Experts, Plants

Whether in the harsh Northlands or the prosperous South, there are vast amounts of wasteland.

There are large areas of wasteland within the noble territories, and the areas between the noble territories are even more desolate and neglected, with no roads or the Wilds.

What is wasteland? Is it land overgrown with weeds, teeming with insects, and even frequented by wild animals, yet uncultivated?

This may be true for the prosperous South lands, but in the Northwind Province, in the area closest to the Northlands, the wastelands are not so prosperous.

Withered, dry, rocky, and uneven terrain—that's the wasteland of the Northlands. Wild grasses won't grow lush here, and insects and wild animals won't like such barren land; they'll freeze and die one winter.

Over time, the wasteland was always covered with a layer of white frost.

Can food really grow on such land?

"Can food really grow on such land?"

Within Baronet Norton's estate, a group of dark-skinned serfs stood before the land they had painstakingly dug out. The land had been turned over and over again, and the originally dry, yellow soil had turned a deep brown from being sprinkled with water.

They did not believe that watering could make the land fertile, as the land in the Northwind Province was never short of water.

Shouts came from afar, and the soldiers pushed and shoved aside the clueless serfs blocking their way. Before long, the serfs, fearing the danger, parted the road and gave up the land.

They watched as the soldiers escorted several lords to the ground, and then they saw another group of slaves pushing several foul-smelling carts along.

The serfs retreated even further; they were not clean to begin with, but at this moment they still couldn't help but cover their noses.

"Is that poop?"

The serfs vomited, but nothing came out; they were never full.

Seeing the stench of human excrement mixed with soil made me even more disgusted.

Before long, other people brought more soil and covered the soil, finally masking the stench and improving the air quality.

Then the serfs saw the lords take out a wooden pot and pour out hundreds of slimy worms from it.

The stewards of Baronet Norton, who were accompanying the agricultural officer, couldn't help but back away at the sight of earthworms, but the serfs didn't care; they had no right to feel disgusted by such insects.

"What are those insects for?"

They had to drive away a lot of insects every day when they were planting, but these old men actually poured the insects into the soil on their own initiative?

I've never heard of this before, so let's hear more about it.

"Next time, let these slaves collect the dung of livestock and wild animals; it stinks too much."

Ximi covered his nose; the serfs felt the air was fresher, but he didn't.

As an expert dispatched by the Frozen Earth Territory to Baronet Norton's Territory to help increase grain production, Ximi felt that he had endured all the hardships he had never experienced along the way. He really wanted to return to the Frozen Earth Territory, where, apart from being a bit cold, everything was a hundred times better than this wretched place.

The steward of Baronet Norton's Territory, standing nearby, paid no attention and instead asked:

"Will it really grow food?"

He had been given a death order: if the crops didn't grow, these people would just be driven away, but he might be killed to alleviate the food burden.

Lordship has been spending too much money lately and is unhappy with everyone. No one dares to breathe loudly in Lordship presence.

"Sure."

"Did you see what I just did? You order these serfs to carry out the same process on all the newly reclaimed farmland. Anyone who makes a mistake, cut off their head!"

Ximi said loudly, as if to tell everyone.

This piece of land is an experimental field. Further away, there are hundreds of acres of wide land connected together. After one or two months of continuous digging and development, this originally barren and dry land has been transformed into a flat brown farmland.

There wasn't enough soil to begin with, so even more people had to transport it from afar. The completion of one acre of land meant that at least two meters had been dug down from a more distant location.

Under Ximi's arrangement, a large number of serfs began to push stinking excrement into the soil, and after covering it with a second layer of soil, they threw earthworms in.

Throughout the process, Ximi certainly couldn't let go. He patrolled everywhere. He had no choice; he was also on a mission from the Frozen Earth Territory. As a noble of Otherworld, how could he be satisfied with his current status and wealth?

The ancient dignity and glory of the nobility dictated that he must either die or rebuild the family's honor.

The apocalypse brought by the Northlands diminished his noble attitude, but he also found it difficult to tolerate his current living conditions.

"Mr. Ximi, it's finished."

The lack of the title "Master" made Ximi feel resentful, but he still suppressed his emotions and said:

"That's not enough. What about all the rotten wood and leaves that were brought in, as well as the plant debris and food scraps? Spread them all over the top, covering the very surface of the land."

Ximi said loudly, a request that made the serfs somewhat unwilling.

The reason is simple: rotten leaves and wood are very precious to them.

Baronet Norton sent soldiers to plunder large quantities of rotten wood from the homes of commoners and slaves, because these were the only resources these people could afford. Plant scraps were relatively easy to find; a quick sweep through the Forest would yield plenty. As for the final food scraps...

That's ridiculous, they'll even have scraps left?

The soldiers were urging them on, but the serfs had no choice, and besides, those things had already been looted and transported here long ago.

Rotten wood is not as hard as you might imagine; you can easily break it with your bare hands. Decaying leaves and plant roots are densely packed on the soil. Besides providing food, they also protect the soil from freezing in the cold winter.

Ximi glanced at the distant mountain peaks. The peaks were not high, but at least they could block some of the cold winds coming from the north.

The work of helping to reclaim wasteland and grow food was proceeding in an orderly manner, but it was clear that none of the nobles had absolute faith in Ryan. Even with the precedent of the swamp, the nobles were always conservative and were almost instinctively wary of any changes.

No nobleman was given a large share of land for development, and most noblemen were even exploring the Wilds areas outside their own territories.

Ryan didn't care about this, and he could even guess that when summer and autumn came, some nobles' lands would not be able to grow crops.

However, the land reclaimed by nobles will produce enough grain. Year after year, this year it may be only a few dozen or a hundred acres, but next year it may be a few hundred or a thousand acres. Naturally, the total grain production of the Northwind Province will increase.

Ryan's prestige will reach its peak at that time.

The arrangements had already been finalized, and all that Ryan, the noble lord, had to do was wait for the results of his subordinates' efforts.

However, he was not idle either. The Wyvern Legion of Winged Gorge patrolled the kingdom's airspace to the north, and Count Pascal's Gargoyle Legion became sculptures on the Northwind Avenue. All of this brought a huge impact to Zero Crossing City.

Zero Crossing City has become even more prosperous, and it has not yet reached its peak of saturation. Since the expansion began, Zero Crossing City has been reaching new heights year by year.

The happiest of them all was Viscount Miles.

When Ryan met Viscount Kristan Viscount Miles again, he learned from a viscount from the Danube Province that Viscount Miles, who had gone to the Imperial Capital and suffered greatly for killing a viscount, had even been stripped of his right to wage war.

The emperor and the nobles of the Imperial Capital made a decision, which Viscount Miles had not told Ryan.

Now that Ryan knew, he could only smile silently. Who could have imagined that the outcome of Viscount Miles would be like this?

"Recently, many nobles from the Danube Province have come to Zero Crossing City Zero Crossing City. They want to trade gems here."

Viscount Miles told Ryan that he had learned quite a bit from his dealings with the nobles these past few days.

"Oh?"

Ryan was puzzled. The Danube Province was rich in Agate and gemstones, so how could it be related to Zero Crossing City?

Is the market here large? The nobles of the Northwind Province shouldn't have much demand for this kind of thing.

"It's those adventurers."

Viscount Miles provided an answer that surprised Ryan.

"It seems those adventurers did indeed amass a considerable fortune in the Northlands."

Ryan laughed. The nobles from Danube Province discovered that the adventurers who had entered the Northlands had brought back all sorts of precious items that no one in Zero Crossing City recognized, and their eyes lit up.

"This is a good thing. These nobles know their stuff, so adventurers will enter the Northlands more frequently, but..."

Ryan looked at Viscount Miles, who gave Ryan a knowing look and said:

"I plan to double the price."

Ryan put down his tea; the viscount looked even darker than himself.

Any action taken in Zero Crossing City will generate wealth for Ryan and Miles; even the Merchant Guild has to pay a sanitation fee when entering the city.

"That's settled then."

"Furthermore, I came to Zero Crossing City for the Swamp. As you know, Mr. Kristan, His Majesty the Emperor has included the Swamp in the territory of the Frozen Earth Territory. I plan to find some people to explore the Swamp the Swamp then begin its comprehensive development."

"This process will cause a lot of trouble, especially the excess silt. I plan to transport it to other counties in the Northwind Province. The silt can help increase their grain production."

"This is not priceless."

Ryan said, Miles hesitated for a moment, but still said:

"I will buy all the excess silt and then arrange for a team to transport it."

This is not an easy task, because when Ryan transports these things out, he also has to bring back fertile soil to fill the Swamp.

This wasn't the first time Miles had done this, but now he was so deeply tied to Zero Crossing City and Ryan that he couldn't break free.

Ryan nodded and continued:

"This year's the Swamp production will most likely be ten times that of last year. If the blizzard doesn't destroy the Swamp, I will hand over some of the farmland to Miles to manage next year."

"You can start preparing this year, arrange for some people to train, and as for yourself, Viscount..."

Ryan thought for a moment.

"The Eight Knights of the Northern Kingdom's Braveheart Guild need a nobleman as an important witness. Surely the Viscount wouldn't refuse?"

Viscount Miles' eyes lit up. He really didn't want to refuse this; this was the biggest thing he could do in Zero Crossing City.

The pace of this world is terrifyingly slow. If you take a trip around Ryan Zero Crossing City, there will be almost nothing else happening in Zero Crossing City this year, and the same is true for almost all the noble territories in the entire Northwind Province.

Only the Frozen Earth Territory is developing and changing almost daily.

After dealing with matters outside, the hustle and bustle of the Frozen Earth Territory left Ryan somewhat overwhelmed.

One to two hundred thousand people belonging to Nidhogg began to enter the Norris Continent, appearing in the Frozen Earth Territory. Their mission was to build roads together with 20,000 people dispatched by the Frozen Earth Territory.

The first step was to clear the Wilds, removing all the tangled branches and dangers from the Mountain Forest, a task that required the help of the army.

The pressure brought by the large population was that, in the first month, there was almost no progress. Instead, all the trees along the selected roads were cut down and used to build simple wooden houses with a certain degree of cold resistance.

And the transportation of grain.

Just transporting food cost Ryan thousands of spiritual points to clear the way.

The reason for not using the Dragon Emperor Crown is because of Nidhogg's Dragons and those powerful Magical Beast.

Influenced by the Northlands, not only humans, but also Magical Beast and Dragons sensed that Nidhogg was doomed. They were searching for a way to survive, and the spatial portal opened by the Dragon Emperor Crown would be captured by them, thus causing these monsters to approach the land where humans lived.

They don't need to do anything; simply getting close will pose a huge threat and put pressure on the population of that land, and Ryan has already recalled a large number of Legion Knight Retainer.

The spiritual portal will have no effect.

The construction of houses and the transportation of food were only the first steps in road construction. Afterward, craftsmen needed to forge all sorts of tools, as well as Alchemical Creation produced by the Alchemy Academy specifically for road construction, crushing and compacting stones.

Grand Mage Luna has emerged from seclusion. She has mastered even more Grand Mage- level power and has formed a partial cooperation with the Alchemy Academy, applying the magical techniques of Golem Puppet to Alchemical Creation.

then...

Looking at the huge stone statue in the Mountain Forest and the metal wheels beneath it that served as its legs, Ryan blinked.

"That's what Mr. Roth and the Mage Luna created?"

"Yes, sir. The metal golem can only walk on relatively flat ground, and it is not very strong. The Mage Luna is quite opposed to it. She wants to create Golem Puppet comparable to a Holy Sanctuary Knight to become her guard."

The combination of Mages and knight is perfect, Mage Luna already possesses some of the qualities of this combination, but it's still not enough. She wants to get rid of the golem's inflexible and sturdy body and return to the ranks of Mages.

Grand Mage Macken was heartbroken by this, as all Mages wished to have bodies as strong as knights, but Mage Luna didn't care at all.

The manufacture of tools allowed the road construction plan to gradually move forward. Ryan himself went to the Fortress Defense Line, where the military fortress was still under construction, but it no longer looked like the original plan, because it had become the second line of defense.

The first obstacle is the Thorny Jungle lies in front of the Fortress Defense Line.

Spiritual Plant, Nastrond.

(End of this chapter)