I Became the Progenitor Vampire-Chapter 264 - 265: Congratulations, You Made it onto My Little Black Book, The Almost Forgotten Divine Artifact Fragment (10,000-Word Mega Chapter)

Chapter 264: Chapter 265: Congratulations, You Made it onto My Little Black Book, The Almost Forgotten Divine Artifact Fragment (10,000-Word Mega Chapter)

As Lide issued various commands, Dawn City began to come to life.

The vigorous second round of construction officially started.

As the ruler of Dawn, his will was the direction in which the city advanced.

Everyone had to move forward under his gaze.

Three days passed in a flash, and December 1 marked the beginning of the cold winter.

The dwarves, originally scattered across the mines and the construction department, were all summoned back to the smithy, where Valen gathered all the dwarf power to forge the armor needed by Lide.

Negotiating with the centaurs, they decided on 500 sets of armor, with an additional 150 sets to be traded for the 10,000 elites of Risier City. Lide, not wanting to bother with small numbers, set the figure at a pleasing 800 sets.

After acquiring the hammer capable of melting secret silver, the dwarfs’ speed of forging weapons visibly increased.

A good hammer does not hinder a woodcutter’s job, and for dwarves, it was a significant boost.

The secret silver from the Barbarian Hammer Tribe had been extremely precious in the past, with the few pounds produced each year often used to forge high-level equipment. This resulted in most of the dwarves’ hammers being of a very ordinary level.

Now, with the support of the wealthy Lide, each dwarf had received a hammer blended with secret silver.

Secret silver, as a strategic metal, was a treasure that could incite wars amongst empires; just a little inclusion in an item could greatly enhance its attributes.

Holding such powerful tools, the dwarves’ already high forging efficiency rocketed upwards.

“Kachar City Lord, there are a total of 801 sets of armor here, including 600 Rare★ sets, 150 Rare★★ sets, and 50 Rare★★★ sets.

There is also one Perfect★★ armor set.”

Valen, his face full of pride, pointed excitedly at the mountain of Centaur armor piled up in the warehouse.

The armor, bearing the characteristic dark patterns of the dwarves, reflected a unique metallic luster under the sunlight at the warehouse entrance, making the dim storage room shimmer with bright light.

Lide was somewhat surprised, “There are so many Rare★★ and Rare★★★ armors?”

The materials he provided were intended for only Rare★ levels; he hadn’t anticipated so many high-level armors being produced.

Valen laughed heartily, his expression extremely satisfied.

“Lord City Master, the secret silver forging hammer is amazing. Our tribe came up with many fine products during forging, which is why there are so many ★★ and ★★★ armors.

And this Perfect★★ armor was made when I activated the special attribute of the war hammer, elevating the ★ quality to ★★.”

Lide followed Valen’s gaze and saw the strikingly handsome, enormous armor set placed not stacked like the others but instead mounted on a wooden stand.

Perfect★★… If it weren’t specifically forged for the Centaur Chieftain and impossible for humans to wear, he would indeed be reluctant to part with it.

Shaking his head, he was too lazy to check the properties of the armor set. After all, it was meant to be a gift; knowing its powerful attributes would only make him more heartbroken.

“Today is the day for the trade with the Centaur Tribe. Valen, have people move the armor onto the Magic Language Bat’s back. I want to go there myself.”

“At your command, Lord City Master.”

Without any hesitation, Valen walked out of the warehouse and immediately instructed the smithy’s people to get to work.

Due to the immense size of the centaur armor, it took a full three Sunshine Hours to load all 800 sets onto the Magic Language Bat.

“Chieftain, forging these 800 sets of armor nearly exhausted all our iron ore reserves. When you go to trade with the centaurs, maybe you could try having the centaurs provide us with ore.”

Just before Lide was prepared to leave, Harrison, who had received the news, rushed over.

As the Speaker of the City Hall, Harrison now carried a heavy burden. He was responsible for various construction tasks and had to be extremely familiar with the inventory of resources.

The forging of the centaur armor had used up all the steel accumulated in Dawn City for a while, and he was particularly worried that Lide might agree to even more armor orders ranging from hundreds to thousands during this trade.

That would leave them completely helpless.

Moreover, there were constructions for a breeding farm and school underway, plus alchemy and weapons factories were also starting construction—all requiring substantial quantities of steel. Thus, Harrison was also quite distressed at this time.

Hearing this, Lide was slightly taken aback; he had indeed overlooked this point as he had intended to make another trade with the centaurs.

Dawn City was currently mining only the Giant Valley iron mine. Although not a small amount of ore was produced, it was only barely sufficient to support the needs of Dawn City.

It wasn’t that the exploration teams hadn’t found other veins during this period, but even this one large iron mine couldn’t be fully utilized by Dawn City, let alone develop other veins.

His available manpower was too limited; with production powerhouses like the one-eyed giants numbering only about a dozen, they were far from enough.

And the efficiency of humans in mining ore was low, so this situation had been at a stalemate without a better solution.

“Reassign some beastmen from Dwarf Valley to work the iron mines there. Aren’t those two large iron mines in Dwarf Valley still empty?”

The vein in Dwarf Valley was rich, yet only the Mithril vein had been mined.

Harrison gave a wry smile and shook his head.

“Clan Leader, the Mithril vein is too difficult to mine. Currently, the vast majority of beastmen are mining Mithril. If we reassign some, it will inevitably cause the progress of the Mithril mining to decline…”

Lide shook his head, decisively making a decision.

“Don’t overcomplicate it, reassigning one to two thousand beastmen to mine iron won’t have much impact.

The yield of Mithril ore was already low; a bit lower won’t matter. We won’t be engaging in any major wars anytime soon.

We can delay the progress of equipping our top fighters with Mithril gear. Let’s first address our lack of iron ore.

We can move up the trade with the Centaur Tribe.

Crimson Mage Tower currently lacks a significant amount of magical raw materials, and we can’t let this interrupt the production of magic scrolls, as it’s critical to our development.”

“Yes, Clan Leader.” Harrison nodded since Lide had made a decision, his only task was then to carry it out.

“Good, you go arrange it. Dawn City will be extremely busy during this time. If you are overloaded, delegate some of the unnecessary tasks to the think tank.

An individual’s strength is always limited.

You need to learn to utilize the power of systems and teams.”

The City Hall was already operational, fully capable of handling many political affairs, and there was also a think tank specifically formed to solve problems, exploiting their advantages was far more effective than one person working hard.

“As you wish.”

After Lide finished instructing, he didn’t linger on the matter. Government affairs were never-ending, and the decisions made could be managed by Harrison; he didn’t have the time to waste on these minor issues.

He pulled Castro from his embrace, allowing the newborn king to return to its original form, then Lide, along with a group of Magic Language Bats bearing heavy armor, took flight, heading towards the low hills at least fifteen hundred kilometers away from a direct line from Dawn City.

—

—

—

Risier City’s secret base.

Although it had been leveled to the ground by Withered Bone, the centaurs did not leave but instead stationed themselves here.

Everyone was waiting, waiting for a powerful being that could bring them the equipment they desperately desired.

“Chieftain Sam, I am the Earl of Risier City, and I request to redeem my life with Gold Puck!

I am a noble of the Nolan Empire, and I have the right to do this!”

A piercing voice echoed through the cave.

With a height of 3.5 blades, the lower body of a black horse, and the upper body of a human, the 15-level Centaur Chieftain Sam was patrolling the cave next to that broad river.

Those nobles who had escaped from Risier City were now bound by their hands and thrown onto the open ground in the cave.

Huge stalactites fell, and the sharp stalagmites resembled sharp swords, with faint droplets of water shimmering on them.

The December wind continuously blew in from outside the cave, and the coldness of the river made the drafty cave even colder.

At this moment, the captured nobles of Risier City were mostly pale, their clothes, once worth dozens of Gold Pucks, were now no better than a beggar’s, covered in black stains and emitting a sour smell.

Desperation filled everyone’s eyes; it had been three days since they had been captive.

No one had imagined they could escape from the beastmen’s siege, only to end up as captives of the centaurs.

And these centaurs never negotiated, difficult to communicate with, most of them were already prepared for death.

Extended starvation had already made these former nobles of Risier City lose their basic capability to resist.

Sam, upon hearing that piercing cry, turned his head towards the source of the voice.

A fat nobleman, dressed in white finery now stained black, his expression extremely pathetic, came into his view, and Sam’s expression turned somewhat amused.

The 15-Level Centaur Chieftain’s heavy voice resonated.

“An Earl of Risier City? What can you offer?”

Hearing Sam’s words, the middle-aged nobleman, who claimed to be an earl, was overjoyed. He had been wailing here for three days, and this was the first time the Centaurs had responded to him.

“If you swear loyalty to me, I can give you everything: armor, weapons, Gold Puck, even slaves, women—anything you desire! Esteemed Centaur Chief, I am an Earl, I am very wealthy…”

Upon hearing this, Sam’s expression violently changed, and he stepped forward, his hand reaching out to grasp the nobleman’s neck, lifting the two hundred and eighty-pound man into the air.

The towering Centaur Chief was like a wall built of giant stones, majestic and strong.

“Cunning humans, the Iron Hoof Tribe won’t fall for your tricks again!”

With a fierce right hand, Sam exerted force, and a tremendous power burst forth. Amidst terrified screams, with a distance spanning over twenty blades away, he hurled the nobleman into the river.

The bound nobleman had no chance to resist; his choking cries rose as he slowly sank beneath the water’s surface.

“Lying scum! All you deceivers deserve to die!”

After killing a human, Sam, still not appeased, glared bitterly at the frightened crowd around him.

His tone was filled with resentment and anger, as if the nobleman’s earlier words had triggered some unpleasant memories for the chief.

The Iron Hoof Tribe had suffered greatly at the hands of humans over the long years, with some of their former tribespeople even deceived into slavery by human nobles.

This made Sam profoundly distrustful of all humans.

Due to the restrictions imposed by Risier City, most merchants dared not trade with the Centaurs, and those who risked it were hardly benevolent. Thus, they would exploit the Centaurs whenever possible in trade, as they were uncertain of any future dealings.

This led to humans having an extremely poor reputation in the Dwarf Hills, not just with Sam, but with all the Centaurs there.

These cunning humans were deeply loathed by the Centaurs.

The remaining nobles from Risier City, witnessing this scene, felt a surge of panic, their eyes becoming increasingly desperate.

From the moment Risier City was breached, they knew they had to flee, but never imagined facing such a terrible disaster.

“Chief, His Excellency has arrived…”

At least, the news from the Centaurs outside brought some hope to the despondent humans.

Sam turned his head, glancing at the trembling crowd, his expression slightly easing.

“If it wasn’t for His Excellency, you despicable humans would have been thrown into the river by now, hmph.”

With those words and a cold snort, he turned and, with a thud, thud of his four hooves, walked heavily out of the vast cave, leaving behind the humans, still shocked from the fright.

For a long time, a small, uncertain voice spoke quietly.

“His Excellency? The Centaur mentioned His Excellency? Could it be the one from Green City who’s come to rescue us?”

Another voice scoffed.

“Nonsense, the one from Green City pulled all our elite forces, even the guards of Andabella City Lord were drawn away to combat the Undead in the north, does he care whether we live or die?”

“Then who could it be?”

The scene fell silent, nobody speaking, as if afraid their words might cause this potential savior to vanish.

The weak never have a choice; these former elites and nobles of Risier City, from the moment the city fell, no longer had anyone to stand up for them.

—

—

—

Lide directed Castro to land on the rough ground, dismounting from its back, stepping onto the solid earth, the gravel slightly crunching underfoot.

Sam’s imposing figure emerged from the cave.

Seeing Lide, the Level 15 Centaur’s face immediately brightened with a smile more radiant than chrysanthemums, for he saw on the Magic Language Bat, which had landed in the valley, the armor stacked together, reflecting sunlight and almost dazzling him.

His uneasy heart of the past few days relaxed at this sight.

This mysterious His Excellency had indeed not lied.

He had brought hundreds of sets of armor—specifically tailored and rare armors for Centaurs!

Praise be to the Centaur God, praise be to Kachar City Lord!

“Good day, esteemed Kachar City Lord, Iron Hoof Tribe Chief, Sam Ironhoof greets you.”

Sam bowed deeply in respect, as if it was his first meeting with Lide.

Lide nodded slightly, “Good day, Chieftain Sam, my friend.

I have brought back the armor you needed,” a smile flickered across his eyes, “this is my promise to the Iron Hoof Tribe.”

He gestured to the Magic Language Bats that covered the sun above the valley, a small fraction of which were slowly descending, the armor on them so enticing.

“There are a total of 800 sets of Dwarf-forged armor.”

Upon hearing this number, which was enough to excite all the Centaur Tribes of the low hills, Sam couldn’t contain his joy and burst into hearty laughter.

Although the original agreement was for 500 sets, plus another 150 for the exchange with humans, making 650 sets, more was always better.

“Praise you, great Lord of Kachar, your Glory is enough to bring honor to the Iron Hoof Tribe.”

Lide smiled faintly and then dropped another bombshell, “Of these 800 sets of armor, 600 are of Rare quality, 150 are of Rare★, and 50 are of Rare★★★.”

Hearing this, Sam’s breath quickened, armor of Rare and Rare★★★?

It was almost unbelievable, each small increase in quality assured at least a 30% increase in attributes.

The difference between Rare and Rare★★★ was 60%, Lide had given him an incredible surprise.

But Lide’s next words made Sam’s heart skip a beat.

“Chieftain Sam, as for the Perfect Level armor forged for you…”

Seeing Lide’s somewhat regretful expression, Sam felt a pang of disappointment, had it failed?

But he recovered quickly, as having so many sets of armor, not to mention one Perfect set, even ten wouldn’t compare in value.

Lide, seeing Sam’s disappointed look, suddenly laughed, “There is no Perfect★ armor, but I spared no expense to have the Dwarves forge one set of Perfect★★ armor.

Chieftain Sam, you might like it.”

With a wave of his hand, behind him, without taking flight, Castro summoned two Mage’s Hands, which took out the Perfect★★ armor personally forged by Valen.

Perfect★★???

Sam was nearly breathless as he saw the solid thick armor reflect the metallic sheen, especially the dark patterns showing the expert Dwarf craftsmanship, the Centaur Chief was instantly enthralled.

No Centaur could refuse a piece of Dwarf-forged armor, none!

Not until the two Mage’s Hands brought the somewhat oddly styled armor before Sam did the Level 15 Centaur chief barely come back to reality.

This poor Centaur, who had never experienced the lavish lifestyle, was now dizzy with the lavishness of equipment presented by Lide; if there were a Favorability System, it would clearly show a “+1 +1 +1 +1” popping over Sam’s head every second.

Sam took the heavy armor, his smile blinding, brighter than the sun.

His smiling lips could not close.

“Praise you, great Lord of Kachar, the Iron Hoof Tribe shall be your eternal friend.”

Lide looked amusedly at this scene.

“There is no need for such formality, Sam, we are friends, are we not?

Have your warriors transport the armor,”

Sam’s face lit up with excitement, “Becoming your friend is an honor for me and the Iron Hoof Tribe.

We have prepared the Wild Rhino Skin that we are using to purchase the armor, it’s all the stock of the Iron Hoof Tribe, totaling fifteen thousand pieces.”

This time, the Level 15 Centaur chieftain had lost his previous caution, instead showing a slight tendency to grovel before Lide.

It’s not that I’m not strong, it’s just that he has given too much; it’s thrilling to be friends with a tycoon.

With so many high-quality armors, which were unimaginable before, where could they have gotten so many high-level equipments from? Even if humans were willing to sell to them, they couldn’t afford it.

With these armors, the strength of the Iron Hoof Tribe would significantly improve.

Thinking this, Sam felt a strong urge to cling closely to this powerful support.

Lide laughed heartily, these poor fellows, how could they possibly resist the temptation of a sugar-coated cannonball?

“Lord of Kachar, the group of humans you requested are in the cave, do you want us to bring them out now?”

This time, the trade brought Lide partly for the Demon Beast skins, and partly for the elite and nobles of Risier City.

In terms of population, more were always welcome.

Moreover, they were the elite population of Risier City.

However, he did not plan to take everyone back this time.

These were high-level individuals, but not everyone was useful.

Those with noble titles, the aged, those with poor talent, low education, and unattractive appearances—he planned not to take any of them.

Especially the elderly nobles accustomed to a life of high status and luxury; once they lost their positions in Dawn City, the likelihood of them causing trouble was high.

And most of these people were old and decrepit. Though still useful, the risk of them causing trouble was not worth taking.

Though he had already discussed this with Harrison, it was still better to avoid if possible.

“Sam, I only need to take a portion of these people back, so please help me select them.”

Lide was straightforward, issuing commands as if he were ordering Harrison.

“You don’t need to state the purpose; just let them separate themselves—nobles with nobles, blacksmiths with blacksmiths, polymaths with…”

Sam instantly understood Lide’s intentions, “Are you planning to take only the human nobles back?”

In his mind, human nobles were more valuable than others. Back when he was involved in kidnapping, human nobles always exchanged for more supplies.

“No, human nobles are of no use to me. I need everybody except the human nobles.”

Lide smiled faintly. “Make sure the Centaur Warriors do not reveal this information when they select…”

“As you wish, Kachar City Lord.”

Sam nodded. Although Lide was giving commands, the Centaur Chieftain did not feel uncomfortable.

Lide exuded a natural nobility and leadership quality that easily garnered trust and obedience, a characteristic of superiors cultivated from long-term high positions, and also a unique personal charm.

The Centaur Warriors divided into two teams, one team excitedly moving armor from behind the Magic Language Bat, while the other team selected people from Risier City’s crowd.

But no matter who passed by, each centaur cast a respectful look towards Lide.

One must maintain adequate respect towards the powerful, let alone towards one who could enslave a Bone Dragon.

Of course, the most important thing was the solid dwarf armor brought by this mysterious lord.

Lide’s reputation within the Centaur Tribe dramatically soared due to his powerful strength and tangible benefits.

After one Sunshine Hour, the armors were all moved off the Magic Language Bat, and the centaurs who received the armors couldn’t wait to put on the precious gear.

In the blink of an eye, in front of the city ruins, nearly 800 fully armored Heavy Cavalry appeared in the valley.

Three-bladed High bodies, the lower half horse, the upper half human, armor covered everything from helmet to hoof.

The explosive muscles of the centaurs pushed the dark-patterned dwarf armor out prominently, each resembling an iron sculpture, filled with an oppressive sense of power.

This was what true Centaur Heavy Cavalry looked like. The centaurs previously clad in bone armor were no match for these iron centaurs.

The famously formidable Centaur Heavy Cavalry of the Glory Main Plane had been reborn.

However, the only disharmony was that the centaurs were still wielding bone or stone weapons, which looked incredibly crude compared to their armor.

“Kachar City Lord…”

Accompanied by a dull sound, an even larger centaur appeared after the armored Centaur Warriors cleared a path in front of Lide.

His whole body was enveloped in black, sinister armor, holding a large double-edged axe in hand,

his hooves trampled on the ground, creating dull sounds, each step producing web-like cracks on the hard yellow ground.

Majestic and handsome, as if stepping out of a mythological tale from an ancient race.

Evidently, this imposing centaur was Sam Ironhoof, the Chieftain of the Iron Hoof Tribe.

“Thank you for your generosity; this armor has given me even greater strength.”

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Sam excitedly paced back and forth, as if he thought of something. He stopped abruptly, turned around to face Lide with a very solemn expression beneath his helmet.

“I, Sam Ironhoof, hereby swear to the Great Centaur God that I am willing to forge an alliance with the great Kachar City Lord, to be mutually loyal and never betray each other.”

Lide was slightly taken aback, not expecting Sam to suddenly make such a pledge.

Just as he was about to speak, a notification from the system came through.

“Ding~ Sam Ironhoof, chieftain of the Iron Hoof Tribe, wishes to form an alliance with you. Do you agree?

After forming an alliance, you cannot randomly attack the other party, unless you actively tear up the pact, and doing so will incur the dislike of the witnessing Divine being—the Centaur God.”

This can actually be seriously considered an alliance by the system?

Lide had intended to directly refuse, but after pondering, he chose to agree.

Originally, he had planned to support the Iron Hoof Tribe and turn it into a window for Dawn City in the Dwarf Hills, which would be a step deeper in cooperation.

Moreover, this pact did not impose too much restriction on him.

Who is the Centaur God? He, a member of the Bloodline, would he bother about the Centaur God’s dislike? What impact does it have on him?

The Light Gods are inherently hostile to dark creatures; he was still living just fine—the Divine beings who can’t appear on the Main Plane had very little impact on him.

Besides, he had no intention of tearing up the pact; to do so, the benefits would have to be significant enough to outweigh the losses, but currently, it didn’t seem feasible in the short term.

The Iron Hoof Tribe was so impoverished—other than the Demon Beast’s furs, what else could attract him to fight desperately for it?

So, all things considered, the benefits outweighed the disadvantages, and the alliance was initiated by the Centaur Tribe, which meant it definitely imposed a greater restriction on them than on him.

In Sam’s view, forming an alliance with Lide was an extremely sacred act—as the Centaur God was the faith of all centaurs, swearing an alliance on their faith was something he saw as impossible to betray.

“Sam, in my capacity as the City Lord of Dawn City, I agree to form an alliance with the Iron Hoof Tribe. We will be loyal to each other and never betray one another.”

Lide thumped his chest loudly as he spoke.

With his tactics, if he really wanted to confront the Centaur Tribe, he wouldn’t need to directly tear up the pact; he had countless ways to cause the tribe to collapse.

After receiving Lide’s word, Sam’s gaze towards him softened a bit.

As if he remembered something, Sam turned around and loudly announced to the 800 centaur warriors clad in heavy armor,

“From today onwards, the Iron Hoof Tribe and Dawn City are bound as allies and the great City Lord Kachar will also become our most honored ally of the Iron Hoof Tribe.

And I hereby declare, City Lord Kachar as the Hand of Glory of the Iron Hoof Tribe!”

Upon hearing this, the centaurs below immediately became somber, all pounding their chests with their right hand to salute Lide.

“Welcome back, ancient glory.”

What the heck?

What is this about a ‘Hand of Glory’?

Lide was a bit confused when he heard this.

First, an alliance, and now a ‘Hand of Glory’? What was this centaur up to?

“City Lord Kachar, this is a tradition once held by the Iron Hoof Tribe,” Sam began to explain as he noticed Lide’s confusion.

“The title ‘Hand of Glory’ is bestowed only upon the most powerful warrior within the Iron Hoof Tribe.

And you, you have enslaved a giant dragon!”

Lide’s lips twitched slightly—blame me for it?

“Can I also take part in the judging?”

Sam’s expression was solemn, “Of course, as an ally of the Iron Hoof Tribe, you possess all rights within the tribe.”

Hearing this, Lide slightly narrowed his eyes.

Something felt off today; how could everything seem so prearranged?

How could an alliance be formed so easily, and then they would bestow upon him a title like ‘Hand of Glory’? How could this happen in a tribe with thousands of warriors?

Nor would those timid and fearful goblins make such an impulsive decision so simply.

“Sam, was becoming allies prearranged by you guys? Why do it this way?”

Lide didn’t beat around the bush and directly pierced through Sam’s little schemes.

Sam did not look the least bit embarrassed; instead, he solemnly nodded.

“Correct, City Lord Kachar, even before your arrival, we had already discussed it, if you could truly arrive timely and keep the appointment.”

“Iron Hoof Tribe will become allies with you.”

Lide glanced thoughtfully at the level 15 Centaur Chieftain.

“Why? Aren’t you afraid I have other intentions? You know, this trade might seem profitable to you, but in my hands, I can make much more.”

A glint of intelligence flashed in Sam’s eyes, “No, this is a trade between you and the Iron Hoof Tribe. It doesn’t matter how much you earn, as long as we find it fair.

Moreover, we believe that someone who can enslave giant dragons and could easily have destroyed the Iron Hoof Tribe three days ago, will not easily attack the Iron Hoof Tribe again.

The Iron Hoof Tribe needs the armor you provide, and you also need our barrier formed by Centaurs in the Dwarf Hills.

That’s the basis of our cooperation. I believe the growth of the Iron Hoof Tribe can only benefit you and not harm you.”

These words made Lide take a new look at the seemingly muscle-headed Centaur Chieftain.

Indeed, no race that survived on this land was simple, appearing honest and loyal, but possibly hiding a cunning fox inside.

But he didn’t care, his intentions had never been hidden, he was here for the resources of the Dwarf Hills.

Having a strong tribe as an ally here would save time and effort when Dawn City couldn’t spare the energy to build a new power.

“Very well, Sam, I like dealing with smart people,

now that we are allies, there will be more cooperation in the future,” Lide’s smile remained unchanged.

Sam finally breathed a sigh of relief at these words, but Lide’s next statement sent a chill down his spine.

“However, I hope such an incident does not happen a second time. There’s more than one Centaur tribe in the Dwarf Hills.

But, there is only one Dawn City.”

Adopting a carrot-and-stick approach, Lide left no room for sentimentality and began to assert his dominance.

Although this situation caused him no loss, the Iron Hoof Tribe’s ulterior motives displeased him.

Now he held absolute initiative; the Iron Hoof was not the only option, he could always look for replacements.

This left Sam sweating coldly, his expression immediately turned solemn.

“Rest assured, Iron Hoof Tribe will defend the interests and honor of its ally with their lives.”

Lide looked deeply at Sam, and did not further discuss the matter.

Cunning little maneuvers, hey, young man, you’ve made it to my blacklist.

“Have the human nobility been selected?”

Sam appeared to relax as Lide’s tone softened, the cold words from before had pressed heavily on him.

Afraid that the opponent would pull out the Bone Dragon Car and flip them directly.

“They have been selected, roughly a thousand nobles.”

Lide nodded, a thousand people, that was small compared to the fifty thousand population of Risier City.

“Are there any from the Risier family among those nobles?”

“Yes, the entire Risier family is included.”

“Good, keep the people from the Risier family. The other nobles can be dealt with by you.”

“Yes,

no problem, then tie these people to the Magic Language Bat, I will take them back later.”

After resolving this matter, Lide’s expression eased.

“Sam, we probably can’t continue trading armor for the next two months.”

Hearing this, Sam’s face became somewhat panicked, “Kachar City Lord, I…”

Sam obviously thought that his recent attempt to bind Lide and the Iron Hoof Tribe together through the alliance had caused Lide’s disdain.

If that was really the case, his cunning little plans had backfired greatly.

Lide shook his head, he wasn’t planning to reprimand the Centaur Chieftain now, there would be time for tears later.

“Don’t be nervous, it’s just that my city is currently building a new district and needs a large amount of steel.

“There’s no surplus steel available for forging weapons now.”

He finished speaking, with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, and glanced at Sam.

“If you can find iron ore in the Dwarf Hills, I’d be happy to exchange it for armor.

The price would be five tons of steel per set of armor… and if you don’t know how to smelt steel, I can send people to build a steel mill.”

Trade involves more than just the pelts of Demon Beasts; he wanted much more.

Tasking the Centaurs with mining was similar to utilizing the Beastman, except the Beastman were under his protection, while he merely had a trade relationship with the Centaurs.

The common point was that he was the source for both parties, and profits could be maximized in his favor.

Sam, upon hearing this, was not surprised but rather delighted.

“Iron ore can be traded as well? As you wish, I will have my people search for the iron ore immediately!”

The iron ore in the Dwarf Hills was plentiful, but the Centaurs knew nothing of smelting steel or forging armor; they utterly lacked the talent for it.

Most Centaurs had tried making armor themselves before, but the armor they painstakingly crafted was not only exceptionally heavy, it was even less durable than Magic Beast Bone Armor.

So, over time, no Centaur attempted such thankless, arduous work anymore.

Only in Gale City, the sole city within the Dwarf Hills, could still produce proper ironware.

“Right, take these two little bats. If you find the right ore, you can contact me anytime.

I will send people to meet with you.”

Lide handed two little bats to Valen, which would fly directly to the Dwarf Valley; the intelligence department there would collect the information and report back to Dawn City.

Even if Sam harbored intentions of prying into Lide’s affairs, at most, he would only find the Dwarf Valley.

“Kachar City Lord, the Iron Hoof Tribe will strive to find the iron ore; I hope our trade can resume quickly.”

After tasting the benefits of quality armor, Sam was even more eager for the next trade; he could almost envision armored Centaur Warriors charging across the hills in heavy armor.

“Good.”

Lide was straightforward, being the greatest beneficiary of the trade with the Centaur Tribe; if the Centaurs gained a profit of 10 from this trade, he might gain 100 or even 200, a completely different level of profit.

The Centaurs were so active because the benefits of trading with other humans might only amount to as little as 1.

A population of seven thousand, in addition to trading for 650 sets of armor, had brought more than ten thousand pelts of Demon Beasts, with another 150 sets being traded for with humans from Risier City.

This vast amount of supplies had thousands of Magic Language Bats flying three trips, until late at night, to bring all the humans and supplies back to Dawn City.

Thus, this trade with the Iron Hoof Tribe was successfully concluded.

Most importantly, an agreement was reached—the Centaurs began searching for ore veins for him.

Everything was proceeding as planned.

The morning after Lide returned to Dawn City, on December 2nd, Moer, the polymath old goblin from the Grey Mountain Clan whose face had been disfigured by Dragon Breath, suddenly found him.

Moer handed him a fragment the size of one-third of a palm, resembling a sheepskin scroll.

His first statement made Lide sharply cringe.

“Your Majesty, this is a fragment of the Twelve Magic Scrolls…”,

Lide took it with a somewhat stiff expression and muttered two curses to himself.

Damn it, I’ve been so busy these past few days that I completely forgot about this good stuff.

In Green City, that young goblin Yul Grey Mountain had tempted him with a Divine Artifact Fragment to rescue the Grey Mountain goblins.

But after he sneaked into Risier City and the sudden siege by the Beastman drew his attention away, he forgot about everything else.

Once he was back in Dawn City, he simply forgot… just like that.

Now that Moer had reminded him, it came flooding back.

“Too many good things lately, got a bit carried away. I even forgot about a Divine Artifact Fragment,” Lide shook his head; in fact, he had been merely distracted by Andabella’s Legendary Cloak in Risier City and had forgotten the Divine Artifact Fragment.

After receiving the sheepskin-roll-like Divine Artifact Fragment from Moer’s hand and seeing its attributes, his eyes immediately lit up.

What a treasure, what a treasure indeed.