171: Chapter 171 Let the Sky Burn

Luo Ning casually tapped on the regional public chat channel.

Sure enough, the public chat interface was already in chaos, and survivors from other races were frantically flooding the screen with insults:

"Roar! Despicable Human Race! Why do you only allow your people to post on the screen! I've smashed my keyboard and still can't send a message!"

"Sky City is too shameless! This is a serious monopoly on public opinion! Open the chat ban and let our Winged Race 'high-altitude keyboard warriors' join the battle!"

"Humans are so cunning! Once the negotiations break down, I'll be the first to smash your server base station!"

Watching the angry and helpless flaming war on the public screen, the people of Cloud Top Fortress couldn't help but laugh out loud. Under the oppressive clouds of war, this was a rare bit of amusement.

Just then, the seven windows on the holographic screen flashed simultaneously.

"It's starting, the main characters are appearing."

Zhou An restrained his smile, his eyes fixed on the screen.

First to appear on the screen was the City Lord of Sky City, representing the Human Race faction—City Lord Zhao Tianyu, and the bloodthirsty and cruel leader of the Blood Moon Guild from the Beast Race faction—Finn.

Immediately after, the heads of the other factions took their seats one by one.

The third window lit up, and the leader of the Deep Sea Guild, Valerie, appeared on camera.

She was a beautiful female Mermaid, with long, ice-blue hair as smooth as ocean waves, and she looked to be in her early thirties. She had no legs; her lower body was a fish tail covered in gorgeous scales, while her upper body was voluptuous and proud.

The fourth window was Guild Master Redford, representing the Dragonman Guild.

Unexpectedly, this Dragonman leader, known for his strength and brutality, was handsome. He maintained the appearance of a young man in his thirties, his body covered in hard, crimson dragon scales, with an upright posture and strong, well-defined muscles that didn't look bulky.

Subsequently, in the Winged Race window, the Winged King Dominic sat down majestically.

This was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties, with a burly and sturdy build. Unlike the soft, white wings of Grace, a pair of wide, brilliant golden wings spread out behind Dominic.

And in the Elf Race window, Elf Clan Leader Rosalind sat quietly on a throne intertwined with vines.

She had dazzling emerald-green long hair and exquisite features, like a beautiful Elf girl who had just stepped out of the forest. Looking to be in her early twenties, she was the youngest of all the leaders.

The last window to light up was that of the Goblin Alliance. Representing them was an old, ugly Goblin with wrinkled skin, leaning on a tattered staff, scanning the room with sinister eyes.

As all seven leaders took their seats, this meeting, which would decide the fate of the entire Cangyun Airspace, was officially declared open.

Meanwhile, in the livestream room strictly controlled by Sky City, the "exclusive" barrage from the Human Race erupted like a fountain, densely occupying the entire screen:

"The Human Race rises!!!"

"City Lord Zhao is invincible! Spread the divine might of our Human Race!"

"Smash those beasts! Sky City will surely win!"

"Humans will never be slaves!!"

However, the negotiations on the holographic screen did not start with swords drawn.

As the livestream camera zoomed in, a grand and detailed distribution map of resources in the Cangyun Airspace was presented to the survivors of the entire region. As a cruel aerial survival game, the distribution of supplies and high-level sky islands presented a deformed pyramid shape.

The front 30% of the entire airspace was known as the "Golden Reclamation Area," where over 90% of legendary grade ruins, strategic mineral veins, and high-level ecological islands were gathered. The location where the protagonist Zhou An and his team were currently located was still in the "tailpipe" of the rear 70% of the queue.

In the current frontline battle, the Beast Race faction, relying on their terrifying physical suppression and human-wave tactics, had forcibly occupied 12% of the airspace in this Golden Area. But clearly, the ambitions of these beasts were far greater than that.

After a brief silence, Elf Clan Leader Rosalind broke the deadlock.

"Based on the current stalemate of the battle lines and the survival bottom line of the survivors of all races, our Alliance of Ten Thousand Races is willing to offer a compromise for peaceful coexistence."

This beautiful Elf girl waved the staff in her hand that emitted a verdant green light, drawing a vast area on the star map: "According to the system's macro data, the Beast Race currently accounts for about 50% of the total population in the entire airspace. To quell meaningless warfare, the Alliance is willing to cede some core resources, allowing the Beast Race to occupy 15% of absolute control in the Golden Reclamation Area. This is a fair proportion, sufficient to meet your survival and development needs."

Hearing this proposal, Finn, the leader of the Blood Moon Guild, leaned back in his chair, a mocking smile appearing on his pale, handsome face.

"Fifteen percent? How truly generous, enough to make one want to shed tears, my beautiful Elf lady."

Finn tapped his long fingers on the table, sharp fangs appearing at the corners of his mouth.

"Unfortunately, the appetite of beasts has always been much larger than you imagined. Our conditions will never change—we want 20% of the Golden Area. As for the remaining 10%, how you other races want to fight over it is your own business."

These words were equivalent to dropping a nuclear bomb over the heads of all the survivors in the region!

Twenty percent being swallowed by the Beast Race meant that the Human Race, Elves, Winged Race, and countless small and medium-sized races could only kill each other in the narrow 10% area to survive!

The entire Sky City exclusive livestream room, as well as the system's own public forum, instantly erupted into a fierce flaming war!

"Twenty percent?! Why don't those hairy beasts just rob us!"

"Do you really think you own the entire airspace? City Lord Zhao, stop talking nonsense with them, kill them!"

"You take the lion's share and leave us to consume each other on the scraps? Dream on!"

And in the system's public forum, which had no posting restrictions, the battle was even bloodier and more direct:

"Roar! Twenty percent is even too little! A bunch of weaklings who only deserve to be rations, and you dare to negotiate with us? If you aren't convinced, we'll fight until you are!"

"Brainless beasts! What can you do besides using brute force? Do you really think our Elf Race's magic is just fireworks?!"

"F*ck you, Orcs! When my fleet sails over, I'll turn all of you into mutated beast meat cans!"

"Wash your necks and wait, inferior races!"

The forum was in an uproar, and the atmosphere at the negotiation table instantly dropped to freezing point.

"Twenty percent? Absolutely impossible!"

Winged King Dominic slammed the table, his violent golden wings spreading angrily behind him, pointing at the three leaders of the Beast Race and roaring: "Do you really think you can run rampant just by relying on brute force?"

"His Majesty Dominic is right!"

The ugly old Goblin from the Goblin Alliance also screamed in a sharp, ear-piercing voice.

Facing the angry condemnation, Guild Master Redford of the Dragonman Guild smashed the table in front of him with a punch, his crimson vertical pupils full of brutality.

"Shut up, you noisy dead bird! And that disgusting green-skinned rat!"

Redford laughed arrogantly, "Air superiority? When my Dragonman heavy legion tears through your defenses, I will personally pull out your golden wings one by one and roast them to go with my wine!"

"Oh my, Redford, don't be so rude. Look, you've scared all these poor little things."

Valerie, leader of the Deep Sea Guild, lazily played with her sea-blue hair, her voluptuous fish tail gently slapping the water.

She said in a charming tone: "But then again, a bunch of little birds who can't even go deep into the sea and Goblins who only deserve to roll in the mud, dare to scream in front of predators? Watching the prey throwing a tantrum on the chopping board is just so interesting, hehe..."

Finn also straightened his exquisite collar: "Everyone, this is just a simple law of nature. The weak are prey to the strong. We are notifying you to hand over food, not negotiating with the food. If you don't even have this realization... then the negotiation doesn't seem to have any need to continue."

With the arrogant group mocking from the three giants of the Beast Race, the atmosphere at the negotiation table had completely dropped to freezing point, falling into an oppressive stalemate.

Elf Clan Leader Rosalind and Winged King Dominic had livid faces, but they couldn't find a breakthrough point for a moment.

Finally, everyone's eyes turned simultaneously to City Lord Zhao Tianyu, who had remained silent since the beginning of the meeting.

As the supreme leader of the Human Race faction, his attitude would directly determine the final direction of this negotiation.

Under the gaze of all, City Lord Zhao Tianyu calmly adjusted his sitting posture, crossing his hands on the table. He did not slam the table in anger like the Winged King, nor did he present various data like the Elf Clan Leader, but just swept a cold and indifferent gaze over the three Beast Race leaders opposite.

"What is City Lord Zhao's opinion?"

Finn shook his wine glass, a hint of playfulness at the corner of his mouth.

"My opinion is very simple."

City Lord Zhao Tianyu opened his thin lips slightly, spitting out a few words that were tough and left no room for maneuver.

"Fifteen percent. Sign the agreement if you can, if not, then start fighting. No need for more nonsense."

Concise! Overbearing!

This unyielding stance of City Lord Zhao Tianyu instantly gave the other non-Beast Race leaders a shot in the arm. Dominic and the old Goblin immediately felt more confident and straightened their backs one after another.

"Hehe, it seems the weak humans are already impatient to become dinner for the Blood Moon Legion."

The elegance on Finn's face gradually disappeared, his eyes becoming cold.

"Ignorant bugs!"

Dragonman Guild Master Redford violently crushed the armrest of his chair, his crimson vertical pupils staring fixedly at City Lord Zhao Tianyu as he left a harsh threat, "Since you are in such a hurry to find death, then be prepared to be completely crushed by the Dragonman legion! At that time, I will hang your heads on the ram of our warship!"

Facing the bloody death threat of the Beast Race, City Lord Zhao Tianyu was not afraid at all.

"Then let this sky burn."

"Anyway, resources are only so much. If we go to all-out war, the fewer survivors there are, the more resources the survivors can share. Since we can't talk it out, let's see the real results on the battlefield."

"Bang!"

The livestream screen was instantly cut off, and the regional joint communication was completely closed. This ten-thousand-race peace talk was finally declared broken in a tragic way!

The moment the meeting ended, the system's entire chat interface was like an ignited powder keg, completely exploding.

Some survivors who preferred stability looked at the phrase "Let the sky burn," and a strong sense of panic and hesitation surged in their hearts:

"Re... really going to all-out war? I just saved enough resources to upgrade to LV4!"

"Can't we talk more? When gods fight, mortals suffer. Once it starts, our small guilds will definitely be the first to be used as cannon fodder!"

While another part of the radicals and the main-war faction were completely ignited by City Lord Zhao Tianyu's iron-blooded speech:

"Don't be afraid! The City Lord is right, if you win, you eat meat; if you lose, you restart!"

"Taking a step back is an abyss! If we really let the Beast Race occupy 20%, we won't even be able to drink the soup in the future!"

"We must decide the winner! Only by completely crushing those hairy beasts can we stand tall and live in this airspace!"

Inside the fortress, there was a deathly silence.

The people who had just been watching the livestream with great interest were now looking at each other. The smell of gunpowder seemed to have permeated the air. Old Zhang, Li Muzi, and even Luo Ning, who was usually carefree, all turned their eyes to Zhou An, who was sitting in the main seat.

"Hoo..."

Zhou An rubbed his temples with a headache and let out a long sigh.

"It seems this muddy water has been completely stirred up."

Zhou An stood up, his tone clear and helpless.

"Since the top levels of both sides have torn their faces and decided to fight, everyone in this airspace, whether it's a big guild or loose players like us, will find it hard to stay out of it."

"Boss, our fortress is fast now, can't we bypass the battlefield and run?" Luo Ning asked in a low voice.

"Run? Where to?" Zhou An shook his head rationally.

"The resource distribution in this airspace is fixed, and high-level materials are all in the front. It's fine if we win; we can continue to play music and dance when we come out. But if the coalition loses and the Beast Race takes full power... then it's truly over. No one knows when this damn game's 'second phase' will end, and who can guarantee that we can rely on one fortress to avoid the endless pursuit of the Beast Race and hide for a lifetime?"

Zhou An decisively gave the order: "Luo Ning, Hila, come with me to the 'wind chaser'. We need to meet with Grace about this."

The three of them quickly arrived at the flagship of the White Feather Guild through the corridor.

Along the way, the atmosphere inside the flagship was heavy. Those Winged Race warriors who had rekindled hope because of the factory's establishment now inevitably carried some fear and panic about the all-out war in their eyes. They knew very well that as part of the Winged Race's large faction, they had nowhere to hide from this all-out war that affected the entire race.

Led by the internal guard, the three of them pushed open the door of the lounge.

Grace and Ivy had also just finished an emergency combat meeting within the guild. Seeing Zhou An come in, Grace forced a bitter smile and signaled them to sit down.

The five of them sat around the sofa in the lounge.

"It seems you also watched the livestream."

Grace poured a cup of tea for Zhou An herself, her movements showing deep exhaustion.

She held the teacup, her deep blue eyes full of resentment and sorrow that couldn't be resolved, and opened her mouth bitterly:

"Lord Zhou An, I don't mean to make you laugh. Just now in front of my subordinates, I had to pretend to be tough and calm. But here... I really feel ironic."

Grace looked up: "Our White Feather Guild, with your help, finally made it through the internal strife. The brothers have only just rested for a month, those disabled clansmen have only just found the dignity to live on the farm, and some are even looking forward to having offspring..."

"But now, just because of a failed negotiation, we are forced to be involved in this bloody, large-scale war again. Why... why won't this airspace even give us half a year of breathing room?"