After the last conversation with the leading Void Iron Golem, Annoying Village HIM could sense that the leader was starting to waver.
Although the leading Void Iron Golem hadn't completely defected, he had at least temporarily given up on his earlier plan to "betray." He also secretly instructed his subordinates to just keep following orders as usual.
After confirming that there wouldn't be any internal conflict in his faction for now, Annoying Village HIM continued with his own plan.
He sent a small group of Void Iron Golems to the rainforest to scout out the situation there, while he personally led the main force toward the plains.
Annoying Village HIM didn't bother setting up any defenses. He swaggered into the plains area with his army of Void Iron Golems and the group of Calamity Villagers following behind him.
They hadn't gone far into the plains before they were "surrounded" by Tyrant HIM and his men.
It was said that Tyrant HIM and his subordinates had surrounded Annoying Village HIM, but in reality, it looked more like Tyrant HIM's group was the one surrounded.
Because the ones "surrounding" Annoying Village HIM's people were barely a dozen scattered figures…
The sight immediately threw Annoying Village HIM off guard.
When Tyrant HIM chose the plains as the meeting location, Annoying Village HIM had already expected that Tyrant HIM would definitely set up an ambush ahead of time.
After all, Annoying Village HIM's proposal for cooperation came out of nowhere, there was no way Tyrant HIM would fully trust him.
Annoying Village HIM had imagined walking into the plains and finding himself heavily surrounded, but the reality before him was completely different from what he expected.
He didn't know if he had simply overthought it, or if there was some other reason.
From the looks of the numbers, Tyrant HIM's side didn't seem to be ready for an ambush at all.
'If you're going to ambush someone, shouldn't you at least have more people than the ones being ambushed?'
'Even if we take the most generous step back, at least the numbers should be somewhat even, right?'
But this handful of scattered people, it looked more like they'd come out to greet him…
However, their behavior didn't look like a welcoming party at all. The way they stood there made it seem like they were hiding something.
After thinking for a moment, Annoying Village HIM finally spoke.
"This welcoming ceremony… doesn't seem all that lively?"
At this point, everyone from Tyrant HIM's faction heard his words, but none of them responded.
Every single one of Tyrant HIM's subordinates had their eyes locked on the massive army of Void Iron Golems behind Annoying Village HIM, their gazes full of wariness and disbelief.
The two sides stood frozen in tension for a while before a player standing next to Tyrant HIM, with the ID "Pocolo," couldn't hold back anymore. He turned to Tyrant HIM and asked sharply, "This is the ally you talked about?"
Pocolo was the same player who had originally "teamed up" with Tyrant HIM.
Of course, that cooperation hadn't existed from the start.
In fact, the first time they met, Tyrant HIM had kidnapped Pocolo and used him as a "human-shaped mob attractor."
In other words, Pocolo was forced into this mess from the beginning.
He had tried several times to escape Tyrant HIM's control, but each attempt ended in failure.
However, as time passed, and Tyrant HIM's "monster army" continued to grow stronger, Pocolo gradually realized that escaping was becoming impossible.
Pocolo had originally been a solo player. He knew very well that if he wanted to survive longer in the Trial Grounds, he would eventually have to join a powerful faction.
Since joining one was inevitable, why not choose Tyrant HIM?
During his time as the "human-shaped mob attractor," Pocolo had witnessed Tyrant HIM's strength and methods firsthand and had gradually come to understand who he really was.
After much thought, Pocolo decided to make his intentions clear.
He waited for the right moment and told Tyrant HIM that he was willing to join his faction and work together to grow stronger.
Tyrant HIM didn't immediately agree to Pocolo's proposal.
After observing him for a while and confirming that Pocolo had no plans to run away, he finally lowered his guard a little, and the two started cooperating.
They had worked together up until now without any major issues.
Both Tyrant HIM and Pocolo understood that their relationship was one of mutual use, so they simply maintained a surface-level peace.
For Tyrant HIM, this self-propelled "mob attractor" was still very useful, so he treated Pocolo relatively politely.
From time to time, Tyrant HIM would even discuss upcoming plans with Pocolo. Since Pocolo, as a player, knew much more about this world than Tyrant HIM, he could occasionally give some valuable suggestions.
After Tyrant HIM's conversation with Annoying Village HIM, he also told Pocolo about it.
When Pocolo learned that the proposed ally was another HIM, he didn't doubt it, in fact, he fully supported the idea of forming an alliance.
As a player, Pocolo was very aware of Xu Yuan's strength.
Even though he had joined Tyrant HIM, and Tyrant HIM's group was steadily growing, Pocolo knew all too well about the shortcomings of Tyrant HIM's "monster squad."
He didn't have much faith in Tyrant HIM's faction and didn't believe Tyrant HIM could defeat Xu Yuan.
So when Tyrant HIM said they were going to ally with another HIM, Pocolo saw that as a glimmer of hope.
After all, their current enemy, Xu Yuan, was simply too powerful. If another HIM joined the fight, maybe their chances of victory would increase.
And the appearance of Annoying Village HIM made Pocolo think that this person might be the key.
Pocolo knew both HIMs were powerful. If the two joined forces, they might really be able to defeat Xu Yuan.
However, what Pocolo didn't expect was that Annoying Village HIM would show up leading an entire army of Void Iron Golems, turning the situation instantly chaotic.
As a player, Pocolo didn't hate the Void as deeply as the native creatures did.
But he had seen firsthand what the Void had done.
Even though Annoying Village HIM was now commanding the Void Iron Golems, Pocolo knew full well that their relationship was just like his own with Tyrant HIM, one of mutual use.
The Void Iron Golems would turn on him sooner or later.
If they allied with Annoying Village HIM, it would only make the whole situation more chaotic.
Besides, even if Pocolo himself could tolerate the Void Iron Golems, the monsters under Tyrant HIM, those that had developed self-awareness, would never agree to cooperate with them.
After all, the Void had once caused them immense pain. That kind of hatred wasn't something that could be erased easily.
So from any point of view, forming an alliance with Annoying Village HIM was not a wise move.
Just as Pocolo expected, the nearby monsters with budding consciousness all gathered around Tyrant HIM, shouting angrily, "Roar roar roar!! (We'll never cooperate with the Void!!)"
"Roar roar roar, roar roar roar!! (Even if I leave the Trial Grounds, I'll never work with the Void!)"
"Crack crack crack!! (Kill them!!)"
[T/N: There's a 🎉 discount 🎉 ongoing in my P@treon till Dec 6. Consider joining if you want to read more chapters, read new fanfics, and appreciate the effort I put in. Have a great read~]