Five Days Later, the Rapidly Developing Territory

Night deepened.

After the bonfire party, the manor fell quiet.

Loren soaked in a hot bath and let out a comfortable sigh.

After a tiring day, the warmth of the water helped him relax considerably.

But he didn't simply lie there. He closed his eyes and began his second immersive training session.

His body hadn't fully recovered from being pushed too far, and practicing the Demon Breathing Technique required intense exercise.

Loren didn't want to risk any lingering injuries, so he would focus on the Bauhinia Breathing Technique for the next few days.

In his mental sea, blue spiritual power slowly revolved.

It was the most fundamental kind of power, and also the hardest to improve.

Without a breathing technique, the body could grow stronger through intense exercise, but spiritual power had to be cultivated separately.

It was said that Spellcasters had even more demanding requirements for spiritual power. The breathing techniques they practiced took an extreme approach, focusing entirely on increasing spiritual power.

Loren's former path had been much like that of a Spellcaster. He had pursued the ultimate in spiritual power, using it as a foundation to unleash attacks far beyond his level.

But the emergence of the Archdemon Bloodline had changed everything. His tremendous spiritual power now had a strong body to support it, so he was no longer a one-trick pony who could last only five seconds.

Body and spirit complemented each other, giving him faster, stronger, and more enduring combat ability.

Settling his mind, Loren activated the phantom of the Archdemon Bloodline within his own bloodline, then once again gathered his spiritual power and began to visualize it.

But this time, Loren didn't rush to use his spiritual power to construct the Archdemon. Instead, he simply immersed himself in the might of the Archdemon Bloodline's phantom.

He studied every detail of this terrifying being's body, intending to examine it thoroughly before trying to construct it.

Blood-red eyes, wings of slaughter, a demon's body...

He discovered that every part of the Archdemon's body was practically perfect, with almost nothing superfluous. It had been born to kill.

Gradually, Loren became absorbed in the vision, carefully savoring the extraordinary nature of this epic being.

A long while later, a sudden warning came from his body. It felt as if he had been completely drained.

He snapped awake.

Only then did he realize that the spiritual power he hadn't even used had been depleted far more dramatically than when he had constructed the Archdemon's body the night before.

Just examining the Archdemon could have such an effect?

After carefully reflecting on it for a moment, Loren's eyes gradually brightened.

His spiritual resilience had improved astonishingly after he visualized the Archdemon's phantom.

Loren's heart stirred, and his eyes blazed with light.

"Could this be the right way to use the Bauhinia Breathing Technique?!"

Visualize, observe, construct.

Loren fell into thought.

Today's unexpected discovery made him feel that he was getting closer to the true essence of the Bauhinia Breathing Technique.

But a moment later, he shook his head helplessly.

Although his spiritual power was already astonishing for someone at his level, he still couldn't sustain a visualization of a legendary being like the Archdemon for long.

He had many ideas, but for now he could only hold them back.

Trying to visualize the Archdemon without enough spiritual power would be asking for trouble. The backlash from a spiritual collapse would be enough to tear his soul apart.

After recovering a little, Loren stood up, dried himself off, and put on a soft dressing gown.

He picked up the wine a maid had poured on the round table and walked over to the window, gazing into the distance through its half-open shutters.

Two moons hung high in the sky.

Aside from the moonlight, everything outside was pitch-black.

There was hardly anything about this scene that matched the name City of Brilliant Moon.

Lifting the crystal goblet, he took a small sip of wine. As he watched the red liquid swirl inside, his eyes gradually sharpened.

This territory, which had almost nothing, would one day become a true City of Brilliant Moon in his hands.

Bright and beautiful as the moon, glorious and grand.

There ought to be a city like that in the Endless Wasteland, one that everyone admired and longed for.

At dawn the next day, the City of Brilliant Moon slowly stirred back to life.

The department heads at City Hall called out to their subordinates and got them started on the day's work. The troops preparing to head out ate a hot breakfast and checked their equipment.

The residents who hadn't been hired by City Hall took part in the labor under the direction of its staff.

Even the elderly and infirm were given tasks suited to them. No one was left idle.

The entire territory began operating like a machine.

As the heart of the City of Brilliant Moon, Loren oversaw the implementation of one task after another.

At present, the City of Brilliant Moon had three major construction projects.

First, repair the Arrow Towers. Second, make paper. Third, improve sanitation throughout the territory.

The Construction Department was responsible for the Arrow Towers, with a total of 50 people at work.

Tommy, the only old man who knew Papermaking Technology, was responsible for making paper. Loren assigned him 20 people.

The Sanitation Department had originally been assigned 20 workers to improve sanitation, but Loren wanted to speed things up, so he simply ordered more people assigned to it, bringing the total to 50.

The Sanitation Department had to do more than clean up waste. It also needed to designate areas for building toilets and cesspits.

That left fewer than 60 of the nearly 180 residents.

Those who remained had no time to rest either. Loren sent them all to build a new structure—the barracks.

For the past two days, the barbarians and dogheads had been living in crude buildings behind the manor. Loren didn't care much about the dogheads, but the barbarians were an elite force and needed proper housing. It would also make training easier in the future.

There was no immediate rush to build the barracks, but it was a major undertaking.

Loren simply ordered all the barbarians and dogheads who were staying behind in the territory to take part. They went to the broad plains behind Gray Eagle Territory to cut down trees.

The barracks would be built 500 meters to the left of the Lord's Manor, a thousand meters from the lake. That would put a barrier between the lake and the manor.

The Frogmen in the lake hadn't made a move, but they were still a threat that couldn't be ignored.

He wasn't about to let a bunch of dripping-wet Frogmen sneak up on him in the middle of the night.

All day on April 13, the territory was busy.

Repairing Arrow Towers, improving sanitation, developing paper...

Everyone had been assigned work, and a massive construction campaign was officially underway.

On April 14, sanitation in the territory had largely improved. A great deal of human waste and household garbage had been cleared away, and construction on the toilets had begun.

The feature activated when Loren founded the City of Brilliant Moon—Stamina Recovery—had shone brightly over the past few days.

After the moon rose, everyone in the City of Brilliant Moon recovered their stamina 30% faster.

This noncombat feature was incredibly useful.

No matter how exhausting the work, people could rest overnight and return to the construction site full of energy the next morning.

It greatly boosted the residents' work efficiency and was practically a divine skill.

On April 15, most of the materials needed to repair the Arrow Towers had been prepared. The repairs entered their second phase and officially began.

That same day, the first toilet with a cesspit was completed. It required users to flush it by hand.

Luckily, there was a rather muddy spring near the toilet, so there was no need to worry about the water supply.

The clean, orderly toilet amazed many residents. They had never imagined that a toilet could be so comfortable.

What's more, one of the talents Loren had discovered during the census—the apprentice physician and his family of three—had prepared an incense that repelled mosquitoes and placed it inside. Its faint fragrance instantly made the toilet feel luxurious.

Large crowds began lining up to use it. Even those who didn't need to go would wander inside for a look. The sight of people gathered around a single toilet, marveling at it, was quite a spectacle.

On April 16, to speed up the arrival of Papermaking Technology, a paper mill was established.

Loren personally appointed Tommy as its first director and set aside an area for him to build the facility and develop paper.

On April 17, repairs on the Arrow Towers made astonishing progress. The main framework was complete, and only the finishing touches remained.

That same day, the sanitation improvements were completed. Twenty toilets had been built downwind of the residential area, greatly reducing the amount of human waste scattered around.

The Sanitation Department had also widened the sewers and established rules requiring all garbage to be disposed of in designated places and all well water to be boiled before drinking. The residents' happiness visibly improved.

In the blink of an eye, it was the 18th.

The weather was clear, with a bright blue sky.

Several pieces of news made Loren quite excited today.

Of the City of Brilliant Moon's three major initial projects, sanitation improvements were now completely finished.

The Sanitation Department had even formed a patrol squad. Anyone caught relieving themselves in public would have the tool of their misdeed confiscated on the spot, which thoroughly frightened a group of men.

The Arrow Tower repairs would also be finished today.

Only the paper was still in development. It didn't look like it would be ready within the next three to five days.

Walking along the clean, fresh-smelling streets, Loren wore a smile.

Although the City of Brilliant Moon was still pitifully small, it was already beginning to show signs of a proper city. Everything was flourishing.

"Lord Loren, the Arrow Towers will be repaired today. Would you like to go inspect them?"

After several days of work, Ariel, the timid and shy genius administrator, had grown much more confident and capable. The brilliance of the City Hall vice-chair was beginning to shine through.

But no matter how high her status in the territory became, the shy girl still blushed as readily as ever when facing Loren.

Loren looked at the talented administrator and nodded with satisfaction.

Ariel had worked even harder than he had these past few days. The officials below often didn't dare report problems directly to him, and their first choice was usually Ariel.

Almost every aspect of City Hall's work required the girl's attention.

Ariel had lived up to his trust. Her performance at work had been practically flawless.

She not only handled the administration in an orderly manner, but, more remarkably, the girl who was timid and shy in daily life never backed down at work.

She called things as they were and had a firm, decisive manner.

Over the past few days, her approach and excellent management skills had earned the confidence of the City Hall staff and given her considerable influence.

This put Loren's earlier concerns—that her subordinates might deceive her—to rest.

The system was right to call her a genius. She really was exceptional.

As a result, Ariel's standing in his heart rose another step.

The girl's loyalty had gradually climbed to 95, and she had become one of his trusted confidantes.

"Let's go take a look."

Loren nodded and headed toward the city walls with Ariel.

"How's Tommy's paper mill coming along? How much longer until he can develop paper?"

Old Tommy had originally promised that he would develop paper within five days.

But Loren had discovered, to his dismay, that the City of Brilliant Moon lacked half the things Tommy needed. For the past few days, Loren had been trying to find a way to get him the necessary tools.

As a result, the development of the paper had been delayed.

Perhaps it was because of magic, but papermaking on the Nol Main Plane seemed quite different from on Earth and involved several extra steps.

Loren knew almost nothing about the subject. Most people wouldn't think to study how to make paper, either, so there was little he could do to help.

Ariel gazed at Loren's nearly perfect profile, her clear eyes tinged with a blush, and spoke softly.

"Director Tommy worked through the night yesterday and made good progress. He expects to have results within five days at most."

"Five days? Tell him to hurry. Once he's finished developing ordinary paper, he should teach the process to others. I need him to develop Magic Paper."

Ordinary paper could certainly be profitable, but it was nothing compared to Magic Paper.

Magic Paper was a prerequisite for making Magic Scrolls. It could greatly enhance the territory's military strength, so it absolutely couldn't be overlooked.

Besides, the City of Brilliant Moon had Sim, a Bloodline Mage.

Once they developed real Magic Paper, Loren could have the dogheads try making Magic Scrolls.

If everyone had a Fireball Spell Magic Scroll, wouldn't his barbarians and Javelinists become unstoppable?

If they couldn't win otherwise, they could bury their opponents under a pile of Magic Scrolls.

Just thinking about that wonderful future made Loren itch to have Tommy hurry up and develop Magic Paper.