With the hope of forming a magical army, Yang Ling followed the old man to their tribe, preparing to further understand the secrets of the magic array.

  As long as there is a magical army stationed here, the Arslan Pass will be impregnable. To say nothing of 10,000 troops, I'm afraid even if the Bantus come with an army of 100,000, they won't be able to take it down. This way, we can gain precious development space and time for Weisen Town.

  For the newly born Visen Realm, a large amount of manpower is needed, a large amount of crystal coins are needed, and a large number of wood factories, crystal mines, and magic beast crystal nuclei resources are needed, but more importantly, a certain development time is needed.

  If it were to be harassed by a large number of bandits or attacked by the Bantu Empire in its early development, the consequences would be unthinkable. Even if it didn't collapse, it would probably be extremely difficult.

  It was precisely because of this that Yang Ling would save Stoff's life at a critical moment, forcing him to cooperate with himself and ease the conflict with the Bantu Empire. It was also precisely because of this that he would come out to suppress bandits as soon as he took control of Weisen Town, in order to obtain a large number of laborers in a short period of time and rapidly develop Weisen Town's strength.

  The goblin tribe is located in a secret valley, through a dark cave, and even needs to take a boat across a several-meter-deep river tunnel to reach their base camp, which is absolutely easy to defend but difficult to attack. Perhaps because of this, even without strong military force and profound magic, they can still pass down in this forest where the weak are preyed upon by the strong.

  The cave in front was gloomy and dark, but the valley behind the cave was like a paradise on earth, full of mulberry trees. As long as it was next spring, the goblins could harvest a lot of mulberries. Unfortunately, the goblins were already out of food now, and if they couldn't get food, it was likely that no one in the entire tribe would be able to hold on until next spring.

  Seeing the goblin's base like a paradise on earth, Yang Ling and his party were shocked. After turning several corners, they saw rows of exquisite wooden houses in the valley, large windmills slowly rotating in the wind, and mountain springs brought from afar, and they couldn't recover for half a day.

  Perhaps it's because they often work, many of the earth spirits' bodies are covered in mud. Adding to that their unusual green and oily skin, they seem incredibly dirty. But seeing the exquisite wooden houses and constantly rotating windmills, no one doubts that they have a pair of nimble hands. It seems that the earth spirits once had a glorious civilization and history, and it's not just an empty rumor.

  "Excuse me, sir!"

  After leading Yang Ling and Agu Su to the largest wooden house, the earth spirit elder ordered the tribesmen to bring several dry fruit, not too many or too few, just enough for one each.

  Yang Ling turned the fruit over and over, looking at it. The earth spirit elder smiled awkwardly. At the same time, several small earth spirits outside the window were swallowing hard, staring at the fruit in everyone's hands without blinking. It seems that the situation of the earth spirit tribe has really reached a desperate point.

  After handing the fruit to the little elves outside the window, Yang Ling smiled and touched their bald heads. Looking at their big-headed and small-bodied appearance, looking at their round and shiny eyes, they couldn't help but think of Crayon Shin-chan from comic books.

  "Sir, let's join Visen Town. We'll serve you. As long as we have a meal to eat, we absolutely won't complain and will do our best. No matter what. And we definitely won't be a burden to you!"

  Look out the window, excited and cheerful, taking turns biting into a small fruit, the earth spirit elder makes another request. If they can't find food again, it's not just about getting through the long winter, maybe many of their people will have trouble making it through tomorrow.

  "Oh, how many people are there in total?" Yang Ling asked calmly. There was still a considerable amount of grain stored in Weisen Town, but that didn't mean they could afford to be extravagant.

  "Counting the elderly and children, there are... " Yang Ling looked at him calmly. The earth spirit elder gritted his teeth, "There are still over two thousand five hundred people."

  Two thousand five hundred people?

  Looking at the slightly flushed face of the earth spirit elder, Yang Ling confirmed that he hadn't misheard and shook his head, unable to believe that a small earth tribe actually had two thousand five hundred people.

  Seeing Yang Ling's silence, the Earth Spirit elder explained nervously.

  Originally, unlike ordinary humans, the earth spirits generally live to be around 150 years old, so the earth spirit tribes usually have many elderly people. The older the tribe is, the more elderly people there are. Oimiya and their tribe have been passed down for thousands of years, naturally they wouldn't be an exception either, with over three hundred elderly people who can no longer work.

  In addition, half a year ago there was a large group of earth spirits wandering around the nearby area, all of whom were dizzy and disoriented from hunger. After understanding their predicament, the elder sent people to bring them over and merged the two tribes into one, suddenly increasing the population by almost a thousand people. It was also because of this that the stored grain originally used for winter would be severely insufficient.

  "Alright, I'll send some people to bring over a few carts of grain for you as emergency relief. After you've eaten your fill, I'll think of another solution!"

  After understanding the situation, Yang Ling avoided discussing the Earth Spirit Elder's request to directly join Visen Town. He decided to understand the specific situation of the magic array first before making a decision. After all, more than 2,500 people were not a small number. Visen Town welcomed 2,500 warriors or laborers, but absolutely did not welcome 2,500 useless mouths that would only waste food.

  Seeing Yang Ling avoiding talking about his own demands, the earth spirit elder also had self-awareness and proactively introduced him to a magic array drawn with demon beast essence. To get a greater return, one must have a greater outlay; being able to obtain several carts of grain was already quite good. If they economized a bit, perhaps it would be enough for the tribe members to hold on for another half month.

  The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment!

  After gaining a deeper understanding of the secrets of the Earth Elemental Magic Formation, Yang Ling finally realized that things were not as simple as he had imagined.

  First, the blood of the beast must be fresh. After being exposed to air for more than an hour, the blood of the beast often loses its proper effect and is not suitable for drawing intricate magic arrays.

  Secondly, the object being depicted also has requirements and is not just anyone or anything. For example, using the fresh blood of a Wind Wolf to depict wind magic on its crystal core will have the best effect; depicting it on an energy-sufficient crystal stone comes second; while depicting it on a human body with insufficient magical power will have a worse effect.

  Finally, the drawing process is extremely cumbersome and has a high failure rate. Even Oimia, the most skilled earth spirit elder in the tribe, can only succeed once every ten attempts. Sometimes, if you're not careful, misoperation can even cause an explosion, and the higher the level of the magic beast, the more terrifying the explosion will be.

  After five consecutive explosions, Yang Ling almost got his eyebrows burned off before he reluctantly gave up. This magic circle drawn with the essence of magical beasts looked similar to talismans on the surface, but was extremely laborious to draw.

  "Oyemia, how many people in your tribe can draw this magic circle?"

  After multiple failures, Yang Ling still didn't give up. As long as there were enough people, and they could mass-produce this magic formation, quickly assembling a large magical army wasn't entirely impossible.

  ******

  Seeing Yang Ling staring at him, the Earth Spirit elder didn't need to think much to understand his meaning. After hesitating for half a day, he said awkwardly: "Currently there are only five, but... after some more time passes, we can add a few more apprentices!"

  Only five?

  Yang Ling shook his head and smiled bitterly. Even if the five of them were busy day and night, they probably couldn't draw a few magic arrays. Not to mention building an army with both attack and defense capabilities, it's likely that even building a team of dozens of people is unknown when it will be completed.

  No wonder there are so many dwarves, but only a few magicians; it's also no wonder that after possessing such powerful abilities, the dwarves are still at the bottom of the food chain and can't even get enough to eat!

  Catch a few goblins and take them back to be laborers, and let the rest fend for themselves?

  Look at the tense earth spirit elder, Yang Ling was silent for a moment. Obviously, if all 2,000 or so earth spirits were brought to Weisen Town, it would be a losing deal.

  "Adult, apart from drawing magic arrays, we can also make various practical tools. Even, we can send brave warriors to help adults in battle!" The earth spirit elder hastily begged for mercy, seeing that the situation seemed unfavorable.

  Facing the land covered with ice and snow, facing the long and cold winter, if there is not enough food, the starving tribesmen will surely be on a dead-end road. At this time, Yang Ling, the leader, is the only hope. If this rare opportunity is missed, the tribesmen may have to wait for death helplessly.

  Send brave warriors to fight for themselves?

  Look at the tense old man, then look at his thin body, thinking of their chaotic formation and fragile defense, Yang Ling shook his head again with a bitter smile. If one day, Weisen Town really had to rely on such an army to fight, it would probably not be far from collapse.

  "Adults, you must save us, adults..." Seeing Yang Ling shake his head again, the earth spirit elder didn't hesitate and led the tribe members to kneel down with a 'thud'.

  Under the lead of the elder, the earth spirits all knelt down, especially some white-bearded old men and women, who were crying uncontrollably. Everyone understood that without Yang Ling's help, no one would be able to get through this cold and long winter.

  "Sir, there is still a lot of stored grain in the castle, isn't it..." Looking at the small earth spirit kneeling on the snowy ground, looking at their sparkling tears and frozen red faces, Agu Su, who was usually silent and taciturn, couldn't help but plead for them.

  Originally, Agu wanted to say a few more words, but looking at Yang Ling's calm expression and the dense array of earthworms on the snowy ground, he helplessly closed his mouth. If there were only dozens of earthworms, it would be fine, but with over 2,500 earthworms, the number was simply too overwhelming.

  "Due to the severe harassment of merchant caravans by bandits, which has affected the development of Weisen Town, I have no choice but to sweep away the tribes that live on both sides of the road and make a living by looting!" Yang Ling continued, looking at the gnomes who were listening intently: "If you are not afraid of hardship, not afraid of death, then you can join my army to fight for me and obtain corresponding rewards!"

  Looking at the densely packed gnomes on the snowy ground, Yang Ling's heart moved and he thought of an idea.

  Although the earth spirits are not strong in combat, they have an advantage in numbers and are familiar with the terrain of the Ladakh Mountains. Forming a foreign mercenary corps to gather information and charge forward to attract the enemy's attention can definitely speed up the sweep of the surrounding indigenous tribes.

  A magic circle capable of instant spellcasting, exquisite craftsmanship, plus a group of earth-elemental soldier spirits.

  Yang Ling understood that taking in this group of earth spirits would require giving up a batch of grain, but in the short term it wouldn't be a loss; in the long run, it was an even better deal.