The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria is often ascribed as the cause of World War I. However, the assassination merely lit the fuse in a combustible situation since many of the world powers were in complicated and convoluted military alliances. For example, England, France, and Russia entered into a mutual defense treaty seven years prior to World War I. Even without Franz Ferdinand' s assassination __. Which of the following most logically completes the passage? ['Austria would have started the war.', 'World War I never would have happened.', 'A war between the world powers was extremely likely.', 'England, France, and Russia would have started the war.']