Chapter 182: Crafting Mithril Equipment
"Great King, all the mithril ore is here!"
Li Meng glanced at the convoy of carriages.
There were more than ten of them, forming a rather grand procession.
Each carriage was drawn by two massive wild boars.
"Go and call Benben out!"
Gobu Ge quickly turned and ran deep into the Iron Cavern.
Before long, a massive figure emerged from the cavern.
"Benben, let's go. The boss is taking you to a place."
Li Meng was the king of the goblins, but to Benben and Yue E, he was their leader.
Hearing this, Benben quickened its steps as it emerged from the Iron Cavern.
"Boss, boss, where are we going?"
"To the Slime Lake!"
With that, Li Meng prepared to board one of the carriages.
As soon as he stepped onto the footboard, a loud "crack" echoed.
The footboard broke under his weight, leaving Li Meng with an awkward smile.
Although his body had shrunk in size, his weight had not decreased.
The transformation skill not only reduced his size but also increased his body's density.
Shaking his head helplessly, Li Meng waved his hand.
"Let's move!"
At his command, the convoy set off.
There were three roads outside the Iron Cavern: one leading west, one east, and one south.
To prosper, one must first build roads.
As a transmigrator, Li Meng understood the importance of infrastructure.
Roads not only improved travel efficiency but also accelerated the mobilization of goblin troops between settlements.
The long convoy headed east along the road, with Li Meng and Benben following behind.
Time passed as the convoy continued eastward.
That Night
The forest was quiet.
The creaking sound of wooden wheels echoed along the forest path.
A full moon hung high in the sky, its silvery light softly illuminating the darkness of the road.
On this forest path, the convoy steadily advanced.
At the rear of the convoy, Li Meng looked up at the full moon in the sky.
This world's moon was almost identical to Earth's, only slightly larger.
The serene night and the sight of the moon made Li Meng drift into thought.
Memories from Earth flashed through his mind, from childhood to adulthood.
"Whew!"
Under the moonlight, Li Meng exhaled deeply.
"It seems like I can't afford to stay idle!"
With a grin, he brushed away his thoughts and refocused.
The Next Afternoon
A wide ice bridge suddenly appeared over the Goblin River.
The convoy was crossing the river via the ice bridge.
At the front, goblins were scattering river sand onto the ice.
"Spread more! Spread more!"
"Don't overdo it. Carrying the sand is tiring!"
"Hurry up, you lazy fools!"
Under their leader's scolding, the goblins on the ice bridge scrambled to work.
Despite the sand layer, the wild boars pulling the carriages occasionally slipped on the ice.
It took over an hour for the convoy to successfully cross the river.
On the southern bank stood a makeshift dock.
Nearby, bamboo rafts lined the shore, and idle goblins could be seen loitering around the dock.
The dock facilitated the transport of goods between the northern and southern settlements.
As the convoy disappeared into the forest, the goblins at the dock sniffed the air.
"I think I smell the boss's boss!"
"Me too!"
"I saw Benben, but not the boss's boss."
"Neither did I."
The goblins' noses were highly sensitive, able to identify companions from afar.
The Following Day
By midday, the convoy arrived at Slime Lake.
The usually tranquil lake became bustling with activity as the convoy approached.
The carriages stopped just five meters from the water's edge.
Nearly a hundred goblins efficiently unloaded the mithril ore, carefully piling it on the shore.
And so, Li Meng began crafting mithril equipment.
Busy Days
The hustle and bustle at Slime Lake continued for several days.
One morning...
"Boss, can this stuff really make armor?"
By the lakeside, Benben stood before a massive wooden basin, kneading the soft, silvery liquid within.
"No, but it can make inner armor to wear underneath."
Mithril's nemesis was water slime mucus, making it unwise to craft pure mithril armor.
Most mithril equipment was coated with an iron layer, serving as both protection and disguise.
However, such iron-plated mithril equipment was fragile.
Moreover, mithril was exceptionally dense and heavy, making it impractical for full armor.
Typically, mithril was best suited for weapon crafting.
Looking across the lakeshore, numerous furnaces could be seen, surrounded by goblins hard at work.
They retrieved iron molds from the furnaces, preparing to shape the mithril.
Mithril was water-reactive, liquefying in water slime mucus.
Thus, iron molds were essential for shaping it.
By pouring liquid mithril into iron molds and then baking them in the furnaces, the mucus would evaporate, and the mithril would solidify.
Mithril's density far exceeded steel's, making the two materials incompatible.
The furnace's temperature wasn't sufficient to melt steel, allowing the solidified mithril to be easily removed from the molds.
Upon discovering mithril's liquefaction in water slime mucus, Li Meng experimented with various methods to shape it.
"Boss, what is inner armor?"
Li Meng picked up a small mithril ring from a nearby basin.
The ring was tiny, with a diameter of less than two centimeters.
When thousands of these rings were interlinked, they formed a nearly indestructible inner armor.
"This is it, Benben. Don't worry, you'll see soon enough."
The purpose of bringing Benben was to craft inner armor for it as well.
Otherwise, Li Meng wouldn't have transported all the mithril ore here.
"Benben, where's Wangwang?"
When Li Meng returned to the Throne Tribe, he had left Wangwang with Benben.
Wangwang enjoyed hot environments, evident from its reddish skin.
"Wangwang ate fire crystal stones and fell asleep!"
Wangwang ate fire crystal stones?
Li Meng was taken aback.
Fire crystal stones weren't magic crystals—could they even be eaten?
"Benben, has anything unusual happened to Wangwang?"
"Unusual?"
Benben scratched its smooth helmet-like head. After a while, it nodded.
"Wangwang spat fire and then fell asleep!"
Spat fire?
Li Meng's expression turned thoughtful.
It seemed Skurg could consume fire crystal stones to evolve.
Grinning, a spark of anticipation gleamed in his eyes.
Once he returned, he'd check on Wangwang.
What kind of stats would Wangwang have after evolving?
Changes at Slime Lake
Time passed day by day.
For the water slimes in the lake, life had drastically changed since the goblins arrived.
Their once carefree days were gone.
Adding insult to injury, the goblins had even lit fires on the lakeshore, making the slimes restless.
Many slimes wanted to flee their homes, but they didn't dare leave the lake.
Outside the water, they became extremely vulnerable.