Chapter 99.2: The Goblin Extermination
When he saw the chunks of ore scattered throughout the cavern, Ryan’s eyes lit up.
“Copper ore!”
“There really is a copper mine here!”
Ryan murmured to himself, his expression filled with excitement.
Copper ore was extremely important to the Eagle Ridge. Even the smallest copper mine held great value.
This was because copper ore could be used not only to forge brass armor but also as a form of currency.
Unlike iron coins, copper coins were already considered the lowest denomination currency used by the major nobles, and their value far exceeded that of iron coins.
After Ryan secured the area, he continued on his way.
Time passed again.
Three days quickly went by.
In the following days, with the support of the map, both Peros and Ryan’s purges proceeded rapidly. In a short amount of time, they had cleared about half of the designated area.
In at most two months, the entire Eagle Ridge would be cleared.
And during this large-scale purge, the gains were immense.
Goblins were being transported to the Eagle Castle in a steady stream.
At first, there were only a few hundred, but soon the numbers grew to one or two thousand.
Gradually, the number of Goblins surpassed five thousand, then eight thousand.
With a large number of Goblins gathered, Thor quickly replaced some of the slaves in the mines with Goblins. The freed slaves were then assigned to the construction work within the Eagle Ridge.
Meanwhile, the remaining Goblins were distributed to other recently discovered mines.
The rest were sent to aid in the construction of the small town upstream in the Maine Valley.
With a substantial number of Goblins joining in, both the mining output and construction speed rapidly increased.
After all, with slaves, you had to consider life and death.
But not with Goblins.
Given the Goblins' reproductive abilities, even if he cleared them out now, in less than two years, the surrounding Goblin population would recover by seventy to eighty percent.
There was no need to worry about depleting them.
At the training ground of Eagle Castle.
A dense life force bloomed, and a massive light green magic circle appeared in the air.
Below it were several terrified Goblins.
Their pupils were wide with fear, and they wanted to flee.
But an invisible binding force intertwined around them, preventing any escape.
“Buzz!”
As the light from the massive magic circle descended, six-pointed star marks appeared on the foreheads of the Goblins, and at the same time, a large scroll slowly descended from the magic circle.
Anna’s face was a bit pale, but she quickly caught the scroll.
“Master, the contract is complete!”
Anna spoke softly.
“Thank you for your hard work!”
Thor spoke gently, his heart aching a little. Anna had been constantly binding contracts, and her magical power had been severely drained.
But besides Anna, he had no other options. Finding a third-rank mage wasn’t easy. Sighing lightly, he took the scroll from her.
“It’s okay, Master. I’m happy to help,” Anna said with a soft smile.
“Go rest. There’s probably more to come,” Thor said softly.
Anna nodded lightly, not forcing herself.
Binding such contracts took a heavy toll on her.
Now nearly drained of energy, she had to seize this time to meditate.
This type of exhaustion and meditation was also a form of cultivation for her. Although she had been tired these days, Anna could clearly feel her spiritual power increasing rapidly.
At this rate, she would soon reach the peak of the second rank.
Anna went off to meditate, while Thor began contemplating his next steps.
He anticipated that there would be even more Goblins soon.
Given the scale of the Eagle Ridge, it would be difficult to utilize so many Goblins.
Even though he had acquired several more mines, it was still impossible to use all of them.
With that in mind, he had to consider how to handle the surplus.
As these thoughts swirled in his mind, Thor’s gaze shifted to the map.
He looked toward the locations of the pioneer lords.
The six lords who remained in the Maine Valley were undoubtedly prosperous, with several of them even obtaining valuable mines.
These lords needed enough manpower.
Especially since the newly expanded territories required even more people for cultivation and development. Labor was in even greater demand, and these Goblins would be the perfect supplement.
Thor believed the lords would be very willing to buy them.
Selling Goblins wasn’t considered slave trading. As long as it wasn’t too public, he was confident that not too many people in Loren City would take notice.
The only issue was how to price them.
In Loren City, slaves were priced at ten silver coins each. Even the cheapest, scrawniest slaves cost at least one silver coin. Naturally, he couldn’t price his Goblins that high.
He needed something more affordable.
As his thoughts swirled, Thor made a decision.
He sat down at his desk and swiftly wrote with a quill pen.
“Someone, come!”
He called out.
Soon, a knight entered the room.
“My lord!”
The knight spoke respectfully.
“Make four copies of this letter and send them to the five lords.”
Thor instructed the knight quickly.
“Yes, my lord!”
The knight replied and swiftly exited the room.
He immediately began to carry out the task.
And as Thor was sending his letters.
Elsewhere.
Ten days had nearly passed.
The five pioneer lords gathered together.
In Loren City Castle.
All five of them were frowning.
Even after seven or eight days had passed, they were still undecided.
The task of clearing out the area and facing the threat of the orcs was no joke. If not handled properly, it could lead to heavy losses.
Unless it was absolutely necessary, they were really unwilling to take the risk.
However, Thor's words had indeed influenced them.
The kingdom’s war was drawing near. With their current strength, not to mention rising through the war, it would be difficult just to avoid significant losses.
This made them even more conflicted.
So much so that they had no choice but to gather together and consider whether they should go or not.
“Everyone, speak your minds.”
“We have only ten days left, and we must make a decision!”
Baron Pape spoke, his gaze sweeping over the others.
But despite his words, no one responded. Some wanted to speak, but the words stopped at their lips.