CHAPTER 452: CHAPTER 7 EXPANSION (FIRST UPDATE)

The war occurring in the Central Earth World, for the Dragon Nest Tribe, ultimately was a good thing.

Kawa Great Forest, as a barbaric land remote from human civilization, wouldn’t have attracted much attention had it not been for the remnants of the Beastman Empire hiding here, triggering a series of subsequent events. Located at the borders of the Civilized Continent, it would have remained unnoticed.

The focus having shifted away from preventing the resurgence of the Beastman Empire provided the Dragon Nest Tribe with a more favorable and relaxed environment for development.

As the environment became more relaxed, the completion of the rail line and the construction of the steam locomotive also provided sufficient momentum for the great development of the Dragon Nest Tribe.

In the third year after the war, the first line connecting the tribe’s main city and Stronghold City was opened.

The powerful transportation capability of the steam engine reduced the journey between the two places, which once required several days, to just three to four hours. This made the traffic connection between the locations closer, allowing the exchange of some goods and resources.

It is said that on the day the first rail line was opened, the whistle of the steam echoed through the sky. Numerous Beastmen watched along the way, gazing at the giant beast moving quickly without the need for human or animal power, and cheers resounded throughout the heavens.

For these Beastmen, who lived in primitive civilization stages just a few years ago and struggled to reach developmental layers, an automatically moving steam train was evidently an extremely novel thing.

Since it burns fire-attributed Magic Crystals, the entire train was built with Otherworldly magic technology combined with modern scientific techniques, making this Otherworldly version of a magical steam locomotive very different from Austin’s steam trains of the past.

The compartments alone are several times larger, embodying the construction style of the bulky, coarse old ’comrade’ from the past.

Such a style was evidently very comfortable for the Dragon Nest Beastmen.

The loud sound of the steam whistle and the enormous, heavy body of the train brought a massive oppressive power, even Silver-level Warriors could not stop the terrifying advancing wheels.

Countless Dragon Nest Beastmen were extremely amazed at this emerging phenomenon.

However, the opening of the train was not merely for novelty for the Dragon Nest Tribe.

Transportation was the most important role of the steam train.

With this transportation method surpassing eras, it could closely link the locations across the inconveniently positioned strongholds in Kawa Great Forest, having significant implications whether for personnel dispatch or resource allocation.

A country can only burst into stronger power if traffic is convenient, economic and cultural aspects are not isolated by regions, like a clenched fist.

Transportation had always been the shortfall for the Dragon Nest Tribe.

At first, to manage transportation, the Dragon Nest Tribe had to expend a lot of manpower and material resources to open roads through the forest and create transport teams by taming docile animals like wild bulls, wild horses, and land rhinos.

Yet even so, transportation capability still faced limitations; expansion struggled, as the reach of the Dragon Nest Tribe was increasingly difficult to extend outward due to transportation issues as the cultivated lands grew farther away.

For instance, the cultivated lands ten miles away required half a day just for a return trip through the inconvenient traffic in Forest Land, leaving no time for land cultivation.

The formation of the Pioneer City was a method born out of necessity for the Dragon Nest Tribe under transportation limitations in order to expand.

Now, with the successful construction of steam trains, the speed of outward expansion and exploration for the Dragon Nest Tribe is sure to reach new heights.

The railroad’s powerful transportation capability not only connects traffic and economy between two sites but also allows rapid troop deployment and transportation to distant battlefields in a short amount of time.

Thus, the faraway lands can be firmly held in one’s grasp.

As the saying goes, "soldiers value swiftness." Although around the Dragon Nest Tribe, the Dragon Nest Legion is already invincible across the world, the influence of trains on military aspects has yet to manifest, but its significance is incomparable to common occurrences.

Moreover, the opening of the rail line carries immense political and military significance for the Dragon Nest Tribe along with substantial economic benefits.

With transportation connections through the rail line, the Dragon Nest Tribe can pioneer some lands along the line, later radiating development to the expansive region between the stronghold and main city.

Supporting development along railway territories through rail transport is not a difficult task, even easier and simpler compared to pioneering planting outside the main city territory.

Following the success of the train, it is said Goblins have also refined the steam-powered plowing machine, which is certainly a strong aid for scale excavation in the future.

The Dragon Nest Tribe seems to be exploring and advancing towards a semi-mechanized road, where these gradual changes will eventually cause earth-shaking transformations.

....

As the third year after the war unfolded, with the environment loosening, the policies of the Dragon Nest Tribe also gradually shifted from conservatism to openness.

Although the rail lines have not yet reached the territorial expansion boundary of Pioneer City, the Dragon Nest Beastman Legion has begun taking over newly developed lands from which the servant army has deeply explored. The territorial scope started gradually expanding.

A vast forest area was conquered by the servant army, extracting large amounts of ores and other resources, which were sent to the Dragon Nest Tribe and processed into various items, then traded back to the servant army.

This simple trade route invigorated both systems’ economies.

At the same time, in the ongoing expansion of the servant army, controlled directly by Dragon Nest Beastmen, the servant army began large-scale propagation, now spanning hundreds to thousands of miles, reaching the central regions of Kawa Great Forest.

The central zone of Kawa Great Forest now occasionally sees human Adventurers arriving due to the war chaos.

Human forces began extending into the central regions of Kawa Great Forest.

Austin actually wished to make contact with humans, at least to trade, aiming to gain some advanced magic and alchemical enchantment knowledge and techniques to enhance the Dragon Nest Tribe’s knowledge reserves.

Unfortunately, even though they encountered them, mutual vigilance led to a lack of interaction, and naturally, trading was out of the question.

But opportunities do arise, there’s no need to rush.

Austin is not a racial supremacist; he has no prejudice against any race.

To him, those he can use are potential subordinates, otherwise, they are adversaries.

Presently, some of the human mercenaries who initially attacked the Dragon Nest Tribe, now numbering over ten, remain in the tribe, and the former Mercenary Deputy Captain Gory holds a high position within the tribe as well.

Future expansions of the Dragon Nest Tribe could potentially include human beings under its command.