"Besides that,"
"there is a third method."
"Certain Forest Tribes living near our area have a special fondness for shiny things like Gold Coins and gold. They treat them as sacred objects, using them both to commemorate their Ancestral Heroic Spirits and as burial goods for the deceased."
"We could try to take them by force."
"However, the Gold Coins these Forest Tribes possess are mostly just the small spoils they seized from abandoned human towns back when the Forest Alliance Army attacked the empire's Northern Territory. The coins have changed hands and been divided up so many times that the total amount is far less than what the other two methods offer."
"If we're lucky, we might get ten or twenty Gold Coins."
"If we're unlucky, we might only get four or five."
Diablo suddenly sighed.
"And... desecrating their ancestral graves and insulting their ancestors are acts that strike at the very root of their faith. It would be enough to trigger an Undying and Unyielding blood feud between us."
"The Forest Tribes capable of plundering Gold Coins from human towns are, without exception, an extremely fierce and ruthless bunch."
"Their villages number from dozens to hundreds, forming vast settlement clusters that stretch as far as the eye can see. The entire forest trembles wherever their war axes and fangs reach."
"My Lord, if you wish to take this path,"
"I urge you to consider it carefully."
"Think clearly about the risks involved."
Qin Feng folded his arms across his chest, his fingertips tapping lightly on the metal plates of his shoulder guard. He narrowed his eyes and suddenly asked,
"Diablo, I'm very curious. Where exactly did you learn all of this?"
Just last night, after bringing another Ratman Warrior under his command, Qin Feng had asked a similar question: how could he acquire Gold Coins in the Lord World?
However, that Ratman Warrior had been completely clueless. His mind was as blank as a sheet of paper; all he knew was how to fight and kill.
In contrast, this unawakened, hidden 'Heroic Unit' not only possessed a deep understanding of the forest's hidden legends but was also well-versed in the anecdotes of city-states, the rules of trade routes, and even the customs of distant lands. He was like a walking encyclopedia, exuding an air of scholarly knowledge completely different from that of a member of a primitive Forest Tribe.
The difference between the two was simply too great.
So great that they barely seemed like the same species.
Diablo lowered his furry head, the tips of his ears twitching slightly in the Shadow.
"Reporting to you, Lord."
"Most of the knowledge in my head comes from the scrolls in the libraries of human city-states."
"The few scraps of knowledge that remain were taught to me by my father when he was alive."
"He told me to read more."
"Because knowledge is power, and it's often hidden in ink—more capable of breaking the locks of fate than any War Axe."
Hearing this, Qin Feng rubbed his chin and couldn't help but exclaim,
"Your father... he must have been quite the character!"
After a pause, Qin Feng changed the subject and suddenly asked,
"Did your father ever tell you what a Dragon Crystal is, and where to get them?"
Diablo tilted his head, his narrowed rat-like eyes turning into a thin line in the morning light.
"Dragon Crystal?"
It repeated the words, as if sifting through the dust in the depths of its memory.
"Hmm."
"I remember now."
"It is said to be a treasured gift from the Deities."
"Only a Divine Chosen Lord like yourself, or a Divine Chosen One born with Extraordinary Power, has a chance of obtaining it."
"Mortals like us, who are not favored by the Deities, still cannot touch upon its secrets—even if we manage to break the shackles of our bloodline through hard work and become a Professional who has acquired Extraordinary Power."
'Is that so?'
'Looks like I'll still have to ask that player named MC for the specific way to obtain Dragon Crystals, then?'
'However, according to the settings of the Lord Game,'
'if a Divine Chosen Lord loses their Lord's Hall and has no backup Lord's Stone, they lose their status as a Divine Chosen Lord and are demoted to a Divine Chosen One.'
'This "Divine Chosen One" is basically a so-called "Heroic Unit."'
'Only Heroes and Lords can receive the blessings of the Deities, awaken their own Talent Ability, and grant their legions impressive Attribute bonuses.'
'The difference is,'
'a Divine Chosen Lord can use the Lord's Hall to summon a legion of soldiers from the Void who are 100% loyal to them.'
'A Hero can only act as a pure fighter.'
'Clearly, Diablo is also a Hero.'
'Although I don't know why it hasn't awakened yet, it will definitely be able to benefit from the effects of a Dragon Crystal and become a sufficiently outstanding heroic commander under my command.'
...
After getting the information he wanted, Qin Feng began to carry out his plan for the day.
First.
Activate the Ranger's "Hunting" skill to specifically summon a group of wild animals (Fire Foxes), then defeat and capture them, converting them into a Food resource and new Zoo Soldiers.
His luck was pretty good.
He managed to subdue a total of five Fire Foxes this time.
Adding the three Fire Foxes he had recruited before, he now had eight. With their unique fishing Talent, they could acquire a large amount of Food resources.
Second.
Use the results from the first part of the plan to recruit the remaining five villagers in the Lord's Hall. Ensure they were all assigned to logging work to efficiently gather the wood resources needed to construct a "Residential Building."
Once the Residential Building was completed, he would focus on accumulating the resources to upgrade the Lord's Hall, quickly raising it to Level 2.
After that, he would compare the overall logging efficiency of a Level 2 Woodcutter's Hut versus a Level 1 Woodcutter's Hut. Then he would decide whether to prioritize upgrading other production buildings or building more of them.
After all, Qin Feng could only recruit ten villagers per week at this stage, so his production population was extremely limited.
He definitely couldn't afford to squander his territory's resources blindly.
Only through meticulous calculation, and by investing every resource in the right place to avoid inefficient output and waste, could he maximize the strength of his territory.
Next,
the third part of the plan.
Qin Feng would personally lead a team, taking all the Forest Wolves subdued over the past two days deep into the heart of the forest to begin sweeping operations.
During their march, any harmless herbivores they encountered were to be annihilated and converted into Food reserves.
If they encountered threatening, red-named carnivores, they were to capture them if possible and domesticate them into new Zoo Soldiers.
If they couldn't be captured, they were to be killed and also converted into Food resources.
Don't ask.
If you have to ask, the answer is that profit comes first.
Qin Feng had never been some kind of saint.
Nor was he a core member of some animal protection organization.
He couldn't be bothered to consider what impact such a large-scale slaughter would have on the natural ecosystem of the entire Northern Forest.
In any case, until he had the power to defeat that Death Knight from reality, Qin Feng wouldn't consider such troublesome details.
He would only prioritize increasing his own strength and the combat power of his entire territory...
'Finally,'
'there's the fourth part of the plan, which I just thought of.'
'Reconnaissance on all the Forest Tribes living in this area, and also on the Withered Leaf Tribe, which already has a blood feud with the Poison Arrow Tribe. I need to figure out their specific movements.'
'I'll leave these two tasks to Diablo.'
'With its intelligence,'
'it definitely won't disappoint me.'