Dark Night Empire, Dark Night City.
Star Ring's outpost, which should have been bustling with activity and vibrant life, had fallen deathly silent.
Elite experts from Star Ring surrounded the manor at the outpost's entrance, several of them third-tier Class experts standing guard. Outsiders wouldn't stand a chance of getting inside the manor, and even experts from the guild itself couldn't take a single step past its threshold. The security was stricter than anything anyone had ever seen.
Inside Star Ring's manor, only three people remained — Lu Xingluo, Nine Dragons Emperor, and a mysterious figure cloaked in a black hood, their entire body shrouded in dark mist, making it impossible to discern their gender or appearance.
Nine Dragons Emperor bore no resentment whatsoever toward this completely anonymous person. If anything, he was filled with shock and astonishment.
That was because Lu Xingluo, who by all rights should have been the most important person in the room, deferred to this mysterious figure above all else.
Who was Lu Xingluo?
He was the president of Star Ring — the man who had guided Star Ring into a superpower spanning two continents. On the surface, they couldn't compare to those mega-guilds, but in terms of potential, some of those mega-guilds honestly couldn't hold a candle to Star Ring.
And yet now Lu Xingluo was taking orders from another person. It was almost inconceivable.
"Everything has been settled. You don't have any problems on your end, do you?" Lu Xingluo asked, turning to Nine Dragons Emperor.
"Absolutely no problems. Those people should have arrived at Stone Forest City by now. The moment we coordinate with the allied armies of the other superpowers and launch our assault on Stone Forest City, they'll strike the City Lord's Manor with everything they have. That way, we'll seize the initiative among all the major superpowers." Nine Dragons Emperor's tone was brimming with certainty.
To take Stone Forest City — so he could once again go head-to-head with Feng Qianyu, and even defeat her to become the new Grand Master of the Dragon and Phoenix Pavilion — he had invested a staggering amount. He had even made enormous concessions to the dark forces within the Black Dragon Empire. That was how he had managed to assemble nearly a hundred third-tier experts.
These third-tier experts had been carefully selected. There was absolutely no way anyone could trace them back to him or the other superpowers. That meant they could safely infiltrate Stone Forest City without being blocked at the gates by Zero Wing.
After all, Zero Wing's relationship with the various superpowers was extremely tense. Under normal circumstances, it would be nearly impossible to get third-tier experts from those superpowers into the city — especially his people.
But if these individuals had no connection to any of the superpowers, even if Zero Wing wanted to bar them from entering, they'd have no grounds to do so. Otherwise, they'd end up alienating the third-tier experts of ordinary factions and the independent third-tier experts alike.
At that point, Zero Wing's situation would become even more dire — not only would they be enemies of all the major superpowers, but they'd also be antagonizing ordinary factions and independent experts. They wouldn't stand a chance.
Just as Nine Dragons Emperor finished speaking with smug satisfaction, the mysterious figure beside him received a message. In an instant, Nine Dragons Emperor sensed the atmosphere in the room shift.
Although he couldn't make out the mysterious figure's expression, as a top-tier expert, he could easily detect the change in their emotions.
"Lord Nine Dragons, you've worked hard on this matter. However, we're withdrawing from what comes next." The mysterious figure spoke up without even consulting Lu Xingluo.
"What do you mean by that?" Nine Dragons Emperor was taken aback. "Don't you want Stone Forest City anymore?"
Everything was in place and only needed the final push. They had already agreed on everything and were just waiting for the allied armies of the major superpowers to attack Stone Forest City. And now, out of nowhere, they were backing out? It was practically toying with him.
Never mind Nine Dragons Emperor — even Lu Xingluo, seated off to the side, wore a look of complete shock. He stared at the mysterious figure, utterly bewildered, unable to fathom what had happened or why they would abandon such a golden opportunity to seize Stone Forest City, a veritable gold mine.
"It's nothing. It's just that this matter can no longer succeed," the mysterious figure replied, shaking their head with a hint of regret.
"How could it possibly fail? I'll admit that Zero Wing is strong right now, but compared to the combined armies of the major superpowers, they're not even worth mentioning! Once my people take the City Lord's Manor, Stone Forest City will be ours!" Nine Dragons Emperor was so angry he actually laughed. "If Star Ring no longer wants Stone Forest City, then I won't hesitate to cooperate with the other superpowers instead. Don't come crying to me when you regret it."