Chapter 1147 - Asura Arrives
Phoenix Rain's decisive reply slightly confused Thousand Miles.
He had never expected such a straightforward answer from Phoenix Rain.
Since joining God's Domain, Miracle and the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had butted heads numerous times in the Apocalypse Empire. Upon discovering Thunder Island, in particular, both sides suffered a ridiculous number of casualties as they faced each other in battle. Based on his estimates, each Guild should've lost two or three hundred thousand elite players.
At this point, it was practically impossible for their Guilds to sit down for a proper conversation.
He had prepared various arguments to get Phoenix Rain to listen to his proposal. Now, however, it seemed that his preparation had been unnecessary.
Immediately, Thousand Miles revealed an agreement and handed it to Phoenix Raid, saying, "Phoenix Pavilion Master, take a look at this."
Receiving the agreement, Phoenix Rain glanced through its contents.
The agreement was very simple.
As long as the Asura Battle Team allowed the Evil Dragon Battle Team to win the match, Miracle would agree to a non-aggression pact with the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion during the contest for Thunder Island.
"Phoenix Pavilion Master, what do you think about these conditions? I believe that you are familiar with the situation on Thunder Island. We are seeing more Guilds preparing for the upcoming contest by the day. Both you and I are even struggling to ensure that we secure a single monster encampment. Clashing with each other on Thunder Island wouldn't benefit either of us.
"To begin with, the Asura Battle Team has no chance of victory. You might as well had the victory to the Evil Dragon Battle Team. You can gamble on our win and earn a fortune for yourself. We'll have the best of both worlds this way. What do you think?"
Currently, in preparation for the upcoming contest on Thunder Island, the various large Guilds were tight on resources.
In Thousand Miles's opinion, this proposal would benefit both his and Phoenix Rain's sides.
While the Asura Battle Team had performed exceptionally in its previous match, in his opinion, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion must've contributed to the battle team's powerful weapons and equipment. Moreover, although Battle Wolves backed the Glorious Lions Battle Team, the Guild had not placed much importance on the Dark Arena back then. Hence, the Asura Battle Team eventually defeated the Glorious Lions Battle Team.
However, the Asura Battle Team's current opponent was the Evil Dragon Battle Team, which had Miracle's support. The Evil Dragon Battle Team received more benefits than the Glorious Lions Battle Team had. Not only were Miracle's apex experts on the team, but Miracle had also supplied a large stock of excellent weapons, equipment, and Skill Books.
The Evil Dragons Battle Team far surpassed their current opponents in both number and quality of experts and items. The Asura Battle Team had no hope of victory. Hence, rather than struggling pointlessly, it was much better if the Asura Battle Team let the Evil Dragon Team win.
If Phoenix Rain bet all of her resources on the Evil Dragon Battle Team winning, she could walk away with a massive fortune. With these resources, she could hire more helpers and increase her chances of obtaining a share of the authority over Thunder Island.
The two Guilds would also have a non-aggression pact. By agreeing to his proposal, Phoenix Rain could kill two birds with one stone.
"This is why you called me here?" Phoenix Rain asked indifferently.
"That's right. It is very rare to see such a high payout rate in the Dark Arena. As long as the Evil Dragon Battle Team achieves a complete victory, you'll get seven times the return. With this many resources, both our Guilds will gain a foothold on Thunder Island," Thousand Miles said confidently.
"What if I refuse?" Phoenix Rain said.
When she had signed the agreement with Shi Feng, she had agreed that she wouldn't interfere with the Asura Battle Team. Shi Feng only needed to send her half of the team's profits. Moreover, her main goal in establishing the Asura Battle Team was to compete for the position of the Dark Arena's host.
Although Thousand Miles had presented his offer casually, the consequences of suffering an utter defeat in the Dark Arena included more than just losing a match.
Normally, battle teams only needed to win eight out of ten competitions to earn the right to challenge the host. However, to prevent Guilds from deliberately manipulating a competition's results, any battle teams that suffered utter defeat were barred from the Dark Arena's competitions for a certain period. Moreover, the battle team's previous victories would be reset to zero.
For example, after Asura had demolished the Glorious Lions Battle Team, even now, it was still banned from the competitions. Even after the ban lifted, the team's previous two wins would not be counted.
However, the Dark Arena grew more intense with each passing day. Everyone wanted the spot of the Dark Arena's host. Moreover, due to the Mind Space System beginning its operation, the various corporations hungered for a share of the pie that was the Dark Arena.
If one were only a participant, they could only take part in a competition once every few days or even weeks. Moreover, participants would only profit if they won. On the other hand, the host made a fortune on every competition, regardless of which team won.
Although one could also spectate and bet resources on a competition, risks came with each gamble. Moreover, the host was no fool. For competitions with clear winners, the payout rates would be set extraordinarily low. Even if one won in a bet, they would win very little. It was far from what the winning battle team earned from their cuts of the bets.
In the end, however, the host earned more than anyone.
Recently, the Dark Arena had begun to hold more competitions, and the number would continue to increase. One could just imagine how profitable it would be to become the Dark Arena's host.
Hence, no battle team wished to lose; they especially wanted to avoid an utter defeat.
"Phoenix Pavilion Master, do you hate money that much?" Thousand Smiles said, the warm smile on his face turning cold. "The Asura Battle Team's loss is already set in stone. Is it really worth rejecting my offer to protect your reputation? If you refuse, I'll have no choice but to find the Dragon Pavilion Master and negotiate with him. I believe that he would be extremely interested in cooperating with us on Thunder Island. He would also be more than willing to tell the Great Pavilion Master about the Asura Battle Team. Even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would not be willing to let you act so recklessly."
He had already done his investigation and discovered that Nine Dragons Emperor had no relationship whatsoever with the Asura Battle Team. Phoenix Rain had established the team herself. However, while Nine Dragons Emperor could not interfere with the battle team, he could report Phoenix Rain to the Great Pavilion Master, the true ruler of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. At that time, Phoenix Rain would be forced into an awkward position.
"Are you threatening me?" Phoenix Rain asked, her tone lowering slightly.
"No, this is just a kind warning," Thousand Miles said, smiling. He was unfazed by Phoenix Rain's angry reaction.
"Thank you for your warning, then! I have some matters to deal with, so I'll be leaving!" Phoenix Rain glanced at Thousand Miles before turning to leave.
If the secret of her owning the Asura Battle Team were exposed, and Heavenly Dragon and Miracle agreed to cooperate, her development in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would suffer. However, the setback wouldn't be so severe that she needed to fear the man's threats.
As long as the operation on Thunder Island succeeded, her position in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would be unshakable.
"She really doesn't know how to appreciate a favor." Wrathful flames burned in Thousand Miles's eyes as he watched Phoenix Rain's departing figure. "March, pass on the weapons and equipment we borrowed to Miracle Dragon and the others. Since this plan has failed, we'll proceed with the original plan."
Originally, Thousand Miles had intended to secure a complete victory for the Evil Dragon Battle Team without exposing their true strength. After all, this would benefit them greatly in the upcoming competitions.
Now that Phoenix Rain had rejected his proposal, he had no choice but to show her how powerless the Asura Battle Team was against the Evil Dragon Battle Team, forcing her to regret her decision.
"Understood!" Silent March nodded and left the room.
Time passed quickly. As more people arrived in the Dark Arena, Phoenix Rain desperately worked with her subordinates to learn more about the Evil Dragon Battle Team. At the same time, she used her connections to obtain some top-tier equipment for the Asura Battle Team.
As the competition was about to begin, Blue Phoenix rushed into the VIP room Phoenix Rain occupied.
"Big Sis Rain, Zero Wing's members have arrived, but…"
"But what?"
"They've only sent five people this time…"
"Five?! Do they want to win this competition or not?!"