Chapter 234: Give Up? Impossible!
"Oh ho? A Druid greenhouse, now that's a big deal!"
The red light in 343's eyes grew even brighter, nearly revealing her true form.
She forced herself to calm down, carefully calculating, trying to close this deal.
Her eyes flickered with numerous data points, her expression becoming more animated as she lowered her head and recorded on the communication scroll:
"Esteemed Lord Matthew, the Druid greenhouse will require many materials, and constructing a control center will take about a month."
"The cost will be around 200,000 gold coins, but given our friendly relationship, I'll offer a 10% discount. So, it's only 180,000 gold coins."
"The City Lord is about to conduct an important experiment, though the duration is unknown, so it's best to confirm the timeline in advance..."
"If you agree, please provide a down payment of 100,000 gold coins within five days."
Thinking her demands were excessive, 343 hesitated for a moment and added:
"If Lord Matthew completes this transaction, the City Lord will recommend you to join the Order of Truth!"
Bay Town.
In the lord's mansion, inside the study.
Looking at the message on the communication scroll, Ralph muttered to himself:
"A Druid greenhouse... it's definitely necessary."
He glanced at Elona, who was deep in thought and study, and said seriously to Matthew:
"The Druid greenhouse costs around 180,000 gold coins, but the territory doesn't have that much money right now."
"To raise 100,000 gold coins in five days..."
Ralph could only shake his head in resignation.
Lord Matthew!
We're out of money!
Rubbing his temples, Matthew did a quick calculation and quickly understood.
The number of troll captives had reached 2,200.
Thanks to their contributions, last month's revenue from the Vitality Potion had reached 280,000 gold coins!
Adding the previous month's 220,000, the total amounted to a hefty 500,000!
That seemed like a lot, but Matthew was spending quickly!
A large teleportation array had cost 100,000 gold coins!
Various magical items added up to 90,000!
The Elemental Furnace cost 200,000 gold coins!
Constant purchases of high-quality space crystals from the murloc ruins cost about 10,000 gold coins daily.
Fortunately, the daily expenses of the thousands of adventurers were covered by Bay Town.
They spent an average of 80 silver coins per day, returning a good portion of the funds.
So far, the murloc ruins had cost over 60,000 gold coins!
Cumulatively, 450,000 gold coins had been spent.
The few tens of thousands of gold coins left couldn't be used recklessly either.
The territory's population was growing rapidly, reaching 60,000.
It was expected to rise to 80,000 by the end of the month!
Many workers and soldiers had increased their contribution points, raising their average salary significantly.
From the original 10 silver coins per month.
To about 15 silver coins per month now.
This part alone amounted to 5,000 gold coins in expenses.
Routine maintenance and repairs for the dozens of golems cost an additional 2,000 gold coins.
Weekly troll purchases required at least 5,000 gold coins.
The space crystal purchases from the ruins cost nearly 10,000 gold coins daily.
The weekly food purchases alone cost 2,000 gold coins.
Altogether, it was quite a sum.
Matthew had plenty of ways to make money.
But most weren't suitable at the moment. The best option was to solidify existing revenue streams.
Matthew exhaled slightly, his eyes falling on today's Netheril Arcane Report, and a bright idea flashed in his mind.
"Northeast... barbarians... Dark Forest..."
He had an idea!
Matthew remembered that in the coming months, the northeastern part of the Dark Forest would turn into chaos.
Tens of thousands of fleeing barbarians would storm the Dark Forest.
Who would be the first to suffer?
The old landholders of the Dark Forest, the trolls!
Matthew rubbed his hands together, glancing at Elona's -5 Luck stat, and immediately decided to combine the two issues.
Two problems solved at once!
Matthew selected Elona as the key player and activated the power of fate:
Ding! Consuming 10,000 fate points, Fate's Choice is activated!
"Option 1: Take the initiative to attack the Rotten Moss Clan, Luck +2!"
"Option 2: Abandon Elona and hand her over to the Order of Truth, Luck +4!"
10,000 fate points!
Even an undeveloped Elona had such a powerful fate?
Impressive!
As for the Order of Truth!
Matthew toyed with the communication scroll in his hand, then decisively crushed it to dust, choosing Option 1 without hesitation.
At present, neither he nor Bay Town could afford to provoke the "madmen" of the Order of Truth!
The City Lord was also a member of the Order, so Matthew wasn't surprised by her crazy plans.
There was no need for fate to be full of wild turns!
Matthew had never intended to take unnecessary risks just because his fate was strong.
You walk by the river long enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet.
Matthew preferred to farm peacefully and grow his power happily.
To live without disasters or diseases, rising steadily to power.
Unfortunately, the heavens didn't always comply with his wishes.
Since that was the case, Matthew decided to push his plans forward!
The Rotten Moss Clan was his target!
Not only did they have the troll "volunteers" Matthew urgently needed, but their land also contained precious mineral resources.
There was no way he could let that slip away!
With his opponent selected, the decisive Matthew immediately set things in motion.
Pointing to the map, he said calmly to Ralph:
"Deploy heavy soldiers to the ruins camp and send an additional 300 soldiers. Replace Beelzebub."
"Issue a mission to the Adventurer's Guild: Bay Town will use the Troll Valley Base as the core to expand further into the Dark Forest!"
As soon as Matthew said this, Ralph immediately understood the lord's intent.
The territory's development couldn't slow down!
If there wasn't enough money, then they'd just have to take it!
Sensing the lord's commanding presence, Ralph nodded firmly and began making the arrangements as quickly as possible.
Yaya, her sharp ears perking up, snuck up beside Matthew, staring at him eagerly.
A fight? Count me in!
Matthew affectionately ruffled her head, agreeing without hesitation:
"You've had over a month of rest; it's time to stretch your muscles and get some action."
Matthew could vaguely feel an invisible pressure closing in from all sides, giving him an uneasy sensation.
It felt eerily similar to when he had been influenced by Taiji before!
He couldn't detect where the danger was coming from!
Since he couldn't find his opponent, Matthew decided to pick one himself!
"If I eliminate all the potential threats around me, then there will be no danger at all!"
Realizing this, Matthew suddenly felt much more at ease!
With an excited Yaya by his side, Matthew turned to the somewhat bewildered Elona and said:
"Get ready and pick up a set of enchanted gear from me."
"Tomorrow, we'll head to the Dark Forest together."
Seeing Elona's surprised expression, Matthew felt a surge of satisfaction.
Before you grow stronger, leave it to me to lead the way!