Chapter 219: Countdown

The feeling of waiting for news is incomparably long, but this matter will eventually have a result.

On this day, after Xia Duo confirmed the situation regarding the supplies provided by the lord at the Town Hall, he had just returned to the Mage Tower when he heard apprentices discussing the development of the territory.

Xia Duo casually grabbed an apprentice with "Buzi" written on his clothes and asked, "Apprentice Buzi, you were just saying that the Mage Tower will send Mages to rotate into the Green Pearl Forest?"

"Yes, Master Mage." The apprentice named Buzi was suddenly questioned by an Official Mage and looked a bit nervous, but upon realizing it was Xia Duo, he relaxed.

With admiration in his eyes, he said respectfully, "Master Xia Duo, it is not just Official Mages; apprentices have also received recruitment missions, though the number of spots is very small."

"You know me?" Xia Duo asked, puzzled.

"Yes, I once heard Aideliqi speak of your deeds. In that Arcane Competition, you defeated the foreign Mage, and we all admire you!"

"Right, right, me too!" Several apprentices nearby chimed in one after another.

Even though Xia Duo had a good mental state, being praised to his face like this still made the corners of his mouth lift involuntarily. After offering a few words of encouragement, Xia Duo returned to his residence with a double dose of good spirits.

Since the Tower of Time was already preparing for the Mage rotation, it meant the Elf Mages were no longer attacking Spellcasters entering the Green Pearl Forest.

Of course, it was also possible that the Elf Mages only attacked Mage Apprentices, but the probability was very low, and besides, Xia Duo was not a Mage Apprentice.

Now, the development of Daxia Territory had truly entered the countdown.

……

The next day, Xia Duo first went to the Liyadun Chamber of Commerce to find Manager Yarman. From him, he learned that the recent mobilization of supplies in the Savile Territory was very frequent, and judging by the posture, it looked like they were about to do something big.

"Manager Yarman, how many territory residents have been recruited so far?"

Regarding the recruitment of residents, Xia Duo asked almost every day. The number of people recruited each day was getting smaller and smaller, but precisely because it was getting smaller, he was particularly concerned.

What is the foundation of a territory? There is a saying on Earth that describes it well: "If you keep the land but lose the people, you lose both; if you keep the people but lose the land, you keep both."

The lords of Netheril valued the territory more, while Xia Duo valued the people more. Only people could create productivity, and in a world of Magic, only with more people could more Spellcasters emerge.

Hearing Xia Duo's question, Manager Yarman, who was long accustomed to it, skillfully opened a stack of Documents and said cautiously, "Master, recently, because of the development of the Savile Territory, the available manpower for recruitment has become fewer and fewer. Not everyone has the Courage to fight from scratch regardless of the cost."

"How many people are there? Speak!"

"After you left yesterday noon, two more people were recruited. Today's recruitment hasn't been reported yet, but—"

"Understood." Xia Duo understood what he meant; it meant there were probably none today!

Xia Duo frowned and muttered to himself, "Two yesterday, plus the ones recruited before, that's only 56 in total. Never mind developing such a large territory, building a small village is a stretch!"

If he were a Great Arcanist now, he could just go to the Inner Land and shout, and even if not ten thousand, he could at least swindle over a thousand people!

Unfortunately, he was not.

"Manager Yarman, the recruitment cannot stop." After thinking for a moment, Xia Duo brought up the subject of Slaves, "Does the Liyadun Chamber of Commerce have any special channels to get people?"

"Master means—" Yarman hinted.

"It's exactly what you're thinking! Is there?"

"Master, the Liyadun Chamber of Commerce has never engaged in this kind of business." But seeing Xia Duo unmoved, Yarman gritted his teeth and added, "I... can think of a way."

As one of the main Managers of the Chamber of Commerce, Yarman was very clear about the current situation of the Liyadun Chamber of Commerce. With the Elves suddenly unreachable, the current Chamber of Commerce was just an empty shell with Gold Coins but no actual industry.

Although he did not understand why Lady Patti wanted to take such a big risk to invest in a territory that had nothing, since it had been decided, he could only do his best.

"Very good!" Xia Duo nodded with satisfaction. He was becoming more and more interested in Yarman. During this period, he had been responsible for all of the Liyadun Chamber of Commerce's coordination with Xia Duo.

He worked conscientiously and methodically; it would be even better if he could be brought to Daxia Territory.

Changing the subject, Xia Duo asked another key question: "By the way, Manager Yarman, is the ship I need ready?"

"Master, it is impossible for the local Chamber of Commerce to sell ships, and renting is also very unrealistic. Lady Patti has already arranged for people to go to Xibodeng Territory to purchase one. The shipbuilding industry there is developed. If everything goes well, it should arrive at the Savile Territory in these few days."

Yarman was unhurried and took out several pieces of Parchment, handing them to Xia Duo, "The crew has already been recruited; they are all locals from Savile, and the captain even has experience at sea."

Xia Duo took them casually and didn't pay much attention. It was unlikely these people would join Daxia Territory; they could only be considered hired labor.

"Hmm—" Xia Duo's casual flipping motion suddenly stopped. He flipped back to the previous page in disbelief, and after confirming he hadn't misread it, he closed the file.

"Manager Yarman, this captain named 'Owen' is almost 60 years old, right?"

A 60-year-old captain was rare even on Earth, let alone in Netheril, where 50 was considered a long life!

Moreover, judging from the data, this Captain Owen was just an ordinary person. Xia Duo doubted whether he could even get on a ship at that age!

"Master, this Captain Owen is a bit old, but I guarantee he is capable of the work of a captain. Besides, where would one easily find a captain in his prime!"

There was some dissatisfaction in Yarman's words. The Liyadun Chamber of Commerce had never engaged in water transport trade and could not find a normal captain at all. Even this Owen was someone he had spent a great deal of effort to find.

How could he just dismiss him like that!

"Alright, I trust you. Let's go with this Owen!"

Based on Yarman's consistently reliable performance, Xia Duo did not question it further. In any case, he would eventually meet that Owen; a fake couldn't be real.

He actually hoped more that this Owen could truly continue to work; otherwise, finding another captain would be a trouble!

……

Next, Xia Duo looked at the recent bills; the series of numbers had already made him somewhat numb. After leaving the Liyadun Chamber of Commerce, Xia Duo went to the Military Camp.

The reason he had dragged it out for so long without collecting the squad of soldiers supported by the Savile lord was actually to save money. Although the lord supported him with a squad of soldiers, Xia Duo had to pay their wages himself.

Not just wages, but food, housing, training, equipment, etc., all had to be covered by him. Calculated out, maintaining a squad of 10 ordinary soldiers required at least 20 Gold Coins per day.

It had been about half a month since the deal with the lord was reached. If he had taken the soldiers first, that would have been several hundred Gold Coins gone.

Now that the territory development had a definite timeline and only awaited the arrival of the ship to take action, he could take that squad of soldiers back first and get them familiarized.