Chapter 386

Chapter 386

The low-level practitioners and ordinary people who originally came here to take on the task of cutting down trees were completely replaced by the Wingless Flywheels, leaving them standing by in bewilderment.

Lorant called Alice over and spoke a few words to her, after which the church personnel at the outpost led these people to the registration desk at the beast shop.

Those who wished to continue working here could assist the beast shop by transporting the felled trees and slain beasts to the outpost.

The tasks they had previously taken on were still considered completed, and those who did not wish to continue could leave now.

The adventurers who had taken on the task of cutting down trees also had the responsibility of transporting the logs. Hearing that they could still complete their tasks in this manner, they naturally had no objections and happily carried the thick logs towards the distant fortress.

The warehouse at the Bright Fortress had cleared out a space for the beast shop's current use.

The felled trees and slain beasts all belonged to the beast shop, just like the Lopulo Pass. Essentially, they profited and sustained operations by slaughtering beasts, recycling, reselling, and other related income.

Now, Lorant was merely getting a taste of the profit model of the Lopulo Pass in advance.

The potential profits from such a vast expanse of the Black Forest were astonishing.

Whether it was the increasingly thick trees that had grown over many years, or the rare plant beasts and magical herb materials, they all represented a substantial income.

It was almost like a massive treasure trove, waiting for people to claim its riches.

Yet, prior to this, almost no one had discussed the potential profits this treasure trove could bring.

For such a long time, the Guardians' Council had raised various issues, but this one was conspicuously overlooked, as if it were an unspoken agreement to leave this additional income for the beast shop.

After all, building a Lopulo Pass fortress was an extremely costly endeavor.

The manpower and resources required were nothing short of terrifying.

Even for an organization as profitable as the beast shop, coming up with such a sum of money was no easy task.

If the beast shop were to shoulder the entire burden independently without any external support, even an organization with such remarkable income would inevitably suffer significant losses.

By the time the fortress was built, Blue Star would be severely weakened, a scenario no one wanted to see.

Even the members of the Magic Council, who had always been unfriendly towards Blue Star, would not be ambiguous in such matters.

Regardless of internal conflicts, all intelligent beings must stand united when facing the Lopulo Mountains.

Anyone with ulterior motives at such a time would become the enemy of the world.

The scale of building a pass fortress was akin to the large-scale public facilities in Lorant's previous life.

Aside from the state, few companies would be willing to invest massive funds into constructing such an exorbitantly priced and slow-to-recover public facility.

From an investment and return perspective, it was a thankless task.

Given the level of investment required, almost any other endeavor would yield more substantial returns than building a pass.

Thus, although the income from the Black Forest was indeed tempting, it was tacitly considered compensation for the beast shop. Even with this compensation, it would still be a drop in the bucket for the construction of the pass fortress.

Lorant naturally would not let go of such a predetermined subsidy. He intended to make good use of it, and he had other ideas. If he managed it well, he might be able to develop the Lopulo Pass while simultaneously expanding his Blue Star territory on a larger scale.

By allowing the two territories under his control to complement and influence each other, they could achieve better development through the rational allocation of resources.

At the end of this soon-to-be-cleared Black Forest, beyond the pass that would become Blue Star's, a short distance further would lead to the Blue Star territory.

In a sense, if one broadens their perspective enough and clears more of the surrounding Black Forest, the mountain pass could even be completely connected to the current territory of Blue Star.

There are no other people's territories in between to separate Lorant's two lands.

In Lorant's vision, he plans to connect the entrance of the Lopulo Mountains with the existing territory of Blue Star.

He intends to build a wide and straight road in between, where the speed of the Windbreaking Horse can control the round-trip time between the two places within a day.

That is already sufficient; some large noble lords' territories are several times larger than this area.

They just need to be divided into multiple cities, and nothing will be affected.

Whether it is the tributary of the Holy Shield River or the road planned to be opened after the reduction of the Black Forest, both have already been put on the agenda in the planning.

The entire development plan of the mountain pass is progressing smoothly.

The development of the mountain pass and the clearing of the Black Forest are not tasks that can be completed in a day or two. After working at the mountain pass for a week and seeing all the beast pets adapt to such a life, Lorant left the Dawn Outpost.

However, he was not in a hurry to return to the west coast to find Shenuska.

To be honest, Lorant felt that he was indeed subconsciously trying to avoid going to the west sea to search for coral.

The dark and gloomy seabed made him feel very uncomfortable.

He even had the illusion that he was about to develop claustrophobia.

So subconsciously, he was somewhat reluctant to return there so quickly, especially when he had a reason to stay outside.

Moreover, to be fair, Lorant felt that according to Shenuska's search method, whether he was there or not would not make much difference, at most it could accelerate the progress a bit.

Although Fa Meng's ability is effective underwater, it is worrying that there might be omissions. No one knows what transparent coral really is. If even their energy feedback is transparent, Fa Meng's method might not be as reliable as Shenuska's clumsy approach.

So Lorant comforted himself in this way and then chose to take a tour around the Blue Star territory.

It had been more than half a year since he last visited his territory.

The arrangements he had made earlier in Blue Star, he didn't know how they were progressing now.

Although Qiao did report on time, he couldn't possibly carry the Wulu Shell to every inch of the territory.

So since he was already near the Blue Star territory, Lorant simply decided to take Lancelot with him to have a good look around the territory.

Lorant, Lancelot, and Fa Meng took Fa Meng's boat and followed the tributary of the Holy Shield River towards the direction of the territory.

With Fa Meng's speed, the boat quickly entered the main channel of the Holy Shield River from the tributary.

Previously, the Blue Star territory had been developing its east and north sides, which faced the Holy Shield River and the other side of the Black Forest, respectively. The southwest sides, however, were only mentioned in Lorant's plan and had not yet started formal development.

The scope of this territory is indeed too vast.

Even though the number of people in Lorant's territory has been increasing during this period, it is still not enough to fully develop the entire territory.

In the final analysis, it is still a lack of people.

Fortunately, Lorant is not in a hurry to quickly develop the current territory. He plans to wait until he receives a batch of people from the Black Gold Purple Fir territory, and then he will properly develop the next part of the territory.

Those people who grew up under the eyes of the Cavendish family are undoubtedly the best candidates in Lorant's hands.

With them here, Lorant has reason to believe that the Blue Star territory can be built harmoniously and prosperously.

Compared to them, the overall quality of the refugees recruited from outside cannot be guaranteed, and it is easy for other interested parties to take advantage and send in spies or other minor troubles.

Although with Fa Meng around, Lorant is indeed not worried about spies infiltrating his territory.

Those truly confidential secondary beast breeding facilities or material processing plants are controlled by floating octopuses, and with Fa Meng's supervision, no one will have any opportunity to exploit.

But it's better to avoid unnecessary trouble. Since there is a better source of settlers, Lorant naturally prefers not to settle for second best.

Even if it requires waiting longer, Lorant believes it is worth it.

However, so far, the residents of the Black Gold Yew territory have not started moving here in large numbers. Peter is still conducting a detailed coordination, ensuring that all existing farms and ranches in the Black Gold Yew territory are properly settled and on track before the head butler begins the immigration planning.

Therefore, much of the land in the Blue Star territory remains empty, or some has been cultivated but not yet planted.

Continuing along the river, such desolate scenes are left behind.

The direction of the mountain pass is to the west of the territory, an area originally planned by Lorant to be the territory's industrial zone.

But now, if the mountain pass and the territory are to be fully connected in the future, this area, as the only way to the mountain pass, naturally needs to bear some other functions.

For example, more commercial areas and places for adventurers heading to the mountain pass to stay.

Perhaps an entertainment city with more entertainment facilities could reabsorb the gold coins earned by those adventurers who make a fortune at the mountain pass?

As for the name, maybe 'Las Vegas' would be a good choice.

Of course, Lorant does not want to build a city that devours people. Swallowing adventurers at once is the most wasteful option. The optimal solution is undoubtedly to have these people bring in continuous income.

Reusable is always more environmentally friendly than disposable, isn't it?

The black-hearted boss Lorant squinted and thought.

Let the adventurers earn money in the Lopulo Mountains, then quickly spend the money in his 'Las Vegas,' thus prompting them to return to the Lopulo Mountains, forming a perpetual motion machine?

This might be a good choice.

Adventurers need entertainment, even some seemingly excessive entertainment to relieve the tension of walking on the edge of life and death. Since they need it, Lorant will give it to them.

As for the originally planned industrial zone, the location of those factories can be changed at any time. After all, these factories happen to be the part of the industry with the lowest geographical requirements. No matter where they are, as long as there are suitable machines and raw materials, they can thrive.

Lorant silently planned in his heart as Fa Meng's boat continued forward, heading towards the Blue Star village.