Fang Hong stood beside the Big Cat People, gazing from afar at the colossal corpse of the Silver Mane Spider Queen resting like a mountain on the battlefield. The twilight clouds hung low in the sky, and the setting sun painted a thin layer of blood on the canyon below. A breeze with a hint of chill blew from the west, seemingly dispersing the bloody scent from the basin. The two bathed in the gentle wind, as the Big Cat People struck a match, casting a flash of light in the twilight.
Fang Hong took a deep breath, the air filling his lungs lacking the freshness or refreshing sensation he expected, instead he distinctly smelled a trace of dust in the wind.
The wind traveled from afar over the vast ocean to arrive here, where the cold moonlight gazed upon the expansive land of silver sand and ruins within the gravel, unchanged for millennia in that ancient Dragon's Land. He tossed lightly, the Clockwork Fairy sliced a straight vertical line, its golden shell reflecting the faint glow of twilight, and then steadily landed back into his gloved hand.
"Did they ultimately refuse your demands?" Reed extinguished the match. The petite pipe nestled in the massive, furry paw created a striking contrast in size. It then picked up the pipe, holding it with sharp teeth, as a dull red glow flashed within the pipe. A whiff of white smoke rose along the Big Cat's face, outlining its deep-cheeked contour.
"No, rather, you could say I refused." Fang Hong shook his head.
After he asked such a question, the man from the Dragonfire Guild fell into prolonged silence, lasting so long that Fang Hong almost assumed the man was intentionally stalling, but eventually, the man spoke. He chuckled before saying, "If you want to join us, I can introduce you to them."
Fang Hong still remembered the other's tone, it was somewhat mocking, yet carried a trace of disdain. It's hard to describe, but it indeed felt that way. He sensed the man was watching a joke, or didn't take them seriously at all, with an arrogance subtly hidden in his careless tone, leaving a strong impression.
He immediately retorted: "Them?"
"Those you referred to as, Dragon Worshippers."
"That's not what I said, the official statement said you colluded with the Cultists, at least I've read the announcement."
"Well, they weren't completely wrong."
"Not completely wrong? So Dragon Worshippers aren't Cultists."
"Alright, I actually don't mind how you view this matter, we also understand the general thoughts of ordinary people. But aren't you seeking benefits? Join us, and you can gain the same benefits, there's at least equal treatment."
When saying these words, Fang Hong distinctly felt the man's tone involuntarily revealing that same tone, with a hint of cold sneer amidst the disdain. Yet, he didn't feel angry at all, merely considering these people as having lost their minds.
If they hadn't lost their minds, they wouldn't join a Cult Organization.
"What benefits are there?" he asked.
"That I can't tell you, to join us, you'll first have to undergo a test."
Fang Hong pretended not to understand, incredulously said: "But I've defeated you, and you still want to test me?"
The other's tone paused: "That's a different issue."
Fang Hong knew, the conversation had reached its end here. If he continued further, he would have to reveal his intentions or be stuck in a dilemma, but that wasn't his original intention. He wanted to remain relatively uninvolved, at least not so early entering the Dragon Worship Sect's view.
Because of the Fanric battle, perhaps the Dragon Worship Sect was already watching him, but he hadn't yet exposed this link of Atira. He faintly felt this logic was key, for it implied he actively sought trouble with the Dragon Worship Sect. Indeed, without entering the tiger's den, how can one obtain the tiger's cub, but he was already burdened with enough trouble. He needed to retreat a step, clarify his thoughts, then wait for an opportunity to act.
Thus, he joked to the other:
"My aunt taught me one thing, do you know what it is?"
The man was slightly stunned: "What?"
Fang Hong played a trick, not saying aunt, but rather using 'aunt' to not reveal his real identity as much as possible. He smiled and replied: "She told me to be wary of those training institutions—especially those that want me to pay upfront."
The man drew a cold breath.
Sometimes people don't mind being regarded as utterly sinister villains, but when you consider them as petty thieves and tricksters, it's almost a form of humiliation. Especially for the Chinese, subconsciously, they have contempt for such chicken thief scoundrels.
Therefore, the negotiation broke off unpleasantly.
A man can be killed but not shamed—the other refused the humiliation, so Fang Hong killed them all. Things were actually quite simple; the Seven Seas Travel Group didn't play any crucial role throughout this process, if anything, their only somewhat important act might be wiping out the 'Grey Scale' regiment of the Dragonfire Guild.
The rest was merely a matter of pushing the boat along. After the other side lost its most crucial combat force, they trod the battlefield precariously, knowing that neither Panier Cunning Spiders nor Hill Giants were easy to deal with? What Fang Hong did was just disturbing them from the periphery.
It basically equated to adding fuel to the fire during Dragonfire Guild's descent into the inferno, so they naturally crumbled down, burned to ashes. In the end, don't even mention breaking the net, they likely didn't even see where the net was.
The truly brutal combat unfolded between the Hill Giants and the Cunning Spiders, these two canyon dominators battled fiercely for three solid hours, before the dust finally settled on this fight.