Ever since Eren took power over the city-state of Alan, Iron Pine has become busy.

New houses were built around the town to house refugees, and the original town expanded more than ten times in size, becoming the second largest town in the city-state after the ancient city of Aoku. Not only is it now an important source of timber and weapons, but Isha has organized the women of the refugees to sew tents and clothes for the army, and it can be said that the town of Iron Pine is now an important logistics support base for the military forces of the entire city-state. In particular, the smelting and forging factory built in the valley behind the town received several large orders from the military after the outbreak of the war, and the iron and pine flames in the smelting furnace were not extinguished day and night, and truckloads of ore were sent in and then turned into truckloads of weapons and tools to be sent.

The sound of forging "duang!duang!duang!" was non-stop, and it almost became the label of Iron Pine Town.

The smelter's raw material is high-quality iron ore from the Kapra Mountains. In the winter, the last ore was transported here, and the amount of ore was large enough to keep the smelter working until next spring. The number of mercenaries escorting this batch of ore is also as high as nearly 10,000, and they come from the Tiger Mercenary Group under the mercenary union.

The Tiger Mercenary Regiment is the only one of the original four mercenary regiments that has not been affected after the coup d'état in the ancient city of Aocheng, and the original structure and personnel have been preserved intact. After Allen became the president of the mercenary union, he redivided the tasks of several major mercenary groups. First of all, the Dragon Bard Mercenary Regiment is a legion established by Allen, and it is one of the main contributors to the success of Allen's coup, from the regiment commander Bloom to every soldier who is loyal to Allen, after the coup, most of the original Flying Eagle Mercenary Group and the Spirit Snake Mercenary Group were incorporated into the Dragon Bard Mercenary Group, so the combat effectiveness has increased greatly, and Allen took charge of the Mercenary Guild and arranged for them to be mainly responsible for the city-state's external military operations. Secondly, the leader of the Wolf Warrior Mercenary Group, Quake, is Steven's person, and there is no problem with his loyalty, but the loyalty of the people below is limited, and the combat effectiveness of the Wolf Warrior Mercenary Group has been reduced after the coup, and Allen can only use it to suppress the place to ensure the political stability after the coup. Again, after the coup d'état, Alan expanded the size of the original Brave Heart Mercenary Group, incorporated part of the Flying Eagle and Spirit Snake Mercenary Group, and annexed some small and medium-sized mercenary groups, so it became a medium-sized mercenary group to a large mercenary group, mainly responsible for the mercenary tasks of the mercenary union, but now the tasks of the mercenary union are very different from before. The identity of the mercenary is now a free man, and the mercenary group is a mercenary relationship, and the mission is no longer forced, if something happens to the mercenary during the mission, the union is responsible for taking care of the family. Finally, there is the Tiger Mercenary Group, because the Tiger Mercenary Group maintained a neutral attitude during the coup, so after the coup d'état, Alan did not make any adjustments, and gave them the task of guarding the mining area.

Nelson was the leader of the Tigers, and this time he personally escorted the ore from the Wolf's Tooth Mine to Iron Pine Town, but after the smelter and trade hall officials completed the ore handover process, he did not leave, but stayed in the military camp on the outskirts of Iron Pine Town for one night, and rushed to the town after breakfast the next day.

"Iron Pine has changed so much. ”

Along the way, Nelson couldn't help but sigh when he saw the traffic and pedestrians on the road. He vividly remembered that three years ago Iron Pine was the most remote town in the northwest of the ancient city-state, and it was rarely visited except for adventurers and fur traders. And the one who changed the fate of this town was Alan Kanter, the great magician who made the Gothians a god. And the purpose of his trip was to meet Alan Kanter, to be precise, Allen asked him to see him.

Alan had come to Iron Pine two days ago and was staying at Isa's house. To get to Isa's house, you have to pass through the center of the town, but when Nelson arrives at the center with a few of his own soldiers, he finds that the road is blocked. The black-pressed crowd gathered around the door of the bar on the corner, craned their necks one by one to look inside.

"Go see what's going on?"

Nelson ordered one of his soldiers to come forward to inquire about the situation, and the soldier jumped off his horse and squeezed into the crowd, and soon squeezed out again.

"Representatives of the Youth League made a presentation on heroic deeds at the door of the bar. ”

The soldiers came to Nelson and reported.

"Commander, do you want to inform them to make a way for us to pass. ”

The captain of the pro-soldier asked.

"No!"

Nelson waved his hand and took the lead in turning the horse's head: "Let's go around the path." ”

After such a delay, it was almost noon when Nelson arrived at Isa's house, and Alan had been waiting in his study for a long time.

"Nelson, the leader of the Tiger Mercenary Regiment, meet the Archmage. ”

Nelson, dressed in a military uniform, knelt down on one knee and saluted as soon as they met.

"The old general is in armor, don't be polite, please get up quickly. ”

Alan hurriedly stepped forward to help Nelson, although the two had only seen each other for a year, but Nelson's sideburns were already full of gray hair, obviously life in the mountains was not easy, but he was in good spirits, and his face was red and full of energy when he spoke.

"The archmage defeated the orcs at Capra Pass and Valen Pass, and after three hundred years of humiliation of the Gossa, I can't go into battle with the archmage to kill the enemy and correct the name of the Godsa, so I can only express my respect with my knees. ”

Nelson had already received the news of the victory in the defense of Capra Pass in the mountains, and now he had just arrived in Iron Pine Town and heard the good news of Valen's victory.

"Victory was won by the blood of the soldiers, and Alan did not dare to take credit. The old general also worked hard in the rear. ”

Alan asked Nelson to sit down.

"Compared to the brothers who fought the orcs on the front line, it was not hard. ”

Nelson shook his head, he was self-aware, although the demonic beasts near the mining area were fierce, they were nothing compared to the orc army.

"The old general does not have to be modest, the great cause of the revival of the Gossars is inseparable from the efforts of every Gossa. ”

Alan said. Nelson didn't speak, just shook his head with a look of shame.

"Old General, this is a tea made from needle and apricot leaves sent by the Elven Forest, it is said that drinking it can refresh your body and keep you healthy, you can taste it. ”

The servant came in with two cups filled with hot water, and in the water floated a few needle-shaped leaves, which were so green that the water in the whole cup seemed to be emerald green.

"Thank you, Archmage!"

Hearing that it was something sent by the Elven Forest, Nelson hurriedly took the cup handed by Allen.

"How's it taste?"

"It's good, it's good, but the taste is too light, not as good as rum. ”

Nelson brought the cup to his lips and drank it dry, feeling a little tasteless.

"Haha! The old general feels the same way as me. Let's change bars. ”

Alan said with a smile, the needle apricot tea was brought to him by the elf king Kronis at the behest of Fresnel, and drinking it regularly can not only strengthen the body but also prolong life, but the bland taste is really not to Alan's taste, compared to which he would rather drink a few more glasses of rum brewed by Isha.

"Archmage, do you have any instructions for me to come this time?"

Soon, the servant was replaced with rum. Nelson asked, holding his glass.

"Discuss with you about the prisoners?"

Alan said.

"Dealing with captives?"

Nelson was stunned when he heard this.

"In the two battles of Capra Pass and Valen Pass, we captured more than 30,000 orcs, and these captives are currently imprisoned in the barracks. ”

"The archmage is going to let them work in the mines?"

Nelson was quick to react.

"Yes! There are tens of thousands of Godsacks working in the caves of Capra Mountain, and these orcs are going to replace them. ”

Regarding the handling of orc captives, Alan discussed with the people around him several times, some suggested killing them directly, wasting food in the province, and some suggested using captives to exchange with orcs. Alan was not satisfied with either of these suggestions, and in the end it was Kevin Borgotty's suggestion to let the orcs go to the mountains to mine the most suitable, as the orcs would not only increase efficiency, but also free some of the Godsas from the dark mines. So Allen learned that Nelson happened to be running errands in Iron Pine Town, and immediately had him invited over to discuss the matter.

"Most of the captives are orcs and can't do much, but there are some werewolves and lizardmen who are not easy to manage. I wonder if the old general has the confidence to manage them well?"

"Archmage, don't worry, hand over the orc captives to me, even if they are really wolves, I promise to repair them into rabbits. ”

Nelson didn't think he had the strength to go to the front line to defeat the orc army, but he still had the confidence to pick up some orc captives.

"Okay! What I'm waiting for is the old general's words, and in a few days I will arrange for the Youth League to cooperate with you to escort this group of prisoners into the mountain, and the rest will be given to the old general." ”

"Archmage, don't worry!"

The two men raised their glasses, laughed and drank them all.