Turning the situation around

"Hmm, despite being unexpected, this is quite a valuable bonus…", Wu Long muttered with interest as he closely observed the situation outside, "it seems the conflict over the World Stone will be a bit more lively than I thought…",

His thoughts lingered on the tertiary forces that might be joining in to take advantage and profit from the chaos of the conflict, as he listened to the Elder of the Crystal Wood Sect explode with anger at the Seven Scars Guild's request, and the argument between the two sides.

It was clear that while this small-scale mercenary group was not as influential as any of the big Sects, in this upcoming isolated conflict on the continent they held quite a bit of negotiating power, since here they could tip the scales of the relatively balanced forces, and thus these talks were more of a means to enjoy that superior position than actually bargaining for them.