Chapter 26: Development

Because Hundred-Forged Steel was used, the Two-Handed Axe had sharpness and toughness beyond ordinary axes. Su Lun specifically had a Barbarian Champion wield the Two-Handed Axe for testing.

A pine log as thick as a bowl was easily chopped into two pieces. Even the Spiked Club used by the Gnolls was cut apart in two or three strikes. The blade of the Two-Handed Axe only had a slight roll on the edge and just needed resharpening.

Hans, thrilled with the new weapon, excitedly swung the long-handled War Axe. The heavy War Axe twirled like a butterfly in his hands, making whooshing sounds that echoed around. The Florentia Two-Handed Axe he once treasured was now discarded in the dirt.

“Boss, this axe is amazing!” Hans, waving the axe, rushed excitedly toward Su Lun. The sharp blade swept past Su Lun, instantly cutting the wooden stick he was using to measure water depth in half.

“Having fun, huh?” Seeing Hans’s excitement, Su Lun kicked him, sending him tumbling. “Pick up that axe and go chop trees! Today, everyone must chop thirty trees. If you don’t finish, no food!”

The group of watching Barbarians grabbed their axes and scattered.

After chasing the Barbarians away, Su Lun picked up another set of armor. It wasn’t full Plate Armor but Half-plate Armor, with leg guards below. Although it didn’t offer full-body protection like Plate Armor, it was more flexible to wear and cost half as much as full Plate Armor.

Full Plate Armor provided high defense but limited movement. Turning or looking back was very restricted. Other than equipping Heavy Cavalry, it wasn’t very practical.

After testing the Half-plate Armor’s strength, Su Lun was quite satisfied. It offered good defense against swords and arrows, though it was slightly weaker against heavy weapons.

Using such equipment against the natives in the Wilderness, who couldn’t even fully arm themselves, was overkill.

The Blacksmith Shop was on track, and the Territory’s construction progressed slowly.

Although there were over a thousand slaves, the Territory’s development was still slow—at least in Su Lun’s view. Others thought the progress was actually quite fast.

The main reason was that Su Lun had initially designated a very large Territory area. Other Pioneering Nobles started with a Territory the size of a small town at most, but Su Lun’s Territory was already as large as a big town, even a small city. At the very least, large towns didn’t have a stone wall two kilometers long and five meters high.

Kobolds and Goblins, including Gnolls, were not the best slaves for building a Territory. They could only do heavy physical labor. Their low intelligence made them unfit for building proper houses.

They mostly built shacks or dug burrows. While there were many trees in the Wilderness, and log houses could be built faster, wooden houses were prone to fire. A fire could easily destroy entire sections, and building with wood consumed too much timber.

In Su Lun’s plan, the Territory’s timber was also a resource to sell. The Wilderness had plenty of trees, many of them large and hard-textured, suitable for making furniture or ships.

Especially in the north, where cold weather slowed tree growth, the wood was denser and stronger, ideal for building large ships. He planned to sell this timber as the Territory’s first commercial product.

Because the location was in the north with cold winters, the houses in the Territory used walls made of mud mixed with reed stalks. These walls looked dull and seemed easily pushed over, but they were very warm. The walls were over a foot thick, effectively blocking the cold winds from the Northern Lands.

Though made of mud and reeds, mixing the mud with water to form clay and adding reed stalks greatly increased its strength. Combined with the wall thickness, it was perfectly suitable for building houses. Wooden posts were also added inside the walls. Though the houses looked unattractive, they were the best option for the current Territory.

Though Kobolds and Goblins weren’t smart, they could handle digging foundations and moving mud, and they did a decent job at it. They quickly finished digging the foundations.

As for Hobgoblins and Gnolls, they were stronger and used for pounding and mixing clay. Under human direction, they built the mud walls on the foundations. Building the walls was simple: set up two wooden boards, fill the space between with the mixed clay and reed stalks, then compact it. That completed a wall.

Neither Hobgoblins nor Gnolls were comfortable with their new roles. After all, they were stronger than Goblins and Kobolds and used to enslaving them. Being enslaved by humans was hard to get used to, but they didn’t dare rebel. The recent battle left a deep impression of Su Lun’s powerful presence and the Barbarians’ overwhelming might.

Even though only a few Barbarians acted as overseers, none of the slaves dared to resist. They worked obediently under the whip.

The banks of the Red Sand River and White Water River had flat land covered with thick weeds. The soil was very fertile. After wiping out the monster alliance, the Territory faced no immediate threats, so farmland reclamation became a priority.

In any Territory, agriculture is always the foundation. With strong agriculture, the Territory could support more people, leading to better development in trade and military.

Su Lun had previously inspected the land along the two river basins. Near his Territory, at least a hundred thousand acres of land along the riverbanks could be reclaimed. Being close to the river, irrigation wasn’t a concern.

These hundred thousand acres were the best farmland in the entire Territory. The farmland Su Lun had near the city walls had no advantage compared to this land, except for being closer to the city.

Of course, Su Lun had good mechanical skills. If he built large water wheels and irrigation canals along the river, this farmland would be even better.

However, building water wheels and irrigation canals required a lot of money and labor. Given the Territory’s current poor state, building an irrigation system covering the city’s outskirts wasn’t feasible. The best approach was to reclaim land near the rivers for farming.