Lord of the Myriad Worlds

Chapter 375: The South Bank Strategy

After eating and drinking their fill, Li Yue took out paper and pen and handed them to Li Wei.

"Little Wei, first draw out the terrain and contour lines of the opposite bank of the river. The three of us will study future offense and defense. Hathaway is a good kid; we are all very at ease handing the south bank over to her."

Li Wei nodded. Without needing to ponder, he accurately drew the topographical map of the south bank on the paper, ensuring it could be understood at a glance.

At the same time, he also explained it to Hathaway: "The terrain on the south bank is mostly hilly, but there are no peaks exceeding 300 meters in height. This terrain originates from five hundred kilometers upstream and ends at six hundred kilometers downstream. It extends up to three hundred kilometers southward at its furthest point, and about a hundred kilometers at its shortest. There are many small intermontane basins and small plains in between. More than ten years ago, most of this region was developed. Inside, there are three highways, five country roads, three small county towns, five small towns, and forty-two villages."

"However, over a decade has passed. Affected by Chaotic Magic Particles, the trees and wild grass in this region have grown frantically, covering up the fertile fields. Redeveloping it will be quite difficult. But once redeveloped, it will form a foundation lasting for a hundred generations. Simultaneously, this will also become the most important barrier for the north bank region."

"So next, we need to complete the layout systematically and quickly. My general idea is to use the terrain on the south bank corresponding to Riverside Fortress and build the Earth Fortress at this unnamed peak. The Earth Knights can be stationed here, allowing it to echo and coordinate with Riverside Fortress."

"However, this shouldn't be the location of your Baron Territory, Hathaway. I hope you can trigger a city-building mission and then construct a Level 1 city here—that is, a hundred kilometers east of Earth Fortress. This used to be a small town with a riverside highway connecting to Earth Fortress, and it can go all the way east to connect with the Small City Base on the north bank. However, the Small City Base and the Great Bridge on the south bank have already been destroyed, so we will need to build a Great Bridge in the future."

As Li Wei finished speaking, a portion of the topographical map for the south bank was also drawn out. "Aunt Yue, what are your thoughts?"

After Li Yue and Hathaway stepped forwards and examined it, the former said in a deep voice: "The construction of Earth Fortress must be accelerated. The peak you mentioned has a height approaching three hundred meters. I've also looked at the top; it's gentle and has an area of roughly fifteen acres. Building a fortress there couldn't be more suitable. By then, even if the fortress isn't fully built, simply the height advantage of looking down from three hundred meters will be enough to deal a devastating blow to any enemy."

"And it's worth mentioning that Xuanxuan has already begun forging Enchanted Trebuchets and Enchanted Giant Ballistae. These are major lethal weapons with a range reaching up to five kilometers, but they consume Magical Power. For normal forging, one machine requires two units of Magical Power. On a regular day, each shot consumes zero point one units of Magical Power—which is extremely expensive.""This time, after you left, Little Wei, I thought it over left and right before your Second Aunt and I finally decided to consume twenty units of Magical Power to build two Enchanted Trebuchets and four Enchanted Giant Ballistae. The remaining Magical Power will be used for firing consumption. Assuming no accidents occur, they will all be transported over within five days."

"Thus, by placing a portion of the Enchanted Giant Ballistae atop Earth Fortress, even though the peak is still four hundred meters away from the river surface, it will be enough to radiate a five-kilometer radius."

"Additionally, there's another matter concerning the Magic Well. Previously, our plan was to build the Magic Well at the end of the month after the Radiation Storm erupted so as to maximize magic absorption. But the situation is different now. Little Wei, we must build the Magic Well immediately—but not at Earth Fortress. Instead, it should be at Riverside Fortress. Since Hathaway still has a territory migration quota, once the migration is complete, she'll be able to purchase the qualification to build a Magic Well. This Magic Well should be placed in her Baron Territory."

"Of course, there's one more point. To demonstrate the sincerity of a Vassal Lord, Earth Fortress will need to be jointly managed and defended by both our families. In other words, it's equivalent to us maintaining a permanent garrison at Earth Fortress."

"Alright, I have no further opinions."

After Li Yue finished speaking rapidly, Hathaway immediately looked toward Li Wei as if pleading for help. This old bitch was too ruthless and heartless! This was clearly the stationing ground for my knights, yet after you mess with it, it becomes half and half for both families? What kind of logic is that? Li Wei, you previously said you'd give me maximum freedom on the south bank.

As a result, Li Wei gave a radiant smile. "Alright, then it's decided. Tomorrow morning, we'll build the bridge first. The relevant materials and manpower needed to construct the fortress can all be transferred from the Base 349 quarry. As for the Magic Well matter, it can indeed be prioritized for construction because I feel we might have provoked the Frost Duke this time. If he becomes a desperate dog jumping the wall and runs over here to fight us to the death, that wouldn't end beautifully."

The moment these words were spoken, Hathaway's expression slightly changed. She looked at Li Wei pitifully. Damn it, you kid are truly too heartless. They say being a couple for a day means a hundred days of grace, but you put your pants on and refuse to acknowledge anyone.

However, when the words reached her mouth, she said instead: "I also think Aunt Yue's suggestions are extremely good. Since I'm a Vassal Lord, I naturally need to show my sincerity. The location of Earth Fortress is strategic and indeed requires heavy guarding. However, regarding the Frost Duke, I actually think there's a high probability he won't become a desperate dog jumping the wall. Until he eliminates Socrates, he won't launch a general offensive against us."

"The Frost Duke previously sounding east to strike west was a highly outstanding strategy. But if he failed to take down Socrates and ran halfway over here to attack us, that would no longer be a brilliant strategic tactic but rather acting like a headless fly. War is cruel; it's not child's play."

"Because Socrates's territory has a profound foundation and a deep background, as long as he has a single breath left, he can rapidly revive back to full health."

"I'll say it again: right now, it's late May to early June; within three months, Socrates's territory will inevitably be breached! And during this period, Ron's territory will probably also be taken down in passing, requiring only that Ron's symptoms worsen slightly."

"By then, what kind of buffs the Frost Duke will receive after obtaining two Pioneering Cards and many Profession Cards, I do not know. But we will have indeed gained another year of development time. Furthermore, the Frost Duke will absolutely not deploy troops during the eruption of the Radiation Storm."

"But even so, I firmly believe that if the Frost Duke intends to launch a war next year, he will still prioritize breaching Zhao Kewu's territory, and depending on the situation, decide whether to attack us."

"Perhaps in the end, the Frost Duke might just test the waters by fighting us in one or two battles before likely lowering flags and silencing drums. Because there are some variables involved here—namely, the Neanderthal Cross-Border Players. What exactly is their cooperation with the Frost Duke based on? Are they suspicious of each other? What is the Frost Duke's ultimate goal? And what is the ultimate goal of the Neanderthals?"

"There are too many variables. So my suggestion is to seize the time to engage in massive construction projects, perfect our defensive lines, train our soldiers, and scavenge for resources. We shouldn't easily launch proactive attacks. Guard our basic foundation, train our internal strength, and as long as we can hold out until April the year after next, we will win."

Hathaway's viewpoint turned out to be the exact opposite of Li Wei's. Looking at Li Wei with puffed cheeks right now, she gave off the strong vibe of 'if you're not convinced, let's make a bet or something'.

But Li Wei didn't take the bait at all. Instead, after seriously thinking it over, he nodded. "Hathaway, you're right; I didn't think it through thoroughly. The Frost Duke is absolutely not an ordinary person. For someone with such immense perseverance, determination, and wisdom to develop to this level in an apocalypse, he indeed cannot be judged by conventional logic. Then we will follow your suggestion. If there are any shortcomings, we can discuss and correct them during implementation."

"Alright, let's move on to the next topic. Currently, the river is entering its high-water season. For us to build Earth Fortress and connect the two fortresses, we must have a sturdy bridge capable of bearing vehicles. Originally, there was a highway bridge here, but for some unknown reason, half of it was destroyed. Currently, only five bridge piers and a fifty-meter section of the bridge remain. Next, we need to construct at least another one hundred and fifty meters of bridge to repair it."

"Aunt Yue, previously when Linus led his team of engineers over to survey the site, did they evaluate this bridge? Do they have a practical report?"

"Yes, Riverside Fortress is essentially a port. If this bridge cannot be repaired, it will definitely have a major impact on late-stage development. Linus's group is quite professional. Although they don't have specialized bridge engineers among them, with the original bridge piers still intact, handling what remains will actually be quite easy."

"However, because the Southern Fortress was under construction at the time and manpower was scarce, they believed it would take four months to build if they started back then. Furthermore, if a large number of engineers and engineering materials were withdrawn, the construction progress of the Southern Fortress over at the territory base would slow down."

"Recently, south of the eastern Great Bridge, those Ability Users are also putting all their strength into building a fortress to block the Great Bridge. Although they appear very cautious, we must also consider the possibility that the Frost Duke will send people to build more fortresses in the southern hilly region to push forward step by step."

Speaking up to this point, Li Yue also got a bit of a headache. She wasn't an expert at this, and neither was Liang Yuzhi. It was just that the stall Li Wei had rolled out was too large—stretching fully five hundred kilometers from the territory's main base to Riverside Fortress. Now they also had to go to the south bank to build a bridgehead. It was easy to say but exceedingly difficult to execute.

She wanted to offer words of caution, but neither Li Wei nor Hathaway seemed to care. Hathaway especially, as if she didn't know the risks at all, shockingly claimed that the Frost Duke wouldn't come to attack this year. What thick skin.

At this moment, Li Wei glanced at Li Yue and immediately understood her worries. He immediately smiled and said, "Aunt Yue, rest assured. If it truly comes down to it, we'll just retreat and defend the territory's main base. I still understand the logic of 'save the people while losing the land.' With my Second Aunt and you here, you two serve as two pillars upholding the sky—the solid backing that allows me to take risks. Anyway, it's settled: we're fixing the bridge and building Earth Fortress."

"I'll give Linus an order shortly to have him send over at least thirty engineers, and also transfer Thomas. On our end, we'll supply at least fifty craftsmen. I will personally take the lead, and let's organize a massive joint campaign of our own!"

(End of this chapter)