Two Unexpectedly Pleasant Pieces of Intelligence

The value of iron mines was extremely important in any world, and even more so in this supernatural one. A Large Iron Mine was especially valuable. Not only was iron itself a unit of currency, but more importantly, mithril iron that could be used as one of the primary materials for forging Silver Armor might be produced within a Large Iron Mine.

Controlling a Large Iron Mine meant that the territory would have the opportunity to continuously produce the key material needed for Silver Armor.

Compared with Black Iron Armor and Brass Armor, Silver Armor was true supernatural armor and practically hard currency throughout the market.

Black Iron Armor was worth very little. A single piece was worth only around ten silver coins. Even in the Northern Province, a set of Black Iron Armor was not outrageously expensive, costing merely twenty or thirty silver coins. Brass Armor was somewhat more expensive, but it was worth only two or three gold coins.

Silver Armor, however, was different.

In Frost Moon Province, a set of Silver Armor already cost more than a hundred gold coins, while in the Northern Province, the price was even higher.

The mithril iron needed for a set of Silver Armor could fetch more than eighty gold coins even if sold simply as raw material to the Habs Merchant Guild. It could sell for a hundred gold coins or more to other nobles. If it was forged into Silver Armor and then sold to other nobles, it was often worth more than three hundred gold coins. Even the strongest serfs in the Northern Province could be bought for twenty silver coins each, meaning three hundred gold coins were enough to buy fifteen hundred serfs.

And this was a Large Iron Mine.

Even according to the lowest production case Thor knew of—

A Large Iron Mine could still produce no fewer than twenty sets of Silver Armor.

And that was only the poorest kind of Large Iron Mine.

Given the reserves of this Large Iron Mine, Thor had no doubt that its mithril iron reserves could produce more than fifty sets.

Perhaps even more.

In the entire Northern Province, aside from Marquis Lehman, there was likely no one who would not be tempted by such wealth.

Thor was no exception.

His father, Count Engel Dreyrosa, had indeed given him quite a bit of starting capital.

But no one would ever complain about having more wealth.

Especially when this was a fortune worth more than a hundred million gold coins.

Once word got out, Thor had no doubt that the surrounding nobles and Pioneer Knights would wage war against him.

In the Northern Province—

Other than Loren City, chaos was its truest label.

Of the more than fifty nobles who had been granted titles, only thirty or so remained. The rest might have died in the Pioneer War, but no one could guarantee that they had not perished in wars of annexation against one another.

The slaves in Loren City had not all been transported from other provinces of the kingdom.

Quite a few had originally belonged to the Northern Province.

It was simply something no one said, and no one would bring it up.

The losers had long since joined the dead. Their traces upon this land would likewise be washed away as time passed.

Thor had no desire to become one of them.

After further confirming the reserves here, he began issuing new orders.

First, the entire area containing the iron mine was to be enclosed.

It would become part of his territory.

Next, he dispatched knights and Reserve Knights to explore the surrounding area, ensuring that the news would not leak out.

By the time all of this had been handled, it was gradually nearing midnight.

Stars dotted the heavens.

As the night deepened—

The familiar system notification sounded once more.

Buzz!

Daily Intelligence has been updated.

1: Tomorrow at dusk, a herd of Unicorn Horses will pass through the upper reaches of the Maine River Valley. The leader of the herd has reached Peak Second-Tier.

2: Three miles to the left of Eagle Ridge, there is a place where moles gather.

3: Two hundred miles to the right, an Ethereal Dragon has left its nest. It has now been occupied by a group of earth dragons, and the treasures it collected are inside.

4: A thousand miles from Loren City, in Falling Leaf Valley, there is a small iron mine guarded by goblins.

5: Deep within the Timid Goblin burrow to the left, there seems to be an unexpected surprise.

6: Magical elements are gathering within the Large Iron Mine. In three months, a piece of adamantine will be born.

7: In the mountain forest thirty miles to the right of the Large Iron Mine, there is a small Green Goblin settlement.

The familiar Daily Intelligence System updated as scheduled.

Thor's gaze could not help settling on it.

His eyes swept through each piece of Daily Intelligence, pausing once more on the entry concerning the Ethereal Dragon. He had always kept an eye on that Ethereal Dragon's cave. When the Ethereal Dragon had first left its nest, he had wanted to go, but it had simply been too far away—within a range of a thousand miles, and he would have had to venture deep into the Northern Province. With his current strength, going there would have been far too dangerous.

After arriving at the Maine River Valley, the distance had shortened to a hundred miles. He could have reached it in a day or two, but the nest had soon been occupied by a group of earth dragons, and even the Ethereal Dragon's egg had disappeared. Thor had no choice but to abandon the idea.

Yet every refresh of the Daily Intelligence still stirred some thoughts in him.

For now, though, they could only remain thoughts.

After lingering for a moment, Thor shifted his gaze to the remaining entries.

When he saw the fifth entry, and especially the sixth—

His breathing grew heavier.

Adamantine.

Unlike mithril iron—

Adamantine was a higher-grade magical material.

Under normal circumstances, it was one of the primary materials used to forge Golden Armor.

If mithril iron was already exceedingly expensive—

Then adamantine's price was downright terrifying.

A portion of adamantine sufficient to forge Golden Armor was worth no less than a bottle of Intermediate Life Potion.

That meant more than a thousand gold coins.

And that was merely the price before it had been forged into armor. Once made into armor, its price would be even higher.

At auctions in Frost Moon Province, a set of Golden Armor often sold for more than five thousand gold coins. Even at its highest price, a Mid-Grade Life Potion cost only three thousand gold coins. Five thousand gold coins was practically enough to buy two bottles of Intermediate Life Potion.

Of course, such a price was only natural.

After all, an Intermediate Life Potion could at most give someone at the peak of Great Knight a chance to break through to Earth Knight.

It was not a guaranteed success. In fact, the odds were likely only around ten percent.

Golden Armor, on the other hand, was truly capable of withstanding attacks from an Earth Knight.

Their values naturally could not be compared.

Only a High-Grade Life Potion could surpass the price of Golden Armor.

After all, when a Peak Earth Knight drank a High-Grade Life Potion, there was nearly a fifty percent chance or greater of breaking through and becoming a Sky Knight.