Chapter 625.5: Issuing a Grand Heroic Summons
As the first wave got to work, they uncovered more secrets of Death Desert.
Around 20 meters underground, a massive ruin was discovered.
Most of the structure was still intact.
Letting adventurers extract usable magical weapons, gear, rare materials, and intel.
In short, these ruins were highly valuable for excavation.
Simply put, these ruins are worth excavating.
The first wave of gains quickly appeared.
Some parts of high-level golems and combat puppets were sold at high prices at the Bay Territory Adventurers' Guild.
Tens of thousands of gold coins in revenue greatly excited the arriving adventurers.
They swiftly joined in, significantly accelerating the excavation progress.
What intrigued the adventurers even more—
Bay Territory didn't just let them roam free. Instead, there was conscious guidance pushing them steadily deeper into Death Desert.
Matthew, reviewing the map and seeing the gradually revealed layout of the underground ruins, felt a memory awaken within him. The corners of his lips curled as he said to Angela, who was coordinating nearby:
"Inform the engineering units to proceed, organize and clear the excavated ruins."
"Notify the Druid Greening Institute to begin modifying the desert above the ruins."
Angela nodded silently while issuing the orders and reviewed the development records of the ruins beneath Bloodmoon City.
Bloodmoon City.
Underground Ruins.
Countless gnolls continued digging in the pitch-black tunnels.
The expressionless Batum was shouting commands at them.
Busy little goblins operated exoskeleton suits to dismantle the massive ruin components.
In the nearby darkness, enormous insectoid creatures toiled non-stop.
Silver-Fang watched them quietly, his eyes brimming with curiosity and anticipation.
He eagerly wondered if these big guys would join the labor force too.
In a mage tower under repair not far away, a slightly exasperated Lady Annie patiently worked on restoring the magic array and mana channels.
Most of the mage tower's functions were destroyed, with only a few systems still operational.
A large number of replacement parts and materials were required—an enormous expense.
Fortunately, the vast goblin ruins outside were steadily yielding various resources.
Bay Territory's fair profit-sharing policy had begun to replenish Annie's previously empty purse.
Her only regret was that restoring the mage tower left her no time for her beloved experiments.
Hearing her complaint, 343 flipped through the catalog of engineering and excavation golems delivered by Bay Territory, then blinked excitedly and said:
"Thanks to the excavation, we've obtained 32 advanced technologies and 4 Extraordinary ones. Our production capabilities have reached a new level."
"We can try building new golem manufacturing factories and production lines to meet Bay Territory's growing orders."
343 was crystal clear.
Although Bloodmoon City couldn't centralize all complex golem production like Bay Territory—
If they properly utilized the vast materials within the underground ruins…
And coupled with the technical support from Bay Territory—
They could still build a large-scale production base here.
At that point, Bloodmoon City would be completely free from the Yao Moon Family's influence and move forward with a better system and production structure.
Lady Annie, recalling Bay Territory's Professional Training Academy, blinked expectantly and asked:
"Can we create one here in Bloodmoon City too?"
After a quick calculation, 343 looked a little troubled and shook his head:
"It would be very difficult. We lack the necessary resources and quality instructors."
"Even small-scale training wouldn't match Bay Territory's results."
"After all, their academy outperforms even most noble houses in cultivating talent."
Ever-spirited Lady Annie placed a core spell controller into the array.
As its light illuminated the dark production zone, she decisively said:
"Then it's simple. Leave the training to Bay Territory's academy. We'll just import the talent."
343 instantly understood her intent.
This Arcanist, obsessed only with experiments and research, had no interest in competing for influence or control over talent development.
It was perfectly in line with Annie's personality—placing knowledge and experimentation above all.
Money, to her, was just a means to acquire knowledge and conduct experiments.
She skimmed through the data collected from the goblin ruins and handed it to 343, saying:
"Send these to Matthew. He should like the discoveries."
"Also, check if Bay Territory's mage tower construction team is available—I urgently need their help."
343, seeing how naturally Lady Annie relied on Bay Territory, was more than happy to oblige.
Cooperating with Bay Territory had only brought benefits—nothing to worry about.
After all, someone had to keep an eye on Lady Annie.
When the message reached Matthew, he was in the barracks of a newly developed Bay Territory town.
A squad of well-trained modified Warriors was rapidly checking equipment and supplies.
The overwhelming aura they exuded marked them as seasoned veterans, fearless of any danger or challenge.
Their bright-blue Thunder Armor still shimmered.
This new generation of Thunder Armor was gradually closing in on the Thunder Armor set worn by Matthew.
However, unlike magical armor costing a million gold per set, Thunder Armor based on exoskeletal technology had lower strength requirements.
Even so, those selected for the mission were all peak high-rankers with challenge ratings of 16+ Elite.
Among them, three captains and one major had reached the upper ranks of the Extraordinary tier, with challenge ratings of 20+ Elite at the peak.
Even against Legendary-level foes, they could stand their ground with Thunder Armor.
These 300 Thunder Warriors would be Bay Territory's main force in delving into the goblin ruins beneath Death Desert.
While recalling details of the goblin ruins, Matthew pinpointed a critical objective:
"The Goblin Ruins Energy Control Center."
Energy is everything!
For a Bay Territory not lacking in constructs, as long as energy supplies held up—
Their construct army could continue expanding indefinitely.
Most dangerous regions and enemies could then be handled by constructs alone.
Although Matthew knew the location of the ruins' energy center—
Reaching and securing it would still take extensive preparation.
This fully armed Thunder Warrior unit was just one of his hidden cards.
The information from Bloodmoon City helped Matthew develop further hypotheses.
From the documents and remnants in the goblin ruins, he had roughly reconstructed how the underground complex was formed.
The ruins beneath Bloodmoon resembled a massive subterranean factory.
Not only vast in scope, but extending deep into the ground and interwoven with large metal ore veins.
As a result, most excavated artifacts carried distinct industrial attributes.
These significantly boosted Bloodmoon's production capacity, though not its maximum output.
The gigantic underground ruins beneath Death Desert presented a very different picture.
Their output was incredibly diverse.
Including powerful high-level combat puppets—
Such as the elite Death God 2000 unit.
And a variety of magical items and tools.
Their production complexity rivaled even those crafted by Arcanists.
The perilous and unique underground chambers also concealed rare techniques and arcane knowledge.
These were not only numerous but highly advanced.
Based on Matthew's classification and deductions—
He suspected the ruins were formed for two main reasons:
Deep below lay a huge production base dedicated to advanced constructs and magical devices.
The abundance of rare metals and key construct parts hinted at this purpose.
The surface level may once have been a massive city-like complex.
Structured like a fully functioning metropolis with distinct zones and facilities.
The data collected by adventurers and scouting teams allowed a rough division into five sectors:
Residential Zone.
Full of miscellaneous items, magic trinkets, and wealth.
Haunted by undead bone monsters and relentless wraiths.
Its many rooms were filled with surprises.
A rough estimate showed that 700,000–800,000 goblins once lived there.
Bay Territory prioritized the notes, diaries, and documents unearthed from this zone.
These detailed the Goblin Empire, revealing a grand and mighty civilization.
They might also hold critical intelligence.
Just how did such a powerful Goblin Empire fall?
Production Zone.
Essentially a mega-factory.
With numerous production lines and materials of immense value.
However, many active construct golems inside posed serious trouble for explorers.
Penetrating deeper would be extremely difficult.
No one knew when a hundred high-level constructs might burst from the next room.
Matthew valued this area, hoping to extract production techniques to enhance Bay Territory's construct manufacturing.
The Chaotic Zone in the far south—
The most dangerous area.
Home to terrifying mutated monsters—deadly in the extreme.
One high-level adventurer team lost nearly two-thirds of its members barely escaping.
Matthew had no plans to explore it for now.
The Eastern Architecture Zone.
Contained many massive structures that piqued Matthew's interest.
They seemed out of place in a city, but weren't of great research value—only filled with rare metals that attracted adventurers.
The Energy Control Center at the very center.
Matthew's top priority.
To build a sustainable development path—
A route had to be opened from the north and east.
In Death Desert, where space interference was severe, even high-tier teleportation arrays were unsafe.
Creating a secure excavation corridor was the next major challenge.
Matthew had gathered detailed information to plan the best route.
But before he could act, a message from Grand Arcanist Cronorman disrupted his plans.
"A development team sent by the Council? And they even invited the Kingdom of Rodan? Interesting…"
Matthew was surprised but not angry at Netheril Empire's sudden involvement.
In his eyes, Death Desert's dangers were very real.
With an overall challenge rating of 15, even handling its outer threats would be a long process.
If someone wanted to blaze a trail ahead of him—that was excellent news.
In fact, he worried their forces might be too weak to uncover more data and dangers.
Unlike Matthew's calm, Angela made much more targeted preparations.
She divided areas for scouting and management.
For example, setting up temporary camps and outposts, scouting local dangers, and assessing regional challenge ratings.
This was Bay Territory's standard procedure for developing ruins—meant to accelerate progress and boost survival rates.
At the same time, Angela began managing and training the gathered adventurers.
With Bay Territory's supplies and intel, most adventurers willingly followed her lead.
Over the past half-month, her administration and development efforts yielded great results.
Most adventurers had accepted Bay Territory's regulations, actively contributing to its development and generating revenue.
Indeed, no matter how much they earned, Bay Territory always earned more.
Everything they dug up was monetized in Bay Territory and traded for gear and upgrades.
In just two natural transactions, Bay Territory secured over 30% gross profit and 300% additional gains.
All materials and technologies were better utilized by Bay Territory.
That's why Bay Territory happily invested heavily in giving adventurers a comfortable and well-supplied environment.
Because—it's extremely profitable!
In just half a month, Bay Territory recouped its 5 million gold investment and earned another 5 million gold.
As adventurer numbers grew, Bay Territory's profits would soar even faster.
As Matthew put it: "They're the perfect tools—make good use of them!"
However, with the arrival of several special development teams, the previously stable expansion began to shift.
The Arcanist team from Sevinton Council had entered Death Desert for deeper excavation!