Chapter 1 The Handover

Seeing Shi Feng agree to begin the handover procedures, the Knight Captain immediately took out a silver gleaming token and handed it to Shi Feng.

The token itself was very ordinary, but the moment it was taken out, the magic power in the hall couldn't help but condense onto the token, forming a magical barrier that designated players could touch.

"Lord City Master, this is your City Lord Token. After you engrave the name of the city on the token, and we complete the registration here, this city can be officially opened to the public," Knight Captain Yarold said enviously as he looked at the silver token in Shi Feng's hand.

Possessing this token meant possessing absolute control over the city, something even the magistrate didn't have.

The city's magistrate was just a city agent, managing the city on behalf of the kingdom. Being able to own a city and become a lord of the Star-Moon Kingdom was rare throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. Their status was so high that even His Majesty the King had to show them respect.

Shi Feng was not surprised by the City Lord Token. After receiving the City Lord Token, he clicked on the magic array engraved on it.

Immediately, a system bar popped up, allowing players to name the city.

"Since this is Zero Wing Guild's first city, let's call it Zero Wing City!" Shi Feng immediately named the city.

Naming it directly after the guild name would not only let the vast number of players know the city's ownership, but also, due to the city's strength, let more people know about Zero Wing Guild. This was the benefit of building a city from scratch. If it were upgrading from a conquered town to a city, the city's name would continue to be used and could not be renamed.

Therefore, in his previous life, guilds above the first-rate level would try to build their own cities. It was both a proof of the guild's strength and a way for the guild to have a truly self-owned city. Other guilds were already happy just to have a city, let alone directly building one from scratch or upgrading a town to a city. It was something they wouldn't even dare to think about.

As soon as Shi Feng finished naming it, Knight Captain Yarold began to register Zero Wing City.

"Congratulations, Lord City Master. From now on, you are the first Chosen One in the Star-Moon Kingdom to own their own city. At the same time, this city will have a 21-day protection period. You can hire city guards to protect the city from harassment by others. You will also need to pay 200,000 gold coins each month. Does the City Master need to send guards over now?" Knight Captain Yarold explained.

"I need to hire some guards. Do you have a list here?" Shi Feng asked.

The city's guards were different from the town's guards. The town's guards would not dispatch Tier 3 NPCs, at most only Tier 2 NPCs. After all, a Tier 3 NPC could already serve as a magistrate in a small town.

However, the number of Tier 3 NPCs that a city could hire was also very limited, only five were allowed. In addition, Tier 3 NPCs were scarce, with varying strengths and different specialties, so it was still necessary to choose carefully. This would make the city's defense easier in the future.

"Yes, here is a list of the Tier 3 guards we can provide. As for the Tier 2 and Tier 1 guards, there are too many to provide a specific list. If you want to choose carefully, you can go to the Adventurers Association," Knight Captain Yarold said slowly as he handed over a detailed list to Shi Feng.

The list contained the prices of the guards and the names of the Tier 3 NPC guards.

Hiring ten level 150 Elite guards for twenty-one days cost 100 gold, hiring ten level 150 Tier 1 guards for twenty-one days cost 300 gold, and hiring ten level 150 Tier 2 guards for twenty-one days cost 700 gold. As for the price of Tier 3 guards, it was different, entirely based on the individual guard's asking price. As for whether they were willing to hire them, it depended on the player themselves.

There were a total of thirty-seven Tier 3 guards, with prices ranging from 800 gold to 1400 gold for twenty-one days. One person was worth one or two teams of Tier 2 guards, so the price was shockingly high.

Even for the current Zero Wing Guild, this price was painful, but they had to hire them.

Cities built in the wilderness were prone to monster attacks, especially at night. For the still incomplete Zero Wing City, powerful guards were a must.

Especially at this juncture.

The rise of the Orc Empire was faster than imagined, and had already reached Misforest Town, which was only separated from Witch Hill by the Maze Forest. If the Orc army attacked, the strength of Tier 1 and Tier 2 NPCs would probably not be enough. Only Tier 3 NPCs possessed an overwhelming advantage.

Immediately, Shi Feng selected five Tier 3 guards, one healer, two MTs (main tanks), and two magic-types. The two magic-types had the highest hiring prices, both at 1300 gold, because both magic-types mastered two Tier 3 large-scale destruction spells and one Tier 3 forbidden spell.

The power of Tier 3 large-scale destruction spells and Tier 3 forbidden spells cast by Tier 3 classes was simply amazing in siege warfare.

"I've decided to choose these five people. In addition, I want to hire eight hundred Elite guards, one hundred and fifty Tier 1 guards, and fifty Tier 2 guards." After confirming, Shi Feng returned the list to Knight Captain Yarold.

If Aqua Rose or White Feather were here, they would definitely faint on the spot upon hearing Shi Feng hiring so many guards in one go.

The price of hiring guards was much higher than hiring soldiers. Shi Feng had hired a thousand in one go...

However, only Shi Feng knew that cities were different from towns. Cities were very large. If there weren't a thousand NPCs to start with, they simply couldn't defend it, and even the city's security would be difficult to maintain.

Moreover, the city's environmental conditions were very good, so hiring was much cheaper than hiring in a town. If it were the hiring price of a town, it would definitely put Zero Wing in a major crisis.

This could be considered a system benefit for directly building a guild city.

"No problem. The guards you hired will cost a total of 21,000 gold. After the payment is completed, the Adventurers Association will immediately notify them to come over," Knight Captain Yarold said.

Shi Feng didn't hesitate and directly took out 21,000 gold.

Fortunately, he had acquired a lot of rare materials from Coldwind City and sold them at the Zero Wing Auction House. During his fight for Thunder Island, these materials were all sold out, with a net profit of 33,527 gold, excluding the previous acquisition costs.

This was why he dared to hire so many Tier 2 and Tier 3 NPCs in one go, despite Zero Wing Guild's tight financial situation.

This was just one transportation's profit. After a period of time, when Coldwind City's players collected more materials, he could purchase them again and earn another 30,000 gold. This speed was much faster than Stone Forest Town and Candlelight Trading Firm.

In the future, when Coldwind City was connected to other NPC cities in the Ice Crystal World, he would be able to collect more materials. It was simply a natural gold mine.

After Shi Feng paid the money, Knight Captain Yarold respectfully left after confirming there were no problems.

Immediately, Shi Feng heard a series of system prompts and system announcements.

System: Congratulations to the player for becoming the first person to own a city in the Star-Moon Kingdom. Reward: 300 Star-Moon Kingdom Reputation points. Acquired title: Star-Moon Kingdom Lord.

System: Congratulations to the player's Zero Wing City for becoming the first city in the Star-Moon Kingdom. Reward: 10,000 City Fame points. Acquired: Advanced Restaurant Design.

System: Congratulations to the player's Zero Wing City for being the first city to have its energy core upgraded. Reward: 10,000 City Fame points. Acquired: City Conscription Order.

Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing Guild for becoming the first guild to establish a city in the Star-Moon Kingdom. Reward: 10,000 Guild Fame points, 50 Guild Influence points.