Chapter 191 - 128: Extraordinary Territory and a Way Out (2)
Lin Yu: "(ಥ﹏ಥ) Come on, guys, stop making fun of me. We’re getting off topic!"
Ding Dong: "Alright, alright. I’ll continue."
Ding Dong: "As I was saying, we speculate that the organizers of the Lord Competition are trying to acquire more territories. The most coveted among them are territories like Li Hua’s, which can mass-produce heroes."
Ding Dong: "Don’t be fooled by the fact that he doesn’t have many heroes now. As time goes on, his territory will produce more and more of them, until all his subjects have become heroes."
Ding Dong: "At that point, his territory will be known as an Extraordinary Territory, and it will have the potential to become a Divine-level Territory."
Lin Yu: "(￣口￣)!! Don’t tell me a Divine-level Territory is one where all the subjects become god-level heroes, is it?"
Ding Dong: "It’s not that extreme."
Ding Dong: "It just means the Lord has a chance to become a god."
Lin Yu: "∑(O_O;) Us Lords... becoming gods??"
Ding Dong: "Of course. Why else do you think everyone is fighting over it?"
Lin Yu: "So how do you become a god?"
Ding Dong: "How should I know? If I had an Extraordinary Territory, I’m sure I would know how to become a god. But since I just have a regular territory, no one’s told me, obviously."
Ding Dong: "But to be honest, if Li Hua doesn’t have any backing, selling the territory is actually his best option."
Ding Dong: "His identity has been exposed now. Once he enters the fourth stage, the only thing waiting for him is utter annihilation, a death with no place for burial."
Ding Dong: "Because many gods will send their underlings to fight for his territory. When that happens, there’ll be no escape for him. He’d be better off just selling the territory sooner rather than later."
Lin Yu: "Heh, you guys are so charitable, aren’t you?"
Lin Yu: "By the way, let me ask a sensitive question."
Lin Yu: "Li Hua’s territory has so-so combat strength, and that’s enough to get you all fighting over it."
Lin Yu: "So how come no one’s trying to snatch me up, the guy who took second place in the legion battle?! Do I have no clout at all?"
Ding Dong: "How do you know someone isn’t secretly plotting to rob you after you get back to Cuiwei Star?"
Lin Yu: "Holy crap, Brother Ding, don’t scare me! Are people really thinking that?"
Ding Dong: "Hahaha, just kidding."
Ding Dong: "Troops and heroes are two different things. You think your troops are pretty badass, don’t you?"
Lin Yu: "Uh... aren’t they?"
Ding Dong: "...Alright, fine, they’re definitely more badass than mine. But do you think your legion could take on the Interstellar Fleet of Cuiwei Star?"
Lin Yu: "No way!!"
Ding Dong: "Many of the lords in the fourth stage have armies that are much stronger than our Cuiwei Star’s Interstellar Fleet."
Ding Dong: "Your territory’s legion is strong now. By the third stage, it will only be a little ahead of the curve. By the fourth stage, it’ll just be average."
Lin Yu: "But my legion is still pretty good, right? It already has fourth-stage level strength..."
Ding Dong: "Fine, fine, you’re very strong!!"
Lin Yu: "By the way, does anyone know how to mass-produce heroes?"
Ding Dong: "How could anyone know? That kind of thing is just pure luck."
...
Lin Yu asked a few more random questions in the chat group before leaving the channel.
Now, he understood why the combat video of the heroes from Li Hua’s territory had made everyone green with envy.
At the same time, it made Lin Yu start to worry about his own future. Li Hua knew that his territory could also mass-produce "Demon" type heroes.
If Li Hua was pushed into a corner, there was no telling whether he would rat Lin Yu out.
In any case, he couldn’t stake his own safety on Li Hua’s moral character.
’I have to think... how can I avoid being exposed?’
’Or figure out an escape plan for after I’m exposed.’
’There’s also the fourth stage, where I’ll most likely face a siege from the underlings of many gods.’
’I need to start preparing to face a siege from the gods’ subordinate lords right now.’
’Damn it, I was just enjoying the gossip, how did this boomerang back and hit me? My great mood is completely ruined.’
Lin Yu’s once-pleasant mood turned to anxiety after Li Hua’s video was exposed.
After thinking it over, he decided to go ask Li Hua if he had any countermeasures, hoping he could learn a thing or two.
Lin Yu (Private): "Great Sword Immortal, you got a minute?"
Li Hua (Private): "Little Demon Lin, what does your Great Sword Immortal want?"
Lin Yu (Private): "Pfft! Who are you calling ’Little Demon’? Lord Li, aren’t you worried at all? Those rich kids are practically taking a dump on your head."
Li Hua (Private): "What’s the use of panicking? Does it solve anything?"
Li Hua (Private): "As they say, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger; you can’t see a rainbow without going through a storm. As long as I become strong enough, those people will be nothing more than stepping stones on my path to defying the heavens."
Lin Yu (Private): "Can you beat the forces on Cuiwei Star?"
Li Hua (Private): "Nope!"
Lin Yu (Private): "??? Then how are you...?"
Li Hua (Private): "What’s there to be afraid of? We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Besides, we still have a few months."
Lin Yu (Private): "ദ്ദി"
Lin Yu took a deep breath, his anxiety easing considerably. Although Li Hua didn’t seem to have a solution right now (or did he?), his carefree personality was infectious.
As far as he knew, Li Hua’s overall strength was no match for his own. The size of his territory, his army, and his hero count were all far greater than Li Hua’s.
If even Li Hua, who was weaker than him, wasn’t afraid of those trust-fund kids, then he had no reason to be afraid either. Then again, he couldn’t rule out the possibility that Li Hua had an ace up his sleeve.
’Still, I need to find my own escape route!’
Lin Yu fell into contemplation once more. This time, he was no longer anxious, and he calmed down to methodically sort through the entire situation.
"First of all, the only one who knows about my territory’s hero situation right now is Li Hua. He knows my territory has ’Demons.’ Considering his own territory has Sword Immortals, and based on our conversations, he can easily deduce that my ’Demons’ are also mass-produced."
"Therefore, the only one who can reveal my territory’s situation is Li Hua."
"However, looking at his current situation, he should be able to protect himself for the time being. As long as he has an escape plan, I don’t have to worry about him leaking my information."
"Also, I need to prevent other lords from accidentally stumbling into my territory and leaking information about it. I’ll have to strengthen the border patrols."
"And then, I need to find an escape route."
"But where can I retreat to?"
"The territory itself is under the jurisdiction of the competition. Once the second stage ends, I can’t stay here anymore."
"Is there anywhere that isn’t under the competition’s jurisdiction?"
Lin Yu sank into thought...
"First, I need to get out of the territory, because the entire territory is under the competition’s control. That means I need to teleport out of the territory, or maybe even off this continent."
"Teleportation Arrays! The Cosmic Arena and the Eternal Battlefield!"
Lin Yu immediately thought of these two places, which were said to be in a cooperative relationship with the competition.
He immediately used a Teleportation Array to get to the Cosmic Arena. He arrived on the second floor and found the information desk.
"Hello, excuse me, can heroes stay in the Cosmic Arena for an extended period, like for many days?"
"Hello, and you are...?"
"I’m a lord from the Lord Competition."
"Ah, I see! During the competition’s rest period, participating lords from the Lord Competition and the heroes within their territories are not permitted to remain in the Cosmic Arena."
"We have an agreement with the Lord Competition. To ensure fairness, any lords who are in the Cosmic Arena during the competition’s rest period will be repatriated and teleported back to their home planets. Any heroes under that lord will be teleported back to their territory."
"Furthermore, during this time, the Teleportation Arrays leading to the territories of lords who are in their rest period will be closed."
...
After hearing the staff member’s explanation, Lin Yu left the Cosmic Arena in disappointment.
He then went to the Eternal Battlefield and received much the same information. Due to an agreement with the Lord Competition, no lords, heroes, or soldiers were allowed to remain in the Eternal Battlefield during the rest period between stages.
Back on the World Tree Crown, Lin Yu was at a complete loss, with no idea how to evade the competition’s mandatory rest period.
He glanced at the ice-blue branch beside him and suddenly felt the urge to visit the Glacier World to clear his head.
’I haven’t been to the Glacier World yet. Now that it’s been completely absorbed by the World Tree, I don’t have to worry about any accidents if I go!’
With that thought, Lin Yu opened the Teleportation Gate to the Glacier World and was about to step through.
[You are about to leave the competition grounds of the Hegemony Competition for Lords of All Intelligent Civilizations in the Cosmos.]
[You are currently in the second stage of the competition. According to regulation 123 of the competition, any lord who leaves the competition grounds during the second stage will be considered to have forfeited the competition. The link between you and your Territory Core will be severed. Do you wish to proceed with teleportation?]
...