The main hall of the Freedom Inn had already drawn intense scrutiny from the major powers, all eager to get a look at the mysterious guests Yuan Tiexin had invited. Now, Gloomy Smile's voice cut through the crowd without the slightest restraint, and the moment her words landed, the entire hall fell dead silent. One by one, the onlookers turned toward her with expressions of utter disbelief.
"What's going on?"
"Those people should all be big shots from major factions — how dare she?"
"Unbelievable! Just unbelievable! At a time like this and she's still pulling something like this? I've never seen a guild this suicidal since I entered the Divine Realm!"
Not a single person in the hall was a fool. Even though the representatives of the various superpowers had used black cloaks to conceal their identities, the overwhelming aura they exuded was anything but hidden. Experts of that caliber were rare even within the superpowers, to say nothing of ordinary factions.
More critically, the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion would never have invited some random ordinary faction from the Divine Realm.
So their identities needed no explanation.
With the Dark World's teleportation gate already open and the Dark World's players pouring into the Cold Spring Great Forest in massive numbers — a matter of when, not if — the entire Cold Spring Great Forest would soon be in mortal danger. Stone Forest City, nestled deep within that very forest, would be no exception.
Under circumstances like these, for Zero Wing to still address the superpowers with such an attitude? They had to be insane.
"Miss Smile, this is…" Yuan Tiexin stared at Gloomy Smile, momentarily stunned into silence.
He simply could not believe what he was hearing.
Had he not been absolutely certain that Gloomy Smile was not a planted agent from some other faction but rather a core member who had built Zero Wing from the ground up, he would have suspected her of being a spy — deliberately provoking the superpowers under Zero Wing's banner to force them out of the Cold Spring Great Forest for good.
"Old Yuan, what exactly does Zero Wing mean by this?" Chilian, standing beside Yuan Tiexin, wore a cold expression as he turned to question him directly.
He had made the trip specifically on the Vice Pavilion Master's orders.
He had already felt the odds of success were slim. After all, the Freedom Inn in Stone Forest City was simply too valuable. But precisely because of that, the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion had no intention of letting the other superpowers get a foothold.
Now, with Gloomy Smile's declaration, his entire plan afterward was rendered completely moot.
Forget minimizing the various superpowers' demands on Stone Forest City — it would be no surprise at all if they turned hostile on the spot.
Chilian's pointed question left Yuan Tiexin at a complete loss for words.
With the Cold Spring Great Forest's situation already beyond saving, forget about Zero Wing — even the superpowers would struggle to develop their presence here. Holding on to absolute control of Stone Forest City was out of the question; retaining even a partial stake would be nothing short of a miracle.
He had cooperated with Shi Feng multiple times and knew the man responded to honey, not vinegar. If you confronted Shi Feng head-on, the only outcome would be a complete falling-out. That was precisely why he hadn't contacted Shi Feng directly, preferring to approach matters behind the scenes first and then gradually persuade him. After all, one had to face reality. For long-term growth, sharing profits was a necessity — hoarding everything simply wasn't viable.
But he had never expected Shi Feng to be this ruthless.
To send Gloomy Smile striding in and slapping every superpower across the face like that — it was absolutely deranged.
"Hahahaha, how interesting! Zero Wing truly is interesting! To still carry themselves with such confidence at a time like this — no wonder they dared to oppose so many superpowers before. It seems the trip to Stone Forest City won't have been wasted after all." A red-browed elder clutching a flame staff, bearing the emblem of the Shadowless Empire guild, chuckled aloud.
"Old Lu, you think this is Zero Wing showing courage?" Beside him, Lin Xie, bearing the Demon Emperor Hall emblem and carrying a massive, eerie axe on his back, shot the red-browed elder a contemptuous glance. "Provoking all the superpowers present like this is nothing short of a death wish!"
"Lin Xie, still sore about your fight with Black Flame on Dragon Heart Island, are you?" The red-browed elder looked at Lin Xie's dismissive expression and couldn't help but laugh.
"Dragon Heart Island is Dragon Heart Island. This is the Cold Spring Great Forest, and this isn't some small skirmish in the wild — this is a conflict with an entire planar world. Rather than trying to win over the superpowers here, Zero Wing sends some clueless child to spout nonsense right in front of us. If that isn't stupidity, what is?" Lin Xie showed no anger at the elder's teasing, instead speaking with a smirk.
The entourage of Demon Emperor Hall members nodded in agreement.
Zero Wing had indeed cost them a fair amount of face on Dragon Heart Island before, but the situation now was entirely different.