Chapter 486 - 459: The First Knight Order is Complete
Chapter 486: Chapter 459: The First Knight Order is Complete
Following the end of Ronin’s grand wedding, the Wubei Territory, Moonlight Valley, Rapids Island, and Purple Thunder Territory all bustled with activity.
The construction of Wubei Port, the clearing of fields for spring planting, the mining, smelting, and transportation of minerals—all these projects proceeded in an orderly fashion.
Nearly every able-bodied person in his domain was constantly busy.
Though it was hard work, most were happy to be busy.
Compared to three years ago, as long as they worked hard, they would not go hungry. Some commoners could even afford the luxury of eating the white bread they had once only dreamed of.
With a hopeful future to look forward to, their motivation naturally soared.
This was especially true after Ronin introduced and strictly enforced a series of incentive policies regarding land and childbirth; people became extremely eager to have children.
After all, more children meant receiving more grain and being able to build an extra house of about twenty square meters. How could they not be motivated?
Therefore, according to the Population Officer Omar’s estimates, the territory’s population was set for a significant increase this year.
Coincidentally, two new crops—potatoes and rice—could now be widely planted, and the resulting harvest would be more than enough to handle the explosive population growth.
In contrast to the busyness of his people, Ronin actually found himself with some free time.
He spent this period mostly touring the various territories with Blanche, allowing her to understand the domain’s industrial structure and become familiar with the key personnel in each area.
Speaking of which, Blanche was a Princess, after all. Normally, a contingent of Guard Knights would have accompanied her.
But perhaps Bruno felt Ronin was already strong enough and didn’t need any additional Guard Knights, so he only sent a few handmaidens to attend to her personally.
Fortunately, Missy was in the Wubei Territory training Griffins for the knights, so at least Blanche had an acquaintance nearby.
「Time flew by, and soon it was the end of May.」
Since their honeymoon ended, Ronin and Blanche had been living here most of the time.
This was partly because the area was in dire need of rebuilding, and partly at Blanche’s request.
She wanted to help Ronin govern his domain, but she only had theoretical knowledge from her studies and needed a place to put it into practice.
"Ronin, the remaining forty thousand people my father relocated for you have all arrived in Moonlight Valley. As per your previous arrangements, they’ve been assigned to Nasca Town, Pisa Town, and Tars Town."
Blanche returned to the castle from the government affairs hall on her Magic Flying Carpet and saw Ronin at his desk, drawing up a design.
"What are you drawing?"
Although she couldn’t quite understand it, that didn’t stop her from feeling that the object in the drawing was incredible.
Ronin put down his pen and smiled. "This is called a bicycle. It’s a simple vehicle that will make it easier for people to get around."
’Although I can’t produce inflatable tires at this stage, the other parts are easy to manufacture. It’ll be a bit of a hard ride, but it’ll work.’
Blanche was very curious. Ever since she started spending her days and nights with Ronin, she discovered that her husband’s mind was full of extraordinary ideas. Even if she couldn’t understand what he drew, she always had a feeling it was something amazing.
After sharing a tender moment, Blanche took out a stack of books from her Space Ring.
"These are the population registries for the latest batch of people. Wilson was too busy to come himself, so he had a Knight deliver them to the government hall and asked me to pass them on to you."
Ronin’s eyes lit up. "This batch should be over thirty thousand people, right? By my count, of the hundred thousand people your father relocated for me, there’s only one final group of twenty thousand left."
The forty thousand people for Wubei Territory had arrived a short while ago, but Ronin hadn’t received their population registry yet.
However, even without the registry from Wubei Territory, just with the group that arrived in Moonlight Valley today, the registered population in his domain would exceed five hundred thousand.
And just like that, as soon as Ronin saw the statistics, a line of text appeared before his eyes:
[Population Prosperity achievement unlocked! Attribute Points +10,000, Energy Essence +20,000]
This was the eighth tier of the Population Prosperity achievement, which meant there was only one final tier left.
Ronin glanced at it. The reward was 30,000 Attribute Points and 60,000 Energy Essence, but it required the population to reach one million.
Meeting this condition could no longer be achieved simply by relocating people from elsewhere.
Ronin would either have to expand his territory, conquer more cities, and absorb their populations, or wait for a population boom within his own domain.
Based on the projected explosive growth rate of 15%, the domain would only gain about eighty-five thousand people per year.
If he could maintain that rate, he would need to wait at least four or five years to reach a population of one million.
’That’s not an incredibly long time.’
However, compared to his rapid advancement over the past three years, his progress in strength had slowed considerably.
With his recent accumulation and the reward from the achievement, Ronin’s saved-up Attribute Points reached 14,448. He allocated all of them to his Knight Progress, which now stood at the Proud Sun Level (19,460/20,000).
Meanwhile, his Mage Level progress was still at Great Mage (4,000/30,000).
To become Legendary, he was still short by more than twenty-six thousand points.
At his check-in rate as a Marquis, that would also take nearly four years.
Ronin glanced at the achievement interface. The next easiest achievement to complete was [Conquer Cities and Seize Strongholds], but even with its 8,000 Attribute Point reward, it would only shorten the time by a year.
’If I want to be faster, I either have to become a Duke or kill a Legendary Level Extraordinary Unit.’
"Ronin, I heard that among the last two groups of people, there were many illegitimate children of nobles, and even some from fallen noble families. Won’t they cause trouble by joining our domain?"
Blanche looked worried. "These people must have families or factions secretly backing them. You place a high value on educated individuals like them, even promoting them to important positions. What if they end up doing something detrimental to us in the end?"
Since marrying him, Blanche had started to consider things from Ronin’s perspective. After her recent experiences, she had become much more thoughtful about such matters.
For the nobility, important positions were typically reserved for those who could be trusted.
Conversely, those who were not trusted or had unclear origins, no matter how capable, would be kept out of the inner circle.
Take Karda, for example. He was excellent and full of potential, yet he was not only unable to join the Griffin Knight Order but was also excluded from the Royal Knight Order.
"What you’re describing could happen, but that’s only under normal circumstances."
Ronin smiled and pulled her into his arms. "A single traitor might alter the course of a battle, but a single powerful individual can turn the tide of the entire war. This is true on the battlefield, and it’s true in other fields as well."
"Besides, while I’ve employed them, I haven’t placed them in any critical positions or given them access to core technologies. The harm they could cause is very limited."
In fact, Ronin was more than happy for the people behind them to offer continuous support. ’In a way, it’s just another method of bringing resources into the domain.’
These people might even work desperately to earn his trust, which would only benefit the domain’s development even more.
KNOCK, KNOCK.
The door was knocked upon, and Tom’s voice came from outside. "My lord, Commander Ridder is here. He says he has something to discuss with you."
Blanche stood up from Ronin’s embrace, smiling brightly. "I’ll go rest for a bit and leave you two to talk."
"Go on," Ronin said with a smile.
Soon after, Ridder strode into the castle study.
As the number of men under his command grew, the Commander from Mountain Forest Town gradually began to exude the aura he once had as the Commander-in-Chief of the Flame Expedition Army in his past life.
His heavy Armor, steady gait, resolute face, and sharp eyes immediately identified him as a battle-hardened general.
"What is it, Ridder? I’m surprised you found the time to come over while being so busy."
Ridder placed a hand on his chest in a salute and said with a smile, "My lord, your First Knight Order has completed its expansion and training. They are now combat-ready."
Ronin’s current status and prestige within the Oduin Kingdom were a far cry from what they once were, and many Professional Knights had flocked to join him.
Coupled with the use of Awakening Potions, the number of Basic Level Knights under his command had become so large that he had even reduced their pay.
A standard Knight Order consisted of 120 Professional Knights, 360 Cavalry, 100 Archers, and 600 Infantry.
Ronin had expanded these categories to 200, 800, 200, and 1,500, respectively.
This was why it had taken Ridder nearly half a year to assemble and train them.
"Harmon recently sent back new intelligence. The Tricia Kingdom and the Holy Storm Organization, which has occupied the Molten Fire Duchy, have ceased hostilities. The specific details are still unclear, but what is certain is that they haven’t reduced their defensive deployments along the border."
Ronin said, "Although Crown Prince Garrett has been constantly requesting to send troops to launch a surprise attack on Mist City, His Majesty the King has suppressed the matter with the excuse that preparations are still underway. As a result, the clouds of war are ever-present, but the actual start date remains uncertain."
Many speculated that Bruno was waiting for Ronin’s Knight Orders to be in position.
Ridder nodded. "My lord, even so, I believe we can proceed to West Wind Hill and fortify the stronghold in advance."
West Wind Hill was the strategic military point Bruno had assigned Ronin to garrison. Currently, one of the Royal Family’s Knight Orders was stationed there.
Ronin just needed to go and relieve them before the end of the year.
He thought for a moment, then asked, "How is the formation of the Second Knight Order coming along?"
"The numbers for Professional Knights, Cavalry, and Infantry have been met, but the selection of Archers is still underway. I estimate it will take another month or so. Factoring in training time, they probably won’t have initial combat capability until November."
"Then we’ll wait a little longer."
Ronin said, "I will inform His Majesty at the beginning of August. You can set out for West Wind Hill around the middle of the month. In the meantime, you can get things in order for the Second Knight Order."
Ridder nodded slowly. "That works as well. I can use the extra time to conduct another period of intensive training for the Professional Knights of the First Knight Order."