179: Territory Construction (4,000)

Chapter 177: Territory Development (4,000 words)

Arthur first briefly learned about the backgrounds of the two new maids.

They were sisters whose parents had passed away long ago.

The elder sister, Charlotte, had barely managed to raise her younger sister, Nora, by engaging in some unspeakable flesh trade.

Before Arthur appeared, the sisters' lives held no hope whatsoever.

In fact, many people had already set their sights on Nora, who was about to come of age.

This was something Charlotte could never accept.

After Arthur nodded in agreement to keep them, Vanka took them to get clean clothes.

Arthur then checked the day's intelligence reports:

Two intelligence reports with follow-ups, no further updates yet.

[Blue Intelligence] There are large quantities of exploitable stone materials at the old logging camp on the outskirts of the town.

[Green Intelligence] Joshua still has a box of gold and silver that has not been sent out of town. Fool knows the exact location of the box.

[Green Intelligence] Mary makes a living by mending. She is happy to help rebuild a new tailor shop. Additionally, please help find her young niece's mother.

[White Intelligence] There will be a heavy rain this afternoon, and the water level of the Ba Claw River will rise accordingly.

After the rain recedes, many mud crabs will appear on the riverbanks, and people can be organized to catch them.

After reading the intelligence reports, Arthur instructed the new maids to prepare the carriage.

He planned to tour the town with the Dwarf Iron Shovel to check on the situation in various places.

"Tell me about the recent situation at Lookout Fort?"

As the carriage traveled, Arthur asked the Dwarf beside him.

"Everything is well, My Lord," Iron Shovel immediately replied. "The caravan transports grain from Whispering Place every week."

"They prefer the food we send over the soldiers' rations."

"After all, our goods are very fresh."

"What's the situation with the Black Goat Caravan?" Arthur continued to ask.

The Dwarf shook his head, a slight frown on his brow: "It's been very quiet."

"But Godwin said this situation is abnormal."

"We snatched a portion of their grain transport quota. Logically, they should be furious."

Arthur leaned by the carriage window, narrowing his eyes: "That's the most terrifying part."

"If the enemy isn't provoked, it means they are still rational;"

"And rational opponents rarely make mistakes."

"Could it be that those cowards just gave up?" Iron Shovel asked tentatively.

Upon hearing this, Arthur turned to look at the Dwarf, a faint smile on his lips: "Do you believe that, my friend?"

"A group of people who value money more than their lives, would they tolerate outsiders taking money from their pockets?"

The Dwarf laughed upon hearing this: "Godwin said the same thing."

"So I'm worried that he doesn't have many people on his side to begin with."

"My Lord, I'm afraid if those scoundrels try to cause trouble, he won't be able to handle it."

Arthur slowly nodded, his tone tinged with a hint of helplessness: "I know that, but I can't let you go back yet."

"You know why: this place is in ruins waiting to be rebuilt, and you are an experienced architect."

"I need someone to help me plan this small town properly."

"I want sturdy, durable roads, houses that won't leak when it rains, fully functional shops of all kinds,"

"And of course, a new church must be built."

"Judging by your words, you want to tear this place down and rebuild it?" Iron Shovel asked.

"If conditions allow, I do indeed want to do that," Arthur admitted.

As they spoke, the carriage had stopped at the entrance of Joshua's trading house.

This was their first stop on this trip.

Arthur and Iron Shovel stepped inside, and as soon as they entered, he said: "I plan to expand this place, at least twice its current size."

"From now on, this will become the commercial center of Mist Town."

Louis, who was inside the trading house, heard the sound and quickly walked out from the inner room.

Since Arthur hadn't informed him in advance, he seemed a bit flustered,

But he immediately bowed respectfully.

Arthur then introduced him to Iron Shovel.

"Hey, kid, so you're the manager of this place?"

The Dwarf asked with a teasing tone.

Louis quickly waved his hands and explained: "No, no, no, I'm just temporarily helping to manage it."

"I believe Lord Arthur will definitely find someone more suitable than me to take over here in the future."

"Don't be so modest," the Dwarf said, pointing around the trading house. "I'll be dealing with you a lot in the future."

"In my opinion, if this place wants to become a commercial center, the entrance needs to be enlarged first. Look at it now, it can only allow a small carriage to pass through at most."

"Also, you need to build a larger warehouse, otherwise, there won't be enough space for goods when there are more of them."

Louis immediately understood Arthur's plan.

Although he didn't understand the intricacies of architecture, he also felt that the Dwarf made a lot of sense.

This trading house in Mist Town, even in the eyes of the locals, seemed particularly shabby.

In the past, Joshua never cared about the appearance of the trading house, because he knew that the Townsfolk simply had no other choice.

But now it was different. Since the Baron wanted to use this as a foundation to build a commercial center, it at least had to look like a "commercial center."

Arthur let Louis and Iron Shovel discuss the specific renovation plan.

He knew very well that as a leader, and also a layman, he only needed to provide the funds.

The two discussed for a while and settled on a preliminary plan.

Afterward, Arthur called Louis aside and told him about the box of gold.

"I'll go talk to Fool right away, but I—"

Louis paused hesitantly, mid-sentence.

"Are you worried he won't remember the location of the gold?" Arthur interjected. "Don't worry, he'll remember."

"Ask him carefully, don't push him too hard, and he'll tell you."

"I understand, My Lord."

The second stop of the carriage was the town's church.

Looking at the completely ruined building, with only broken walls remaining, Iron Shovel couldn't help but whistle.

His gaze swept over the zealous believers who were clearing the collapsed debris under Flora's guidance.

"It looks like this place went through a big battle," Iron Shovel said. "My Lord, I heard Newt say that the battle that night was quite perilous."

"Mother Earth protected us."

Arthur made a symbol of the earth mother on his chest.

"Yes, thanks to the earth mother's protection."

Iron Shovel sighed with emotion, then stepped towards the church ruins.

Flora saw them and immediately came over. The Dwarf warmly gave her a hug.

"Little girl, you look well."

"The Mother of the Forest protects me, and thanks to you too," Flora replied.

"So, My Lord sent you to be in charge here?" Iron Shovel asked.

Flora shrugged: "I'm just helping to look after these people, giving them something to do."

"I can see that they are all working very hard."

"They are all devout believers, and very loyal to My Lord."

"I understand. Come on, little girl, walk around with this old man and have a look." Iron Shovel turned to her. "Lord Arthur plans to rebuild a new church."

"I need to inspect the site first, and you can tell me about the battle that night."

Flora readily agreed.

Arthur stood by the carriage, his gaze fixed on the diligently working believers.

Just then, the maid Charlotte walked over, carrying a water skin.

Arthur took the water skin, took a sip, and then suddenly asked her: "You're literate?"

Charlotte's expression instantly became extremely flustered, as if a long-hidden secret had been exposed.

"Holy Lord, I, I didn't mean to hide it from you, I just—"

"Don't be nervous, I'm not blaming you," Arthur interrupted her. "Being literate is a good thing. Tell me, where did you learn it?"

Charlotte slowly lowered her head, instinctively taking a small step back.

"We were deceived into coming here."

"Those people told my parents that Qingfeng Valley was a good place, that the nobles here were generous, and that if you had real talent, you would receive generous rewards."

"My father was a musician, and my mother was a dancer. At that time, the family business was so bad that we were almost starving."

"Out of desperation, they brought my sister and me here, taking a risk."

Arthur listened quietly, without interrupting.

"My father taught me to read and write from a young age. I can read and write some things now, but my skill level isn't very high," Charlotte added.

Arthur did not press further about what happened to the family afterward.

Over hundreds of years, countless desperate people like them had been lured here by the Dark Lord’s minions.

Most of these people became playthings for vampires and other dark creatures. According to Airo, some even became tragic experimental subjects.

The sorcerers under the Throne Seer would conduct various horrific experiments on these poor souls.

All to create a powerful army completely loyal to the Dark Lord.

“When I was washing up this morning, I noticed you were very interested in the book on my table,” Arthur broke the silence. “If you want to read it, just ask me for it.”

“But I have to explain, that book isn’t mine; it was left by the previous owner of that house.”

“Personally, I’m not very fond of those knight and princess love stories.”

Charlotte’s mood slowly shifted from initial terror to disbelief, then to barely concealed surprise.

Finally, she was filled with shyness and embarrassment, wishing she could find a hole to crawl into.

“There are quite a few other books in the study. If you want to read them, let me know anytime,” Arthur added.

After Flora left, he indeed needed an assistant who could read and write.

“Th-thank you, my Lord!” Charlotte quickly bowed in gratitude.

After another wait, the dwarf and Flora returned together.

“My Lord, this is a huge project,” Iron Shovel stated bluntly. “Even with sufficient manpower, it won’t be finished in less than one or two years.”

This timeframe far exceeded Arthur’s expectations; he had originally thought rebuilding the church would take at least five or six years.

One must know, the church was not only the largest building in all of Mist Town but also built of stone.

While there was plenty of wood around Mist Town, stone was very scarce.

Even if, as the intelligence suggested, a stone quarry was established at the old logging camp to solve the raw material problem, there wasn't enough manpower for construction at present.

Arthur fell into contemplation, his gaze once again falling on the working believers.

Suddenly, as if something clicked, he said, “What’s important isn’t the church itself, but faith and hope.”

Iron Shovel and Flora exchanged glances, both with a hint of confusion on their faces.

Flora couldn’t help but step forward and ask, “My Lord, what do you mean?”

“Haha, what I mean is, there’s no rush to repair the church,” Arthur explained with a smile. “Just help me build a platform in the town square.”

“I can preach there in the future.”

Flora and Iron Shovel were already accustomed to their lord’s unexpected ideas.

Iron Shovel immediately said, “That’s easy to do. Louis just told me that the one thing this place doesn’t lack is wood. Building a platform is no difficulty at all.”

“But my Lord, are you sure you want to preach in such a simple place?”

Flora couldn’t help but add, “That’s because you haven’t seen the Lord give a speech in a garbage heap.”

The carriage then proceeded to the blacksmith’s shop.

This was also one of the facilities Arthur was most eager to restore.

Previously, the town’s blacksmith family had left Mist Town due to the dissolution of the Long Night Alliance.

So the blacksmith’s shop had been closed for a long time.

Although Iron Shovel was a dwarf, he didn’t know much about forging.

As far as he knew, there was no one in the Pioneer Group skilled in blacksmithing either.

After inspecting the entire blacksmith’s shop with Arthur, the dwarf concluded, “The tools in the shop are all still there.”

“The furnace should still be usable, as long as the roof and the collapsed wall are repaired.”

“But the problem is, if there’s no blacksmith, even if this place is repaired, it won’t mean much.”

Arthur agreed with this.

However, not having a blacksmith’s shop was still a big problem.

Whether it was horseshoes, farm tools, or weapons and armor, a blacksmith was needed for repairs and crafting.

At present, he could only hope that there would be a decent blacksmith among the refugee group.

After seeing the blacksmith’s shop, Arthur had Iron Shovel continue to ride the carriage to inspect other parts of the town.

He also needed to plan the location for a large mess hall to implement food rationing.

Later, once everything stabilized, this mess hall would be solely responsible for supplying meals to the soldiers.

Arthur assigned the task of site selection to Iron Shovel, while he himself, accompanied by the two maids, walked towards Mary’s house.

Nora, the younger of the two sisters, was cheerful and energetic.

Whenever she had free time, she would recite the Mother Earth’s prayer, and while reciting, her hands would continuously weave the sacred emblem symbolizing the earth mother with oak branches.

Sometimes, she would even pluck up the courage to ask Arthur questions about the Mother Earth’s doctrine.

Arthur would patiently answer each one.

In fact, the young baron was also very interested in this aspect.

He had never understood before how these fervent believers interpreted the doctrine.

So whenever Nora finished asking a question, he would also ask the sisters some questions about the doctrine.

The two girls simply assumed that the Saint was testing them.

Therefore, each time they faced Arthur’s questions, they answered with extra caution, their expressions full of tension.

Arthur quickly realized that religious belief here was a very peculiar existence.

It was completely different from the beliefs he had encountered in his previous life.

It was more blind, more fanatical, and also more narrow-minded and extreme.

Take Charlotte and Nora, for example; they were almost entirely obedient to Arthur.

Even if he asked them to sacrifice their lives, they probably wouldn’t hesitate for a moment.

In their eyes, death was not a punishment but a necessary path to the Goddess’s side.

Furthermore, they always believed themselves to be sinners, and being able to believe in Mother Earth was already a great salvation.

They never asked for anything in return, nor did they crave anything; their only wish was to serve the Goddess well.

And in their eyes, Arthur was the Goddess’s agent on earth, representing the Goddess’s will, an absolutely unquestionable existence.

If anyone dared to question Arthur, it would be blasphemy against the Goddess, and such disloyal individuals should be excommunicated.

Such a belief, which stripped away humanity, though appearing somewhat inhumane, was exactly what Arthur needed most right now.

Even better, how the doctrine was ultimately interpreted was entirely up to him.

His next plan was to gather the preachers among the fanatics and thoroughly “teach” them the so-called doctrine.

As they spoke, the three had already arrived outside Mary’s house.

It was a dim, two-story attached small building, all the windows tightly sealed with wooden planks.

Any inhabited house in Mist Town would adopt this protective measure.

In the Townsfolk’s eyes, these planks could somewhat block the invasion of dark creatures.

Arthur stepped forward and knocked on the door.

Soon, the elderly woman opened the door.

Upon seeing the baron standing outside, Mary became extremely excited and quickly invited him into the house.

“My Lord, please sit, please sit! I’ll go boil some water for you—oh no, not water, it’s wine, I’ll go get you—”

She babbled incoherently while frantically tidying up the clutter in the house.

“No need to busy yourself,” Arthur raised a hand, indicating she needn’t be so polite. “I’ve come this time to ask about the tailor’s shop.”

Mary quickly pulled out a worn chair and invited Arthur to sit down.

After the baron was seated, she spoke, “Someone must have mentioned this to you, right?”

“My parents used to be the town’s tailors, but unfortunately, they passed away very early.”

“Although I can’t make clothes, I know a bit of needlework. People in town usually come to me when they need clothes mended.”

“You see, my Lord, over there is where my parents used to work. The tools are all still complete. If you have a need, you can take them anytime.”

Arthur looked in the direction Mary was pointing.

But because the windows were sealed with wooden planks, the light inside was dim, and he couldn’t clearly see what was actually stored there.

“Consider it repayment for your kindness in saving my brother,” Mary added.