Preparing to Develop the Territory

Anna knocked on the door of the house where Fran kept her alchemical equipment, and felt a little uneasy hearing the banging sounds coming from inside.

Fortunately, Fran opened the door a few minutes later.

Anna breathed a sigh of relief after seeing Fran's face, and looking at the scene behind Fran, she slowly said:

"Why are you making so much noise here? I thought something had happened..."

Fran blinked and argued:

"As a mage, isn't it normal for him to do some noisy things in his own experimental grounds?"

That's one way of saying it..."

Anna turned her head to look behind Fran, where a strange thing had appeared. It was dark silver all over, as if it were made of refined iron, and something seemed to be giving it power, causing its structure to start flipping up and down.

What are you doing?

"An experiment we're going to do next... Please come in."

Fran led Anna into the laboratory, and Anna looked at the bottles and jars in Fran's laboratory, somewhat puzzled.

But when her gaze continued downwards, her face instantly turned deathly pale. She turned her head and pointed with her index finger at the things in the corner of the room...

"How come you have these things here...?"

Anna's gaze fell upon the jars filled with purple liquid, and within this liquid, Anna saw what appeared to be body parts.

A large jar contained a vibrant green heart floating inside, while smaller jars nearby contained what appeared to be internal organs that had sunk to the bottom.

Anna couldn't help but swallow hard as she looked at the wrinkles on the surface of these things.

"Why did you put something like this here...?"

"What's wrong? Can't I make this kind of thing just because I'm a mage?" Fran's laughter came from the side.

When Anna heard that voice, she was unconsciously drawn to Fran's voice.

"As a mage..."

Fran's words kept echoing in her mind, making her feel dizzy. Her body began to sway slightly, and the scene before her eyes began to invert.

"You'll like it later, because after today, it will contain you..." She felt Fran close to her ear, breathing hot air as she spoke these words.

These words triggered Anna's survival instinct. She shook her head violently and, almost reflexively, slapped behind her, but she missed and hit nothing.

Anna turned around and saw Fran sitting in a chair with a smile on her face, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Don't scare me..."

Anna now understood that Fran had been trying to scare her. She could clearly feel that Fran's last words, when she was trying to frighten her, were a deliberate attempt to remind her, without the dizzying effect she was expected to have.

After recovering, Anna asked with some curiosity:

"What kind of magic is this? How can it be like this...?"

Anna was curious about this kind of magic that could control people, and she wanted to know the details of the magic from Fran so that she could be prepared for it later.

After all, such a single sentence can directly control a person, making it truly difficult to guard against.

Fran pointed to the spot Anna had just been looking at and said slowly:

"That's the function of those things; they're for the Transmutation School..."

"The thing I'm using seems to be the Siren's vocal cords, which you should have encountered quite easily on your way to White Dragon Port. Haven't you encountered them before? I've heard that the most common Magic Creature encountered by ships sailing on the Ocean are Siren."

Anna recalled the sounds she heard while sailing across the sea, and they did indeed sound somewhat similar to Fran's voice just now...

"You're different. When I was on the ship, everyone was one of our own. Those Siren couldn't possibly have the power to bewitch everyone at once."

"Besides, back then the Siren would confuse several people at once, but you've focused all your power on me..."

Anna's attempt to justify her embarrassing behavior of being almost instantly subdued by Fran only made Fran's smile even brighter.

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. You're unlikely to encounter similar control methods outside... Let's talk about serious matters."

Fran's Mental Power is now far superior to that of a normal second-tier mage. Under such circumstances, even if this Second Order Mage casts a First Order control spell, Anna would have a hard time resisting it.

Therefore, it's pointless for Anna to be wary of this spell. If you encounter an enemy of a higher Order than yourself and have no allies, you won't even be able to run away.

Fran handed a document to Anna.

Anna focused her gaze on the first page and exclaimed in surprise.

"Mineral distribution map of the Antir Region..."

Fran held Paper written by a mage of the Construct School. It was a sudden idea of his, after he had briefly explored the entire Antir Region in search of some rare minerals.

However, they found no rare minerals, only a lot of things that the mage considered worthless, which greatly disappointed the other party.

However, in order to make use of waste, and knowing that some minerals in the Antir Region are also useful, perhaps some mage is so poor that they can't even afford to buy materials and will have to mine them themselves...

He uploaded the map distribution to the Mana Communication System, and by the time Fran made her exchange, about three or four people had already done so.

In conclusion, his mineral distribution is still valuable to Fran, since after conquering the entire Antir Region, the most important things for her, besides population, are basic resources.

Fran's desire for the Antir Region has always stemmed from one reason: she needs a place specifically for developing Earth's technologies, at least to the point where she can produce various basic components.

Although Fran's hand-crafting speed might be faster than building a production line from scratch on Earth and producing a single component.

However, Fran's subsequent items also require a large number of basic components, and hand-crafting them would waste a lot of her time.

These basic components aren't actually that valuable, but they're a waste of Fran's time. Even if you gave them to those Magic Artisan, they might not be able to keep up with Fran's speed.

At this point, Fran had to consider building a factory that could produce various basic components for her.

For this factory to develop, various nearby basic resources are essential, and transportation is always a challenge.

Anna looked at the area that Fran had circled in red on the map, somewhat confused. She asked Fran what the area meant.

"This is our initial base in the Antir Region. The lords there will cooperate with us..."

"Wait, I have some questions. What exactly are you trying to do...?"

Fran cleared her throat and then whispered to Anna:

"I want to conquer the entire Antir Region."

Anna's body stiffened, completely unresponsive; she was stunned by Fran's words.

"You want to control the entire Antir Region? Didn't the mage say it was a wasteland?"

Fran smiled, took out a copy of her application for the Alliance support, and handed it over.

"I have already provided the materials to the Alliance. If I do manage to take over that area, the Alliance will recognize my dominant position."

"Besides, this land offers no benefit to other mages, but for me, the population alone makes it worthwhile..."

Anna guessed one of the things Fran wanted to do and said slowly:

"You want the people of Antir Region to convert to the Sect you founded."

Fran nodded. She had nothing to hide from Anna, because Anna, as an Elf, was unfamiliar with the Northern Territory.

As a Profession who is not a spellcaster, I am discriminated against by everyone in the Northern Lands Society.

Anna had no chance to do anything she wanted because no one treated her like a human being.

To the other mages, Anna was just a servant under Fran, whose treatment was almost the same as that of a slave, with no status whatsoever.

So Fran had no reservations and told him basically everything she was going to do.

"Once I arrive at the area circled on the map, I will begin selecting a location within the circled area."

"You don't need to worry about missionary work. Aila and the others will handle it, and besides, I don't think you're very good at it."

Fran pointed to other places along the red line, which, according to the map's territorial divisions, were located east of White Flower Territory, but had already left White Flower Territory.

"There's an open-pit mine here. It can be mined with just a couple of tools, not to mention I've even developed some special tools..."

"Beneath the mineral deposits lies a gently sloping plain, perfect for our starting point."

"Anna, you just need to remember these two places; the rest is up to you."

Anna touched her head, and after a long pause, she managed to utter two sentences.

"So you want me to find people to mine? That's way too..."

"What's wrong with your brain? Aren't these places all outside the red line?"

"In other words, this isn't the territory of the lord who would cooperate with us. That's when your role will become apparent."

Anna's most valuable asset is her Profession level. Although Anna's Profession is Ranger, which is much weaker than Profession, it doesn't matter, Fran can make some useful equipment for her.

Anna is, after all, a Profession of Formal Rank, and with the equipment crafted by Fran, she can fight two knights without being at a disadvantage.

"The lord will bring out some militia, and I'll provide them with some equipment. You take these men and take these two places for me."

"Ah, me?"

Anna was a little confused. Wasn't she supposed to be seeking refuge with her promising fellow mages? How come she's going to be on the Battlefield so soon?

Moreover, the Battlefield situation there was quite large. She also knew about the Antir Region; after all, it was originally a kingdom that had produced third-tier Profession in its history.