Chương 114: Chapter 114: A New Territory, Construction of Base 2
After the battle, Sunan took stock of the golems.
Thanks to the unexpectedly smooth surprise attack, the golem army suffered minimal losses.
Irreparable losses included one steel golem, three elite stone golems, 325 stone golems, and four Twin-Blade Spiders.
The remaining golems and Twin-Blade Spiders sustained varying degrees of damage, but the lightly injured could self-repair, and the heavily injured could be fixed back at the base, so it wasn't a major issue.
In fact, had the Man-faced Lions not left the city to assemble, the golem casualties during a normal surprise attack would have at least doubled.
This was already a favorable outcome.
Sunan stored the damaged golems in the cube, leaving the rest on the island for defense, and then headed towards the city with Karolena.
With the war over, it was time to inspect his new territory.
This was Sunan's first truly owned territory.
Unlike last time, when he had to sneak in, this time he walked openly through the city gates, leisurely observing the city's architecture.
However, most buildings in the lower city were low and simple, offering little to admire.
It wasn't until they reached the upper city that the buildings became orderly and displayed some artistic style—practicality over aesthetics, a common theme in the Underground World.
As they walked, city residents stared in shock at Karolena, who followed the human with deference.
But none dared to question them.
Sunan glanced at Karolena, noting the high regard the Man-faced Lion noble held here.
Ignoring them, he headed straight for the central stone pillar.
Inside the pillar, Sunan found the environment far more luxurious than outside, with an abundance of rooms.
Living quarters, dining rooms, lounges, bathrooms, kitchens, common areas, council chambers—everything was fully equipped.
Such a large place housed only three nobles and their servant slaves.
One had to admit, the lifestyle of Man-faced Lion nobles was far more opulent than most human nobility.
"These rooms could be converted into labs and potion rooms."
Sunan mused silently.
The spacious interior could easily be transformed into another base.
He would inevitably spend a lot of time in the Underground World, so having a place for study and training would be highly convenient.
Ideally, he would establish another magic plant garden, workshop, and puppet factory here.
After a tour, Sunan formed a rough plan in his mind and then asked without looking back, "Where is the storeroom?"
"In the basement," Karolena replied.
"Lead the way."
Under Karolena's guidance, Sunan soon reached a warehouse.
Before him were heaps of gold coins, crates of gemstones, and various metals.
"Master, this is the storeroom inventory."
Karolena handed over a list.
In the short time since entering the city, this Man-faced Lion noble had quickly adjusted her mindset, accepting her slave status and actively trying to please Sunan.
Sunan gave Karolena a deep look before taking the list and reviewing it.
From Karolena, he learned the city-state was named Yohu Lake.
Due to its significant Dwarven population, Yohu Lake boasted advanced mining and smelting techniques.
They consistently mined from surrounding veins, trading with other city-states for food and necessities.
They could also smelt their own metals and mint coins.
The coins in the storeroom were minted at Yohu Lake, featuring the image of a half-human, half-snake Man-faced Lion noble on one side and crossed scimitars on the other—a distinct Man-faced Lion style.
Due to their high gold content, Yohu Lake's coins were well-regarded among surrounding city-states.
However, to use them on the surface, they would need to be reminted.
Sunan weighed a coin in his hand, quickly estimating its value.
Converted to surface world currency, these coins were worth about 50,000 gold pieces.
A substantial sum.
Additionally, there were 236 mid-to-low-grade gemstones, five high-grade gemstones, and over a hundred types of rare metals.
To Sunan's delight, it included rare metals like Abyssal Black Copper, Rainbow Iron, and Solar Gold Sand.
Estimating the quantities, Sunan realized he had enough to create the special feed needed for eight Gem Bugs to split once.
"Indeed, it's easier to collect rare metals in the Underground World."
Sunan reflected.
Moreover, the list included twelve miniature soul crystals.
This was unexpected.
Man-faced Lions weren't known for extracting souls to make crystals.
"Where did these soul crystals come from?" Sunan asked.
"Traded from Orson. The Black Duke and his subordinates excel at making soul crystals," Karolena explained.
"The Black Duke?" Sunan raised an eyebrow. "Tell me more."
Karolena quickly elaborated.
From her account, Sunan learned about the region surrounding Yohu Lake.
There were three neighboring city-states: Orson, Matu, and Kasham.
Orson was ruled by a group of ghouls, with the city lord known as the Black Duke, a Frost Ghoul.
Matu was governed by vampires, led by the Red Widow.
As for Kasham, it was more of a bug nest than a city-state.
It housed only insects, with other races existing merely as food reserves.
Overall, Yohu Lake, Orson, and Matu traded and occasionally clashed over resources. However, they united against Kasham.
Because the bugs of Kasham frequently invaded, expanding outward, attacking other city-states periodically, only to be repelled by the allied city-states, retreating to lick their wounds before launching another invasion in a never-ending cycle.
This pattern had repeated countless times over the years.
"Have you ever considered eliminating the threat of Kasham?" Sunan asked.
Karolena replied with a wry smile, "We've thought about it, but Kasham is riddled with tunnels, making its terrain complex. Fighting the bugs outside is manageable, but once inside Kasham, our troops get lost, unable to deploy effectively, and always return defeated. Eventually, no one wanted to attack Kasham anymore."
These bugs seemed quite troublesome.
Sunan pondered this, then asked, "How long until Kasham attacks again?"
Karolena hesitated before answering, "Based on past patterns, we have two to three years."
Sunan nodded. That was enough time to prepare.
After consideration, Sunan decided to keep the coins for trade with other city-states.
However, future mined gold would need to be transported to surface Camp No. 1.
As for the gemstones and rare metals, Sunan unabashedly took them all.
"I'll give you five days to handle the aftermath of the war. I want to see a stable Yohu Lake."
Before leaving, Sunan left this instruction.
"Yes, master," Karolena replied promptly.
Watching Sunan's figure disappear, Karolena stood by the window, gazing at the view below, her expression conflicted, before ending with a deep sigh.
At this point, she had no choice but to accept her fate.
The only consolation was that being the slave of a powerful wizard wasn't the worst outcome.
Back in Shimmer City, Sunan met with Key to report the capture of Yohu Lake.
Key was overjoyed to hear the Man-faced Lion threat was resolved, visibly relieved.
"That's one problem solved."
Sunan raised an eyebrow. "From the sound of it, there are more problems?"
Key shook his head with a sigh. "The Spark Church seems to have influenced the Grand Duke. Just days ago, he decreed that all nobility must convert to the Spark Church. This has caused quite a stir, with many nobles resisting the decree."
"This is surprising," Sunan admitted.
This was even more controversial than allowing the Spark Church to freely spread its faith across provinces.
What benefits had the Spark Church offered the Grand Duke to prompt such a rash decree?
After some thought, Sunan had an idea.
Given the Grand Duke's status, what hadn't he enjoyed?
The only thing worth such a drastic decision was likely longevity.
The Spark Church, with its divine blood, could indeed offer extended life, but typically at the cost of mental and emotional erosion.
Gaining longer life often meant losing oneself to some extent, becoming a devoted follower of the deity.
If the Spark Church employed such methods, the Grand Duke might soon become their puppet.
When that happened, the Starlight Duchy could face significant turmoil.
Sunan shared his suspicions with Key.
Hearing this, Key's expression shifted, lost in thought.
Sunan said no more, patting Key's shoulder before leaving.
Afterward, Sunan returned to the base and immediately prepared the special feed using Abyssal Black Copper and other rare metals, feeding it to the Gem Bugs.
"In about three days, the Gem Bugs will split, increasing to six."
"The remaining five portions of feed will be given later, increasing the swarm to eleven."
Sunan was thrilled.
The gains from this war were nothing short of a windfall.
Even the current haul was enough to offset the cost of crafting the golems and Twin-Blade Spiders before the war—especially since the losses were minimal, leaving a significant profit.
Plus, there were future profits to consider, with the seven mineral veins around Yohu Lake awaiting exploitation.
"Developing all seven veins requires many clay golems and mining equipment."
"The clay golems can be assigned as tasks for the base's students to craft."
"Mining equipment can be arranged through my brother."
"These are easily solved; the key is the garrison."
The Underground World teemed with monsters, and any tunnel or cavern could house them, so all mines needed garrisons.
Not to mention Orson and Matu.
According to Karolena, these two city-states frequently raided Yohu Lake for resources (and vice versa), so mines near them required extra security.
Preliminary estimates suggested guarding and escorting operations for the seven mines required at least 500 stone golems.
To be safe, some Twin-Blade Spiders should be added.
Including the garrison for Yohu Lake, the demand for golem puppets was significant.
"Looks like I'll be working overtime crafting again."
Sunan sighed.
He couldn't escape his busy fate.
But it was all for more resources.
He needed to gather enough before Kasham's bugs attacked.
In the following days, Sunan was back to his relentless pace.
After Karolena stabilized the city's residents, Sunan began transforming the former Man-faced Lion palace (stone pillar) into a base, designating labs, potion rooms, meditation chambers, and spell practice areas.
He also built a new workshop beside the palace and relocated Camp No. 1's puppet factory next door.
Additionally, Sunan established a new magic plant garden in the city, named Magic Plant Garden No. 3.
Due to the Underground World's unique environment—lack of sunlight, constant low temperature, and humidity—Garden No. 3 could only grow certain special magic plants, like mandrake grass and calming flowers.
With this, a small base was completed.
Sunan named it Base 2.
Base 2 lacked the comprehensive facilities and functions of Base 1 but sufficed as a temporary residence in the Underground World.
Not long after Base 2's completion, a large batch of clay golems arrived at Yohu Lake, marking the official start of developing the surrounding mineral veins.
With troops still somewhat lacking, Sunan didn't immediately develop all seven veins, opting to start with the four nearest Yohu Lake.
These included a large iron mine, a medium iron mine, a large copper mine, and a small gold mine.
Just these four required a garrison of three elite stone golems, 350 stone golems, and 50 Twin-Blade Spiders.
The elite stone golems primarily guarded the large iron, large copper, and small gold mines.
The Twin-Blade Spiders, with their agile mobility, were primarily used for ore transport.
By the month of Dormant Moon, Yohu Lake's operations were running smoothly.
The four veins yielded substantial profits daily, with increasing revenue boosting Sunan's spirits each day.
With the mines' profits, many e
xperiments and research projects could commence.
And this was just the beginning. As the remaining three veins were developed and more discovered in the future, Yohu Lake's funds would only grow.
With such a goldmine, he wouldn't have to worry about money for a long time.
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