After receiving satisfactory answers, the tribal chiefs left one after another with the grain purchased from the mining market.
But this craze has not completely cooled down, and many young indigenous people are unwilling to leave.
The existing indigenous miners in the mine will continue to work, and the mine will no longer recruit new miners for a period of time.
Surdak promised the clan leaders of each tribe that he would allocate the quotas for recruiting miners to each tribe at the turn of autumn and winter every year, so that the young natives left the mine with great expectations.
Currently, Surdak's army temporarily maintains a strength of 3,000 troops.
Fifteen hundred heavy infantry, one thousand mounted archers and 500 heavy cavalry.
When young indigenous people join the army, they are required to perform military service and do not receive monthly military pay.
But these young natives can receive some allowances, and every time they go out to perform a mission or fight, they can gain merit. If you accumulate 100 merit points, you can exchange them for a gold coin.
Therefore, in addition to actively participating in high-intensity training every day, the only thing these young indigenous people who have recently joined the army hope for is to be able to participate in field operations.
However, the heavy armor and weapons worn by the 1,500 heavy infantry are still being customized, and all infantry are undergoing intensive training in the garrison camp.
Only the cavalry and archers were out on duty.
…
Recently, Samira has been leading eighteen Thunder Rhinoceros back and forth between the copper mine and the canyon in the northern part of the forest. She is obviously more interested in making money than participating in battles.
In order to prevent the few old iron trees buried under moss and dead leaves in the forest from being stolen, she not only left eight hundred archers in the northern canyon forest, but also borrowed two hundred cavalry from the Andrew Cavalry Battalion.
It is also deployed on the northern border of Invercargill Forest and patrols around the valley all day long.
Samira's idea was simple, just to transport the ironwood out as soon as possible, but there were a lot more ironwood buried under the leaf mold in the forest than she expected.
When Suldak and his party passed through this forest area before, they only saw some ironwood exposed on the surface and covered with a layer of moss.
When Samira transported the old ironwood exposed on the surface of the forest to Dodan Town in sections, she discovered that a lot of ironwood was hidden deep in the soil of the forest, and some of the ironwood was even related to the roots of the trees in the forest.
entangled together.
Due to its non-perishable nature, ironwood has been buried in the soil for countless years. Now only the surface has rotted away, but the ironwood inside is quite well preserved.
These ironwoods have been buried in moss and leaf mold in the forest for so many years, and now they are finally seen again.
Samira was worried that once Thunder Rhino transported a large amount of iron wood, it would definitely attract the attention of some interested people.
She doesn't want these ironwoods to be stolen...
…
Surdak also returned to the northern border of Invercargill Forest.
He came here not to transport back the ironwood buried in the forest, but to wander around the south bank of the mountain stream with a group of cavalry every day.
He has recently been paying attention to his neighbor in the north of his territory. The tide of beasts that occurs once every ten years fills him with a sense of urgency. If this dark insect valley cannot be conquered within ten years, then his territory will be trampled by an army of thousands of red ants.
It was razed to the ground.
If that is the case, long-term investment will not be possible here.
He has been wondering for the past few days whether he can use this mountain stream to build a new line of defense.
This woodland with dense foliage is located in the northern part of Invercargill Forest. It is only separated from the Dark Worm Valley by a deep mountain stream. Occasionally, one or two ghost-striped red ants will appear.
Perhaps it was because of the Level 4 Warcraft Dark Bat that the local natives only knew that this forest area was dangerous, and they were usually reluctant to come here.
The mountain stream in the northern part of the forest almost completely separates the Invercargill Forest and the Dark Worm Valley. Although the ghost-striped red ants are good at climbing cliffs, they are very afraid of water. There is an endless river flowing below the mountain stream.
It is this river that separates the red ants from heading south.
It is said that when an animal tide breaks out, the ant colony wants to cross this mountain stream. Countless soldier ants hug together and build a bridge that connects them to the other side of the river.
When Samira followed Surdak to the south bank of the mountain stream, she also saw some dried corpses of ghost-striped worker ants on the cliff at the bottom of the valley. Many worker ants were tightly packed together and hung on the stone wall.
, but the bridges composed of their bodies were completely broken.
Occasionally, some corpses of ghost-striped red ants fall into the valley below the mountain stream, and the only sound of the river flowing can be heard.
The last time Surdak came here, the indigenous warriors of the Dakuni tribe led him across this mountain stream, but they did not venture into the Dark Worm Valley at that time.
…
Ever since the three level four monsters entrenched in the Invercargill Forest were hunted down by an army led by Suldak, there have been no monsters in the forest that could threaten the adventure group.
Everyone knows that Invercargill Forest is full of treasures.
After the beast tide ended, there were not many low-level monsters left in the forest, and many monsters migrated back from Anya Swamp.
But during this period, a large number of adventure groups rushed into the forest before winter, and almost all the monsters in the forest were hunted by the adventure groups.
There is no space for the monsters to survive in this forest, and because of this, the adventure group's footsteps are heading towards the north of the forest little by little.
A large number of adventure groups came to the south bank of the mountain stream in Invercargill Forest near the edge of the Dark Worm Valley, and finally stopped.
The members of the adventure group discovered that what stood in front of them was not only a deep gorge, but also a poisonous mist that could hardly be dispersed in the valley opposite, as well as those ghost-striped red ants that were infested in the poisonous mist.
Across the mountain stream, you can see the ghost-striped red ants moving in the dense forest.
They would hardly leave the woodlands filled with poisonous fog, let alone cross the rapid river valleys at the bottom of mountain streams.
…
Across the bank, I saw that there were many ghost-striped red ants infesting the woodland opposite, and many adventure groups did not want to return empty-handed.
At this time, some members of the adventure group showed off their wild imagination.
They began to secretly build several iron ropes leading to the north bank on the south bank of the mountain stream in the northern part of Invercargill Forest. Then these adventure groups embarked on a unique hunting trip on the bank of the mountain stream.
That is to say, various baits are used to introduce the ghost-marked red ants in the poisonous mist into the forest, and then they are killed one by one...
They peeled off the hard skin of the red ants and hung them on trees to dry. They took out the magic core from the skull and put it in their pockets.
Originally, many adventure groups had begun to think of leaving because there were no more monsters to hunt in the Warcraft Forest. However, an adventure group discovered the business opportunities here, so many adventure groups began to gather towards the northern part of the forest.
In Bailin in October, ant magic materials once again appeared in the markets of the Copper Mine and Duodan Town.
…
The night sky in Invercargill Forest is full of stars, and several members of the adventure group are sitting in the camp chatting.
They set up several tents under a rock cliff and have been hunting ghost-striped red ants on the other side of the mountain stream for the past few days. Outside the tents, the rock walls and branches are covered with the hard armor of red ants.
Don't dare to camp too close to the red ants. This rock cliff requires climbing over a mountain ridge to reach the mountain stream further north.
Such harvest days always make people feel happy.
The weather has started to get colder, and you can feel the biting wind blowing in through the gaps in the tent at night. Even if you get into your sleeping bag, the cold wind can still hit your face.
The leader of the adventure group has already begun to calculate the departure date. He does not want to wait until the first snow falls before leaving, otherwise the road in the mountains and forests may become more difficult.
The adventure group has gained quite a lot in recent days, and the members are feeling a little relaxed. The weather here is a bit cold. In addition to fatty food and spicy food, fruit wine is also something that can ward off the cold.
After dinner, several members gathered around the campfire and took turns drinking a glass of fruit wine from a shared wine glass.
When chatting, there are always people who like to brag, so as to liven up the atmosphere of the chat.
Tonight’s topic is: ‘What is on the other side of the mountain...’
From the boundary marker, everyone knows that the mountain is the northernmost boundary of Viscount Suldak's territory in Invercargill Forest.
What makes everyone curious is that in this mountain forest, wooden boards are nailed at every intersection into the mountain, and two lines of words are written on them in Imperial and Aboriginal languages.
‘Private property, no one allowed to enter’
In fact, if I hadn't written these words, the slopes in this barren mountain would be the most difficult to walk on. There are thickets of thorns, thorns, vines and shrubs everywhere among the tall trees. Maybe the members of the adventure group wouldn't go there easily to solve their personal problems.
Lin Zi, they will worry about those thorn vines accidentally pricking their buttocks.
But there are always those wooden boards near the boundary markers...
Although the words on those wooden boards are clearly written and their meanings are straightforward, in the eyes of adventurers, those words are more like, 'Come in quickly, it's very mysterious here...'
Now the members of this adventure group are discussing this issue after drinking some fruit wine.
"Every time I pass by that creek, I always see that board, and I wonder! What's hidden inside? You know, the copper mines don't even have such warning signs!" A young ranger tore his hands apart.
He said in a low voice while eating roasted red ant meat.
"What exactly did you say they transported back to Dodan Town?"
A shield warrior sitting opposite put down the whetstone in his hand, inserted the polished one-handed sword back into the leather scabbard, and began to check the belt buckle behind the shield. In the adventure group, he was mainly responsible for blocking attacks.
When the red ants come up, he wants to make sure that there are no problems with the weapons and armor.
"Slip in and take a look and you'll find out!" A skinny ranger with a shiny beard on his lips said frivolously.
The Skinny Ranger has the most outstanding appearance in this adventure group. The leather armor he usually wears is also very elegant. He also has two long legs that allow him to run extremely fast.
His archery skills are not outstanding, but his mind is flexible. He is usually responsible for the most important exploration tasks in the adventure group.
And every night I can always get an appointment with the only female swordsman in the group.
This makes everyone a little dissatisfied with him privately, isn't it just a bit paler...
The female swordsman picked out a steaming red ant leg from the bonfire, used the long sword in her hand to pry open the hard shell, picked out the snow-white and tender red ant meat inside, and handed it to the emaciated ranger intimately.
Although she is not very beautiful, this adventure group has not returned to Duodan Town for more than two months.
In everyone's eyes...all her shortcomings are automatically ignored.
In this wilderness, some people may not care about gender even if they have breasts and butts.
The group members sitting under the bonfire couldn't help but have their Adam's apples twitching, and then the glasses of fruit wine they passed around were no longer so fragrant.
"Just take a look..."
The shield warrior muttered something in his mouth, then raised his head and looked at the night sky.
"There seems to be no moon tonight. If we sneak in, take a look and come back, no one will know." The shield warrior said again.
But the young ranger looked at the group leader who was sitting silently by the campfire, and whispered: "It's better not to go. The mountain road is not easy to walk at night, and it's so late now. Isn't it going to be hunting red tomorrow?"
Ant?"
The leader raised his head and glanced at the young ranger.
But everyone's curiosity has been aroused. The young ranger said these words, who cares what he thinks.
"Let's go and have a look. Maybe there is a gold mine inside and we can even pick up gold!"
"Maybe the entrance to ancient ruins is hidden. As long as we can pick up a rune tablet, we won't have to take risks again in this life..."
Several members encouraged each other and stood up from the bonfire.
Although the Skinny Ranger didn't want to go, he was now interested and put the long leather boots that were roasting by the fire back on his feet.
…
A group of people crossed the boundary marker and sneaked into the territory of Viscount Suldak. This feeling of sneakiness will make your heart beat faster and your whole body can't help but tremble.
During the day, several members of the adventure group always passed by this boundary monument. Although they did not enter the depths of the dense forest, the situation near the entrance of the forest road was still relatively familiar.
Enter the woodland and walk along the hillside.
Under the darkness of night, you can see some huge thunder rhinoceros footprints in the forest road. When thunder rhinoceros steps on the soft leaf soil, it will always leave relatively deep footprints.
These footprints can be used as traps.
Just insert a sharp thorn needle underneath, cover it with dead leaves and soil, and step in and the sole of the foot will be pierced.
Several people walked along the forest road, one foot deep and one foot shallow, until they reached the top of the slope, but they didn't find anything special.
However, the skinny ranger soon discovered something different. He stood in the darkness and quickly called to other companions: "Come here quickly, over here!"
The adventure group ran over quickly, followed the Slender Ranger, climbed over the top of the slope, and arrived at the southern slope of the forest.
The scene in front of me suddenly changed. There were many places on the slope that had been dug up. When I got closer, I realized that there was nothing inside.
A group of adventure group members, you look at me, I look at you.
"Go further inside," the shield warrior said in a low voice.
It was so quiet all around that the young ranger felt uneasy.
He put his hand on the skinny ranger's shoulder and whispered: "I think it's better to forget it. Be careful there may be traps in the woods."
The shield warrior pushed the young ranger away with his strong chest and said in a very disgusting tone: "I wonder why you are so cowardly. You are still not a ranger."
"I just don't have that strong curiosity. I only want to hunt ghost-striped red ants here, and I don't want to get into trouble." The young ranger said truthfully.
The Shield Warrior ignored him and whispered to the Slender Ranger: "Randy, what do you say? Can you help us avoid those traps?"
Perhaps the drunkenness had not dissipated, or perhaps the pits dug in the forest had irritated him. The Skinny Ranger immediately puffed up his chest and promised: "Follow me and you'll be fine!"