New Crisis, Breakthrough, and Land Distribution

In the evening, Velin stood by the window of a wooden house, gazing at the night scenery of the Lake of Praying Stars, his body and mind relaxed.

At eight o'clock, the Guidance of Fate activated again, delivering valuable news to Velin.

[Three months from now, three thousand kilometers west of the Lake of Praying Stars, two red dragons and one gold dragon will engage in a great battle. Monsters will riot and will, in six months, attack the northwestern provinces of the Kingdom of Isia. The monsters heading towards the Lake of Praying Stars are mostly gnolls, with the strongest being Silver Low-Tier.]

"In six months, a crisis will arrive."

Upon hearing this news, Velin felt as if he had been struck by lightning. Hadn't he come to this place for safety? Why couldn't he shake off these troubles?

He now had two paths before him.

First, stop the development of the Lake of Praying Stars, find a safe place, and temporarily avoid the storm. However, this would waste a year.

Second, continue development. Within six months, as long as one person broke through to Silver Low-Tier, he would have the ability to defend this territory of the Lake of Praying Stars.

Pacing back and forth in the room, Velin suddenly stopped, his eyes sharp, looking through the window into the depths of the wilderness.

"It's finally gotten started, how can I give up? It's just a bunch of gnolls, I refuse to believe I can't defend the Lake of Praying Stars."

However, to strengthen the territory's defenses, he would have to buy slaves to increase his strength.

In addition, blacksmiths, carpenters, masons, and the urgently needed architects must also be bought, striving to build an easily defensible castle within six months.

The next morning, Velin was practicing in the open space in front of the wooden house as usual.

Suddenly, he reached a special critical point.

Then, Velin's eyes snapped open, and a smile appeared on his face: "I finally broke through. It was worth my diligent training for over a month."

He had broken through from Mid-Bronze Tier to High-Bronze Tier, and the Battle Qi within his body had grown.

Coupled with the wood-attribute Battle Qi's strong recovery and endurance, this meant his own foundation had increased by several points.

At this moment, the brothers Orlando and Hebrew walked over with a young man.

"My Lord, your subordinate is here to deliver the mission."

After hearing this, Velin stood up and looked at Kyle behind Orlando, nodding.

"Not bad. Awakening Battle Qi in half a month and becoming a Knight Squire, your talent is good."

Kyle knelt on the ground and said respectfully, "Thank you, Master, for giving Kyle this opportunity. I swear with my life to be loyal to you forever and never betray you."

Upon hearing this, Velin handed his sword to Orlando, helped Kyle up, and said with satisfaction, "You earned all of this. I said that if you awakened Battle Qi within half a month, I would take you as my Knight Squire."

"From now on, you and Orlando can call me Master."

"Thank you, Master."

Kyle's eyes were filled with excitement and reverence as he respectfully bowed to Velin.

"Orlando."

"Master."

"Kyle's Battle Qi attribute is fire. I'll leave his further guidance to you."

"I obey your command."

Velin looked at the increasingly mature Orlando, patted his shoulder, reached into his pocket, and took out seven Intermediate Magic Crystals from his spatial ring, handing them to him.

"Master, what is this?" Orlando's eyes widened as he looked at the seven Intermediate Magic Crystals in his hand.

He had personally witnessed the other eleven Knights willing to do ditch-digging work for a single Low-Grade Magic Crystal, working diligently without complaint.

The search for the book title was unsuccessful; you can try searching for the author, perhaps the name has been changed!

"I told you, as my Guardian Knights, I will focus on cultivating both of you."

"Four of these are rewards for you two brothers, and the other three will be used as cultivation resources for the three of you. Danger is approaching, you must accelerate your progress."

"Yes, Master," the three replied in unison.

Two days later, the first phase of the farmland reclamation plan was completed, and the next step was to divide the land.

In an open space, thirty-nine free citizens, one hundred and twenty-four serfs, and forty-two cannon fodder slaves were all present. They looked at the grid patterns drawn on the wooden boards, and except for the bandit slaves, everyone else's eyes were filled with anticipation.

Velin divided the five thousand mu of land into two hundred and fifty squares, with each square being twenty mu.

"Through your efforts, we completed the reclamation task in early June. These lands will now be granted to you."

"Next, each of you will draw lots to determine the land you will cultivate."

Afterward, Orlando called out names one by one, starting with the free citizens drawing lots, followed by the serfs.

As for the bandit slaves, they did not receive this treatment. As a group of dregs, they only had the fate of having their value exploited and then disposed of.

Velin stood by, observing. It was truly the myriad states of human life.

The free citizens or farmers who drew lots for land near the Lake of Praying Stars happily pressed their handprints onto the contract documents.

Those who drew lots for land in remote areas seemed to have lost their spirit, looking dejected.

Those who were waiting were filled with anxious excitement, watching good plots of land being drawn away, feeling helpless.

After everything was finished, one hundred and sixty-three contract documents were placed before Velin, representing 3,260 mu of land being granted, and meaning he had 2,358 mu of taxable land.

As for the remaining bandit slaves, they would serve as true slaves, toiling day and night in a designated area until the end of their lives.

As soon as the freemen and serfs got their hands on land, they rushed to their respective areas and wrote their names on the notice board.

Velin had Orlando carry the contract documents back to his room before calling over Andrew, the deputy captain of the Knight Guard.

"My Lord."

Knight Andrew hurried over as soon as he received the message.

"How is the preparation for the bean and potato seedlings I asked you to make?"

"My Lord, they have been prepared long ago. According to your instructions, it's more than enough to plant three thousand mu of farmland."

"Good, then that's fine."

Velin nodded in satisfaction upon hearing about the large quantity of bean and potato seedlings.

He planned to have the freemen and serfs plant three thousand mu of beans and potatoes by the end of June, harvesting a batch of grain in September to increase reserves for the following year, which would allow him to expand his territory's population.

However, beans and potatoes could only be planted once in a while, as this crop contained a small amount of toxin and caused severe damage to the land.

After planting beans and potatoes for several consecutive seasons on fertile land, it would become barren.

However, this problem could be solved by alternating planting with soybeans.

But in the current situation, acquiring food was the top priority. In the future, he planned to establish a dedicated official position to teach farmers about this, to prevent an irreversible decline in grain production.

"Tell Belder that I will be heading to Cadro Province for a period of time. He will handle all major and minor affairs within the territory."

"Yes, My Lord."

After Andrew left, Velin returned to his room to prepare for his departure tomorrow.

If you find this book good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.

At the request of many readers, VIP membership with ad-free viewing is now available.

Click to view.