Chapter 270: No Initiative, No Rejection
"Blue-faced Dou Erdun steals the emperor's horse~ Red-faced Guan Yu fights at Changsha~~"
"White-faced Cao Cao, yellow-faced Dian Wei~ Black-faced Zhang Fei~ yelling cha-cha~~"
Matthew hummed a little tune as he fiddled with his staff, slowly injecting mana to solidify the magic channels.
The bright light gradually settled, revealing the staff's original red hue, with intricate spell patterns glowing with magical light.
"Ding, Magic Item Crafting +1, now at 148!"
Breathing lightly, Matthew admired the new staff in his hands:
High-level Spell Staff, unnamed.
Casting range +50 meters, spell damage +5, spell control +5.
Enchantment effects:
Enhanced Fireball Spell: specifically increases Fireball spell damage by one level!
Fireball Storage: Stores up to 5 Fireball spells, with a recharge cooldown of 5 hours after use.
Market price: 25,000 gold coins!
Evaluation: Exclusive to the Five Fireball Cult!
"Name it the Five Fireball Staff!"
Gently stroking the staff's surface patterns, Matthew quietly analyzed and contemplated it.
This was a high-level staff he succeeded in crafting after two failures, consuming materials worth 30,000 gold coins.
Fortunately, it was finally a success!
"As expected, low-level magical equipment can be mass-produced, but high-level spell equipment is exceptionally rare…"
Matthew pondered briefly and quickly identified the key issue.
When crafting low- and mid-level magical equipment, Matthew could control spells and knew them thoroughly, resulting in a high success rate.
Encountering more unstable and unfamiliar high-level spells, even with the help of data visualization, he could only barely manage.
This highlighted how crucial data visualization was!
Similar principles applied to crafting enchanted equipment.
Matthew turned and saw Mountain busy working nearby.
After more than two months of adaptation, Mountain had fully mastered batch production of enchanted equipment.
From initially crafting one piece at a time to experimenting with batch production after acquiring the "Cycle Spell Launcher" from Tower Spirit 343.
Mountain's growth had never stalled; although slow, it was exceptionally steady.
Now, Mountain could master most basic spells.
And because his spell casting was remarkably stable, he was ideal for crafting enchanted gear.
In the beginning, Mountain wasted a considerable amount of materials daily, losing at least a few thousand gold coins.
Eventually, after about a month, he managed to break even.
Mountain initially struggled with losses totaling over a hundred thousand gold coins.
He was even somewhat worried…
However, Matthew's unwavering trust allowed Mountain to refine and improve steadily.
"Isn't it just paying to get stronger? What's so hard to understand?"
Mountain didn't fully grasp the concept of paying to win, but seeing the Lord's unconditional support made him study even more diligently.
Now, Mountain had raised his success rate to 40%.
Considering enchanted gear brought returns of 3 to 5 times, it was already quite profitable.
This was why Matthew gradually lifted the restrictions on obtaining enchanted gear.
The other "tools" need to step up!
I hope this big opportunity doesn't slip through your fingers!
A crisp knock on the door echoed through the spell device into the lab, and Matthew gave Mountain a thumbs-up before quickly stepping out.
Upon receiving the communication scroll from Butler Ralph, Matthew raised an eyebrow instinctively.
"Barbarian wanderers appearing means a large barbarian force isn't far behind."
"Could it be the group from the northeast of the Dark Forest?"
"No, despite their numbers, they couldn't possibly break through the troll blockade…"
"It won't be until next August when the trolls join the orcs in attacking the Netheril Empire that the barbarians will find a gap to infiltrate two or three hundred thousand."
"This suggests these might be the target of the Imperial Conscription."
"The conscription forces organized by Bloodmoon City defeat them, leaving some barbarians to scatter and flee."
"The elite monsters in the players' memories should be them…"
Butler Ralph was quite familiar with the Lord's contemplations.
What decision and plan would the Lord come up with this time?
This conscription mission shouldn't be too dangerous; barbarians defeated by conscription forces likely wouldn't be too strong.
Besides gaining some experience, there might not be much else to gain.
But they couldn't refuse…
"Wait, barbarians…"
Matthew suddenly realized that the most valuable thing in this battle wasn't the experience points these barbarians provided but the barbarians themselves!
It wasn't surprising Matthew thought this way; the territory now had nearly 3,000 barbarians.
Though only about 400 barbarians had become soldiers, their performance was outstanding.
Over 400 heavy infantrymen and more than 10 assault berserkers.
Their formidable physical attributes combined with excellent combat abilities made these barbarian soldiers natural warriors.
Of course, Matthew believed that no force other than Bay Territory could utilize these barbarians' talents so well, not even the barbarians themselves!
"Here's what you'll do: issue another mission."
"Due to the urgent need for population and slaves, for the next two months, the bounty for transporting refugees will increase to 10 silver coins per person."
Hearing this, Butler Ralph's eyes lit up, recalling a previous conversation with the Lord.
No forced purchases; too high a price could incite greed.
The price couldn't be too low either, to ensure they valued the refugees' lives.
Reputation might suffer a bit, but that's irrelevant to us!
"The Lord's sudden order likely has something to do with these barbarians…"
Ralph didn't overthink it; since the Lord had made a decision, it meant there was a follow-up plan in place.
He couldn't grasp it fully yet, so he'd better keep learning…
A rough plan formed in Matthew's mind as he considered Bay Territory's reputation in Bloodmoon City and added:
"Additionally, if other nobles approach us for cooperation, we can agree."
Ralph returned to his tasks, and Matthew began pondering how to manage relations with the other nobles of Bloodmoon City.
Bay Territory's military strength should suppress their greed.
The cooperation in the Misty Swamp ruins had already given them a considerable share.
The movement to gather refugees would demonstrate Bay Territory's influence and connections, giving others the impression they were still within control.
Despite a rocky start, Matthew believed none of them would slip away.
In the upcoming Imperial Conscription, Bay Territory's formidable army would undoubtedly attract the attention of many nobles.
Some would seek alliances, and Matthew's stance was simple:
No initiative, no rejection!