Promoted to Commodore!!!

Queen brought not only the king's letter, but also a certificate granting private territory—that's what was in the second envelope.

But most importantly, there were the hundreds of artisans and Royal Army soldiers behind her, since the construction of the new city still largely depended on Alabasta itself.

It is said that this is only the first wave, and more manpower and resources will be coming from the capital.

Vidal wasn't stingy with these people either. He slapped the ground with both hands, and hundreds of wooden houses sprang up, providing them with a better accommodation environment than tents.

These wooden houses weren't for one person per house, but for about ten people per house, which was divided into many small rooms.

On the evening of the third day in Alabasta.

Vidal, who originally intended to continue clearing the main urban area, first helped him clear the edge areas so that he could properly manage the forest belt.

The reason given was that he could not stay in Alabasta for too long, at most seven days, after which he would have to return to Marineford report for duty.

In addition to reporting in person to the Fleet Admiral Kong the details of his relationship with Bondi Byrnndi World, he also had to accept the promotion.

This was news he had just received from his teacher, Sengoku.

According to Professor Sengoku, some senior figures in the high-level meeting originally disagreed with his promotion to Commodore, arguing that he was too young and too fast.

He graduated from the Special Training Camp less than six months ago and was promoted directly from Colonel to Commodore?

However, Fleet Admiral Kong thought it would be disheartening if defeating a great pirate with a bounty of 500 million Beli didn't qualify him to advance a level.

Moreover, this is only because he is currently Colonel; if he were Major, he could easily be promoted two ranks.

But going to a higher level is, after all, a leap of a major.

However, he is currently only a Colonel. To be promoted to general, he must accept the appointment in person in front of Fleet Admiral to complete the process.

Not only that, all his subordinates were also promoted. The recruits who had just graduated from the Navy Academy went from privates to Third-Class Seaman first class in one fell First-Class Seaman.

Those who were originally First-Class Seaman under the direct command of the Sengoku were promoted to non-commissioned officers. Whether they became Senior Sergeants or corporals depended on their accumulated military merits and luck.

As for Lieutenant Brandon and Simpson, who were promoted to Captain, Vidal speculated that this might be related to their lack of ability.

Because Rogers, who was standing next to him at that moment, had been promoted from Lieutenant to Major, but he would need to go back to headquarters to be officially promoted!

Finally, there's Weini. This kid was also a fresh recruit, but because of his Devil Fruit ability, he went straight to Senior Sergeant and is now Lieutenant.

There's no way around it; the power of Devil Fruits gives ordinary people such a huge advantage—that's just reality.

Come to think of it, he seems to only have this one ability user under his command, Vidal thought to himself as he worked.

He now possesses a few less important fruits; shouldn't he use them to enhance his subordinates' strength?

However, we need to observe first; it wouldn't do if we gave it to an ungrateful person.

Through his own research and by listening to the explanations of the locals, Vidal discovered that the sandstorms in Alabasta were caused by northwesterly winds.

That makes sense, since there's a big river to the east.

So what Vidal is doing now is creating two sand-fixing and windbreak forest belts to the west and north of Forest City.

The main tree species he used in the forest belt was the jujube tree, which is a deciduous tree with a mature height of about five to ten meters.

He's here to help create a uniform ten-meter shape!

This type of oleaster tree also blooms, producing silvery-white flowers with a strong fragrance that fills the air with its aroma when the wind blows gently.

There's also the pulp, mainly powdery pulp, which is a lifesaver for some people facing difficulties in the desert.

But trees alone are not enough, because tall trees cannot be planted too densely, so some plants are also needed to fill the gaps.

After thinking for a moment, Vidal chose the relatively low-growing shrubs sea buckthorn and sand willow, as well as the sand wormwood as a base herb!

All three have extremely strong drought resistance, sand control, and soil stabilization effects!

Once the plants are selected, all that's left is repetitive, mechanical work; the width and length of the forest belt are no joke.

So, just like Yixiao, he transformed a football field into a forest of trees and vegetation.

Fortunately, Alabasta is a sunny place, so his body has a continuous supply of energy. In addition, he doesn't need to eat or drink much; when he's thirsty, he just produces some fruit himself, so his efficiency is astonishingly fast.

Even with his high efficiency, it still took Vidal nearly three days to create two forest belts, each nearly 100 meters wide and several kilometers long.

During that time, he also took the opportunity to return to Forest City a few times and did some minor development on his own territory.

For example, at another location near Apis Divine Lake, a 50-meter-wide forest was created as a dividing line.

He initially considered dividing the land directly with wooden walls, but Brook, who had a more artistic flair, suggested using a forest instead.

Wooden walls create a very rigid sense of division, which can make people feel very uncomfortable, while a forest is different.

It not only acts as a gentler wall, but also allows Forest City residents to enjoy the lake while appreciating the lush greenery.

Vidal thought he made a lot of sense, so the Forest family's private property was enclosed by a circular belt of trees.

The territory is mainly divided into four areas: palace buildings, open space for activities, herb garden, and orchard.

For now, Vidal has only built a three-story, five-room building for the palace buildings, and the open space is just an empty space; more can be built later if needed.

The main place he and Nacil worked was the herb garden, while in the orchard they simply planted a few fruit trees and then forced some seeds to grow on their own.

The herb garden can't be treated so carelessly; he must strictly follow Nacil's design regarding the location and distance to encourage the growth of the corresponding herbs.

Cistanche deserticola, morel mushroom, Artemisia capillaris, Erythrina variegata, Cynomorium songaricum, Aesculus hippocastanum, Cactus, licorice, and many other plants with strange appearances.

Many of these herbs were completely unknown to Vidal before he encountered Nacil; some he had heard of but didn't understand.

But now, thanks to the power of the Woods-Woods Fruit, he has a thorough understanding of the properties of these herbs. After all, if you want to induce their growth, you must first have some knowledge of them.

Fortunately, this way of understanding is just by touching, and there is not much learning cost. This made Nacil envious and jealous for a long time, and she even lamented that it was a pity that Vidal did not become a traditional Chinese medicine doctor.

"But Lord Vidal, who will take care of this herb garden after we leave, and the rest of the entire territory?"

Nacil suddenly turned to Vidal, who was busily working behind her, and asked, which startled the latter. "Yes, who's in charge?"

He doesn't seem to have the manpower for this. He can't just keep those navy men to do his own private work, that won't do!

There are some things in this world that cannot be done; these are the bottom lines.

So what should we do?

Moreover, he needs a private butler who can handle some personal matters for him, and he certainly can't find one from the navy.

When you think about it, there seem to be only a handful of management talents out of the system: Beckman, Monet, Kuro, and so on.

But these kids are all too young. Take Kuro, for example; she's only five years old and probably playing in the mud somewhere.

Vidal suddenly felt powerless. If all else failed, he would have no choice but to let the Alabasta Kingdom take over for now, since their character was still trustworthy.

Anyway, there's nothing here that's shameful.

A huge thank you to Fanxing Suiyun the 10,000-coin reward! You've become the fifth "Helper" of this book! Fanxing Suiyun is an old friend of mine, someone who has supported and encouraged me in the group for a long time. Thank you!