As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking in the cavern, every member of Blade of the Firmament froze on the spot.
It wasn't just Yu Luo and the others looking at Shi Feng with bewildered expressions—even Fan Muran, who had brought Shi Feng here, wore a stunned look on her face.
The passage into the ruins' inner zone was extraordinarily dangerous. Even those superpowers that brought hundreds of core members inside couldn't be sure they'd make it through, and any superpower team that did succeed could call it nothing short of luck.
Fan Muran had assumed Shi Feng must have contacted the Zero Wing team already operating in the ruins, but she never expected that he intended to plunge into the inner zone with just four people. It was sheer madness.
"Guild Master Black Flame, do you have any idea how dangerous that passage is?" Yu Luo did her best to keep her composure, her gaze fixed seriously on Shi Feng. "Forget the four of you—even with the four hundred core members those superpowers currently have, the odds of making it through are less than fifty percent. If it's just the four of you going in, then I'm afraid we'll have to decline."
If it weren't for the fact that Shi Feng and his group had saved Fan Muran, she probably would have erupted on the spot.
Their original timetable was already tight. When they heard that Zero Wing was willing to rescue their team leader, they had taken considerable risks to rush here, losing dozens of members along the way. Yet Shi Feng was planning to take just three people on a rescue mission. Did he truly think the Molten Fire Ruins were his own backyard, where he could come and go as he pleased?
"If Captain Yu Luo doesn't want to go, that's a real shame. Ke Le, get ready—we're going in." Shi Feng was entirely unfazed and immediately assigned Ke Le to lead the way.
"Yes!"
Ke Le lit up with delight the moment he heard this and headed straight for the passage without a second word, while Banjiu and Jian Ying followed behind with resigned expressions.
The actions of Shi Feng and his group dumbfounded every member of Blade of the Firmament present.
They hadn't expected Shi Feng and his three companions to be completely serious—they really weren't joking.
"Yu Luo, you've gone too far. Guild Master Black Flame and his people want to enter the inner zone precisely to rescue our team leader and the others," Fan Muran hastily said, seeing the anger building in Yu Luo's eyes. "Besides, Guild Master Black Flame and his group just arrived at the Molten Fire Ruins. They don't know much about the place, let alone the passage to the inner zone."
A falling-out between the two sides would benefit no one.
Moreover, the sooner Yu Luo could reinforce their team leader, the better—and the more people, the better, especially a Tier-3 powerhouse like Shi Feng. Now that things had reached this point, Shi Feng and his group would certainly not go with Yu Luo.
"I understand what you're saying, but you should know as well that four people stand absolutely no chance. Rather than wasting time, we should think of other approaches." Yu Luo glanced at the departing Shi Feng and his companions with a dismissive snort. "And I know a thing or two about this Black Flame. Back when he relied on his Tier-3 class to bully every superpower around—none of them could touch him, and he could swagger across level-100 neutral maps without a care. Even that Can Guang Ru Xue gives him a wide berth to this day. But times have changed now. Which superpower doesn't have Tier-3 classes? Yet not a single one has managed to crack the inner zone passage."
"Since they want to try their luck, it's actually perfect—let them see what the inner zone passage is really like. Once they hit a wall, they'll understand why cooperation with us is necessary. Otherwise, if we enter the far more dangerous inner zone and still have to rely on their four-person squad, forget about reinforcing our team leader—we'd be lucky if they didn't drag us all down."
She did acknowledge Shi Feng's Tier-3 strength, but this was the Molten Fire Ruins—utterly incomparable to those level-100 neutral maps in the outside world.
If Shi Feng had brought a large contingent of Zero Wing's core members, that would be one thing. Zero Wing would be investing significant manpower, and it would make sense to let them take the lead. But it was clear that Shi Feng and his group intended to go with just four people, so there was no way she was going to follow their lead.
Their team leader and the others had entered the inner zone when War Blood hadn't yet sealed off the entire Molten Fire Grand Canyon, which meant Yu Luo possessed a great deal of intelligence on the passage and the inner corridors. Letting Shi Feng bumble his way through on his own was nothing but a fantasy.
"Fine. You stay here with your people—I'll go guide them." Fan Muran sighed. Yu Luo's reasoning wasn't wrong, but Shi Feng and his group were the ones she had invited to help rescue their team leader. She couldn't let Zero Wing suffer any damage. With that, she followed Shi Feng toward the passage.
"Murán is just too soft-hearted," Yu Luo muttered helplessly at Fan Muran's decision. "If we don't let these four from Zero Wing hit a wall first, how are they ever going to fall in line?" She then turned to her vice captain. "Go contact the surrounding superpowers. Tell them Blade of the Firmament can provide detailed information about the passage and is open to cooperative entry into the inner zone corridors."
She had already given up on Zero Wing's four-man squad. The only viable option now was to partner with the other superpowers and force their way in together. That way, she could also show Shi Feng just how laughable their four-person rescue really was.
On Yu Luo's orders, the two vice captains set off immediately, approaching the various superpower teams to seek cooperation.
Meanwhile, at the passage entrance on the other side, a team of several hundred had just stumbled out in disarray.
"No way—even the Fire Hammer Expedition couldn't make it?!"