"Joining a major guild comes at a huge cost—that much we know for sure." Recomposed Words stepped forward as he sensed He Yucheng was about to be swayed. He turned to Nai Xiaodu: "Sentinel Tomb doesn’t just have conflicts with Dieying’s guild alliance. Rumor has it you’ve also had minor friction with the top guild, ‘Drunk Immortal Palace.’ Am I right?"

Recomposed Words spoke like a sage, analyzing the situation.

Nai Xiaodu was slightly surprised. Very few knew about the tension between the first and second guilds. She nodded without hiding it: "That’s true. Sentinel Tomb and Drunk Immortal Palace do have some disputes over interests."

"Hmm. And you’re not very confident about winning, are you? If you lose the next Sovereignty War, your guild members won’t hold out much longer before jumping ship, right?" Recomposed Words’ all-knowing attitude stunned He Yucheng. He Yucheng stole a glance at Nai Xiaodu. She still wore a smile, but it had clearly stiffened.

Recomposed Words was spot on. The guild Nai Xiaodu had built from scratch was in trouble—a nightmare for any guild leader. In-game, a guild was like home. No one wanted a cold, unwelcoming home.

It was pitiful, really. A top-tier guild facing such a plight.

"The next Sovereignty War is still a while off. Our alliance’s current strength isn’t weak—you know that," Nai Xiaodu told Recomposed Words. He Yucheng truly couldn’t decide blindly; he knew nothing about the game’s power dynamics. Rushing in had left him trapped in the main city, unable to leave.

"Yes, but you suffered a crushing defeat last Sovereignty War, didn’t you?" Recomposed Words dropped all pretense of respecting big shots. He and He Yucheng were on the same sinking ship now—if one went down, the other would too. Recomposed Words had to choose the right path; it determined their future in this game.

Churan loved this game… it was rare.

Nai Xiaodu felt uneasy having her secrets exposed, but she couldn’t deny it. The first Sovereignty War saw the Drunk Immortal Palace and Sentinel Tomb alliances clash over territory rights. Though evenly matched, Sentinel Tomb’s alliance lost badly—a baffling outcome.

If Sentinel Tomb’s alliance disbanded, its former members—now enemies of Drunk Immortal Palace—would be targeted. Unless they joined the opposing alliance, their situation wouldn’t be as dire as He Yucheng’s, but they’d still be hunted relentlessly.

This city blockade wouldn’t last long either. If the chaos continued, players would revolt.

…

Churan watched Recomposed Words pressing hard on-screen and looked up at Song Qian: "Don’t negotiate too smoothly."

Song Qian gave Churan a faint, ambiguous smile. "I know what you mean. You’re even thinking about that while gaming? Tsk tsk."

Churan sighed. "You can’t expect me to die with the stain of breaking a promise, can you?"

"Damn you! Can’t you have some backbone? Stop spouting such jinxed talk all day!" Song Qian glared at Churan. Churan gave a self-deprecating smile—naturally pessimistic after what he’d been through.

"Enough of that. When’s the next Sovereignty War?" Nai Xiaodu clearly wanted to prepare for it.

"Over half a month from now. Two Sovereignty Wars will be held before full launch to settle the guild rankings." Every game had a few legendary guilds that dominated the scene.

"Hmm…" Leveling was fast here—a little help cleared quests quickly. Gear enhancement mattered little; at max level, stat gaps from it wouldn’t exceed 50%. Only level-based damage reduction against monsters counted.

…

"Without guarantees, if we join your guild and lose the Sovereignty War, we’ll be worse off than now," Recomposed Words told Nai Xiaodu. Their current blockade was just Lichou’s temporary rage. He Yucheng didn’t know it, but Recomposed Words did.

Patience had limits. They might stop blocking the city tomorrow, but trouble would follow. Recomposed Words knew Lichou wouldn’t let it go.

"You keep talking about Sentinel Tomb losing. But what if we win?" Nai Xiaodu lacked confidence, but if she couldn’t believe in victory, how could she fight for it?

What if they won?

The four exchanged glances. Yeah—what if they won?

"I can tell you this for certain: monsters above Eternal Night City drop common materials. Dungeons drop materials too, plus rare costumes and blueprints. But do you think Dieying or Drunk Immortal Palace lack cosmetic items?" Nai Xiaodu, as second guild leader, made a compelling case.

She wouldn’t sell false intel. Her reasoning was solid. Even if He Yucheng’s group reached Eternal Night City, they’d have no quests or monsters to grind—same as now.

No leveling, no high-tier dungeons, no materials, no merchant career. All stemmed from Dieying’s alliance deliberately sabotaging them.

The solution? He Yucheng’s group was strong individually, but outnumbered. Winning solo was impossible. Victory had to come through guild warfare.

The only guild willing and able to help was Nai Xiaodu’s Sentinel Tomb.

No other path existed. He Yucheng now carried an extra burden: securing Sentinel Tomb’s victory in the upcoming Sovereignty War.

He Yucheng stepped forward. A faint smile slowly appeared on Nai Xiaodu’s face…

*Boom!*

A thunderbolt struck from the sky. He Yucheng and Nai Xiaodu reflexively dodged backward. Skills couldn’t hit in safe zones, but battle instincts made them evade any attack.

A purple figure appeared between them—Nightingale, Xiaoye!

When had Xiaoye logged in? He Yucheng hadn’t even noticed…

"Sister?" Lengjiang, silent until now, looked up in surprise at Xiaoye.

Xiaoye gazed at Nai Xiaodu, her voice low: "Xiaodu, you know why. When will you root out the mole planted by the enemy?"

"A… mole?" Recomposed Words and the others were baffled. Had the game reached this level of intrigue?

"Evenly matched strength, equal tactics—why did you lose? How did they predict your strategies?" Xiaoye sheathed her spear calmly.

He Yucheng’s group was sidelined now. Xiaoye spoke like she’d fought in that war, intimately familiar with the battle.

"Top guilds having moles during Sovereignty Wars, leaking tactics—isn’t that laughable?" Such errors were rare, yet Sentinel Tomb’s alliance had them. It was deeply shameful.

Dirty laundry shouldn’t be aired publicly. Sentinel Tomb suspected a mole but lacked proof. False accusations could shatter the alliance early.

That’s why Nai Xiaodu urgently recruited talent, hoping raw power would secure victory. To Xiaoye, that was foolish—a force without tactics could never win such battles.

Nai Xiaodu lowered her head in shame. The weight on her shoulders was heavy, but as leader, she’d failed her guild. If this got out, her reputation would be ruined.

Xiaoye’s words killed Nai Xiaodu’s urge to recruit He Yucheng’s group.

Treating symptoms, not the cause—the next Sovereignty War would still end in defeat.

Xiaoye turned to He Yucheng, making him uneasy.

"Think carefully before deciding." She didn’t block their choice. Joining Sentinel Tomb was still an option, but the pros and cons were clear. The decision was theirs.

*Private chat channel:*

*Nightingale: I’m busy for a while. Keep looking after my little sister.*

*He Yucheng: …*

…

Xiaoye’s logins were always brief—she claimed to be busy.

He Yucheng scratched his head. "Looking after" Lengjiang? He was just gaming with her. Was that really care?

Xiaoye vanished as quickly as she’d appeared. Under the Xiangsi tree, only the five remained.

Nai Xiaodu sighed. She had no heart for recruitment now. As Xiaoye said, she knew about the mole but hadn’t acted—though finding them was near impossible.

"Sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused," Nai Xiaodu apologized to each of them.

"If we join now, can we drive off Dieying’s alliance immediately?" He Yucheng asked with a faint, teasing smile. Nai Xiaodu paused, then nodded softly: "Yes, but—"

"No ‘buts.’ We’re all on the same boat now, aren’t we?" Despite Xiaoye and Recomposed Words’ warnings, He Yucheng didn’t care. To level up, he needed outside help.

Nai Xiaodu’s eyes grew misty with gratitude—until Lengjiang weakly interjected, pouting: "The exchange condition is only one Sovereignty War…"

Everyone froze. He Yucheng turned to Nai Xiaodu with a smile: "Exactly. I still prefer being a free agent."

"Free agents should just start their own guild…" Recomposed Words muttered under his breath.

"Done! No problem!" Nai Xiaodu’s face lit up as if encouraged. She raised her hand. A prompt appeared before the four: *Join ‘Sentinel Tomb’? (Recomposed Words and Moonshadow have left their previous guilds.)*

*Accept!*

*Accept!*

*Accept!*

*Accept!*

Guild icons for Sentinel Tomb appeared above all four heads. He Yucheng grinned at Nai Xiaodu: "Time to honor my condition first, right?"

Nai Xiaodu’s smile deepened. She raised her right hand and flashed a gesture—OK!