Chapter 684.5: Goblin Empire: Mechanical Plane
The Catachans soon discovered—
Anything they wanted, the staff and adventurers could find for them.
Food, clothing, daily necessities—
Gear for fighting, tools to improve life—
The staff and adventurers were always happy to trade.
Bay Territory wasn't just collecting rare metals and magical materials they hoarded—
The corpses of twisted monsters slain by the Catachans, big or small, were also valuable resources Bay Territory wanted and would trade for.
The Catachans did a quick calculation—
Every batch of gear and supplies they received from Bay Territory could support them in battle for 4–5 days.
And usually, after just 2 days of fighting, they could harvest enough loot and resources to trade for just as many supplies.
In short, as long as they didn't mess up, they could keep stockpiling more and more materials.
This made countless Catachan tribes breathe a sigh of relief.
They even used Bay Territory's teleportation arrays to visit other tribes and exchange information.
When they learned that Bay Territory offered the same trade prices to all tribes—
Their attitude shifted from suspicion and worry to disbelief and admiration.
Bay Territory could've easily exploited the Catachan tribes, reaping all the profits without anyone knowing.
But instead, they made everything public, stayed true to their principles, and upheld fairness—winning the trust of every Catachan who understood the truth.
The Catachans asked themselves—
Could they have done the same?
Especially after learning that the women and children rescued by Bay Territory had been well settled, provided with ample food and a safe living environment—
These thoughts stirred even more new ideas among the Catachans.
A safe place to live, healthy growth for children—
For Catachans who lived in jungle hell, this was a dream out of reach.
Yet, even if many were tempted—
Bay Territory wasn't in a hurry to "absorb" more Catachans.
One reason was to avoid provoking the Catachan rulers' hostility.
Another was to maintain the stability of the Catachan demi-plane battlefield.
Bay Territory never used normal trades to threaten anyone.
With normal cooperation, both sides gained more.
Normal trade with the Catachan tribes alone was already highly profitable for Bay Territory.
If all the Catachans joined Bay Territory—
The defense line of the Catachan demi-plane might not hold.
The weakened strength of other Catachan tribes could lead to their destruction by the Green Tide.
Under these circumstances, Bay Territory couldn't afford to lose the greater good for a small gain.
Besides, Bay Territory honestly didn't have enough staff right now to "train" or "re-educate" all these Catachans.
Bay Territory's population intake was rapidly growing.
In the first half of year 132—
Bay Territory had already absorbed over 3 million people from various regions.
The related training and education systems had been running at full capacity.
And Bay Territory had begun a new round of expansion.
The staff and professionals previously trained had all been sent to the newly established cities to pioneer development.
Currently, professional and staff training was in a gap period.
Bay Territory genuinely didn't have the personnel to take in members of the Catachan tribes.
Therefore, they weren't rushing to "poach" people for now.
As time passed, it provided Bay Territory and the many Catachan tribes a better opportunity to connect and understand each other.
Moreover, Bay Territory was always more patient when it came to integrating capable and combat-ready individuals.
After all, they always had their own way of thinking.
Until they personally suffered losses, they would never fully embrace Bay Territory's development philosophy.
So both Matthew and Bay Territory would gradually influence them through subtle communication and changes.
One of the clearest examples of this was: adventurers!
Even though many adventurers had already shared their experiences.
Many newly arrived adventurers in Bay Territory still had their own ideas.
Occasionally, they would stir up some trouble.
The Catachan people, with even greater cohesion and unity, would be even more troublesome than adventurers.
If Catachan warriors were absorbed into Bay Territory en masse without caution.
These proud Catachan folks would most likely find Bay Territory's systems confusing and unsatisfactory.
Who knows when they'd make a mistake or even break the law.
When that happens, it could very well stir up some commotion.
Precisely because there were all sorts of incidents when adventurers and others joined Bay Territory.
Bay Territory had grown more mature and cautious.
So Bay Territory preferred to take it slow.
They would rather not absorb all of the Catachan tribes at once.
Than risk undermining the harmonious and united environment they had built.
Especially in a crisis-ridden world like the Catachan demi-plane.
Bay Territory and the Catachan tribes had common enemies to face, giving both sides more opportunities for communication and understanding.
Bay Territory would rather maintain a bit of distance for now.
It still brought profit, and was less exhausting too.
Thanks to the improving relationship between Bay Territory and the Catachan tribes.
A huge number of various orders started pouring in rapidly.
Bay Territory's production factories, already prepared in advance, were operating at full capacity.
A massive amount of cannons, shells, crossbows, arrows, combat armor, mechanical golems, potions, and many other materials were continuously shipped into the Catachan demi-plane.
After initial processing and production, the harvested materials from the Catachan demi-plane were sent back in large quantities to replenish Bay Territory.
Then came the Dwarf Kingdom, the Gray Dwarves, the Kantelu Mountains, the Silverleaf Family, major merchant guilds, and allied powers.
All jointly traded bulk goods and resources from Bay Territory.
Everyone gained a tremendous amount of resources and gold from Bay Territory's full-scale production.
The more they traded with Bay Territory, the more they earned, and the more stable their mutual interests became.
Everyone made a fortune, and Bay Territory earned even more.
The upgrade and overhaul of weapons and equipment for Bay Territory's 300,000-strong army all relied on everyone's efforts and support.
The development and construction of Bay Territory's new expansion cities also depended on the resources and contributions provided by these partners.
Unknowingly, Bay Territory had already achieved its objectives in developing the Catachan demi-plane.
Military power had grown immensely.
The soldiers had been thoroughly trained, and their weapons and equipment had been modernized.
The population had increased significantly.
Bay Territory was slowly and steadily absorbing the people of the Catachan tribes, turning them into citizens of Bay Territory bit by bit.
Resources and technology were also being steadily accumulated.
In addition to a vast array of combat and development materials.
Bay Territory was stockpiling huge reserves of resources all across the territory.
Enough food to feed more than 8 million people for over 3 years.
Enough metal ingots and raw materials to keep its military factories running at full tilt for over 2 years.
Enough basic components and parts to keep consumer goods factories at full production for over 3 years.
And even enough battle supplies to keep Bay Territory's army fighting for over 8 months.
These stored resources were constantly being refreshed and upgraded, and the total quantity kept increasing.
With these reserves, Bay Territory had the confidence and capability to resist any blockades or suppression from its enemies.
The more resources they hoarded, the bolder Bay Territory became, and the harder its punches, the louder its voice.
In just this one month.
The situation in the Catachan demi-plane had stabilized.
Bay Territory and the Catachan tribes had completely withstood the threat of the "Green Tide."
With Bay Territory's support, many Catachan tribes not only avoided heavy losses, but even began actively launching offensives with Bay Territory's forces.
They specifically targeted the lairs of Catachan demons and large mutated monsters.
The targets of each strike were random, making it impossible for the Evil Shadow Spirits to predict or defend.
Acting swiftly and wielding newly developed powerful weapons, they easily eliminated their targets and retreated through teleportation without injury.
Deprived of the numbers advantage provided by the Catachan demons and large mutated monsters, the threat posed by the "Green Tide" was drastically reduced.
The most concerning twisted treants were too slow to act.
More often than not, they were intercepted and surrounded by Yaya and Yaya-1 before even reaching the battlefield.
They didn't even get a chance to appear before the army, becoming trophies for Yaya and her squad instead.
Forced to admit defeat, the Evil Shadow Spirits requested reinforcements.
Their request was answered, and a much larger mutated monster army began marching from thousands of kilometers away.
However, this terrifying army failed to reach the battlefield in time under the influence of the "Green Tide."
On August 3rd.
The "Green Tide" vanished.
This massive army, drained by its own consumption, was forced to halt and enter a dormant state.
Unaware of this, Bay Territory and the Catachan tribes seized the opportunity to launch a counterattack on the Twisted Jungle.
Even without the fire-elemental energy pools.
Their upgraded firepower was still sufficient to obliterate all twisted monsters and plants within a 2-kilometer radius of the outer walls.
Harvesting as many twisted plants and creatures as possible to gain more resources became the shared goal of Bay Territory and the Catachan tribes.
Centered around the newly established cities.
Bay Territory's special operations forces, elite adventuring teams, and Catachan tribal elites scoured for more valuable "prey" and "targets."
The war in the Catachan demi-plane, which had lasted for over two months, had finally come to an end.
A large number of adventurers replaced the regular army of Bay Territory, freeing them from defensive duties.
These battle-hardened soldiers would return to Bay Territory for rest and recovery.
"The reward items are ready, just waiting for the soldiers and adventurers to make their selections."
"All supplies are prepared and sufficient for 300,000 troops to train and improve their strength."
"Over 10,000 soldiers have reached the limit of intermediate Professionals and are ready to advance to high tier."
"1,325 soldiers have died, and the martyrs' cemetery ceremony is ready."
"2,120 soldiers were gravely wounded and disabled, and plans are in place to transform them into Dragon Warriors."
"The battle debriefing and commendation assembly is fully prepared and scheduled for August 8."
"The Arcane Times, News Daily, and Territory Bulletin have all begun pre-event coverage."
"The tallying of collected resources is still ongoing, and departmental expenses and planning are being arranged…"
"Don't overthink it. Distribute everything according to the ratios agreed upon in the early-year meetings—everyone's contributions and rewards are shared."
"Understood. The outstanding representatives have been selected and can now be trained and publicized."
"Ramp up the publicity. No need for training—let them contribute more in their current roles to better realize their value."
"Let professionals do their jobs—don't meddle…"
Butler Ralph gave reminders to the management staff attending the meeting.
With Bay Territory's rapid development, it was inevitable that some individuals would rise too fast, and their competence and mindset wouldn't keep up.
Resulting in mishaps and a tendency toward insatiable greed.
Including but not limited to embezzlement and corruption.
Some might even develop unnecessary ambitions, seeking power beyond their positions.
Part of Butler Ralph's focus would be preventing this and adjusting management policies promptly.
These policies weren't for managing Bay Territory's citizens, but rather for managing the managers.
Ensuring that they "stay in line" and don't entertain twisted thoughts.
Because they were all under full supervision by the territory!
News of Bay Territory's successful development of the Catachan demi-plane quickly spread across the Northern Continent.
With the Dragon Frenzy and Undead Calamity subsiding, the Northern Continent—which had been relatively calm for half a year—was immediately stirred.
The News Daily, with distribution and sales points across the continent, focused on the upcoming "commendation ceremony" in Bay Territory.
All the major forces and organizations intrigued by Bay Territory were now planning to send representatives there.
The outside world buzzed, but inside Bay Territory things remained relatively calm.
The still-operational battle command center was collecting data from the very active Dark Forest.
"Over 300,000 Orc warriors and at least 450,000 Trolls are eyeing our control zone in the Dark Forest."
"Although adventurers performed excellently, severing the Orc and Troll incursions, we must remain vigilant."
Angela's clear voice invigorated the commanders and strategists.
Their eyes burned as they stared at the massive Dark Forest, faces showing battle eagerness as they looked at the large swath of red enemy-held zones.
Noticing their expressions, Angela coughed lightly and then dropped a bombshell:
"Our objective this time isn't just to defeat the Orc-Troll alliance."
"We're also going to take one of the Trolls' five great capitals—Zul'Farrak!"
Pointing 300 kilometers behind the enemy lines, Angela declared resolutely:
"Within Zul'Farrak lies a demi-plane filled with treasure and resources!"
"The Alice Adventuring Group found clues to its existence in the Goblin ruins of the Desert of Death—a Mechanical Plane."
"It's said that it may contain the legacy and knowledge of the Goblin Empire."