137: Chapter 137 Fifty Thousand Refugees!

The merging of zones brought disputes from afar, but this was a realistic threat—or rather, an opportunity—right under his nose.

"Horned Lion... Excellent Low-grade, Silver-tier combat power, shabby territory..."

Lin Tian analyzed quickly in his mind. In his eyes now, this level of strength was practically a "newbie village."

But the problem wasn't whether he could fight it, but whether he should, and how.

He let his generals go off to rest and eat, while he walked alone up to the newly built outer city walls, which still smelled of fresh stone.

The setting sun stretched his shadow long.

He gazed into the distance, his eyes seemingly piercing through the twilight to see the Minotaur tribe a hundred miles away, the spatial anomaly, and that pitiful neighboring territory.

His thoughts raced.

"The Minotaur tribe to the south, a hundred thousand strong, with a Platinum-tier leader... a tough nut to crack. If I attack now, even if I win, the losses will be heavy and not worth it. I need to plan this carefully."

"The spatial anomaly to the southwest, a high-level monster zone... it's a good place to level up and gain spirit crystals, but it requires an elite squad to explore. No rush there either."

"This neighbor to the east... must be dealt with!"

Lin Tian's eyes turned cold. "My territory's situation is too exaggerated—a hundred thousand troops, swarms of Epic-tier units, a 10-kilometer radius..."

If this news were spread by that neighbor, or if others with ulterior motives found out from them, I would become the target of everyone's hostility.

Possessing a treasure is a crime; until I am strong enough to fear no covetous eyes, I must keep a low profile.

"As for that clown riding a lizard tomorrow..."

A cold arc curled at the corner of Lin Tian's mouth.

"Perfect. I'll use him and his black dragon to test my new mage legion, and by the way... give everyone watching this area after the zone merge a sufficiently profound 'show of force'! Save me from every Tom, Dick, and Harry coming here to bark."

His plan was clear: prioritize eliminating the immediate threat, and focus on dealing with the provoking Black Dragon Lord tomorrow. The Minotaur tribe and the spatial anomaly could wait.

Just then, he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of another dense, slowly moving mass of black dots under the distant skyline, near the river.

With his exceptional eyesight, he could tell it was another large group of refugees, supporting the old and carrying the young, trudging along with difficulty!

The number was greater than yesterday, a dark, overwhelming mass—he estimated forty to fifty thousand people!

"They're here again?" Lin Tian was stunned, then immediately overjoyed.

He immediately descended the wall to arrange for their reception.

Although he was filled with questions about the way these refugees seemed to "respawn."

He had questioned them yesterday; they were vague about their origins and had hazy memories, as if they had been implanted with a shared experience of fleeing.

But he couldn't be bothered to dig deeper right now, attributing it to the magic of the "Heavenly Dao Rules."

What he lacked right now was population, especially farmers! And looking at the attire and the crude farming tools carried by this new batch of refugees, most of them were indeed farmers who worked the land.

"Wonderful! Just what I needed!"

Lin Tian was overjoyed. The more farmers he had, the more land they could cultivate, increasing grain and forage production, which meant he could support even more troops!

This was a business with zero investment and infinite returns!

He immediately ordered Lin Yan to lead people to properly settle this new batch of refugees, register them, disperse them into the previous refugee groups, and prepare them to join the great cause of land reclamation.

After arranging for the refugees, he strolled over to the area where he had sown the ryegrass yesterday.

The scene before him stunned him, and then an indescribable excitement surged within him.

Outside the outer city walls, on the wasteland where seeds had only been sown yesterday, there was now a lush, knee-high pasture!

The dark green blades of grass were thick and broad, undulating like waves in the evening breeze, emitting the fresh scent unique to plants. They were growing vigorously!

"This... this is too fast!"

Lin Tian crouched down, touched the thick, sturdy grass stems, and felt the vitality within them.

This growth rate completely defied the laws of nature!

"As expected, is this the influence of the Rules? What Lord Su Wan called 'rapid growth'... this is simply 'insane growth'! At this rate, let alone one harvest a month, I'm afraid I can harvest a crop every few days!"

The biggest bottleneck plaguing the development of his cavalry—the forage problem—was about to be solved in this incredible way!

Lin Tian could already envision the scene of thousands upon thousands of warhorses galloping across the pasture.

Around eleven o'clock at night, during his routine patrol, Lin Tian noticed that in the darkness at the edge of the outer city, the shadows of some low-level corrupted monsters were appearing again.

He frowned; his army had clearly cleared the surrounding area during the day.

"Based on the time and location of their appearance... could they really be 'flowing' over from that spatial anomaly to the southwest?"

He guessed to himself. It seemed that place was not only a "high-level zone" but also potentially a "pollution source" that continuously produced monsters. This hidden danger also had to be eliminated as soon as possible.

Finally, he contacted Lord Su Wan, Chen Hao, and Master Blacksmith Li Zhenguo to complete today's routine material transactions, ensuring the warehouse was well-stocked.

He also personally inspected the defenses along every section of the city wall, especially the status and energy reserves of the five hundred City Defense Giant Crossbows, confirming that everything was normal and all the garrison troops were in high spirits.

Returning to the Lords Mansion villa, Lin Yin was, as usual, quietly guarding outside his study.

"It might be a bit lively tomorrow."

Lin Tian smiled at her; there was no tension in his smile, only a hint of eagerness.

"Get some rest early and recharge. Our 'Moonlight Reaper' might just be slaying a dragon tomorrow."

Lin Yin looked at him with clear eyes, asked no unnecessary questions, just nodded gently, gripped the moonlight longbow in her hand, and said in a steady voice: "I will be ready."

The night was deep, and all was silent.

Lin Tian City was like a giant beast crouching in the darkness, silent and still, but it had already tensed all its muscles, sharpened its claws, and was waiting for the arrival of the "Black Dragon," which claimed to be the master of the sky, after dawn.

And its master, already carrying a clear plan and calm confidence, had fallen into a deep sleep.

The daylight of the tenth day felt more hopeful to Lin Tian than ever before, even though he hadn't eaten breakfast yet.

He was awakened by Lin Yin's slightly urgent knocking on the door.

Opening the door, he saw a rare, irrepressible look of surprise on Lin Yin's beautiful face.

"Brother Tian, the ryegrass outside the city... is fully ripe."

"Ripe?" Lin Tian rubbed his eyes, thinking he had misheard.

"We only planted it yesterday afternoon, and you're telling me it's ripe?"

"Yes." Lin Yin nodded affirmatively, the bright morning light outside the window reflecting in her clear eyes.

"I went to check; the grass is waist-high, the stalks are plump, the heads are heavy, and it's ready to be harvested."

"Holy crap!"

Lin Tian froze for two seconds, then suddenly swore, his sleepiness instantly flying to the nine heavens, his face flooded with great surprise.

"Quick! Take me to see it!"