Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

After consuming a large amount of Giant Crab Spider Essence Crystals, the tarantulas started to envelop themselves using their webs. Layer after layer, they formed an olive-shaped spider cocoon, then hid inside, motionless.

Oh, cocoon-like evolution?

Through the Tarantula King’s memories, Yang Ling knew that the spiders were evolving after consuming a large amount of Giant Crab Spider Essence Crystals. If everything was successful, they would emerge from the cocoons a few days later and reach the fourth level, and also obtain new abilities.

Super long range poison, indefensible Earth Spikes…

Thinking back to the Giant Crab Spiders’ abilities, Yang Ling was full of anticipation for the spider army’s evolution. If the spiders could obtain abilities like the Giant Crab Spiders after their evolution, they would truly be a trump card and become his main force in land battles.

Seeing the spider cocoons neatly lined up, Yang Ling sent the Gargoyles and a team of Horned Bee Beasts to guard them after a moment’s deliberation, in case the spider army suffered from a sudden attack whilst they were evolving. According to the memories of the Tarantula King, they were weakest when they were undergoing the cocoon-like evolution. They would be unable to retaliate if they were to suffer an attack.

After choosing a place to act as his outpost and setting up his defenses, Yang Ling decided to organize an elite team of scouts. He personally led the team and rapidly scoured the entire area of the Taildon Valley.

As expected, they discovered a large sulfur mine after just advancing two miles forward. Several Giant Crab Spider eggs were scattered near the mine, and a few young Giant Crab Spiders could be seen crawling around. It looked like the now-exterminated Giant Crab Spiders had set up their nest in the mine, living on the sulfur that the Beastmen had dreamed of possessing.

“Sir, are we still going to walk forward?”

The Twin-headed Ogre Braska swallowed with difficulty. The rising stench of the sulfur made him want to retch. If he could choose, he would rather engage in battle with the Giant Crab Spiders than stand here and breathe in the odor of rotten eggs.

On the other side of the sulfur mine was a large field of rocks of various sizes, with no end in sight. No one knew exactly how long the Taildon Valley was. No one knew what kind of monster they would encounter if they continued forward.

The Ogres and barbarians were strong, but they were not skilled in climbing. Asking them to scout past the vast rocks would definitely put them in a difficult spot.

The elf archers were nimble and they were much better climbers than the Ogres and barbarians, but their abilities at close combat were poor. They would definitely die if they suddenly encountered monsters. They also had poor stamina and could not sprint for long periods of time, and thus they were unsuitable to scout any further.

If the elf archers were not suitable, then the cowardly Gnomes were even less so. They could act as bait for the army, but it was definitely too much to ask them to be scouts.

The Gargoyles were fast and had powerful attacks, but unfortunately, they could not fly for long periods of time. Their overly large wings would also be easily spotted. After some calculations, Yang Ling decided the slender Horned Bee Beasts were the most suitable to scout such a complicated area.

Leading the team back to the outpost, Yang Ling ordered Argus to send men to the nearby Beastmen tribe and ask them to send a team of warriors over to help with the defenses. He also sent someone back to Wissen Town to notify Goode and ask him to hurry over with a few Spellcasters.

The path to Wissen Town from Taildon Valley was not very long, only about five hundred miles from beginning to end. But the mountainous path was winding, and the journey was definitely much longer than if he was heading to the Aila Mountain Pass. Personally setting up his own team to develop the sulfur mine here was definitely not cost effective, being both time and labor intensive. The best way would be for him to give the Beastmen some rewards and allow them to partake in the activity.

They had not finished exploring the Taildon Valley. Even if there were no Magical Beasts or monsters deep within the valley, Yang Ling still needed an army to guard the sulfur mine, in case the nearby aboriginal tribes took the opportunity to attack.

A unit was required for the long term defense of the Aila Mountain Pass, Wissen Town had to be guarded by one unit, and Yang Ling had personally led a unit to clear and conquer the aboriginal tribes near the Ladak Mountain Range. There were no additional men he could station at the Taildon Valley to defend it. Wissen Town currently had limited wealth, so they could not afford to recruit another unit.

Thus, the best idea was to offer the Beastmen some incentives and drag them into this. As long as he maneuvered the situation expertly, not only would the safety of the sulfur be guaranteed, he might even obtain a large amount of nearly free labor.

In order to completely occupy Taildon Valley, he had to have powerful Spellcasters. Yang Ling did not wish to be caught off guard and take a passive position when he was met with another Giant Crab Spider attack. The Gnomes had surpassed their limits and saved them once, but there was no guarantee that they would be able to turn the tide a second time. Thus, even though Yang Ling knew that Goode had many tasks at hand, he still had no choice but to bring him here.

Perhaps, when he had enough funds, it would be time for him to recruit a few more Spellcasters!

Sitting cross-legged while guarded by the Unicorn, Yang Ling considered his future plans. After the battle, he had once again learned more about the magical spells of this world. He felt that even though spells were not as powerful as his Wizard Techniques, one could still attain powerful abilities when they cultivated Magical Energy to high levels.

Thinking about the repeated spell formations of the Gnomes, Yang Ling shook his head and heaved a sigh of regret.

Just like the Wizard Techniques, Spellcasters in this world couldn’t achieve greatness instantly. They had to cultivate their techniques one step at a time. Originally, the unique spell formations of the Gnomes had offered another perspective, able to instantly create a Spellcaster. But the failure rate of drawing the spell formations was too high, making them impossible to mass produce. He would not be able to depend on them to create a magical army that could handle both offense and defense in a short amount of time.

After shaking his head, Yang Ling prepared to circulate the Wizard Power in his body and instruct the Horned Bee Beasts to explore the area. Unexpectedly, he had just taken a breath when the Gnome Elder walked toward him quickly.

“Sir, the members of my clan once again sent word that if they have run out of rations, and most of the people will not be able to last until tomorrow. Sir, can you…”

The Gnome Elder creased his brows, his eyes red. At this point in time, only Yang Ling could save his tribe. Without rations, his clansmen would not be able to last any longer.

“Elder, I already instructed my people to send rations over!” After a pause, seeing the Gnome Elder’s eyes light up, Yang Ling continued, “But the snow is heavy, and the road there is far and filled with twists and turns. Even I cannot guarantee that my warriors can send over the rations by today!”

Seeing Yang Ling shake his head in frustration, the Gnome Elder’s heart turned cold. The snow was getting heavier, and the speed of the carriages was becoming slower. No one could guarantee that the rations could be sent over in time!

What can I do? Will the tribe end under my leadership? thought the elder.

He thought about his clansmen waiting in the cold wind, about the group of skinny old men and children, about their only hope when he left the tribe… The Gnome Elder felt his limbs turn cold, his heart sinking deeper.

“Elder, I cannot guarantee that the warriors transporting the rations will be able to reach them by tonight, but that is not to say that there are no choices left!” Yang Ling said as he took out the Space Ring he had picked up in the valley. “Get a shipment of rations from Argus, then rush back to your tribe on a fast horse!”

A Space Ring?

Seeing the extremely costly Space Ring, the Gnome Elder teared up in agitation. He had not expected Yang Ling to hand him such a valuable treasure without hesitation.

“Also, move all of your clansmen into Wissen Town over the next few days!” After a moment’s deliberation, Yang Ling drew a few circles on the ground with a small pebble. “Next year, I’ll develop a large area of arable land in the territory. I shall give this portion of the land to the Gnome tribe!”

A ten mile, twenty mile radius?

Seeing the large circle Yang Ling had drawn casually, then comparing it to the size of Wissen Town drawn on the ground, the Gnome Elder nearly floated in elation. He had never expected Yang Ling to allow his entire tribe to move into Wissen Town this soon, nor had he expected Yang Ling to grant his tribe such a large area of premium land.

“Thank you sir, the Gnome Tribe will forever follow you from this day onward, and we will serve you with all our abilities!” The Gnome Elder knelt respectfully before Yang Ling.

“I saw the Gnomes’ intelligence and bravery in the previous battle!” Yang Ling helped the Gnome Elder up. “Go, and return quickly after you’ve settled your clansmen!”

Remembering his hungry clansmen, the Gnome Elder did not say anything more and left quickly after giving a respectful bow. He asked Argus for some supplies, then returned to his tribe on a fast horse.

Seeing the Gnome Elder disappear into the snow, Yang Ling did not hesitate. He sat cross-legged under the protection of the army and instructed a team of Horned Bee Beasts to split up and explore the entire Taildon Valley.

After consuming a large amount of Blood Orbs concentrated from the fresh blood of the Giant Crab Spiders, he felt that the Wizard Power in his body had reached an unprecedented state. All he needed to do was recite the Wizard Mantra silently, and the raging Wizard Power would immediately circulate within his body, round after round, repeating to infinity.

Using his power like radar, Yang Ling sent out multiple commands, instructing the Horned Bee Beasts to closely explore the immeasurable Taildon Valley and not miss any suspicious spots.

Past the large exposed sulfur mine and the boundless belt of rocks was a piece of forest with trees dozens of meters tall. There were no Magical Beasts or monsters within the forest, but it was covered in thorny vines. An average person would not be able to set foot there.

Past the forest seemed to be a vast plain. There were giant pillar-like objects on the plain, like giant stone plates or some weird bush. The image was faint, and Yang Ling could not see it clearly.

Could there be a giant screen made of mental energy?

After obtaining no results despite trying multiple times, Yang Ling shook his head in frustration. The plain was not far from where he was. If they were outside the valley, he would have been able to instruct the Horned Bee Beasts to explore the area clearly without much difficulty.

Wizard Power determined strength, while life force determined mental energy. Perhaps the range of detection would become higher when he absorbed a large amount of life force?

After a moment’s deliberation, Yang Ling had a thought. He immediately started to multitask without hesitation. On one hand, he instructed the Horned Bee Beasts to continue scouting the area, and on the other, he started silently reciting the Psychic Mantra.

There were not many trees within the Taildon Valley, but there were countless tall trees of various kinds past the steep cliffs beside them, in the vast forest.

At the start, Yang Ling could only absorb shreds of life force. But as time passed, large amounts of green life force slowly floated toward him. In just an hour’s time, Yang Ling had already been enveloped by a layer of green fog, gradually becoming thicker.

As expected, Yang Ling felt his mental energy gradually getting stronger as he absorbed a large amount of life force. The image that the Horned Bee Beasts transmitted back to him also became clearer.

Closer, even closer!

In his curiosity, Yang Ling instructed the Horned Bee Beasts to inch slowly toward the giant pillar shaped items on the plain. But he could not help but feel dumbfounded when he finally saw clearly what they were!