Back in Fruitvale Village, Aven didn't even take a moment to rest. As soon as he returned to his study, he summoned the officials of the territory.
Phyllis was holding a large stack of account books. Although her face showed exhaustion, the excitement in her eyes was impossible to hide.
"Lord Aven, our harvest this time was truly massive."
"I brought ten apprentices with me and spent the whole night tallying the various gold and silver items."
"The total came to 500,000 gold coins, which is equivalent to the annual income of an average territory!"
"As for the gemstones, jewelry, and crafts, we've already transported them to the wooden huts outside the orchard. I believe the value of those items will be just as considerable."
The beautiful treasurer reported with excitement. Even though she was born into a merchant family, she had never seen so many gold coins at once!
"500,000 gold coins!" Aven's eyes lit up.
Although he had already formed a rough estimate in his heart, hearing the actual amount still thrilled him.
This was undoubtedly the revenue the eastern branch's Gilded Fang Merchant Guild had earned this year from the sale of magical beasts—and now it was all in his pocket.
He couldn't help but sigh at how incredibly lucrative the magical beast trade was. Nearly every Pokémon could be sold at a high price. It was no wonder so many people in this world risked their lives to venture into the Black Forest to capture them.
In this era, Pokémon trading was by far the most profitable business, enticing countless people to take risks for immense rewards.
However, when he realized that this fortune was only what the eastern branch hadn't had time to transport back to their headquarters, his heart sank again.
If they could earn this much every year, who knew how much wealth Ironblood Fortress had accumulated over the years? Their foundations must run unimaginably deep!
He could easily imagine that the power currently held by Ironblood Fortress might even surpass some of the regular cities in the Sinnoh Continent. For example, Marina City might not necessarily be stronger than Ironblood Fortress.
It was clear that Fruitvale Village's development needed to proceed even faster, Aven thought to himself.
Now that the territory had both the manpower and the money, the bottleneck limiting its growth was temporarily removed. He felt that he could finally let loose and take bold action.
"You've worked hard, Phyllis." After praising the purple-haired beauty, he turned to Fessen. "How are the serfs who were delivered? Have they all been arranged properly?"
"All arranged, Lord Aven."
"According to your instructions, I sorted the serfs based on their individual skillsets."
"Currently, they're living in temporary wooden shelters outside the village."
"Next, I'll assign those who are skilled in berry cultivation to the various Villages to oversee crop management."
"The ones who know how to grow wheat will be sent to the wastelands along the rivers to start clearing and farming wheat fields."
"As for the laborers, they'll be assigned to construction work within the village. According to our plan, the construction of your castle should also be brought to the table."
Fessen carefully explained his arrangements. These were things he had already discussed with Aven when they traveled to Keystone Town. Once he returned, he had gotten started without delay.
"Mm, thank you for your hard work during this time. Distribute ten silver coins to each of the apprentices later as a reward," Aven said with satisfaction.
Meanwhile, the municipal construction of Fruitvale Village was also steadily progressing. With the continuous development of the southeastern border of the territory, more and more talents arrived each day, seeking to join.
Those who met the requirements were recruited as apprentices by the Village Hall. After a probationary period, they would become assistants to the officials, managing the daily affairs of the village.
"Thank you for your generosity, Lord Aven," Fessen said with a bow. "Lord Aven, I believe the time has come to begin the construction of your castle."
Fessen had been pushing for the lord's castle to be built for a while. As a noble, not having his own castle was a serious breach of decorum.
Previously, Aven had delayed the project due to budget constraints during territorial development. But now that they had a huge sum of money in hand, Fessen felt it could be postponed no longer!
Seeing his enthusiasm, Aven nodded. "Yes, the construction of the lord's castle can now begin."
"Additionally, Fruitvale Village as it stands is no longer sufficient to meet the needs of territorial development. I plan to build a small village between the Safari Zone and the village."
"I'll provide you with the blueprint in a few days. For now, focus on arranging the serfs and beginning the castle's construction."
Hearing this, Fessen lowered his head slightly in acknowledgment. He knew Lord Aven always had clear visions for territorial development. All they needed to do was execute them.
After giving out all the necessary instructions, Aven left the study and headed straight for the orchard.
After the entire spring season of growth, the berry trees in the orchard were now lush and verdant—this year was bound to be another year of abundant harvests.
In recent weeks, he had also taught Uncle Mike how to dilute the growth fertilizer and how to prepare compost. If it weren't for the complexity of mixing the fertilizer itself, Aven would've just handed over the whole production process to Uncle Mike.
Even so, the workload on Aven had greatly decreased. Each barrel of growth fertilizer, when properly diluted and mixed with compost, could provide nutrient-rich fertilizer for the orchard for an extended period.
However, he didn't see Uncle Mike on the farm today. With the arrival of the serfs, Uncle Mike—now the Head of Agriculture—was responsible for managing them as well.
In the coming weeks, vast tracts of wasteland would be converted into farmland and orchards. All of these belonged to the territory and had to be carefully managed.
Before long, Aven arrived at the grasslands of the farm, where all his Pokémon were gathered—Torterra, Vileplume, Petilil, and others. They hadn't yet returned to the Safari zone and were temporarily staying here.
Upon seeing Aven approach, all the Pokémon ran up to him excitedly. Even though the battle had ended a few days ago, they were still clearly hyped from it.
"Alright, time to distribute the spoils of war," Aven said with a grin.
For instance, the Nidoking leader had reached the quasi-king level precisely because its valley housed a Moon Stone vein, which constantly supplied it with energy.
"Lil lil~" "Rhy~"
After opening the chest, Petilil and Rhydon poked their heads in and looked around, only to shake them in disappointment.
It was clear they didn't sense any energy that resonated with them, leaving them a little disheartened.
"Ralts~"
However, Ralts's eyes lit up—it had sensed a very familiar energy from within the chest.
"You sense a Moon Stone, Ralts?" Aven asked as he pulled the gemstones from the chest.
Ralts quickly identified the Moon Stone and happily hugged it, lifting it up high.
"This Moon Stone is yours," Aven said with a smile, gently patting Ralts on the head.
The little girl had already learned the move Moonblast, meaning it could efficiently absorb the energy within the Moon Stone to increase its strength.
With the energy of the Moon Stone and the psychic power it had built through meditation, Ralts likely wouldn't take much longer to evolve into Kirlia.
Aven continued rummaging through the chest, picking out the more ordinary gemstones.
Before long, he also found a Water Stone and a Dusk Stone—both of which he was very familiar with. He was fairly certain that there were veins for these evolution stones near Aspiration City.
Adding the Moon Stone vein from Nidoking Valley, and excluding the largely untouched Great Western Marsh, there likely weren't any other evolution stone veins near Aspiration City.
After all, if there were, they would surely attract wild Pokémon that needed those stones to evolve—but Aven hadn't seen any such Pokémon.
"Froslass, this Dusk Stone is for you."
Aven handed the Dusk Stone to Froslass. Although it had already evolved with a Dusk Stone, it could still absorb the residual energy from it to grow stronger.
He continued digging through the pile of gems and soon found more than ten Water Stones and three more Dusk Stones. The rest were just ordinary gemstones.
"These Water Stones can also be buried in the lake dug out by Bibarel," Aven said as he packed them away.
He had previously obtained many Water Stones, which he had buried in the lake created by Bibarel and Bidoof. The lake was continuously nourished by the energy from those stones.
Although Bibarel couldn't evolve using the Water Stone, it could still absorb the stone's energy to grow stronger.
Moreover, a lake filled with concentrated Water-type energy might attract other Water-type Pokémon.
Now, after further excavation by Bibarel and Bidoof, the river feeding the lake was connected directly to the sea, allowing sea-dwelling Pokémon to enter via the river.
After clearing the top layer of gemstones, the bottom of the chest revealed a large pile of bone claws and bone fangs—these were arguably Aven's most valuable finds.
The eastern branch president of the Gilded Fang Merchant Guild had an unusual fondness for beast bones, and among them, the Sharp Fang and Sharp Claw were indeed functional items.
Sharp Claw allowed the Pokémon that held it to strike critical points more easily, increasing their defense-breaking ability and boosting damage.
Sharp Fang, when it hit an enemy, applied an Intimidation effect, causing the opponent to flinch and lose the ability to act temporarily.
These effects alone made both items powerful, but their true value lay in enabling specific evolutions!
Razor Claw allowed Sneasel to evolve into the much stronger Weavile, and Razor Fang enabled Gligar to evolve into Gliscor—almost equivalent in value to evolution stones!
Additionally, skilled craftsmen could forge weapons from these materials—a craft Aven had only heard of.
"Five Razor Fangs and seven Razor Claws—if used properly, they could nurture several powerful Pokémon."
"If I can catch some Sneasel or Gligar, I might be able to cultivate entire powerful tribes. The allure of evolution is hard for strong Pokémon to resist."
Aven fell into thought. Speaking of Sneasel, he recalled one that was killed by Froslass in the Abyssal Caverns Forest, suggesting that they did exist nearby.
"Rhy?"
Rhydon walked over and picked up a Sharp Claw, inspecting it curiously.
"This is a Razor Claw. It helps your moves break through enemy defenses and hit critical spots," Aven explained with a smile. "Hang on—I'll string it for you so you can better feel its power. Later I'll help you train accordingly."
"Rhy!"
Hearing that, Rhydon's eyes lit up in excitement. It was thrilled—this was the first Pokémon item Aven had ever given it.
As Aven looked at the white bandana tied around Rhydon's head, he suddenly remembered his earlier plan to craft a headband item for it. But he'd been too busy lately, and suitable materials hadn't turned up, so the idea had been delayed.
"Mightyena, this Razor Fang is for you."
Aven then handed a Razor Fang to Mightyena, who wagged its tail in excitement.
Mightyena already had the Intimidate ability, making the Razor Fang an excellent fit. With it, its other moves would also gain intimidation effects, giving a significant boost in power.
"Plume~"
Seeing Rhydon and Mightyena receive their tools, Vileplume came over as well.
Since witnessing Torterra's quasi-king-level power, it had been training more diligently.
"Razor Claw and Razor Fang aren't really suitable for you," Aven said. "But I'll teach you Venom Shock. That'll greatly boost your combat ability."
Hearing that, Vileplume nodded eagerly. After all, neither item suited its plant body.
"And the rest of you—don't worry. Even though there are no suitable items for you here, I'll use our gold coins to purchase the right ones for each of you."
Aven turned to look at his other Pokémon. Now that he had both wealth and status, he could finally begin collecting custom resources for each one.
(End of chapter)