What's wrong with me, a mage, loving to farm?

Chapter 261. Five Years, Changes Everywhere

Gray desert.

The Gray Sand Lord looked at Jamie with delight, making no attempt to hide his satisfaction, and praised, "You did a very good job."

The two were standing on the city wall, which was made entirely of silver-blue metal. Looking into the distance, all they could see were houseboats sailing in the flood.

They moved freely through the hazy flood and fog, their masts adorned with magical lamps whose flickering lights shone like starlight in a dark sea of ​​stars.

The huge, plate-like ship they were standing on was the target of those ships.

Jamie watched them from afar.

A smile appeared on his face, which had been tanned dark by the rough sand and relentless winds of the gray desert.

Faced with the praise from the Lord of Gray Sand, he replied very calmly, "After five years, the first step of our plan has finally been completed."

"Lord Grey Sand, are you willing to accept the second step of the plan?"

Still appearing as a boy, Gray Sand gazed at Jamie, not answering the question directly, but instead saying, "Nilant likes you quite a bit, and even asked me to leave Gray Desert."

"..." Jamie thought of that lively girl who was like a leopard, and a slight feeling stirred in his heart, as if a warm feeling was welling up inside him.

That indescribable feeling of being moved made a slight blush appear on his dark face.

Over the past five years, things would have been much more difficult without her help in coordinating the various cities in the Gray Desert.

"I will be staying here for a long time, Lady Gray Sand, but I can assure you that I will not let her down."

Jamie replied, "She must also really want to see her hometown restored, green again, turning from desert back into oasis, right?"

"I will try my best to plead with the lord to reduce the price of this contract; this is my greatest sincerity."

In fact, when Kroya drafted the contract, he gave them the power to adjust the price.

"Yes." The Gray Sand Lord chuckled. "You're right. Then, let's have you and I sign the contract for the second phase."

"Before we proceed with the second phase of the plan, you can take Nilante to rest. I grant you permission to take her back to your hometown for a visit."

The young lord patted Jamie on the shoulder, his tone carrying a hint of affection for a junior: "Only if we can receive Kroya's blessing can I be completely at ease about your affairs."

"Of course, I will ask my teacher to bless me." Jamie nodded, his expression firm.

The Sand Lord nodded in satisfaction, his body gradually disappearing in the magical light. Jamie watched him leave and soon saw Nilant running towards him.

The woman, who resembled a small leopard, hugged him tightly, making no attempt to hide her affection: "Let's wander around the city first, and then I'll go back to the North with you."

"Okay." Jamie smiled and first tidied up Nilant's clothes that had been flying up as she ran.

Then, holding her hand, they excitedly entered the ship city, which was being assembled and pieced together, together with Nilant.

At this point, the Ship City had completely integrated all the cities and tribes in the entire Gray Desert. Normally, they would be scattered in various areas, but they would still gather together for major festivals.

Each ship will automatically connect upon approaching the Ship City of Gray Sands, becoming part of this massive city.

Jamie and Nilant watched as a ship approached the sand barge, gradually melting away. The silvery-blue metal seemed to come alive, flowing, converging, and merging into the interior of the city walls.

Some of the purple duckweed at the bottom of the ship was also incorporated into the city wall. They would be transported to the cultivation pool inside Gray Sand City for recuperation and to absorb magic power.

The original rooms and equipment inside the ship will be transported by magic array to various cabins and living quarters in the city for placement and repair.

Watching such a huge ship go from being whole to being completely dismantled, the sheer efficiency of the magical industry was breathtaking.

Even after watching it many times, Nilant was still moved.

She couldn't help but ask curiously, "How exactly are these metals made? I've never seen such amazing metals before."

They seem to have a life of their own, able to merge with each other.

When she asked, Jamie didn't hide anything from her.

After all, Nilant was not only his future wife, but also the person designated by the Gray Sand Lord to liaise with the Han Reef Island. It was certainly acceptable for her to know some secrets.

"These metals are the fifth-generation Floating Moon Alloy developed by the Hanjiao Laboratory. Some of the shells of the magical insects raised by Lord Kroya have been added to them. These shells ensure that the Floating Moon Alloy can fuse together."

Jamie casually took out a small piece of Floating Moon Alloy, kneaded it for a while, and then made it into an exquisite silver-blue lotus flower, which he handed to Nilant.

"I love it!" Nilant smiled brightly.

After receiving the lotus flower, she began to disassemble it without any hesitation. She could disassemble and reassemble every petal, every seed, and even the seedpod inside.

Moreover, it even automatically corrects itself when splicing different parts, making it look like living metal.

"How amazing!" This was the first time Nilant had personally experienced the wonders of this metal.

Although a huge amount of Floating Moon Alloy was used during the construction process, there were strict regulations on how to use every gram. This is the first time in five years that I have ever touched it.

"There's something even more amazing on Hanjiao Island. I'll take you there to see it in a bit."

"Let's go, let's take a tour of the sand barge and then go back."

The two immediately began to explore the sand ship. The ship, or rather the city, was circular on the outside, but its metal hull was divided into several sections.

It was basically designed and built strictly according to the map of the Grey Desert, with each area having different scenery and corresponding decorations.

For example, the two of them are now in the very center of the Sand Ship, a special cabin designed with the Sand City as its theme.

The ground was covered with fine, golden sand, and a scorching hot wind swirled around it. The buildings inside the ship's cabins were triangular houses.

The houses were neatly arranged, and many people were moving around inside, buying unique products of the Gray Desert—these were all merchants from the Kingdom of Norland and abroad, who came as soon as ships arrived.

When you look up, you can see a "glass dome" made up of strange, mirror-like magical plants, which presents a bright, sunny sky that looks like a giant sapphire.

If it weren't for the magic crystal sign standing to the side that clearly read "Central Cabin of Gray Sand City", who would have thought that this was actually the interior space of a giant ship?

"No matter how many times I see it, I'm still amazed." Nilant looked at the clear glass dome, feeling the warm light that was almost indistinguishable from sunlight.

"What kind of magic did you use to create such a sophisticated life-sustaining magic circle?"

Jamie explained, "These life-sustaining magic arrays were also taught to us by Lord Kroya."

Those glass domes are actually Mirror Demon Flowers cultivated by the dwarves. Their lifespan is very short, lasting from sunrise to sunset.

If you look closely, you'll notice that the Mirror Flower is different every day because it records different scenery.

Upon hearing this, after carefully considering the scenery of each day, Nilante suddenly realized that it was true; every day was different.

Sometimes the sky is clear and blue, sometimes it's stormy and rainy; you can see weather changes that don't even exist in the desert.

"Won't the maintenance cost be very high?" she asked again.

Jamie didn't answer this time because the maintenance costs were actually the main source of income for the Han Reef Island; they were selling finished products, not technology.

The more sophisticated the magic array and magical artifact, the more routine updates and maintenance are required, especially since this is a technology unique to Hanjiao Island.

The maintenance costs for such giant life-sustaining arrays and magical plant arrays amount to tens of thousands of magic crystals every month in Gray Sand City.

As time goes on, the magic array inside becomes more complete, and the cost will increase, making it an even more profitable business than magic crystal mining.

When Nilant saw that Jamie didn't answer, she knew it was something that was inconvenient to talk about, so she didn't press him for details.

She led Jamie on a stroll through the enormous sandship, passing through cabins such as the "Quicksand City Cabin," the "Cactus Cabin," and the "Greystone Mountain Cabin"...

After touring most of the cabins and buying a ton of gifts, the two finally entered the Magic Ping cabin located in the center of the Grey Sand Ship.

This place has undergone a magical array project of folded space, and a full hectare of emerald green lake water fills this area. The Evil Sea Purple Demon Duck comes here every month to rest and recuperate.

At the same time, all the magic power absorbed from Leviathan will be sunk to the bottom of the pool and transported to the Reef Island for storage—officially, it will be destroyed.

The Lord of the Sands had long harbored a deep hatred for the magic of these Leviathans. Despite being a chosen one of the demon gods, he actually wished he could punch a Leviathan to death.

He wholeheartedly agreed to remove all these evil magical forces.

In fact, this is the second round of the plan.

The Gray Desert Oasis Project involves first absorbing all of Leviathan's magic, then planting special magical plants to form an oasis, so that one day the Gray Desert can be transformed into an oasis.

The two who entered used a long-distance teleportation magic circle leading to the Reef Island. Jamie put his arm around Nilant's shoulder and comforted her, "Let's go back to the Reef Island."

"Hmm." Nilant suppressed her unease.

She didn't know if she could gain Chloe's approval. If Chloe didn't approve of her, then she and Jamie would have no future.

As the light flickered slightly, the two figures disappeared into the magic circle.

……

In the Golden Apple Paradise.

Here came a special group of guests—no, a group of special guests—men and women, old and young, and even short, stump-like dwarves and strong orcs.

"Ladies and gentlemen, next I will take you on a tour of the special species of our Northern Territory. If you have any needs for purchasing or cooperation, please let me know."

Elena held up her little flag, smiling broadly—these were all rich, fat sheep, and she could get a commission from them!

Behind her, people from various countries and races across the continent nodded in agreement, all eagerly anticipating the produce from the Northern Farm.

Especially the representatives of the dwarf race.

The dwarf named Gol Iron Anvil said gruffly, "Anyway, we dwarves will take care of all the wheat produced in your Wheat Valley!"

Dwarves have always loved beer, and after tasting beer from Han Reef Island by chance, they immediately placed an order.

You should know that each dwarf can drink three or four barrels of beer a day, so the wheat produced in Wheatfield is simply not enough.

He wasn't interested in anything else, but he had to claim the wheat first; if someone else took it, he'd be stuffed into a wine barrel when he got back.

But no sooner had he spoken than a gaunt, tree-trunk-like middle-aged man beside him immediately retorted, "That won't do! Why should you monopolize it?"

The middle-aged man was from Dinos, the city of warriors, where the most common military rations were hard, long baguettes that could be used as weapons.

It is said that each warrior had to eat one every day to demonstrate their strength, so the demand for flour was quite exaggerated.

Of course, this doesn't mean they don't care about the taste of the bread, but it's really difficult to make bread that's so hard it could be used as a weapon taste good.

They searched for many flour suppliers and finally settled on Norland North, where the baguettes made from blood wheat were not only harder but also tasted quite sweet.

It is said that they all plan to give this magical, sweet and hard bread to infants as teething toys, which would further increase the demand.

His mission this time was to escort a sufficient amount of flour back to Dinos. He was ready to fight even if the dwarves sent an army, let alone the dwarves.

"you!"

Upon hearing the man's words, Ger Iron Felt's eyes widened in anger, and he wished he could grab his hammer and fight the man on the spot.

Fortunately, onlookers quickly intervened.

"Quiet down, quiet down!"

"It's so shameful for you to fight in the North!"

"Gentlemen, we have more than enough wheat!"

Finally, Elena's words successfully separated the two warriors who were about to start fighting each other on the spot. They snorted coldly and did nothing more.

Elena finally breathed a sigh of relief and began to lead the group on a stroll through the garden called "Northern Garden" while holding her little flag.

The garden contained rows of enclosed flowerbeds. Inside those flowerbeds were specialties produced from all over the North.

This small Northern Garden brings together all the crops of the North, allowing visitors to select and taste them while preventing them from wandering aimlessly in the North and seeing its actual conditions.

"Gentlemen, this is one of the signature spices of our North, Rock Lotus Perfume."

Elena pointed to a crystal-clear, earthy-yellow lotus growing in a nursery and introduced, "We have rock lotuses of various qualities here. If you are interested, you can go in and take a look."

Several human nobles immediately entered the nursery, carefully inhaling the fragrance of the lotus flowers and sensing the magic within.

"This rock lotus is of good quality."

"Is it possible for me to purchase raw materials in large quantities?"

What are your processing prices? Can you offer discounts?

They all started asking questions, clearly attracted by the high quality of these rock lotuses.

"Of course, we have complete workshops for both purchasing raw materials and processing."

Elena took out a few tags and handed them to them: "Gentlemen, you can go and take a look at the spice section first, and then follow us in a while."

As soon as he finished speaking, several thieving rats dressed in tuxedos and ties ran out and politely invited the people holding signs to the experience store next door.

They had come to buy spices, and high-quality spices were necessities for nobles and mages, so they immediately followed the earth thief away.

The others followed Elena forward, during which Elena introduced the various points:

"These are tulips and their accompanying swallowtail butterflies that we have cultivated that can affect the temperature of the surrounding environment."

"These are the planks we produce, which have a basic effect of gathering magic power."

"This is the farm of calming lilies of the valley, flame-tailed hounds, and blue pigeons..."

The small nursery contained a wide variety of crops, attracting merchants, city representatives, and even representatives of races and nations who had visited the area many times or for the first time.

She never stopped talking, introducing dozens of magical plants and beasts in just a few dozen meters. A group of people then split off to experience these crops and sign contracts.

Gradually, the number of people in the team dwindled.

Towards the end, only a few people remained who intended to purchase advanced magical crops and food.

These people constitute the core of the Hanjiao Island community, because the items they purchase are either expensive or in huge quantities, and each transaction earns them a lot of magic crystals and materials.

Let's make arrangements for him first.

Elena glanced at the somewhat hurried elven representative and finally pointed to some extremely peculiar trees in the distance.

"These are the Dew Tree and the Sunset Tree, which our lord personally nurtured."

The elf's eyes lit up immediately, and he couldn't wait to walk over, admiring the two saplings in the nursery with a mesmerizing gaze.

Their colors and luster are exactly opposite.

One tree is like a magnificent sunset with gradient colors; the other is like a solemn and dazzling sunrise. They grow there quietly, as if dividing the morning and the night.

"We want them all!" the Orpheus family elf said impatiently.

His mission this time was to buy the sunset in the tombstone and the sunrise in the marigold, and now that he saw them, he naturally declared his possession immediately.

The others didn't compete with him for it, since they didn't know what it was, and besides, the elves valued face much more than the dwarves.

"Okay." Elena nodded.

Then he was taken away by the waiting groundhogs and taken to a room next door for a detailed discussion.

Next, the shopping team led by Elena continued to shrink in size, purchasing various grains and crops, such as rice, sweet potatoes, beans, corn...

The representatives from the Dwarf and Warrior Kingdom also grinned from ear to ear, and began to haggle contentedly, trying to take away more at a better price.

In the end, only three people remained.

Elena glanced at them: "Gentlemen, what follows is the special service you wish to purchase."

She strode forward and pushed open the doors of the hall in front of her.

The light, belonging to magic, shines through.

What appeared inside was something that made the hearts of several royal merchants who had come from various kingdoms flutter.

Thank you everyone for your monthly tickets and recommendation votes!

(End of this chapter)