Above the vast skies of The Borderlands, the sun rose and set time and again, with day and night alternating and replacing one another.
Ever since the Poison Tail Tribe was conquered and pledged its allegiance.
The flags of the Molten Iron Tribe were planted across all the lands in the four cardinal directions of The Borderlands, and Garros officially became the king of this territory.
Lord of the Crimson Wings, Sky-Rending Wings, Death Omen Star, King of the Molten Iron Tribe... Beyond these titles, Garros had gained a new one.
— — King of the Borderlands.
After unifying The Borderlands, the disputes and conflicts among the intelligent creatures here ceased abruptly. The tribes of the past no longer existed, leaving only the Molten Iron Tribe standing on this land, along with a single, unquestionable will.
After the war ended.
The entire Molten Iron Tribe, and indeed the entirety of The Borderlands, began a period of prosperous and thriving development.
On the riverbanks in the south bordering the Estonia Great River.
The various trading posts that had previously been destroyed were rebuilt one after another and further expanded.
Trade negotiations were still primarily handled by the shrewd Goblin tribes.
However, the Goblins were extremely cunning; their nature was hard to change, and they had many petty tricks.
Therefore, some Centaurs were added to oversee the trade riverbanks.
It was strictly forbidden for Goblins to accept bribes, solicit tips, or engage in other behaviors that would affect the reputation of the trade.
In addition to questioning and talking to passing merchant groups and conducting regular inspections, Goblins were encouraged to report on each other. Once a report was verified, there would be a heavy reward, while the reported party would suffer severe punishment.
In troubled times, one must use heavy codes.
In a barbaric, remote region like The Borderlands, wanting to develop in an orderly and upward manner also requires the deterrence of harsh punishments; otherwise, with so many wild, untamed, and differently-natured intelligent creatures living together, it would have already descended into chaos.
Then there were those critical mineral resource sites.
The most dangerous and heavy labor was mainly performed by slaves composed of the previously defeated, and with the existence of industrial-type Alchemy Golems, and without the worry of attacks or looting from other tribes, the efficiency of Ore mining and extraction was greatly improved.
Every day, a large amount of mined and processed Ore was collected.
On one hand, it was transported to the Black Iron Plain to be processed through the local alchemy industry, manufacturing golems and various Alchemical Items beneficial to the tribe's development. On the other hand, raw Ore was still used for trade via the Estonia Great River, while the processed or refined Ore was handled exclusively by the Gem Merchant Guild.
More professional, large-scale alchemy facilities were also under construction.
These items were generally controlled goods; the Gem Merchant Guild could not obtain them completely, and the alchemy level of the Black Iron Plain was not yet capable of producing them.
But as long as one wants to walk, the path is under one's feet.
If one is willing to put in the effort, there are plenty of ways.
Purchasing blueprints from the Gem Merchant Guild, which had the closest relationship with the Molten Iron Tribe, then purchasing different core components in different countries, and finally shipping them to The Borderlands in batches to be assembled at the Black Iron Plain.
The process was a bit troublesome, but it was essential.
Because there were more Advanced alchemy facilities, the Grand Artificer, who had profound attainments in golem research, further improved the golem production line to manufacture Mecha Golems that could be operated by Kobolds, Gnolls, and Lizardfolk.
These subordinate races had the largest populations.
Even if they were used as cannon fodder in previous battles, as long as they weren't wiped out and were given enough food resources, they could grow as wildly as weeds.
Based on their huge population base, many talented golem operators were screened out.
For these low-level subordinates, being able to become a golem operator was no different than reaching the heavens in a single step—their status was infinitely higher than their kin who could only serve as cannon fodder or assembly line workers. Therefore, when undergoing various training, they all possessed a desperate, ruthless drive.
The Grand Artificer also discovered that the thought frequencies of Kobolds were relatively similar, not as jumpy and varied as those of Goblins.
If one could select Kobolds with relatively synchronized thoughts and cultivate them carefully, it would be possible to pilot large Alchemy Golems through the method of multiple Kobolds operating them together.
Moreover, this prerequisite was not difficult to implement.
Kobolds give birth to a dozen or so in a litter, and the probability of littermates having similar thought frequencies is high.
Operators were not the problem; it was just a matter of waiting for the Molten Iron Tribe's alchemy industry to develop to the point of being able to build the corresponding golems.
Without a doubt.
Once the number of Alchemy Golems and operators accumulated a bit more, the Golem Guards would eventually become a major main force legion of the Molten Iron Tribe, and their importance would not be inferior to the Star-Shattering Hammer.
And the biggest problem the Molten Iron Tribe currently faced was.
In terms of animal husbandry and cultivation, the Molten Iron Tribe lacked the corresponding talent, to the point where food resources were always somewhat lacking.
Because many subordinates died in the previous war.
There was currently no problem in this regard.
But once the territory was fully consolidated later and the population developed again, food sources would become a major, serious problem.
By then, they would either have to choose to advance and expand, or find a way to solve the food shortage problem.
"Expansion, war... these treat the symptoms but not the root cause."
"The problem of food resource scarcity must eventually be solved."
After reviewing and thinking through the current situation of the Molten Iron Tribe, the psionic light in Iron Dragon Sorog's eyes slowly dissipated, and his gaze dimmed.
Territory development and subordinate management.
These were the two primary tasks assigned to him by the Red-Iron Dragon.
All along, Solrog had been able to complete them very well.
But when the scale of the Molten Iron Tribe expanded to the entirety of The Borderlands, even though he was a Psion, he felt waves of exhaustion and weariness.
"Individual thoughts and ideas have limitations."
"To manage a vast Empire, besides oneself, one also needs many trustworthy subordinates who can be commanded."
"... I need some Dragons as assistants."
Iron Dragon Sorog was a standard Dragon supremacist; deep down, he did not recognize other biological races, and for some important matters, he was only willing to entrust them to Dragons.
"Unfortunately, the current members of Dragon Valley are still too few."
"To establish a vast Dragon kingdom, Dragons are the foundation, the core; we need more like-minded companions."
The Iron Dragon thought to himself.
Meanwhile, in the northeastern part of The Borderlands.
Boom!
The ground suddenly shook violently; countless gravel scattered, tall and thick trees were knocked down one by one at the waist, sand and stones flew, and dust rolled.
Finally.
When the murky air was blown away by a gust of wind, the Red-Iron Dragon folded its enormous wings, and its heavy claws pressed down on the neck of the Ice Deer, pinning this Wild Monster Lord firmly to the ground. Regardless of its struggles, the mountain-heavy claws remained unmoved.
When the Vicious Beast Ice Deer lost its strength and was panting violently.
Garros's whisper sounded in its mind through telepathy.
"Submit or die."
The giant deer let out a mournful cry, lowering its head with only half a horn left, and its gaze gradually changed from fierce to submissive.
Only then did Garros release it.
This giant deer was the third Wild Monster Lord he had tamed.
After unifying The Borderlands, Garros began the sweep of the Wild Monster Lords in The Borderlands. After the White Tiger, he tamed a Giant Snake Lord in the territory that originally belonged to the Poison Tail Tribe, and then this giant deer.
These Wild Monster Lords, with a Life Level of at least 15 and relatively high racial values, could each add to the foundation of the Molten Iron Tribe and become high-level combat units.
Even if their intelligence was limited, they could still play a very good role.
The pity is.
If the intelligence information was correct, this giant deer was the last Wild Monster Lord.
Thirteen Wild Monster Lords.
Ten of them would rather die than submit, unyielding and untamable, while only three ultimately chose to obey.
"Garros."
Following a response like a tapping on the Bloodline, Iron Dragon Sorog's voice sounded from the bottom of his heart: "The idea we discussed before, about mimicking the Blue Dragon community and adopting and cultivating other Dragons, I think it can be implemented."
He told Garros about the current problems of the Molten Iron Tribe and his own limitations, very frankly admitting that he was gradually becoming unable to cope, and that it would be best to have other Dragons as assistants to manage the territory and subordinates together.
Garros had thought about finding an assistant for Solrog before.
Solrog was now proposing it himself, and also mentioned the plan to adopt Dragons. Moreover, with the current scale of the Molten Iron Tribe, it was sufficient to support more Dragons, and it was indeed necessary to have more Dragons.
For example.
If there were a Green Dragon, with the Green Dragon's talent combined with the corresponding career path, the problems of the Molten Iron Tribe in agricultural cultivation would be greatly alleviated, or even properly solved.
"Young Dragons on their own have a hard time surviving."
"If Dragon Valley is willing to provide shelter, any Young Dragon, or even older Young Dragons and Juvenile Dragons who have been beaten by life, would be very willing to join."
"However, I am not their parent; I have no obligation to raise or shelter them."
"In the future, if any Dragon wants to join Dragon Valley, they must demonstrate their value; we do not keep idle Dragons here."
"Wait... the Dragons that can be adopted are probably all Evil Dragons missing parents. If the number of such Dragons increases, won't my place become a Valley of Evil Dragons? By then, I'm afraid I won't be able to shake off the title of Evil Dragon, and might even be regarded as the boss of the Evil Dragons."
Garros pondered in his heart, but ultimately decided to expand the scale of The Dragon Flight.
Whether they were Evil Dragons or Good Dragons, as he grew, Garros cared less and less about the opinions of other creatures.
However, there were very few Dragons in The Borderlands. To implement it specifically, he still needed to start from the Serel Wilderness or the Permafrost Tundra.
By comparison, Garros was more familiar with the Serel Wilderness.
"The Serel Wilderness... first send out some sentries and scouts to explore the situation and pave the way for returning to the wilderness."
"The Permafrost Tundra cannot be ignored either; after all, it is right next to The Borderlands, and there are powerful Barbarians and giants, so some preparations need to be made."