The Almighty Ring

Daemon’s Grimace nearly choked on his own saliva. He had been fortunate enough not to have passed out. After all, he was considered a respected elder in the gaming circle. The average gamer’s age was rather low.

People like Happy Drunk, Lady Casanova or Billy Boy were in their early twenties, and were at the prime of their youth. Even people in their thirties like Southern Azuresword were considered elders!

Daemon’s Grimace was already in his early fifties. Although he had never achieved much in his lifetime of gaming, he had played a variety of games and was considered an elder. Despite his mediocre abilities, he had vast years of experience under his belt.

Even the likes of Lady Casanova from the best guilds in town would treat him with respect.

A rash youth had suddenly appeared before him today and humiliated him in front of many members of the Arkosios Sanctuary guild. The old man had been close to ordering the start of a war, there and then.

Fortunately, Daemon’s Grimace was old enough to control his emotions, unlike the impulsive youths in their prime. This old man had a vast foresight and was sharp enough to understand that Jiang Mei must have come here for valid reasons. That house had to mean something. However, the doorway only permitted passage for a single person. Although there were only a hundred of Jiang Fei’s people there and Daemon’s Grimace could easily gather tens of thousands of soldiers at his beck and call, the place was too small for him to use his numbers efficiently. If The Aristocrats were to corner them from the outside, Daemon’s Grimace was certain that Lady Casanova and Southern Azuresword would not come and help him on their own volition.

“No way! I will not become the scapegoat. No matter what, I must make sure those two fall with me!” Daemon’s Grimace thought for a while before making his decision. He held his people back. Instead, he sent a message to Lady Casanova and Southern Azuresword, exaggerating on how the room held some national-level treasure.

According to Daemon’s Grimace, the treasure contained in the room would grant The Aristocrats immense power. In fact, The Aristocrats may even acquire the capability to suppress the three guilds’ alliance. If this treasure were to fall into the hands of Jiang Fei, it was as good as The Aristocrats obtaining it. In the eyes of the three major guilds, Jiang Fei’s Empyreal Dragon and Han Tianyu’s The Aristocrats were cut from the same fabric.

To make matters worse, Daemon’s Grimace had even mentioned that Lady Casanova and Southern Azuresword were losing their grip. The Aristocrats were already exerting colossal pressure on them. Han Tianyu was now expanding his guild’s foothold, regardless of the expense. The Aristocrats not only had an additional castle, they had ten entire sentry towers. Their organization had been managed to perfection. Various resources and sources of income were continuously streaming into The Aristocrats’ pockets. The three big guilds could not possibly defeat The Aristocrats, even after the Armistice and period of Guild Construction came to an end.

The three big guilds were already having a tough time keeping up. What more could they do? If The Aristocrats got their hands on yet another treasure, would they sit and wait in peace?

When Lady Casanova and Southern Azuresword heard about the news, they immediately tore off from their current battles and rushed over to the scene.

Such drastic measures did not go by unnoticed. When Han Tianyu found that the three big guilds were working together to bully his brother, he immediately gathered a hundred thousand members of The Aristocrats.

Out of that group, nearly eighty thousand of those players had solid Attack Powers, excluding Profession Class players and Professional Management employees. His group outnumbered all three of the guilds, even when combined.

Lady Casanova had managed to solicit a title deed from Jiang Fei to establish a base in Dawnlight City. Consequently, the guild had been upgraded to a middle-grade guild. The two remaining guilds in the alliance were low-grade guilds with around twenty thousand members each.

Although both were middle-grade guilds, the Magithieves were having a hard time recruiting people. The most complicated part of the job was establishing a management team. It required tests of ability and loyalty, both of which took up a lot of time. Therefore, they had only managed to double the member count to forty thousand after almost half a month.

There was no way they could directly purchase a few offices and gaming centers, like what Han Tianyu did. He had established the management framework in such a way that the loyalty of his regular members could be guaranteed. After all, none of them had access to the guild’s secrets and dealings. As long as the members were well-paid, their loyalty was unquestionable.

As Han Tianyu stepped in, the already chaotic situation in Dawnlight City worsened even further. The four big guilds were now gathered around the room. The previously quiet neighborhood now saw more life than ever.

With the four big guilds occupied, the medium-sized and smaller guilds jumped on the opportunity. The four major guilds had initially seized control of the densely-populated areas. The mid-size and smaller guilds had initially been forced to pick the scraps.

Now, the tables had been turned. With the four big guilds involved in an intense standoff, monsters were spawning unattended.

“Oh, goodness. Not bad, not bad at all. I have not even made a move against you. Are you on a suicide mission?” Han Tianyu walked nonchalantly to the front of the group.

“You… I will not speak to you. Where is Happy Drunk? Come on out!” Lady Casanova glanced at Han Tianyu, her brow furrowed. Lady Casanova was already a ruthless person. But the tycoon before her easily made her look as docile as a house cat.

Moreover, Lady Casanova’s ruthlessness was completely dependent on her capabilities in the game. She had always been victorious against greater numbers when coupled with Billy Boy’s sharp tactics.

Han Tianyu’s ruthlessness came in an entirely different form. If her ruthlessness was akin to smacking people with regular bricks, then the tycoon’s ruthlessness was equivalent to smacking people with golden bricks!

Ten days ago, Han Tianyu had just only taken over The Aristocrats. He had immediately started building the guild’s base at a rapid rate. Lady Casanova had coerced a few small guilds into harassing The Aristocrats. Her plan had ended up completely backfiring. Although Billy Boy’s plans were seamless and certainly did bring some trouble to The Aristocrats, the small guilds were all quickly bought over by Han Tianyu’s alluring wealth.

When Lady Casanova saw Han Tianyu stepping up, she knew there was no way anything good would come out of this. If the sly fellow made a move, she might even risk losing the alliance of the three big guilds. They would probably be bought over by him, and that would be the end of the story. By then, she would have run out of tears to cry. Although Lady Casanova was confident in her own powers to resist the temptation of money, the other two guilds may not be as strong. To prevent that scenario from happening, Lady Casanova intended to avoid speaking with Han Tianyu altogether.

“Tycoon, she is underestimating you. What should we do? Will you use your ultimate skill to kill her?”

Not only did Happy Drunk not step out when Lady Casanova called for him, he even fanned the flames by trying to incite Han Tianyu. Naturally, Happy Drunk was not happy about being treated as a second fiddle to anyone else.