Ling Tian and the others had held back for so long that Dong Ye and the others had grown dissatisfied. They had assumed Ling Tian wouldn't fight to secure them a place in the top five, and had begun to entertain ideas of their own. Seeing that the Heaven, Earth, and Yellow Alliances had already "given up" and completely let their guard down, they were likely to make a move.
Ling Tian and the others had also guessed what Dong Ye and his companions were thinking, but they couldn't warn them. That would only backfire, so all they could do was let matters take their course.
"Mm, Brother Ling is right. They won't defect to the other side," Zhuge Xun said. Seeing several people deep in thought, he nodded. "Dong Ye and the others want to secure a place in the top five, but the Heaven, Earth, and Yellow Alliances already have twelve planes, and most of them want a top-five spot too. They've only just joined those alliances. How could Lei Zhan and the others possibly let them take one of those places?"
"Exactly. The Heaven, Earth, and Yellow Alliances will save those places for their original allies," Su Ying said with a soft laugh. "Though the planes of Dong Ye and the others didn't make the top five, they aren't among the bottom five either. If they defect, they can't be sure nothing will change. They won't take that risk."
At that, many people let out a long breath of relief.
Old Man Ling and the others weren't worried about the strength of Dong Ye's planes or the pressure their defection might put on their side. After all, in the traps they had laid, anyone who came would be slaughtered. What worried them was that Dong Ye and