CHAPTER 34: CHAPTER 32: RECLAIMING WILDERNESS

Adhering to the principle of not spoiling the nest, the Blue Young Dragon did not allow these beastmen to randomly cut down trees near Dragon Nest Village, only cleaning up the area surrounding the village a little.

Small changes were beneficial for improving the living environment of the beastmen, while not causing the natural barrier to be overly cleared; having some trees surrounding as protection was still very effective.

As for lands to cultivate and farm, they found a flat area not far from Dragon Nest Village and near a water source. Austin marked out an area of about twenty acres, intending to start cultivation there in the coming year.

Under Austin’s command, the beastmen arduously chopped down the ancient trees one by one. Fortunately, when the Lizardman leader Rodney attacked Dragon Nest Village, the Blue Young Dragon confiscated an iron axe from him, greatly speeding up the tree-felling process.

Otherwise, without iron tools, even if it was just ten acres of land, these beastmen using stone and bone tools would probably take a month to clear it.

In the icy snow,

A small piece of land had already been cleared, with several strong beastmen hanging ropes made of vines on the tree tops, and the massive ancient tree trunks had been mostly axed down. Following the kobold Vini’s command, the beastmen quickly grabbed the ends of the ropes.

"One, two, three... pull!"

With the rhythmic command, the beastmen quickly seized the rope ends and pulled forcefully.

Groaning!

The tree, already half-chopped, broke with a miserable sound under the powerful traction, collapsing with a crash as the beastmen at both ends quickly scattered.

"Alright, take a break, we’ll continue later."

Vini wiped the sweat off his forehead, seeing the beastmen were exhausted, suggesting a short rest.

Although it was cold winter with ice and snow, the heavy exercise had left every beastman sweating profusely and panting heavily.

The Kawa Great Forest had been formed for countless years, and these trees were at least as thick as one could embrace. Although they had an iron axe, chopping down a tree still required enormous strength.

Fortunately, after these trees were felled, they could be left alone. As the Blue Young Dragon said, after the cold winter, these trees on the ground would dry out and could simply be burned down.

However, the remaining tree roots were problematic. After the trunks were chopped, the stumps remained firmly rooted in the soil.

According to the Blue Young Dragon’s plan, after farming and cultivation in this area, wild rice and other crops would be planted. The soil needed leveling, and during this process, the roots would be a hindrance.

There was no way around it, they could only avoid them, allowing them to slowly rot in the ground over the years.

"Farming, is it really feasible..."

Looking at the resting beastmen scattered around, Vini suddenly had this thought.

Farming was said to be the exclusive knowledge of humans on the northern Civilized Continent, and throughout history, no one had seen beastmen who could farm.

Beastmen usually obtained food through hunting, gathering, or plundering from other tribes; tribes relying on farming for survival and development were almost nonexistent.

This was related to the beastmen’s way of life and environmental conditions. Additionally, the beastmen’s coarse mindset couldn’t comprehend the humans’ intricate farming knowledge, resulting in beastmen not developing agriculture.

Although Vini was puzzled by the Blue Young Dragon’s plan, he continued to execute it unwaveringly.

The events of recent days—slaying the ghost-headed crocodile, ice-fishing, hunting blood wolf packs—had made the beastmen blindly believe in the Blue Young Dragon.

Even if Austin’s decisions were wrong, they would follow through without a doubt.

"Once rested, we’ll continue working. After finishing this tree, we’ll have a meal!"

After resting on the ground for a while, Vini called out loudly, finding another snow-laden tree and beginning a new round of work.

Meanwhile, as the beastmen were enthusiastically working,

Austin stood on a hill not far away, looking down at the beastmen diligently clearing the trees in the flatland.

"It’s been two days, and only this much has been cleared. It seems metallurgy must be developed quickly."

Currently, the beastmen’s tools consisted only of the war axe seized from the Lizardman leader Rodney and some stone, wood, and bone tools, severely affecting work efficiency.

Though, with the Blue Young Dragon’s power, joining the clearing work would increase the speed several times over.

Not to mention the power within, even a Thunder Strike Technique could char a huge tree.

But who was he?

He was the lord of these beastmen, their superior.

In this world, there was no such thing as a lord doing the work personally.

He was the boss, not a nanny.

Moreover, farming and clearing were vital for the beastmen’s future food source, but dispensable for the Blue Young Dragon.

The clan’s development required its efforts and struggles to overcome difficulties and ultimately achieve results rather than Austin assisting and growing them prematurely.

Even if the target of clearing twenty acres this cold winter couldn’t be achieved, Austin wouldn’t personally help.

Though the Blue Young Dragon could easily solve the current development difficulties, the clan would someday reach a point where Austin couldn’t intervene. Cultivating the beastmen’s independent challenge-facing ability was better than relying on his strength and always living under his protection.

Blue Young Dragon’s goal in developing the clan was for someday when the clan could protect him and gather various Magic Power materials necessary for his growth, not to keep them under his protection permanently.

He didn’t have the heart of a benevolent saint for the masses.

"I remember the refining technique, but the ore is a problem."

Even though Austin remembered the steps to refine copper and iron by hand from his past life watching wilderness survival experts, lacking ore was like cooking without rice.

The only clue was that a mountain range near the Jackal Wolfman Tribe, about ten miles away, had abundant copper ore.

However, from the beastman prisoners’ accounts, that Jackal Wolfman Tribe had over a hundred people, almost two hundred, with an extraordinary leader, which couldn’t be easily swallowed by Austin’s clan.

"Population, how should the population be increased?"

While the Blue Young Dragon pondered, he suddenly noticed the Fox-faced Man Quik leading a few kobolds on patrol nearby, preventing the disturbance from attracting hungry wild beasts.

Austin had a sudden thought; perhaps the Fox-faced Man Quik knew how to quickly increase the tribe’s population.