THE STRONGEST THUNDER SWORD, VOLUME 8 - Season 16 Episode 23

When Shi Feng stopped before the city’s main entrance, an imposing pair of tightly shut gates greeted him. Pitch-black runes had been carved into the gates, forming multiple magic barriers that protected them. The magic barriers here were much stronger than the barrier his movement-type defensive magic array created as it could even withstand Tier 4 attacks.

As for the magic barrier around the city the entire city, although it was not as powerful as the one on the gates, it wouldn’t have any issue blocking Tier 3 attacks. This city was a perfect Guild fortress.

It was definitely worth spending all those Coins to build this thing. Shi Feng could not help his rueful sigh as he observed his surroundings.

The city occupied a mountain peak, so the mountain’s scenery remained unobstructed. In addition, an impressive waterfall fell by the hillside. Occasionally, Shi Feng saw birds of various kinds fly past the mountain and below the city. He felt as if he had just arrived in paradise.

Setting aside Witch’s Hill’s unique circumstances, this grand scenery would attract many Lifestyle and entertainment players.

During his previous life, Shadow hadn’t even had a Guild town at this stage of the game, yet his Zero Wing already had its own Basic City. Not even Super Guilds had achieved this feat. Currently, only Sea’s End’s major powers controlled cities.

Unlike Sea’s End’s major powers, however, he had complete control of his city. The city’s development path wouldn’t limit his options.

Meanwhile, when Shi Feng arrived, a dozen or so NPC guards came down from their posts along the city walls to open the gates.

“Esteemed City Lord, we have completed your city’s construction. If there are no issues, we may begin the transfer procedures,” a middle-aged man with a cross-shaped scar on his face respectfully reported as he came forward to greet Shi Feng. The man wore a luxurious suit of armor with a white cape draped over his back. He also carried a longsword embedded with several pieces of Seven Luminaries Crystal at his waist.

Although the man didn’t radiate an aura, he was a Level 180, Tier 3 Knight Captain. In a minor NPC city, he could even serve as the Magistrate. At this stage of the game, he could kill any ordinary player in a single move.

“I’m fine with that. However, before we begin, I’d like to visit the city’s Core Magic Array,” Shi Feng said, nodding.

He had previously obtained an Evil God Crystal after killing a Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon under the Beast Emperor’s command.

To a Guild City, the item’s value was astronomical.

The Evil God Crystal could be used as a power source for a city. Although it couldn’t compare to a Titan Core, the power source was very difficult to come by. It was definitely much stronger than the freebie power source that was included in a city’s construction.

“Esteemed City Lord, please follow me,” the Knight Captain Yarod said as he led the way for Shi Feng, the dozen or so Knights previously guarding the gate following close behind.

As Shi Feng walked through the city, he could easily tell it was many times larger than Stone Forest Town. Not even an Advanced Town could compare to its grandeur. Despite the city’s Basic rank, it should easily accommodate over 300,000 permanent residential players. Moreover, this was assuming that he built the city’s Basic infrastructure. If he used Advanced buildings, he could double the city’s capacity, at which point the city wouldn’t even feel cramped with over a million players. In contrast, players would likely walk shoulder to shoulder in an Advanced Town with a one million player population.

However, it was due to the city’s large size that it required a lot more resources to develop.

Take the street Shi Feng was currently on, for example. Although the NPCs had already built quite a few essential buildings, Shi Feng passed large plots of empty land. He’d have to spend a lot more to fill these gaps.

Based on Shi Feng’s initial estimates, the initial resources to construct the necessary infrastructure would be enough to drive any first-rate Guild mad, not to mention constructing buildings like the Battle Arena.

The buildings in cities were allowed to have far more floors than those in towns. The Battle Arena in Stone Forest Town, for example, could only have eight floors. In a Basic City, however, a Battle Arena could have up to 16 floors. Though, players had to have enough money to build them.

Under Yorad’s lead, Shi Feng quickly reached the third underground floor of the City Lord’s Mansion.

“Esteemed City Lord, this is the city’s main control room. Here, you may control the magic arrays all over the city,” Yorad explained as he gestured to the mammoth ball of water floating in the center of the hall.

Numerous golden runes decorated the wide hall’s walls, while the water ball in the center felt like an inhaling whale as it absorbed the Mana from outside of the city, transferring the Mana to the city’s various areas. Meanwhile, a black crystal floated within the core of the magic water ball.

This black crystal was the power source the system granted when players constructed their own cities. This crystal was the city’s lifeblood, created by dozens of high-tiered Wizards. It was a better power source than those that formed naturally or those the Gods had created.

Without hesitation, Shi Feng went up to the magic water ball and replaced the black crystal with the Evil God Crystal.

The moment he placed the Evil God Crystal in the magic water ball, the Mana in the hall rampaged.

The hovering water ball began to grow. As it did, the Mana density in the hall increased.

The Knight Captain and his entourage were afraid.

Fortunately, after a few minutes, the hall’s Mana calmed. Everyone was dumbfounded as they stared at the evolved water ball.

The previously mammoth water ball had tripled in size, and the hall’s Mana density had at least doubled.

As I expected, a Basic City can only use 60% of the Evil God Crystal’s power. Shi Feng was somewhat disappointed when he saw the Evil God Crystal’s utilization rate the system had displayed.

In God’s Domain, a strong power source didn’t necessarily mean that players could improve a city indefinitely. Every city had its limits. It seemed that a Basic City could only use 60% of the total energy an Evil God Crystal provided.

If he wanted to increase the efficiency, he’d have to upgrade the city to Intermediate or Advanced rank. He might even need to upgrade it to the standard of a kingdom’s capital city to use the Evil God Crystal’s full power.

However, 60% was enough to improve the city’s defenses by a tier and increase its Mana density by 40%. Although the city’s current Mana density couldn’t compare to Stone Forest Town’s, it would rise beyond the town’s once he constructed the Magic and Mana Towers.

“Esteemed City Lord, you really know how to surprise a man. You actually got your hands on such a high-ranked power source. Your city is guaranteed to become famous in Star-Moon Kingdom,” Yarod said in admiration.

In Star-Moon Kingdom, one could count the number of cities with such a high-ranked power source on one hand. Only the kingdom’s capital was more powerful.

After Yarod finished speaking, the sound of a system notification reached Shi Feng’s ears.

…

System: You have earned a reward. Please name your city within one hour, or the reward will be discarded.

System: You have 59 minutes, 59 seconds remaining.

“Thank you for your praise, Knight Captain. I am very satisfied with this city. Let’s complete the transfer procedures right away,” Shi Feng said.