Chapter 417: Kobold Kingdom
''The entrance to the underground world has been excavated? Send adventurers to investigate first.''
Matthew wasn't surprised by this, only marveling at the adventurers' zeal for making money.
The ruby vein wasn't entirely mined out; Matthew had deliberately planned a downward excavation route to open new adventure zones for the adventurers.
Confirming that this was part of the lord's plan, Steward Ralph immediately relaxed and continued:
''The mining base has been completed, and 1,000 elite soldiers are already stationed there.''
Picking up on the implicit meaning in Ralph's words, Matthew, recalling the forthcoming turmoil in the underground world, didn't hide anything and directly responded:
''Issue a preemptive warning and send people to establish camps in the underground world.''
''The Dark Forest alone can't satisfy the growing number of adventurers; the underground world is the best place for them.''
Matthew wasn't about to let these adventurers leave.
Just like in the gaming worlds of his past life.
Where were the most players?
Places with dungeons, open-world maps, and enemies had the most players.
Because such places offered greater rewards!
Attracting adventurers worked the same way.
Bay Territory's excellent adventure conditions and benefits weren't enough; there had to be a steady stream of "new maps" for them to explore!
From the moment the entrance to the underground world was discovered, Matthew had been planning for this.
Now it was time for the adventurers to showcase their abilities.
Understanding Matthew's thoughts, Steward Ralph immediately sent a ''Communication Spell'' to the territory's Adventurer Center.
Soon, a brand-new exploration mission was pinned at the top of every camp's adventure hall.
News of Bay Territory's discovery of the underground world's entrance spread rapidly.
''The harvest from exploring the underground world will likely mirror the Dark Forest.''
''Bay Territory doesn't discriminate—food, minerals, magical materials, magical creatures, magical plants… anything of value, we need it!''
''Even encountering intelligent creatures—trade and establish routes with the cooperative ones; neutralize hostile ones and exchange information for profits...''
A variety of missions catered to most mid-tier and even high-tier adventurers.
This news quickly caused a stir among Bay Territory's adventurers.
Many adventurers, eager to earn more merits, were itching to explore the underground world.
The longer adventurers stayed in Bay Territory, the harder it became for them to part with its many benefits.
Learning combat skills and feats.
Acquiring magical equipment and items.
Earning generous amounts of gold and materials.
Striking it rich through ruby mining.
However, aside from the 20% discount on gold prices, the most vexing issue for adventurers was the rarity of merits.
For the same mission in the same region, earning merits became progressively harder.
Depending on a mission's difficulty and danger level, the amount of merits available also changed.
After all, merits were precious, able to fulfill almost any adventurer's requests.
With Matthew's deliberate encouragement,
more adventurers passed through the lucrative ruby mines and ventured into the unknown underground world.
Exploring a region often required significant time, sacrifices, and bloodshed.
In just two days,
all kinds of data and information were transmitted from the underground world.
''There's good news—adventurers have already discovered a medium-sized copper vein and a small tin vein.''
''However, mining these veins is challenging; it's recommended to build smelting facilities in the underground world.''
''Thirty-two new magical plants have been found, two of which are exceptionally rare high-tier magical plants. They've been handed over to Master Old Li for cultivation...''
''Numerous gnoll sightings—not only are they plentiful, but they also possess metal weapons and armor, suggesting they've mastered smelting technology...''
''Some adventurers have already captured a few gnoll prisoners. Interrogations revealed they belong to the Gnoll Kingdom of Karaya.''
''...''
Gnoll Kingdom?
Karaya?
Flipping through his spell scrolls, Matthew suddenly stopped, recognizing this name well.
Browsing his memories, Matthew quickly found its origin.
In the vast and chaotic underground world,
various dangerous predators thrived.
Among them, three forces were the most powerful:
the drow elves, who ruled hundreds of eerie city-states;
the two rival dwarven kingdoms, each controlling several large metal veins;
and the terrifying Illithid Empire buried deep underground!
Of all these, humans interacted most frequently with the drow elves, who often emerged to plunder, pillage, and destroy.
And the Netheril Empire's allies—the Duergar Kingdom!
Over the next decade or so,
the two dwarven kingdoms would be attacked by the drow elves and the Illithid Empire.
The Duergar Kingdom was completely destroyed, its people enslaved.
The Dark Iron Kingdom suffered heavy losses, losing key metal veins and even its capital to the drow elves.
With help from the Netheril Empire and elves, they barely retained a portion of their territory.
The main force occupying the Dark Iron Kingdom's capital, Mororilla, was these gnolls of Karaya.
However, by that time, the Gnoll Kingdom of Karaya had already been destroyed, and the survivors were enslaved by the drow elves.
Now, the Gnoll Kingdom of Karaya was still intact, standing as an obstacle in Bay Territory's path.
Only by eliminating the Gnoll Kingdom of Karaya could Bay Territory explore further regions.
''The underground world's mineral wealth is abundant. It seems we should prepare early.''
Looking at the hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of the underground world that had been explored, Matthew pointed to the Gnoll Kingdom surrounding the area and said:
''Target the Gnoll Kingdom. Let the adventurers show their worth.''
''The more information they provide, the greater the rewards!''
''Prioritize capturing gnoll prisoners—offer a bounty of 1 gold coin and 1 merit per prisoner.''
Although Ralph didn't know why the lord wanted gnoll prisoners, he dutifully carried out the orders.
As soon as Matthew's bounty was announced, adventurers' enthusiasm for exploring the underground world surged.
Soon, detailed information about the Gnoll Kingdom of Karaya was pouring in.
''Four cities, twelve strongholds, control of a large iron vein, two underground rivers, and tens of thousands of acres of bioluminescent moss cultivation areas...''
''The Gnoll Kingdom of Karaya is quite wealthy!''
In the meeting room, Beelzebub rubbed his hands together excitedly.
Nearly a month without battle had left him itching for action!