Chapter Ten
{ The Yellow Iron Mine }
Titan Village
Human Troop: 11 (Chris, Liu, Noa…)
Goblin Troop: 42 (Tory, Boban…)
Non-combatants (Humans): 4 (Yora, Aliano, Martin, the Elder)
Non-combatants (Goblins): 5 (…)
Total Population: 62
Overall Loyalty Rate: 69%
Ruler: Lord Ian (not counted among forces or workers)
Among them were four individuals at Level 1… the rest were all Level 0.
Of course, there was also the White Tiger… but it was currently in recovery.
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Inside the Mine
Ian looked around with curiosity as he walked.
Tory, Boban, Chris, and Liu walked beside him, with the rest following behind—among them the goblin archer.
The walls were dark black, streaked with faint yellow glowing veins running through the cracks.
The goblins had installed large wooden supports to widen the mine and prevent collapses.
Deep inside, they had set up their village—
Huts made of straw and brick, a small training yard, and a few scattered structures.
Nothing stood out except the Job-Change Stones placed at the center.
Rune
Profession Name: Warrior
Profession Grade: Common (different grades grant different stats)
Change Attempts: 20 / 2
Nearby were five more stones, along with a Ranger Profession rune, which still had 19 empty slots—allowing 19 more villagers to become rangers.
Then there was the Village Core.
Goblin Village
Grade: Common (Progress 57%)
Traits: None
Requirements to Upgrade into a Developed Village: 3 Stones at the standard village tier
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Population: 47
Current Lord: Tory (under Lord Ian’s authority)
Ian nodded in understanding, expectations gleaming in his eyes.
His own Village Core would surely grant him far better rewards.
Hatching Gate
Grade: Common
Daily Reproduction Rate: 1
Spawn Rarities (annual rates):
60% Common, 30% Normal, 5% Rare, 3% Ancient, 2% Superior
Legendary-grade individuals can never be born.
(Increasing village level and gaining special items or supportive titles boosts daily spawns and higher-grade chances.)
Cool down: 16 hours, 43 minutes.
(Summoning gate \ Hatching Gate)
At last, the Goblin Storage.
This was always the most important thing after a war: the loot.
357 Bronze Coins
23 Silver Coins
57 Swords (Common)
12 Axes (Common)
3 Bows (Common)
And most importantly… a source of water.
“Where?” Ian asked urgently.
“About three miles from here, my lord,” Boban replied quickly.
Ian nodded and sent Noa with Boban to verify the location while the others collected all the money, items, and—most importantly—the Village Stone.
**Notice: Transferring the village will erase all progress**.
Progress meant the accumulated experience from hunting monsters, managing the village, number of deaths, the total stored wealth, and many other factors.
Losing it meant abandoning everything they’d built up so far…
But that stone was a requirement for building Ian’s own Village Core.
A trivial loss… for enormous gains.
Everyone returned to the village.
Ian immediately began assigning new tasks.
There was a mine that needed excavation.
“You haven’t mined any Yellow Iron?” Ian asked, after finding none in their storage.
Tory sighed. “To tell the truth, my lord… we work on Yellow Iron every day, but…”
Ian frowned, sensing something wrong. “Continue—and be honest. You’re under my rule now, and I don’t like lies.”
He finished speaking and turned his gaze to Boban.
Boban trembled, unable to meet Ian’s eyes.
“In truth… as you know, my lord, we have five elders who can’t fight, and they work day and night mining. But the quota never satisfies them. So after the morning hunting trip, all of us return to work at night to gather another batch of Yellow Iron… and even Red Iron if it appears.”
“Quota… Are you saying someone is extorting you?” Ian was stunned.
“Yes, my lord,” Boban said. “A group of bandits… humans, but completely savage. Every day they come to take food and Yellow Iron. If the amount is lower than they demand, they take some of us away. And the worst is the Red Iron… we managed to obtain a few pieces, but they took all of it. Not to mention the coins.”
Ian finally understood…
The goblins hunted a large amount of food every day, yet they didn’t need all of it—and they never stored it.
At first, he assumed it was due to greed—kill more to gain more loot.
But it turned out there was something much bigger behind it…
“What are they? Their numbers, their strength, their location,” Ian asked.
“Their numbers are around a hundred… maybe more. All of them are elite warriors. They even have more than ten at Level 1… along with many powerful skills.
But the most important is their leader… she’s a sorceress who uses the Lightning element. Her attacks are extremely fast and incredibly strong… Our lord was defeated by a single strike from her,” Boban said, trembling at the memory.
“I didn’t stand a chance,” Tory sighed.
“Why didn’t you run away?” Chris asked.
“Red Iron!!” Tory answered honestly.
“As the lord knows… it’s a rare metal. Abandoning it would be absolute foolishness,” Boban added.
Their innate greed overcame their fear… Ian thought, then asked,
“Where is their location?”
“At the river where we gathered water… they’re about a mile beyond it. They live in a cave, which makes it easy to defend and impossible to attack.
Even though they’re only bandits, their guard rotations are strict, and their patrols are organized,” Boban replied.
They had once dreamed of freedom, which was why they gathered as much information as they could…
But unfortunately, their dreams would remain only dreams.
“Fine… How long between each quota and the next?” Ian asked.
“Every day,” Tory replied. “At night.”
Ian frowned. This was the thing that troubled him the most.
He hadn’t even enjoyed the victory of increasing his forces, only to suddenly find a powerful enemy right at his doorstep…
And there was still the Wolf Den to consider.
The situation… did not look promising.
***
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