Above the mage!

Chapter 551 Unifying the Northern Territory
Often, even if you don't speak the same language, you can roughly understand what the other person means from their expression and tone of voice.

At this moment, Leni Thorn, like Sunefa, couldn't understand the meaning behind God's exclamation.

But she could clearly sense that the king of the Zhenbing tribe seemed to greatly admire her amateurish and low-level "quantitative potion science".

After expressing his heartfelt admiration, Gao De came back to his senses and said earnestly to Leni, "Leni, your knowledge and wisdom are unparalleled."

Upon hearing this, Leni's eyes widened instinctively.

This was the first time, apart from her mentor Leo, that she had heard such high praise for herself from an outsider, especially from someone of such high status.

But Leni's cautious nature prevented her from responding, and she remained with her head down, unsure of what to say.

“Don’t be nervous, Miss Leni. The North is the land of pioneers. The North never stubbornly adheres to outdated rules and ideas. We always welcome pioneers, pioneers in any field,” Sunefa said softly.

What puzzled and "difficult to accept" Gao De was that he had clearly softened his tone and smiled, but Leni just couldn't ease her nervousness.

On the contrary, after Sunefa, who had maintained a "cool" demeanor throughout, finished speaking, his [Sensing Emotions+] could clearly feel that Leni's tension had eased considerably.

Gao De waved his hand, not dwelling on the matter, and continued, "The past is the past. Now that we've come to a new place, let's start afresh."

“Miss Leni, here you can continue your research on quantitative potion science, which is a truly magnificent system.” God emphasized the word “magical”.

"In addition, I will do my best to support your research, including but not limited to the human, material and financial resources you need. You just need to make your request, and we will do our best to meet your needs."

"However, I also have a request."

Before Leni could react, she instinctively followed Gao De's words and asked, "What are your requirements?"

“I hope that you can perfect your quantitative potion science and compile it into a systematic teaching material, and then allow us in the North to teach it publicly, is that alright?” Gao De thought for a moment and then added, “And we may have to trouble you to act as the instructor at the beginning.”

"Textbook? Open teaching?" Leni was still in a daze.

But at least from Gaode's words, she could understand that Gaode's praise was not just polite talk, but genuine.

"Are you planning to train a large number of second-rate potion masters like me in your territory?" she asked, puzzled and incredulous.

"A third-rate potion master?" Upon hearing this, Gao De smiled slightly. "Miss Leni, your understanding of yourself and this quantitative potion science is not clear enough."

"Potions should not be products exclusively for mages. Ordinary people also need potions. This is a huge market with a population far exceeding that of mages."

"Moreover," he paused, then continued, "I do not intend to call the people trained using your quantitative potion science system potion masters."

"I'm going to call them researchers."

Researcher Leni has discovered that she can't understand much of what the King of the Zhenbing tribe is saying, perhaps it's due to the unique culture here?

Of course, that wasn't important. She quickly stated her position: "Your Highness, of course. If you don't mind teaching potion-making techniques, I'm happy to pass it on to others."

“That’s good,” Gao De nodded seriously and continued, “But that’s for later. After all, quantitative potion science is still very rudimentary and there are many areas that need improvement.”

“Perfecting it is what you need to do now. From your notes, I can see that you are extremely good at reasoning through experiments, which is a talent that is extremely needed to create a new system.”

"However, there is also a drawback: the workload of completing this system will be enormous, because according to your method, perfecting each magic element diagram requires a lot of time to find reactants and disassemble them."

“Yes, Your Highness, so over the years I’ve only developed two magic element reaction formulas.” Leni was somewhat flustered, worried that God would dislike her efficiency and progress.

"The edifice of quantitative potion science is complete; all that remains is some finishing touches, although the workload is considerable," Gao De reassured him.

He thought for a moment and then said, "But you don't need to worry. In Phoenix, there is a theoretical master in the field of magical plants and potions. She can help you quickly improve and complete the magic element chart. With her help, your research progress will be greatly accelerated."

"I will get her to cooperate with you in completing this task."

“A master of theory.” Upon hearing this, Leni’s nervousness surged up again.

In her eyes, someone whom even Gao De called a master must be an extraordinary person. "Would such an extraordinary person be willing to work with me on quantitative potion research?"

After all, before this, let alone a master, even an ordinary potion master looked down on her research.

“You don’t need to worry about that. She’s a very easy person to get along with. Well, you might not understand just by talking about it. You’ll know once you meet her.” After Gao De finished speaking, he stood up and returned the scroll of notes to Leni.

"Then I'll be going now, so I won't disturb your rest any longer. I'll introduce you to this master later."

"Alright," Leni hurriedly nodded in response, clumsily escorting Gao De and his group to the door. Finally, she couldn't help but muster the courage to ask again, "Your Highness, may I know the master's name?"

Besides fear, she also harbored expectations.

Prior to this, Leni had never met any outstanding potions makers, let alone potions masters.

She was, after all, a potion master, though not in the traditional sense, and naturally longed to meet a potion master.

“Of course, her name is Flora, and she’s the Minister of Agriculture in Phoenix. You can call her Lady Flora. I’ll introduce her to you later,” God replied casually, leaving Leni standing there dumbfounded.

Minister of Agriculture?!

This term was completely unfamiliar to her just a few days ago, but now that she has been in the North for three days, she has gained a certain understanding of Phoenix's structure and system.

In this land, the rulers are the King and the War Mother, and below them is the City Hall.

The city hall is divided into several departments, and the head of each department is called a minister.

At least, she knew that Claude, as the Phoenix City Hall's garrison commander in Vallar Bay, was a whole rank below the minister.

Even so, Claude made her feel extremely reserved.

Now Gaode is telling her that he wants the Minister of Agriculture to "assist" her in completing her research?!

Little Leni is very flustered.

……

"Sigh." After leaving, Gao De couldn't help but sigh.

“My king, aren’t you happy? Why are you sighing?” Sunefa asked.

Gao De was overjoyed to discover someone as talented as Leni, and even rushed to Vallar Bay overnight.

Why are you sighing now?
“I was just thinking about my mentor,” Gao De said.

"A notebook, studied by three different owners, produced results that were enough to bring about tremendous changes to the world. But if Leni hadn't come to the North, it might have been lost in the tides of history."

“Lenny is a genius, and so is my mentor Jose. Their experiences are strikingly similar.” “I wonder how many similar achievements have been made in this world, enough to bring about tremendous changes, only to disappear without a trace in the end.”

“Not everyone can wait for the dawn like Leni and Mentor Jose,” Goddard paused, then added, “Besides, it’s just the dawn; they haven’t truly been bathed in sunlight yet.”

"This is truly a regret for civilization."

“So,” Sunafal understood God’s thoughts, but her attitude was not discouraged, “My King, the world is as it is now, but you are changing the world, aren’t you?”

After rushing from Phoenix to Vallar Bay and confirming Leni Thorn's talent, God realized it was time to put some plans on the agenda.

At the very least, minting coins is now an urgent matter.

This is the top priority for Phoenix right now.

Once the monetary system is in place, it could propel Phoenix’s growth rate to new heights.

Such an important matter naturally required the consultation of Sunefa and Elsa, who was the head steward of the city hall.

"The most basic requirement for minting coins is that gold mine resources must be in place." Elsa's understanding of this aspect was the deepest among the three.

This is a world based on the gold standard. As long as the gold you use to mint your coins is of high enough purity, they can be used on the continent.

The reason for this is that gold is an extremely important and extraordinary material in this world.

Adding gold when crafting extraordinary equipment can improve the equipment's efficiency in transmitting magic.

Alternatively, when constructing a mage tower, gold serves as an important "conductor" to stabilize the flow of energy.

In short, gold plays an irreplaceable role in all the important areas of magic.

According to Hosie, gold is a material with extremely high magical conductivity.

This endowed gold with extremely high value and practicality, which is an important foundation for its use as currency.

One advantage for Phoenix is ​​that he doesn't have to worry about the gold coins he creates not being accepted elsewhere; at most, they will only depreciate slightly. In his previous life, when paper money was the standard form of currency, the currencies of some small countries were simply not accepted by other countries.

"Don't worry about that. The map of the northern region left by the Snowfield Guardians marks the mineral resources they discovered, including quite a few gold mines."

"In addition, I also have a mineral vein compass given to me by Dulinhuo. With its help, we can first survey the area around Phoenix."

"The North has never had a currency or alchemists for many years, so no one has ever developed gold mines. It is likely that the reserves are extremely rich and considerable."

"The second challenge is mining. Mining gold in the snowfield is no easy task; it's extremely difficult," Elsa said solemnly.

She stretched out her hand and listed them one by one with Gaode, "First of all, the low temperatures in the North cause a double drain on both people and tools."

“Gold mines are mostly located deep in the ice fields or inside the mountains, where the temperature is even lower. Even though the people of the North have a special constitution that makes them resistant to cold, there are limits. Working in such an environment for a long time would definitely not last long.”

"There are ways to solve this with magic or other methods, but the more troublesome thing is the tools. Ordinary tools will become brittle at this low temperature, so we need to use special high-quality tools, and the cost of that is not to be underestimated."

"Secondly, most of the gold mines in the North are hidden below the permafrost layer, and some are even inside the permafrost layer. The permafrost layer can be up to 100 meters thick, and the soil is frozen harder than rock, making it impossible for ordinary digging tools to penetrate."

"Although Black Sails City has delivered a magic crystal drilling machine to us this time, the consumption of magic crystals will be huge, and the cost in this area is difficult to control."

"Finally, and most difficult to solve, even if gold is mined, transportation will be a major problem."

"There are no roads in the North, and gold is heavy. During transport, it may be attacked by snowstorms or leyline creatures such as snow wolves."

After Elsa finished speaking, she lowered her hand and looked at Gao De and Sunafa: "Each of these three major problems requires a lot of resources, manpower and time to solve."

"Relying solely on Phoenix's existing tribal forces, it would take at least two years to establish stable mining capabilities, but the minting plan cannot wait that long."

To be honest, this two-year timeframe was a bold one given by Elsa due to Phoenix's astonishing growth rate.

Under normal circumstances, given Phoenix's conditions, it should not be able to maintain stable mining capabilities for the next ten years.

Both Gaode and Sunafa fell into a brief silence.

Gao De tapped his fingers lightly on the table, quickly reviewing Phoenix's existing resources and considering corresponding solutions.

"Perhaps Leni's research can solve the problem of the extremely cold environment faced by the miners." Sunefa, on the other hand, thought of a solution first.

Gao De's eyes lit up slightly.

Correct!
If the magic element reaction formula for cold-resistant potions can be derived, then weak cold-resistant potions can be mass-produced.

In addition, the Northwest Barley No. 2 variety and the cold-resistant constitution of the people in the North will no longer be a major problem for gold mining due to the low temperatures.

“As for mining and transportation, it’s a problem for our Zhenbing tribe, but the Frostwolf Clan and the Winter’s Hammer are exactly the ones who can solve these two problems.” Sunaif’s tone was calm, but his words made Elsa raise an eyebrow and feel a chill in her heart.

"The Winter's Hammer wields the power of fire, which can play a significant role in mining gold in the frozen wastelands. Moreover, their forging technology is the best in the North, enabling them to mass-produce mining tools. Furthermore, their technology will also be needed for minting coins in the future."

"The Frostwolf Clan's snow wolf pack can be responsible for transportation. As the dominant species in the snowfield, snow wolves are cold-resistant, have strong endurance, and are good at running on the snowfield. Few creatures dare to provoke a pack of snow wolves, making them the best transportation partners."

"What do you mean?" Compared to Elsa's astonishment, God was much calmer.

"It's time to close the net, my king."

Sunafa looked intently at Gaode: "Although now is not the best time, things don't always have to wait until the 'best time' to take action. Sometimes the 'right time' is the best time."

More than a year has passed since Gaode first launched its economic war against the Frostwolf Clan.

The gestation period for snow wolves is about sixty days.

This means that, with sufficient food, this time is enough for the snow wolves raised by the Frostwolf Clan to give birth more than six times.

This is enough to double the number of snow wolves in the Frostwolf Clan.

As for Winter's Hammer, they already had a reason to unify by force, but the matter was temporarily dropped because of the existence of Dulin Fire.

But now that Dulinfire has become "one of us," Winter's Hammer has lost this protective charm.

“You’re right.” After a moment’s thought, Gao De made his final decision.

He stood up, looked out the window at the crowds on the street, and said decisively, "It's time for the North to truly unify."

(End of this chapter)