The days grew hotter as late July turned into mid-August.
However, the sumrs in the Wilderness were far from the scorching heat of Debei. Even at noon, it was cool as long as you stayed in the shade.
Ever since the tribes within a ten-mile radius had been swept clean, High Cliff Castle was suddenly at peace.
For the past half-month, the Beastman Barbarians had been split into two teams. One was responsible for hunting, while the other sweated it out on the designated training grounds, with the two groups alternating tasks.
Under Hog’s iron-fisted rule, the Jackal Wolfman Tribe was also successfully brought under his command.
After all, the law of the Wilderness was that the strong reign supre.
The Jackal Wolfman Tribe had a total of 120 mbers. Among them, there were over ninety able-bodied females. Of the remaining thirty, ten were young females.
The other twenty were just one or two years old and had not yet reached breeding age.
In the entire Jackal Wolfman Tribe, only Hog and his two brothers—Scarface and La Leg—had reached breeding age.
Levi, who desperately wanted a troop of Jackal Wolfman Scouts, tasked the three of them with the duty of becoming model breeders.
As a result, for the past half-month, the three Jackal Wolfn had to... perform their duties at least twice every night.
Of course, the results were remarkable. About ten of the female Jackal Wolfn were already pregnant and would give birth to a litter of pups in just a few months.
In just half a month, High Cliff Castle had changed trendously.
Wooden houses shot up one after another on the hilltop, aning the Beastman Barbarians no longer had to sleep in tents.
The Jackal Wolfn also lived among the Beastn.
For a variety of reasons, the two groups got along harmoniously, and no conflicts arose.
Levi only needed to provide a general direction for these matters; he didn’t have to worry about the details at all.
With ti on his hands, he had fashioned a simple reclining chair. Every day, he would lie down under a crooked tree and pull out *Knight Ah Bin* for a bit of connoisseurship.
"My Lord, is this pace all right?"
Wearing a straw hat, Old Neil looked like an old farr as he stood fawningly by Levi’s side, waving a fan.
"It’s fine. Keep it up." Levi yawned and looked out at the nearby plain.
A group of Kobolds, hoes in hand, were toiling in the fields, turning over patches of grassland to let the scorching sun bake the roots to death.
In half a month, with the Kobolds working from sunrise to sunset every day, they had managed to clear a full eighty acres of overgrown grassland.
However, this cleared land couldn’t be used imdiately. It had to be left for the sun to kill the grass roots, after which it would need a second tilling before anything could be planted.
Levi had calculated the timing. The best season to plant wheat was from October to November.
There was still over a month until then, so they had more than enough ti.
Farming wasn’t just a matter of saying you’d do it; it was a skilled craft. When to plant, when to weed, when to harvest—all these things had strict requirents.
Furthermore, applying farm manure could increase crop yields by a large margin. In a world where no one fertilized, it was undoubtedly a ga-changer!
Naturally, Levi had put it to use.
But you couldn’t just use any animal droppings you picked up. The manure had to be fernted first, or it would be counterproductive.
The first step was to compost the manure to turn it into usable fertilizer.
Levi assigned this task to the dozen or so Goblins.
And surprisingly, after the dozen or so Goblins were castrated, they beca much more docile. All they did now was work, eat, and sleep, without ever thinking of escaping.
What impressed Levi the most was their Life Force. After having their "roots of sin" cut off, the Goblins received no dical treatnt, yet only two or three died. All the others survived.
They were truly like weeds.
This gave him the idea of starting a slave business. He could capture these Goblins, castrate them, and after a period of conditioning, sell them as serfs to nobles who were so poor they had to work their own fields.
In his past life, *Ga of Thrones* had the Unblemished Army; Levi found himself wanting to create a Purity Goblin Group of his own.
But it was just a passing thought. He figured only a Lord like himself, with no people and no money, would be crazy enough to use Goblins for labor.
Other nobles would certainly never use creatures like Goblins, if only to save face.
Under his direction, the Goblins gathered the collected manure in a designated spot. They then crushed dried weed stalks, mixed them with fine soil and a certain amount of water, and blended all four ingredients thoroughly.
They then covered the pile with more weeds to protect it from the sun. All that was left was to wait until it was ti to plant the wheat.
Just then, a rider charged down from High Cliff Castle in the distance, coming to a steady halt before Levi.
"My Lord, your letters."
Hog leaped from his Warg Mount, knelt on one knee, and presented two sealed letters to Levi.
Compared to half a month ago, Hog had changed dramatically. His height had increased from one-blade-three to one-blade-five, and he was a great deal more muscular than before. His eyes radiated a fierce aura.
Currently, only Hog and his two companions among the Jackal Wolfn had Warg Mounts.
Therefore, the task of patrolling High Cliff Castle’s territory fell to them. Over the past half-month, the three Jackal Wolfn had killed countless lone Goblins and Kobolds that strayed into the domain.
’Oh? From Bailiu City?’
Levi looked at the Martel Family crest on the wax seal and had a good idea of who had sent them.
Unrolling the parchnt scrolls, Levi began to read them silently.
Just as he’d guessed, the letters were from Liya.
The first part asked if his pioneering efforts were going smoothly, while the second part recounted her experiences in Bailiu City.
After he had left, Fulina began to pressure the Southern Territory, demanding that the current Duke release Liya’s mother.
Unfortunately, it had little effect. The Little Southern Duke, denouncing her as a usurper, staunchly rejected the demand.
He further declared that Liya was also a usurper and demanded Fulina send her back to the Southern Territory to receive her due punishnt.
This was all within Levi’s expectations. If the Southern Territory had actually released Liya’s mother, Levi would have suspected that bunch of having brains no better than Goblins.
From the mont Damon and the others decided to seize power, a hostile relationship with the Northern Martel Family was inevitable and irreversible.
With both sides already on hostile terms, holding Liya’s mother was clearly a powerful trump card, one that would force Liya and her allies to tread carefully.
Levi could sll a storm brewing.
Whether for the sake of the Martel Family’s prestige or to bring the Southern Territory under their control, war between the two sides was now unavoidable.
Although Liya hadn’t specified it in her letter, Levi could read between the lines and see that the Northern Territory was now preparing for war.
The Northern Territory, located on the edge of the Wilderness, was the poorest province in Debei. Fulina had long been plotting to acquire more prosperous lands, and now that she had a reason to launch a military campaign against the Southern Territory, she would certainly not let the opportunity pass.
After all, throughout history, it has always been essential to have a just cause for war.
And now, Fulina had not only an excuse to dispatch her armies but also formidable military strength. She would never miss such an opportunity.
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