Chapter 14: Territory Development

When Su Lun returned to the camp with the Kobold slaves, the camp had already started eating. The Barbarians herded those Kobold slaves and locked them in a simple fence outside the camp.

Dinner was plentiful. The nearby river was rich with fish, and it only took a little effort to get enough fish meat. A bowl of thick, fragrant fish soup with black bread made a good dinner.

The black bread was bought from Karlt City. When freshly baked, these black breads tasted quite good. Once they cooled down, they became as hard as sticks and tasted dry and unpleasant. But this had one benefit: they could be stored for a long time without spoiling.

Su Lun sliced the black bread and soaked it in the delicious, steaming fish soup. The rich broth quickly softened the cold, hard black bread. After absorbing the tasty fish soup, it became soft and delicious. Paired with tender fish meat, his hungry stomach was soon satisfied.

Putting down his big bowl, Su Lun rubbed his belly comfortably. “Johnson, throw the leftover fish soup and fish bones to those Kobolds. Don’t let them starve to death.”

Kobolds were not picky about food. Even some leftovers were enough for them. Several Barbarians carried buckets of fish soup and leftover fish bones with black bread near the fence. The Kobolds, who were already starving with shining eyes, became restless.

If the Barbarians hadn’t left such a deep impression on them during the day, these Kobolds would have rushed to grab the food. Su Lun sent some Barbarians to maintain order and made the Kobolds line up to receive food. However, these Kobolds had no concept of lining up.

This was simple. If they didn’t know how to line up, they could be taught. Each muscular man over two meters tall held a hardwood stick as thick as an arm. Whenever they saw a Kobold not following the rule to line up, they hit them with the stick. Soon, the previously chaotic Kobolds formed a crooked line and started receiving food.

Early the next morning, Su Lun assigned these Kobolds to work. Under the whips of the Barbarian overseers, these Kobolds quickly learned to follow commands. With the addition of over a hundred Kobolds, the construction speed of the territory more than doubled.

Although these Kobolds couldn’t do delicate work, they could handle tasks like digging soil and cutting trees. What surprised Su Lun even more came later. Despite the heavy labor every day, very few Kobolds tried to escape.

These small tribes in the Wilderness were often in a state of hunger. Now that they could eat their fill, even with heavy work every day, these Kobolds were unwilling to run away.

Later on, several overseers even emerged among these Kobolds, helping Su Lun exploit their own kind. These Kobold overseers performed better than the Barbarians. They were much harsher when oppressing their own race than the Barbarians. As a result, the Kobolds’ work efficiency improved again.

Over the next few days, Su Lun led thirty-five Barbarians to sweep through all the tribes within a twenty-kilometer radius of the camp. They broke through one Gnoll Tribe, two Goblin Tribes, and one Kobold Tribe. This operation gained over three hundred Goblins and over a hundred Kobolds. As for the Gnolls, Su Lun ordered them all killed.

In the camp, only the Barbarians could suppress the Gnolls. The Mercenaries couldn’t do it. If Su Lun took the Barbarians to patrol the territory, who knew if these Gnolls would rebel? Besides, there were even more Goblins and Kobolds in the camp. Su Lun didn’t think these guys would behave. Also, Gnolls ate four to five times more than Kobolds but only did two to three times the work. So killing them directly was the best choice.

With the Goblin slaves and Kobold slaves, the territory’s construction speed became faster and faster. The first thing completed was the territory’s wall. To protect the territory, the wall was a priority. Due to a lack of manpower and short time, this wall wasn’t the common brick-and-stone structure of the Florence Kingdom but was built with a mix of soil and wood.

Wooden stakes were driven into the foundation, and then a mixture of soil and reeds was used to build the wall around the stakes. The wall of the entire territory was nearly square, with the total length of all four sides close to two kilometers. A wall of this scale would be considered medium-sized even in the Florence Kingdom. For a newly opened camp, it was already quite large.

Just after the territory’s wall was completed, a cold, emotionless electronic sound ‘dinged’ in Su Lun’s ears.

“Ding! Territory wall construction completed!”

“Your territory has completed a basic construction. The territory interface is now officially open.”

“Territory (Unnamed)

Area: Twenty kilometers radius centered on the camp.

City: None (Simple Camp)

Popular Support: 60

Tax: 0”

Income: Loss.

Population: 45 slaves, 35 Barbarians, 337 Goblin slaves, 352 Kobold slaves, 40 Mercenaries.

Supplies: Thirty four-wheeled carts, 200 units of food, 20 units of smoked meat (1 unit of food equals one hundred kilograms. A Barbarian needs two jin of food and one jin of fish meat per day. A Mercenary consumes one jin of food and half a jin of fish meat per day. A slave consumes one jin of food and three liang of fish meat per day, with two meals a day. Four Kobolds or Goblins together consume one jin of food, plus some fish soup.) The current food storage can last for four months.

Existing Buildings: Wall (Primary).

Wall: A primary wall made from a mix of logs, soil, and reeds. It has some protective function. Although it looks shabby and seems unreliable, it can withstand ordinary attacks in the Wilderness. Wall Defense 20, Durability 50, Stability 10, (With a wall, the territory feels more secure.).

Su Lun looked at the territory data in his mind and rubbed his face hard. This kind of poor, bare territory was worse than any Knight’s territory in the south. The entire territory not only had no income but actually required putting more money into it.

Besides these attributes, the System also had a list of buildable structures:

Lord’s Castle: The Lord’s Castle is the Lord’s residence and official building, and it has defensive capabilities. It is the administrative center of the territory. Its existence represents sovereignty and stability over this area. Administration +50, Stability +20, Rule +40, Dignity +50. The Lord’s Castle can train administrative personnel for the territory.

Military Camp: The Military Camp has good training facilities and can continuously train qualified troops for the territory. Similarly, living in the Military Camp keeps the troops in training state. Comfort -20, Iron Will +20, Training +20, Stability +30, Morale +20.

Residence: Residences are the living places for the residents in the territory. They provide shelter from wind and rain and increase a sense of belonging. Stability +30, Popular Support +20, Prosperity +10, Population Growth +10.