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Chapter 581.5: Wyvern Face Ride
Beelzebub strode up the stairs, radiating a terrifying crimson aura, and stood atop the city wall.
The nearby soldiers instinctively backed away. The trembling commander stammered:
"Wh-What do you want?"
Beelzebub glanced around, confirmed there were no lizardmen, signaled to the soldiers below to enter, then turned calmly and said:
"You're the one who refused to open the gate, right?"
The uneasy Yao Moon Family officer swallowed and replied:
"I did it to protect the wall. I have the authority to make that call."
Seeing Beelzebub unmoved, and noticing no noble insignia on his magical armor, a flash of greed crossed his eyes as he loudly declared:
"I'm a baron! What status do you have to talk to me like this?!"
"You destroyed private property of the Yao Moon Family. You must compensate..."
Crack!
The sound of bones snapping echoed in his mind, followed by excruciating pain.
He collapsed in agony, legs twisted unnaturally, though no bone fragments protruded.
Simple reason—Beelzebub had shattered his bones so ordinary healing methods couldn't restore them.
Hearing his wails, Beelzebub remained expressionless, as if he'd done something trivial.
Under the terrified gazes of the soldiers, he marched with the marines toward another section of the wall.
Seeing this, Matthew couldn't help but smirk, then turned to the pale-faced Shuyou and said softly:
"We'll eliminate all the lizardmen and help defend the Yao Moon Family for three days."
"After three days, we move on to the second cooperation plan."
Shuyou was too fed up with her foolish brother to care.
She nodded decisively and said with clarity:
"No problem. Thank you, Bay Territory. Let's sign the agreement now."
The Yao Moon Family members behind her looked puzzled and confused.
They couldn't stop her in time, and Shuyou had already signed the contract.
Calmly taking the contract, she suddenly felt a heavy burden lift. Her heart lightened, free of her usual worries.
Under the incredulous gaze of her deputy, Shuyou handed him the contract and said plainly:
"You're in charge of the development from now on."
The deputy, stunned at first, quickly became ecstatic.
He never imagined such a huge windfall would fall into his lap so fast and so hard, leaving him a bit dazed.
Shuyou didn't let him bask for long. Shrugging nonchalantly, she said with supreme confidence:
"Send my share—all of it in mithril and magic iron—to the Bay Territory. I plan to study and research there."
A hint of awkwardness crossed the deputy's face, though he was secretly delighted—until he heard her next words.
"I'm qualified to become an Arcanist now. I hope you wouldn't dare meddle with that."
Meeting her calm yet profound eyes,
The once ecstatic deputy blankly nodded.
In Shuyou's eyes, he saw serenity from letting go of everything, and joy from nearing her dreams and freedom.
And himself?
Boom!
Hundreds of cannons fired simultaneously.
The earth-shaking power shattered the charging lizardmen.
Marines who had descended from the docks raced to the battlefield.
They faced lizardmen pouring in from both sides of the port.
Covering the engineering team, they swiftly erected two towering walls.
Just like that, the once-mighty lizardmen became sitting targets.
Confirming the battle was under control, Matthew flipped through the exploration maps and new continent data he received from Shuyou.
Yaya curiously examined the map and, upon seeing the Hero Continent's vast size, asked in disbelief:
"It looks even bigger than the Northern Continent. Did anyone build a kingdom here?"
Matthew picked up a pen, recalling his memories, and began sketching the terrain of the Hero Continent. With a hint of emotion, he said:
"The reason is simple. The Hero Continent is far more dangerous than the Northern Continent. Ordinary people can't survive here."
This is a land under a "curse!"
Almost every living creature here had undergone terrifying mutations.
More precisely, the new lifeforms of the Hero Continent evolved and survived by fighting through a twisted world.
There are far fewer species here than in the Northern Continent,
But every one of them—even the weeds and insects—is terrifyingly aggressive.
The average challenge level of the Hero Continent is an alarming 8, double that of the Northern Continent!
And that doesn't even include the evolving death zone in the center.
Just like these lizardmen.
After a complex, almost miraculous evolutionary path,
They survived with luck and resilience.
As a result, they gained far greater power than their Northern cousins!
The Dragon Frenzy Enchantment merely activated their latent draconic bloodline,
Without driving them into complete madness!
Even true dragons couldn't solve that problem!
Of course, that was partly because their draconic blood was already quite diluted.
Even so, they still gave Matthew quite the surprise.
He faintly sensed that the breakthrough for his sixth modification surgery might be found on the Hero Continent.
As Matthew drew more on the map and added more detail,
Yaya rubbed her hands together, impatiently asking:
"Can we check out the mining area first? If time is tight, we should dig up the most important stuff first."
Start with the most expensive!
Hearing the little one's inner thoughts, Matthew recalled the local area, confirmed it wasn't too dangerous, then gestured and said:
"Let's go check out our family mine!"
After giving Elio a quick word, Matthew quietly turned invisible, placed an illusion on the warship, and silently flew off with Yaya.
"Yoohoo!!"
Yaya spread her wings and soared freely through the sky.
The roaring wind sliced across the sky in an instant.
Matthew felt the turbulent air currents, his eyes revealing a flicker of anticipation.
Maybe he could use this opportunity to properly test Yaya's combat capabilities.
Data and actual combat are two different things!
As the conflict with the Cole Elves dragged on, the hatred and clashes between the two sides would only intensify.
The enemy sending in a Legendary to intervene would definitely happen again!
So, since Yaya was Bay Territory's most visible and reliable combat force, Matthew needed to have a clearer understanding of her.
Over the next hour or so, Yaya showcased all her abilities to the fullest.
Matthew recorded a slew of rather exaggerated figures.
These numbers left him very satisfied and confident in planning further enhancements for Yaya!
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Swinging her claws, she effortlessly dug out a large chunk of rock and carefully weighed it.
Yaya took a bite with a loud crunch.
She chewed with a bitter expression, reluctantly swallowing it down.
After digesting and sensing it carefully, she tentatively said:
"Adamantine content 0.5 grams per ton, Mithril 0.1 grams per ton, Magic Iron 0.7 grams per ton..."
"Gold 5 grams per ton, silver 22 grams per ton..."
"Iron 55%, copper 11%, aluminum 5%, titanium 1%..."
With the data Yaya provided, Matthew's "understanding" of the mineral vein improved at an astounding pace.
Moreover, aside from the simple method of "tasting," Matthew and Yaya could dig a large hole directly to inspect the internal quality and content of the vein.
Overall—
This mineral vein held incredibly high mining value.
Not only did it contain abundant rare metals, but also vast quantities of common metals.
For other families—
These common metals generally weren't worth mining.
Considering smelting costs, mining maintenance, and transportation consumption—
Shipping these metals back to the Northern Continent cost more than ten times their value.
Only the ultra-valuable, essential rare metals worth hundreds or thousands of gold coins per gram were worth such high costs.
Every ton of ore mined yielded rare metals valued near 1,000 gold coins.
Meanwhile, the value of the so-called "cheap" metals didn't even add up to 3 gold coins.
So the choice was obvious!
But Matthew had a different opinion.
Bay Territory's development strategy differed completely from that of the Netheril Empire and other regions.
In Matthew's eyes, these abundant, diverse, and easily mined "cheap" metal ores were the biggest gain from this trip.
That's why Matthew was so thorough with his inspection—and naturally needed to "trouble" Yaya more.
Yaya had a love-hate relationship with this dirt-eating job.
The love part was easy to understand!
Bay Territory and the Yao Moon Family had signed an agreement.
The Yao Moon Family held the mining rights to the northern and western sections of this mineral region.
Bay Territory held the rights to the eastern and southern sections.
This mineral belt spanned several dozen kilometers—just half the rights were enough to shower Yaya in shiny gold coins.
She could build a mountain of gold tall enough to bury herself in—no problem at all!
The hate part was also easy to grasp!
Yaya always believed in "fine food and exquisite dishes"—every meal had to be delicious and satisfying.
Even when eating specially prepared "growth packs," she insisted on mixing in a pile of sugar.
And now? They skipped straight to eating dirt.
Without any transition!
Of course, a true dragon's body and bloodline were incredibly strong.
Gnawing on these ores was no harder than eating sunflower seeds for Yaya.
She could even absorb the nutrients and metals to strengthen her body.
But Yaya didn't need to use such simple and inefficient methods for enhancement.
She was just working overtime voluntarily to finish surveying the mining zone quickly.
More importantly, this was only a clone of Yaya.
Her real body was at the dining table, enjoying a massive feast in retaliation...
Would Matthew ever personally bring himself and Yaya into the dangerous Hero Continent?
No way!
......
Matthew and Yaya soon returned to Shallow Water City.
But they were surprised to find the battle still raging.
Nearly twenty thousand lizardman corpses had piled up beneath the city walls.
Yet more lizardmen seemed to be crawling out of distant shrubs and dense forests.
Elio had already ordered the conservation of bolts and cannonballs.
The marines were arranged in neat phalanxes, battling below for some time now.
Seeing this, the Yao Moon City soldiers found the Bay Territory soldiers both strange and incomprehensible.
Why would soldiers ignore sturdy city walls and run down to fight a massive enemy in melee?
Well, they got to witness that today!
After grasping the lizardmen's strength and information—
Elio even arranged for naval soldiers to rotate into combat.
The New Continent lacked troop numbers, so everyone would need to multitask—it was better to adapt early.
After witnessing Bay Territory's military prowess, the Yao Moon Family people eagerly stepped in to help.
They moved supplies, cleaned the battlefield,
And some soldiers even just took the chance to rest.
Noticing the stark contrast between their own and the Bay Territory soldiers, Elio once again marveled at the lord's superior policies and systems.
She couldn't imagine going back to commanding her old troops without feeling resistance or dissatisfaction.
The battle continued into the night.
The Crimson Moon hung high, casting bloody light over the land.
The lizardman horde that surged like a tide also retreated like one.
One thing puzzled the Bay Territory soldiers—these lizardmen always took their comrades' corpses when retreating.
At first, the soldiers respected them, thinking they were worthy opponents.
But soon, they learned the truth from the Yao Moon Family warriors.
"Huh? They're bringing them back to eat..."
The Bay Territory soldiers, who had just started resting, felt a mix of absurdity and anger.
Next time, they'd wipe out those lizardmen completely!
And the next time came quickly.
Early the next morning—
Loud alarms woke the soldiers aboard the warships.
They assembled at lightning speed and marched to the battlefield.
Waves of lizardmen once again charged Shallow Water City's defenses with crude weapons and suicidal tactics.
Watching the lizardmen throw their lives away, Yudala, who was still replenishing her energy after battle, munched on a large red carrot and curiously asked:
"Why are they doing this? What do they want?"
Sniffing the air that now stirred her restlessness, Rika hesitated as she looked at the corpses scattered around and said:
"Maybe... they're here just to die."
"There are too many lizardmen to feed—might as well use them as disposable..."
Rika's words were sharp and cold, but undeniably true.
Yudala, mouth slightly open, recalled her own difficult past and nodded silently.
She began to cherish the simple food she'd just complained about a little more.
In the war room—
Shuyou, staring curiously at the map, recalled Matthew's recent plan and asked Liana, who was jotting down notes:
"Why are we building a new city?"
That would mean clearing out monsters, investing huge resources, and fending off hostile creatures.
Possibly even encountering enemies like the lizardmen.
Though the lizardmen were numerous and bred fast—
Compared to the terrors lurking near Shallow Water City, they were one of the least threatening enemies.
Liana, always patient with the newly joined Shuyou, explained:
"This is the Bay Territory. We like to do things ourselves!"
"In the future, we'll build more new cities."
"The experience and battles we gain now will save us resources later..."
"Plus, the new site is a natural large port that can dock many ships."
"And most importantly, it's very close to the eastern and southern mining zones—just a 10-kilometer push forward!"
Just a 10-kilometer push forward!
That line echoed in Shuyou's mind.
She flipped through her journal filled with case studies and references.
It seemed that for Bay Territory, every experience was a valuable lesson to be utilized.
Each of their plans was more thorough, rational, and excellent than the last!
At that thought, Shuyou smiled in relief.
Wasn't this exactly what she had been seeking?
Following those parasites would've just made her one too!
......
June 6th.
Hero Continent.
Northeastern Coast.
Clear skies.
Second day after the lizardmen stopped attacking.
The Bay Territory fleet left the port early in the morning.
Watching them go, the Yao Moon Family soldiers felt waves of longing and reluctance.
Don't misunderstand—they didn't fall in love with them, just with their delicious food.
And the sense of security they brought!
Recalling Shuyou's smiling farewell, the deputy, who had just begun making plans, suddenly felt an emptiness inside.
He snapped back to reality.
The Bay Territory was gone. The 3,000 elite soldiers lost because of that idiot couldn't be replaced quickly.
Not anytime soon!
Aboard the Bay Territory fleet—
Matthew had no idea about the Yao Moon Family's struggles, nor would he care much if he did.
He had often thought—
If Shallow Water City fell and they couldn't bear to spend the manpower and resources to rebuild,
Would they end up giving up on the other half of the mineral zone?
Screech! Screech! Screech!
Sharp whistling tore through the sky from afar.
Matthew looked up. Hundreds of massive beasts with wingspans over 10 meters were flying aggressively toward them.
Fiery red scales.
Wyvern-like upper bodies.
Abnormal jets gathering dark red flames.
Matthew's eyes widened as he cursed:
"What the hell? Where'd this mutated wyvern swarm come from?!"
Sailing peacefully across the sea, and now they're getting wyvern-face-rushed!