It has to be said, in order to win over Grayfist, Pocolo practically stripped his entire camp down to their underwear.
But from his point of view, what he did was actually very reasonable.
After all, Pocolo didn't have a god's-eye view. He had no idea that Grayfist had already defected to Xu Yuan.
Moreover, Pocolo's task this time was to do everything possible to recruit Grayfist. If he failed, Tyrant HIM and Annoying HIM would not hesitate to wipe out everyone in Grayfist's faction.
Because of this, Pocolo had no scruples at all about telling Grayfist their plans.
And Pocolo firmly believed that joining Tyrant HIM and Annoying HIM was, for any contestant participating in the Land of Trials, a deal with nothing but benefits.
Just as Pocolo said, everyone competing knew it perfectly well in their hearts, the final outcome would be a showdown between the three HIMs.
No one else could possibly compete with those three, so all they could do was try every possible way to sip a bit of soup.
Judging by the format of the Land of Trials, as long as you could survive until the end, you should be able to get a share of that soup.
And Tyrant HIM and Annoying HIM also provided guarantees to their subordinates that they could survive until the end.
Even if Tyrant HIM and Annoying HIM didn't win in the end, that would only be their personal issue.
When all was said and done, everyone under them would only need to follow whichever of the three HIMs emerged victorious.
In other words, they didn't need to do anything at all, just watch the three HIMs fight among themselves, then reap the benefits.
Pocolo felt that no normal player could possibly refuse such a good deal.
That was why he spoke so openly and sincerely with Grayfist. He knew Grayfist was a smart man, and he believed Grayfist would definitely make the right choice.
Obviously, Grayfist was bound to make the right choice. Even if Pocolo hadn't said a word, Grayfist would still have found a way to make the correct decision.
After all, Grayfist's goal was the same as Pocolo's.
What Grayfist hadn't expected, though, was that he would accidentally stumble upon something big.
Those few sarcastic remarks he threw at Pocolo were purely meant to squeeze out a bit more benefit, but he never expected to actually fish out such a useful piece of information.
Grayfist frowned slightly and fell into deep thought. After quite a while, he slowly raised his head, lifted an eyebrow, looked at Pocolo, and asked, "Brother! This plan of playing both sides depending on the wind, did you come up with it yourself, or was it the result of everyone discussing it together?"
That sudden "brother" from Grayfist really caught Pocolo off guard, in a pleasantly surprising way.
Back when Pocolo first received the task from Tyrant HIM and Annoying HIM to come negotiate with Grayfist, he was actually very confident.
After all, given the current situation, he was the most capable lackey under Tyrant HIM and Annoying HIM. No matter how you looked at it, his status should be about on par with Black Blade's, right?
So when Pocolo first stepped into Grayfist's camp with hostages in tow, he could practically be described as strutting arrogantly. In his mind, his status should naturally put him on equal footing with Grayfist.
The scene he had imagined was a meeting between two big shots, with himself firmly suppressing Grayfist throughout.
However, once he actually entered the camp, before he even had a chance to show off, just a few casual words from Grayfist were like a bucket of cold water poured over his head, instantly making Pocolo recognize the harsh reality.
From Grayfist's attitude, it was obvious that he didn't take Pocolo seriously at all.
After that exchange with Grayfist, Pocolo deeply felt the insurmountable gap between them.
Top-tier legendary big-shot players like Grayfist, Steve, and Black Blade were indeed not something ordinary people could compare to.
Even though Pocolo had now become the chief follower of Tyrant HIM and Annoying HIM, he knew perfectly well that this status had nothing to do with his own strength. It was purely a case of picking the tallest dwarf.
Although his apparent position seemed similar to that of Black Blade, Grayfist, and the others, his status was actually hollow, he lacked the inner substance to support it.
So when dealing with people of that level, he was easily suppressed and manipulated.
Pocolo had already been beaten down to the point of having little confidence left, but Grayfist's single word, "brother," instantly reignited the embers.
Who was Grayfist? The weight behind his calling someone "brother" was enormous, this wasn't a title just anyone could get.
This was clearly Grayfist's acknowledgment of him.
Thinking of this, Pocolo forcibly suppressed his inner excitement, put on a calm front, and replied, "This kind of thing, of course, can't be stated outright."
As he said this, Pocolo shrugged and smiled.
"But everyone actually knows it perfectly well."
"Our team came together because of benefits. There isn't much cohesion."
"The reason we've chosen to unite right now is entirely because, at this point in time, the best option we have is to follow those two HIMs."
"If a better choice appeared, I think no one would hesitate even for a moment."
"The entire team, whether it's those two HIMs or those of us who chose to follow them, everyone understands this."
At this point, Pocolo looked at Grayfist and continued with a smile, "This kind of team may not give much of a sense of belonging, but the good thing is that everything has been laid out clearly on the table, so there won't be any backstabbing."
"But that said, our team can still be considered united in purpose. At the very least, everyone's goal is the same, to survive until the end."
Just as Pocolo said, when Tyrant HIM and Annoying HIM informed everyone that the final battle would be a one-on-one showdown between them, everyone had already made up their minds about whom they would follow.
They only wanted to follow the person who would win the trial. Who that winner was didn't matter.
This was an unspoken truth everyone understood.
Once a better option appeared, they would betray their current faction without hesitation.
After hearing Pocolo's words, Grayfist's little brain started spinning like crazy.
'Is this another case of trying to overachieve the mission?'
When it came to the biggest try-hard in Xu Yuan's faction, if Grayfist claimed second place, probably no one would dare claim first.
Grayfist was competitive by nature. Now that his obsession was gone, he no longer needed to grind himself to death in PvP.
But he didn't sit idle either. He immediately opened up a new track for himself and started grinding in mental effort instead. At the end of the day, it was all because Black Blade had pushed him too hard.
There was no helping it, he really, really wanted to improve.
Now, having learned about the situation in Tyrant HIM's and Annoying HIM's camps, Grayfist began to scheme.
'Need to plan this out properly.'
'If I pull this off, that punk Black Blade can forget about mocking me ever again!'
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