Lord of the Myriad Worlds

Chapter 356: The Rare Dawn Knight Card

The territory was in sight.

He could already see the nearly-completed Northern Fortress, the territory hall, and the two-star temple at the territory's southern end.

Li Wei ordered the convoy to head straight for the temple, then sent word to Nelson, Linus, and the others — their sons had fallen in battle, and they deserved to see them one last time.

Soon, the entire territory was gripped by a tense, grief-stricken atmosphere. People were anxious and shaken, almost convinced they'd lost the battle.

Fortunately, death was a fact of life in the apocalypse.

Compared to those who had died, everyone was more worried about the enemy's presence. Peaceful life had barely begun — why was this happening?

People instinctively reached for weapons and started stockpiling food. But Nelson, Linus, and the others kept their heads and issued a series of emergency orders, directing the three garrison squads to maintain order.

If the territory fell into chaos over the deaths of a few people, it would be a laughingstock.

By the time the convoy reached the temple, several hundred people had already gathered, anxiously scanning the trucks for their sons, husbands, and brothers. Finding them alive, they let out sighs of relief.

When it finally became clear that only four people had died, some Freemen had already started yawning and whispering to each other. Did he think they'd never seen the apocalypse before?This young lord was too green — putting on such a mournful display. Whatever, let's all go home. The sky isn't falling. Leave the space to Nelson and Linus and the other poor bastards.

The situation was about to slip out of control. Li Wei genuinely hadn't anticipated this. He'd had a whole performance planned — and now, right in front of the All-Heavens Temple, under the gaze of the gods, these people were treating it like nothing?

"Resurrection!"

He had no choice. Li Wei made the call immediately. No time for the ritual he'd planned to have Mark perform — none of that was going to work now.

The crowd had come on their own and would leave on their own. He couldn't demand they stay to witness a miracle.

That wouldn't be witnessing a miracle. That would be witnessing a farce.

Miracles didn't need an audience.

In that instant, Li Wei spent 2,500 Standard Gold Coins. The next moment, a brilliant, sacred radiance descended from the heavens and fell upon Benjamin.

The weeping Linus and his wife standing nearby were stunned speechless. What in the — what was this? No, wait — what god was this? No — the All-Heavens gods had manifested!

Everyone present — Freemen and soldiers alike, including Li Wei himself — stared in astonishment at that divine light. And then, witnessed by hundreds of eyes, the miracle happened.

Benjamin's body, which should have been dead, began to mend under the radiance, and he finally opened his eyes.

"Hssss!"

Every person present drew a sharp breath.

At that exact moment, the temple's new priest, Mark, struck the temple bell. Its deep, resonant toll rang out — like the sigh and compassion of the gods themselves.

Li Wei quickly composed a message: how much Benjamin had contributed, how kind and righteous he was, all the good he had done — and how the gods, moved by his devotion and loyalty, had bestowed their divine favor upon him and granted him resurrection.

Message composed. Broadcast to all.

Done.

The crowd erupted. Before, it had been none of their business. Now — oh heavens, almighty gods, I am your faithful servant from this day forward.

Many people were in tears, kneeling and pressing their foreheads to the ground. Fifteen years of wandering through the apocalypse, and they had finally found a faith to believe in.

At that moment, Li Wei slipped away with Li Yue and Zhao Xuanxuan. There was no need to be present for what came next — if he stayed, it would make him look too calculating, too deliberately manipulative as a lord.

Besides, he had set different resurrection times for Santiago, Grant, and Xavier — some ten minutes apart, some half an hour — to keep the effect going. The important thing was participation.

Because Nelson was already there with his wife Ellen, weeping and praying desperately to the gods to bring their son back.

No need to interfere further.

From this day on, the territory's faith was established.

When they returned to the territory hall, Liang Yuzhi was already there, cracking her knuckles in anticipation.

For what?

Opening the purple cards, of course.

But even this called for some ceremony. This territory was his, yes — but it also belonged to his companions, including Thomas who wasn't here. They were a team, and when it came to the division of gains, he couldn't be careless.

Li Wei gave a rough account of what had happened and summarized the earnings.

"Between our two engagements, we collected a combined total of ninety four-star Gold Cards and three five-star Gold Cards. Forty-five of the four-star cards have already been sold for 45,000 Standard Gold Coins, and we also completed that submission mission — our territory's total area can expand by another ten square kilometers. That will be settled once the pioneering city-building mission concludes."

"As of now, including the reward we just received, our territory treasury holds a total of 182,000 Standard Gold Coins, plus 30,000 Barbarian Gold Coins."

"In addition, the treasury contains one five-star Cavalry Card, one five-star Mountaineer Card, one five-star Woodcutter Card, and various dropped weapons and equipment. As for the Druid Transformation Card — I'm keeping that."

"Going forward, we won't be selling Gold Cards anymore. The focus will be on upgrading our own strength, weapons, and equipment. So before we open the purple cards, I think we need to do a dividend distribution."

"There are five of us right now. My plan: of the forty-five Black Iron Tokens we currently have, set aside twenty-five for territory construction and Freeman soldier development. The remaining twenty will be split evenly, including Thomas — four tokens each. Don't refuse. Black Iron Tokens can be combined into three-star attribute cards, which are genuinely useful for everyone here, Second Aunt included. Even if you take them to Weir City and sell them, you can trade them for equipment and weapons better suited to you."

"Also, I'll be drawing a portion of Standard Gold Coins from the treasury — ten thousand each. The future can be figured out later. You're all my most trusted friends — practically family. I have to do right by you."

Li Wei firmly stopped Liang Yuzhi before she could say anything, and simply hugged her.

Then he hugged Li Yue and Zhao Xuanxuan in turn.

No words were needed. Everything was understood.

Then, without hesitation, Li Wei opened both purple cards.

[You have opened a purple card dropped by a Barbarian Centurion. You have received 50,000 Barbarian Gold Coins!]

[You have received a Rare Dawn Knight Card!]

[You have received a five-star Hunter Card with Hunter Destiny Grid 50.]

[You have received a five-star Mountaineer Card with Mountaineer Destiny Grid 45.]

[You have received a five-star Enchanted Cavalry Shield.]

[You have received a five-star Enchanted Lance.]

[You have received a damaged five-star Runic Heavy Armor.]

[You have received a magic item.]

[You have received a blank three-star Resource Card.]

[You have received a three-star Resource Card filled with fragments of magical items, recovered from the ruins of a damaged ancient mage tower. These materials may be useful for research or sale.]

[You have received five four-star Conspiracy Cards.]

[You have received five four-star Sincerity Cards.]

—

The notifications streamed past — it was a massive haul. But everything combined wasn't worth as much as that single Rare Dawn Knight Card.

It had actually dropped. The Neanderthal Dawn Knight Cao Nima had been brutally stripped of his future.

He was completely finished.

But before Liang Yuzhi, Li Yue, and Zhao Xuanxuan could even take a proper look, a special message suddenly appeared before all four of them.

[The Logistics Department wishes to purchase the Rare Dawn Knight Card. Current offer: 100,000 Standard Gold Coins. Please confirm if interested.]

Huh?

Their noses were sharp.

"Tell them to get lost. A hundred thousand gold coins — are we that desperate?" Liang Yuzhi snapped immediately, then laughed at herself. Damn it — she'd been running territories for decades and had never managed to save up a hundred thousand gold coins herself.

Damn it all. This kid Li Wei's wealth was about to hit two hundred thousand gold coins. She was completely numb.

"I wouldn't recommend selling it either. This is a rare find." Li Yue smiled too — a vindicated, triumphant smile. She hadn't smiled this freely even after killing the Barbarian Centurion. It felt like a great weight had been lifted from her heart.

But just then, another message appeared.

[Night Owl, Chief Caster of the Locke Kingdom Ministry of Magic, Weir Province Branch, has sent a trade request. She wishes to exchange fifty three-star warhorses and some magical knowledge for the Rare Dawn Knight Card. Other terms can be discussed in person.]

What was going on?

A single Rare Dawn Knight Card was enough to draw Night Owl's attention?

Li Wei was genuinely puzzled. He hadn't expected this. She was on the front lines, holding Thorns Pass — she must have killed plenty of elite Barbarians herself.

Liang Yuzhi glanced at Li Yue. Li Yue glanced at Li Wei. Finally, Li Yue offered her opinion: "Little Wei, it's your call. But if you're not planning to keep the Dawn Knight Card yourself, then between the Logistics Department and Night Owl, we'd recommend the latter."

"Second Aunt, Aunt Yue — if either of you wants this Dawn Knight Card, I can just give it to you." Li Wei said quickly. Honestly, he really didn't want to deal with Night Owl again.

Also — it was only because he already had the Druid Transformation Card that he wasn't keeping the Dawn Knight Card for himself.

Even if Liang Yuzhi and Li Yue didn't want it, letting Zhao Xuanxuan use it would be excellent too.

But Liang Yuzhi seemed to have read his thoughts.

"Little Wei — Little Yue and I both have all five card slots filled. We each have our own path to walk. I'm a Caster Witch; she's a Dark Moon Knight. As she grows, she'll condense and forge her own Dawn Knight Card in time — that's far better than using one like this."

"As for you — you have the Druid Transformation Card, which is the best fit for you. And for Xuanxuan — she already has a Knight Card, and her awakened hidden talent is Blood Burning. Her fifth card slot can't activate something similar again, unless she goes back to the main base and wipes her current Cavalry Card. In theory that's possible, but we have to think about the bigger picture."

"Our situation right now is like being guaranteed admission to a top university, but still falling short of the very best. If we're content to just hold onto our twenty-square-kilometer territory and not push further, then we have nothing to want — and no one could threaten us. Even if Frost Duke came himself, give me two hundred units of mana and I'd knock his teeth out, believe it or not."

"But we want more. The pioneering city-building mission has only just begun. We have over a year left. Why not fight for more?"

"We have too many weaknesses right now. Warhorses — definitely. Every battle, people can be revived, but horse losses can't be avoided. We need at least fifty to a hundred warhorses — that's a hard requirement. And there's no other way to get them."

"Second, we need more magical materials. Especially for the Sequence 3 Magic Crest I'm researching — honestly, I'm severely lacking. That kind of thing can't be figured out in months, or even years. It requires enormous amounts of money and materials. But through trading with Night Owl, we can get some of her guidance."

"Take that Barbarian Centurion you just fought. Without that armor enchanted with Sequence 3 magic, he'd have been nothing. Nothing at all."

"Anyway, that's my view. The final choice is still yours."

After Liang Yuzhi finished, Li Yue added: "Little Wei, you've never thought about taxation. You're a pioneering lord — even if you defer payment, it's going to cost you. Do you know how the King's Tax and Duke's Tax are calculated? They're based on all fixed assets you've accumulated over the past three years — weapons, equipment, and liquid gold coins combined."

"The Pioneering Card was given by the King. This world was staked out by the King. Even the Thorns Pass guarding this world is held by Weir Duke — if the Barbarian armies ever charged through, we'd be nothing. The taxes have to be paid."

"Right now, counting what you've given us, the treasury, and the Barbarian gold coins, the total comes to roughly 260,000 gold coins. Factor in other gains, and your current net worth and territory fixed assets can be valued at at least 400,000 gold coins. So if you don't do anything else, you'll graduate with a Baron title. Even with the Weir Duke's Honor Medal, that only exempts five percent of the King's Tax and five percent of the Duke's Tax — and you'd still owe fifty percent, meaning you'd have to hand over 200,000 gold coins."

"And from that point on, every year, fifty percent of whatever new income the territory generates still has to be paid. Year after year. Even if you only earn one gold coin that year, you still owe five silver coins in tax."

"Of course, income from cross-border missions only requires ten percent King's Tax and five percent Duke's Tax. So more often than not, it falls to you personally — and to us as your advisors — to sustain this territory. Only because the territory provides a resurrection point. Only because it provides abundant, stable food and a safe place to recover."

"But that's not sustainable long-term. So before the pioneering city-building mission ends, three things must be accomplished."

"First — you must accumulate enough to become a Viscount. Once you're a Kingdom Viscount, the annual King's Tax drops from fifty percent to twenty-five percent, and the Duke's Tax drops from ten percent to five percent. Add the Duke's Honor Medal, and you'd only owe twenty-five percent total."

"Second — expand the territory as much as possible. Claiming Riverside Fortress, for example. That process doesn't require applying to Weir Duke or the King. What it requires is fighting and winning against Frost Duke's armies. Win, hold the land — it's yours. Permanently, and irrevocably, unless you take on a five-star lord mission in the future."

"Third — develop our territory into a rookie mission zone like Kakh City. The rookie missions every three years are actually quite lucrative, and they can exempt certain taxes. Of course, this is very difficult — it requires maintaining good relations with Weir Duke and having solid connections with the heads of various departments. Extremely difficult."

"Of course, there's also a fourth option: apply to enter the war second-line zone. At that point the entire territory would be incorporated into the war second-line, but Barbarian battles would become far more frequent, Freeman casualties inside the territory would increase, and if a Barbarian army ever invaded in force, one push could flatten the whole territory."

"Those are the specific trade-offs. Think it over carefully."