Chapter 313: War Puppets
Blocks crafted by the Mage Tower were swiftly arranged into walls.
These walls effectively prevented Sky-breaking Lizards from damaging them with their sharp claws.
After the initial defenses were set up,
A small teleportation array was established.
More and more materials were transported through it, continually expanding the walls' range and height.
This time, to defend against the numerous Sky-breaking Lizards in the underground ruins, three layers of walls, from low to high, encircled the area.
Even though the inside of the walls was still empty, without any structures,
The soldiers and adventurers inside felt a newfound sense of safety.
Soon, Bay Territory's various defensive measures were put in place.
Angela oversaw the camp's construction.
She also ordered other adventurers to scout the surrounding terrain and track the distribution of Sky-breaking Lizards.
In just half a day,
The entire camp had been mostly established.
Once again, the adventurers witnessed Bay Territory's incredible speed and wealth in construction.
They remembered clearly,
That each activation of a small teleportation array required at least 5 gold coins' worth of material.
Hundreds of transports of supplies alone carried unimaginable value.
Seeing Bay Territory's determination and remembering the bounty for the mutated Sky-breaking Lizards, the adventurers eagerly set off to explore.
Time was of the essence!
Who knew when Bay Territory might cancel this task?
More and more soldiers and materials were being brought into the camp.
As the camp's defenses gradually solidified,
The Sky-breaking Lizards around the area were continuously cleared out by thousands of adventurers, and the most dangerous phase had passed.
However, Angela remained cautious and ordered Beelzebub and Elio's elite squad to patrol the area.
After researching the mutated Sky-breaking Lizard for half a day, Matthew, seeing that the specimen was growing weaker, decided to pause his studies for now.
He had gone through so much trouble to capture it; killing it too easily would be a waste.
Nonetheless, Matthew had made some progress.
He discovered that the "Spatial Infusion" bloodline had little connection to the pseudo-dragon bloodline.
This at least confirmed one thing: the origin of "Spatial Infusion" and that of the pseudo-dragon bloodline were separate!
On a deeper level, the sources behind these two bloodlines could provide more data and aid Matthew in modifying his own bloodline!
However, at the moment, Bay Territory wasn't equipped to explore this further.
For now, the armory in the ruins became crucial!
"Arcanist, we've scouted the cave ahead. There are about 7,000 Sky-breaking Lizards inside," Alice reported calmly to Matthew, recalling his earlier display of overwhelming power with increasing respect.
Unlike Lord Matthew, this was a genuine Arcanist. No adventurer would dare oppose him.
On the contrary, winning the favor of this Arcanist would be a tremendous opportunity for both her and her adventuring team.
Over 7,000 Sky-breaking Lizards!
That was fewer than Matthew had expected.
It likely had to do with the surrounding area being barren, with limited food sources to sustain too many Sky-breaking Lizards.
In truth, Matthew was curious about the Sky-breaking Lizards' food sources.
He knew that deeper in the ruins, some Sky-breaking Lizards drew their sustenance from a massive underground river.
However, by the time the underground ruins had been fully explored, even the upper layers had been thoroughly looted.
Apart from a few distant corners and occasional excavation sites, adventurers now came primarily to hunt Sky-breaking Lizards.
Despite this, Matthew clearly remembered one critical aspect of the ruins: there was an armory here.
It was said that the armory had once yielded numerous war puppets of immense value, sparking a fierce competition among nobles and organizations.
Matthew had even visited the armory, seeing many war puppets stripped down to just their cumbersome shells.
The sight had left a deep impression on him, prompting him to study them further.
After all, who wouldn't be fascinated by such massive iron toys?
Ending his contemplative silence, Matthew nodded slightly and decisively said:
"We must clear out the remaining Sky-breaking Lizards as soon as possible."
"Then, we'll turn this place into a base for exploring the deeper ruins."
"Because the armory here might contain treasures like war puppets."
War puppets?
Having once encountered war puppets and even fought against them, Alice knew exactly how terrifying they could be.
If there really were war puppets inside!
Establishing this base would be absolutely necessary!
Previously, Alice had been perplexed by Bay Territory's constant establishment of camps everywhere.
Until she learned from Old John that the cost of running the ruins' camp, purchasing various materials daily,
Was yielding a net profit of 3,000 to 5,000 gold coins per day!
Once she understood that Bay Territory's manufacturing capabilities were continuously improving,
All the collected materials
Were being turned into more valuable magic items, enchanted weapons and equipment, and alchemical potions.
Sold at higher prices, Bay Territory recirculated adventurers' gold and merit through the Thorns Guild.
The more adventurers came, the more everyone gained!
With everyone making profits, the earnings only multiplied!
Once Alice fully understood this, she was shocked and immediately wanted to join Bay Territory.
However, when she approached Steward Ralph, though he agreed to her request to join Bay Territory, he didn't assign her to the army.
Instead, he chose to invest more in her, allowing Alice to remain an adventurer.
Now, after witnessing how adventurers played a significant role in securing this camp, Alice finally understood the strategy.
Alice became more motivated and dedicated than ever before.
She patiently sought advice from the Arcanist on several matters.
After receiving detailed answers, she quickly relayed the new tasks to the other adventurers.
"Clear out the Sky-breaking Lizards inside the cave. An additional 2 gold coins will be rewarded for each kill!"
"Bay Territory is offering a 3,000-gold bounty for any war puppet remains found, to be split among the discoverers!"
These newly announced tasks
Immediately revived the adventurers who had previously returned empty-handed from searching for Sky-breaking Lizards.
Hunting Sky-breaking Lizards had already been their main goal, and today's earnings were just extra.
Now, with new tasks on the table, they had to work even harder to avoid missing out!
Over the next few days,
The adventurers displayed remarkable enthusiasm, continuously clearing the caves of Sky-breaking Lizards.
Some adventurers even took out pickaxes to dig around after eliminating the Sky-breaking Lizards.
Who knew? Maybe they'd be lucky enough to find traces of a war puppet!
Sometimes, luck strikes when you least expect it!
On the fourth day of clearing the caves, Chris was lucky enough to locate a war puppet!
Unfortunately, despite the many years of damage, this war puppet had not been completely destroyed.
Incredibly, it was actually waking up!