Seeing his friend's proud expression, [ Howling Pothos ] sincerely gave him a thumbs up:
"That's really impressive. If I ever have the chance to be interviewed in the future, I can help you promote your work for free."
As a former professional player, [ Howling Pothos ] believes that offering free advertising slots is the most valuable promise he can make.
But [ the Do Some Farm Work ] clearly didn't think that way. He shook his head and said in a pretentious manner:
No need, my friend.
"You have to understand that customized weapons are always the most expensive. Truly high-end products don't need any advertising; they only need word-of-mouth."
"Currently, my main job is still farming. I only accept orders for custom weapons from referrals from acquaintances, and my fees are very high."
[ Howling Pothos ] quickly understood the meaning behind the other person's words.
Due to bulk purchasing, the standard beginner weapons are currently monopolized by [ Great Prospects General Store ].
It is said that the Good Times Don't Last, and an agreement was signed with five blacksmiths from the Dragonborn Village, agreeing on a fixed monthly supply quantity. Currently, a complete industrial chain has been formed, from mining to smelting and finally to sales.
Competing with such a large-scale rival is clearly not a wise move, so [ Do Some Farm Work ] is planning to go the high-end route...
"Okay, I'll keep that in mind. I'll recommend you to anyone else who needs you."
[ On the Do Some Farm Work ] nodded, his expression suddenly becoming meaningful, and he added:
"And don't you think being a 'hidden weapons-making Master disguised as a farmer' is a pretty cool profession?"
The admiration that had just risen in [ Howling Pothos's ] heart vanished instantly.
He had realized that this person wasn't actually trying to take a sophisticated approach; he just wanted to show off in this way...
After bidding farewell to the weapons merchant who lived a life of seclusion in the city, [ Howling Pothos ] continued on to the starting point of the event and soon arrived at the Adventurers' Guild in Black Locust Town.
The person currently organizing discipline at the guild entrance is none other than Grand Knight Commander Nuolun.
The Fourteenth Knights, having completed their troop rotation, have begun a long-term garrison in Black Locust Town.
Nuolun, now the commander of the Knights, has come to understand Ed's personnel management style. "If someone is useful, use them to the fullest."
The seven people who attended the last meeting were indeed the backbone of the Second Holy See, but what Ed didn't say was that the Second Holy See was just a skeleton!
Now, she not only shoulders the responsibility of protecting this town, but also serves as the bishop of Black Locust Town and the administrator of the Adventurers' Guild. She's being tormented by the heavy workload and the winter's debuffs...
Looking at the ever-growing number of players in front of him, Nuolun spoke earnestly the words he had prepared beforehand:
"Gentlemen, the first phase of Fir City Operation is about to begin. Given our current lack of intelligence about the city, I personally recommend that stronger Soul Returner take on this mission for a better experience."
In fact, the Second Holy See was not entirely unaware of information about Fir City. To the most recent example, there were the Fallen One had just been captured by Nuolun, and further back, there was Motley, a high-ranking official in Fir City. They had all revealed a considerable amount of information related to Fir City.
However, Ed doesn't intend to reveal this information to the players. As a large-scale event primarily aimed at combat-oriented players, ensuring a certain level of surprise is crucial.
If everyone is studying a high-definition map before starting the game, the viewing experience and enjoyment will inevitably be somewhat diminished.
Another factor is Ed's own game design preferences.
To put it bluntly, he will indeed use the Fir City Operation to "raise poison," but in terms of PVP and PVE, Ed still prefers the latter.
Competition between players is an internal matter, but the Church and Knights of Fir City are true enemies.
So, although it wasn't explicitly stated, he preferred that the players unite against the Church and the Knights. As for whether anyone would choose to prioritize eliminating other players...
Ed believes that players have the freedom to decide the direction of the story, as long as they are responsible for their decisions.
With two first-clear achievements and an unparalleled level, [ Howling Pothos ] successfully secured one of the first batch of member slots.
Nuolun did not specify the maximum number of people that could be deployed at once, only stating that the first deployment would be a trial run, with a total of twenty teams being deployed.
Considering that each team has a maximum of three people, this means that a maximum of sixty people can be deployed into Fir City at once.
A game has sixty players, which sounds like a lot, but considering the actual size of Fir City, it's not that many at all.
The extremely realistic game, World of Disorder, is almost identical to the real world in terms of common length and area design. Especially before the Teleportation Tree appeared, or when there was no Teleportation Tree at the destination, players always wanted to sing " 365 Li Road " to themselves when traveling. If it weren't for the fact that traveling in World of Disorder is really hard, many people might have stayed in the starting village like people in ancient times for their entire lives.
Therefore, a group of sixty people is undoubtedly a drop of ink in the ocean for a large city with nearly several hundred thousand people. While it's broken down into smaller groups, it's hard to say what kind of waves it can create...
After tidying up his equipment one last time, [ Howling Pothos ] took a thin, long rod from Nuolun's hand.
"Excuse me, what is this?"
Several players asked in confusion, and Nuolun pointed to the Soldier Bee poised to attack beside the Adventurers' Guild:
"What I just sent to you was a 'pheromone signal stalk.' Once broken, it will emit a scent that only they can detect. Given the size of Fir City, Soldier Bee will come to meet you within half an hour of sending the signal. It's a 24-hour response time."
It turned out to be a signal flare for evacuation...
[ Howling Pothos ] originally thought the signal flare would be like the ones in real life, where you fire a shot into the sky and it creates a colored smoke trail to mark your location.
Such signal flares can certainly be made in the World of Disorder as well. The militia used to be equipped with these when defending against the Blood Corpse, but they needed to be manually ignited and launched using an elastic device, which is a generation behind reality.
However, this signal flare design is quite reasonable. Not to mention that bees are far more sensitive to smell than to sight, the mere act of marking their location with colored smoke is enough to make them a prime target for the city's defenders.
After collecting the items given by Nuolun, [ Howling Pothos ] accepted a quest to "collect information in any area".
A Soldier Bee, larger than a human, suddenly stood upright and used its middle pair of legs to hold him tightly.