Chapter 114: New Territory, Base 2 Established

Chapter 114: New Territory, Base 2 Established

After the battle, Su Nan took stock of his golem army. The surprise attack had gone smoother than expected, so the losses were relatively minimal.

Only one Iron Golem, three Elite Stone Golems, 325 Stone Golems, and four Blade Spiders were completely destroyed beyond repair. The remaining golems and Blade Spiders had sustained various injuries, but the minor ones could self-repair, while the more seriously injured ones could be fixed back at the base. It wasn't a significant issue.

In fact, if the Lamia hadn't mobilized out of the city, the losses would have been at least double in a typical surprise attack.

This outcome was already quite favorable.

Su Nan stored the damaged golems in his cube and left the rest to guard the island. Then, he and Carolina walked into the city. The war was over, and now it was time to inspect his new territory. This was the first true territory that Su Nan could call his own.

Unlike the last time when he had to sneak in, this time he entered through the city gates openly, able to leisurely observe the city's architecture. However, the buildings in the lower district were mostly low and shabby, not much to look at.

It wasn't until he entered the upper district that the buildings began to align neatly, taking on a more artistic style—practicality over aesthetics, a common theme in the underground world.

The city's residents, seeing Carolina, a Lamia noble, following a human with a respectful demeanor, stared in shock and disbelief. No one dared to approach and ask questions.

Su Nan glanced at Carolina, realizing that the Lamia nobles had a high standing here.

Ignoring the stares, he walked straight toward the central stone pillar. Inside, the environment was far more luxurious than outside, with an excessive number of rooms.

Living rooms, dining rooms, living halls, bathrooms, kitchens, common rest areas, meeting halls, and more were all present.

Such a large space was occupied by only three nobles and their slaves. The life of a Lamia noble was indeed more luxurious than that of most human nobles.

"These rooms could be converted into laboratories and alchemy rooms," Su Nan thought to himself.

The spacious interior of the stone pillar could easily be transformed into another base. He would likely spend a lot of time in the underground world, and having a place for study and cultivation would be incredibly convenient.

Ideally, he would establish another magic plant garden, workshop, and puppet factory here.

After a quick tour, Su Nan had a rough plan in mind. He then asked without turning around, "Where is the storage room?"

"It's in the basement," Carolina replied.

"Lead the way."

Guided by Carolina, Su Nan soon arrived at a warehouse. Inside, he saw mountains of gold coins, chests of gems, and various metals.

"Lord, here is the inventory list," Carolina said, handing him a list.

Since entering the city, the Lamia noble had quickly adjusted her mindset, accepting her slave status and beginning to curry favor with Su Nan.

Su Nan took the list and scanned it carefully. From Carolina, he learned that this city-state was called Dark Lake. Due to the presence of many dwarves, Dark Lake had advanced mining and smelting techniques. They mined from nearby veins and traded food and other necessities with other city-states. They could also smelt metals and mint their own gold coins.

The gold coins in the storage were minted by Dark Lake, with the front featuring the image of a Lamia noble and the back showing two crossed scimitars, a distinctly Lamia style. Because of their high gold content, Dark Lake's gold coins were popular in neighboring city-states.

However, to use them on the surface, these coins would need to be melted down and reminted.

Su Nan picked up a gold coin and weighed it, feeling reassured. These coins, converted to surface value, were worth about 50,000 gold coins—no small sum.

Additionally, there were 236 mid-to-low-grade gems, five high-grade gems, and over a hundred types of rare metals.

What delighted Su Nan was finding Abyssal Black Copper, Rainbow Iron, and Sunfire Gold Sand among the rare metals.

Estimating the quantities, combined with what he already had, he had enough to create special nutrients to make his eight Gem Bugs split once.

"Indeed, the underground world is easier for collecting various rare metals," Su Nan mused.

The list also included twelve micro soul crystals.

This was indeed unexpected.

In his memory, the Lamia were not known for their expertise in extracting souls to create crystals.

"Where did these soul crystals come from?" Su Nan asked.

Carolina replied, "They were traded with Orson. The Black Duke and his subordinates are very skilled at creating soul crystals."

"Black Duke?" Su Nan raised an eyebrow. "Tell me more."

Carolina quickly explained.

From her account, Su Nan finally had a rough understanding of the surrounding area where Dark Lake was located.

There were three city-states around Dark Lake: Orson, Matu, and Kasham.

Orson was ruled by a group of wraiths, with the city lord being the Black Duke, a Frost Wraith.

Matu was ruled by a group of vampires, with the city lord known as the Red Widow.

As for Kasham, it was more like a bug nest than a city-state.

It was filled with nothing but insects, with other races existing only as food reserves.

In summary, Dark Lake, Orson, and Matu had trade relations and occasionally clashed over resource distribution. However, when it came to facing Kasham, they would unite against the common threat.

Kasham's insects were zealously expansionist, attacking the other city-states periodically. Each time, the three city-states would unite to inflict heavy losses on the insects, which would then retreat to lick their wounds. Once they recovered, they would launch another invasion, and the cycle would repeat.

This pattern had been repeated countless times over the years.

"Haven't you considered completely eliminating Kasham as a threat?"

Carolina chuckled bitterly. "We have, but Kasham's tunnels are extensive and the terrain is extremely complex. While it's easier to deal with the insects outside, once we enter Kasham, we often get lost, and our forces are unable to maneuver effectively. We always return defeated, and over time, no one is willing to attack Kasham anymore."

These insects were indeed a tough problem to solve.

Su Nan pondered for a moment and then asked, "When is the next attack from Kasham expected?"

Carolina hesitated before answering, "Based on past experiences, it should be in two to three years."

Su Nan nodded. That was acceptable; he had enough time to prepare.

After some consideration, Su Nan decided to leave the gold coins behind, as they could be used for future trade with other city-states.

However, the collected gold ore would need to be transported to the surface at Base 1.

As for the remaining gems and rare metals, Su Nan took them all without hesitation.

"Give me five days to handle the aftermath of the war. I want to see a stable Dark Lake City."

Before leaving, Su Nan left one final instruction.

Carolina quickly replied, "Yes, Master."

Watching Su Nan's figure disappear, Carolina approached the window and gazed down at the scenery below, her expression shifting. Ultimately, she let out a deep sigh.

At this point, there was no choice but to accept it.

The only consolation was that being a slave to a powerful wizard wasn't the worst fate.

Back in Flash City, Su Nan first met with Koy and informed him about the conquest of Dark Lake City.

Upon hearing that the Lamia threat had been eliminated, Koy was overjoyed and finally relaxed.

"Another problem solved."

Su Nan raised an eyebrow. "Your tone suggests there are other issues?"

Koy shook his head and sighed. "The Spark Church must have fed the Grand Duke some sweet talk. Just a few days ago, the Grand Duke issued a decree that all nobles must follow the Spark Church. This has caused a significant uproar, and many nobles are resistant to the decree."

"Is that so?" Su Nan was genuinely surprised.

This was even more controversial than the previous demand for the provinces to allow the Spark Church to spread their faith freely.

What kind of benefit could the Spark Church have offered to the Grand Duke of the Starlight Duchy to make him issue such a foolish decree?

After a moment's thought, Su Nan had a hunch.

With the Grand Duke's status, what had he not enjoyed?

The only thing that could make him take such a drastic step was likely longevity.

The Spark Church possessed divine blood, and it wasn't surprising that they could extend one's lifespan.

However, based on Su Nan's knowledge, the methods the divine realm used to extend life often came with a mental and willful erosion.

While gaining a longer life, one would often lose a part of their self, becoming a loyal follower of the deity.

If the Spark Church was indeed using such a method, it wouldn't be long before the Grand Duke of the Starlight Duchy became a puppet under their control.

The Starlight Duchy would likely face significant turmoil.

Su Nan shared his suspicions with Koy.

Koy's expression shifted, and it was hard to tell what he was thinking.

Su Nan didn't press the matter, patting Koy on the shoulder before turning to leave.

After returning to the base, Su Nan immediately used the Abyssal Black Copper and other rare metals to prepare the necessary nutrients for the Gem Bugs.

"In about three days, the Gem Bugs should split and increase to six."

"Using the remaining five portions of nutrients, I can feed them at intervals, increasing the swarm to eleven."

Su Nan felt a surge of joy.

The spoils of this war were truly bountiful. The gains so far were more than enough to cover the costs of crafting the golems and Blade Spiders before the battle—especially since the losses were minimal, making the rest pure profit.

And there were still more to come. The seven nearby mines around Dark Lake City were waiting to be developed.

"Developing all seven mines will require a large number of Clay Golems and mining equipment."

"The Clay Golems can be assigned as tasks for the students at the base to craft."

"The mining equipment can be prepared with Koy's help."

"These are relatively easy to solve. The key is the garrison forces."

The underground world was teeming with monsters, and any tunnel or cave could be home to one. Therefore, all mines needed to be guarded by troops.

Not to mention Orson and Matu. According to Carolina, these two city-states had frequently raided Dark Lake's resources (and Dark Lake had done the same to them). Thus, the mines closer to these city-states required even more troops for protection.

Preliminary estimates suggested that at least five hundred Stone Golems were needed to guard the mines and escort the resources.

To be safe, it would be best to add some more Blade Spiders.

Including the troops needed to garrison Dark Lake City, the total number of golems and puppets required was substantial.

"Looks like I'll be working overtime again."

Su Nan sighed. He couldn't escape his busy life.

There was no choice; everything was for the sake of acquiring more resources.

He needed to develop those mines as much as possible before the insects from Kasham attacked, to stockpile the resources needed for a large-scale army.

In the following days, Su Nan was once again in a state of constant activity.

After Carolina had calmed the city's residents, Su Nan began the work of transforming the Lamia's palace (the central stone pillar) into a base. He divided it into various functional rooms, including laboratories, alchemy rooms, meditation chambers, and spell practice rooms.

Next, he built a workshop beside the palace and moved the puppet factory from Base 1 to be adjacent to it.

Additionally, Su Nan established a new magic plant garden in the city, naming it Garden 3.

Due to the unique environment of the underground world—mainly the lack of sunlight and the constant cold and dampness—Garden 3 could only grow special magic plants like Mandrake and Calming Flowers.

With this, a small base was completed.

Su Nan named it Base 2.

Base 2 wasn't as fully equipped as Base 1, but it was sufficient as a temporary residence in the underground world.

Shortly after Base 2 was built, a large shipment of Clay Golems arrived in Dark Lake City, and the development of the nearby mines was officially underway.

Considering the insufficient garrison forces, Su Nan didn't immediately develop all seven mines. Instead, he chose the four closest to Dark Lake City as the first batch to be mined.

These included a large iron mine, a medium iron mine, a large copper mine, and a small gold mine.

Just these four mines required three Elite Stone Golems, 350 Stone Golems, and 50 Blade Spiders for guarding and escorting the resources.

The Elite Stone Golems were primarily used to guard the large iron mine, large copper mine, and small gold mine.

The Blade Spiders, with their high mobility, were mainly used to escort the minerals.

By the time of the Slumbering Moon, Dark Lake City's operations had largely settled into a routine.

The four mines produced a steady stream of profits, and the growing income made Su Nan increasingly pleased.

With the mines providing a steady flow of profits, many experiments and research projects could now be initiated.

And this was just the beginning. As the other three mines were gradually developed and more mines were discovered in the future, Dark Lake City would provide even more funds.

With such a vast gold mine at his disposal, he wouldn't have to worry about money for a long time.

Today, there are only two updates. Thank you all for your subscriptions, monthly votes, and donations. Your support is greatly appreciated!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end