"Who betrayed us?" Xiao Nianying asked.
Father Xiao waved his hand and said, "Let's go to the meeting hall, everyone is waiting. You must be mentally prepared." As he said that, he did not wait for Xiao Nianying to ask and just left right away.
The two of them came to the meeting hall, where the core members of the Xiao Alliance had all gathered.
Xiao Nianying frowned, "Are they forcing me to quit?"
The moment he sat down, someone created trouble.
"Guild leader, for this expedition, 90 thousand brothers have died this time. Based on the 500 gold compensation, the guild needs to take out 45 million gold as compensation."
The one who spoke was the deputy guild leader, Fallen Dust. He represented the interests of the small and medium-sized guilds that merged after the Guardian Guild matter.
45 million gold was a sky high amount, and even the rich Great Xia could not take out so much. However, the death compensation was an agreement, and they could not go back against it.
On the way back, Xiao Nianying had been thinking about how to solve this problem. Till date, he still had no ideas.
Facing Fallen Dust's questioning, Xiao Nianying did not know how to reply, "Take out five million gold from the guild treasury first. As for the remaining gold, we will slowly think of a way to settle it."
Fallen Dust asked, "Five million gold is only enough to give each one of them 60 gold, and the dead brothers definitely would not agree to that. Furthermore, if we use up all these funds, how will the guild continue to run?"
"Then what idea do you have?"
Xiao Nianying's face was really gloomy; he knew that Fallen Dust had bad intentions.
Fallen Dust said, "This matter happened because of Di Chen. Now that the guild has problems, we should ask him for compensation."
"Well said."
Fallen Dust's words were supported by the other members.
When Xiao Nianying wanted to go, the Xiao Alliance had many people oppose the decision internally. Fallen Dust was the most resolute one. However, he did not have enough power to change Xiao Nianying's decision.
During the previous guild incident, Xiao Alliance had similarly changed to a share system. Xiao Nianying and the Xiao Family members held 30% of the shares. Along with their allies, they held over 50%, so they held absolute power within the guild.
Now, these allies had also started to feel unhappy. If they were unable to take out the compensation fee, the Xiao Alliance would go bankrupt. Gaia could only auction off the Xiao Alliance assets to pay for this compensation fee.
If they still could not pay up, those dead players could only admit that they were unlucky.
Xiao Nianying was helpless and could only say, "Let me contact Yanhuang Alliance first."
Only then did this matter ended. However, Xiao Nianying was not relaxed, as he was very clear that if he was unable to take out a solution, it would be difficult for the Xiao Family to regain their foothold.
The next day, Di Chen and the others gave their reply - they were willing to take out a million gold for compensation.
When Fallen Dust and the others heard that, they gave out a cold laugh, "So little?"
A day had passed, and the Xiao Family had thought of a few ideas to save this matter.
First, sell the resources in the guild storage.
Apart from the five million gold they earned from the Guardian Guild qualification, the Xiao Alliance had obtained numerous precious equipment and items.
If they sold it all, they could at least gather seven million gold.
Secondly, lower the compensation standards.
During this expedition, the 100 thousand elites were a disappointment. The first to flee were them, and they were even worse than the territory army.
Even if they died, such a performance would not be worth five million. Xiao Nianying wanted to reduce the compensation to 300 gold per person, which would lower the necessary amount by 18 million gold just like that.
Thirdly, draw in a large-sized guild.
With the Xiao Alliance's identity as a Guardian Guild, there were many large-sized guilds that would be willing to merge into the Xiao Alliance. If they wanted to merge, they would naturally need to hand over an alliance joining fee, which would at least be five million.
Then they could raise the strength of the Xiao Alliance to face Purple Moon Alliance's provocation.
Fourthly, internal donations.
At this point, where the Xiao Alliance was on the verge of life and death, guild members would try to save themselves and help to prevent the guild from going bankrupt. They would suggest for members to donate at least 10 gold, with no upper limit. With their 500 thousand members, deducting the 90 thousand that died, they could at least gather five million.
Calculating it, there was still a four million gold shortfall.
When Fallen Dust heard Xiao Nianying's solution, his eyes tensed up, "Your idea is feasible/ Only, I have two doubts that need your help."
"Speak!"
"First, based on your plan, not only would the guild not have any resources left, but our entire storage would also be wiped clean. When that happens, how can we provide the 90 thousand brothers with equipment? Are you going to ask them to settle it themselves?"
"This...."
Fallen Dust continued, "Secondly, the expedition happened because of the strong support of the guild leader. Now that this has happened, you want the entire guild to bear the blame; do you think all of us will agree?"
Not to mention that the forced donations, guild funds, storage items, and the like were all public assets. To use it all up would hurt the interests of all the members.
Drawing in a new guild would also dilute their shares, which would affect their interests in turn.
"Guild leader probably does not now, but along with the Purple Moon Alliance being formed, rumors have spread. It cannot be avoided that the guild members would feel unsettled. If we use up all our guild resources now, a huge chaos would be impending." Fallen Dust added.
When Xiao Nianying heard that, his expression was really ugly.
The players were not fools. Seeing that the guild could not even keep its status as the Guardian Guild, why would they want to take the blame together? There were already members grumbling and spreading the flames.
Xiao Nianying said, "Since you think my idea won't work, I would like to hear what grand plan you have."
Fallen Dust was expressionless, "As they say, one seeks repayment from the person that owes the debt. For the guild to end up in such a state, the guild leader needs to take responsibility. To calm down the people's sentiment, someone needs to take responsibility and not transfer the blame to the normal members."
As he said that, Fallen Dust stood up and bowed to Xiao Nianying, "Guild leader, please resign and let the Xiao Family back out of Xiao Alliance."
Seeing which, the other members stood up and bowed, "Guild leader, please resign!"
This was their true purpose.
"You, you guys!"
Xiao Nianying's face was ashen white, and he pointed at all of them; he was infuriated.
At this point, groups of players appeared outside of the courtyard and shouted in unison, "Guild leader please resign!"
It was obvious that this had been planned for a long time.
The guild members had long been unhappy with the Xiao family.
Xiao Nianying shivered; he tried his best to calm himself down as he said coldly, "What if I do not agree?"
Fallen Dust said, "Then we will hold a shareholder meeting and choose a new guild leader. At the same time, we will apply to Gaia for the Xiao Family to compensate us. I think Gaia would be fair to us."
When Xiao Nianying heard that, he looked at the allies of the Xiao Family. Seeing them all avoid his gaze, he felt his heart sink. He knew that if this continued, it would be bad for him and his family.
"It's okay; I'll resign!"
Maybe the moment he agreed to Di Chen's request to send troops, his fate was determined. It was time for the Xiao Family to go back into seclusion to become a hidden aristocratic family!
This wilderness was destined to not be their stage.
Very quickly, the Xiao Family was kicked out of the Xiao Alliance, and even their shares were taken back as compensation. Fallen Dust became the new guild leader, unsurprisingly.
With the Xiao Family gone, the Xiao Alliance problem was still there. If they could not solve the compensation problem, Fallen Dust would not have a good time as the guild leader.
On the first day that he became the guild leader, he threw out a bomb shell.
Fallen Dust smiled, "Let me tell you guys some good news. Xia King Qiyue Wuyi is willing to take over the remaining shares of the Xiao Family and help us tide over these tough times."
"Isn't the Xia King our enemy?"
Fallen Dust shook his head, "The one that has problems with him is the Xiao Family and the Yanhuang Alliance. With them gone, the Great Xia would not bother with us."
Upon hearing that, the members exchanged glances.
Those smart ones even felt a chill run down their spines, and even the way they looked at Fallen Dust changed. They could feel that from start to finish, this internal conflict was planned by Great Xia.
What kind of relationship did their new guild leader have with Great Xia?
They did not dare to think too much.
When Fallen Dust saw that, he continued, "Why did Xiao Nianying ask us to attack Great Xia, wasn't he afraid that Great Xia would take revenge against us? The moment Great Xia takes over this, the problem will be gone too."
Everyone nodded, that was true.
"Even if we agree to allow Great Xia to invest, how are we going to solve the current problem? Can they take out this sum of money right away?"
Now was the weakest period of the Xiao Alliance. As the Xiao Family had left, the remaining power vacuum was one that everyone craved for.
As a result, some people were not willing to let Ouyang Shuo step in.
When Fallen Dust saw that, he made a silent note of that person and smiled, "Who is the Great Xia King? Since he said he's willing to take over, he naturally has a way to help us out."
"Of course, he is not a philanthropist, and he cannot take out too much for the 30% of shares. Luckily, he said that he is willing to return to us all the equipment that our brothers dropped."
As Great Xia cleaned up the battlefield, they pretty much collected all the equipment. The dead players were all elites, and all their equipment were all elite items. Each set was worth no less than one to two hundred gold.
Just this batch of equipment was worth more than 10 million.
When all of them heard that, they could not help but take in a deep cold breath. They were shocked by the generosity of Great Xia.