Lord of the Myriad Worlds

Chapter 378: War with Hathaway

In just three short days, driven by the Workaholic King Thomas and the hard labor of over five hundred strong laborers, the entire mountaintop was dug out, exposing a massive layer of rock. This was the best foundation imaginable!

As long as it was leveled out, a sturdy and enormous fortress could be directly built on top of it.

So much so that the Three-Star Artisan Zhao Qingshan became a bit excited. He hurriedly ran over to Li Wei, insisting on revising the architectural blueprints.

"Lord, I never expected that after stripping away the surface soil, this inconspicuous peak would turn out to be so beautiful. The rocks here are practically a single whole entity; even ghostly axe and divine work could only be like this! Thus, a version 2.0 fortress wouldn't be worthy of it; it must be 3.0! No, I feel we can directly jump to the ultimate version 5.0!"

"Just shut up. What ghostly axe and divine work? This is merely the result of Chaotic Magic Particles once undergoing a violent reaction in this area. Consequently, the entire mountain turned into high-quality stone ore. That's right; this is a Four-Star Stone Mine."

Hathaway interrupted Zhao Qingshan's marveling. She grabbed Li Wei, looked straight into his eyes, and said seriously, "Li Wei, I think I have to overturn your previous plan. I absolutely do not want my Baron Territory situated in that small town a hundred kilometers away. My Baron Territory must be placed here. Even if we build it at the foot of the mountain, my Baron Territory must be here! If you dare say 'no' to me today, don't even think about getting into bed tonight!"

Well, she was already throwing a tantrum.

This showed just how anxious she was. That was because this place was truly a treasure land of fengshui. Perhaps it was due to the chaotic Magical Power brought by the river, or perhaps something really had broken out here a few years ago. In any case, Li Wei had vaguely sensed it too.

After thinking for a moment, he pointed to another small mountain about ten kilometers to the south. Its height was only roughly one hundred meters. Between the two small mountains was a plain where a Ruins Town and several ruined villages were situated.

"Fine, if you absolutely insist, you can put your Baron Territory at the foot of that mountain, and your castle can be built on its summit. In fact, you can bring people over to start construction starting tomorrow.""Eh? You're so easy to talk to today!"

Hathaway blanked. She had been fully prepared to throw a massive fit and roll on the ground.

"Because there will still be conditions. And that condition is: this mountain, as well as the fortress about to be built here, will no longer belong to you," Li Wei said calmly, his gaze very clear. Yes, business is business!

"Fuck you..."

Hathaway was somewhat furious, her eyes turning red as if she was about to explode from anger.

"What the fuck? I even let you station troops here, and what more do you want? This is my Black Mountain Fortress! My Black Mountain Knights! Li Wei, you massive scumbag, don't go too far!"

Li Wei shook his head slightly and maintained a calm tone as he said, "You need to understand, Hathaway, this place is called the Neanderthal Hills. It used to be the area where the Neanderthal Cross-Border Players built a Wilderness Camp. Those Neanderthals are smarter than both you and me. Even they chose to build their camp here. Can you guess why?"

"You can't just say they favored the concealment here; I refuse to believe there are no more hidden places on this planet. The location I pointed out to you before—that small town a hundred kilometers east—is no more than twenty kilometers in straight-line distance from the former Neanderthal camp! I refuse to believe they didn't observe that small town. That means, barring accidents, as long as it gets developed, they could directly seize that small town and build a port there."

"In short, the way I see it, the entire hilly region on the south bank is an area rich with resources. Two-Star trees can be seen everywhere, and there are also many resources above Two-Star. It's just that my territory is already situated on the north bank, and I have no way to expand southward. Otherwise, do you think I would give you the chance?"

"So now, you either follow the original plan and go build your Baron Territory in that small town a hundred kilometers away, in which case you will still have half ownership of this fortress. Or you must do as I just said."

Hearing Li Wei's words, Hathaway was stunned for a moment. Over the past two days, she indeed sensed that the river in front of them continuously brought sporadic Magical Power. This Magical Power didn't tilt northward but southward, as if some mysterious magnetic field was at work. Was this highly likely because the trajectory of this river enveloped this hilly region into a semicircle?

"Li Wei, I don't think we need to act like strangers like this. Can't we make up?"

"I still want to be your staff officer. We really don't need to be this petty and calculative. Acting like two competitors is too divisive; it cuts my heart until it feels like it's bleeding. I love you so much and can't bear to be separated from you for even a minute. But you are so cruel to me; you make me feel like an abandoned dog! You can't bully me like this!"

Hathaway started crying again, but Li Wei only watched her performance quietly. Well, about sixty percent of her bitter weeping this time was probably genuine because she felt genuinely panicked and slightly hurt.

But so what? Who hasn't encountered situations where they found themselves isolated and lacking support? Who hasn't been hurt before?

Although he was the one who traveled thousands of miles to proactively seek Hathaway out for an alliance, she was a pioneer who had reached the extreme late game but couldn't even scrounge up the money to build a single Magic Well. If she didn't find someone to ally with, how would she die later on? Or even if she didn't die, how far could she develop while hiding in the Black Mountain Fortress?

And why didn't Hathaway have enough gold coins to apply for building a Magic Well?

Was it because Night Owl hadn't supported her enough?

No, that wasn't it. It was because she had spent the vast majority of her time and energy hunting mutated creatures and disassembling and collecting magical materials.

That was why her territory's total wealth only amounted to fifty thousand gold coins. That was why her territory's population was a ragged bunch of Level 0 freemen—who were likely managed and organized with the help of Lu Ziming and the Ministry of Internal Affairs core members sent by Night Owl previously.

Li Wei would bet that the magical materials Hathaway had accumulated were already enough for her to finish building a Magic Well and then immediately construct a One-Star Mage Tower right after.

That was her own wealth.

Even if she became Li Wei's staff officer, it would still be her own wealth.

Moreover, after a staff officer joined, they would also receive dividends. This was especially true for her since she would be bringing in her own capital. Once the Mage Tower was built, her right to speak would naturally rise alongside the tide.

And in the end, a staff officer could also apply to leave the territory.

If that happened, the variables would simply be too numerous.

In short, Li Wei truly cherished Hathaway's talents, highly valued Hathaway's capabilities, and genuinely believed that she was the best ally.

The kind who could block knives for him.

Yes, wasn't Li Wei fully aware of what his current territory map looked like? Before the Magic Arbitrary Door was established, his territory was like a crayfish—its weight focused on both ends with the largest empty gap in the middle.

Right now, it was still summer. But once winter arrived and the river froze over, allowing the Frost Duke to free up his hands, would one believe that the entire five-hundred-kilometer empty area between Riverside Fortress and the territory main base would be entirely crawling with roaming Ability User squads?

Looking at the map, any normal person would feel that something wasn't quite right somewhere.

Therefore, to hold the north bank and develop safely on the north bank, they simply must have a sturdy and powerful fortress stronghold on the south bank.

But Li Wei truly lacked the strength to occupy the south bank.

Did he not know that a fist was only most lethal when clenched?

But nothing could be done; the situation at Riverside Fortress was already laid out right here.

Hence, he had to instigate and force Hathaway to the south bank. He had to make her act as a nail at that riverside small town—a female general guarding the borders!

Who told her to be guaranteed capable of building a Mage Tower?

Hathaway understood all of this. She was too smart, capable of seeing through it with a single glance.

Whereas Li Yue hadn't even noticed Li Wei's scheming.

Thus, at this moment, seeing Hathaway crying pitifully and evoking such sympathy, even many bystanders thought, 'Holy crap, the Lord is truly heartless.'

But Li Wei only wanted to say: 'You understand nothing!'

This was what it meant to play the game; experts exchanging blows never revealed their blades.

Did one think they could be at peace just because there were no Plot Kills?

What kind of joke was that!

"Fine! Since you, Li Wei, don't consider our past affections, I have no need to bring humiliation upon myself. We will keep this strictly professional! You be your suzerain, and I'll be my vassal! I will go over there to build my Baron Territory. I must have half ownership of this fortress, but you must be the one to build it. From now on, let's stop seeing each other to avoid mutual dislike upon sight!"

Hathaway wiped away a torrent of tears. It was an astonishing amount of tears; as expected of a woman made of water!

Li Wei still watched her quietly, a hint of admiration in his eyes.

It was quite nice.

That afternoon, Hathaway truly did as she said. She took all the people in her territory and, under the escort of Li Wei's dispatched supply guards, left this place. They went to the small town a hundred kilometers to the east and settled down there.

And almost that very night, she applied to build a Magic Well. By noon the next day, after the Magic Well was successfully constructed, she had basically established her footing.

That's right. Even if the freemen in her territory could only live in those old houses, even if she didn't possess a single elite army, even if the only person by her side was the bald blacksmith Parya recruited from the Tavern, and even if the Magic Well could only siphon less than five units of Magical Power from the surroundings in a short period—making the entire territory pitifully weak.

However, no Neanderthal Cross-Border Player would dare approach her territory anymore.

Because she was a Tier Two Spellcasting Witch!

With five units of Magical Power, she could utterly thrash Li Wei, and she could utterly thrash any Neanderthal Cross-Border Player—including that Centurion Cao Nima!

At this point, the game of maneuvering and fighting between Li Wei and Hathaway finally came to a temporary end. It was like two companies negotiating: once at the negotiating table, it was definitely going to be lip guns and tongue swords without yielding a single inch. But once off the negotiating table, they could still eat, drink, sing, and roll in the sheets together.

This seemed disjointed, but it truly wasn't.

Whoever grew softhearted would be the victim.

And after Hathaway spent fifty thousand gold coins applying to build a Magic Well, Li Wei also applied the next day to construct a Magic Well at Riverside Fortress—for free.

Because the Weir Duke footed the bill.

Speaking of which, the first Magic Well he built was also free; he only paid five thousand gold coins for the processing loss.

But this time, he didn't even have to pay the processing fee. The mage who came to construct the Magic Well even showed a beaming smile towards Li Wei, as kind and cordial as if treating a nephew from his own family.

This was precisely the gold content of his status.

(End of this chapter)