Three-City Alliance

Li Ye froze for a moment, then waved a hand.

"It's fine."

Given Tomorrow's current benefits and conditions, it might not even be able to recruit an experienced gunner. Finding someone who had completed an internship was already pretty good.

More importantly, a gunner trained from the ground up would feel a stronger sense of belonging toward the Mobile City he served.

"Is it really okay?" Ning Wen asked cautiously. "Out in the wild, artillery is very important to a Mobile City, right? I'm afraid I won't perform well when the time comes."

Li Ye smiled and patted his shoulder, telling him not to worry.

Then he quickly thought of something else and spoke again.

"By the way, why are you willing to join a Mobile City?"

Ning Wen thought about it before answering.

"Me? Life in the fortress is actually pretty good. Every day, I wake up without having to worry about danger like I would in the wild, and the food and drink are good too."

As he spoke, he scratched his head awkwardly.

"But I think young people should always go out and see the world."

Li Ye nodded.

"Oh, I should also tell you this. Tomorrow currently has very little Freshwater available each day, and our food consists only of potatoes and buns."

Ning Wen smiled and waved a hand.

"It's fine."

On the way back with Ning Wen, Li Ye saw something unexpected.

The massive gates slowly opened, and a Mobile City drove in—it was Azure, the one he had traded with before.

Like Conqueror, Azure began unloading supplies for trade at the market as soon as it entered, while also starting repairs and troubleshooting.

Li Ye was rather surprised. He had not expected Azure to be a partner of Roland Fortress as well.

So he walked over and briefly greeted Li Jin, Azure's lord.

"Your Falcon Assault Rifles are really useful. Killing monsters is easy with them," Li Jin said.

Li Ye nodded, then let out a melancholy sigh.

When he came to Roland Fortress, he had considered manufacturing Falcon Assault Rifles for it. But Roland Fortress already had Level 1 Firearms.

After returning to Tomorrow, Li Ye first had Old Zhou arrange a room for the newly arrived Ning Wen and told him to pick several pieces from the newly purchased furniture to put inside.

As a newly recruited gunner, Ning Wen enjoyed the same technical-talent benefits as Tang Fang and Lin Wu.

Upon learning that Ning Wen was the new gunner, Old Zhou excitedly patted his shoulder and gave him a firm hug, which instead made Ning Wen a little embarrassed.

After settling those matters, Li Ye went to Tomorrow's railing and looked toward Conqueror and Azure within the fortress.

Only in a neutral place like Roland Fortress could three Mobile Cities remain peacefully together.

At the same time, he began considering whether to sell them the information that the Lava Spider Queen had appeared in Fire Feather Forest.

But on further thought, Azure had only just recovered from its failed attack on Gross Mine and would never take such a risk. As for Conqueror, although it was quite powerful, taking on a Wild BOSS would still be difficult.

Just then, someone spoke behind him.

"Are you thinking about whether to sell the information on that Wild BOSS?"

Li Ye turned around and saw that it was Lin Wu.

"If you have any good ideas, feel free to tell me," he said.

Lin Wu nodded and signaled for Xiao Yao behind him to push him over to Li Ye.

"Wild BOSSes drop abundant resources. Most importantly, they drop a Level 2 Item, which would be a considerable upgrade for a Level 1 City. But correspondingly, a newly established Level 1 City like Tomorrow cannot challenge one."

As he spoke, he looked toward the two Mobile Cities.

"But what if we bring them into an alliance as well? Wouldn't our chances of victory increase considerably?"

"We possess the information on this Wild BOSS and are the ones initiating the alliance, so we hold the initiative and the right to distribute the spoils."

Li Ye's eyes lit up upon hearing that.

Lin Wu's suggestion had indeed given him a reminder.

For Azure's lord, that weakened Mobile City had no ability to challenge a Wild BOSS on its own, while a three-city alliance gave it an opportunity. It was therefore highly likely to agree.

As for Conqueror's lord, Li Ye happened to know that he urgently needed Lava Spider Silk, so he would likely agree as well.

As for Li Ye, he only wanted the Level 2 Item dropped by the Wild BOSS. The remaining spoils could all be divided between the other two.

Half an hour later.

The three lords—Li Ye, Li Jin, and Lei Jian—met.

Upon learning that the Lava Spider Queen, a Wild BOSS, had been sighted, Li Jin and Lei Jian were shocked, before fervor appeared in their eyes.

After all, they both knew that Wild BOSSes had abundant drops.

Li Ye then stated his intentions.

The three Mobile Cities would form an alliance and attack the Lava Spider Queen together. Tomorrow only wanted the Level 2 Item it dropped, while Conqueror and Azure would split the remaining spoils.

Li Jin and Lei Jian's mouths immediately twitched.

Only the Level 2 Item? Li Ye made it sound easy, but everyone knew the value of a Level 2 Item to a Level 1 Mobile City.

At the same time, they secretly sighed to themselves.

After all, Tomorrow possessed information on the Wild BOSS. That was its advantage.

After pondering for a moment, Li Jin was the first to nod in agreement.

Lei Jian, however, fell into hesitation.

His Conqueror was far stronger than Azure and Tomorrow. Forming an alliance with them meant he would have to contribute more and do more work, while the best spoils would still be taken away. It was truly unpleasant.

But he currently desperately needed Lava Spider Silk to craft that Level 1 Item—Lava Spiders, Spider Guards, and the Lava Spider Queen all dropped large amounts of Lava Spider Silk.

If they could take it down, they might be able to gather 500 units in one go.

In the end, he nodded as well.

Li Ye smiled faintly.

The three parties finally reached an agreement.

Tomorrow would take the Level 2 Item. Since Conqueror was stronger than Azure, they would split the remaining spoils sixty-forty, and all dropped Lava Spider Silk would belong to Conqueror.

As for the battle, since only Conqueror possessed Level 1 Artillery, it would be responsible for the main assault on the Lava Spider Queen. Azure and Tomorrow would handle the horde of Lava Spiders and Spider Guards.

To ensure that everyone kept their word, the three sides needed to exchange hostages, who would only be returned after the battle ended.

Lei Jian handed over his son as a hostage, Li Ye handed over his deputy Old Zhou, while Li Jin handed over the doctor who had pulled him back from death's door—who was actually his wife.

"I originally planned to set out tomorrow," Li Ye replied. "But your Mobile Cities are still undergoing repairs."

"That's no problem. We can rush the work and finish it tonight." The two waved their hands, blazing light appearing in their eyes. "This is a Wild BOSS. We haven't caught one even once in all these years."