172: Develop agriculture

Chapter 170: Developing Agriculture

After dealing with military matters, Arthur began to address agricultural issues.

For this, he had to consult Brussian.

The Druid was quite familiar with the land around Mist Town,

Arthur had him invited to his study.

Brussian was very emotional, and as soon as he entered, he blamed himself, saying, “I shouldn’t have left the church.”

“If I hadn’t left, Father Dragan might not have died.”

He probably hadn’t recovered from the recent funeral.

Arthur shook his head and advised, “No, the outcome would have been the same.”

“Even if you had been there, you still wouldn’t have been able to stop that female vampire.”

“She was too powerful for us to defeat.”

The Druid’s face was full of sorrow. “The same thing has happened to me again.”

“Last time, my brothers joined the expedition against the Dark Lord, and they never came back.”

“I became the sole survivor of the society.”

“This time, it seems the same.”

“At least we liberated Mist Town and Father Dragan did not die in vain.”

“I can only comfort myself this way,” the Druid said. “I apologize, Lord, I lost my composure.”

“Is there something you need me for?”

“It’s about the land.”

“The power of the Earth Vein is repairing the land outside the town.”

“I’d like to ask you to organize people to keep an eye on it; those lands should return to their original state in about half a month.”

The Druid pondered for a moment and said, “If that’s truly the case, we might even make it for the spring plowing.”

Saying this, the Druid took out a parchment map from his backpack, spread it on the table, and asked, “Is it this area, Lord?”

Arthur looked at the map and couldn’t help but feel a surge of joy.

It was a very detailed and complete topographical map of Mist Town and its surroundings.

After carefully examining the map, Arthur pointed out the lands that were about to recover and then asked, “Does Mist Town still have farmers?”

Due to being trapped for a long time, the town’s food mostly relied on merchant caravans and Plantations.

Currently, Mist Town’s true industry is logging.

The town is close to Shirmingster Forest, and timber resources are very abundant.

Before the Undead's revival, the Sheriff would organize armed logging teams to go into the forest to cut timber, then transport the logs back to the town for secondary processing.

Therefore, most residents were engaged in logging-related work, and relatively few were farmers.

“I’ll need some time to compile a count,” the Druid said. “But the number won’t be too high.”

“You can probably tell that Mist Town’s primary economic source isn’t agriculture.”

Arthur nodded and then asked, “Based on your understanding, what’s the agricultural outlook for Mist Town?”

“Very good,” the Druid replied. “According to historical records, plus my years of studying the land,”

“I can tell you clearly, Lord, Mist Town has always been an agricultural stronghold of Qingfeng Valley.”

“Provided we can take the Plantation, right?” Arthur added.

“No, the Plantation’s land just wasn’t eroded by the dark power. Lord, look—” The Druid pointed at the map, “Look at these lands; they were all excellent farmlands.”

“These farmlands could not only feed the entire town but also supply food to other parts of Qingfeng Valley.”

“When the Amn Expeditionary Force managed Qingfeng Valley, Mist Town was an important granary.”

“Then we will find a way to restore it to its former glory,” Arthur said.

“I will go investigate and organize people right away,” Brussian said. “At the latest, by tomorrow afternoon, I will give you an answer.”

Arthur fully entrusted the agricultural matters to the Druid.

Next, he needed to deal with the merchant company’s affairs.

Because restoring agricultural production in Mist Town was a rather slow process.

Even with the help of the Earth Vein’s power, it was still slow.

Before agricultural production recovered, the town’s only way to obtain food was to rely on external sources or occupy the Plantation.

While waiting for Louis, Arthur cleared his mind and examined the Earth Vein map.

The concentration of Earth Vein beneath Mist Town even exceeded that of the Whispering Place, but most of it was used by the Demigod Wolf Pack to form a protective circle.

This circle was their only way to resist powerful external enemies.

As a result, the land’s recovery would naturally be slowed down.

Arthur confirmed the edge of the protective circle; he planned to have Jessica send people to set up conspicuous markers at the border to remind everyone of the safe zone’s extent.

Additionally, he needed to divert the Earth Vein power from the Whispering Place here, which would accelerate the land’s recovery.

Currently, the only way to divert the Earth Vein’s power was to plant oak trees.

Those oak trees would act like transmission towers, guiding the Earth Vein’s power.

Based on the distance, at least three oak trees would be needed to complete the diversion.

Of course, this wasn’t what Arthur wanted to do right now, because following the same principle, he could use the oak trees to expand the protective circle’s range.

Since the current protective circle did not include the Plantation, even if Isgrasa was eliminated, the Plantation would still not be safe.

A knock on the door interrupted Arthur’s thoughts. He withdrew his consciousness and gestured for the person outside to enter.

Louis walked in, accompanied by Coyotail, Mombasa Snake Eye, and another young man.

These four were the candidates mentioned in the intelligence for running the merchant company.

Arthur hadn’t seen the young man before.

Louis introduced him, “Lord, this is Lanny, a distant relative of mine.”

“He used to be a bookkeeper in Iron Pickaxe Town and fled to Mist Town with a merchant caravan three years ago.”

“Since then, he’s been helping us manage the smuggling business with the Warthog Merchant Caravan.”

Arthur gestured for them to sit down and asked, “Iron Pickaxe Town? I remember that place should be on the other side of Qingfeng Valley, right?”

Lanny looked around twenty years old, dark-skinned, and very nervous.

Upon hearing Arthur’s question, he instinctively stood up from his seat and respectfully replied, “Yes, Lord.”

“The Ventrue family controls that place; they treat people like livestock, and someone dies every day.”

“And those who can’t work for various reasons become blood bags.”

“Sit down, young man, no need to be so nervous.”

“So you escaped by blending in with the Warthog Merchant Caravan?”

“Yes.”

Lanny was about to sit down but instinctively stood up again when he heard the question.

He looked bitter and explained, “I apologize, Lord. This… this is a habit I formed there.”

“When those vampires came, we had to stand up to answer. So, so I’ll just stand.”

Arthur waved his hand, indicating he didn’t need to worry. “Whatever makes you comfortable.”

“So, can you contact the Warthog Merchant Caravan smugglers?”

“Yes, they’ll arrive in three days.”

“Bring them to me; I already have a trade agreement with them.”

“From now on, there’s no need for smuggling.”

As he spoke, Arthur took out the trade agreement signed with the Warthog Merchant Caravan.

Lanny took it with both hands and examined it with Louis.

“This way, we can trade at normal prices,” Lanny said.