Bustling Territory

"Several Lizardfolk, including a Shortbowman and a Spearman, along with several Lizardfolk Warriors, remained at that Lizardfolk camp. That was the minimum number needed to guard the camp and ensure they could hunt, and we also needed to rely on them to supply food to the bunker." Avina held a thick notebook and reported to Landen with utmost seriousness.

The notebook had originally been her alchemy and magic journal. After she became Landen's steward and clerk, it had acquired a new function.

"However, there are still some problems. The bunker no longer has enough rooms. This problem already existed when Miss Vivian came, but her troops were only stationed here temporarily, so it wasn't a major issue. These Lizardfolk, however, will be living here for a long time, so this problem must be solved."

"There's absolutely no room left?" Landen asked.

"Not quite. If each Lizardfolk shares a room, we can still fit them in somehow, though we'll have to use two storage rooms as well. However, Lizardfolk are quite large, and having several of them in one room is already very cramped. Besides, that could easily lead to sanitation problems..."

"Let's allocate the rooms that way for now." Landen interrupted Avina. "As for the sanitation problem, have them swim a lap in the Blackwater River every day and it'll be solved. As for the lack of rooms, it should be resolved soon."

"Huh? My lord, you already have a solution?" Avina asked curiously.

Landen shrugged without answering. He wasn't putting on an act; he genuinely didn't know exactly how to solve it. Based on his experience, if the territory could be upgraded, the Lord's Mansion would naturally expand as well. As for how exactly it would expand, he had no idea.

That was right—Landen was pinning his hopes on a Territory Upgrade. Once Territory Prosperity reached , this seemed rather out of reach for a territory that currently had only . In reality, though, it wasn't that difficult to achieve. After all, they now had the Heart of the City, which had considerably improved the soil quality throughout the Yumaas Region. As long as Landen could reclaim enough farmland, and with a technique like All Things Grow in his possession, it was indeed possible to raise the Territory Prosperity to in a short time.

"Speaking of which, my lord's territory really is strange." After everything that had happened, Avina seemed to have developed some inexplicable trust in Landen. When she heard him say that he could solve the problem, she immediately stopped worrying about it. She had finished making her report, but for some reason, the girl didn't want to leave just yet. After thinking for a moment, she brought up this topic.

"Strange? What do you mean?" Landen asked curiously.

"Look at the territories in the Surface World. They usually take the lord's castle as their center and form the largest town in the territory around it. More than half of the territory's residents live in that town. Although the rest of the residents aren't gathered there, they still gather in their own areas, forming settlements of various sizes."

"The underground world is even more like that. Most of the races in the underground world are mixed together, unlike the Surface World, where nearly every race lives separately, as in human kingdoms, orc kingdoms, and elf kingdoms. Even so, territories in the underground world are basically centered completely around a city."

"Most of the residents in a territory, especially the higher races—such as Dark Elves, Dark Dwarves, Lizardfolk, and even Bear Hobgoblins and goblins—mostly live in the city that rules the territory. Those who leave the city to live elsewhere are either races like Mind Flayers, which are almost entirely beyond anyone's control, or certain wilderness races."

"But my lord's territory is completely different. All the residents still live wherever they originally lived, even after being conquered. Meanwhile, my lord's mansion has always stood here all alone. Only my lord and the soldiers under him live here. It doesn't feel like a settlement at all. That feeling is really strange."

You think I want it this way?

Landen rolled his eyes speechlessly.

The territories Avina described were all fully mature territories. They had a ruling class, a higher-resident class, an ordinary-resident class, and a slave class. Creatures of various races gathered in one city, each playing completely different roles and holding completely different identities. That was what formed a complete territory.

Landen's territory was completely different. Before he came here, this place had been nothing but wilderness. He had been forcibly appointed as some so-called lord, but that hadn't changed the composition of the place. It was called a territory, but in reality, it was wilderness.

Now, although he had conquered most of the races here, the situation hadn't changed much. There were still only two classes: the ruling class, consisting of Landen and, barely, Hogg, Avina, and a few others; and the uniform class of ordinary residents. The higher residents, nobles, slaves, and the other essential components of a territory were still completely absent.

On top of that, the terrain around the bunker was actually quite poor. Most of the area consisted of rocky mountains, and those mountains produced no special resources. A place like this had no potential to develop into a settlement, let alone a city.

However...

"It should be almost resolved, right?" Landen murmured.

Avina seemed about to say something else when a hurried knock sounded at the door. Landen answered, and the stone door was pushed open. Little Lari quickly entered and said in a low voice, "Lord, we found some traces near the bunker. It seems someone has been watching this place."

"Oh?" Landen froze. After lowering his head and thinking for a moment, he said, "It's probably similar to the origins of that Death Warrior from before. Ignore him. If he dares to infiltrate the bunker, Miss Lilith will naturally deal with him. Oh, right. It's been several days since we went to check on those crops, hasn't it? Come on, let's go take a look."

During the few days after returning from the Lizardfolk camp, Landen hadn't had Hogg begin planting immediately. Instead, he had sent her to Magra Cave to train those Bear Hobgoblins. Her Planting Technique was highly leveled, but even she couldn't carry out large-scale planting alone, so the number of farmers was very important.

The group set off immediately. Landen brought Avina, Kazvito, and the Lari Brothers, heading toward the Experimental Field under the escort of several Lizardfolk Spearmen.

As soon as they arrived, Ibaka, who was responsible for taking turns watching over the fields, came forward and reported in an anxious voice, "Lord, people of unknown identities have appeared near the fields over the past few days!"

"Here too?" Landen was startled, then smiled bitterly. "Why do I feel like my territory has suddenly become so lively?"