Fatal Shot

Chapter 163: Joining a Guild?

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

“Internal conflict in the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group? How could that be?”

This information was certainly unexpected for Feng Luo. As the only opponent that was completely incompatible with him ever since he had started playing the game, Feng Luo naturally had a certain degree of understanding of the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group.

The Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group was the number one power in Silvermoon City, and as the number one power, they were currently at their peak. Even after Feng Luo had messed up their important mission of working with the Umbrella Corporation, they hadn’t been really hurt at all.

Their expansion during this period was also overwhelming and aggressive. Even one of the oldest guilds, the Veterans Tribe, was pushed to the point where they could hardly keep their heads up.

The person who had integrated the group, devoured the other powers in Silvermoon City, caught up from behind, and brought Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group to the number-one spot in a short amount of time, Roaring Dragon Ruinous Star—the leader of Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group—was widely recognized as a highly ambitious and powerful person.

To think that person like that and a guild like that would actually experience an internal conflict at such a critical moment in their development!

Feng Luo never would have predicted that.

“Didn’t expect that, did you?” On the virtual screen created by the communicator, Mu Wu was smiling. He would only remove his serious face in front of familiar faces. “In truth, most people didn’t expect it. It seems like within the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group that seemingly follows the words of Roaring Dragon Invincible, another person is hiding in the background. In the end, the two of them began to fight against each other, and now, there’s an earthquake within Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group!”

“Another person?” Feng Luo asked suspiciously as an image of Roaring Dragon Lightwind’s smiling yet somber face flashed across his mind.

“That’s right! Turns out, although Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group looked like it was controlled solely by Roaring Dragon Invincible, he was only the guild leader on the surface. Behind them, in the dark, there was another ‘guild leader.’ The reason Roaring Dragon Invincible shone so much and was called the strongest in Silvermoon City was because of the development strategy of the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group. They had created him for a superstar effect, but in truth, he was just the frontman.”

“So that’s it!” Feng Luo said, nodding.

In games, incidents like this happened a lot. It was because many players adored and admired strong players. Some of the top players in War were even more sought after than real-life superstars. That was why many guilds would specifically create and groom superstar players like these, giving them names like “The Four Heavenly Kings,””Top Ten Machine Gunners,” and the like.

“Of course, the situation faced by Roaring Dragon Invincible is still quite unique, since, apart from his own strength, he is also strong-handed. Plus, as one of the cofounders of the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group, he isn’t just some normal frontman. He actually has some true power and authority within the guild.”

As Mu Wu said that, admiration could be seen on his face.

“However, as a frontman, most of his efforts were spent on completing missions, leveling up, and increasing his strength. He even has to compete against others for the highest-level position. So, in truth, most of the daily management of the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group was handled by the behind-the-scenes guild leader. It was only because they needed to maintain Roaring Dragon Invincible’s image that he kept himself hidden behind the scenes. So all of the credit went to Roaring Dragon Invincible.”

An image of Roaring Dragon Lightwind’s calm and somber expression flashed across Feng Luo’s mind once more. “The person behind the scenes sure sacrificed a lot already,” he said. “Then the reason behind the internal conflict—was it because of this person?”

“That’s right! To put it simply, the source of Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group’s internal conflict is that the person behind the scenes no longer wants to stay behind the scenes. He wants to take center stage. So, he pulled in the investors who invested in Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group during this time, as well as several other players who were also shareholders of the group, in an attempt to oust Roaring Dragon Ruinous Star. Or, at the very least, to get him out of his current position.”

“So, that’s how it is…”

Feng Luo finally understood completely.

The guilds (company, clubs, conglomerate groups, etc.) in War were unlike those in normal games, where the guild master had absolute power and authority. Fundamentally, guilds in this game were more like companies in real life. The people who founded the guild in the initial stages would have their shares determined through an electronic agreement. Then they would obtain decision-making power through the shares they owned. These shares could also be exchanged and diluted, so the decision-making power could, naturally, also change.

Although Roaring Dragon Invincible was a cofounder of the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group, if he were to lose his decision-making power, losing his guild leader position and even getting kicked out of the guild he’d helped build would not be surprising or unheard of. That was among the disadvantages and hidden costs of accepting funds from financial groups for some guilds in the game.

As such, most of the time, the founders of guilds would only allocate shares when accepting investments from financial groups and try to retain decision-making power. However, most of the time, these sentiments were one-sided. In a game where huge benefits were involved, it was a stage for the ambitious and the conspiring; common people could not even compare when it came to messing around with capital.

After thinking for a while, Feng Luo asked Mu Wu through the communicator, “But to kick Roaring Dragon Invincible out of Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group shouldn’t be this easy, right?”

“Yup, of course. It’s not that easy. Although many of Roaring Dragon Invincible’s achievements were placed on him, he himself isn’t just some normal individual. Calling him a warlord might be a bit much, but he is definitely a distinguished person. Moreover, he still has one of the most important resources in the guild: the hearts of the people!

“Having been ‘Number One in Silvermoon City’ for a long time, as well as a person who is said to have an S-grade combat talent, even if the halo surrounding him has dimmed a bit, his influence within the guild is still something that would be really difficult for someone else to reach. From what I heard, those people who want to oust him found a Level-50 Heavy Armor Warrior to replace his number one expert position. He certainly looks quite strong, but his face… Oh right, that Heavy Armor Warrior. I’m guessing he’s related to the Biohazard mission you experienced last time, but he’s probably not that last one that you guys encountered…”

“Biohazard?” said Feng Luo.

Feng Luo was slightly stunned, but he had known from the beginning that Mu Zi would definitely tell Mu Wu about the mission. Moreover, there was no need to hide it. After all, Brother Ling and the others from the main company would definitely record all the details of the mission. For some big guilds, the information gathered through various missions were also extremely useful for data analysis.

“Yeah. Regarding the Biohazard storyline, which is an Epic-level storyline, I still have some matters that I wish to discuss with you. It’s not urgent, so let me finish talking about the subject of the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group first.” Mu Wu touched his nose. It was his habit when he was thinking.

“All right!”

Feng Luo knew how good Mu Wu’s strategic foresight was, so he did not mind revealing information about the Resident Evil/Biohazard mission to him, since he could, perhaps, analyze it and learn something from it.

“It’s difficult for Roaring Dragon Ruinous Star to be ousted. At the very least, at the moment, before he is replaced, he won’t be kicked out since. As the frontman of the guild, most players joined because of him. The moment he is kicked out, the losses the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group would incur wouldn’t be small… If he were to create a new guild in Silvermoon City with the people who leave with him, and if they oppose the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group, the situation would be even worse. This is precisely the situation that the investors don’t want to see…” A light flashed in Mu Wu’s eyes. “Of course, this situation is the one I want to see the most!”

Although the Lu Conglomerate needed to build a city near Silvermoon City, it had a working relationship with the two largest powers in Silvermoon City. They were even extremely close with the number one power, the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group. But there was no doubt the Lu Conglomerate enjoyed and welcomed the internal conflict within the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group. It was because, although the two guilds did not seem to have any conflicts at the moment—even seemingly working together nicely—there was no guarantee that they wouldn’t become enemies in the future! And although Nightless City was not on good terms with the Lu Conglomerate headquarters and was unwilling to merge with and become a subordinate guild of the headquarters, it had still agreed to move into the new city.

Being prepared was a natural consideration in terms of strategic planning. In truth, Feng Luo still considered Mu Wu’s behaviors in the game to be quite odd.

The reason he’d refused the merger was that he was clearly not fond of the group headquarters, but, at the same time, when it came to building the city and the current matter, he would immediately consider the benefits of the Lu Conglomerate…

However, Mu Wu did not say that he didn’t plan to ask; he didn’t even waste time to speculate. Because whether it was the Nightless City or the Lu Conglomerate or even the problems between the two, they were not that important to him. He would not be constrained by the two.

Mu Wu’s face suddenly became serious as he spoke to Feng Luo. “Old Feng!”

“What?”

“I have a question I want to ask you.” Mu Wu’s face showed hesitation for a while before he opened his mouth again. “With your strength, have you ever considered joining our club and becoming our frontman?”

Feng Luo shook his head. “No. At the moment, I don’t plan on joining any guild.”

Currently, he had no plans to come out into the limelight.

Mu Wu was not in the least surprised by his answer; instead, he just kept asking his questions. “Then what if one day we were to leave and establish a guild that belongs to ourselves?”

Feng Luo stared straight into Mu Wu’s eyes. After a short pause, he finally gave a vague answer. “This… We’ll see when the day comes.”

Chi!

At that moment, the Scout Beetle above him sent him a warning signal.

Feng Luo raised the Eye of the Thunder in his hands, turned around, and pulled the trigger after aiming in a certain direction.

Bang!

A double armor-piercing round crackling with electricity exited the chamber at a speed of around 900 per second, leaving a blue and white trail in the air.

−364

−1344

−5422

A Level-40 Swamp Gray Python, still in its growing stage, had crawled quietly toward him. It was hit accurately in the heart by the powerful and destructive double armor-piercing round, leaving a bowl-sized wound in its place. It was electrocuted by electricity that coursed through its entire body after the effect was triggered by the Eye of the Thunder.

A fatal shot!