Facing Kobold Chieftain Dutra's eager declaration, Zong Shen merely smiled. Looking straight into Dutra's vertical pupils, he replied in a very calm tone.
"Azshara Mining Area is only the beginning."
"I have no need for useless eagerness."
"But remember what you said. Have those pups dig out mountains of ore!"
"The territory needs more pups. Breed more, lay more eggs. I guarantee that the Dungeon Kobold tribe will receive sufficient supplies."
He reached out and lightly patted Dutra on the shoulder.
This gesture greatly encouraged Dutra.
For Zong Shen's words were filled with recognition for the Dungeon Kobolds.
As natural-born miners, the territory needed them!
As for the Lord's demand that they breed and lay more eggs, it was not difficult to fulfill.
Kobolds possessed extremely strong reproductive abilities, only slightly inferior to aberrant races like goblins.
However, with an equal population base, the rate of bloodline degradation among their offspring was much lower.
Moreover, kobolds had an extremely short growth cycle. Their young could quickly reach adulthood and take on the responsibilities of labor and reproduction.
As long as the kobold tribe's safety and food supply were guaranteed, they could reproduce without restraint.
That was also what Zong Shen wished to see.
After all, aside from the Azshara Mining Area, the territory also had a gemstone mine awaiting development.
At the Azshara Mining Area alone, the number of miners required for optimal production efficiency had already reached five digits.
By conservative estimates, the gemstone mine would also require one or two thousand miners.
Furthermore, mining gemstones was somewhat more complicated than mining composite ore. When the time came, skilled miners would need to be assigned there for surveying and initial extraction.
After all, the gemstone mine had not undergone large-scale development. Even the mine tunnels would need to be