Chapter 362: Chapter 331: Times Have Changed

Although the war between the Silver Moon Race and the Steel Mane Tribe had ended, the aftermath remained incredibly complex and tedious. The main focus was the takeover and reorganization of the Thundering River Basin.

The Steel Mane Tribe had developed on this land for over a thousand years, expanding wildly over the last century. They left behind countless strategic strongholds and resource points. Bases of all sizes were scattered across the crisscrossing wilderness, river valleys, and hills. Every single location required personnel to inventory, register, and officially take control.

Hundreds of thousands of Beastman captives and Vassal Races members also had to be individually screened and resettled. Some needed to be suppressed, others persuaded to surrender, and the rest forced into slavery. Simply organizing these affairs was enough to run any coordinator off their feet. Yet, every single one of these matters piled up on Eleanor’s desk.

As a result, the Elf Maiden had barely left the Ninefold Celestial Tower these past few days. Aside from occasionally returning to her quarters for a brief rest, she spent nearly all her time in the Celestial Essence Hall.

When Anton walked into the Celestial Essence Hall, he saw Eleanor sitting behind a long desk. The documents in front of her were stacked like a small mountain, nearly obscuring her entire figure. Furlo stood beside her, holding a scroll of documents. She read the recorded items in a low voice, occasionally pausing to let Eleanor think and write down annotations before continuing.

Seeing Anton arrive, Furlo quickly stopped reading and bowed in greeting. Eleanor also looked up and offered him a faint smile, resting her pen beside the inkwell. Anton waved his hand dismissively. Taking the hint, Furlo closed the document, bowed to them both, and turned to leave the Celestial Essence Hall. The heavy wooden doors closed behind her, completely isolating the sounds from outside.

Anton sat down across the long desk. His gaze swept over the mountain of documents as he asked with a smile, "Still not done with work?"

"Almost." Eleanor leaned back in her chair and let out a long sigh. "There is far more over in the Thundering River Basin than we imagined. Just inventorying and taking over the strategic strongholds and resource points kept us busy for nearly two months. Fortunately, the most tedious parts are basically handled."

She reached out and pulled a folded roll of sheepskin paper from the side, unrolling it flat across the desk between them. It was a meticulously drawn map, marking the main rivers, mountains, and towns of the Thundering River Basin in different colored inks. Eleanor’s fingertip traced over the locations marked with red circles one by one.

"Most of the strategic locations and resource points aren’t worth mentioning. They are just standard mines, Beast Arenas, and food production areas. We can just take them over according to Clan conventions. The only thing that requires your decision is these three Magic Stone Veins."

Anton looked down at the sheepskin paper. It concisely detailed the reserves and qualities of the three veins. Two of them had above-average reserves with stable vein trends and decent quality, belonging to the type that could yield steady outputs for many years. The other was of higher quality but had a shallow vein. With limited proven reserves, it likely couldn’t be mined for long.

"Personnel have already been dispatched to garrison all three Magic Stone Veins, but mining hasn’t resumed yet. I wanted to wait for your decision before proceeding," Eleanor said.

Anton didn’t need to think for long. He pointed at the two Magic Stone Veins with higher reserves. "Seal off these two veins for now. Leave them untouched. Later, I will go set up the Qiankun Spirit Transformation Array to convert them into Spirit Stone Veins. The remaining one can be mined as usual."

"Alright, I’ll arrange for people to seal them and prepare the conversion setup right away." Eleanor nodded and took notes with her pen, not particularly surprised by this answer.

Now that the Spirit Stone core had been invented, the advent of Spirit Stone Technology was a foreseeable certainty. Once Spirit Stone Technology was promoted and popularized, the Clan’s demand for Spirit Stones would inevitably skyrocket to an astonishing level in a very short time. She naturally understood the logic of preparing for a rainy day. Converting a few more Spirit Stone Veins now was much better than scrambling in panic later.

"How have the other factions in the Thundering River Basin behaved since the war?" Anton asked.

Eleanor smiled. "The moment the Steel Mane Tribe collapsed, the remaining factions in the Thundering River Basin immediately sent envoys to pledge their submission. They are mostly minor powers with no real ambition, but they fell over themselves rushing to be the first. Some even volunteered to become Vassal Races of our Clan.

"However, I didn’t agree right away. We still need to evaluate them before making a decision."

Times had changed. The current Silver Moon Race was no longer that minor faction from the past that would unhesitatingly accept any racial power willing to defect. Not only did they possess formidable military might, but they also controlled a massive trade network. By becoming a Vassal Race of the Clan, one wouldn’t just gain protection; they would receive tangible, practical benefits. This was exactly what many small factions dreamed of.

In the present eastern continent, many small and medium-sized factions viewed becoming a Vassal Race of the Silver Moon Race as a highly coveted prize, practically begging to join. However, since the Silver Moon Race had tightened its recruitment standards, races that lacked specialized skills or practical usefulness now found it very difficult to get an opportunity.

"There’s no rush to decide. Take your time evaluating them. Quality is more important than quantity."

"My thoughts exactly." Eleanor nodded, then shifted the topic. "Also, the number of Half-Elves the Clan has recruited recently has increased significantly.

"Ever since news of the Steel Mane Tribe’s annihilation spread, the stream of Half-Elves coming to seek refuge with our Clan hasn’t stopped. As of yesterday, our total number of registered Half-Elves exceeded sixty thousand. Right now, Half-Elves make up the largest population among all the Clan’s Vassal Races."

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