Chapter 2448  Dealing With It

From a distance, Fang Heng transformed into a bat and sped towards the Frost Fortress, where he joined Li Shaoqiang and Tan Shuo outside.

“How’s the situation?”

“It’s grim,” Li Shaoqiang replied with bad news right away. “City Lord Hornlow has already learned about the crisis in Punoze. He still insists on preventing players from entering the depths of Frost Hell, and he shows no intention of holding the line with the major factions. It seems he’s preparing to deal with the Holy Realm on his own.”

Is that so…

Fang Heng rubbed his chin, finding it somewhat unusual.

Shouldn’t they be uniting all forces to counter the Holy Realm?

“It’s as they say, but I don’t think City Lord Hornlow is as straightforward as he appears. There might be other plans in place,” Tan Shuo remarked, glancing at Fang Heng. “Mr. Fang, do you have any new updates?”

“Hmm, from what I know, the Holy Realm has managed to acquire two holy weapons. One is intended for dealing with the Frostbone Dragon, and the other is meant for invading Frost Hell.”

Fang Heng paused for a moment before adding, “Also, the Holy Realm’s target in Punoze this time is me, so they’ll definitely come after me.”

This was troublesome.

Li Shaoqiang and Tan Shuo exchanged glances, silent and puzzled.

It was strange and perplexing—what had Fang Heng done to offend the Holy Court so severely that the Holy Realm was willing to go to such lengths to deal with him?

Unfortunately, there was no choice but to take things one step at a time.

“Let’s go and inquire about the situation with City Lord Hornlow,” Tan Shuo said.

In fact, Li Shaoqiang and Tan Shuo had just attempted to visit City Lord Hornlow earlier. The guards at the entrance had informed them that the City Lord was not seeing anyone and had even advised them to leave to avoid any trouble.

This time, with Fang Heng leading the way personally, the reception was noticeably different.

Upon seeing Fang Heng, the guards promptly escorted him into the fortress to meet the City Lord.

City Lord Hornlow and Fang Heng were old friends.

Initially, Fang Heng had helped find Hornlow’s family emblem. Later, while Fang Heng had stayed in Frost Hell to cultivate necromancy, Hornlow had offered assistance, and Fang Heng had also completed several related missions for Frost Fortress, becoming quite familiar with him.

The three of them were guided into the lounge.

When they first saw City Lord Hornlow, he was reclining in a lounge chair, reading a book, and appeared quite relaxed.

This sight gave Li Shaoqiang a glimmer of hope.

Was the City Lord so calm even with the Holy Realm at their doorstep?

Perhaps he had some kind of backup plan?

“Fang Heng? You haven’t left yet?” City Lord Hornlow was somewhat surprised to see Fang Heng. He set aside his book and shook his head. “I thought you had already left Punoze. Why haven’t you gone?”

The seal the Holy Realm had placed on Punoze affected most players, and Hornlow thought that, given Fang Heng’s expertise in spatial science, finding a way to leave wouldn’t be difficult for him.

Fang Heng smiled and replied, “City Lord, you haven’t left either.”

“I’m different.”

City Lord Hornlow waved his hand dismissively and said, “For generations, the Hornlow family has been entrusted with the responsibility of guarding Frost Hell. If I were to leave, what would become of Frost Hell?”

“Word is that you’ve refused help from players and major factions. Are you planning to take this on alone? Protecting Frost Hell by yourself?”

“The disparity in strength between us and the Holy Realm is immense. If they truly come for Frost Hell, we certainly won’t be able to withstand them, even with the addition of players and other factions.”

“The more people there are, the more sacrifices there will be. It’s not necessary.”

“If unrelated parties disperse, Frost Hell will be less conspicuous. It might even survive until the undead faction regains its composure and can offer assistance in a few days.”

City Lord Hornlow had a clear understanding of the situation and revealed his plan to Fang Heng without reservation.

It was clear they couldn’t win, and they weren’t even trying to.

“If the Holy Realm’s target is Frost Hell, then I will lead my subordinates and personal guards to retreat into the depths of Frost Hell. Given our knowledge of the area, our limit would be to reach the shady line domain.”

“And if the Holy Court continues to pursue…”

City Lord Hornlow’s eyes flashed with a glint of murderous intent.

“I will break all the seals in Frost Hell to protect it. At that time, even the Holy Realm will suffer significantly.”

Fang Heng and the others fell silent.

This was serious—City Lord Hornlow was prepared to go down in flames.

If things went as planned, Hornlow would surely die in Frost Hell, while the Holy Realm might not. City Lord Hornlow had clearly resolved himself to a death-or-glory scenario.

In this case, there was indeed no need for assistance from other players or factions. For Hornlow, they would only be a burden.

Expelling the players and factions was, in fact, a form of protection for them. As for the scathing comments from players, Hornlow had never cared.

Li Shaoqiang couldn’t help but admire Hornlow’s sense of duty.

Fang Heng shrugged and said, “You don’t need to be so pessimistic. Perhaps we still have a fighting chance?”

Hornlow looked at Fang Heng with curiosity, “Hmm? What do you mean?”

“I’ve confirmed that the Holy Realm is on its way to Frost Hell, and their target is only me. I have a way to deal with the Holy Realm, but I’ll need your help.”

“Their target is you?”

Hornlow was surprised, disbelief flashing in his eyes.

The Holy Realm had expended immense effort to enter Punoze, which would disrupt the balance between the undead and the Holy Court. The undead faction had already been highly dissatisfied with the Holy Court for years, held in check only by the upper echelons of the Central Council.

Now, with the Holy Court’s proactive attack on Punoze, even the Central Council might not be able to contain the fallout. Unless the Holy Court was willing to make concessions to calm the undead faction’s resentment.

And all this effort from the Holy Court was just for Fang Heng?

Hornlow asked, “What exactly did you do to the Holy Court?”

“Well… quite a lot.”

Fang Heng shrugged.

For example, the Saintess Viona, the demonic seed, and destroying one of the Holy Court’s advanced game worlds…

“Alright, I suppose you’re not afraid of me kicking you out,” Hornlow said. “So do you have a better suggestion?”

“Your plan was perfect, but unfortunately, the Holy Realm’s target is me. So the bait can only be me this time,” Fang Heng shrugged. “Sorry, City Lord, but it seems the chance to be a hero can’t be given to you this time.”

“Ha,” Hornlow smiled, “As if anyone wanted that chance.”