Chapter 22: Inferior Iron Mine! Fleeing Goblins and Chailangren!

Outside the tent, suddenly came the clamor of the serfs who had gained the status of free citizens, as well as the promoted bandits.

"Haha! See that? I'm a free citizen now! If anyone dares to call me a slave again in the future, I'll hack him with an axe!"

A rough voice sounded, it was Bloodaxe, who had been appointed as a squad leader.

"Boss Bloodaxe is mighty! You have to cover us brothers in the future!"

"That's natural! Work hard following Lord Roko, maybe we can also be allocated our own land in the future!"

"Yeah, yeah, that kid Gelu was lucky, he rushed up and hacked blindly, and actually killed a Goblin, now he's a free citizen too!"

"Who says not, if I had known, I would have rushed to the front!"

"It's not too late now, I heard the Lord is going to clear out the monsters around, we'll make contributions then!"

Envy, jealousy, and longing for the future spread among these people who had just escaped their desperate fate.

Roko listened to the discussion outside, his face devoid of any expression.

Just then, the tent curtain was lifted, and Hart walked in.

His face carried a trace of undisguisable excitement.

"Young Master! The iron mine has been thoroughly scouted!"

"How is the situation?"

Roko raised his eyes and asked.

"It's an inferior iron mine!"

Hart's voice was somewhat excited.

"Although the quality is not high, the reserves are quite considerable, enough for our current use!"

Iron mine!

Even if it was just an inferior iron mine, for a pioneer territory that had just started, it meant huge value.

Weapons, tools, armor, all needed iron.

"Take me to see it."

Roko stood up.

The group left the camp and walked toward the valley where the scouts had discovered the suspected mineral deposit.

The valley was not far from the river valley camp, about half an hour's walk.

The terrain here was higher than the river valley, the valley mouth was narrow, and on both sides were steep rock walls.

Walking into the valley, one could see many dark red strip-shaped mineral veins exposed on the rock walls.

A few soldiers sent to scout in advance were knocking down pieces of ore with tools.

Roko picked up a piece of ore; it was heavy in his hand, the cross-section showing a rough dark red, mixed with many impurities.

It was indeed an inferior iron mine.

But this was already enough.

"Very good."

Roko nodded.

"Leave fifty people here, including those few Dwarf blacksmiths, and one hundred Goblin and Chailangren prisoners."

"Immediately start building a simple camp and smelting furnaces, and start mining as soon as possible."

"Let Bloodaxe be responsible for the guard and supervision here."

"Yes, Young Master!"

Hart took the order.

After inspecting the iron mine, Roko did not return to the camp immediately.

He took Hart and a few Knight guards to continue deep into the surrounding area to scout.

Although the maps drawn by the scouts had a prototype, many places were still blank.

He needed to understand this land more comprehensively.

At the same time, at the edge of a hidden forest dozens of miles away from the river valley.

A few surviving Goblin scouts were looking at the direction of the river valley in the distance in terror.

There, the cooking smoke of the human camp rose, and one could vaguely hear the training chants.

A powerful aura that made them instinctively feel fear was spreading from that direction.

"Run, run quickly..."

A Goblin trembled and called out.

Their tribe, and the nests of several Chailangren nearby, had all been destroyed by those terrifying humans.

The powerful leaders and Shamans had all died under the swords of those human Knights wearing iron skins.

This area was no longer safe.

"Leave here, we have to leave here..."

Another slightly stronger Goblin let out a low whimper, pointing toward the forest shrouded in mist in the distance.

Although it was equally dangerous there, at least there were no humans.

Fear drove these survivors; they dared not stay any longer.

The green figures soon disappeared into the sparse woodland.

Roko took Hart and a few Knights to continue marching in the wilderness.

They crossed low hills and passed through plains overgrown with shrubs.

New marks were constantly added to the animal skin map in Roko's hand.

The direction of the river, the depth of the valley, the range of the woodland, were all recorded one by one.

He needed a map accurate to every detail.

Every corner of this land would be his territory.

"Young Master, there is a ruin of a small Chailangren nest ahead."

A scout Knight ran over to report.

"It seems to be left by the Chailangren who fled yesterday."

Roko nodded, signaling to continue forward.

He wanted to ensure that there were no potential threats in this area.

A few days later, Roko returned to the river valley camp.

The scene here was already completely different from when he left.

The temporary wooden sheds built before had been replaced by sturdier stone walls and wooden fences.

In the center of the river valley, wooden houses were rising one after another.

In the logging camp, the sound of axes chopping down trees was one after another.

In the quarry, the clanging sound of knocking was endless.

One could even see some Goblin and Chailangren prisoners with ropes tied to them, under the whips of human supervisors, huffing and puffing as they moved stones and timber.

Bloodaxe was standing on a high platform, holding a thick wooden stick in his hand, a fierce light flickering in his eyes.

He occasionally swung the wooden stick, accompanied by vulgar roars and curses.

Those prisoners, driven by fear, worked even harder.

Roko looked at all this, a faint satisfaction appearing on his face.

Discipline, order, and exploitation.

This land was being rapidly transformed according to his will.

He walked into his tent, which was tidier than before.

Fula was busy inside, organizing the maps and notes Roko had brought back.

She wore a clean cloth skirt, her silver-gray cat ears swaying slightly with her movements.

That furry tail was obediently hanging behind her.

Hearing Roko's footsteps, Fula raised her head abruptly.

Those heterochromatic eyes instantly lit up.

"Master! You're back!"

She trotted to Roko's side, her eyes full of reliance and joy.

Roko nodded and reached out to rub her soft cat ears.

Fula narrowed her eyes comfortably, and a slight "meow" sound came from her throat.

Her tail also began to swing happily and uncontrollably.

It was no longer the previous tension and shyness, but a performance of complete relaxation and pleasure.

Roko's gaze landed on her swinging tail.

He reached out his hand, and this time, gently grasped that soft tail.

Fula's body stiffened again, but this time, she didn't run away.

Only her little face turned red instantly, and even the tips of her ears were stained with a cute pink.

Her tail was held in the Master's hand; that strange feeling made her feel both shy and a kind of indescribable intimacy.

He gently combed the fluff on her tail with his fingertips.

The touch was soft and warm.

Fula's body became softer and softer, almost leaning on Roko.

She buried her head in Roko's chest and said in a small voice, carrying a trace of coquetry.

"Master, Fula likes..." ===== CHAPTER 23 =====