novelraw Chapter 316: A Tiger in the Heart
Chapter 316: A Tiger in the Heart
[Territory-Wide Announcement!]
[Pioneer No. 1, Zhao Kewu, has successfully killed the Earth Duke and obtained the Rare title Earth Baron!]
[He has successfully killed Pioneer No. 14, Little John!]
[His Pioneering Card has expanded. If he successfully completes the Pioneering Mission in the time remaining, he will receive a territory totaling 10 square kilometers.]
[His Level 5 Scavenger Camp has been upgraded. It is now a Level 1 Territory.]
[He has unlocked special buildings: the Three-Star Tavern and the One-Star Magic Ore Vein.]
[From this point forward, headquarters will no longer dispatch Lord-class players to his territory. However, he may hire Mercenary-class players from anywhere in Weir Province through the Three-Star Tavern. Players currently on assignment may continue to remain for three months by using a Five-Star Retention Card. All other players remain as normal.]
[He will be granted one opportunity to relocate his territory.]
[His rank on the Pioneering Scoreboard will be fixed at second place — unless he kills the first-ranked Flame Baron, Li Wei.]
—[Territory-Wide Announcement]
[Pioneer No. 2, Socrates, has killed the Valley Duke and obtained the Valley Baron title!]
[He has successfully killed Pioneer No. 16, Iwate Masao!]
[...]
—
Two territory-wide announcements in just two days. The others were making their moves — and with considerable force. Li Wei had clearly lit a fire under everyone.
The entire Pioneering Mission was now officially entering its warring states era.
Li Wei couldn't help wondering: which bold soul would eventually set their sights on the Frost Duke?
'So from now on, I genuinely cannot leave the territory for a single step. Otherwise I might come back to find it raided.'
Several more days passed. After recovering, Zhao Xuanxuan chose to upgrade to Four-Star Artisan.
She had everything she needed — even the most critical Black Iron Clearance Token was already in hand.
From this point on, she would formally join the ranks of Four-Star players.
She had once thought about taking things step by step — but now that she was bound to Li Wei, and Li Wei was bound to Liang Yuzhi, the only option was to push her strength to the limit within five years.
"That Tiger Head Great Blade — I want to keep it for myself."
"I originally wanted to give it to you. But thinking back — what I really wanted to give was the tiger in my heart. I've always been like a boy growing up — refusing to lose at anything, ambition far exceeding ability."
"But strangely, the moment I finished forging it, so many of those old obsessions just dissolved — like smoke clearing. Even the tiger in my heart seemed to have run outside, fusing with the blade. I'll shape it into a long-handled weapon and take it into battle."
"Also — that Royal Heavy Scale Armor you brought back — can I have it?"
"You're really not shy about asking. I was planning to use it myself." Li Wei smiled.
"You're a scout, you run an Agility build — what do you need heavy scale armor for? Doesn't it just slow you down? You're already plenty encumbered. Looking at you tires me out. It's settled. And while you're at it, find me a warhorse, dear George. Please."
Zhao Xuanxuan made a face and went back to her work. She had a great deal to handle. The two young blacksmiths she had been training were nowhere near qualified — if they were lucky, they might touch the threshold of Enchanting Blacksmith in five years.
"From this point forward, the Enchanting Forge is designated a Three-Star priority site within the territory. Unauthorized personnel are not permitted entry. Daily patrol squads must give the Enchanting Forge priority attention. The steward and engineering group are required to periodically renovate and upgrade the Forge's layout."
He sent it out through the Prestige Card system and left it at that. He only needed to wait for Zhao Xuanxuan to approve the work, then review it himself. The Prestige Card system would handle compiling the relevant work reports and compensation.
With Zhao Xuanxuan's situation resolved and the enchanting method figured out, Li Wei retrieved the enchanted equipment he had taken from Scar Glenn.
The Royal Heavy Half-Body Scale Armor went to Zhao Xuanxuan. They were bound to the same rope now — allies, practically family, and future Cross-Border Mission partners. Shoring up her weaknesses made sense.
The broken Enchanted Horse-Chopping Blade, Li Wei planned to give to Mark. The man was freakishly strong, and after reaching Three-Star and having his arm restored by Liang Yuzhi, he now had 350 Stamina and 35 Strength. Not giving him heavy armor and a heavy weapon would be a waste.
Worth noting: Li Wei had originally considered making Mark a shield warrior, but after a period of combined-arms training, it became clear he was better suited for the charge-and-crash style of combat.
Both pieces went to Zhao Xuanxuan's repair queue.
As for the remaining equipment — the damaged headband, the deerskin boots, and the deerskin gloves — Li Wei kept those for himself.
But first they needed to be re-enchanted and have their enchantment durability restored.
Simply enchanting them alone would be wasteful. Not worth it.
So, between training sessions with the Freeman soldiers, Li Wei placed two hundred One-Star logs and ten Two-Star logs around the Magic Ore Vein, along with the three pieces of equipment. He also had Thomas and Leon bring their enchanted equipment over, added Zhao Guozhu's one enchanted piece, and included his own — the Bloodthirsty War Spear, Noble Crest Armor, Enchanted Heavy Sword, Enchanted Dagger, and Enchanted Strong Bow. All of it went in together. This was the most cost-effective method for restoring enchantment durability.
Four extraction cycles total, consuming four units of magical energy, restored all enchanted equipment's durability and simultaneously upgraded the logs — to Three-Star and Four-Star respectively.
Overall, very worthwhile. The upgraded Four-Star logs were remarkably hard, and even carried a faint sandalwood-like fragrance, capable of lasting a thousand years without rot.
Li Wei specifically instructed that the ten Four-Star logs be stored in Warehouse No. 3 to continue drying — excellent material for future weapon crafting.
The Three-Star logs were handed to Nelson for use in constructing the Tavern.
As for the three enchanted items — they were essentially restored.
[Magically Woven Headband — Four-Star enchanted equipment, headgear. Enchantment durability 12/12. Effect: Spiritual Power +4.]
[Good Deerskin Boots — Four-Star enchanted equipment. Enchantment durability 18/18. Effect: Leg Defense +10, Agility +4. Trait: Light-footed, never slips. Long-distance sprinting: Stamina consumption -5%.]
[Good Enchanted Deerskin Gloves — Four-Star quality. Enchantment durability 12/12. Hand Defense +12. Trait: Ice damage -80%, Poison damage -100%, Lightning damage -100%, Fire damage -30%.]
Excellent. Li Wei swapped them on immediately — really just the boots.
His old boots had been Leg Defense +5, Agility +2 — clearly a tier behind.
Now his Spiritual Power was 19, rising to 24 with the Flame Baron title equipped.
Base Agility 39, rising to 43 with the new boots, and 48 with the title.
As for hand and leg defense — calculated separately: base Defense 29 + body armor 18 = torso defense 47; base 29 + body armor 18 + vital point protection 30 = 77; base 29 + hand defense 12 = hand defense 41; base 29 + leg defense 10 = leg defense 39.
Comprehensive defense was already excellent. The heavy scale armor was genuinely unnecessary for him.
With his equipment restored, Li Wei was ready to fight any raider at full strength.
Because over the past few days, Liang Yuzhi had sent word through Adai asking him to stay vigilant. All factions were likely in a killing frenzy now — there was a real chance some Five-Star Cross-Border expert might come charging 500 kilometers just to take a shot at him.
Several more days passed. Nelson came to Li Wei with a thorny problem.
The Tavern's location.
"My Lord — the camp's current space is fully utilized. The building itself covers roughly 1,000 square meters. The first perimeter wall has become an extension platform of the first floor — combined usable area is 4,500 square meters, divided into five zones: A through E. Zone A is the warehouse, Zones B and E are dormitories, Zones C and D are the main kitchen and dining hall."
"Between the first and second perimeter walls is roughly 10,000 square meters. Farmland No. 4 takes up part of it. The Enchanting Forge and its associated furnace and storage take up about a quarter. We also still need to demolish the brick kiln and charcoal kiln on the north side to build residential blocks. There's genuinely no room left for a Tavern."
"Then fill in Farmland No. 4 and build the Tavern there."
Simple enough. The territory's internal farmland would all be gradually filled in and abandoned anyway. For now, the priority was farming at a distance — like at the port camp where Liang Yuzhi was stationed. She had mentioned plans to plant 100 acres next year.
When that time came, she would return to hold the territory, and Li Wei could go station at the port camp. In the meantime: build high walls, stockpile grain, and don't rush to declare dominance.
In the blink of an eye, more than twenty days had passed. The weather was turning cold. Overnight lows had dropped to around minus fifteen or sixteen degrees.
Fortunately, no snowfall, and no unexpected incidents.
Adai made a daily circuit to the port camp where Liang Yuzhi was stationed — partly to relay information between the two locations, partly to patrol the area and ensure no raiders were approaching.
Though recently, Adai had been growing noticeably larger. He had also recruited five followers at the port camp — five mutant crows. But they couldn't keep up with Adai's flight speed, so they stayed there, being trained and kept by Liang Yuzhi. A Witch needed crow scouts.
At this moment, Li Wei was reading a letter Liang Yuzhi had sent via Adai. Every few days, Li Wei would update Liang Yuzhi on the situation here, and she would do the same.
But today's letter contained only a few hasty lines.
"Xiao Wei — something's happened. Last night, a Casting Witch roughly equal to my strength attempted to breach the fortress. I drove her off using the terrain and managed to wound her slightly. She may be heading your way next — she knows she can't gain an advantage against me, so your location is the weak point. Be extremely careful."
"Also — a caster of this level has ways to evade Adai's reconnaissance. Don't rely on Adai too heavily. This is the most dangerous kind of opponent. She can even alter the weather to some degree."
"Remember — do not leave the territory. Inside buildings, or inside an enchanted vehicle, you have the best chance of avoiding her attack spells. In open terrain, she can chain-control you to death with a single combo."
"Unless your Perception reaches 5 or above — only then might you be able to break free."
"Also — she may target your Magic Ore Vein."