Leopold and the others had always known that this time it was a cooperation among three fortresses! Only together could they fully repel the beast tide.


    Otherwise, if any one of the fortresses fell, the other two would be vulnerable from both front and back!


    So, no matter what, they had to ensure that both they and their allies were in a safe state.


    However, for some reason, they had been unable to make contact previously, even Archibald, who had the authority of amander, couldn''t reach themanders of the other fortresses.


    It was unclear whether the other side had yet to appoint theirmanders, or if they were currently being prevented from making contact.


    "No, not..." Archibald''s tone was somewhat dry.


    He didn''t know quite how to exin.


    The good news was that, without having contacted the second and third fortresses, they had found an ally.


    The bad news? Their ally was a group of... monkeys??


    Archibald looked again at the message John had sent to make sure he hadn''t misread a single word, then he spoke the hard truth with some difficulty.


    Lavinia opened her mouth slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but ultimately, she remained speechless.


    Leopold''s mind went nk.


    "Monkeys?"


    Their coborators were a group of monkeys?


    What?


    No, had John spent half the day securing a coboration with a bunch of monkeys??


    Was this ally indispensable?


    What could monkeys possibly help them with?


    Leopold suddenly felt a sense of despair, unsure how on earth he was supposed to coborate with these monkeys.


    Archibald, rubbing his nose bridge with a headache, said, "Forget it, you might as well go and see for yourselves. If it''s really as John described, then it''s actually a good thing. At least now we have arge supply of ck iron ore and borax."


    "Let''s send half of the logistics team first. John mentioned that there''s quite a bit there, and have thebat squad protect them while they''re at it. Although we''ve reached an agreement, you still need to be cautious. If those creatures show any sign of hostility, don''t hesitate to take them down!"


    While cooperation was beneficial, it had to be under the condition of ensuring their own safety!


    Archibald also mentioned that the monkeys were using ststone.


    Leopold and Lavinia were bewildered, even unsure of what to say.


    But in the end, they decided to make the trip themselves.


    Whether or not they mined the minerals was not the main concern; they really wanted to find out how one could possibly cooperate with monkeys!


    Led by the little monkey, John arrived at a lush, green valley teeming with vegetation.


    The small monkey plucked a de of grass from the ground and handed it to John.


    [You have received Broken Thistle*1.]


    Thistle, one of the herbs used for stopping bleeding, ismonly used here to make potions for restoring vitality.


    But why was it broken?


    Puzzled, John crouched down and harvested a herb himself.


    [You have received Intact Thistle*5.]


    Seeing the herbs now in his backpack, John instantly understood.


    While these little monkeys could also gather herbs, they did not know how to do so correctly, causing significant damage.


    The difference between broken and intact herbs was like night and day, not to mention the disparity in the quantity gathered!


    Realizing something important, he quickly sent another message to Archibald.


    "If you see those monkeys helping with the gathering, make sure they do not do the harvesting. Their method results in a loss of both quantity and quality."


    If they could avoid these losses by doing the harvesting themselves, it was naturally best to have their own people handle it.


    Although Archibald was somewhat puzzled, he still ryed John''s instructions as told.


    Then John sent another coordinate.


    This indicated a spot with arge concentration of herbs, surrounded by trees suitable for logging.


    Archibald''s expression had be somewhat stiff.


    For the first time, he found himself somewhat impressed with John.


    Honestly, they had been worried initially about the scarcity of materials, which seemed insufficient for their future needs.


    Yet, John had managed to secure so much just from one trip? NovelBin-novel-source


    Not only ck iron ore and borax but also medicinal herbs and timber?!


    It appeared they wouldn''t need to worry about supplies for a while.


    Decisively, Archibald sent the remaining half of the logistics team to the coordinates John had provided.


    They had to prepare these materials first and foremost.


    Whether they would be used immediately or not was a secondary concern; they just needed to get everything ready quickly.


    The real urgency woulde if they were needed and not avable.


    "What else do we need in the fortress? Let me know first, and I''ll see what I can find here," John''s message read.


    "I have a pretty good rtionship with Monkey Big Brother; I''ll ask if he can help."


    Archibald, still nning the future development of the fortress, saw this new message from John.


    His lips twitched slightly, struck by a surreal feeling.


    Just a few minutes ago, he had thought this assessment was going to be extremely challenging.


    But now, it seemed... perhaps it wasn''t so difficult after all.


    Archibald meticulouslypiled a list of everything the fortress wascking and sent it directly to John.


    Currently, the most urgently needed item was an energy stone.


    After all, continuously using ck iron ore to fire the energy cannon was far too wasteful.


    Energy stone?


    John scratched his head; he had never seen such a thing, and there were no pictures, just a name.


    "Little monkey, do you know where to find energy stones around here?"


    John asked casually, not really expecting an answer since he didn''t even have a picture to guide his search.


    However, the little monkey tilted its head, uttered a few childish cries, and then started leading the way.


    Really? There actually were such stones? And it could lead him to them?


    Skeptical but curious, John followed the little monkey.


    The journey was surprisingly long; after nearly half an hour of fast running, they finally stopped in front of a cave.


    "Chii chii!"


    The little monkey called out to the cave and then paused at the entrance, not entering.


    "You mean there are energy stones inside?" John asked, puzzled.


    "Chii chii."


    The monkey spun around on the spot, seemingly unsure how to exin to John and bing a bit anxious.


    "Chii chii... chii chii chii..."


    "Alright, alright, don''t strain yourself. I wouldn''t understand you anyway; I can barely make sense of what your leader says."


    John chuckled and gently stroked the little monkey''s furry head.


    "Let''s go in together, shall we?"


    "Chii!"


    What was merely a casual remark caused the little monkey to shriek and rapidly back away.


    "Are you afraid of what''s inside?" John asked, seeing the monkey nod.


    Understanding the monkey''s fear, John didn''t press further and simply asked the monkey to head back.


    The little monkey seemed hesitant, but ultimately, with fearful nces back at the cave, it reluctantly left.


    After the little monkey had left, John stood at the entrance of the cave, curious.


    Although he didn''t know how the monkeys knew there were energy stones inside, he thought... since he was already here, he might as well give it a try.


    Taking a deep breath, John, clutching his staff and the Bloodthirsty de, slowly walked into the cave.


    Unbeknownst to him, his actions had already caused quite a stir outside!


    "John must have rigged it, right? How else could these monkeys possibly help him find energy stones?"


    "Yeah, the second and third fortresses are still in chaos, and here he is, already gathering resources methodically. The academy''s higher-ups are too biased."


    "Howe there aren''t such good resource points near the other fortresses? I won''t believe there''s no foul y involved."


    "There are resource points about 30 miles from the second and third fortresses too, but the creatures there aren''t as agreeable."


    "I saw Isabe at a resource point too, and they also had a lot of ck iron ore and borax, but they''re guarded by Vampire Bats."


    "Right, and the resource point near the third fortress is swarming with very dangerous Venomous Serpents. Howe John''s so lucky to have monkeys that can understand human speech?"


    "That''s hrious, even if they can understand human speech, what difference does it make? If it weren''t for John, anyone else would still end up battered and bruised."


    Some were beginning to question the fairness of thepetition, but others saw it very clearly.


    Even if John did y his cards right, so what? At least that''s a skill in itself!