Lords of the Heavens

Chapter 363 The Red-Clad Witch
Upon hearing Li Wei's question, Ron actually laughed.

“Li Wei, you have never understood what I mean. I mean, as long as you don’t build the city, you won’t provoke Duke Frost. As long as none of us build the city, Duke Frost will stabilize on his own, understand?”

"As long as we remain in the Samsung territory, he will not attack us at all. Because this expansion mission was not difficult from the beginning. It is you who have repeatedly increased the difficulty of the mission, forcing everyone to compete internally. When everyone is competing, it is as if they are competing but there is no competition."

"I have already sent people to persuade Socrates and Hathaway. They should both understand that building a city is a dead end, and the requirements for a level 5 territory are too difficult."

"Wait, Ron, you still haven't answered my question. You've only presented a possibility. What if, in the end, the Ice Duke goes back on his word? What will you use to stop him?"

"No, Li Wei, you don't understand. Our territory now has magic mines. As long as we have a second-tier spellcaster, we can ensure the safety of our territory. Didn't that widow Yang under your command become a spellcaster? Didn't she tell you?"

“As long as we give up building the city, Duke Frost will not take the huge risk of attacking. Yes, he does have a way to take down the magic mine at an extremely heavy cost, but we currently have five territories. If he takes them one by one, he will also suffer heavy losses. Do you think he is not worried?”

"This kind of deterrence is mutual."

"In fact, I would say that I am even looking forward to you, Li Wei, sticking to your guns to the end. That way, as long as I consolidate my forces and defend the magic mine, Duke Frost will definitely not dare to attack me. We will fight to the death, and then wouldn't you seize the opportunity to destroy him?"

"In fact, I'm not afraid to tell you frankly, if you stubbornly persist and force the Ice Duke to gather a large army to attack your territory, then whether it's a lose-lose situation or the Ice Duke destroys you, the few of us are very likely to unite and divide the Ice Duke's territory equally."

"In short, that's all I have to say. We have different paths, so please leave."

Since Ron had already said all that, Li Wei couldn't say anything. He could only say that his idea was indeed not wrong. If he didn't build a city, didn't become a viscount, and just guarded the magic mine, there was a very high chance that nothing would happen in the end.

"Alright, let's not talk about that, Ron. How about we make a deal?"

His territory is almost two thousand miles away from Ron's, so it's not easy for them to meet. They might not be able to reach an agreement on other matters, but there's absolutely no problem with trade.

Sure enough, Ron hesitated for a moment before decisively agreeing.

"I personally don't need this, but spellcasters in my territory might. Come on, I'll treat you to a meal."

Li Wei immediately followed Ron back to his castle. His territory was also built on a ruined town, which was almost standard practice. Putting aside everything else, the fact that the roads were paved was its biggest advantage.

In addition, Ron's fortress is also very impressive. It is also an enhanced and improved version of the bastion, but it has four layers. The densely packed firing ports on it are at least one-third more than Scarface's fortress.

In addition, a three-tiered city wall with a circumference of 500 meters is under construction around the fortress. Inside the city wall, more than a dozen houses have been built, and it looks like the total population is about seven or eight hundred.

In short, it was an atmosphere of prosperity and peace.

There are about sixty full-time soldiers in Ron's territory, and they have already built a tavern, a temple, a magic mine, and an enchanted blacksmith workshop.

They won't be bad in this regard, at least they have the strong support of the logistics department.

However, there is a building under construction above their magic mine.

Ron didn't hide anything, "This is a beginner mage tower. I hired a spellcaster at a high price to design and build it, which is why I'm confident it can be a reliable base."

As they were talking, Ron had already led Li Wei here, where they saw a beautiful young woman in a red robe writing and drawing on a huge piece of cardboard, calculating something. She seemed to be a little unfamiliar with building a novice mage tower and was using Ron, this sucker, to help her with her graduation project.

Li Wei glanced at it without showing any emotion. Of course, he didn't understand the structure of the mage tower, but he could still tell how fast the construction was progressing. In addition, he could also compare the aura of this spellcaster witch. Hmm, she and his second aunt were from the same school. They had strength, talent, and perseverance, but in all aspects, they were just a little bit short of being true geniuses, like Night Owl.

In any case, with +7 perception, Li Wei could come to this conclusion.

"Ron, is something the matter?"

At this moment, the red-clad witch raised her head, a fleeting hint of impatience crossing her face. She concealed it well, but how could it escape the +7 perception? As for Ron, he's on the knight path, he should have already awakened the hidden attribute of "Insight," right? Sigh, Insight... so easily misled by the caster's inspiration...

At that moment, Li Wei suddenly realized that Ron's idea might not only be his own, but that the red-clad witch might also be pushing him along.

Especially now that the pioneering mission has entered its later stages, the logistics department can no longer directly intervene, and all decision-making power has been delegated to Ron.

"Anna, he is another pioneer named Li Wei, as you should know. He has come from afar to conduct some trade with us. I don't have anything to trade here, so I was just wondering if you have any needs in this regard?"

At this moment, Ron quickly introduced the situation.

“Li Wei? Of course I know him, he’s the General of Wheels, with an outstanding record. Speaking of which, Widow Yang is my senior. But I’m very busy right now, could you wait for me for a while? I promise I’ll be there before dinner.”

The red-clad witch covered her mouth and chuckled, her eyes fixed on Li Wei as if she wanted to devour him. "Okay."

Li Wei pretended not to see it and didn't care. He was still looking forward to trading some supplies with Ron.

"Let's go, Li Wei. Let me show you some hospitality today."

Next, Ron led Li Wei into the fortress without any reservations, showing him around before sitting down in the restaurant at the top of the fortress.

"Li Wei, I heard about your conquest of Scarface's territory last winter. Now that you've seen my fortress, where do you think it needs strengthening? Where are its weaknesses?"

"Huh? Isn't this inappropriate? Is it suitable?"

Li Wei was taken aback, or rather, Ron was very confident.

"What's inappropriate about it? Our territories are almost two thousand miles apart. Do you think you can attack me? Don't forget that we're in the late game now. Every territory has a magic mine. You won't have a chance to launch a direct attack. The only outcome if you dare to get close is annihilation!"

"So, this is purely a technical discussion. After all, I'm quite proud of the fortress I built, and you're welcome to prove me wrong."

"I see, I understand."

Li Wei nodded, got up again to inspect the area, then jumped down and explored every firing hole along every wall before finally returning to the dining table and sitting down.

"If it were last winter, and you didn't have a five-star cross-border expert by your side, and your fortress had to be blown open, I would have about a 40% chance of breaking through. But I'm not sure if I could beat you last winter, so this is meaningless."

"So what now?" Ron pressed, seemingly quite concerned about the matter, which was rather interesting.

"Of course I can't break through now either. I'd be blasted into dust by a giant fireball falling from the sky before I even get close."

"What if there were no magic mines, no spellcasters, just you and me?"

"I don't quite understand—does this make sense?"

“Of course it’s meaningful. We’re really curious about you. A newcomer who couldn’t even last three moves against me two years ago has grown to this level. Calling you a dark horse is an understatement. You’ve really embarrassed us. We’ve been utterly humiliated and defeated.” Ron laughed.

"You? You mean Zhao Kewu, Socrates?"

"I suppose so. So now that you've come to me, I'm itching for a fight. How about we have a little sparring, just a friendly spar?" Ron's eyes were burning with fighting spirit.

“It’s not impossible, but I was ambushed by a powerful Negro cross-border fighter a few days ago. I can only exert 70% of my strength at most now. Do you really insist on fighting me?” Li Wei sighed.

"Never mind then, it's pointless. Come on, try our local specialties." Ron indeed stopped insisting and simply asked the cook to serve the dishes. He was quite generous with this, providing a table full of delicious food, none of which were below one-star quality. The most impressive dish was even three-star quality.

Li Wei didn't stand on ceremony, devouring the food with gusto, beaming with joy and praising it incessantly.

Nonsense, we eat their food and drink their drinks, shouldn't we at least say a few nice words to praise them?

Speaking of which, the cooks in his territory are quite skilled now, capable of preparing food with various attributes and serving three dishes and a soup for every meal.

However, replenishing attributes through food takes time. The last wave of attribute increases was completed, and this wave will take another month. If it weren't for this long journey, Li Wei should have already obtained two more free attribute points and increased his mental strength limit by now.

Previously, it had been upgraded by 1 point, with a normal level of 16, equipment +4, and title +5, which was still usable.

And so, as Li Wei and Ron ate and drank to their hearts' content, the red-clad witch Anna returned.

"Li Wei, I'd like to know what kind of supplies you can sell. Could you show them to me? Don't worry, you're a guest, we won't cheat you."

The other person covered their mouth and laughed, their big eyes captivating, almost as if they were about to shout, "If you're a master, then fight me for three hundred rounds!"

But Li Weizhen remained calm and composed. With her looks, she couldn't even beat Li Yue, let alone Hathaway or Night Owl. Of course, she certainly had plenty of assets.

With a polite smile, Li Wei took out a three-star quality log and twenty kinds of magical scraps. Good things come at a good price, and besides, those had to be saved for his second aunt.

However, the red-clad witch knew her stuff. A quick glance at the materials revealed her coquettish smile. "General Li, don't be so stingy. Why are you offering scraps? Or are you looking down on me, a mere second-tier spellcaster? To be honest, these materials aren't very valuable. A small quantity wouldn't even cover the effort required to prepare them. I only need these few kinds. I need at least fifty units of three-star quality or higher. If you don't have them, then I'm sorry, General Li, you can go back to where you got them!"

(End of this chapter)