Chapter 270: Building a Nation

  "Lord Bolgan, I am responsible for the death of this Ogre warrior. It was my carelessness; I didn't notice that this was actually an elderly Scale Ox King." The werewolf holding the strange long blade that emitted magic walked over. Although he had a wolf's face, one could still see that his expression was heavy. His words were clear and articulate, greatly different from the accent of other werewolves.

  "Casualties are unavoidable in such matters, Captain Luken. You don't need to blame yourself too much. You should know, in the past, to hunt a Scale Ox King like this, it would require at least someone of the Church's Temple Knight rank to venture deep into this swamp to hunt. Come with me." Lord Bolgan waved his hand and turned to walk outside.

  "The Scale Ox herds that can be captured in this area are basically all here. Should we continue?" Luken asked.

  "Of course, we continue. But in a different direction. We can't go deeper into the swamp for now; it's not yet time to provoke the Hydra. Let's traverse it from the side for now. But you won't be in charge of this anymore. Vyr has just accepted the position of tribal chief and will lead twenty elite Ogre warriors here to replace you tomorrow. Order a full day of rest for everyone today." The assistant to the lord of Oufu struggled to walk through the swamp with deep and shallow steps, occasionally having to jump. Although the Ogres and lizardmen had already cleared a wide road, this rough and hastily made project was only for transporting Scale Ox and supplies. Everywhere, there was still sewage, sludge, and tree stumps. For someone of Lord Bolgan's stature, it was even more difficult to walk than the original swamp terrain.

  "I know that the casualties in the past two days are my responsibility, but I hope City Lord Sedros can give me another chance to prove myself. I, as a captain, will not disappoint him." Luken stopped in his tracks and looked at Lord Bolgan.

  Lord Bolgan grinned, revealing his teeth. He stood on his tiptoes, seemingly trying to pat Luken's back, but the height difference was too great. Even on his tiptoes, he could only pat the tall werewolf's lower back: "Idiot. It's not that I'm dissatisfied with your work here; it's that there's a more important task for you to do."

  "Oh, what is it?" The light in the werewolf captain's eyes brightened.

  "City Lord Sedros has invited several elemental mages from the Tower of Fangs and has officially decided to start teaching magic to the children in the city. You must be the chief instructor. I heard that when those magers first heard they were to teach magic to beastmen, they were as shocked as if they'd heard an egg eating a person. If it weren't for City Lord Sedros's good relationship with them, and if he hadn't brought out a few top-grade magic gems that made those guys drool, those self-righteous old bastards really wouldn't have come."

  "Mages are mostly arrogant and self-righteous." The werewolf captain smiled.

  "They believe that savage races like werewolves, Ogres, and Half-Orcs are forever disconnected from the noble and mysterious magic, so they want you to give them a good demonstration that magic is not the exclusive patent of humans..." Lord Bolgan was startled when he said this. After being a high-ranking official in this beastman city-state for so long, it seemed he had unconsciously stopped considering himself human.

  "But there are still some differences in how beastmen learn magic compared to humans. Our mental concentration for meditation and our comprehension of incantations are indeed somewhat different from humans. We have difficulty learning great spells." Luken nodded.

  "The key point is not to spend years cultivating a few beastman archmages. The crucial thing is to make the learning of magic begin to be popularized in Oufu City within one or two years. You know we are not short of things like magic gems, hehe. As long as they master some basic meditation and magic release techniques, we have enough to give everyone the ability to cast primary magic."

  "Mm, hehe." Luken also grinned, revealing a mouth full of fangs, and raised his giant hand to clench it. He was actually wearing four rings of superior Magical Jade on his hand. He was even considering whether he should put these away when meeting those mages, lest the old magic masters' hearts couldn't take it.

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  Even the Pope could not possibly have four such superior Magical Jade rings used for magic power storage and enhancement. Just one such thing placed before any mage would be enough to make their heart race, let alone four. Most critically, they were on the hand of a werewolf who could only use some intermediate magic. The significance was no different from using the most magnificent silk fabric as a sweat towel for a farmer plowing the fields.

  The large batch of raw magic ore brought back from the Sanderfirth Mountains had already been completely extracted and carved. However, to prevent the collapse of the continent's magic commodity value system, Sedros only released a small portion in exchange for large amounts of money and resources, naturally keeping the rest for his own use. But in Oufu, besides Sedros himself, Luken was the only one who could use magic, which was why he had equipment that could rival that of the mages of Diya Valley.

  "We are learning magic not for research or advanced study; the most important thing is practicality. Let those mages teach the basics of magic and such. You are to be responsible for teaching practical skills and combat techniques for battle. Starting today, you are no longer a captain, but the instructor of Oufu. General Gru will spar with you frequently after he returns from Sanderfirth, to make your title well-deserved."

  "What a heavy title..." A somewhat ferocious bitter smile appeared on the werewolf's face. "I will do my utmost."

  A Wyvern was parked in a wider area ahead. Lord Bolgan, Luken, and the Half-Orc adjutant boarded the flying dragon and ascended, leaving the area. It wasn't long before they had flown out of the swamp and arrived at the large fields reclaimed from the swamp. Many Goblins were busy in the fields.

  The Wyvern carried the newly appointed beastman instructor of Oufu back to receive Sedros's assignment. Lord Bolgan remained here, and soon two Half-Orcs came over with ledgers and data to report to him.

  "Today, another thirty mu of new fields were reclaimed, totaling five hundred and ninety mu. According to the budget, the income from berries and tubers next month can reach over three hundred thousand pounds, and the month after that can..."

  "Bring me the map of the swamp." Lord Bolgan's stubby fingers snapped, and the Half-Orc adjutant immediately pulled a piece of parchment from the large pouch at his waist. His greatest function was to help the lord's assistant carry various materials. Although this lord's assistant's big head already contained enough information, judging from the current development, an Ogre might need to be chosen for the adjutant position to be competent.

  Lord Bolgan looked at the swamp map, his chicken-coop-like big head swayed, and he said: "Temporarily stop reclaiming new fields. This is enough."

  "But my lord, we still have enough seeds and manpower to reclaim another two hundred mu. That way, our production volume can be increased to..."

  "What's the point of producing so much? Can you eat it all?" Lord Bolgan rolled his ox eyes. "This yield is already enough to raise Scale Ox and Kodo Beasts. We already have grain and pasture from the highlands. Although these plants have a short growth cycle, they should also be very harsh on the soil. The cultivated land must be replaced within half a year, allowing these used fields to recover for several years. Planting too much at once will only lead to the outcome of having no land to plant."

  "No matter what you do, even if it's farming, you must have a long-term perspective. Don't just stare at what's right in front of you, do you understand?" Lord Bolgan stood on his tiptoes. The Half-Orc was much shorter than the werewolf and was half-bent over in front of him. This time, he finally managed to pat the Half-Orc on the forehead.

  "How is the situation at the beast taming grounds?" Lord Bolgan asked the other Half-Orc.

  "Um... with the supply of Scale Ox carcasses recently, there has been no problem with the meat for the Wargs, lizards, Wyverns, and even the two Behemoths. We are considering whether to prepare for the large-scale breeding of Wargs."

  "If so many little wolves are born, and then we stop capturing Scale Ox, what will the Wargs eat? Eat you? Same principle. These Scale Ox carcasses are all temporary resources and cannot be considered as sustainable resources. Starting today, all Scale Ox carcasses will be transported back to Oufu and urgently processed into jerky and rations for storage. On the other hand, things like Kodo Beasts should be bred in large numbers; they are never too many, whether as meat or as transport. Also, the manpower for taming Scale Ox must be increased, but don't just rely on brute force. You must think of more suitable methods. There will be a heavy reward for anyone who can come up with an effective method to improve the taming process and speed. Brute force is not the most important thing; efficiency is. Do you understand?"

  "Yes, I understand." The Half-Orc nodded admiringly and stepped back. After more than a year, the status of this lord's assistant in their eyes had become disproportionately higher than his own stature. Every one of these suggestions was indeed true insight.

  The wind of the swamp blew past, and the large fertile fields before them swayed their green heads in the dazzling sun, just like Lord Bolgan's head. Calculating the data he had just heard, the feeling in the big head of Oufu City's main assistant was also like the fertile fields before him, full of vitality.

  "Just give me, no, give Oufu three more years, and no country on the continent will dare to underestimate this Barbarian Highlands. In another ten years, this will absolutely be the strongest nation in the history of the continent."

  The feeling of building a city, a nation, step by step, was simply wonderful. This Oufu, whether in terms of scale, importance, or the room it gave him to display his skills, was countless times larger than the small town of Bracada he used to manage, and the sense of accomplishment was naturally countless times greater. Standing against the wind, he felt in his chest a pride as vast as the sky and an ambition as great as the sea. If at this moment he could have a very majestic cloak draped on his back and laugh towards the heavens a few times, he felt he would be completely a legendary great man.