Chapter 245 - Infinite Potential

With the escort of the Purple Dragon Patrol Team, anyone who dares to make a move against Blackwell Town must think twice, especially the Santarin Association.The Purple Dragon Patrol Team was a strategic adjustment specifically made against them; the intimidation of oneself was merely incidental.

The downside is that everything in Dragon Oak Territory, including myself, must now act in accordance with Komeer’s legal system. We can no longer wield our weapons recklessly, and even the construction of Blood Claw Garrison Town must be postponed.

In fact, it wasn’t just the Hobgoblin Wolf Cavalry that had been withdrawn into the Dragon Oak Dragon Nest.

All the troops from the Blood Claw Garrison Town had also been withdrawn by him overnight. He must temporarily sever all ties between himself and the Hobgoblin Wolf Cavalry.

Luckily, the Hobgoblin Wolf Cavalry had always acted under the name of the Black Reaper, and no matter how hard they investigated, they would not be able to trace it back to me in a short period.

"A period for rest can be allowed, but free meals are unnecessary. All patrol teams will bring their own provisions," Feng Geda Hast accepted only half of Gaven’s proposal.

"Afterward, I will have someone prepare quickly," Gaven did not insist, because he himself would not accept such a proposal either.

One’s own army can only be supported by oneself and must never be left in the hands of others to prevent corruption, a principle that Feng Geda Hast would certainly understand.

"You have had a good start. Continue working hard according to your own ideas. I hope that one day, I will see your ennoblement ceremony in the Purple Dragon Hall,"

Feng Geda Hast gave Gaven a meaningful smile, "But do not become too complacent. Rayana Ross is not one to surrender easily, especially when facing a competitor. Her fighting spirit will be greatly stimulated; I heard she is going to lead people into the Rocklands to build villages and towns herself, right in the nearby Red Spring District."

The implication was clear—he did not encourage malicious competition, but he was not opposed to healthy competition.

Because the more people there were developing the Rocklands, the more Komeer would benefit from it.

With people like them, by the dozens, why worry that the Rocklands cannot be transformed into fertile land?

Gaven couldn’t help but laugh, "Coincidentally, I’m not someone who gives up easily either."

He made no attempt to hide his ambitions.

Indeed, anyone who targeted the Rocklands was aiming for the title of Rockland Duke promised by Komeer.

"Good, I await your good news," Feng Geda Hast waved goodbye to Gaven and disappeared in a flash of white light.

For this Legendary Archmage, assessing the future potential of a territory did not require an onsite evaluation; simply observing its leader was enough.

Especially for places like Blackwell, which were started from scratch.

Their future achievements hinged entirely on one person—their leader.

If the leader had limitations, even a prosperous territory would have a definite ceiling.

Conversely, if the leader had boundless potential, even the most remote and desolate place could produce miracles.

Feng Geda Hast’s appraisal of Gaven was that of boundless potential.

Compared to Rayana, both in terms of Professional Level and social connections, this young man had a long way to go.

Yet if he had to bet on one of the two, Feng Geda Hast would undoubtedly place a heavy bet on Gaven.

Compared to Gaven, Rayana was more like a General than a Lord. Her limitations were too clear. Conquering the Rocklands was beyond her capabilities, but to provide pressure for this young man and to stimulate his greater potential, she was more than enough.

After Feng Geda Hast left, Gaven sat in his seat, motionless for a long while.

Although it seemed they didn’t discuss much, in fact, a lot was agreed upon.

Feng Geda Hast did not openly make any promises to Gaven, but his public appearance in Blackwell Town was an action that endorsed him, acknowledging the existence of Blackwell Town and Gaven’s authority over it.

The matter of the Purple Dragon Patrol Team was Gaven’s way of showing his stance to Feng Geda Hast, recognizing Komeer’s authority over the Rocklands and his willingness to comply with Komeer’s laws.

The Court Archmage’s mention of Rayana was a reminder to Gaven that he should engage in healthy competition with the Red Crow Mercenary Brigade, which was currently taking this approach.

The Red Spring District mentioned by Feng Geda Hast was likely the Red Spring Reclamation Area, as expected.

Whether the Red Spring Reclamation Area was part of the Rocklands was highly controversial.

Even within Komeer, the boundaries of the Rocklands were not clearly defined.

Most Komeer People consider the complex hilly region north of the Stormhorn Mountains and south of the Enorok Great Desert as the Rocklands.

The division to the east and west was not as clear, especially to the east, since there was the Far Sea Marsh to the west as a boundary.

Some people placed the dividing line of the Rocklands fifteen kilometers west of Tivandun, where the terrain had already become quite flat and the hilly mountain range could no longer be seen.

Others included Tivandun and its surroundings in the Rocklands, extending the boundary line all the way to the Tivandun Rift at Thunder Peak, with the north of Arabey and south of the Mokou Mountain Range also included in the Rocklands.

These two divisions may not seem very different at first glance.

In reality, there is an entire order of magnitude difference in terms of the area covered.

Years before Tivandun was annexed by Komeer, most recognized the first division.

After Tivandun was absorbed by Komeer, more and more people started to recognize the second division.

This was deliberate on the part of the Komeer authorities.

Firstly, it emphasized Komeer’s legitimate rule over Tivandun; if it had always been part of the Rocklands, then it had historically belonged to Komeer.

Secondly, it was a form of bundling sales with the Rocklands. A barren hilly region on its own wouldn’t be very tempting, but the addition of a city with tens of thousands of inhabitants and fertile lands around the hilly area comparable in size, the appeal suddenly shot up.

Not just ordinary people, but even Komeer nobles and Sambia merchants were tempted.

To distinguish it from the Rocklands themselves, the area surrounding Tivandun was named the Red Spring District, which, due to subsequent large-scale development, became known as the Red Spring Reclamation Area.

According to the normal course of history, this massive development project would have to wait at least two years until King Yasan of Yasan organized an allied army, set out on an expedition to Cesk, repelled the invasion of the Tukan People, and brought back a large number of Tukan captives.

With a large workforce in hand, it would have been officially organized to vigorously develop the area, reclaiming a vast amount of fertile land.

Rayana Ross and her Red Crow Mercenary Brigade were eyeing the Red Spring Reclamation Area now, likely due to the pressure she brought upon herself. She had a unique idea: start by cutting into the fertile land to extract more wealth, then march into the Rocklands hills. It was not a bad plan, just time-consuming.

If it failed, others could easily benefit from her hard work.

Because once someone else was conferred the title of the Rockland Duke, all these reclaimed lands would belong to the Duke.

The same held true in reverse. Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn ɴovᴇl(F)ɪre.ɴet

As long as it was fair competition, Gaven had never feared anyone.

Moreover, the Red Spring Reclamation Area was vast, and even with the entire nation of Komeer’s support and tens of thousands of Tukan captives as labor, more than a decade had passed without fully developing it.

Rayana’s efforts to recruit and encourage farmers from Komeer, the Valley, Sambia, and other regions to come and reclaim the land would be even less efficient.

It would not be too late to go for that piece of cake once Gaven got involved. For now, avoiding disasters was more crucial.

Gaven did not believe that he was currently important enough to have a legendary mage make a special trip to the Rocklands; the mage might have truly just been passing by and dropped in to check things out.

The only nearby issue that might warrant the attention of Feng Geda Hast was the Crimson Feather abduction case.

Since he was already lurking in the area, those legendary mages who were the real victims were likely not far behind, or might have already visited.

Unlike Feng Geda Hast, those mages would not be so easy to talk to. The slightest scent relating to the case on Gaven, and they would not hesitate to tear him apart to find the root cause.

The journey here involved trudging over mountains and through waters.

But the way home was much simpler—just a return spell, no, a Flawless Teleportation from the Dragon Oak Mother Tree.

He was directly transported back to a room underneath the Dragon Oak Mother Tree.

Lord Virginia had been waiting there, and upon seeing Gaven, she showed a relieved expression.

As long as he was safe, the outcomes of the conversations were of little concern to her, or perhaps she didn’t quite understand the significance of Feng Geda Hast.

Gaven did not explain much either. After all, his development in the Rocklands was his own business, and the assistance Lord Virginia could offer was very limited. She was content enough helping him secure his final foundation and could not ask for too much.

Although Gaven was hiding from disaster, it did not mean he was idle.

Or rather, even if he were not avoiding disaster, he would still spend most of his time here, handling various affairs.

Today, the top priority was to awaken a tree.

This had been one of his daily tasks recently; through his hands, he had awakened twelve trees which were secretly arranged to assist in mining at the Blackwell, leading to a new surge in the mine’s output.

Those twelve trees were found in the Rocklands; trees from the Fairy Wilderness were being awakened by Gaven for the first time today.

Lord Virginia maintained the original price unchanged, but in light of their relationship—haha—having progressed substantially, Gaven no longer quibbled with her over it.

After all, it was like money moving from the left hand to the right within one family. Trading a tree for a Dragon Blood Kobold was a worthy deal.

The extensive caves they had explored initially had changed dramatically; they were the first to undergo transformation.

For they were the thoroughfare connecting the Dragon Oak Dragon Nest and the Spring Bud Forest.

All the fruits and vegetables transported from the Spring Bud Forest to the Dragon Oak Territory passed through here.

Expanding and reinforcing the roads had yet to be scheduled. The work completed in the current phase mainly involved leveling the ground, widening narrow areas, and creating bypass tunnels in circuitous places.

After the renovation, the total length of the Dragon Oak Tunnel was 804 meters, now able to accommodate two large carriages traveling side by side.

The future goal is a four-lane road, followed by completion of the surrounding fortification work—after all, it’s underground, and the issues with load-bearing will become much more significant with wider spaces.

The underground entrance was also a large construction site.

However, the main workforce was not the Gnolls, but the Fae Race from the Spring Bud Forest.

A tree fortress was already taking shape.

In the future, anyone entering or leaving the Dragon Oak Tunnel from the Spring Bud Forest would have to go through this fortress.

Despite their close relationship, these were two separate territories. Certain necessary projects and clear accounts had to be settled.

The fruits and vegetables transported from the Spring Bud Forest to the Dragon Oak Territory were not a free gift but recorded on account for Gaven. Eventually, they would have to be paid for with steel or other scarce resources from the Spring Bud Forest.

In these matters, Lord Virginia was a paragon of lucidity among humans.

Gaven might want to fudge the accounts, but she wouldn’t get involved with that.

Gaven had already chosen his target for awakening this time; after coming out of the Dragon Oak Tunnel, he went straight to it.

This time, the choice was not made arbitrarily but represented a tree with which Gaven had some connection or sentimental value.

This tree had once helped him when the Carrier Bug fell from the Dragon Oak Mother Tree and landed on it, impaling it with a fatal blow.

But the sheer size of the Carrier Bug and the tremendous force generated from falling from such a height were terrifying.

Although it was impaled, the ancient tree suffered immense damage.

Most of the crown and branches were squashed, and even the upper half of the main trunk was snapped off, leaving only the bare lower half standing there. Its plight was as pitiful as could be, with dried traces of the Carrier Bug’s blood still remaining on it.