Proofread by Thomas F
"Seventeen thousand six hundred and twelve soldiers have been recruited."
"Three thousand nine hundred and seventeen more under consideration. We can recruit them all after they clear the investigation," stated Cardin, looking through the file in front of him.
I am in conference room 7, meeting with the top brass of the military for our weekly meeting.
"We are moving at a good pace with the recruitment," I said. It made me relieved.
Things may seem calm, but only on the surface.
Everyone is planning something. I not only need to be strong enough to deal with it, but also strong enough to be a deterrent, so that they wouldn't even think about it.
"Adding the other sources of recruitment, we are doing pretty well. If we are lucky, the army will reach one hundred and fifty thousand in numbers," replied Stone. I nodded to that.
That is the number I want; every city needs to have a force of fifty thousand.
Although the numbers won't be equal in every city, each city has different needs, and the numbers will be proportional to those.
I will need to slow it down after that; the defence budget is increasing rapidly. This month, it had already shot over 40%.
I had cut many things from the city's budget to manage that.
"The investigation?" I asked.
"It's going well," replied Hiren. I am talking about the criminal investigation. There will be justice; people will be punished. Even executed for the crimes they had committed.
It is not something I like, but I will do it. Some of them will need to be executed.
There is pressure to bring them to justice. Especially when I had not done that with the captured undead, they are still imprisoned in our jails.
"Any movement from the enemies?" I asked, and Hiren shook his head.
"Currently, they are calm, but there is an increase in patrols from Almin; Summerfield had moved many of his scouts from Deerpond to Almin," he replied.
"He is being cautious. He is fearing that we would attack Almin," added Shawn.
Hearing that, I laughed.
"He didn't have to worry about it," I replied. "At least for a while," I added a moment later. I have ambition, but I would rather be careful.
The fragile peace had been created, and I would rather keep it until I am strong enough.
The meeting lasted for an hour before it ended. I walked out of the conference room, but didn't walk toward my office; I walked out of the city hall.
The carriage was waiting for me, and I stepped inside. A moment later, it began to move.
A few minutes passed, and it moved out of the port gate and rolled onto the bridge.
I looked outside it and could see that they had started on the other bridge.
The earlier plan was to do it a few months later, but the responses and inquiries had made me feel that I should start earlier.
Besides, the trade with Navr and Baronies is increasing every week.
The traders from the empire have begun to arrive in the city, placing increasing numbers of orders from Navr through intermediaries in the city.
It has taken an enormous effort to bring them to the city, and now it is helping me.
Many large businesses are opening offices in the city, and I can already see the benefits reflected in the taxes, and that is just the beginning.
It's why I need to be prepared. Make sure everything is effortless for those who want to live and do business in my city.
Soon, the carriage got off the bridge, into the vast outer city.
This is just one part of the outer city; I haven't even begun on the other side. There is a lot of time before I do that: six months or even a year.
If it were up to me, I would have developed both sides simultaneously, but it is not. I also need to consider all the factors: money, labour, resources, and many other things.
The carriage stopped, and I got out. Looking at the city, it didn't even resemble a city; it was more like a village.
We have established basic infrastructure, including a sewage system and hospitals. Even some parts of the barracks have also been completed, and tomorrow, a brigade will shift there.
Once it is finished, it will serve as the main barracks of the army, where the majority of the army will reside.
There are thousands of people working everywhere. Locke was able to bring a lot of experienced labour, and Amellus had quickly put them to work.
The number of people working is now more than it was at our peak, and it is expected to continue increasing.
"My lord," greeted an old man. "Architect Harrison," I replied. Amellus may be the designer, but it is the old man running the show here.
The man is busy, designing the legacy, consulting on another project, and will also be working on the Mage Tower.
"We are on time, by the end of the month. We will have another section ready," he replied. We have divided the progress by section.
Each section features multiple components, including residential areas, market areas, gardens, and parks.
It could be said that each section is a mini town. I didn't want people to have to run to the grocery store or go to the hospital in the inner city; I want everything available to them here.
"Good, given the response. We might need it earlier than that," I replied.
There are a lot of enquiries. That doesn't mean it will transform into the selling of the plots, but I want to be prepared.
I spoke with the man for a few minutes before proceeding with my speed skill.
Soon, I arrived at the spot where two women were conversing with a group of people. Seeing me appearing beside them, they stopped and turned to me.
"Lord Silver," they greeted. "Lady Blackwell, Miss Ulaxasys," I replied and nodded at others; they bowed and walked away.
"Things seemed to be going good here," I said. Looking at a small garden in front of me.
I plan to have a large number of trees and green spaces in the outer city. We plan to have three times more green spaces than any other city, excluding a few cities outside the region.
Here, I have a massive opportunity to shape the city's vision, and I am seizing it.
Gardens, parks, boulevards. Every area of the city will have a tree. I plan to have more trees here, per square meter, than even Inam and Namdar.
Planting trees here is significantly more expensive, as they require much more care and maintenance.
An ancient magic at work in Renwell that seeks to destroy all life planted here, but despite the expense, I am doing it.
Trees are essential; they not only enhance the city's aesthetics but also provide a sense of calmness. Green spaces are even more important in places like the wasteland.
The environment like this puts greater psychological stress on the population.
These two will not only work on the tower and its surrounding park, but also on the outer city, as well as Panar and Gailhorn.
I want to do it throughout the entire dominion, but the budget constraints me. The changes will be a lot smaller in other cities until the dominion has enough money in its coffers.
"It is, Lord Silver," replied Lady Blackwell.
"How are the plants growing?" I asked. "Fast. Our people will plant in twelve more greenhouses by the end of the week," replied Miss Ulaxasys.
It is happening in the Owlspring.
Greltheaven isn't suitable for it, nor do we have the required infrastructure. I plan to build it, but it will take some time.
"Have you got the response, Lord Silver?" asked Lady Blackwell.
"Yes, I am going to meet them next month," I replied. I am going to Yaris at the end of this month, after attending a celebration for the birth of Lord Owlspring's child.
It is a little earlier than I had planned, but it's also better because this time, we need a lot of mist plants.
Even with their magic and resources, it might be a challenge for them.
Forty minutes later, I am in my carriage moving back to the inner city. I have to meet someone soon, and it's not someone I want to meet, but someone I need to.
Soon, the carriage entered through the gates of the inner city and moved toward the city hall.
Things are changing rapidly; I can see more people in the city than I ever have before.
In just a month, the population had reached the peak. Over 80% of the people who had left had returned, and new ones were also arriving.
I am sending many to Panar, while sending what is necessary to Gailhorn.
I have to be careful there, but Julian and the army are working under Ina. It won't take long for us to solve the immediate problems.
Then I can start sending the people. We need the people in the city.
It's going to be a trading hub, and for it, it needs people; a lot of people.
Soon, the carriage stopped, and I got out.
"Anything?" I asked as I entered my office. "No, but you have a meeting with him in half an hour." She replied. I nodded, but didn't immediately go back to work.
Instead, I closed my eyes, and an aura came out of me. Soon, it began to take the complex forms.
I started to take time to practice my aura again.
There is danger everywhere, and I need to be strong. Last time, I was able to kill the necromancer due to various favourable factors.
It will not be the case in future battles.
I won't be fighting in the legacy's domain. I don't think it would be even possible after the outer city is finished unless enemies breached the wall.
Therefore, I need to refine my control over the aura and better comprehend the methods.
They might be called the basic aura method, but there is nothing basic about them. I have not understood even half of their mysteries.
If I had, defeating Necromancer wouldn't have been a big problem for me.
I practiced for over twenty minutes before stopping and resting by taking deep breaths.
"He is here," Lola informed. "Send him in," I replied, and a moment later, the door opened. A man in his fifties walked inside.
He looked handsome in a scholarly way, with thick, blue hair and a slightly loose-fitting suit.
"Lord Silver," the man greeted after a moment of silence. "Grandmaster Nehdis," I replied; he has come personally, unlike the first time when he sent his man.
"Thank you for taking time in your busy schedule to meet me," he said. "Meeting you is a pleasure, Grandmaster," I replied.
He is not Lv. 50; he is close but not there. So, he shouldn't be called a Grandmaster, but like Grandmaster Raldin from the Empire, it is an honorific, given early.
"So, what can I do for you, Grandmaster?" I asked the man directly. I know what he wants. So, it's better to get it over quickly.
"I hope that you will give us the contract for the new legacy. I promise you, I will personally manage every part of it and even shift to Greltheaven until it is fully built," he said and looked at it.
He isn't the only one to make that offer. Even Lv. 50 architects offered their services.
It is very hard to get them, but it is a legacy. They want it and want it desperately.
"My apologies, Grandmaster, but we have already finalized the firm," I replied. There was only a faint change in his expression before he controlled himself.
"I thought everything in the dominion goes through the tender process to keep the competition fair," he said, and I wanted to smile.
They had signed the agreement with a few firms in the city. That had made them the subsidiary of Nehdis while domiciled in Greltheaven.
"It is, but Velvet Garden is private property," I replied. The man opened his mouth to refute it, but then closed it.
Legacies are considered the state's property, but not in Greltheaven.
It's a grey area, considering it is precisely opposite to imperial laws, but right now, Renwell is the empire's region in name only.
"We would like an opportunity to work on Velvet Garden. If not the lead, then a partner. We will not charge a penny and even help you fund it," he said, and I really wanted to smile.
Belnin wants to fund the legacy. So, is every other merchant state.
It is due to Belnin that I agreed to meet this man after what happened last time. To be honest, his offer is enticing, and it would be good for the legacy.
I would have done that. If not for the experience from the last time.
If they hadn't behaved as such. We would have some part of the Magic Tower built by now.
Instead of just starting on it, not to mention the money I had spent on building the academy, would have been used on the army and other preparations against the undead.
It makes me really angry. If not for the insistence of Belnin, I wouldn't have even met this man.
"I understand, our previous engagement left the relationship sour. Let me state that it was not done on my orders," he clarified and seemed genuine.
"Nehdis is one of the best architectural firms in the Merchant State."
"We will be honoured if you work with us, but right now, we have chosen the partners. In the future, if we need your expertise, we will unhesitatingly partner with you." I replied.
I could see the sparks of anger appearing in his eyes, but he controlled them quickly.
As I mentioned earlier, I am not working with him, not because of Amellus. He will set aside his personal reservation, but for the experience we had with them.
I would be a fool if I suffered the same thing as last time, especially when the stakes were so high. They could cause significant damage and delay the project.
I will not have that.
"Please do, Lord Silver," said the man and got up before walking out of the office.