The tremendous power of the alchemical bombs had given him a great surprise. He had never had a chance to come into contact with them before, but now, an opportunity seemed to be right in front of him, within reach.
If he didn’t try to seize it, it would go against his nature of always wanting to take the initiative.
It was just like the mithril vein in the Dwarven Valley. He had taken the initiative to launch an attack and didn’t hesitate to use the full might of Dawn City to snatch that sweet fruit from the beastmen.
To survive and develop, he had to occupy more living space. This had nothing to do with good or evil, or justice, it was a competition among races for survival resources.
No one could avoid it.
Although the mithril vein in the Dwarven Valley didn’t yet have high production efficiency, as long as he was given some time to accumulate, Li De was confident he could equip all of his top-tier fighters with transcendent gear forged from mithril.
That meant the power in his hands would receive a tremendous boost, and the blade of his elite combat force would become even sharper.
The campaign against the Dwarven Valley had greatly enhanced the foundation of Dawn City. Not only had it gained a precious mithril vein, but it had also extended its reach into the Barren Plains, bringing a massive beastmen tribe under its rule.
Similarly, this goblin bomb, its immense power combined with Whispering Bats, could bring a qualitative transformation to his air force.
By that time, it wouldn’t just be the vampires who could take part in battle; he could even cultivate Whispering Bat cavalry, allowing humans to participate in warfare as well.
This would cause a massive explosion in Dawn City’s grassroots combat strength.
He was simply coveting the alchemical bombs. That was the only reason.
If it had been before, even if he knew Risel City might have a secret trade route with goblins, or even directly controlled a group of goblins, he wouldn’t have given it much thought.
Because a large city with a population of 500,000 and a fully equipped military wasn’t something that Dawn City, with a current population barely reaching 20,000, could swallow.
But now things were different.
The beastmen had come.
This foreign race had gathered an army of several hundred thousand. Their target was that city.
Turbulent waters make it easier to catch fish. When the crane and clam struggle, the fisherman benefits.
Although everything about the goblins and Risel City was still speculation at this point, the temptation of the alchemical bomb, just like the mithril vein, was enough to make him invest heavily to confirm the truth.
He would not let go of any opportunity that could strengthen Dawn City.
“Yes, Patriarch. Should we directly get involved in Risel City’s war?” Harrison could already guess what Li De was thinking just by looking at him.
Li De shook his head.
“No, we won’t get involved. Dawn City’s only priority is population acquisition.
Nothing can compare with population acquisition during the Months of Deep Winter.”
He didn’t lose focus just because of the lure of alchemical bombs. Population was the foundation of everything. This principle could not be changed, nor could it be replaced. Otherwise, even if he had an endless supply of alchemical bombs, he’d have no one to use them.
“I’ll say it once more, every resource must be prioritized for population acquisition. The matters regarding alchemical bombs and goblins must not interfere with that in any way.
We have plenty of resources. Allocating a portion of them will be enough to carry out preliminary investigations.”
Resources included manpower, military strength, material supplies, even propaganda resources, networking, faith energy, and much more.
Right now, everything in Dawn City revolved around population acquisition. But that didn’t mean all resources had to be poured into it.
“Yes, Patriarch.”
Once Li De finished giving his orders, the people below him immediately began to act.
Last time when Li De returned to the Crimson Mage Tower, he had established an intelligence department there, dedicated to receiving his messages.
He had also hinted to Vina that the Kachar family town he had been building on the border was already completed, though it wasn’t convenient to let others know for now.
In the future, whenever he needed the Crimson Mage Tower’s cooperation, he would communicate with her through special channels.
To strengthen coordination, Dawn City had specially established a liaison department responsible for maintaining communication with the Dark Pact, the Crimson Mage Tower, and the Dwarven Valley.
It could be said that the information command center he had envisioned was already beginning to take shape. With a bit more integration based on this foundation, a brand-new department could be formed.
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After assigning all these tasks, Li De turned to look at Anakin, who had been standing nearby the entire time. This young dwarven prince had a face full of black beard and, to some extent, a rather handsome look.
“Anakin, we’ve already accumulated 80 pounds of mithril. Does the forge have any plans?”
Since its extraction, the mithril had yet to be used to forge any weapons. One reason was that Li De hadn’t had time to focus on it, and the other was that there hadn’t been an urgent need for battle preparations. So the mithril had remained locked away in City Hall’s secret vault.
At the mention of this, the dwarven prince’s eyes immediately lit up.
Because the dwarven clan hadn’t suffered much damage during the vampires’ last attack on the beastmen, and because his father had successfully escaped, coupled with the overwhelming strength and appeal of the city, Anakin no longer held any hostility toward the vampires and had gradually begun to view himself as part of this city.
The dwarven prince now held great respect for Li De, the ruler of Dawn City.
As for the mithril ore, he had been coveting it for a long time. This high-grade material, back when they were in Dwarven Valley, had only yielded around ten pounds a year from that impoverished mithril vein.
And every time it was extracted, it was instantly divided up by his fanatical clansmen. Now Li De had several dozen pounds of mithril in his possession, more than enough to forge several pieces of transcendent equipment.
Forging the finest weapons was nearly the ultimate dream of every dwarf, and personally crafting transcendent equipment was an irresistible temptation for any dwarf.