Strongest Hammer God

Chapter 1232: Change in Attitude

"20% of your harvest."

Team Ankylosaurus and Team Wooly Sheep received a voice transmission inside the Excursion Lobby.

Everyone glanced over at the speaker and read the profile of their team.

Title: Team Nightshade.

Strength: Medium Immortal.

Affiliation: The Grand Exchange (Member).

Naturally, their sudden elevation of Karmic Luck attracted some attention. People knew how Karmic Luck worked, and some of the teams also knew where their teams were. Something must have happened, but they were not entirely sure what.

Well, except for Team Nightshade.

The members of Team Ankylosaurus and Team Wooly Sheep knew that they couldn't possibly resist such a powerful team. However, they also hadn't been truly surprised. They knew that some teams would notice their change in Karmic Luck, but they also knew that no powerful team would go too far. The cost of killing them would be too much to bear in terms of Karmic Luck.

Before they could even answer, they received another transmission. This time, the transmission consisted of a map of the large Planet. More importantly, the location of their hole was marked with almost perfect precision. This team knew exactly where they were.

By combining some context clues, everyone could guess the identity of this team.

"Are we right in assuming that you are the strongest team on the Planet?" Kyle asked calmly.

"We have not claimed the Planet, but we are the strongest team currently on it," their Leader, a young, blue-haired man, transmitted. "We have not interfered in your excavation on the Planet so far. We are not interested in the outer layers of the Planet, but you have entered the inner layers."

"We ask for 20% of your harvest. We believe this is a fair price, considering that it is our presence that protects you from Minor and other Medium Immortals."

The teams had gotten a windfall, but now, they were going to lose 20% of it. Naturally, it didn't feel good to immediately lose such a large chunk of their harvest, but...

"As a member of a temporary alliance, Team Ankylosaurus accepts the trade," Kyle transmitted, his voice surprisingly even. "Team Ankylosaurus can not represent the other member of the temporary alliance, Team Wooly Sheep."

When Sebastian heard Kyle's voice, a glint of suspicion appeared in his eyes. He had known Kyle for a long time, and while others couldn't sense it, he could.

There was a very faint trace of coldness in his voice that didn't entirely fit the circumstances.

Something was up.

Then, Green just looked at the Leader of Team Wooly Sheep with neutrality.

"Team Wooly Sheep agrees to the trade as well," she transmitted. "Therefore, the alliance agrees."

Mere moments later, three Avatars shot into their hole. The alliance could have taken a chance and fled, hoping that the other team wouldn't be close by. After seeing the three Avatars, it was clear that they had made the right choice.

Two Medium Immortals and a Major Immortal. Some members of Team Nightshade had already arrived at the entrance of their hole. If they had refused, they would have come face to face with a much worse fate than merely losing 20% of their new gains.

The three teams gathered in the middle of the funnel and looked at each other.

Before anyone else could say anything, Red spoke up.

"We have found a vine with Law Comprehension Fruits. The vine itself had the Energy Density of an Adept Immortal. As far as we could see, it had 79 Law Comprehension Fruits. I have made the decision on how to deal with the vine. I have given the order to harvest exactly 50 fruits. I have given the order for both sides to harvest 25 fruits. Team Ankylosaurus has harvested exactly 25 fruits. Everything I have said in this voice transmission is the truth. I swear on all of my Karmic Luck," Red transmitted.

As soon as Kyle finished his voice transmission, the mood shifted.

Team Nightshade was positively surprised. They didn't ask for a confirmation oath, but Kyle had still given one. This made things much easier since there was no doubt about how much the two teams had gained.

Sebastian and Abyssal Depths immediately noticed that Kyle's entire attitude had changed. He had been the unofficial leader of the entire alliance. He had made all of the decisions. Yet, his oath had explicitly excluded all of what Team Wooly Sheep had done. This was very different from before.

Team Wooly Sheep's Leader's eyes became cold when she heard that oath. Kyle didn't need to swear an oath, and he especially didn't need to swear one that revealed so many details. By swearing such an oath, Kyle had created a standard for their communication. If Team Wooly Sheep didn't follow, they might be viewed as shady in comparison.

For the duration of the alliance, Kyle had acted like Team Wooly Sheep was part of his team, but now, he suddenly acted like they were unrelated to him. This evoked a feeling of betrayal in the Leader. According to her judgment, Kyle didn't seem like someone who would suddenly abandon his allies when things got tough.

Kyle glanced at the Leader of Team Wooly Sheep, and this time, he didn't hide the coldness in his eyes.

"Thank you for swearing the confirmation oath," the Major Immortal transmitted with a smile. Members of the Grand Exchange were usually charismatic. After all, they were businessmen, and customer rapport was essential.

Then, the Major Immortal looked at the Leader of Team Wooly Sheep without saying anything. He wasn't telling them to swear a confirmation oath, but the implication was there.

The Leader of Team Wooly Sheep furrowed her brows. Her members were in her ears with voice transmissions, telling her that there was no reason to follow Kyle's example. They didn't need to swear an oath. Kyle's oath was more than enough. Additionally, Kyle had shown that he was willing to abandon them when there was danger.

Yet, the Leader just looked at the Major Immortal. "As the Leader of Team Wooly Sheep, I swear that-"

"Stop!"

A powerful and almost violent voice transmission suddenly arrived in the Leader's mind, interrupting her oath.

The Leader glared at Kyle, who had just interrupted her oath. At this moment, she saw severity in his eyes.

"Be very careful about your oath," Kyle transmitted in a dark voice. "Only swear on something you know for certain is the truth. Do not assume!"

The Leader didn't answer.

"Positive Karmic Luck changes of the third level," the Karmic Senser of Team Nightshade transmitted to his Leader. "Readings indicate internal conflict and subterfuge."

"I can see as much," the Leader of Team Nightshade answered.

In the next moment, the Leader of Team Wooly Sheep looked at the Leader of Team Nightshade.

"As the Leader of Team Wooly Sheep, I have given the order to harvest 25 Law Comprehension Fruits. I have taken on that task personally. All other members of Team Wooly Sheep were ordered to stand by or to restrain the plant. I have harvested exactly 25 Law Comprehension Fruits. I swear on my Karmic Luck that I have only spoken the truth in this voice transmission," she transmitted.

When Kyle heard that, his cold demeanor warmed up.

'So, it wasn't a team decision,' he thought with some relief.

When everyone had received their burst of Karmic Luck, Kyle had noticed something.

There were inconsistencies.

He didn't know how much the fruits were worth in terms of Karmic Luck, but he knew the ratio with which the Karmic Luck should be distributed. After all, he knew the Law of Karmic Causality.

And that ratio had been slightly off. Team Wooly Sheep did not gain as much Karmic Luck as they should have. This could only mean one thing.

Team Wooly Sheep hadn't followed the agreement.

This was why Kyle had been enraged. He had been nice and forthcoming with Team Wooly Sheep, but as soon as some money appeared, they hadn't reciprocated.

Initially, he had believed that this was an order from their Leader.

Yet, when he saw that she was preparing to swear an oath, he had interrupted her. If she were not involved in this matter, such a careless oath could kill her.

When he interrupted her oath with his warning, Kyle also noticed that he had gained a good bit of Karmic Luck, originating from the Leader of Team Wooly Sheep.

This confirmed that it wasn't her order. It was almost certain that she didn't even know about it.

This only meant one thing.

Someone on her team had done something they were not supposed to do.

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