156: Chapter 156 Expanding Territory

The night was as dark as ink, with the silver moon hanging high.

A roar, containing a hint more coldness and bloodlust than a normal tiger's cry, echoed from the forest to the northwest of the encampment.

The cheerful atmosphere of celebration was instantly interrupted by the sound, especially the Serfs, who all showed fear and moved closer to the center of the outpost.

Kelvin, sitting by the bonfire, suddenly felt that the roasted meat in his hand had lost its flavor, and he grumbled, "I'm finally treating my brothers, and you beasts have to come bother me?"

Lister looked puzzled and asked, "What's wrong, Kelvin? Are you old acquaintances?"

"More or less," Kelvin nodded and explained, "The owners of those sounds are the Crimson Flame Tigers, magical beasts from the northwestern forest. They often cause trouble in my territory."

"Originally, their overall strength was greater than that of our territory, causing considerable losses."

"But due to Gregory's breakthrough not long ago, they have been provoking us less frequently, though they are still very annoying."

"I see. Then you truly have a deep connection.", Lister teased.

Kelvin pouted, "I knew you'd just tease your brother. Hurry up and ask Red to lend a hand and wipe out all those guys, so they don't keep disturbing me when I'm trying to sleep at night."

"Heh, asking for a favor while still being so arrogant."

"Likewise."

Lister chuckled and shook his head, then signaled to Red. Red immediately stood up, grabbed his longsword, leaped onto his horse, and galloped towards the northwestern forest with several knights.

After a while, a huge sound of fighting erupted from the forest, with roaring mixed in with the tiger's cries.

However, the commotion came quickly and left quickly, lasting less than ten minutes before the forest returned to its usual tranquility.

A moment later, Red and the other knights returned to the encampment at a gallop. Behind each knight's horse was dragged a massive Crimson Flame Tiger.

Those Crimson Flame Tigers had already fallen into an eternal slumber.

Seeing this, Kelvin burst into loud laughter, his expression utterly satisfied, as if he had killed the Crimson Flame Tigers himself.

The Serfs of Kelvin's contingent, who had been shocked into silence, took a while to react.

They never expected that the detestable Crimson Flame Tigers would die so easily.

For a moment, expressions of joy mixed with tears, excitement, and adoration appeared on their faces one after another.

Cheers erupted among the Serfs, praising the bravery and might of Red and his men, while also thanking Lister for his help.

The atmosphere of the banquet once again became joyous and continued late into the night before drawing to a close under the moonlight.

"Chirp chirp~"

In the clear morning, the pleasant chirping of winter birds woke everyone in Kelvin's territory.

An intoxicating scent of cooking smoke rose again throughout the territory, with the busy figures of Serfs everywhere.

At the southwestern border of the territory, Kelvin, along with Gregory and other knights, saw Lister and his entourage off.

"Lister, if there's anything later that I can help with, don't be polite, just come find me," Kelvin said with a smile, but his tone was very serious.

Lister nodded slightly and replied, "Do I need to say that? Would I be polite to you?"

Hearing this, the smile on Kelvin's lips grew even richer.

Without further ado, Lister mounted his horse, waved his hand grandly, and commanded, "Everyone, depart."

Under the gaze of Kelvin and the others, the vast convoy gradually moved farther away.

After leaving Kelvin's territory, under Lister's instruction, the convoy's speed increased again.

Next, they only needed to pass through two more Pioneer Territories before reaching the territory Lister had selected.

Although most of these Pioneer Territories outside the western border used to have owners, after the devastation of war, the once decent roads had become ruined and indistinct.

This greatly affected the Pioneer Lords traveling through them.

Fortunately, the carriages Lister brought were durable. Although their speed was slightly reduced, the overall journey remained very fast.

For the rest of the journey, Lister did not pass directly through the territories of those lords but traveled along the border areas between the territories.

Nearly ten days later.

After a long journey through mountains and rivers, Lister and his party finally arrived at the Iron Thorn Territory Branch.

Endless mountain ranges, forests, crystal-clear azure lakes, and vast stretches of barren land all appeared before Lister and the others.

With just one glance, Lister could see the immense potential of this land.

If developed well, it could absolutely become a fertile territory, perhaps even the wealthiest territory outside the western border.

Although he was very excited in his heart, eager to start pioneering the territory immediately, Lister glanced at the people behind him and restrained himself.

After the long journey, almost all the Serfs showed signs of fatigue on their faces, and even some knights were no exception.

Lister did not consider himself a capitalist; in his view, a balance between work and rest was the most important thing.

After a short rest, and once they had eaten and drunk their fill, Lister began issuing various pioneering orders.

The most basic needs for developing a territory were the same as basic human needs: food, clothing, shelter, and transportation.

The most urgent priority right now was solving everyone's housing problem, followed by water sources, food, and so on.

As orders were relayed one after another, the entire territory began to operate rapidly like a huge machine.

Based on the careful observation and consideration beforehand, Lister chose a flat area relatively close to the lake to serve as the core base of the territory.

No matter what, a water source was the most critical necessity for survival, and this lake solved that problem perfectly.

Lister had not brought many Serfs, but they were all physically sound and possessed valuable skills.

The nearly five hundred people were divided into three groups. One group went to the northwestern forest to cut down trees and quarry stone to build houses for the new territory.

Although the territory looked barren, having a forest meant no shortage of wood, making this territory already quite good compared to those with no grass at all.

Another group went to the lake to establish a water supply station, ensuring that water could be transported to the base every day.

Lister also specifically issued an order strictly prohibiting Serfs from drawing water privately for the time being, both to protect the purity of the water source and to ensure their safety.

This was because the underwater environment of this lake was still unknown; whether there were wild beasts or magical beasts present needed to be explored before they could know for sure.

Fortunately, the lake water was pure freshwater that could be drunk directly. Otherwise, if it were some highly saline water source, they would need to find another source.

The last group began establishing simple watchtowers, walls, and other defensive structures along the warning line Lister had already set.

This piece of territory was too close to those foreign races' forces. Lister had initially thought there was some distance based on the map.

However, the map version was somewhat outdated. Not long ago, some tribal forces had expanded their sphere of influence to areas closer to the territory by launching harassment and invasion attacks.

But these forces had not advanced any further, because stepping one step further meant completely entering the area of the Kingdom's Pioneer Territories.

The surrounding Pioneer Lords would not stand idly by; after all, they came here to develop territory, not just to be bullied.

If those forces were allowed to invade, it would cause great damage to their territories.

But when all was said and done, Lister's territory was one of the closest, so he had to get the territory's basic infrastructure built up as quickly as possible.

Only then could he implement his further plans.

Accompanied by shouts, the sounds of logging, and stone quarrying, this long-silent land gradually began to awaken.

After spending a few days, Lister led Red on a full tour around the territory, finally inspecting the entire area.

In the meantime, under the perception of the Yellow Sprite Lixia, the gold mine and mythril mine prophesied to be hidden in the mountains were all found by Lister. Both were located in the peripheral areas of the mountains, posing less danger than those in the core regions.

Even though they were accustomed to the miracles of Lister's holy light god, Red and the other knights could not help but feel shocked.

After all, the value of gold mines and mythril mines was simply too high. If the Kingdom's official magistrate knew about them, they would definitely dispatch knights to seize them with full force.

Moreover, according to Lixia, these two veins were very large, estimated to be exploitable for about fifty years.

Even though Lister was mentally prepared for this, he still couldn't help but feel extremely excited. It could be said that his territory would never lack money and equipment in the future.

Red and the other knights, who were also direct beneficiaries, felt just as much excitement.

However, under Lister's command, everyone maintained strict secrecy and took measures to clear out and defend the areas around the two mines.

Any magical beasts or wild beasts that approached were slain by Red and his men, and the ferocity of their actions deterred all other magical and wild beasts in the surrounding areas from coming near.

During the few days Lister was inspecting, the residential houses intended to serve as the core town of the territory, and the water supply station by the lake, were all completed.

Only the defensive structures of the town were built relatively slower, but they were also very close to completion.

This lack of manpower was something Lister kept in mind, thinking about how to solve it.

But just as he wished for a solution, the Soldiers discovered the native inhabitants of this territory during their exploration.

Led by the Soldiers, Lister brought Red to the edge of the territory, where the native settlement was located.

As soon as he stepped in, Lister saw a scene even more dilapidated than when he first arrived at Ironthorn Territory.

The houses where the natives lived were all dilapidated and messy, mostly constructed from mud, with very few even being wooden huts.

The entire ground was uneven, making walking feel very uncomfortable.

Before he had taken a few steps, an old man with white hair, accompanied by a large number of natives, approached Lister and the others.

Looking at their ragged clothes, sallow complexions, and exhausted state, Lister, despite having seen much, still felt a pang of sadness.

Yet, even so, the leading old man performed a salute.

"May I ask if you are the new Lord?"

Hearing the old man's question, Lister smiled peacefully, "That is correct. I am the new Lord, Baron Lister Howard."

Lister did not ask why the Kingdom's temporary administrative official was absent; after all, it was something any discerning person could see.

In such a desolate place, which official would be willing to stay stationed here to manage things indefinitely?

The situation of fleeing in advance was not unique to this territory; it was extremely common in other territories as well.

Before the old man could speak further, Lister spoke first, "Red, immediately arrange for people to distribute thick clothes and food to them."

"Yes, Lord Lister."

Hearing the conversation between the two, the old man and the other natives showed expressions of disbelief.

Give us clothes and food?

The words sounded as if they were heard in a dream.

But reality was reality. Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, the accompanying knights, Soldiers, and laborers quickly distributed the pre-prepared clothes and food to the natives.

Looking at the clothes and food now in their hands, the old man and the other natives realized that Lister had not been lying.

"Is this... is this really for us?" one native asked in disbelief.

"Of course, you are my Serfs too," Lister said with a smile.

As his words fell, all the natives present were deeply shaken, and tears of emotion immediately streamed from their eyes.

They could no longer remember how long it had been since they had worn such good clothes or eaten such good food.

Every winter, the natives would risk being killed by magical beasts or wild beasts, hiding in caves in the mountains just to survive.

But even so, many of them would still die because they lacked thick clothing and sufficient food to sustain them.

In response to Lister's generous actions, the old man and the other natives spontaneously knelt down in praise.

Lister graciously accepted their praise, scanned the crowd, and asked with a slight frown, "Elder, are there no children among you?"

"Yes, Lord, there are," the old man said, trembling as he stood up, quickly adding, "Because the weather is too cold, they have all been left inside the houses."

Nodding, Lister followed the old man into several houses. Indeed, as the old man said, there were quite a few children inside.

Compared to the adults, the children's clothes were even more tattered, barely covering their vital parts.

Seeing their timid appearance, Lister ordered people to continue distributing food to them.

Looking at the fragrant food in their hands, not a single child dared to take a bite; the vigilance in their eyes was extremely strong.

Seeing this, the old man spoke, "Eat. This is what the Lord has given you."

As the words fell, the children could endure no longer. They grabbed the food and began wolfing it down, as if the food would run away if they ate any slower.

After everyone had eaten their fill, Lister gathered all the natives and announced loudly, "From now on, this land will be called the Iron Thorn Territory Branch. All the natives are my Serfs. I will guarantee your food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, and what you need to do is work diligently."

"If anyone possesses any skills, you can report to the relevant person in charge, and your wages will be increased accordingly."