Chapter 33: The Sword Saint's Secret Discourse

Picking up the object that resembled a roulette wheel, Li Mingxing looked up at the man and said, “Even if you are the Sword Saint, you cannot escape everything here, right? I imagine you have been searching all these years for a teleportation array to other worlds. Although I don’t know why you seek this, I believe that if you take this thing, you will be able to travel freely between worlds.”

Hearing Li Mingxing’s words, the man’s eyes suddenly blazed with fervor. “Is what you say true?”

Seeing the man’s reaction, Li Mingxing felt quite helpless. He had known the Sword Saint was eager to reach other worlds but never expected him to be this desperate. Yet this desperation gave Li Mingxing a perfect reason to bargain. As the man slowly nodded, about to speak, he suddenly found himself unable to move, for the Sword Saint had grabbed his neck and dragged him into the small hut.

Inside, Li Mingxing discovered the waterside cabin was filled with fresh flowers and green leaves. Among the flora lay a half-drunk wine jar and a crystal coffin. Within the coffin, an elf maiden slept deeply. From her skin and ears, it was clear she was a rare flower elf of the elven race.

Gazing at the flower elf maiden, the man spoke gravely, “I came here for her. To slow my aging, I have striven to improve my strength, and when I became the Sword Saint, my life span multiplied many times over. Yet she became like this.”

“Is she in a deep sleep? Can you explain why?” Li Mingxing’s face grew serious. Matters of the heart often brought the greatest sorrow in this world. If he mishandled this, he might well be torn apart by the Sword Saint in front of him.

“It’s nothing much. She used powers she shouldn’t have, and in the end had to fall into slumber. I heard a rumor that if I gather several certain items, I can save her. But some of those items cannot be found here.”

“So that’s why you need the freedom to travel between worlds,” Li Mingxing nodded. “I understand. I can help you with that.”

At Li Mingxing’s affirmative reply, the Sword Saint’s eyes shone brightly. He lifted Li Mingxing up. “You’re telling the truth?”

“Yes. This time, you’re lucky. Without this roulette-like thing, I wouldn’t dare make such a promise,” Li Mingxing said confidently.

What Li Mingxing said was true—the roulette-like item was proof of having slain a hero. If a master from the inner world obtained this wheel, its effect would be different: they would become a mercenary hero.

Such mercenary heroes differed from heroes like Li Mingxing. They could not have their own cities nor enter the inner world arbitrarily. Their role was to stay in a mysterious tavern, waiting for those in need to summon them for help, earning spirit coins and improving their strength.

After completing tasks or dying in battle, they would return to the tavern, awaiting the next employer, until their hero roulette was taken from them.

Of course, not everyone would entrust their hero roulette to strangers as mercenary heroes, because mercenary heroes could be hired by anyone with money. If they became enemies, it would be a serious problem.

Everyone knew that bringing back a hero roulette yielded greater rewards than bringing back a mercenary hero. So before encountering someone powerful enough to bring back, no one would recklessly use this right.

But this time, Li Mingxing had exercised this right. He explained the mercenary hero system, the conflict between the Light and Dark Alliances, and even the current state of apprentice heroes and the way tasks were assigned.

After hearing all this, the Sword Saint was silent, pondering the consequences.

He understood the nature of mercenary heroes. But having reached his level, he had long come to terms with everything. If he could save the flower elf maiden, he would risk everything. Being a mercenary hero wasn’t a bad thing—Li Mingxing had said this was just the beginning of the inner world war. Warriors of his caliber were rare, so he had a strong market.

This way, he could amass wealth quickly and leave this life before the final showdown.

However, one problem was that becoming a mercenary hero meant losing his own city. His troops would be stationed in a place he deemed safe; future reinforcements would come through the tavern or other heroes.

This meant his city would lose its strongest protector. Then, not only would the other two cities pose threats, internal strife alone could destroy it.

Seeing the Sword Saint hesitate, Li Mingxing smiled knowingly. “If you agree, take this now. After handling the inner world, you can still become a mercenary hero later.”

“You speak lightly. Do you know how many years I have spent building this city? Nearly two centuries. In that time, how many battles have I fought against the other two cities? Yet I never had confidence to defeat them, especially Dragon City. Those two green dragons are at least a thousand years old. Even with the Night Elf City’s help, we can’t match them. I don’t want to drag this out for hundreds more years.”

“If two cities aren’t enough, how about adding another?” Li Mingxing smiled calmly. “Don’t look at me like that. This is only the beginning. If I don’t act, others will. Cities will multiply in the inner world, and Dragon City will gradually lose its strongest advantage.”

“That will take a lot of time.”

“That may be true, but for apprentice heroes, time is not a problem. We have ways to rapidly gather large forces.”

Li Mingxing’s words made the Sword Saint ponder seriously. Finally, he said, “I’ll give you one month. Even if you only build a small village in that time, as long as you build something, I will publicly announce our alliance. Then I will protect your city here for one year.”

Li Mingxing laughed immediately—this was the best outcome he could have hoped for. Even if the Sword Saint only protected the city for a year, or helped expand the Dark Forest to the required area, it was enough.

With the Sword Saint’s help, Li Mingxing wouldn’t settle for so little. Although the Sword Saint’s troops were all human, they were diversified among various races. Li Mingxing could purchase cannon fodder or elite fighters if he wished.

With this troop, he was confident to accomplish this small branch mission. His city projection could spawn a new city in just an hour.

Seeing Li Mingxing’s confident smile, the Sword Saint nodded and said nothing further, simply raising his hand to send Li Mingxing away.

When Li Mingxing looked back, the lake with the small hut had vanished—as if it had been a dream.

Of course, Li Mingxing did not believe it was a dream. After some thought and considering his next steps, he headed toward the City of Crystal Shine.

Upon arriving, he saw Aisha waiting with her subordinates at the city gate for his return.

As soon as she saw Li Mingxing, Aisha hurried to greet him. “My lord, you have finally returned.”

“Did something happen?” Seeing her anxious expression, Li Mingxing asked.

“No, but I heard...”

“Heard what?”

“They say those taken by the griffins rarely come back,” Aisha said, lowering her head.

“Looks like you were worried about me. But it’s nothing. From now on, in this city, we can walk with our heads held high,” Li Mingxing said, patting Aisha’s head.

Indeed, after returning to the City of Crystal Shine, Li Mingxing’s treatment changed completely.

The Crusader Lord was the first to find him and paid the long-overdue money for the gem purchase.

Whether or not he had received word from the Sword Saint, the gift was no small matter: blueprints for a rifleman outpost, along with materials sufficient to build it.

With these, Li Mingxing could quickly erect a rifleman outpost and train all races between 1.7 and 2.3 meters tall into qualified riflemen.

Training advanced rapidly; with adequate weapons and manpower, Li Mingxing could assemble 100 to 200 riflemen in a single day.

Under such conditions, it would only take a few days for Li Mingxing to establish a force strong enough to protect his city. This gave the Sword Saint ample reason to protect him.