CHAPTER 55: CHAPTER 53: THE STRENGTH ISSUE OF BEASTMEN

After getting through the most difficult initial stage, the remaining matters of cultivating the new land were naturally left to the experienced beastmen. Starting is always the hardest part, but once the beginning is done well, further cultivation does not require the Blue Young Dragon’s constant supervision.

Cultivation, after all, is not an overnight endeavor. The true success of this effort can only be measured in a few months when the harvest from the fields reveals itself.

However, Austin has about eighty percent confidence that the cultivated kudzu will yield a bountiful harvest.

Compared to the wild kudzu vines outside, the kudzu on the cultivated fields not only receives specialized care but is also planted with wood ash. Additionally, the manure produced by the toilets that Austin ordered to be built in Dragon Nest Village during the cold winter helps boost the soil’s fertility, ensuring the upcoming harvest will far exceed that of the wild-growing kudzu.

As for the experimental fields of wild rice, they are basically left to the whims of nature.

Agricultural matters were directly handed over to the beastman militia. Austin only occasionally checked on the growth of grain plants, offering pointers on the cultivation process.

Since these subordinate beastman clans had all gone through military training, they were far more organized and disciplined than any other beastman tribe outside. This was highly beneficial for the development of the cultivation work.

Fortunately, Austin foresaw this, transforming all the beastmen with military training before the wandering beastmen joined Dragon Nest Village. Otherwise, a group of lazy and disorganized wandering beastmen would never be able to complete such a demanding task as cultivation, even with Austin’s orders.

This also gave Austin an insight, explaining why the great tribes never developed agriculture. Without discipline and unified command among a chaotic swarm of beastmen, cooperative work is out of the question.

This realization also clarified some things for the Blue Young Dragon, such as why, despite the Dragon Race possessing such gifted abilities, no truly impressive Dragon Empire has ever emerged. Though they gather numerous clans, they wield only temporary might, fading quickly after their peak.

The reason for this likely lies in a lack of order among the various races within the subordinate clans.

Though the Dragon Race’s power can exponentially expand the clans’ forces, even wield the power to destroy nations, over time, the disorderly clans fail to sustain themselves. Conflicts and disputes among them grow, eventually leading to inevitable collapse.

Order is crucial for a clan.

Under Austin’s policies, the current Dragon Nest Tribe has nearly become a community where everyone is a soldier, united through training, merging civilians and military.

This highly centralized military state system can unleash extraordinarily powerful strength.

In terms of productivity, the current hundred-member Dragon Nest Tribe is likely comparable to some beastman tribes with a thousand members, perhaps even surpassing them.

"Military training must continue in the future."

This world has no such concept as human rights; the least valuable thing here is human life. Whether it’s among the beastmen at the bottom of this Barbaric Continent or the poor in the Human World, Austin is no saint. Those who need to be exploited will be exploited. Since I provide you with the benefit of a full stomach, you must be prepared to pay with your life.

...

Assigning the cultivation work to the beastmen under his command doesn’t mean Austin has nothing to do.

Currently, he’s contemplating another issue: the combat strength of the beastmen in his clan.

In fact, before deciding to develop the clan’s forces, Austin was already prepared for the fact that the beastman clan wouldn’t be of much help to him in the short term.

In the current state of the Blue Young Dragon, even if the beastman clan trained to elite levels, they couldn’t pose any threat to him. Wooden spears could not penetrate his highly defensive scale armor.

This is due to the vast gap between individual strengths. In the previous two battles, the beastmen were able to help Austin deal with ordinary Ghost-headed Crocodiles and ordinary Blood Wolves, but as Austin grew stronger, the beastmen’s powers lagged behind him.

Through two transformations, Austin awakened a second highly offensive talent magic, and his body grew significantly, with his scales providing even greater defense.

If he were to face the same Blood Wolves from the cold winter now, he alone could handle them completely.

Austin understands this clearly and is mentally prepared for it.

Until the Dragon Nest Division of the beastman civilization starts using firearms and other weapons, or Extraordinary Professionals appear, Austin will play a major role in Dragon Nest Division’s combat strength.

Only when the beastman clan grows to a certain scale will they be able to support Austin’s growth and security.

Even so, this doesn’t mean Austin will be indifferent to the beastman’s prowess reaching a bottleneck.

In the battle at Spider Cave, aside from Austin, his subordinate beastmen had no ability to counterattack and were routed miserably by the spiders.

Afterward, Austin’s desire to enhance the beastmen’s prowess under him grew even stronger.

Currently, there are two ways to enhance the beastmen’s power.

The first is to comprehensively upgrade their equipment, replacing their wooden spears with copper and iron weaponry to significantly boost their weapons’ power.

The second is to lead the beastmen onto the supernatural path, making them Extraordinary Professionals to enhance their inherent strength.

During the cold winter, Austin explored nearby areas from the sky and discovered a place with buried copper ore. However, a group of Jackal Wolf People gathered in the nearby mountains.

According to Rodney, the leader of that Jackal Wolfman Tribe is a Bronze Level Extraordinary Professional, possessing immense power. Though Austin isn’t afraid now, recent intelligence reveals that the Jackal Wolfman Tribe has mysteriously increased by over two hundred, bringing their total population close to five hundred.

This made Austin decide to temporarily hold off on the idea of annexing the Jackal Wolfman Tribe. At least until the kudzu vines are harvested, he doesn’t plan to take action against that tribe. Apart from the potential damage from attacking the Jackal Wolfman Tribe, even if victorious, the surge in population would pose a significant issue for food supply.

Hence, if Austin wishes to quickly strengthen the beastman clan’s prowess, he has to consider other options.

The second path, therefore, is figuring out how to help these ordinary beastmen awaken the Extraordinary Seed, stepping onto the path of Extraordinary Professional.