Chapter 258 Setting Up the Stronghold
A month later, Andrew, along with a thousand other guild members, arrived in the Central City.
Looking around, they couldn't help but marvel at the prosperity of the city.
This is the abyss with chaos everywhere.
Having such a prosperous city comparable to top cities in the Etherium realm is like a miracle.
"Do you think the guild leader is here?" one of the men asked Andrew.
"I don't know; we can only look."
According to the letter Andrew sent, they were supposed to meet Maximus at the Central City Etherium Gold Chamber Commerce Branch.
As they searched for the place, one of them saw a familiar name.
"Shadow Hunter Pavilion?"
"Could it be our guild?"
"Maybe, with the greatness of the guild leader, it should be possible."
They chatted upon seeing the familiar name.
"Anyway, let's see if it has something to do with our guild," Andrew decided.
Entering the pavilion, they were greeted by a puppet.
"Are you Vice Guild President Andrew?" the puppet suddenly asked.
"Yes."
"Please head to the top floor; the host is waiting for you."
"It is indeed the guild leader!"
"Wow, the guild leader is so efficient; he already set up a shop here!"
"Hahaha, our time here would surely be worth it!"
The crowd chattered as they confirmed that it was indeed the property of their guild.
Initially, they were still worried that they would have nothing coming here.
Now, knowing that they had such property in the most prosperous city in the central layer, their worry was all for naught.
"Let's go; don't let the guild leader wait for us."
...
On the top floor:
"Guild Leader!" the crowd greeted with admiration.
"Hmm, I'm glad you managed to come here," Maximus smiled, seeing there were thousands of them.
"It's not hard, guild leader!"
"We just wanted to see the handsomeness of the guild leader!"
"It's all for the glory of the guild!"
They flattered one by one.
"Don't listen to them; if not for my fist, they wouldn't even come here," Andrew complained.
Fortunately, he had the cultivation manual granted by his guild leader.
Otherwise, even with various incentives, he couldn't have invited these cowardly people.
"Vice Guild Leader, you're wrong; we're sincere coming here."
"That's right; if not for your slow training, we would have come here earlier!"
They complained as they hid their embarrassment.
"Alright, sit first," Maximus interrupted.
Upon hearing this, they obediently took their seats.
"Your coming here is already enough; there is no need to elaborate on the process," Maximus calmly reassured them.
"Thank you, guild leader!" they immediately smiled, seeing that Maximus didn't take their offense to heart.
"Hmm."
"Now that you are here, we can proceed with the plan."
"You should have already known something about the Abyss Realm?"
"Yes, guild leader."
During the month, they roughly understood the situation of the Abyss Realm.
Besides the danger, there are various restrictions and mandatory missions set by the Etherium Council.
"By now, I already have a Vanquisher status."
"Meaning I can independently set up an outpost in the Central layer of the Abyss."
"This!"
Hearing that their guild leader was already a Vanquisher, they couldn't help but be shocked.
According to the information they got, achieving Vanquisher status requires nonstop fighting in the Abyss Realm for at least hundreds of years.
They could only imagine what their guild leader did to get such a status in just a few decades.
"Guild Leader is Amazing,"
"Guild leader you are my God!"
"There really nothing the guild leader can do."
They didn't let the chance pass by and praised Maximus with all they got.
"Alright, stop your reward coming here would be due later," Maximus said.
"Thank you Guild Leader!"
"Did you bring the blueprint for the outpost stronghold?" Maximus looked at Andrew.
"Yes, guild leader."
"Silas modified it according to the blueprint of our ship," Andrew said, handing him the blueprint.
"Good," Maximus nodded in satisfaction.
Before he left, he instructed them to conceive a blueprint for an outpost.
Seeing the whole blueprint, he couldn't help but smile.
It was a moving fortress like the Eternal Ruin Stronghold.
"When should we begin building the stronghold, guild leader?" Andrew couldn't wait and asked.
"Relax; you should make yourself familiar with the Abyss Realm first."
Maximus knew that Andrew was eager to contribute to the guild.
However, there were still too many things needed before they could build an outpost.
From budget, suitable locations, materials, possible implications, dangers, etc.
Although he could solve all this on his own, it was not necessary.
"I see," Andrew nodded.
He also knew that he was too hasty.
"Anyway, you should look at our property first and then make plans."
After that, Andrew asked about all kinds of things.
from the guild property, Maximus's standings, connections, wealth, available resources, and such.
...
Months passed.
After his guild members familiarized themselves with the Abyss, they started working.
First is the Shadow Hunter Pavilion.
Instead of just having three branches, each from three major cities.
Now every city in the Abyss had a branch.
Maximus didn't dare to do this previously because of the lack of manpower.
Even though there was a puppet, they could only manage the shop.
The resources still needed to be delivered personally.
Now there is a bunch of collies that can deliver resources.
The Shadow Hunter Pavilion can finally expand.
With the expansion of the pavilion, the acquisition of Abyss Source expanded again.
The material needed for the outpost was also being acquired.
Although Maximus could provide all the materials himself.
He still needed to show that he didn't have everything.
Besides collecting materials and Abyss Source.
The Shadow Hunter Pavilion also began to issue missions for Shadow credits.
Like the integrated part of the stronghold that can be built first.
If they built the stronghold one by one, it would take them thousands of years just to set the foundation.
There were only a few thousand of them, and the manpower was simply not enough.
By spreading it to others, they can quickly construct the stronghold at its initial state.
...
Three years later, in the Abyss Wasteland:
"How is this place, guild leader?" Andrew asked.
To build a stronghold, they needed a perfect place.
The Abyss aura can't be too much or too scattered.
Too much, and the Abyss monsters in place would be a hindrance.
Too scattered, and it would be hard to place some energy-dependent array.
The place also needed to be peaceful, meaning the place shouldn't have a chaotic environment or weather.
Lastly, it needed to be away from other outposts, especially private ones.
If they were close to other outposts, they might cause hatred, leading to the other party attacking them.
After all, others built the outpost to earn resources.
If they built an outpost beside them, would that mean they plan to steal their resource spot?
Fortunately, Maximus didn't need these fancy resources, so choosing a place was easy.
"This land is just perfect," Maximus commented.
"That's good," Andrew heaved a sigh of relief.
"Should we begin building the stronghold?"
"Hmm, you should build it as soon as possible," Maximus nodded.
He would return to the Etherium realm in two years.
The outpost needed to be at least in the initial stage so that it could protect itself.
...
Soon, thousands of people began to set up a protection array.
Setting up the core of the stronghold would cause a huge surge of Abyss energy.
Perhaps it's because of the instinctive will of the Abyss.
Laying the foundation of a stronghold would produce such a phenomenon.
The protection array was needed to protect the core of the stronghold while it was conceiving.
...
After a few days, they managed to set up a small Tier 9 protection array.
"Guild leader, would you do the honor?"
"Gladly," Maximus smiled.
Taking out the core of the stronghold, he implanted it in the ground.
Soon, huge waves of Abyss aura began to rapidly merge, becoming thicker and thicker.
Thousands of his guild members looked around nervously as they saw the rapid production of Abyss monsters.
Maximus also saw Abyss Source beginning to emerge.
"Formation!" Andrew yelled.
Like instinct, they began to form a tight formation.
Emitting the same frequency of mana, they felt their power begin to amplify.
"Ready..." Andrew signaled as he raised his hand.
The others also copied his action as a huge ball of mana began to gather above.
"Attack!"
Boom!
The mana quickly changed into a fire element and bombarded a cluster of Abyss monsters.
"Pretty," Maximus nodded at their cooperation.
Soon, different giant mana manifestations were produced as they defended the stronghold methodologically.
From giant swords, frost, bind, barriers; all kinds of mana manifestations were presented.
Looking at the core of the stronghold, Maximus estimated that it would take a few days before it was fully conceived.
"Can they take it?" Skye beside him asked.
"It should be," Maximus nodded in confidence.
This is only the central layer.
After three years of preparation, he is confident that his guild members can handle it alone.
"Don't be too confident, or you'll jinx it."
"Haha, no matter how dangerous it is, there can't be a Lord-level Abyss monster appearing, right?"
Thud!
Suddenly, like a curse, a Tier 8 Lord-level Abyss monster was thrown into his face.
Maximus: -_-
Skye: ???
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