Chapter 306 - The Price of Being a “Passerby”
His subordinate’s report stunned Blood Halberd.
“Do they really intend to fight to the bitter end?!” Blood Halberd’s eyes turned crimson, his current mood similar to an imminent volcanic eruption.
With the entire area sealed off, preventing the use of Return Scrolls, World Dominators had no way to escape.
The steep slopes on both sides of this area left only one line of movement available. One could only advance forward or retreat backward; there was no third option available. Right now, however, Ouroboros blocked the road back to the city, while Zero Wing blocked the road to the Silverleaf Forest.
Originally, Blood Halberd felt only contempt for Zero Wing’s attempt to launch a pincer attack on World Dominators. Now that he had personally witnessed Zero Wing’s strength, however, Blood Halberd no longer dared underestimate Zero Wing.
Whether it was Ouroboros or Zero Wing, neither of them was easy to deal with.
Blood Halberd’s current situation could be perfectly described as being stuck between a rock and a hard place. However, inaction would similarly result in World Dominators’ complete annihilation.
Originally, World Dominators had come to this place simply to aid Dark Star in delaying Ouroboros’s advance. Now, however, they had become the center of the war.
“Everyone, defensive formation!” Blood Halberd commanded after a bit of thought, not daring to delay any longer.
The members of World Dominators immediately formed a circle to repel attacks from both sides and reduce their losses. Meanwhile, Blood Halberd sent out a communication request to Lone Tyrant.
Originally, Lone Tyrant was still joyous over locating Fire Dance’s group. However, he suddenly received an urgent call from Blood Halberd.
“Vice-Leader Blood, I will definitely send over the compensation after this entire matter is dealt with. Please stop rushing me,” Lone Tyrant said, slightly annoyed.
“Compensation?” Blood Halberd’s anger boiled over when he heard this word. Originally, Dark Star was the one responsible for dealing with Zero Wing. However, World Dominators now had to handle both Zero Wing and Ouroboros, placing Blood Halberd’s Guild in such a dangerous situation. Was this something mere compensation could make up for?
“Guild Leader Tyrant, I promised to help you delay Ouroboros, not to start an all-out war with them! Now, not only have you let Zero Wing’s forces run away, you’re even making World Dominators face two Guilds at once! Meanwhile, you, Guild Leader Tyrant, only know how to utter the word ‘compensation’?! Guild Leader Tyrant, you’re good! You’re very good!” The more Blood Halberd spoke, the angrier he got. He felt that Lone Tyrant had plotted against World Dominators all this time.
First, Lone Tyrant had let them fight it out with Ouroboros. Then, he had allowed Zero Wing’s forces to escape. In order to escape, Zero Wing could only pass through the area where World Dominators and Ouroboros were fighting. In the end, Zero Wing had no choice but to start a fight with World Dominators.
With this plan, Lone Tyrant could kill three birds with one stone. Success meant that three of the top six Guilds in White River City would receive a huge blow, with Dark Star the only beneficiary of this chaos.
Lone Tyrant was certain that there was a misunderstanding the moment he heard Blood Halberd’s words. After all, he had not intentionally allowed Zero Wing to escape. Instead, the players from Zero Wing had left on their own, and they just happened to encounter World Dominators on their way back, which resulted in World Dominators suffering a pincer attack.
Everything was simply a coincidence.
As for Zero Wing’s decision to directly oppose World Dominators, any normal person would not do that.
Currently, Dark Star was in an all-out war with Zero Wing, a war that would end only when one side was completely annihilated. Just before, Black Flame had even publicly declared that he would make Dark Star pay the price of 30,000 people. So, why would they suddenly go and provoke a first-rate Guild like World Dominators?
Only a person who wished to die a quicker death or a person with brain damage would declare war simultaneously on two of the top six Guilds in White River City.
However, no matter what Lone Tyrant said now, Blood Halberd definitely would not believe him.
Hence, Lone Tyrant hurriedly said, “Vice-Leader Blood, I truly know nothing about this matter. I’ll send my army over there right away. If we execute a pincer attack, I’m sure we can wipe out Zero Wing.”
“Well, come quickly, then!” Blood Halberd shouted in rage. The more he listened to Lone Tyrant speak, the more disgusted he was with this person. Lone Tyrant had actually used World Dominators as bait! However, the priority right now was for the Guild to escape this predicament; everything else was secondary.
“Okay, I’ll have them head over immediately.” Lone Tyrant ended the call and promptly contacted his troops stationed outside the Silverleaf Forest. Of the 6,000 players there, Lone Tyrant sent 5,000 over to deal with Zero Wing, while the remaining 1,000 stayed behind to continue blocking the exits of the Silverleaf Forest.
However, as time slowly passed, World Dominators’ situation turned grimmer and grimmer.
Zero Wing’s 3,000 elites were incredibly zealous. After several consecutive charges, although Zero Wing lost several hundred of their members, World Dominators lost at least three to four times that number. Not to mention, Ouroboros was also madly assaulting them on the other side.
After gathering up his courage, one of the team leaders of the elite teams, Lonely, walked up to Blood Halberd and asked in a soft tone, “Guild Leader! If this situation continues, we’ll definitely be finished! Are the reinforcements from Dark Star not here yet?”
If the elite members of World Dominators were to lose two or three Levels—in addition to most of the weapons and equipment on their bodies—World Dominators would definitely not be able to compete for White River City any longer.
“I know that! But they still need around 10 minutes before they can arrive!” At this moment, Blood Halberd’s heart was bleeding in pain. However, he was helpless in this situation—unless of course Zero Wing or Ouroboros showed mercy and let them go.
Blood Halberd’s eyes shone when this thought occurred to him. He was not out of options yet. World Dominators and Ouroboros were bitter enemies, so it was obviously impossible to ask Ouroboros to show mercy. However, there was a slight possibility of success with Zero Wing. After all, World Dominators had never come into direct conflict with Zero Wing before. Also, Zero Wing’s main enemy was Dark Star, while World Dominators was simply a “passerby” in this matter.
Hence, Blood Halberd immediately tried to contact Shi Feng.
“Vice-Leader Halberd, to what do I owe this pleasure?” Shi Feng asked, a smile on his face. When he received Blood Halberd’s call, he had chosen to accept it right away.
“Guild Leader Black Flame, the war between our Guilds is just a misunderstanding. World Dominators has a feud only with Ouroboros. We came here simply to fight Ouroboros, and we truly never intended to fight your Guild. In regard to the losses and inconvenience caused to your Guild, I can compensate you on behalf of World Dominators. As long as Zero Wing stops attacking us right now, I will immediately have our Guild’s finance department send over one million Credits to serve as compensation.
“What do you think, Guild Leader Black Flame?”
Although Blood Halberd had tried to speak casually, he could not completely hide the panic in his tone. After all, at least one elite member of World Dominators was dying with each passing second.
One million Credits.
In past virtual reality games, even well-known Gaming Workshops needed a month’s time to earn such a sum. Hence, Blood Halberd’s offer of one million clearly showed his sincerity.
“So it was all a misunderstanding!” Shi Feng acted as if he had come to a sudden realization, letting Blood Halberd feel a hint of hope. However, before Blood Halberd could even feel joy, Shi Feng’s tone changed abruptly as he said, “I am moved by Vice-Leader Halberd’s generosity. Sadly, one of my shortcomings as a person is that I am extremely headstrong. Since it is a misunderstanding, let us just continue this misunderstanding, then.”
“You’re making an enemy out of World Dominators! Aren’t you afraid of our retaliation?!” Blood Halberd screamed in anger.
“Vice-Leader Halberd, what’s there to get angry about? The moment we started playing this game, we were bound to meet with some trouble. If you aren’t even prepared to suffer such a small setback, I think it is better for you to retire sooner rather than later. Although World Dominators is only playing the role of a passerby in Dark Star’s plan this time, by provoking Zero Wing, you also have to pay a terrible price.” Shi Feng chuckled. “However, don’t you worry. Dark Star will soon be joining you all.”
After Shi Feng disconnected the call, he then contacted Aqua Rose, saying, “No need to be polite. Leave none of them alive. Show everyone the consequences for those who dare to be a ‘passerby’ and have thoughts about Zero Wing!”