165: Chapter 165 Flame Crystal Vein

In the early morning, as the sun peeked out, the blizzard that had lasted for several days finally subsided.

The thick white snow on the roofs melted into water, dripping incessantly from the eaves.

The bustle of people coming and going, mixed with the clamor of children, filled the entire Iron Thorn Territory Branch.

As soon as he stepped onto the training grounds, the heavy and powerful sounds of the knights and Soldiers training reached Lister's ears clearly.

“Greetings to you, Lord Lister!”

Seeing Lister's arrival, the knights greeted him with looks of reverence.

Although they hadn't enjoyed many comfortable days in the newly developed Ironthorn Territory before being brought by Lister to this even more remote frontier fief,

not a single knight harbored any resentment. Instead, they felt very fortunate to be here and were grateful to Lister for giving them this opportunity.

They knew very well in their hearts that being chosen by Lister to follow him to the frontier fief was a sign of his trust and an investment in their future.

“ ”

When the selection was first made, those who weren't chosen had faces full of envy.

Because everyone agreed on one thing: only by staying by Lister's side would they have more opportunities to improve.

Lister was unaware of their thoughts.

At this moment, his gaze had already shifted to several new faces in the crowd.

A young boy and four burly men—it was Kuro and the others he had rescued previously.

After Kuro and his companions returned to the Black Snake Tribe, things unfolded exactly as predicted by Lister's divination.

Following the rebellion within the Black Snake Tribe, the surrounding factions, who had long been watching like tigers eyeing their prey, launched an attack immediately after Art left.

In truth, they would have done so whether Art was there or not; Art's departure simply gave them greater confidence.

These tribal chiefs were very clever. Back when the previous Black Snake Tribe chief was still alive, they wouldn't have dared to do this.

But the newly empowered Art was different; he had very little popular support within the Black Snake Tribe, and those who followed him in rebellion did so only out of self-interest or because he held something over them.

Facing such a new chief who lacked the people's hearts, the surrounding powers naturally wouldn't give him time to stabilize the tribe.

Thus, from the moment Art seized power, the fate of the Black Snake Tribe was already sealed.

Facing the vanishing Black Snake Tribe and the new tribal flags planted on that land, Kuro and the others knew this territory no longer belonged to them.

Therefore, after some discussion, they came to the Iron Thorn Territory Branch and swore their loyalty to Lister.

Lister had expected their arrival, but he couldn't help but feel pleased nonetheless.

Because the Black Snake Tribe's totem statue had disappeared, Kuro and the others lacked a corresponding medium for cultivation. Under Lister's suggestion, they all switched to the path of a knight.

Although this required them to start their cultivation over, their previous foundation in totem cultivation—combined with the relatively low entry requirements of the knight's path—meant their progress was not slow.

One could say that among all paths of supernatural cultivation, the knight's path was the ultimate jack-of-all-trades route.

Kuro, who possessed the highest talent and was the most suited for the knight's path, directly activated his god-tier cultivation mode.

In less than five days since he began training as a knight, he had already become a Bronze Rank 2 knight.

This speed of cultivation was simply beyond logic, leaving everyone else incredibly envious.

Meeting Lister's gaze, Kuro's eyes were filled with gratitude and reverence. Much of his former childishness had vanished, replaced by a maturity born of experiencing great upheaval.

Without saying much, Lister simply left him with the words "keep working hard" before heading to the lord's private clearing to begin his own training.

Before long, the sound of continuous air-piercing whistles began to ring out in the quiet area.

A long spear, glinting with a terrifying cold light, danced incessantly in Lister's hands, his thrusts growing faster and faster.

An intimidating aura swept through the entire training ground, leaving Red and the others in awe.

After this period of hard work, Lister's spear technique had become increasingly proficient, yet he had never been able to break through to the Mastery Realm.

That one crucial step remained; no matter how he tried to step forward, he couldn't advance an inch.

He didn't know exactly where the problem lay, so he could only try to find the key point for a breakthrough through constant practice.

Unfortunately—

Today's training was the same as usual; that final step still wasn't taken.

“Is it because my physical comprehension is still insufficient?”

Muttering to himself, Lister put away his long spear and left the training grounds.

After breakfast, it was time for Odinton's routine report.

The development of the Iron Thorn Territory Branch during this period had completely gotten onto the right track.

Besides reinforcing the temporary housing, the most important tasks were land reclamation and the development and integration of various natural resources.

Normally, the land is hardest to clear during the cold winter before spring arrives.

Because the ground is frozen by the cold wind, hitting it with a plow or hoe feels like striking iron; it's very difficult to break.

Consequently, most territories find themselves unable to begin spring plowing on schedule, needing to delay until the ground softens.

However, the land of the Iron Thorn Territory Branch had given him a massive surprise.

After several inspections, he discovered that while there was frozen soil in the Iron Thorn Territory Branch, it was limited to only a few centimeters below the surface—no more than five centimeters at most.

The soil further down was not frozen at all; instead, it was very soft and extremely easy to cultivate.

According to the previous divination information, this was due to the Tianping Mountain Range blocking part of the cold wind, making the climate of this land relatively pleasant.

But Lister knew this definitely wasn't the main reason. After all, the sub-fief wasn't like the main Ironthorn Territory, which had the hot springs of the Ironthorn Forest for irrigation; how could it have such a miraculous effect?

Furthermore, the Tianping Mountain Range wasn't a greenhouse; it couldn't possibly provide the same effect as a hot spring.

To discover what was causing this, Lister had spent the last few days inspecting various parts of the territory and conducting deep-digging tests on the soil.

He finally found the cause: deep beneath this land lay a massive Blaze Crystal Vein.

Although it was just a common type of fire-element crystal, it possessed extremely strong heat-retention properties and could be widely used in all aspects of daily life.

And such a massive Blaze Crystal Vein was absolutely rare nowadays, no matter how common blaze crystals might be.

Therefore, under its constant nourishment, the soil of the Iron Thorn Territory Branch could maintain a comfortable temperature year-round.

This was an excellent boon for farming; if developed well, this land would be far, far more prosperous than the original Ironthorn Territory.

As for why no one had discovered it before, Lister learned a general reason from the mouths of the natives.

The previous owners were all very loose, small tribes. Their frequent friction and battles made it very difficult to maintain effective year-round farming.

Consequently, most tribes lived primarily by hunting, and their agricultural efforts were semi-abandoned.

This also meant there were very few talents proficient in farming among them, so naturally, no one had any thoughts of conducting deep surveys of the ground.

Later, when the Pedan Kingdom occupied this large swath of land with lightning force, the temporarily stationed officials were even less likely to have such ideas.

One could say that the Blaze Crystal Vein beneath this land was practically born for Lister's arrival, making him marvel once again at whether he truly had the protection of the holy light god.

Aside from the land reclamation tasks, the development of the inland lake within the territory had also achieved good results during this period.

Because the water of this inland lake was as clear and bright as blue crystals, he named it Blue Crystal Lake.

After a rough survey of Blue Crystal Lake, it was found to contain many fish species, which could serve as one of the food sources.

The regulatory buildings and facilities to ensure clean water quality were also completed two days ago.

Previously, without regulation, the Serfs would randomly fish, wash clothes, and bathe in the lake, seriously polluting the water.

This sort of situation was a very common occurrence in all the territories of the kingdom.

But common didn't mean it was good. For the long-term development of the territory, Lister naturally had to implement corresponding supervisory measures.

At first, the Serfs in the territory didn't understand why Lister was doing this.

After all, fishing and washing by the lakeside at will was already a part of daily life.

But after Lister's detailed explanation, these Serfs, who didn't have much education, mostly understood the reasoning behind it.

Even those who didn't understand knew that Lister was doing it for them and for the good of the entire territory, and that was enough.

After all, without Lister's governance, they wouldn't be able to eat their fill or wear warm clothes, not to mention the decent wages they received. Thus, their reverence and trust for him had reached an extremely exaggerated level.

This is why it's said that the hearts of the people are most important; because even if the leader does something they don't understand, they will willingly accept and support it.

The report wasn't short, but it passed quickly before they knew it.

“Odinton, it seems bringing you here was indeed a wise choice.”

Lister did not withhold his praise, continuing: “The general direction for the development of the Iron Thorn Territory Branch has been set; you may continue to proceed steadily.”

“Unless something particularly important comes up in the future, the focus of my affairs will be on developing the territory's military strength.”

Odinton said with a hint of surprise, “Lord Lister, are you planning to expand outward?”

“Correct.” Lister nodded and said, “Since I took the initiative to leave the Ironthorn Territory and come to the frontier fief, I naturally cannot be limited to this tiny bit of land.”

“Even though the land of the Iron Thorn Territory Branch is already quite large compared to the Ironthorn Territory, it is still not enough for me.”

“And if all goes well, Brutus should be able to buy the Black Bear Territory during this time. When that happens, both places will need to undergo major development.”

“But the Ironthorn Territory is ultimately within the kingdom's lands; developing livelihoods and commerce there is fine, but expanding the land is almost impossible.”

“So, in the future, I will treat the Ironthorn Territory as the rear base to provide for all the needs of the development here.”

“The two territories are quite far apart, and transporting resources every time is very troublesome, with no small amount of danger on the road.”

“Therefore, the development of military strength is an indispensable and major task. And there is one more reason.”

“That is, there are significant restrictions on developing military strength within the kingdom, but in the frontier fief, there is absolutely no need to worry.”

Taking a sip of warm milk, he continued: “Not only that, during the patrols and investigations Red and I have conducted recently, we've found that the tribal forces outside the frontier fief are once again engaging in friction.”

“And the friction between many forces is already moving toward full-scale war. Therefore, this is definitely an excellent opportunity for expansion.”

“Aside from us, I'm sure other lords have also noticed this. So, our next opponents will not only come from the outside, but we will also have to face the lords from within.”

1

“What Lord Lister says is true. I will certainly do my utmost in the future to ensure you are not bogged down by the internal affairs of the territory,” Odinton said with a solemn face.

Lister smiled and nodded, appreciating Odinton's promise.

Odinton and Brutus were the same in that they were both the type of people who worked extremely hard, but they were very different in one aspect.

The former's personality was more aggressive, and he was more daring in trying new things when handling affairs, making him very suitable for outward expansion; whereas the latter's personality was steady and thoughtful, able to take care of every detail, making him very suitable for internal development.

One couldn't say which was better or worse, they just had different leanings, but both were top-tier talents. Moreover, both held the idea of 'creating a new world' in their hearts, so they complemented each other perfectly.

From this, it was clear that the two of them becoming best friends at the Church Academy was absolutely a result of fate.

As the two were talking, a sharp bird cry came from outside the building.

The next second, under their gaze, a domineering blue-and-white eagle-bird flew in through the open window, slowly landing on the corner of Lister's desk.

“Goo goo~”

“Ying Yun, thank you for your hard work.” Lister stroked the eagle-bird's head and took out some food for it.

After so many days of nurturing, the five Magic Cloud Eagles had fully grown and were now put to work as messengers.

They were incredibly happy to be able to help Lister, rather than just watching the 'Big Boss' show off his power every day.

And their working ability finally saved Lister from the misery of waiting every day for those slow, sluggish messages.

Although the speed was not as fast as modern technology, compared to before, it was already like the difference between heaven and earth.

Taking out the letter tied around the Magic Cloud Eagle's neck, along with a high-quality beast-hide scroll, Lister quickly scanned them.

Halfway through, a smile couldn't help but rise on the corners of his mouth: “Good! The Black Bear Territory has been bought by Brutus. All handover matters are complete, and it only cost two thousand two hundred gold coins.”

“Congratulations, Lord Lister. May the holy light god be with you always,” Odinton congratulated with a face full of pleasant surprise.

Without hesitation, Lister quickly opened the scroll and signed his name upon it.

At this moment, the Black Bear Territory was officially incorporated into the Ironthorn Territory.

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Lister continued reading the rest of the letter.

“Odinton, Brutus has already dispatched the personnel and resources according to the needs of both you and me.”

The smile on Odinton's face grew even wider upon hearing this. These people and materials were very important for the subsequent development of the Iron Thorn Territory Branch.

At that moment, Lister's expression suddenly froze: “The Orcs have launched a large-scale raid!”