Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 44: Territory Population Increases

As the weather in the northern wilderness gradually warms up, the main castle of the lord of Harvey's territory is nearing completion.

Somewhat different from the original idea of building it simply as a wizard tower, Harvey began to consider the situation of the new population in the territory.

According to the orcs Vaughn and Duff, if the information about the demons invading the evil orc tribe is reliable, then there is a high possibility that a large number of refugees will flee south due to the war in the future.

Whether they are human refugees or orc escaped slaves, they are likely to gradually migrate to the foot of the Divine Ridge Mountains.

After all, along the entire Divine Ridge Mountains, there are only three mountain gaps with low altitudes that can be crossed by manpower. Apart from the demon battlefield in the Evil Moon Mountains and the elf kingdom in the Misty Forest, there is only the Jackdaw Ridge on the border of Saint Valen.

Harvey felt that this was a great opportunity to attract population and enrich the territory.

With working-type Alchemymon as the main construction workforce, Harvey is finally no longer short of manpower.

Therefore, in addition to keeping the original structure of the main fort unchanged, he also built houses large enough to accommodate 500 people next to the main fort near the river source.

They are all two-story houses with cut stones as the first floor foundation and wood as the second floor. Each single floor has an area of 20 square meters. The first floor is divided into two areas: dining, kitchen and bathroom, and the second floor is separated into two bedrooms.

Drainage ditches were dug in advance between the houses and covered with stone slabs to divert domestic sewage downstream, thus avoiding contamination of water intake points upstream.

The first twenty or so residents who joined the territory were given priority to live in a row of houses near the castle according to their original family structures.

This was also the reward Harvey had promised in advance for participating in the construction of the territory: a two-story cottage with a fireplace, and free food for three months.

……

Vaughn and Duff also got a small house of their own as they wished, which surprised the orc brothers who had only slept in earthen kilns and in the wild before.

"Vaughn, look! I was right, the lord really built a house for us!" Dave rubbed the mud off his rough feet, then carefully pulled Vaughn into the house.

"Look at this fireplace! Look at this table! We don't have to squat to eat." Duff ran around the room, touching everything and looking at it with great satisfaction. "There's also a squat toilet! Haha, we don't have to stand naked in the open air and get cold!"

Vaughn nodded with a smile, and then cautiously rubbed the mud off his feet at the door before stepping into the room.

"There are two bedrooms on the second floor. Oh my God, there are beds!" Dave exclaimed in surprise and jumped directly onto the wooden bed with only a hard bed board and rolled around.

"Haha, we need to get some fur and hay so that it will be more comfortable to sleep on." Vaughn stroked the slightly rough surface of the wooden bed with a look of satisfaction on his face.

Suddenly, Sam's timid voice came from downstairs.

"Brother Vaughn! Brother Duff! Are you home?"

Dave pushed open the second-floor window and said with a grin to Sam who was standing downstairs, "Little Sam, do you want to move in with us? I'll catch you a weasel and roast it for you."

Sam raised his head awkwardly, refusing somewhat awkwardly, "No... No, I live with Grandpa Rooney from the same village. He's old and needs care..."

After a spring of getting along, this group of human refugees have completely accepted the two half-orcs with somewhat sorry looks. Everyone is very grateful for their life-saving grace, and no one looks down on them because of their mixed-race identity.

"By the way! Lord Pierce just asked me to come find you, so go quickly!" Sam then remembered the purpose of his visit and quickly reminded them.

When the two of them strode to the main castle, they found that Pierce was already waiting at the gate of the main castle.

"Go find three more strong men, bring some dry food and medicine, and follow me immediately!" the hunter ordered directly.

"Yes, sir!" Vaughn agreed subconsciously, puffing out his chest. Then, blushing, he whispered, "Where are we going?"

"The patrolling alchemy beasts in the glacial valley have discovered traces of human refugees."

……

Harvey waited anxiously in the territory for about three days until Pierce finally returned safely. "How are the refugees doing now? Are they willing to come to the territory?"

Pierce took the small glass bottle handed to him by Asdalen, shook the bright red liquid inside, bowed to Harvey a little embarrassedly, then turned his back and drank it.

"Sir, don't be anxious..." The hunter had been traveling too fast these past two days, and his already pale face looked even more dusty.

"There are approximately 500 refugees, but most of them are elderly people, women, and children. They said they were chased all the way here by the evil orcs..."

"Have you found any trace of the evil orcs?" Harvey was a little frightened. If he really encountered a large group of evil orcs, he would not be able to provide support in a short time.

"No, after they crossed the glacial valley, most of the young and strong men stayed on the riverbank to cover their retreat, allowing the women and children to cross the river first."

Pierce sighed and clenched his hands into fists.

"When we arrived, there were no survivors left on the riverbank. The evil beastmen seemed unwilling to pursue us relentlessly. They killed all the remaining survivors and left."

Harvey also sighed, feeling both sympathy and regret.

Pierce continued, "I'll have Vaughn, Duff, and the others stay at the refugee camp and organize their gradual advance toward the territory. I'll rush back to report the situation to you."

Harvey nodded, thinking there was nothing wrong with Pierce's arrangement.

"But I'd still like you to make another trip and bring all the wolf spiders, except for the guards, to meet them." Harvey frowned and thought, "I'm worried that the evil orcs will return and these refugees will be powerless to resist."

Pierce bowed and accepted the order, stood up and prepared to count the number of wolf spiders, and then return to the valley again.

"Wait!" Harvey called out to the tired-looking hunter and turned to wink at Asdalen.

Asdalen nodded slightly, took out a glass test tube filled with blood from his arms, and handed it to Pierce, who looked confused.

"This blood is different from the one you just drank." Harvey said calmly, "This is not deer blood..."

Pierce was stunned for a moment, then instantly understood what Harvey meant. He put the test tube into the bag around his waist, bowed again, and turned to leave.

Harvey watched the hunter leave the main castle hall, then turned around and joked with Asdalen.

"Luckily, Pierce is the only blood-sucking... vampire under my command. Otherwise, I'd probably have to open a voluntary blood donation station to meet your needs, hahahaha!"

He called Reiner over and quickly ordered, "Have the residents remaining in the territory count all the vacant houses. The refugees will arrive in two days at most. We can't let them sleep in open tents."

"There's also food storage that needs to be inventoried and a distribution plan established based on demand. We need to strictly control daily rations now, as the subsequent supplies won't arrive for another two weeks..."

Reiner nodded and took notes quickly. After Harvey stopped talking, he asked with some confusion, "Sir, we have recruited so many people, but there are no jobs for them right now."

He scratched his smooth metal head, his tone sounding somewhat distressed.

"We also need to provide them with free shelter and food. The supplies we've accumulated with great difficulty in the warehouse will soon be used up..."

Harvey and Asdalen couldn't help laughing when they saw Reiner's miserly look.

"Don't worry about this little bit of effort. Don't worry, once they have a few days to rest, I will have plenty of work for them. They won't be able to slack off."

Harvey promised confidently.

After all, the "agricultural type" alchemy beast that he and Asdalen jointly developed was basically ready for use.

(End of this chapter)