I was a lord farming, how did I become an emperor?

Chapter 341 Magic Crystal Mine
……

……

The northern wilderness.

The edge of the razor plain.

The continuous mountain ranges meander northward, connecting with the Icefield Mountains.

In late summer, there was no longer any heat here.

But the cool breeze did not bring Baron Bronn any comfort.

He stood on the hillside, squinting at the distant mountains, a sheepskin map in his hand.

This is a map drawn by Lord Rhodes himself, with the location of a silver mine marked on it in red ink.

"Ugh."

Baron Bronn sighed.

He has led his team to search this mountain forest for three whole days, crossing seven mountain peaks.

However, no trace of silver mining was found.

There wasn't even a decent piece of ore.

The adjutant standing next to Bronn whispered, "Could it be that Lord Rhodes has misjudged?"

Baron Bronn began to have doubts.

"impossible."

Baron Bronn shook his head. "Lord Rhodes would never make a mistake on such an important matter."

"This document records an open-pit silver mine."

Baron Bronn said firmly, "We must have looked in the wrong place."

"Shall we continue forward?" the adjutant asked.

Baron Bronn pondered for a moment and then instructed, "Inform everyone that we will rest today and continue tomorrow."

"Yes, Lord Bloom."

The adjutant nodded and turned to relay the order.

Just then, a soldier hurriedly ran up the hillside.

"Lord Bronn!"

The soldier excitedly held up the stone in his hand, "Look at this! It's different from ordinary stones!"

The fist-sized stone has a smooth, shiny surface, looking like a piece of coal, but it reflects a blue light under the sunlight.

Baron Bronn immediately took the stone and instantly felt a strange fluctuation.

You can try to feel it carefully, but you can't quite sense it.

This is not a silver mine.

Baron Bronn knew very well what was going on.

The color of silver ore should be silvery-white or grayish-white.

But this is definitely not an ordinary stone.

Where was it found?

Baron Bronn raised his head and stared intently at the messenger soldier.

“It’s in the valley to the north!” the soldier replied immediately.

Baron Bronn held the dark blue stone, hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at his adjutant.
"Gather everyone, let's go check it out up ahead!"

"No problem, sir!"

The adjutant dared not delay and quickly ran to the soldiers behind him.

As the bugle sounded, dozens of soldiers quickly assembled.

Bloom personally led the team across two hills to the valley where the dark blue stones were found, and began a thorough search.

The place the soldier was pointing to was just an ordinary valley.

But unlike the others, the knee-high wild grass on both sides of the hillside was withered and yellow, and the surrounding trees also had few leaves, looking like they were about to die.

Baron Bronn paid no attention to any of that and went straight to where the soldier had pointed.

"right here!"

The soldier pointed to the ground and reported, "This is the rock we found here."

Baron Bronn looked around and loudly commanded, "Search the surrounding area carefully for stones just like mine!"

"Yes!"

The soldiers responded in unison and quickly launched a thorough search.

Baron Bronn was not idle either; he personally joined the search team.

"My lord! Please come quickly!"

Suddenly, a soldier on the hillside shouted, "We've found something!"

Brown dared not linger and quickly ran up the hillside.

The soldier parted the weeds at his feet, revealing dark blue stones underneath.

"What are you waiting for? Dig it out quickly!" the adjutant urged loudly.

"We can't dig it out!"

The soldier immediately said, "This rock seems to be very big!"

"Then dig it all up!"

Baron Bronn shouted, "Everyone, come here! Clear away all this withered grass and dirt, and dig out the stones underneath!"

"Yes, my lord!"

The soldiers immediately sprang into action, uprooting the withered grass and throwing it aside.

Grass roots brought out large clumps of soil, revealing more and more dark blue stones beneath the soil.

"A mineral vein! This is definitely a mineral vein!"

Baron Bronn's voice trembled as he looked at the vast expanse of dark blue stones.

He didn't recognize what kind of mineral vein it was, but that just showed how important it was!
Baron Bronn turned to his adjutant and placed the dark blue stone in his hand.
"Get this back to Frostleaf Town as quickly as possible!"

……

……

Frosty Leaf Town.

At the lord's manor, Avril was packing her luggage.

Leah stuffed the items into Avril's bag one by one.

"Please bring more of this maltose; Miss Vivian likes it."

Leah stuffed the box she was carrying into the package. "And this fish cake and squid strips, the lord must not have had these in a long time..."

"Alright, Leah, Rock City will have all these things."

Avril grasped Leah's wrist and said with a smile, "Don't bring any of these, you can keep them for yourself."

"Oh okay."

Leah took out the fish-flavored cakes and shredded squid with a little embarrassment.

She recalled that Avril had told her before that the south was rich in resources.

"What about maltose?" Leah asked, still somewhat unwilling to give up.

Avril had intended to say there was honey over there, but seeing Leah's expectant look, she ultimately stuffed it into the package instead.

"That one box should be enough."

"Oh, alright."

Leah nodded, then muttered to herself, "What else can I bring..."

Just then, Millie walked in pouting, "Sister Avril, can't you really take me with you?"

"Franny went with Brother Rod, I want to go too..."

"Not yet."

Avril looked apologetic as she rubbed Millie's head. "I have important things to do and won't be able to take care of you."

"Besides, you still have classes to study. An empty head won't help your brother Rod."

Avril gently coaxed Millie.

Actually, the most important point Avril Lavigne didn't mention.

Both the potion workshop and the blacksmith shop need Millie now.

Millie's presence, especially when developing new potions and crafting magical trinkets, increases the success rate.

The happier Millie is, the higher her chances of success.

Yumi and Sainda often get into arguments over Millie.

Fortunately, neither of them holds grudges, and they occasionally need to cooperate, so they haven't had any unpleasantness because of this.

"OK then."

Millie raised her head, her gaze resolute. "I will never let my mind go blank!"

"Yes, once everything is settled, your sister will come to pick you up."

Avril smiled and made the promise.

Just then, a knocking sound rang out on the door.

"Come in."

Avril straightened up and said softly.

The guard pushed open the door and strode in, bowing respectfully.

Immediately, the guard stepped forward and presented the item he was carrying to Avril.
"Madam, an unfamiliar mineral has been discovered in Bloom during our exploration to the north. We would appreciate it if you could identify it."

Leah put down the package in her hand, took the leather bag, opened it, and took out a fist-sized, dark blue stone.

"This is……"

Avril's bright eyes were filled with surprise.

…… ……

"A magic crystal vein?"

Rhodes, who was having lunch, immediately stopped what he was doing and stared intently at Vivian: "Are you sure?"

"determine."

Vivian nodded vigorously, "My sister first compared it with the illustrations in the book, and then showed it to Master Senda to confirm that it is indeed a magic crystal."

"Great!"

Rhodes was in high spirits and praised, "Brown has done a great job this time and must be rewarded."

Magic crystals are the hard currency among spellcasters; they can be used for almost anything related to magic.

The energy distribution within the magic crystal is even and stable, making the creation of magic scrolls, alchemy, and potion-making more stable.

Magic crystals can also be used to create a spellcaster's training room, increasing meditation efficiency.

In short, the essence of magic crystals is energy, which can be understood as the oil and electricity of Rhode's previous life.

If you want to become a truly powerful spellcaster, you will inevitably need magic crystals.

"Where was Bloom found?"

Amidst his joy, Rhodes suddenly realized, "Didn't we already search for it?"

"It's right where we've been searching."

Vivian thought for a moment and said, "It was that time when the three of us were on the grass, and my sister felt cold."

"Brown searched for silver mines according to the markings, but found none."

"Then the magic crystal vein was discovered."

"I think I vaguely remember it."

Rod was thoughtful.

When exploring mineral veins, you will definitely not miss the magic crystal vein.

According to Vivian's description, the silver mine mutated under the influence of the entry.

It seems we need to send more people to search for other mineral veins.

"Tell Avril to immediately send people to mine this magic crystal vein."

Rhodes snapped out of his daze and ordered, "Get Yumi, Zoya, and Senda to use these magic crystals as quickly as possible."

"In addition, let Senda begin forging magical weapons that knights can use, such as the Blood Axe."

"Okay, my lord."

Vivian responded and lowered her head, relaying Rhodes's order back to Frostleaf Town.

Rhodes then waved for his guard, Cerf.
"Notify the kitchen to roast two more lamb legs!"

Rod paused for a moment, then immediately changed his mind, saying, "No, let's roast ten more lambs and have everyone eat together!"

"Yes, my lord!"

Joseph's face lit up with joy, and he happily agreed.

He then turned to relay the order, unconsciously memorizing the magic crystal in his mind.

Although I don't know what it is, it's something that makes the lord happy.

If you encounter such an opportunity in the future, you must not let it pass by; offering it to the lord will surely bring you a great reward.

……

……

While the Winter Guards at the manor were enjoying roast lamb, Durant and Gunther arrived at the manor.

"Is today a special day?"

Gunle asked the Winter Guard, unconsciously swallowing hard.

"I don't know, sir. This was a gift from the lord."

The Winter's Iron Guard cut off a large piece and handed it to Gunle, "Would you like to try some?"

Before Gunther could answer, Durant declined, saying, "We have important business to attend to. You guys continue eating."

After saying that, Durant glanced at Gunle and walked straight into the council chamber.

Rod had just finished lunch and came out, and Durant and Gunle bowed to him together.

"Alright, you two don't need to stand on ceremony."

Rod waved his hand casually and asked, "Have you had lunch?"

"I ate something quick on the way back."

Durant reported first: "The Duke of Flowers' letter has been sent out, but the eldest princess refuses to write her letter of surrender."

"She requested an audience with you before she would write."

"Tell her that I will summon her after she finishes writing."

Rhodes said nonchalantly, "It's fine if she doesn't write it. After I've gathered all of the Flower Duke's troops, my army will crush every royal city."

"At that time there will be no mercy, and every member of the Shattered Rock royal family will hang themselves on the walls of Shattered Rock City."

Rhodes dislikes killing.

But sometimes, only bloodshed can make people see reality.

Rhodes's continued mercy was solely out of consideration for the White Wolf.

"Yes, my lord."

Durant nodded and then presented the report to Rhodes.

"The Silver Thorn Legion has a total of 33,000 prisoners, and an initial estimate suggests that there are more than 14,000 deserters."

After giving his report, Durant couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Silverthorn was already considered an elite unit, but it still couldn't suppress its fear when facing the five-headed dragon.

In reality, the five-headed dragon did not kill many people; most of them collapsed due to fear and loss of command.

The legions behind them didn't even have time to react before surrendering under the orders of Kyle, the Silver Thorns' commander-in-chief.

Otherwise, Durant wouldn't have been able to capture so many prisoners so easily.

Even if you released more than 50,000 pigs into the wild mountains and forests, you wouldn't be able to catch them all in a week or two, let alone people.

"Silver Thorns is a good name for the legion, let's keep it."

Rhodes instructed, "Replace the battalion commanders and legion commanders of each legion... Is that Commander-in-Chief Kyle willing to submit?"

"He refused."

Durant sighed slightly and said with some regret, "He is extremely loyal to the Duke of Flowers."

"In that case, I won't break them up."

Rhodes admired such loyal knights, even if they could not be used by him.

"Here's what we'll do: tell Kyle that if the Duke of Flowers is willing to give up all his possessions to save him..."

Rod paused, then smiled and said, "Then Kyle can continue to go mining in the Northern Wilderness with Duke Flower, but he will need to give up practicing the Breathing Technique."

After all, Kyle is a top-tier knight, and his strength should not be underestimated.

“I will have Luxen concoct a poison that will destroy his body. After drinking it, Kyle will be just like an ordinary person.”

“Understood, I’ll inform them of that in a bit,” Durant nodded in response.

"This matter is not urgent. You have all worked hard these past few days."

Luo De's tone softened a bit, "Take some rest, and let your subordinates share more of the work."

"Fighting is mentally and physically exhausting, so you need to remember to relax."

Thank you for your concern.

A smile appeared on Durant's face, and he felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

"Let's go, I'll have the kitchen prepare some more dishes, you two can eat here."

Rod put his arm around Durant's shoulder and looked at Gunle.
"This guy has swallowed his saliva seven or eight times in just this short while."

"Hehe, sir."

Gonle scratched his head. "There's nothing I can do about it; the roasted lamb in this yard smells too good."

"You rascal, you're a legion commander now..."

Rhodes wanted to tell Gunther to be more mindful of his image, but then thought better of it.

It was already common knowledge that Gonle liked to frequent widows' yards.

It's too late to salvage it.

……

……

Durant and Gunley enjoyed a hearty meal at the estate and didn't leave until the afternoon.

Just as they reached the manor gate, Aura appeared at the entrance, riding a white wolf.

"Lord Aura."

Durant and Gunle bowed in turn.

"We don't need to do this between us. I hope we can get along like before."

As White Wolf spoke, he changed the subject and asked, "I want to go see Artie."

“If the lord agrees, then of course we can,” Durant replied.

At this moment, Rod walked up from behind and said, "Let Aura go."

After saying that, Rhodes looked at the white wolf and said, "Tell your niece to think more about this empire, not the rule of the Shattered Rock royal family."

"I will."

White Wolf bowed his head and said solemnly, "Thank you for giving her this opportunity, Rhodes."

"Of course, you're my partner."

Rod smiled and waved his hand, "Go on."

White Wolf nodded and followed Durant out of the manor.

(End of this chapter)