Chapter 14: The Alliance of Three Cities

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Li Ye was momentarily stunned, then waved his hand dismissively.
“It’s nothing.”
Given the current conditions aboard the Tomorrow, it was not easy to recruit an experienced artilleryman; having someone who had interned was already quite fortunate.
More importantly, an artilleryman trained from the ground up would feel a stronger sense of belonging to the mobile city they served.
“Are you really okay with it?” Ning Wen asked cautiously. “In the wild, artillery performance is crucial for the mobile city, and I’m worried I won’t perform well…”
Li Ye smiled and patted his shoulder reassuringly.
Then, as if recalling something, he asked again,
“By the way, why are you willing to join a mobile city?”
Ning Wen thought for a moment and replied,
“Me? Life in the fortress isn’t bad; you don’t have to wake up every day fearing for your life like in the wild, and the food and drink are good.”
He scratched his head sheepishly.
“But I feel that a young man should see the world outside.”
Li Ye nodded.
“Oh, and I should tell you, the Tomorrow can only supply a small amount of fresh water daily, and the rations are just potatoes and steamed buns.”
Ning Wen waved his hand with a smile.
“That’s fine.”
…
On the way back with Ning Wen, Li Ye witnessed a surprising scene.
The Great Gate slowly opened, and a mobile city rolled in—that was the Azure, with which he had previously made a deal.
Like the Conqueror, the Azure immediately began unloading supplies to trade in the market and commenced repairs and troubleshooting.
Li Ye was a bit surprised; he hadn’t expected the Azure to be a partner of Roland Fortress as well.
So he approached and exchanged greetings with the Azure’s lord, Li Jin.
“Your Falcon assault rifles are really effective; killing monsters is easy with them,” Li Jin said.
Li Ye nodded and then sighed wistfully.

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When he arrived at Roland Fortress, he had considered producing Falcon assault rifles there. But Roland Fortress already had level-one firearms.
Back on the Tomorrow, Li Ye asked Old Zhou to arrange a room for the newcomer Ning Wen and to choose a few pieces of the newly purchased furniture to furnish it.
As a new artilleryman, Ning Wen, like Tang Fang and Lin Wu, enjoyed the benefits reserved for technical personnel.
Upon learning Ning Wen was a new artilleryman, Old Zhou happily patted his shoulder and gave him a strong hug—this made Ning Wen a little embarrassed.
After finishing the arrangements, Li Ye went to the railing of the Tomorrow and looked toward the Conqueror and Azure in the fortress.
Only in a neutral place like Roland Fortress could the three mobile cities coexist peacefully.
He then began to consider whether to sell the news of the Lava Spider Queen’s appearance in the Fire Feather Forest to them.
But on second thought, the Azure had just recovered from a failed assault on the Gross Mine and wouldn’t risk another adventure. Although the Conqueror was strong, fighting a wild boss remained a challenge.
At that moment, a voice sounded behind him.
“Are you thinking about whether to sell the wild boss information?”
Li Ye turned and saw Lin Wu.
“If you have any good ideas, feel free to share them,” he said.
Lin Wu nodded and gestured for Little Yao to push him over beside Li Ye.
“The wild boss drops abundant resources, and most importantly, it drops a level-two item, which is a significant upgrade for a level-one city. But a fledgling city like the Tomorrow can’t take it on alone.”
He looked toward the two other mobile cities.
“But if we unite them, wouldn’t our chances improve greatly?”
“We control the information about this wild boss and are the initiators of the alliance, so we have the leadership and the right to distribute the spoils.”
Li Ye’s eyes brightened upon hearing this.
Lin Wu’s suggestion was indeed an eye-opener.
For Li Jin, the Azure was a weakened city lacking the power to challenge the wild boss, so the alliance offered an opportunity, making agreement likely.
As for the Conqueror’s lord… Li Ye knew he urgently needed Lava Spider Silk, so he was probably willing as well.
As for Li Ye himself, he only wanted that level-two item dropped by the wild boss. The rest of the loot could be divided between the other two.
Half an hour later,
Li Ye, Li Jin, and Lei Jian, the three lords, met.

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Upon hearing the news of the Lava Spider Queen’s presence, Li Jin and Lei Jian were stunned, then their eyes gleamed with fervor.
They all knew the wild boss dropped plentiful loot.
Li Ye then laid out his intentions.
The three mobile cities would form an alliance to jointly attack the Lava Spider Queen. The Tomorrow would claim the level-two item it drops; the rest of the spoils would be split between the Conqueror and Azure.
Li Jin and Lei Jian’s lips twitched.
Li Ye’s casual mention of the level-two item belied its tremendous value to a level-one mobile city.
At the same time, they sighed inwardly.
The Tomorrow’s advantage lay in holding the wild boss information.
After a moment’s thought, Li Jin was the first to nod in agreement.
Lei Jian hesitated.
His Conqueror was far stronger than the Azure and Tomorrow; joining the alliance meant more effort and sharing the best loot, which was somewhat disagreeable.
But he desperately needed Lava Spider Silk to craft a level-one item—not only the Lava Spider Queen but also the Spider Guardians and Lava Spiders dropped abundant silk.
If they succeeded, he might be able to gather 500 units at once.
In the end, he also nodded.
Li Ye smiled slightly.
The three parties reached an agreement.
The Tomorrow would take the level-two item. Since the Conqueror was stronger than the Azure, the remaining spoils would be split six to four, with all the Lava Spider Silk going to the Conqueror.
In terms of combat, only the Conqueror had level-one artillery, so it would lead the assault on the Lava Spider Queen, while the Azure and Tomorrow would handle the Lava Spiders and Spider Guardians.
To ensure trust, the three sides would exchange hostages until the battle was over.
Lei Jian’s hostage was his son, Li Ye’s was his deputy Old Zhou, and Li Jin’s was the physician who had saved him from death—who was actually his wife.
“I was planning to set off tomorrow,” Li Ye said. “But I see your mobile cities are still under repair…”
“That’s fine; we can expedite repairs tonight,” the two replied, waving their hands, their eyes burning with intensity. “This is a wild boss… we haven’t caught one in all these years.”