Five hundred Shadow Assassins stood within the armory.

  There was no standing posture, no rise and fall of breath. Five hundred bck silhouettes filled every inch of the workshop. They were half a head shorter than the Great Berserkers, cd in dark grey soft armor with thin-soled leather boots and twin short bdes at their waists.

  Unlike the Berserkers, they carried no greataxes, wore no heavy pte, and possessed no obvious muscur build. The only commonality was their eyes—empty, unmoving, and unblinking.

  Lin Yuan circled the assassin in the front row.

  The surface of the soft armor featured intricate patterns—not decorations, but micro-stealth arrays. He reached out and touched it; the moment his finger brushed the armor, the assassin’s body began to fade.

  It wasn't just invisibility. It was integration.

  The assassin’s outline merged with the forging press behind him, synchronizing in color, texture, and light. When Lin Yuan retracted his hand, the assassin returned to a solid state.

  "Duration of stealth?"

  A line of text popped up on the system panel:

  【Shadow Assassin Stealth: Unlimited duration. Deactivates upon attack, automatically restores after a kill.】

  Lin Yuan closed the panel.

  Good enough.

  He walked to the armory entrance and pushed open the rolling iron door. The snow outside had thinned, and the steel fortress was but a bck silhouette in the night. The Gatlings atop the walls had cooled, their blue runes dim, leaving only the patrolling Berserkers moving between the battlements.

  Karl ran over from beneath the wall.

  The old butler’s severed arm had long since grown back, but he had developed a habit of resting his right hand on his left arm, constantly confirming its presence.

  "Young Master, the Dragon has returned with the third load of ore. It has been logged into the warehouse."

  "Good."

  "Also... there is news from Chief Executor Qian Duoduo." Karl pulled a fist-sized stone from his robe, embedded with a dark red micro-mana crystal. A transmission stone.

  Lin Yuan took it, and the crystal lit up.

  Qian Duoduo’s voice squeezed out of the stone, accompanied by wind noise and the heavy fpping of dragon wings.

  "Master Lin! I’ve arrived! I’ve just reached the outskirts of the North Border City! Bart’s men have set up checkpoints and are inspecting strictly, but I have the Chamber of Commerce’s pass. Getting in won't be a problem."

  "Information spread?"

  "Consider it done! I had my workers drink and brag at every station along the way. We made it sound incredibly convincing—that the beast tide colpsed half your walls, that seventy percent of the Berserkers are dead, and that you’re bedridden, coughing up blood. I even added a detail about you finding a fist-sized Grade-S mana crystal from the tide but not knowing how to use it, desperately seeking a buyer for medicine money."

  Lin Yuan pced the transmission stone on the table.

  "Bart’s reaction?"

  "I haven't entered the city yet, but I encountered two groups of Bart’s scouts on the road, all flying toward your direction. They aren't high-level, likely just routine reconnaissance."

  "Continue. Once you're in the city, leak the news of the 'Ancient Alchemical Relic' specifically to those close to Bart. Not to Bart himself—find his butler or aides."

  "Understood! One more thing—" Qian Duoduo’s voice dropped, "I heard a rumor on the road. Bart has already begun summoning his coalition. It's not the full force yet, but the first vanguard seems to be mobilizing. A small scale, about three thousand men—all elite Wolf Riders."

  Lin Yuan said nothing.

  He tapped his fingers twice on the tabletop.

  "When does the vanguard depart?"

  "Unsure. They might have already left, or they might be waiting. From the North Border City to your location, it’s two and a half days by Wolf Rider forced march."

  "Understood. Go into the city and handle the business. I’ll contact you ter."

  The mana crystal went dark.

  Lin Yuan tossed the stone back to Karl.

  "Old Karl, the fortress is in your hands. Keep the Gatlings on the walls on standby. Berserkers are to maintain regur patrols. Use the transmission stone to find me if anything happens."

  Karl froze for a moment.

  "Young Master, you’re heading out?"

  "To take something."

  Lin Yuan turned back into the armory.

  The five hundred Shadow Assassins remained in pce, motionless.

  "Move out."

  Five hundred bck silhouettes stepped forward simultaneously. No footsteps. Thin-soled leather boots stepped on the iron floor without a sound. They filed out of the armory door, passed through the tunnel under the wall, and exited the fortress via a side gate.

  Lin Yuan walked in the middle of the group.

  He wore a bck leather overcoat scavenged from the Baron’s wardrobe at Bckwind Fort, the colr turned up to hide half his face. At his waist sat the modified rge-caliber revolver, its chamber loaded with six armor-piercing rounds.

  Once outside the fortress, the five hundred assassins dispersed.

  It wasn't a formation dispersal; they vanished.

  The moment the stealth arrays activated, five hundred people completely erased their visual presence. Lin Yuan stood in the snow and looked back—he saw nothing. Not even footprints. The assassins' boots had a pressure-reducing structure, leaving only faint marks in the snow that the wind instantly erased.

  But he could sense them. On the system panel, five hundred green dots were evenly distributed within a thirty-meter radius around him, moving in sync.

  Northwest. Fifty kilometers.

  The mining area.

  It took Lin Yuan six hours.

  The nights on the wastend were long. The Winternds received less than four hours of sunlight a day; the rest was darkness and snow. He walked steadily, the deadmen's pace matching his own as the unit moved soundlessly across the tundra.

  In the early morning, a range of low hills appeared ahead.

  In the valley between the hills, several patches of firelight flickered in the darkness.

  Lin Yuan crouched behind a frozen dirt slope and opened the system's area scan.

  A blue scanning ring pulsed outward from him, marking all life forms within a one-kilometer radius as red dots.

  The scale of the mine was smaller than Qian Duoduo had described.

  A circle of wooden fences enclosed an area roughly two hundred meters square. The fences cked even basic defensive enchantments, with sharpened stakes poking outward, their tips uncleaned of snow.

  Inside the fence were six wooden buildings: three barracks, two warehouses, and a duty office at the mine entrance. The entrance faced east, locked with an iron gate.

  A total of 472 red dots.

  Over three hundred were crowded in the barracks, likely sleeping. The remaining hundred or so were scattered around the fence and between buildings, most gathered around the rgest bonfire.

  Lin Yuan zoomed in on the scan.

  There were over seventy guards by the bonfire. They sat around the fmes with bowls or cups, several clearly pying drinking games. Two leaned against stakes, heads lolling, already asleep.

  The perimeter patrol was even more ridiculous. The watchtower at the east gate should have held two men, but the scan showed only one red dot—and it was in the wrong pce, at the base of the tower rather than the top. Likely down to warm himself.

  Qian Duoduo had said the narrow path to the west wasn't normally used, and the scan confirmed this. The fence there wasn't even finished, leaving a gap wide open.

  Lin Yuan closed the scan.

  Without standing up, he slid his finger across the panel, issuing a unified command to the five hundred Shadow Assassins.

  【Target: All mine guards.】【Mode: Silent elimination.】【Priority: Watchtower → Patrols → Bonfire Area → Barracks.】【Constraint: Zero noise, zero escapes.】

  The five hundred green dots moved.

  From his position, the snow appeared empty. No figures, no footsteps, no change in the air.

  But on the system panel, the green dots were converging on the mining area in a fan shape.

  The first red dot to vanish was the one at the base of the east watchtower.

  The dot blinked once and went out. No sound traveled over.

  Then, the three patrols on the west side of the fence. Three red dots vanished in the same second.

  North side, two. Gone.

  South side, four. Gone.

  The green dots had penetrated inside the fence.

  The seventy-plus red dots by the bonfire began to vanish one by one.

  The speed was rapid. Three to four per second.

  Lin Yuan stood up and began walking toward the mine.

  By the time he reached the east gate, the base of the watchtower was empty. There was nothing on the ground—not even blood. He looked down. The assassins' short bdes were forged of refined steel, their edges sharp enough to slit jugurs while the system automatically recovered the falling corpses.

  The corpses vanished faster than they could hit the ground.

  Before a body could even drop, it was enveloped in a blue light film, transforming into leaping energy digits on the panel.

  Lin Yuan walked through the east gate into the mining area.

  The bonfire was still burning. Several half-full wine bowls sat on wooden benches, bone tiles were scattered on the ground, and a pair of boots sat nearby—some guard had taken them off to warm his feet.

  The people were gone. The bowls remained. The wine was still steaming.

  The red dots at the barracks continued to vanish.

  Lin Yuan could hear faint sounds. Not screams, but the rustle of fabric. The assassins were lifting the barracks' curtains, walking in, and walking out. A slight sway as they entered, another as they exited.

  Two minutes ter, the st red dot on the panel flickered out.

  【Silent Elimination Complete.】【Kills: 472.】【Recovery Complete: Energy Points +9,440, Gold +1,886.】

  The entire mining area went silent, save for the crackling of wood in the fire.

  Lin Yuan walked to the mine entrance, where a rusty lock hung on the iron gate. He didn't use a key. He pulled out his revolver, struck it with the grip, and the lock core shattered. The gate creaked open.

  The tunnel sloped downward, wide enough for three people to walk abreast. On the walls, obvious ore veins were visible—bck iron and grey-blue mana crystal ore intertwined, reflecting a dim luster under the torchlight.

  An associated mine. The quality was indeed high.

  Lin Yuan pulled up a new building option from the system panel.

  【Automated Mining Puppet ×50: Consumes 10,000 Energy Points + 2,000 Gold.】

  Confirmed.

  Fifty waist-high metal puppets materialized from the void. Their design was simple—cylindrical iron bodies, four mechanical legs, and two mechanical arms with drill bits. No heads; they didn't need them.

  Once activated, the puppets swarmed into the tunnel. The hum of the drills echoed in the pit. Rocks were shattered, and ore was grabbed by mechanical arms and transmitted directly into the system warehouse.

  A row of real-time digits appeared in the top right of the panel.

  【Ore Collection Rate: Bck Iron 12 tons/hour, Associated Mana Crystal 0.8 tons/hour.】【System Warehouse Capacity: Connected.】

  The numbers climbed. With every refresh, the ore reserves in the warehouse increased.

  Lin Yuan walked out of the tunnel and sat by the bonfire. He picked up a wine bowl that was still warm and sniffed it—cheap grain liquor, harsh on the throat. He set it down.

  The upgrade conditions for Level 3 had long since been met. Energy points were enough. Gold was enough.

  But the upgrade also required a hard condition: ore reserves reaching 100,000 tons.

  The mining puppets’ rate was twelve tons per hour. 100,000 tons would take roughly 8,300 hours. Too slow.

  Lin Yuan scrolled down the panel.

  【Acceleration Option: Deploy Direct Mineral Pipeline (Consumes 50,000 Energy Points). Collection rate increased to 120 tons/hour.】

  Fifty thousand energy points. His current total was over 280,000. Subtracting the costs of the assassins and the dragon, he had about 260,000 left. Enough.

  Confirmed.

  The ground vibrated.

  On the rock wall of the tunnel, a metal pipe over a meter in diameter appeared, extending from the depths of the mine to the surface. Its surface was engraved with blue transmission arrays. The end of the pipe connected to a ft metal ptform—the physical interface for the system warehouse.

  The collection rate digits refreshed.

  【Bck Iron Ore: 127 tons/hour.】【Associated Mana Crystal: 8.3 tons/hour.】

  100,000 tons would take about 800 hours. Thirty-three days.

  Still too slow.

  Lin Yuan stared at the panel for a few seconds.

  He switched to the Level 3 upgrade screen and re-read the conditions.

  【Level 3 Upgrade Conditions】【Gold: ≥1,000,000 ?】【Energy Points: ≥200,000 ?】【Ore Reserves: ≥100,000 tons ? (Current: 2,874 tons)】

  A deficit of over 97,000 tons.

  Lin Yuan closed the panel and stood up.

  He walked outside the mine and stood by the remains of the east gate watchtower, looking around.

  Behind the northern hills, the muffled sound of drills continued. To the west, the wastend was empty; the snow had stopped, and the grey horizon met the frozen earth.

  He opened the panel again and scrolled to an option he hadn't noticed before.

  【Deep Mineral Survey (Consumes 10,000 Energy Points): Scan mineral distribution within 500 meters underground.】

  Confirmed.

  The result popped up three seconds ter. A 3D map of the mineral veins unfolded—blue lines marking mana crystals and bck blocks representing iron ore yers.

  The surface tunnels had only scratched the shallowest yer.

  Two hundred meters down sat a massive associated mineral sphere. Iron and mana crystals were mixed with extreme density. The estimated total reserve was marked beside it.

  【Deep Sphere Estimated Reserves: Bck Iron 2.87 million tons, Associated Mana Crystal 410,000 tons.】

  2.87 million tons.

  Lin Yuan increased the number of mining puppets from fifty to two hundred.

  He deployed three more direct pipelines, pointing toward three different sectors of the deep sphere.

  【Ore Collection Rate Updated: Bck Iron 540 tons/hour, Associated Mana Crystal 35 tons/hour.】

  100,000 tons would take 185 hours. Less than eight days.

  Not fast enough, but no faster was needed.

  Because another number was jumping on the panel.

  The mineralized shells and beast bones collected from the earlier tide, when processed through the recovery station, could be converted into equivalent ore.

  Lin Yuan clicked the recovery station inventory.

  【Convertible Inventory: 9,247 Iron Shells, 14,088 Bones...】【One-click convert to basic ore?】

  Confirmed.

  【Conversion Complete: Obtained 96,412 tons of Bck Iron equivalent.】

  The ore reserve digit jumped significantly.

  【Ore Reserves: 99,286 tons.】

  Short by 714 tons.

  The puppets were still digging at 540 tons per hour.

  Lin Yuan sat by the bonfire for eighty minutes.

  He sat alone. Five hundred Shadow Assassins were scattered around the perimeter, maintaining stealth. One round of firewood burned out; he added a few more, and the fmes grew bright again.

  The number on the panel ticked past 100,000.

  【Ore Reserves: 100,006 tons ?】【All Lv3 Upgrade Conditions Met.】【Upgrade?】

  Lin Yuan stood up.

  He kicked the bonfire apart; sparks flew everywhere, sizzling as they died in the snow.

  Confirm.

  The panel exploded.

  Not a pop-up, but the entire interface surged from the bottom with a massive influx of new icons, lists, and categories. The previously grey branches of the tech tree lit up, blue light bleeding from the tips to illuminate every node.

  【Ding—Consumed Gold 1,000,000, Energy Points 200,000, Ore 100,000 tons.】【Universal Soldier System Upgraded to Lv3: Heavy Bombing Era!】

  A new unit list unfolded:

  【Mana Tank (Unlocked): Consumes 5,000 Gold + 8,000 Energy + 50 tons High-grade Ore/Unit.】【Alchemical Cannon (Unlocked): Consumes 2,000 Gold + 3,000 Energy + 20 tons High-grade Ore/Unit.】【High-Explosive Armor-Piercing Shells (Unlocked): Consumes 50 Energy/Round, Auto-replenish.】【Heavy Grenadier (Unlocked): Consumes 500 Gold + 1,000 Energy/Unit.】【Gryphon Paratrooper (Unlocked): Consumes 3,000 Gold + 5,000 Energy + 10 Mana Crystals/Unit.】

  Lin Yuan’s finger slid across the panel, reading line by line.

  The tank parameters unfolded: 120mm smoothbore gun, composite magic armor, mana-driven engine, top speed 40km/h. Armor thickness capable of withstanding all physical and magical attacks below the Silver rank.

  The Alchemical Cannon parameters unfolded: 150mm caliber, effective range three kilometers. Can fire high-explosive fragmentation, armor-piercing, and incendiary shells.

  Lin Yuan finished reading the parameters.

  He closed the panel and stood in the center of the mine, looking up at the sky.

  A sliver of grey appeared on the eastern horizon. Dawn was coming.

  He had spent most of the night here. The mine was taken, the system was upgraded, and new technology was unlocked.

  Next, it was time to go back and build.

  The transmission stone lit up.

  Red.

  Qian Duoduo’s voice exploded from the stone, filled with panting and panic.

  "Master Lin! Something’s happened! Bart moved faster than I expected—he didn't wait for the full coalition! He sent a vanguard! Three thousand Wolf Riders, all elites above the Bronze rank! They’ve already left! Their direction is your fortress!"

  Lin Yuan brought the stone to his ear.

  "ETA?"

  "By Wolf Rider speed... one and a half days at most!"

  Lin Yuan pocketed the stone.

  He opened the system panel, and his finger tapped on the summoning interface for the Alchemical Cannon.

  Quantity: 10.

  Confirm.