These mercenaries are no ordinary people. The strongest Mercenary Captain, Valen, even possesses Silver Low Tier strength, a power considered top-notch in some cities on the borders of the Southern Countries. The entire Mercenary Corps is not just any ordinary group; simply binding them with ropes makes it easy for them to break free and escape, hence a considerable amount of manpower is needed for their guard.

Only a new material, one more resilient than rope and suitable for making shackles, can reduce the need for a large number of Beastmen to guard them.

Regarding that material, Austin recalled a certain plan from not long ago — refining copper!

The initial conflict with the Blood Claw Tribe Branch was over a Copper Ore vein near the Blood Claw Tribe's mountain. After the Blood Claw Tribe was defeated, Austin fell into slumber, delaying the commencement of copper refining due to personal reasons.

Now that Austin has awakened, everything in the Dragon Nest Tribe is back on a normal development track, and refining copper naturally becomes part of future plans.

Once copper artifacts are produced, the Dragon Nest Tribe's combat and production capabilities will significantly improve, playing an unrivaled role in the tribe's development.

The preparations for winter have largely been completed by the Dragon Nest Tribe. Crops like kudzu root in the fields are mostly harvested, while perennial plants such as Thorn Fruits are covered with a thick layer of straw to prevent them from freezing. Various fodders are prepared in the livestock enclosures, enough for the wild cattle in the barn as well as other livestock like wild rabbits and wild boars to overwinter. If feed runs short, they would simply slaughter some livestock when they are fattened up.

As for the damaged houses within the Dragon Nest Tribe, due to the necessity to air-dry the newly made mud bricks before firing them in the kiln, there's no quick way to produce enough materials, so this has to be done gradually.

With plenty of manpower now available among the clan members, Austin gathered a large population to first refine some copper artifacts before the cold winter.

Thus, under comprehensive deployment, a large number of Beastmen transported a massive amount of charcoal down from the previous Smoke Tower hill. Using wild cattle to transport it to the Blood Claw Tribe Branch, where the Dragon Nest Beastmen have cleared up the place, built a base on the ruins. This base, centered for future copper refining activities, is directly named the Copper Mine Base by Austin.

A large amount of charcoal was transported to the Copper Mine Base, and simultaneously, Beastmen were dispatched there to start massive mining of Copper Ore from the surrounding Copper Mine veins.

It is worth mentioning that the captured mercenaries are one of the teams responsible for mining Copper Ore, assigned to the dirtiest and most exhausting tasks, leaving them dead tired every day. Although some mercenaries attempted to escape, they were thwarted by the Dragon Nest Beastmen. The one who attempted to escape suffered frightful punishment — collective isolation in the dark room!

Minotaur Saru, one of the guards, didn't know what it felt like to be isolated in the dark room, but every mercenary who emerged from it appeared overwhelmingly grateful, diligently working from then on, with no hint of slacking off.

Vast quantities of Copper Ore were mined, piling up into small hills nearby.

Simultaneously, not far from the base, guided by the Goblin engineers in the Manufacturing Workshop, high furnaces of various sizes and shapes were erected, some one to two meters, others two to three meters — five in total, primarily to test which design performed best before determining the optimal model for mass production.

With charcoal, high furnaces, and Copper Ore all prepared, everything was ready; however, just as Austin prepared to begin refining copper,

the cold winter,

descended once again overnight.

The chilling Water Attribute cold wave from the endless ocean swept across the sky and earth like a tidal tsunami overnight. The sky, encased in somber clouds, saw vast snowflakes descending, carrying a bitter cold wave, transforming the entire land into a silver-clad landscape overnight.

"Alas, we can only halt for a while,"

Inside Dragon Nest, watching the massive snowfall and the transformation of the land into azure icy waterscapes by the distant cold wave, Austin could only helplessly stay inside Dragon Nest, waiting for the passing of the cold wave.

A cold wave that could transform the previous heat into a snow-clad winter wonderland overnight was something ordinary Beastmen could never withstand.

In the first few days of the cold winter, the world-freezing cold flow on the sky occasionally cascaded down to earth by air currents, risking freezing any creature caught in it into an ice sculpture. Only by staying indoors, insulated by the walls, could one survive until the falling cold air was neutralized by the ground temperature.

The frightening cold wave descending from the sky was referred to by the Beastmen living in the Kawa Great Forest as "the colorless Death God from the heavens." Some Beastmen call it the "Wingless Angel," descending silently and invisibly, unpredictable, rendering everything into ice sculptures before one could notice, truly terrifying and impossible to guard against.

Although this dreadful cold wave was threatening, it mostly resided thousands of meters high in the atmosphere, occurring with a low probability, and usually only existed in the initial days of the cold winter.

With time, the terrifying cold currents in the sky gradually dissipate, leaving the outside world white and snowy, yet losing the immediate threat of freezing into ice sculptures by falling cold streams.

Despite the low occurrence, its existence was undeniable. Austin had no intention of needlessly sacrificing his clan members; waiting a few days wasn't a chore, hence no further actions were taken until the cold wave subsided, restarting copper refining.

During the initial days of cold winter, there was little to accomplish; Beastmen mostly stayed indoors, with even outdoor training canceled, resorting to practicing their Breathing Technique indoors.

Austin was not idle either. Seizing these leisurely days, he repeatedly stimulated his body muscles with currents generated by his Magic Power, trying to control the massively surged Magic Power post-awakening.

Austin didn't know why his growth was so fast, achieving years' progress rivaling that of a typical dragon juvenile over two to three decades, but he was certain that the self-developed current stimulation exercise played a significant role in his growth.

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