Chapter 345 - 317: Means of Restraint

Chapter 345: Chapter 317: Means of Restraint

Although the war had ended, the subsequent takeover and administration were far more trivial and mentally taxing than the battles themselves.

City-states of all sizes, scattered tribes dependent on them, resource nodes, mineral veins, and Magic Plant growth zones scattered throughout the Red Blood Fertile Soil—all needed to be inventoried, have their ownership reassigned, and be registered.

These tasks alone were enough to keep the Document Hall swamped.

A month passed before Eleanor finally untangled the most burdensome of these affairs. Carrying a thick dossier, she found Anton to report to him in person.

"The thirteen city-states in the Red Blood Fertile Soil have all been taken over. With the cooperation of the Dark Elf Queens and the City-State Lords, the process was smooth and almost entirely without incident."

"The remaining small and medium powers saw which way the wind was blowing and mostly surrendered voluntarily. Only four or five small tribes held out and resisted stubbornly, but they were quickly suppressed."

"Currently, all armies in the Red Blood Fertile Soil have been disarmed. Following the Clan’s established customs, all tribal forces that surrendered voluntarily are being incorporated as Vassal Races and given the corresponding status and accommodations."

"As for those tribal forces that dared to resist, including the thirteen city-state powers of the Red Blood Alliance, all their members have been enslaved. They are being sent in batches to the various mining areas to fill labor shortages."

Anton nodded slightly after listening, not asking for details.

After a series of wars, the Clan had developed a fairly mature process for post-war reorganization and handling the aftermath.

Besides, Eleanor had always been flawlessly meticulous in handling her duties, so he was not worried in the slightest.

"The lower-level members of these forces are relatively easy to manage, but the mid- and High-Tier combatants are more troublesome." Eleanor closed the dossier and looked up at Anton. "I’m mainly talking about the Golden Tier elites, and the Legendary Tier Dark Elf Queens and City-State Lords."

"These people are too strong. Imprisoning them would require a lot of manpower to guard, and sending them to the mines as slaves isn’t safe either. The slightest lapse in vigilance, and they could very well stir up trouble."

"Especially the Dark Elves. It’s just not in their nature to be content doing hard labor. Even if we force them into the mines, they might pretend to submit, but you can bet they’ll be secretly plotting their escape."

"I was wondering if there’s a more suitable way to handle them."

Anton smiled. "Sending them to the mines as slaves would indeed be a waste."

"Instead of having them holed up underground digging rocks, we should put them to work in exploration."

"They’re quite powerful, and having lived in the Dark Nether Realm for years, they’re much more familiar with the terrain and the distribution of subterranean races than we are. Adding them to the exploration teams would not only increase efficiency but also reduce the military burden on Nine Nether City."

Eleanor’s brow furrowed slightly. "That may be true, but I’m afraid that once they leave Nine Nether City and are out of our direct supervision, they’ll try everything to escape. We can’t have the Guardian Divine Generals watching them all the time."

The subterranean races have a weak sense of tribal loyalty. Even using their own people as leverage might not be effective.

Especially the Dark Elves.

Their ruthlessness and cruelty were ingrained in their very bones.

As long as it benefited them, they couldn’t care less about the survival of their kin or clan.

Unless we can hold their lives in our hands, putting them in the exploration teams would be like planting a ticking time bomb right next to us.

Anton smiled faintly, as if he had expected this question. He casually took out a tome and placed it on the table, pushing it toward Eleanor.

She lowered her gaze.

Five words were written on the cover: *Blood Prison True Demon Art*.

Eleanor paused, stunned for a moment, and looked up at Anton with a questioning gaze.

"This is a Power Cultivation Technique," Anton explained. "Cultivators can temper their bodies by devouring the blood essence of all living things. At higher levels, they can even gain a degree of control over blood. Its cultivation speed is not slow. While it can’t compare to a top-tier legacy like the Eight Desolates Prison-Suppression Scripture, it’s still much stronger than an ordinary Power Cultivation Technique."

"But it has a side effect. At regular intervals, the user must consume a specific Pill to suppress the backlash from their blood energy. Otherwise, they will disintegrate from the inside out."

Upon hearing this, Eleanor’s eyes lit up slightly. She already understood Anton’s intention.

"Are you planning to use this Cultivation Technique to shackle those Dark Elves?"

"That’s right." Anton smiled and nodded.

In the Cultivation Realm, the *Blood Prison True Demon Art* was by no means a top-tier legacy. Its cultivation speed couldn’t compare to methods that led directly to the Dao, and its side effect nullified its slight advantage over other Cultivation Techniques of the same tier, making it rather impractical.

But in the current situation, it was perfect for the job.

"The bloodline of the Dark Elves shares a common origin with our Elf Race, so they should have no problem cultivating the *Blood Prison True Demon Art*. And once they start practicing this Cultivation Technique, they will have to regularly consume the Blood Prison True Demon Pill to suppress the backlash. Otherwise, death is their only way out."

"As long as we control the production of the Blood Prison True Demon Pill, we can keep the Dark Elves in check and make them obediently serve the Clan."

"At the same time, this Cultivation Technique will also enhance their strength, allowing them to serve the Clan more effectively."

"Killing two birds with one stone."

After listening, Eleanor broke into a knowing smile.

"This is indeed a good method."

The more cunning, treacherous, and ruthless someone is, the more they tend to fear death.

For a race like the Dark Elves, accustomed to surviving amidst conspiracy and betrayal, they understand better than anyone how to toe the line once their lives are truly in another’s grasp.

The *Blood Prison True Demon Art* was undoubtedly an excellent means of controlling the Dark Elves.

Eleanor carefully put away the tome and said with a smile, "I’ll make the arrangements shortly. Any Dark Elf who wants to escape their status as a slave must cultivate this technique. Once they’ve made some progress, we’ll assign them to the exploration teams. Our progress into the depths of the Dark Nether Realm should speed up considerably."

Anton nodded and didn’t pursue the topic further.

’If possible, he would have preferred not to resort to such coercive measures.’

’He preferred to win people over with promises of benefits and a bright future rather than threatening their lives.’

’That was the path to long-term stability, far more reliable than coercion.’

’Unfortunately, when dealing with creatures like the Dark Elves, righteous methods had limited effect. It took something drastic to keep them in line.’

The two chatted for a while longer before Eleanor brought the topic back to the overall wrap-up of the Red Blood Fertile Soil.

"We’ve made a preliminary estimate of the Blood Soul Crystal output from the Red Blood Cave. It’s more than three times that of our previous cave. For a long time to come, we won’t have to worry about the supply of Blood Soul Crystals."

A faint smile graced Eleanor’s face.

With more and more Elves in the Clan cultivating Power Cultivation Techniques, the demand for Blood Soul Crystals had long outstripped the supply, a far cry from the surplus they once had.

And that was without the Clan making Blood Soul Crystals available for exchange to the Vassal Races. Otherwise, the shortfall would be even greater.

Now, with the addition of a larger source of Blood Soul Crystals, the problem was greatly alleviated.

The combined annual output of the two Blood Soul Crystal caves was more than enough to supply forty to fifty thousand of our own Elves cultivating Power Cultivation Techniques.

"Also," Eleanor continued, "we discovered an ancient base beneath the Red Blood Cave. It’s somewhat larger than the previous one, but we didn’t find anything of value inside, only the remains of over fifty damaged Golems."

"What about the material of the base itself?" Anton asked.

"Same as the previous base. It’s made of a special material that blocks Divine Sense."

Anton nodded in satisfaction. "That’s good. The base itself is the greatest reward. Have people dismantle it and transport the materials to the Taichu City warehouse. They’ll be perfect for forging the Flying Radiance Towers."

"Do the same with the Golem remains. Dismantle them for materials."

Eleanor nodded in agreement, then took out a rolled-up piece of leather and spread it across the desk.

It was a map.

The map was quite large, covering nearly half the desk when unrolled. The lines weren’t exactly fine, but the outlines were clear and the annotations detailed.

Anton noticed that on the far right of the map, an area was marked out with a dotted line, with the words "Nine Nether City Domain" written beside it.

This area only took up about one-fifth of the entire map.

The rest was a vast, unfamiliar region marked with numerous strange place names and symbols.

Eleanor said with a smile, "All thirteen city-states of the Red Blood Fertile Soil had maps of the surrounding areas. I had them collected and consolidated to create this new, more complete map."

"It’s not entirely comprehensive, but it will be a great help for our future exploration efforts."

Anton looked down at it for a moment, then nodded slightly. "Good. With this, we can avoid a lot of detours in our next phase of exploration... Are there any other fertile soil regions marked on the map?"

Eleanor shook her head. "Just scattered city-state powers. No fertile soil regions."

Anton wasn’t surprised to hear this.

Fertile soil regions were rare in the Dark Nether Realm to begin with.

The two discussed a few key markings on the map before the topic finally shifted away from the affairs of the Red Blood Fertile Soil.

"How are things at the Holy Dragon Mountain Range?" Anton asked casually.

Eleanor’s voice grew serious. "Same as always. The five major powers have been fighting all this time and still haven’t reached an agreement. In fact, the scale of the war has expanded. Now even the outer regions of the Holy Dragon Mountain Range have become a battlefield."

"On top of that, frequent skirmishes have been breaking out along the borders where their territories meet. If this keeps up, the flames of war might spread to their own homelands."

After listening, Anton nodded with a calm expression.

’This development was largely consistent with the trajectory he remembered.’

’The war between the five major powers was still far from its most intense phase.’

’The real chaos was yet to come.’

’When their allies and vassals were fully drawn in, more than half of the Dawn Continent would be plunged into endless war.’

Just then, there was a soft knock on the hall’s doors.

Eleanor stopped talking, turned her head, and said, "Come in."

Furlo pushed the door open and entered with light steps. She bowed to them both before stopping and saying:

"Teacher, Lady Eleanor, the Steel Mane Tribe has sent someone over. They wish to request an audience with you, Teacher."

Anton and Eleanor looked over at the same time.

"Who did they send?" Anton asked.

"The leader is an elder from the Steel Mane Tribe, accompanied by a dozen or so guards."

Hearing this, Eleanor’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

Because of the matter with the Slave Hunting Team, she held no goodwill toward the Steel Mane Tribe. She let out a cold snort. "Just an elder wants to see the Clan Leader? He really thinks highly of himself, doesn’t he?"

She turned to Anton. "Clan Leader, let me handle the people from the Steel Mane Tribe."

Anton hadn’t been concerned about the Steel Mane Tribe in the first place, so he simply nodded at her words.

"Very well."

Eleanor then stood up and left the Celestial Essence Hall with Furlo.

Anton didn’t linger either, returning to his quiet chamber to continue his cultivation.