The Main Force

After conducting more tests, Gawain felt there was no need to continue verifying.

Rebecca couldn't establish a connection with the Crystals.

He then had Amber try, but the result was the same.

It seemed that aside from himself, no one else could contact the mysterious monitoring station in the sky even by touching the Crystals. Then, what was the purpose of Gawain Cecil from seven hundred years ago leaving this Crystal behind?

Gawain believed there were only two possible answers: either Gawain Cecil from seven hundred years ago was special and had a unique method for using these Crystals, or... these Crystals weren't meant for Gawain Cecil himself, but were left for him seven hundred years later...

The second answer was particularly chilling.

"Ancestor..." Rebecca looked at the old ancestor before her with some trepidation. After a series of confusing tests, though she didn't know their purpose, she could clearly tell that the tests had failed, making her feel like she had disappointed the ancestor once again. "Is it because my talent is too poor..."

"No, it's not your fault. Amber tried too, didn't she?" Gawain suppressed his thoughts and comforted the girl. "These Crystals aren't meant for ordinary people. I just wanted to try something on impulse. By the way, tell me about your findings from scouting outside."

Mentioning this topic immediately improved Rebecca's mood. "Yes, yes, I was just about to say that! Ancestor, did you know from the start that the land here had been purified? I followed the range you gave and found that all the land was unpolluted, and the terrain was open and flat, with convenient access to water. The farmers accompanying me said this is the most suitable place for reclaiming land..."

Gawain wasn't surprised by this answer; he knew the situation here.

At least ten years ago, the pollution in this area had receded—the people in the kingdom just didn't know it.

It was still unknown when the Magic Tide's influence in the Dark Mountains area had subsided, but at least a hundred years ago, this was still a polluted zone—records from the pioneering settlements left by the still-flourishing Cecil Family could confirm this. It was precisely because the Magic Tide pollution was still present back then that the Mountain Treasury was preserved to this day; otherwise, the Moen Family might have retrieved those ancient supplies. After the Cecil Family's upheaval and the Moen lineage's demise, no one knew the secret of the Mountain Treasury anymore, and the kingdom had completely abandoned the southern territory, a mess plagued by annual pollution and disasters. Naturally, no one knew about the Magic Tide's recession.

After all, the "Unclean Wind" still blew annually across the Dark Mountains. Even if the pollution in the land had subsided, with those toxic dust storms present, this was still not a good place for reclamation.

Gawain could only confirm one thing: in the aerial view stored in his mind, there was no pollution here ten years ago.

The closest noble territory was Tanzan Town, belonging to the Leslie Family. According to Ansu law, the minor nobles on the southern border were also responsible for monitoring the Gandor pollution zone. Therefore, Gawain guessed that Viscount Andrew should have some awareness of the Magic Tide's receding influence. However, for that traditional noble who relied on mines and lived comfortably, this temporarily stabilized land was likely still not worth investing in. Moreover, the pioneering fervor of this era had cooled down, so the Viscount probably hadn't sent anyone to check on the situation here at all...

Gawain nodded and looked at Rebecca. "The currently confirmed safe land area is what I've marked. The pollution further out should have also subsided, but we'll need to cautiously scout it once the main force arrives. Don't go there for now."

The clear aerial view in his mind was from ten years ago. In the past decade, the pollution zone should have continued to shrink, but by how much... Given that the current satellite view had become a "Magic Imaging Map" and couldn't be adjusted, Gawain couldn't determine it for now, so he could only arrange it this way.

Time continued to pass. Thanks to Heti's diligent promotion and the residents' period of adaptation, the new work system finally showed results. Those who worked began to realize that labor meant better rations, while those "clever people" who tried to exploit loopholes and slack off in the new system realized that it was more painful to starve and watch others eat than to eat vegetable soup while others ate meat. To Gawain, those clumsy attempts at exploiting loopholes were hardly sophisticated, and the punishments he implemented were never lenient.

This was a matter of everyone's future survival; there was no room for leniency.

Because of the new system's effectiveness, the construction of the outpost camp was completed at an astonishing speed, and it was ready for the arrival of the main force. Under Gawain's plan, the camp's fences were expanded hundreds of meters to the south and east, leaving large open spaces for the subsequent seven hundred people to pitch tents. Sheds for carpenters, masons, and blacksmiths were also allocated, along with new space for storing materials. He also ordered the construction of a temporary small pier made of wood on the side of the camp facing the riverbank, and the establishment of a sawmill nearby to process timber floated down from the logging points in the western forest.

Of course, the pier and sawmill were still just plans on paper. The hundred laborers were very limited. Even with Heti's magical assistance, building the camp felt like a struggle. At this moment, Gawain sincerely wished Rebecca could cast a spell other than Fireball...

Standing on the high ground by the riverbank, Gawain looked at a large wooden building nearing completion in the distance—it was one of the few structures in the camp that could be called a "house," and it was a large one. It and the large open spaces around it would be used as a temporary blacksmith shop for some time. Although the Mountain Treasury contained many smelted metal ingots, they were difficult to use in camp construction. Most of them were Mithril, Orichalcum, and Purple Copper, Purple Steel. No matter how broad-minded Gawain was, he couldn't melt those things down to make nails.

The eastern iron ore had been roughly surveyed. Although it wasn't time to excavate it into a mine shaft, it was possible to retrieve some ore to verify its quality. The first batch of ore had now been excavated. Once the blacksmiths set up their furnaces, Cecil Territory would officially enter the Iron Age...

This was truly frustrating.

Thinking about the Magic Tide that might come at any moment and the mysterious monitoring station in the sky, and then looking at the slow progress of the pioneering camp before him, Gawain couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

Amber, who was standing nearby with her hand shading her eyes and looking at something, noticed Gawain's movement. She turned her head and frowned at him. "Why are you sighing? Can't I even rest here for a bit?"

"Don't always think of me as so bad," Gawain said helplessly, giving her a look. "When have I ever truly overworked you?"

"It's fun arguing with you!" Amber said righteously. "You're the first high-ranking noble I've ever met who can argue with people without getting angry. This feeling is so novel!"

Gawain turned his head away, ignoring her.

However, Amber wasn't going to give up. "Hey, hey, you still haven't said it. Why are you sighing?"

"Too slow," Gawain said, shaking his head. "It's just too slow."

Amber's eyes widened. "You mean their work speed? This is still slow?!"

Then she exaggeratedly waved her arms. "Do you have any conscience at all? These are the fastest serfs and laborers I've ever seen in my life! Yesterday, they finished all the expanded fence walls in less than a day, and today they started building the blacksmith shop—do you know how terrifyingly fast this speed is?"

Then she mumbled, "I saw you giving them meat before, and you even prohibited whipping punishments. I thought you were a genuinely good person..."

Gawain glanced at her. "I am a good person, and I'm not blaming these people for not working hard—I'm not blind, I can see they aren't slacking off. But overall... the construction speed of this camp is not keeping up with my plans."

"Your plans were unrealistic from the start," Amber pouted, then looked at Gawain somewhat suspiciously. "Speaking of which, I felt something was off before... You've seemed a bit strange these past two days, always looking preoccupied, and you've drawn a lot of weird things on paper. Especially this morning, the camp had just gotten a basic framework, and you were already thinking about building a barbican... What are you panicking about?"

Gawain replied without turning his head. "Panicking about the end of the world, about the sky falling, about extraterrestrial visitors, does that work?"

"You just refuse to admit it, tsk, but I'm watching. You are panicking," Amber said, hands on her hips. "Let me think about when it started... Ah, yes, it was when the sunspots appeared! You've been restless ever since then..."

This time, Gawain was genuinely a little surprised. He looked Amber up and down a few times. "Are you usually observing me when you have nothing else to do?"

"Do I have that much free time?" Amber said, hands on her hips. "But the problem is, your change is completely obvious to others. In fact, your two great-granddaughters, who are generations apart, have also noticed it, but they didn't dare to ask you..."

Gawain blinked. "Is that so? Is it that obvious already?"

After a brief moment of stunned silence, he couldn't help but start reflecting on his recent mental changes and consider how to adjust. Amber, meanwhile, tapped her chin in thought for a moment, then suddenly posed a question. "What are these extraterrestrial visitors you just mentioned?"

Gawain: "..."

Why was this girl's reaction time so erratic, like Brownian motion? He had thought she wasn't paying attention to that word just now because she hadn't reacted...

Just then, a small figure suddenly appeared in the corner of Gawain's vision. The little maid Betty, dressed in a coarse cloth dress, was running towards them energetically.

The little girl ran up to Gawain, panted heavily, and then said blankly with wide, innocent eyes, "Lady Heti asks you to go over."

"What does she need?"

Betty thought for a moment. "She forgot!"

Gawain: "..."

At this moment, Amber noticed Betty's empty hands and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Where's your precious frying pan?"

Betty tilted her head back, answering with all seriousness, "Miss Rebecca said this is our new home. Since we're home, I put the frying pan in the kitchen."

It was Mrs. Hanson who had taught her that when they went out with everyone, she was responsible for carrying the cooking utensils, and when they got home, she was to put them back in the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Gawain already knew why Heti had called him over.

He had already seen the figures appearing in the distance to the west.

The second batch of people... had finally arrived.