Chapter 991 - Cost of Contempt
"An acquaintance?"
When everyone in the team saw Death Wind greet Shi Feng, their gazes softened slightly. Even so, they remained very cautious with him.
Currently, Shi Feng wore his Black Cloak, so they could not see his information. However, the fact that he rode a Mount showed that he was extraordinarily strong. Otherwise, he wouldn't have reached Level 40 so quickly.
They wouldn't mind a weak acquaintance. However, Shi Feng's strength was precisely the reason that they remained wary.
"Autumn, you guys know him?" a robust man asked Autumn Goose, who stood beside him.
This robust man' weathered appearance spoke of years of life's vicissitudes. A suit of silvery-gray knight's armor protected his body, and he carried a tower shield that was nearly as tall as he was. At his waist, he carried a luxurious golden knight's sword. Furthermore, he had already reached Level 40.
"Mhm. He's one of Zero Wing's Elders. He is incredibly strong. It was thanks to him that we had completed our previous quest." Autumn Goose nodded to the robust man's question. She did not try to hide anything as the man beside her was none other than the commander of the Wind God's Spear, Fallen Wind. "If we can convince Ye Feng to help us, we'll have a much higher chance of completing this quest."
Hearing Autumn Goose's words, Fallen Wind could not help but reexamine Shi Feng.
Although Autumn Goose seemed approachable on the surface, she was arrogant to the bone. In her eyes, very few people were worth Autumn Goose's recognition.
"Autumn, aren't you giving him a bit too much credit? Isn't he just some expert a large Guild nurtured? How strong could he possibly be? If we take him with us, he'll probably only hold us back," a frosty youth in brown leather armor said dismissively.
Aside from Wind God's Spear's brilliant battle records in the multiple confrontations they have had with several large Guilds, their several new experts were already many times stronger than first-rate Guilds' pampered experts. As for the members here today, they were the crème de la crème of the Wind God's Spear.
Every Wind God's Spear member here was a top-class expert with a list of illustrious achievements. How could someone like Shi Feng possibly compare to them?
To further his point, the youth had never seen Shi Feng's name on God's Domain's Experts List.
Disregarding the cold youth's words, Autumn Goose looked directly at Fallen Wind and said, "Commander, I believe that Big Brother Death Wind will also support my point."
At Autumn Goose's strong recommendation of Shi Feng, Thoughtful Rain's beautiful eyes sparkled with anticipation. Although she did not understand why, whenever she was with Shi Feng, she felt indescribably safe. She didn't even feel like this when she traveled with someone as powerful as Fallen Wind.
"This is interesting." Fallen Wind could not help but watch the cloaked Shi Feng, curiosity flashing in his eyes.
Naturally, there was no need to mention Shi Feng's level. However, the Swordsman's combat standards were unknown. Generally, one could judge a person's strength based on the aura they radiated. The stronger a person was, the stronger their aura was. Such a phenomenon was due to the confidence they gained from experiencing countless battles.
Yet…
Even after observing Shi Feng for a long moment, Fallen Wind could not sense any aura that hinted at Shi Feng's strength.
As to whether or not Shi Feng concealed his aura, this was unlikely. After all, even experts would find it extremely difficult to conceal their aura completely unless their mental fortitude had reached a certain level. However, experts capable of doing so were generally in their thirties or forties. Some only reached this refinement in their fifties. To put it simply, it was impossible for a youth to have enough control to hide their aura.
However, both Autumn Goose and Death Wind seemed to admire Shi Feng.
This was strange indeed.
"Autumn, let's pass on asking him this time. If the opportunity presents itself, we can invite him in the future. We've already determined our team's roster. Sudden adjustments to the team will increase our chances of failure," Fallen Wind said after giving it some thought. "We cannot afford to fail this quest. If we complete this quest, the Wind God's Spear's strength will climb to a new level. The Wind God's Spear won't have to shuffle around in the Dark Night Empire's shadows anymore. Instead, the empire's large Guilds will have to hide like rats."
"I understand," Autumn Goose dejectedly replied.
She understood Fallen Wind's sentiment. They had invested a lot of effort into this quest. Now that they had reached the final phase and were prepared, they would be taking unnecessary risks if they replaced one of the team members.
"Our Commander knows best. If we allow a half-assed expert into the team, I'll constantly have to worry about him dragging me to the grave," the cold youth said, nodding.
When Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo heard Fallen Wind reject Autumn Goose's proposal and Ordinary Blade's, the cold youth, ridicule, they were annoyed.
However, as they were members of Zero Wing, they did not find it appropriate to intervene in Wind God's Spear's internal matters.
Yet, Ordinary Blade's disrespect of Shi Feng made the somewhat angry.
"Commander Fallen, I apologize, but Blue and I won't be participating in this operation. After all, this is the Wind God's Spear's affair. It wouldn't be proper for us to take part," Thoughtful Rain announced.
They had simply tagged along for this quest due to Fallen Wind's invitation and their friendship with Autumn Goose and the others.
Now that Zero Wing's Elder had been belittled, how could they, members of Zero Wing, remain on the team?
"Ordinary, apologize to Miss Rain and Miss Blue!" Fallen Wind growled as he glared at the frosty youth. How could he not understand the meaning behind Thoughtful Rain's words?
The sudden development stupefied Ordinary Blade.
He was simply trying to make himself look good before Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo. How had things ended up this way?
What was going on here?
"Miss Rain and Miss Blue are members of Zero Wing!" Fallen Wind softly reminded the boy.
This was the first time Ordinary Blade had met Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo. In addition, as the two women were participating in the quest as individuals, they had not worn their Guild Emblems. Hence, Ordinary Blade had not realized that the duo was from Zero Wing.
"Miss Rain, I misspoke. Please, forgive me," Ordinary Blade quickly apologized after realizing his blunder. He very much felt like digging a hole and jumping in.
Seeing Ordinary Blade's distress, Autumn Goose, who was familiar with the youth, could not help but giggle.
In the Wind God's Spear, Ordinary Blade was famous for his indifference. However, when the youth had met Thoughtful Rain for the first time, his eyes had nearly fallen from their sockets. It was obvious that the youth was interested in Thoughtful Rain. Unfortunately, his attempt to impress her had backfired magnificently.
This time, even their commander couldn't save him.
She and Thoughtful Rain were as close as sisters. She was very familiar with Thoughtful Rain's personality.
When Thoughtful Rain made a decision, even a force of nature wouldn't change her mind…
She remembered Thoughtful Rain's decision to join Zero Wing. No matter how much she had tried to dissuade the girl, hadn't Thoughtful Rain still joined the Guild?