Chapter 238: Holy Water, Food Shortage

Thinking of this, Xia Duo couldn't help but glance at Laidun again; could this guy really be a legal talent?

But from his contact and understanding of Laidun, Laidun seemed more like a Law Enforcer or a Judge, rather than someone who formulates laws, which also aligns with their Doctrine.

Regardless, the Altar was finally set up, and everything else could be taken slowly.

Once Laidun recovered, Xia Duo asked, "When can this produce Holy Water? And isn't this capacity a bit small?"

"My Lord, as long as the Altar is activated, it can produce Holy Water continuously. If someone prays here, the production speed will be faster and the quality higher."

"How does it compare to the Holy Water sold by the Temple?" Xia Duo had never bought Holy Water from the Temple, nor had he even used it.

He was curious; if the production and quality of the Holy Water here were decent, wouldn't that be another source of income for the Territory?

The Temple could sell it, so he certainly could too.

"My Lord, this—"

As soon as Laidun hesitated, Xia Duo felt something was wrong and hurriedly asked, "What is it? Speak up!"

"The Altar here isn't even as good as the ones in ordinary villages in Savile Territory, so how could it produce Holy Water comparable to the Temple's?" After a pause, Laidun added:

"Besides, most of the Temple's Holy Water is manufactured by us; Divine Grace cannot be wasted, and the amount that can be produced daily is very limited."

To be honest, Xia Duo was a bit disappointed; it seemed the Holy Water business was a no-go, so he asked, "Then to what extent can the Holy Water produced by this Altar be used?"

"My Lord, the Holy Water produced here cannot be taken too far from the Altar, and it only possesses a weak restorative effect; it can be used to clean wounds."

"Just that?" Xia Duo felt the actual effect of this Holy Water might not even be as useful as his own Guidance of Positive Energy, but at least it was free, requiring no effort on his part.

Thinking this way, Xia Duo felt much more at ease.

Just as he was about to leave, Laidun reminded him, "My Lord, someone needs to be arranged to replenish the fresh water here regularly; without fresh water, there can be no talk of Holy Water."

"Hmm."

He casually summoned a stream of water, pouring it into the pit on the Altar, about 2 liters or so, and immediately, energy flowed through the Altar, quickly permeating the water to form a dynamic equilibrium.

Xia Duo was thoughtful; it seemed this Altar also had energy limits and could not infinitely convert fresh water into Holy Water.

"Let's go, we'll talk after the vegetation here is cleared."

If nothing unexpected happened, this Altar would be the center of his long-term base. As for the name of the base, Xia Duo had already decided: call it Linshui Village.

It had a feel like Yangmao Cun in Savile Territory, but what kind of high-end name could one give to just a small village anyway!

……

Arriving at the landing point, the crew of the Owen had already moved all the supplies down, and Qiaoqi was leading people to collect tools.

In the following days, Xia Duo personally supervised the labor of the residents, and later, based on their respective performances, organized the 50 official residents into five Working Groups and appointed group leaders.

Even the 26 Slaves were divided into three groups by Xia Duo, with group leaders appointed as well.

As for Qiaoqi's team of 10, they had already transitioned from reserve soldiers to official soldiers and had taken over daily guard duties. After Xia Duo proposed the "mentorship" approach, he divided them among Jibu's team.

One by one, Xia Duo gave them half a month to regain their wildness and alertness, becoming truly usable people.

After this arrangement, a strange sense of order appeared in this tiny Territory, and work efficiency greatly improved.

This day, Laidun suddenly found Xia Duo, who was studying a Spell, and delivered a piece of bad news: "My Lord, our food is not enough."

"Not enough food?" Xia Duo was shocked, "How much is left? Wasn't it enough before? Why is it suddenly not enough?"

"My Lord—" Laidun's expression was somewhat resentful, "After you divided the residents into groups a few days ago and set the bottom-ranking elimination system, they all started working like their lives depended on it, and food consumption has nearly doubled."

Xia Duo was surprised by the residents' work enthusiasm, but was this emotion too easy to stir up? He had only said that the top four groups would be fed until full, and that made them work so hard?

However, this also showed that they had been slacking off before!

*Cough*—

"The original instructions remain unchanged; the top four groups will be fed until full, and the last group and the Slave group will eat the same amount. I will find a way for the food."

Currently, the food in the Pioneer Territory was all ready-made bread brought from Savile Territory, as well as some salted meat, though the latter was mostly prepared for Xia Duo.

These days, he had long grown tired of it; it was either bread or meat, and occasionally he would find a couple of fruits in the forest, most of which were sour.

"Laidun, notify Jibu Squad to assemble. Hand over the guard mission to Qiaoqi; they should have made some progress these days!"

"Yes."

Laidun responded and went out. Now he was Xia Duo's messenger, warehouse manager, preacher, and eyes and ears, holding multiple positions at once, which showed how much Xia Duo valued him.

Of course, one could call it exploitation, but he was happy in it anyway.

Meanwhile, Xia Duo changed into Leather Armor, picked up his one-handed sword, and arrived outside the tent; Jibu Squad had already assembled.

"My Lord!" Jibu called out, and although the others remained silent, they stood neatly in two rows, looking at Xia Duo earnestly, waiting for the Lord's orders.

Now, Xia Duo's laws not only influenced his own people like Qiaoqi, but Jibu and the others, whose Positioning was uncertain, were also affected.

"How are Qiaoqi and the others? Can they execute guard missions independently?" Xia Duo asked first.

"They can. They were Adventurers before, and they are recovering well now!" Jibu said.

"Good, now you follow me."

Xia Duo walked in front with his sword, and Jibu and the others followed closely behind. As they walked, Xia Duo instructed, "From now on, your mission is to enter the forest and hunt any living creature!"

"Yes!"

Jibu was not surprised by this order; instead, he felt it had come a bit late. The process of humans pioneering a territory was the process of using swords and Magic to demand land from the wilderness and forests.

This had nothing to do with good or evil; it was just for survival.

Previously, when Jibu and the others were on guard, out of caution, they mostly just drove away external creatures, but now they were to actively kill, which was exactly what Jibu wanted.

And these days, because of the Magic Alarm, Xia Duo had also gained a certain understanding of the patterns of large creatures appearing nearby.

Coming out this time was mainly to obtain meat, and of course, to introduce the distribution of nearby beasts to Jibu, making it convenient for them to act independently in the future.

And this time, the target was a wolf pack and a bear.

They were the creatures that appeared most often within the range of Xia Duo's Magic Alarm, and Xia Duo had long wanted to get rid of them, but he had never had the time.

On the way, Xia Duo said, "The beasts in the forest are endless; pay attention to your own safety. In this regard, you should have more experience than me."

"My Lord—" Jibu hesitated to speak after hearing this. In Savile Territory, how would a superior care about their safety? In the eyes of a superior, there were only mission targets; if you couldn't finish, you had to finish even if it cost you your life.