After listening to Pei Yan's words, the scene fell into a stalemate. Leohard, facing the capricious Pei Yan, turned his head to look at Sifuer, waiting for the lord's instructions. Bailang, who had stood up with a sullen face, sat back down slowly after pondering for a while and waved to his subordinates.

Following Bailang's instructions, Leohard stepped aside with a gloomy face, clearing a path. Among the crowd, the participants in the melee exchanged looks with each other. Eventually, three people were crowded past the blockade and arrived at the negotiation table.

The visitors glanced at the people sitting at both ends of the table, grinned, and said, "Since this, uh, Mr. Shitang has given us a chance to negotiate, surely you won't deny us a chair, will you?"

Hearing this, Pei Yan smirked and patted the body of the guitar, spreading his hands towards Sifuer. Sifuer, keeping her expression unchanged, generously waved her hand. In no time, Hel came up with a chair. After the visitor was seated, he nodded at Pei Yan and smiled, saying, "Hello Mr. Shitang, my name is Andrew, and I'm the representative elected by the local shelter."

"Oh!" Pei Yan nodded meaningfully in return, then shrugged with interest and said, "So, Mr. Andrew, what exactly is the purpose of your actions today?"

"Mr. Shitang, as the crowd shouted earlier, I'm here for the benefit of our local shelter residents. As you can see, there are not only scattered soldiers here but also elderly, women, and children fleeing for refuge. Miss Sifuer's arrival will inevitably squeeze our living space, and for this, we have to fight desperately." Andrew's passionate words immediately resonated with the surrounding crowd, with voices of agreement occasionally rising from the people.

"Hmm, hmm!" Pei Yan pretended to listen earnestly, nodding constantly. Seeing this, Sifuer, sitting across the table, said coldly, "Andrew, don't stir emotions here. We never said anything about squeezing others out of the shelter. Don't take us for cowards who have lost their guts and only hide behind the lines! From the start, we intended to use this place as a gathering point, to rally forces and then head to the Holy City to support the Demon God!"

Clap! Clap! Clap! Seated, Andrew clapped and smiled, "Not surprising for a noble lord, making us feel ashamed. Since Miss Sifuer has no intention to stay long in this shelter, please relinquish control of the star map. We won't trouble your group, and afterward, I'm willing to apologize with my life for my offense and powerless actions."

"You!" Sifuer finally couldn't maintain her composure, her face darkened as she slammed the table and stood up.

At this moment, Andrew, thinking he held the upper hand, ignored Sifuer and instead looked at Pei Yan with a smile, "Mr. Shitang, what do you think?"

"Cut the crap and state your terms." Pei Yan put away the guitar in his hand, took out a cigar box, and began fiddling with it carefully.

"Let Miss Sifuer relinquish control of the star map and hand it over to us. In return, we won't be ruthless. We welcome Miss Sifuer's deployment, but when the numbers affect the shelter balance, we hope Miss Sifuer will fulfill her promise and head to the Holy City to support the Demon God!"

While using a match to light his cigar, Pei Yan said leisurely, "Then why aren't you heading to support your Demon God?"

"Hehe." Andrew placed his hands on his knees, looked down with a bitter smile, and said, "Like Miss Sifuer said, we're a bunch of cowardly soldiers who have been frightened on the battlefield. We've lost our homes, our comrades, too much, and all that's left is our lives. We just want to barely survive in the days to come."

His words obviously resonated with some of the people present, with many lowering their heads in shame and anger. Pei Yan looked up, sighed, and said, "Then why on earth do you think I would side with you and accept your terms?"

Andrew was slightly taken aback by his words, but then his expression returned to normal and he said solemnly, "Mr. Shitang, perhaps you don't know, we're not Raphael. We've long secretly reached an agreement to form an alliance, and we now have more than 1,500 people in our hands."

"You've moved swiftly. However, if all your subordinates arrive, I suppose the number would surpass this figure, right, Miss Sifuer?" Pei Yan said as he placed the lit cigar in his mouth and looked at Sifuer with a smile.

"Although my subordinates were scattered during the breakout, and I don't know how many casualties or losses we've incurred during the regrouping process, I still believe between two to three thousand can make it. I trust my subordinates!" Sifuer said firmly.

Pei Yan spread his hands towards Andrew, "See, clearly it's more beneficial for me to cooperate with Miss Sifuer, who has much greater potential."

"But that's in the future, whereas our strength is solidly before you, Mr. Shitang. As outsiders, we have no expectation of you intervening in this dispute. I only hope you remain neutral in this conflict. We just want the control of the star map of the shelter. As long as Miss Sifuer hands it over, we won't trouble her. If Mr. Shitang is worried, fearing Miss Sifuer might lose ground in the conflict and you lose intelligence resources, we can also promise to provide you with intelligence on the Disaster Legion!" Andrew decided to speak frankly, tearing off the facade.

"Uh, no need. Miss Sifuer's subordinates have already demonstrated their powerful combat capabilities. Who would choose to cooperate with a barking hyena when there's a strong lion?" Pei Yan said casually, yawning in the swirling smoke.

His words undoubtedly greatly encouraged Sifuer's group. Even Leohard, who was previously not too fond of Pei Yan, was now wearing a proud smile. In his view, regardless of how powerful this outsider was, at least he had eyes to see the situation clearly.

Meanwhile, feeling belittled, Andrew's face turned somber as he clenched his fists, gritting his teeth, and said, "Mr. Shitang, do you really dismiss a force of 1,500 as irrelevant?"

"Alas!" Pei Yan sighed, leaning forward and pointing at Andrew with the hand holding the cigar, "You've been mistaken about one thing. I'm here for reconnaissance. Since it's assessed that this Disaster Legion might invade other planes after destroying the Hell Plane, I must do everything I can to extinguish the threat before it occurs. Thus, Miss Sifuer, who is determined to continue fighting against the Disaster Legion, is my ideal partner, not a bunch of losers preparing to live in idleness behind the lines."

Saying this, Pei Yan paused, glancing at Andrew, whose face alternated between red and white due to the ridicule, then continued, "Moreover, you can't deny Miss Sifuer's noble status. From my observations, noble status still holds significant weight in this world. Through Miss Sifuer as a bridge, my backing can establish contact with high-level officials in the Hell Plane in the future, ensuring the rightful interests of my world. Can you people offer that? Can you do that? If not, why are you wasting my time here?"