"You're refusing?"
"President Black Flame, what exactly do you mean?"
Both Elder Wu and Mingding Changzui were visibly stunned, staring in disbelief at Shi Feng, who sat there in silence.
The members of the various major factions who hadn't yet left were also momentarily frozen. They had expected a clash of titans — waiting to see how Zero Wing would respond — but outright rejection? What kind of play was this?
"This Black Flame must have figured out that Elder Wu and Mingding Changzui are on the same side, and he's trying to put pressure on both of them."
"Very likely. After all, things aren't looking good for the Twin Towers Kingdom right now — there's no way they don't need a City Construction Order."
"If I were in his shoes, I might have done the same. Half the resource nodes on the fourth underground level of the World Tower, including a fortress and a Tier 4 Legacy site, all traded for a single City Construction Order — that's a pretty steep price. Sure, two super guilds are offering manpower to garrison the place, but without Black Flame's deterrent presence and standing on Dragon Heart Island, no one would dare touch Warblood's resource nodes and fortress."
The crowd began to understand Shi Feng's reasoning, and many found themselves impressed by his shrewdness. A single retreat-as-advance maneuver, and now both super guilds were caught completely off guard.
Everyone knew that both super guilds were currently desperate — almost fanatical — about advancing their members to Tier 4 Classes. Tier 4 players had already begun appearing in some superpowers, yet neither of these two super guilds had produced a single one. Their peak combat power had fallen behind, which only intensified their frenzy. Otherwise, guilds of their stature would never have lowered themselves to come begging for cooperation.
While the crowd murmured among themselves, Shi Feng looked at the two of them and spoke. "Please don't misunderstand. I understand your sincerity, but Zero Wing isn't particularly in need of a City Construction Order. In fact, we barely need one at all."
"Barely need a City Construction Order?" Elder Wu and Mingding Changzui both let out a chuckle. "Then what exactly is it that President Black Flame needs right now?"
The two of them felt that Shi Feng was simply stringing them along, treating them like children.
If anyone else from a major faction had said those words, they might have given them some credit. A guild city merely added another outpost, and in an era where NPC factions ran rampant, one more outpost meant one more spot that required defenders — a hassle in its own right.
But for Zero Wing to say that? Pure nonsense.
Neither of them wanted to openly challenge Shi Feng's face, so they both adopted expressions of polite curiosity.
"Manpower," Shi Feng said, letting out a helpless laugh at the two of them and their affected nonchalance. "Perhaps you won't believe me, but the only thing Zero Wing lacks right now is manpower — everything else we have in abundance. If you're truly interested in cooperating, if you really want the resource nodes on the fourth underground level of the World Tower, then show some real sincerity."
As for a City Construction Order — it was the kind of thing where you needed it if you had use for it, but could do without if you didn't.
A small mobile fortress was essentially equivalent to a fraction of a city in its own right. For a leveling sanctuary like the Tower of Secret Pacts, a mere guild city could never guarantee absolute control — only a fortress could accomplish that.
Guild cities had no offensive capabilities to speak of. They were purely defensive structures whose main purpose was to provide players with a place to rest and trade, offering some convenience for those venturing into the Tower of Secret Pacts. Whether you could ultimately hold the tower and keep other factions out depended entirely on your own strength.
And that, precisely, was what Zero Wing was most lacking in at the moment.
But a small mobile fortress was a different matter altogether.
Fortresses weren't just incredibly durable defensively — their primary value lay in offense and garrisoning. They were, in essence, top-tier instruments of war. That was precisely why they had earned their reputation as dominators of the skies.
"Manpower?"
Elder Wu and Mingding Changzui nodded slightly, conceding that there was some logic to Shi Feng's words. But they still felt he was putting on an act — and since he wanted to act, the two of them exchanged a brief glance, a silent understanding passing between them: they would see how long he could keep this up.
Mingding Changzui smiled and asked, "So how exactly would President Black Flame like our two guilds to cooperate?"
"It's simple. I just need each of your guilds to provide three hundred Advanced Blacksmiths, two hundred Advanced Alchemists, five hundred Advanced Builders, one hundred Advanced Mages, and two Magic Masters. On top of that, ten thousand Tier 3 players from each side — all placed under my command for half a month." Shi Feng smiled as he spoke. "If you can manage that, I'm willing to hand over Warblood Adventure Team's two small fortresses."