Ways to Cooperate

Once upon a time, there were three brothers, Sam, William, and Wallace, all of whom were brave and warlike knights who wanted to rise above their station and gain glory through war.

One day, Sam was about to go to war. He longed for victory but feared defeat. So he went to an old wizard and asked if he could win the upcoming war.

The wizard looked him over carefully and told him that as long as he fought with all his might in this battle, he would surely win and achieve great things.

Sam thus became full of confidence. On the battlefield, he deployed his troops decisively, fought bravely, and made full use of his strength, ultimately defeating all enemies and winning the war.

After some time, William encountered the same predicament, and he also sought out the old wizard for answers.

The wizard looked him over and then told him that he would surely be defeated in the upcoming war and would not escape death.

William became terrified, hesitant on the battlefield, and timid in battle, fearing injury. As a result, he was unable to exert his full strength and was ultimately defeated and killed.

After some time, it was finally Wallace's turn to go to the battlefield, the youngest of them all.

Wallace didn't believe in the wizard's prophecies and had no fondness for mysticism, but because of Sam's insistence, or simply because he found it interesting, he eventually found the wizard.

"Then tell me, wizard, what fate awaits me in the upcoming battles?" Wallace asked.

The old wizard stared intently at Wallace for a long time. "I'm afraid I can't make any prophecies for you, because you don't believe in fate at all. My prophecies won't have any effect on you. In that case, you can only pursue your own destiny."

After she finished speaking, she smiled and looked at Xiao Yu, "I wonder if you can understand the story I just told you?"

Xiao Yu carefully considered Kara's story, then suddenly smiled, "I understand. Goodbye, Kara, I will pursue my own destiny."

Xiao Yu left the Temple of Fate, feeling like he'd been fooled again. Kara hadn't actually done any divination after all, but at least it had cheered him up a bit.

Fate is a fickle thing; it works if you believe in it, and doesn't if you don't. Ultimately, success depends on your own efforts. Even if a prophecy predicts your inevitable success, does that mean you can just sit back and wait for it to happen?

What if the prophecy predicts failure? Would you simply give up, close your eyes, and await death?

Since I have to strive and work hard no matter what, what difference does the result of this divination make?

Having figured this out, he didn't hesitate for a moment. Next, he would go all out to participate in this ultimate BOSS competition. However, before that, he still had some grudges to settle. Just now, he had already come up with a plan.

Five minutes later, Xiao Yu reappeared at the dock of the Deadmines as Eric.

At this very moment, the Goblin engineer was directing the slaves to transport ammunition onto the warship. Although they already knew it would be difficult to breach Stormwind City, it seemed that Dark Rod was still prepared for a grand and spectacular attack. After all, bombarding Stormwind City would bring considerable reputation, and since the warship had already been built, it should at least play a role. Whether it would succeed or not, they would only know after trying.

From this perspective, Dark Rod and Xiao Yu are essentially the same kind of people, only they pursue victory in different ways.

Xiao Yu boarded the warship and saw Dark Rod discussing the plan to bombard Stormwind City with the studio's people. Surrounding him were almost all high-ranking members of the Defias Brotherhood, who were either bosses or at least elites. Xiao Yu walked over without the slightest tension. He was once a dignified level 60 Balrog Lord, a three-skull-level boss. What was there to be nervous about with these little monsters in front of him?

"Good afternoon, guys," he greeted them with a nod, then went straight to the map. Since he was tall enough to see one side of the map, he simply jumped onto the table and pretended to gesture on it for a while. Everyone looked at him in surprise; it was the first time anyone had dared to be so presumptuous in front of Dark Rod.

Dark Rod didn't stop him; instead, he crossed his arms and watched Eric with great interest.

"Looks like your plan has run into a bit of trouble," Eric said. Stormwind City's port defenses are quite strong; unless someone can lure the garrison away, it will be difficult to breach the defenses.

"So, what are your thoughts?"

"Of course," the goblin smiled Goblin, "In fact, I have many insightful opinions."

Dark Rod raised an eyebrow. "Oh, tell me about it."

Eric (Goblin Pyromancer): "No rush. Remember when you told me about your studio's collaboration methods? Actually, I'd like to tell you about our collaboration methods as well."

Xiao Yu ignored the speechless looks from the crowd and continued speaking to himself.

"The first cooperation option is for me to serve as the executive officer of the Defias Brotherhood. For the next year, I will be fully entrusted with leading this studio and operating the full power of the Defias Brotherhood and the Defias Brotherhood. I will guarantee that Shadow Studio will at least secure a top-three finish in this event. My demands are not high; just give me a three million bonus."

"What!"

"Damn, this kid's gone mad!"

"Haha, he's just kidding, isn't he?"

Everyone stared at him with disbelief.

Xiao Yu, however, looked at Dark Rod with a smile on his face.

Before Dark Rod could say anything, one of his Tauren bosses couldn't help but jump out, "You, a mere Goblin boss, dare to spout such nonsense? Who do you think you are?"

Eric (Goblin Pyromancer): "I've had many names, Eric is just one of the least noticeable ones. Perhaps you've heard of one of my past names— Lagrios. How about that, does it ring a bell?"

"Lagrios, that Balrog Lord?" Everyone exclaimed in surprise.

The name "Lagrios" is quite well-known among players, thanks to the video from the Light of Dawn Guild. It featured a rare instance of a skeleton-level boss and a star-level hero dying together, making it a household name on player forums. However, few people knew that "Lagrios" was actually a player.

Upon hearing that the little Goblin in front of them was the former Balrog Lord, everyone was stunned.

Dark Rod: "Nodding, I believe you. You are certainly qualified to say that, but I'm sorry, I'm afraid I can't make you our executive officer. We have our own way of operating, and I can't put all my eggs in one basket just because of your promise."

Xiao Yu shrugged. He had known this would be the outcome. The studio and players like him had completely different styles of doing things. They were large and powerful, and they wouldn't change their course just because of his words.

"It's nothing, I knew it would be like this, but it's alright, we have other ways to cooperate, the second way is--"