Lords of the Heavens

Chapter 331 Northern Barbarians? (Bonus Chapter 910 for Alliance Leader Starry Night)

"This doesn't seem like a player. Could it be some kind of superhuman? But no, that's impossible. Superhumans don't have the clear-headed rationality to create so many intricate traps. Besides, although these people look like primitive people or barbarians, they're not actually barbaric. Look at that bow; the craftsmanship must be at least three stars, and it might even be an enchanted longbow!"

"In addition, some of the traps that were discovered earlier were clearly not handmade, but rather industrially produced, showing signs of production lines and being recyclable and reusable."

"From this point of view alone, the power to which these people belong must have had the productivity of the Age of Exploration."

"Furthermore, although they look like Neanderthals, they exude a healthy, normal life force from head to toe. They are definitely not magical zombies!"

Li Wei pondered, and a word involuntarily popped into his mind: Northern barbarians!
Yes, he had no choice but to think that way.

The Duke of Ver City is fighting against the northern barbarians, and Night Owl has been transferred to guard Thorn Pass, also to fight against the northern barbarians.

At this moment, this group of barbarians is so low-key and cautious. Even though they are in an abandoned camp and in a remote mountain forest, they are acting like thieves. Could it be that they are also infiltrating this world?
Or to put it more dramatically, these Neanderthals are also players, but they belong to a different faction...

Forget it, I can't think about it anymore.

Li Wei hesitated for a moment, and seeing that it was about to dawn, he decisively retreated along the same route!
It wasn't that he was cowardly, but there were a total of twenty-four Ni people in this camp, among whom there might be more than five five-star beings, and he was afraid he couldn't defeat them.

Besides, this is the first time they've encountered each other, and he doesn't even know what methods the other party uses, so what's the point of fighting?
If he were to accidentally die, he felt he wouldn't even have the chance to return to Earth and become a vegetable.

Neanderthals, they were the mortal enemies of the ancestors of Earthlings!
Perhaps in their dimension, they were the victors, and the ancestors of Earthlings were the ones who were eaten and wiped out...

Half an hour later, Li Wei erased all traces and escaped the trap without incident. He retreated seven or eight miles in one breath before stopping at a mountain peak. He needed to observe and understand the situation before making any rash moves.

Soon, it was bright daylight, but no sunlight shone down. Layers of gray clouds drifted across the sky, as if the weather was about to change. This was normal, as it was the transition between winter and spring.

If it snows, it will be difficult for Li Wei to sneak in silently as he did last night, and even his movements in the mountains and forests will definitely be discovered.

The opponent must have a very skilled and highly proficient hunter.

Just as Li Wei was thinking this, he suddenly saw fourteen people, who looked like barbarians, emerge from the hidden valley camp. Among them, in addition to the two sentries he had seen the night before, there were also four people wearing strange heavy armor. Then they headed south, passing through mountains and forests.

Clearly, they were doing something with a specific purpose in mind.

Ten Negroes remained. Soon, three of them headed straight for the river to the north, seemingly to fish. The other two Negroes, dressed as hunters, explored eastward and westward, respectively.

Moreover, after leaving the trap area, both hunters promptly summoned their respective hunting pets: the one to the east was a small bird, while the one to the west, unfortunately, was a hunting dog the size of a calf.

Grass!
This is not a good sign.

Li Wei quickly analyzed the situation. Judging from the circumstances, these nuns hadn't been here long, no more than half a month at most. This could be determined from the traces of the traps they had set.

Furthermore, they must have conducted a preliminary search of the surrounding mountainous terrain and may have even discovered his riverside fortress and territory headquarters.

But why didn't they attack?
Is it fear of exposure, or an inability to take it down?

Or perhaps, there's something else that needs to be done?

As Li Wei thought this, he watched as the Neanderthal hunter and his hounds passed directly two or three miles away and headed west.

And whether it was out of habit or something else, this nun always took routes through valleys, preferring to take detours rather than climb mountains, and always traversing the deepest parts of the vegetation, as if afraid of being discovered by targets in the sky.

"Wait, did these nuns discover Ah-Dai's presence a while ago?"

Li Wei suddenly realized what was happening and secretly felt lucky.

No wonder Ah-Dai hadn't found any trace of them; it turned out the other side had a plan in place.

But at the same time, it was fortunate that he searched all the way here yesterday, always going to high places and wherever it was conspicuous.

Because he wasn't afraid of being discovered by Ah Dai, his reconnaissance route was completely opposite to that of the other side.

Otherwise, Li Wei's scent would probably have already been detected by the hunting dogs.

He immediately followed the Nyon hunter, sensing him from a distance of more than ten miles behind. Even though he would lose track of him most of the time, Li Wei could always find him again within the next hour.

Because this vast mountain forest had become a map in Li Wei's mind, and besides, the other party's purpose was too clear—that's right, they were there to scout the riverside fortress. Around noon, the Nigantha hunters actually arrived at a thorny thicket south of the riverside fortress. This place was less than two kilometers away from the fortress, and if one's eyesight was good enough, one could even see the movement of the people inside the fortress.

Clearly, this isn't the first time the other side has conducted reconnaissance. Their ultimate goal is likely to be to attack, but it's hard to say exactly when.

These Nepalese are quite cautious. What are they waiting for?

Reinforcements?

Where did the reinforcements come from?
Li Wei frowned in thought, somewhat hesitant about whether to take action and kill the Negro hunter.

But in the end, he chose to continue waiting.

This isn't urgent. If we kill this Negro hunter, it might cause some unforeseen complications.

Because these Neanderthals were incredibly strong, with the weakest being four-star and several highly suspected to be five-star, Li Wei even wondered if they were on a cross-border mission.
Li Wei waited for another two hours before the Nigan hunters silently returned. During the time he observed them, Javier was leading hundreds of free men out to work. The weather was no longer so cold, so many tasks had to be carried out, such as mining stone, burning lime, and making siege crossbows and bolts.

Of course, the necessary training is also required.

"The other Neanderthal hunter went east, probably to scout the territory's main camp, but the area around there is open and there is no hiding place for miles around, so it will be difficult for him to scout."

"Um……"

Li Wei pondered for a moment, then followed the Neanderthal hunter for over a hundred miles until he was sure the hunter had returned to the Neanderthal camp. Only then did he turn back. By then it was already dark, and a few snowflakes began to fall from the sky; it was going to snow.

Li Wei resolutely returned, but this time he went to the town he had discovered before. Under the cover of night, he sneaked into the cave in the center of the town and killed a level 5 mutated creature inside.

Then, ignoring the heavy snow and the darkness, he continued searching the surrounding area, because he was certain that, given the cautious nature of the Neanderthal hunters, he would not come out in such snowy weather, or in the days to come, otherwise, as long as he left footprints, he would be easily discovered by Ah Dai.

The intimidating power of a five-star hunting pet has finally materialized at this moment.

Therefore, this is also an opportunity for Li Wei to accumulate strength as much as possible while preparing for this inevitable battle.

He couldn't just abandon the riverside fortress.

The heavy snow lasted for two whole days, and Li Wei also wandered in the southwest for two days, but his harvest was not great. He only hunted three level 5 mutated creatures and obtained three 5-star universal gold cards. He used the first card to pay off the debt for establishing the Riverside Knights, and used the remaining two cards to upgrade and strengthen the Riverside Knights.

The final result is that the total number of knights in the Riverside Knights Order can be increased to seven. At the same time, all Riverside Knights will receive a knight title bonus, namely +60 health, +60 stamina, +6 strength, +6 agility, and +6 defense!

The effect was explosive. Javier, Sith, Benjamin, Santiago, and Grant all instantly stepped into the four-star level. Benjamin, in particular, was already a four-star, and this attribute increase brought him close to Zhao Guozhu.

This is the advantage of the Knights.

Next, Li Wei returned to the riverside fortress and, without saying a word, immediately selected two more three-star soldiers from Javier's men. These soldiers had undergone special winter training and were exceptionally skilled in defending the fortress.

They were immediately appointed as Knights of the River!
Time was of the essence, and Li Wei dared not delay.

Especially now that the heavy snow has blocked the roads again, the support from the territory's main base has been completely cut off.

"From now on, prepare for war with all our might. I discovered a group of enemies a few days ago who may launch an attack on the riverside fortress. This will be the most dangerous moment we face, and we must go all out!"

Li Wei didn't hide much and directly informed Thomas, Javier, Sith, and others.

"Our greatest advantage is this bastion. As long as the enemy can't take it down, we will win. Therefore, the most important thing is to kill a large number of enemies while minimizing our own casualties during the defense."

"And Javier, you, Sith, Paul, and Joslin were the best in winter training, and you are also the best defensive commanders. The four of you, along with Thomas, are the soul of this fortress. Now, Thomas, you are in charge of daily guard duty. Javier, the four of you go and select your own men. Don't select from the new recruits; select from those who participated in winter training. This will be a brutal defensive battle that requires a high degree of skill. The enemy is stronger than we imagine!"

"We must cherish every opportunity, every arrow. We must use our knowledge of this fortress to create our greatest advantage!"

After giving a brief war mobilization speech, Li Wei quickly rested for a while. Upon waking up, he immediately threw himself into cutting crossbow shafts, feathered arrow shafts, and wooden spears.

These are all necessary for defending the city.

(End of this chapter)