Overall, Ghost Lake, Auson, and Matu are three city-states that have trade exchanges and occasionally conflicts over resource allocation, but when facing Kasham, they unite against the common threat.
This is because Kasham’s insects are keen on external invasions and expansions. Every now and then, they attack other city-states, only to be heavily defeated by the joint forces of the three city-states, retreat to lick their wounds, and once recovered, they start another invasion, repeating the cycle.
This has happened countless tis over the years.
"Haven’t you ever thought of permanently eliminating the threat of Kasham?"
Carolina smiled bitterly and said, "We’d like to, but Kasham has been tunneled by those insects until it’s a labyrinth. It’s relatively easier to deal with them outside, but once inside Kasham, our people get easily lost, and our troops can’t maneuver, resulting in repeated failures. Over ti, no one wants to attack Kasham anymore."
It seems these insects are really troubleso.
Sunan pondered for a mont and then asked, "How long until Kasham attacks again?"
Carolina hesitated and said, "Judging by past experiences, we should have about two to three years."
Sunan nodded, that was enough ti for him to prepare.
After so consideration, Sunan decided to leave the Gold Coins behind for future trade with other city-states.
However, from now on, the gold mined will need to be transported to Base No. 1 on the surface.
As for the remaining gemstones and rare tals, Sunan took them all without hesitation.
"You have five days to handle the aftermath of the war properly. I want to see a stable Ghost Lake City."
Before leaving, Sunan left these words.
Carolina quickly replied, "Yes, master."
Watching Sunan’s figure disappear, Carolina walked to the window, gazing at the scenery below with a complex expression that finally turned into a deep sigh.
At this point, she could only accept the situation.
The only consolation was that being the slave of a powerful Wizard wasn’t so bad.
...
Returning to Flash City, Sunan first had a eting with Kei, where he ntioned the conquest of Ghost Lake City.
Hearing that the threat of the human-faced lion had been resolved, Kei was overjoyed and thoroughly relieved.
"I guess that’s one problem solved."
Sunan raised an eyebrow and asked, "From your tone, is there another problem?"
Kei shook his head and sighed, saying, "The Starfire Sect has sohow managed to enchant the Duke. Just a few days ago, the Duke issued a decree requiring all nobles to believe in the Starfire Sect. This has caused quite an uproar, and many nobles are resisting this decree."
"Really, sothing like this." Sunan was genuinely surprised.
This was even more controversial than the previous requirent to allow the Starfire Sect to freely spread its faith in the provinces.
What kind of benefits did the Starfire Sect offer Duke of the Starry Sky to make him issue such a foolish decree?
With a bit of thought, Sunan had an idea.
With Duke of the Starry Sky’s status, what hasn’t he enjoyed?
The only thing that would make him do such a thing is probably longevity.
The Starfire Sect possesses Divine Blood, and extending life is not unusual.
However, to Sunan’s knowledge, the thods of the Divine Spirit for extending life often co with spiritual and will erosion.
In exchange for a longer life often ans losing oneself to so extent, becoming a devoted follower of the Divine Spirit.
If the Starfire Sect had indeed taken this approach, it wouldn’t be long before Duke of the Starry Sky becos a puppet controlled by them.
Then, the Starry Sky Principality might face great turmoil.
Sunan shared his suspicions with Kei.
After hearing it, Kei’s expression was mixed, as if deep in thought.
Sunan didn’t say much, just patted his shoulder and turned to leave.
Afterwards, Sunan returned to the base, imdiately using Abyssal Black Copper and other rare tals to prepare the appropriate nutrient feed for the Gemstone Bugs.
"In about three days, the Gemstone Bugs can split and increase to six."
"Save the remaining five batches of feed for a later ti. This way, the swarm can increase to eleven."
Sunan was delighted.
The gains from this war were nothing short of a bonanza.
The current gains alone were enough to cover the costs of producing golems and Dual-bladed Spiders before the war—not to ntion that the losses of golems and Dual-bladed Spiders were not significant, making the remaining gains pure profit.
Not to ntion the future gains, with the seven mines surrounding Ghost Lake City still waiting for him to develop.
"Developing seven mines simultaneously requires a large number of Clay Golems and mining equipnt."
"Clay Golems can be issued as tasks for the students at the base to produce."
"Mining equipnt can be prepared with my brother’s help."
"These are easily solved, but the key is the stationed forces."
The underground world is full of monsters, and who knows which tunnel or cave might harbor them, so all mines must have stationed forces.
Moreover, there’s Auson and Matu.
According to Carolina, these two city-states have often plundered Ghost Lake’s resources (though Ghost Lake has done the sa), so the mines near these two city-states must have more forces stationed.
Preliminary estimates suggest that for the defense and transportation of seven mines, at least five hundred Stone Golems are needed.
To be safe, it would be best to dispatch additional Dual-bladed Spiders.
Along with the forces stationed at Ghost Lake, the number of golem puppets required is no small number.
"Looks like I’ll be working overti again to produce more."
Sunan sighed.
He couldn’t escape this toil.
There’s no choice, it’s all for acquiring more resources.
Must develop those mines as much as possible before Kasham’s insects attack to accumulate enough resources for a large army.
In the ensuing days, Sunan once again entered a state of relentless busyness.
After Carolina settled down the residents, Sunan began transforming the palace where the human-faced lion once lived (the stone pillar) into a base, dividing it into functional rooms such as the laboratory, potion room, ditation Room, and magic practice room.
He then established a workshop beside the palace, and incidentally moved the Puppet Factory from Base No. 1 to the workshop’s neighboring location.
Besides, Sunan also set up a new Magic Plant Garden in the city, nad Magic Plant Garden No. 3.
Due to the special environnt of the underground world—mainly lacking sunlight, with perennial low temperatures and humidity—Magic Plant Garden No. 3 could only cultivate so particular Magic Plants like Mandala Grass, Calming Flower, etc.
With that, a small base was completed.
Sunan nad it Base No. 2.
Base No. 2 didn’t have as complete a set of facilities and functions as Base No. 1, but as a temporary dwelling in the underground world, it was adequate.
Not long after Base No. 2 was completed, a large number of Clay Golems arrived at Ghost Lake City, and the developnt of surrounding mines was officially put on the agenda.
Given the still insufficient forces, Sunan did not start developing all seven mines at once but chose the four mines closest to Ghost Lake City as the first batch for mining.
This included a large iron mine, a dium iron mine, a large copper mine, and a small gold mine.
Just for these four mines, the stationed and escorting forces included three Elite Stone Golems, three hundred and fifty Stone Golems, and fifty Dual-bladed Spiders.
The Elite Stone Golems mainly guarded the large iron mine, large copper mine, and small gold mine.
The Dual-bladed Spiders, thanks to their mobility, mainly escorted the ores.
By the ti of the Sleeping Moon, the operation of Ghost Lake City was already back on track.
These four mines consistently produced substantial profits daily, each day bringing Sunan more joy.
The rich profits provided by the mines allowed many experints and studies to be prioritized.
And this was only the beginning; with the remaining three mines gradually developed and more mines found in the future, the funding Ghost Lake City would offer him would only increase.
With such a vast gold mine at his disposal, he wouldn’t have to worry about money for a long ti.
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