How can you become stronger if you don't build up bonds?

Time always flies when you're deep in thought. In the blink of an eye, two or three hours had passed, and the giant wind eagle carried Lin Wei and the other two to their destination—the border town of Ska.

The location scroll that Nado gave Lin Wei showed that Lillian and her attendants had stopped in the area of ​​Scar Town.

The positioning reel provided Lin Wei with insufficient guidance, so he had to find the rest on his own.

"Just drop us off in that grove of trees up ahead," Lin Wei instructed Feng Liu to land.

The giant wind eagle was too conspicuous in Wallis, so in order to keep a low profile, Lin Wei chose to land on the outskirts of Ska Town and walk into the town.

Looking at Scar and its surroundings from above gives you a strange feeling.

The forest where Lin Wei was about to land was located south of Ska Town, and it covered a large area, estimated to be more than ten hectares.

The area surrounding the forest is a vast expanse of vacant land, with no villages settling there.

There wasn't a single person, let alone livestock, in that area.

The situation is completely different in the other three directions centered on Scar Town.

One village after another was densely packed together, and all the natural land suitable for farming was utilized, except for the roads designated by the kingdom.

Simply put, the east, west, and north sides are thriving, while the south side is so desolate that not a soul can be found.

In other countries, this situation might simply be a problem with land planning, or it might be that the original inhabitants of the land were deliberately evicted so that nobles could develop it at their leisure.

But this is Wallis, the continent's most land-producing region, where neither of the above two scenarios is even possible.

In the Kingdom of Wallis, every inch of land is of paramount importance.

Wallis's land management policies were so advanced that Lin Wei felt as if he had never traveled through time.

The state has established a large-scale land management department, and land officials at all levels will conduct the most meticulous planning and supervision of land within the country.

The land administration department is independent of the kingdom's regular governing system, and its supreme leader is King Wallis himself.

The kings of Wallis throughout history were experts in land matters, and there was absolutely no possibility that they could be deceived by their subordinates.

The king's supervision of land departments at all levels was also very precise and efficient, and the natural wizards stationed in various places served as natural supervisory units.

The natural mages of Wallis all received their magical lineage directly from the king, making them all his disciples.

The king only needs to add a restriction similar to a master-disciple oath to this inheritance, and the natural mages who receive the inheritance will never be able to betray the king.

From Lin Wei's perspective, this system still has loopholes. While the number of natural mages in Wallis is considerable, it is still too small compared to the large number of land officials at all levels.

The space where natural mages are deceived by conspiracies still exists.

But Lin Wei's conversation with his uncle Nado this morning made him realize that he was wrong, at least in the case of Nado's reign as king.

Because Nado can communicate freely with the giant wind eagles, Lin Wei can guess from the chat content that he can control a considerable number of giant wind eagles.

The conclusion is obvious: could corrupt officials at the lower levels possibly fool the natural mages or the giant wind eagles that can soar through the sky and dive into the earth?

Given the speed at which the Giant Wind Eagle can transmit information, if an official dares to act recklessly in the morning, the Knights of Judgment will be visiting his doorstep by the afternoon.

Therefore, the abandonment of land south of Ska Town is definitely not due to the inaction of the land officials.

Is it because the farmers don't value the land there?

This situation is even more absurd.

In Wallis, there have always been farmers who complained that there wasn't enough land to cultivate.

The land here yields several times more than that of neighboring Hossman, yet the tax revenue is less. For the vast majority of farmers, land is a money tree.

Wallis had implemented "land to the tiller" centuries ago, and through the tireless efforts of the last two monarchs, it had completely reformed the aristocratic system.

Nobles no longer held the status of lords, all land was nationalized, and all citizens, including nobles, were allocated land according to their willingness and ability to work.

Even if nobles were wealthy, they were not allowed to purchase land use rights from other peasants, and any attempt to vigorously develop the landlord economy through rent collection was absolutely prohibited.

The most direct result of these measures was that the identity of "tenant farmer" completely disappeared from the annals of history.

In Wallis, the saying "hard work leads to wealth" is no exaggeration, as agricultural exports are Wallis's largest source of trade surplus.

Given this situation, the farmers of Ska would never abandon their southern lands without a reason.

This leaves only one possibility—the problem lies with the land to the south itself.

What could be the problem...?

After disembarking from the giant wind eagle, Lin Wei had been observing and thinking.

Everything in the woods looked normal; the trees were growing naturally and lushly, without any human intervention.

The limited environmental knowledge Lin Wei had left told him that the cool, humid forest environment with abundant diffused light was very suitable for developing the forest economy.

Edible mushrooms, medicinal herbs, and tea trees are all excellent crop choices.

Adding in the understory farming, even a layman like Lin Wei can see that this place has considerable agricultural value.

"Luya, do you sense anything unusual here?" Lin Wei hoped that Luya's extraordinary perception could help him find some clues.

Luya wandered around the woods for a while, touching and sniffing here and there, before finally shaking her head at Lin Wei.

"Where's Tina?" Lin Wei asked Tina casually.

But she had only just recovered from her high school phobia and didn't even know what Lin Wei was asking.

Lin Wei shook his head and continued walking forward while simultaneously opening the panels for the three members of his team.

The panel looked the same as usual, and Lin Wei didn't see the debuff he expected.

That's really strange.

The border, to the south, is desolate and deserted...

Lin Wei could hardly help but think of the Laika ruins further south.

Finally, Lin Wei found some ripe wild strawberries at the edge of the woods. He picked some and put them in his pocket, intending to go to town to inquire further.

After about twenty minutes, Lin Wei and his two companions arrived at the southern entrance of Ska Town, where only a sheriff was on guard.

The sheriff, dressed in leather armor, casually glanced at Lin Wei and his companions. After noticing the expensive fabric of their clothes, he did not stop or question them, and let them enter the town directly.

They are most likely travelers from out of town. Only wealthy and ignorant people from out of town would wander around to the south.

It looks like the mayor is going to be harassed by them again...

Land investment? How could it possibly be a chance for you outsiders...?

The sheriff shook his head and continued his tedious guard duty.