Chapter 30: A New Round of Major Construction

After understanding the specific conditions of his territory, Sakavi summoned his key subordinates to a meeting to discuss how to proceed with the next phase of territorial development.

Based on extensive discussions, Sakavi decided to build a new seaport city at the mouth of the Bohe River, to export vital strategic goods such as salt, iron, and coal, and to import essential commodities like grain, timber, and cotton that his territory lacked.

He also planned to reclamation the Bohe Plain, reviving barren land to cultivate higher-yield cassava and resolve the food shortage to the greatest extent possible. In the hilly region’s Blackwater Marsh, he would construct a waterborne coal and iron transfer hub to facilitate the export of coal and steel.

Of course, professional matters require professional hands—where to build and how to build would be decided by professors from the Caro Construction University on the Funa Plateau. In city-building, one dared not act recklessly; if it turned into a shoddy project, the losses would be catastrophic.

In the previous construction phase, the main achievements were Agrik City and its affiliated dock district, light industry zone, enchantment processing area, and school district. He firmly secured the core industries of this land, enhancing territorial residents’ recognition of and dependence on his rule by exporting economic and cultural influence outward.

Even savage subhuman races have their own thoughts and interests; without genuine investment and cultural acceptance, they would never truly align with you. Things might seem fine until a defeat or crisis struck—then they’d vanish in an instant.

Religion was the most effective tool for shaping thought and culture—it possessed immense power to unify hearts, a complete doctrine, and worked like magic on uncultured savages, unless it was a race-specific faith like the Elven Spider Queen Ros.

The Red Moon Plane was the core territory of the War God Church; introducing other religious factions would be antagonizing them. Yet Sakavi could not afford to grant them any influence. Moreover, the War Cry Tribe’s annual raids had made the natives deeply resent the War God Church.

Sakavi intended to cultivate his own dragon culture—not the culture of the era when dragons ruled the entire world. Back then, dragon culture had been supreme, but it was utterly destroyed by the later-dominant elves. Today, only in a few realms where dragons still held power could one glimpse its fading glow.

During the raid on Weilincheng, he had casually taken captive the elves from the artisan quarter—now, finally, they would serve a purpose. As a race that had existed for hundreds of thousands of years with an unbroken culture, the elves were an ideal vessel for cultivating dragon culture.

After five years of imprisonment, these once-arrogant elves had finally learned to bow. Having agreed to cooperate, Sakavi entrusted them with shaping the behavior, customs, and beliefs of the territory’s inhabitants.

When the territory’s residents realized they were alienated from their kin yet lived well, they would have no choice but to follow Sakavi to the end. You might not get someone to fight for a hundred gold coins—but threaten to take away their last hundred, and they’d fight to the death.

The last construction phase mobilized thirty thousand ogres, ten thousand minotaurs, five thousand gray dwarves, three thousand lizardfolk, and two thousand centaurs. Their participation aimed primarily to drain their aggression—these wild creatures were accustomed to violence, believing that a roar, a scale pressed to the leader’s brow, was enough to settle all disputes.

Even dragons who worshipped their own kind with fanaticism didn’t become docile lambs at a single command. During the construction of Agrik, over three hundred murders and brawls occurred—even with Sakavi personally overseeing things. By day, they were obedient laborers; by night, they became thieves, assassins, and prostitutes. Sakavi often woke to find daggers stuck in his chest, yet none of his kin reported it.

After three years of reformation, they had learned obedience—but nothing more. For the second phase of construction, Sakavi planned to conscript three hundred thousand people at once; the first batch would become managers or skilled workers, overseeing the second batch of laborers.

Engineers from the Rosen Empire stated the port could not be built directly at the main river mouth, where silt accumulation and unstable terrain were severe. Instead, it should be constructed on a peninsula-shaped headland about five kilometers north of the mouth, known as “Salt Fang Cape.”

The basalt headland provided a solid bedrock foundation and a leeward side shielded from southern ocean currents. The deep water was ideal for large vessels, avoiding the severe siltation of the main river mouth. Behind the cape, a small brackish stream flowed down from the northern hills into the sea—sufficient for daily water needs without bringing excessive silt.

The “root” connecting the cape to the mainland was narrow, making it easy to construct strong walls and fortifications, creating a “one-man-gate” defensive posture. The towering basalt headland was an ideal location for a lighthouse and ballista emplacements, commanding oversight of the surrounding seas. Behind the cape lay a relatively solid, less saline tidal flat, suitable for expansion into warehouses and residential zones after modification.

Sakavi saw no flaw in the engineers’ proposal, but Verna warned that Rosen Empire engineers were not his own people—he could not blindly trust their word. A field inspection was necessary; hidden dangers might still exist.

Grap also agreed. The three traveled to the airspace above Salt Fang Cape. First to catch their eyes was the black basalt peninsula extending from the coastline. Its “root” connecting to the mainland was extremely narrow—meaning only a single strong wall was needed to cut off all land-based threats. It was a natural “Wall of Sighs.”

The coasts on either side of the peninsula were not sandy beaches but steep cliffs and jagged reefs. These formed a natural barrier, preventing enemy ships from landing at will and forcing all vessels to enter through the controlled, dredged main channel.

The peninsula’s summit was the highest point in the region. Building a mage tower here could directly blockade the entire bay and suppress threats from the sea, while also serving as a lighthouse—but such a tower on this peak could never be truly secure.

Naga from the Blackwater Sea or some arrogant dragon could still breach the mage tower’s defenses and sabotage the port. The Rosen Empire engineers had overlooked this risk.

Unlike the murky yellow-brown waters of the Bohe River mouth, the bay behind Salt Fang Cape displayed a deeper blue-green hue, clearly indicating sufficient depth to accommodate deep-draft ocean-going vessels.

In the direction of the river mouth, one could clearly see the pale yellow sandbar formed by river silt entering the sea. This was actually a strategic advantage: enemy warships could not attack directly from the river mouth. Those wishing to trade or submit must use his deep-water channel at Salt Fang Cape—he could easily monitor and blockade this single passage.

The peninsula had almost no tall trees, only low, salt-tolerant shrubs. This meant initial construction timber had to be imported—a short-term weakness, but it also prevented enemies from using forests to conceal their approach.

The black basalt bedrock itself was an inexhaustible source of high-quality building stone. He could clearly see the engineers’ planned quarry locations. He saw the stream winding down from the northern hills, emptying into the sea at the cape’s root. Securing and protecting this freshwater source was vital to the port’s survival.

The difficulty of constructing this port had exceeded Sakavi’s expectations. For a black dragon who never believed in order, nothing could reassure him except his own overwhelming power.

Sakavi decided to consult Prince Priglin to inquire if any dragons specialized in fortress design. No faction would willingly design a defense system for the infamous Five-Colored Dragon. After viewing Salt Fang Cape, Sakavi believed the Rosen Empire engineers had chosen the right location—but the construction difficulty had surpassed their capabilities, or perhaps they dared not build such a powerful fortress for a potential enemy.

Grap also offered his suggestion: establish the main deep-water port on the western side (leeward side of the cape), utilizing the natural bay for mooring large ocean-going merchant ships. The solid rocky ground would serve as temporary storage for exported coal, iron ingots, and salt blocks.

On the eastern side (facing the mainland), construct an inland dock connected by a short artificial canal to a tributary of the Bohe River, allowing upstream traders to unload directly here, avoiding ocean storms.

Upon receiving Sakavi’s message, Prince Priglin came in person. In his words, the Gem Dragons had extensive experience in fortress construction and could find reliable designers—but a fortress was not a lighthouse; it could not be built casually. He needed to inspect the site personally to assess construction difficulty and design costs.

Ten days later, Priglin returned, accompanied by a massive blue sapphire dragon. The sapphire dragon immediately demanded to inspect the port site, disregarding all objections. With no alternative, the three dragons flew together to Salt Fang Cape, examining the bay and then the entire horizon.

The returning sapphire dragon studied the Rosen Empire engineers’ plans, then declared they were a trap for Sakavi. A proper port, especially one on a warfront, must serve military needs: it must accommodate large warships and include shipyards. Dragons might not moor warships, but their defense requirements were exceptionally high.

This blue sapphire dragon argued that a single fortress could not ensure port security. Under his professional design, the lone mage tower became a multi-layered defense system.

Construction Plan: 1. While building the mage tower, excavate downward and into the mountain body. Hollow out the basalt peak to construct a multi-layered magical fortress extending dozens of meters underground. Its top merges with the rock as a sloped, reinforced armor layer, effectively resisting boulder impacts and dragonbreath. Function: integrates command, energy, garrison, and ultimate defense.

2. Deploy large, track-adjustable ballistae at key high points along the cape’s coast. These need not pierce dragon scales but should fire specialized “Binding Nets” or “Chaos Burst Arrows” to entangle dragon wings, disrupt flight, or destroy ship hulls.

3. Erect several unobtrusive spires atop the fortress, made of luminescent crystal and truevision gems. Non-offensive, they continuously scan sky and sea, dispelling illusions and invisible units, projecting real-time imagery into the fortress command room for complete battlefield awareness.

4. Construct twenty defensive towers along both coasts within fifty kilometers, combining reconnaissance and defense, leaving no force approaching the port unobserved.