Now that these four families were in a weaker state, they could only put their hopes in Zhao Fu. As such, they all rushed to Zhao Fu to discuss how they could resist Great Shun now.
Zhao Fu had also been thinking about this, and now that Great Shun had allied with two other families and suppressed the others, his plan had completely failed.
He had never thought that two families would betray them right after the partnership was formed. It seemed that there was no absolute loyalty in this world as long as the benefits for betrayal were high enough.
Zhao Fu engraved this matter into his heart. However, he didn’t have any solutions, nor could he drag those two families back. As such, he could only think for now.
“Young master Zhu, what do you think we should do?” The four family leaders looked towards Zhao Fu and seemed incredibly troubled. They referred to him as ‘Young master Zhu,’ as Zhao Fu had made them think that he was Great Ming’s Legatee – after all, everyone knew that Great Ming had enmity with Great Shun, so Zhao Fu had told them that he was surnamed Zhu to cover up the truth and increase their trust in him.
Now that they had the Legatee of a Dynasty supporting them, the four families felt much more confident. After all, Great Shun had the Legacy of a Dynasty but only had two families supporting it.
Facing their gazes, Zhao Fu could only take a step back and make some sacrifices – he discussed establishing a player faction in Green Apricot. This faction wasn’t for development or to obtain gains but to make trouble for Great Shun and restrict its development. This required the four families to give a lot of assistance, or the pressure on Zhao Fu would be quite great.
The four families were satisfied with what Zhao Fu had suggested, and they smiled and agreed before leaving.
Afterward, Zhao Fu established this faction, and with the support of the four families, they were able to suppress Great Shun’s momentum once again.
Zhao Fu didn’t bother to choose good people for the faction; most were rogues and hoodlums who used all sorts of shameless methods. The main goal was to make trouble for Great Shun, and their actions restricted Great Shun’s growth by about a fifth.
This was all they could do for now, and because Zhao Fu’s primary goal was for Great Qin to grow, he couldn’t expend too many resources fighting with the School of Vertical and Horizontal standing behind Great Shun. If that happened, Great Qin would be dragged down too much, which simply wasn’t worth it.
On the face of it, it seemed like Zhao Fu had won, but in a way, Zhao Fu had lost because his initial plan had failed. However, he had to take a step back out of consideration for the grand scheme of things.
Right now, Great Shun had 30,000 subjects and a player faction with 30,000 players. Only when Zhao Fu had 40,000 soldiers and at least 5,000 Stage 1 soldiers would he be able to devour Great Shun. Great Qin still needed time, or else…
“Hmph!” Whenever Zhao Fu thought about the School of Vertical and Horizontal, he couldn’t help but coldly harrumph. Once Great Qin grew, no matter if it was the School of Vertical and Horizontal or the entirety of the Hundred Schools of Thought, anyone who didn’t submit would be wiped from history.
That was the end of matters in Green Apricot for now.
After returning to the Great Qin Town, Zhao Fu found that Ge Nia had also returned from Battle City. After coming to Zhao Fu, Zhao Fu immediately saw that Ge Nia’s cultivation had broken through to Stage 1.
“Your Majesty, I have something to report.”
Zhao Fu was quite surprised and curiously asked, “What is it?”
Following this, Ge Nia reported to Zhao Fu. After listening to everything, Zhao Fu became delighted. Ge Nia had become a Gold token fighter in the Arena, and there weren’t many of them in all of Battle City, only 30 or so. All of them were Stage 2 experts.
It was incredibly rare for anyone to become a Gold token fighter with just a Stage 1 cultivation, so Ge Nia was lauded as the Gold token fighter with the greatest potential. The status of a Gold token fighter was even better than a Baron in Battle City, and anyone with such a status would be respected wherever he or she went. In fact, a Gold token fighter could even apply to be a Battalion Chief and lead 300 Stage 1 soldiers.
Even though 300 Stage 1 soldiers weren’t that attractive to Zhao Fu, any normal player would be desperate for them. Right now, most normal players’ cultivations were at Stage 0-4 or 0-5, and dying would result in their cultivation falling to 0. As such, there were many people only at Stage 0-1 to Stage 0-2.
Right now, anyone who had 300 Stage 1 soldiers could completely bully other normal players and do as he or she wished!
Zhao Fu wasn’t very excited about the 300 Stage 1 soldiers; rather, he was excited that Ge Nia had the opportunity to fight for the position of City Lord!
Battle City’s City Lord was over 60 years old, and he was growing weaker. He had said that he would nurture the next City Lord out of the Gold token fighters.
If Ge Nia could become the City Lord of Battle City, Zhao Fu would essentially obtain a main city for free, which made him ecstatic with joy.
A main city had incredible value, and it was worth it to spend a massive amount of time, money, and effort to obtain this city. If Ge Nia could become a City Lord, he would be able to give Zhao Fu a lot of help; as such, Zhao Fu decided to help Ge Nia establish a faction in Battle City.
This would eliminate any obstructions in the future and help pave the road for Ge Nia to become the City Lord. Moreover, even if Ge Nia was unable to become the City Lord, with Ge Nia inside and Zhao Fu outside, they would be able to conquer Battle City together.
Zhao Fu told Ge Nia his plans, and as for creating the faction, Zhao Fu wouldn’t be managing it. He would only be providing a large sum of money. Of course, they needed some management figures, as Ge Nia wasn’t skilled in such areas. Zhao Fu and Ge Nia went to Battle City and was about to take care of some matters when suddenly a voice said, “Long time no see, Zhao Xin!”
This voice sounded quite familiar, and Zhao Fu turned to see a handsome young man riding a donkey with a smile on his face – it was Zhang Heng!
When he saw Zhang Heng, Zhao Fu was quite wary – it seemed that fate really had brought them together again. However, how was he able to recognize him instantly?
Facing Zhang Heng, Zhao Fu said in an amicable tone, “I’m pleasantly surprised to meet you here.”
Zhang Heng walked right over to Zhao Fu, treating him not as an outsider but as an old friend as he replied, “This proves that we’re tied together by fate. Thanks for your directions last time; how about I treat you to some wine as thanks?”
Zhao Fu wanted to refuse because he felt Zhang Heng’s dangerous aura and thought that he had ulterior motives. However, at that moment, Zhang Heng suddenly looked over and said, “Ah, brother Sword Demon is here as well; perhaps I have a way to help you with your matter!”
Those words greatly surprised Zhao Fu, and after thinking about it, he decided to agree and see what Zhang Heng wanted.
Following this, Zhao Fu went with Zhang Heng to a restaurant, and Zhang Heng looked quite ravenous as he smiled and said, “Brother Zhao, this restaurant’s dishes are superb; I’ll treat you to some today.”
Zhao Fu lightly laughed and followed Zhang Heng into the restaurant. Just as Zhao Fu walked in, the waitress’s movements all paused as they looked at him – after all, this was one of Zhao Fu’s restaurants.