Lord of the Myriad Worlds

Chapter 317: Enchanted Chariot

This was genuinely troublesome.

Li Wei fell into thought. A Second-Order Casting Witch — possibly at full strength — who clearly knew Liang Yuzhi well, which was why she had dared to make a move. She hadn't known that Liang Yuzhi was now also a Second-Order Casting Witch, with the advantage of terrain, which was why she had come off slightly worse.

So — would this Second-Order Casting Witch come here next?

And if she did, could he win?

After a long deliberation, Li Wei concluded the situation probably wasn't too dire.

Unless this Witch came with a strong team, a lone attacker would still get swarmed and killed.

And as for enchanted vehicles providing maximum protection against area-effect magic — that was actually an advantage on his side, because Zhao Xuanxuan had just become an Enchanting Blacksmith.

As for the Magic Ore Vein — he wasn't worried at all. That Witch was welcome to try once she reached Six-Star.

But regardless, supplies and reinforcements had to be sent to Liang Yuzhi's end. With only her there, if she got pinned down, what remained would be a one-sided slaughter.

Hmm?While he was thinking, Li Wei suddenly heard a burst of cheering.

The engineering group, electrical group, and blacksmith group had jointly finished the small armored vehicle — and it had just rolled off the line.

This was a vehicle that blended technology and magic, imagination and raw effort.

Perhaps not epoch-defining — the core was still a three-electric system — but for Li Wei's territory, its significance was enormous.

And the current situation might just be broken open by it.

Li Wei immediately headed down to the first basement level assembly workshop.

"My Lord — I sincerely hope you'll be the first to drive this vehicle. And please give it a name."

Linus from the engineering group knew exactly how to play the moment.

"Of course. But give me a quick rundown first."

Li Wei didn't decline. He smiled warmly. The so-called small armored vehicle — he liked it at first glance. But since no system notification had appeared, it wasn't yet classified, or perhaps couldn't be classified.

"My Lord — the vehicle is eight meters long, three meters wide, two meters tall at its highest point. It features an active suspension system, maximum ground clearance 40 centimeters, minimum 15 centimeters. Four-axle drive, four drive wheels, eight auxiliary wheels. Vehicle weight five tons. Fitted with an oversized battery pack — maximum range 800 kilometers. The chassis and cab are single-piece cast from Enchanted Refined Steel. The front windows use armored grille-style bulletproof panels. It can carry five tons of cargo while accommodating five crew members."

"Theoretical top speed 100 kilometers per hour — but limited by current technology and materials, it doesn't yet have rapid off-road capability..."

By the end, Linus was looking a little sheepish. To be accurate, this was still a semi-finished product.

So how it would actually perform remained to be seen.

Li Wei hesitated briefly, then climbed into the driver's seat. Surprisingly comfortable — all salvaged components, after all.

Zhao Xuanxuan, Linus, Nelson, and the others piled in, all wearing the expression of people sharing hardship with their lord. The controls were no different from a normal vehicle — start, shift, accelerate. The vehicle moved smoothly and quietly.

Li Wei kept it slow, making two circuits around the training ground perimeter. The feeling was — no particular feeling. Ha.

Once on the road and gradually picking up speed, pushing to 100 kilometers per hour — still nothing that made his eyes light up. Just a very ordinary vehicle.

Except for being very stable. The noise was terrifying. The wind resistance was like a wall. Visibility was another matter — most people couldn't drive this thing at all.

But from another angle: an ordinary vehicle fitted with Enchanted Steel Plates was already formidable in this apocalyptic world.

For those Enchanted Steel Plates, he had invested five units of magical energy in total. Combined with the four units for strengthening logs and restoring equipment, nine units had been consumed.

All worth it. Two-Star Enchanted Steel Plates couldn't be penetrated by siege crossbows, and bullets couldn't pierce them either — unless you were talking about large-caliber armor-piercing rounds, which was an extremely remote possibility. This world didn't allow that kind of weapon to be brought in from outside, and even if any remained, they'd need to be stored in heavy protective cases — otherwise even outside a Radiation Storm, prolonged exposure would alter the propellant.

So — as long as there were wide, undamaged roads, this vehicle was practically invincible?

"Not bad at all. This is a good vehicle. But the entire body is covered in Enchanted Steel Plates — including the battery section?"

After completing the test drive and returning the vehicle, Li Wei offered praise along with the question.

"Don't worry — full coverage. I made that call myself. Batteries are very susceptible to interference from chaotic magical particles, but with Enchanted Steel Plate shielding, the protection is even better than lead alloy. With another layer of shielding, I think during the Radiation Storm's low-intensity periods, we could drive it out freely. This is a game-changer."

Zhao Xuanxuan said it with full confidence. She had every right to be.

Three tons of Two-Star Enchanted Steel Plates — she wasn't going to mention that casually.

"Excellent. Very good. I have a plan."

"250 kilometers to the west, we have a port base that belongs to us. My Second Aunt is currently stationed there, along with 54 Freemen and a three-level fortress with excellent defensive capability."

"The current problem there is a shortage of winter heating boilers, some modular components for repairing the small nuclear power plant, food and fuel, and seeds for planting 100 acres."

"So I plan to send a ten-person squad, plus two craftsmen, led by Thomas and Leon, driving this vehicle along with one supply-loaded bus, to the port base. Adai will depart at the same time to provide aerial early warning. In theory, it should be safe."

"However — once you arrive there, you won't be able to return this winter. You'll stay through the cold season until spring arrives, and until this side has built a second vehicle to rotate you back."

"Nelson — prepare supplies according to this list immediately. Javier — your squad goes to the smithy right now to equip the latest enchanted weapons."

"I know this mission is demanding and carries real risk. But for completing it, every Freeman soldier will receive one Bronze Clearance Token and 50 gold coins as a reward come spring."

"Yes, My Lord. Your will is our direction." Javier called out loudly. The reward was simply too generous — Bronze Tokens in Jenny's shop went for 50 gold each, meaning three months of service would effectively earn two Bronze Tokens. An incredible deal.

Afterward, Li Wei called Thomas and Leon aside separately. They were both genuinely trusted allies at this point.

Going to station there for three months also roughly meant their retention period would be up — so certain things needed to be said in advance.

"Li Wei — I don't quite understand. With that vehicle, we could make fast round trips. Top speed 100 kilometers per hour — no Five-Star Cross-Border expert could keep up."

The two were fairly optimistic.

"No — that vehicle still won't hold up against a Five-Star Cross-Border expert. So the best approach is to go and not come back." Li Wei said it with deliberate weight.

"The port camp has my Second Aunt there — that's manageable. This end has me — also manageable. Right now, the most critical thing is this supply shipment. It matters for holding that camp. And that port camp matters enormously to us."

"There's also one more thing. Over the next three months, I'll be constructing a Tavern here. That will allow the territory to recruit one more person. Whichever of you wants to stay — like Zhao Xuanxuan and my Second Aunt — the option is open."

"Of course, you don't need to answer right away. This isn't compulsory. Think it through carefully — because once you stay, in five years you'll have to join me on Cross-Border Missions."

"Five years is a long time, but it's also very short relative to a Cross-Border Mission — even Five-Star Cross-Border experts like Li Yue and my Second Aunt can come back broken."

Li Wei was being clear. He didn't want either of them to have regrets later.

Hearing this, Leon was still hesitating. Thomas made his choice without a second thought.

"I want to stay! I want to follow Boss Li into Cross-Border Missions!"

"I — I also—"

Leon was still trying to say something when Thomas pressed a hand on his shoulder. "Brother — this one's on me. You and I are different. I'm alone in the world. You have your own team. Are you really going to leave Clyde and the others behind? They're waiting for you to come back and run the annual killing mission with them. Boss Li won't blame you for it — right, Boss Li?"

Thomas looked at Li Wei with a slightly pleading expression, his palms actually sweaty with excitement.

Leon was still wavering. Sigh — this kid hadn't noticed that the little pig had already turned her luck around. A Four-Star player, an Enchanting Blacksmith — clearly about to become a core team member.

Leon visibly relaxed. He was genuinely loyal to Li Wei — this was the second time Li Wei had helped him leap forward. Li Wei was practically his lucky star.

But as Thomas had said, he had his own team. Clyde was his close friend.

"Of course — this isn't mandatory. I'm just asking your thoughts. Leon, don't feel pressured. As for Thomas — are you sure? There's no going back after this. The only way to dissolve the bond would be to buy a Six-Star Item Card from Duke Weir, and that's not a cost you could bear."

Li Wei smiled as he said it. Liang Yuzhi had hidden nothing from him — she had told him everything as it was.

"I'm sure, Boss Li. I won't regret it."

Thomas said it with gravity. Since becoming a player, twenty years of clawing his way up from a worthless low-level mercenary had brought him to where he stood today. And it was precisely that journey that gave him a clear-eyed understanding of himself and his future.

His ceiling was basically here. He knew his weakness: no independent judgment. When things got complicated, when emergencies hit, he struggled to make decisions — or simply couldn't handle them.

His comfort zone was having a strong leader who handled everything — the big things, the small things, the sudden things — and gave him precise orders. East or west, north or south — just tell him. Fighting, working, enduring hardship — no problem whatsoever.

Li Wei fulfilled all of that. And after everything they had been through together, Thomas had watched with his own eyes how Li Wei had risen.

So why would he leave his comfort zone? Was he going to find a second Li Wei somewhere in the Ministry of Internal Affairs?