A team with fewer than 50 members fended off two Level 106 Grand Lord ranked Guardian Knights while desperately trying to retreat toward the Molten Ruinâs inner corridor.
Although the team had so few members, as many as eight of them were Tier 3 experts, including the female Guardian Knight that stood 1.9 meters tall and single-handedly held her ground against the two Grand Lords. She wore black and white runic armor, carried a shield engraved with dark runes in one hand, and wielded a two-handed sword in the other.
This female Guardian Knightâs outstanding performance was the only reason that the other Tier 3 players on the team could focus on stopping the dozen or so Great Lord ranked Mechanical Puppets, allowing the rest of the team to pull back safely.
The Guardian Knight was none other than Zwei, Heavenâs Bladeâs famous commander and the very soul of the adventurer team.
Suddenly, a Level 101, Tier 3 Assassin appeared beside Zwei, reporting, âCommander, Iâve just received an offline message from Cleansing Flame. She says that she ran into Zero Wingâs Guild Leader, Black Flame. After negotiations, Black Flame stated that his price for rescuing us is one of the Tree of Lifeâs main branches.â
The team members fell silent when they heard the Assassinâs statement.
âWhat a big appetite!â a Level 102, Tier 3 Berserker snarled. âWeâre fighting so desperately to survive in the main corridor to protect the main branch, yet Zero Wing wants it in exchange for saving us? If we just give it to Zero Wing, weâll have wasted all of our efforts!â
âThatâs right! We might as well offer it to War Blood or some other superpower. At least theyâll have a better chance of saving us,â a Tier 3 Elementalist said, nodding in agreement.
The rest of the team expressed their disapproval, as well.
They had gone to great lengths to protect the main branch. There was no way theyâd hand it over to Zero Wing. If they had to give it away in exchange for their safety, theyâd be better off making a trade with a true superpower. Theyâd be far more confident of a superpower saving them than Zero Wing.
âShadow, what do you think of this?â Zwei asked the Tier 3 Assassin next to her.
When she spoke, Zweiâs voice sounded sacred, and the entire team quieted down. Everyone perked up and waited to hear their vice commanderâs opinion on the matter.
âIâm afraid that keeping the Tree of Lifeâs main branch will be too much of a challenge for us, commander, and the side branches arenât nearly attractive enough to the various superpowers. No one will offend War Blood for a few side branches,â Divine Shadow, the Tier 3 Assassin, said. âHowever, I think weâll have more options if we use the main branch as a bargaining chip.â
âWhat do you suggest we do?â Zwei asked calmly.
âWe definitely cannot allow War Blood to benefit from our work. Zero Wingâs help is negligible, as well, and we canât rely on most superpowers. Iâve just received an offline message from Thirteen Thrones. I donât know how they found out, but they know we have the Tree of Lifeâs main branch. Theyâre willing to help us. Not only will they send reinforcements to get us out of here, but theyâll also provide protection and conveniences on Dragonheart Island in the future as long as we give them the main branch,â Divine Shadow said.
No one was happy with it, but they understood Divine Shadowâs reasoning.
The Molten Ruin was extremely dangerous. Although Dragonheart Islandâs various superpowers were here to find Horned Eagle Eggs, most of them couldnât get past the ruinâs outer region. Very few superpowers were strong enough to explore the inner region. Heavenâs Bladeâs team had only managed to make it that far by relying on special means.
Although Zero Wingâs peak combatants were no weaker than those from the various superpowers, if the superpowers couldnât set foot in the inner region, Zero Wingâs experts wouldnât be able to either. Thirteen Thrones was their only reliable option now.
After listening to her vice commanderâs view, Zwei fell silent as she considered her options.
Her team waited silently for her decision, but they wouldnât hesitate to follow their commanderâs orders, regardless of what she decided.
âAlright, letâs go with your suggestion,â Zwei said.
âIâll notify Thirteen Thrones, then,â Divine Shadow said as he prepared to back out of the game.
âNotify Cleansing Flame as well. Tell her that if Zero Wing can reach us first, Heavenâs Blade will offer Zero Wing the main branch. Tell Thirteen Thrones the same thing,â Zwei said after giving the matter some thought.
âUnderstood.â Divine Shadow nodded before disappearing from the corridor.
War Blood was persistent in chasing their team in the inner corridor, and as they delved deeper into the Molten Ruin, theyâd encounter more danger. Their team could only survive for a short time. They couldnât just rely on Thirteen Thronesâ promise to save them.
Moreover, Zero Wing had done the adventurer team a favor when it had saved Cleansing Flameâs team. Outright refusing the Guild wouldnât be wise. Although Zero Wing had a slim chance of reaching their team, at least it had a chance to compete against Thirteen Thrones with equal conditions.
Once Divine Shadow had logged out, he notified Cleansing Flame and Thirteen Thronesâ representative of Zweiâs decision. Whichever Guild reached Zweiâs team first would become Heavenâs Bladeâs business partner.
Meanwhile, Shi Feng and his entourage rested in a dense forest within the Molten Canyon while they waited for Cleansing Flame to log back into Godâs Domain.
âGuild Leader Black Flame, if you can reach our commander before Thirteen Thrones, sheâll agree to your demands. I hope you can understand,â Cleansing Flame apologized after returning to the game.
Naturally, Thirteen Thrones had more members in the Molten Ruin than Zero Wing. The superpower had long since dispatched a large force of experts to the ruin to search for Homed Eagle Eggs. In fact, it had been the first Guild to send experts into the Molten Ruinâs inner region.
Ordinary expert teams had no place in the Molten Ruinâs inner region. Even with more than 20 Tier 3 experts leading its team, Thirteen Thrones had taken nearly three hours to reach the inner corridor. The monsters that guarded the path to the inner region were immensely powerful, and ordinary superpowers were utterly powerless against them. Heavenâs Bladeâs team had only reached the inner region by relying on special means.
In contrast to Thirteen Thronesâ team, which was already in the area, Zero Wingâs main force hadnât even gathered in the Molten Canyon yet. By the time the team arrived, Thirteen Thrones wouldâve secured her commanderâs team.
Shi Feng had saved her team, but Cleansing Flame knew she couldnât change her commanderâs mind. This concerned the adventurer teamâs survival, after all.
âI understand. The survival of your adventurer team comes first. Commander Zwei has made a wise decision,â Shi Feng said, chuckling. He knew what Heavenâs Blade was trying to pull. âI just want to clarify Youâre saying that if Zero Wingâs members reach your commander and rescue her first, sheâll hand us the Tree of Lifeâs main branch, right?â
âI believe thatâs the case.â The question confused Cleansing Flame a little, but she nodded after finding no flaws in Shi Fengâs statement.
âThat will make things simple,â Shi Feng said, smiling. âWould you be willing to sign a contract with Zero Wing regarding this matter?â
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âSimple?â Cleansing Flame was even more confused, but she agreed to sign the contract. Her commander had already agreed to the conditions, and there was no harm in her representing her commander and adventurer team on the contract.
Cleansing Flame and Shi Feng signed a contract while one of her subordinates reported back to Heavenâs Bladeâs commander.
âSince thatâs taken care of, letâs go,â Shi Feng said, satisfied with the contract.
âGo? Go where?â
âTo save your commander, of course,â Shi Feng said, smiling. He then took out the Thunder Eagleâs Summoning Flute and summoned the Flying Mount. A gigantic eagle with a wingspan of over 20 meters appeared above the forest with a deafening screech that echoed throughout the Molten Canyon.