The Elven Cultivator

Chapter 295: Chapter 268: Alien Army

In the Celestial Essence Hall of the Ninefold Celestial Tower.

Anton sat at the head of a long table, his right hand cupping his chin, listening intently to Eleanor’s report.

”The trade partnership with the Green Scale Clan has been finalized. We expect them to formally join the Clan’s trade network by next month.”

”We have completed the takeover of the two Magic Stone Veins in the Black Stone Territory. The handover of the Magic Stone Vein offered by the Green Scale Clan is also complete. We’ve dispatched personnel to all three veins to begin mining operations, and everything is currently running smoothly.”

The Elf Maiden’s pleasant voice echoed through the hall.

Clear and concise.

”As for the former Black Stone Territory, including Black Stone City and its many towns and villages, we plan to convert them into trade hubs.”

”These locations are strategically placed right in the heart of the Green Highlands. If we can make use of them, it would greatly improve the efficiency of distributing supplies in the eastern regions and significantly reduce transportation costs.”

Anton nodded slightly.

Previously, when the Silver Moon Race’s goods were shipped to eastern regions like the Green Highlands and the Thundering River Basin, they usually had to be consolidated at Bishui Port first before being transported onward.

The journey was long and time-consuming, and the costs remained high.

With Black Stone City as a hub in the heart of the Green Highlands, the situation would be completely different.

The trade network could extend much farther east, drastically improving the efficiency of commerce and significantly lowering transportation costs.

”There is one more thing, Clan Leader.” Eleanor closed the file in her hands, her expression turning more serious. ”How should we deal with the surrendered troops from the Black Stone Territory?”

Anton pondered for a moment, not answering immediately. He leaned back in his chair, a thoughtful look on his face.

Eleanor waited quietly, not pressing him for an answer.

After about the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, Anton finally spoke slowly, ”Organize the surrendered soldiers into an army.”

Eleanor was taken aback for a second, a flicker of confusion on her face. ”Organize them into an army?”

Anton nodded and explained calmly, ”Although the Silver Moon Legion has been expanding, we are still severely short on manpower compared to our Clan’s current sphere of influence.”

Eleanor nodded in deep agreement.

As the one responsible for coordinating the Clan’s affairs, she understood this point deeply.

Even when the Clan’s sphere of influence was limited to just the Eldron Plain and Nine Nether City, their manpower was already stretched thin.

The Silver Moon Legion and the garrison forces had to defend the Taichu Spirit Realm, Nine Nether City, and various resource points; guard the trade routes; train for war; and also rotate for rest and recuperation.

Over twenty thousand soldiers might seem like a lot, but once spread across all these fronts, there were hardly any left for any single one.

Now, with the addition of a new territory in the Green Highlands, the need for garrison troops had suddenly skyrocketed, and their manpower had become critically strained.

She had recently been agonizing over how to solve this very problem.

”That’s why I plan to recruit other races and establish an Alien Race army.”

Anton continued.

”The Alien Race army can help us guard mines, transport supplies, and garrison some of the less important strongholds.”

”When a battle becomes intense, they can also serve as auxiliary troops, responsible for logistics, supply lines, and evacuating the wounded.”

What Anton was describing was, in fact, based on the foreign legions of history.

Using natives from a conquered region to help govern that same region saved money and effort, and it was less likely to provoke large-scale resistance from the local population.

Of course, on the Dawn Continent, feelings of nationalism and regionalism weren’t that strong.

Most people’s loyalty was not to a country, but to a specific lord, a faction, or simply to their own interests.

This, in turn, made it even more suitable for establishing an Alien Race army.

As long as the benefits were good enough, they would work hard.

The only thing to guard against was the issue of the Alien Race army’s loyalty.

However, Anton wasn’t too worried about that.

As long as the military might of the Silver Moon Race remained dominant, they could firmly suppress the Alien Race army.

Besides, the members of the Alien Race army would come from different races, so it was impossible for them to be of one mind anyway.

Eleanor’s eyes brightened, as she had evidently thought of the benefits as well.

”I understand.” She nodded seriously. ”I will begin making arrangements shortly.”

”I will draw up a plan as soon as possible for screening, organizing, and stationing the surrendered soldiers, as well as for appointing officers and creating a training program.”

Anton gave a slight nod. ”For the next few years, the Clan should just focus on consolidating its gains. We won’t be launching any more external campaigns for the time being.”

Although the population of the Silver Moon Race was growing quickly, its base was still too small.

While they could alleviate the manpower pressure by recruiting Vassal Races and an Alien Race army, that was a temporary solution, not a permanent cure.

If the number of Vassal Races and Alien Race troops was not properly controlled, it would be easy for the guest to usurp the host, and their own race would risk being marginalized.

Proceeding steadily and surely as they were now, first consolidating the territory they had conquered and strengthening their foundations before considering the next step of expansion—that was the proper path.

Ultimately, the Elf Race’s birth rate and population base destined the Silver Moon Race for a path other than rapid expansion.

The elite path was the most suitable course of development for the Elf Race.

Eleanor clearly understood this principle as well. She simply nodded at his words and said no more.

Anton then asked about another matter. ”What’s the progress on exploring the Dark Nether Realm?”

Eleanor had already prepared her answer and replied without hesitation, ”The Nine Nether City Domain’s control radius has expanded to about thirty kilometers, and we are still continuously pushing outward.”

Anton nodded to himself.

Thirty kilometers might not sound like much, but this was in the Dark Nether Realm.

The terrain there was intricate and complex, filled with dangerous monsters and hostile subterranean races.

Every kilometer the exploration range was extended outward came at a considerable cost.

Moreover, the ”control radius” Eleanor mentioned didn’t just mean they had scouted the area; it included the complete transformation of that region.

Naturally, the pace could not be fast.

Something suddenly occurred to Anton, and he asked, ”How is Ye Tong’s cultivation progressing?”

He hadn’t checked in on the Catman girl he had gifted a Cultivation Technique for a while.

A smile appeared on Eleanor’s face. ”Ye Tong has already mastered the Profound Yin Night Wanderer Chapter and refined Spiritual Qi. She is now on the verge of breaking through to the Middle Stage of Qi Refining.”

Anton was somewhat surprised to hear this.

He had thought that for a Warrior like Ye Tong, already accustomed to the Dawn Continent’s traditional cultivation system, it wouldn’t be so easy to accept a completely new system from scratch.

Even if she could successfully cultivate the Profound Yin Night Wanderer Chapter, it should have taken a very long time.

He didn’t expect her to refine Spiritual Qi so quickly.

’It seems this Catman girl has more potential than I had anticipated.’

Anton’s interest was piqued. ”Have there been any Transformations in her?”

Eleanor tilted her head and thought for a moment before saying hesitantly, ”Just that her various racial abilities have improved... Her sense of smell is keener, her climbing speed is faster, and her night vision is much stronger than before. I haven’t noticed anything else.”

Anton’s face grew pensive.

The Catman were a feline humanoid race, born with the traits of a nocturnal predator.

Dark vision, keen senses, explosive speed, climbing ability... these were all their innate racial talents.

After cultivating the Profound Yin Night Wanderer Chapter, it seemed all these talents had been enhanced.

’This is an interesting phenomenon.’

After a moment of thought, Anton made his decision. ”Have Ye Tong make a trip to Taichu City. I want to see for myself.”

”Alright,” Eleanor agreed.

After going over a few more routine matters, Anton dismissed Eleanor to her duties.

Watching the Elf Maiden’s figure disappear through the hall’s entrance, Anton stood up, stretched, and then left the Celestial Essence Hall, transforming into a streak of sword-light and heading toward the Green Highlands.

’Next, I need to set up a Qiankun Spirit Transformation Array for the two Magic Stone Veins and embed two Elemental Origin Crystals within them.’

’In this way, a century from now, the Clan will possess two new Spirit Stone Veins.’

’As for the remaining Magic Stone Vein, we’ll just mine it for Magic Stone as usual.’

Coincidentally, due to the production of Demon Crystal products, the Clan’s demand for Magic Stone had been increasing in recent years.

’With an additional Magic Stone Vein, our Magic Stone shortage should be alleviated considerably.’

Anton mused to himself as he traveled, ’I also need to keep going to the Subspace. The hunt for Dragon Souls and the search for spatial nodes cannot be neglected.’

The offensive and defensive battles in the Subspace were far from over. The tug-of-war between the allied forces and the Dragon Race would likely continue for a long time.

’The nurturing effect of Dragon Soul essence on my Golden Core is tangible, and the Contribution Points from the spatial nodes can be exchanged for all sorts of rare resources. I can’t give up on either of them.’

’I also need to find time to refine a Dao Comprehension Stele.’

Over the past few years, Anton had successively refined two more Dao Comprehension Steles.

One for the Metal Element, and one for the Fire Element.

With that, the set of Five Elements Dao Comprehension Steles was complete. All were placed on the Dao Comprehension Platform in the Ninefold Celestial Tower for his clan members to study.

’Next, I plan to use my insights and understanding of the Daluo Celestial Sleeve as a foundation, integrate the essence of the Way of the Ultimate Sword, and refine a Dao Comprehension Stele for the Space Law.’

’The Space Law, unlike the Five Elements, is obscure and difficult to understand. The difficulty of refining its Dao Comprehension Stele will far exceed that of the Five Elements, and it will take much more time.’

’But I’m in no hurry. I’ll just take my time.’

’Beyond that, my research on how to accelerate a Legendary Tier’s speed of comprehending Laws is also showing promise.’

’The Eternal Tree and the Spring of Life have also been successfully transplanted to Taichu City.’

’The whole process went more smoothly than I had expected.’

’The Daluo Celestial Sleeve, a spatial Divine Technique, is quite useful for ’transporting’ things.’

’The process was clean and efficient, causing no damage whatsoever to the Eternal Tree or the Spring of Life.’

’Next, the matter of integrating and modifying the Mountain Protection Array can be put on the agenda.’

’Thinking about it all, I really have quite a lot on my plate.’