Even an idiot could tell from what You Lan said — Yi Xiao Qing Cheng had come to save face.
"From what I'm hearing, Miss You Lan, are you saying our two guilds are going to war?" Shi Feng asked bluntly.
As for the killing of Dongfang Yijian — if Yi Xiao Qing Cheng hadn't struck first, Shi Feng wouldn't have bothered with him. After all, Zero Wing already held a considerable advantage in White River City. Even with Yi Xiao Qing Cheng's aggressive gold spending, they couldn't keep it up forever. Left to their own devices, Yi Xiao Qing Cheng would eventually self-destruct and collapse on their own.
Yi Xiao Qing Cheng knew this perfectly well too. Their goal was merely to slow Zero Wing's development and cause trouble. Their real objective was to consolidate control over the five major cities surrounding White River City, plunging them entirely under the Underworld's grip. Once that was done, dealing with Zero Wing would be trivially easy.
"Guild Master Black Flame, why would you say that? I only came here to seek fair treatment for the brothers in my guild. I wouldn't dare provoke an all-out war between two major guilds," You Lan said with a smile.
"Fair treatment?" Shi Feng couldn't help but laugh. "You flatter me. Sending two thousand men to ambush just one person for fair treatment — am I really that terrifying?"
"I wouldn't dare speak for others, but your abilities, Guild Master Black Flame — this little woman knows them well. Without all these people around me, how could I dare stand before the number-one expert of the Star Moon Kingdom?" You Lan looked at Shi Feng, blinked her big eyes, and shook her head.
If only Shi Feng had been here alone, You Lan was virtually certain his chances of escaping would be enormous. He might even kill her first and then escape. After all, such a thing had already happened to Wo Du Kuang.
So many days had passed. There was no way Shi Feng's strength hadn't improved — You Lan refused to believe otherwise.
Zero Wing's top-tier equipment was abundant enough that guild members could exchange for it freely. As the guild master, how could he not have even better gear?
"Then what exactly are you proposing?" Shi Feng asked.
"As long as you let us kill you once, Guild Master Black Flame, we'll consider this matter settled. How about that?" You Lan said calmly. "If our two guilds truly go to war, it won't benefit either side — it'll only profit other guilds. I hope you'll think it over carefully, Guild Master Black Flame."
"Bullshit!"
"Forget about it! We'd rather die a hundred deaths than let the guild master suffer such humiliation!"
Hei Zi and the others stepped forward one after another. Facing their current dire situation, everyone had already steeled themselves for death.
Asking their guild master to die in their place — if word ever got out, every guild in the Divine Realm would laugh at them. Zero Wing would become a joke. How could they ever show their faces again?
"In a moment I'll carve out a path. If you can escape, run." Shi Feng drew both the Abyssal and Hell's Shadow in one smooth motion. A cold gleam flickered in his eyes as he turned to Lan Shuyun, his voice full of apology. "I'm truly sorry for dragging you all into a guild conflict. But if you tell Yi Xiao Qing Cheng that you're neutral, they shouldn't attack you — this is a matter between guilds. Free players are innocent."
Though he was currently in a weakened state with all his stats reduced by eighty percent, and though he had no idea how today would end, this blood debt — he would repay it a hundredfold.
"Guild Master Black Flame, there's no need to say more. Our squad was already supposed to have died at the hands of those red-named players earlier. Now that you're being besieged, how could we just stand by and watch?" Lan Shuyun raised his Mythril shield and stepped to the very front.
The rest of Lan Shuyun's squad nodded in unison, drawing their weapons and bracing themselves to fight alongside Shi Feng against two thousand elite guild players.
A full two thousand elite players.
Simply standing motionless in the distance was enough to make an ordinary person's blood run cold, let alone the fact that they radiated killing intent.
Lan Shuyun and his team went pale at the sight. The pressure weighing on them was incomparably heavier than what they had felt against those fifty red-named players.
Compared to this, Lan Shuyun suddenly thought those dead fifty red-named players had been as cute as Chihuahuas.
Against fifty players, escape had still been possible. Against two thousand — there was only death.
"Since you insist on being stubborn, Guild Master Black Flame, don't blame us for being impolite." You Lan watched Shi Feng and his group standing ready for battle, the corner of her lips curling upward. She swept her hand forward. "Kill!"
The two thousand guild elites closed in on Shi Feng's group in disciplined formation. At the same moment, an enormous black magic circle materialized in the sky above, bursting with dark radiance that blotted out the sun and shrouded everyone within its reach.
Everyone's vision went black, and they could see nothing at all. But after the brief darkness, their sight returned, and they felt no discomfort.
"This is bad!" Shi Feng suddenly exclaimed. "It's a third-tier magic scroll — the Silence Death Domain! Any living creature caught by that black light is silenced and stripped of the ability to use any items. Duration: five minutes!"
The word "silenced" struck everyone like a stone. Their mood sank even further.
Both sides had been hit by the silence, which in theory hurt Yi Xiao Qing Cheng more, but Shi Feng's side possessed devastating area-of-effect spells — Hei Zi's Star of Light, and Shi Feng's Flame Spirit Storm. Those two skills alone would have made things incredibly painful for Yi Xiao Qing Cheng's two thousand, not to mention the group-attack magic scrolls Shi Feng's team still carried.
Now none of it could be used.
"Hahaha! Black Flame is done for this time — no skills, no magic scrolls. Let's see how he escapes now!" Wo Du Kuang watched as Shi Feng was slowly encircled, his heart swelling with indescribable satisfaction.
"What a shame. I was actually looking forward to facing this Black Flame one on one. I didn't expect you to have this trump card up your sleeve, You Lan. They really don't call you the Strategist for nothing. Looks like there's no chance for me to make an appearance after all." Summer Sunshine shook his head with a sigh.
"Brother Summer, that Black Flame is no ordinary opponent. In a moment, we'll still need you to take him down." You Lan shook her head. She was no reckless brute like Wo Du Kuang — before confronting any enemy, she always scouted their abilities and prepared for the worst.
Now that everyone had been silenced, Shi Feng's trump cards were useless. Two thousand versus their handful looked like an absolute advantage, but against a melee powerhouse like Shi Feng, the numbers mattered less — especially with that sword of his, fast enough that no one could react in time.
If it weren't for having a melee expert like Summer Sunshine on their side, You Lan wouldn't have been confident in taking Shi Feng down.
"In that case, let me take a crack at him."
Summer Sunshine's eyes lit up with even greater fervor as he gazed at Shi Feng. He stepped forward and charged.