Chapter 245 : Players Turn on Each Other

Chapter 245: Players Turn on Each Other! A New Journey Officially Begins!

Core ‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍Hall.

Xiao ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍Ba reported, "Master, the auction has concluded. A total of 99.55 million tradable Contribution Points have been recovered."

Hang ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍Yu nodded in satisfaction.

This ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍round of asset auctions had been an enormous success!

By ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍selling only a small portion of the territory's assets, Hang Yu had effortlessly recovered almost all of the tradable Contribution Points in the players' hands. Not only that, he had also conveniently squeezed out and swept away the various resources the players had been stockpiling.

So ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍this was how satisfying it was to make money by speculating in real estate!

This would become a crucial pillar supporting the territory's long-term financial health!

At present, the shops and residences being sold in the main city accounted for only a tiny fraction of the total.

As the main city continued expanding in the future, more and more land and assets would become available for sale.

If players wanted to buy a home in the main city, they would have to work twice as hard—or even ten times harder—to earn the opportunity to settle there.

Of course, Hang Yu had no intention of making real estate a one-time business.

The territory would levy commodity taxes on commercial operations conducted in shops, while collecting property and land taxes on players' private residences.

The better the main city developed and the more prosperous its economy became, the larger the tax revenue would grow, making the territory's development even healthier.

Although the main city's assets were undoubtedly the territory's most valuable and highest-quality assets, that didn't mean assets elsewhere were worthless.

New Wan City, White Tiger City, Sanxiang City, and others—

The land and real estate in these important cities could likewise be developed and operated, then sold at fixed prices, allowing ordinary players to own private property within the territory and strengthening their sense of belonging—not only to the territory as a whole, but especially to their local cities.

Hang Yu opened the official website forum and took a quick look.

As expected, the entire forum was flooded with discussions related to this auction.

The competition among the five great legions had been extraordinarily fierce, and friction had naturally arisen throughout the process.

After the Undying Dragon Soul Legion secured the most expensive Shop No. 1, the remaining nine shops became the battlefield of the other four great legions.

In the end, all nine shops were sold at an average price exceeding three million Contribution Points.

One could easily imagine just how intense the competition had been!

One thread on the forum documented the entire bidding process in detail.

The reporter covering this round of auctions wrote:

"Brothers and sisters!"

"I'm sure everyone is just as excited as I am!"

"Because we've just witnessed a milestone in the development history of Twisted Three Kingdoms!"

"I believe this will also become an unprecedented monument in the history of gaming and the metaverse. The value of virtual assets has reached an entirely new height—one worthy of being recorded in the history of mankind!"

"The results are finally in!"

"The ten major shops on Lord Avenue have officially found their owners!"

"War God Hall obtained Shops No. 2, No. 3, and No. 10."

"Divine Feather Palace obtained Shops No. 5, No. 7, and No. 8."

"Wings of Freedom obtained Shops No. 4 and No. 6."

"Twilight of the Gods Legion obtained Shop No. 9."

"The Undying Dragon Soul Legion secured Lord Avenue Shop No. 1!"

"First of all, congratulations to the five great legions and their five Legion Commanders. May they earn mountains of money over the coming years!"

"Although the auction has ended, anyone who followed the competition from beginning to end, just like I did, should have felt that this was actually a powder keg of a war—one fought without gunfire!"

"Although all ten shops on Lord Avenue are premium properties—absolutely TOP0-level assets within the main city—their values still differ to varying degrees."

"Our analysis makes this obvious."

"The lower the shop number, the better its overall value."

"For example, Shop No. 1 is obviously superior to the other nine, while the first five shops are clearly more valuable than the latter five."

"Judging from that perspective, War God Hall is undoubtedly the biggest winner of this main city asset auction, because Commander Ye not only secured Shops No. 2 and No. 3—both second only to Shop No. 1—but also obtained Shop No. 10."

"On the other hand, although the Undying Dragon Soul Legion claimed Shop No. 1 and stole the spotlight, no matter how valuable Shop No. 1 is, it is still difficult for it to exceed the combined value of two other top-ten shops."

"Although Commander Toasting the Moon is widely regarded as having failed to maximize profits, he became famous overnight and gained enormous prestige. Perhaps that was exactly what he intended to achieve."

"..."

After reading the detailed account of the auction, Hang Yu finally realized just how brutal the competition among the great legions had been.

To begin with, after War God Hall gave up on Lord Avenue Shop No. 1, they concentrated all their firepower on Shops No. 2 and No. 3.

At the time, they appeared determined to defend those two shops at all costs—even if it meant abandoning every other shop.

In truth, the location and value of Shops No. 2 and No. 3 were not much inferior to Shop No. 1.

The first five shops were all relatively close in value.

The only real difference was the symbolic significance attached to their numbering.

If War God Hall managed to secure both shops, it would become extremely difficult for them to participate in the remaining competition.

Divine Feather Palace and Wings of Freedom would most likely each obtain three shops.

Although the Twilight of the Gods Legion was somewhat weaker and incapable of competing for any of the top five shops, they could barely manage to devote the strength of their entire legion to defending Shop No. 6, the best shop outside the top five.

Such a distribution matched the relative strengths of the legions, and also aligned with what most people on the forum had expected.

Although War God Hall would have fewer shops, their quality would be higher.

Meanwhile, Divine Feather Palace and Wings of Freedom would each own three shops.

Since Divine Feather Palace possessed slightly greater financial resources, they would most likely secure Shops No. 4 and No. 5.

Thus, as the heated competition gradually cooled, the expected final arrangement became:

Undying Dragon Soul—Shop No. 1.

War God Hall—Shops No. 2 and No. 3.

Divine Feather Palace—Shops No. 4, No. 5, and No. 7.

Wings of Freedom—Shops No. 8, No. 9, and No. 10.

Twilight of the Gods Legion—Shop No. 6.

Just when everyone thought that would be the final outcome, War God Hall suddenly launched an attack at the very last moment, snatching Shop No. 10 from Wings of Freedom with a higher bid.

Wings of Freedom was caught completely off guard.

Their three shops instantly became two.

How could Black-Eyed Sharp Bro and the others possibly accept that?

They naturally launched another round of bidding.

However, what Wings of Freedom had never expected was that War God Hall had already abandoned bidding on most of the residences.

They redirected the budget originally reserved for housing into the shop competition.

As a result, the price of Shop No. 10—the originally least valuable among the ten shops—soared wildly.

Wings of Freedom soon realized that continuing to fight War God Hall over Shop No. 10 was becoming increasingly uneconomical.

At that point, there was very little time remaining before the auction ended.

Once they realized they could no longer preserve ownership of three shops, they decisively shifted strategies, choosing instead to compete for two higher-quality shops.

They immediately turned around and successively snatched Shop No. 4 from Divine Feather Palace and Shop No. 6 from the Twilight of the Gods Legion.

By then, the auction had already entered its closing moments.

Wings of Freedom had suddenly compressed the budget originally intended for three shops into just two.

Neither Divine Feather Palace nor the Twilight of the Gods Legion had enough remaining funds to compete.

In the end, Divine Feather Palace had no choice but to surrender Shop No. 4 while reclaiming Shop No. 8.

The Twilight of the Gods Legion fared even worse.

The entire legion had poured all its strength into defending Shop No. 6, treating it as untouchable.

Yet it was ultimately stolen away by Wings of Freedom.

They could only pay an even higher price to barely wrest back Shop No. 9 from Wings of Freedom.

At last, after a chaotic free-for-all, the auction came to an end.

Thus, the final division of the shops was established.

Hang Yu had never expected the process to be so full of twists and turns.

This fierce competition had not only exhausted the five great legions and drained all their accumulated wealth, it had also ignited considerable resentment among many of their members.

In truth, the major legions had already experienced friction and conflicts before this auction for the main city's shops and residences.

Most of those disputes had been suppressed by their leadership.

This event merely served as a new catalyst.

The well-known Wings of Freedom player Artist School Head immediately started blasting War God Hall on the forum:

"@Ye Li Meng!"

"The way War God Hall conducted itself was disgusting!"

"You already took Shops No. 2 and No. 3, yet you still weren't satisfied. Then you shamelessly launched a sneak attack at the very last moment. Don't you think that's going too far? It's absolutely disgraceful! Commander Ye, please come out and give us an explanation!"

As soon as the thread was posted, many Wings of Freedom players immediately echoed his sentiments.

Originally, Wings of Freedom had possessed three shops.

After all this turmoil, although they had managed to seize Shop No. 4 from Divine Feather Palace—giving them one top-five shop—

their total number of shops had shrunk to two.

From the standpoint of overall interests, they had definitely suffered a loss.

"Exactly!"

"War God Hall is far too overbearing!"

"Are you trying to monopolize everything?"

"This is nothing but stabbing your friends in the back!"

"We demand an explanation from Commander Ye Li Meng!"

"..."

Facing the accusations from Wings of Freedom, Ye Li Meng made no public response.

As Legion Commander, his foremost responsibility was naturally to place the legion's interests first, to secure greater benefits for his brothers, and to find every possible means of strengthening the legion.

Even if some of those methods damaged relationships with allies, even if they earned him personal criticism, they were still things that had to be done.

As the saying went, those who accomplished great deeds did not concern themselves with trivial matters.

A morally flawless saint or naïve idealist could never become an outstanding leader.

War God Hall had indeed gained the most from this auction.

Receiving a few insults and criticisms was only natural.

As Legion Commander, remaining low-key for the time being and resolving matters privately was the best course of action, lest greater hostility and conflict arise.

However, the Legion Commander's restraint did not mean the other members of War God Hall were willing to endure being insulted.

The well-known War God Hall player Glorious Years immediately posted a rebuttal:

"@Artist School Head!"

"Auctions have auction rules. The highest bidder wins. Until the very last second, the competition isn't over."

"Everyone competed openly, fairly, and within the rules under the watchful eyes of countless spectators. Where exactly is this so-called betrayal? Please watch your words and stop deliberately stirring up trouble or damaging War God Hall's reputation!"

Other War God Hall players quickly joined in.

"Exactly!"

"It was a public auction."

"What, did you expect everything to be decided behind closed doors?"

"Everyone competed fairly according to their own abilities. If your strength wasn't enough, then work harder instead of crying on the forums. All you're doing is making Wings of Freedom look like sore losers."

"We only took Shop No. 10. We already showed Wings of Freedom plenty of respect."

"If you were really that capable, why didn't you take Shop No. 2 instead?"

"In the end, it all comes down to strength!"

"..."

The remarks made by some War God Hall players completely infuriated many members of Wings of Freedom.

"This has gone too far!"

"I've been sick of those War God Hall people for ages!"

"What gives you the right to act so arrogantly? Does Wings of Freedom have anything to fear from War God Hall? If we fought head-on, nobody knows who'd come out on top!"

"..."

The members of the two legions immediately erupted into a full-scale argument on the forum.

In the end, even the relatively easygoing Divine Feather Palace joined the fray.

The well-known Divine Feather Palace player Hua Mulan commented:

"Although Commander Ye of War God Hall didn't exactly act honorably, Wings of Freedom isn't any better. Our Commander Little Bell publicly announced that she wanted Shop No. 4, yet you still ambushed us at the very last moment. Wasn't that just a slap in our faces?"

"Exactly!"

"Shop No. 4 should have belonged to Divine Feather Palace in the first place!"

"Can you really blame Wings of Freedom? The one who started all this was War God Hall! They're the ones who screwed us over first!"

"Hmph, neither you nor War God Hall are any good. You disrupted Divine Feather Palace's entire strategy. We won't let this matter rest!"

"Holy crap, is nobody even concerned about Twilight of the Gods?"

"Our Twilight of the Gods Legion had it the worst! We only wanted Shop No. 6, yet even that was mercilessly snatched away from us. This has gone way too far!"

"Exactly! You Chinese player factions took nine shops, while us non-Chinese players only got one!"

"This isn't fair! I protest!"

"..."

The major legions immediately began arguing on the forums.

It started as nothing more than debates and verbal sparring, but it quickly escalated into personal attacks before eventually reaching the point where entire legions wanted to arrange online battles against each other.

Seeing that the situation was about to spiral out of control, and that members of the major legions were on the verge of completely falling out,

Ye Li Meng, Black-Eyed Sharp Bro, Little Bell, and the other Legion Commanders personally stepped in to mediate.

During the process, Ye Li Meng voluntarily gave up a portion of War God Hall's benefits as a gesture of goodwill.

The upper management of every major legion also ordered their members to stop insulting others on the forums.

Only then was the conflict finally brought under control.

After all, publicly falling out with one another would not only be embarrassing, it could also damage the overall interests of the Calamity Army.

At this moment, the bigger picture had to come first.

Although the dispute was successfully resolved through the intervention of the Legion Commanders and the various high-ranking officials, anyone with eyes could tell that the factional struggle within the Calamity Army had become increasingly obvious and intense.

Hang Yu watched everything unfold without finding it surprising.

Where there were people, there would be rivalries.

Where there were benefits, there would be conflict.

Such was an eternal law that had never changed.

No one could avoid it.

Not to mention a Calamity Army consisting of several thousand or even tens of thousands of players—

even in a real-world classroom of forty or fifty students, it was impossible for everyone to get along perfectly.

There would always be difficult troublemakers, and there would always be rivals who simply couldn't stand each other.

Once the player population reached a certain scale, they would inevitably form cliques and gather into factions.

Eventually, they would even begin excluding outsiders and bullying opposing groups.

After all, this was a game world with far greater freedom than reality.

The overwhelming majority of people simply lacked sufficient restraint here.

Naturally, they acted far more recklessly and freely.

In truth, the Calamity Army had developed to this point without ever experiencing a large-scale internal conflict.

That alone was already a miracle.

Such a thing would have been impossible in any other game.

Of course, there were many reasons behind this.

The two most important ones were: First, the early players had all been personally selected by Xiao Ba.

Whether in terms of obedience, awareness of the bigger picture, personality, or overall quality, there were very few problems.

Naturally, they were much easier to manage.

Second, the territory had always been developing at a rapid pace.

One large-scale mission followed another.

Even if friction and conflicts arose, they were continuously diverted by ongoing development.

Moreover, the Calamity Army had always faced powerful external threats.

Only by standing together could they obtain greater benefits.

However, judging from the current situation, the atmosphere within the Calamity Army was quietly changing.

As the number of players continued to expand, as the player base became increasingly diverse, and as more and more interests became involved, future conflicts between players, as well as competition between player factions, would be completely unavoidable.

However, Hang Yu was not worried about this at all.

Healthy internal competition was worth encouraging!

Because appropriate competition offered at least three major advantages.

First, the more fiercely players competed with one another, the more eager they would become to curry favor with the Lord and important NPCs, to compete for achievements, and to develop every possible advantage.

As a result, the territory itself would actually become even more stable.

Second, the more intense the competition between players became, the more it would stimulate their potential, making them increasingly obsessed and motivated, which greatly benefited the vitality of the Calamity Army.

Third, Hang Yu's primary method of harvesting Essence was the Death Tax.

As long as players died, they generated Essence for the territory.

How they died wasn't important.

Why had Hang Yu created the Legion System in the first place?

Because he had long anticipated that this situation would eventually occur.

The Legion System divided players into individual organizations, each possessing its own honor and collective interests.

This made the territory easier to govern, ensuring that even fierce competition between players would remain within a healthy framework.

If the Calamity Army were truly united as one, to the point where they could simply hold a meeting and peacefully divide the cake among themselves, how could the territory possibly have achieved such outstanding results from this auction?

To put it bluntly, as long as the competition did not harm the collective interests of the Calamity Army, and as long as it did not negatively affect the development of the territory,

Hang Yu not only had no intention of interfering he actually welcomed it.

If the competition ever went too far and crossed the bottom line that threatened development, the territory would naturally step in with appropriate measures to correct or resolve the situation, keeping the major legions in a state of competing without breaking apart, so that when facing external threats, they could still cooperate against a common enemy.

The main city auction had now concluded successfully.

Its significance in every respect was enormous, and its long-term impact would be profound.

Not only would the real world heavily publicize the event, but the balance of power within the Calamity Army would inevitably change as well.

"Master, another Lord is selling a blueprint for a 'Healing Altar'!"

While Hang Yu was passing the time browsing the official forums, Xiao Ba's reminder immediately caught his full attention.

The territory's market had expanded tenfold after constructing the Tier-Three Hall.

As a result, purchasing blueprints and materials had become much easier lately, and they had already achieved considerable success.

However, most of the blueprints acquired so far had been relatively common ones, such as Spirit Fields, Stables, Barrier Towers, Scout Towers, and Spell Towers.

The rarest acquisition had been a Tier-Three Enlightenment Tower Blueprint.

Other than that, there had been nothing particularly remarkable.

The overall strength of human Lords was still generally too weak.

Obtaining especially high-tier or exceptionally rare Starsea blueprints remained extremely difficult.

This time, however, the situation was different.

The Healing Altar was a rare Tier-Three recovery-type Starsea building.

Although the building itself was extremely rare, its function was straightforward.

Its primary effect was to rapidly restore the condition of units within the territory.

Simply put, once Hang Yu constructed one in the main city,

then performed the necessary ritual using a certain amount of materials and Abyssal Magic Crystals, all residents of the main city would remain under the altar's effects for a considerable period of time.

Players would no longer need to return to their communal barracks, nor rely on the recovery formation inside the Abyss Barracks.

As long as they remained within the main city's boundaries, their stamina would recover at almost the same speed, while their mental and soul exhaustion would also gradually be restored, thereby reducing the Fatigue Value displayed on their status panels.

Although the Healing Altar could not rapidly eliminate Fatigue Value, meaning it still fell short of the support facility Hang Yu wanted for his planned arena, it nevertheless possessed tremendous value as a rare recovery-type structure.

For example, as long as players returned to the main city, their Fatigue Value would stop increasing and would slowly decline.

This meant that after exhausting themselves on the battlefield, players would not necessarily need to log off.

Simply wandering around the main city for several hours would gradually remove their fatigue.

Players could therefore spend far more time inside the game.

The only remaining limitation on their online time would be their real-world physiological needs.

At the same time, the increased player activity throughout the main city would naturally promote both commerce and economic development.

Furthermore, with such a building in place, the value of residential properties within the main city would increase significantly.

Hang Yu would also no longer need to deploy excessive numbers of Abyss Barracks inside the main city.

Instead, he could use the Territory Management functions within the Administrative Hall, spending some time and resources to relocate part of the main city's barracks, eventually distributing them among various regional cities and towns suitable for beginner villages.

As a result, new recruits would gain more choices regarding where they could descend.

Veteran players venturing outside would likewise gain additional places to rest.

This would not only reduce congestion among new players and accelerate the development of every region, but also improve the operational efficiency of the Calamity Army.

In addition, the building's effects also benefited other territorial personnel.

For example, Forgers and Alchemy Specialists working in the Forging Workshop and Alchemy Workshop.

Workaholics like Yan Ling would enjoy longer working hours and greater energy, thereby increasing the territory's overall productivity.

After a lengthy round of bargaining, Hang Yu finally purchased the blueprint for 120,000 Abyssal Magic Crystals.

"Not bad. I finally managed to get a truly worthwhile blueprint."

Hang Yu was extremely satisfied with his latest acquisition before asking,

"How many Abyssal Magic Crystals does the territory still have?"

"There are currently 90,000 remaining."

"They're gone already?!"

Hang Yu could not help feeling somewhat depressed.

He had organized such a massive auction, squeezing nearly every circulating Abyssal Magic Crystal out of the players' hands.

In total, the territory had gained at least 400,000 additional Abyssal Magic Crystals.

Yet before they had even warmed his hands, they were already almost gone.

Xiao Ba replied,

"After the market expanded, Master purchased a large quantity of blueprints, including seven Small Spirit Field Blueprints, one Advanced Spirit Field Blueprint, five Tier-One Barrier Tower Blueprints, three Tier-Two Barrier Tower Blueprints, one Tier-Three Barrier Tower Blueprint, two sets of Tier-Two Spell Tower Blueprints, three sets of Tier-Two Scout Tower Blueprints, one Tier-Three Spirit Horse Stable Blueprint, and one Tier-Three Enlightenment Tower Blueprint, for a total expenditure of approximately 360,000 Abyssal Magic Crystals."

"In addition, Master upgraded facilities including the Tier-Two Warehouse, Tier-Two City Walls, and Tier-Two Skill Tower to Tier Three. Construction also continued on the remaining Alchemy Workshops, Forging Workshops, and Territory Canteens, while another batch of production personnel was recruited. These expenses were also quite substantial."

That was true enough.

Although the Battle of Huangmei Hamlet had produced enormous gains, and although the auction had drained virtually all the players' resources, the territory had subsequently upgraded the Hall, then upgraded the Warehouse, City Walls, and Skill Tower, while also purchasing a huge number of new blueprints.

Those hundreds of thousands of Abyssal Magic Crystals had long since been spent.

If the territory hadn't also sold off part of its equipment and resources, there wouldn't have been any surplus Abyssal Magic Crystals left at all.

Although the expenditures had been enormous, every single one of them had been worthwhile.

Take upgrading the Tier-Two Skill Tower into a Tier-Three Skill Tower as an example.

Not only had its capacity and functions increased severalfold, it had also gained several completely new functions.

For instance, although a Tier-Two Skill Tower could socket Blue-Quality cultivation technique Skill Stones, it could not directly teach an entire Blue-Quality cultivation technique through skill transmission.

A Tier-Three Skill Tower was completely different.

A Skill Tower of this level could directly transmit complete cultivation techniques.

Although it could only teach one person at a time, and although the Essence, time, and effort required were all considerable, the overall cost was still far lower than producing Skill Books.

Given enough time, an entire inheritance could eventually be transmitted.

This meant that as long as Hang Yu first found a way for one Azure Dragon Guard to master a cultivation technique, then trained that Azure Dragon Guard until the technique reached Great Perfection, the Azure Dragon Guards could thereafter teach one another.

As long as there was sufficient Essence, and sufficient time, the strength of the entire Azure Dragon Guard would increase explosively.

Every territorial facility upgrade carried tremendous significance.

The greater the number of facilities, and the more powerful their functions, the stronger the territory's foundation became.

At the same time, the value of Contribution Points would continue rising, and the loyalty of the territory's subordinate citizens would grow ever stronger.

The current stage of development had already achieved its intended results.

Hang Yu's biggest problem now was still being too poor.

That said, the Calamity Army had rested enough.

Moreover, their morale was now explosively high.

Every single player looked like a starving ghost sharpening their blade, eyes glowing green as they stared eagerly at the fat pig known as the Corpse Lich Territory, wishing they could immediately launch a war and earn glorious achievements.

At the same time, Jia Xu had successfully completed his reconnaissance mission.

Everything was now in place.

Hang Yu felt that the time had finally come to eliminate the threat posed by the Corpse Lich Territory once and for all.

This time, it wasn't merely about removing the Corpse Lich Territory as a threat.

It was also urgently necessary to obtain all the resources required for the territory's next stage of development through this war.