Chapter 302: Hooves in the Mist, Portals Beyond

Phield and the heavy cavalry circled around the salt mine outpost twice and casually wiped out a small corpse horde of fifty along the way.

"Other than being expensive, heavy cavalry really doesn’t have many weaknesses."

After witnessing the medieval version of a tank, Phield flicked the filthy blood from his hands. "Once the blacksmith workshop starts operating, we’ll begin forging plate armor and mass produce heavy cavalry."

"The problem is that hammering plate armor by hand is way too complicated. I remember there was something called a hydraulic forging hammer."

Phield rubbed his chin, trying hard to recall his old knowledge.

"My lord, Lady Sinta says your order has been completed."

A wolf demi-human came over to report.

"That fast? That’s absurdly efficient. It hasn’t even been half a day yet, has it?" Phield looked up at the gray fog overhead. From the shifting light and darkness, he could roughly judge the time.

When he returned to the outpost, Sinta had already bundled a huge pile of staffs together with ropes. Treasures that would normally sit inside crystal display cabinets in weapon shops were tied up like sugarcane and casually tossed into a heap by her.

"Dimensional Summoning Staffs. You gave me twelve dimensional pearls, so I forged six second tier summoning staffs and one third tier summoning staff for you."

"Also, there are thirty first tier elemental staffs and five second tier elemental staffs here. Mostly standard fireballs, ice arrows, and wind blades."

"Check them over." Sinta rolled her neck tiredly. "Whew... forging this many staffs in one go nearly killed me."

Phield said gratefully, "Thank you very much for your contribution."

"Of course. Every single staff was forged using Gray Mercury Stone, so the magic conduction speed is extremely high. I also engraved matching magic runes onto all of them. Even ordinary people can cast spells as long as they have magic cores."

Taking the third tier summoning staff into his hand, Phield immediately felt its cold texture and heavy weight. It weighed about as much as a longsword rather than the flimsy branches seen in movies. The spell formation area was also embedded with magic cores and magic crystals.

"This is the first time I’ve ever held a staff. It feels like some kind of powerful industrial product."

Phield swung it twice, producing sharp whistling sounds through the air. It could easily be used as a club.

"Naturally. If it isn’t sturdy enough, it can’t survive warfare. Weapons that snap apart mid battle are useless."

"Let me test it."

Phield aimed at an empty area and activated the staff.

A dark violet sphere suddenly appeared, and from within it emerged a massive flesh monster. Its face twisted into a swirling vortex, indescribably grotesque. The creature twitched every so often, making it even more horrifying.

"The summoned monsters are only energy projections from another dimension, so you don’t need to worry about loyalty issues. One staff can only maintain a single summon at a time. Oh, and I should mention that summons require magic cores for upkeep. A second tier magic core can maintain one for around three days."

Magic cores were consumables, essentially functioning as batteries.

"This is already excellent."

Phield’s eyes lit up as he nodded in satisfaction. "With this, we can further strengthen the army’s combat power and even give civil officials something for self defense."

There was no rush to establish a mage corps, at least not until he possessed actual spellcasters.

"You can play around with the rest yourself." Sinta looked at him the way an elder looked at a child. After all, she was already sixty eight years old, and when she looked at the barely adult Phield, she felt as though she were looking at a grandson. "I’m heading back now. If you ever encounter a woman carrying a greatsword, get on your horse and run immediately. Don’t look back. She won’t be able to catch you."

"Got it..."

Was Rosalia really that slow?

Phield twitched at the corner of his mouth and thought: stop roasting her already. If Rosalia hears this, she’ll probably jump out and chop you in half.

"I’m leaving then. Take care."

Sinta patted Phield’s shoulder with a sigh full of emotion.

"Take care, Lady Sinta."

Phield escorted her a short distance before turning back toward the salt mine outpost.

"Big Brother Phield, has that annoying bee finally left?"

Rosalia had transformed into her little girl form and sneakily wandered out from a corner of the salt mine outpost, constantly peeking into the gray fog. "I thought she was planning to rob the cradle. I was even thinking about joining in."

"Rosalia, stop pretending to be young."

Phield pinched her soft doll like cheeks, feeling immensely amused. Only little Rosalia was easy to bully.

"Hmph. This form is perfect for deceiving people." Rosalia proudly crossed her arms before suddenly changing the subject. "Is my pursuit capability really that terrible?"

"It’s alright. Nobody is perfect. In the future, you can compensate with artifacts and teammates."

Phield already had plans. An all around balanced path did not suit his Divine Chosen. After all, he had more than one Divine Chosen under his command. There was no need for everyone to excel at everything as long as someone could cover the weaknesses.

"Mm, then I’ll continue hunting."

Rosalia perked up and turned to leave.

"Stay safe."

Phield stretched lazily and called over Kai, who was stationed there. "Kai, I’ve already transported this month’s supplies and slaves over. Is there anything else you’re lacking? Tell me."

"My lord, wolf demi-humans fear no harsh environment. We lack nothing."

Kai immediately knelt respectfully on the ground.

"You don’t need to be so formal. Enduring hardship is a virtue, yes, but there’s no need to deliberately create miserable living conditions. The cattle and sheep I left here can all be slaughtered for meat. You can decide how to distribute them."

Phield had no intention of letting them starve.

"Yes, my lord." Kai lowered his head deeply.

"Right, do you know anything about the Cocogoats... uh, those demi-humans with dark blue hair and red goat horns?"

"I don’t recall anything about them. They’re probably just weak lower tier demi-humans. My lord, among demi-humans, any race with small numbers and few saintesses is considered an insignificant lower race. However, their faith is the same as our White Wolf Clan’s. They worship the Winter Goddess."

After all, both races originated from the far northern continent buried beneath ice and snow.

"Perhaps they could handle manual labor? The women could manage livestock."

As he spoke, Kai scratched his thigh awkwardly, looking as though he wanted to say something.

"I know what you’re trying to say." Phield instantly saw through his thoughts and smiled. "Even though you look down on lower races, they share the same faith as you, so you don’t want me sending them into the army as prostitutes, right?"

"Yes, my lord." Kai’s wolf ears drooped downward. Surprised that Phield had seen through him so easily, he spoke honestly. "For the sake of the goddess, I ask that my lord show mercy."

"Don’t worry. My army won’t have anything like that. It doesn’t matter who they worship."

Only soldiers who focused all their energy on killing enemies could become truly effective fighters. That belief had already been proven countless times.

"Remain vigilant at all times. The salt mine is extremely important to us."

Kai was still stunned when Phield mounted his warhorse and led the troops back toward the grand manor.

After storing all the staffs away, Phield realized the distribution of the staffs still required careful consideration.

He suddenly felt exhausted. "I’ve been busy for far too long. It’s time to slow down the pace of life and get some proper rest."