Chapter 194: The Decision!

Nie Yan and Tang Yao activated their town return scrolls and teleported back to the city, heading toward the Bull Tribe headquarters in Karol City.

Upon entering the Bull Tribe headquarters, Guo Huai and others stood up immediately upon seeing Nie Yan and Tang Yao return.

Inside the guild headquarters, there were about a dozen people, including Cui Can Dao Guang (Cui Candao Guang), Brother Seven the Leader, Bad Kid Who Can’t Be Killed, and Bilu Sha. Everyone wore serious expressions, likely discussing something important before Nie Yan and Tang Yao arrived.

“You’re back,” Guo Huai greeted.

“What happened?” Nie Yan asked. If it wasn’t something urgent, Guo Huai wouldn’t have urgently recalled them.

“It’s like this. Zhongheng Tianxia somehow found out the location of our elite team and sent over a thousand players to ambush them. We lost sixteen members of our elite team. Fortunately, Cui Can Dao Guang and Brother Seven the Leader were alert enough and managed to escape under the cover of their teammates,” Guo Huai explained. Upon learning the news, he immediately messaged Nie Yan and Tang Yao and dispatched many members to rescue Cui Can Dao Guang and others, but it was already too late. A thousand players hunting twenty meant the battle ended quickly. Cui Can Dao Guang and Brother Seven the Leader barely escaped.

After hearing Guo Huai’s explanation, Nie Yan’s face darkened instantly. Losing sixteen of twenty elite team members was a devastating blow to the Bull Tribe. Every member of the elite team was a valuable asset to the guild! Under the leadership of Cui Can Dao Guang and Brother Seven the Leader, the elite team had achieved remarkable success. However, this incident nullified at least two to three days of their efforts.

“Did any of the fallen members get red names?” Nie Yan asked. If any of the members had red names when they died, they would lose all their equipment, which would be even more frustrating—effectively wiping out an elite member entirely.

“Fortunately, Cui Can Dao Guang and Brother Seven the Leader were relatively restrained and prevented their teammates from initiating attacks first.”

It was fortunate that no infiltrators had entered the elite team. Otherwise, if a situation like the one outside Heiyan Forest occurred again, they would suffer even greater losses.

Even so, the losses were significant, and Nie Yan was furious. He hadn’t sought out Zhongheng Tianxia, but they had dared to come after him. This time, he absolutely couldn’t let it slide!

“It’s all our fault for not noticing this in advance,” Brother Seven the Leader blamed himself. Thinking about the fallen teammates, he felt a pang of pain. They had worked hard to secure the best current gear for each member, only to suffer a setback at the hands of Zhongheng Tianxia. It was all because they hadn’t been vigilant enough beforehand.

“This incident started because of me. I didn’t expect Hei Zhuo to target us,” Cui Can Dao Guang said. He should have realized that taking so many people away from Zhongheng Tianxia would make Hei Zhuo hold a deep grudge against him. Since Zhongheng Tianxia was significantly weaker than the Bull Tribe, he had assumed Hei Zhuo, being rational, wouldn’t dare confront the Bull Tribe directly. Thus, he hadn’t taken the matter seriously.

“Now that it’s happened, blaming ourselves won’t help. This matter isn’t simple,” Nie Yan said coldly. Whoever dared touch his people, he would strike back. As the guild leader, he had to settle this matter.

“I just received news that Zhongheng Tianxia has allied with the Triumph Coalition and become a branch of the Triumph Empire,” Guo Huai said, looking at a message he had just received.

“No wonder they’re so brazen,” Bu Neng Sha Si De Huai Dan (Bad Kid Who Can’t Be Killed) couldn’t contain himself. “Boss, let’s go kill them all!”

He was close to several members of the elite team, who were now all dead!

“Calm down and listen to what the leaders have to say,” Bilu Sha (Bilu Sha) said calmly.

Hearing Guo Huai’s words, Nie Yan furrowed his brow. Zhongheng Tianxia alone had at least twenty thousand members, though their strength wasn’t impressive since most of their elite members had joined Cui Can Dao Guang. Still, a force of twenty or thirty thousand was not to be underestimated. Their alliance with Triumph would certainly impact the future situation.

Guo Huai and others looked at Nie Yan, waiting for him to make a decision.

Bilu Sha, Bu Neng Sha Si De Huai Dan, and others finally felt the atmosphere in the guild—Nie Yan was the one who made the final decisions.

“What should we do? Should we declare all-out war on Zhongheng Tianxia?” Guo Huai asked. If the Bull Tribe didn’t respond after their elite team was wiped out, they would surely be looked down upon. However, declaring all-out war would mean the Bull Tribe would have to commit significant manpower to fight Zhongheng Tianxia, with Triumph likely joining in. This would stall the Bull Tribe’s development.

Even the Triumph Empire hesitated to declare war on a guild, let alone the Bull Tribe. This was a period of rapid development for everyone, and starting a war would risk the future of the guild. Moreover, even if they declared all-out war, they couldn’t completely eliminate Zhongheng Tianxia!

Currently, all the Bull Tribe players were watching the leadership. If they endured such an insult, they might not accept it, and this matter couldn’t simply be swept under the rug.

If Triumph had been the one to act, the Bull Tribe might have been able to hold back, considering Triumph was currently the largest guild in Karol City and a formidable force. Everyone was holding their breath, planning to defeat Triumph someday. But what was Zhongheng Tianxia? Just a small guild. If even a small guild could bully the Bull Tribe so brazenly, what was the point of staying in the guild?

Therefore, Nie Yan’s decision would affect the future direction of the entire guild.

“Our guild has infiltrators planted by Zhongheng Tianxia. We weren’t cautious enough, which led to them discovering our location. Should we explain this to the lower ranks?” Brother Seven the Leader asked. They understood that declaring all-out war was useless and would only drag them into a conflict, with everyone chasing after Zhongheng Tianxia players and quickly falling behind in levels.

“No!” Nie Yan shook his head. That wasn’t the best solution. Triumph was also closely watching this matter. If the Bull Tribe tried to suppress the issue and Triumph spread the news everywhere, the Bull Tribe’s leadership would lose all credibility.

“Check the official forum!” Guo Huai said. After the incident, he had been closely monitoring the official forum. There were videos of Zhongheng Tianxia ambushing the Bull Tribe’s elite team, along with many provocative comments.

Bull Tribe, dare you fight?

“Damn it, Nie Yan, let’s fight them!” Tang Yao couldn’t hold back upon seeing those provocations.

“What’s Zhongheng Tianxia’s current move?” Nie Yan asked Guo Huai.

“According to reports, Zhongheng Tianxia is openly clearing monsters in the Magma Forest, seemingly waiting for us to come. Our members are already getting restless, especially those who transferred from Zhongheng Tianxia, who are loudly calling for a counterattack. I’ve asked the team leaders to calm their members and wait for your orders,” Guo Huai said, looking at Nie Yan.

“Keep an eye on those agitators. We’ll deal with them after this matter is resolved,” Nie Yan said. These people were definitely infiltrators from Zhongheng Tianxia, trying to incite the Bull Tribe players to pressure the leadership. However, it wasn’t the right time to eliminate them during this sensitive period. They would handle it after resolving the current issue.

“This incident was likely orchestrated by Triumph,” Cui Can Dao Guang said. He understood Hei Zhuo’s character. If Triumph hadn’t offered him some benefits, he wouldn’t have dared to involve himself. Provoking the Bull Tribe wouldn’t bring him any good.

“If Triumph is behind this, no matter how many people we send, they might be wiped out by Triumph. However, if we don’t act, Zhongheng Tianxia will continue to openly clear monsters in the Magma Forest, drawing the attention of the entire server to the Bull Tribe,” Guo Huai worried. If they did nothing, it would appear that the Bull Tribe was tolerating the humiliation, and Zhongheng Tianxia could spread the word, making it impossible for Bull Tribe members to hold their heads high again.

It was a blatant insult!

Nie Yan sneered coldly. No wonder it was Breaker Tian, coming up with such a vicious strategy. However, the Bull Tribe wouldn’t sit idly by.

Nie Yan analyzed the current situation. The Bull Tribe was in a difficult position. If they declared war, their forces would likely be wiped out by Triumph. If they did nothing, Zhongheng Tianxia would continue openly clearing monsters in the Magma Forest, with the entire server watching the Bull Tribe’s response.

Perhaps the Holy Roman Empire, the Jialan Guild, and the War Alliance were also watching how the Bull Tribe handled the situation. They wouldn’t want to get involved themselves. Their relationship with the Bull Tribe wasn’t that close.

The Bull Tribe had no reinforcements!

“Let me think about the Magma Forest,” Nie Yan said, deep in thought. He was very familiar with the Magma Forest, which had complex terrain filled with rock layers and caves. The Magma Forest was a jungle of iron trees, inhabited by level 25 rock-dwelling monsters. Beneath the Magma Forest lay an expansive underground world known as the Dark Death Zone, inhabited by venomous snake flies, level 25 monsters. They hid in dark corners and often attacked in groups, causing enemies to become paralyzed and petrified. Thus, few dared to venture there to level up. The underground world had seven entrances, all located in extremely secluded spots.

A dangerous idea suddenly flashed through Nie Yan’s mind.

Magma Forest!

Nie Yan looked at Guo Huai and said, “Send someone to the Star Pharmacy to get some petrification antidotes. Hurry.”

“How many do you need?”

“A hundred bottles.”

“A hundred bottles is enough?” Guo Huai asked in surprise.

Nie Yan nodded. “Enough.” Then he turned to all the members present and asked, “Who among you is willing to join me and wipe out Zhongheng Tianxia!”

“Me!” Tang Yao shouted.

“Me too!” Bu Neng Sha Si De Huai Dan stepped forward.

“Count me in!”

More than a dozen people voiced their enthusiasm.