Mithril.
Upgrading from county-level to city-level requires Mithril.
Upgrading from city-level to main city requires Mithril.
Constructing wonders requires Mithril.
Crafting equipnt of purple quality or higher requires Mithril.
Without Mithril, a territory's developnt will be stuck at the county-level, never to progress.
In the entire Great Xia South Pole Region, there are only two known Mithril Mines; one belongs to Zhenyue City, and the other belongs to the Bears.
Beacon Fire Town could still coordinate for copper and tin through Director Chen. But for sothing like Mithril, one would definitely have to pay a heavy price to get it.
Now, a third Mithril Mine was right on his turf.
"Are you sure?" Lin Feng's voice was very low, but his fingers tightened around the ore.
Tian Jian nodded vigorously: "I've made three trips and taken over a dozen samples. It's all been confird.
"The direction of the vein is very clear, and the preliminary exploration of the reserves..." He paused, his voice trembling, "is not low."
Lin Feng closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. He needed to calm himself down, but his heart was still beating twice as fast as usual.
He opened his eyes, his gaze sharp as a blade: "Who else knows about this news?"
Tian Jian quickly said: "After I found it, I wasn't quite sure, so I asked Zhang Ping to dispatch a hundred n to build the mine shaft first.
"Now the tunnels are dug, and those people have stayed there; they can serve as miners."
Lin Feng looked at Zhang Ping, who nodded: "Don't worry, Lord. Those hundred n are all trustworthy veterans with tight lips.
"I specifically instructed them that no one is allowed to speak a word of this."
Lin Feng stood up and paced a few steps in the Council Hall. His steps were steady, but his mind was racing.
Eight li. Eight li north of Beacon Fire Town, right under ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) his nose.
In a place so close, a Mithril Mine capable of changing the fate of the entire territory was hidden, and he had been completely unaware.
He stopped his pace and turned to look at Tian Jian: "What's the current situation with the mine?"
Tian Jian replied hastily: "The tunnels have been dug to over sixty ters deep. The headfra and pulleys are all set up; work can start at any ti."
Lin Feng nodded. He had always been at ease with how Tian Jian handled things.
"Mark the location."
Tian Jian quickly stood up, walked to the map hanging on the wall, picked up a charcoal pencil, and drew a circle. The location was almost right next to Beacon Fire Town.
"Zhang Ping."
"Here."
"There's no need to withdraw those hundred n; transfer them directly to miners. Coordinate another batch of supplies to be sent over; they must not be mistreated in terms of food, clothing, and daily necessities."
Zhang Ping straightened his back: "Yes, sir."
"And take Tian Zheng along with you."
Zhang Ping nodded.
"You two head over first," Lin Feng's voice was steady and powerful. "I'll be there shortly."
Tian Jian and Zhang Ping exchanged a look, answered in unison, and turned to stride out of the Council Hall.
Lin Feng turned away from the map and strode toward the stairs.
The wooden stairs creaked slightly under his feet, each step carrying a heavy sense of groundedness.
He pushed open the door to the second-floor room, walked to the window, and took a deep breath.
Then, with a thought...
A crystal about the size of a human head appeared, floating in the middle of the room.
It was Beacon Fire Town's territory core, emitting a warm golden glow that illuminated the entire room.
Inside the crystal, the phantom of a miniature city was clearly visible. Walls, streets, houses, granaries, barracks, and ant-sized figures moving to and fro. It was a microcosm of Beacon Fire Town, the foundation he had built with his own hands.
Lin Feng gazed at it for a mont and reached out to touch the crystal.
A light screen unfolded before him.
【Beacon Fire Town · town-level Territory】
【Current Number of Affiliated Villages: 0/1】
【Constructible Affiliated Villages: 1】
【Construction Requirents: Wood × 500, Stone × 300】
With a thought, he said: "Construct affiliated village."
The territory core suddenly erupted with an even more intense light! The gold on the crystal's surface surged violently like boiling magma.
A massive map was projected from the crystal, a holographic topographic map of the area fifty li around Beacon Fire Town floating in mid-air.
Mountains, rivers, plains, hills—every stream, every forest, every hill was clearly visible.
Beacon Fire Town's walls flickered as a golden dot in the center of the map, surrounded by several blue markers indicating the locations of Qingmu County, Heiyan Town, and Hupan Village.
Lin Feng's gaze moved slowly across the map, soon finding his target.
Eight li north of Beacon Fire Town, a place without any markers on the map, only a patch of faint green indicating sparse vegetation.
This is it.
He reached out his finger and tapped it.
【Confirm construction of an affiliated village at this location?】
【Resource Requirents: Wood × 500, Stone × 300】
【Confirm/Cancel】
"Confirm."
The territory core suddenly vibrated! A pillar of golden light shot up from the crystal, piercing the roof and soaring into the sky!
The light pillar veered north high in the air, like a golden arrow cutting through the dark red sky, landing precisely on the marker.
Eight li away, the earth shook.
Wood and stone erged from the void, as if controlled by invisible hands, piecing, stacking, and fixing together one by one.
First the foundation, then the skeletons of the houses, followed by walls, roofs, doors, and windows. Buildings rose from the ground one after another at an astonishing speed, as if soone were playing a construction video at double speed.
In less than the ti it takes to drink a cup of tea, a brand-new village appeared before his eyes.
Wooden fences, simple but sturdy. Over a dozen houses were arranged neatly, including dormitories for residents, warehouses for tools, and a slightly larger building that was likely the village chief's Council Hall.
In the center of the village was a well, the mouth already built, with clear groundwater seeping out.
To the north of the village, right next to that small hill, the mine shaft entrance that Tian Jian had previously led people to build was clearly visible.
The headfra, pulleys, and sheds were all present, integrated seamlessly with the entire village as if they had always been there.
On the map projected by the territory core, a golden dot lit up at that location, with two lines of small text automatically generated beside it:
【Affiliated Village (Unnad)】
【Status: Completed】
Lin Feng looked at that dot, the corners of his mouth slowly curling up.
He thought for a mont, reached out his finger, and tapped lightly on the map. An input box popped up, the cursor blinking in the empty space.
He entered three characters.
North Slope Village.
An unremarkable na. In the entire Great Xia, there were at least eight or ten villages with such a na.
No one who heard it would give it a second look.
Lin Feng looked at those three characters and couldn't help but chuckle.
Others would never guess that beneath this rustic village lay a Mithril Mine capable of driving the entire Great Xia South Pole Region into a frenzy.
He thought for a mont, then searched through the operation interface for a while until he found an option.
【Set the scope of the affiliated village's core area】
On the map, centered on North Slope Village, a blue circle slowly expanded until it enveloped the entire village.
【Setting complete】
【The entire North Slope Village has been set as a core area】
【Effect: Non-Honorary Residents cannot enter the core area】
Lin Feng nodded with satisfaction.
Core area. This ant that no one except those he designated could enter North Slope Village.
From this day forth, the secret of the Mithril Mine would be locked within this invisible wall.
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