However, given the goblins' cunning and deceitful nature, if even one-third of what they said was true, it would be a blessing from the gods.
Since he had no mage, he had no way to determine whether they were lying and could only judge through this method.
"Now that we have the information we wanted, kill the rest." Velin sheathed his longsword, preparing for one final test.
If this goblin said nothing before dying, it meant there really was an iron mine underground. Otherwise, it was a lie.
Upon hearing their lord's command, the surrounding soldiers raised their spears and began slaughtering the more than twenty captured goblins.
The screams continued without end. Gry's face turned deathly pale as he raced against time to make his decision—whether or not to speak.
The next moment, just as Belder raised his sword to strike, Gry shouted, "My lord, I have intelligence to report! I have value! Please do not kill me!"
"Oh?" Velin waved Belder back, a smile appearing on his face as he asked, "If your intelligence is valuable, I can forgive your earlier deception. Otherwise, I will tie you up here and let the beasts of the wilderness gnaw on your flesh."
"Yes, my lord." Gry lay prone on the ground and said fearfully, "This passage only leads fifty meters underground. There is no iron mine there, only a hidden Teleportation Array that is still operating. It leads to Colorado, the Underground World where we goblins live."
"You came to the surface through the Teleportation Array?" Velin asked with a grave expression.
"Yes, my lord. Since the Teleportation Array has no Magic Crystals to charge it, it must absorb ambient Mana Energy. It can make a round trip about once every half a year." Gry spilled everything at once, hoping to earn forgiveness.
Belder looked at Velin and asked, "My lord, shall I deal with him?"
"No. Since he has proven his value, he has earned the right to live." Hearing that the array required charging, the unease in Velin's heart subsided. He signaled for Belder to lower his sword, intending to spare the goblin's life.
Realizing he had survived, Gry clutched his chest and gulped down fresh air, feeling for the first time just how wonderful it was to be alive.
"Seal the entrance and mark it. We will explore it later."
"Yes, my lord."
Belder struck his chest in salute and watched Velin leave. He then ordered his men to bind the sole surviving goblin and prepare to take him back for confinement.
After some effort, several soldiers found large stones and blocked the one-meter-tall passage. They covered it with sand and gravel, then concealed it with shrubs until it blended into the surrounding landscape.
On the journey back, Velin rode alone through the silent wilderness, gazing up at the sky.
"A Salt Mine, a Mithril Ore mine, magical plants in the cave beneath Lake of Star Prayer, and now a hidden Teleportation Array leading to the Underdark."
Everything appearing around Lake of Star Prayer was immensely valuable. Any one of them could become the foundation of a territory, making it all feel unreal to him.
Closing his eyes, he quietly reflected on the past half year of pioneering.
"Only sufficient strength can seize opportunities."
Velin abruptly opened his eyes and looked into the distance, his voice filled with resolve.
Development, development, and more development.
He would do everything possible to develop his own forces, improve his strength, seize opportunities, and climb to greater heights.
For the time that followed, all of Lake of Star Prayer prepared thoroughly for the Gnolls due to arrive at the end of November.
Building Three-Bow Ballistas, forging spears, remelting Mithril to craft weapons and armor, gathering food within a ten-kilometer radius, and constructing the castle—every task was preparation for the monster attack at the end of November.
On the night of November 1, Velin counted the time until eight o'clock arrived.
At that moment, everything was silent, and the Guidance of Fate did not arrive as expected.
"Just as I thought, as my strength increases, the interval will lengthen." Velin sat on the edge of his bed, looking out the window as he muttered to himself.
Without foreknowledge, he felt somewhat unaccustomed to it.
With the interval extended, Velin guessed it might be a season, or perhaps half a year.
"If the interval changes from one month to several months, will the information gained be more valuable?"
As for the answer to that question, Velin could only keep it in his heart and wait for time to answer it.
Since the Guidance of Fate had not taken effect, he needed to make even more thorough preparations over the coming month.
Although the strongest Gnolls heading toward Lake of Star Prayer were only Low-level Silver, if a hundred or so came, it would still be enough to cause him serious trouble. His territory might even fall.
The next morning, Velin summoned Belder.
"My lord." Dressed in plain clothes, Belder came to Velin's side and bowed respectfully.
"Belder, starting today, arrange patrol posts and expand their range to thirty kilometers in every direction, especially to the west. Report to me immediately if you discover any unusual activity."
"Also, have Landov and the others speed up the Mithril Ore excavation. It must be completed by the middle of this month at the latest."
"My lord, I will relay your orders at once."
At that very moment, an attack was taking place at the camp by the Mithril Ore mine.
Landov had just emerged from his tent when he saw a soldier hurrying toward him, reporting in panic, "My lord, monsters have been found in the mine. Four mining serfs have been injured."
"What? Take me there, quickly."
Landov did not even have time to put on his armor. He grabbed his Knight Longsword and followed the soldier toward the mine.
After traversing more than a hundred meters of winding mine tunnels, Landov reached the scene as quickly as possible.
More than a dozen soldiers wielding spears surrounded two yellow giant lizards, restricting their movement.
"Rock Lizards." Landov was greatly shocked. Why were these monsters in this godforsaken place?
However, judging by their size, the two lizards were only three or four meters long and had likely been born not long ago.
Adult Rock Lizards reached sixteen or seventeen meters in length and possessed strength equivalent to Gold-grade. They were disasters incarnate.
"Hiss—"
The two Rock Lizards seemed to sense the threat and began retreating, watching Landov warily.
Landov then focused his mind and released his Battle Qi, forming fiery red Battle Qi around his Knight Longsword.
The next moment, he suddenly accelerated and charged toward one of the Rock Lizards.
"Slash—"
The Rock Lizard let out a roar and condensed stones in its mouth, preparing to attack.
However, Landov easily evaded the juvenile Rock Lizard's magical attack.
The Knight Longsword scraped against the juvenile Rock Lizard's scales, throwing off sparks. Landov was greatly surprised—the scales' defensive power was actually stronger than armor.
He retreated several steps, staring gravely at the two beasts.
"Damn it, they must have devoured Mithril Ore and strengthened the defense of their scales."
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