[QuartzStriker has initiated a trade with you!]
[Trade details: 300 iron ingots for 500 portions of food.]
[Do you agree?]
"Agree!"
Alex clicked 'agree' without hesitation.
[Trade failed, insufficient food!]
What?!
Alex checked the Warehouse and saw that after trading 200 portions of food for iron ingots, only 400 portions remained from the original 600.
Broke, now!
Right, there should still be some food left at the trading post!
In a panic, Alex delisted all the food from the trading post. Out of 3000 portions, 1000 were left—enough to cover the trade.
Alex's fingers hovered over the trade order again.
"Agree!"
[Trade successful!]
As 500 portions of food disappeared from the Warehouse, Alex successfully gained 300 iron ingots.
This [QuartzStriker] was definitely a Big Shot, guaranteeing 200 iron ingots daily to Alex, which meant her production of iron ingots was at least 500 per day.
The 3000 portions of food had been on the trading post for half a day, and only 2000 had been traded.
Alex fell into deep thought.
Most Lords, after three days of development, could procure their own food. In fact, the stronger Lords were also trading their surplus food, leading to an increase in low-priced food, which greatly impacted Alex's business.
Even the Lords who initially sold food were forced by market pressures to lower their prices, and currently, Alex was the only one trading at a fourfold markup.
"Headache! I need to find new revenue streams fast."
Alex ran her hands through her hair, causing a few strands to stand up.
The trade of 2000 portions of food had netted her 32,000 units of wood, 18,000 units of stone, and 400 magic crystals.
Overall, the gains were still decent, and the profits from the fourfold markup were impressive, but moving forward, such high markups might no longer be feasible.
Alex had two choices: either drop the prices or have all the undead start mining and logging.
Business is tough!
"When will I be able to mine my own ores? Right now, I only have 400 iron ingots. It's going to take forever to save up to 10,000..."
Alex sighed.
The wood and stone needed for upgrading the castle to a town were already sufficient; only iron ingots were lacking.
For now, wood and stone weren't as crucial for Alex, since upgrading to a town was still a ways off. Alex needed to think of other ventures.
Like the unused monster materials in the Warehouse—boar tusks and various animal furs.
But currently, no one on the trading post was selling these items, and Alex didn't have a reference price. She feared not that she might sell too high, but too low and at a loss.
Food was no longer profitable, and the most important thing now was to find a way to get iron ingots and Essence Shards. Alex's next goal was to upgrade the Barracks, and finally, upgrade the castle to a town.
There's still so much to do!
Alex glanced at the nearby Blackwater Altar, which now had a thin layer of black water on its surface. Suddenly, an idea struck her,
"Can I enhance it a second time?"
Saying this, Alex walked over, took off her shoes, and stepped into the Blackwater Altar in her white socks. The black water still avoided her as before, but the pleasure was gone.
Alex felt disappointed; clearly, a second enhancement wasn't possible.
Now it was afternoon, and Alex had nothing to do. In the land of Eldoria, without internet or mobile phones, what could Alex do? Might as well go to sleep!
The undead were still hard at work, chopping wood, mining stone, hunting, upgrading.
As their Lord, Alex enjoyed a 1.5x experience boost just by staying in the castle.
Going outside to fight personally would be beneath Alex's dignity, and besides, she would lose the 1.5x experience boost outside the castle walls. It simply wasn't worth it.
[Blood Moon in the sky, darkness descends!]
A refreshed Alex woke up in the evening, just in time to see the system notification.
Alex loved the night because it offered double loot drops, and it was the best opportunity for the undead army to grow stronger.
"Hey, could I choose to attack the goblin territory at night? With all drops doubled, wouldn't I make a fortune?"
Alex really thought it was a good idea.
But no, that Goblin leader was at a Commanding level, meaning its attributes would double—totally unbeatable!
Alex felt her newly conceived plan crumble before it even began.
[Warning, hostile creatures have breached the territory!]
What?!!
Alex was startled by the sudden system alert and bolted upright from her bed.
What the hell?
Barefoot, Alex ran out of the bedroom, dashed downstairs to the lobby, and pushed open the castle's grand doors.
Instead of darkness, she was greeted by moonlight, eerier than usual.
Unconsciously, Alex looked up to see a cloudless sky with a red full moon hanging high.
Using the moonlight, she looked outside the castle and saw dozens of white figures sprinting towards the castle.
"Moon Silver Wolves!"
These grudge-holding creatures had been quiet last night, but tonight they came charging at Alex with their kin.
Alex estimated there were at least thirty Moon Silver Wolves, with the leader being significantly bulkier than the others, its eyes emitting a red glow, clearly the pack's alpha.
They had entered Alex's territory, allowing her to view their information.
[Moon Silver Wolf]
[Race: Moon Wolf Clan.]
[Life Tier: Standard.]
[Level: lv9 (max)]
[Health Points: 180×2]
[Mana Points: None]
[Strength: 34×2]
[Stamina: 45×2]
[Agility: 35×2]
[Skill: Bloodlust (Killing an enemy grants a berserk effect lasting thirty seconds, with the timer resetting upon another kill.)]
A level 9 Moon Silver Wolf!
And with the night's double enhancement, they were incredibly strong?
Alex hadn't expected the alpha wolf to be level 9, which was terrifying.
After the double enhancement, its attributes were nearly catching up to Arthur at level 6.
Just then, a specter flew back into the castle from outside, but Arthur had not yet returned. Without Arthur, Alex felt completely vulnerable.
Seeing this, Alex immediately shouted at the specter, "Quick, go find Arthur and bring him back!"