Earl Lanny's territory.
The headquarters of the Artisan Alliance's Gondor Branch.
There was only a resounding bang.
The blast furnace being used for forging exploded again.
Since yesterday, every forging furnace in the entire branch—
had been exploding uncontrollably.
The situation had nearly driven the branch leader of the Artisan Alliance to explode with rage.
"Impossible!"
"The blast furnace has been running for so many years. How could it just explode for no reason?"
"Go investigate! You must find out what happened!"
The enraged branch leader, Zhao Yu, roared.
Because just moments ago—
the bones of the Shadow Demon Wolf he had obtained with great difficulty had also been destroyed in the blast furnace explosion.
This was Orange-grade material.
Moreover, the explosion had injured the high-tier hero he had recruited.
That was something Zhao Yu could not tolerate.
Not long after he issued the order for a thorough investigation—
Wei Xu, the Deputy Alliance Leader, walked in.
"Alliance Leader."
"I just had an astrologer perform a divination."
"According to the results, you've been cursed."
"And it's an extremely powerful curse. The repeated explosions of the furnaces in our alliance are all related to it."
Upon hearing this—
Zhao Yu felt an unnamed fire flare up inside him.
"A curse!"
"Who? Which vicious beast cursed me?"
The thing forging lords feared most was curses.
Once cursed, even the slightest mistake during forging could turn the materials they had painstakingly gathered into a pile of furnace ash.
That was why many Artisan Alliance lords carried protective charms.
They were specially meant to defend against curses.
But Zhao Yu's protective charm had failed to activate this time.
This left him both terrified and furious.
He was terrified that his protective charm could not block the curse.
He was furious that his opponent had actually cursed him like this.
As long as the curse remained undispelled—
he would be unable to forge anything.
And if the leader of an Artisan Alliance could not forge equipment—
he was no different from a useless man.
By then, he might not even be able to hold on to his position as branch leader.
Hearing the fear mixed into Zhao Yu's furious voice—
Wei Xu, who had coveted the alliance leader's position for a long time, could not help feeling secretly delighted.
At the same time, he secretly congratulated himself.
Fortunately, he was not the one who had been targeted.
The person who had cast this curse was extremely powerful.
Even his astrologer could not find the other party's trail.
So in response to Zhao Yu's questioning, he could only cup his hands and say, "Alliance Leader, we can't find him. We can't even determine what kind of curse this is."
"My astrologer only told me that the opponent's strength far surpasses his."
"He can't dispel this curse either."
Hearing this, a chill rose in Zhao Yu's heart.
He knew about Wei Xu's astrologer.
It was a Purple Rare unit, capable of detecting and dispelling ordinary curses.
Moreover, Wei Xu had a rare Orange Weapon in his possession.
Even an Orange-grade curse could be dispelled.
Yet the curse Zhao Yu had fallen victim to could not be dispelled.
What did that mean?
It meant that the person who had cursed him was very likely an Orange Rare unit.
Or perhaps something even higher—Gold!
At the thought of this, Zhao Yu's body trembled.
"D-did we offend any high-level lords recently?"
Zhao Yu asked with a shudder.
Wei Xu pondered for a moment before shaking his head.
"Although we sell some low-level equipment, the quality is good. At most, the prices are a little high."
"If a customer comes to us with powerful backing, we always make up some of the difference. We basically haven't offended any high-level lords."
"Besides, we sell our goods through lords who handle distribution below us."
"Our Artisan Alliance doesn't get involved. Even if someone wanted to cause trouble, they wouldn't find their way to us."
"As for custom equipment, we've never cut corners. There's no reason for us to offend those high-level lords, and we wouldn't dare to."
After saying that, he paused before continuing.
"If we've offended anyone, it would only be a low-level lord yesterday."
"We put out a bounty for that Fang Yuan."
"But at most, he's only a level-two lord."
"How could he use such a powerful curse?"
"Even my astrologer can't dispel it."
Hearing this, Zhao Yu silently nodded.
He also did not believe that the low-level lord named Fang Yuan could curse him.
But if it wasn't him—
then who was it?
No matter how hard Zhao Yu thought, he could not figure out which powerful figure he had offended.
Just as despair began to fill his heart—
Wei Xu spoke up.
"Alliance Leader, why not use the Astrology Stone?"
"Let's try it and see if we can find him and ask him why he did this!"
"If we were in the wrong, we can compensate him."
When Zhao Yu heard the words "Astrology Stone," his heart trembled.
Its primary function was to predict the future.
Each one was worth ten million gold coins.
Even for a wealthy man like him, using one in a single sitting would hurt badly.
He would have to grit his teeth and live frugally for quite some time afterward.
"Is—is there really no other way?"
Wei Xu shook his head.
"Alliance Leader, ten million gold coins is a lot, but if you can't continue forging, then the losses will be—"
Hearing the unfinished sentence, Zhao Yu finally gritted his teeth.
"You're right!"
"Ten million gold coins hurts, but it's still bearable."
"But if this curse can't be dispelled, the loss won't just be money."
"Gold coins can be earned again. But if I can't forge anymore—"
"I'll be no different from a dead man in the Ten Thousand Realms Battlefield."
He took a deep breath, then opened the Artisan Alliance's internal alliance channel.
Using his branch leader's authority, he bought an Astrology Stone.
Purchases made through the alliance were visible to the other branch leaders.
At once, surprised shouts began appearing in the Artisan Alliance's branch leader channel.
"Holy crap, Zhao Yu, you're loaded! You actually bought an Astrology Stone. Are you planning to start a wilderness war?"
"6666. Zhao Yu's only been branch leader for a short while, and he's already starting a wilderness war."
"Ten million gold coins! Brother Yu, you're so rich!"
"Wait, isn't the Gondor Kingdom dealing with the Undead Calamity right now? Starting a wilderness war at a time like this—is he tired of living?"
"Hehe, classified information. Several furnaces in the Gondor Branch exploded. He must have offended some big shot."
"Whoa, that explains it."
"I was wondering why that miser Zhao Yu was willing to spend money on an Astrology Stone. So he offended someone he shouldn't have."
"Serves him right!"
Looking at the messages mocking him, Zhao Yu took a deep breath.
He gritted his teeth.
"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Just you wait..."
He immediately closed the chat channel.
Then he took out the Astrology Stone and handed it to Wei Xu.
"The future of our Gondor Branch rests entirely on you."
Wei Xu accepted the stone and nodded. At a time like this, they had to stand united against outsiders.
He did not dare make any underhanded moves. If the opponent was not targeting Zhao Yu alone—
then after killing Zhao Yu, he would definitely be next.
Wei Xu was no fool. He knew when to compete and when to unite against an outside enemy.
Soon, Wei Xu handed the Astrology Stone to his astrologer hero.
As the magical energy of astrology poured into it—
very quickly!
The curse on Zhao Yu began to reveal itself.
A moment later, the astrologer abruptly opened his eyes.
"I found him!"
"Lord, now use the power of the curse to speak with him."
Hearing this, Zhao Yu's expression grew complicated. He wished he could strangle the other party.
But thinking of his future—
Zhao Yu took a deep breath.
Then he spoke into the air.
"Big shot, I'm Zhao Yu, the leader of the Artisan Alliance's Gondor Branch."
"I don't know where I offended you to make you personally cast a curse on me."
"Could you please give me a chance and let your junior off?"
"If you have any demands, please tell me."
"Even if I have to go bankrupt, I, Zhao Yu, will accomplish it for you."
"I only ask that you dispel the curse!"
After speaking, Zhao Yu began waiting quietly.
Waiting for the other party's reply.
At the same time—
in the Lord's Hall of Wasteland Territory—
Fang Yuan listened to Zhao Yu's voice transmitted through the Earthbound Spirit.
A hint of excitement appeared on his face.
"Something this good actually happened?"
"Isn't this a fat sheep delivering itself to my door?"
"I have complete control of the initiative."
"I can manipulate him however I want."
But Fang Yuan soon calmed down.
"No. If I make the demands too excessive, he might flip the table."
"It's best to take small amounts several times, gradually crossing his bottom line."
"Then, as his sunk costs increase, I'll tighten my grip on him."
"Compared to killing him in one strike, wouldn't this method of squeezing him for revenge be much more satisfying?"
For someone like this, a word suddenly sprang into Fang Yuan's mind.
Before you continue