The morning of the Third Day on the Endless Continent felt vastly different for Orion Vance. There was no longer any bone-chilling cold or the constant anxiety of wild monster attacks. Within the 300-meter radius of his Black Iron Obelisk, the air felt fresher, and the earth seemed to radiate a soothing life energy.
Orion stepped out of his Wooden Cabin, which now possessed the durability of a steel fortress. Outside, Kael, Lyra, and Garrick were already on standby. The moment Orion appeared, the three generals knelt in unison, their auras noticeably thicker and more powerful thanks to the Overlord's Aura—a passive buff that increased all their attributes by 15% while inside the domain.
"Stand up," Orion commanded casually. His eyes drifted toward the black metal Summoning Gateway in the corner of his territory. "It's time to reinforce our ranks."
He walked up to the gateway and placed his hand on the ice-cold pillar. The daily quota had reset.
"Summon."
The dark blue vortex rumbled. This time, there was no clanging of metal or heavy footsteps. Instead, the air around the gateway became extremely dry, and small sparks of fire rained down from within the portal.
Two figures stepped out gracefully. They were two young men wearing deep crimson robes, holding carved wooden staffs in their hands. At the tip of their staffs rested small, smoldering red crystals.
Both knelt and bowed their heads. "Our flames are ready to incinerate your enemies, My Lord."
[Apprentice Mage (Black Iron)] [Level: 1] [Strength: 6] [Agility: 10] [Physique: 8] [Mana: 25] [Skills: Basic Fireball (Active), Fire Affinity (Passive)]
Orion smiled faintly. Finally, Area of Effect (AoE) magic attacks. Kael was a close-quarters assassin, Garrick was an absolute defense, and Lyra was a long-range sniper. What his troop composition lacked was mass destructive power, and these two mages were the perfect raw materials.
"You will be the core of devastation," Orion said. He spread his arms, summoning the cosmic energy cube of his Origin-Grade talent. "Forge of Genesis: Synthesis!"
The two Apprentice Mages were enveloped in a blinding golden light. Unlike the synthesis of physical warriors, this synthesis triggered a local weather anomaly. The temperature around them spiked drastically. The air distorted from the heatwaves, and blood-red fire swirled inside the cosmic cube, melting the two entities into something infinitely more destructive.
When the Origin light faded, a wave of heat swept across the territory, causing the grass around the synthesis point to wither and dry up.
Standing there was a woman with blazing red, flowing hair that looked as though it were made of fire itself. She wore a high-slit, dark crimson dress woven from magical silk, exuding an equal measure of elegance and danger. In her right hand, she gripped a bronze staff topped with a giant ruby that continuously emitted thin trails of smoke.
The woman opened her eyes—eyes that glowed like molten magma—and bowed gracefully with one hand over her chest.
"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. I will ensure your enemies leave behind nothing but charred remains, Master." Her voice was warm, sensual, yet incredibly lethal.
[Synthesis Successful!] [2x Apprentice Mage (Black Iron) -> 1x Pyromancer (Bronze)] [Level: 1] [Strength: 12] [Agility: 16] [Physique: 14] [Mana: 45] [Skills: Hellfire Pillar (Active), Magma Shield (Active), Absolute Fire Affinity (Passive)]
A Mana stat reaching 45 points at Level 1 was sheer terror.
"Your name is Seraphina," Orion declared, admiring those destructive statistics.
"Seraphina... a name that burns. I love it, My Lord," she replied, standing up to join the ranks of Garrick, Kael, and Lyra.
With military matters settled, Orion opened his inventory and took out the [Map Fragment of the Endless Continent] he had obtained the night before.
The item wasn't a worn-out sheet of parchment, but rather a thin stone tablet filled with glowing circuit-like engravings. When Orion channeled a bit of his intent into the tablet, it floated and projected a giant 3D holographic map into the air.
The map only displayed a 50-kilometer radius around Orion's territory; the rest was shrouded in a black Fog of War. In the center of the map was a bright blue dot marking the coordinates of his Black Iron territory.
However, what made Orion's eyes narrow were the various glowing icons scattered across that radius.
"Lyra, you mapped the northern area last night. Did you find anything interesting besides the Goblin camp?" Orion asked.
Lyra stepped forward, observing the map. "Only dense forests and a small river, My Lord. But this map displays details far beyond my line of sight."
Orion pointed to an icon depicting a silver-glowing hammer and pickaxe located about 10 kilometers southwest of his territory.
"The system labels this place as a [Resource Node: Medium Iron Mine]. It's guarded by a monster tribe," Orion explained.
So far, Orion had relied heavily on his talent to synthesize ordinary stones into Black Iron. However, that process consumed a massive amount of raw materials (2 normal stones = 1 black iron). If he could directly conquer an iron mine, he could synthesize that material into Bronze or even Silver-tier metals to prepare for future armaments.
In any strategy game, securing a Resource Node in the early game was an absolute winning move.
"We are moving southwest. Our target is to secure that iron mine before the Beast Tide arrives," Orion decided. "Kael, Garrick, Seraphina, Lyra. All of you are coming. The automated ballista will guard the territory while we are away."
"As you command!"
The 10-kilometer trek through the primeval forest took nearly two hours. The further they went from the protective domain, the more the forest vegetation changed. The dense black trees were slowly replaced by giant rock formations and barren, steep cliffs.
From atop a ridge, Orion's group looked down, observing a vast canyon that led into the mouth of a massive cave.
Around the cave entrance was a crude mining encampment. However, the inhabitants this time were not primitive Goblins. They were dog-headed humanoid creatures with rough scales covering their bodies, wielding large pickaxes and combat sledgehammers.
"Kobolds," Lyra hissed softly. Her eyes utilized the Eagle Eye skill to analyze the enemies. "There are about eighty workers and twenty guards. They are more organized than Goblins."
Orion activated his Eye of the Sovereign (Black Iron). His eyes emitted a barely visible golden gleam.
[Kobold Warrior (Normal)] [Level: 4] [Strength: 14 | Agility: 12 | Physique: 15]
At the mine entrance sat a dark-red scaled dog monster that was significantly larger than the rest, wearing dirty iron plate armor and wielding a double-bitted battleaxe.
[Kobold Mine Overseer (Black Iron Boss)] [Level: 8] [Strength: 35 | Agility: 15 | Physique: 30]
Level 8 with a Black Iron Rarity. This was a threat far exceeding last night's Hobgoblin. If an ordinary Lord accidentally wandered into this area, they would be minced into meat paste in seconds.
However, Orion wore a cold smile on his face. He looked at Seraphina, who was twirling her magic staff impatiently.
"Seraphina," Orion called out.
"Yes, My Lord?"
"How much time do you need to cast your strongest spell?"
"With full concentration? Five seconds. But I need a position where I won't be interrupted," the Pyromancer answered.
"Garrick will be your shield," Orion ordered. "Garrick, jump down into the canyon. Draw all their aggro. Do not let a single Kobold get within twenty meters of Seraphina. Kael, Lyra, finish off anyone who escapes Seraphina's incineration zone."
"Executed!"
Garrick didn't waste any time. The bronze-armored giant leaped from the ten-meter-high steep cliff. He fell like a metallic meteor, smashing into the canyon floor with an ear-splitting boom. Dust and rocks flew everywhere.
THOOOOM!
All mining activity stopped instantly. Hundreds of dog-like eyes stared at the billowing dust cloud.
From within the dust, Garrick stood tall, slamming his massive shield into the ground.
[Active Skill: Provoke]
"COME HERE, DIRTY MUTTS! Your fangs are too dull to scratch my shield!" Garrick roared.
The provocation worked flawlessly. The Kobold warriors howled in rage. They dropped their pickaxes, drew their combat weapons, and sprinted to swarm Garrick like a raging flood.
But Garrick simply stood there, activating Bronze Wall, absorbing hundreds of strikes that bounced off him like gravel raining on a steel roof.
Atop the cliff, Seraphina raised her ruby staff high into the air. Her red hair flared against gravity as she began chanting an ancient incantation. The air around her distorted from the extreme heat. The mana in the atmosphere was sucked into the gem on her staff.
One second. Two seconds... Five seconds.
Seraphina's eyes shot wide open, emitting a blinding white light.
[Active Skill: Hellfire Pillar!]
"Burn to ashes!"
Seraphina swung her staff toward the mob of Kobolds busy hacking at Garrick.
Suddenly, the temperature at the bottom of the canyon spiked to hundreds of degrees. A giant, blood-red glowing magic circle appeared on the ground, right beneath the Kobolds' feet. Before the monsters could react, a massive, fifteen-meter-wide pillar of fire erupted from the earth, shooting straight up into the clouds!
FWOOOOOOSH!
Horrifying screams echoed. The sickening sounds of burning flesh and melting scales filled the air. The pillar of fire spun like a tornado, incinerating the surrounding oxygen and turning the Kobold defense formation into an instant cremation oven. Garrick, standing right in the middle of the firestorm, was completely unharmed thanks to his bronze-tier rarity and friendly fire nullification through the Lord's party system.
In just three seconds, the pillar of fire vanished.
All that remained at the bottom of the canyon was a smoking, blackened crater. Over sixty Kobolds had been turned to ash. The rest, who had been on the edges of the blast, were thrown backward, their bodies severely charred.
[Ding! Your troops killed a Kobold (Level 4). Obtained 10 EXP.] [Ding! Your troops killed a Kobold (Level 4)...] (A barrage of dozens of system notifications flooded Orion's interface)
The Kobold Mine Overseer (Level 8 Boss), who had just rushed out from the cave entrance, stopped dead in its tracks. Its eyes bulged as it stared at its army, annihilated in a single magical strike.
"Incredible," Orion muttered, gazing at Seraphina's AoE power. "Clean up the rest. Don't let the Boss escape into the mine."