Magic Industrial Age

Luo Yi had imagined that the Raymond family's treasure trove would be impressive, but he never expected it to be this astonishing.

Inside the enormous space, dozens of stone pillars supported the ceiling, with wooden crates neatly stacked, each filled with various gold ingots.

But even more of it was simply piled on the ground, resembling small mountains, the dazzling light of countless gold coins almost blinding.

Deep Blue quickly assessed the situation, determining that there were at least a million gold coins of various denominations, an extremely exaggerated amount.

Despite Luo Yi accumulating hundreds of thousands in assets in just two years, most of that was in real estate, not gold thalers.

Seeing so many gold coins piled up before him still came as a great shock.

Of course, his reaction was relatively good; he remained fairly calm, while the other three were completely dumbfounded.

Even Oliveira, who was usually expressionless, had his mouth wide open.

The Iron Knight, Phil Zech, even took a few steps forward, but Luo Yi stopped him just as he was about to reach out.

He was somewhat embarrassed, "Lord Earl, I was impolite. It's just that I've never seen so much gold before, and I lost my composure."

"I've never seen so much either; losing composure is normal. The reason I brought you here is that I trust you."

As Luo Yi said this, he looked around, and not finding a suitable object, he simply took out a bullet.

"The reason I stopped you is that these gold coins are dangerous!"

He flicked the bullet out with some force, and it landed on the pile of gold coins, scattering some of them.

From under the gold coins, a monster about the size of a thumb, with a body like a spider and a tail like a scorpion, scurried out.

It hissed in all directions, then picked up a gold coin and buried itself back under the pile.

"Venomous Scorpion Beetles, an inconspicuous but well-hidden beetle with potent venom.

If you were to be blinded by all this gold and get stung, it might not kill you as quickly as an Umbral Netherworm, but it would definitely be painful enough."

The Iron Knight's face twitched, and he simply said, "The Raymond family ancestors were indeed cautious!"

"Alright, never mind these things. The real treasure is actually here."

With that, he led everyone along the edge of the hall to the back of the gold mountain.

There, in a partitioned space, were several doors.

The door closest to him had two words written on it: 'Armor!'

Luo Yi opened it without hesitation and saw rows of humanoid wooden dummies wearing sets of full-body knight armor.

Although the styles varied slightly, each suit gleamed with metallic luster from the inside out.

Some even had magic runes inscribed on them, emitting a faint magical glow, clearly rare magical armor.

Besides these, there were also leather armor, lamellar armor, chainmail, and even armor for horses.

Behind the second door were weapons: all kinds of knightly greatswords, lances, spears, bows, and arrows.

Behind the third door were rare treasures: various corals, pearls, gemstones, and magic cores, also filling the room.

And behind the fourth door were piles of grain and several deep pools of water, clear and slightly sweet.

As for the fifth door, it had the words 'Magic Potions' written on it, but Luo Yi did not open it.

Otto was curious and wanted to take a look, but Luo Yi stopped him.

He asked strangely, "Can't we look in here?"

Luo Yi said, "This is another trap, a deadly one, not a magic potion."

"Besides, magic potions have a limited shelf life; they lose their effectiveness over time. How could there possibly be any here?

And haven't you noticed that there are no magical items here either?"

Otto pondered, "As far as I know, most magical items need to be carefully maintained, otherwise they will lose their magical power over time.

And those magic scrolls are single-use items; they last even less time."

"So, there's no need to collect them!"

"Haven't you guys realized it yet? This place, although called a treasure trove, is actually a preparation made by our ancestors for a comeback.

If things ever reached a truly irreversible point, just entering here and relying on the traps along the way would be enough to wipe out the pursuers.

And the weapons, armor, food, and water here would be enough to sustain hundreds or even thousands of people.

At that point, they would have the capital to make a comeback."

The Iron Knight nodded slightly in agreement, but then said, "Then what's behind that last door?"

"Haven't you realized where this is yet?"

His question was abrupt, and the two were stunned. Finally, the more knowledgeable Iron Knight, Phil Zech, had a flash of insight.

"Umbral Netherworms, Venomous Scorpion Beetles, and this endless corridor... if I remember correctly, this should be the Underdark!"

"I've only heard of it before; I never thought, I never thought that my Flowerling territory would actually have a passage to the Underdark?!"

The Old Continent has a long history. Besides the surface races, there are also passages extending deep underground.

And deep underground, there are vast spaces, complex ecosystems, incomprehensible paths, sentient life, and numerous powerful magical beasts.

Even tracing back to before ancient times, during the Hundred Races War, there were elves driven into the Underdark, eventually evolving into infamous races like the Dark Elves, Gray Dwarves, and Minotaurs.

At one point, the Underdark and the surface world frequently engaged in war, fighting fiercely.

However, as the times changed and the human race completely occupied the Old Continent, the Underdark became almost legendary.

And here, there was actually a passage to the Underdark.

The Raymond family built this treasure trove to accumulate resources for a future comeback.

This place is shrouded in powerful magic, but it's not without a way out.

For example, opening the door labeled 'Magic Potions' would be equivalent to stepping out of the range of the magic shroud and actually entering the Underdark.

At that point, what they would face would be even more bizarre and a hundred times more dangerous than now.

The Raymond family felt secure because this vault was truly located on top of immense danger.

Of course, Luo Yi was fine, but he didn't want to wander around the Underdark.

So, they simply inspected the treasure trove, estimated the approximate amount of resources, and then left.

The only thing they took was five large boxes of various gold coins, roughly equivalent to ten thousand gold thalers.

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Any undertaking requires operating funds. Luo Yi came here to inspect Lion Fort, and to see this treasure trove.

But the most important thing was for these gold coins.

As for those Venomous Scorpion Beetles, Luo Yi used his own blood to disperse them.

The blood of the Raymond family, the aura of the King of Lions, was enough to dispel those specially bred Venomous Scorpion Beetles,

as well as the curse magic attached to the gold coins!

Unexpected, right?

These gold coins had another layer of insurance!

To be honest, if it weren't for ancient records, this treasure trove would really be no different from a man-eating place, truly a trap everywhere!

It's worth mentioning that the route they took back was different from the one they took to get there.

The teleportation gate they used to enter was one-way, only allowing entry, and those Umbral Netherworms could only be killed in the brightly lit room.

The route they took back seemed the same, but it wasn't the same place.

The teleportation gate here only allowed exit, not entry.

Returning to Lion Fortress once again, Luo Yi felt the substantial weight in his dimensional bag, and he felt incredibly strong.

With money, he had confidence!

Driving the carriage back to Lion Manor once again, the original stables had been transformed.

The entire transmission magic array covered a ground area of three meters in diameter, with various complex magic patterns running deep underground. Under the efforts of the mage Mennon and Ms. Palacios, it was already taking shape.

Also at the manor, more than a dozen vassals and knights were waiting for Luo Yi.

The conference hall was only used to discuss major matters and required all vassals to be present.

Under normal circumstances, matters were discussed privately with the Earl of Raymond in his study, where the Earl would make various decisions.

Or a core team of several people would gather to express their opinions, which the Earl would listen to before making a final decision.

Luo Yi had many things to deal with every day, especially in the current situation.

The chaos in Flowerling had not completely subsided, and there were many problems that he had to solve one by one.

That morning, Lord Reagan, Hick Cruz, and Grand Knight Commander Vincent Ackerman all came, each with their own matters.

And Luo Yi, while listening to their reports, continued to deepen his understanding of the specific situation in Flowerling.

For example, Lord Reagan, who was in charge of money, including Flowerling's tax revenue, maritime trade, perfume business, gold exchange, etc.

In other words, he was more inclined to the position of finance director.

Basically, any funds Luo Yi wanted to withdraw had to be disbursed and accounted for through him.

And Lord Hick Cruz was mainly responsible for matters related to magic-powered machinery.

Basically, he was implementing various policies, dispatching personnel, communicating with imperial professionals, and solving various practical problems.

His authority was enormous, mainly because it covered more aspects and required the cooperation of many departments.

Without sufficient power, others would simply ignore him, and since he was most trusted by Earl Karl Raymond, he naturally had the greatest authority.

In addition, in the political system, there was also someone in charge of agriculture.

For example, grain harvests, planting, hunting of wild animals, logging of forests, etc., were all under his control.

There was also someone in charge of criminal punishment: murder, robbery, theft, kidnapping...

These people had to be apprehended, tried, punished, or executed, or assigned to labor, all of which had to be done carefully.

However, these two were unlucky and died in Lion Fortress, and now both positions were vacant.

On the military side, the Lion Knight Order on land and the escort fleet in the seaport maintained their full establishment.

It is worth mentioning that in the process of constantly handling affairs, constantly learning, and constantly implementing policies, time slowly passed.

In the blink of an eye, a week had passed.

On August 12, 312 of the New Gods Calendar, three decrees finally spread throughout Flowerling and showed their effectiveness.

It was late again, but he didn't break his promise!