Elven cultivators

After calming down Mist Shadow, Anton turned to look at the Dark Spider Mother.

The latter lazily shook its head and chest, and gently wiggled its tail twice as a greeting.

In recent years, Anton has been busy cultivating and rarely returns to Nine Nether City to take care of the Dark Spider Mother.

Fortunately, this guy was well-behaved and didn't cause any trouble.

According to Elena, the Dark Spider Queen spends her days eating and sleeping, living a very comfortable life.

Occasionally, when Wuyin comes to play with it, it will casually move its paws to send it away, like a huge pet with a very good temper.

The only thing that could be considered "work" was hatching spider monsters.

After conquering the Dark Spider Mother and Shadow City, the spider monsters were naturally incorporated into the clan's military force and became one of their mounts.

However, the combat strength of these spider monsters is generally only at the lower-middle level of Black Iron, with only a very few elite individuals reaching the peak of Black Iron.

Among the clan's many mounts, it wouldn't even rank in the middle.

Over the years, the Taichu City Beast Garden has improved and bred countless kinds of spirit beasts.

Leaving aside the Rock Armor Beast, a third-tier spirit beast, there are at least a hundred second-tier spirit beasts.

Any one of them is far stronger than the spider monster.

Even among first-tier spirit beasts, the latter are not considered outstanding, and their ugly appearance is not very appealing, so not many elves are willing to ride them out.

Therefore, in the Primordial Spirit Realm, spider monsters are basically ignored.

However, it still has some market share in Jiuyou City.

After all, the spider monster's eight-legged walking mode allows it to adapt to the complex and varied terrain of the dark region, moving freely through narrow rock crevices and rugged rocky areas.

Dark elves and some underground vassal races use this type of mount.

Anton also inquired whether the Dark Spider Queen could hatch even more powerful spider monsters.

The latter's answer was yes, but it would require more effort.

Moreover, the hatching speed will be reduced significantly.

The more powerful the spider monster, the longer it takes to hatch.

If you want individuals of the Gold rank or higher, the incubation period will be extended by hundreds of times.

After hearing this, Anton gave up.

The clan has no shortage of silver and gold-tier mounts, so there's no need for the Dark Spider Queen to waste her energy on them.

He also hoped that the Dark Spider Mother would break through to godhood soon.

Seeing that neither the Dark Spider Mother nor the Mist Shadow showed any abnormalities, Anton did not linger and turned to leave Nine Nether City, returning to the Primordial Spirit Realm.

Roman, who enjoys joining in the fun, stayed behind to "keep" Mist Shadow and Dark Spider Mother company.

Upon returning to Taichu City, Anton arrived at the Tianyuan Palace.

Eleanor had just sat down behind the long table when she came in after receiving the message.

She had a smile on her face and walked a little faster than usual, seemingly in a good mood.

"Chief, you've come back just in time. I have some good news to tell you."

"What good news?" Anton asked with a smile.

Eleanor smiled and said, "The two spirit stone veins in Green Heights have been converted. The test report just came out this morning, and the quality and purity have met the standards. We can arrange for people to enter the site and start mining at any time."

Anton smiled slightly upon hearing this.

"That's definitely good news."

Although he was not with the clan for many years, he knew that as the Silver Moon Clan grew stronger, the demand for spirit stones increased day by day.

Previously, the entire operation was supported by the spirit stone mine in the Eldron Plains, which inevitably led to some financial difficulties.

Now, the two mines in Green Highlands have been successfully converted, and the output of spirit stones can be increased by at least two or three times, greatly alleviating the problem of tight demand for spirit stones.

After some estimation, Anton said, "Judging by the time, the two spirit stone mines in the Thunder River Basin, and the one near Nine Nether City, should be fully converted in another twenty or thirty years. At that time, the output can be increased by a lot."

This is just the beginning.

The real prize was the magic stone mines that were taken over when the twenty-four forces were wiped out.

There are more than a dozen in total.

All of it was transformed into spirit stone veins by Andong.

Therefore, when Anton was discussing the compensation for the fleet's participation in the war with the Jade Court and the Yellow Turban Warrior Legion, he demanded that the settlement be made in the form of elemental crystals of equal value, in order to accelerate the cultivation of spirit stone veins.

In about a hundred years, the Silver Moon Clan will have more than twenty spirit stone mines.

By then, spirit stones should be able to completely replace magic stones and become the main energy source for all core industries of the clan.

After discussing the mine, Anton immediately inquired about the situation in Shadow City.

Eleanor smiled and said, "The rule of Shadow City is now completely stable."

"With the deterrent effect of the Blood Prison True Demon Art, coupled with the supervision of the dark elves of Vion City, the dark elf families of Shadow City are all very well-behaved."

Over the years, Eleanor has witnessed the state of Shadow City and has come to realize more and more that Anton's original arrangement was a brilliant move.

Placing the two dark elf groups together to supervise each other can prevent them from plotting against each other, and also take advantage of the dark elves' tendency to fight among themselves, thus indirectly improving efficiency.

Thanks to this, the rule of Shadow City was able to stabilize so quickly.

Moreover, this method can be used on more than just this one city-state.

The same model can be used in the management of other city-states and even in the exploration of the Underdark.

As for whether the two dark elf groups might secretly join forces...

Eleanor was not worried about this at all.

The Dark Elves are notorious for their internal strife.

Let alone two different ethnic groups, even sisters from the same family often betray each other in the struggle for power and profit.

Expecting the dark elves to work together honestly and openly is like hoping the sun will rise in the west.

"How is the war between the Emerald Court and Bloodhowl Fortress going?" Anton asked about another matter.

When this was mentioned, Eleanor's expression became more serious, and she said, "Because our fleet has been harassing the rear of Bloodhowl Fortress, it has tied up a lot of their troops, which has indeed reduced the pressure on the Royal Court at the front line. The overall situation is more favorable than before we joined the war."

"However, Bloodhowl Fortress reacted quickly. They have been gradually tightening their defenses, gathering and concentrating their scattered forces and pushing them to the front lines, as if preparing to build up their strength for a major battle."

Eleanor paused, then frowned and said, "I estimate that a large-scale battle will break out soon."

Anton's eyes flickered slightly, as if he were deep in thought.

In the original history, the war between the Emerald Court and Bloodhowl Fortress dragged on for nearly two hundred years after the end of the Dragon Slayer War before entering its true later stages.

The two sides fought back and forth, each suffering heavy losses.

However, the current timeline is much earlier than originally thought.

Not only did the Dragon Slayer War break out and end ahead of schedule, but the pace of the war between the Emerald Court and Bloodhowl Fortress was also significantly faster than I remembered.

I imagine the situation is similar for the Freedom Alliance and Heart of the Mountains.

So, will the Scourge of the Dead arrive ahead of schedule?

After a moment's thought, Anton came to his senses and said, "Tell the fleet to be careful. We're only responsible for providing the tools. The Emerald Court is the one who really has to fight. There's no need for us to be at the forefront for them."

Eleanor nodded and said, "Understood. I will instruct the Third Elder to prioritize the preservation of the fleet."

Anton nodded slightly, about to ask another question, but suddenly paused.

He turned his head slightly, his gaze passing over the open window of Tianyuan Hall, looking towards the northwest sky.

A moment later, a playful smile appeared on his lips.

Eleanor noticed the change in his expression and asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." Anton looked away, his tone calm but with a hint of a smile. "We have important guests arriving, and I need to go greet them."

……

The Primordial Spirit Realm, northwest side.

The wind blowing from the north across the hillside carried the unique fresh scent of grass and trees from the edge of the Primordial Spirit Realm, causing the wild grass to sway and bend.

Grant sat on a naturally sunken rock at the top of the slope, his legs casually crossed, one hand supporting his knee, his gaze fixed on the dividing line of the continuous tree canopy in the distance within the Spirit Realm.

Suddenly, he turned his head to look at the empty space beside him, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"Long time no see, Anton."

The moment the voice fell, the airflow at that location twisted slightly for a moment, and Anton's figure appeared silently as if stepping out of the void.

"It really has been a long time."

Anton smiled slightly and sat down beside Grant, his movements as natural as if he were sitting on the stone steps in his own backyard, casually gathering the hem of his robe that was hanging down to his legs.

After the end of the Subspace War, he left the Holy Dragon Mountains and did not participate in the subsequent siege of Holy Dragon City.

That farewell was also the last time he saw Grant.

Eighty years have passed in the blink of an eye.

"Time flies," Grant said with a touch of nostalgia. "In the blink of an eye, your Silvermoon Clan has become the undisputed power in the eastern part of the continent."

Anton chuckled: "Coming from you, it sounds like you're teasing me."

"Just telling the truth." Grant chuckled sarcastically. "When I was traveling, I heard news of you every few days. Today you won a battle, tomorrow some saint fell at your hands. I'm sick of hearing it."

Anton didn't respond to that, but simply glanced at him sideways: "And you? Where have you been all these years?"

Among the five pillars, Grant is the most unique.

Whether it's Igna, Alicia, Celine, or Rexxar, they are all core members of their respective factions and members of the ruling class.

Grant was the only exception.

Although he held a very high position and prestige within the Freedom Alliance, he never held any public office, did not participate in the development of power or the game of power, and was purely a free agent.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this single-minded focus that he was able to break through to the Saint realm earlier than the other four.

For this very reason, Anton's relationship with Grant was actually purer than his relationship with Alicia and Igna, free from any ulterior motives.

"I just wandered around and saw quite a few things, so I guess I gained something."

After exchanging a few lighthearted words, Anton got down to business: "You didn't come to see me just to catch up, did you?"

Grant nodded, his smile fading, and asked seriously, "Have you heard of the Ring of Annihilation?"