Chapter 369 - Refugees Arrive

Gaven nodded and confirmed, "Yes, it’s from the Land of Sealing, trees that died from the erosion of negative energy. This is just part of it; there are three more carts on the way back.""Although these trees are not native to the Shadow Plane, the negative energy filled within them is denser than many of the natives. Most importantly, it’s so thoroughly saturated that the distribution of negative energy is very even. If they were to be made into textile machines, their utilization of negative energy would far surpass that of the current one."

"It’s not just the effects of negative energy that matter, but also the wisp of Undead Divinity clinging to them that greatly increases their affinity for negative energy. If these woods were crafted into weapon handles and processed properly, they might very well come with magic attributes related to negative energy, such as draining life or inflicting negative ranks on those they wound." The source of this content ɪs NovᴇlFɪre.ɴet

"Hey, feel this, these woods have strong properties of guiding and circulating negative energy, as if they’d been specifically channeled. My Lord, this kind of wood is extremely useful for us too. If they were made into weapons, I believe we could use them as well, and not be bare-handed like now."

"Indeed, my Lord, you truly had foresight to pick up such treasures," one remarked.

The Dwarves Bound Wraiths circled around the Dark Wood, occasionally reaching out to touch and channel Shadow Energy for a deeper Perception.

Their surprised expressions, even in their shadow state, could not be concealed.

In fact, to those unaware of their true nature, it was hard to still regard them as wraiths.

From the beginning, influenced by their unique heritage with Estelle, their outlines were more distinct than those of ordinary shadows.

Now, under the ensnaring influence of Undead Divinity, this characteristic was further enhanced.

If one didn’t attempt to touch them, they might indeed be mistaken for a few Dwarves Elves.

"Just luck," Gaven naturally didn’t explain to them that he had brought back this batch of Dark Wood not due to foresight, but purely out of a hoarding instinct.

The immediate application was purely coincidental.

"Let’s focus on the equipment first, we can talk about your weapons later. Discuss the machinery production plan first, and I’ll go arrange for the corresponding craftsmen," Gaven instructed before hurrying off to find a carpenter.

He didn’t have any high-level carpenters here, but he did have three Pikespirit Druids of no small Professional Level.

A high-level carpenter might not be a Druid, but a Druid is certainly a high-level carpenter, and an extraordinary one at that.

Ordinary carpenters use tools to process wood; Druids, on the other hand, directly shape the wood according to their will, into the form they require.

Of course, not everyone, even among Druids, possesses such unique creativity.

Gaven didn’t need these three Pikespirit Druids to have extraordinary creativity.

They merely needed to have the most basic skills in wood shaping, to mold according to their requirements, and that would suffice.

In Felen, any task becomes much simpler with the introduction of magic.

Especially when not just one, but several types of magic are combined.

The Dwarves Earthbound Wraiths provided the Dwarves Elves’ spider silk weaving technique and corresponding equipment blueprints.

The young Pikespirit Nicole offered her analytical abilities.

Gaven provided the concept of modernized production.

Estelle provided the primitive textile techniques of Felen commoners.

The Pikespirit Druids provided technical support in woodworking.

Three days.

In just three days, Gaven and his team managed to produce three sets of equipment.

One set was specifically for the Dwarves Bound Wraiths, requiring their ability to manipulate Shadow Energy to weave Shadow Weave comprised entirely of Shadow Energy.

This set of equipment was named the Shadow Weaving Integrating Machine, with one machine completing the entire process from Shadow Energy thread to fabric.

In terms of stability and output, it was incomparable to the previous antiquated machine.

The Shadow Yarn woven from it was frail as a cicada’s wing, nearly invisible, and even an ordinary person wrapping it around themselves could achieve the effect of invisibility.

The disadvantage, however, was quite apparent; it required the coordination of two Dwarves Bound Wraiths to operate, as other wraiths simply could not manage the energy control to the precision of Dwarves Bound Wraiths, hence unable to operate it.

Six Dwarves Bound Wraiths and three machines producing around the clock, the Shadow Weave produced was only enough for one Shadow Weave Cloak.

Another disadvantage was its vulnerability to light.

After all, being woven from Shadow Energy, mere minutes under direct sunlight would reduce it to ashes.

Therefore, Shadow Yarn was destined not to be used alone but to be combined with other fabrics, serving as a lining.

The Shadow Weave Cloak was made in this manner.

As for other ingenious uses, they were still being further explored.

One set of equipment was for ordinary Ghosts, where the spinning machine and loom were separated.

The technique adopted was a combination of Shadow Yarn spinning with ordinary spinning.

Since Gaven lacked raw materials for ordinary spinning, this technique had not been tested on a large scale yet.

Depending on the proportion of Shadow Yarn in the fabric, the resulting cloth would surely vary, and naturally, so would its effects.

This type of fabric is currently referred to as Shadow Fabric.

At present, the only thing Gaven and his team could do was to have any idle Ghost labor force stockpile vast amounts of Shadow Yarn, ready to produce en masse once the ordinary spinning materials were in place.

The third type of machinery was naturally prepared for ordinary Humans.

Overall, it was on the level of the Jenny spinning wheel, manually operated, and any decent carpenter could replicate it by following instructions.

It was most suitable for household or manor textile production.

Everything must progress step by step.

Felen’s isolated living arrangements for intelligent creatures meant that the development of large-scale industry would be fraught with difficulties.

Compared to pushing for this, it would be better to first reach the pinnacle of manor and urban economies on the existing foundation, making ample preparations before advancing mechanized industry.

On this matter, Gaven already had mature ideas. Once the most pressing issues at the Weizemay Manor were resolved, he would start to make his strategic moves.

This time, the move would not be the valley, but rather jumping back to Thacel, targeting Zalanda—it was time to harvest the first wave of leeks.

On the fourth day after Gaven returned to Weizemay Manor, in the afternoon, a long line of caravans wound their way into the newly claimed lands of the Three Rivers Region.

This new territory welcomed its first batch of permanent residents.

"Alluvial plains, this place is composed entirely of alluvial plains, just like most areas in Thacel, never officially cultivated before. The soil here is exceedingly fertile, absolutely no need for leveling. Just clear the wild grass, scatter the seeds, and next year we’ll have a bumper harvest."

"Wait till next year? If we plant autumn wheat right now, before winter arrives, we can harvest a wave."

"With rivers on both sides and such a large lake to guard, we’re in for a treat. Even if we can’t build boats to fish for a while, with a few good fishing lines, my daily catch could feed half the village for a meal."

"We made the right choice coming here, this is the perfect place to settle down and live."

"Vineyards, look, those are all vineyards, even larger than the legendary ones. We’ve arrived, we’ve reached our new home."

Since the morning, when they emerged from the Yewen Channel and Darnell told them they had entered the Three Rivers Region and were soon to reach Gryphon Hill, their future home.

The curiosity of the Thacel refugees was piqued, and they looked around as they traveled.

But each had their own focus.

Those with dark complexions and rough hands and feet, clearly of farmer descent, would occasionally lean over and grab a handful of the local soil to examine its quality.

Those with long arms and legs, light-footed, adept at making a living off the water, burst into ecstasies upon seeing the vastness of rivers and a lake—their angler’s souls ignited, a passion long unexpressed.

From their words and demeanor, it was evident that they were not just satisfied, but ecstatic.

The Three Rivers Region was even more suitable for living than they had anticipated.

Their initial concern about safety, which had been a major worry, was no longer a problem after traveling together.

The seven Treants were even more reliable than the Tesser Knights.

Especially the Treant Knight named Thornspike, who not only looked like a knight but also acted in the classic knightly fashion.

Along the way, there was no need for them to interfere with the heavy wagons, as he led the other six Treants in handling everything.

When they encountered monster packs, those that fled from afar were one thing.

But those bold enough to show their claws and swords met with a thunderous charge.

By now, all Thacel refugees vividly remembered the sight of Thornspike charging across the plains, mast lowered.

The Dragon Oak War Banner flapped in the wind, looking almost dreamlike.

The ground rumbled as if hundreds of Thacel heavy cavalry charged in unison with a synchronized thunderous cadence.

The self-proclaimed brave orcs didn’t wait for Thornspike to finish his charge before they crumbled away, running faster than rabbits.

With such a terrifying being protecting them, who would dare to provoke them?

"Village chief, it’s no good, it’s no good! We’ve spotted lots of gnolls ahead, no fewer than a thousand."

Two Thacel scouts, galloping back at full speed, reported to Kopofiel.

Despite the protection of the seven Treants ensuring basic safety, Kopofiel had still dispatched his own human scouts for their mobility, something the Treants lacked.

"Gnolls? Over a thousand gnolls? That many?"

"What are gnolls doing here? Aren’t they supposed to prefer digging holes, living in mineral-rich mountains or hilly areas?"

"The vineyards are nearby, which means we’ve arrived at our destination. So many gnolls here—didn’t the lord know about their presence? Why allow them to exist here?"

"With the manor’s defense forces all escorting us, there wouldn’t be a problem at the manor, would there?"

"Huh, why hasn’t Lord Thornspike reacted this time?"

The group of Thacel refugee elders around Kopofiel couldn’t help but whisper to each other, more surprised than worried.

Gnolls were never known for their combat prowess; they were more often regarded as minions to giant dragons or small nuisances like goblins.

Even in their thousands, they were not a major concern.

Without the Treants, if they picked a hundred or so people and charged, they could easily rout them.

Although most of these Thacel refugees were civilians, they came from a country that had experienced half a century of war amongst military lords. Even the farmers had undergone rigorous militia training. While they lacked the means to stand against the vampires of legend, dealing with gnolls and goblins was quite within their grasp.

Not just the men, but even many of the women had spilled goblin blood.

In Thacel, it was a common backdrop for estates—men, women, old, and young alike—to band together and wage war against marauding goblin tribes.

"The convoy will halt for now; I’ll go and have a look myself."

Just when Kopofiel was preparing to ride ahead to take stock of the situation.

Those with keen eyesight couldn’t help but start calling out again.