Chapter 331: Greedy Duke? The guards standing outside immediately recognized Liam and rushed over to him. He was a Duke of the kingdom, so they hurried over to personally welcome him. "My Lord, please let us know how we may assist you today?" The representative at the counter also rushed over, being equally courteous. The few players standing around the building all glanced at Liam, Mia, and Derek enviously. However, no matter how they tried they couldn't see any of their identities, and the trio was also ushered in quickly to a VIP area. So everyone could only stare in awe, wondering what the players' reputation was to receive such treatment. "They might be NPCs." Someone said. "Did they clear a demon rift maybe?" Someone else commented. More players were gathered here than usual because many new guilds were now being formed. Everyone was gearing up to raid the demon rifts and reap the advantages of the special event. So the crowd in the administrative building was more considerable compared to before. However, forming a guild was not an easy matter. Or rather forming a guild with a solid foundation was not an easy matter. For a guild to become top-tier or at least first-rate, a very strong sturdy foundation needed to be built. Several factors contributed to this base strength, but the guild residence was the main one. A guild residence was not a frat house. It could be, of course, treated as one and was often done so as well, at least at this stage of the game, but there were so many other hidden details. A guild with a residence would be able to recruit and employ NPCs, lease mines, establish shops and even conduct auctions. All of the guild's perks typically exponentially increased, specifically the guild quests. These quests can be cleared to get more quests of a better grade. Doing these would give more reputation points which in turn would beget more B-ranked and above quests. When the reputation of a guild reaches above a certain point, even the King had to respect the guild and treat them as a formidable ally. This was also one of the reasons why Liam decided to create a guild. He was already a Duke of this Kingdom and now if he managed to also create a guild with a huge reputation, he wondered just what sort of doors this would open for him. Could he perhaps bring an entire Kingdom under his control? This was just a fleeting thought at the moment. Nevertheless, Liam decided to explore it. The events in his last timeline were already drastically different from those happening right now. So the more power he managed to amass, the better his chances would be for survival and protecting those that mattered to him. Other people also had similar ideas though they were not as greedy as him and did not dare to aim so extravagantly. The crowd loitering around the administrative building was after something else. There were unexpected pop-up auctions of lands inside towns and cities every now and then. So people were constantly on the lookout for these auctions. If someone managed to grab this chance and set up a guild residence, even if it was a remote spot, it was one of the sure-shot ways to success. Mia turned around to look at this crowd and whispered to Liam. "Should we also start working on a way to secure some sort of guild residence?" Even though their guild was just starting and did not have the required amount of players, Mia knew the importance of planning ahead. It was all a vicious circle. One first needed a reputed guild for attracting more members, and most players would not join a no-name guild. Luckily for them, they already had a solid seed group of players. With a little work and some time, this would slowly and gradually change into a full-fledged guild group. Keeping this in mind, Mia made the necessary mental calculations and enquired. However, Liam smiled mysteriously. "No need. I already have that covered." "Oh?" Mia nodded in confusion. She already knew that Liam was a Duke so she was too surprised either. She curiously followed him, wondering how things were going to go down. The representative brought all of them over to the Chancellor's office. Inside, a middle-aged nobleman was sitting who stood upon seeing Liam. "Greetings, Lord Duke. What a pleasant surprise! How may I assist you today?" The man was neither haughty nor submissive and spoke in a polite manner. As a Court Chancellor, his position was also comparable to Liam's. "Good day, Chancellor. Ha Ha. Sorry for disturbing your busy day. We just came here for a small job." Mia's eyes widened on hearing the words 'small job' but she quietly stood to the side, following Derek's example. Both of them did not intervene in the conversation as if they just wanted to observe the master at work. However, to their surprise, Liam did not do anything special. He simply chatted with the Chancellor about the recent demon attacks. But this was just the beginning. As the conversation slowly got heated up, discussing the evil demons and eradicating the demons from their lands, Liam then suddenly brought out the main point. "This is why Chancellor, I want to set up my estate as soon as possible and convert the entire estate into a strong guild that can be a support for our Kingdom." "Yes, yes! That is a wonderful idea! You are very wise, Lord Duke! If you are willing, I can help you with that today itself." "Yes, that is great news, Chancellor! Let's get started." The two of them then started discussing the various plots available for use as if it was the next natural step. That too they were not discussing random remote lands in no-name towns or cities. They were discussing prime land near the royal capital and the trade city! The estate size was also extensive! Mia looked incredulously, unable to believe what was happening. At this point, she was already immune to Liam and the shocks he was capable of giving, but this was… a little too terrifying! And before she could digest this shock, the next surprise also came. After only a ten minute or so conversation, the Chancellor took out a lease for a 20-acre piece of land outside Yleka city as if it was nothing. Derek still had the same emotionless face as always but Mia was thoroughly stunned. She now understood the true power of titles. What slow progress? What gradual development? This was explosive growth! If they manage to get this piece of land then they could become a famous guild overnight! Players would flock to join their guild, and they could once again trend everywhere, becoming one of the top contenders in the Kingdom. No other guild had managed to obtain something like this since the beginning of the game. They would be the first! This would also help them recruit NPCs easily, the close proximity to the two main cities will help them get more quests, easy access to markets, and whatnot. Even an elegant, calm and composed person like her known as the ice goddess couldn't help but drool at these prospects. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢 For everything that they had suffered recently, this was their much deserved payback! With this, they could… "No, Chancellor. That is not what I had in mind." Liam abruptly spoke, breaking all of Mia's thoughts, and already formulated plans. She once again became dumbfounded. Who in their right mind would reject something like this?! Liam just what are you thinking? She wanted to scream loudly, unable to bear the suspense. Mia let out a deep breath and calmed herself down the next instant. She was indeed surprised, but after seeing everything, her faith in Liam was near absolute. She knew that he wouldn't do something without any reason and patiently waited. She even silently thanked her lucky stars that Alex wasn't around at the moment. Otherwise, who knew what she would have done when Liam rejected such a good offer! Just as she was thinking about this, suddenly a loud chime sounded in her interface. Alex was online again! Talk about the devil! Mia wanted to message her, but she did not want to seem rude, so she simply waited at the back, waiting for this conversation to come to an end first. Also, she was very curious to see where Liam was going to take things. He already refused the best offer so what was he going to demand now? Just like her, the Chancellor also looked at Liam with a frown on his face, narrowing his eyes. He made a very generous offer, and this Duke was refusing it. Was he getting greedy? "Do you have some other land in mind, Lord Duke?" The Chancellor asked, his tone rather solemn. The favorability that Liam had built with him was clearly decreasing, but Liam was still smiling and remained silent. "Perhaps something in the capital city itself?" The man raised his brows. And Mia immediately gasped after hearing this. This was not good! This was a trap! If Liam answered yes to this question, he would probably suffer some sort of consequences! At this point, she did not care even if she was being rude, she had to step forward and warn Liam! But the next second, Liam himself answered. "No, Sir Chancellor. You jest. Nothing like that. Those lands are a bit too high-profile for me." "The land that I am interested in is actually the plagued lands of the south."