243: The territory that has grown and expanded

After three years of construction, the Iron Wall Fortress was now vastly different.

Various auxiliary buildings were scattered throughout the fortress complex. The daily standard of living for the Border Defense Army soldiers was countless times better than before, with large quantities of meat and Crystal Jade Wheat transported into the fortress, causing a direct surge in the soldiers' meal quality.

Through the efforts of Dora and the Flower Fairy Clan, the effects of Crystal Jade Wheat had improved significantly, and the planting area had seen a historic breakthrough.

Currently, the cultivated land area of the Red River Territory had reached nearly ten million mu. All usable land within the entire Red River Valley had been developed, and over half of the land in the Blackstone City area had also been reclaimed.

Among these ten million mu of land, over two hundred thousand mu of high-quality farmland were planted with Crystal Jade Wheat, and the output was now sufficient to meet the daily needs of all Professionals in the territory.

The significant improvement in living conditions and meals was merely the most basic part of Renn's transformation of the Iron Wall Fortress; the popularization of the Breathing Technique was the key to the Border Defense Army's complete metamorphosis.

Over these three years, the Fel Orcs from the north would invade southwards from time to time. When they didn't, Renn would organize the Border Defense Army to take the initiative and clear out Fel Orcs strongholds near the fortress.

Under constant combat and Renn's heavy investment of resources, every soldier in the current Border Defense Army was now a Professional, and their combat power was more than ten times stronger than before.

However, the Border Defense Army also lost many soldiers during these three years of fighting. Rage Bear Fortress was no longer providing replacements, so subsequent personnel were supplemented from the Red River Territory, causing the number of Red River locals in the Border Defense Army to rise steadily.

At the same time, the core of the Iron Wall Fortress—the Mage Tower and the Magic Array—had also been strengthened.

With two Legendaries, Renn and Dora, along with two Gold Peak Archmages, Alistair and Kapdo, and a large number of Spellcasters trained by Renn as support...

Both the Mage Tower and the Magic Array of the Iron Wall Fortress had been greatly improved and strengthened.

The fortress's Mage Tower was remodeled and upgraded, while the Magic Array was expanded and enhanced around the previously core ancient Magic Array.

Through her research on the ancient Magic Array, Fiona found an opportunity for a breakthrough and successfully reached the Gold Rank. With this Gold Rank mage specializing in Magic Arrays, the power of the Iron Wall Fortress's Magic Array was increased by more than thirty percent.

Renn looked at the newly transformed Iron Wall Fortress with great satisfaction. Although the number of troops in the Border Defense Army remained at forty thousand—not the fifty thousand of its peak period—its actual combat power had long since far exceeded the peak during Earl Sena's time.

"Lord, are you returning to the Red River Fortress?"

"Yes, Prague. I plan to head back to the Red River Fortress for a while. You'll have to look after things here at the fortress. You're experienced now, so I don't think I need to worry anymore, right?"

Prague, commander of the Fourth Legion, came before Renn.

Prague was Fiona's brother. With the help of magic potions, he had already broken through to the Gold Rank. He was now the commander of the Fourth Legion and also one of the deputy generals of the Iron Wall Fortress.

The Iron Wall Fortress had two deputy generals: Prague, who commanded the legions, and Alman, who commanded the Spellcasters.

Through his performance, Alman had already earned Renn's trust. He remained the leader of the Spellcasters at the Iron Wall Fortress, and his strength had also advanced one level under Renn's cultivation, breaking through from Middle Gold rank to High Gold Rank.

Some mages from the Red River Territory also remained in the fortress, which led to some growth in the Mage Corps under Alman.

Regarding the legions, there were four full-strength legions in the fortress: the Fourth, Eleventh, Twelfth, and Thirteenth.

The number of legions in the Red River Territory had increased from ten to thirteen, with each legion's size growing to ten thousand men. Thirteen legions meant 130,000 men. The previous Border Defense Army in the Iron Wall Fortress was reorganized into three new legions, and the remaining personnel were merged with the Fourth Legion led by Prague.

Besides the thirteen regular legions, there were also large numbers of Militia and Guard Teams undergoing daily training, ready to join the legions at any time.

As long as Renn needed it, he could expand his army to four or five hundred thousand or even more in an instant. However, quantity was not Renn's pursuit; what he needed was a powerful army of pure Professionals.

Since a large number of Professionals required massive resources to cultivate, Renn had slowed down the pace of army expansion over the last three years, focusing all his efforts on enhancing the strength of the established legions.

Prague, who served as deputy general in Renn's absence, had the authority to manage various affairs within the fortress. Theoretically, Alman, who was of equal rank, also fell under Prague's command; this was the power Renn gave him.

Having had several previous experiences, Prague felt no hesitation in his heart.

"Please rest assured. As long as I, Prague, am in the fortress, nothing will go wrong."

"Good."

Renn glanced at the busy convoy not far behind Prague.

"Is this the latest batch of spoils being sent to Rage Bear Fortress?"

"Yes, Lord!"

"This batch of spoils includes five hundred Fel Orcs heads, as well as some of their banners and war beasts."

Ever since Rage Bear Fortress stopped providing supplies to the Iron Wall Fortress three years ago, Renn would send requests for aid from time to time, but they always went unanswered.

Finally, Renn came up with a plan: every once in a while, he would send a victory report and have a batch of Fel Orcs heads delivered to Rage Bear Fortress. After delivering the heads, the messengers would seek aid from the Grand Duke of the Raging Bear in person.

This approach was very effective. Every team that went could bring back some supplies. Although they had to haul it back themselves, having something was better than nothing. It also let the Raging Bear Family know about the hardships here at the Iron Wall Fortress.

Unfortunately, Belmont had not provided any more soldiers or replacements, which made Renn very dissatisfied.

"Ask for more supplies this time."

After a few final instructions, Renn mounted Reck and left, followed by a squad of Azure Wolf Guards.

Renn had never slacked in his cultivation of Reck. Reck's strength had reached Gold-rank Peak, but he might need more time to consolidate before attempting a breakthrough to Legendary.

As for the Azure Wolf Guards, they were a personal guard unit Renn had personally established and usually accompanied him. Currently, there were only twenty of them. Although few in number, every Azure Wolf Guard had reached the Silver Rank, and their Magic Wolf mounts were all offspring of Anatolis, all being Silver Rank Magic Wolves.

The armor worn by the Azure Wolf Guards was the special Azure Wolf Battle Armor personally forged by Holland and Walter. It was a full set of Silver Rank armor, and even the Magic Wolves had special armor for protection.

Both the Azure Wolf Guard knights and their Magic Wolf mounts possessed extremely high talent. When Renn formed the Azure Wolf Guards, he hoped their strength would further improve in the future; the Silver Rank was not their limit.

Besides the Azure Wolf Guards, the number of the Three Titled Legions had increased from one thousand per legion three years ago to two thousand, and many among them had broken through to the Silver Rank.

In reality, the three major legions could have been expanded even more, but Renn needed to leave enough officers and core strength for the thirteen regular legions. He couldn't concentrate all the elites together; if he did, the thirteen regular legions would lose their combat effectiveness.

After leaving the Iron Wall Fortress, Renn did not choose to fly directly back to the Red River Fortress. The Azure Wolf Guards with him did not have the ability for long-distance flight. Besides, he wanted to see the condition of the road connecting the Iron Wall Fortress and the Red River Fortress.

Over the hundreds of miles from the Iron Wall Fortress to the Red River Fortress, a twenty-meter-wide Bluestone Highway had been constructed along the entire route.

The twenty-meter-wide paved road stretched straight across the land, with tall pine trees specially selected from the Black Forest planted on both sides.

This road had just been completed last year. Since its completion, the path from the Red River Fortress to the Iron Wall Fortress had been completely unobstructed, making communication between the two places dozens of times more convenient than before.

Several large strongholds were also built along the hundreds of miles of road as service points to provide support for passing convoys.

Renn led the Azure Wolf Guards in a swift gallop along this Bluestone Highway. He didn't find any problems along the way, and the road was well-maintained, leaving Renn very satisfied with the results of the Red River Territory's engineering team.

A few hours later, the prosperous and wealthy Red River City appeared before Renn's eyes.

Red River City had now completely transformed into a massive city spanning the Red River, with nearly two hundred thousand people living within it.

The city was divided into east and west districts. The west bank was a densely populated residential and commercial area, while the east bank housed the Government Affairs Hall and other departments of the Red River Territory, as well as the Forge Workshop, the Red River Fortress, and the Magical Plant Garden, which occupied a vast area.

Over these three years, Renn had been busy in the Black Corridor and the Iron Wall Fortress, occasionally inspecting Blackstone City to the south. He didn't spend much time in the Red River Fortress, which meant that every time he returned, he would find new changes in Red River City.

Upon reaching the outskirts, so as not to disturb the residents in the city, Renn took a detour and flew directly into the Red River Fortress from high altitude.

This time, Renn had specifically returned because an uninvited guest was waiting for him inside the Red River Fortress.