NEC Chapter 102: The Goblin Observatory, Planning, and Major Construction

The old city square of Vast Sea Territory, that place of "treading snow to admire plums," was piled high with supplies and prisoners brought back from the front lines. The air was thick with a heavy mixture of blood, dust, and sweat.

The most eye-catching of all was the mountain of corpses.

Human corpses, goblin corpses, hobgoblin corpses, and the headless body of the two-headed ogre.

The sand people had spared no effort searching all routes the bandit gang had traveled, dragging back every enemy they could scrape up, whether dead or alive.

This was to demonstrate their loyalty and to use such a shocking scene to cement the lord's illustrious reputation.

The sand people elder saw clearly that Little Kaga was nothing special. There were over two hundred such centaurs in the territory, and plenty of them surpassed Kaga in intellect, experience, or strength.

So where exactly did Little Kaga's strength lie?

Loyalty!

Yes, loyalty alone had earned the little centaur the greatest rewards.

From this moment forward, Little Kaga's position as centaur leader would be solid as a rock, unshakeable.

I too can be loyal, we sand people can all be loyal!

Looking at the spoils of war brought back by the "loyal" sand people, Lord Chen Mo felt somewhat uncomfortable, but he quickly thought of a good solution.

Under the lord's direction, the sand people cut off the goblins' heads one by one and piled them into a pointed tower made of skulls in the open space to the north.

Now his heart felt much more comfortable.

Oh right, this tower of heads, the lord called it the "Goblin Observatory," meaning to pile up goblins for people to observe.

As for who would observe it, naturally the territory's citizens would first have the privilege of feasting their eyes.

The territory's residents all felt the lord's kindness and warmth from this.

After appreciating the Goblin Observatory, the centaurs felt quite apprehensive. As the most powerful tribe currently in the territory, they had missed an opportunity to become the lord's core military force.

Fortunately, Kaga's sudden emergence had to some degree compensated for the centaur clan's mistake, allowing them the chance to continue developing in the future and regain trust through hard work.

The sand people were also anxious. They had essentially fled the territory, but fortunately the grand elder had timely recognized the situation and actively participated in the final phase of this war, managing to recover some impression points for their group.

As for the future, the sand people had to follow the lord wholeheartedly.

Otherwise, if the lord could kill bandits, couldn't he kill sand people too?

And Lynn's batch of slave warriors, because they had done nothing except quietly guard near the lord's camp, actually gained the lord's approval.

Sometimes, truly, not acting meant not erring, and one could win even while lying down.

In this wilderness territory where order was newly established and hearts were unsettled, in the eyes of a young lord urgently needing confidants, loyalty rightfully took precedence over ability!

Even if it was forced loyalty!

As a reward, at the territory's first grand post-war assembly, Chen Mo waved his hand generously and asked Master Downs to use the magic master scroll in his possession to remove the psychic shackles from all the purchased mercenaries.

"You are free. If you want to go home, I'll give you travel money. If you want to stay, you can earn wages in the future without having to live as slaves anymore!"

Without doubt, not a single person left. Instead, they all knelt down, begging the lord's permission to bring their family members over to serve the lord for generations.

All these emotions reached their peak when the ogre prisoners were escorted to the scene.

These giants from the northern ice fields were a head taller than minotaurs, with robust builds like mobile small fortresses.

Their thick limbs were covered with rough, rock-like grayish-blue skin, and their necks supported two bald, wrinkled, hairless heads that were now shaking neurotically with fear.

From a great distance, these ogre couples along with several equally robust but somewhat bewildered cubs thunderously knelt down under Kaga's command.

The contrast between powerful creatures and humble postures instantly ignited the crowd's fervor, with deafening cheers shooting straight to the heavens.

In any case, after experiencing this battle, Vast Sea Territory, at least in the short term, could not have its lord's authority shaken even if another two or three bandit groups with dozens of two-heads came.

This was the so-called "winning with one punch!"

Not only did it deter external enemies, but more importantly, it united the interior of the territory to obey one voice and look in one direction.

In the coming period, the territory could focus wholeheartedly on major construction projects.

Taking advantage of this momentum, Chen Mo had Secretary Herlan promulgate the territory's development plan.

A huge, detailed map was unfolded before everyone, clearly outlining Vast Sea Territory's first phase core mission: constructing four major functional zones.

The main city area located on the hard soil layer at the desert's edge would first complete construction of granaries, waterways, and basic civilian housing, gradually expanding commercial exchange, urban services, and other functions, eventually repairing city walls to build a large-scale city in the desert.

Of course, the first to break ground would be the lord's mansion on the central axis.

Secretary Herlan said that citizens could go seven days without eating and three days without drinking, but could not go a single moment without seeing the supreme lordly light of Vast Sea Territory.

Seeing the magnificent lord's mansion gave everyone hope in life and strength for work.

Although Chen Mo instinctively felt this was wrong, under Herlan's earnest persuasion, he finally agreed to let Herlan arrange it.

And he granted Herlan a new position: Territory Chief Administrator.

When the bandit gang arrived, Herlan had shown no intention of seeking refuge, instead busily arranging provisions, repairing fortifications, and organizing resistance. This deserved a great reward.

The second major zone was the agricultural area to the northeast.

Within this region was a huge saltwater lake.

White salt frost accumulated over countless years had dyed the lake area snow white.

Large expanses of saline-alkali land around the lakeshore were the areas the lord required to be reclaimed into fields.

This terrible land was also called cursed land, where even the toughest ridge-bark trees in the desert couldn't grow large. Everyone had once regarded the lord's orders as an absurd joke.

Now, whatever the lord said must be correct. Just do it.

South of the main city area was a relatively flat shallow sand region, the "Energy and Industrial Concentration Zone."

The lord paid great attention to this area, repeatedly measuring and surveying this sandy land, using those flying small devices to sweep back and forth again and again before finally delineating the boundaries of this industrial zone.

In the area called the demonstration point, the lord's minotaur guards carried over several deep blue giant panels with surfaces reflecting bright luster.

The minotaur wielded a great hammer, deeply driving several thick iron rod supports into the ground, and under the lord's guidance, erected a large mirror surface facing south, pieced together.

When Chen Mo saw the red indicator light below the panel light up, he pumped his fist emphatically.

Photovoltaic power generation units capable of converting solar energy into electrical energy, combined with solid-state battery energy storage equipment, would henceforth change the entire territory's development model.

"Energy is the foundation of everything!"

"According to the plan, within 10 days complete construction of a 10KW micro-grid experimental unit installation. After stable operation for two weeks, based on collected data feedback, begin the next phase of large-scale photovoltaic deployment."

"Within three months, complete overall implementation of 100KW hybrid power generation, battery storage, and line transmission, reserving interfaces for continuous future expansion."

Standing in the shadow of the photovoltaic panels, Chen Mo was spirited and ambitious.

As long as the energy problem was solved, all subsequent problems could be overcome with pure force!

The last zone was the eastern coastal port area.

A small dock would first be established there. Besides conducting simple marine collection and exploration, it could restore the former transfer station function of Emerald Bay Port, providing repairs and supplies for ship fleets traveling north and south, while striving to participate in maritime trade routes.

Of course, getting a boat for Old Master Downs to go fishing was also one of the territory's core work indicators.

South of the dock was the planned seawater purification plant. Through reverse osmosis seawater desalination component processing, the first phase planned daily processing and purification of hundreds of tons of fresh water, with the second and third phases expanding scale according to demand.

Between the four major zones, roads needed to be built. Future fresh water, seeds, materials, and equipment would all need to continuously converge from all directions and be transported to all directions through these roads.

Vast Sea Territory needed more manpower!

Centaurs excavated rock walls by the sea, sand people leveled ground in the photovoltaic zone, and the hardest job of eating sand to build roads was assigned to the remaining two hundred-plus goblin prisoners.

And the ogre family.

Under supervision of the Vast Sea Patrol led by Lynn, the ogres joined the construction crews, greatly increasing road construction progress.

These fellows were naturally tall and strong, wielding giant shovels like excavators. At crucial moments, mud-softening magic could soften compacted rocky soil, hardening magic could reinforce road surfaces, fireball magic could blast rocks, and strong wind magic could blow away loose sand.

They were truly excellent materials for construction work, making Chen Mo quite excited, even having the impulse to organize teams to capture ogres up north.

Of course, the ogre family was so obedient first because the lord here could keep them well-fed, second because those cubs received a supply of "infant formula" bestowed by the lord.

Who said two-meter-tall ogres weren't infants?

The final key point was that the male ogre discovered the centaurs had no interest whatsoever in his harem. Although he had been utterly defeated and forced to surrender, he still exclusively enjoyed mating rights in the group.

This was simply paradise for him.

In such rapid construction work, transportation routes to the southern energy zone and eastern seawater purification plant zone had completed first-phase foundation construction.

A broad road capable of accommodating two pack-beast carts side by side stretched straight toward the distant horizon.

During this period, a small interlude occurred.

At the banquet where the lord rewarded meritorious officials, Simple Bull requested that the lord bestow a name upon him.

His previous name was too long and awkward, and "Simple Bull" wasn't majestic enough. As a minotaur who had decided to follow the lord unto death, emulating human family traditions, he requested the family head to bestow a name, henceforth becoming a guardian warrior of the family.

Chen Mo thought for a moment, "Good! Then I'll follow my personal habit. Simple Bull, you shall take the surname Liu."

"Bearing nine ren, peaks towering majestically, you shall be called Liu Zaiyue. From now on, carry mountains and fill seas for the territory, it's up to you!"

The freshly minted Liu Zaiyue withdrew happily, and a small centaur bounded forward two steps, falling to his knees with a thud.

It was the former Little Dreadlocks, now Little Baldy.

The little fellow was still wrapped in thick bandages, saying nothing, just kowtowing continuously.

Kaga stepped forward to report, "Lord! He... he also wants to request that you bestow a name! In this battle, he performed excellently, protected me, protected the territory, and was even injured!"

"Please give him a name for a fresh start, my lord."

Chen Mo nodded, "Centaur, then take the surname Ma. Protecting the territory is also protecting the duchy!"

"From now on, you shall be called Ma Baoguo!"

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