I'll Take All of You On Alone

(Holy crap, humans, Night Elf, undead, Troll, did this guy find every single race? How did he do that?) Zhurong thought to himself, speechless.

The two armies faced off, neither willing to make the first move. Neither side was a fool; a battle that broke out would result in enormous losses, regardless of the outcome—and that cost a fortune. Xiao Yu didn't want to squander his forces here; even if he won, he wouldn't be able to perform the Elemental King ceremony at the Throne of the Elements. The Elemental Will, too, didn't want to lose its main force here. They had originally thought that Azathoth had over ten thousand Elemental Legion and five thousand Merfolk Legion, and that with their combined forty thousand elemental troops, they could easily defeat the enemy. But the enemy had amassed such a massive force, while they themselves had lost more than half their troops due to various reasons, putting them at a numerical disadvantage. This put them in a difficult position.

Should we just retreat like this? The problem is, retreating isn't easy. We're surrounded by a large army in front and adventurers behind. And if we really retreat, how will the Elemental Will survive? Everything that happened today was recorded.

The Elemental Lords discussed among themselves, all somewhat undecided.

Suddenly, a black dragon flew out from the opposing army, soaring into the air, flapping its wings, and slowly descending between the two armies. Who else could it be but Azathoth?

There were a few other adventurers next to Azathoth, probably all with camera sprites on.

(This guy really can turn into a dragon! Damn it, an elemental creature can turn into a dragon? How can this be reasonable?)

(They even got adventurers to help record it, how flashy!)

The Elemental Lords were all internally complaining, while simultaneously turning their gazes toward Zhurong.

Azathoth had made it clear that he wanted to negotiate; now was the time for the leader to step in.

Zhurong nodded. I went to talk to him. Just as I was about to move forward, Tianwu suddenly said, "No, that Azathoth is too strong. It might be dangerous for you to go alone. Let's all go up together."

Zhurong (Elemental Lords): "Isn't this a bit embarrassing?"

He went to the meeting alone, while the four of us went together; it's obvious we're afraid of him.

Houtu (Earth Elemental Lords): "Boss, let's not worry about saving face at a time like this. If you die, it won't just be a matter of losing face."

Zhurong thought to herself, "Alright then, let's attack together."

Zhurong, Gonggong, Houtu, and Tianwu, the four Elemental Lords, walked forward together and met Azathoth in the open space between the battlefields.

Azathoth (the Source of Chaos): "Good afternoon, everyone. The weather's nice today, a perfect day for slaughter."

Zhurong (Elemental Lords): "Azathoth, I have come here to issue you a final warning. The elemental race should unite, not divide. Look at what you have done! But it is not too late. If you are willing to join my Elemental Will, I am willing to relinquish the position of guild leader to you. Let us unite together and create a bright future for the elemental race."

Xiao Yu sneered inwardly. So, they try to play dirty tricks when they can't win? Do they think I don't know that the Elemental Will is a council system? The president only has one more vote than the regular members. You have four votes, how could I possibly win against you? Hmph, I'm not buying it. But at least on the surface, this guy seems to be quite considerate of the big picture.

Since you want to play the good guy, then I'll play the bad guy.

Azathoth (Source of Chaos): "I have no interest in your proposal. Your ridiculous organization is meaningless. In the world of elements, only power is eternal, and only the truly strong can rule over all things. Now you have two choices: either submit to me or be crushed by me."

Before Zhurong could even unleash her fury, the Houtu beside her could no longer withstand it.

Houtu (Earth Elemental Lords): "Hey, don't be so arrogant. No matter how strong you are, you can't fight against the combined power of all the Elemental Lords. There are eleven Elemental Lords here."

Azathoth (Source of Chaos): "Is that so? Luckily, I brought some men with me."

As he spoke, he glanced behind him. Among the army behind him, the Lich riding a bone dragon, Mephist riding a black dragon, and the enormous hydra demigod Sgelari were all clearly visible, even from such a distance.

Azathoth (Source of Chaos): "Moreover, my forces are twice yours, and I have a large number of adventurers to aid me. If a real fight breaks out, you have no chance of winning—but Azathoth is merciful. I do not wish for the blood of elemental beings (if any) to be wasted in this pointless struggle. I am about to rule the entire Elemental Plane, and the death of a group of elite elemental beings will not benefit me. Therefore, I have a proposal."

Zhurong (Elemental Lords): "A proposal? What proposal?"

Azathoth (the Source of Chaos): "The suggestion is that we fight one-on-one, and let strength decide everything."

A one-on-one fight!? Zhurong glanced at the Chaos Elemental before him. Although he didn't know what the Chaos Elemental meant, it looked incredibly formidable. Moreover, Tianwu and his group had previously fought three against one without success. Although there was Monari among them who was just there to make up the numbers, it wasn't hard to see how powerful Azathoth was. A one-on-one fight would be suicide. What was even more infuriating was that he had arranged for it to be recorded, clearly trying to provoke him. But a true man knows when to back down, and he wasn't going to fall for it.

Zhurong (Elemental Lords): "Hmph, the Elemental Will isn't just mine alone. How can I, by virtue of my victory or defeat, decide the fate of all Elemental Lords?"

(Haha, what a great excuse! Big brother is really clever.) The three Elemental Lords beside Zhurong cast admiring glances at him.

But Azathoth shook his head.

Azathoth (Source of Chaos): "Oh, I think you've misunderstood me. Considering your weakness, you have absolutely no chance in a 1v1. So what I mean is that I'll take on all four of you by myself. Even so, you still won't have any chance of winning, but at least it will make this battle a bit more interesting."

Arrogant, extremely arrogant.

At this moment, the four Elemental Lords had only one thought in their minds: they actually wanted to fight 1 against 4, and even said that their side had no chance of winning. It was simply, simply that they didn't take their side seriously at all.

The key issue is that countless eyes are watching this scene. Zhurong can clearly sense that there are a large number of players on both sides recording this scene with camera sprites. If he shows any weakness, then he can forget about playing in Elemental Will tomorrow. If he doesn't even dare to go up in a 4v1, then what's the point of playing?

Zhurong turned around and glanced at the other three Elemental Lords. What do you think?

Houtu (Earth Elemental Lords): "Dried."

Tianwu (Elemental Lord of Air): "Let's fight him!"

Gonggong (Frost Titan): "It's settled then."

Zhurong gritted her teeth inwardly.

Zhurong (Elemental Lords): "What if we win?"

Azathoth (the Source of Chaos): "If you win—though it is impossible—I will submit to your Elemental Will, make you my king, and my troops will fight for you. But if you lose, you will do the same. The Elemental Will will join the Immortals, and all the Elemental Lords of the Elemental Will must pledge allegiance to me. I am merciful; you may retain your own troops, but you must obey my commands and fight for me. Given that you have no chance of winning this battle, my ending for you is already quite lenient."

Zhurong (Elemental Lords): "In the name of the Chairman of the Elemental Elders Council, I declare that we will wage a glorious war against Azathoth. The four of us will face Azathoth alone. If we are defeated, the Elemental Will will join the Immortals, and all Elemental Lords will pledge allegiance to them. If we are victorious, the Immortals will join the Elemental Will, and Azathoth will pledge allegiance to me."

The Elemental Lords watching around had no objections whatsoever. In their view, since they were all following someone else anyway, the stronger they were, the better. It didn't matter who was the leader.

Zhurong (Elemental Lords): "They have no objections, so it's settled then. As for the conditions for victory—"

Azathoth (Source of Chaos): "The outcome is decided by the complete annihilation of one side or the complete surrender of the other side."

Zhurong (Elemental Lords): "Alright, it's settled then."

Azathoth (the Source of Chaos): "Then let's begin."

As soon as the words were spoken, tensions immediately rose between the two sides. The four Elemental Lords began to surround the Chaos Dragon from all sides, slowly circling around to its rear.

(Hmph, we're four against one, let's see if you don't die).

At this moment, Xiao Yu's mind returned to what it had been six hours earlier.

Six hours ago, at the Immortals Camp--

"Old Xiao, I've successfully guided the Alliance adventurers to launch an attack on the Elemental Will," Mofeitosi said excitedly. "Madman is already in place, and soon the Horde adventurers will join the battle. Combined with the successful raid on Gonggong's Water Elemental Legion this morning, by the time the battle begins this afternoon, we'll have an overwhelming numerical advantage. Maybe we can wipe them all out!"

Azathoth (Source of Chaos): "While it may seem that way on the surface, don't forget that the Night Elf are only helping out. If the battle becomes too fierce, they might withdraw prematurely. The Scarlet Crusade are all humans, and their combat power is far inferior to that of elemental creatures. The same goes for the Lich 'Madman Troll Legion. The lich's Undead are too few in number. If a real battle breaks out, we'll still have to rely on my elemental army as the main force. The problem is that most of my elemental army consists of ordinary elemental creatures at levels 30 or 40, while the remaining Legion of the Elemental Will are all elite main forces."

This is the low-end combat strength. Now let's look at the comparison of high-end combat strength. The number of enemy bosses is not inferior to ours. On our side, only Sgelari and I can be the main force. The Lich's Undead is greatly reduced against elemental creatures, and you can't easily reveal your true form. Medivh won't take action, Maiev Shadowsong can't be guaranteed to be reliable, and the other heroes are too weak. If a real battle breaks out, we don't have an absolute chance of winning."

Mofeitosi thought about it and realized it was true. "Then what should we do?"

Azathoth (Source of Chaos): "I naturally have a way. I never intended to annihilate them all. It would be a waste to wipe out so many elemental creatures. I want to fight them one-on-one, one against four. They definitely won't refuse. Once I take down those four, the remaining Elemental Lords will be scattered like a mob. Then I can gain a large army out of thin air."

"1 vs 4? Are you crazy? I know you're pretty good now, but fighting four Elemental Lords at once is just too ridiculous. They're at the level of 13 skeletons combined."

Xiao Yu smiled slightly.

Azathoth (Source of Chaos): "I'm not crazy. In fact, I'm perfectly clear-headed. I've analyzed it carefully. The four Elemental Lords— wind, fire, water, and earth—seem powerful, but they have a fatal weakness—they can't cooperate in battle. If they were Elemental Lords of a single attribute, it would be fine, or perhaps two Elemental Lords of mutually exclusive attributes, like wind and fire, fire and earth, or wind and water. But they each possess all four attributes: wind, fire, water, and earth. So when these four elemental Elemental Lords use their skills together, hehe, that scene will be quite a sight. The only problem is whether the other side is aware of this. As far as I know, they've always operated independently in their own planes and have never cooperated in battle before. So I'm 90% confident they'll agree to my proposal. Then, just watch my performance."