It was impossible to calculate the size of the Harlet Wastelands, nor was there a need to do so. What was being developed right now was only a shallow area inhabited by humans.
The Wastelands, just as its name suggested, appeared to be a barren wasteland with nothing on the surface. However, the cause of all this was probably the thunderstorms that occurred here every year.
After the baptism of the thunderstorms, animals that had no shelter would naturally be unable to survive. Even if they managed to survive, there wasn't even any grass on the ground, so how could they possibly provide food for ordinary creatures?
Due to the frequent and rampant natural disasters, it was basically impossible for something as delicate as a food chain to be created. When animals and plants were unable to survive, natural disasters such as floods and landslides were even more impossible. Apart from natural disasters, nothing else could be seen. Naturally, that piece of land was known as the Wastelands.
However, the Wastelands didn't mean that there was nothing at all.
This piece of land was rich in minerals. There were gold, silver, iron, copper, and all sorts of minerals. In this barren land, there were even magical minerals such as mithril and adamantine. Not to mention, there were also natural mines of Lightning Strike Stones that were worth cities.
Researchers from Vila Nova Dônia had once suggested that the situation in this area was far too strange. There was a high possibility that something buried underground had formed a natural magnetic field … Of course, there were many similar theories and studies, but none of them could be proven.
Was it the strange climate and natural conditions that created this rich mining area, or was it some sort of chemical reaction that caused this change?
The Seymour people's culture and lifestyle were built on this piece of land.
Cape Town's industrial and magical engineering technology had already reached a certain level. The most basic requirement was an endless supply of local mining areas. High-quality mining areas would naturally attract merchants, and outstanding craftsmen would often choose the cities closest to the mining areas. This was especially so for the Dwarves who constantly chased after the mines like hunting dogs.
The Wastelands were vast. If one were to look from shallow to deep, the outermost area would be Perpetual Moon Town, followed by Vila Nova Dônia and Cape Town. The Seymour people's Wastelands were scattered all over the place.
However, with the furthest Mount Sainte as the dividing line, it was truly a no-man's land if one walked further in. After all, there was still thunder there, or perhaps it should be described as never-ending.
The deeper you went, the longer the thunderstorms were, and the higher the energy of the lightning strikes. After another week of walking past Mount Sainte, you would enter the no man's land. That was a true hell of thunderstorms. At the very least, with the current industrial standards and magical engineering technology, anyone who entered would die.
However, the strange thing was that the closer they got to the No Man's Land and the Thunder Forbidden Zone, the richer the mineral veins around them were. It was rumored that there were even open-air mining areas for magical metals there.
As long as there were enough benefits, the scavengers of the wasteland were not afraid of death. However, they still did not dare to go near that area. Even if it was said that there were people who brought back endless wealth … that was because they had only heard of people who went in, but had never seen anyone come out.
The Aishi People had also attempted to go deep into the Wastelands. Of course, they chose to travel above the clouds using airships. However, most of the airships were attacked by wind elemental creatures and giant monsters while they were above the clouds. A very small number of airships successfully broke through the clouds, but they lost contact with the airships after they descended.
It was possible that the airships were instantly destroyed by a super powerful thunderstorm after they descended. It was also possible that something terrifying attacked them in the Wastelands. Of course, it was also possible that both situations occurred at the same time. This was the most likely scenario.
This was not an evil guess. It was a conclusion that mages came to after studying the surrounding environment. Just like the thunder elemental creatures that were rampaging in the No Man's Land, it was quite easy for elemental creatures to be born in a high-density Elemental Tide. If even Elemental Lord level monsters appeared in the outer area, then the No Man's Land's Thunder Forbidden Zone was likely to be an abnormal world on the level of the Thunder Elemental Plane. It was possible that a true Elemental God would exist there.
The best evidence for this conclusion was the wind elemental creatures living above the No Man's Land's clouds.
According to the Aishi's elemental theory, wind and thunder elemental creatures originated from the same source. Thunder elemental creatures were derived from wind elemental creatures of the four major elements. Just being close to the Thunder Forbidden Zone was enough to give birth to a large number of wind and cloud elemental creatures. This was proof of just how terrifyingly powerful the Thunder Forbidden Zone was.
Everyone knew that there was bound to be a tremendous amount of treasures in the Thunder Forbidden Zone. Perhaps the treasures would be enough to support the rise of a new empire. However, nobody would be foolish enough to invade an Elemental Plane, especially one with such powerful attacks as the Thunder Elemental Plane.
According to the Aishi's elemental theory, the Elemental Plane's Gods were existences on the level of the World Lords. They were probably on the same level as the strongest Main Gods in the Aishi Faction. It would be basically impossible to defeat such a powerful monster.
It was precisely because of this geographical distribution that the closer one was to Mount Sainte … or rather, the No Man's Land behind it, the better the quality of the natural mines, including the Thunderstruck Stones.
The best Thunderstruck Stone mines were located along the No Man's Land. The secret that Rorschach had discovered was that the entire Mount Sainte was a gigantic natural Thunderstruck Stone mine. That was probably the best Thunderstruck Stone mine.
Mount Sainte was said to be the core of the wastelands because of this.
No matter if it was the wastelands' Seymour people or Cape Town's Seymour people, their lives and development couldn't be separated from Thunderstruck Stones. This "natural jewel" was an important magical material and product in the eyes of the Aishi People. Nobody would give up on it.
Their weapons, living facilities and taming beasts all required these natural Thunderstruck Stones. Being able to use these Thunderstruck Stones seemed to be a talent of the Seymour people. There were quite a number of single-horned wastelanders who had some talent in controlling electricity, although 90% of them were stuck at the level of creating sparks on their fingertips.
Through genetic analysis, the Aishi People's researchers even determined that the Horn-people had the bloodline of the unicorn. Of course, the purity of the bloodline was probably behind the decimal point. If one really wanted to describe it, it was probably the relationship between primitive humans and chimpanzees … No, it was even more distant. Perhaps the bloodline between modern humans and dinosaurs was more suitable for this comparison.
Ancient unicorns were extremely powerful divine beasts. In legends and myths, their horns could control lightning at will and see through people's hearts.
Some of the Atavistic Seymour people had hooves and furry tails, which seemed to prove this theory.
Some Aishi People had already noticed that Cape Town didn't only produce Thunderstruck Stones by hand. They would also turn the inferior Thunderstruck Stones into powder and add some other ingredients to use as condiments. Meanwhile, the Seymour people in the wastelands would regularly search for small pieces of natural Thunderstruck Stones, just like their tamed beasts.
This habit was similar to our ancestors' habit of eating rock salt.
Eating too much would make one feel uncomfortable. If one didn't eat for a few months or years, they would feel tired. If one didn't eat for a long time, it would really kill them.
Under these circumstances, the Thunderstruck Stone mining area was the lifeline of the Seymour people. There was a need for industry, living, development and military.
In the past, the area around Cape Town belonged to Cape Town. Whoever in the wastelands belonged to them. The reason why Cape Town launched a war of unification regardless of the cost was because with the improvement of living standards and the decrease of newborn mortality, there were too many new people in the city. The surrounding mining areas were simply not enough.
Inferior man-made Thunderstruck Stones were definitely not the solution to the problem. The people of Cape Town were previously so supportive of the war, so they naturally desired more Thunderstruck Stone mining areas.
However, the Seymour people in the wastelands wouldn't give up on the Thunderstruck Stone mining areas that belonged to their ancestors. Those Thunderstruck Stone mining areas that had owners were still fine, but those that had no owners, were still being explored, and might possibly exist, were enough for them to launch another war of unification.
Even the Aishi People didn't expect the other two parties to be so stubborn about these mining areas. They were even willing to threaten to break down negotiations and start a war.
At this time, Rorschach finally understood why the Saintess Mu Na didn't hesitate to take him down with her when he discovered the secret of Mount Sainte.
This information was enough to make the people of Cape Town go crazy and start a war. It was even enough to make some of the tribes guarding Mount Sainte change their beliefs.
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