The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

"Can I just point to any place?"

Isabella's expression was less one of embarrassment and more one of confusion. How could her usually clear-headed and rational lord suddenly act as if he had lost his mind, leading a large group of craftsmen and herself into the mountains to explore for minerals?

It's just that he was lucky enough to have a meteorite fall from the sky and help him defeat the enemy at the most dangerous moment, right? Is it really necessary to be so supernatural as to use himself to prospect for minerals?

"That's right, you can just point to a spot based on your intuition."

Linde was just giving it a try; it wouldn't hurt him anyway. If he didn't find anything, he'd just treat it as a team-building activity. He'd also have Isa teach the craftsmen the basics of Derek's Notebook so they could get used to it.

"Then let's go with that spot."

Isa casually pointed to a hilltop, not expecting to actually find any ore.

Linde nodded and ordered his craftsmen to place the explosives and begin mining.

Lena's knights, still shaken, protected everyone. Although the artisans who used explosives had become quite adept at calculating explosives for mining after spending a lot of money on practice, there were still many uncertainties associated with explosives, so it was always better to be cautious.

The craftsmen were even more confused than Isa herself. No matter how they looked at it, this small hill did not seem like a place where mineral deposits could be formed. Although explosives were not considered precious, this was still a bit too wasteful.

Many craftsmen mustered up their courage and advised Linde that the hilltop was unlikely to have any mineral deposits, given its terrain and topography, but that a large amount of explosives was needed for prospecting, and they hoped that Linde would reconsider.

Linde first affirmed the craftsmen's ideas, and then still ordered the mining to begin. This made Isa, who was standing to the side, feel a little uncomfortable and wanted to step forward to dissuade him. But at this moment, Lena suddenly interrupted and said, "Even if there is no ore, we can still test the power of the new explosives, right? And I trust my brother's judgment. Since my brother thinks this place is worth a try, then we should try it."

With Lena's order, the Lars family's craftsmen finally finished placing all the explosives for the mining operation.

As the fuse burned out, the anticipated explosion occurred. The entire forest seemed to tremble violently, and countless birds and beasts fled in terror. Smoke and debris surged in like a giant wave sweeping across the land. Fortunately, the knights were prepared and deployed protective magic, allowing Isha, who was seeing the power of explosives for the first time, to directly experience the power of this man-made object.

Although she had heard that the territory was researching something that could trigger an explosion like magic, after seeing it with her own eyes, Isa could hardly believe that this was a power that ordinary people could achieve. It was no exaggeration to describe it as capable of splitting mountains and splitting the earth.

After confirming the blast was complete, some rune artisans with mining experience went forward with their tools to explore. This process was rather slow, and it wasn't until near dusk that a craftsman who looked like a madman ran over and shouted, "We've got it! We've got it! My lord, a huge vein of magic stone!"

In that instant, Isa, who was drinking tea, was so shocked that she dropped her teacup. She had actually dug up a rare magic stone vein with a casual gesture. Could it be that she was truly blessed by a goddess?

But when did the goddess expand her business to managing meteorites and mineral veins? It's not mentioned in the scriptures. Could it be that I'm actually the saintess of the Earth Vein Goddess? Should I go to the Golden Dawn Association for certification?

Isa fell into deep self-doubt.

Linde and Lena stood up excitedly, and Lena even ignored the knights' attempts to stop her and went straight to the mine that the craftsmen had dug out.

To be honest, Linde didn't expect it to succeed. It can only be said that Isa is indeed the chosen one, and she can actually do such an outrageous thing. But how exactly did such a lucky Isa get replaced as the saintess?

The thought of another transmigrator in the capital made Lin De somewhat worried. However, considering that he currently had no way to contact the other party, Lin De decided to put the matter aside for the time being. Who knew what the other party's attitude was towards other transmigrators? He should at least wait until he was strong enough before he could contact the other party to confirm.

Everyone present was extremely excited as the old craftsman introduced the magic stone mine. However, since it was approaching night, the mine could not be built or mining could not be carried out for the time being. Linde decided to leave some people here to keep watch at night, while the rest returned to the territory to make further arrangements.

Lena's knights conscientiously took on the task of staying behind, and Lind agreed to their request, after all, they were the strongest fighters and were extremely loyal to Lena.

The group descended the mountain amidst laughter and chatter, while in the shadows, several long-eared rangers recorded everything before returning to their outpost in the Gog Empire.

Linde's Grey and White Clan had been developing at the foot of the Colossus Mountains for so long, yet it hadn't attracted the attention of the elves. After all, Linde was just an ordinary lord among the many lords around the Colossus Mountains.

What truly made Linde a target of observation for the Rangers was the gunpowder mining experiment. The Elf Queen of the Gog Empire somehow obtained this information and took it very seriously.

“Your Majesty, today that human lord not only continued to use tools called explosives to mine, but also successfully found a magic stone vein. It seems that someone among them specifically pointed out the location of this vein. Because there is a high-level professional among the people who came this time, I dare not get too close.”

After the ranger with pale golden hair reported to a phantom, a majestic female voice came from within the phantom.

"I understand. Just like we treat those humans, our Gog Empire will take a portion of the rare ores mined in the Giant God Mountains."

The forest ranger noticed that the Queen's wording was somewhat different and asked, "Is it the usual practice of taking 30% as a fee for environmental maintenance?"

The ownership of the Giant Mountains is a historical issue that has been a source of contention between humans and elves. In the end, both sides compromised and reached an agreement on joint development—humans and elves would each develop one side of the Giant Mountains.

However, due to the numerous human factions and constant infighting among them, elves were specially invited to act as overseers to prevent anyone from overstepping boundaries and over-exploiting resources. In return, 20% to 30% of all resources mined by humans in the Giant God Mountains must be handed over to the elves.

Although the contract is still in effect among the elves, most humans have forgotten about it due to the passage of time.

Most of the terms in the contract cannot be fully fulfilled. For example, originally, all resources had to be handed over to the elves in part or exchanged for equivalent items, but now the elves only collect "fees" for precious resources.

Fortunately, the force of inertia is strong. Even though humans can no longer remember why they handed over the resources they developed to the elves, no human lord would usually violate this contract that they regarded as an "unspoken rule." At most, they would complain about how the elves, who were known for their rigidity, could be so greedy.

After all, the ancient human empire had split into two great kingdoms and other countries of varying sizes, but the Elven Gorg Empire had always stood on the other side of the Colossus Mountains, as if it had never changed.

"No, this lord takes fifty percent of it."

The voice from the other side of the phantom left no room for argument.

Perhaps because this forest ranger was of high status, she directly asked the illusory figure, "I understand, Your Majesty, but why is that?"

The elven queen did not answer directly, but said, "That lord will understand."

After ending the call, the Elf Queen Avilia slumped into the ancient chair and stretched.

Contrary to what Lind had imagined, elves were not all rigid, serious, and noble figures. Although there is some truth to this stereotype, elves are actually quite worldly and have other emotions such as joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness.

"Mother, I don't understand. Are humans really worth our attention? We don't even have enough rangers in the Ancient Forest, yet we have to constantly send them out to observe human activities. They're just some lowly race that has to learn how to use magic. Are they really any threat?"

Faced with her daughter's question, Avelia remained calm and asked, "Did you read the newspapers and books published by the demons?"

The elven princess, who addressed Avelia as "Mother," blushed and turned her head away like a teenage girl whose secret had been discovered by her parents. Most of the newspapers and books printed by the demons were poorly made and their contents were laughable, but the elven princess still thought they had some merit.

"You think that we and the demons are superior races who are born with the ability to sense and manipulate magic and use magic, while humans, who can only produce one professional among hundreds of people and whose strength is uneven, are inferior races, right?"

When faced with the Queen's question, the princess did not answer directly, which was tantamount to admitting it.

"If that's the case, why did our elven kingdom have to be built in a wild, untamed forest, while the demons didn't even have a piece of land at one point, and could only squeeze into the eternal tundra in the north? Why not occupy the most fertile land on the continent and let humans cultivate and develop there? Is it because you don't want to?"

"Of course, it's because we elves respect nature more and are more favored by the god of nature, so we choose to live in the forest and in the trees so that we can better experience nature."

“That’s just the official explanation, Tia. You are my successor. You should know that the God of Nature doesn’t care whether we live in the trees or not. We live in the trees only because it’s difficult for either sunlight or faith to reach the forest floor.”