Chapter 532: Thunder Warriors
November 15.
Bay Territory.
Bay City, underground laboratory.
Batch after batch of disabled adventurers lay silently on makeshift operating tables, waiting.
Their old wounds had been reopened.
This not only brought back the pain of their past injuries, but also made them experience that same helpless feeling all over again.
However, none of the adventurers showed fear. Instead, their faces were full of endless anticipation.
When they first came to the Bay Territory, it was just to try their luck—hoping for a job that would hand them gold coins for free.
After all, with their current handicapped bodies, they could no longer join battles.
But fate played another trick on them.
The Bay Territory indeed didn't need them to fight. In fact, it hadn't even altered its "flawed" advertisements due to their physical conditions.
The Bay Territory truly found them work: training adults in the Bay Territory to become professionals.
And it offered salaries even better than they imagined—on average, 3 gold coins per month.
Initially, they believed the Bay Territory's plan to train adults into professionals was bound to fail.
After all, major powers, organizations, and even churches preferred to select children aged 6–15 for training.
That age range was a critical period of rapid physical growth and development.
Starting from that phase laid a solid foundation. With minimal resources, effort, and money, there was a 30% chance of cultivating a professional.
While adults could still become professionals, it required more resources and effort, and the odds were lower.
But once the job began, they realized they had been wrong.
Under normal circumstances, even formal soldiers of a territory wouldn't get much invested in them by the lord.
They might just get enough to eat, train every three days, and forget about meat—maybe some bone broth at best.
In such conditions, only one or two out of every hundred might become professionals.
And that was the most promising group.
What about the Bay Territory?
As long as they attended weekend training sessions, they could eat meat every meal, along with specially allocated magical food.
Such luxurious resource investment surpassed even the training supplements they had received after becoming professionals.
The results were indeed impressive.
After about half a year of training.
The first batch of civilians with better innate talent and foundational skills had a 12% success rate in becoming professionals.
Most chose to undergo soldier assessments. While not many passed, it still greatly boosted everyone's morale.
If they could become professionals, so could others!
Naturally, the training grew increasingly popular and expanded in scale.
They also tapped into their personal connections or shared their own success stories, bringing in more adventurers to the Bay Territory.
Regardless of the reasons, thanks to the outstanding training results, the salaries and bonuses the lord provided them kept increasing.
At first, these adventurers thought that no matter how wealthy the Bay Territory was, this kind of cost-ignoring "wasteful" training couldn't last long.
But to their surprise, the food and resources provided by the Bay Territory only got better.
In the beginning, it was just konjac and meat chunks.
Gradually, it turned into unlimited meat and a daily nutritional potion.
Now, they even included swamp crocodile meat and mana-rich mulberries.
Based on the training scale at Bay City alone, the monthly training expenses exceeded 200,000 gold coins.
The adventurers even began to suspect.
The value and revenue created by the working citizens.
Might not even match the amount the lord spent on them!
Initially, the adventurers were just envious—envious of their good fortune in finding a generous lord.
Until they received an order from the lord.
"Train well. The better your condition and the more your strength improves, the better your treatment will be."
They felt it was their duty to set an example for the other citizens.
But gradually, Arnold, who managed them, "accidentally" revealed some information.
Before being chosen:
"The lord has a way to treat everyone's physical defects. The stronger you are and the better your condition, the higher your chances of being chosen..."
After being chosen:
"If you successfully complete the treatment, you may have a chance to join the lord's special forces."
"Even if it doesn't go smoothly, you don't have to worry—your livelihood will still be taken care of."
In the adjoining rest area.
Arnold was briefing the now-conscious adventurers and soldiers.
"Your hard work and training have paid off—the surgeries were successful."
Overwhelmed with emotion, they gazed at the regenerating limbs forming in the growth tanks, their feelings a mix of joy and sorrow.
Arnold, understanding their emotions, waited for them to calm down before continuing:
"In your daily life, continue at your regular jobs. During your free time, you'll have additional training sessions."
"Any changes to your body will be hidden by the mechanical limbs the lord provided. It's crucial to keep this secret."
"As for your families, they'll be asked to sign magical non-disclosure agreements and will receive some compensation."
"Lastly, congratulations on your rebirth. A brighter future awaits."
Late into the night.
Yaya and Matthew completed the final surgery.
Back in the core lab area, Matthew and Yaya enjoyed a good meal.
This was their routine: never pursuing indulgence, but always living comfortably.
Annie, who had been diligently documenting everything, returned with a sense of excitement.
She carefully reviewed every case, verifying each subject's condition and ensuring all records were accurate and up-to-date.
Annie took her role seriously, aiming to learn as much as possible.
Unlike other Ail Elves, Annie placed great importance on the prospects of surgical modification.
Naturally, as part of the first group of Ail Elves undergoing surgery, it was her duty to maintain detailed records.
Yes, after acquiring the Life Tree seedling, the Silvermoon family entrusted all Bay Territory dealings to Annie.
Having made ample preparations, Annie brought nearly 50 Ail Elves in need of surgery swiftly to the Bay Territory.
Furthermore, Annie had plans.
If the surgeries were successful, she intended to bring the families of these elves over as well.
This would be a force entirely under Annie's control.
During her time in the Bay Territory, she had come to understand one thing deeply.
Even within a single collective, everyone had their own needs and ambitions.
With her records complete, Annie suppressed her amazement and reported to Matthew and Yaya:
"All 573 subjects have met the minimum surgical standards."
"A total of 512 can proceed to the next phase. They'll recover in three days, and we'll need two weeks of data tracking."
"Four individuals showed more severe reactions. After monitoring, their condition is steadily improving and should return to normal in about two weeks."
"Three ogres are in good condition, with signs of a second head developing."
"Twelve gray dwarves are stable. Their physical changes are being concealed by ashen camouflage."
"Fifteen trolls are doing well. Their agility has significantly improved, and their intelligence has also seen a modest increase."
"Thirty Catachan soldiers are in excellent shape. All their attributes have risen substantially, and they show strong compatibility with self-healing abilities."
"Fifty elves are in good condition. Strength and constitution have greatly increased, and their agility has improved further. Mental reinforcement training will be needed."
"402 humans are in good shape. All their attributes have improved significantly, requiring uniform specialized training."
"..."
Having put in a great deal of effort, Annie was now thoroughly familiar with the overall surgical procedures and documentation.
Occasionally, Matthew allowed her to observe the surgeries, keeping her informed of their progress and outcomes.
Including this batch of modified warriors, the Bay Territory now had 800 modified soldiers.
Among them, over 100 were special units. Matthew didn't plan to assign all 700+ remaining troops to the barracks.
Primarily to conceal their strength, and secondly because other departments also needed these modified warriors.
Furthermore, as Matthew deepened his understanding of the modified soldiers, he found that even with identical surgeries, their results varied significantly.
Constitution-focused, strength-focused, agility-focused—
The three major distinct categories were already becoming evident.
Matthew had never been one to wait for problems to appear before addressing them.
Neglecting these issues now would cost more time and effort down the line.
Most modified soldiers were accustomed to formation-based combat, serving as reliable anchors within their teams.
Matthew didn't intend to force them to change. A forced change wouldn't yield the desired results, and the army's strength did need enhancement.
While battles within the Netheril Empire were rare, they weren't impossible.
A formidable army could significantly raise the enemy's operational costs, serving as a strong deterrent.
Just like those pirates...
For these modified soldiers, more tactics and combat techniques would be developed in the future.
This would require Angela and other military commanders to study them through repeated battles.
The more versatile, flexible, and potential-filled modified soldiers would become Matthew's sharpest blade.
Targeting high-risk, high-value, and highly mobile objectives.
Matthew decided to establish a specialized task force: the Thunder Warriors!
"Quickly provide them with psychological counseling; this issue must always be closely monitored."
Matthew reminded Annie while she took notes, then turned to Sera and asked:
"How is the production of the Thunder Armor going?"
Upon hearing this, Annie couldn't help but perk up her ears.
Having witnessed the formidable power of those 20 sets of magical armor, Annie deeply understood how incredible they were.
They could greatly enhance one's strength, offer tremendous defensive capabilities, and were even quite "lightweight."
Combined with the already powerful modified soldiers, it was simply like giving wings to a tiger!
To create the Thunder Armor, Bay Territory had gathered a group of exceptionally talented researchers.
Reflecting on the recent experiments, Sera carefully shared her impressions:
"The enhancements and defense are excellent, the offensive power is very strong, but energy storage is still lacking, and the weight is a bit on the heavy side…"
Matthew silently nodded. The Thunder Armor was taking shape, but it still needed time to be refined.
However, they didn't have much time left.
Taking a sip of chilled mulberry juice, Matthew said to Sera:
"Bring more people to try them on. Report any issues to the researchers promptly. Since you're the ones wearing them, your opinions carry the most weight."
"Make sure their behavior is well-controlled. Once they start training, their identities will be uniformly arranged."
"Since they've already decided to join Bay Territory and have shown their determination, they are now part of Bay Territory."
A flicker of confusion crossed Sera's face before she nodded resolutely and said firmly:
"Understood. I'll have a proper talk with them."
Sera's words carried a double meaning, and Annie, standing nearby, felt a deep resonance.
She hesitated for a moment but ultimately held back from speaking. Their situations were different, and she had her own responsibilities to bear.
"Hey, I'm going to check out the Thunder Armor. Annie, do you want to come along?"
With a sparkle in her eyes and a cup of creamy ice cream in hand, Yaya extended the invitation to Annie.
Annie nodded without hesitation. She picked up Yaya, glanced at Matthew who was reading the Arcane Journal, and quietly sneaked away.
Noticing her subtle movement, a faint smile curled at the corners of Matthew's mouth. He scanned the Arcane Journal's front page and couldn't help but praise:
"Truly a talent!"
The paid recruitment "advertisement" from Bay Territory not only continued to dominate the front page but also thoughtfully included information on "refugees," "paupers," "slaves," and "adventurers."
Matthew had a faint sense that the other party seemed to have grasped the pulse of Bay Territory's development.
Was it a reminder?
Or a "threat"?
Matthew hoped it was the former. Lightly rubbing his fingertips, he mused about the blockade on Bay Territory, smiling to himself:
"They think we're easy to push around?"
"Let's give them a little surprise, then!"
These guys were too idle; it was time to find them something to do.
In the past, Matthew wouldn't have been stirred by this kind of situation, preferring to focus on steady development.
But now it seemed that even if you didn't provoke others, others would still come looking for trouble.
So, strike first!
Two days later.
Sevinton.
A piece of "gossip" began to spread widely.
Initially leaked by the Adventurers' Guild, after being passed around a few times, it became news that left every spellcaster utterly shocked:
"A massive mithril vein has been discovered in the central region of the Grey Mountains on the New Continent, spanning dozens of kilometers, with some areas being open-pit mines…"
As the rumor spread, the entire Sevinton was in an uproar.
Even though the Netheril Empire controlled the Loken Mining Area, with four or five large rare-metal veins that provided abundant resources for the Empire's growth and expansion,
it was well-known that to ensure the strength and stability of floating cities,
the central areas within these cities had robust super-metal structures for support.
These structures not only prevented the cities from splitting apart under attack but also offered some resistance against spell effects.
However, the so-called treasure trove that was the Loken Mining Area only had a single small mithril vein, and its quality was not very high, with limited output.
After years of mining, it was nearly exhausted.
The Netheril Empire's extensive expansions and half-plane explorations were largely driven by the need to find more mithril veins.
This rare metal, known as the "cornerstone of magic,"
was the primary material for crafting cerulean steel.