Chapter 63: Activate, Snow White

Turning his head, Gu Ning saw Licoelle standing on her wooden ship, eyes wide as she looked at him.

Gu Ning smiled and said, "Licoelle, I really have to thank you this time. I'm riding on your coattails—otherwise, there's no way I'd have gotten such a good position."

He meant what he said. He truly appreciated her help. Without Licoelle's item, he would've ended up near the back, which would've impacted his gains.

Licoelle smiled slyly, her eyes gleaming with mischief. "Then how about this—we split the loot from killing the Demon Domain lords fifty-fifty?"

Gu Ning chuckled and replied, "Don't worry, I won't let you walk away empty-handed."

He brushed it off lightly.

Of course, there was no way he'd agree to an even split. He'd already scanned the people on Licoelle's deck—not only were there fewer powerful members compared to his own team, their overall strength was clearly lacking.

He wasn't about to do a losing trade. Later, he'd just toss her a few items he didn't care about to settle the debt and call it even.

Hearing his vague response, Licoelle pouted slightly.

She had expected that Gu Ning wouldn't agree to her request, but she at least thought he'd offer something more concrete—not just a polite brush-off.

"Tch! So stingy!" Licoelle huffed. "Hey, did you cheat or something? How do you have so many high-quality units?"

She was genuinely suspicious. Earlier, when she blurted out that Gu Ning was a monster, it was because she was so shocked by what she saw—she hadn't even managed to contain her reaction.

Anyone would be stunned after seeing a tower ship, two legendary heroes, and a golden pet.

And that was with Gu Ning still hiding some of his strength—Xiaolan was lurking underwater, and Darkmoon was concealed in his shadow.

"How could I cheat?" Gu Ning shot her a look. "With the Mother of Heaven watching everything, who could possibly cheat under her nose? I just got lucky."

To be fair, that last sentence was from the heart—Gu Ning genuinely believed he'd gotten this far thanks to luck.

He'd started with nothing but a plank. If not for the Mother of Heaven's compensation, he wouldn't be where he was now.

Licoelle believed him. Her earlier comment had just come from a moment of envy.

At that moment, another wooden ship appeared next to Licoelle's. It looked like another level-6 vessel.

Both Gu Ning and Licoelle turned to look.

"Bai Xue! You're a little late," Licoelle called.

"Got held up by something," Bai Xue replied calmly.

"You're not mad that I brought another ally without asking you, right?" Licoelle turned to Gu Ning, making an exaggeratedly pitiful face.

She had planned to tell Gu Ning in advance, but she was worried he'd object to bringing in someone else, so she'd decided to keep it quiet.

Now she was a bit nervous about how Gu Ning would take it.

Was Gu Ning upset?

Of course, he was!

Not telling him and making decisions on her own—frankly, she was acting like she was in charge of the alliance.

It rubbed Gu Ning the wrong way.

Still, he didn't show it. The mission came first—killing Demon Domain lords and maximizing gains. Everything else could wait.

But in his mind, he'd already decided: if they ever cooperated again, he'd keep a tighter grip on things.

This girl was definitely not the honest type.

"No worries—an extra hand is an extra help," Gu Ning said with a smile.

But Licoelle's heart sank at his response.

If Gu Ning had shown displeasure outright, it would've been easier. But this calm, smiling reply? That meant he was really annoyed—and the damage was already done.

Still, now wasn't the time to resolve it. Licoelle pretended not to notice and told herself she'd find a way to patch things up later.

"Come aboard my ship first!" she offered. "Let me introduce Bai Xue. It's good for us all to get familiar with each other."

Gu Ning glanced at the barrier ahead. It looked like the battle wouldn't begin until it dropped.

So he picked up Huohuo and stepped onto the plank Licoelle had laid between the two ships, heading toward her vessel.

He wasn't worried. First, he trusted that Licoelle wouldn't try anything—they were bound by mutual interests right now.

Second, he still had Darkmoon by his side.

Once on deck, Gu Ning sat down on a wooden stool and glanced at the fruits and drinks on the table, but didn't touch anything.

Licoelle gestured and said, "This is Bai Xue. I know her well—she's trustworthy."

Gu Ning nodded politely and sized up the newcomer.

Bai Xue wore a white dress and had long black hair. At first glance, she gave off a sense of strength and resilience.

Clearly a tough one.

Licoelle turned to Bai Xue and said, "You already know who this is, right?"

Bai Xue smiled slightly. "Of course. He's the pride of our Zhou Nation—I know who he is."

She held out her hand. "I hope we'll have many chances to work together in the future."

Gu Ning was a bit surprised by her warmth, but didn't reject it. He shook her hand briefly before letting go.

From the flicker of surprise in her eyes, he could guess what she was thinking.

She probably assumed he was a gentleman for not trying to take advantage.

Gu Ning smirked inwardly.

Of course he wouldn't make a move—not when he had Windsor and Darkmoon by his side.

Even if he didn't, he wouldn't cross that line with other lords. Their relationship was strictly professional.

"I'll go first with introductions," Licoelle said. "I'm an archer. My talent is Eagle Eye, which helps me lock onto enemies more accurately."

She then introduced her hero, Gru.

After she finished, Bai Xue followed up: "I'm a wood elementalist. I can control plants. My talent is Wood Affinity."

"That means I get amplified results when using wood-element skills—more power, less cost."

"But in naval battles, I'm at a disadvantage. I can only use Wood Shield and Wood Arrow here."

"My hero is a Legendary berserker. He's level 5, and all of his skills are melee-based."

Gu Ning looked at her with surprise. He hadn't expected her to have a legendary hero—especially a berserker.

He still remembered the berserker Jessini he'd once faced—the impression was deep.