--- Yet, another trouble incoming

Chris was currently on foot, on his way to Crescent Moon City in the empire's south. Although you can use a teleportation scroll purchased from any NPC shop, you must first travel to the mentioned city or any location with a save point and activate it.

It is also per person, so every single player must do that long ass traveling. You can also use some mode of transportation, but it will only get you faster than players with low agility.

In his mind, a notification rang. It was a guild notification.

[Gideon has joined the guild!]

[...has joined the guild!] x157,323

"Hm? What a badass-sounding IGN. This must be Old Bert and the people who work for the mayor and live in Glaze City secretly..."

It was the person he had been waiting for to join his guild, Orson Rio, or better known by his nickname, "Old Bert", the mayor's aide, who was soon to be his aide once he became the next mayor.

"Whoa! The lowest level was in the 90s! To think there are so many experts hiding in Glaze City. Even with these, the city was still oppressed by multiple countries, making it hella poor."

[Gideon has been appointed as Officer!]

When he saw how many people were joining his guild at the same time, he immediately appointed Orson as an officer. After all, managing that many people is too difficult for him, so letting the people cabaple do the job is preferable. No one will complain because Orson is a very trustworthy person.

"I'll let Old Bert deal with the people he brought with him. And keep an eye out for them becoming more powerful. After all, they are now my army."

Orson, or rather, Old Bert, were surprised to learn that the mysterious and legendary newbie was actually Chris. He had no idea until he joined the guild. After all, Peter was the only person he had contact with. The rest of the people who were with him were even more surprised than he was.

After seeing the guild members' salaries and benefits, the newcomers, including Old Bert, are taken aback. They are overjoyed that their new leader, in addition to being terrifyingly strong, is also extremely generous.

But then they froze on the spot when they saw the contents of the guild treasury. Tons of gold and platinum coins greeted them, as did skillbooks ranked C-A and equipment ranked B-A. Is this heaven? is what they were thinking.

Even the highest levels among them barely make 5 gold per day. And yet, there are shittons of coins here. If this isn't heaven, then they don't know anymore. Now, they are more enthusiastic and will work harder to go up the ranks in the guild.

Even if all of Gaia's riches were combined, they would never come close to this. When the rest of the world learns of this, which will happen soon thanks to a certain female veteran member, they will plot how to obtain the vast treasure that his guild possesses. Even those saints will undoubtedly act.

Chris didn't appear to mind. He will not let himself or one of his people be bullied again now that he has the ability to fight back. It wasn't arrogance either, because he knew that some people could beat him one on one, especially if they were locked in a melee fight, but that would be uncommon.

He is capable of wiping out a large number of disposable grunts. And whether those experts would be able to get close to him remained to be seen.

*******

Gilona has nine continents and numerous islands spread across its vast ocean. Each continent has at least three empires that completely dominate it and a land area of at least 500 billion square miles.

The central continent was the only exception, as it was ruled by only one power, the church. It is also the location of the septennial world summit, where world leaders mingle and discuss global issues. These discussions can sometimes have a global impact.

The largest islands have a total area of up to 500 million square miles. Some of it was ruled by kingdoms or simply countries, while others are desolate and devoid of life. There are also some islands that housed criminal organizations, the majority of which were headquartered deep underground for the sake of secrecy.

One of the world's largest criminal organizations was headquartered on an unnamed island nestled between the eastern and north eastern continents. They engage in a variety of illegal activities, ranging from drug trafficking to assassination contracts.

There are several people visible in a luxurious room filled with expensive paintings and decorations. To conceal their identities, the majority of them wear hoods and masks. A middle-aged man with scars sat in the very center. He was staring at the hologram in front of him.

"Hoho? Aren't they extremely wealthy?"

"Yes, boss. With this much, anyone will be set for life."

"Hm."

"Still, they are too arrogant! Do they think they're invincible or something?"

"Yes, Despair is quite powerful, but only if he unleashes those terrifying heavenly spells. I'm not sure how he cast it instantly, but such a spell should have a ridiculous cooldown. So, if at least three of our elites manage to pin him in melee combat, he'll be a piece of cake."

"Hmph! In terms of martial arts, he is still a novice. Is he under the impression that everyone is afraid of him?"

The people inside the luxurious room, including their boss, the scarred man in the middle, were looking at Amanda's forum post. Greed fills their eyes. Such fortunes will more than suffice to enable them to retire and abandon their illegal activities.

"Code 6, look up information on that man's guild. Concentrate on identifying the vice-leader and officers."

"Understood, boss!"

The scarred man gave the order to the masked man next to him who was good at gathering information. Then, out of nowhere, one of the men nearby inquired,

"Their vice-leader and officers? Boss, we're not going to take on that Despair?"

"Obviously, you fool! If we can, we'll stay away from him. Our losses will be reduced as a result. And those officers should at the very least have access to the guild treasury."

"""!!!"""

"Oh! I get it now!"

They were abruptly made aware of what their boss had in mind.

"Hmph! Because we're criminals, we don't have to follow the rules! Find them in Gaia and take a screenshot of them once you've determined who they are. We'll then find them in real life, kidnap and torture them until they hand over their entire fortune."

"""..."""

"Additionally, get our highly trained crowd controllers ready in case that blasted Despair shows up. I'd like to see how he will deal with our force."

"""Understood!"""

This gang of criminals was far more cunning than the greedy thugs who ambushed him just a few days before. Their tactics will almost certainly be more effective than confronting him directly. But if he shows up as expected, they'll be prepared.

They have no idea that a slew of experts have recently joined Chris' guild. His highest-ranking members are more secure than ever. Not to mention that they all live in the same city, making it difficult for strangers to enter.

He also invited the rest of his veteran members and their families to fly to the southwestern continent and live in Glaze City. Despite the city's poverty, they immediately agreed, knowing the trouble they would soon face; they couldn't care less about the city's current state because they are used to being poor to begin with, and their and their families' lives are more important.

Chris already has plans to turn the majority of the city's residents into players, so the city will be transformed as well. He intends to gradually increase its military might.

However, not only those criminal organizations have plans. All of the powerhouses were motivated to fight Chris again after seeing the forum post. And they'll be better prepared than ever before. The first challenge for his guild will arrive soon.