The three SSS-rank commissions were crucial to Star-Moon Kingdom's upgrade.
If Star-Moon Kingdom were upgraded to an empire, as the kingdom's number one Guild, Zero Wing would rise with it. This developmental method was much easier than contesting with other Guilds for territory.
There were many other benefits to be had when a kingdom upgraded to an empire as well.
One of them was the acquisition of the neutral maps surrounding the kingdom.
God's Domain's neutral maps occupied more area than all of the empires and kingdoms combined. Every one of these neural maps was a high-level area. Many among them were also high-resource maps. Once players reached Level 50, they would gradually migrate to these neutral maps.
Maps above Level 100 were extremely rare in kingdoms. Empires did not fare much better in this regard. Hence, it was only a matter of time before players turned towards neutral maps to continue their development. Meanwhile, when a kingdom upgraded, it would annex these maps, and the new empire would claim the areas. It would then become much easier to level in these maps due to the NPC cities that would emerge.
In the past, every NPC city constructed in a neutral map had a minimum player population of 3,000,000. Among them, the NPC city in the Shallow Hills, one of the neutral maps the Golden Sands Empire had claimed, had reached a player population of over 10,000,000 during its peak. This gave the Epic adventurer Guilds, who completed the SSS-rank commissions, a massive windfall.
This was due to the new cities' Lands. To purchase those Lands, players needed a certain amount of Reputation in the former kingdom or noble status in the new NPC city. It had become impossible for non-native Guilds to purchase the Lands within a short amount of time.
Meanwhile, due to the neutral maps' high-level environment, the new city's Lands had been far more valuable than Lands in cities near low-level maps.
Shi Feng had been planning this since he joined God's Domain in this life.
"Lord Protector, there is a very large variety of commissions available. If you are unsure of which to choose, I can offer a recommendation based on your preference and requirements," the senior administrator suggested after Shi Feng's long moment of silence.
"Thanks for the offer, but I've made my decision. I'll choose the Ancient Orc Empire," Shi Feng said as he pointed to the quest name on the list.
Although Star-Moon Kingdom's past players had known about the three SSS-rank commission quests, no one had known about the quests' contents aside from the player who accepted them.
After carefully reading through the quests' contents, Shi Feng concluded that the Ancient Orc Empire was the easiest among the three. Based on his current abilities, completing the other two would be impossible.
Revenge of the Fallen required him to kill five Fallens that hid within Star-Moon Kingdom.
The Fallen within Star-Moon Kingdom would not be as easy to deal with as Berenwoka. The system wouldn't suppress them. A Fallen at its peak had the strength to destroy an entire city. Moreover, these Fallens hid all over Star-Moon Kingdom. Just finding them would be a difficult task. It was no wonder why nobody had completed the commission in the past.
Undead Resurrection wasn't easy either. He needed to gather three extremely rare items: the Book of Undead, the Bone Staff, and the Ancient Contract. Of these items, Shi Feng had only heard of the Book of Undead. However, this item was located in the Level 80 neutral map, Slumbering Tomb. It was the gathering place for Undead. The Book of the Undead was even guarded by the Tier 4 Mythic rank Skeleton King. Shi Feng had no hope of obtaining the book. And he had never heard of the other two items before. He did not even know where to start looking for them…
That only left the Ancient Orc Empire. Once, the powerful Orc Empire had its imperial capital in the Level 75 neutral map, Mourning Battlefield, which was situated between Star-Moon Kingdom and Purple Thorns Kingdom. However, after countless wars, the imperial capital had become a battlefield. Powerful Orcs currently gathered in the ruins, hoping to restore the glory they once enjoyed and conquer the several surrounding kingdoms. These Orcs had been a thorn in these kingdoms' sides for a long time now.
The Ancient Orc Empire commission's task was to destroy the alliance between the various Orc tribes. In order to destroy this alliance, Shi Feng was required to locate the Orc Empire's founding emperor's weapon, the Disintegration Axe, and prevent it from falling into Orc hands. If the Orcs got their hands on this weapon, they would be able to gather the Orcs scattered across God's Domain. If they succeeded, God's Domain's various kingdoms and empires would be in trouble.
Fortunately, the Disintegration Axe had been very famous in the past. Shi Feng knew the weapon's whereabouts. Otherwise, he would have been forced to choose the Undead Resurrection commission instead.
"Lord Protector, this commission will require a 6,000 Gold deposit. However, as you are an Epic adventurer, you are only required to pay half. Are you sure you wish to accept this commission?" the senior administrator asked.
Shi Feng handed 3,000 Gold over without hesitation. As a result, however, he was almost broke.
Although Stone Forest Town had earned quite a lot of money while he had been busy, most of that money had been reinvested in the town and Guild's development. Part of the money had also been used to purchase Diamond Wood. There wasn't much left.
He also needed to save funds for his future city's development and construct the Four Towers of Elements.
After his rampant slaughter of Demonic Beasts in the Moon God's Space, Shi Feng had a total of 989 Seven Luminaries Shards. Although he had wanted to grind a little more, as he obtained more shards, their drop-rate decreased. Fortunately, he had enough to synthesize 40 units of Seven Luminaries Crystals and construct the Four Towers of Elements. Once the towers had been constructed, his city would be safe from players. However, constructing a high-end building like the Four Towers of Elements cost an astronomical number of Coins. Based on Shi Feng's initial estimates, the other materials alone would cost around 90,000 Gold…
Once Shi Feng accepted the commission and was about to return to the Candlelight Trading Firm, Blackie contacted him.
"Has something happened?" Shi Feng asked when he saw Blackie's grim expression.
"Guild Leader, we lost again…" Blackie replied quietly.
"What? Even Aqua and Summer were defeated?" Shi Feng was slightly stunned.
He had sent Aqua Rose and the others to the Battle Arena.
He had a very clear understanding of Aqua Rose and Alluring Summer's strengths. Both were fully geared in top-tier equipment. In addition, not only were they Refinement Realm experts, but the two women had also grasped a portion of the Secret Spellcasting Technique.
With their strength, no one throughout Star-Moon Kingdom should be their match. Only the superpowers' peak experts should be able to offer a challenge. Restoring Zero Wing's reputation should be a piece of cake for them.
"Well, no. The other side suddenly asked to change the rules of the competition and is now seeking to melee combat. Skills, Spells, and tools are not permitted. So, only Cola, Shadow Sword, and Flying Shadow were able to fight. However, all three were defeated. That Evil Fire kid still hasn't made a move either…" Blackie explained. "Currently, the people in the Battle Arena are starting to badmouth us, saying that Zero Wing doesn't have any capable experts. Many Guilds have sent spies to rub salt in our wounds. If we don't stop those guys now, the prestige we've worked so hard to gain will most likely…
"Guild Leader, what I'm trying to say is that we should send in Big Sis Fire. She can definitely defeat those punks."
"This is interesting. Even Cola and Flying Shadow's techniques were no match for them?" Shi Feng's lips curled up, his interest in Evil Fire growing.
First, Evil Fire had challenged him, the Guild Leader of Zero Wing, publicly. He then went to Stone Forest Town a day before the competition to make a name for himself. With this, Shi Feng would have no choice but to accept Evil Fire's challenge.
"Guild Leader, should I ask Big Sis Fire for help?" Blackie asked anxiously.
Fire Dance had been busy dealing with important Guild affairs. Moreover, Shi Feng had already stated that without his permission, nobody was to disturb Fire Dance. However, they had no choice but to involve Fire Dance, the number two melee expert in Zero Wing, to teach those challengers a lesson now that trouble was knocking on their door.
Unfortunately, involving Shi Feng wasn't an option. If their Guild Leader fought a bunch of nameless challengers, it would humiliate Zero Wing and its members. After all, Zero Wing was no longer some small, upstart Guild. It was Star-Moon Kingdom's number one Guild.
"No. I'll make a trip myself." Shi Feng smiled as he shook his head.