96: Chapter 96 Drawing a Pie in the Sky to Share the Sacred Relic?

"Tough my ass." Gross scoffed, "What level are those thirteen lords? They must be losers who haven't even reached level five to open a branch city."

"Around here, any one of us could take on two or three of their factions single-handedly."

Beside him, a Goblin lord named Ivan, short and chubby, continued, "It's just a level suppression, that's all."

"That Xu Qin must have been in the first batch of Undead Race lords to reach level five, and then chose the Floating City path. He has a tech advantage and a troop advantage. What's there to brag about beating thirteen newbies?"

"He's the same type as that Undead Race we wiped out before."

Gross waved his hand, "What's there to be afraid of?"

Fang Che curled his lip but didn't speak.

Another human lord named Lord Lin Yi had been silent the whole time.

Only now did he speak up: "I think you're all underestimating the enemy."

Gross turned to look at him. "What do you mean?"

"Being able to launch a Floating City means this person's resources are already self-sufficient."

"Have you calculated how much Soul Energy a Floating City consumes per hour?"

The tent suddenly went quiet.

Lord Lin Yi continued, "Not only can he get it airborne, but he also flew hundreds of kilometers to attack others."

"This means his Soul Energy reserves and production far exceed normal levels."

"For the Undead Race, Soul Energy is a lifeline resource. If he can afford to maintain a Floating City, it means his monster-farming efficiency or resource acquisition method has an advantage."

"Advantage?" Gross frowned. "What kind of advantage?"

"I don't know." Lord Lin Yi shook his head. "I suspect it's a talent bonus, like a 30% or 50% increase in Soul Energy resources."

The lords in the tent nodded one after another.

"Yeah, that's very likely. After all, many lords have talent bonuses for resources."

Ivan suddenly thought of something and hurriedly continued, "Then... what if he comes here too?"

Everyone looked at him.

Ivan shrank his neck, "The guys on the east side posted about the ruins on the Human channel. Even though they didn't give coordinates, anyone with half a brain could infer the general location from the description. What if that Xu Qin comes to join the fun..."

Gross said disdainfully, "Let him come! If our twelve factions join forces..."

"Don't." Lord Lin Yi interrupted him.

Gross froze.

Lord Lin Yi's face was expressionless, speaking in a flat, straightforward tone.

"Exposure is exposure; our policy remains unchanged."

"First, don't rush to enter the ruins. Let the east and south fight first."

"Second, sit back and wait for them to suffer mutual losses so we can reap the benefits."

"Third, if the situation goes wrong, like some variable such as a Floating City appears, just withdraw decisively."

"In my opinion, if we lose a branch city, so be it. Staying alive is more important than anything else."

Lord Lin Yi looked at everyone in the tent.

"My survival principle is very simple: never be impulsive, and don't be greedy."

Gross and Fang Che nodded repeatedly.

"I agree."

Ivan also chimed in.

"Agreed."

Several other lords also nodded one after another.

Lord Lin Yi stood up, walked to the tent entrance, lifted the curtain, and looked toward the ruins.

The shield was still there.

Its blue light cast a cold hue over the wasteland.

Three days.

"Three days from now, that will be the real battlefield."

Lord Lin Yi lowered the curtain and turned to walk back.

"Before that, nobody make any rash moves. Let's make the most of our time to develop."

...

On the Floating City.

Xu Qin woke up from a nap, rubbed his eyes, and realized he had reached the edge of the Oasis.

The Northwest Oasis was right below.

It was a size smaller than when he last visited, since he had already harvested the outskirts once.

But there were still plenty of trees and minerals left.

"Tian Ming, land. Troglodytes, go down and gather. Ranged units, patrol."

"Yes."

Xu Qin yawned and opened the human chat channel to browse casually.

But after scrolling twice, a message jumped into his view.

It was posted by some lord he didn't know.

"Does anyone want to team up to raid some ruins? We found a wasteland ruin, suspected to contain a Legendary-grade treasure. The shield will drop in three days! The coordinates are roughly at..."

Huh? Ruins? Legendary-grade treasure?

Xu Qin immediately started reading carefully.

The person who spoke was named Fan Tong, a human lord.

Fan Tong · Human: Does anyone want to team up to raid some ruins? We found a wasteland ruin, suspected to contain a Legendary-grade treasure. The shield will drop in three days!

Fan Tong · Human: The coordinates are roughly west of the Blazing Pine Forest, past the Gravel Wasteland and then north. I'm afraid I cannot disclose the exact location.

Fan Tong · Human: If you want to join, private message me, and I can send you the exact coordinates. But there is one condition: you must join our faction. When the time comes, we will enter the ruins together, and the sacred relic will be shared.

When Xu Qin saw the four words "sacred relic shared," he burst out laughing.

"Shared?"

"It's just one Legendary-grade treasure, how do you share it? Break it in half? Or take turns using it?"

"You take it one day, I take it the next, like some bargain shopping app?"

He shook his head and continued scrolling down.

Sure enough, the reaction in the channel was just as he expected.

Zhao Ming · Human: What do you mean by shared? How do you share one treasure? Explain the rules clearly first.

Fan Tong · Human: We can discuss it when the time comes; we can draw lots, or distribute it based on contribution.

Barton · Dwarf Race: Distribute based on contribution? Who gets to judge the contribution? You?

Fan Tong · Human: Everyone can vote.

Li Wei · Human: A bunch of people who don't know each other, deciding the ownership of a Legendary-grade treasure by voting? Are you serious?

Fan Tong · Human: Then what do you suggest?

Li Wei · Human: I'm not going, thanks.

Xu Qin looked at this dialogue and burst out laughing.

This Fan Tong was most likely just trying to recruit cannon fodder.

The more people there were, the more cannon fodder there would be when raiding the ruins, while he hid in the back to pick up the scraps.

The so-called "sharing" was nothing more than a pie in the sky.

Once the sacred relic was actually in hand, who would share it with others?

Xu Qin continued scrolling down.

The discussion in the channel was getting hotter and hotter.

Quite a few people started providing information.

Sun Lei · Elf Race: I know that ruin. I passed by that wasteland a couple of days ago and saw the blue shield from afar.

Sun Lei · Elf Race: I didn't dare to get close at the time because there were already quite a few lords building branch cities nearby.

Zorn · Goblin Race: Is that thing real? Legendary-grade?

Sun Lei · Elf Race: Well, the shield is blue, and it's high-spec. I'm not sure about the exact quality.

Chen Mo · Human: Has anyone seen it in person? What kind of treasure is actually inside?

At this moment, a human lord named Fang Che started chatting.

Fang Che · Human: I've seen it.

Fang Che · Human: I just left that area. To be honest with you all, there are already over thirty lords stationed there.

Fang Che · Human: They are divided into three groups: twelve in the north, and about ten each in the east and south. The three sides are in a standoff; no one dares to make the first move.

Fang Che · Human: Those who want to join the fun can go; anyway, I won't be going back.

Fang Che · Human: Let alone whether you can even enter the ruins, you might not even be able to break through these three groups of people at the entrance.

Zhao Ming · Human: Over thirty lords? Wouldn't that turn into a complete mess?

Fang Che · Human: It's only a matter of time. Once the shield drops, they will definitely attack their peers first before snatching the treasure.

Fang Che · Human: Besides, the terrain there is a wasteland, completely flat with no cover. Whoever exposes their troops first gets hit first.

Fang Che · Human: I only have three thousand troops; being there is just asking to be slaughtered.

Barton · Dwarf Race: Over thirty lords... then how much would the total troop count be?

Fang Che · Human: Conservatively estimated at over two hundred thousand.