Chapter Twent-Five: Developing the Territory

"Wow…."

Dumbfounded, the villagers stared at their bowls. The appetizing soup, filled with meat and vegetables, smelled delicious and looked fantastic.

Not only them, but even the recently summoned Arctic Men were stunned. However, instead of being frozen in shock, they all jumped and cried out in joy, tears streaming down their faces like rivers.

Hordes of notifications flooded Lan Sol's view, showing an increase in the loyalty of his territory members, but he ignored them.

"Wawawa!!!"

With sparkling eyes, a little girl—Ellie—gazed at her bowl, her expression filled with nothing but pure bliss.

With each bite, her smile grew brighter, overwhelming everyone with her cuteness.

The two humans who had escaped from the Vile Society, Ria and Rel, had teary faces. The warmth of the soup filling their stomachs brought them a happiness beyond words.

There was a variety of dishes—soup, curry, fried vegetables, skewers… It was truly a feast.

Happiness among the territory members had reached its peak.

—-------------

The next day was nothing out of the ordinary. However, it marked the advancement of the territory to the next level.

From relying solely on meat for food to now growing vegetables, it was a significant leap forward.

"Move your hands faster! Dig that well!"

"No, no! Not like that! Where's your strength?!"

Men were hard at work, digging the fields, shoveling snow, tending the land, and hoeing the soil.

Meanwhile, women prepared and sorted the seeds, selecting the good ones from the bad.

At the tailor shop, women were already working on making clothes. Since there were no sewing machines, everything was done by hand.

Sewing machines required iron, which Lan Sol currently lacked.

However, it was impressive how fast they worked. At this rate, they could finish a jacket in a single day.

There wasn't much focus on design—only practicality. The clothing was made to fight against the cold, so the sewing process was fast.

At the entrance of the territory, Arctic Men were hard at work, slamming their hammers. Since the settlement was growing in size, walls were being built for the future, as the rookie protection wouldn't last forever.

All over the territory, shelters were being constructed, each housing about five people. Built from wood, they were of decent size and provided sufficient warmth.

The heart of the territory, near the furnace, was a settlement consisting of Arctic Men's huts and shelters.

Behind the settlement, a large plot of land had been dug out for agriculture. Beside it was a commerce area featuring a blacksmith shop, sawmill, tailor, canteen, and a healing tent.

Due to the lack of blueprints, the variety of structures that could be built was limited. Many buildings required blueprints and materials that Lan Sol did not yet have.

"From here, we'll build a wall straight to the coal mine."

"Hurry up! Faster! I can't protect you forever!"

Gol and Gam were guarding ten Arctic Men. Since the coal mine was nearby, they had decided to build a three-layered wall leading straight to it.

Without proper protection, Arctic Men would die before even reaching the mine. Therefore, creating a safe path was crucial.

"Not bad." Lan Sol was pleased with the idea.

The suggestion had come from Gong Er, and Lan Sol had been honestly surprised when he heard it. He hadn't expected Gong Er to come up with something so strategic.

With an abundance of stone and wood, and no urgent structures to build, it made more sense to use the resources for defense rather than letting them pile up.

[Wood: 156,780]

[Stone: 287,525]

One might wonder—how did they gather so many resources?

For two days straight, more than ten men had been harvesting stones and wood, collecting an average of 200 wood and 500 stones per minute. Stone was more abundant than wood, leading to a rapid increase in their stockpile.

With nothing to spend the resources on, the numbers kept rising rather than depleting.

"Let's see if there's any change in the world."

Lan Sol opened the World Chat.

As expected, there were over a thousand messages.

With a population in the billions, it wasn't surprising that many had adapted quickly and were thriving.

[David: Hey guys, this world is hellish! How's everyone holding up?]

[Lu Chen: Damn, this whole situation is straight out of a web novel! And I'm loving it!]

[Albert: I wanna go home. I hate this place. Someone help me go back! (crying emoji x5)]

[Tanaka: I will conquer this hellish world! Just wait, everyone—I'm coming for you all!]

[Katie: What kind of messages are you guys sending?! Let's help each other. Any experts here willing to share some tips?]

[Rin: I'm alone… My entire family is dead… Someone, please help me! I don't want to die.]

[Rosh: Why do Arctic Men need food?! It's already hard enough finding food, and they eat a ton! Should I just kick them out???]

[Harry: Cold… Cold… Cold… Cold…]

[Ben: LOL, this chat is all over the place! Hey, bitches and bastards, how's everyone doing? Isn't this world fun?! Who the hell wants to go back? Hahaha! This is my dream come true!]

Yep, there were all kinds of people here.

Lan Sol closed the World Chat and switched to the Region Chat.

[Region] (Population: 13,076/24,377)

[Ji Hong: Anyone online?]

[Song Ruri: Any kind men out there willing to take me in? I'm a damsel in distress. I'll do anything for the one who provides me with warm food, a warm shelter, and a warm bed…]

[Ling Shu: The lady above, kindly provide your coordinates to this gentleman. I'll take you in… purely out of kindness, of course.]

[Jackie: This is the first thing you people say? Don't you have any shame? People are dying, and you're all being selfish.]

[Lin Bichen: Hey, Mr. Selfless above, why don't you share some meat with me? I've been eating tree leaves to survive. Help me! (⁠≧⁠Д⁠≦⁠)]

[Won Shin: Same here. I can't hunt anything! My class is useless! I tried to kill an animal and nearly got killed myself.]

[Lu Shen: What are you guys even talking about? Hunting is easy! My family of four hunts daily. Just don't be a coward—go all out.]

The regional chat was just as chaotic.

"Hmm, I should start trading with them. Maybe I can get something useful."

Right now, iron was his main priority.

But trading required a market, and after that, a trading house.

Unfortunately, both required blueprints.

"Time to hunt for some resources."

Lan Sol thought about the Vile Society base.

"I guess it's time to go all out."

Ever since he arrived in this world, he hadn't truly gone all out.

With the items he had, if he gave it his all, he might stand a chance of winning.

"Let's scout first, then act."

With that in mind, he went to meet the two escapees.

Meanwhile, many children—who obviously couldn't work like adults—were undergoing training under none other than Elyris, a battle-hardened warrior.

Ellie was with her too; otherwise, she would have been following Lan Sol.

"The two kids should be there as well."

Lan Sol had no interest in joining them. He was a mage, after all. Not to mention, the training looked brutal. It was better to stay far away.

At the training grounds…

"No more…"

"Mommy!!!"

"I can't! I can't move my arms!"

"This is hell…"

"Waaah! Waaah!"

Children of all ages were sprawled on the ground, crying.

The only one barely standing was Ellie.

Elyris, with a stern expression, glared at them in pure disdain, as if saying, 'Why are you so weak?!'

She had the kind of presence that made it seem like she was about to start reminiscing about how hard her life was—just like a strict Asian parent.

"What the hell is going on?"

For the first time, Lan Sol felt like he had made the perfect decision.

Not joining this training was the best choice of his life.

And that realization sent a shiver down his spine.

Just how hellish was the training for all the children to break down crying? Even the two escapees, who must have suffered immensely, were bawling their eyes out.

Lan Sol gulped and took a cautious step back.

"I'll… meet with them later," he thought, quietly slipping away before Elyris could notice him.

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