[Outside the Rainforest]
Not long after Tyrant HIM, Annoying Village HIM, and Xu Yuan stepped into the interior of the rainforest, Pocolo took the initiative to step forward and begin negotiating with Black Blade.
Pocolo walked a few steps forward until he stood in front of Black Blade. After meeting Black Blade's gaze, even though his eyes showed a bit of fear and his presence was completely suppressed, he still straightened his chest, put on an air of neither servile nor overbearing, looked at Black Blade, and said, "Brother Black Blade."
"Since all three HIMs have already shown their cards, I think those of us who are just following orders can also speak frankly now."
One had to admit that Pocolo really was as tough as a cockroach that just wouldn't die. Back then, relying on his own intelligence and schemes, he had cleverly avoided and dismantled Annoying Village HIM's carefully laid traps, and had even pulled off a beautiful counterattack that successfully put Annoying Village HIM in a tight spot.
From that moment on, the pride deep in his heart began to grow wildly like weeds, and his whole demeanor became light and inflated.
From the arrogant and domineering attitude he showed when he first faced Grayfist earlier, one could clearly feel the self-righteous arrogance in his heart.
In his own eyes, he already seemed to have become a dominant figure in the world, someone who could stand shoulder to shoulder with people like Grayfist and Black Blade.
But who could have expected that Grayfist wouldn't buy it at all? With just a few short words, it was like a bucket of cold water poured over Pocolo's head, instantly extinguishing his rampant arrogance.
That experience woke Pocolo up like a dream, making him deeply realize that there was an insurmountable gap between himself and those truly top-tier big shots.
Originally, one might have thought that after this clash with Grayfist, Pocolo would calm down and reassess his own strength and position.
However, fate loves to play tricks on people. Just when Pocolo was feeling utterly dejected, Grayfist suddenly called him "brother," like a dazzling ray of light that once again ignited the nearly extinguished flame of hope deep in his heart.
And as Grayfist officially joined their team, Pocolo became immersed in those enthusiastic calls of "brother," once again forgetting his own limits and losing himself all over again.
Because of this, when Tyrant HIM, Annoying Village HIM, and Xu Yuan had just stepped into the rainforest, Pocolo could no longer suppress the excitement and urgency in his heart, itching to immediately negotiate with Black Blade.
To put it plainly, the reason he was so eager was nothing more than his desire to make himself the biggest contributor in this operation.
After all, if one thought about it carefully, Pocolo really had already made quite a few contributions up to this point.
The first thing to mention was his successful defection of the Iron Golems.
Admittedly, the main reason the Iron Golems ultimately chose to defect was that they themselves, after careful consideration, finally figured out the crux of the matter.
However, the sentence Pocolo spoke back then undoubtedly became a crucial fuse.
If Pocolo hadn't told the Iron Golems the truth about the mutual slaughter happening in the external void, perhaps the Iron Golems would have needed much more time before they began independently thinking about those major issues concerning their own fate and stance.
So this merit genuinely and rightfully belonged to Pocolo.
Secondly, there was also the achievement of pulling Grayfist into their camp.
Objectively speaking, regardless of whether the person negotiating with Grayfist had been Pocolo or not, Grayfist would still have chosen to join them.
But Pocolo didn't know that.
In his view, making this happen was entirely due to his own outstanding eloquence and strategy.
Naturally, he felt it was only right that all the credit should belong to him.
Pocolo didn't know how things would be settled once the Trial Grounds came to an end.
Just as he had said earlier when talking with Grayfist, people at their level didn't dare hope to get a share of the pie or a bite of the meat. Being able to sip some leftovers would already be considered pretty good.
This was the cruel reality, and a hard fact that people like Pocolo were powerless to change.
Even so, whether he could at least get a warm sip was still something he could try to fight for.
Because he held onto this mindset, Pocolo always maintained a very high level of enthusiasm.
It had to be said that these two contributions Pocolo made were both key moves that helped strengthen their side.
If, when the Trial Grounds ended, rewards were distributed based on merit, then the value of Pocolo's two achievements would undoubtedly be extremely high.
And if Pocolo could keep up the momentum and successfully persuade Black Blade to let go of his obsession with Xu Yuan, switch sides to fight alongside them, and go with the flow by choosing the final winner of the trial as an ally, if that could be accomplished perfectly, then the value of that contribution would far surpass the previous two.
In that case, the final reward he could obtain would certainly be incredibly generous.
Moreover, if Pocolo could persuade Black Blade, wouldn't that mean he could also call Black Blade "brother," just like he had with Grayfist before?
If things truly turned out the way Pocolo imagined, then after leaving the Trial Grounds, he would really have pulled off a complete underdog comeback.
He would no longer be the unknown solo player he once was.
He would become a big-shot figure who received the best rewards in the Trial Grounds aside from the victor, and who could call Black Blade and Grayfist brothers.
At this thought, Pocolo could hardly contain the excitement in his heart. If he could successfully persuade Black Blade, then all of this would no longer be fantasy, but something that truly had a chance of becoming reality.
Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Pocolo looked at Black Blade and continued speaking.
"I know the one you've always followed is H… Xu… my king…"
"I admire you greatly, and I believe no one can shake your loyalty."
At this point, Pocolo looked toward the interior of the rainforest and said slowly, "As far as I know, the three of them will choose to decide the winner through fair competition."
"My king's strength is extremely powerful. That's undeniable."
"But the other two are also not to be underestimated."
"And within these Trial Grounds, everyone has lost their special abilities."
"We simply have no way of judging who will be the one still standing at the end."
Saying this, Pocolo once again looked at Black Blade. Although Black Blade had remained silent the entire time, he showed no intention of interrupting.
Seeing this, Pocolo continued, "I think at a time like this, factions and sides have already lost their meaning."
"We can't decide who will win the trial, but we can decide our own win or loss."
"So I hope you can join us."
"If my king can win, that would naturally be best. But if the winner isn't him, I hope you can accept that result and achieve a win-win outcome for everyone."
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