far greater footprint, but with sufficient materials, it could reach a towering thirty-two stories.
If a player initially chose a small Freedom Inn and later wanted to upgrade to a large one, the cost would be far greater than building large from the start. So when money was no object, all the major powers went all-in from the beginning, saving themselves from having to spend even more later.
Once Shi Feng confirmed the large-scale Freedom Inn, two million gold instantly vanished from his inventory, transforming into a streak of golden light that plunged into the Freedom Inn blueprint in his hands. Buildable magic arrays began appearing across the blueprint's surface — each one staggeringly complex, at minimum advanced grandmaster-level arrays. Anyone without a grandmaster's understanding of magic arrays would get a headache just looking at them.
Fortunately, most of these magic arrays could be directly extracted and inscribed. Otherwise, without a master-level skill at the very least, constructing a top-tier building on one's own was nothing more than a pipe dream.
"Alright, everyone, start construction!" Shi Feng called out upon seeing the revealed magic arrays, directing the assembled team to begin working according to the blueprints that had already been distributed.
In an instant, over a hundred people sprang into action — refining materials here, cutting materials there. Under Shi Feng's arrangement, the construction of the Freedom Inn proceeded in orderly fashion. Meanwhile, Shi Feng himself was furiously inscribing magic arrays onto the materials and structural components.
While Shi Feng was busy constructing the Freedom Inn, far away in a small border town of the Ten Saints Empire, an upscale restaurant had been completely booked out. Not only that, but dozens of Tier 3 expert players wearing black cloaks stood guard around the entire perimeter of the establishment, leaving passing players on the street too intimidated to draw near.
In the top-floor private dining room of the restaurant sat several individuals. Had any of the Ten Saints Empire's major powers seen these people, they would have been stunned.
Every single one of them was a major figure in the Divine Realm — the kind of people whose every footstep could shake kingdoms and empires. And at their head was none other than Vice Guild Leader Hanguang Shiying of Phantom Myth.
"Vice Guild Leader Yanguang, how are things on your end?" a white-robed elder wearing the Pantheon guild emblem, his level a staggering 108, asked the composed and handsome young man seated prominently to one side. "I've heard that Dark Rhapsody and the Divine Tribe in the Dark World have signed a non-aggression pact with Zero Wing."
"Almost ready. We just need a bit more time for the Dark World side. And Elder Nanxun, rest assured — those two guilds do have considerable influence in the Dark World, but when measured against the Dark World as a whole, their number of experts is negligible. Besides, we've also reached an agreement with Domineering Underworld. They'll be stirring things up on the Dark World side. Once the major powers are barred from assisting Zero Wing, forget about Zero Wing stepping outside of Stone Forest City — they won't even last long inside it." The handsome young man smiled.
"Vice Guild Leader Yanguang, you can rest easy on that front. We at Star Ring have already sent word to the various powers around Stone Forest City. They absolutely will not help Zero Wing defend against the Dark World's experts," Lu Xingluo said with a grin as well. "Now all we need is for Vice Guild Leader Yanguang to open the passage to the Dark World. With tens of thousands of Tier 3 experts attacking from both inside and outside, we'll make Zero Wing disappear from the Cold Spring Great Forest for good!"
He'd actually been racking his brains over how to deal with the ever-growing Zero Wing. He hadn't expected that Shi Feng would be foolish enough to provoke the hornet's nest that was Demon's Heart. Naturally, Lu Xingluo had no qualms about helping send Zero Wing to its grave.
Players from an entire world's Dark faction!
Even he wouldn't have the confidence to face that head-on. But Shi Feng had gone and provoked them himself — the man clearly didn't know the meaning of the word "death."
Once Zero Wing lost Stone Forest City — that great mountain of gold — bringing them down would be child's play with Star Ring's financial might.
"I'll have to trouble you all then. As for Stone Forest City after the job is done, Demon's Heart will not take a single share. And those three great guilds in the Dark World — I doubt they'd dare involve themselves in the matter either. You may dispose of Stone Forest City however you see fit. All I ask is that this be resolved quickly. If Zero Wing digs in and defends with everything they've got, taking Stone Forest City won't be easy on our end either," the handsome young man said slowly.
"Oh, don't you worry about that," Hanguang Shiying suddenly spoke up. "I've already made promises to the various adventurer teams in Stone Forest City — not only will I purchase their materials at premium prices, but I'm also offering them access to War Demon Rune exchanges. Those adventurer teams in Stone Forest City shouldn't be selling any more materials to Zero Wing. Without those materials from the adventurer teams, the materials Zero Wing can gather on their own won't even cover their own needs. Once the Dark World opens up, they won't be able to lay their hands on a single scrap. Within days, Zero Wing will collapse from within."
The others present couldn't help but draw a sharp breath at Hanguang Shiying's words.
That was ruthlessly cold.
War Demon Runes were an Eastern Continent-exclusive item, and one that every major power was currently clamoring for. These runes could drastically boost the combat strength of guild team members, raising a team's overall power by a significant margin. Whether running team Dungeons or taking on outdoor world bosses, the difficulty dropped considerably. Major powers were willing to pay exorbitant prices — even trading Magic Crystals — to acquire them. Adventurer teams didn't even get a chance, left to watch from the sidelines in envy.
If Hanguang Shiying now opened the exchange channel to those adventurer teams, they would scramble over each other to convert their materials into War Demon Runes. At that point, Zero Wing would truly be an isolated island — with nothing and no one.
Thanks to this scheme, all the adventurer teams in Stone Forest City were buzzing with hushed discussions. One after another, they were gathering materials, preparing to exchange them for the War Demon Runes offered by Phantom Myth. Not a single scrap of material from the Cold Spring Great Forest was going to Zero Wing anymore.
"This Zero Wing is really keeping their cool, isn't it? We adventurer teams have already stopped supplying them materials, and they haven't even raised their prices. And now they're building some kind of building? Do they really think constructing a few more buildings will help them hold out longer?"
"Probably trying to squeeze out whatever profit they can before the end. Once the Dark World opens, it's all over."
Passing adventurer team members on the street gazed at the Freedom Inn — completely sealed off by magic arrays — and chattered amongst themselves, shaking their heads.
What good was having the powerful Shi Feng? What good was a powerful faction? When faced with the players of an entire world, even the super guilds were helpless.
And just as the players on the street were whispering about the situation, the area sealed by magic arrays on the main avenue suddenly shattered apart. There, rising up on Stone Forest City's main street, stood a towering structure of thirty-two stories and a hundred and fifty meters tall, looking down upon the entirety of Stone Forest City…