The mountainous area is rich in flora and fauna, enough to support 20,000 swift birds. But what's the use of keeping a flock of fat birds with tender flesh? Victor needs war birds, not meat birds. Based on the physiological characteristics of the birds, Emerson has designed a feed formula that can effectively improve their physical fitness. But some of the foods in the recipe are not available in the Randall, and they are not available in the mountains, such as beef tenderloin and white peas, which need to be purchased for money.

Of course, Victor can grow white peas, and Randall has no shortage of cattle and sheep, but Swiftbird has to eat beef loin every day, and how many cattle can Randall lead to slaughter? In fact, not only does it take a lot of money to raise Swiftbird, but it is also a huge financial burden to maintain a mercenary army, not to mention building a castle.

Building an army is a major economic issue for any lord. The lords usually distributed the land to the vassals, who provided the lords with soldiers, horses, and armaments. This relieved the financial pressure on the lord to a certain extent, and Victor had to solve the problem of military spending on his own, but this was precisely the advantage of centralization.

Concentrate limited human, material, and financial resources to give priority to solving urgent problems. The administrative efficiency of centralism was far from being comparable to that of vassals.

The economy and the military support each other, and the construction of both the Swift Bird Light Cavalry and the Candle Fort requires huge financial support. Randall has completed the construction of the production system, and the material reserves of the mountain fortress have reached their peak, and now it is time to concentrate on improving the construction of smuggling channels.

"The alchemy human beings in the mountain fortress have been cultivating the secret form for more than three years, and it is a pity to let them continue to engage in production and labor, and I am ready to replace them all and expand the scale of the smuggling caravan. The flora and fauna of the mountains will not be depleted, and we can resume production at any time as long as the production facilities here are in place. ”

"From now on, the mountain fortress will be converted into a training camp and will maintain the size of 400 people," Victor said. The alchemy militia and alchemy auxiliaries are mainly based on training, supplemented by production. As many recruits as I send, I will transfer as many veterans as I send. ”

"For the first two years, the recruits learned martial arts and basic life knowledge in the mountain fortress. In the third year, the recruit joins Randall's Territory as an outcast, socializes with ordinary people, opens up his wisdom, and gains a new identity. In the fourth year, the recruits joined the Randall militia training camp. In the fifth year, they are the elite guards and elite soldiers of the family. I'll arrange for them to join mercenary legions, or smuggler caravans. ”

"Busso, apart from mineral smelting and animal taming, the other production projects of the Mountain Fortress can be put off for a while. Jack, you're primarily responsible for training new companions. ”

"Yes. My lord. Busso and Jack said in unison.

Victor walked to the door, saying as he went, "Take me to the treasury, I want to see the Salonian Iron." ”

The treasure house was on the second floor of the castle, and Busso led Victor and his party through the long corridor, and the treasure house guard pushed open the heavy fine iron door, and the door shaft rubbed, making a harsh creaking sound, and the cool breath came to his face. Busso walked into the chamber with a torch and lit the candles one by one to dispel the darkness and cold, and Victor entered the door of the vault.

Every time he walked into the treasury, Victor was convinced that he was a rich lord. The swords, spears, silver crossbows, standard crossbows, and a pair of silver ant-man armor on the weapon rack, as well as neatly stacked silver ingots, glowed brightly in the candlelight. But Victor wasn't here to see the weapons today, and the wooden box in Busso's hand attracted his attention.

"604 grams of Saron Magic Iron Bars, all here. Busso opened the wooden box and showed his master the super-class supplies.

The palm-sized metal ingot has the purest black, like a black hole that can absorb light, and there is no reflection in sight. The cold touch of metal showed that it was neither charcoal nor stone, and Victor took the Salonian iron twice, and said to himself, "What is so special about it?"

Alchemy humans have already said what they know, Victor decided to experiment with it himself, the breeze wrapped around his palm, turning faster and faster, gradually turning into dark blue, something surprising happened, the black smoke of the Saron magic iron was like a sponge absorbing water, absorbing the violent and sharp void wind element.

"Huh?!"

Victor waved the blue air flow in his palm, carefully examining the Saron Demon Iron in his hand, X-3's meticulous insight did not notice any slight changes in the Demon Iron Ingot, as if it was just an illusion when it absorbed the Void Wind Elemental Phenomenon.

Victor tried a few more times, but the quality, shape, and color of the magic iron ingot remained the same.

"Stand back, you go and cut a third of the magic iron ingots for me. ”

Victor ordered the Treasury guards to cut the magic iron ingots, and beckoned several important alchemy humans such as Busso, Jack, and Renault to retreat outside the vault in case of accidents.

"My lord, this is the Saron Iron you wanted. The guard walked out of the vault, and in his hand was the severed Saron Magic Iron.

"Well done, Hans. ”

Victor took the magic ingot, acting somewhat embarrassed. Although there is no essential difference in alchemy life, in his mind, the weight of Renault and others is heavier. Hans returned to his place, his obedience to his master remained the same, and he did not care about his master's praise or contempt.

The destruction test did not cause an explosion, which shows that although the Saron Magic Iron absorbs the Void element, its physical properties are extremely stable, and it is different from the elemental affinity of Mithril.

Victor thought for a moment, threw the magic iron ingot to Renault, and said, "Put it away, let's go back to the alchemy tower and see the king's estimate of the magic iron." ”

The Alchemy Tower is located 70 kilometers from the mountain fortress, and Victor rode the swift bird and arrived at the hill camp in less than four hours. The cave ** spring in the upper camp is gurgling, cool and comfortable, and Victor connects to the tower spirit in his consciousness.

"King, I'm coming. ”

"My lord, welcome back to the Alchemy Tower. The king immediately responded.

"Report on the soul fire and financial situation of the Alchemy Tower. Victor commanded directly.

"The total amount of soul fire in the Alchemy Tower is 12,380 points, the remaining soul fire is 1,250 points, and the remaining funds are 3,800 gold soles. ”

Victor nodded, motioning for Renault to place the Saron Iron on the Elemental Extraction Table, "King, assess its value. ”

"203 grams of Saron Magic Iron are worth 162,400 gold soles. My lord, do you want to extract it?"

"There's no rush. Victor pondered for a moment and said: "In the will side of the alchemy militia, the priority of Saron Magic Iron is much higher than that of Mithril, I remember that each gram of Mythril can be exchanged for 2800 gold soles, and each gram of Saron magic iron can be exchanged for 800 gold soles, which is worth a fraction of Mithril. Do you have any explanation for that?"

"There's nothing relevant in my will, but I have my own inferences. Would you like to hear it, my lord?"

Say. ”

The king said in Victor's consciousness, "Mithril points to the knight, and the purpose of the Saron Iron is unknown, it is currently not pointed. My lord, can 2,800 gold sol buy a gram of Mithril, or is the knight willing to buy Mithril at that price?"

The Silver Knights of the York family all have Mithril weapons, but only Viscount Frese York and Earl Terrandon have Mithril armor, if Kinsor can buy Mithril, the Silver Knights will definitely not skimp on gold, but the real price of Mithril depends on the Silver Knight's financial resources.

A minimum of 60 grams of Mithril armor is required to create a pair of Mithril armor, which is worth 160,000 gold soles at a price of 2,800 gold soles. Whether or not the Silver Knight accepts the price, Victor is confident that they will use all the funds at their disposal to buy a set of Mithril armor, which means that his family's luck will be weakened.

A sane silver knight would not put the family's finances in a quandary for the sake of Mithril armor, and 8 to 100,000 gold soles should be a reasonable price. From this point of view, the Alchemy Tower's valuation of Mithril is somewhat inflated, and this inflated value is manifested in the Saron Magic Iron.

The application value of the Saron Magic Iron is still unknown, but the price of 800 gold soles per gram reveals the Alchemy Tower's desire for it, Victor hesitated for a while, he thought for a long time, and finally spoke: "King, extract the Salonite Magic Iron." I need alchemical creatures now. ”

"As you wish. ”

Mysterious runes emerge in the void, slowly rotating around the Elemental Extraction Table. Victor watched the Salon's magic iron gradually rainbow in the light, and couldn't help but ask, "King, where did the gold coins and supplies I sacrificed go?"

"Sir, you've asked this question seven times, and I've answered the same question every time. I really don't know the deep secrets of the Alchemy Tower. ”

"I think you're hiding something from me. Victor said with a gloomy face: "You are different from Renault, they are stupid, but they don't have your conversation skills." ”

"I'm not like an alchemical creature. The king replied, "But I am as loyal to you as they are, and I am more loyal to you than they are." ”

"How so?" said Victor, smirking sarcastically.

"Your Excellency, you will never betray yourself. ”

Victor frowned, "What do you mean?"

"My lord, the alchemy creatures are loyal to you because I am you!"

"Hehe, you're joking, aren't you?!You know all my memories, and I know very little about you!" Victor couldn't help but speak, his voice sharp and piercing to startle him.

"King, you're from X-3, you're an AI program! You're not me!" Victor whispered inwardly.

"My lord, the artificial intelligence in X-3 lurks in the depths of your consciousness, and it is precisely because of the difference in the will side that your soul has been stripped of me. The king said.

"The volitional side is made up of memories, emotions, cognitions, and the subconscious, and there are things on your volitional side that don't belong to me, so you're not me. Victor said coldly.

"In addition to the will side of the soul, there is also soul fire. The king explained: "Your Excellency, have you noticed, the total amount of soul fire in the Alchemy Tower is 12,380 points, and if the alchemy creatures are full of life, they will occupy 12,380 soul fire points. Whose soul fire is it that sustains my soul?"

"You...... You mean, my soul fire?" Victor's mind was confused in shock.

"My lord, your spiritual attribute should be 15 points, but because I took up 1 soul fire, it became 14 points. The king explained, "X-3's artificial intelligence is nothing compared to your will side, but this difference is that the Alchemy Tower strips a part of your soul and combines it with the will side of the Alchemy Tower to give birth to the Tower Spirit. But at the root, I am a fragment of your soul. ”

"The soul fire of alchemical creatures revolves around your soul fire, and they remember your soul fire characteristics, which is why they are loyal to you. Your Excellency, you don't have to worry about me betraying at all, because I'm a part of you. Your limited understanding of me is actually a limited understanding of the Alchemy Pagoda, but I also don't know about the Alchemy Pagoda, so I can't answer many of your doubts. ”

"Okay. Victor rubbed his forehead and asked, "Then why are you hiding it?"

The king replied, "You have not asked...... According to the rules, I have to answer your questions, but if you don't ask, I have the right to keep it. Now that you asked, my answer was ......"

"I was scared and longed. ”