Lord of the Myriad Worlds

Chapter 483: Aim High to Hit Middle

Wow, I've become an Elite Talent!

Haha!

Li Wei looked at the Scruffy Giant's face. No wonder he felt this guy was strange before, bossing Mountain Eagle Parker around and casually insulting his parents. So he had this background; this was the Crown Prince!

At least, a Crown Prince who had been in the position for five hundred years.

After thinking for a moment, Li Wei said, "Your Excellency Karl, I understand your good intentions. However, if you have me defect now, with just my two hundred-plus people, I actually wouldn't get any better benefits, would I? How about this: I have a compromise. Don't we still have a Mercenary contract right now? It currently has half a year left. Let's extend this time to three years. After three years, I will choose to join the Duke Will's Faction."

"This request of mine isn't excessive, is it? Presumably, Your Excellency Karl also knows that my treatment if I join now versus joining three years from now will be different. I must fight for sufficient benefits for myself. As the saying goes, people strive upwards, water flows downwards. If Duke Will cannot bring me sufficient benefits—even if it doesn't meet my expectations, as long as it reaches eighty percent—I will definitely Follow unto Death for Lord Duke."

Hearing this, the Scruffy Giant nodded. "Your thought process is understandable. You want to first develop on your own as a Mercenary for three years, and then join the Faction after three years. That's not impossible; I can agree to it all. But I only have one requirement: I hope you can build another Fortress, identical to Kahndorf Fortress, sixty li north of it, forming a Mutual Support Formation with Kahndorf Fortress."

"Because Duke Kaidel will definitely not Let the Matter Drop next. The importance of this area is unparalleled. It just so happens that Mountain Eagle Parker suffered some heavy losses in this battle and can only firmly defend Kahndorf Fortress for now, and I have other important matters to handle. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Asking me to build a new Fortress sixty li north of Kahndorf Fortress—I can understand this, and I feel it fits the requirements and isn't excessive. But regarding the materials needed to build the Fortress, could you provide some in advance? Also, who will own the completed Fortress? We need to clarify this."

Li Wei nodded. Although this Scruffy Giant handled things very openly, what needed to be said and what needed to be requested couldn't be skipped."How about this: we draw up a new Mercenary contract stipulating that you need to join the Duke Will's Faction after three years. At the same time, during these three years, you must assist in defending Kahndorf Fortress in your capacity as a Mercenary. As for the remuneration, it will be the Fortress you build. If you are unwilling to join the Duke Will's Faction after three years, 100 points of World Reputation will be deducted, and the Fortress you built must also be returned. If we launch an attack against you within three years, our Faction will also have 100 points of World Reputation deducted."

"Finally, based on our ally relationship, you can go to the Faction Shop in Kahndorf Fortress to purchase related materials, and you can also purchase related services at the Faction Mage Tower. The specific prices will follow the market, and you will not enjoy any discounts."

"As for the construction of the Fortress, I can, in my personal name, gift you construction materials worth two hundred thousand Gold Coins. If you have no objections, we can sign the contract."

"Oh, right, there's one more thing. I have a daughter who just turned eighteen this year; her name is Anna. I intend to arrange a Matrimonial Alliance between her and you. Her dowry will also be that Fortress. I'll send her over in a few days so you two can cultivate some feelings first. You see, we old folks aren't completely devoid of being Reasonable and Just."

What!

Li Wei was stunned listening to this.

"Then it's settled. If there's nothing to add, let's sign the contract first."

The Scruffy Giant waved his hand casually, and a drafted Mercenary contract was generated. As long as Li Wei agreed, the magical seal of the Nine-Star Council would fall, and there would be no problems.

Li Wei looked at the contract, then looked at the grinning Scruffy Giant. Thoughts churned in his mind, and finally, he nodded in agreement.

There was nothing to be pretentious about. First becoming sworn brothers, second forming a Matrimonial Alliance, third acknowledging a godfather—this was the secret manual to success!

The Mercenary contract took effect in one second. The Scruffy Giant seemed to grow more pleased the more he looked at Li Wei; he truly had become half a son-in-law.

With a grand wave of his hand, several Resource Cards were handed over, followed by a few more pleasantries, before he left on his own.

At this moment, Li Wei pondered for a long time, then turned to look at Li Yue. He still needed to explain a bit.

As a result, Li Yue slightly shook her head. "No need to explain. He is using you, and you are using him. This is very normal. No matter what, we have at least finally fought our way to a legitimate starting location and demonstrated our value. This point is very important; otherwise, this Marquis Falcon Karl couldn't possibly have offered these terms. Overall, this is a good thing."

"However, our time is very tight. Duke Kaidel is bound to not let this go. We must hurry up and build that Fortress. Next, if we can withstand Duke Kaidel's counterattack, then everything will be fine. Otherwise, everything will be over. There's another point: the Magic Crests on the Blazing Legion and Ice Legion have all been depleted. Many Weapons and Equipment need repair and Mana replenishment. Even though we currently have Chekhov and Liu Huan, these two Second-Tier Casters, without a stable territory, we can't even build the most basic Mana Mine."

"In short, my meaning is that this is currently the best outcome. Otherwise, we would have to wait five months before bringing Hathaway back. And during these five months, we would very likely face pursuit from two great Dukes. Under continuous fierce battles, I don't even dare imagine how terrible the situation would become. So in many cases, taking a step back is not impossible."

"That's right. This Falcon Karl looks big and burly, Carefree and Thoughtless, simple and honest, but this Old Geezer might be even more cunning than an Old Fox. Also, I think if you can eventually become the Flame Duke, that wouldn't be bad either; Aim High to Hit Middle, right?" Zhao Xuanxuan also chimed in, and then Zhao Qingshan also spoke solemnly.

"My Lord, forgive my bluntness, but I think the same, and perhaps even more pessimistically. If we had dared to refuse today, I think this Falcon Karl might even be willing to abandon the defense of Kahndorf Fortress next, just to concentrate his forces on hunting us down. Even now, I think this Falcon Karl is using a Delaying Tactic. On one hand, he has us help defend Kahndorf; on the other hand, he should be laying out plans through other Channels. Three years from now, it'll be fine if you join the Duke Will's Faction, My Lord. Otherwise, it will be a war of strangulation."

As soon as these words were spoken, Jocelyn, Duan Bowen, and the others somewhat disagreed, but they didn't refute. Because if it was just their Blazing Legion Cavalry, they would naturally fear nothing. But there were still so many Auxiliaries, the Logistics Corps, and the Heavy Armored Infantry of the Ice Legion. To be Swift as the Wind was too difficult.

Now that they had finally fought side by side with their infantry brothers, and both sides had expressed high mutual approval, they shouldn't be Spouting Nonsense.

"Alright, let's leave this matter at that. The contract has been signed; saying more is useless. Let's first go survey the location for building the Fortress." Li Wei nodded. In fact, he had already locked onto relevant locations in his mind, and the Scruffy Giant had probably already surveyed the surrounding topography and terrain carefully long ago.

Next, the entire army headed north. Sixty li north of Kahndorf Fortress, they saw a large mountain at first glance. This peak was slightly tall, with many surrounding ridges undulating back and forth, making the terrain seem quite complex and treacherous.

One of the ridges extended out and, together with another ridge, formed a semi-enclosed small basin Valley. The area was about fifty to sixty square kilometers, with lush water and grass; a good place for cultivation.

However, on the other side of this ridge was a rather wide Riverlands. In the middle was a medium-sized River flowing from north to south. There was also flat and wide ground on both banks of the River, extending all the way north, perfectly passing through the mountain range to the north.

It could be said that this River split this mountain range in two.

Among this, Kahndorf Fortress was built at the entrance and exit of this river valley, located on the east bank of the River. The location where the Scruffy Giant wanted Li Wei to build his Fortress was also on the east bank of the River. While being sixty li apart, there were also very flat and wide Plains between the two Fortresses, allowing Heavy Cavalry to rush to each other's aid.

Take today's battle for example. If Kahndorf had had such an allied Fortress upstream, the battle absolutely wouldn't have been this easy.

Similarly, from the location where Li Wei was to build his Fortress, if they didn't plan to cross the River to the west, nor traverse the mountains, there were only two paths: go up the Riverlands, pass through the mountain range, and head all the way north, or go down to Kahndorf Fortress and leave through there.

Hmm, it belonged to the type where if they were allies, then there was Peace and Stability, and they formed a Mutual Support Formation. If they were enemies, then it wouldn't be fun at all; they would be completely restricted right from the start.

That Scruffy Giant Karl's purpose was precisely this.

But then again, without arranging it like this, while Li Wei would feel reassured, the Scruffy Giant himself wouldn't be reassured.

In short, it could be considered Mutual Fulfillment. This mission still had a hundred years; what was the rush?

If Duke Vere was dead set on rebuilding the Locke Kingdom and wanted to be the King, then it wasn't impossible for Li Wei to take a step back, establish his Blaze Province, become a Flame Duke, and await the right time.

Anyway, this was his final bottom line. If he couldn't become a King, he had to at least become a Duke. Even Zhao Xuanxuan was saying Aim High to Hit Middle.

Moreover, who could clearly say what would happen in the future? The Neanderthals hadn't even launched a major invasion yet.

"Zhao Qingshan, take some people to wander around here and see where it's suitable to build a city and where it's suitable to build a Fortress. Hurry up and draw the blueprints and formulate the construction plan. Xuanxuan, take some people to survey the surroundings and see if there are any mineral veins. Li Yue, your people are responsible for patrolling and early warning."

"Thomas, bring the Ice Legion over. In today's battle, although the Ice Legion didn't seize the First-to-Scale, they played an important role in the Blazing Legion's First-to-Scale siege. Therefore, they must be heavily rewarded!"

At this time, Li Wei directly used one hundred Black Iron Tokens to synthesize fifty Silver Tokens. Added to the existing twenty Silver Tokens, he rewarded them all to the Soldiers of the Ice Legion. Regardless of whether they had gathered enough Experience for their Primary Class or not, they were handed out. This way, as soon as they gathered enough Experience for their Primary Class, they could Upgrade to Five-Star at any time.

As for the remaining Black Iron Tokens, Li Wei planned to leave them for the Royal Guard. However, there were still a large number of Cavalry and Heavy Armored Infantry returning in five months; this would require enough time.

In short, in order to negotiate more favorable terms in three years, or to leave and work alone if they couldn't agree, he had to make preparations starting now.