Upon hearing his subordinates' report, Xue Ji was momentarily stunned.
"Could it be that they truly intend to fight to the death?" Xue Ji's eyes were bloodshot, his agitated emotions resembling a volcano on the verge of eruption.
The entire area had been sealed off. Town Return Scrolls couldn't be used. There was simply no way to escape.
The terrain on both sides consisted of steep slopes, and there was only this one path to take—either forward or back. There was no third option. Now the road back was blocked by Snake of the Body, while the path to Silver Leaf Forest was blocked by Zero Wing.
Breaking through Zero Wing's pincer attack had originally seemed manageable, but after witnessing Zero Wing's true strength, all previous contempt had vanished.
Whether it was breaking through Snake of the Body or Zero Wing, neither would be a simple task.
The current situation had left Xue Ji in a dilemma, but doing nothing would result in a total party wipe.
Xiongba Tianxia had only come here to distract Snake of the Body from going after Dark Star, but now, of all things, he had found himself at the center of a major battle.
"Everyone, form a defensive formation!" After a few seconds of deliberation, Xue Ji didn't dare delay and immediately issued the order.
The members of Xiongba Tianxia sprang into action, clustering together to defend against the pincer attack from both sides and minimize losses. Meanwhile, Xue Ji quickly sent a communication request to Weiwo Dukuang.
Weiwo Dukuang had been celebrating the discovery of Huo Wu and her group's location when he suddenly saw Xue Ji's urgent communication request.
"Guild Master Xue Ji, about the compensation—I'll definitely pay once this whole thing is over. Please stop pressuring me about it." Weiwo Dukuang sounded somewhat impatient.
"Compensation?" The moment Xue Ji heard the word "compensation," his rage flared up. Originally, it was Dark Star that was supposed to deal with Zero Wing. Now it had become Xiongba Tianxia fighting both Zero Wing and Snake of the Body, and on top of that, they were stuck in this incredibly dangerous situation. Could compensation possibly make up for this?
"Guild Master Weiwo, I previously agreed to help you delay Snake of the Body. I never agreed to wage an all-out war against Snake of the Body. And now, not only did you let Zero Wing's main force slip away, you've left Xiongba Tianxia to deal with two guilds while you only need to pay a little compensation? Guild Master Weiwo, you're truly a schemer—quite the schemer!" The more Xue Ji thought about it, the angrier he became. He felt like Weiwo Dukuang had been plotting against Xiongba Tianxia from the very beginning.
First, he had them clash head-on with Snake of the Body. Then he had let Zero Wing's main force go. Zero Wing, in order to escape, would inevitably try to break through their position—and that meant they had no choice but to fight Xiongba Tianxia.
Weiwo Dukuang's approach was practically killing three birds with one stone. In one move, he had inflicted heavy losses on all three of White River City's top guilds, leaving only Dark Star to reap the benefits.
Weiwo Dukuang listened and felt that this was absolutely an accident. He hadn't released Zero Wing—Zero Wing had left on their own, and it just so happened that they ran into the battling Xiongba Tianxia forces, resulting in a pincer attack against his guild.
All of this was nothing more than a coincidence.
As for the idea that Zero Wheel would turn around and deliberately target Xiongba Tianxia—no sane person would do such a thing.
Dark Star was currently in an all-out, to-the-death war with Zero Wing. Black Flame had even issued a declaration that he would make Dark Star pay the price of thirty thousand lives. How could they possibly turn around and provoke a first-rate guild like Xiongba Tianxia?
Going to war with two of White River City's top six guilds simultaneously—unless they had a death wish, or had lost their minds.