In the reception room, the Dark Female Knight and Elder Jin sat stunned for a long while, staring at Shi Feng without uttering a single word. They even suspected he was pulling their leg.
The Cold Spring Great Forest's resource zone alone — a full fifty percent of it — was more than enough to send Zero Wing and every major faction in the Dark World into a brutal free-for-all. Even if those factions didn't want to fight, clashes and skirmishes with Zero Wing were practically inevitable.
After all, in the Divine Realm, no resources meant no growth. This was especially true for maps above Level 100. If Flame Light opened a passage into the Cold Spring Great Forest, it would mean Dark World players could only develop near the forest. Trying to advance into any other Level 100+ map? The distance alone would be more than any Dark World faction or player could bear.
In other words, fighting over the Cold Spring Great Forest's resource zone was the only viable path for Dark World players — at least until their presence had expanded to a certain threshold.
It was precisely because of this that every major superpower in the Divine Realm had long feared Flame Light of Demon's Heart.
And now Shi Feng was voluntarily giving up seventy percent of the resource zone? He was either insane or courting death. From an ordinary person's perspective, shrinking one's defensive line might seem like a way to further tighten Zero Wing's grip on whatever territory remained — but the Dark World players had no choice. With even more resource territory handed over to their two guilds, far more Dark World players would flood in to contest that remaining thirty percent. When that happened, Zero Wing would be lucky to survive, let alone claim any share of the Cold Spring Great Forest.
"Could it be he knows the situation is hopeless and decided to just exchange it for Dark Demon Crystals?" The Dark Female Knight turned the matter over and over in her mind until she arrived at what seemed like the only possible explanation.
After all, the force Zero Wing was up against this time wasn't some single faction — it was an entire world, a player coalition even more vast than the Fire Dragon Empire. Against a tide of that magnitude, no single faction could hope to hold the line. Not even allying with the surrounding kingdoms and empire might be enough.
Abandoning a resource zone he couldn't possibly defend and trading it directly for the Dark World's precious Dark Demon Crystals — that was undeniably a shrewd deal. Still, it was a choice no ordinary person could accept. A guild city demanded enormous resources and time to build. Simply giving it up? Utterly unthinkable.
"Guild Master Dark Flame, are you serious about this?" Elder Jin looked at Shi Feng and couldn't help but ask.
He truly could not think of a single reason to refuse. Dark Demon Crystals were rare and immensely valuable, true — but compared to an additional twenty percent of the Cold Spring Great Forest's resource zone, those five hundred thousand Dark Demon Crystals were nothing.
"Of course. If you don't believe me, we can sign the contract right now," Shi Feng said with a smile.
"Done! I accept on behalf of the Divine Assembly," Elder Jin said, his eyes lighting up.
Only a fool would pass on a deal like this. Of all the forces threatening the Cold Spring Great Forest, Zero Wing was by far the most dangerous. The rest were hardly worth worrying about.
He had originally prepared an entire speech, even intended to warn Zero Wing about the situation — now he could skip all of it.
"Then what about Dark Fantasy?" Shi Feng turned to look at the Dark Female Knight.
"Dark Fantasy has no objections either." The Dark Female Knight didn't hesitate for long before agreeing outright.
She didn't understand what Shi Feng was thinking, but if she turned down this deal and returned to the guild, they'd tear her apart.
Once Elder Jin and the Dark Female Knight accepted Shi Feng's proposal, the three parties quickly drew up a contract. Dark Fantasy and the Divine Assembly would claim seventy percent of the Cold Spring Great Forest's resource zone, while Zero Wing would retain thirty percent. The three parties would refrain from interfering with one another's operations. In addition, Dark Fantasy and the Divine Assembly would hand over five hundred thousand Dark Demon Crystals to Zero Wing.
After the contract was signed, Elder Jin and the Dark Female Knight immediately returned to the Dark World to relay the good news to their guilds and begin preparing the five hundred thousand Dark Demon Crystals. Once the Dark World passage was opened, Dark Fantasy and the Divine Assembly would deliver the crystals to Zero Wing.
When the news reached Dark Fantasy and the Divine Assembly, the higher-ups of both guilds were quite taken aback.
"I have to say, Zero Wing's got some nerve and confidence. The fact that they'd do this suggests they genuinely believe they can hold that thirty percent."
"No way! They must have realized they can't stop the Dark World's advance and decided to cut their losses."
"Maybe it's exactly this kind of decisiveness from Zero Wing's Guild Master that brought them to where they are today. Don't forget, it's not just the Dark World they're up against — there's also Demon's Heart. Zero Wing might very well be doing this to better prepare for the fight against Demon's Heart."