Lord of the Myriad Worlds

Chapter 335: Reinforcements

The Neanderthal's body dissolved into a mist of blood and vanished. Two lights remained where he had fallen — one golden, one purple.

Li Wei's Life had dropped to 100. Multiple wounds. Multiple sources of heavy bleeding. A grim sight.

But winner takes all.

Bathed in the Universal Gold Card's golden light, his wounds began closing. His Life started climbing back rapidly.

At the same time, lines of text drifted up silently.

[You have won an extremely dangerous battle. You survived.]

[You successfully killed two Northern Barbarian elite infiltrators. You have obtained two Five-Star Universal Gold Cards and two purple drop cards. The purple cards must be opened separately and are affected by the Wolf's Thousand-Mile March title. Recommended to open in a safe environment — otherwise, surviving members of the enemy faction may detect and lock onto you.]

[You have obtained a Weir Duke's Honor Medal. Note: This is awarded only to those who have made exceptional contributions to Weir Province. Holders of this medal will receive various benefits within Weir City, including a reduction in tax obligations.]

[You have obtained 1,000 Campaign Points. Note: These points are valid across the entire Locke Kingdom. They can be exchanged for goods and supplies at the Royal Capital's Quartermaster, or used to obtain various services from other departments.]

[You have discovered a Northern Barbarian infiltration unit. Do you wish to continue pursuing them yourself, or report this information? If reported, the Weir Duke will dispatch elite soldiers to attack these Barbarian infiltrators within one hour. Note: The Weir Duke's elite soldiers may only remain in this pioneering world for five hours. Please choose the right moment carefully.][Friendly reminder: If you choose the latter, the Weir Duke, as a gesture of gratitude, will allow the arriving soldiers to bring supplies you may need.]

[Friendly reminder: This is merely an unexpected minor complication. The pioneering city-building mission still requires your full attention.]

—

Not bad.

Li Wei considered briefly, then decisively chose to report and call for reinforcements. He had just come face to face with his own limitations — no matter how strong he was in certain areas, against a true Five-Star Cross-Border expert, he wasn't enough.

That fight had been won through the advantage he had spent over two weeks building, through killing one of them immediately at the start, through the enemy being isolated without support while he had Adai.

Without all of that, he would have lost.

Even at the very end, it had taken Adai cutting the Neanderthal's throat to barely pull through.

And there were still three Neanderthals at the camp. Did he have that kind of luck again?

He immediately exchanged the two Universal Gold Cards for two Silver Clearance Tokens. The two purple cards could wait — he'd open them back at base at his leisure. No time pressure, no side effects.

Then he rested for over two hours. He waited until midday before activating the reinforcement summon.

Because right now there was only one Neanderthal at the camp. The other two had gone east to scout and would likely return before dark — consistent with their previous pattern.

He had to deal with the camp's guardian first. And deal with the thousands of traps surrounding it. Neither was simple.

Li Wei suspected the one staying behind might actually be the most dangerous of all. He wasn't taking chances. Better to eliminate that one first. If the two eastern scouts had to be let go, so be it.

One second after he made the choice, his Pioneering Card vibrated rapidly. A thread of golden light emerged from his chest — as if his heart were about to sprout wings and fly away.

It wasn't, of course. Where the golden light fell, grey mist billowed. The space there was visibly torn open, and a figure stepped through the rift.

One person?

That was it?

What?

Li Wei was stunned. This was the Weir Duke's idea of elite reinforcements?

The mist cleared. The figure's appearance became visible — a powerfully built man in heavy plate armor. Fresh bloodstains still hadn't dried on his armor. Bits of flesh were caught in the gaps between plates. Sword cuts and hammer dents covered the surface. A veteran who had just stepped off a battlefield?

When the man removed his heavy helmet, Li Wei could read deep exhaustion on his face.

Was this a joke?

"Rookie — why are you just standing there? Do you have food? I need Three-Star food. And wine — do you have wine? Stamina Elixirs? Where is this place? Where's your Magic Ore Vein? I need to recharge my equipment's enchantment durability... damn it, did you really summon me in this slapdash way?"

The man rattled off a stream of words. Li Wei was baffled.

Me, slapdash? Look who's talking.

But the man's aura was genuinely overwhelming. This was unquestionably a true master-level warrior — the kind who had crystallized a Warrior Card.

Li Wei didn't waste words. He produced all his Three-Star food, plus a bottle of Two-Star honey mead he had been saving for himself. He also pulled out three doses each of Stamina Elixir and Life Elixir. This was not the moment to be stingy.

"Hm."

The big man glanced at Li Wei with mild surprise, said nothing more, sat down on the ground, and proceeded to eat like a man who hadn't seen food in days. When he was finally full, he lay down on the spot and was snoring within moments.

Are you serious? You only have five hours here. And you're sleeping?

Li Wei blinked, then dutifully stood guard nearby. He gave Adai a mental pat on the back. No food left for you, Adai. Hang in there — after this fight, I'll buy you roasted fish.

Adai didn't even bother responding. He flew over and started eating the hunting hound carcasses. His appetite was genuinely staggering.

By the time the slapdash warrior woke up, two hours had passed. Three hours remained. The time was around two or three in the afternoon.

The two Neanderthals who had gone east to scout would likely return within the next one or two hours.

"Mmph. That was good. Haven't slept that soundly in ages. The Weir Duke is an absolute bastard."

The man muttered to himself, then seemed to notice Li Wei sitting nearby watching him expectantly. "Hey, rookie — what's the situation? Where's the Neanderthal camp? What's inside? Have you scouted it?"

"My Lord — the Neanderthal camp is about fifteen kilometers from here. Currently only one Neanderthal is inside. Two more will likely return within one to two hours. I've scouted it. There are 3,048 traps surrounding the camp. About two weeks ago there were twenty-four Neanderthals total — they've been leaving gradually since then, destination unknown."

"As for this morning — I ambushed and killed two Neanderthal scouts myself. That's the situation."

As Li Wei finished his brief summary, the man who had been half-asleep suddenly sat up straight, staring at Li Wei with unconcealed disbelief.

"Kid — you're not bad. Are you a Second-Order Night Ranger? Only a Ranger can infiltrate a Neanderthal camp without being detected. And your Perception has to be at least +4. Full-Grid Resonance, Enchanted Strong Bow, and — oh, a Five-Star ice crow. And you know this terrain like the back of your hand. You're also a trap master? That would explain it."

"But even so, killing two elite Neanderthal Cross-Border infiltrators — that's impressive. Here, take these — two supply cards from the Weir Duke. I don't know what's inside, I can't open them. We have less than three hours left. Do you have a plan?"

"Ah — I defer entirely to your judgment, my Lord." Li Wei said with a polite smile.

"Pfft — defer to me? I'm just a frontline grunt. You think this body armor can survive thousands of traps going off at once? You're the one who has to lead the way, little brother. You clear the traps, I cover you. Let's go, let's go — we're running out of time."

When this slapdash warrior got moving, he was like a man with fire under him — unreliable-seeming, or perhaps extremely confident. Hard to tell.

Li Wei immediately signaled Adai to climb high and monitor a fifty-kilometer radius. No need for stealth anymore. Straight in, full force.

The warrior had no objections. The two of them jogged toward the Neanderthal camp hidden in the forested valley.

"Damn it, I hate these Neanderthal savages. The sheer number of traps they lay is infuriating. Little brother — be careful. I think the one guarding the camp might be a Casting Shaman."

As he spoke, the warrior let out a shout in Li Wei's direction — like a thunderclap. Li Wei flinched.

What was that?

Wait — why did he suddenly feel completely refreshed?

[You have received a Master-Level (Third-Order) Warrior's Battle Cry buff. For 30 minutes: Perception +1, Spiritual Power +5, Stamina consumption reduced by 80%.]

That was possible?

Li Wei was impressed. He drew the Enchanted Greatsword in his left hand and the Enchanted Dagger in his right, took point, and began dismantling traps.

Some traps didn't even need dismantling — one strike from the greatsword deactivated them. Others required careful work. He was good at this now, especially with Perception at +5. The results were excellent.

The warrior followed behind him, holding something like a cavalry lance — two meters and eighty centimeters of reach — ready to deflect any hidden projectiles or attacks at a moment's notice.

But the Neanderthal camp was eerily silent.

Had the guardian fled?

The warrior seemed to read Li Wei's thought. He spoke quietly.

"He hasn't fled. He's summoning reinforcements. These Neanderthal savages have a special dark blood magic — usually controlled by a Casting Shaman like this one. Once they detect an attack, it activates automatically. Every Neanderthal within three hundred kilometers will receive the signal. Little brother — you'd better pray your luck holds and there really are only three of them in this area. Otherwise, I can't protect you either."