Calamity Dragon, Starting with the Cultivation of Knight Families

Chapter 8 The Hundred-Day Calculation of the Swamp Territory
The camp where the team rests at night.

In the carriage.

"York, I want to know the truth."

By candlelight, Lucia, with her beautiful long blonde hair, looked at her husband with a worried expression.

York looked at his wife, paused for a moment, and then smiled helplessly.

"Lucia, it seems I can't hide anything from you."

"Hidden from me?"

"Hmph, York, just because I didn't ask before doesn't mean I didn't want to know."

York neither agreed nor disagreed, while Lucia pouted and continued:

"I've been waiting for you to tell me this all these days."

"But, darling, we've been married for quite a few days now."

"Furthermore, I don't recall giving you any magical items."

“My father and siblings had asked me about this a lot before, but I managed to fool them all.”

“Originally, I wasn’t planning to ask, after all, I thought you probably had your own troubles, York. But seeing you like this now, so, York, could you share your worries with your wise wife? Perhaps I can offer you some advice?”

Under the candlelight, the two stared at each other, wide-eyed.

In the end, they couldn't help but burst out laughing.

However, after they both laughed, York's expression immediately turned serious.

He lifted the carriage curtain and looked around before finally sitting down next to Lucia again.

"Lucia, since you want to know, then I will tell you the whole truth now!"

"I just hope you won't be scared by the truth, or even think I'm lying."

Upon hearing this, Lucia nodded curiously and seriously.

York then began to quietly tell his wife everything that had happened to him.

During this process, Lucia wanted to scream many times, but she managed to cover her mouth with her hand each time.

Finally, after York finished explaining everything, Lucia's face was filled with worry.

"It's not so bad that blood-bound magical beasts have dragon bloodlines, after all, don't many magical beasts have sub-dragon bloodlines?"

"But, God unknown, if the Kingdom's Church of Truth finds out about this, we'll be in big trouble."

"York, this matter must be kept a secret, otherwise..."

As Lucia spoke, she visibly trembled with fear.

York grasped Lucy's hand, his expression resolute.

"Lucia, don't worry, I know how serious this matter is."

"But this is also a huge opportunity."

"Besides, I had no choice, Lucia, you know that."

"If it weren't for God's mercy, I would never have survived."

"And now, I have not only survived, but I am also the servant closest to the god, so whatever the god's purpose may be, I can only continue on this path."

"However, as the person closest to the gods, Lucia, do you know what this means?"

"This means that I, York! No, the newly formed Smith family of the Swamp Territory, may one day possess the power to change the course of the entire continent!"

"So, Lucia, you'll help me, right?"

York held Lucia's hand tightly.

At that moment, Lucia stared blankly at her husband.

It's as if I've rediscovered York all over again.

In York's eyes, Lucia saw his determination and great ambition; at that moment, he was so charming and dazzling.

Perhaps this is the spirit of a great hero? Just like the great heroes and valiant figures in those ancient folk tales.

At that moment, Lucia seemed to have made her own decision.

She was no longer afraid; in fact, she felt a strong sense of excitement and stimulation from it.

Perhaps I could become one of the heroines in those ancient folk tales?

At that moment, Lucia nodded heavily to York, her eyes filled with love for her husband. And so, in the darkness of the night, Lucia began to use her knowledge accumulated over the years to analyze the current situation for York and discuss potential unforeseen events that might arise during the future development of the territory.

Two young people, full of aspirations for the future, fearlessly began their own legendary story.

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"This territory looks pretty good."

"Although the swamps cover about a third of the entire territory, there is still quite a lot of land that can be cultivated."

"According to my estimate, this area should be almost half the size of Gale Territory."

"However, I also observed that there are several powerful magical beasts around the swamp territory."

"When faced with a beast tide, this place doesn't offer much of a geographical advantage."

York and his party had been in the Swamp Territory for two days.

Baron Eric did not rush to have York summon his blood-bound beast for assessment, but instead personally and even sent people to investigate the surrounding area first.

Swamp Territory is about fifty miles from Colorado Heights, a major military town on the western border.

In the makeshift camp, Baron Eric frowned slightly, but continued as he looked at York:
"However, you have a blood-bonded magical beast, which actually gives you a slight advantage."

"From now on, your blood-bonded magical beast only needs to patrol the territory's borders more often and maintain its aura at all times to deter surrounding magical beasts. Given the instincts of low-level magical beasts, they should not dare to cross the border easily."

"So, compared to other pioneers, you also have your own advantages, not to mention that it is a third-tier magical beast."

"This is already considered a considerable help in the wasteland outside the Western Monster Mountain Range."

"And the distance from this place to the border town is just right, there must be a lot of untapped magical potions, which will be of great use to the subsequent development of the territory."

"As long as you don't easily expand your territory or even anger the monsters in the surrounding areas that have owners, there shouldn't be any major problems for now."

"There is time, so the lord's castle must be built as soon as possible. In addition, some necessary traps cannot be omitted."

"."

Only five people participated in the meeting at the camp.

Baron Eric was analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the Marshland in York and its future development plans.

Those who listened to Baron Eric were:

The old steward of Galebringer's Domain, the chief guard of Galebringer's Domain;

Then came York and his wife Lucia.

As for Berg, the eldest son of Gale Ridge, who was York's elder brother, he did not come along.

After all, the eldest son, Berg, is the heir to Galelands.

When the current head of the Gale Territory leaves, he will become the person in charge of the Gale Territory and will be responsible for guarding his territory.

Furthermore, the Swamp Territory belonged to York, the son of a concubine.

Having separated from the Smith family of Gale Ridge, if the eldest son were to come along, it would inevitably feel like he was usurping the family's authority.

This is similar to the saying "dynasties come and go, but powerful families remain." For the nobles of this world, the benefits of splitting up families outweigh the drawbacks.

Therefore, even what Baron Eric says now is in the tone of advice, and he will not interfere too much with York's decision-making.

Of course, York may not accept everything Baron Eric said, but whatever the purpose, it must be taken seriously and absolutely cannot be completely denied.

After all, York needs Windrise's investment now, so Swamp Territory will definitely continue to be subject to some interference from Windrise for at least the next three years.

However, given Baron Eric's character, everything he does is naturally for the prosperity of his family, and he certainly wouldn't harm York.

Therefore, all his suggestions are certainly sound.

York, the young Baron of the Marshland, listened attentively to this.

So, after another day, the location of the lord's castle was decided.

The lord's manor was built on a high ground with a wide view on the northeast side of the swamp territory, which can be used for defense and also allows for immediate escape to the border town if necessary.

And so, what was bound to happen has happened.

"Alright, York, now take me to see your blood-pledged magical beast."

"I can sense its powerful aura; it won't disappoint me."

York looked at Baron Eric and naturally wouldn't refuse, since he and Lucia already had several solutions for dealing with all of this.

So the group quickly headed toward the center of the swamp territory.

(End of this chapter)