C25 Looking for Iron Ore

Under Lin Mo's guidance, the Cat-man Clan has found its way onto the right track.

The Spirit Cat Clan's leader now serves as the patriarch for all Cat-men, with the former Gray and Black Cat Clan leaders stepping down to elder roles.

The tribes have fully united, working and dining together, with all divisions dissolved—save for the excluded Leopard Clan—achieving true unity for the Cat-man Clan.

As the patriarch oversees clan affairs, Saintess Qingyou has been identifying those with magical aptitude, purposefully cultivating a cadre of Mages.

Mages, those formidable forces on the battlefield, can never be too numerous.

From nearly two thousand individuals, twenty promising talents were selected.

Guided by Qingyou's careful instruction, each of these twenty has successfully harnessed their magical gifts.

Though Lin Mo cannot apply his faith-exchanged attribute points to these individuals, their dedication and rapid progress more than compensate.

Lillian, too, has started training Cat-man warriors. While they may not take to the skies as she does, she adeptly imparts the fundamentals of spear and lance combat.

The development of warriors and Mages is well underway, yet the Cat-men's frailty remains a pressing concern.

They are no match for the robust Orc Clans, and even against humans, the Cat-man warriors fall short.

Lacking physical prowess, they must rely on superior equipment.

The Orcs lack the humans' advanced technology and thus have few metal weapons; many Cat-man warriors still wield wooden spears, and armor is scarce.

Equipping each Cat-man warrior with a full set of armor and finely forged steel weapons would multiply their combat effectiveness.

Thus, during Qingyou's prayers, Lin Mo communicated this concept through a divine message.

"Great God of Flames, it is a sound proposal, but our metallurgical skills are not yet advanced enough to produce steel of human quality," Qingyou responded reverently before the flame totem.

"I am the God of Flames. Anything related to fire is within my power to resolve. As my followers, such challenges shall not hinder you."

Lin Mo responded at once.

Qingyou's eyes sparkled upon hearing Lin Mo's words.

She realized she had been limiting her own thinking. Indeed, in the past, the Cat-man Clan wouldn't have stood a chance, but now they were under the protection of a deity.

The once unthinkable had now been accomplished with success.

"Very well, mighty God of Flames, I will swiftly attend to this matter."

After her prayer, Qingyou promptly convened a meeting with her mother and two other elders to deliberate on the issue.

Upon hearing Qingyou's briefing, the trio nodded in agreement.

However, the question remained: where could they find the ore for smelting?

"Saintess, to my knowledge, there's an iron mine to the north, currently held by a Bear-man tribe. If we could secure that mine, we could heed the God of Flames' guidance and fully equip our warriors," the gray cat elder proposed.

"Bear-man Clan?"

The mention of the Bear-man Clan caused everyone to furrow their brows.