Chapter 220: Lucky Owen

A moment later, Xia Duo emerged from the military camp, followed by a fully equipped squad of soldiers. Leading them was Captain Jibu, with whom he had worked before. Xia Duo was in a good mood; the quality of the soldiers provided by the Savile Territory lord was excellent, as they were all veterans who had experienced the Orc Tide, rather than newly recruited replacements.

With Jibu, an acquaintance, added to the mix, Xia Duo could guarantee a considerable level of control over this squad from the start. Although he could have managed without Jibu, it was ultimately more convenient with him.

After arranging for these ten men to be placed in the port warehouse alongside the recruited territory residents, and offering them some reassurance and encouragement, Xia Duo returned to the Mage Tower.

Now everything was ready; all that remained was for the ship purchased by the Liyadun Chamber of Commerce from the northern Xibodeng Territory to arrive!

……

Returning to the Mage Tower, Xia Duo went to see Mentor Niya at the first opportunity. He was about to go and develop a new territory, and his weekly lectures would inevitably be affected; he needed to make some adjustments.

Generally speaking, an Apprentice had no right to bargain with a mentor, but Xia Duo's situation was somewhat special. Niya agreed quite readily and even handed Xia Duo a Communication Artifact, which was sufficient for him to contact her from 20 li away.

Although this type of contact could only transmit short messages and could not be used for lectures, it could be used to set the time for the next lecture.

At the same time, although Niya did not say it, Xia Duo could guess one or two other functions of this Communication Artifact; it was likely for him to call for help at a critical moment!

Returning to his residence and sorting out the essential items for the trip, Xia Duo began to craft Magic Scrolls, as it would not be so convenient to craft them once he left the Mage Tower.

He needed to reserve Magic to deal with any situation that might arise, so he could probably only craft one or two before going to sleep.

Aside from matters related to the territory development, Xia Duo also had plans for himself. Although he could not fully settle down to conduct theoretical research while outside, he could improve his practical experience in the process of constantly using Spells.

And from practice, he could verify and develop theory.

Xia Duo prepared to treat this development as a rare opportunity for Spellcasting practice, returning to the Tower of Time every ten days or half a month to recharge and resolve the problems accumulated during that time.

A cycle like this.

……

Three days later, Savile Town port.

Xia Duo stood on the shore, watching the small wooden boat docked by the simple pier.

In the eyes of Xia Duo, who had seen many cargo ships, warships, and even aircraft carriers on Earth, this boat, no more than 20 meters long and 5 or 6 meters wide, was just a small boat.

Yet such a small boat cost several thousand Gold Coins to buy. Xia Duo even felt that if he just cut down a few tall trees in the Green Pearl Forest and made a raft, it would be almost enough.

On the simple pier, two squads of soldiers carrying equipment were boarding the ship in an orderly fashion.

One squad was the soldiers supported by the Savile Territory lord, led by Jibu; the other was the ten people selected from the recruited territory residents, all of whom had experience as Adventurers.

For this first development, Xia Duo did not intend to make any big moves; the main task was to establish a temporary foothold and take root first.

Seeing that the last soldier had boarded, Xia Duo prepared to leave as well. He greeted the organization members and cooperative chamber of commerce personnel who had come to see him off one by one:

"Dien, Aideliqi, I hope that when I return next time, you will have become true Mages! Lady Patti, Yarman, thank you for everything you have done for me. Hans, Fulaike, President Silaiwen, the development of Daxia Territory has begun; when I return next time, I need to see the personnel and supplies you promised."

After speaking, Xia Duo waved his hand and walked toward the pier. He leaped onto the flat-bottomed cargo ship and shouted into the cabin: "Captain Owen, set sail!"

"At your command, my Lord!" Owen's booming voice came from inside, followed by a roar, "You little brats, get moving! Heave-ho, heave-ho!"

Listening to Owen's vigorous voice, Xia Duo revealed a satisfied smile. Only after seeing Owen in person did he realize that Owen did not look like a man nearing 60 at all.

It was truly lucky to have been able to hire Owen. Originally, Owen had already retired, but he could not let go of life on a boat, which was how Yarman had managed to pick him up.

If it had been any later, perhaps other chambers of commerce would have snatched him up first.

……

The river channel at Savile Town port had been expanded several times and was several times wider than other sections of the Wofu Fort River, enough for a ship larger than Xia Duo's to turn around at will.

It was only when the cargo ship had just sailed away from the port that Xia Duo thought that the Wofu Fort River was only ten or twenty meters wide; it would be a joke if they couldn't turn around once they got out.

Perhaps they would have to sail to the Basin Lake downstream first to turn around before returning to Savile Town, but that would waste an unknown amount of time.

The straight-line distance from Savile Territory to Daxia Territory was about 20 li. The waterway would be longer, but since it was downstream the whole way, it would only take half a day to arrive.

And when returning, the warm current between spring and summer blew from the south; although it was upstream, it was also with the wind, so counting night travel, they could return within a day.

But all of this was premised on being able to turn around near Daxia Territory. If they had to go to the Basin Lake first, it might take nearly another week.

And counting the time when they couldn't sail at night, it might take even longer.

Thinking of this, Xia Duo felt it was necessary to ask the "old hand" Captain Owen. When he met him earlier, Xia Duo had already given him the map of Daxia Territory.

Arriving at the stern, Owen was at the helm. His movements were subtle, not as if he were controlling the rudder, but as if the rudder were actively cooperating with him. Even Xia Duo, a layman, could see that it was extraordinary.

Xia Duo thought to himself that it seemed he had really found a treasure this time, and his confidence in Owen's ability to solve the problem of turning the ship in the river channel increased.

"Captain Owen, are you adjusting to the new ship?"

"My Lord." Owen first bowed, then patted the rudder and praised, "This ship is really good. It must have been built in Xibodeng, right? I sailed ships like this when I was young, really good!"

"I don't know much about ships, but this ship was indeed purchased from Xibodeng Territory. Captain Owen, I have something I want to ask you."

"My Lord, what is it?"

"After this ship reaches the destination, can it find a suitable place to turn around?" Xia Duo hoped to hear good news from Owen.

And Owen was indeed an "old hand." Hearing Xia Duo's question, he gave an affirmative answer without any hesitation: "My Lord, the landing spot you chose is truly a coincidence. Less than half a li downstream from it, there is a river section where one can turn around. If we miss this, we can only return by turning around via the Basin Lake."

Xia Duo secretly said "that was close," and at the same time, the anxiety he had felt since departure eased significantly.

In the current situation, the round trip from the development site to the port of Savile Town would take no more than a day or two. Besides the convenience of moving personnel and supplies, it was also much more convenient for Xia Duo to return to the Tower of Time to recharge.

Happy in his heart, he announced directly: "From now on, let's call this ship 'Lucky Owen'!"

Upon hearing this, Owen's hands trembled slightly. He had sailed his whole life and had never managed to have a ship named after him. Although he knew this was a means for the young Mage Lord before him to win people over, he still couldn't help but feel excited.

At this moment, his whole body was filled with strength; he felt he could work for another ten years!

"My Lord, old Owen sells this life to you!"

If for nothing else, just so that this "Lucky Owen" could continue to gallop in the water, old Owen had even begun to fantasize about sailing this ship out to sea.

(End of chapter)