Second Exploration

The next morning, after finishing breakfast, Lynn inspected all his men in the small square at the center of the Castle.

This time, his entourage had expanded to nine people, including the keen-nosed Second Brother and eight tough Horse Bandits who had been resting and sharpening their skills for quite some time.

As the number of people increased, the required mounts and supplies also doubled.

Just as before, each person had two horses. In addition to the necessary food and weapons, they also brought along an extra set of chainmail and helmets to deal with any potential conflicts.

Lao Si, Lao Wu, and Lao Lao Liu remained behind to guard the Castle. Lynn had left them with seven Horse Bandits, which was more than enough to handle any typical emergencies.

In fact, it was no longer appropriate to call this group of men Horse Bandits.

Lynn planned to hold an internal meeting after the farming season ended to reorganize them, turning them into the sword and shield that would protect the White Bear Territory.

After bidding farewell to the reluctant Yagna, Old Albert, and the others, Lynn headed north once more.

During his previous exploration, he had traveled north to the edge of the marsh, discovered a large amount of Peat Mine, then followed the marsh westward to find the Salt Mine, and finally walked in a straight line from the Salt Mine back to the White Bear Territory.

The unlocked map fog could be roughly seen as a triangle.

Lynn's goal for this exploration was the patch of map fog in the middle of that triangle.

As the temperature rose, the paths in the forest became increasingly difficult to traverse.

The once-firm forest floor had turned soft, filled with sticky marshes of all sizes; a moment of carelessness would cause a horse to sink into the mire.

But this could not hinder the progress of Lynn's party.

Relying on the map provided by the system panel and the experience gained from the last exploration, they bypassed various natural traps and moved steadily toward the Salt Mine in the northwest.

During their lunch break, in addition to the dry rations they carried, Lynn and Second Brother supplemented their meal by hunting.

This time, they used bows and arrows to bag two wild ducks in the marshland.

The wild ducks had a very strong, gamey smell, but having fresh meat in the wilderness was already quite a luxury.

Second Brother gnawed on a fatty duck leg, mumbling indistinctly:

"Big Brother, I finally understand why the territories in the north are so scattered. The difficulty of clearing these forests is too high; they simply aren't suitable for living."

Second Brother had previously followed Lynn in the south of the Northern Kingdom.

The population density in that region was far higher than in the north, and one could usually see prosperous villages and towns after riding for two or three hours.

It was practically a paradise for Horse Bandits.

But in the White Bear Territory, at the northernmost end of the kingdom, even traveling to the nearest Shallow Beach Territory required a full day of riding, with nothing but dense, uninhabited forest in between.

Lynn looked around at the primeval forest and sighed:

"You're right. Both the White Bear Territory and the Shallow Beach Territory developed from the basis of riverbank shallows. No one would think of clearing land in the forest; just cutting down the trees isn't enough—you have to pull out the roots, and that is simply not something human labor can solve."

Even in later generations, clearing primeval forests in such cold regions required the use of heavy machinery like excavators and tractors.

If one were to rely on human labor to clear the roots buried deep underground, the efficiency would be abysmal.

Furthermore, these forests could not be cleared by fire.

Beneath the marshes, which had accumulated over countless millennia, lay endless deposits of peat and coal.

If one were to accidentally burn through the surface, the resulting forest fire might be enough to darken the sky.

Once the north wind blew, the ashes from the forest fire alone would be enough to bury the entire White Bear Territory.

Fortunately, there was still plenty of uncleared flat land in the White Bear Territory.

Even without seeking land from the forest, supporting another ten or twenty thousand people would be effortless. The Shallow Beach Territory to the south had even more land. Lynn estimated that if technologies like the Heavy Plow and Compost were fully promoted, the two territories combined could support at least one hundred thousand people.

With a logistics base capable of supporting one hundred thousand people, Lynn was confident he could cut through the entire territory of the Marsh Duke.

"Big Brother, if we want to develop that Salt Mine, do we have to build a road through this forest?" Second Brother finally realized the issue of road construction.

"We do need to build a road, but the difficulty of building a road is far lower than clearing land. There is no need to dig out the roots; when we encounter small marshes, we can drain them and fill them in, and for large marshes, we can simply go around."

Lynn's trip was aimed at planning the route; the more map fog he unlocked, the better he could plan the path.

By the afternoon, they discovered a relatively large stone quarry beside a stream.

Stone quarries were not rare in the Northern Kingdom, so their value was not high.

But for Lynn's grand plan of road construction, the quarry was of immense significance.

A road paved with crushed stone would naturally be far more durable than a dirt road.

Building a gravel road would certainly consume more man-hours in the beginning, but subsequent maintenance would be relatively simple.

Moreover, his Gathering skill had already reached level two, unlocking knowledge related to lime burning.

By mixing the quicklime produced from burning with straw, thatch, sand, and water, he could obtain a type of cement-like material with decent strength.

Although its strength was far from that of modern cement, it was sufficient for building brick and stone walls and houses.

After marking the stone quarry on the map, Lynn's party continued toward the Salt Mine.

By the evening of the next day, they had crossed the entire triangular zone and arrived once again at the edge of the giant marsh.

Beneath their feet lay the Peat Mine with its incredibly staggering reserves.

The great marsh had regained its vitality, and the slightest sound would startle flocks of waterbirds into flight.

According to the unlocked map fog, Lynn's party was now only five kilometers away from the Salt Mine.

"Keep going. We'll spend the night once we reach the edge of the Salt Mine."

Glancing at the sun, which had not yet fully set, Lynn decided to push a little further west.

This would undoubtedly bring risks; after all, there was little cover around the Salt Mine, and lighting a fire at night could easily be spotted by any Wild People who might be present.

But Lynn was specifically looking for the Wild People, and since he was carrying fine weapons and armor, he naturally had nothing to fear.

After traveling another two kilometers west, the trees along the path became increasingly sparse, and the bare, pointed peak of the Salt Mountain could be vaguely seen.

Second Brother, riding at the front of the team as a scout, suddenly became alert:

"Big Brother, it looks like there are people on the Salt Mountain?!"

"Are you sure?" Lynn raised his right hand, signaling his men behind him to stop and hold their breath.

Second Brother lowered his voice: "Yes, I see people. There should be three of them on the mountain."

"Everyone, armor up in ten minutes, then follow me to charge. Remember, try to capture them alive. You don't have to catch all of them; one or two is enough. It doesn't matter if the rest run away."

Following Lynn's orders, the accompanying Horse Bandits quickly dismounted and assisted each other in putting on their chainmail.

Ten minutes later, they left two men behind to guard the luggage and horses, while the rest followed Lynn, galloping toward the Salt Mine at top speed.

(End of chapter)