Chapter 403: The Bargaining Chip in the Belly
Although tempted, Owen didn’t intend to conquer the Underworld through war. He preferred trade and peaceful means.
The saying “It’s not all about fighting and killing in the Jianghu” also applies to managing a territory. No lord solely relies on war for development.
A forceful takeover might seem satisfying, but it’s a Pyrrhic victory. Even with Owen’s cheats reducing losses, conquering still requires time and effort to govern. He couldn’t just conquer and leave it be, right? Then what’s the point of waging war?
Besides, Owen didn’t have grand ambitions. Even if he had an empire, he’d leave it to his women to manage. It was impossible to expect him to be hands-on, which was why his territory rarely expanded outward.
With this mentality, it was natural for Owen to choose trade to acquire resources.
Since he decided on the trade route, the dungeon Owen was building would play a significant role.
As long as this dungeon was powerful enough, it could act as a trading hub between his territory and the Underworld.
As for what to trade with the Underworld, it was simple.
Although the Underworld had abundant resources, and its total area might be no less than or even greater than the surface world due to its depth and layers, ninety percent of it was uninhabitable.
These areas were either occupied by powerful monsters or had extremely harsh environments. Only a small portion of the Underworld possessed the basics for survival: air, plants, and water.
However, due to the limited space and the unique environment of the Underworld, even with ideal conditions, many aspects would be greatly affected. At the very least, large-scale farming and livestock breeding were impossible. At most, it could sustain a single city.
As for technology and production, developing steam industry and firearms in the Underworld was simply asking for trouble. Therefore, it primarily relied on handicrafts and cold weapons.
Under these circumstances, the goods with the highest demand in the Underworld were not rare resources or treasures, but rather food, salt, cloth, and other daily necessities, followed by luxury goods.
The demand for the former was easy to understand. A dungeon couldn’t consist solely of a lord, right? With people and mounts to feed, the demand for food was certainly significant.
As for the strong demand for luxury goods, it was because many dungeons still practiced slavery and adhered to the law of the jungle. Therefore, the higher up one went, the more concentrated power and resources became. With their basic needs met, those in power naturally had a high demand for luxury goods.
It just so happened that Owen’s territory had excess production capacity, which could be used to exchange for valuable resources from the Underworld. Even with access to the Otherworldly Mountains, he wouldn’t mind having more valuable resources on hand.
However, the premise was that Owen’s ogre persona needed to possess sufficient strength, not only in terms of personal power but also in terms of influence within the dungeon. Only by combining these two could he gain a foothold in the Underworld and secure the ever-increasing trade volume in the future.
Thinking of this, Owen decided to use some progress points to develop the dungeon. Currently, relying solely on tier one and two troops was far from enough.
The Ogre Dungeon had already reached a small scale. The hardworking troglodytes had built mushroom farms and giant snail breeding grounds, providing a large amount of inexpensive food. The gradual construction and improvement of blacksmith shops, taverns, and markets had also brought in a steady stream of customers and income.
But it wasn’t enough. These were just small-scale operations, far from meeting Owen’s needs. Thus, a migration group composed of monsters quietly appeared not far from the Ogre Dungeon.
Although the Ogre Dungeon seemed crude to Owen, it was Siluo’s pride and joy. Even if it was achieved through flattering the “Sky Pillar,” it was still a result of her own efforts. And not everyone could handle an ogre, she had to train for it, otherwise she would have been split in half.
Just as Siluo was enjoying her daily patrol of the dungeon, she suddenly saw the goblins responsible for patrolling the perimeter fleeing back in a panic. She immediately knew something was wrong and was about to react, but then she saw a group of terrifying monsters pouring in from the entrance.
“Beholders, Medusas, Minotaurs!” Siluo was dumbfounded. Even in the Underworld, these three types of monsters were considered extremely difficult to deal with. Such a group was enough to destroy many smaller dungeons. She thought it was an army sent by a powerful dungeon and couldn’t help but consider surrendering.
This kind of annexation through conquest was the norm in the Underworld. It was natural for bigger fish to eat smaller fish. However, this time, reality was more magical than imagination, because the other party wasn’t an enemy.
“We revere the great Dragon Slayer, the awe-inspiring Ogre Lord. We are willing to join the Ogre Dungeon and serve the Lord. Please lead us to meet the Lord.” The leader of these monsters was a tall and very rare Medusa Queen. She lowered her head and looked down at Siluo. Her cold eyes, surrounded by snake hair, stared at her as she said this with an expressionless face.
Although under the other party’s gaze, Siluo felt like a mouse being stared at by a snake, she still couldn’t help but twitch the corner of her mouth. She thought, “The acting is so perfunctory, do they really think I’m a fool?”
At this point, she knew that these monsters were most likely related to her ogre, but since the other party wanted to act, she could only play along. If she exposed them, she wouldn’t be able to defeat these monsters. So she led them to the meeting hall.
Owen was wearing an apron, experimenting with the thirteenth method of cooking dragon bones. However, the color of the soup was becoming increasingly strange, and the smell was even worse.
It was better not to drink it, otherwise, no matter how much Siluo liked patrolling her dungeon, she wouldn’t be wandering outside all day. She was just afraid of being dragged in to try it. The psychological shadow from the last “Two Eggs and One Fishy” incident still lingered.
Seeing the arrival of the monsters, Owen pretended to appease them and told them to find a place to settle. The monsters obediently dispersed and peacefully began to build their unique buildings.
Siluo witnessed the whole process from the side, but this time she didn’t even have the thought of asking. She was just full of complaints with nowhere to vent.
This damned ogre was hiding something from her, but at least he could put in some effort. This perfunctory act was also a test of her acting skills. Moreover, this bastard was hiding too deep. But she wasn’t worried, because she was about to give birth. As long as she had the child in her hands, she would have the legitimate heir, and the initiative would be hers.
As for the dream of becoming a Drow Matriarch, although Siluo hadn’t given up, she knew how difficult it would be to achieve. So she would wait, wait until she found the other party’s weakness.
Siluo was so passive because she still didn’t know the true identity of this ogre, or even what kind of creature it was.
No matter how much she schemed, it was like scratching an itch through a boot. She couldn’t grasp the key point.
Now Siluo’s only bargaining chip was the child in her belly. Whether it was his biological child or some kind of experimental product, it was definitely important to him.
As long as this ogre still valued his offspring, she had a chance to turn the tables. So Siluo remained calm and focused on nurturing her pregnancy until that day arrived.
