Chapter 167: Continuing the Subjugation

At night, in the graveyard of Xinglong Ridge, Lin Feng controlled the Thousand-Faced Paper Specter to craft new miner paper dolls and Specter Gates.

Although the Black Stone Mountain and the Dark Gold Mine were now occupied by the army of paper dolls, there were still many issues regarding extraction and transportation.

As the Thousand-Faced Paper Specter went to work, two new Specter Gates were gradually completed; at the same time, to meet the extraction requirements of both locations, Lin Feng personally crafted two thousand miner paper dolls.

Compared to the heavy-armored paper dolls, the miner paper dolls did not need to be as refined; after all, their primary task was to extract ore, not to engage in combat.

There was no need to prepare wooden frames; it was sufficient to simply have them made by the Thousand-Faced Paper Specter.

The combat strength of this type of paper doll was roughly at the Master level, and Lin Feng could not be bothered to use other specters to reinforce them—if they were damaged or scrapped, he would just replenish them, as they were easy to make anyway.

After finishing these things, Lin Feng had the Thousand-Faced Paper Specter possess his body, then used paper to set up a tent, transforming into the image of that general whose entire body was shrouded in armor.

"Click-clack-clack."

Then, a massive Specter Gate appeared out of thin air and slowly opened, connecting the Yinjian to the human world.

"Crack, crack~"

Immediately, a large number of miner paper dolls carried the two Specter Gates directly into the Yinjian, and only then did the heavy-armored ones emerge from the Yinjian carrying various harvests.

Following behind the army of paper dolls were Lu Daoguang and many corpse-driving artisans; at this moment, everyone's faces appeared somewhat nervous.

After all, their fate entirely depended on how Lin Feng would decide next.

Upon entering the tent, Lu Daoguang bowed deeply to Lin Feng and said, "Reporting to my Lord, this subordinate has not failed the mission and has successfully captured the Dark Gold Mine!"

"Good! You shall be rewarded!"

Lin Feng's words then reached his ears, and subsequently, a paper doll Colonel and ten heavy-armored paper dolls came before him.

The paper doll Colonel held a Curse-Killing Blade in its hand, which was the high-grade specter weapon Lin Feng had originally promised; the other option was the ten heavy-armored paper dolls—now it was up to Lu Daoguang to choose.

"This subordinate desires the ten soldiers!"

Lu Daoguang looked at the Curse-Killing Blade in the paper doll Colonel's hand and then at the ten heavy-armored paper dolls standing before him; after some hesitation, he chose the latter.

"Crack, crack."

Immediately, these ten heavy-armored ones stood behind him on their own; clearly, from now on, these ten heavy-armored paper dolls belonged to him.

"Many thanks for the reward, my Lord!"

Suddenly, Lu Daoguang felt an indescribable sense of exhilaration throughout his entire body; from now on, he was a man with soldiers under his command!

And these soldiers were not ordinary troops, but formidable puppets comparable to real people!

"Rise!"

"Yes!"

After rewarding Lu Daoguang, Lin Feng's gaze fell upon the newly surrendered corpse-driving artisans.

"Do you have anything to say?"

At this moment, these corpse-driving artisans were being guarded by the heavy-armored paper dolls; hearing Lin Feng's inquiry, they were stunned at first, then looked toward the one with the highest status, the Third Aunt-Grandmother.

This old woman was quite tough; she said directly to Lin Feng, "My Lord, we have already surrendered, and the Dark Gold Mine is in your hands. Might you show some mercy?"

"Heh, not a chance."

However, she did not expect that Lin Feng would not fall for her act at all, and he refused without even thinking.

"Surrender to me and serve me; otherwise, you are captives who will labor for me until death. Anyone who dares to flee without authorization will be executed without mercy!"

Lin Feng said this without the slightest hesitation; it was absolutely impossible for him to let these people leave!

"Third Aunt-Grandmother!"

"We are willing!"

"That's right, we are willing to serve you, my Lord!"

"Exactly, exactly!"

"..."

Hearing Lin Feng's murderous words, the other corpse-driving artisans were instantly anxious; it was true that they hated Jiang Henian for his betrayal.

But when it truly came to their own choice, it was better to just survive!

So, one after another, they immediately kowtowed to Lin Feng to beg for mercy and express their stance, fearing that this powerful figure whose depth they could not fathom would kill them all in a fit of displeasure.

"..."

Hearing the pleas of her nephews and descendants in her ears, the Third Aunt-Grandmother trembled with rage, but she also understood the principle that one must bow their head when under someone else's roof.

At this moment, she just looked at Lin Feng, who was sitting high above, with fury, saying nothing.

"Furthermore, if you serve me honestly, I will repair that Golden Corpse and bestow it back upon you."

Yet, the next sentence instantly made her nearly weep with old tears; losing the Golden Corpse was definitely the pain in her heart, and now it could actually be recovered!?

"This old woman is willing to serve you, my Lord! Please, my Lord, take us in!"

Thus, this tough Third Aunt-Grandmother immediately submitted, and trembling, she prepared to kneel on the ground to pay her respects to Lin Feng.

However, Lin Feng felt a bit uncomfortable having an old woman kneel to him, so a paper doll Colonel directly stopped her.

"From now on, you shall form a dedicated team to explore the secrets and mineral resources of the Yinjian for me and complete the tasks I assign!"

"Under my command, rewards and punishments are clear; those who contribute will be rewarded, and those who err will be punished!"

Lin Feng then issued his orders to them directly, though this time, these people were not placed under Lu Daoguang's command by Lin Feng.

Lin Feng understood the principle of mutual checks and balances; even if Lu Daoguang performed well, he could not let him become too powerful alone.

"This subordinate obeys the order!"

Hearing Lin Feng's command, although these corpse-driving artisans were somewhat surprised, they immediately accepted it; regardless, they would have to follow Lin Feng from now on.

"I require the heritage, ancient texts, and secret lore of the corpse-driving artisans; if you can offer them, there will certainly be rewards."

"Be gone!"

Finally, Lin Feng said this and dismissed them directly.

"Yes!"

Very quickly, everyone passed through the Ghost Gate one after another and returned to the military camp in the Yinjian, even though this trip had only lasted a short few minutes.

Yet to them, it felt as if several days had passed; at this moment, each of them felt a sense of relief at having survived a disaster.

"Third Aunt-Grandmother, if that lord can really repair the Golden Corpse, from now on our lives will have to be sold to him!"

"Indeed, I thought we were truly going to lose a Golden Corpse this time; the family cannot afford such a great loss."

"I wonder what method that lord might have; could it be through some mysterious Corpse-Raising Art?"

"Who knows?"

Once the surrounding Heavy-Armored Paper Figures had left, many of the Corpse-Driving Artisans began to discuss it.

Of course, there was another key factor for them speaking this way, which was to find a legitimate excuse for their own surrender and plea for mercy.

After all, they were now sacrificing themselves for the "family interest"!

"Hmph, are the lord's methods something you lot could imagine?"

Lu Daoguang, standing to the side with ten Heavy-Armored Paper Figures, appeared quite disdainful; in reality, he was also somewhat displeased, for in his view, how could these people be on equal footing with him?

He was a true trusted subordinate who had shed blood for that lord and risked his life for that lord!

"Yes, yes, yes, our knowledge is shallow; why not let Lord Lu explain it to us properly?"

"Exactly, exactly, could it be that Lord Lu knows something?"

"..."

However, when it came to glib tongues, these Corpse-Driving Artisans were not ones to admit defeat, and one after another, they immediately retorted.

In any case, they would all be in their own separate squads from now on, and there was no need at all to look at Lu Daoguang's expression.