The Rock Nest Fortress stood atop the northern canyon. From afar, it looked like a nest, which was how it had earned its name. The fortress was easy to defend and difficult to attack. However, the fortress was filled with tens of thousands of Level 85-plus players that were busy slaying the fortressâs prior residents, the Blackstone Ores.
Several tens of thousands of Blackstone Ores had garrisoned the fortress, but less than 10,000 remained. Lying quietly in the fortressâs heart was the four-meter-tall Ore King, and all sorts of weapons, equipment, and materials were scattered around its corpse.
âI hadnât thought that capturing a fortress would be this profitable. Itâs no wonder why Thirteen Thrones is so eager to capture a second one,â Nine Dragons Emperor said, sighing ruefully as he gazed at the items on the ground.
Even in the Gravity Mountain Range, Great Lord rank and higher monsters were relatively rare, yet the Rock Nest Fortress had been home to tons of them. Since this was the first time these monsters had been slain, their drop-rate was much higher than the monsters that wandered the map.
Clearing out the Blackstone Ores had yielded over 10,000 weapons and equipment pieces. Moreover, every item as Level 90 or above. There were even some Level 100 weapons and equipment among the loot.
Although most of the weapons and equipment were only Secret-Silver rank, with a few Fine-Gold rank items, it was more than enough to serve as interim equipment. At the very least, his subordinates could use these items to start raiding Level 90 super-large-scale Team Dungeons as soon as they were the appropriate level.
âItâs only natural. Every fortress in the Gravity Mountain Range is a treasure trove. We had planned to work with Starlink to capture a Medium Fortress, but I hadnât expected Zero Wing to claim the Northern Fortress successfully.
We had no choice but to move forward with our plans,â Blood Oath said. His voice cold, he continued, âEven with the Northern Fortress, Iâll ensure that Zero Wing has no place on Dragonheart Island.â
âThatâs right! That Zero Wing is too arrogant! They look down on you, Commander Blood,â Nine Dragons Emperor said, nodding. âI suspect the Guildâs members have already begun to panic. Without any visiting players, even the best fortress in the world is useless.â
War Blood, Crimson Shadow, and Knightâs Sword, three of Dragonheart Islandâs top 10 adventurer teams, had agreed to work together against Zero Wing. Not a single adventurer team on the island would dare cross these three. Furthermore, War Blood and Starlink were collaborating to seal off the northern region. Anyone that dared to explore the area would be making a one-way trip.
Aside from Zero Wingâs members and Phoenix Rainâs subordinates, no one would visit the Northern Fortress.
They had ensured that the Northern Fortress would be nothing more than a bottomless pit, steadily devouring Zero Wingâs funds.
The Gravity Mountain Rangeâs fortresses werenât like the fortresses in the outside world. Monster attacks were more frequent here. Maintaining a Small Fortress cost enough of a fortune to give superpowers a headache, not to mention a Medium Fortressâs maintenance, and that was excluding the subsidies a power would need to pay the players that guarded the fortresses.
While Nine Dragons Emperor and Blood Oath conversed, a woman with an ancient bow approached.
âCommander, Zero Wing has made a move. Theyâve mimicked out declaration, announcing that any player that entered the Rock Nest Forest will have no place in the Northern Fortress,â Ink Feather announced, smiling as she read the report she had just received.
âTheyâre trying to compete with our influence on Dragonheart Island? Black Flame is a fool. Does he really think Dragonheart Island is the same as Star-Moon Kingdom?â Blood Oath laughed.
âCommander Blood, I doubt that Black Flame knows that weâve found a Mana Well in the Rock Nest Fortress.
Otherwise, heâd have never made this decision,â Nine Dragons Emperor said, smirking.
The Mana Well was the Rock Nest Fortressâs exclusive construction. Although repairing it would deplete their liquid funds, the Mana Wellâs effects were well worth the cost. With this Mana Well, players could fully recover their Stamina and Concentration within half an hour. The Mana Wellâs effects would tempt every player grinding in the Gravity Mountain Range.
The main reason that players visited fortresses was to rest and recover their Stamina and Concentration, and for the cost of one Ancient Gold Coin, players could make a full recovery within 30 minutes. Countless players on Dragonheart Island would seek this benefit.
As news of the Mana Well spread, even the players that visited the Thirteen Thronesâ Small Fortress would likely shift their attention to the Rock Nest Fortress, not to mention the powers that were considering setting up a base in the Northern Fortress.
âSince Black Flame is so eager to die, I donât mind sending him to his grave.â Turning to Ink Feather, Blood Oath commanded, âInk, quietly inform the various major powers on Dragonheart Island of the Mana Well. Iâm sure theyâll know what to do once they receive the news.â
âUnderstood!â
Ink Feather grew even more eager to see Shi Feng despair. Unless they were stupid, the various powers would recognize the most beneficial fortress once word of the Mana Well spread.
âŚ
Meanwhile, in Thirteen Thronesâ Residence in Dragonheart CityâŚ
âZero Wing thinks that it can suppress War Blood just because it has captured a Medium Fortress? The Guild still isnât aware of how foolish its being,â Elder Wu, who rested in his office, said as he read the report his subordinate had sent. âThousand, have Lu Xingluo pay me a visit. Tell him that itâs about capturing a Medium Fortress.â
âUnderstood.â The masked woman named Thousand Lives smiled and nodded.
In her opinion, Zero Wing was extremely foolish. The Guild simply didnât realize how powerful superpowersâ foundations were.
Elsewhere, in the Gravity Mountain Rangeâs Northern FortressâŚ
While Phoenix Rain organized the fortressâs repairs, Shi Feng concentrated on restoring the Defensive Magic Towersâ magic arrays.
The Magic Crystals and Seven Luminaries Crystals he had spent to repair the towers only repaired the core crystals. It was barely enough to activate the towers. To restore the Defensive Magic Towers to full power, players needed to repair the magic arrays and magic circuits within the towers.
However, this wasnât an easy task. It required an Advanced Magician at the very least, and the work was intensively time-consuming. Fortunately, Shi Feng was almost a Master Magician, so he could repair the arrays and circuits smoothly and swiftly.
Once the four Defensive Magic Towersâ final magic circuit had been repaired, the towersâ system interface reported that the towers were complete.
System: The Northern Fortressâs Defensive Magic Towers have been fully repaired. It will cost 8,000 Magic Crystals to activate them and 6,000 Magic Crystals per day to maintain them. Do you wish to activate the Defensive Magic Towers?
Running at 100% efficiency is certainly expensive. Shi Feng was a little astonished when he read the system notification. The towersâ operation cost was much higher than an ordinary Magic Tower. Not even ordinary first-rate Guilds could afford to keep the Northern Fortressâs Defensive Magic Towers running constantly.
However, Shi Feng did not hesitate, activating the towers immediately.
After Shi Feng had sacrificed the required Magic Crystals, a twofold magic array appeared above the Northern Fortress, enveloping it. The twofold magic array then created a double-layered magic barrier around the fortress, which was much stronger than the barrier Shi Feng and Phoenix Rainâs army had broken through.
At the same time, all of the Mana within a 10,000-yard radius of the Northern Fortress began to gather within the fortressâs walls. The fortressâs Mana density skyrocketed, especially in the fortressâs core. The Mana there was so dense that it transformed into a white mist. The players within the mist felt an indescribably pleasant sensation course through them, and a second experience bar appeared below their main bar, show that they had accumulated the Double EXP buffâŚ
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The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion members were dumbfounded.
âAqua, how are the fortressâs repairs coming along?â Shi Feng asked after contacting Aqua Rose.
âWeâre 60% done. According to your instructions, weâve prioritized hotels and accommodations, so theyâre ready now,â Aqua Rose reported.
âGood. In that case, we can open the fortress to the public,â Shi Feng said, smiling. He then called up the Northern Fortressâs system interface and did just that.