Chapter 208: Mirror Lake City

The newly built city was located on a dirt slope on the north shore of the lake. This place had an open view, fertile land, and underground water veins. To the east, there was a forest, making it very suitable for building a new city.

The lake’s water was clear and smooth like a mirror. The blue sky and the scenery on the shore were all reflected in it. The view was very beautiful. Su Lun named this lake Mirror Lake, and the newly built city was also called Mirror Lake City.

The Mirror Lake City planned by Su Lun was a city with a side length of one kilometer. The city had a population of about ten thousand people, and if the population increased later, it would continue to expand. But now, such a large scale was definitely not needed. Over three thousand refugees and an even larger number of slaves began to work.

First, a temporary camp was built here. The camp used a mix of wood and mud to build fences. Once these fences were completed, Su Lun would cast the Turn Mud to Stone spell on them. This camp would not be dismantled after the city was built but would be used as a military base.

For tasks like building a city, Zhenbei City already had a lot of experience. After determining the construction site, the slaves began to clear stones and weeds from this area. High areas needed to be flattened, low areas needed to be filled with soil, and the wild grass and trees in this area needed to be cleared.

Mirror Lake was quite large, roughly circular in shape, with a diameter of about three kilometers. It was home to many fish. After confirming the safety here, a dock and fishing boats would be established as soon as possible. Then, fishermen would be arranged to catch fish to provide food for the territory.

Early the next morning, before the sun was up, the moisture by the lake was heavy. There was a thin fog in the morning. Although it was almost summer, the early mornings on the wasteland still had a bit of chill. The early birds chirped as they started to look for food. A few drops of dew hung on the green grass.

Su Lun washed his face with the cool lake water, dispelling his drowsiness. Having grown accustomed to the soft velvet bed in the Lord’s Castle and the smooth skin of the half-elf maids, he did not sleep well last night. It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury to frugality.

Breakfast was stewed potatoes with salted meat. Although he did not bring maids here, he did bring cooks. The cooks trained by Frodo had improved their skills a lot. Although Frodo often complained that these people were as stupid as pig-beasts, in reality, their cooking was already very good.

The salted meat was beef, mixed with some onions and wild vegetables and mushrooms commonly found in the wilderness. The rich meat broth gave off an enticing smell, waking up people’s stomachs. This cooking method was now the most common in Zhenbei City, simply because there were many potatoes here.

Su Lun took a piece of black bread, heated it over the fire, tore it into small pieces, and threw it into the soup. The rich and tasty broth softened the originally dry and hard black bread. He swallowed the soft bread and the warm broth together. A warm feeling enveloped his body, and his hungry stomach felt satisfied.

The tender stewed beef, paired with some greens, tasted quite good. The potatoes were stewed until soft and glutinous. With a gentle press of the tongue, they mixed with the rich broth and were swallowed into the stomach.

Black bread did not necessarily mean poor quality; it actually depended on the ingredients used to make it. In Caren City, most merchants sold black bread mixed with a lot of bran, stones, and even sawdust. So the price was very low, only two copper coins.

This kind of bread was only soft when freshly baked; after cooling, it could really be used as a weapon. The black bread made in Zhenbei City was not like this. It did not contain any sawdust, stones, or other messy things. The advantage of making black bread was that it was easy to store. Zhenbei City made a lot of black bread to use as rations.

After breakfast, Su Lun took the soldiers from Zhenbei City to patrol around Mirror Lake. The morning wind dispersed the thin fog, and the soft sunlight shone down. In the early morning, Mirror Lake was surrounded by a layer of mist, like threads, faintly visible, reflecting the surrounding scenery like a fairyland.

Su Lun left a four-hundred-man army here to protect the camp. He personally led one hundred men to explore the surrounding environment. Su Lun was not familiar with Mirror Lake, but in such a water-rich environment, there were certainly many tribes living around.

Besides these tribes, Su Lun also needed to determine if there were any powerful Magical Beasts living here. He needed to clear the dangers around Mirror Lake City in advance.

Before long, a faint sour and foul smell drifted through the air. It smelled like feces, excrement, or green, bubbling sewage. Su Lun frowned. He was very familiar with this smell because many Goblin, Kobold, and Gnoll territories in the wilderness were filled with this odor.

Soon, the scouts ahead brought back the news.

“Sir, the scouts reported finding a Kobold Tribe of over a thousand people in the eastern forest,” a soldier hurriedly came to report.

“Over a thousand people? Perfect. Mirror Lake City is short of labor for construction. Bring the men and follow me to capture these Kobolds,” Su Lun said directly. Of the hundred soldiers he brought this time, half were new recruits. But even new recruits were enough to deal with monsters like Kobolds.

Su Lun followed the scouts and approached the tribe. The Kobold Tribe was located in the woods. These Kobolds had collected a lot of wood, mixed it with mud and dry grass, and built some low huts. Inside the huts, pits were dug. These semi-underground huts had better insulation.

The pits were their dwellings, lined with some dry grass and dead branches. Some even had a few dirty furs or blackened cloth. Each hut housed two or three Kobolds.

Su Lun frowned, enduring the almost suffocating stench. Every time he came to these native camps, it made him feel like he was under attack by a biochemical weapon.

When dealing with Kobolds, Zhenbei City had plenty of experience. First, the Longbowmen would launch two rounds of arrow attacks. Then, the heavily armored Barbarian Warriors would Charge, directly breaking the Kobold line. Next, the Spearmen would form up and attack. After one wave, if the enemy collapsed, they would chase and capture slaves while pursuing. If they did not collapse, they would do another wave.

When a large group of people approached, no matter how well they hid, they would make a lot of noise. At the very least, the birds and insects would give a warning. Some Kobolds had already noticed the surrounding commotion, and many Kobolds messily picked up their weapons and began to be on guard.

“Sir, shall we attack?” a squad leader came to Su Lun’s side and asked quietly.

“Go ahead. Finish it quickly.”

After the order was given, the Zhenbei City army launched their attack. The opening move was two waves of arrow rain, followed by the Barbarian Charge. The Spearmen followed closely behind. The Kobold camp, without even a wall, immediately fell into chaos.

The Barbarians stormed into the Kobold Tribe like a hurricane. The Spearmen behind quickly formed up, creating two rows of spears, and began to advance inward.

The soldiers of Zhenbei City were much stronger than these Kobolds. After training in the Military Camp, they had mastered various military skills and combat techniques. After systematic enhancement, even the new recruits had decent strength. As long as they went to the battlefield a few times and killed some Kobolds, Goblins, and Gnolls, their level would quickly rise.

Among all the military units in Zhenbei City, the human Spearman had the lowest Experience Points. The others, such as Archers, Barbarian Warriors, Centaur Cavalry, half-elf Longbowmen, and even Drow Warriors, all had more than them. Of course, their overall attributes were also the lowest.

For the military, besides individual strength, discipline was often more important. Pure recklessness and fighting were not welcomed in the army. This was why the Barbarian Warriors in Zhenbei City were always formed into separate teams. Because in battle, these brutes would disrupt all formations.

Although the Barbarian Warriors were powerful, if Su Lun really had to choose, he would pick the Divine Spear Guard, who were one level lower in strength. Moreover, the Divine Spear Guard could advance to the Trap Camp. The strength of the Trap Camp was not at all weaker than that of the top-level Barbarian Berserker.

Moreover, compared to Berserkers, they were more disciplined. When seven hundred Trap Camp soldiers formed up, even if they faced twice the number of Barbarian Berserkers, they could still defeat them.

In recent years, the Florence Kingdom had been fighting against Barbarians, Orcs, and Gnolls in the Northern Lands. They did not rely on individual bravery. In battles involving less than a thousand people, the Florence Kingdom lost more than they won. But when the numbers reached thousands or tens of thousands, the result was basically a great victory for the humans.

The Kobolds, not fully awake from their dreams, were first hit by the arrow rain. Before they could react, the Barbarian Warriors charged up like meat grinders. The Kobolds who had just crawled out of their huts were immediately mercilessly slaughtered.

The Barbarians in a Charge, together with their Iron Armor, weighed over three hundred pounds. With the impact force, some Kobolds were sent flying like rag dolls. Many Kobolds had their chests directly broken. More were cut in half by the giant axes.

After seeing the Zhenbei City soldiers slaughtering them like cutting melons and vegetables, the Kobolds soon fled in panic. The Zhenbei City soldiers began to capture slaves. When the battle was over, the actual number of Kobolds killed was at most over a hundred. Half of the remaining Kobolds escaped, and the rest were all captured.

Over the next two days, Su Lun took the Zhenbei City soldiers and swept the area around Mirror Lake. In the end, they captured over three thousand various slaves, who were then brought here to open up wasteland.

With over three thousand slaves, plus the slaves transported from Zhenbei City and refugees, Mirror Lake City had already gathered a population of nearly ten thousand people. The first thing to be built in Mirror Lake City was the city wall. Because there was a lack of stones around Mirror Lake City, a rammed earth wall was used. After the Brick Kiln was established later, a layer of brick and stone would be added outside the rammed earth wall.

Because Mirror Lake City was close to Mirror Lake, it had abundant water sources and fertile land around, making it very suitable for farming. In the future, a large amount of farmland would certainly be opened up here. No matter in which era, food is very important.

The construction of Mirror Lake City would take a long time. Su Lun would stay here during this period.