Elden: Ring of Calamity

Chapter 269 Formation Eye
August of the 49th year of the Golden Calendar, Karen City.

I don’t know if it’s because of the sudden cold snap this year. In previous years, Karen, which was still slightly warm until October, was covered with a thin layer of frost as early as early August. The vast vegetation in the wilderness outside the city couldn’t bear the change. Wear red clothes and wait for the arrival of late autumn.

Different from previous years, the wheat fields around Karen have extended to 40 kilometers outside the city. Large areas of emerging farms are covered with unchanging wasteland. The rugged boulders and decayed ancient trees have all been cut down and replaced by brand new ones. irrigation canals and windmill.

This small border town, which had been far away from the favor of the Golden Tree for twenty years and was isolated between Nangemir, Northern Lienia and West Asia Altar, has radiated unprecedented vitality in just three years.

And all these changes were not because the Golden Tree finally noticed its long-neglected people, but because of the new Karen Archon who took office three years ago - Baron Clayville.

"The Secretariat has just calculated the results of the autumn harvest in July -" On the top of the newly built towering tower, a young knight with a short beard came to the man who was silently watching the distance with a manuscript in his hand.

"Taking into account the premature cooling this year, the autumn harvest is a full month and a half earlier than last year. Even if the golden priests in the city worked hard to provide a large number of graceful dew drops to bless the crops, a considerable part of them would not be harvested. Overripe grain is wasted in the fields.”

"How was the result?" Clavier said calmly, still looking at the distant fields, "I guess the final harvest is still a lot more than last year, right?"

"You can't let me sell out all the goods." Olwens, who was still serving as an internal affairs officer, curled his lips boredly, "As you wish, just the summer harvest plus the July harvest will be enough." It’s already 40% more than last year, and if you include the share that can be grabbed from the cold wave this month and next month, it won’t be a big problem for the total to be close to twice last year’s.”

Clavier breathed a sigh of relief, with a rare smile appearing on the corner of his mouth, and said: "After all, so much wasteland has been reclaimed this year, and nearly three thousand hybrids and demi-humans have been recruited. It is only reasonable that there will be a breakthrough in production capacity. .”

"But it's one thing to estimate, and it's another thing to actually hear your report." He patted the solid and thick city bricks in front of him and said with emotion, "With this batch of food, no matter how long the cold winter lasts this year, nothing will happen. Despite the chaos, we can continue to gather the northern refugees next year, so our work has not been in vain."

"Continue to collect refugees?" Olwens was a little puzzled for a moment. "Now the surrounding wasteland has been fully reclaimed. Farms, factories, the construction of new cities, and even city guards, all positions that can absorb the population have been filled. If we continue to collect the hybrids and demi-humans we have accepted next year, how will we arrange them? We can’t send them all to the East China Sea Islands for His Highness to arrange, right?"

In fact, in the early stages of the alien repatriation agreement reached between Lucia and Queen Malika, Karen City did send a considerable number of its population to the East China Sea Islands through the ocean fleet.

Due to the fierce friction between humans and non-human races in the Karen region for decades, even if Claiwell is replaced as the governor, the barriers between races will still be difficult to eliminate immediately. Those demi-humans and hybrids who have difficulty surviving in the Nangmir region may be willing to accept Claywell's recruitment and go south to Karen to seek a way out, but they are absolutely unwilling to be sent to the other side of the continent without sufficient trust in each other. East China Sea.

Therefore, most of the foreigners who were sent to the East China Sea Islands at that time were stable immigrants who had lived in Karen for half a year to a year and had worked in farms or factories for a long time. After this group of people went to the East China Sea, most of them served as grassroots leaders of the new immigrants under the arrangement of Lance Sanks, and subsequently became the first group of immigrants to obtain official resident status from the Gulong Dynasty.

However, after most of Sky City collapsed, the carrying capacity of the East China Sea Islands was ultimately limited. In the past three years, the Gulong Dynasty has accepted more than 60% of the foreign slaves from the Golden Dynasty. Counting immigrants who have not yet obtained official resident status, the total population has more than doubled, breaking through the tens of millions.

The large new population has certainly brought about a leap in productivity, especially greatly promoted the development of the military industry that Lucia has focused on in recent years, but it has also given rise to complex management problems.

There are still vast areas of wasteland in the East China Sea Islands, but the management talents at all levels accumulated by the Ancient Dragon Dynasty are far from enough. Lance Sanks has invested two-thirds of the priests and knights in the Sky Temple and one-third of the Ancient Dragon Temples in various places. Only grassroots management can maintain the normal operation of the dynasty. Before the Gulong Dynasty completely digests these millions of immigrants and fully transforms them into comprehensive national strength, the continued crazy influx of population will inevitably break this hard-won balance, thus destroying the foundation of Fam Yazra.

Therefore, starting from the second half of the 48th year of the Golden Calendar, Lucia, after many correspondence discussions with Lance, deliberately slowed down the recruitment of foreign immigrants to the dynasty's homeland, and instead settled more of the population nearby Gulong. In the industrial system affiliated with the temple.

On the other hand, he gradually moved the core links of his military industry away from the Golden Dynasty and moved them to Galede and Lienia, so as not to fall into passivity after conflicts with the New Party broke out in the future.

The combined effect of many factors has determined that Karen, under the leadership of Clayville, will not be able to rely on the ancient dragon dynasty behind it to relieve population pressure for a long time. For a person to survive and at the same time harness their power for their own use, they must figure out a way to rely only on themselves.

"Of course I can't cause trouble to His Highness -" Clavell replied, "I plan to march into North Gemeir."

Olwens was stunned for a moment, then frowned slightly and said: "This is very difficult. In the final analysis, Nangmere just has a bad climate. Whether they are hybrids, demi-humans or mountain monsters, they have all followed us over the years. Once you have established enough trust, it is not too difficult to explore slowly, but it is different in the north, which is truly the nest of heretics and rebels."

"It is indeed difficult, but behind the difficulties lies unimaginable value."

At this moment, the forty-five-year-old former palace perfumer turned to look at the twenty-four-year-old former Storm Knight Commander, and said softly: "If we only do simple things that everyone in the world can do, our existence will have no impact on His Highness. What’s the point of a great cause?”

"Although His Highness can still make excuses with the Golden Dynasty at the moment, as the new party gains more and more power, it is inevitable to break up with each other. By then, Karen will serve as the anchor between Gmir, Yatan, and Lienia. It will definitely become a thorn in the flesh of the Golden Dynasty."

"Throw away Karen, and the Golden Dynasty's military frontier will be able to cross Gemel and point directly at Lienia. Except for the Star-Moon City of the King of Kallia, the entire Western Continent is completely undefendable. Now Her Majesty Lenara is ill. Now, the academy is an unstable factor that has been difficult to solve for many years. Once a war breaks out, the situation will inevitably be much worse than the Battle of Moon Tree."

"The Golden Dynasty does not even need to destroy Kallia. As long as the Star-Moon City is besieged, Yatan, Liyenia, and Nimgofu can be completely connected. With the East China Sea Islands and a half-destroyed sky city, His Highness can What rivals Radhagaon?”

The two of them just stood above this city that still nominally belonged to the Golden Dynasty. Olwens listened to Claiwell's rebellious remarks. After a long silence, he took a long breath of deep understanding and said in deep thought: " But if it’s the other way around.”

Clavier looked into his best friend's eyes, and his pupils seemed to be burning with blazing flames, and said in a deep voice: "On the other hand, by guarding Karen, we can nail the Golden Dynasty's military power in the entire Western Continent to Yatan. Caria cannot be touched to the south, and Gemir cannot be touched to the north.”

"At that time, no matter who Galede belongs to, the situation will be completely reversed. As long as Kallia and the Gulong Dynasty join forces from east to west, it will be easy to regain Nimgefu. Based on this, the northern expedition to Yatan will be carried out. Even if the war king Ge Fu Lei has returned to Rodel and is definitely no match for His Highness!"

(End of this chapter)