SEC Chapter 778 - 82: Talented Individuals in the Territory
Chapter 778 - 82: Talented Individuals in the Territory
The intelligence for the Harvest season shows extraordinarily abundant yields, and Su Li has quite a few arrangements to make.
Besides preventing the necromancer’s invasion, the next step is to contest the mining rights with the dwarves.
To be fair, Su Li is not in the right here. Although humans and dwarves haven’t formally demarcated the boundaries, a consensus has essentially been reached among the three parties: the low mountains, plateaus, and plains south of Lady Grey Pass belong to the humans. The mountains, valleys, cliffs, and crags north of Lady Grey Pass belong to the dwarves.
This new massive iron ore discovery is north of Lady Grey Pass. Although it was indeed discovered by people from Hesse Territory, it is undoubtedly located within the dwarves’ domain.
It’s like if the dwarves found a mine in Hesse Territory, it would be Su Li’s asset no matter what.
Therefore, if Su Li wants to gain the mining rights and profits from this mine, he must focus on one particular area. That’s because the garrison of Hesse Territory patrols along Lady Grey Pass, and theoretically, the jurisdiction of Hesse Territory extends a certain distance from Lady Grey Pass. This is also the function of cities and strongholds, as they have a radiating influence scope.
This makes the area near Lady Grey Pass a potential tri-jurisdictional area, or perhaps a no-man’s land.
If Su Li’s army is stationed there and discovers the massive iron ore, logically, the dwarves cannot unequivocally claim that this mine belongs to their domain.
Su Li instructed Hilude: "Send our territory’s exploration team and high-level attendants to Lady Grey Pass to act together with the Gray Rock Clan’s exploration team. In our influence zone, there’s a massive iron ore deposit, and we must secure it swiftly."
Upon hearing Lady Grey Pass, Hilude understood what it signified and immediately said, "I’ll have Garsen handle this matter. His approach and demeanor are quite adaptable, making him suitable for dealing with dwarves, and he is very capable. To be honest, the development platform in our territory is a bit too small for him. We need to give him a chance to take charge."
Garsen?
Su Li remembered this person, as he was vividly mentioned in the intelligence as a talent and an underappreciated sage in Hesse Territory.
Born from humble origins, his father was a village blacksmith, and his mother was a wool weaver. Under normal circumstances, someone with his background might end up as a shepherd or an apprentice in a noble’s workshop.
In the dark Empire, changing one’s destiny and rising in rank is nearly impossible.
The difficulty is akin to handing him a bowl and expecting him to become a marshal commanding a vast army. Who would willingly take orders from a shepherd boy?
Yet, this young man displayed extraordinary valor and strategy from a young age. At seventeen, he led a group of village women, elders, and youths to ambush and annihilate a green-skinned war gang in the rye fields on the north slope of the village. With a ragtag group of villagers, he defeated over 20 heavily armed, brawny Beastman youths, and over 40 goblins, goblins, and wolf cavalry. This marked the beginning of his remarkable life.
When he and his mercenary corps arrived at Hesse Territory, Su Li immediately incorporated them. Su Li personally spoke with him, first classifying him as a high-tier directly affiliated attendant, and after he gained military prowess, promoting him to a Forbidden Guard Knight of Hesse or granting him an estate, eventually elevating him to a Kingdom Knight.
This was an unparalleled temptation for him, comparable to being knighted as a lord. Ascending from a mere civilian to a nobleman is nearly impossible within the Empire, and only in the Border Prince’s Territory are such upward paths available.
For Su Li’s promise, he committed wholeheartedly. With 12 armed attendants, he climbed over 700 meters of cliffs, ambushed the harpy’s nest, killed the harpy wizard, and annihilated nearly a hundred harpies, seizing the banshee tail feathers. These are critical strategic resources for crafting refined level armor-piercing arrows. The Hesse armory produced over 300 refined level armor-piercing arrows from these, which Su Li gave to little Green Tea Silvana last time, significantly gaining the favor of this deputy leader and the entire Knight Order.
The Green Leaf Knight Order successfully ensured every knight’s quiver had three refined armor-piercing arrows. They usually shoot common arrows, but in dealing with challenging monsters, they draw the refined armor-piercing arrows to inflict devastating damage on large monsters or heavy Chaos Knights.
Meanwhile, Garsen also obtained a witchcraft item – an Eagle Feather Cloak from the harpy wizard, allowing him to soar with the wind without fear of falling.
He can rise with the wind in areas with powerful wind eyes, crossing them without fearing a lethal fall.
Armed with this item, he tirelessly helped Su Li eradicate the Lanode cultists’ stronghold in the Wind-Eroded Cave, retrieving Vidage’s Immortal Pot. Alongside it came 2,000 Golden Crowns and over 100 types of metals, witchcraft tools, as well as jewels and diamonds.
Among them was over 30 pounds of vibranium, collectively worth over 5,000 Golden Crowns.
This directly proved Garsen’s loyalty and greatly enriched Su Li’s treasury. Indeed, without night forage, a horse doesn’t grow fat, and without unexpected wealth, a man isn’t rich. This raid on the Lanode cultists’ stronghold immediately boosted his wealth. This was entirely a cost-free income, equivalent to fiscal revenue of ten to twenty thousand Golden Crowns.