Lord of the Myriad Worlds

Chapter 434: Prestige Stone

It was a new day once again. The temperature had begun to drop, and even the mountain winds had become piercingly cold. The lowest temperature in the morning was at least minus five or six degrees.

Looking at it, they were about to enter the depths of winter.

The good news was that after yesterday's efforts and adaptation, almost all the Freemen and Soldiers no longer needed Li Wei to command them.

The Soldiers who should patrol patrolled, those who should hunt hunted, and those who should command commanded. Among the Freemen, those who were originally Artisans found people themselves and began to prepare for the winter; only having small wooden cabins would freeze people to death.

Additionally, there were also those chopping firewood and excavating food. Although it was very chaotic, at the very least, the work efficiency wasn't bad.

"Lord Sheriff, I was originally a Blacksmith in the fortress. I feel there might still be some tools that can be used in the blacksmith shop within the city, so I would like to go take a look."

A middle-aged man brought a few young people over to ask for instructions.

"The fortress is currently still flooded with free-floating Mana. If you guys go, it's a path to certain death; it's very dangerous. So it's better if I go take a look. Chris, have people keep an eye on the fortress. Tell them no one is allowed to enter unless they want to die!"

Li Wei shouted out, then attempted to climb over the pitch-black City Wall and enter the fortress. It was surprisingly very warm here. Faintly, there was a feeling of being roasted by a stove rushing at his face.

It was too inconceivable.So, had a lot of Mana transformed into Flame-attribute Mana?

Li Wei cautiously passed through swaths of ruins. All the wooden buildings had been burned clean, and even some hard Rocks had been burned so much that they shattered as soon as he stepped on them.

But there were also some Stone Blocks that were still very hard. For example... mhm. Li Wei crouched down and used his hand to scatter the thick ashes, revealing a small Stone Block with a side length of around thirty centimeters underneath. This was one that had been blasted over from an Arrow Tower, precisely smashing a person's head to pieces. As a result, amidst the burning of that fierce magical flame, it had unexpectedly turned a fiery-red color and felt scalding to the touch!

Good Heavens.

The concept of it being scalding to Li Wei's touch meant that this stone must still be over ninety degrees up to now. No, actually, it was more than that.

The interior of this stone felt like a clump of Lava, but it also seemed to have formed some kind of special, stable, natural Mana structure. Li Wei wasn't a Spellcaster, so he didn't understand these things, but his Perception was very strong! Therefore—of course he stored it in his Resource Card. This thing could entirely be used as charcoal!

Additionally, out of a certain intuition, he felt that the quality of this Stone Block—whose interior had been stabilized by a Mana structure—must at least be able to reach Four-Star quality, right?

Li Wei looked around and seemingly understood a bit. The construction of Gale Fortress was done well! It was originally built against the mountain, and the foundation below was dug straight to the rock layer. The surrounding City Walls were even built according to the standards of Tier-4 City Walls.

Because of the Four-Star City Walls, when the Magic Power Mine erupted, the majority of the magical shockwave was blocked by these Four-Star City Walls.

Although a section of the City Wall had collapsed, it was actually harmless to the grand scheme.

In short, a massive amount of Mana converged within the city, coupled with the blazing fire it triggered. While this was certainly a tragic ending for the living, it simultaneously brought about a qualitative leap for some of the extremely sturdy items within this fortress.

Like a natural pill-refining furnace?

It seems I've made a small profit.

Motherf*cker, what was Windbreath Count thinking, actually treating Gale Fortress as an abandoned piece.

Li Wei was slightly happy. Then, while searching for the location of the blacksmith shop, he plundered those Stone Blocks that resembled red crystals from all around. There were quite a few of them, but basically, only those Stone Blocks that were blasted down, exposed on the surface, and fully burned by Flame Mana would turn out like this.

Before he knew it, Li Wei had filled up all five of his 3-Star Resource Cards.

One card had five hundred slots; five cards meant two thousand five hundred slots.

Good Heavens.

Good thing he had bought a hundred cards in one breath during his previous major shopping spree just in case...

One card was a thousand Gold Coins! Hopefully he could earn back the cost.

However, there were only so many of these Fire Crystals. Moreover, large pieces of this stuff couldn't form, and small pieces couldn't form either. Only this kind—with a length, width, and height of around thirty-plus centimeters—could just happen to form.

After picking up all these Fire Crystals, Li Wei suddenly felt the heat within the fortress ruins begin to drop rapidly. Good Heavens, this is a good treasure!

He even felt that some corners that originally felt very dangerous were also beginning to become safe. Interesting, what principle is this?

Following that, as expected, he also found a massive amount of Enchanted Steel. Even if it was burned into lumps or twisted into fried dough twists, it was still Enchanted Steel!

Picking it up along the way and throwing it into the Resource Card, he could at least make some capital back!

However, there just weren't any information prompts, because Li Wei was currently still under the effects of the 5-Star Heaven-Veiling Card. Under this state, let alone taking a few more pieces of Enchanted Refined Steel, even if he directly robbed the treasury, the kingdom's Tax Department wouldn't be able to do anything to him.

This 5-Star Heaven-Veiling Card was truly worthy of being the King of Tax Evasion!

From front to back, Li Wei plundered another ten tons or so of Enchanted Steel from this ruined fortress. Ten tons truly wasn't much. Moreover, even if it was refined and forged anew, its quality would presumably only have One-Star Enchantment remaining.

So it didn't count for much, and he didn't take it seriously either. As for the tools and such needed by that Blacksmith bro, they were actually basically all destroyed, turning into lumps.

Additionally, Li Wei rather hoped to pick up some gold nuggets or something similar, but unfortunately, his luck was too poor; he didn't find any.

Ultimately, he tossed about in the fortress for the greater half of a day, searching through all the corners. With this, he could basically confirm it: this fortress was currently safe. Subsequently, with a single order, he had all the Soldiers and Freemen enter to see if there were any usable supplies left inside. For example, Stone Blocks. Alright, it was pretty much only Stone Blocks.

Especially those Four-Star City Walls; they had currently downgraded to Three-Star City Walls, and the Mana structures inside had all vanished into thin air.

However, the Stone Blocks upon them were still intact. If they dismantled them, they could at least build some sturdy houses before the blizzard arrived.

As a result, Chris and a few Artisan bosses immediately persuaded: "Lord Sheriff, these City Walls absolutely cannot be dismantled! This is the defense of Gale Fortress. In the future, perhaps a new Lord will arrive, or perhaps it will become your Territory, My Lord. With these City Walls, not only can we ward off the severe cold, but we can also ward off enemies. If you permit it, I feel we can rebuild this fortress, and even our houses can be built inside the fortress."

"Alright then. Since you guys think this way, just go and do it. I also feel it would be a pity to dismantle these City Walls."

Li Wei deeply agreed. This was a fortress built against the mountain. Factoring in the height of the mountain body and the height of the City Walls, it was at least fifty meters off the ground. So it was no wonder the Neanderthals would send out an ultimate trump card like the Samsara Travelers to breach it.

If the strategy hadn't been changed on a higher level, there was no way the Neanderthals should have lost this wave.

At this moment, Li Wei felt the general trend was truly too hard to predict.

It was like a region that clearly developed very well previously—being a vital communication line, a port, a pearl of the trade routes where merchants gathered—yet suddenly one day, the great river changed its course...

Tsk tsk!

Following that, Li Wei didn't participate in the reconstruction of Gale Fortress. The enthusiasm of those Soldiers and Freemen, however, was incomparably vigorous; perhaps this was the driving force of rebuilding one's homeland.

Unfortunately, Li Wei couldn't empathize with them, because he was destined to leave; he was merely a passerby.

"Lord Sheriff! My Lord!"

Around dusk, Li Wei, who was dangling a blade of grass in his mouth and sitting on the City Wall watching the scenery, heard a group of people shouting and hollering. Turning his head to look, he saw an Artisan holding a faintly glimmering gadget in both hands, jogging all the way over to deliver it to him. What's the meaning of this?

"My Lord, this is the Land Deed! It's also our roster! This is the proof of why Gale Fortress exists, and even more so the important reliance to prove our identities. Please make sure to keep it safe."

"What?"

Li Wei blanked for a moment, not quite understanding. But after he took it, he instantly understood: this was a destroyed Prestige Card.

Yes, this was also the core Item Card for all Lords to manage their Territories. Just like what a Profession Card was to a Class Holder; without a Profession Card, what the heck are you?

You are nothing at all.

Similarly, without a Prestige Card, who would recognize you as a Lord!

Similarly, losing the Prestige Card meant the Freeman information registered inside it was gone, and they would turn into refugees.

These Soldiers and Freemen didn't understand, but Li Wei did. He truly hadn't thought that this bunch of people would actually find this.

What was this called? Everything is preordained by heaven in the unseen world.

He had searched for the greater half of the day previously without discovering this thing. Even +10.5 Perception hadn't discovered it, which proved he didn't belong here.

But these Freemen and Soldiers were different.

[You have been gifted an alienated Prestige Stone! Moreover, it was gifted by a group of current-world indigenous people who trust you immensely.]

[Description: Windbreath Count did not dispatch rescue for Gale Fortress, nor did he dispatch personnel to rescue the refugees after the disaster. Therefore, the Freemen and Soldiers here have automatically been abandoned. They have once again become indigenous refugees of this world. They have regained their freedom without realizing it. Once discovered by Windbreath Count's soldiers, they will be captured under the identity of refugees.]

[Description: At the moment Gale Fortress was destroyed, this Prestige Card automatically severed its connection with the primary Prestige Card in Windbreath Count's hands. However, a portion of the souls of the 1,724 victims who died unjustly in this fortress are still engraved within this Prestige Card. It was damaged by the magical shockwave and alienated into a Prestige Stone. This Prestige Stone can only be found and dominated for use by the direct blood relatives of the victims. But due to your actions, and due to your past identity, it made these Freemen trust you immensely, and they chose to gift this Prestige Stone to you. From this moment on, you are the master of this fortress.]

[Description: Because the factors contributing to this matter were too harsh, you are not becoming the master of this fortress on the province level, nor are you becoming the master of this fortress on the kingdom level. Rather, you are doing so as an independent entity independent of the Locke Kingdom. It is suggested that you report this to the kingdom or province in a timely manner. Otherwise, you will be viewed as an enemy by the kingdom and suffer a fatal strike. Of course, you can also choose to activate the Six-Star Settlement Card at this moment, and the Kingdom's Territorial Resource Department will naturally conduct the relevant settlement handover with you. Note: In a certain sense, this counts as Expanding Territory, even though it is entirely meaningless.]

[Friendly Tip: Possessing the Prestige Stone, you can now manage all your subjects!]

——

Good Heavens, this was truly too great.

Li Wei originally planned to wait until these Freemen settled down and smoothly survived the winter, then take a trip to the Windbreath Central City to find Windbreath Count, or Catching Unawares, farm another sum of pocket money.

This time, he felt it was necessary to take up permanent residence here for a period of time. Tsk tsk, Expanding Territory, hahaha! What kind of bug was this?

What on earth was that great His Majesty the King currently doing to actually let him touch such a bug?

What on earth happened to this planet?

What on earth happened to the war with the Neanderthals?

But it didn't matter. You guys can just continue slaughtering each other on the front lines; I will Expand Territory in the rear!

Everyone has a beautiful future.

Long live the King!

Li Wei cheered from the bottom of his heart.

(End of Chapter)