Lord of the Myriad Worlds

Chapter 352: Caught in a Pincer

About twenty-five kilometers south of the Great Bridge, the Ability User Legion was advancing at a slow crawl. Their total force numbered roughly five hundred — around two hundred centaur cavalry, with the rest being a motley collection of Ability Users, plus a convoy of massive wagons hauled by over a hundred mutated oxen and horses, loaded with supplies.

Unlike most survivor camps, Frost Duke's domain had no electricity, no power plants, no nuclear reactors — and certainly no electric trucks.

Because Frost Duke had already begun charting a new course: harnessing mana to build a new order. Enchanted siege crossbows. Domesticated mutant creatures. Cultivating his own casters. All of it pointed toward a path no one else had taken.

It was a promising direction — if only the growing threat of outsiders weren't pressing him so hard, leaving no time to develop it properly. Frost Duke had been forced to make a deal with the devil.

"It's the Centaur Count calling for reinforcements, my lord Marquis — please allow me to lead two hundred cavalry to his aid!"

At that moment, a powerfully built centaur captain was urgently requesting permission to act. The blood-red smoke signal hanging in the sky dozens of kilometers away was unmistakable.

"Shut your mouth! You absolute idiot!"

A massive minotaur wearing enchanted heavy armor over his black hide roared back. This was Ox John — commander of the Ability User Legion, and Marquis Minotaur.

Fifteen years ago he'd been a low-level gang enforcer, living day to day. Now he was the noble Marquis Minotaur, trusted deeply by Frost Duke and currently tasked with constructing a Great Bridge Fortress to sever the connection between the false Baron Li Wei and the false Baron Zhao Kewu.

Nothing mattered more than that mission.The Marquis turned and glanced back at an enormous vehicle behind him — a massive wagon pulled by ten mutated oxen, its exterior sealed with thick enchanted steel plates, with only ventilation slits left open.

Extremely secure. Extremely slow. It could only cover fifteen kilometers a day.

Because inside that strange wagon was a mysterious, dangerous, and precious satyr mage — cultivated by Frost Duke with the guidance of his mysterious advisors, and one of the strategic assets that absolutely had to be protected on this mission.

Inside a solid fortress, these satyr casters were devastatingly effective. But in the open field, they became terrifyingly fragile — a single stray arrow could pierce their belly and trigger a catastrophic mana explosion.

Perhaps that was the price of intimate contact with magic.

"Advisors — your recommendations?"

The Marquis turned to two Neanderthals standing guard outside the wagon. They were outsiders too, but descendants of servants who had pledged themselves to the ancient mages — summoned by Frost Duke from another dimension to serve as advisors.

They were extraordinarily knowledgeable. They had brought all manner of supplies and expertise, solving several thorny problems in the Frost Territory, providing formulas that allowed ordinary humans to safely and systematically transform into powerful Ability Users, and training the Ability User Legion to use their powers more efficiently.

They could even help satyr mages grow from three life cores to five.

Frost Duke called them advisors — a title of respect.

For this mission, Frost Duke had dispatched four advisors in total. Two remained at his side as strategists; the other two had been sent with the vanguard to scout ahead.

Yesterday they'd reported everything was going smoothly. This morning, things had gone sideways.

These advisors weren't looking so reliable anymore.

"Respected Marquis, this is the enemy's trick. They deliberately baited our forces into the open, then ambushed them — killing our soldiers and shaking morale. The best course is to ignore it. Our objective, as per the Duke's orders, is to build the Great Bridge Fortress."

One of the Neanderthal crossers spoke with absolute conviction, his expression resolute — though inside, he was bleeding with helpless fury.

What else could they do?

The enemy had nearly wiped out a fifty-man centaur cavalry unit in under a minute. Yes, these centaurs were fast-grown dual-core Ability Users — but they weren't firewood. They weren't cabbages to be harvested without a shred of resistance.

What looked like a surface-level skirmish had actually proven three things.

First: their top-tier scout was dead. He had lost.

Second: the wilderness now belonged to the enemy.

Third: this was strategic deception — a clear message that the vanguard squad was gone, and there was no point hoping to rescue them.

Even knowing it was a bluff, they didn't dare gamble on the slim chance it wasn't.

In the age of the supernatural, scouts were kings of the wilderness. Anyone who underestimated a scout — unless they had overwhelming power to simply crush the difference — was as good as dead.

Against a scout of this caliber, the only sound strategy was to stick to the main road, never the side paths; advance in force, step by step; fortify every position; build fortress after fortress.

There was simply no other way.

Maybe the enemy scouts couldn't guess what this legion was transporting and guarding. But they couldn't risk it.

If that satyr mage got hit and detonated, everything within three hundred meters would be obliterated.

Hold on a little longer. Just hold on. Once the Great Bridge Fortress was built, even the finest scout would be nothing but a mole in the ground.

—

At the same moment, Li Wei and Li Yue appeared on the south side of the Great Bridge. Eight hundred meters overhead, Adai circled like an eagle — a king surveying his domain — with nearly thirty mutant crows, mutant magpies, and a few mutant hawks gathered around him.

These were Adai's crew.

On the north side of the bridge, two enchanted chariots had already rolled onto the bridge deck, ready to charge at any moment.

Zhao Xuanxuan, Benjamin, Santiago, Grant, and Xavier — five cavalry riders — followed close behind.

In a frontal assault, only a fool would use cavalry. Enchanted chariots were the obvious choice for smashing through a line.

At the rear, three electric trucks carried six heavy crossbows, their bolts gleaming with cold light.

This was the foundation of Zhao Xuanxuan's month-long dominance over both banks of the Great Bridge.

If you could play dirty, why play fair?

At that moment, a Level 3 mutant myna bird fluttered down and bellowed in a loud, carrying voice:

"All units, latest tactical briefing!"

"Friendly Ranger has reached fifteen hundred meters south of the Great Bridge. Adai is in position. Enemy reinforcements are still twenty-five kilometers out, advancing slowly, with no sign of moving to support."

"Enemy is holding their position. They have constructed basic defensive works on the north side of their line — estimated one hundred to two hundred traps. Current enemy strength: fifty-five total. Thirteen centaur archers, all suspected to carry explosive-bolt devices — recommend prioritizing suppression. Eighteen heavy-armored half-boar units. Six light-armored half-dog units. Seven light-armored half-cat units. Ten berserk dual-wielding half-bull units. One final individual suspected to be a Barbarian warrior — flagged as priority target!"

"All units, stand by for combat!"

"Flap!"

The mutant myna bird took off again. It was one of Adai's crew — had never been much use before, but had come through when it mattered. After all, on a battlefield like this, Li Wei and Zhao Xuanxuan were separated by two kilometers with no radio. Coordination was a real problem.

Li Wei could maintain real-time communication with Adai, but that didn't mean anyone else could — so Adai had quickly conscripted this myna bird, and so far it was working out well enough.

"Aunt Yue, cover my rear. Focus on the Neanderthal. Everything else, ignore."

Li Yue had no defensive gear, and Li Wei wasn't about to let her charge into the fray. But as a sharpshooter, she was more than capable.

"Got it."

Li Yue didn't waste words. With a wave of her hand, her newly bonded four-star crow hunting pet launched into the sky.

"Adai, relay to Zhao Xuanxuan — enchanted chariots prepare to charge. Watch for traps."

The order was given. Seconds later, the mutant myna bird was already squawking it out at full volume:

"Ranger's orders — our chariot units are moving in! All units raise tower shields, watch for traps!"

"Clop-clop-clop!"

Li Wei's warhorse broke into a gallop. Li Yue, as always, followed three hundred meters behind, riding her own horse, Enchanted Strong Bow in hand, a four-star enchanted armor-piercing arrow nocked and ready — capable of delivering a lethal burst at any moment.

Just the two of them created pressure like an entire army of a hundred bearing down, because being hit by either of them meant death.

The thirteen centaur archers began to grow restless. Their own bows were nothing to scoff at, but they were still outmatched. Watching Li Wei riding hard toward them and accelerating, the pressure they felt grew with every passing second.

And from the north, the enchanted chariots were rolling in without a sound. Overhead, crows and magpies were cawing and screeching — occasionally dropping things. What kind of treatment was this?

Pure, unadulterated bullying.

"Advisor! I need your wisdom! Where is your companion?"

The centaur count growled under his breath, deeply unsettled by what was unfolding. He had never feared an enemy in front of him — but an enemy materializing from behind left him as helpless as a child.

The Neanderthal crosser had nothing to offer but silence. He didn't know what to do either. Maybe jumping into the river and swimming for it was an option — but he strongly suspected the enemy had already seen through his tricks.

Because his scout companion had been only marginally below him in ability, and had been killed despite every advantage. What hope did he have?

Running was off the table. Better to go down fighting.

But how do you fight when you're caught in a pincer — sky, ground, north, south — from every direction at once?

Tell him: how exactly do you fight to the death in a situation like this?

This was what despair felt like.

"My lord Count, what we need right now is not wisdom. We need to become beasts."

The Neanderthal smiled bitterly, then leveled his spear at Li Wei and roared: "Forget about what's behind us — kill him, and we break out! After that, everyone's on their own!"

"Kill!"

The next second, the Neanderthal summoned his warhorse, leveled his spear, and charged straight at Li Wei — first to move.