Asgard closely observed Ewan's behavior, however, he was unable to discover his intentions. It was at that time he received a message from some of the players he sent to scout the surrounding area. When he saw this message, Asgard could not help but furrow his brows as he glanced over towards Niflheim who also obtained the same message.
What did this mean? Did the guild leader of Cross Haven come here alone? If so, did he just coincidentally happen upon this place? Although both Asgard and Niflheim found this difficult to believe, it did not make any sense for him to arrive here alone without any back-up in position.
However, a part of them wished that Ewan came with an actual group. If he did so, then it would have made his intentions clear. But now, they had to question their next move. Should they just enter the true Settlement of Clearwater and let Ewan explore freely after everyone was safely inside? If they did, then even if Ewan did discover that there was a raid nearby, without a raid party close to this location, it would be impossible for him to make any moves.
Not to mention, including the raid party, there were currently 50+ Blue Oasis members; all of whom were core or elite members. If anything unexpected took place, they would be more than capable of responding without issue. But, in the end, Asgard would rather not take any chances.
"This building is currently being used as a private meeting spot for my Blue Oasis. Guild leader Ewan, I'm sure you of all people understand the importance of privacy when it comes to these matters. If guild leader Ewan is willing to wait here for a few hours, then naturally, this place will be available to freely explore." Asgard responded in a calm tone. But, from his tone, one could also tell that he was not backing down on this matter.
"I see, if it's like this, then I don't plan on making it difficult for guild leader Asgard." Ewan said.
Asgard was a bit taken aback by how easily Ewan backed off. This made him frown inwardly as he started to believe more and more that Ewan may have discovered this place by chance and did not know about the raid. Maybe they were overthinking things too much. After all, they had been extremely careful in their preparations and keeping things a secret.
Ewan glanced at Niflheim before turning his attention towards Izroth as he said, "We meet again, Izroth. To be personally invited to a private meeting... I was unaware that the owner of the Mystical Realm Palace had officially joined Blue Oasis."
"I personally invited the owner of the Mystical Realm Palace to this meeting to discuss a potential future partnership. Unfortunately, we were unable to come to a proper agreement before coming out here to greet the guild leader of Cross Haven." Niflheim stated without the slightest bit of hesitation present in his voice.
"Oh? If that's the case, I too would like to discuss a potential partnership with the owner of the Mystical Realm Palace regarding my Cross Haven. Surely, Blue Oasis doesn't plan on monopolizing every opportunity, right? Do you have any objections?" Ewan said nonchalantly as he addressed Izroth.
"I don't mind. However, are you sure you can meet my demands?" Izroth replied with a carefree smile on his face.
"If it's money, my Cross Haven does not lack it. We can also provide you with a steady stream of resources. If you can name it, then as long as it's within the ability of my Cross Haven, we will try our best to meet the demands presented to us. Of course, if you're willing to directly sell the Mystical Realm Palace, we can discuss that matter as well." Ewan stated.
Izroth held up one finger as he said, "I'm willing to sell it for a cheap price. I'm not asking for that much in return."
Asgard, Niflheim, and the other members of Blue Oasis were shocked by Izroth's response. He was willing to sell the Mystical Realm Palace for a cheap price?! Asgard nearly jumped out as he wanted to make an offer of his own.
"1 billion RMB? It's a bit costly, however-" Ewan was speaking, before he was interrupted by Izroth.
"I think you've misunderstood. 1 trillion RMB. If you can provide me with 1 trillion RMB, then the Mystical Realm Palace belongs to you." Izroth said in a carefree tone.
However, his response caused the members of Blue Oasis to cough up blood. This was a cheap price? 1 trillion RMB? That was clearly a joke of a price! He might as well just say that he had no plans of selling it!
"Even though the funds of my Cross Haven are not lacking, this demand is a bit out of reach. What a shame." Ewan responded with a light smile on his face. He seemed to be unbothered by Izroth's actions just now which surprised the members of Blue Oasis. Wasn't he upset at Izroth for making such a nonsensical offer?
"Indeed, a shame." Izroth stated.
'This Ewan hides himself well. Even back in the conference room, he never revealed his hand. This type of person is... '
Just as Izroth was having those thoughts, something unexpected took place. Not just him, but every player present received an alert from the system. It was a world announcement! However, when the players from Blue Oasis saw this world announcement, their expressions turned extremely ugly. Someone dared to do this?!
Izroth examined the world announcement as he narrowed his eyes slightly after he read it over.
"Did someone from Blue Oasis make a mistake?" Zi Yi muttered to herself.
Ewan smirked as he read over the world announcement and said, "These coordinates... It seems the people of Blue Oasis are indeed having a private meeting."
Asgard winced at Ewan's words as they appeared to have stabbed at a sore spot, however, he had no time to deal with him now that it had come to this.
"We're leaving at once, everyone!" Asgard said as he started to head back into the rainbow-colored coral. Now that it had come to this, it was too late to worry about anything else. They needed to start at once before the others started to move. Once that happened, who knew when they would receive this kind of opportunity again?
"This is bad... This mistake will cost us greatly. What was the vice-guilder leader and Captain Vanaheim doing down there to allow for this mishap?" Niflheim thought to himself as he hurried along with Asgard and the other two captains of Blue Oasis.
There was another requirement that only Asgard, the vice-guild leader, and Niflheim knew about when it came to acquiring the territory they were going after. Not only did they need to clear a raid on the Hardcore difficulty, but they also needed to be the first ones to clear it!
If it was just clearing a Normal difficulty raid first, then they would not be too troubled. However, not only did they have to clear the raid first, but they had to run it on the Hardcore difficulty for it to count! Who knew how challenging this raid would be or how many times they would be wiped out before succeeding? By that time, perhaps another top guild would arrive, run the Normal difficulty, and clear the raid before they could do so.
The reason that they decided to keep this hidden was for obvious reasons. They did not want to risk the entire process being leaked just in case there were hidden ears or eyes in unseen places. This was simply a form of extra insurance.
"It looks like this is going to become a mess for Blue Oasis." Izroth said as he and his party members headed back towards the rainbow-colored coral's entrance.
As for the content of the world announcement that was broadcast to the world?
〈World Announcement: The first raid has been discovered in the «Third Kingdom Proximus» region of «Cleargate»! Coordinates:...〉
"Guild leader Asgard, you're leaving so soon? We haven't discussed matters properly." Ewan said.
Asgard turned and replied, "Guild leader Ewan, I am in a hurry. So any matters that need to be discussed can be spoken of later. Right now, I need to-"
"That won't do. I believe this is something that needs to be discussed now." Ewan cut Asgard off as he removed a small circular disk from his hand. He tossed the disk on the ground in front of him as it expanded from a mere 10cm in diameter to 4 meters in diameter creating a circular metallic platform. There were strange and unique magic symbols that appeared on the metallic platform as it emitted a faint white light. A few seconds later, something shocking happened.
After a flash of white light, a figure appeared on the platform and emerged from within. It was none other than one of Cross Haven's Five Great Generals, Zhang Jie! However, it did not stop there. Soon after Zhang Jie stepped off the platform, he was followed by Wang Qiang. But, this was only the beginning.
The flashes of white light did not halt as more players from Cross Haven started to emerge from the platform. There were some familiar and unfamiliar faces among them. Dragus, God Speed Wess, Petals, Harp, Too Risky... These were only a few players that appeared. In total, there were 50 players from Cross Haven that had appeared out of nowhere!
Just what was that strange item? What kind of powerful magic item did Ewan just use to transport 50 players from who knows where to a distant place like the Cleargate region? Was this one of Cross Haven's hidden trump cards? If so, it was terrifying to think of its potential. Didn't this mean that the guild leader of Cross Haven was always walking around with a small army at his disposal?!
Asgard's facial expression darkened when the other players from Cross Haven appeared. Why was nothing going as planned?! Also, what was with that magic item Ewan just used?!
"What do you intend to do?" Asgard questioned as his eyes stayed locked onto Ewan who was now accompanied by 50 other members of Cross Haven. He even had Zhang Jie with him! In terms of pure PVP and natural combat skills, among the Blue Oasis captains, only Road was his match. If a fight happened to break out and he was left unchecked, then he would be a nightmare to deal with! However, Road was currently in the true Settlement of Clearwater.
But, the last thing Asgard wanted to do was get into a fight with Cross Haven of all guilds, especially when he considered what was at stake.
"You seem to be in a rush, guild leader Asgard. Could it be that there's more to this than you're letting on?" Ewan questioned.
Asgard glanced over towards Niflheim who shook his head slightly. Even if they fought Cross Haven with their full might, it was uncertain who would be the victor. Not to mention, the losses on both sides would not be light. It would also cause them to become enemies in the future. Therefore, their options were incredibly limited at the moment.
"I'll just ask one question- Does guild leader Ewan and Cross Haven plan on stopping us from leaving this place?" Asgard asked seriously. The atmosphere had become tense as the players in stealth that belonged to Blue Oasis were awaiting orders. Would they fight Cross Haven here and now? It all depended on the answer to Asgard's question!
Ewan remained silent at first, however, a light smile appeared on his face as he replied, "I have no intention of keeping anyone here. Allow me to be blunt, I've heard certain rumors that Blue Oasis may have discovered a territory. I do not care much for this raid. If Blue Oasis wants to clear it first to build their reputation, since you were the ones to find it, I can show you a bit of face in this regard. However... A territory is another matter."
Asgard's heart skipped a beat. He was afraid that some rumors may have leaked out about them discovering a territory, however, he was not too concerned with this matter. After all, rumors could be brushed off. But, if Ewan chose to take advantage of this situation... Could it be he wanted them to hand it over? He would obviously not agree to such a ridiculous request! Was a fight inevitable?