Chapter 139: The Caravan’s Return

After clearly seeing the data displayed on the item, Su Lun was very pleased. This weapon was practically tailor-made for him. The Thunder Power stacked with his own Thunder Domain would make his strength even greater. He was ready to face the Troll Tribe.

What surprised Su Lun was Ji En returning with the Caravan. The heavy snowfall from two days ago hadn’t covered the entire Northern Wilderness; thankfully, Ji En and the others hadn’t encountered it. The delay was simply due to the caravan’s huge size, requiring much extra time to organize everyone.

This Caravan trip had cost fifteen thousand Gold Nar and brought back over two thousand slaves. Besides regular slaves, Ji En had also purchased more than three hundred skilled craftsmen this time.

Getting so many craftsmen slaves was only possible thanks to merchants who often collaborated with Northguard Keep. Without their help, it would have been impossible. Large numbers of Refugees also arrived alongside the caravan. After months of spreading the word, Northguard Keep had gained notoriety; many desperate Refugees chose to follow the Caravan there.

The sheer size of the group led Ji En to hire over two hundred Mercenaries. They weren’t required to be elite fighters, mainly there to help manage the Refugees. The entire caravan ended up swelling to four thousand people.

Despite the huge influx, Su Lun’s preparations prevented major chaos. Slaves were already divided into groups, each led by a Mercenary serving as captain. Under their captain’s guidance, they were shown to designated lodgings to rest.

Refugees were grouped by families. Those without families were assigned into groups too and settled into the refugee housing area.

Instantly adding four thousand people made the once spacious Northguard Keep feel crowded overnight. The population tripled! But Su Lun didn’t mind the crowd. For Northguard Keep to grow into Zhenbei City, it needed at least ten thousand residents – right now, it was barely a large town.

This population boom meant recalculating many things. More mess halls were set up – six were established serving about a thousand people each, based on living zones. Supporting facilities needed expansion too. With more mouths to feed, Su Lun started enlarging the Militia, aiming for one hundred and thirty members this time.

Fortunately, the town’s basic infrastructure was solid. Though cramped, everyone had a roof; no one slept in the streets.

Despite the large numbers, Northguard Keep’s sanitation rules remained strict. Medical knowledge in this world was weak; treating diseases like the plague was nearly hopeless. The keep also lacked medicine. If plague struck, judging by the slaves’ and Freemen’s bodies, survival might reach only half, and that only by divine mercy.

Everyone was taken to the public baths in groups. Everyone had to be soaked in lime water for disinfection. Their old clothes were collected to be burned. Afterwards, everyone received a set of new clothes.

The process had many rules, but everyone obeyed quietly. The two terrifying skulls mounted on the keep’s walls sent a clear message about the place’s owner… he was not known for patience. A few troublesome individuals who tried to cause trouble were swiftly dealt with by the Garrison Forces.

Once cleaned up, people were led group by group to the mess halls to eat. Though busy, the whole process stayed orderly.

The arrival of so many slaves and Refugees brought a surge of labor. Winter usually meant less work, but so many idle hands, needing daily food and warmth? To Su Lun the money-pinching capitalist, this was the worst kind of waste!

So, the territory’s construction plans started up again, weather permitting. More people also meant more daily tasks. Su Lun began thinking about setting up a proper system of officials to help run the town.

He hadn’t found the right person to be mayor yet. But filling lower positions was easier. Northguard Keep already used a Points system. Those who kept track of the points daily were basically qualified minor officials.

Over months, they had learned how things worked. People who were dishonest or greedy had already been weeded out in that time.

By just refining the system a bit, these officials could simply follow procedures. As for corruption or abuse of power – Su Lun wasn’t running a vast kingdom with millions; this was a town of a few thousand. Sneaking around under Su Lun’s nose wouldn’t be easy. And with Chris around, they wouldn’t get the chance anyway.

The sudden population increase caused brief chaos in Northguard Keep, but it was handled quickly. Soon after, the weather cleared completely, the snow melting. Scouts continuously brought more news about the Trolls. Su Lun readied his forces for the coming war.

Because of the Trolls’ terrifying Regeneration ability, normal physical attacks barely killed them. Nearly every Adventurer knew that after fighting Trolls, you must burn all their body parts. Given enough time, even a small chunk of flesh could regenerate a whole new Troll.

There were limits, though. Regeneration consumed massive energy. A regenerated Troll needed food fast. Crucially, only the largest surviving piece of a Troll could regenerate a new one. Any other leftover flesh burned away to ash once the regeneration was complete.

This near-immortal Regeneration made Trolls fearless in battle.

Could slicing one Troll into many pieces spawn an army? No. Trolls reproduced by birth, not splitting. Su Lun planned for war and thus prepared massive amounts of flammable material.

Outside the territory grew many pine trees rich in flammable resin; they ignited easily and local tribes often made torches from them. Su Lun ordered huge amounts cut down. He also gathered barrels of animal fat. Northguard Keep had no Fire Oil, which mainly came from the Desert Kingdom far away. Animal fat would have to do.

When animal fat ran low, Su Lun had Rum repeatedly distilled to produce high-concentration alcohol. Both this and the pine resin would serve as fuels against the Trolls. For this war, Su Lun had already expended a small fortune’s worth of resources.