Lord of the Myriad Worlds

Chapter 322: The Frost Duke's Bounty

1,500 kilometers east of Li Wei's territory.

A figure stumbled forward in desperate flight — hood gone, robes in tatters. This was Plague Witch Alice, who just days ago had been so full of confidence, ready to give Li Wei a taste of his own medicine.

Arrows hissed through the air. Alice rolled aside in a clumsy tumble, then pulled out another tiny plague rat and swallowed it. A strange luminescence rose across the undamaged half of her face. She spun around, lips moving rapidly through an incantation — an ice arrow materialized from the void hundreds of meters away and screamed forward, freezing and killing one of the centaur hunters that had been relentlessly pursuing her.

She spat black blood and kept running.

Zhao Kewu's territory was just ahead. After this thousand-kilometer flight, she was finally close to safety.

That damned Li Wei. That damned Widow Yang. They had set a trap for her. What made it worse was that she had thought her plan was airtight — and still ended up one move behind.

Not only had she failed to kill Li Wei, she had lost 52 units of magical energy, been badly wounded by the Widow, and then been placed under a Frost Duke bounty. Wave after wave of Ability Users had clung to her like parasites, pursuing her for hundreds of kilometers. After so many consecutive battles, she was nearly spent.

This deal had cost far too much.

That ambitious little fool Zhao Kewu had led her into ruin.

In this moment, Alice was cursing Zhao Kewu with everything she had.Wasn't second place good enough? It still came with hidden rewards. Why fight so desperately for first?

If she hadn't spent two of her trump cards helping him take down the Earth Duke, she wouldn't be in this position. With those two cards, she might not have been able to kill Li Wei — but she could certainly have killed the Widow.

And she never would have been hunted by the Frost Duke for spreading Blood Plague among natural persons.

Now look at it. Greed had cost her everything.

These second-generation players deserved to die.

Utterly shameless. No idea when to stop. No understanding that there was always someone stronger out there.

Li Wei had clawed his way to the top through everything thrown at him. Did anyone really think he was easy to deal with?

This debt was paid now. In the future, she needed to stay far away from people like that — high ambitions, greedy hands, no sense of restraint.

Ahead, the terrain was becoming familiar. Good — less than 100 kilometers to Zhao Kewu's territory. She was almost safe.

Alice let out a slow breath. This entire flight had drained her completely. She hadn't slept in days.

The Frost Duke truly was this world's hidden final boss. Even his Ability User subordinates were terrifyingly capable. Perhaps in the future she could redirect the threat — push Li Wei into a confrontation with the Frost Duke...

Then a sudden premonition of danger flashed through her mind. But this time she had no chance to react. A blade materialized from the air and drove into her chest. Simultaneously, an iron spear punched through her throat.

Two figures emerged from the surroundings — not human. One was a chameleon-like mutant creature; the other was a half-human, half-scorpion monster that had risen from the earth.

"You... glug... gurgle..."

Alice tried to speak. Nothing came out.

The two strange creatures talked among themselves, unconcerned.

"Hell of a tough one. Killed twelve waves of our bounty hunters along the way. You can rest now."

"Tsk tsk, you've got no appreciation for beauty. Look at that face — you went and ruined it. If you'd left it intact, maybe while it was still warm you could've—"

"Shut your mouth. This is a Five-Star Outsider under the great Frost Duke's bounty. You try anything like that and she'll skin you for a coat — even from the afterlife. Honestly, these Outsiders have been getting more and more brazen lately..."

Alice couldn't hear the rest. Her body dissolved into grey mist and vanished. Two Profession Cards fell to the ground, then erupted into a massive blaze of golden light — like a Universal Gold Card.

—

Late at night, inside Li Wei's territory headquarters, Liang Yuzhi rubbed her temples with a resigned sigh. That little brat Li Wei — he just walked out and left her to handle all the internal affairs. She hadn't even been this diligent managing her own territory back in the day.

But she genuinely couldn't afford to slack off. Having been through it herself, she knew exactly how important a well-developed territory was.

Especially since Li Wei had built such a solid foundation here.

Over 100 units of magical energy stored in the Magic Ore Vein at once?

Remarkable.

No wonder the boy was already thinking about fighting the special boss again. Because it was genuinely worth it.

That surplus magical energy had to be residue from the special boss — no other explanation.

"Second Aunt — you wanted to see me?"

A knock at the door. Zhao Xuanxuan stood somewhat stiffly in the doorway. Her wariness around Liang Yuzhi and Li Yue had never gone away — a kind of instinctive, fated suppression, like a mouse before a cat.

Liang Yuzhi glanced up briefly, eyes sweeping over Zhao Xuanxuan. The girl's presence had grown noticeably lately — her Destiny Grid surging, her edge showing, and with that broad-shouldered, muscular build and shaved head, she was every bit the tomboy.

Still not enough, though. Her weaknesses in other areas were too significant. Not well-rounded enough. If she ever found herself alone against a truly dangerous opponent, she'd be played to death.

But considering that scenario only arose in Conquest Missions and Cross-Border Missions, in everything else the girl could bulldoze through just fine.

With that thought, Liang Yuzhi finally straightened up. The dark, sharp-eyed expression vanished instantly. She became a warm, pleasant middle-aged woman again.

"Congratulations, Xuanxuan. My little Wei really does treat you well — gave you a Cavalry Card just like that. He's never been that attentive with me, his own Second Aunt. Not that I'm saying that to make you feel awkward, of course. I'm just a lonely widow. Who else do I have to rely on?"

Zhao Xuanxuan smiled along and said all the right things. Not a single complaint crossed her lips. A Second-Order Casting Witch — you didn't badmouth her behind her back. Li Wei had told her that personally.

They were teammates now. Endure what could be endured. Liang Yuzhi, aside from her sharp tongue and strange moods, was tolerable enough.

After a long stretch of pleasantries, Liang Yuzhi finally produced a Black Iron Clearance Token and a Two-Star Hunting Pet Card.

"Xuanxuan, I'm getting old, don't mind me going on a bit. The most important thing for a person is to have a skill that's truly their own. You're already quite good — if the Logistics Department had taken you on, you'd never want for anything, and you'd never have to do Conquest or Cross-Border Missions. But you can't go back now."

"So beyond your blacksmithing, you need another skill to stand on. This card holds a Two-Star warhorse — I used to keep it for travel. It's yours now. Forge it a set of armor. I look forward to the day I see you charging across a battlefield, unstoppable. Go."

Zhao Xuanxuan was stunned. A Two-Star warhorse? This old woman was actually being generous.

She immediately stopped herself from thinking further, bowed, took the card, and fled.

"Send Nelson and Benjamin up."

Liang Yuzhi's voice caught up with her like a striking snake. The next second, Zhao Xuanxuan felt as if she'd been hit over the head — three full seconds of dizziness before she recovered. Right. That was the real Liang Yuzhi. Petty, vindictive, never letting a slight go unpunished.

A few minutes later, Nelson and Benjamin arrived outside Liang Yuzhi's operations room on the third floor. Neither dared knock. They bowed immediately.

"Honored Lady, how may we be of service?"

"Come in. Nelson — I need a report on the material transport from the small city base."

Liang Yuzhi didn't look up. If she could manage a grudging half-smile for Zhao Xuanxuan, for the Freemen she treated them like NPCs — pure utility. Step out of line, think a disrespectful thought, and you got a Mental Shock. No exceptions. No coddling.

It didn't matter who it was — her own apprentice, little Isabel, her personal attendants, even Head Chef Ellen if she dared harbor a complaint. Same result.

After a round of corrections, the effect had been excellent.

She didn't care at all what Li Wei thought of her methods. This was her character, her principle. As for basic humanitarian protections — fine, go complain to the great Six-Star Lord. She'd still win.

A person had to be consistent. You couldn't smile to someone's face and curse them behind their back. That was simply immoral.

In the ordinary world, people said to judge actions, not intentions — because you couldn't hear what someone was thinking, so you had no choice but to be magnanimous. But this was a world with magic. If she could hear every insult directed at her, why should she tolerate it?

You have basic humanitarian protections? So does she. Why should she be the one to suffer?

Simply put: if you ask for it, you get it.

"My Lady, the material transport from the Sica City underground base is proceeding in an orderly and efficient manner. We currently have thirteen electric buses, running two trips per day. Priority is given to food, valuable machine components, weapons, and ammunition. We are also in the process of systematically dismantling one of the small nuclear power plants—"

"Drop that idea. Stop with the clever little schemes. Nuclear power plants are not permitted within the territory. To be precise, nothing like that is allowed within 50 kilometers of the Magic Ore Vein. Understood? Those things are only useful as a temporary measure. Bring one back here and it'll blow up sooner or later."

"This is the last time I will say this. Nelson — as Freeman Administrator, you are not performing your duties adequately. Stop hiding those little ambitions. Don't make me lose patience."

"Get out."

She dismissed a sweating Nelson, then glanced at Benjamin, who was standing equally rigid beside him. "The Freemen's quarterly settlement is in two days. At that time, remove Nelson from the Administrator position. Have your father Linus take over as Freeman Administrator. Work out the details yourself. And this is your reward — find a way to advance to Four-Star."

"Go."

Liang Yuzhi waved him away impatiently, then slumped back in her chair.

Internal affairs. Not a job for human beings.

When would these miserable days ever end.