Chapter Forty-Three: The Great Expansion!

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“In any case, let’s put this task aside for now…”

The rewards for the mission were certainly generous, but it was painfully clear that, for now, he simply couldn’t complete it.

Without delay, Colin shifted his gaze away from the task and began to take stock of his other gains.

This time, he had acquired thirty-nine servants; adding in the four survivors, he now commanded a total of forty-three people.

Counting his own group, the number of people under his control had soared to fifty-seven.

The number had skyrocketed in an instant!

But compared to the expansion in manpower, what was truly invaluable were the nine lanterns, nine synthesis stations, and nine pieces of parchment.

These were the real keys to expansion.

Colin pulled out a rather battered chair, sat down in the wilderness, narrowed his eyes and sank into thought:

“If I use the synthesis station once to synthesize ‘ordinary’ blood, then that station has met the conditions for making ordinary blood…

“Servants are already confirmed to be able to use the synthesis stations themselves…

“That means these nine lanterns don’t have to be like Team One, which could only hold a few people. Instead, each can be expanded into a large team—fourteen people per team, just like mine!”

Colin’s eyes narrowed further, his breathing deepened. It was only when he did the math that he realized the astonishing result: ten teams, fourteen people each, more than one hundred and forty people—his force would increase nearly tenfold overnight…

This would immediately solve his most urgent problem: not having enough hands for mining.

Thinking of this, Colin’s gaze toward the other survivors was tinged with gratitude…

They truly had come to his aid in his hour of greatest need!

Yet, to the four, a chill ran down their spines, an inexplicable shiver as they felt his gaze.

“To think, I feel as if I’ve become stronger without lifting a finger,” Colin mused inwardly.

He continued his line of thought. The ‘friend’ feature on the parchment (which required both parties to take out their parchments nearby) would allow him to set up remote material transfers, so even if he wasn’t at the mines, he could easily receive private trades from afar.

Put simply, Colin could assign a few teams to mine here; when they finished, his contacts could send the goods directly through the friends’ channel…

As long as they worked fast, Colin could press forward at the front lines, firing on all cylinders, without worry.

“The only real risk here is that servants don’t have permission to operate the parchment. The transaction requires a survivor to transfer the explosives to their own pack before sending it…”

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This was the only risky part of the entire plan.

But the risk was manageable, since the servants could also view the parchment’s contents.

Moreover, due to their absolute loyalty, he could be confident they wouldn’t do anything harmful to him, thus avoiding any danger.

“I’ll keep three to five teams here at the mines, with a corresponding number of synthesis stations, and two parchments—one for regular use, one as a backup. This is the core of the operation and must be strictly controlled.”

“Then I can free myself, leave this place, and use a few territories to build ‘war wagons’ to sweep through the Crow Mountain Forest…”

“I remember those war wagons need a lot of iron ore…”

“But after all this time, the miners should have produced some ore by now…”

“Hmm, and there’s still room for improvement in team composition. After this experience, I think sixteen or seventeen to a team would work—four groups of three, one ‘Lantern Bearer,’ and three ‘Lamp Guards’…”

Colin made a rough plan for the upcoming arrangements, but then another thought occurred to him—

This wasn’t the only group to have come to his rescue.

With this group settled, it seemed there were people approaching from four more directions…

It wouldn’t be long before they reached this area.

Even if it was just one person from each direction, he would gain four more teams—over fifty extra fighting men.

They were delivering themselves from a thousand miles away; Colin truly didn’t know how to thank them for their generosity.

As for food, he wasn’t worried. Supplies were enough for a day, and a day was more than enough to get a lot done.

If it really wasn’t enough, he could always barter on the trading market.

He’d led everyone in reaping an early harvest this morning; after four or five hours, surely some fresh sprouts would have grown by now?

“Besides that, there’s over five thousand milliliters of Tainted Dull Blood, enough to synthesize more than sixteen hundred milliliters of ordinary blood—sufficient for quite some time…”

“Then there are over two hundred loaves of black bread, more than a hundred portions of meat—some fresh, some not, weighing over a hundred pounds. Someone even went out of their way to bring a wild boar—how very considerate…”

As Colin browsed through his pack, he couldn’t help but marvel…

This money came in no slower than robbery.

Well… perhaps it was robbery, after all…

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Lost in thought, ten minutes flew by. The five servants lying on the ground opened their eyes, gazing at Colin with heartfelt gratitude.

Though still somewhat weak—their newly reattached legs not yet fully mobile—they had survived the crisis.

They knew their own worth, and understood the cost Colin had paid for their sake.

The only thing they could offer in return was loyalty.

Though, with the lord’s absolute control over his servants, loyalty might seem meaningless; yet it was all they had left to give.

Shana, meanwhile, was standing weakly, drained from prolonged use of the “Wind of Revival,” waiting for Colin to speak.

“Can you still walk?”

Colin asked, glancing at their stats—most attributes hovering around 1.5, and despite not being actively mobilized, the word “Energized” appeared.

“We can, my lord!”

They stood in a line, trembling, their freshly healed legs still throbbing with pain.

But by tomorrow at the latest, the pain would subside.

Compared to ordinary people, the greatest advantage of a servant was their rapid recovery.

Perhaps thanks to years of hard labor, their bodies were especially efficient at utilizing food.

“Rest and eat something first. Shana, you too.”

With that, Colin turned his head to Number Two, his longest-standing companion, and began preparations for his second expansion.

Soon, nine carefully selected servants stood before Colin in a row, facing forward.

The loyalty in their eyes was nearly tangible, unshakable by anything.

Among them, including Number Two, were those chosen as “Lantern Bearers,” each the leader of a team.

“You will serve as captains of Teams Two through Eleven under my command. Your sole purpose is to follow my orders and ensure, at any cost, that the lanterns in your hands remain alight…”

Colin’s voice was stern. “Any questions?”