Chapter 203 Zero Commerce Guild
In the ten years of the apocalypse, many powerful figures emerged, leaving behind legends among the survivors that might never fade.
William knew all of them, including Arthur.
Arthur was destined to become a nine-star powerhouse. Before William's rebirth, Arthur was already a top contender, with an army strong enough to control two states.
Arthur's rise began in Accraville City.
A nine-star powerhouse was the peak of human strength in the next decade. Despite the survivors' attempts to count them, the numbers were never accurate. There could be a low-key nine-star powerhouse hiding somewhere, but they were rare, likely fewer than five.
William recalled a formidable nine-star powerhouse who had once arrived by boat from the sea and made appearances in coastal cities. After a few sightings, he vanished without a trace, leaving everyone clueless about his whereabouts.
The roulette could appear anywhere, allowing humans to evolve anywhere.
But only a few people controlled the continent, and Arthur was one of them.
When William chose his base, he knew he'd run into Arthur eventually. Hearing Arthur's name now made him feel complicated.
Cloud Peak Manor, William's chosen base, was Arthur's territory in his previous life.
So, William was essentially taking over Arthur's turf. Hearing the original owner's name from his past life naturally made him feel complicated.
But besides feeling complicated, William was also excited. He wasn't just taking over Arthur's territory; he was seizing the chance to become a nine-star powerhouse himself.
Because of William, Arthur might never become a nine-star powerhouse.
In the month since his rebirth, William had already blocked the evolution paths of two future nine-star powerhouses. One was the Strongest Knife Thomas, who lost his opportunity and an arm to William. Whether Thomas was still alive was uncertain. The other was Arthur, who was about to lose his base. This ruthless villain was going to be stopped by William.
Candice and Michelle exchanged glances, a bit surprised but not too concerned. William knew the area well, so it made sense.
"This group is the one we need to watch out for. Arthur and his men are in expansion mode, trying to grab more roulettes and resources," Candice said.
William nodded. In the month since the apocalypse began, anyone with a brain knew that roulettes were resources. Whoever controlled the roulettes had the edge in evolution. The human struggle for roulettes had begun and would continue until it stabilized a few years later. Even then, most conflicts would still be over roulettes.
Candice continued, "This is the Lowe Family, a minority group with old customs. Because of this, they have high cohesion. After the apocalypse began, they took over this place. Their position is excellent, with Grand Reservoir and Grand Lake providing the best protection. They're almost impossible to invade on the island, and they can come and go as they please. So their power has developed quite well."
After Candice finished, Michelle chimed in, "We don't know much about their strength, but they're tough. Their family has hundreds of people and they're said to be great marksmen, making them fierce in battle."
William nodded. In his previous life, he didn't know about the Tech City squad or the Hungry Tiger Knight, but he did know about the Lowe Family. They were later wiped out by a beast tide. William didn't know the details since he was too busy surviving to care about already destroyed forces.
Candice continued, "Lastly, there's East Hill Village. It's the largest of the five surrounding forces, with over five thousand people. They guard a level-one roulette at the village entrance. The leader is Spencer Ross, a two-star Evolving person. He became a two-star by trading a Career Scroll with Darryl, the leader of the Hungry Tiger Knight."
"And the people of East Hill Village are peculiar. They have a lot of homemade weapons, but they're of very high quality, which surprised me. Honestly, such craftsmanship can only be achieved in an armory," Candice said, puzzled.
She couldn't comprehend what she had witnessed a few days ago, shaking her head and pondering the concealed malevolence lurking within this place prior to the apocalypse.
But William knew East Hill Village wasn't a former den of evil; they had a Craftsman. All those weapons and equipment came from this Craftsman.
Later, East Hill Village became the East Hill warband, with Spencer as the first leader. It was a strong force in the area. Even under Arthur's aggressive attacks, the East Hill warband survived well.
This was not only because Spencer was strong but also because they had a famous Craftsman, Edgar Moore. The final modification of William's green-level sniper rifle in his previous life was done by Edgar.
The East Hill warband continued to exist because of Edgar. Their overall strength remained strong, and their equipment was among the best in Accraville City. Although they weren't the strongest near Accraville City, no stronger force wanted to provoke them. Firstly, Craftsmen and Pharmacists had many "friends" driven by the interests of the apocalypse. These friends, closely related to manufacturing professions, wouldn't allow others to disrupt this chain of interests. If you messed with these manufacturing professionals, you were messing with their fundamental interests, and they would fight you to the death.
Secondly, the East Hill warband's equipment was too good. Swallowing them would come at a heavy price, and no one in the apocalypse wanted to do something with no profit.
Candice added, "Besides these five forces, there are many scattered small teams and survivor settlements around. Not many need attention, just one called the Black-clad Convoy and another called the Zero Commerce Guild, which are said to be somewhat strong."
William's eyes narrowed, repeating, "Zero Commerce Guild?"
Candice and Michelle exchanged glances again and then nodded together. William had shown no reaction to the five major forces, so why did this Zero Commerce Guild, which didn't need much attention, elicit such a strong response from him?
William took a deep breath, feeling his heart race.
He said, "I understand. You two keep watch here. I have some things to take care of."
Sporting a somber expression, he walked away, located a room, and retrieved the Sacrificial Gate. From the moment he heard about the Zero Commerce Guild, he had decided to use the Sacrificial Gate!
