It Was Actually Him!!!

"What should I ask him for the first time?"

"Orange Equipment?"

Fang Yuan shook his head.

Equipment in the Ten Thousand Realms Battlefield was divided into universal equipment and exclusive equipment.

Universal equipment, simply put, could be used by all heroes.

Most of it dropped from wild monsters, and its attributes were generally not very good.

Exclusive equipment, on the other hand, had to be custom-made specifically for a hero.

The other party was from the Artisan Alliance. If Fang Yuan wanted Orange Equipment, he would definitely need them to forge exclusive equipment.

But he could not possibly show them the Gold and Orange Heroes under his command.

Besides, the other party was only a branch of the Artisan Alliance.

To be honest, their financial and material resources were limited.

Even if they forged exclusive equipment, it would not be all that powerful.

After all, successfully forging high-tier exclusive Orange Equipment depended on luck.

So asking for equipment was not worthwhile.

Moreover, with only two Hero Units at the moment, neither of them had yet reached a bottleneck in their own combat strength.

They had little need for low-tier equipment.

It would be better to ask for more source crystals to raise their levels.

Lilith gained 500 spell power, 5,000 health, and 5,000 mana per level. Wasn't that stronger than ordinary Orange Equipment?

Besides!

He was still in the beginner period. The most urgent task was to take advantage of the lack of cooldowns on upgrades during this period and quickly raise his main city's level—at the very least to Level 5—while building a main force of no fewer than three thousand troops.

But given the current situation, completing that goal was not very realistic.

His saved funds could at most raise the main city to Level 5.

As for the main force afterward, he would probably have to wait until the beginner period ended to build it.

But if he could strip Zhao Yu of a layer of skin now—

And obtain Orange Building Cards, gold coins, resources, and source crystals—

Then he would have enough funds to accomplish this goal.

Perhaps even!

He could raise the main city's level even further.

Level 6 should not be a problem.

If he squeezed hard enough, Level 7 was not impossible.

If he sucked him dry, Level 8 might even be within reach!

At that thought, a greedy gleam flashed in Fang Yuan's eyes.

"Then I'll ask for these!"

Fang Yuan quickly made his decision, then opened his Lord's Mark.

Instead of contacting the other party, he took out a calculator.

He began calculating how much would be appropriate to ask for the first time.

Name: Wilderness Territory

Level: 4

Faction: Human

Power: Gondor Dynasty

Identity: Northern Frontier Lord

Durability: 20000

Prosperity: 19100/30000

Population: 5700/6000

Building Slots: 7/25

Castle Buildings: Hero Altar, Hunter Camp, Wolf Hunter Camp, Flame Mage Camp, Glimmering Magic Tower, Barbarian Axe Thrower Camp, Mercenary Hall.

Power Value: 200

Resource Territory: Stone Spring Village (LV4, +150,000 gold coins and resources/day, +40 Purple Mobilization Orders (Tier 1)/day)

War Territory: 0

Miracle Territory: 0

Upgrade Requirements: 100,000 units of gold, 100,000 units of stone, 100,000 units of lumber, 100,000 units of food, 100,000 units of ore, Prosperity reaching 30,000 points, and occupation of at least one White Resource Territory.

"The main difficulty in upgrading the main city to Level 5 is still the Prosperity requirement."

"I'm still 10,900 Prosperity short of 30,000."

"In theory, once I take the War Territory outpost in the Northeast Direction, my Prosperity should be about enough."

"But that's only my guess."

"Before considering victory, consider defeat."

"So for now, I won't count the outpost. If a single Orange Building upgraded to Level 4 provides 4,000 Prosperity..."

"That means I'll need at least three Orange Buildings."

After reaching that conclusion, Fang Yuan lowered his head and pondered.

"To upgrade the main city, I can't just ask for Orange Building Cards. I'll also need gold and resources."

"Even if I don't ask for too much the first time, I'll still need one million gold and resources."

"If I add three Orange Building Cards on top of that, would it be a bit too much?"

"Would I be squeezing them too hard on the first go?"

Fang Yuan fell into hesitation.

After all, what he wanted was sustainable development. He could not squeeze them dry in one go.

If he exceeded what they could bear, then when he needed something later, he would have nowhere to find such a useful target to exploit.

"Then I'll reduce it by one Orange Building Card."

Fang Yuan steeled himself and said through gritted teeth.

"I'll take the outpost anyway."

"Even if the outpost is Purple Quality, the Prosperity it provides will be enough."

"Ugh, this feels like I'm losing so much money."

Fang Yuan's heart ached.

"But I'll count it as accounts receivable. There'll be plenty of chances to collect it later."

Having worked that out, Fang Yuan stopped dwelling on it.

He then began relaying his demands through the Earthbound Spirit.

Meanwhile, within the territory of the Artisan Alliance's branch alliance.

Zhao Yu waited anxiously for a reply.

"Wei Xu, it's been so long. Could it be that they didn't accept?"

The Deputy Alliance Leader beside him was also extremely nervous.

The Astrology Stone did not last indefinitely.

If they failed to receive a reply before the time ran out—

then the tens of millions of gold would go down the drain.

Based on what he knew of Zhao Yu, if Zhao Yu learned that the curse could not be dispelled and that his future was hopeless—

he feared Zhao Yu might do something reckless regardless of the consequences.

If that implicated him as well, it would be far too unfair.

So when he heard Zhao Yu's question—

although Wei Xu was equally unsettled inside—

he could only say, "Alliance Leader, don't worry. Perhaps something has delayed them."

Just as he finished speaking—

the Astrologer hero beside them spoke up.

"It's here!"

"They replied!"

Fang Yuan's voice immediately came through.

Hope lit up in Zhao Yu's eyes.

But that light soon dimmed.

A bitter smile appeared on Zhao Yu's face.

"Two Orange Building Cards, one million gold, and resources."

"That's not a low price!"

Wei Xu, on the other hand, let out a sigh of relief.

Although the price was harsh, as far as he knew—

Zhao Yu wasn't unable to afford it.

This price was exactly at the limit of what Zhao Yu could bear.

Even one more coin might make him explode.

At this moment, Wei Xu looked at the conflicted Zhao Yu beside him.

Kindly, he said, "Alliance Leader, there isn't much time left."

"Once the Astrology Stone runs out, we won't be able to find him anymore."

"We should make a decision quickly."

These words snapped Zhao Yu out of his indecision.

He let out a sigh.

"I've been completely played."

"The other party must be an acquaintance. They know my assets inside out."

"Damn it!"

"They must have been eyeing the Orange Building Cards I worked so hard to collect."

"Don't let me find you, or else—"

Just as Zhao Yu was about to make a harsh threat, he immediately deflated again.

"Forget it."

He then quickly took out a contract and sent a message through the curse.

"Sign the contract, lift my curse, and promise not to place any more curses on me. Then I'll give you the items."

"I'll place the contract on the Spatial Trading platform as an anonymous trade."

"You provide the trading shop and password."

After the message was sent—

Fang Yuan merely sneered.

"A contract!"

"So what if I sign it? I'm not the one who cast the curse. The Earthbound Spirit is."

"Although the Earthbound Spirit is in my territory, my relationship with it is still one of trade."

"To me, this thing is merely a quest item. In essence, the Earthbound Spirit is an independent entity."

"As for it casting curses, that has nothing to do with me."

"This is the biggest loophole—and one only I know about. A loophole the other side doesn't know exists."

"The contract can bind me, but it can't bind the Earthbound Spirit."

"So even if I sign it, it'll be completely useless!"

"If I need to, I can still keep exploiting Zhao Yu in the future."

With that in mind, Fang Yuan swiftly set up an anonymous shop and password on the Spatial Trading platform.

He selected a designated trade recipient.

Then, he had the Earthbound Spirit pass that information to Zhao Yu.

Very soon, Zhao Yu placed the contract in the shop.

After examining it carefully, Fang Yuan discovered that the contract only restricted him from personally placing any form of curse on Zhao Yu.

It did not even mention an independent creature like the Earthbound Spirit.

Fang Yuan readily signed his name. Although the other party would learn it was him once he signed—

Fang Yuan was not worried at all.

So what if Zhao Yu found out?

He could keep putting bounties on him.

Heh, that was perfect.

Then Fang Yuan wouldn't need to hold back either!

Next time, he would hit harder.

He would let Zhao Yu understand what it meant to act without fear!!!

As Fang Yuan signed his name—

The contract immediately took effect.

Fang Yuan promptly received a notification.

"Ding, contract activated. You have obtained 1,000,000 gold coins, resources, and Orange Building Card*2 from Zhao Yu."

Fang Yuan's face lit up with delight when he heard it.

"What a profit! Sure enough, if you want to get rich, ill-gotten gains are the way to go!"

"Let's see what these two Orange Building Cards are first!"

Just as Fang Yuan received the items.

Inside a branch of the Artisan Alliance.

Zhao Yu also heard the notification that the contract had taken effect.

And when he heard the name of the contracting party.

A trace of fear appeared on Zhao Yu's face.

"It really was him!"

Wei Xu, standing beside him, asked in surprise.

"Who?"

Zhao Yu took a deep breath and slowly uttered two words.

"Fang Yuan!"

Wei Xu's face instantly drained of color as well.

"What!!!"

"How is that possible!!!"