THE STRONGEST THUNDER SWORD, VOLUME 8 - Season 16 Episode 24

Once Shi Feng agreed to start the transfer procedures, the Knight Captain revealed a dazzling, silver token and passed it to Shi Feng.

The token itself looked wasn’t ornate, but the moment the Knight Captain revealed the item, the hall’s Mana began to gather around it, forming a magic barrier around the token. The magic barrier would prevent undesignated players from touching it.

“Esteemed City Lord, here is your City Lord’s Token. Once you carve the city’s name on the token and we finish the registration, the city can officially open to the public,” Knight Captain Yarod explained as he admired the item in Shi Feng’s hand.

The token’s owner would have absolute control over the city. Not even City Magistrates has so much authority.

City Magistrates were merely representatives the kingdom tasked to manage its cities. Throughout Star-Moon Kingdom, only a handful of people controlled their cities and were acknowledged as Lords in the kingdom. These NPCs’ statuses were so high that even the King had to treat them respectfully.

This wasn’t the first time Shi Feng had obtained a City Lord’s Token. As it rested in his palm, he taped on the magic array around the token.

Immediately, a system window appeared before him, asking him for the city’s name.

Since this is Zero Wing’s first city, let’s call it Zero Wing City!Shi Feng thought as he filled in the name box.

By using the Guild’s name for the city, not only would the public know who the city belonged to, but it would also advertise the Guild. This was another benefit of constructing a city from scratch. If a Guild obtained their city by upgrading a town, the new city would retain its old name.

Hence, first-rate Guilds and stronger had usually tried to construct their cities from scratch as proof of their prowess.

After Shi Feng finished naming Zero Wing City, Yarod began the registration process.

“Congratulations, Esteemed City Lord. You have now become the first heaven’s blessed to own your own city in Star-Moon Kingdom. The city will now enter a 21-day protection period. During this time, you may hire city guards to protect the city from harassment. You will also be responsible for a 200,000 Gold tax each month,” Yarod explained. “Do you wish to hire guards now?”

“Do you have a list for me to choose from?” Shi Feng asked.

A city’s defense wasn’t like that of a town. The system would only allow players to hire up to Tier 2 NPCs in a town. After all, Tier 3 NPCs could serve as small cities’ Magistrates.

Although he could hire Tier 3 NPC guards in a Basic City, he could only hire five. Moreover, Tier 3 NPCs had different strengths and specialties. To ease the burden of the city’s defense, it was necessary to choose the Tier 3 NPC guards carefully.

“Alright. Here is a list of the Tier 3 guards we can currently provide. Unfortunately, since there are so many Tier 1 and Tier 2 guards to choose from, I am unable to provide a precise list. If you would like a more detailed list of your options, you may hire these guards from the Adventurer’s Association,” Yarod explained as he handed Shi Feng a list.

The list showed the general prices for the Tier 1 and Tier 2 NPC guards as well as a brief introduction of the various Tier 3 NPC guards available for hire.

Hiring ten Level 150 elite guards for 21 days would cost 100 Gold, 300 Gold for ten Level 150, Tier 1 guards, and 700 Gold for ten Level 150, Tier 2 guards. Each of the Tier 3 guards had different prices.

There were a total of 37 Tier 3 guards available, and they cost anywhere between 800 and 1,400 Gold for 21 days. The cost of hiring one of these NPCs could already rival that of two squads of Tier 2 guards.

Even for Zero Wing, the expenditure wasn’t easy to shrug off, yet Shi Feng had no choice.

He hadn’t constructed Zero Wing City near any NPC towns or cities, so it could easily come under monster attack. This was especially true at night. For Zero Wing City, which didn’t have its defensive constructs yet, powerful guards were a must.

Furthermore, Shi Feng hadn’t expected the rise of the Orc Empire, which had already turned its sights to Bewildering Forest Town. The Maze Forest was the only thing standing between the town and Witch’s hill. On the off chance that the Orc army decided to attack Zero Wing City, Tier 1 and Tier 2 NPC guards wouldn’t be able to fend off the attack. Only Tier 3 NPCs had enough of an advantage over the Orcs.

Following which, Shi Feng chose to hire five Tier 3 guards: one healer, two MTs, and two magical classes. Among them, the magical classes were the most expensive, each costing 1,300 Gold. Each of these magical-class NPCs had two Tier 3 large-scale destruction Spells and a Tier 3 Curse in their arsenal.

“I’ve decided to hire these five. In addition, I wish to hire 800 elite guards, 150 Tier 1 guards, and 50 Tier 2 guards,” Shi Feng said, returning the list to Yarod after making his decision.

If Aqua Rose or Gentle Snow were present, they would have a heart attack over hiring so many guards.

The cost of hiring NPC guards was much higher than NPC soldiers, yet Shi Feng still chose to hire 1,000 NPC guards at once…

But Shi Feng knew the necessity of the decision. Cities were much larger than towns, and without enough NPCs, a city would be impossible to defend, and public security wouldn’t be maintained.

Moreover, as the city’s environment was more beneficial than a town’s, it didn’t cost as much to hire NPC guards. If he hired this many guards in a town, it would drop Zero Wing’s finances into the red.

This was an advantage that the system provided when players constructed their own city from scratch.

“Alright. The total cost for the guards you’ve chosen is 21,000 Gold. Once you’ve made the payment, the Adventurer’s Association will send them to the city,” Yarod said.

Without hesitation, Shi Feng handed 21,000 Gold to the Knight Captain.

Fortunately, he had recently posted plenty of rare materials he had obtained from Cold Wind City in Zero Wing’s Auction House. While he had been on Thunder Island, most of the materials had sold, and after deducting his base cost, he had made a profit of 33,527 Gold.

This was why he dared to hire so many Tier 1 and Tier 2 guards despite Zero Wing’s current financial situation.

Moreover, that was only the profit from the first shipment. After time passed, Cold Wind City’s players would stockpile a ton of materials again. If he purchased and resold those materials, he would earn another 30,000 Gold. This money-making speed even surpassed that of Stone Forest Town and the Candlelight Trading Firm.

When Cold Wind City opened a path to the other NPC cities in the Ice Crystal World in the future, he’d make even more profit. It wasn’t unlike owning his own goldmine.

After Yarod confirmed the payment, he bowed respectfully to Shi Feng before leaving with the other Knights.

Following which, a series of system notifications and system announcements reached Shi Feng’s ears.

…

System: Congratulations! You are the first player in Star-Moon Kingdom to own a city. Rewarding 300 Star-Moon Kingdom Reputation and “Lord of Star-Moon Kingdom” title.

System: Congratulations! Zero Wing City has become the first player-city in Star-Moon Kingdom. Rewarding 10,000 City Popularity and one Advanced Restaurant Design.

System: Congratulations! Zero Wing City has become the first city to upgrade its power source. Rewarding 10,000 City Popularity and one City Conscription Order.

Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming Star-Moon Kingdom’s first Guild to construct a city. Rewarding 10,000 Guild Popularity and 50 Guild Influence.