Chapter 169 - Union of Assassins

In the previous timeline, the Union of Assassins was an organization of professional players established by several famous figures. Its area of operations covered the Viridian and Satreen Empires. Its members included six Shadow Dancers, eight Guardian Paladins, eight Dark Berserkers, five Magisters, and more. It was fairly large with over 6,000 members, almost all of whom were elite experts. The members of the union ranged from guild leaders and top-ranking figures from major guilds to even solo players. Both enemies or allies ended up joining. As long as a player met the requirements of the Union, they were more than welcome.

The Union of Assassins was much more flexible than a guild. It wasn’t created to struggle for power in the game but as an additional source of income for professional players. Members could become an agent or a client. Anyone could become an agent, provided they accumulated 60,000 points and paid a membership fee. Agents who were more valuable to the union, like a Great Thief or Shadow Dancer, were eligible for a fixed salary. Of course, that meant they had to accept a mission at least every other week.

As for clients, they issued requests for the agents to complete. Requests could only be issued after putting down a security deposit, which corresponded with the quality of agents available for that request. If a client paid a large enough security deposit, they could even get Shadow Dancers, Guardian Paladins, or other equally powerful players to throw their lives away for them. Clients were differentiated by order of nobility: baron, viscount, earl, marquis, and duke.

In the Union of Assassins’ heyday, receiving the lowest ranking title of baron required a person to donate at least several tens of thousands of yuan. The amount required to receive the highest ranking title, duke, was simply unimaginable. Because at that rank, the client would be able to commission the likes of Shadow Dancers. The Union of Assassins accepted both real life money and in-game gold as forms of payment.

An entity like the Union of Assassins would inevitably appear again in the future. So why not take advantage of the situation and establish such a powerful organization for himself?

For operations to run smoothly, the Union of Assassins had to be flexible. Even if an enemy wished to join as a client or agent, they couldn’t be refused. It was important to preserve the neutrality of the union, along with the ideal of absolute fairness. No restrictions could be placed on agents or clients. They were completely free to issue and accept requests according to their desires. However, the two parties would never be allowed direct contact, ensuring that the union would be acting as the intermediary in all transactions. This would make sure that the Union always received its share of the earnings.

After some consideration, Nie Yan realized such a grand undertaking would require the coordination of multiple people. Furthermore, these individuals had to have very high prestige among the professional gaming circle! He absolutely couldn’t accomplish it by himself. His network of contacts was far from being adequate.

The only suitable candidates that came to mind were Sleepy Fox and Kill Love. He needed professional players of at least their statuses to make it succeed. In the future, the Union of Assassins would inevitably become a giant money-making machine. If Sleepy Fox and Kill Love agreed to help, they would want a share of those profits. Just thinking about the money he’d have to give up made his heart ache. However, without the cooperation of those two, it was impossible for him to properly establish the union.

He weighed the issue in his mind. If he established the Union of Assassins, he would have full administrator control of all its affairs. He could kick anyone, grant the highest authority, and so on. No one else would have that power. Even if Sleepy Fox and Kill Love took a share of the profits, he wouldn’t be losing out on much. In fact, he could even exploit this relationship to bind them closer to him. With that settled in his mind, Nie Yan got to work on establishing the Union of Assassins right away.

The first thing he did was to create a dedicated chat server.

Name: Union of Assassin

Purpose: Connecting clients with requests to professional players.

Leader: Anonymous

Prince: Currently vacant, possesses administrative privileges (5 Max)

He divided membership into clients and agents and created ranks based on the order of feudal nobility, exactly like the previous Union. Once he finished these initial tasks, he sent out invites to Sleepy Fox and Kill Love. Sleepy Fox was levelling in the wilderness when he suddenly received a notification.

Nirvana Flame has invited you to join Union of Assassins (Special Server). Do you accept?

He was quite puzzled at the sudden invite.

Just what in the world is he doing now?

Nevertheless, he still pressed confirm and entered the server. In another place, Kill Love received the same notification and also accepted.

Inside the server, three players joined the chat.

Sleepy Fox:「

Nirvana Flame, what’s this about?

」

Kill Love :「

Huh?

」

Nie Yan faintly smiled, then replied,「

You’ll know when you read the description.

」

With a doubtful gaze, Sleepy Fox read the server’s information. After only going through a small section, the Union of Assassins’ objective and rules, he soon understood what kind of organization it was.

「

It’s a good idea,

」Kill Love praised.

「

Not bad...

」Sleepy Fox nodded in approval.

「

Right, so you guys should start recruiting,

」Nie Yan said. He assigned Sleepy Fox and Kill Love the role of prince.

Sleepy Fox pondered for a moment before asking,「

If this union starts generating profit, how are we going to divide it?

」Based on his insight, he could tell with a glance just how much influence the Union of Assassins would eventually have and how much revenue it could potentially generate.

Kill Love:「

I’m wondering about that too.

」

「

Make a suggestion,

」Nie Yan answered. He had already registered the Union of Assassins’ symbol, but if Sleepy Fox and Kill Love decided they wanted to withdraw and establish a similar organization of their own together, there was nothing he could really do about it. However, he was confident the two would weigh the risks and benefits. Surely, it was better to stand united than to fall divided.

「

Both Kill Love and I get 20% each. How does that sound?

」Sleepy Fox offered, trying to test the waters.

The organization was established by Nie Yan, who invited him to join out of trust. He didn’t feel good asking for too much. More importantly, he still wasn’t clear on how deep Nie Yan’s connections went. His mysterious background always acted as a source of deterrence. Back when Holy Empire was struggling to do Agmota Muddy Wetlands on Easy and Normal, the team behind Nie Yan had already cleared it on Specialist. His speculation led to a beautiful misunderstanding at the time.

「

You and Kill Love get 15% each. Choose a suitable candidate to become a prince, and they’ll get 10%. As for how the shares are divided, you guys will have to keep that confidential. Within the server, you’ll have to hide your names!

」Nie Yan said. Having three big shots in the same place would make sure they would keep each other in check. Eventually, in the future, he could take advantage of the immense benefits from the Union of Assassins to restrict them. If a power decided to withdraw, it wouldn’t have much of a negative impact on the organization.

Nie Yan already set down the rules for the Union of Assassins. He could see the names of everyone in the organization. The princes would be able to see the names of all members below them but not each other. Everyone else would remain anonymous to each other. Nie Yan invited Tang Yao and Guo Huai to the server and quickly set their names to hidden. Including these two, the Union of Assassins would have a total of five princes. Sleepy Fox and Kill Love wanted to know the identities of the two new princes.

「

Who are they?

」

「

That’s a secret,

」Nie Yan replied. He had especially reminded Guo Huai and Tang Yao not to reveal their identities on the server. Sleepy Fox and Kill Love stopped asking about the other two princes. Nie Yan clearly didn’t want to reveal that information, and they didn’t feel good about pushing for an answer.

「

I think we can get Fa Lan to join,

」Sleepy Fox suggested. That old man from Sapphire Shrine was an influential figure. His deep network of contacts would be beneficial for the organization’s growth. The person being recruited would have to at least be worth the 10% they were given.

「

I think so too.

」Kill Love nodded.

「

I guess it’s decided then, Fa Lan it is,

」Nie Yan said. Sapphire Shrine’s might indeed couldn’t be overlooked, especially when they were likely to produce three Magisters in the future. They were an ultimate trump card. Fa Lan was sent an invitation for the Union of Assassins, and he joined the server shortly after. After finding out what the union was all about, he praised them for their creativity. He had great expectations for the future growth of the Union of Assassins.

In the previous timeline, the leader of the Union of Assassins’ identity always remained a riddle. The mysterious figure had never divulged his name. Nie Yan decided to follow that example and also keep his identity a secret. Anonymity brought along many advantages, the most important one was avoiding unnecessary trouble. According to the rules of the union, all princes would have to invite a certain number of agents and clients. Sleepy Fox, Kill Love, and Fa Lan all began recruiting people. Under Nie Yan’s urging, Guo Huai also began sending out invites to various well-known individuals. One after the other, professional players continuously joined the Union of Assassins.

The chat server rapidly filled up with people. Among them was no lack of famous players. Initially, they were all confused by the invitation, but they quickly figured out what the purpose of the organization was, followed by a steady stream of praise being issued out. If the Union of Assassins became successful, it would be a huge boon for them. They would get plenty of work without having to look all over for clients themselves.

Sleepy Fox, Kill Love, and the others were well aware that if the Union of Assassins gained a foothold, it would be far more profitable than them starting a gaming organization to accept requests on players’ behalf or selling equipment. So they used all of their influence to pull players in. The Union of Assassins’ clientele also began growing.

In less than an hour, the number of agents in the Union of Assassins reached over 600, and there were over 100 clients. The first set of requests were placed on the server. They consisted of helping players on quests, killing boss monsters, and so on. If a person wanted a famous player to help them level, the amount of money they needed to pay was quite considerable. If a client made a request, they would have to deposit the money in the Union of Assassins’ bank account. When the request was fulfilled and the client was satisfied, the money would be given to the agent. It was equivalent to an online service platform. By fulfilling many requests and earning money for the union, an agent would be able rise up through the ranks and take on more lucrative tasks.

In a short while, the server was bustling with activity. With Sleepy Fox and the others supervising, Nie Yan could simply sit back and relax. Though this was only the beginning, they already recruited so many members. As the business expanded, with its reputation growing accordingly, so would the number of people joining. When the Union of Assassins was fully developed, that was the time they would be able to swim in piles and piles of gold. Its prospects were very bright.

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