The epic meeting between Xu Yuan, Tyrant HIM, and Annoying Village HIM truly caught everyone present by surprise.
Originally, everyone had been expecting a fierce battle, but reality turned out to be surprisingly calm.
Yet for some reason, when faced with this scene, although people felt a bit of a letdown in their hearts, they did not feel disappointed.
No one felt disheartened just because the three HIMs decided the outcome merely through "a private talk" after meeting.
On the contrary, deep down, they felt that the way the three HIMs handled this matter was extremely clever.
They reasonably transformed the war between multiple factions into a battle between a few leaders, while the fruits of victory would be shared by all contestants from every faction.
Although this method would not produce the grand scenes everyone had been hoping for, it would also avoid massive casualties, and all those who participated would benefit.
Clearly, this was far more advanced than a so-called epic, grand-scale battle.
This kind of decision demonstrated the big-picture mindset of the three HIMs. They knew how to weigh the pros and cons and chose a gentler yet more effective way to resolve the issue.
This seemingly simple "private talk" actually carried profound meaning. It represented a higher-level way of solving problems, one that went beyond violence and conflict.
Because of this, everyone's curiosity only grew stronger. Even though Tyrant HIM and Annoying Village HIM had joined forces, everyone present had witnessed Xu Yuan's path to becoming godlike. Whether in strategy, strength, or overall vision, Xu Yuan was a ceiling-level existence.
Moreover, everyone had heard that Xu Yuan had resolved the hatred between villagers, calamity villagers, monsters, players, and animals with nothing more than his words.
So even though Tyrant HIM and Annoying Village HIM were cooperating and the situation was currently two versus one, who would ultimately win was still unknown.
At this moment, outside the rainforest, monsters, players, villagers, calamity villagers, and animals from different factions were all gathered together.
Yet everyone had forgotten about factions, forgotten about hatred, let down their guard, and stood quietly here, waiting for the winner to lead them toward victory.
Wasn't this scene exactly what everyone present had been hoping for?
Although Tyrant HIM and Annoying Village HIM's decision to talk privately with Xu Yuan was made out of necessity, by a twist of fate, they had indeed resolved some of the hatred and hostility that existed between certain factions.
Although their starting point was different, the result they produced was actually the same as what Xu Yuan had been doing.
It was just that they themselves had not realized or awakened to it yet.
———
[In the Rainforest Plaza]
As soon as Xu Yuan led Tyrant HIM and Annoying Village HIM to the center of the plaza, Annoying Village HIM became a bit impatient.
He kept giving Tyrant HIM meaningful looks, blinking so frequently that someone who didn't know better would think there was sand in his eyes.
In truth, Annoying Village HIM was being somewhat eager for quick success. At their core, he and Tyrant HIM were actually the same. He knew that a two-on-one sneak attack was not an honorable thing to do.
But Annoying Village HIM desperately wanted to win the trial. This wasn't driven by competitiveness; his motivation for wanting to win was actually a good one.
He only wanted to obtain power, because he wanted to save the world he came from.
And the world he came from was far more complex than this one. His strength was not at the very top in that world.
So in his view, as long as he won this trial, he would be able to gain the power needed to save his world.
No matter what method he used to save his world, it could not be denied that his heart was tied to it. No matter what, he wanted that world to become better.
His original intention was good; he had just chosen the wrong method.
In fact, the situation Tyrant HIM faced was quite similar to Annoying Village HIM's, but Tyrant HIM's mindset was much calmer.
Perhaps this was because Tyrant HIM's status and position in his own world were not as high as Annoying Village HIM's.
As a result, he had not been tainted by too many external factors and had not lost his principles or original heart.
That was precisely why he was still able to hold fast to his principles.
So at this moment, upon seeing Annoying Village HIM's suggestive looks, Tyrant HIM did not want to act. Instead, he looked at Xu Yuan and spoke.
"Our purpose in coming this time is very simple, we want to have a one-on-one duel with you."
"Since it's one-on-one, then it must be a one, on, one, duel!"
When Tyrant HIM said "one-on-one," he deliberately looked at Annoying Village HIM and slowed down his speech, dragging out each word.
After saying that, before Annoying Village HIM could react, he turned his head back to Xu Yuan and continued.
"Although he and I have formed an alliance, you can rest assured. Since it's one, on, one, when one of us is fighting, the other will absolutely not interfere."
After speaking, Tyrant HIM pondered for a moment, then added, "If you're really not at ease, the first match can be between him and me."
After that, Tyrant HIM looked at Annoying Village HIM and smiled.
"This was all agreed upon beforehand. You don't have any objections, right?"
Tyrant HIM was actually quite vengeful. He had never forgotten how Annoying Village HIM had tricked him earlier, and now he finally got his payback.
Of course, the payback was only incidental. Tyrant HIM was not deliberately saying these things just to provoke Annoying Village HIM; everything he said was sincere.
He had told Annoying Village HIM before that if they were going to fight, it should be an open and honest duel. He didn't want to engage in any sneaky tactics.
So he had to stop Annoying Village HIM. Even though he didn't like Annoying Village HIM, he knew that Annoying Village HIM was essentially another version of himself from a different plane.
Although Tyrant HIM didn't want to admit this fact, a fact was still a fact.
Therefore, while holding himself to his own standards, he also had to do his best to prevent Annoying Village HIM from doing something that went against those principles.
At this moment, upon hearing Tyrant HIM's words, Annoying Village HIM was momentarily at a loss for words. His expression was hard to read.
There was no resentment or anger at being put in that position. His gaze was extremely complex.
A trace of anger, a trace of surprise, a trace of reflection, and even a trace of relief.
Annoying Village HIM's heart was in turmoil. On one side was the world he wanted to save; on the other side were his principles and original heart.
It seemed he couldn't have both. He could only give up the latter.
But deep down, he was actually unwilling to abandon it.
He was very grateful that Tyrant HIM had made this choice, or rather, that Tyrant HIM had made this choice for him.
After thinking this through, Annoying Village HIM let out a long sigh. A long-lost sense of relief appeared on his face as he looked at Tyrant HIM and nodded.
"Mm, I have no objections."
Annoying Village HIM's response actually surprised Tyrant HIM. He hadn't expected him to accept it so quickly.
Just as he was about to say something, Xu Yuan, standing ahead of them, spoke up, "So, you're still planning to use battle to resolve everything, is that it?"
[T/N: I hope you all are enjoying and if you are, please do give some reviews, be it bad or good, and keep commenting in the chapters to let me know that there are actually people reading it. It makes my day and I really read every single comment that comes on every one of the books. Have a nice day, y'all~]