Chapter 16 The Tree and the Ant
Amber locked himself in the laboratory and began to concentrate on the research on zombies.
The territory's reclamation plan was also progressing in a bumpy manner. Although Raul was threatening enough, neither he nor Isabel was good at managing such things.
But it’s not a big problem. There are not many lords on this continent who know how to manage. They all have strong soldiers and horses to suppress them.
As long as these hundred or so free people don't want to starve to death, they will find ways to work.
Generally speaking, reclaiming wasteland requires a lot of manpower. For an ordinary family to reclaim one acre of land, it will require at least three laborers working for a year and a half.
The three most troublesome things in land reclamation are weeds, rocks, and pests.
To clear the weeds, you have to pull them up by the roots, otherwise they will grow back in a few days. It is not easy to burn them all with a fire. You can't burn the green grass just because you want to, unless you get a few bottles of flame potion, but the cost is too high.
There are rocks of all sizes everywhere. It is tiring enough to dig them out one by one. If you encounter those that are too hard to move, you have to burn them red and water them repeatedly to make them crack before you can move them. I don't know how much time and firewood are wasted in this process.
The presence of insects is also a huge threat to crops, and it takes a lot of time to get rid of them.
But all this becomes very simple with the help of magic potions.
The fossil potion prepared by Isabel under the guidance of Amberxiu can make rocks brittle and shatter them with a slight tap. Spraying it on weeds will also cause the water in the weeds to evaporate quickly, turning them yellow and flammable.
After spraying the agent, wait for a day, and then set a fire, the wasteland will be burned thoroughly. The underground roots and insect eggs will be completely burned to death and transformed into soil fertility.
After the fire is out, all you have to do is pick up a hoe and turn the soil.
Having never seen such an easy way of land reclamation, those who were originally a little dissatisfied did not dare to say a word more.
In fact, this is not a secret method, it is just a matter of cost.
If these potions were bought from the Alchemy City, they would cost at least one thousand gold coins, and one gold coin is enough to feed an adult male for a month.
With this calculation, it is more cost-effective to use manpower to open up the wasteland. After all, human life is cheap these days, and manpower is even less valuable.
But Amber can prepare these potions himself, so the cost is much lower. Including Isabel's labor cost, it is only about one hundred gold coins.
Moreover, Amber is a lich. If he doesn't give these humans some benefits, they may not be willing to live peacefully in his territory.
Everything was progressing as planned, whether it was Amber's experiment or the land reclamation plan. The crude wooden house had been built, and the wasteland had been turned into fertile fields. If nothing unexpected happened, farming could officially begin in a month or two.
With arable land, everything will be on track.
However, not everyone wants to see a lich's territory prosper.
Amberxiu's territory is not small, but if you look at it from the sky, you will find that this territory is tightly surrounded by human lords on all sides, with really no gaps at all.
The territory in the west is the largest, almost half the size of Amber's territory. The lord of this area is a knight with outstanding achievements.
In the Warcraft crusade twenty years ago, he wore porcupine skin and bravely killed a griffin, for which he was awarded the title of Porcupine Knight and this territory.
When Amber was still a human, he had no contact with the Porcupine Knight. After he transformed into a lich in recent years, he was completely blocked by the nearby lords and all communication was completely cut off. But today, the Porcupine Knight had to ride his horse to the outskirts of Amber's territory.
After riding around in a half circle on his tall horse, the Porcupine Knight frowned deeply.
He was wearing a shining silver chain mail and the cape hanging behind him was embroidered with a huge porcupine emblem, making him look tall and mighty.
In comparison, the follower who was also riding a horse and wearing a wizard robe looked very thin. However, the Porcupine Knight seemed to be quite respectful to this man. He bowed his head politely and said, "Mr. Harvey, you can see that this lich is really too much."
The young man called Mr. Harvey looked into the distance and vaguely saw many figures reclaiming wasteland. There was no doubt that they were all humans.
Many freemen in the Porcupine Knight's territory escaped. It was thought that they had sneaked into the wilderness to compete with the goblins and gnolls for territory, but unexpectedly they had fled to the lich's territory. What shocked the Porcupine Knight even more was that the lich actually accepted them.
Are there any liches that can coexist with humans?
Harvey hesitated for a moment and said, "My Lord, as your mage advisor, I suggest that you file a complaint with the Alchemy City."
Porcupine Knight asked, "You mean to suggest that I attack this lich's territory directly?"
According to the rules of the Alchemy City, territories are not allowed to plunder each other's population. Once such behavior is committed, as long as it is reported to the Alchemy City, you can get the opportunity to actively attack the other party's territory. Once you win, there are many benefits, at least you can get a large amount of war compensation, and if you are lucky, you can also expand your territory.
But Harvey suggested that Porcupine Knight report the appeal, hoping that the Alchemy City would send someone to administer justice. Even if it succeeded in the end, the bulk of the benefits would still be taken by the Alchemy City, and a small lord like him would be lucky to get a little compensation.
The difference in income between the two is so huge that Porcupine Knight feels a little unwilling.
There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!
Harvey said very seriously: "My Lord, the undead are not so easy to deal with, especially high-level undead like the lich. We don't even know the name of this lich. Maybe as soon as we step into his territory, thousands of skeletons will emerge from the ground."
However, the Porcupine Knight said, "We can unite with the nearby lords. They all have freedmen fleeing, and they are probably all running to the home of this lich. A well-trained militia can deal with three or four skeletons during the day. With our combined strength, even if he really has a thousand skeletons, it will be nothing. Moreover, we can ask that person for help."
Harvey fell silent. He knew who the Porcupine Knight was talking about.
A powerful paladin from the Ryan Empire happened to be a guest in the Porcupine Knight's territory these days. He was not alone, but brought a team of elite adventurers with him. If it was just an ordinary lich that was unknown to the public, this adventure team could handle it.
What the Ryan Empire hates the most are the undead. It doesn't cost much to hire them to deal with a lich. Even if you only provide a little clue, they will come to the lich to cause trouble.
With this kind of help, the Porcupine Knight was confident enough to bypass the judgment of the Alchemy City and directly attack the territory of the lich.
Reason told Harvey that the lord's plan had a high success rate, but whenever Harvey looked at the gloomy castle, his intuition would frantically remind him not to get close. As a wizard apprentice of the prophecy school, Harvey believed in his intuition more. This lich was definitely more dangerous than he imagined.
"My Lord, if you have made a decision, I suggest you make two preparations. First, unite with other lords, discuss cooperation with the holy warrior, and then declare war on the lich in a way that complies with the rules. Please be sure to follow the laws of the Alchemy City and not let the lich find any fault. In this way, even if the attack fails, as long as we withdraw from his territory, the other party will not be able to pursue us. Second, during the preparation period, I suggest you inquire about the relevant information about this lich, perhaps there are other options."
As an advisor, Harvey could only give advice as much as possible, rather than making decisions for his lord.
The Porcupine Knight nodded and said, "Yes, you are right. We should learn more about the enemy before going to war. I will contact other lords. Mr. Harvey, I know nothing about magic, and the same is true for the undead. I can only leave the task of gathering intelligence to you."
Harvey said respectfully, "It's my job, but..."
"Just what?" asked Porcupine Knight.
"My Lord, the financial situation of Alchemy City is collapsing very quickly. This is just the beginning. Even if you win this battle, it may not satisfy the appetite of those alchemists."
The Porcupine Knight's face changed, but he quickly said firmly: "Compared to the Alchemy City, we are just ants under a big tree, but even if we do nothing, will the tree not fall? Before it collapses, we should strengthen our own strength."
(End of this chapter)