Above the mage

Chapter 300 Return

As the snowfields on both sides of the Phoenix Ice Wall are gradually cleared and Northwest Barley No. 1 seeds are sown, the day when the Zhenbing Tribe will be self-sufficient is getting closer and closer.

The progress of reclamation was not particularly optimistic at the beginning.

Because reclaiming wasteland and cultivating cultivated land are two completely different concepts.

The normal land reclamation process involves steps such as burning the stubble, turning the soil, accumulating fertilizer, leveling the land, and digging irrigation ditches.

However, agriculture in the snowfields is quite unique.

Firstly, the snowfield land is mostly flat, so there is no need to clear away gravel and shrubs, let alone burn the land. The main task is to clear the snow and then turn the soil.

In addition, the Northwest Barley No. 1 variety has the characteristic of absorbing ice elements, which means that there is no need to accumulate fertilizer or dig ditches when planting it.

This saves a lot of effort.

However, the backwardness of the farming techniques of the Zhenbing tribe is also rare.

Even worse, as a non-traditional agricultural people, the Zhenbing tribe has far too few farming tools for its current work needs—if it weren't for a volcanic area that provides the Zhenbing tribe with a certain agricultural foundation, they might not even have a single farming tool.

Therefore, the only option was to simultaneously develop the farm and urgently manufacture farm tools.

Another method is to rely on magic – although the magic awakened by the Iceborn bloodline does not include [Earth Shaping], it is just a trick after all, does not require magic potions, and the construction of the spell model is relatively simple.

Therefore, after Gaode wrote out the recipe for the [Clay Shaping] spell and distributed it to the Iceborn mages in his tribe, they could learn a trick by going down to the next level with at least one level of High Mage rank, without actually spending too much time.

Soon, [Sculpting Earth] became a standard spell for the Iceborn mages of the Zhenbing tribe.

Even if it was just a magic trick, in Gao De's view, its efficiency in reclaiming land was actually comparable to the large machinery of his previous life.

That's the allure of extraordinary power.

The 300,000 mu of land that Jinhui Farm was expected to cultivate would normally take at least 20 years to fully develop, even with 20,000 laborers, given the backward conditions of Zhenbing Tribe.

However, with the help of magic and the unique characteristics of snowfield agriculture, the first batch of 10,000-mu farms was established in just over a month.

And as everyone becomes more proficient at their work, the pace of land reclamation is accelerating.

The field closest to Phoenix, surrounded by ice walls, is the breeding field for Northwest Barley No. 1.

During this time, Flora and Sunefa spent almost all their free time on the breeding fields.

Looking out of his "office" window, Gao De could vaguely see the Northwest Barley No. 1 growing wildly in the breeding field surrounded by ice walls, thanks to the terrifying far-sightedness of Mandela's Eye.

For example, the clumps of golden barley that he sees now, dazzling enough to dazzle the eyes, were actually green ears of barley in the morning.

The reason why such an exaggerated change could occur in a single day is naturally due to the "art of nature".

Relying on the magical power of nature, Northwest Barley No. 1 is rapidly accumulating seeds at a rate of one or two harvests per day.

These are things that Sunafa could not have accomplished alone.

Thinking of this, Gao De picked up the parchment on his table and started reading.

The parchment contains the "tree planting" applications submitted by the Ice-descended mages of the tribe during this period.

Two months have passed since he and Sunaifa decided to fully implement the "Green Wood Longevity Scripture" in the Zhenbing tribe.

The progress has been so smooth that it has exceeded Gaode's expectations.

There is absolutely no need to promote the benefits of the "Green Wood Longevity Sutra".

The mere fact that the "Natural Arts" of the "Azure Wood Longevity Scripture" could help expand the Golden Radiance Farm was enough to make the Iceborn Mage of the Zhenbing Tribe disregard everything else and resolutely begin practicing this cultivation method.

In Gao De's prediction, given the importance of the sacred object to the "Azure Wood Longevity Scripture", most Iceborn mages should be "waiting for the right price", carefully selecting and slowly considering the appropriate sacred object.

The reality is that, in order to gain the ability of "Nature Arts" as soon as possible, many Iceborn mages did not care about the so-called "future prospects" at all, and only wanted to form a pact with the sacred artifact as soon as possible to help the tribe cultivate the land and grow food.

However, the same problems that Gaode faced when choosing the "Azure Wood Longevity Scripture" also exist for the Iceborn mages:

Even the lowest-ranking magical plants need to grow on sacred ground, because magic power is a necessary condition for their growth.

Moreover, spiritual land is often just the most basic requirement; different magical plants have different additional requirements for soil characteristics.

High-level magical plants are generally unlikely to agree to a mage's request for a bond; the most realistic approach is to start by cultivating them from a seed.

However, the seedlings of the magic plant are extremely delicate. Once placed in the wild, they are easily attacked by accidents or harsh environments. Moreover, taking care of them personally every day is extremely energy-consuming. For most people, this is obviously an impractical task.

Of course, since Gaode chose to promote the "Green Wood Longevity Scripture", it must have already prepared solutions for these problems - the land transformed by Yugathira is a spiritual land suitable for the growth of magical plants.

As long as the sacred relic of the bond is planted around Yugathira, Elder Gain can lead the tree-protecting team to protect the sacred tree and the sacred relic at the same time.

It saves manpower and makes efficient use of resources.

However, Gaode Maps made two requests:

Firstly, if one wants to plant sacred objects for the bondage around Yugathira, the chosen type of sacred object must be a tree species.

Only tree species can provide growth bonuses to Yugathira.

The land that Yugathhira is currently transforming is still limited, and resources must be utilized to the maximum extent.

When there is surplus land in the future, Gaode will allow all kinds of magical plants to enter, regardless of what kind they choose.

Secondly, the sacred object for forming a bond must be an unsprouted seed or a newly sprouted seedling, and cannot be a transplanted mature magical plant.

Because Yugathira was only recently planted, even after being stimulated to grow, it is still only in the form of a sapling, and its abilities are still very weak.

Although the land it has transformed now possesses a faint magical power, it is still some distance from becoming a sacred land and is not yet sufficient for the healthy growth of magical plants.

The seeds or seedlings of the magic tree do not require as much magic power in the soil, and the land that Yugathira has currently transformed is barely sufficient.

Of course, as they grow, these magical trees will inevitably have an increasing demand for magic.

But let's not forget that Yogg-Sarah is also growing.

Moreover, its growth rate is faster than other magic trees. After all, the more magic trees around Yugathira there are, the faster it grows.

By then, Yoghathira should have already transformed the land into a sacred place.

This is what it means to grow together.

In addition, the cultivation of magical plants is also a profound subject.

The Zhenbing tribe, lacking in knowledge, did not have much exposure to this subject.

This should have been a major challenge in promoting the "Green Wood Longevity Scripture," but Gaode has Flora!

A divine body born to plant trees.

For any tree species, once Flora has been in contact with it, she can determine the most suitable cultivation method.

What Central Continent, what Balance Temple, the true lineage of the "Azure Wood Longevity Scripture" lies in the Northern Territory.

If finding the Demon Tree Seed weren't such an easy task, requiring time and a bit of luck, probably more than half of the Iceborn mages in the Zhenbing tribe would have already chosen the sacred object to form a pact.

Even with so many restrictions, the number of mages in the Zhenbing tribe who have chosen to form a bond with the sacred relic is still quite large.

This is a huge sum of money, far exceeding the area of ​​land that Yugathira has currently redeveloped to meet the demand.

Therefore, in order to "plant trees" in Vallar Bay, one must first go through the application process.

To this end, Gao De specially set up a "Forestry Office" in the Ministry of Agriculture to be in charge of "tree planting" - the head was of course Flora, but she was assigned two more people to collect and screen the "tree planting" applications submitted by the tribesmen.

"With the addition of these seven, there are now thirty-one qualified Iceborn mages in the queue."

Gaode Maps reviewed the "tree planting" applications and came up with a number.

Even with such stringent conditions, demand still exceeds supply.

He couldn't help but let out a long sigh; what a blissful trouble.

Then he began to calculate in his mind:

"Twelve first-tier magic trees and six second-tier magic trees"

These are the "magic trees" that have been planted around Yugathira over the past two months; they are all sacred objects bound together by the Iceborn mages of the tribe.

In order to maximize the use of resources, the tree planting applications he approved were all for different types of trees, and all of them were magic tree species with relatively universal requirements for soil environment.

The growth boost that magical plants can provide to Yugathira is far greater than that of ordinary trees.

Therefore, once these eighteen magical trees are planted and successfully take root and sprout, the growth benefits they bring will be equivalent to those of hundreds of ordinary trees.

However, magical plants contain more complex life force and magical energy, which cannot be easily created by "natural arts". The required mana is ten or even dozens of times greater.

Even with Sunefa's intervention, only eleven of the eighteen tree seeds planted so far have sprouted.

But the sprouting of these eleven magical tree saplings was enough to bring about earth-shattering changes to Yugathira.

In just two months, its height increased dramatically from a little over three feet to over nine feet.

The increase in height is secondary; the more noticeable changes are in the root system and trunk.

The tree trunk grew thicker, and the mysterious and intricate runes on it became clearer, containing a vigorous power. The number of new leaves reached more than two hundred, surrounded by colorful light, like a dream.

The root system expanded further, penetrating deep into the ground, and the exposed roots became even more vigorous and powerful.

"It won't be long before Yugathira advances to the next stage, probably in about a week or two."

This is the message conveyed by Yoghathira himself.

Once the next stage begins, Yugathira will awaken a portion of her innate abilities.

Gaode Maps has been looking forward to this for a long time.

"My king, Catherine has returned and is waiting outside for your summons."

Just as Gaode was still immersed in his daydreams about the grand project of "afforestation", the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Grant, who had been extremely busy recently, suddenly arrived and brought Gaode some unexpected news.

"Finally back," Gao De's eyes lit up, and he said, "Let her in."

A moment later, Grant brought Caitlin in and did not leave—Catlin was, after all, a high-ring mage, not a True Ice Clan member, so Grant naturally wouldn't let Caitlin be alone in a room with God.

"My lord, I have successfully completed the task you assigned me." As soon as she entered the office, Caitlin bowed with her hand on her chest, her voice carrying just the right amount of respect.

Her expression showed signs of fatigue and weariness, clearly indicating that she had not had an easy time lately.

Nearly three months have passed since Caitlin led her team away from Phoenix to hunt down the killer in the snowfield.

During those three months, she didn't dare to rest or slack off for a moment—the longer the pursuit of the murderer dragged on, the higher the workload became, so it had to be resolved quickly.

Three months of intense pursuit of the killer left even Caitlin, a seasoned hunter, exhausted.

Fortunately, the outcome was good.

"Among the Snowfield Guardians, we have tracked down all the necromancers who followed Judge Ryan to learn forbidden necromancy and then fled."

"Four of them resisted fiercely after discovering us, and we had no choice but to kill them. The remaining necromancer was captured and brought back to await your judgment."

Gaode already had a plan to deal with these people.

"Golden Radiance Farm is short-handed right now, so after we apply the forbidden ice needles, we'll hand them all over to Vice Minister Grant to do the hard labor."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Grant couldn't be happier after hearing God's arrangements.

When Jinhui Farm was being developed, it was clear that there was a severe shortage of manpower everywhere.

After arranging the necromancers' whereabouts, Goddard turned to Caitlin and said, "I promised you that if you completed the mission to hunt down the murderer, I would set you all free."

He paused, then nodded under Caitlin's slightly nervous gaze. "That's a promise. From now on, you are free."

Caitlin's face immediately lit up with uncontrollable joy, feeling that all the fatigue of these past few days had been worthwhile.

"However..." But before she could be happy for long, Gao De spoke again.

Upon hearing just the first two words, Caitlin's heart skipped a beat.

"You should have noticed when you came back that Phoenix is ​​currently undergoing massive construction."

Upon hearing this, Caitlin nodded subconsciously, then recalled what she had seen and heard before entering the city.

When they left, the snowfields on both sides of the city gate were still a barren wasteland covered in snow.

In just three months, it was transformed into farmland, and there were actually barley plants growing there.

Further afield, thousands of Zhenbing people were busy clearing snow, turning over soil, and leveling the ground.

When Caitlin first saw this scene, she thought she was under an illusion spell or dreaming.

Even now, she still can't figure it out.

Gaode Maps is still continuing:

"Phoenix is ​​currently facing a severe shortage of personnel, especially capable ones."

"So, I'd like to invite you to stay in Phoenix and work for me. Of course, you can refuse." What God said at the end was far beyond Caitlin's expectations.

"You mean, you're inviting us to work for you?" Caitlin asked incredulously.

"Yes," Gao De nodded, "Is there a problem?"

"With the power of the Zhenbing tribe, you didn't need to be so polite to me." Caitlin still found it hard to understand.

Now they are in a subordinate position, and Gaode needs them to do things, so they can't and dare not refuse.

"What I need is not someone with ulterior motives," Gao De explained.

In fact, he, who had traveled from another time, was not particularly fond of the word "efficacy"—it was too feudal.

But he knew that sometimes it was meaningless to emphasize equality and freedom at all costs.

Southern trifoliate orange, northern orange.

In such a world, it is a foolish thing to turn away from one's own class.

What he should do is, under the conditions that suit the soil of this world, to grow the most abundant fruit possible.

(End of this chapter)