Lu Xingluo's words made Melancholy frown for a moment.

"What are you trying to say, Guild Leader Lu?" Melancholy asked coldly.

He had long since known about the feud between Starlink and Zero Wing. However, as a Guild Leader, he had to prioritize profits above all. There were no eternal enemies, only eternal profits, which was also why he had invited s.h.i.+ Feng over for a negotiation.

Not only did s.h.i.+ Feng himself possess the ability to summon the powerful Thunder Eagle, but Zero Wing's Combat Puppets and Tanks were also very suitable for siege battles.

The matter regarding the Gravity Mountain Range's fortress was of utmost importance. Although Thirteen Thrones and Starlink already had an 80% chance of securing the fortress they were aiming for, having a little more insurance would never hurt.

Melancholy had never imagined that Lu Xingluo would throw a tantrum over such an important matter.

If not for the great personage backing Lu Xingluo, as well as Starlink indeed having the strength to deal with the monsters inside the fortress and its territory being very far away from Thirteen Thrones' territory, Melancholy wouldn't have bothered cooperating with Lu Xingluo at all.

"A thousand Ancient Gold should be more than enough. After all, Zero Wing will only play the role of a spectator. Countless other Guilds would be willing to accept 1,000 Ancient Gold to take on such a role," Lu Xingluo said, chuckling as he glanced at s.h.i.+ Feng. "Don't you think so as well, Guild Leader Black Flame?"

"You..." Happy Art, who stood at a corner of the room, could not help gnas.h.i.+ng her teeth in anger at Lu Xingluo's words.

s.h.i.+ Feng was her Guild Leader's guest, yet Lu Xingluo was speaking as if he was the one presiding over this business transaction. He was showing Thirteen Thrones no respect whatsoever.

She had personally witnessed s.h.i.+ Feng's strength. The Thunder Eagle's combat power would definitely increase Thirteen Thrones' chances of securing the fortress in the Gravity Mountain Range. Moreover, she knew what kind of remuneration Samsara had paid s.h.i.+ Feng. That was several dozen bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid they were talking about, something one could not buy even if they had the money to do so.

Although an individual's combat power would indeed have a limited effect in a siege battle, if it became public that Thirteen Thrones was offering to hire s.h.i.+ Feng at a price lower than Samsara's, Thirteen Thrones would definitely be the b.u.t.t of everyone's jokes.

However, before Happy Art could say anything, s.h.i.+ Feng preempted her, smiling and saying, "What Guild Leader Lu said is indeed correct. It would be very wonderful if a Guild could receive 1,000 Ancient Gold just for spectating. Only, I wonder how much a Guild that can't even beat a spectating Guild should receive?"

s.h.i.+ Feng was well aware of Melancholy's habit of developing partners. Meanwhile, it was quite obvious that Lu Xingluo had grasped this point as well.

If Zero Wing partnered up with Thirteen Thrones this time, the relations.h.i.+p between the two Guilds would undoubtedly become stronger.

Meanwhile, Thirteen Thrones was an existence far above super-first-rate Guilds like the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul. If Zero Wing received Thirteen Thrones' support, Starlink would definitely have plenty of trouble dealing with Zero Wing in the future.

Knowing this, Lu Xingluo naturally couldn't allow the partners.h.i.+p between Zero Wing and Thirteen Thrones to succeed, even if it meant earning Melancholy's dislike. Not to mention, Melancholy's goal was profits. The man wouldn't dismiss Thirteen Thrones' partners.h.i.+p with Starlink just because of a little dislike.

Hence, s.h.i.+ Feng couldn't allow Lu Xingluo to have his way.

Moreover, securing a Shop in Dragonheart City was a great temptation. Although the value of Dragonheart City's Shops was nowhere close to the value of the Gravity Mountain Range's fortresses, the Shops were still one of the main avenues of earning Ancient Gold.

However, Zero Wing would need a lot of time to collect enough Ancient Gold to purchase a Shop in Dragonheart City. During this period, Zero Wing would lose out on many opportunities. If it could receive some startup funds from Thirteen Thrones, earning Ancient Gold would become much easier later on.

Upon hearing s.h.i.+ Feng's words, Happy Art silently snickered.

The feud between Starlink and Zero Wing was already common knowledge among the various superpowers.

Meanwhile, Starlink had suffered not only failure in its multiple attempts to destroy Zero Wing but even significant losses.

"Black Flame!" Lu Xingluo burst out in rage at s.h.i.+ Feng's words. "Don't think that you're amazing just because you managed to protect your turtle sh.e.l.l! Attacking a fortress requires absolute strength! It is not something that can be accomplished with your little tricks! You think your Guild is amazing, right? Why don't we have a true comparison of our Guilds? I won't take advantage of your lack of numbers, either. We'll each send 10,000 players to fight it out in the Divine Colosseum!

"If Zero Wing wins, I will no longer doubt Zero Wing's strength and will admit that Zero Wing is qualified to receive that 10,000 Ancient Gold. If Zero Wing loses, then obediently take your spectator fees!

"We'll have Guild Leader Melancholy preside over this match. How about it? Do you dare accept this challenge?"

Happy Art could not help but curse Lu Xingluo for his shamelessness.

Zero Wing had just recently stepped onto the path of becoming a superpower. The quant.i.ty and quality of experts Zero Wing possessed were still far from comparable to what an actual superpower like Starlink had. Moreover, at this stage of the game, expert players had long since gotten used to the combat style of G.o.d's Domain. Everyone's equipment was also continuously improving. Now, it was very difficult for anyone to have an edge in terms of equipment quality.

It might be fine if the compet.i.tion this time was only a 100-versus-100 match. In such a case, Zero Wing would still have a chance of victory.

However, in a battle involving 20,000 players, Zero Wing wouldn't even have enough expert players to fill its slots. In contrast, Starlink had a bunch of old monsters and peak experts under its command.

It seems he is still too young, Melancholy thought as he turned to look at s.h.i.+ Feng. However, he did not address Lu Xingluo's words.

This was because what Lu Xingluo said was indeed true. Being on the defensive side of a siege battle held a completely different meaning to being on the offensive side. It was much easier to defend a fortified location. Generally, the one on the offensive side had to pay a much higher price than the defensive side to achieve victory.

Although Zero Wing could indeed repulse Starlink's forces, its actual strength was still far from comparable to Starlink's.

In Melancholy's opinion, s.h.i.+ Feng's provocation of Lu Xingluo now was a very unwise move. Otherwise, Lu Xingluo wouldn't have had the opportunity to take advantage of Zero Wing's weakness.

As for the matter of partnering up with Zero Wing, it was obviously no longer possible this time. After all, if Melancholy allowed Zero Wing to fight Starlink, Thirteen Thrones' reputation would only suffer. Nevertheless, after all was said and done, Black Flame was his invited guest. He had no choice but to smooth things over and have Black Flame take a step back in this struggle.

However, just as Melancholy was about to speak up, s.h.i.+ Feng looked at Lu Xingluo and replied calmly, "Whether Zero Wing is qualified or not is not up to you to decide, Guild Leader Lu. Moreover, you're not fit to do so, either. Since Guild Leader Lu wishes for a fight, let's just fight. Only, I wonder, what do you plan to do if you lose, Guild Leader Lu?"

Is he insane? Surprise flashed across Melancholy's face when he heard s.h.i.+ Feng's reply.

At this point, Starlink's strength was already close to rivaling that of Super Guilds. Moreover, the Guild's background was one that even Thirteen Thrones would not dare to take lightly.

Meanwhile, Zero Wing was currently in the limelight of G.o.d's Domain and had recruited many talented people from the Dark Night Empire and various other kingdoms. A defeat at Starlink's hands would wash all of the reputation it had acc.u.mulated before down the drain. In the aftermath, the loss of this compet.i.tion might even bring about Zero Wing's thorough demise.

"I'm not fit?" Lu Xingluo laughed at s.h.i.+ Feng's reply. "If I lose, I'll give you 10,000 Ancient Gold! Three days! Don't say that I didn't give you time to gather your men. In three days, we'll fight it out in Dark Night City!"

"Good! We'll fight in Dark Night City in three days!" s.h.i.+ Feng nodded.

Following which, s.h.i.+ Feng said his goodbyes to Melancholy before leaving the room. He then returned to Zero Wing's main headquarters in White River City.

Before s.h.i.+ Feng had acquired a Flying Mount, he indeed had not possessed the confidence to fight Starlink in a frontal confrontation. However, the situation was different now that he had a Flying Mount. With the Thunder Eagle, he could now visit distant locations that he originally couldn't.

Three days was more than enough for Zero Wing's strength to undergo a qualitative transformation!