“I… lost?” Peaceful Chaos uttered as he stood motionless with a look of disbelief on his face. “What happened? How did the Captain lose? I couldn’t even see it…” One of the Blue Oasis players by the name of Thunder Steps commented.
“The first time was definitely a sword skill. This time-I’m afraid I also have no idea how the Captain lost.” Another player who went by Boulder Gate chimed in.
“That guy must have used a dirty tactic to win! There’s no way that Captain Peaceful Chaos would lose so easily…!” Second Tyrant scowled.
“Dirty tactic…? That’s…” Thunder Steps had a doubtful look in his eyes.
Everyone knew that it was Peaceful Chaos himself who set the rules of the duel and sent the request to Izroth. Where did he have the chance to use a dirty tactic?
As for him somehow getting around the system and cheating in some other manner, no one here would believe such a thing. RML was not like other games where one could find a way to cheat through hacking.
The Impenetrable Fortress-that was the nickname given to the firewall that protected RML.
Before RML was launched, the company behind it held a competition. They announced that whoever could break through RML’s firewall would be rewarded 1,000,000,000 RMB.
When news of this got out, there was not a single hacker in the world who did not throw their all at attempting to crack the Impenetrable Fortress. It was even rumored that multiple governments secretly competed to see who could crack it first.
However, in the end, no one was able to claim the prize. As a result, there was still a reward in place for the first person able to break through the Impenetrable Fortress. Though, as if the company behind RML was fearless, they increased the reward to a staggering 4,000,000,000 RMB!
Why would someone who could easily earn 4,000,000,000 RMB waste their time cheating in a mere duel?
Second Tyrant’s claims fell on deaf ears as the other Blue Oasis could not hide their dejection. “I’ve been saving up to buy a grade three pill from the Mystical Realm Palace. But now that our Blue Oasis is no longer allowed to set foot through its doors, what have I even been saving for all this time?” Boulder Gate grumbled.
“Why should we all have to suffer for his choice? Does the Captain even have the authority to make such a decision for our Blue Oasis?” Thunder Steps questioned with a frown.
“That’s right! The Captain had no right to make that kind of bet in the first place!” One of the Blue Oasis players added.
“Yeah! The bet’s invalid!”
“Invalid bet!”
“Invalid bet!”
The players from Blue Oasis cried out one after the other. Why should they all have to give up on entering the Mystical Realm Palace because of Peaceful Chaos’ mistake?
Besides, could one even call that a duel? Both duels lasted less than a total of ten seconds combined. If one were to say that Peaceful Chaos was acting against Blue Oasis, it would not be difficult to believe.
As Peaceful Chaos heard the shouts of his guild members, he clenched his fists and grit his teeth.
If he had won, none of them would have complained about the way he handled things. In fact, there was not a single person here who would not have tried their best to get on his good side. But, since he had lost, it did not take long for them to turn against him and start to look out for their own interests.
“These ungrateful bastards….! After everything I did for them..!” Peaceful Chaos muttered as he swallowed his anger.
“No, that’s not what’s important right now. I have to find a way to invalidate this bet. Otherwise, I won’t be able to show my face in Blue Oasis again. I might even end up losing my position as Captain…!” Peaceful Chaos thought to himself.
Blue Oasis was already on thin ice with Izroth and the Mystical Realm Palace because of everything that happened during the Great Sea Palace raid. As a result, the members of Blue Oasis were instructed not to agitate Izroth or anyone related to his Mystical Realm Palace for fear of losing access.
Unfortunately, Peaceful Chaos was too blinded by his own greed. He saw this as an opportunity to restore Blue Oasis’ image while simultaneously knocking Izroth down a bit and gaining some benefits. However, nothing had gone as planned!
Now, not only would Blue Oasis no longer be permitted to enter the Mystical Realm Palace and purchase pills, but he would even have to tell Izroth what they were up to in their own territory. As one of the top guilds in RML, this was a great humiliation.
Peaceful Chaos regretted suggesting a contract. If not for that, he could have just used his words to twist the situation back to his advantage. However, he made sure that the contract he made was ironclad so that Izroth could not back out of it. However, by doing so, he ended up backing himself into a corner.
In fact, there was probably a way to resolve this matter. But, Peaceful Chaos knew that using that method would be no different than slapping his own face in front of everyone.
“I have no other choice…!” Peaceful Chaos silently mulled.
The next moment, he set his gaze to the ground and said, “This bet is invalid. I… Don’t have the authority to make such a bet on Blue Oasis’ behalf…!”
Peaceful Chaos forced those words out of his mouth. Openly admitting that he did not have the authority to make the bet was the same as saying that he held no real influence in Blue Oasis. If word of this spread, his reputation would take a huge hit. This situation was no different than being offered two poisons. It just so happened that this poison was less potent than the other on the table.
Izroth inwardly shook his head at the way Peaceful Chaos reacted after his loss. If he had humbly accepted his defeat and sincerely apologized for his behavior, while Izroth would not have given Peaceful Chaos another chance, he would have considered giving Blue Oasis another chance.
“Even if a regular member of your Blue Oasis signed this contract, it would be valid. Now, it’s time to uphold the other end of the contract.” Izroth stated calmly.
Whether it was Peaceful Chaos or a random member of Blue Oasis did not matter to Izroth. Since the bet had been made, the consequences had to be paid. He would not go back on it. Peaceful Chaos grit his teeth in anger. Did this guy have to be so ruthless and arrogant? Has he never heard of giving the other side face? If it was just some nobody he could understand, he was a Captain of a top guild like Blue Oasis. Did he merely not put the top guilds in his sight?
Peaceful Chaos wanted to protest and ignore Izroth’s request; however, he understood the price of going against a contract. In the end, he had no choice but to hand over the information to Izroth.
“…There is a spring nearby that members of the exploration squad discovered a few days ago. We were here to follow up on that discovery.” Peaceful Chaos said begrudgingly.
‘A spring?’
Izroth found it unlikely that a top guild would waste time and resources on a normal spring. Without a doubt, Peaceful Chaos was leaving out important information. But, since the contract did not mention him having to explain things in great detail, Izroth could only
speculate.
‘Can this spring be linked to the infected mana I detected earlier? More importantly, can it have something to do with the disappearance of Empyrean and Selene?’
“Where is the location of this spring?” Izroth questioned.
“Palace Master Izroth, although I agreed to give you information, you shouldn’t overstep unless you’re willing to make some concessions. This is still the territory of my Blue Oasis.”
Peaceful Chaos said with a cold gaze.
Since the other party would not give him face, why should he?
“If it is your territory that you are concerned about, then I have a solution. Azalea-” Izroth
called out.
“Yes, teacher?” Azalea said as she immediately appeared at Izroth’s side.
“Eliminate every member of Blue Oasis in Kifa Karsts. This way, they will not have to worry
about their territory.” Izroth said in a carefree manner.
Azalea’s eyes turned cold as she looked directly at Peaceful Chaos and replied, “I have
received your orders.”