Chapter 2029 – Presumptuous Request “Fifty percent?”
Cleansed Rue and her companions revealed bitter smiles.
Even losing 50% of the Guild's Shops and Lands was unbearable for the Hundred Flowers Palace. Both were essential to a Guild's development, and neither could be casually sold off.
If the Hundred Flowers Palace lost half of the Shops and Lands under its control, the Guild would be forced to limit the scale of its operations due to the decreased income, even if the Guild could survive in the Dark Night Empire. If that happened, returning to the Guild's former glory would become excruciatingly difficult Most of the Lands in major NPC cities were already owned, and even if they had the money, it wasn't necessarily possible to purchase more.
“I know this isn't an ideal offer, but we have our own troubles to deal with. You can return to your Guild and consider the offer carefully,” s.h.i.+ Feng announced, watching the silent group before him.
“Guild Leader, our Guild intends to develop in the Twin Towers Kingdom. We'll need a lot of manpower to accomplish this. So, we'll need to know whether or not we're going to help the Hundred Flowers Palace as soon as possible to see to the appropriate preparations. Otherwise, this alliance will impact our original plans,” Youlan hurriedly advised.
Cleansed Rue and her entourage's expressions twisted further.
As Guild upper echelons, they knew that planning was necessary before a Guild began a large-scale operation. If Zero Wing truly intended to mobilize a large amount of manpower to lay claim to the Twin Towers Kingdom, then helping the Hundred Flowers Palace would become far more difficult for the Guild. Zero Wing might even dismiss the idea of providing a.s.sistance entirely.
“How soon do we need to make a decision?” s.h.i.+ Feng asked.
“A day, if possible,” Youlan replied after giving the matter some thought “That will be the opportune time for our Guild to expand.”
Although Cleansed Rue and the other upper echelons wanted to comment, they couldn't bring themselves to speak up. They couldn't possibly tell s.h.i.+ Feng that they'd need a long time to gather the Guild's upper echelons and Elders, not to mention the representatives from the major corporations that supported the Hundred Flowers Palace. One day simply wasn't enough time for the Palace to reach a decision.
In fact, the decision to abandon the Dark Night Empire and develop in another kingdom had only been made after a lengthy discussion. The proposal to partner with Zero Wing would likely take even longer. Too many people and organizations were tied to this matter, and persuading all parties involved would be extremely difficult.
“How is such a short time enough to negotiate anything? Try to find a way to give them more time!” s.h.i.+ Feng sternly commanded when he saw the awkward expressions on the Hundred Flowers Palace's upper echelons.
Deciding something so important in a single day was impossible for any Guild, especially a true veteran first-rate Guild like the Hundred Flowers Palace. Too many people held shares of the Guild.
“We can hold off for two days, but we will miss out on the opportune moment to strike in the Twin Towers Kingdom,” Youlan said, her imperative tone implying that Zero Wing would cough blood if it gave the Palace a second more.
“Thank you, Guild Leader Black Flame,” Cleansed Rue said sincerely. “However, before I negotiate with my Guild's upper echelons, may I make a presumptuous request?”
“Let me hear it. As a potential ally, I will help wherever I can,” s.h.i.+ Feng said, nodding after giving the matter some thought.
“I'd like to borrow Zero Wing's strength during the meeting to show my Guild that we truly have hope offending off Starlink's hara.s.sment. I'm sure they will find it easier to agree to the partners.h.i.+p that way,” Cleansed Rue said as she turned to Silent Blade and the others, who stood beside s.h.i.+ Feng.
Silent Blade and his comrades were all Level 61, Tier 2 players or above, and every one of them radiated a deadly aura. No Guild could afford to take their strength lightly.
If she could show off Zero Wing's experts, she believed that she could persuade her Guild's upper echelons to agree to this alliance.
After all, the Hundred Flowers Palace's members would have a much easier time developing if they could continue in the Dark Night Empire, where they were comfortable, rather than migrating to another kingdom.
“That won't be a problem. Before your meeting begins, I'll send some people to express Zero Wing's sincerity.” s.h.i.+ Feng agreed. He understood Cleansed Rue's thoughts.
Convincing people was easier if one provided a personal experience.
Cleansed Rue and her subordinates soon left Zero Wing's Residence, returning to the Dark Night Empire to break the news to their Guild. They weren't in such a hurry simply because of the time limit Zero Wing had given them, but because the Hundred Flowers Palace didn't have much time left in the empire without help. They needed to move quickly.
After the Palace's representatives left, the atmosphere in the Guild Leader's office relaxed. Stubborn Bone and Remnant Cloud, who had both served as commanders of an adventurer team, couldn't help but turn reverent gazes on s.h.i.+ Feng.
Both of their teams had been well-known adventurer teams, but compared to first-rate Guilds, they had been insignificant.
Yet, they had just witnessed a veteran first-rate Guild like the Hundred Flowers Palace submit before s.h.i.+ Feng.
“Guild Leader, although the Hundred Flowers Palace is in a precarious state right now, I'm afraid that Cleansed Rue will have a difficult time persuading the Palace's old members with her status as a Vice Guild Leader. I suggest that we send Fire Dance and the others to visit the Guild in the Dark Night Empire. If they attend the meeting, I'm sure that those old members will agree to the partners.h.i.+p regardless of their personal feelings. If this partners.h.i.+p succeeds, developing in the Dark Night Empire will become much easier. We won't have to waste a large amount of time and manpower building a foundation from scratch,” Youlan offered after Cleansed Rue and her companions had left the Residence.
“Forget it. Fire and the others are still partic.i.p.ating in their special training. Let's not interrupt them,” s.h.i.+ Feng said, shaking his head. “We'll just send Silent and his team.”
Although Silent Blade, Stubborn Bone, Remnant Cloud, and the others hadn't been members of Zero Wing long, they had grown a lot stronger after training in the Lost Town's Extraordinary Tower.
s.h.i.+ Feng had to admit that the Realms of Truth training was immensely helpful to expert players.
Despite the fact that they hadn't yet entered the Realms of Truth, Silent Blade and the others had successfully mastered one or two Advanced Combat Techniques during their training in the Extraordinary Tower. With how close they were to reaching the Refinement Realm, their overall combat power could now rival true Refinement Realm experts.
Furthermore, Silent Blade and his team were geared in weapons and equipment that even the various superpowers struggled to acquire at this stage of the game. Only superpowers' peak experts had a chance of defeating these Zero Wing experts.
“This…” Youlan could not help but worry as she looked at Remnant Cloud and the other players standing by s.h.i.+ Feng's side. Although she knew that their combat standards were on par with hers, she was concerned that they wouldn't be enough to fulfill their purpose.
“Relax. I'll give them something good before they leave. Once the Palace's people see it, they'll know what the wisest decision is,” s.h.i.+ Feng said, chuckling. He then asked, “How is the material collection I tasked you and Melancholic Smile with coming along?”
“We have done our best to gather as many of the materials you requested. However, the required stock is ma.s.sive, and every material is incredibly rare. Even after raiding the treasuries in the Starlight Alliance's two Guild Towns, we have barely collected five sets of materials,” Youlan said.
“Good! Transfer the materials to White River City's Candlelight Trading Firm immediately!” s.h.i.+ Feng was ecstatic to hear the news. “Also, notify Melancholic and tell her to gather the people I requested earlier.”
He had been waiting for this moment for a long time. He could finally craft the Guardian Puppet!
