Join Forces?

Flame Emperor looked proud as he waved a hand. "They're just a few stray cats and dogs, nothing worth mentioning! I can take on two people like them by myself!"

Feng Luoqing rolled his eyes and looked at Xiao Wen. "Enough. Don't listen to that old man bragging. It's true that he can handle two alone, but once there are three of them, even I find them rather troublesome to deal with by myself."

"Coordination?"

Xiao Wen raised his brows slightly. For opponents to make Feng Luoqing feel troubled, they had to be at least on Flame Emperor's level.

Though they were all Emperor-class Players, there were still ranks among them, and the gap between each rank was as vast as a chasm.

If an Emperor-class Player like Flame Emperor were rated, he would basically be at the peak of the second tier. Feng Luoqing was at the peak of the first tier, while Xiao Wen in his prime had long surpassed the Emperor-class level and could stand shoulder to shoulder with gods.

Those who had merely stepped across the threshold of the Emperor-class were, at best, Emperor-class existences at the bottom of the ninth tier. Against opponents of the same level, Feng Luoqing could easily take on ten of them alone.

Yet just three of them could make him feel troubled?

"Not coordination, but a formation! A formation originating from ancient martial arts. They've recreated it in the game. It's very strange and difficult to predict."

Feng Luoqing spoke in a low voice, lifted his head to glance at Flame Emperor, then continued, "He has no problem fighting two of them alone, but once there are three, he starts to feel restrained. With four, they can already fight him to a draw."

Light flickered in Xiao Wen's eyes. He took a deep breath and said gravely, "Brother Feng, are you saying this is a formation whose power increases with numbers? As long as there are enough people, even a god-class opponent isn't impossible to fight?"

Before Feng Luoqing could respond, Flame Emperor curled his lip and snorted. "Misty Young Master, what daydream are you having? Do you think everyone has talent like yours? The resources those people need to cultivate a single King-class Player are enormous—at least equivalent to ten of your Guild Founding Tokens. That bunch has only managed to cultivate four Quasi-Emperor Tier existences so far, and they even came up with some title like the New Four Emperors..."

"Still, speaking of Guild Founding Tokens, that thing is useless in your hands anyway. Why not sell it to me?"

Xiao Wen rolled his eyes and sneered. "You reminded me. These past few days, I've really been well looked after by the people from your Flame Dragon Guild!"

"Uh... this... it was all a misunderstanding, purely a misunderstanding. It's like the flood washing into the Dragon King's temple—we're all family who didn't recognize each other. Besides, the guild is basically controlled by that girl Qingsha now. You know her temperament. As her big brother, it wouldn't be right for me to say too much, would it?"

Flame Emperor scratched his head, knowing that he had misspoken and given Xiao Wen an opportunity to come collect a debt.

"Forget it. I never intended to make trouble for you. Come to think of it, this is actually a good thing. It has invisibly drawn a boundary between me and your Flame Dragon Guild. There'll be no shortage of conflicts in the future. Killing one or two guild members as sacrifices to the heavens wouldn't be bad either."

Flame Emperor's old face darkened. How could he not know the capabilities of the people in his own guild?

Even if they all went together, they might not be Xiao Wen's match, let alone when their targets were so scattered.

But in the next moment, Flame Emperor came to his senses and understood what Xiao Wen meant.

"You want to make a feint in one direction while striking in another?" Flame Emperor cried out.

The bewildered Feng Luoqing beside him also suddenly understood and instantly grasped Xiao Wen's intentions.

Xiao Wen nodded. "Didn't you already guess? The Nine Provinces may look peaceful on the surface, but undercurrents are surging beneath. Whether the major guilds have spies from other regions is something you know better than I do. Most spies' identities are things you don't even know. And even if you do know, you can't directly pull them out because of the enormous web of interests involved, can you?"

"Since that's the case, let me be the hoe that pulls out the nails!"

A sharp gleam flashed through Xiao Wen's eyes. He looked at Gazel in front of him, then at Flame Emperor and Wind Emperor beside him, before turning his gaze toward the depths of Nightmare Forest. "Enough, let's put this matter aside for now. You should know about the Monster Village Attack as well. This Monster Village Attack may seem dangerous, but to people like us, it's merely child's play."

Flame Emperor nodded. At the mention of the monster attack on the village, a flame seemed to ignite faintly in his eyes—the blazing will to fight.

"I know about it. When you released the news, we also received intelligence from 'Phantom God' meant for the Nine Provinces. This monster attack on the village is merely a warm-up, preparing for the later Monster Village Attack that will open the national borders. Unfortunately, ordinary players are about to suffer a devastating disaster."

Feng Luoqing nodded in agreement, though he did not seem to care much.

Xiao Wen rolled his eyes.

Is that what I meant?

Is that what I fucking meant?

"I'm saying, you two are members of the Four Emperors, aren't you? Why is your vision so narrow? You only see the danger—can't you see the opportunity behind the danger?" Xiao Wen looked as though he hated iron for not becoming steel.

They were members of the Four Emperors, yet they had not even thought of this?

The two were still confused, clearly not getting Xiao Wen's point.

"Let me put it plainly. Every Novice Village has forbidden areas. Behind those forbidden areas, if I'm not mistaken, there should be a King-class or Emperor-class monster directing everything. Those are existences above the King-class! Think about it—during the early stages of the game, if we wanted to find a monster above the King-class, wouldn't we have to work ourselves to death for half a day? Now a ready-made King-class BOSS is right in front of us, and you have no ideas?"

When Xiao Wen reached this point, Wind Emperor and Flame Emperor instantly understood, and looks of realization appeared on their faces.

"Misty Young Master, you aren't planning to have us join you in dealing with a King-class monster, are you?" Flame Emperor blinked and asked in a low voice.

"More or less, except it won't be King-class. It should be Emperor-class! I think the monster leaders distributed throughout the forbidden areas of the major Novice Villages should all be level fifteen Emperor-class monsters. Right now, the one in Nightmare Forest is the Blood Moon Demon Wolf."

"I can't handle it alone, but if the three of us join forces, we might have a chance." Xiao Wen narrowed his eyes and smiled.

Wind Emperor and Flame Emperor fell silent. Their four eyes met, and neither spoke for a long while.

"All right, you don't need to answer me so quickly. I know your concerns. Think it over and tell me once you've decided. I need to head back and tinker with some things. Oh, and a reminder: the day after tomorrow, Novice Village No. 96508 will be selling a large amount of equipment. If you're interested, have your people come take a look."

With that, Xiao Wen ignored the two of them and headed toward the Novice Village by himself.

When he reached a sparsely populated area, Xiao Wen stopped abruptly. The Millennium Puzzle on his chest radiated light, enveloping him as his figure vanished. In the blink of an eye, he appeared outside Duel City.

"Duel City, my third duel in life—I'm here!"