That night, Velin stood before the window of a wooden house, looking out at the nightscape of Lake of Praying Stars. Both body and mind relaxed.
At eight o'clock, Guidance of Fate activated once more, bringing Velin valuable information.
Three months later, three thousand kilometers west of Lake of Praying Stars, two Red Dragons and a Golden Dragon would engage in a Great War. The monsters would riot and, six months later, attack the northwestern provinces of the Kingdom of Isia. Most of the monsters heading toward Lake of Praying Stars would be Gnolls, with the strongest being Silver Low-Tier.
"A crisis will arrive in six months."
Hearing this news, Velin felt as though he had been struck by lightning. Hadn't he come to this place for safety? Why couldn't he shake these troubles no matter what?
Two paths now lay before him.
First, halt the development of Lake of Praying Stars, find a safe place, and temporarily avoid the danger. But that would waste a year.
Second, continue developing it. As long as one person broke through to Silver Low-Tier within six months, he would have the ability to defend the territory of Lake of Praying Stars.
Velin paced back and forth inside the room before suddenly stopping, his eyes turning sharp as he looked through the window toward the depths of the wasteland.
"It wasn't easy getting this far. How can I give up? They're just a bunch of Gnolls. I refuse to believe I can't hold Lake of Praying Stars."
However, to strengthen the territory's defenses, he had no choice but to purchase slaves and increase his strength.
In addition, he needed to buy blacksmiths, carpenters, masons, and the urgently needed architects, striving to build a fortress that was easy to defend and hard to attack within six months.
The following morning, Velin trained in the open space before the wooden house as usual.
Suddenly, he reached a certain critical point.
Velin abruptly opened his eyes, a smile appearing on his face. "I finally broke through. My diligent training over the past month has not been in vain."
Breaking through from Mid-Bronze Tier to High-Bronze Tier caused the Battle Qi within his body to grow considerably.
Coupled with the powerful recovery and endurance of Wood Attribute Battle Qi, this meant his own confidence had increased by several degrees.
At that moment, the brothers Orlando and Hebrew approached with a young man.
"My lord, I have come to report the completion of the task."
Hearing this, Velin stood and looked at Kyle behind Orlando, then nodded.
"Not bad. You awakened Battle Qi and became a Knight Squire in half a month. You have good talent."
Kyle knelt on the ground and said respectfully, "Thank you, Master, for giving Kyle this opportunity. I swear upon my life to serve Master forever and never betray you."
After hearing this, Velin handed his sword to Orlando, helped Kyle up, and said approvingly, "You earned all this yourself. I said that if you awakened Battle Qi within half a month, I would take you as my Knight Squire."
"From now on, you may address me as my lord, just like Orlando and the others."
"Thank you, my lord."
Excitement and reverence filled Kyle's eyes as he respectfully bowed to Velin.
"Orlando."
"My lord."
"Kyle's Battle Qi is fire-attributed. I'll leave his further instruction to you."
"I will obey your command."
Looking at the increasingly mature Orlando, Velin patted his shoulder, reached into his pocket, took seven Intermediate Magic Crystals from his Spatial Ring, and placed them in his hands.
"My lord, these are?" Orlando stared wide-eyed at the seven Intermediate Magic Crystals in his hands.
He had personally watched the other eleven knights willingly take on the exhausting task of digging river channels for a single Low-Grade Magic Crystal, never complaining.
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"I said that once you became my Guardian Knights, I would focus on cultivating the two of you."
"Four of them are rewards for you brothers. The other three will serve as cultivation resources for the three of you. Danger is approaching, so you must accelerate the improvement of your strength."
"Yes, my lord," the three replied in unison.
Two days later, the first phase of farmland reclamation was complete. Next came the process of dividing the land.
In an open area, all thirty-nine Freemen, one hundred and twenty-four serfs, and forty-two expendable slaves had gathered. As they looked at the diagram on the wooden board, divided into square plots, everyone except the Bandit Slaves had anticipation in their eyes.
Five thousand mu of land had been divided by Velin into two hundred and fifty plots, with twenty mu per plot.
"Through your efforts, we completed the reclamation task in early June. Next, this land will be granted to you."
"Each of you will draw lots to determine the land you will cultivate."
Orlando then called out the names one by one. The Freemen stepped forward to draw lots first, followed by the serfs.
As for the Bandit Slaves, they did not receive such treatment. As a pack of scum, their only fate was to have their value squeezed dry before being disposed of.
Velin stood nearby and watched. It was truly a display of life in all its forms.
The Freemen or farmers who drew land near Lake of Praying Stars joyfully pressed their fingerprints onto the contract documents.
Those who drew plots in remote areas looked as though their spirits had been crushed, listless and dejected.
Those still waiting could barely contain their excitement. Watching plot after plot of good land get drawn, they could only grow anxious and helpless.
Once everything was over, one hundred and sixty-three contract documents lay before Velin, representing the granting of 3,260 mu of land. It also meant he had 2,358 mu of taxable fields.
As for the remaining Bandit Slaves, they would become true slaves, laboring day and night within a designated area until the end of their lives.
The moment the Freemen and serfs received their land, they ran to their respective plots and wrote their names on the notice boards.
Velin had Orlando carry the contract documents back to his room, then summoned Andrew, the deputy captain of the Knight Guard Team.
"My lord."
Upon receiving the message, Knight Andrew hurried over.
"How is the preparation of the Bean Potato seedlings I asked for?"
"My lord, they were prepared long ago. Following your instructions, there are more than enough to plant three thousand mu of farmland."
"Mm, good."
Hearing that there were so many Bean Potato seedlings, Velin nodded in satisfaction.
He planned to have the Freemen and serfs plant three thousand mu of Bean Potatoes before the end of June, harvest a batch of grain in September, build up reserves for the following year, and make it easier for him to expand the territory's population.
However, Bean Potatoes could only be planted for one season occasionally. This crop contained a small amount of toxins and also damaged the soil severely.
After fertile land was planted with Bean Potatoes for several consecutive seasons, it would become barren.
However, if they were planted alternately with soybeans, this problem could be resolved.
But under the current circumstances, obtaining food was the highest priority. In the future, he intended to establish a special official post to explain these matters to the farmers, lest grain yields suffer an irreversible decline.
"Tell Belder that I will be going to Cadro Province for a while. He will handle all matters in the territory in my stead."
"Yes, my lord."
After Andrew left, Velin returned to his room to prepare for tomorrow's journey.
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