Family Motto: Cleave Through Thorns

Romain thought for a moment and took back the gem.

He still had feelings for this ruby, after all, it was something he'd carried since childhood. If he hadn't been short on money, he wouldn't have given it away.

Sentiment was sentiment, and rationality was rationality. In Romain's eyes, the ruby was just a luxury item. After becoming a Transcendent, its effects had greatly diminished, so Romain wouldn't refuse to exchange it for initial development resources.

He said calmly, "I won't take anyone's benefits for nothing. I will repay you in other forms in the future."

Romain understood Morey's intentions. Merchants sought profit, so he would give him profit.

He disagreed with anyone investing in Sigg Town, nor would he accept anyone trying to morally blackmail him with favors.

But he would not refuse others investing in him, especially while he was still weak.

This was a mutually beneficial arrangement, and he also needed a capable merchant to help him sell the resources that Sigg Town would produce in the future.

Romain suddenly asked, "Have you sold all your goods?"

Morey was stunned. He had been temporarily staying here for four days, which was a long time for a merchant caravan, especially for a poor market town like Sigg Town. All the necessary trade had concluded.

Even if these seven or eight merchant ships just stayed here, the hidden costs were not small.

But he couldn't leave now. He was still waiting for Shasta. He had promised to wait for Shasta for two days, and today was the first day, tomorrow would be the second. So he planned to wait until the day after tomorrow. If he still didn't see Shasta, he would truly leave.

Morey stammered, unable to find a good reason, and cursed Shasta in his mind a thousand times. He had never met such a treacherous teammate.

If the Witch ever got on his ship again, he'd be a dog!

Romain keenly noticed Morey's somewhat embarrassed expression.

Romain mused, not continuing his questioning.

He simply told Morey that Sigg Town still needed iron ingots and asked Morey to transport them as soon as possible. He would also exchange corresponding resources for the delivered iron ingots.

Steel was a hot commodity and didn't necessarily have to be sold to Sigg Town.

Therefore, Romain promised to exempt Morey from commercial taxes for the next two years. As long as Morey was willing to come, he would not lack benefits.

In the eyes of true Nobles, the status of merchants and farmers was similar, differing only in the amount of wool they possessed.

Therefore, some Nobles exploited commerce quite severely, and no merchant was willing to do business in such places.

Romain would offer preferential treatment to merchants in terms of commercial taxes in the future to attract more merchants to Sigg Town. The significantly tax-exempt policy would be promoted later.

Romain gestured with his hands and said to Morey, "I need a large number of draft cattle. Before the end of spring this year, I need you to transport 100 draft cattle to Sigg Town. I won't shortchange you on the price; I'll offer 60 gold coins for these 100 draft cattle. As for the shipping costs, you'll bear them..."

Morey immediately shook his head, "I can't do that. Even if I brought all the draft cattle I could buy in Kant Territory here, I wouldn't be able to gather 100."

Kant Territory was the closest Earldom to Sigg Town, separated by a hundred miles of wilderness. Land travel was impossible; water transport was the usual method.

Although the Silver Dragon Canyon had swift currents and numerous reefs, preventing large ships from sailing, transporting a hundred draft cattle wasn't a difficult task.

The problem was simply not being able to buy that quantity of draft cattle in such a short time.

"How about draft horses? Although their physical strength and endurance are not as good as draft cattle, and their price is slightly higher than draft cattle, if you need them, I can bring you 100 draft horses as soon as possible."

Romain's brows furrowed upon hearing this.

100 draft cattle were worth 50 gold coins. Perhaps large-scale acquisitions would drive up the price, but it wouldn't exceed 60 gold coins.

However, 100 draft horses were unstable, requiring him to pay 70 or 80 gold coins, and with a slight price fluctuation, they could soar to 90 gold coins.

Romain had no choice. Without regard for whether he had the money in his pocket, he directly said, "Draft cattle and draft horses, I want both."

In the end, Morey agreed to bring 50 draft cattle and 100 draft horses to Sigg Town.

After seeing Romain throw the ruby to him, they no longer doubted whether this noble could afford the purchase price.

Here stood a young noble who dared to exchange a ruby for development resources.

Undoubtedly, this lord possessed great ambition, just like this valley, possessing immense development potential.

This remote area would soon undergo earth-shattering changes.

As long as one invested early, they would definitely not lose money in the future.

However, because of that ill-tempered Shasta, Morey felt he had landed on Romain's suspect list, which made him very depressed.

Afterward, Romain, Lax, and the carpenter Vitch, each carrying a wooden box containing 150 pounds of iron ingots, headed towards Sigg Town.

With this batch of high-quality iron ingots, the steel shortage was barely covered.

And now it was already very late, and the farmers had stopped working.

Romain checked the work progress.

It was satisfactory.

Due to the mobilization of a large labor force, the farmers could process all the manure within two days.

The technology tree was always a peculiar thing. As long as a key technological point was unlocked, it could greatly improve productivity. And because the operation was simple and easy to replicate, it quickly advanced the progress of the entire civilization.

However, if there was not enough accumulation, or due to historical influences, it could not be unlocked, and the entire civilization would be trapped in place for thousands of years.

The heavy plow was such a critical technological point. Lax and Vitch had heavy workloads and started working overnight.

Romain did not join them. Blacksmithing could be done anytime, and skill experience points could be gained anytime.

Today is not possible; he needs to conserve his strength.

The merchant named Morey, for some unknown reason, wanted him to go into the mountains, but today he didn't mention it at all.

Romain thought again of the witch who had suddenly appeared in Sigg Town.

He felt it was necessary to go and see what secrets those deep mountains truly held.

Romain spent seven days leveling up his [Planting] skill.

It took him another two days to integrate all the resources in Sigg Town and introduce standardized methods such as mud screening for seeds, plow modification, and manure fermentation.

And today was Romain's ninth day in Sigg Town.

Romain woke up at the break of dawn and took out the Greatbow he had brought from the Armored Breaker family.

The body of this greatbow was blood-red, its string was pure white and tough, and its draw weight was between 150 to 200 pounds. Two pigeon-egg-sized diamonds were inlaid at the head and tail respectively.

To draw such a longbow was equivalent to lifting over a hundred catties with one hand, and to draw it fully required even more strength.

The bow was made of "Redwood," a wood that seemed soaked in fresh blood.

Redwood grew naturally and was a special transcendent resource. Its material was tough, and its growth cycle was very long. It was said to be stained with dragon blood, and its effect was to make the holder feel the power of courage and fervor.

It was rumored that even someone with a weak disposition could become brave and fearless if they held a branch of Redwood.

The bowstring was said to be made from the sinews of a great sea monster, tanned through a complex process, making it extremely tough and formidable. It could withstand immense force, and even sharp swords couldn't cut it in a single blow.

Two crystal-clear, high-quality diamonds were inlaid at both ends of the bow, and this transcendent resource imbued the bow body and arrows with hardness and an indomitable power.

Redwood, Sea Monster Sinew, and Diamond – these formed the power of this transcendent weapon.

However, in Romain's opinion, it was just so-so. Its penetration power was probably on par with a heavy sniper rifle, but its destructive power, range, and accuracy were not as effective as a sniper rifle.

This was Romain's most prized weapon, worth at least three figures in gold coins, and countless nobles vied for it.

Yet, this item couldn't be sold. It was said to be a replica of the first Grand Duke Armor-Splitting's weapon, which, when rounded up, made it a heirloom. If the Grand Duke Armor-Splitting saw this thing on the market, wouldn't he skin him alive?

It was originally not meant to be his, but before he left, the Grand Duke Armor-Splitting suddenly summoned him to the family's secret chamber, had him take down this greatbow hanging on the wall, and told him the Armor-Splitting family's motto—

[Cleave Through Thorns]!