49: Brutus's advice

In a room on the third floor of the castle, Brutus was giving his report and suggestions regarding the territory's affairs.

"Lord Lister, the emergency winter food reserves for the territory have currently reached the required amount."

"However, the winters in the Ironthorn Territory are cold and damp. Storing food haphazardly could lead to damage from moisture. Furthermore, the previous storage was too scattered, which is not conducive to supervision and inspection."

"Therefore, I suggest that craftsmen build a unified storage warehouse and design multiple vents to ensure the space does not become too damp."

"In addition, it can be covered with insulating materials to ensure the food reserves do not freeze."

"Next is the issue of housing and road planning in Ironthorn Town. I have studied it carefully; Ironthorn Town did not implement such planning in the past."

"Houses vary in size and have no fixed positions; many of them occupy the pedestrian paths along the roadside."

"The roads are also winding and twisted, with inconsistent lengths and widths and no regularity. If the flow of people and the number of carriages increase, it will cause congestion or even injuries."

"Therefore, I have redesigned an overall plan for the housing construction and road development of Ironthorn Town."

"According to the plan, all the houses and roads in Ironthorn Town need to be demolished and rebuilt. Although it is troublesome, the improvements can completely avoid the various previous problems."

"This work can be carried out after the Winter Wheat sowing is finished. The renovation will start from the western side of Ironthorn Town and then slowly radiate to the entire town. All the commoners will join in, and it is expected to be completed within a month."

"I have made a detailed report on the funds required."

"Moving on to..."

As he listened to Brutus's incisive report, which also provided specific improvement methods,

Lister nodded frequently, the look of admiration in his eyes completely undisguised.

It took over an hour for Brutus to finish his entire report, and various implementation and solution plans were written on paper and presented to him.

Lister looked at the plans on the table, which were not particularly thick but were appropriately detailed, and praised, "Well done, Hobbes (Brutus). I will finish reading your plans as soon as possible."

"If there are no problems, I will arrange for their implementation immediately."

"Thank you for your praise, Lord Lister. This is only what I should do," Brutus replied, his expression remaining calm, as if he didn't feel he had made a great contribution.

Seeing this, the admiration in Lister's eyes grew even stronger.

Although Brutus was young, his calm and steady character was rare among his peers, not to mention his outstanding ability as a magistrate.

Turning his head, Lister signaled to Malo, who had been waiting for a long time, to give his report.

Malo said respectfully, "Lord, according to your previous requirements, I and all the craftsmen of Ironthorn Town have finished laying all the pipes connecting the geothermal hot spring in the Ironthorn Forest to the Cultivated Land."

"Oh, they've already been laid?" Lister was somewhat surprised.

Although he hadn't asked Malo and the others to lay the pipes to the more distant castle, laying them comprehensively to the farmland was no easy task.

"Yes, Lord," Malo replied respectfully, adding, "We also guarantee that there are absolutely no problems with the quality."

Seeing his confident expression, Lister naturally did not doubt him and praised with some emotion, "To be able to finish the laying in such a short time while ensuring quality, your craftsmanship truly makes me look at you in a new light."

"Thank you for your praise, Lord," Malo said with joy on his face.

Nodding slightly, Lister gave a few more instructions, and the two of them rose and took their leave.

Watching the door close and the environment become completely quiet, he placed the plans in a drawer.

Then he rose from his seat, walked to the center of the room, sat cross-legged, and took out a Spirit Essence Flower from his storage ring.

Today, he planned to try and see how much the Spirit Essence Flower could enhance his Spiritual Power.

Unlike the dragon blood fruit, the way to use a Spirit Essence Flower was not to consume it directly, but for the user to release Spiritual Power and connect with the special energy hidden within the flower's body.

This energy would automatically feed back into the user's Spiritual Power through the connected 'bridge,' thereby achieving an enhancement effect.

In the next moment, with a thought, his Spiritual Power—now more solid and agile than before—was instantly released, causing the space to ripple slightly.

Then he concentrated his mind and drove his Spiritual Power to envelop the Spirit Essence Flower in front of him.

Soon, the entire stamen was completely enveloped, and a Spiritual Power 'bridge' similar to a contract spell faintly emerged, though only the user, Lister, could see it.

Once the 'bridge' became firm and solid, a special energy that Lister had never felt before flooded into his spiritual sea.

This enhancement of Spiritual Power felt like experiencing the ultimate pleasure of the mortal world, causing him to close his eyes and lose himself in it, unable to stop a groan from escaping his lips.

After an unknown amount of time, the energy finally dissipated, and he recovered from the sensation.

"No wonder everyone says enhancing Spiritual Power is comfortable; this feeling is probably more addictive than... whatever."

Feeling the more solid, agile, and dense Spiritual Power in his mind, Lister's expression was both surprised and excited.

The enhancement of Spiritual Power not only made his brain clearer and more transparent but also made his logical thinking faster and more accurate.

It was as if some meridians in his brain that were originally blocked had now become completely clear.

After carefully sensing his gains this time, he stopped and did not continue.

As for the remaining two Spirit Essence Flowers, he was in no hurry to absorb them.

Because he felt a sense of bloating after his Spiritual Power was enhanced once, showing that he needed time to buffer and rest... The cold wind blew across the Cultivated Land, the trees rustled, and within his field of vision, all the farmland was filled with the figures of hardworking farmers.

After absorbing the energy of the Spirit Essence Flower, Lister brought his 'little follower' Daisna to the farming area for an inspection.

At this time, a huge pasture had already been partitioned off in the farming area, and over a dozen barb-oxen were inside.

However, to Lister's surprise, next to those barb-oxen that had not yet been fully tamed, there were actually other draft animals.

At this moment, Charlie, the sharp-eyed farmer-in-charge, saw him and ran quickly to his side to salute respectfully, "Lord, I greet you."

"Miss Daisna, I greet you."

Lister nodded slightly and then asked, "Charlie, why are those untamed barb-oxen placed together with the other draft animals?"

"In response to the Lord, those barb-oxen have already been tamed," Charlie explained, looking up.

"Tamed!" Lister was stunned, then asked curiously, "Who tamed them?"

Charlie said excitedly, "Lord, it was the Slave you bought from the Slave trader before."

As he spoke, he pointed to a plain-looking but sturdy young man not far away. "It's him, Dode Neil. He used to be a beast tamer, and his beast-taming ability really opened our eyes."

"If it weren't for your foresight, Lord, our Ironthorn Territory might never have had such a good beast tamer."

When he said this, Charlie's expression was full of admiration for Lister.