Chapter 648.5: The Lively Underground City
Matthew made no effort to hide anything. He nodded with a smile and calmly replied under the old swordsman's eager gaze:
"Replicating this process shouldn't be a problem."
"However, we still don't have enough data. We need more test subjects to gather it."
"Also, relying on a single evil entity might introduce drawbacks or limitations."
"So we'll need more evil beings involved—using their power to complete more potion transformation experiments."
Impressed by Matthew's rigor and confidence, the old swordsman eagerly removed the seal on the Ghostshade—Mercury in his sleeve.
At the same time, he caught the deeper meaning in Matthew's words, nodded quickly, and said:
"As long as the second transformation with an evil entity succeeds, I'll send messages to the other swordsmen and have them rush to Bay Territory."
Seeing how on board the old swordsman was, Matthew was quite pleased and promptly offered "terms."
"We'll provide resources and benefits based on the swordsmen's strength level."
"And if they're willing to take on duties or join combat, they'll receive corresponding rewards and pay."
Having personally experienced Bay Territory's generosity, the old swordsman let out a long breath of relief and eagerly dove back into the experiments.
As it turned out—
Though Ghostshade—Mercury and Evil Arhat had slightly different natures—
Under the Gold Body Potion's criteria, they both counted as the same type of evil being and successfully completed the transformation.
This result thrilled the old swordsman. During a break, he immediately sent a signal to the other swordsmen using a special communication method.
Meanwhile, Matthew compared the two transformation processes, seeking more key insights and steadily refining the preparation and techniques.
This would be a longer-term endeavor.
Until the methods and technology matured, Matthew wasn't willing to risk Bay Territory's own people.
Still, Matthew was highly anticipating one thing—
Just how many swordsmen could the old swordsman summon?
And how many special "aberrations" had they sealed away?
Were there even more powerful "Ancient Aberrations"?
As Matthew focused on the transformation efforts, the Death Desert on the other side wasn't exactly peaceful either.
Never mind the surface battlefronts still clearing out phantom monsters—the underground troops had made astonishing progress.
Leon, leading the charge, commanded the dense ranks of kobold miners to excavate a massive rare metal vein.
The burly Silver-Fang held a large piece of pale golden ore in his hands.
He opened his mouth full of sharp fangs and happily took a bite of the ore.
Crunch!
Ka! Ka! Ka!
The hard ore crumbled like tofu, and Silver-Fang swallowed it down.
Seeing Silver-Fang's voracious appetite, Leon asked eagerly:
"What rare metals are in it? What's the approximate content?"
Leon's excitement came from the fact that this entire mineral vein had been a pleasant surprise.
A few days ago, he led newly trained Dragon Warriors to clear out a massive underground space.
Following his usual cautious habits—
He slaughtered all the threatening magical creatures.
Plundered all valuable magical artifacts and ruins.
Burned all the threatening mutated monsters.
And swiftly brought the whole underground area under Bay Territory's control.
The mutated monsters deep within the ruins posed the greatest threat to Bay Territory's control of the region.
To gain better control, Leon chose the most direct strategy: active offense.
He blocked most of the entrance routes for mutated monsters and built corresponding outposts and chokepoints, opening several new battlefronts.
Just as he was about to seal the largest passage, Bay Territory's engineers discovered this mineral vein while digging the foundation.
After professional analysis and testing—
Leon learned it was a sizable metallic vein rich in rare metals.
Upon receiving this crucial news, Leon immediately requested support from the territory.
The territory dispatched its strongest mining team—
The kobold mining corps led by Silver-Fang.
Though called the kobold corps, they included not only gray-black-suited kobolds but also a large number of trolls and gnolls.
Especially in the latest expansion round—
Silver-Fang had recruited a large group of Bay Territory's professional miners and a highly efficient goblin team.
The former had learned many of Bay Territory's mineral detection, extraction, and smelting techniques.
Not only were there experienced master miners, but also many skilled master blacksmiths.
What caught Leon's attention the most were the young Professionals who had just graduated from Bay Territory's vocational academy.
Using their newly acquired knowledge and various mining and prospecting tools developed by Bay Territory, they determined that this was an enormous vein rich in rare metals.
With just their initial efforts, they uncovered a "treasure" of immense value for Bay Territory!
Silver-Fang accepted another chunk of golden ore from a goblin engineer, tasting it as he excitedly replied:
"There's adamantite, krite, gold, and even traces of magical iron—the content's quite good, around one part per thousand!"
Rare metal veins weren't comparable to ordinary metal veins.
A concentration of one per thousand meant top-notch quality and tremendous value.
Leon, exhilarated, glanced at the cheerful crew and couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips.
He could already picture countless gold coins gleefully flying toward him.
Just the reward for discovering the vein would net him hundreds of thousands of gold coins per year.
And that was even after splitting it with the other discoverers.
Excited beyond measure, Leon decisively issued another order:
"Send another 200 Dragon Warriors here, and inform the engineering corps—we need to build a second underground city."
At that moment, sharp and twisted howls echoed from the dark distant tunnel.
Awakened from his joy, Leon cursed under his breath and swiftly issued a new combat order:
"Squad One with me—everyone else, provide ranged support!"
Charging fiercely, Leon led the way. Amid crackling sword auras and lightning flashes, several humanoid mutated monsters were hacked down.
Raging fires ignited, burning the corpses of the mutated monsters to ash.
Combat recorders diligently took note of the monsters' types and strengths.
The fight ended quickly.
But Leon wasn't the least bit happy.
From the massive, pitch-black tunnel ahead came a dense wave of howling.
Even more mutated monsters were rushing in.
Boom!
Makeshift artillery roared to life, unleashing fire and shells into the far tunnel.
Gunners recorded all relevant data, which would be used to improve the artillery next time.
Weapons inspectors assessed the blast effects in the distance and logged it in text, voice, and image formats.
"The projectile speed of energy magic artillery is too slow—suggest improvements in that area."
"Blast damage is about equivalent to a level 2 Fireball—recommend adjusting explosion angle and height."
"Firing range is short—recommend enhancing range."
"Reload time is too long—needs rate of fire upgrades."
"..."
Every weapon produced and deployed by Bay Territory underwent full-scale assessment and testing.
On future battlefields—
These weapons might shine brilliantly and play pivotal roles.
Or vanish into obscurity as if they had never existed.
The engineering crew glanced enviously at the distant battlefield, then returned to their focused labor.
Silver-Fang, organizing the crew to continue excavation, chewed on ore at his own pace once he confirmed he wasn't needed in the fight.
His entire body shimmered with faint metallic luster across his scales.
Reinforcements soon arrived, and the outline of a war fortress began to rise.
With the construction of a teleportation circle, more personnel and resources flowed in.
Here, Bay Territory would open yet another fierce and perilous battleground.
When it came to mutated monsters, Bay Territory always responded with utmost urgency.
As the military presence grew, Leon began organizing stronger units to delve deeper into the tunnels and gather intel.
At the same time—
The increasingly capable engineering corps completed the metal refinery as they hurried to build the war fortress.
"Seal this passage and build a railway—we need to push deeper."
With stacks of reports in hand, Leon gave the engineering corps priority orders with a grave expression.
The news quickly reached Bay Territory, and upon hearing it, Matthew's eyes lit up with deep anticipation.
Matthew had no intention of interfering with the fight, allowing Leon and the Dragon Warriors full freedom.
Given the current strength of Bay Territory's combat units and logistical capabilities—
It was the perfect time to choose a worthy opponent for a real challenge.
The underground city quickly grew bustling.
More and more Bay Territory soldiers and staff arrived in the region.
According to their plans, they swiftly developed the massive underground space.
Plans for farming abyssal demonfish also expanded and improved once people and supplies were in place.
To cover their movements and the shifting of personnel underground—
Bay Territory launched more operations and battles on the surface of the Death Desert.
"Open six more phantom monster-clearing battlegrounds to draw more adventurers."
"Don't neglect the development of Death Desert's ruins. Offer incentives to those adventurers taking a break..."
"Even the less powerful adventurers should be given tasks. Assign some construction duties to them."
"Town construction and development must be pushed to the next level."
"We also need to begin scheduling plant modification projects."
"Start preparing to breed the unique magical creatures native to the Death Desert."
The experienced Jifan concluded this brief yet crucial meeting.
Command and management officers at all levels quickly stirred major actions in the Death Desert.
Seeing Bay Territory increasing investment into the Death Desert rather than just steadily farming phantom monsters—
Other factions and organizations came to a deeper understanding of just how insane Bay Territory truly was.
The liveliness of the Death Desert didn't mean the rest of Bay Territory was quiet.
While the desert drew attention, the rest of their operations advanced quickly according to plan.
The underground world wasn't peaceful either lately.
Forces in conflict with the Cole Elves were clashing in earnest.
Rather than retreating before the Cole Elf army, these underground factions doubled down, mobilizing more forces to the surface.
The two sides engaged in brutal, direct battles across many fields in the southern provinces of the Cole Elf Kingdom.
With superior numbers and terrain, the Cole Elves held the advantage in nearly all encounters.
But they still suffered heavy losses and failed to drive the enemy forces underground as planned.
Even the Elven Council, which usually didn't value ordinary Cole Elves, felt pained by the loss of tens of thousands.
To salvage face and decisively reclaim the southern provinces, they planned one final push to eliminate the "tumor."
The Elven Council deployed two more elven legions and dispatched several legendary archmages.
Clearly, this special battle was heading toward even greater bloodshed.
The more casualties they suffered, the more pleased the hidden forces behind the scenes became.
Bay Territory's war oversight unit, tasked with monitoring the situation, quickly reported back to Sera.
Now skirmishing with scattered Mind Flayer units, Sera had no intention of interfering in that conflict.
In truth, Sera herself was facing no small trouble.
The fourth batch of elves educated and modified had just arrived—and with the Mind Flayer army pressing in, she couldn't let her guard down.
She reported the gathered intel to Bay Territory and cautiously requested reinforcements.
As Sera waited nervously, reinforcements soon arrived.
Upon seeing the towering, battle-hardened Catachan-modified warriors, Sera finally relaxed a little.
But when the Thunder Warriors arrived, her expression once again grew grave.
Striding forward, Gatel delivered Bay Territory's latest orders.
"The Mind Flayer army's vanguard is about to move!"
"Their primary target is—Mobliso, the drow city!"
Capital of the Drow Elves!