1. The Pillager King is not in the forest region.
2. The Pillager King has already formed an alliance with the rainforest region.
3. The rainforest region is under HIM's command.
4. There's a Villager in the Rainforest Region, and the Trade Between the Forest and Rainforest Has Been Going On for a Long Time.
This information was undoubtedly a heavy blow to Annoying Village HIM.
From the moment he appeared in the Trial Grounds under the identity of a villager, he had clearly realized how important that identity was.
So along the way, he had been searching for Mustard's traces, but he never found any clues about him.
He had no choice but to take second-best, "kidnapping" those mindless villagers refreshed by the Trial Grounds and using them for his own purposes.
Before arriving at the forest region, Annoying Village HIM had always been confident in his judgment.
Although he had just arrived in this world and didn't understand it well, after taking control of the Void Iron Golem, he had learned some things about the world from it.
Even though there were still many unknowns, he firmly believed his judgment wouldn't be wrong.
The Void Iron Golem had once described this world to him, including figures such as the Villager King and the King of Pillagers.
In his eyes, these people weren't much different from the roles in the world he used to rule.
The villagers here and the Pillagers also had irreconcilable hatred between them.
Therefore, even though Annoying Village HIM hadn't found Mustard yet, he wasn't overly worried.
In his view, that one villager who had infiltrated the Trial Grounds could never have formed a cooperative relationship with the Pillagers.
After all, they all came here to gain power, and the hatred between them was so deep, how could they possibly make peace so easily?
This thought only made Annoying Village HIM more certain of his judgment, believing everything was under his control.
He believed that as long as he captured the Pillagers, the entire battlefield of the Trial Grounds would be under his command.
Up until the moment he overheard the Pillagers' conversation, Annoying Village HIM had absolute confidence in his own judgment.
But that conversation struck him like a blow to the head, catching him completely off guard.
The amount of information in what the Pillagers said was simply too much.
Annoying Village HIM naturally understood that the "Rainforest HIM" they mentioned referred to Xu Yuan.
He had already been wary of Xu Yuan. When he first learned there were three HIMs, Annoying Village HIM didn't think much of the other two.
But after brief contact, Annoying Village HIM immediately classified Xu Yuan as his most powerful rival within the Trial Grounds.
First, Xu Yuan had lived in this world all along, giving him a natural advantage.
Second, Xu Yuan himself possessed strong leadership.
Even though Annoying Village HIM had long considered Xu Yuan a strong enemy, he still had to admit that he had underestimated Xu Yuan's strength.
He never expected Xu Yuan would have the ability to unite villagers and Pillagers, making them set aside their hatred, form an alliance, and all work under him.
And from the Pillagers' conversation, it wasn't hard to hear that the trade between the rainforest and forest regions had already been going on for quite a while.
Moreover, the rainforest region seemed to have already united the three factions, animals, monsters, and players.
After learning all this, Annoying Village HIM already sensed something was seriously wrong.
He immediately ordered the Iron Golems to continue rounding up the remaining Pillagers.
But the subsequent hunts clearly weren't as easy as waiting for prey to walk into a trap. Although they captured another batch of Pillagers, most of them slipped away during the chaos.
And most of those who escaped fled toward the rainforest.
That was also why, after the Trial Grounds were paused, Annoying Village HIM kept counting the contestants waiting in the area below.
After capturing those Pillagers, he also tried to get information out of them, attempting to learn about the rainforest's military strength.
But the Pillagers couldn't give him a specific number. They could only roughly estimate that the rainforest forces were two or three times larger than the forest's.
Annoying Village HIM naturally didn't fully believe them, but fortunately, he could see the contestants in the waiting room, which allowed him to count them himself.
At that moment, after counting a portion of the monsters, animals, and players among the contestants, Annoying Village HIM couldn't help but take in a sharp breath.
"This... how are we supposed to fight this??!"
There were quite a few contestants participating in the Trial Grounds. Annoying Village HIM carefully observed the surroundings, silently calculating the numbers in his mind.
After excluding the contestants from his own faction, he began thinking about how many opponents remained.
Although Annoying Village HIM couldn't know exactly how many people were under Xu Yuan's command, by process of elimination, he could roughly estimate his opponent's forces.
He had gathered some information about the rainforest from the Pillagers and learned that Xu Yuan had already unified part of the monsters, animals, and players.
Using that information, along with what the Void Iron Golem had told him, Annoying Village HIM classified the overall situation in the Trial Grounds into rough categories.
At present, the entire Trial Grounds were essentially divided into three factions, Xu Yuan's, Tyrant HIM's, and a portion of the player faction.
Although Annoying Village HIM didn't know exactly how many animals and monsters were in the rainforest, based on its vast area, he could roughly estimate a number.
However, he still couldn't figure out how many players had already joined Xu Yuan.
According to intelligence from the Void Iron Golem, the player faction in the Trial Grounds was divided into four main groups.
First was the group led by Steve, who likely had some strength and influence.
Next was the group led by Grayfist, another power that couldn't be underestimated.
Then there was the group led by Black Blade, who was openly loyal to Xu Yuan.
Lastly were the scattered solo players who fought independently without forming any unified faction.
Those lone players usually wouldn't stay independent for long; eventually, they'd still end up joining one of the groups led by Steve, Grayfist, or Black Blade.
So strictly speaking, the player faction consisted of three main forces.
Annoying Village HIM also knew that Black Blade belonged to Xu Yuan's faction, while Steve and Grayfist were always hostile toward him.
Therefore, he could infer that about one-third of the player faction was currently under Xu Yuan's command.
After roughly counting the player contestants, then adding his estimates of the animal and monster groups, and the more than 300 Pillagers who had escaped, Annoying Village HIM realized Xu Yuan's total force was more than four times his own.
At first, Annoying Village HIM thought the Pillagers were exaggerating.
But after doing his own calculations, he was shocked to find that their information had actually been conservative.
He had already suffered a major loss earlier because he thought villagers and Pillagers could never trade with each other, but reality had hit him hard.
After that lesson, Annoying Village HIM wasn't about to repeat the same mistake again.
He absolutely would not stumble twice in the same place.
Since Xu Yuan could successfully resolve the hatred between villagers and Pillagers and bring them under his banner, then with his ability, why couldn't he also mend the conflicts between Steve, Grayfist, and Black Blade?
If Xu Yuan could even smooth things over among those three, what would that mean?
It would mean the entire player faction would submit to Xu Yuan.
At that thought, Annoying Village HIM's face darkened, and he didn't even dare think further.
If things really developed as he suspected, then Xu Yuan's military power would far surpass his own to a terrifying degree.
Although Annoying Village HIM had captured over a hundred Pillagers, which boosted his forces quite a bit, it was useless in the face of such an overwhelming situation.
Because he knew very well that over 300 Pillagers had slipped away right under his nose, and gone straight to Xu Yuan's side.
And those Pillagers had already been trading with the rainforest for a long time.
More than 500 Pillagers trading with the rainforest for so long, how much equipment and resources would that bring them? Annoying Village HIM didn't even dare imagine.
He already lacked the advantage in numbers. His only hope of turning things around lay in superior equipment and supplies.
But clearly, even in that regard, he had already lost, not just at the starting line, but completely.
The Xu Yuan he expected to compete with should've been starting from the same point as him, maybe only slightly ahead.
Yet as the race went on, Annoying Village HIM realized Xu Yuan was no longer just ahead, he had lapped him entirely and was nearing the finish line.
In other words, Annoying Village HIM had barely started running, and Xu Yuan was already almost done.
Realizing that, Annoying Village HIM felt a deep sense of helplessness wash over him.
He had thought that capturing the Pillagers had secured his victory.
But it turned out the one who was truly "certain to win" wasn't him, he had become the one others were certain to beat.
Annoying Village HIM looked up toward Xu Yuan, who was resting in the waiting room not far away. Xu Yuan was lying calmly on a chair made of wooden planks, eyes closed, resting.
Although his face didn't show much expression, it was as if the words "Victory in Hand" were written right across it.
Seeing Xu Yuan's state now, Annoying Village HIM became even more certain of his thoughts.
"His advantage is just too great…"
Though Annoying Village HIM hadn't interacted much with Xu Yuan, he was good at reading people.
Xu Yuan gave off a calm and steady impression, someone who didn't show his emotions easily and kept his thoughts to himself.
Even though Xu Yuan didn't wear a smug expression, the fact that he could calmly close his eyes and rest meant he was already in total control.
Realizing this, Annoying Village HIM sighed deeply and muttered to himself, "Looks like there's not much time left…"
Once he understood the gap between himself and Xu Yuan, Annoying Village HIM knew that time wasn't on his side.
He wasn't naïve enough to think that dragging things out would somehow close that gap.
On the contrary, the longer the Trial Grounds lasted, the greater the difference between him and Xu Yuan would become.
Even though Xu Yuan's overwhelming strength and equipment advantage made it hard for Annoying Village HIM to breathe, giving up wasn't one of his options.
He stopped watching Xu Yuan and instead turned his gaze toward Tyrant HIM in the distance.
Annoying Village HIM knew that on his own, he had no hope of winning.
He had to find external help, and right now, the only possible ally he could look to was Tyrant HIM.
Although Annoying Village HIM and Tyrant HIM were also rivals, the undeniable fact was that Xu Yuan was their common enemy.
Before, the three of them had been in a state of balance, but now Xu Yuan had grown far too powerful. If Annoying Village HIM and Tyrant HIM wanted any chance of victory, they had no choice but to cooperate.
Before entering the Trial Grounds, Annoying Village HIM and Tyrant HIM hadn't spoken. But once they entered the waiting area and received their tasks, both of them had noticed Xu Yuan's demeanor at that time.
While both Annoying Village HIM and Tyrant HIM were still racking their brains planning their next moves, Xu Yuan already wore an expression that said everything was under control.
At that time, though they hadn't exchanged words, both had silently reached the same conclusion, Xu Yuan would be a very troublesome opponent.
Annoying Village HIM didn't want to form an alliance with Tyrant HIM, but at this point, he had no choice.
And he knew Tyrant HIM understood that too.
It could only be said that Xu Yuan had truly driven Annoying Village HIM into a corner.
In Annoying Village HIM's dictionary, the word "cooperation" had never existed.
He had always been confident and strong enough to control everything around him. He never needed to listen to others' opinions.
So he never needed to cooperate with anyone, and he never wanted to.
Although he had technically allied with the Void Iron Golems in the Trial Grounds, that wasn't cooperation.
His power was enough to crush the Void Iron Golems, forcing them to submit and serve him.
All decisions came from Annoying Village HIM. To him, the Void Iron Golems were nothing more than pieces on a chessboard, fully under his control.
He could easily decide their life or death.
But if he were to cooperate with Tyrant HIM, the situation would be completely different.
It would mean losing absolute control, he'd have to consider Tyrant HIM's opinion before doing anything.
Although Annoying Village HIM was extremely unwilling, he understood that at this moment, cooperating with Tyrant HIM was his only way out.
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