Lord of the Myriad Worlds

Chapter 370: Three Thousand Li in a Single Dash

He drove at full speed, vast plains stretching out on both sides — barely a mountain in sight.

The road was straight and clear. Li Wei pushed to a hundred kilometers per hour, hoping Hathaway's territory would be waiting at the end of the highway.

But after nearly two hundred kilometers, he hadn't encountered a single destroyed road bridge, not a single Ability User — as if he were the only person left in the world.

Frost Duke's Ability User Legion seemed to have deployed nothing in this direction at all.

"Damn it — is Hathaway's territory upstream on that river?"

Li Wei was frustrated, but he had no other options. He couldn't have sent Adai ahead to scout — Adai could slip past ordinary Ability Users and even some Neanderthal crossers, but not truly elite Neanderthal fighters, like that giant eagle earlier. The moment they spotted Adai, he'd arrive to find an army waiting. Any hope of replicating the miracle of three arrows destroying a fortress would be gone before it started.

"Adai — push ahead along this road for another two hundred kilometers, then sweep the surrounding area in a wide radius. Look for anything resembling a pioneer territory."

Li Wei gave the order and kept his speed at eighty kilometers per hour.

For a moment, a thought crossed his mind — should he abandon the enchanted chariot and turn back on foot?

The vehicle was too conspicuous, too limiting.But he dismissed it. He wouldn't abandon the truck unless absolutely necessary.

It still had half its charge, and the tires were in good shape. Out here in the wilderness, it was an excellent mobile fortress — and it could run.

Come to think of it, it was a genuine failure that the magical side of this world hadn't figured out mana-powered armored vehicles.

Adai was gone for half a day. Li Wei didn't dare stop — what if there were pursuers behind him? He drove from around five in the afternoon all the way to eight at night, until the last light was nearly gone. Then Adai returned with unwelcome news: no territory matching the description found, and the road ahead was undamaged.

But a few mountains further on was barren gobi terrain — and beyond that, possibly a great desert.

"What the hell — where have I ended up?"

Li Wei calculated. From Ron's territory, heading west, the bridge fortress had been roughly six hundred li away. Frost Duke's Ability User Legion had been massed there, with powerful Neanderthal elites — which meant there was definitely a territory nearby, and it was under siege.

Then he'd crossed the bridge and continued southwest. Now he was another six hundred-plus li out, and the answer was gobi and desert?

So what now? Turn back?

The way back was probably already a net of traps waiting to close around him.

Was his alliance plan truly doomed to fail?

While he was wrestling with it, Li Wei suddenly snapped to attention — he'd heard hoofbeats. No, wait — also something that sounded like vehicles.

Pursuers?

No — the sounds were coming from ahead.

Had they already gotten in front of him?

That didn't add up.

"Adai — get airborne!"

Li Wei issued the order immediately and prepared to drive into the mountains ahead. If the enemy was more formidable than he'd imagined, then the only option was to plunge into the mountains, use the terrain to shake the pursuit, circle around, and get home to tighten the defensive line.

But then — headlights blazed from the opposite direction. At the same moment, Adai relayed a visual feed from ahead. Not Ability Users — natural humans.

Three clearly enchanted chariots, plus six riders. And the person charging out front — why did they look so familiar?

"What the hell — am I hallucinating?"

"Did I get hit with dark magic again?"

"Even Frost Duke at his most powerful couldn't conjure a living Hathaway out of thin air, could he?"

In that moment, Li Wei's hands were shaking with excitement. He'd been on the verge of despair — and now this?

How had Hathaway known to come out and meet him?

If the territory being besieged by Frost Duke's massed forces upstream wasn't Hathaway's — then whose was it?

Wait.

Socrates' territory.

It clicked. Everything clicked.

Starting from Ron's territory, heading straight west — all the road bridges destroyed. That wasn't to stop Li Wei from coming. It was to stop Ron and Socrates from linking up. Their territories were only six or seven hundred li apart.

And that bridge fortress wasn't meant to stop Li Wei either — it was to prevent Hathaway from sending reinforcements.

So Hathaway had been watching Socrates' situation all along. When she saw the territory-wide announcement, she immediately knew he was coming — and rode out to meet him.

Li Wei stopped the truck and jumped out. Before his feet hit the ground, Hathaway had already galloped up and thrown herself into his arms.

In that moment, he could only grin like an idiot. Ha — ha — ha!

It felt like a dream.

Hathaway was even more overwhelmed. She called his name over and over, clinging to him like a child who wouldn't let go.

Fortunately, they were both exceptional people — they composed themselves quickly. But before Li Wei could say a word, Hathaway spoke in a rush:

"The moment I saw the territory-wide announcement, I knew you were coming for me. I gave the order for everyone to prepare immediately — ready to move at any time. We have to race against the clock now, because the enemy is far more cunning and ruthless than we imagined."

"A while back, Frost Duke personally led his main army in a feint against Zhao Kewu. I tried to reach Ron and Socrates then, but neither would agree to merge. Socrates didn't want to play second fiddle — his asking price was too high. A strategic miscalculation."

"Ron was compromised. He wasn't careful enough last year — he thought Frost Duke's Ability Users were reasonable people. After completing a few bounty missions, he actually visited Frost Duke's territory, had lunch with him, talked with him. That's when he was got. Otherwise he'd never have stood by while Socrates was attacked. He's been like King Théoden — blinkered, completely deceived. I couldn't save him. I'm a second-tier witch, not Gandalf."

"Half a month ago, Frost Duke suddenly led his elite core forces in a feint — then crossed three thousand li in a lightning strike against Socrates. One battle destroyed Socrates' outer fortresses. Now his territory's fall is only a matter of time. And Ron — he's already a dead man walking. No saving him."

Li Wei didn't waste a single word. He got back in the truck. Hathaway climbed straight into the passenger seat. The whole group floored it and turned back the way they'd come.

As it turned out, Hathaway's territory was actually near the gobi at the foot of those mountains — there was a small town there, apparently prosperous because of oil.

Hathaway had developed it well. Electric trucks were plentiful. Food and water were the shortages.

When Li Wei returned with Hathaway, he found fifty electric trucks lined up in a column, loaded with supplies and people, ready to move at a moment's notice.

He'd been thinking about how to convince Hathaway. Ha!

Turned out there was nothing to convince. Smart people know what choices to make.

Though Hathaway's territory really was far away.

Maybe that distance was exactly why Frost Duke hadn't targeted her first — Socrates' territory was the real strategic threat to Li Wei's. Build ships, ride the current downstream, and the Riverside Fortress would be hard-pressed to hold. That was the truly fertile land, the true strategic chokepoint.

"Hathaway — do you think we can intervene somehow? Buy Socrates' territory more time before it falls?"

Li Wei asked.

"No. Frost Duke is the final boss of this region — a six-star existence. Without a hundred units of mana, nothing can withstand his army's assault. He's intelligent, with genuine strategic vision. He's playing the whole board — not just clearing us out, but dealing with the Barbarian crossers at the same time. Even the two of us together shouldn't dream of dancing with a strategist of his caliber."

"The reason Frost Duke hasn't attacked me yet, and didn't anticipate that you'd abandon Ron and Socrates to come find me instead, is because he has no idea about the relationship between us. Honestly, I didn't expect it either, Li Wei — you truly astonish me. Do you know how I felt when I saw that territory-wide announcement? I — I think no one could refuse an invitation like that. For me, it's a declaration worth remembering for the rest of my life."

"But this is also the gap in Frost Duke's strategic planning. It's our window. Before he reacts, before he has time to focus on us, before he assumes we'll spend days negotiating and packing — we need to get as far away as possible."

"Li Wei — do you know, I've been preparing for this day for a month? Even though I never truly believed you'd come. And then you actually came."

Hathaway spoke rapidly, composed beyond what seemed possible — only the tears glittering in her eyes betrayed how deeply moved she was.

"Understood. Let's go. You lead this time." Li Wei nodded and turned to strip the four-star timber panels off his enchanted chariot.

Hathaway's preparations were clearly far beyond anything he'd imagined. His own preparations back at that nameless base looked like a child's project by comparison.

When he was done, Hathaway waved a hand. The bald woman at the front of the convoy flashed Li Wei a grin, started her vehicle, and the column began to move — heading straight into the desert.

Wait — that woman looked familiar. Who was she?

Never mind. He let Hathaway take his hand and pull him into a chariot sealed tight with steel plating on every side.

Adai tried to follow. Li Wei waved it off.

"Nothing good to eat in here. Go find that bald lady up front."

Some things you just don't need to explain.

Did it think he was the same as it?

"Wait — is this your little crow? It's changed so much!"

Hathaway called Adai over anyway, stroking its feathers affectionately, then held its gaze for a long moment before turning to Li Wei. "Do you remember your fiancée from the beginner mission world?"

"Huh — why?"

Li Wei blinked.

Hathaway looked at his expression and shook her head with a sigh. "A piece of her soul lives inside this little crow. You should treat it well. What's its name?"

"Adai."

"I think you're the one who should be called Adai."

"So — are you saying Adai will eventually become a woman?"

"What are you thinking — no. But it will be very devoted to you. Actually, what I meant was — I'm genuinely envious. A five-star hunting pet. How many hunters have dreamed their whole lives of raising one?"

As she spoke, Hathaway casually produced a small potion vial glimmering with magical light and poured it straight into Adai's beak. It seemed to taste good — Adai drank it eagerly, then swayed like it was drunk, and the next second flopped over and fell into a deep, dead-looking sleep.

"Don't worry. Adai was hit by some kind of dark magic — it's exhausted. Don't you even care about it? A five-star pet card can only restore physical wounds and stamina. It can't heal magical damage. Honestly, you..."

Hathaway gave him a helpless look.

Li Wei felt a chill. He knew exactly where the damage had come from — that last battle, the Neanderthal Druid's doing.

This was genuinely a blind spot in his capabilities.