Lord of the Myriad Worlds

Chapter 485: Li Wei's Dilemma (Bonus Chapter for Alliance Leader Hongyue 6/10)

"Alright, don't be too anxious. Magic research won't yield results Overnight. When you have free time, you can also grind other Professional Fates, practice with a two-handed sword, or train hard in Holy Magic, Benediction Magic, or whatever. You don't necessarily have to be an all-rounder. We are a team; finding your proper position is very important."

Li Wei smiled and comforted them. The path of a mage was not easy to walk. Mountain Eagle Parker had lived for over 600 years and was currently still a Fourth-Tier Mage.

Speaking of which, Jiang Xinran was a true genius, becoming a Fourth-Tier Mage at only 90 years old. Was this the reason why she was killed by the Primal Assassin?

According to rumors in the streets, Tyrant William's queen also seemed to be a Fourth-Tier Mage...

This thought flashed through Li Wei's mind, and he also thought of the unopened Mage Card in his hand. Without a Fourth-Tier Mage, one couldn't stand firm. Could Hathaway advance to a 3rd-tier Mage because of this Purple Drop Card?

Sure enough, his own foundation was still too thin.

If he couldn't fill this shortcoming, wanting to develop was just empty talk.

Don't look at how he now had a record of solo-killing a Fourth-Tier Mage; these were two different matters.

Mages shouldn't go onto the Battlefield, or rather, the mages who go onto the Battlefield are all second- or third-rate goods.

But even for these second- or third-rate goods, the role they play in the rear is incomparably huge.Of course, dictated by the situation, if the enemy's mages went onto the Battlefield, then naturally one's own mages also had to go onto the Battlefield.

For example, in today's battle, Li Yue leading the Blazing Legion to be First-to-Scale and breach the city actually had less than a thirty percent impact on the entire battle situation. The true impact was the bombardment and Magical Deception between the two Fourth-Tier Mages on both the enemy and allied sides.

It was true that a powerful Legion Skill could offset an Ultimate Move like the Sequence Four Fire Meteor, but the Fire Meteor had a thirty-second cooldown. What about the Legion Skill? Without condensing it in advance and gathering power for at least ten seconds, it wouldn't amount to anything.

"So we still need to resort to Biding Time, we need to develop. Without a foundation, two or three fierce battles will empty our family fortune."

Li Wei sighed faintly. It wasn't just him; Mountain Eagle Parker was the same, completely drained after one battle. Why did that Scruffy Giant agree to his actually quite harsh conditions? Wasn't it precisely because they were truly very weak at present?

"Half a year. After half a year is the dividing line. Ignore that whatever Mercenary Contract. If my guess is not wrong, after half a year, if Mountain Eagle Parker can withstand Duke Kaidel's counterattack, then this guy will dare to force me to join Duke Will's Faction. I must join immediately, otherwise they will turn hostile. 100 points of World Reputation is indeed very precious, but my variable is the most fatal."

"This is the truth. That contract is a Delaying Tactic. Including that whatever daughter Anna who just turned eighteen, it's all a Delaying Tactic."

"Fortunately, this is also a Delaying Tactic for me. In another five months, my manpower will be fully replenished."

At noon, the temporary camp was built. Zhao Qingshan also led people to complete the survey of this area and was currently setting out to draw the Fortress construction blueprints and plan the map.

And in this process, Li Wei also had to participate, including Li Yue, as well as Chekhov and Liu Huan. Those two couldn't do anything else, but being consultants and acting as Magic Monitors was no problem.

"My Lord, if I say this place was absolutely specially chosen by that Falcon Karl, would you believe it? If this place belonged to an allied force, it would be a Land of Destiny, but if it belonged to an enemy with unclear stances, then this would be a heaven-chosen prison! No matter how well we develop here, if they build a Fortress upstream, and with Kahndorf Fortress downstream, they will directly sandwich us between them. It will be difficult to even develop."

Zhao Qingshan got straight to the point and spoke very directly.

Li Wei nodded. "So, do you have any better ideas?"

"Therefore, my suggestion is that we either build a Fortress fifty li upstream in advance, or we build two or three Small Fortresses to the east, relying on the mountain range, thus forming an effective defensive effect with the main Fortress we are going to build now."

"Also, if all else fails, half a year later, My Lord, it would be best for you to be a bit proactive, and we'll just join Duke Will's Faction. I'm afraid that if we delay for a few more years, we will only be able to join Falcon Karl's Faction or Mountain Eagle Parker's Faction."

"Or, we can quickly evacuate right now. We'll risk the 100 points of World Reputation and throw it away, but we must escape far away and not wade into these muddy waters."

Zhao Qingshan smiled bitterly. He was a quick-thinking and meticulous man; he saw through the problem very thoroughly.

"Zhao Qingshan, what kind of bullshit are you talking? So in less than half a day, we have to lose 100 points of World Reputation. Then we might as well just Forget It and not sign this contract in the first place!"

Duan Bowen said angrily, truly unable to tolerate this guy anymore.

But Zhao Qingshan also didn't coddle him. "If we didn't sign this contract, Falcon Karl would have made a move against us right then and there. Although Mountain Eagle Parker's Legion suffered heavy losses, they still have enough strength to hunt us down. When that time came, apart from your Blazing Legion being able to escape, everyone else would have to die. Not to mention your Warhorses have already been consumed by one wave. How many remaining Warhorses do you think My Lord has in his hands waiting to be consumed by you? Without Warhorses, you are nothing but a fart!"

"As the heir to Duke Ver, an old guy who has lived for hundreds of years, how could that Falcon Karl not have calculated these things?"

"If you try to play mind games with them, you might even lose your underwear!"

"Spouting Nonsense! This is just your one-sided opinion. At that time, we had already withdrawn, and everyone being in Cavalry mode would be enough. If they wanted to fight, wouldn't we know how to run?" Jocelyn also joined the fray.

"Run? Where would you run to? With three Druids in the sky and at least two Fourth-Tier Rangers on the ground, where could you run? They wouldn't even need to fight a decisive battle with us; they would just sneakily shoot a few arrows at you when they had nothing to do, harvest a few of your heads, and follow behind to harass you. What could you do? Have My Lord personally take action to protect you? This in itself would be falling into the inferior path!"

"During the Battle of Dawn previously, the reason we were able to jump out of the encirclement and shake off the pursuers was because there was a spatial distance of about two to three hundred li, plus My Lord's heaven-defying operations, that we ultimately shook off the pursuers. But what was the result? As soon as we stepped out, weren't we still discovered by Duke Will's Fourth-Tier Rangers?"

"Now that Duke Ver and Duke Kaidel have already gone to war, and their territories border each other, with so many Routed Soldiers being captured and brought back—you guys are just pretending you didn't see that Benjamin among the captives, right? Do you think that under the pursuit of the two great Dukes, we can find a secure foothold anywhere? Where is there a Shangri-La?"

"So My Lord's previous response was the most correct and theoretically the best. Using a Mercenary Contract to stall for time is a Delaying Tactic, but it cannot solve the root problem."

"Leaving everything else aside, how many reserves of Warhorses do we currently have? The reserves of Magic Crests are almost at zero. Without Magic Crests, how many people will die on the Battlefield?"

"But six months later, as long as Mountain Eagle Parker's elite soldiers return, they can quickly replenish their Weapons and Equipment and Magic Crests. And what about us? How will you repair your damaged Five-Star Enchanted Gear? We haven't even established a Mana Mine right now. You guys don't think that just because this is a Medium Magic World, Mana will automatically replenish your Armor, do you? Wouldn't the more complex Mana cause reverse corrosion on your Armor?"

Zhao Qingshan's words directly rendered Jocelyn and Duan Bowen speechless, because the Magic Crests on their bodies were indeed gone; even Li Wei didn't have any Magic Crests on him anymore. This was Hard Currency on the Battlefield; without this, the mortality rate would skyrocket.

However, there were still those who remained unconvinced.

"Since that's the case, then what about you saying we should evacuate immediately just now? So if we take the loss of 100 points of World Reputation, that Falcon Karl won't hunt us down?"

"Of course it's different. We have now stabilized the other party, and we can completely pretend to build the Fortress while properly arranging our evacuation. But this is also a manifestation of that Falcon Karl being a Cunning Old Fox. Do you guys really think this is a game? If we lose 100

points of World Reputation, you can guess whether such a huge sum of World Reputation would trigger a worldwide broadcast notification?"

"What is the main theme of this mission, of this Ascension Continent? What is the core? Why is World Reputation so hard to get? Do you think this is Child's Play? Saying 'I don't want these 100 points of World Reputation, I can just earn them back anytime later.' Oh, at worst, we can seek refuge with Duke Juniper, or seek refuge with Tyrant William. This kind of thinking is fundamentally, completely wrong!"

"Let me tell you, when that time comes, My Lord's reputation will stink. So my meaning is that if My Lord truly wants to develop independently, he has to bear the price of a stinking reputation. But even so, it's better than hesitating and Double-Dealing. Either take the initiative to seek refuge in half a year, or be prepared to fight a fierce battle. But the absolute worst situation is that it becomes a Bamboo Basket Fetches Water in Vain. Wanting everything—wanting this, also wanting that, and additionally wanting the other—that can only end up as nothing!"

"My Lord, these are my thoughts. If you don't like hearing them, there's nothing I can do."

Zhao Qingshan said a whole bunch, not being polite at all, leaving everyone Terror-Stricken and Li Wei laughing bitterly repeatedly.

The situation was indeed like this.

Starting in these troubled times, where was there any fairy tale to speak of!

In fact, Zhao Qingshan was faintly accusing him; he should have simply and decisively agreed to seek refuge and join Duke Ver's Faction just now. This was actually the superior strategy.

But Li Wei only chose an inferior strategy that temporarily looked like a middling strategy.

As for the true inferior strategy, that would naturally be rejecting everything and turning around to run.

For a moment, even Li Yue and Zhao Xuanxuan didn't know what to say. They also didn't have any better way to break this deadlock.

Li Wei also began to ponder, and everyone else remained silent.

After a long time, Li Wei finally spoke.

"Build a city! Build a great city! Build two or three Fortresses in the surroundings that can coordinate with the Central City. You've also seen the process of today's Kahndorf Fortress Siege; the role of the Siege Troop Carriers is very formidable, so we need crossfire. In short, increase the difficulty for the enemy to conquer our castle to the maximum possible extent, increase it until they feel a flesh-aching pain just thinking about it."

"Then, we also won't develop independently. I will also definitely abide by the agreement and join Duke Ver's Faction. If I'm not qualified when the time comes, then joining Mountain Eagle Parker's or Falcon Karl's Faction is also fine. In a word, we will act like scoundrels right now, Accepting Orders But Not Summons! We will delay for as long as we can. If Duke Vere is truly a Destined Sovereign, then I will accept my fate; being a lowly citizen in his Empire is also fine."